Celebration # 31 ~ It's a 3 on 1 Day

 Celebration!

Final Day of October and the final day to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

Is it worth it? You betcha!

#1 of 3

Today, another writing guide for those writers who are realistic about the time-sucking requirements of jobs that pay the bills.

Discovering Your Novel, a 52-week course that offers a plan for success. Pair it with a planner!

Available in ebook and paperback.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PYYM2LG

https://books2read.com/u/boakv9

#2 of 3

Make a weekly inspiration for writing with The Write Focus podcast.

We’re currently in the series Enter the Writing Business. If you would rather read than listen, 14 of the episodes from our three years are collected into the guidebook A Messy Miscellany for Writers.

#3 of 3

A Messy Miscellany for Writers is available in ebook and paperback. 

14 Transcribed episodes from The Write Focus podcast. Hopefully, soon, an audiobook.

https://books2read.com/u/38ezzB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6Y5GWG2

Celebration # 30

 Celebration!

It’s the 2 final days of October and the last 2 days to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

I’ve have NOT managed to celebrate every book, but I came close. Besides all the books I’ve posted this month, I have a handful more that I won’t manage to work in.

However, today’s focus is another guide for writers:

Discovering Your Author Brand

To hook readers, writers manipulate cover imagery, titles, and the back cover market copy (blurb). Discovering Your Author Brands has the keys to present your brand for a book, a series, and your writing self.

Available as an ebook. For paperback lovers, Discovering Characters is bundled with 3 other guidebooks in Discovering Your Writing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S

View the trailer for Discovering Your Writing here: https://youtu.be/hTVQn92kNBk

Celebration # 29

 Celebration!

I have only 3 more days of October to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

This celebration focuses on my M.A. Lee pen name only! I’ve haven’t touched the 3 novels & single novella under one pen name or the 3 more novels (epic fantasy!) and 7 novellas under another pen name. Wow, that’s a lot of writing in seven years.

Today:

The Dark Lord, a touch of gothic, a touch of mystery, a touch of romance.

Everyone knows there’s no such thing as ghosts.

Tell that to the two ghosts haunting Elizabeth.

~~~

Currently The Dark Lord is available only as an ebook. As soon as I complete The Bride in Black, I will combine these two novellas into a book bundle. Sign up for my newsletter to receive a notification when I publish the bundle. winkbooks@aol.com

https://books2read.com/u/38yprZ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TQ22DNC

This book is the new direction I'm heading (in addition to the directions that I'm taking Isabella and Flick & Michael).

A Touch of Gothic, a Touch of Mystery, A Touch of Romance

The next book will be The Bride in Ghostly White. These two books will pair for a Regency / early Victorian set.

Then I'm exploring the Renaissance world followed by the Georgian world. Who knows what will come after these six books? 

I made a mistake with the cover of this book. I did a cover for myself ~ it was all wrong. My faithful cover designers rescued me with the cover above. Here's a little glimpse of my original cover. Image, Atmosphere, Fonts, Titling Choices ~ all wrong whereas the cover above, it's perfect. All thanks to Deranged Doctor Design!

Celebration # 28

 Celebration!

I have only 4 more days of October to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

Today, the continued collaboration with 5 recent short stories, all featuring Isabella Newcombe Tarrant, collected into Sailing with Mystery:

Mystery and peril are dangerous shipmates for an ocean voyage.

While travel presents opportunities to meet new friends and see new places. Isabella also encounters puzzling crimes and dangerous intrigue as she sails from England to India.

"Amber Dreams"

Blackmail threatens a young bride when her secret diary is stolen. Her marriage of convenience is threatened if the contents are revealed to her new husband and his autocratic mother.

Can Isabella recover the diary before the bride loses all hope?

"Purple Poison"

A flurry of poison pen letters unsettle the passengers on the ship Nomadic. Even Isabella is not immune from the vicious invective.

Will the culprit be discovered before tragedy occurs?

"Black Heart"

Pranks and tricks cause inconvenience, misery, and embarrassment.

After one prank goes too far and injury occurs, will Isabella locate the trickster before the next mishap turns deadly?

"Silver Web"

Lady Bernhardt’s diamond necklace is stolen. Other jewelry is missing. Suspicions and accusations fly among the passengers of the ship Garipoola.

Then the thief dies in the freak accident, proof of his theft in hand. Will Isabella locate his accomplice and the missing jewelry before they reach the next port?

"Red Mask"

A disturbing letter falls into Isabella’s hands—only to be stolen again before she deciphers it.

The letter claimed that a spy is aboard the Garipoola, but is that the only person hiding their true identity and purpose on the passenger ship?

These mystery short stories were an odd challenge. Because they're short stories, I wanted to avoid murder mysteries. I managed that, but I did have one death.

Research took more time than I anticipated. Learning about passenger ships in 1920 required delving almost constantly into my sources. One internet site saw my visits every time I worked on a story.

The itinerary should have been simple--and wasn't.

Yet I enjoyed writing these stories and even had one character demand a series of short stories in a later decade. I'll leave you to guess who that character is.

The best part was selecting the watercolor images for the covers of the short stories to represent what Isabella paints throughout the ocean voyage.

View the trailer here: https://youtu.be/csAe72b5X2I

Links to buy are here:

The Zon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCK9N1R9

worldwide https://books2read.com/u/3R5QJR

 

Celebration # 27

 Celebration!

I have only 5 more days of October to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

Today, a collaboration of sorts of 10 short stories:

1st 5 Stories

Into Wild Sherwood ~ Dangerous Faeries Lurk in the Forest

Pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham and his guards, five people take refuge in the wilds of Sherwood Forest ~ only to encounter the Faeries of British legend.

“Tod the Fox and the Faeries in the Ring”

Never enter a Faerie Ring. The Faeries like to play.

With the guards of Nottingham on his heels, Tod flees to wild Sherwood Forest. Frightened in the night, he falls into a Faerie Ring.

Faeries play with their catch, whether in the Ring or on the Wild Hunt. How can he escape them?

~ ~ ~

“The Poisoner and the Faerie Huntsman”

Never reveal weakness to a Faerie.

Escaping a false accusation of poisoning, Melly and her hound seek refuge in Sherwood Forest ~ yet the Nottingham guard who accused her is on her trail.

That night, she encounters the black hounds of the Wild Hunt. Then the Huntsman arrives.

Has she fallen into greater trouble?

~ ~ ~

“Three Yule Feasts for Faeries”

Will the cook become the final dish?

Yule, the worst time of year for Ellen Best. Few buy her breads at Market. No one will hire her for their Winter Feast.

Then a Faerie knocks at her door. Two dinners, he proposes, and a final feast for his duchess. After each, she’ll receive three purses, copper and silver and gold.

What did the Faerie mean by final feast?

~ ~ ~

“Friar Tuck and the Faerie at the Pool”

No one escapes from Faeries.

After visiting the hermit of Sherwood, Friar Tuck seeks the coolness of a forest pool. There he encounters a Faerie.

She is wondrous and strange and deadly. How can he convince her that he is a man of peace, unlike the guards and rangers who hunt in the forest?

~ ~ ~

“Alan-a-Dale and the Harp of Elandrielle”

Who can trust a Faerie?

The song competition at Nottingham’s Winter Feast offers a purse that will pay Alan-a-Dale’s debts. He wins the first night’s round … offending his competitors who take revenge.

At his lowest point, a Faerie finds him. She offers him a bargain—yet who can trust a Faerie?

~ ~ ~

Available in ebook and paperback.

https://books2read.com/u/bOzoDE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YX79TMH

Trailer https://youtu.be/O9qWTwRZgoI

 

2nd 5 Stories

Outlaws of Wild Sherwood ~ Faeries inhabit the wild forest.

Five men encounter the Outlaws of Wild Sherwood and the Faeries of British legend.

“A Twist of Faerie Magic”

A twist of murder. A twist of Faerie magic. And Dav the wrestler caught between.

When Dav is accused of murdering his true love’s husband, will magic reveal the true culprit?

~ ~ ~

“A Faerie Song for a Feast”

Masks, Mummers, and a Faerie Song

Alan-a-Dale risks playing a song learned in the land of Faeries to help Robin Hood and his men. Will the song help or hinder the outlaws?

~ ~ ~

“Mischief of a Faerie”

A Challenge with Quarterstaves

When his sister names a bearded giant as her newborn’s father, Arthur storms off to force Little John to support them. Yet how can a simple poacher defeat a man taller and stronger than he is?

~ ~ ~

“The Green Man”

A Venture with Destiny

Bad luck has plagued Jack Greenleaf for years. Abandoned, evicted, and rejected, he joined the other outcasts in Sherwood Forest. The Green Man of the Faerie may seal his fate.

~ ~ ~

“The Prize of a Golden Arrow”

By Hook or Crook or Arrow

Gil vowed never again to take up the long bow. Then he learns the May Day archery contest is a trap to capture Robin Hood. He resolves to foil the Sheriff’s plan.

~ ~ ~

Available in ebook and paperback.

https://books2read.com/u/4Aj99N

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B92V1PKT

trailer https://youtu.be/aCftiZFqq1E

Celebration # 26

 Celebration!

I have only 6 more days of October to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

Today:

The Into Death bundle of the first three novels featuring Isabella Newcombe

The Great War is over; peace reigns. Yet Isabella Newcombe encounters murder.

Digging into Death

Budding artist Isabella Newcombe finds herself stranded at an archaeological dig. Madoc Tarrant convinces his brother Prof. Gawen Tarrant to hire Isabella as the dig’s illustrator.

Romance is inevitable. Murder is not.

With everyone under suspicion, who can Isabella trust? One of the professors? A student? Gawen Tarrant, needing not only a reputation but also money? Or Isabella’s former employer, who pretends he isn’t after artifacts?

Or is the murderer Madoc, protecting his brother’s dig at all costs?

Has Isabella found true love only to lose her life?

Christmas with Death

Christmas is for miracles, merriment, and murder.

Over the holidays, Isabella Newcombe and her friends mingle with the British upper-class at a country estate. Then a philandering party-goer is murdered. Suspects surround them.

Did Tommy Gresham’s fiancée kill him? His possessive girlfriend or her uncle? The wealthy financier or the vengeful war hero? Was it the spiteful artist. Or someone unknown, blackmailed by Gresham? Or was it Isabella’s friend Cecilia, covering up an old affaire?

Hatred. Obsession. Revenge. Jealousy. Desperation. Which motive caused Gresham’s death?

Can Isabella discover the killer before her friend Cecilia is arrested?

Portrait with Death

Isabella and her friend Flick stumble upon the body George Webberly, a teacher at Greavley Abbey School. Someone bludgeoned him.

Murder motives abound. Suspects increase, including fellow teaching masters, a former soldier haunted by the nightmares of the recent war, ladies who were rivals for Webberly’s attentions, and jealous husbands. Could it be a fisherman, the pub owner, or the local constable? Or someone else, someone unknown?

Who killed George Webberly? Can Isabella find the answer?

Or will a murderer paint with more blood?

Into Death is available in ebook only.

https://books2read.com/u/baDN1L

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MRBNCH7

 

Celebration # 25

 Celebration!

I have only 7 more days of October to celebrate the 8^th anniversary of my writing journey. I published my first three novels in October of 2015.

Today:

Portrait with Death

Isabella and her friend Flick stumble upon the body George Webberly, a teacher at Greavley Abbey School. Someone bludgeoned him.

Murder motives abound. Suspects increase, including fellow teaching masters, a former soldier haunted by the nightmares of the recent war, ladies who were rivals for Webberly’s attentions, and jealous husbands. Could it be a fisherman, the pub owner, or the local constable? Or someone else, someone unknown?

Who killed George Webberly? Can Isabella find the answer?

Or will a murderer paint with more blood?

Available in ebook and paperback.

https://books2read.com/u/b6vrjZ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0973GVKSQ

Trailer https://youtu.be/6cfEOGy-fXQ

 This book swirled in my head for a solid year before I broke down and wrote it. I didn't want to say goodbye to Isabella. Somehow, in the writing of it, I discovered two new characters to take me through the Jazz Age as well as a new direction for Isabella.

And here I am ~ Isabella stories in written the Summer of 2023 and Flick & Michael in Death Comes Calling, currently swirling in my head.