Murder at Magic Lake--Pre-Orders Up!

 I've taken the plunge and set up pre-orders for Murder at Magic Lake. The official publishing date is September 15th, three weeks from today. Pre-orders are currently only available for the eBook; I'm still waiting for the paperback cover from the designer, but it should be ready soon. Since this is a new series, I'm running a special promotion price of $0.99 through September 22nd. Click here for the universal book link. The eBook is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Google Play. Here's the blurb:

After losing her job, twenty-nine-year-old Abigail Ritter isn’t looking forward to returning to her hometown of Magic Lake, Wisconsin, for her grandmother’s birthday party. All she has to offer her family is her own special fruit juice and tea blend. But when Grandma suffers a fatal accident in her apartment building, The Grand, Abigail’s cousin Brian is blamed. Abigail will have to step up and investigate with the help of her best friend Sam, an intriguing detective, and a magical stuffed fox named Sherlock. Abigail’s got a plan for the Grand and its shuttered restaurant, but will she solve the case or drown in a sea of suspects?

Cozy Fantasies and Cozy Mysteries

If you've been following my blog for a while, you may have noticed that although my prime reading/writing genre for a long time was fantasy, lately I've been reading and writing more cozy mysteries than anything else. A lot of it has to do with the "cozy" part. In these unsettling times, the main emotion I want to experience in my reading is comfort; warm things like books, tea, food, and crafts; and a sense of community. However, I've been drawn to comfort/cozy books for a long time. One of my first favorite fantasy series was Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series. For a fantasy world, Haven felt like a very comfortable place, with creature comforts like heated baths being readily available. Some of M.C.A Hogarth's Pelted Alliance books also feature comfortable settings, but some of them go to surprisingly dark places. Then there's hopepunk like Susan Kaye Quinn's When You Had Power. I recently read Becky Chamber's A Psalm for the Wild-Built and found it as comforting as a cup of tea. Both of these books are science fiction. It seems like this trend may transcend genres, though there are many genres incompatible with coziness.

Do you like cozy settings, or do you prefer other genres? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Mid-Month Mysteries: Murder at Magic Lake Cover Reveal

 

 

I've had the eBook cover for Murder at Magic Lake for a few weeks, but I think it's finally time to reveal it. I went through 100covers.com this time since I was able to get a sale: only $100 for an eBook and print cover package. I think they did a great job of creating a cover that fits with the cozy mystery genre:

In addition to the covers, the package also included a 3D image and a social media banner that I'll use on my website and perhaps a Facebook page for the series when it's more established. In the meantime, I'm doing another edit on the book. I'm a little nervous about publishing something in a new genre, so I want it to be as good as I can make it with the resources I have. Once the preorders are set up on all the eBook stores I use, I'll announce it here and on Facebook.

IWSG: Favorite Writing Books

 

 

It may be August, but with kids heading back to school this month, it feels like fall and summer are butting heads. Hope you're enjoying the month no matter what type of weather you're having.

With a new month comes another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Learn more about them on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed. Our hosts this month are PK Hrezo, Cathrina Constantine, PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, and Sandra Cox.

Here's our question for August: What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why?

It's been a long time since I've read the Writer's Digest books, but as you can see from the photo below, I have several of them in my library. Some of the books that I learned the most from are Dibell's Plot and Orson Scott Card's Characters & Viewpoint. These are books I read when I was just starting out as a writer, so they helped me with the basics. I also recommend The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger as a counter to the traditional hero's journey popularized by Joseph Campbell. 

 

What are your favorite writing books? Feel free to share them in the comments.