Isabel Long Series, Redneck's Revenge

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 Rednecks Revenge smallvariety 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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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/

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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.

 

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Isabel Long Series, New release, Redneck's Revenge

Getting Ready for Liftoff

The official launch of Redneck’s Revenge, the next book in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, is getting oh so close. It’s a week away — Wednesday, Sept. 26 — as I write this. The launch may even be closer if you are reading this another day.

And I am using this post to remind my dear readers about the launch party on Facebook.

What the heck is a Facebook launch party? To tell you the truth, I had never heard of them until I signed with Crooked Cat Books, which is based in Europe. Suddenly, I was attending virtual launch parties via Facebook for fellow authors around the world. Really, it is the only practical way to do it since they live in various parts of Europe, Australia, and the U.S.

My first was May 18 for the launch of Chasing the Case, the first in the Isabel Long Mystery Series. I prepared contests and discussion prompts. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, and I was chuffed, as my UK friends say, when so many people from different parts of my life played along.

I am hoping for the same Sept. 26. The party starts 2 p.m. in the eastern time zone in the U.S. I will be actively partying until 4 p.m. But I will leave everything up for 24 hours for friends living in other parts of the world and those who have a boss looking over their shoulder. I will pop in as well, especially later in the day when the Aussies join the party.

This is a public event. The more the merrier. Here is the link to say you are interested or plan to go: Redneck’s Revenge Facebook launch party

About those those contests: I will be giving away signed editions of Chasing the Case and my other books, plus a couple of lucky winners will have their names used in the fourth Isabel Contest 1Long book I will start after I finish the third — Checking the Traps. (The names of few winners from May’s party appear in Checking the Traps. Paul Roberts and Sue Lehman have pivotal roles in that mystery. There’s also a little girl named Helen, plus dogs named Gus and Apples.)

Don’t worry if you are new to this. It’s not really different than commenting on regular Facebook posts, except you might win a prize and my gratitude for your support.

LINKS: Here are the links if you are inclined to buy my books. Both are available in paperback and Kindle.

mybook.to/chasingthecase

mybook.to/rednecksrevenge

 

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Isabel Long Series, Redneck's Revenge

Music to Read By

My new mystery, Redneck’s Revenge, has its own soundtrack. Nothing fancy. Basically, it’s whatever the bands are playing at the local bar, actually two in this novel, the second in the Isabel Long series. I’d say it’s a mix of country, rock, and a bit of blues. Think covers of songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alabama, Allman Brothers, and just about any country star or band that’s got a danceable beat.

There’s the Rooster Bar and Grille in Conwell, the hilltown where Isabel, a journalist turned amateur sleuth, lives. Then there’s Baxter’s, a biker bar in another fictional hilltown, where she goes to meet people connected to her second case. What’s that one about? A woman hires Isabel — for free mechanical service — to find out what happened to her father, an ornery SOB who owned a garage and junkyard. The cops say he was passed-out drunk when his house caught fire. His daughter says he was murdered.

Both the Rooster and Baxter’s are country bars and for their towns, the only bar. They attract folk who like to drink, dance, and socialize — and sometimes get into trouble.

In Chasing the Case, the first book in this series, Isabel took a part-time job bartending at the Rooster. When Redneck’s Revenge opens, she’s lost that job and a romance with Jack, the owner, for reasons I won’t divulge here.

Both bars host local bands. Often, they play Fridays at the Rooster, then Saturdays at Baxter’s as if they’re on a hilltown circuit. Some bands are good. Some are not so good. But if they play tunes that get people on the floor, they might get asked back.

Here is an excerpt from Redneck’s Revenge. Isabel is at Baxter’s to do a bit of research for her new case. Isabel’s companions are the woman who hired her, plus the woman’s cousin. A man who was eyeing Isabel earlier that night asks her to dance. By the way, Sam was her late husband.

Oh, why not. I get to my feet and hold out my hand. “Ramblin’ Man” is not one of my favorite dance songs, but it’ll work.

I let my dancing partner take the lead while we make steps around the floor. If I were to rank him, I’d say he was on par with Jack but not as good as Sam. Actually, it’s fun dancing with a perfect stranger.

The song ends, but before the next one begins and I can escape, he leans in to say, “Name’s Dave. What’s yours?”

“Isabel.”

“Never seen you in here before.”

“It’s my first time,” and before he or I can say more, the Country Plowboys are working up Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock.” Now if there was ever a heart-pumper of a song, this is it. Heck, I’m not gonna turn this one down. Dave grabs my hand without asking. He knows what he’s doing, so I just go along, moving back and forth, a twirl here and there. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d spun me over his back, but thankfully, he doesn’t.

At the end, the County Plowboys call it quits for a short break. I thank Dave and before I can leave him behind, he says, “Maybe we can dance some more later.”

I nod and smile. Isabel, what the hell are you up to?

One song has a particular significance in this series: Waylon Jenning’s “Good Hearted Woman.” Jack originally coaxed Isabel onto the dance floor with that one. And although Isabel was amused — the song is about a woman who will put up with anything her bad boy of a guy will do — it becomes a thing between the two of them.

It’s unfortunate I can’t use the lyrics in my novels because of copyright laws. But my hope is that readers remember the tunes and just hum along with the words I wrote.

Redneck’s Revenge’s official launch is Sept. 26. Here’s the link to get your paperback or order a Kindle version: mybook.to/rednecksrevenge

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: Buildings along the Buckland side of Shelburne Falls Village, where I live, are reflected in the Deerfield River. Floodwater Brewing Co., soon to be opened by our son, Zack, is located in the building painted yellow along with the one with the porch next to it.

 

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