Paperback Versions of Anastasia Raven Mysteries

All four Anastasia Raven mysteries are now available in three volumes as paperbacks! I gave in to the Amazon giant and did this through CreateSpace which was quite easy to use, actually.

Although I've had good sales with the e-books it all seems more real with physical copies in my hands!

For a limited time you can get all three for only $30, plus $4 media mail shipping to US addresses. This is a savings of $3 off the cover price, and if you are in Michigan, I'm even paying your tax for you (an additional $1.80 savings). These will be signed copies. This offer will be good until November 1, 2014.

Email me, or tell me in a comment that you are interested.

Paddy Plays Enrolled in Smashwords Summer Sale

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Smashwords is running a Summer Sale for the entire month of July. I've enrolled Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp for 25% off. This means that if you choose to buy this book from Smashwords during July, you'll be sent a coupon code and the book will cost only $2.24 if you use that coupon.

Even if you haven't finished reading the first two books, July would be a great time to buy Paddy, and save some change!

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp is Published!

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp is ready for purchase!

It's available right now at Smashwords, and Amazon. Keep in mind the Kindle format is offered at Smashwords too.

Cost is $2.99- not as cheap as News from Dead Mule Swamp, but it's longer, and hopefully better written. It's still a great deal, and this price is in line with comparable mysteries.

Thank you, faithful readers, and enthusiasts who wanted to read more about the adventures of Anastasia Raven. Enjoy!

Synopsis:
When Anastasia Raven agrees to keep Paddy, her cousin's Irish Setter, for the summer, she didn't understand the mischievous nature of a large puppy. As a volunteer with Family Friends, she meets Corliss Leonard, and his granddaughters Star and Sunny, whose mother disappeared seven years ago. The girls fall in love with Paddy, but can the dog solve their problems?

Previously in the series:
#1- News from Dead Mule Swamp
#2- The Hollow Tree at Dead Mule Swamp

The Value of Multiple Beta Readers

cover design by Farah Evers

 
The editing of Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp is in full swing. I asked four people to beta-read the manuscript. Two are men and two women. Two had read the previous Anastasia Raven books, and two had not.

My hope was that this would give me a good variety of feedback, and that the readers who hadn't read the earlier stories would catch flaws related to providing enough background so that the book could stand on its own. I think it worked really well!

I've now processed the notes from all four readers. I have to admit that I'm quite impressed at the quality of their comments and honesty where things were confusing. Places where multiple people found a passage difficult were better than red flags. These sent up rockets of warning that I needed to fix something. Things that seem crystal clear when I wrote them may look muddy to someone whose brain works differently from mine.

Most of their suggestions I've taken to heart and tried to provide clarification without wandering down bunny trails.

It amazed me that each of the four people caught small errors and typos that the others didn't. It's SO easy to read right over mistakes like that. Having many eyes on a manuscript can help reduce the number of those kinds of goofs. We all make them, and it seems nearly impossible to get them all out. Yet, we should all strive for a professional final product.

Of course, the final decisions concerning how much to add or take out are mine, for better or worse. For example, I'm not on board with the current trend to take out almost every instance of the word "that." I've cut a lot of them, but personally, I think some sentences just sound stupid without it. OK- that's my little hissy fit for the day.

Seriously, if you are writing a book or a story, don't let yourself get bent out of shape over the idea of constructive criticism. Welcome it, listen to what people tell you, and think carefully about each of their suggestions.

Tomorrow, I'll start reading Paddy through once more, for any final changes I want to make.

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - First Draft Done!

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Now the serious editing begins. I do edit as I go. I'm not a writer who just forges ahead with words and worries about how it sounds later. I almost always read the previous chapter or two when I start a new one, and edit them, to get the flow of the story going. I almost always read back through the entire story a couple of times while it's still in progress, which keeps me from leaving out important things, or forgetting something that happened earlier and then contradicting it.

This method doesn't lead me to a perfect first draft, but a better-than-rough draft. I know there are a few things to fix. Elements I need to add back in, for example. A hint here and there, the description of something, things like that. Then there are always typos, grammatical errors (not too many, I hope!), too many "that"s, dialogue with talking heads...

But I have promised the MS to my beta-readers by April 25, and I should have it to them before that. Maybe in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I'm working on a small surprise for fans of Anastasia Raven. Stay tuned.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapters 32 and 33

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Two more chapters done! That leaves only one more and the first draft of Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp will be complete!

I had to work today, but got home in time to write. Since these final scenes were all laid out in my head, they were easy to write. However, I think there are some risks with writing this fast. In fact, I think it's easy for self-published authors to make this mistake. Sometimes it seems that authors get in a hurry to finish a book and the last few chapters become rushed. The writing is less polished, there are more typos, and there might even be small missing elements that would wrap the story up better.

Several books I read recently were good, but they could have been much better with some independent feedback. Sometimes the difference between an OK book, and a really good one, is in just a few details.

I'd like to seriously guard against those kinds of mistakes, so I'll be reading this section over with what I hope will be an eagle eye. I also have four beta-readers lined up.

Tomorrow, I plan to write the final chapter. It contains the kinds of housekeeping details needed to tie up loose ends for readers, preferably with a solid "period," rather than just a bit of a whimper. Then, I'll start re-reading the whole MS, hopefully in just one or two sessions, so I really get a feel of the flow.

Everything looks like it's on track for a June 1 release.

Paddy staring at me from Farah's cover has just kept me writing his story!

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapters 31 and 32

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Two more chapters completed! These are the climax of the mystery, with a fair amount of action. I'll read it all through again tomorrow to make sure it makes sense. This is the first time I've ever tried to write a scene like this.

I had a pretty good idea in my head of who would do what at each step, but until you write it out it's hard to choreograph it all in your head. However, it worked out even more smoothly than I thought it might. Tonight I'm pleased. We'll see how it reads tomorrow!

There are only two or three chapters to go! Loose ends to tie up. People will want to know what happens to several characters even after the crisis.

I'm looking for one more beta reader, preferably someone who hasn't read the first book. I need to be sure this one will stand on its own merits. Leave a comment if you are interested. I'll need the MS back by May 20.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Two Chapters and an Oops

cover design by Farah Evers

 
I'm so stoked about being close to finishing Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp. I've completed chapters 29 and 30!

However, I spent most of yesterday afternoon fixing a big oops! I'm sure the beta-readers would have caught it, but I'm just as glad to have found it earlier. I've been tracking the book time in a spreadsheet, but hadn't gotten it up to date for quite a few chapters. For some reason, I decided to do that yesterday. Good thing.

I discovered that in the current week of book time I had Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Saturday. Oops! Well, there were no spare days in there to move action to, so I had to squish two of them together because Saturday had to be Saturday. I succeeded, but the lesson is, keep track of this stuff as you go.

Unless, of course, you are writing a book with a time warp. I'm not.

Tonight is my writing group, and I'm way back on Chapter 11 with reading to them. That's ok too. I appreciate any feedback they have.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 28

cover design by Farah Evers

 
I'm trying really hard to stay focused with the hope of finishing the first draft of Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp in the next couple of weeks. Then it will go to some beta-readers, and come back to me for revisions.

I'm also hoping to be gone hiking for part of May, so I want this to all be set in motion before I leave. If the feedback is in when I return from my hike I'll be able to do the editing, and formatting and have this book ready for a June 1 release.

This seems feasible, if I keep writing, so I hope you'll excuse me now!

Sorry... I think we are too far along to be giving excerpts any more. If you are just finding this journal, go back a few posts to find samples from most of the chapters.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 27

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Rolling right along, but I've had trouble making time to write this week. In fact, I'm supposed to be working on something else right now.

I'm feeling the itch though. The end of this book is actually in sight. Unless the characters surprise me, everything plays out from here in just a few scenes.

I also uploaded new copies of News from Dead Mule Swamp to Smashwords and Amazon, to correct some typos and add the Library of Congress number.

We are getting close to where I probably shouldn't be posting excerpts, but I think we are fine just yet.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 27:

    Star began, “I didn’t like that brother and...”
    “Hey, wasn’t that Dad’s truck?” Sunny interrupted with a loud voice, twisting to try to catch a better look at the black truck that had just sped past us, going south on Kirtland.
    “Can’t be,” said Star. “He said he was going back to Chicago, that he had to be at work today.”

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 26

cover design by Farah Evers

 
At first, this chapter wasn't coming together. But I thought about it for a few days, and slowly the scenario came to me that made perfect sense to come up next.

It's now written out, and I'm still thinking it works pretty well. Because this story line is less linear than the one in News from Dead Mule Swamp, there are side issues that need to be dealt with. They seem extraneous to me, because I know where the story is going. However, I know the reader will not know the final outcome at this point. All the threads have to be followed.

I think the next few chapters are all set in my head.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 26:

    “She was younger than I am. Not much, but it always seems like a lot when you are in school. She would sometimes tell me that she dreamed of having a pretty flower bed, or decorating a bedroom in pink for you two. As it was, you were lucky to have a bed instead of a mattress on the floor.”
    Star’s face was stony. “We’re not stupid little kids, you know. We’ve heard a lot of things this week. Talk about drug dealing. Why would we have to sleep on the floor if Mom had lots of drug money?”
    Paula took a breath. “OK,” she said. “I’ll be honest. You are old enough to hear the truth. But none of what I said was a lie. Not at all. Your mom loved you very much."

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapters 24 and 25

cover design by Farah Evers

 
I've been dabbling at this all week, but finally had serious time to devote to writing. Mostly, this was a matter of word crafting, as I had a clear idea of what needed to happen.

So, I crafted, and typed and finally got to the end of the event. Total words, 2895. Whoa! Suddenly, I have two chapters. That's fine, the number of chapters is nothing important.

I'm currently reading a book by one of my favorite mystery authors, Rita Mae Brown. Now that I'm writing mysteries myself, I'm paying more attention to techniques of other writers. Some of her chapters are long and some are short. There's no rule for length. Personally, I try to have each chapter cover either one event or one day, or one emotional package, with something that either adds to the suspense, or perhaps to character development.

This block of words splits nicely into two sections.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 25:

    Clearly, no one had been here for ages. The weeds grew tall and were unbroken around the sad, but once proud old building.
    On the opposite side of the road, the river side, an opening had formerly been cleared to the river. I thought it must have been done to provide river access to the house. A faint trail led through a swath of daisies and Queen-Anne’s lace. Paddy was already poking his way along it, and I followed him. Sure enough, the river was very close, and the bank had been cut to provide a sloping access to the water. If there had been a dock it was long gone, a victim of winter freezes and spring floods.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 23

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Today I read chapters 19 through 22 over, without interruption, and guess what? Chapter 20 is finally smooth and fits well with the rest of the narrative. The little changes I've worked in over the last couple of weeks have fixed it. Thank goodness!

So, I moved on to Chapter 23. It was one that was all set in my mind as to what should be in it, so there were no false starts, and no wavering. I just needed to accomplish two things, with good dialogue and descriptions.

I think, from now on till the end, I know exactly what needs to happen. However, this is writing. I could still be surprised.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 23:

    He paused and shifted his weight. “You manage to hear a lot for a newcomer. That’s pretty old news.”
    “I’m not trying to pry. I did start asking about Angelica, just to be able to talk to the girls without putting my foot in my mouth.” I grinned. “And people tell me all kinds of things.”
    “That’s probably true enough.”
    “So, do you want to tell me about it?”
    “There’s not much to tell. We used to have a pop machine back then, and a candy counter. Larry walked over here one evening, looking to buy a can of pop, but the machine was out of order. I think he must have been high on something because he went berserk.”

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapter 22

cover design by Farah Evers

 
It's been one of those busy weeks. Combine that with another bit of waffling as to just what should be in this chapter, and it took me five days to get Chapter 22 written.

Despite some early uncertainty, this chapter come together well today, and required me to add in a bit to that questionable Chapter 20. Actually, 20 is getting better. I have one more thing to add to it for sure. And, if I can figure out a reasonable confrontation that will fit, I'll add that too, and break it into two chapters. Hopefully, by the time any of you read it, you'll never notice a break in the suspense.

So, the suspect pool has widened, Ana is in up to her neck whether she wants to be or not (of course, it's a mystery right?) and now things will begin to play out.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 22:

    Geraldine got right to the point. “I haven’t seen you in church lately, Ralph,” she said sharply.
    “We talked about that, Dini,” explained Adele in a rush. Dini was Geraldine’s nickname, although I suspected she didn’t care for it very much. Geraldine was a large, proud woman, and the diminutive “Dini” didn’t fit her. “He’s on the church membership roll, and there’s nothing in the by-laws requiring regular church attendance to be on a committee.”
    Ralph leaned forward and took a chocolate donut, while staring intently at Geraldine.
    There was more tension in the room than I understood.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapter 21

cover design by Farah Evers

 Whew... I haven't lost the thread of this story, or my "touch," or whatever. Chapter 21 came out of my fingers into the keyboard just fine.

After struggling so with Chapter 20, I was beginning to worry. I am starting to get vibes of some things that will make that miserable chapter more interesting and will widen the suspect pool and build some suspense. I'm sure it's redeemable.

Meanwhile, I'm sailing ahead again.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 21:

    “Leave the dog home,” Milford ordered.
    I didn’t argue, but took Paddy inside and shut him in his kennel. “Sorry, boy,” I said. “The detective isn’t a dog lover.”
    The three of us hiked back to the river once again. I pointed out the lack of unusual tracks on the path we followed, and then how they covered the bare dirt at the roped-off area. Milford grunted, and the technician went to work, pulling out equipment to take casts.
    “Where’s that cigarette?” Milford asked.
    “This way,” I said, and led the way upstream along the river bank. We found the butt with no problem. It was lying in the mud, and didn’t seem to have been disturbed since I had put it out. The detective pulled out a small camera, snapped several photos, and scooped the cigarette up in an evidence bag.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapter 20, and some thoughts on modern publishing

cover design by Farah Evers

I've been struggling with Chapter 20 all week, and I'm still not very happy with it. However, it's time to leave it and move on to Chapter 21. Maybe when it's bracketed by parts I like I'll be able to see what's wrong with it.

The first time through, I left out an important piece, so I had to go back and weave it in. I think something more significant needs to happen, but I'm not sure at this point what that would be.

Since this chapter is likely to change, perhaps significantly, I don't think I'll include an excerpt.

Instead, I'm going to comment on a blog post made by Dougie Brimson, author of Billy's Log, at Why I love my readers (and why their reviews are so important!)

He says:

"Of course there are people who would never review a book for all kinds of reasons. The usual three being ‘I wouldn’t know what to write’,’ I’d be embarrassed’ or ‘I can’t be arsed.’ But by thinking in this way they are actually missing out on what to me is one of the most exciting elements of the ebook revolution and that’s the potential for the reader to become directly involved in the publishing process... And speaking as an author, reviews have other benefits. One of which is that they help me to decide what to write next."

I think this is one of the most interesting parts of the e-publishing revolution... the instant feedback. For example, When I wrote News from Dead Mule Swamp, I included several local people who became friends of Ana. I generally planned that those characters would continue to show up in subsequent books. However, as feedback began to come in, obviously readers loved Cora Baker.

Chatting with my husband the other day he said with some surprise, "You've changed what you are writing because of what people said?"

In response I explained that I wouldn't go quite so far as to say I changed anything, since I already had the plot of this book pretty much worked out. However, I did make sure that Cora makes more than a short appearance, and that her friendship with Ana has a chance to grow.

So, feedback has certainly had an impact on my writing. Not to mention the encouragement from people who liked the first book. Without that, I probably wouldn't have continued. What you think does make a difference!

Action item of the day: go write a review of a self-published book you've read. I'd love it if you'd review one of mine, but it will help the entire publishing industry if you review a book or two.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapters 18, 19

cover design by Farah Evers

Saturday night I got a brain wave for a small element to add to this story which serves several purposes.
1. It brings Cora into the story more (something readers of the first book wanted)
2. It provides an emotional relief from Chapter 17
3. It creates a piece of the final outcome that will be satisfying to the reader

Once I decided how to make it work, I sat down to write yesterday afternoon, and it just exploded onto the screen. I ended up with over 3000 words, and since the chapters in this series are generally short, I split it into two.

Now, I'm ready to buckle down and get back to the main theme and the emotionally heavier part of the story.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 18:

    By the time I got some food collected and Cora had returned the papers and photos to their files it was eleven o’clock. We decided to go to the park first. We didn’t want to waste any time, so just took the paved roads, crossing the county on School Section Road and turning north on Kirtland till we reached the turnoff to Turtle Lake. During the drive, I filled Cora in on my conversations with Star and DuWayne. She shared my concern for the girl, but her body language made it clear that she still didn’t have much use for DuWayne.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapter 17

cover design by Farah Evers

Finished this chapter on Saturday. I knew exactly what had to be in it. Which leads me to digress a bit about how I organize my thoughts for writing.

I was asked, by someone I was chatting with on my trip East, if I work from an outline or how I know what goes where in the story.

I guess the idea of an actual outline is mostly in my head. I do have a file with general notes- scenes that I think might be good, interesting names, snippets of conversations, but what I actually write down in terms of organization is a list of chapters.

It's easy to divide the story into bite-sized pieces with generally what happens in each one. These are the central events in chapters. I put them in sequence and write them down. That doesn't mean they are set in stone. In Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp, already, one chapter had to be broken in two, another potential chapter was shrunk to a few sentences and tacked on the end of another one.

Just last night, as I was getting ready to start Chapter 18, I got a brain wave for a small interesting development to add to the story, so that bumps all the original chapter ideas ahead one number. It's just a list to organize the sequential flow of the story, not a rigid plan.

As for Chapter 17, it's another emotional one, and when I finished writing I was really wrung out. For a "light" mystery, this one is having its heavy moments. Here's an excerpt (but I'm deep enough into the story by now that I don't want to give things away with the excerpts):

    Paddy had been crouched at my feet, not barking, apparently trying to understand the angry human voices he was unaccustomed to hearing. I'd almost forgotten him. Now he stood up and nuzzled my hand. Suddenly my knees were weak, and I collapsed into an easy chair. The dog put his head in my lap.
    "Now what, Paddy?" I asked, as I stroked his silky ears.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapter 16

cover design by Farah Evers

This chapter has actually been done for a while. I've been out of town for a week and didn't write at all during that time. Actually, that's not strictly true. There was a lot of car time and I worked out more details for upcoming chapters in my head. No words were put into the word processor, but progress was made.

Anyway, this chapter was written one night before I left, when I couldn't sleep.

I'm itching to get to creating the next one. The number of "Likes" for Anastasia Raven on Facebook is increasing, and I hope I started a couple of new ripples of sales while on my trip. Obviously, if I have more than the one book available, sales are going to do better. So, I'm really eager to get "Paddy" ready to go.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 16:

    Just as the last of the light was fading, Detective Milford walked in the kitchen door. He seemed to have taken over the house as his base.
    “Mr. Leonard, let’s go in the living room,” he said. It wasn’t an invitation; it was a command.
    Len nodded and stood up stiffly. The men left the kitchen, and I looked at the girls. They both looked very tired.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapter 15

cover design by Farah Evers

I keep wondering if these recent chapters are "working." But I let chapter 15 sit for a day, and just re-read it, and I think it's basically solid.

I have two people from my local writing group who are going to read everything I have written in sequence, and then provide feedback. This should be extremely helpful.

Don't think that I'm just being self-deprecating and uncertain of my ability to write a good book. I've recently read a couple of self-published e-books that were quite good, but both of them would have been even better, excellent, with a bit of cleaning up. I think that if the authors had taken time to get some reaction from other people those improvements would have been made. We so often have blind spots in our writing, or we only see one possible interpretation of a sequence when there could be others.

I've come a long way from the days when I thought that everything I wrote was perfect, and I didn't want anyone to "mess" with it. If you are reading this, and you knew me when... you can start cheering now.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 15:

    “That’s helpful, at least,” Milford admitted. “Stay in groups of two, but I’ll keep the girl and the dog with me.”
    I assumed I was included with the dog. We continued straight east, while the two Sheriff deputies veered southeast. Tracy and Tom angled to the northeast. We walked silently for a few minutes, until Sunny said, “I don’t remember this place at all.”
    We had reached the edge of some open water with standing dead trees breaking from the surface and clawing at the sky. There was a small island about a hundred yards away. On the shore, practically at our feet, was a small broken rowboat, turned bottom-up.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon