Order in Chaos

By Nancy Jill Thames

What's the saying? "If I only knew..."

Perhaps it's best I didn't know all the ins and outs of publishing a mystery series when I began three years ago. For instance, when I update with a new book like "The Ruby of Siam," all the previous books need to include the new title. (Six books times four versions equals twenty-four changes right there.) But that's why I hire a formatter like Rik Hall up in New Brunswick. No worries thanks to this man.

At times I got so confused trying to update all the files my office was truly in chaos. Then I made a sign: One Book at a Time. Seems to work. These past two weeks I've rewritten Book 2 "The Ghost Orchid Murder." I'm excited about the edits my writing coach has suggested. Now I begin the process of uploading the new file to Kindle, CreateSpace, Nook Press, Kobo, and Smashwords. 

There's a new platform I recently became aware of called Google Plus which is like Apple iTunes. What fun it will be to see the response from that site.

For this weekend, however, I'll shut down my computer, tidy up my workspace and curl up with my iPad to watch a few "Murder She Wrote episodes on Netflix. Somehow I can't face another printed word. What's your favorite way to unwind on the weekends? If you haven't tried the Jillian Bradley Mysteries you may enjoy reading about her adventures helping solve homicides along with her Yorkie companion, Teddy. 

Book 1 "Murder in Half Moon Bay" is free on all platforms.

Enjoy your weekend, dear readers.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill Thames

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames has published Christian fiction since 2010. The author of seven books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List. In addition, she won first place in her church's 4th of July celebration for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers' Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW),  CenTex Chapter ACFW, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. She resides with her husband in Leander, Texas.

CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

If you would like me to sign your ebooks please click the link.
 I love technology!
Authorgraph 

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY on your ereader for free!

Kindle  Nook  Smashwords  Kobo

Into The Home Stretch, If I Don't Lose My Mind First

Okay, it’s going to be a short post today, because I am slowly losing my mind! Well maybe not slowly if I don't figure this out.

I hate it this happens.

I’m stuck on a plot point, and it’s just not any plot point, oh no. It’s the plot point that makes the whole plot point in the right direction to solve the mystery plot.

Sorry, got carried away with the plots and points there.

Now normally, I would talk this out with someone, but I can’t do that here because it’s really, really critical to the plot, and if I tell anyone it will give the whole thing away.

I mean Chasing Lady Midnight is done, ready to go to the beta readers and then on to publishing, except for this one thing. The one thing that if I get it wrong, will mess up the whole plot! Trust me, I’m a writer. I know these things.

I am  going have to do a lot of praying.

I don’t mean to complain, but when I do these fantastic story lines (hey this is cozy mystery with superheroes) it has to make sense to me. Because if it doesn’t make sense to me no else is going to get it. I can’t just throw something in that makes no sense. Even though it doesn’t exist, like super powered people running around in spandex, it still has to be logical in the world I built. The “because I said so” that my mother was so fond of just won’t cut it. 

However, since people will spend money on this book, at least I hope they will, be assured that I will figure this out.

Of course once I get this book done  I have to figure what a Woolley Weegie is.

It never ends.

Mystery 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. Although that is where she got her idea for The Secretary, she is not an evil mastermind. Although some of her former employers might disagree. These days she contents herself with knitting while contemplating her next diabolical plot. Story plot that is.

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

Blog and Facebook Headers--By Linda Kozar

The Cutest Blog on the Block and Shabby Blogs are two of my favorite places to acquire blog headers, backgrounds, buttons, blinkies, pretties and everything else. I also use them for my Facebook pages. The reason I like using these two sources? They are absolutely free. Kudos to these two fantastic, creative and wonderful playgrounds! What? Playgrounds? Yes, the word aptly describes a visit. I ooh and ahh like a guest at a baby shower whenever I visit these pages. And these are pre-Pinterest!

Linda'a Facebook Page

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Shabby Blogs

Using this for my main Facebook Page. I'm still working on one for my Facebook Author Page.

How to customize a blog/FB header from Shabby Blogs:

Click on design
Click on headers (scroll down)
Chose your favorite header* (your favorite design might not be the right design for your blog)
Download the header to your computer
Click on tutorials
Visit FotoFlexer 
Upload the design to FotoFlexer
Customize your blog header

You can add pictures from your computer and text, change fonts, text and background colors and so much more.

Using these resources can help any writer make a positive impression on friends, family, and fans. Had to share!

Mom-preneurs and other Sleep Deprived Friends

Entrepreneur hours aren't 9-5. Not if they want to be successful.

Recently another writer chastised me for having my computer on while my husband was home. I admit, it stung. The implicit message was that whatever work I was doing on the computer wasn't as valuable as whatever I might have been doing for or with my husband.

Fortunately for me, my husband does not agree with her. He knows that it takes more than full time hours to start and run your own business...and when you are hand-creating the product you sell (ie writing the novels you publish) it takes even longer.

I love the term Mom-preneur. It signifies that Mom is also a full time job. Staying at home to raise your children and running a business isn't all together too different from having a full time job and starting a business on the side. In other words, in both of those situations you will both burn the midnight oil and burn the candle from both ends!

That was me, last night. (And many, many other nights.) I had the idea to create a Cozy Mystery Magazine Sample book many moons ago and finally had time (or finally created time) to finish it.

The other amazing authors on this blog provided their samples, covers, bios, photos, and legal permissions, and I put it all together. It's in approval stage right now...first to Nancy who spearheads the blog, then to the other authors.

After that I will publish it to Smashwords for free to be distributed to all of the online bookstores. As soon as it arrives on those shelves it will be published to Amazon (so that it can be made free there as fast as possible.) It will also be available for any of the authors here to give away from their blogs and hopefully from this blog as well! Until then, here's the cover...I have to say, I'm rather fond of it!

Traci Tyne Hilton burns the midnight oil writing The Mitzy Neuhaus Mysteries, The Plain Jane Mysteries, and other things like a Shaker Romance (coming winter 2013.) She has two zany daughters in gradeschool, a chicken with post traumatic stress disorder, a duck with entitlement issues, a dog who won't stop sleeping on the couch and a very nice husband who doesn't mind (usually) if she has to work while he is at home.

The Evolution of Book Covers-by Linda Kozar

My latest release, Alligator Pear, is an inspirational gothic romance set in 1942, Post WWII New Orleans. After writing, revising and editing my 100,000 word book over and over, I came to the point where I had to decide on a cover. Instead of hiring a graphic designer to do the job however, I decided to design my own cover.

A few months earlier I had designed my own Facebook app using Pic Monkey and Short Stack. Pic Monkey is a website where you can add to or alter photographs, make collages, etc. In that relatively brief period of time, I'd played around with a few ideas on the site and learned how to use it. I made a Facebook badge and tried out a few creative collages.

But I realized that I would need high definition photographs for my next project: book covers. So I began my search for the perfect photos on various stock photo sites. Shutterstock proved to be the perfect place. I found two photographs (see above) that I thought would work for the cover. The first  photo depicted what appears to be a swamp, which I found appropriate since there is a pivotal scene in the novel that takes place in one. The second photograph is a wrought iron fence, which I also found appropriate since New Orleans is known for its wrought iron balustrades, fences and balconies.

Next, I imported each photo (one at a time) and used the label features on Pic Monkey to create interesting borders for the title. I saved each in best quality. For both ebook and print books, the dpi for photos has to be high quality. And I would be publishing in both ebook and print formats.

Both covers looked great. But now I was faced with a new challenge--which one should I use?

I polled my friends and fellow authors. Most people chose the wrought iron fence. The reason? They found the picture intriguing and mysterious. So I went with that one.

But then--I was faced with another difficulty. Ebook cover size on Smashwords is 1600 x 2400--the size I formated each cover. Whew! But Amazon EBook dimensions are slightly different 1500 (at least) x 2400. So I had to change the size in Pic Monkey. CreateSpace (the POD--publish on demand) option on Amazon has a whole different set of instructions. I would need a front cover and a back cover. Oy!

So I went back to Pic Monkey and transformed the swamp picture into a black and white to use for the back cover. That way I would be able to use both pictures, which pleased me since I love both. But the front cover I created for the ebook version would not work for the print cover. The label was too wide. I had to go back to the drawing board on Pic Monkey. I chose an oval label that would more easily fit within the more stringent dimensions. I designed the new cover, uploaded it and voila--done!

Alligator Pear is available for Pre-Order NOW on Smashwords and is being offered at a reduced price for those who order now. To preorder, add it to your Smashwords Library and on the release date, enter this coupon code when you purchase the book in order to receive the discount.

Order on Smashwords

Coupon Code: YP83W (not case-sensitive) Enter this code to pre-order Alligator Pear for $5.99 before September 25th when the ebook releases at $6.99.

The official release date is September 25th, 2013. Alligator Pear will also be released on Kindle on this date.

Alligator  Pear will be available to purchase in print format on Amazon any day now. It passed the approval process and generally takes 5-7 days to appear on Amazon.

Here's an excerpt:

Alligator Pear, by Linda P. Kozar
an excerpt from Chapter Fourteen...Blue Ribbons

"Without warning, the canoe slammed into the soft earth of the embankment. He caught her in his arms as she bounded forward, the bulky camera between them. She pushed away at once, or almost at once. But the few seconds it took to part from his muscular frame, lingered longer than it should have.

They pushed off the embankment with their paddles and continued on, but a silence followed. Her heart thumped against her chest so hard, she wondered if he could hear it. She decided to concentrate on the scenery to take her mind off of him.

Cypress tree limbs clothed with honeysuckle dripped perfume on their heads as they glided past. Saw Palmettos winnowed insects, both common and exotic. Animals trilled, rattling through leaves large as elephant ears. Bubbles and pops resurrected from the murk of the water. A still, stealthy feeling, like a shadow followed them.

Was it the story? How laughable. More the breath of imagination than methane; conjecture more than conjure. She found herself shivering nonetheless. All of a sudden, she wanted to leave this tomb of plants and animals long dead, as if lingering too long would absorb her as well. Even as they paddled out of the darkness, she shuddered away an inward urge to escape, as if casting off…what?"

Linda Kozar is the co-author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith (Hardcover/eBook, Howard/Simon & Schuster 2009) and author of Misfortune Cookies (Print, Barbour Publishing 2008), Misfortune Cookies, A Tisket, A Casket, and Dead As A Doornail, (“When The Fat Ladies Sing Series,” eBooks, Spyglass Lane Mysteries, 2012). Strands of Fate released October 2012 (Hardcover/eBook, Creative Woman Mysteries), and her nonfiction title Moving Tales, Adventures in Relocation, released in 2013 (Indie-Published). She received the ACFW Mentor of the Year Award in 2007, founded and served as president of Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas ACFW chapter for three years. In 2003, she co-founded, co-directed and later served as Southwest Texas Director of Words For The Journey Christian Writers Guild.

In addition to writing Linda is Lead Host of the Gate Beautiful Radio Show, part of the Red River Network on Blog Talk Radio—interviewing Christian authors from Debut to Bestselling, airing the 3^rd Thursday of every month. She and her husband Michael, married 24 years, have two lovely daughters, Katie and Lauren and a Rat Terrier princess named Patches.

Represented by: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Agency

Member of: CAN (Christian Authors Network), RWA (Romance Writers of American), WHRWA (West Houston Romance Writers of America), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas Chapter of ACFW, Toastmasters (Area 56) The Woodlands, Texas, The Woodlands Church, The Woodlands, TX.