As I’ve noted before, there is writing and then there is the business of writing. You pour your creative energy into a book, but then how do you get the word out so people read it? As a hybrid author — three of my books are with a publisher and the rest are self-published — that can be a bit of a conundrum. I felt that after publishing Finding the Source, the eighth Isabel Long Mystery, and unlike others in the series, this one had zero sales in the UK. Thank you readers in the US and elsewhere.
I decided to call in for help. So, on the recommendation of my friend Val Penny, an author who lives in Scotland, I signed up for a blog tour with Lynsey Adams’ Reading Between the Lines that starts today, Sept. 8, and runs until Sunday, Sept. 14.
During this week Finding the Source will be featured on many blogs, including Q&A interviews, reviews, and excerpts, all with the purpose to entice new readers. You can see the full lineup above.
So what’s Finding the Source about? Isabel Long is a private investigator solving cold cases in rural New England. Her next begins after a chance encounter with Tom McKenzie, a homeless man, who says he was 12 when he found his mother murdered in their home. Abby McKenzie was a well-liked seller of vintage books who owned a store in the hilltown of Dillard. That was 43 years ago and the case was never solved.
One obstacle is that several of the suspects are dead, including an avid book collector, a former town official who stalked her, and the man who last saw her alive. Another is that, once again, Isabel must deal with Dillard’s police chief, who ran interference in her other cases.
But that doesn’t deter Isabel nor her mother Maria, her partner in solving crime. She just needs to find the source who will unlock this case
And here’s a scene from Finding the Source. Isabel meets Tom McKenzie at a restaurant where she treats him to breakfast as they talk about the case. How is a homeless man paying for her detective work? Ah, you will have to read the book to find out.
“Why don’t we start. What can you tell me about that day?” I say.
“I was the one who found her,” he blurts.
“That must’ve been so hard.”
He shakes his head as he swallows.
“Yeah, it was. Real hard. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her.”
“I know this is difficult but tell me about it.”
Remarkably, Tom goes into detail about finding the door to their home still locked although his mother’s car was in the driveway. He went for the extra key they kept hidden beneath a flowerpot after his mother didn’t answer his knocking. Tom had stayed overnight at his father’s house since it was school vacation week. He also thought it odd the window shades were down still in the front windows when his father dropped him off mid-morning because she always pulled them up after she woke. Their dog, Rudy, was barking his head off in the backyard. At that point, Tom wondered if his mother was sick, which would have been too bad because they had planned to walk down to the village to eat at the diner. Her store was closed Sundays and Mondays.
I scribble key points on my notebook while maintaining eye contact, something I had to do as a reporter. You want to be engaged, but the cost can be messy writing. If it was a long interview, I recorded it. In those days I used a small tape recorder. Now, my phone does it for me.
“When I got inside, I called for my mother, but she didn’t answer.” He pokes his food with his fork. “I walked through the kitchen to the hallway then the living room and then her office. That’s where I found her lying on the floor next to her desk. Her face was bloodied like someone had hit her hard a lot. Blood was on the floor around her head. I knelt beside her. When I called and touched her, she didn’t move. Her lips were blue. I listened to her heart, but I didn’t hear it beating.” His voice cracks. “I knew she was dead.”
Here are the links to Finding the Source for Kindle and paperback:
Amazon USA – https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Source…/dp/B0F8JLJ5CW
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finding-Source…/dp/B0F8JLJ5CW/