Taking This Baby For a Drive

With the release of the second book in my Isabel Long mystery series, I’ve decided to try a different route. Starting tomorrow (Oct. 8), Redneck’s Revenge will get lots of attention during an official blog tour — Rachel’s Random Resources. The tour lasts one week.

I am very grateful to fellow authors — most have the same publisher, Crooked Cat Books — who have hosted my posts on their blogs and websites. They’ve offered a variety of formats: Q&As, letters, or whatever I propose. Many of them are based in Europe, Australia, and the US so that’s a wide exposure. (I offer the same exposure on my website.)

Of course, I do my own thing here and on various social media, but, hey, I’m no Stephen King, who has thousands hungrily waiting for anything he tweets.

So, I decided I need a bit of help. That’s when I turned to Rachel Gilbey. Other authors have tried her blog tours with success and the cost is reasonable. (I’ve spent more just dropping by the store to pick up a few things, which turned out to be a lot more things.) Here is her website if you want to learn more: https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com

I went with the seven-day, three-a-day package. So that means Redneck’s Revenge will be the subject of 21 different blog posts this week. Some requested I write a post on a topic of my choosing, such as why I chose to write in first-person, present tense and how I open the book. The majority will be reviews.

My aim, of course, is to generate interest in the series and hopefully, sales.

I have no idea ahead of time what these bloggers will write. But I will post links here on my Facebook page and Twitter as they come in.

Yeah, I’m a little nervous. But so far the response to Redneck’s Revenge has been wonderful. People in different parts of the globe get the characters and setting I’ve created in rural Western Massachusetts. That makes me one happy author.

REVIEWS: I am also grateful to those readers who have taken the time to post reviews in Amazon about Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge.

To answer one question, yes, you could have bought my book at a reading or the bookstore in my village of Shelburne Falls and still leave a review on Amazon. You just won’t be a verified buyer, but that’s okay.

You can also a review on GoodReads if you’ve signed up.

Here are the links:

mybook.to/chasingthecase

mybook.to/rednecksrevenge

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: That’s the schedule for this week’s blog tour.

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6Ws, Author Interview, Crooked Cat Books

6Ws with Alice Castle

Alice Castle is the next author to be featured in this 6Ws series. Besides being fellow Crooked Cat Books authors, Alice and I share a professional background — journalism. Now she writes the London Murder Mysteries series, which is on the cozy side. After all her sleuth is a single mum.

Homicide in Herne Hill, the next, has an Oct. 3 release day. Scroll down to get a synopsis.

Here are her responses to my 6Ws — who, what, when, where, how, and why. (How does end with a W.)

Who is author Alice Castle?

I’m a former national newspaper journalist, I’ve worked on various papers including The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Express. I’m now an editor for various publishers as well as a novelist.

What does she write?

I write cozy crime whodunits. My London Murder Mystery series features a single mum amateur sleuth, Beth Haldane. Beth is a thirty-something widow with a ten-year-old son, Ben, and a haughty black and white cat, Magpie.

When does she write?

I write in the mornings, as early as possible. Though I would by no means describe myself as a morning person, I still find this is the time when the ideas flow best. And it’s the quietest time in our busy house.

How does she write?

I write on my beloved Mac laptop, for as long as I can, but always writing at least a thousand words a day – twice as many as Graham Greene! I drink an awful lot of tea while I’m at it.

Where does she write?

At the moment, I write in my bedroom as various children are home from uni or school, and it’s too noisy and busy elsewhere. Usually, I write in the kitchen, with at least one of our two cats trying to drape itself across my keyboard.

Why does she write?

Because I have to. If I don’t have a novel on the go, I find myself writing incredibly long emails.

Give readers a brief description of your new book plus when it is available to buy and where, plus the publisher.

My new book, coming out on Oct. 3, is Homicide in Herne Hill, published by Crooked Cat. Beth Haldane, SE21’s premier – and only – single mum amateur sleuth, is really pleased to find a new friend at the school gates, in the shape of irrepressibly bouncy Nina. As well as a way with words, Nina has a puzzle she wants Beth to solve, centred on the solicitor’s office where she works in Herne Hill.

But as the mystery thickens, threatening to drag in not just Nina and her boss but the yummy mummies of Dulwich, too, Beth is about to find out just how far some people will go to keep up appearances. The fourth book in the London Murder Mystery series, this is Beth’s toughest case yet.

Other works:

London Murder Mystery series: Death in Dulwich, The Girl in the Gallery, Calamity in Camberwell.

Chicklit: Hot Chocolate, also published in German as Schokoherz.

Alice Castle on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alice.castle.355

Websites: https://www.alicecastleauthor.com https://www.dulwichdivorcee.com

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alice_castle__/

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446735.Alice_Castle

Isabel Long Series, Redneck's Revenge

When One Book Isn’t Enough

Sometimes I love my characters too much for them to have only one book. That’s the case of Isabel Long and many of the characters in my mystery series. The first, Chasing the Case, was released this past spring. The official launch for Redneck’s Revenge, the second, was Sept. 26. And the third, Checking the Traps, will be ready for readers next year.

And I plan to continue this series.

Actually, this isn’t the only series I’ve written. My first is a middle-grade series featuring a family of jinn (genies). In the first, they hide out in a traveling carnival’s show, where they put their magical powers to good use. They live in a small town next, then on a ranch in the Southwest. I am halfway through the fourth, where they live in a town with retired circus performers.

Alas, as of this writing none of the books have been published.

But I loved the Jinn family — the last name they use — and the mischievous twins, Jute and Fina, so much that I wanted to plunk them into different situations. I should backtrack here a bit and say they managed to escape from their evil master, so they are supposed to keep a low profile. Tell that to the kids.

My other is the Los Primos/The Cousins series. This bilingual series for kids features two cousins, their grandfather, and magical realism. The first, The Cousins and the Magic Fish/Los Primos y el Pez Mágico, was self-published. I am planning to release the next two, which have been completed, very soon.

Funny, I was at a reading Saturday, when a reader strongly suggested I write a sequel to my novel, The Sweet Spot. She wanted to know what happened to the characters after that ended. So do I.

But back to the Isabel Long series… mysteries lend themselves well to it. Each book features a cold case Isabel takes. So far, a family member approaches Isabel to find out what happened to a loved one.

I carry some of the characters over from one book to the other. Others I leave behind. I create new ones.

I also use different settings for the crimes she is supposed to solve.

The trick is to give continuity while not giving away too much of the previous book or books.

In Redneck’s Revenge, I catch readers up in the first chapter when she meets Franklin “Lin” Pierce, a private investigator. She has found out that legally she needs to work for a licensed P.I. for three years before going solo. Lin, whose best days as a P.I. behind him, is more interested in Isabel’s first case.

Here’s an excerpt.

Isabel Long. The man’s greeting was more of a statement than a question, but then again, Franklin Pierce is expecting me. He’s a private investigator and I need his services. It’s not what you think. I don’t have a case for him to solve. I want him to hire me for three years, so I can be a bona fide P.I. We are meeting at his office, which is just a narrow storefront between a Cumby’s – that’s Cumberland Farms to those who don’t live in New England – and a pizza joint. The sign on the window says:

FRANKLIN PIERCE

LICENSED P.I.

FRAUD, DIVORCES, LOST PEOPLE.

Franklin Pierce is on the pudgy side, pushing seventy or more, maybe, with glasses and a double chin that hangs loose like a turkey’s wattle. He’s got to be about five-foot-two or shorter because I tower over him. Get this. He’s wearing a cowboy hat and a long canvas coat as if he’s a cattleman out West. But when he opens his mouth, he’s pure Yankee with those missing Rs and added Rs, plus a twang that says his folks have lived in this part of the world, that is, Western Massachusetts, since the white folks found it and the people who lived here before them.

He clutches a set of keys as I make my approach to the front door. Naturally, I was ten minutes early, my M.O., and waited in the car with my mother before he arrived. Yes, Maria Ferreira, my ninety-two-year-old mother, soon to be my ninety-three-year-old mother April 2, is with me. But when Ma saw Cumby’s, she hightailed it out of my car. She says she’ll go to the pizza joint afterward to get something to drink. She could have stayed home, but it’s February, and like the rest of us, she’s got a bit of cabin fever from the seemingly endless winter that began in October.

I smile and extend my hand to Franklin Pierce. I feel a bit self-conscious my skin is colder and rougher than his. I’m curious why someone would name their kid after one of the worst presidents so far although I can think of a few other contenders. But now isn’t the time to bring up that observation. I need to win this man over. So, what will it be: Franklin or Frank although I seriously doubt Frankie. I play it safe.

“Mr. Pierce, hello.”

“Please call me Lin. And you? Is it Isabel or Izzie? Which do you prefer?”

I shake my head.

“Never Izzie,” I say.

“I’ll remember that.”

“Okay, Lin. How do you spell that?”

“L-I-N.”

Gotcha.

HOW TO BUY IT: Well, if you want to read more, you are going to have to buy it either in Kindle or paperback form. Here’s the link: mybook.to/rednecksrevenge

And if you haven’t read the first, I strongly recommend you do: mybook.to/chasingthecase

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: That’s the interior of the Field Memorial Library in tiny Conway, Mass., population 1,900. Marshal Field, founder of the department store, had it built as a memorial to his parents.

ONE LAST THING: Thanks to Nancy Jardine for hosting this post originally on her blog https://nancyjardine.blogspot.com/

Isabel Long Series, Launch party, Redneck's Revenge

The Party Is Over

Thanks to those who could make it from wherever they are in the world to the Facebook launch of my new mystery, Redneck’s Revenge. Yeah, such virtual launches are a new concept for me — one that I learned from my fellow authors at Crooked Cat Books. I held mine Thursday (Sept. 26) for two active hours although I kept the discussion up for 24 hours to allow people to pop in whenever they wanted. Fortunately, no food, drink, or a clean house was necessary.

I had a great deal of fun coming up with six contests all related to characters and scenes in Redneck’s Revenge. Just a brief recap: Isabel Long, my amateur sleuth, has her second case: a daughter is convinced her father’s death wasn’t an accident. He didn’t die in a fire at his junkyard. He was murdered. The case means Isabel gets to meet a whole new group of people, many of them on the country rough side, and hang out in unfamiliar places.

Among the contests: come up with a name for a junkyard you might own and one for a country convenience store (it is the Pit Stop in Redneck’s Revenge). Give me the name of a fictional band that might play at a country bar and graffiti you might find on a bathroom wall there. How about your secret nickname? (Isabel and her mother come up with some doozies.) And finally, if you were the newly departed, what would be an appropriate toast to you?

The prizes range from having your name used as a character in the fourth Isabel Long book — yes, there will be one after the next, Checking the Traps — and signed copies of my books.

We also had a couple of discussion prompts with no prizes involved.

I am chuffed, as my UK friends say, at who showed up. Partygoers came from all parts of my life: family, people I knew in high school and college, fellow authors, and friends. It was a worldly group with people from the U.S., all over Europe, and Australia. Thank you all.

Now for the prizes: I’ve been going over the entries. I am down to the finalists in each category. It’s hard choosing the winners. Dang, people were so smart.

BUY THE BOOK: If you love mysteries, you might love mine. Here’s the link to buy it in Kindle or paperback. http://mybook.to/rednecksrevenge

And if you do, please leave a review on Amazon (and GoodReads) to help get the word out. I would be so thankful.

A REAL PARTY: I will be doing a reading in person Saturday, Sept. 29, 4 p.m. at the Worthington Library, Worthington, MA. I am planning an event for Shelburne Falls, MA, sometime in the near future. Stay tuned.

6Ws, Author Interview, Isabel Long Series, Redneck's Revenge

6 Ws with Me

Today, I am turning the tables on myself and answering the questions for my 6Ws series. I’ve been inviting fellow authors to participate, so why not me? After all, Redneck’s Revenge, the second book in the Isabel Long Mystery Series, is being released Sept. 26. Here’s the link: http://mybook.to/rednecksrevenge.

And, dammit, this is my blog.

Here are my responses to my 6Ws — who, what, when, where, how, and why. (How does end with a W.)

Who is author Joan Livingston?

I have had many roles in my life. The first of four kids. A second-generation American of Portuguese heritage. The first to graduate from college. Wife (twice). Mother of six. Grandmother of two.

For a while, I moved around a lot. I’ve lived in big cities and very small towns, which is my preference and the setting for much of my fiction.

But when it comes to words, I was a journalist for thirty years — rising from a correspondent to managing editor of an award-winning newspaper.

So now I am an author currently immersed in my Isabel Long Mystery Series.

I have struggled with the business side of writing. I’ve gone through two agents and a countless number of rejections from publishing houses. I’ve tried self-publishing. Crooked Cat Books is the publisher for the first three books of Isabel Long Mystery Series. (Yes, there will be more.)

But rejection doesn’t stop me from writing because it’s what I love to do.

What do I write?

Right now I am immersed in the Isabel Long Mystery Series. As stated above, the second has a Sept. 26 release. Chasing the Case was released in May. The third, Checking the Traps will be published by Crooked Cat Books in 2019. Last week, I found inspiration for the fourth. I am terribly excited.

But I write in other genres. A few of my books are what I would call literary fiction. I have also written a series for middle-grade readers and a bilingual series for children. A good percentage of these books have not been published.

When did I begin writing?

I began writing as a child through the encouragement of great teachers. In college, I wrote poetry because, to be honest, I could not sustain a thought in prose. Then I had a writer’s block that lasted 25 years — much of it while I was mothering six young kids. My first semi-break was when I became a reporter covering a rural area in Western Massachusetts. But I didn’t start writing fiction until I became an editor. The block broke for good and it is a rare day I don’t write fiction.

How do I write?

I just sit at the computer and let the words all come onto the screen as fast as my fingers can type them. I don’t plan ahead or use any programs. No outlines. Without sounding like a totally crazy woman, it’s a rather telepathic experience.

Sometimes ideas come to me as I am falling asleep or doing some brainless chore.

Of course, there is rewriting. Sometimes I will stop part way, print out the pages and see how I’m doing. I might decide to add a scene. Or I will note as I go along a detail that needs to be resurrected later.

I liken rewriting to taking up a daydream and making it better.

As for the time of day, I usually write very early in the morning, but if an idea hits me, I will write later in the day.

Where do I write?

I can write most anywhere. I believe I developed my powers of concentration working in busy and noisy newsrooms. But my favorite spot is a desk my husband, Hank, built for me. He was on a job site when a woman told him to throw out old boards that were used for shelving. It turns out they were black walnut. He’s also built me great wooden storage units for the top of the desk. Then there are the funny bits of things, rocks and figurines I’ve collected.

Why do I write?

I write because I can’t help myself. It is definitely my form of expression.

More about Redneck’s Revenge:

Her next case. She’s in it for good.

Isabel Long is in a funk months after solving her first case. Her relationship with the Rooster Bar’s owner is over. Then cops say she must work for a licensed P.I. before working solo.

Encouraged by her Watson — her 92-year-old mother — Isabel snaps out of it by hooking up with a P.I. and finding a new case.

The official ruling is Chet Waters, an ornery so-and-so, was passed out when his house caught fire. His daughter, who inherited the junkyard, believes he was murdered. Topping the list of suspects are dangerous drug-dealing brothers, a rival junkyard owner, and an ex-husband.

Could the man’s death simply be a case of redneck’s revenge? Isabel is about to find out.

Other published works: Chasing the Case; Peace, Love and You Know What; The Sweet Spot; and The Cousins and the Magic Fish/Los Primos y el Pez Mágico.

Find them here: Joan Livingston books on Amazon

Joan Livingston on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoanLivingstonAuthor/

Twitter: @joanlivingston

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JoanLivingston_Author

Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/Joan_Livingston

One last thing: Join me for the Facebook launch part Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2 p.m. EST wherever the heck you are. I will leave it up for 24 hours so people can pop in when it’s convenient. Here’s how to connect: Redneck’s Revenge Facebook Party