Announcements!

Hi Everyone
Just a break in the action to make a few announcements. Don’t worry, Lady Midnight and company will return next week where one of the most puzzling mysteries will be solved.
Lady Midnight – How did she get that name?
Well I’m going to tell you…next week.
To the announcements.
The next book in The Reboot Files, The Great Scarecrow Invasion, is going to the Beta Readers! I have set a release date for Spring 2013. I checked the almanac, and the summer Solstice, or the first day of summer, is June 21, 2013. I’m aiming for the end of May. I have spoken!
Seriously sorry for the delay, but life kind of got in my way on this one. Then I’ll be starting on book six, “What is a Woolly Weegie?” Trust me, it’s terrifying. Or at least as terrifying as I can be. (Hey! I hear you laughing!) Anyway, this is the one where The Secretary’s true motives are revealed and she’s scarier than the monster! Isn’t she always?
I am planning on wrapping up The Reboot Series, (hey it’s got to end sometime, unless I change my mind) on Book 7 which has a working title of Nabal’s Gold. Where the final epic confrontation between Irene Waters and The Secretary will take place. Who will win? As soon as I get it written I’ll let you know.
So the Lady Midnight story has worked out better than I thought it would. Seriously, I didn’t know how a cozy with superheroes was going to go. I guess it's a cozy. Well anyway, there is a mystery going on, they just don’t realize it yet. They think they know everything that is going on, but they don't. Maybe it isn't a cozy. Whatever.
Anyway what I decided to do is to continue to post the story on my blogs and stop at a logical point. Then I will gather the chapters together, figure out what genre it is (sigh, I always have this problem) and for convenience sake, offer it for download (for free) on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc. as an eBook. Then in the winter of 2013 I will release the continuing adventures of Lady Midnight in a new novella which I’ll offer for sale.
So that’s all of the announcements for now. Tune in next week for the next exciting chapter of Chasing Lady Midnight.
Bye and God Bless!

Mystery and adventure writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Cozy Mystery Series, and a superhero story called Chasing Lady Midnight. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. A big secret from her past, which is not so secret anymore, is that she used to a major comic book geek. Nowadays she loves to crochet, but she is still a big fan of the old Scooby Doo cartoons.

Cindy posts on her own blog called Short Mysteries and Tall Tales at http://shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com as well as The Cozy Mystery Magazine on http://cozymysterymagazine.blogspot.com

Her Facebook Authors Page is located at http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale/219184744858421

 

2012 - It Was An Up And Down Kind Of Year

So 2012 has come and gone and if no one else is going to say it, I am.

GOOD RIDDANCE.

I admit, I may be a little biased on this subject. After all my mother did pass on this year, and that does tend to color your perception just a bit.. 

So wanting to be fair, kind of, here are some of the Ups and Downs of 2012.

UP:

Facebook went public, people got rich.

DOWN:

For about 2 seconds

UP:

We had the London Olympics.

DOWN:

And it only cost about $17 billion dollars. That’s one estimate, it’s probably a lot more.

UP:

We had a presidential election. It’s an up, remember not everybody in the world gets to do it.

DOWN:

It was the most expensive, and dirtiest, presidential campaign ever.

UP:

The New York Stock Exchange had a resurgence.

DOWN:

A lady name Sandy came to visit and left a huge bill in both dollars and human lives.

UP:

Some governments, not ours, got serious about getting themselves out of the mountain of debt they had gotten themselves into.

DOWN:

People protested, because no one wants to give up any or the goodies they are going into debt for!

That's a few, and I'm sure you have your own Up and Down 2012 list. I also know I’m leaving out a lot of the worst stuff. That’s purposeful on my part. But then I’m probably leaving out a lot of the good as well. 

Anyway it’s a new year, so in the words of Charles Dickens…

GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE. 

Because we're going to need Him. But then don't we always?

 

Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Mystery Series. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories with just a bit of whopper in them. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. She loves to embroider and knit and is a big fan of the old Scooby Doo cartoons.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.

www.shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale219184744858421

 

THEY'RE BAAACK....

My characters are back and talking to me again.

Now just by way of explanation, in case you haven't read back far enough in the posts, I am not a crazy writer who hears voices...well maybe I am but that has nothing to do with this post. You see when I write, and I get a little off in the plot, my characters start to talk to me to put me back on the right path. It's just a tool my imagination uses to help me through the rough patches.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway my main male character, Troy Stenson, decided he didn't like the title of my latest book in progress, The Straw Man Myth.

You know sometimes I wonder why I invented this guy. Well I know why I invented him, I needed a Watson for my Sherlock, the beautiful, cool (do you always be right?) Irene Waters. Still, for someone who's make believe Troy sure has a lot of opinions.

Imaginary men. They're always starting trouble.

Anyway, this all started when I decided I needed some inspiration for this story, which involves
creepy scarecrows, so I found this little guy:

I know, he doesn't exactly fill your heart with terror, but seeing that my books aren't exactly scary either I figured he was the perfect inspiration, and he was. The plot began to come together far easier than it had been, and I'm really happy with it. There will be several revelations in this book as follows:
 
Irene's techno sister Matty will have an expanded role.

Just who Bernie aka Barnaby Youngstown is and what his issues are with The Records Department will become clearer.

And last, but not least....

The Voice will be identified! That's right, God finally let me in on it! Yes, it's a character I've already established in the other books and I hope it's a shocker for you. I would hate for it to be a let down, but I can only promise to do my best.

However, the only thing that bothered me was the title didn't seem right anymore, and that's when Troy decided he had the perfect title which he decided to pop into my head. I'd know that man's voice anywhere, because I made it up. So what is his idea?

The Great Scarecrow Invasion!

The what???

Now I've had some bad ideas in the past, but The Great Scarecrow Invasion? Maybe there's a reason  I'm blaming it on Troy.

I mean it's cheesy, it's terrible, it sounds like a bad 50's monster movie.

IT'S PERFECT!

So that's the title now, The Great Scarecrow Invasion. No more changes. It's just bad enough to be good. Coming as soon as I get it done.

And Troy is very happy.

But Irene, not so much. That girl takes this all very seriously.

Oh well, I guess you can't please all the imaginary people.

Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Mystery Series. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories with just a bit of whopper in them. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. She loves to embroider and knit and is a big fan of the old Scooby Doo cartoons.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.

www.shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale219184744858421

The Holidays Are Almost Here...Oh My

A (slightly) Exaggerated View Of My Reaction
To The Realization That The Holidays Are Near

I see from various posts on this blog that the Holidays are almost upon us and I have just three words to sum up my situation.

I…am doomed.

Don’t get me wrong, this year is going to be tough due to the recent passing of my mother. Thanksgiving especially was her favorite holiday. Odd to me because until she got too sick to do so, she did all the cooking. Of course, we all showed our appreciation of her labors by gaining five pounds each in one sitting. Still, she loved it.

Christmas is going to hard as well, but we have little kids in the family and they deserve the holiday. Still, although I am sure with time it will be easier, there’s going big hole that’s never going to be filled again.

But not why I’m doomed.

You see every year, even after she got sick, Mom made the Christmas candy. Now I’m not talking about the marshmallow chocolate fudge that even I couldn’t mess up. We have that too, but I’m talking about the BIG one. The family tradition, the one we got once a year and which everyone could hardly wait for.

The Buttermilk Fudge.

Now don’t let the name fool you. This is the good stuff. True, to me as a drink Buttermilk is to be avoided at all cost, but as an ingredient, especially in this recipe, it is fabulous. I do not exaggerate. So what’s it like? Well, it’s sort of like a praline, but not as pretty. The first time they see, most people take a look at it, wonder what that brown is, and wait until there is no sugar left before they even venture to try it. Then it is gone it under a minute, and then they wait all year to get more. Providing I can hide some from my family. They do have first dibs.

So why am I doomed? 

Well realizing for the past couple of years that Mom was not up to the manual labor involved in the recipe, there's enough stirring involved to wear your arm out, I helped her. Okay, I wanted the fudge too.  However, I made a fatal error. Last year, feeling particularly optimistic, I asked Mom to let me make the fudge. Which I did, under her supervision of course. You see the last time I tried making the fudge on my own I ended up with buttermilk fudge soup. Needless to say, it didn’t go over well.

You see this is real candy making folks. Candy thermometers, the big dutch oven pan, soft ball stages, a wooden spoon must be used…I don’t why, but it must be a wooden spoon!
Fortunately, under Mom’s watchful eye, it turned out right, and of course I had to brag and tell everyone that I made it. Well this year, Mom is not here to supervise, and guess who’s making the sacred family fudge.

All…by…my…self.

That’s why I am doomed.

Not that I'd get kicked out of the family if I mess it up, again, at least I hope not, but I might be forced to hand over the recipe, the dutch oven and the wooden spoon.

So will I share this recipe with all of you? Let’s see how it comes out and if I can get a decent picture. That way, if I botch it you won’t be forced to witness my shame. But who knows? With the Grace of God (I’m going to need it) the fudge might turn out all right.

For now, as said by Gir from the Invader Zim show “Let’s Sing The Doom Song!”

Doom, da...doom, da…doom da...doom, da…doom...

Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Mystery Series. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories with just a bit of whopper in them. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. She loves to embroider and knit and is a big fan of the old Scooby Doo cartoons.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.

www.shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale219184744858421