As all writers know, promotion is a necessary part of being an author. Necessary if we are to sell our books. Though I can’t speak for ever author, I know that I’d much rather be spending my time writing.

Because I have a new book out, Tangled Webs, I’ve been working hard on promotion. The first thing I did was plan a blog tour which takes a lot of time: finding hosts and setting up the calendar, writing a new post for each place I’m visiting, and sending it off along with a photo of the cover and one of me. The tour begins on October 26^th here: https://jlgregerblog.blogspot.com and the topic is “Character Development.”

I’ve been doing several in-person events with more to come: book festivals and craft fairs, mystery panels, and speaking engagements. (I actually enjoy doing these.)

In an effort to interest readers in the series, the publisher has made the first book, Final Respects, free on Kindle from November 5-7. In order for this to work, of course it has to be promoted heavily and I found many sites who do this, some for free, some for a fee. https://www.amazon.com/Final-Respects-Rocky-Police-Department-ebook/dp/B078KFKPJX/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539027654&sr=1-1&keywords=final+respect+by+f.m.+meredith

Of course I’ve promoted on Facebook, Twitter and my own blog. How much good any of this does, I won’t know until I hear something from the publisher. And speaking of the publisher, I’d like to share what he printed in the front pages of Tangled Webs.

“Tangled Webs is the 15^th book in the F. M. Meredith’s  Rocky Bluff Police Department series, and—as you can see on the copyright page—had a publication date of 2018. Final Respects, the first book in the series, was published in 2002, and we at Aakenbaaken & Kent were working on a second edition of that first book just a few months ago. So, we have in effect, been reading this series from both ends. And what stands out are the characters—how real they seem, how they grow and change as real people do, and how—after many books, we realize they are like friends.

In addition to engaging characters, Meredith also delivers unerring pacing, plotting and dialogue. It is no wonder this series has continued for so long and has so many devoted fans.”

Needless to say, I was thrilled.  And with such praise, I will continue to promote as much as I can.

Marilyn, who is also known as F.M.

Because I have two books that will be appearing shortly, plus other publishing work—I’ve been going this way and that. It’s been important to try and prioritize, not always easy.

My next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery is due out this month, I’ve seen the cover and approved it. I’ve a blog tour coming up starting in October—so I’ve spent lots of time gathering hosts and thinking up topics to write about.

The first of the blogs are:

October 26   http://jlgregerblog.blogspot.com/  Character Development

October 27  https://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com A Sane Person Would Have Given Up

October 28   https://www.susantuttlewriters.com  Why I Love Speaking Engagements

October 29   https:amymbennetbooks.blogspot.com Where Some of the Ideas Came From

October 30  https.www.jtzortman.wordpress.com/  Rocky Bluff the Setting for Tangled Webs

The short blurb for Tangled Webs is: Too many people are telling lies: The husband of the murder victim and his secretary, the victim’s boss and co-workers in the day care center, her stalker, and Detective Milligan’s daughter.

October is a month of public appearances too. October 1, I’ll be speaking with other authors in front of librarians. On the 13^th, I’ll be at the Great Valley Bookfest in Manteca, and I’ll be on a panel at 3 about Getting Published. On the 14^th, at 6 p.m. I’ll be over on the coast with other crime writers speaking to group of retirees.

That’s not all, there is a lot going on with my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series too. The next mystery will be coming out soon too—Spirit Wind. The publisher is redoing the first five books in the series, and they’ve been reedited too, so I’ve had to go over the galley proofs for them.

Here’s a sneak peak of the cover:

At the moment, I haven’t made any special plans for the debut of that book, though I certainly will when it comes closer to time.

And in the meantime, as if I didn’t have enough to do, I’ve been working on a plot for the next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery.

One thing about being so busy, I am never bored.

Marilyn

A Real Mystery Solved and Future Planning

If I were to write a story about what happened, it would be titled “The Case of the Missing Bible.”

Bibles aren’t something you expect to an item a burglar would steal–not even this one which is great—it has notes explaining the content at the bottom of each page. I have many other Bible but this is the one I use every day. But the other morning I noticed my Bible was missing. I always keep it in the same place—and I use if first thing in the morning, reading at the table my computer is on. Afterwards, I put it back.

Because I’ve been known to misplace things, I searched everywhere I could think of. It wasn’t anywhere. I began to think about who had been here. My granddaughter had popped over early in the a.m. to get me to print something from the computer for her, which I did. And I vaguely remember her leaving with a black book under her arm. Yep, though she didn’t remember picking it up, she had it. You might think that odd, but this particular granddaughter is a preacher’s wife and often carries a Bible around with her. Mystery solved.

Now, to future planning. Though plan often go astray—I still plan ahead. I haven’t had a new book to promote for a while. I have turned in a new Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery to my new publisher and it’s gone through some editing. I hope to see a proof soon. In the meantime, I’m planning some promotion for earlier books in the series.

And I’m nearly finished with my latest mystery in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. It has been held up because of editing the first four books in that series, and all the editing I had to do for the early books in the RBPD mystery series. They are all getting a facelift which in the book world means new covers. So I’ve been working on some promotion for those earlier books while I’m waiting for the new one to be published

Once both those books are out, I’ll be promoting like crazy. I have some great events coming in October—I hope I’ll have one of them ready by then.

And after roasting all summer in Central California, I’m hoping September will be cooler.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

Marilyn who also writes as F. M.

PS: The new cover for Intervention, the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, is my favorite.

So busy, I’m late once again.

The life of this author has been jam-packed. So jam-packed I have not been able to finish the book I’ve been working on. Not all bad, because I had other writing jobs to do that actually pay money.

New covers for my earlier books in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series have come in for my approval and I’m delighted. They are wonderful.

And my favorite:

Though I’ve missed two of my regular writers meetings this month, I did get to go to the fabulous Public Safety Writers Association conference in Las Vegas, and it was the best ever.

We had lots of fantastic presentations from the best self-editing guide I’ve ever heard, first hand accounts of gun fights, lots of information on poisons of all kinds, plus other writing topics.

The most moving of all, though, was a first-hand account from a firefighter/EMT who’d gone to the outdoor concert next to Mandalay Bay with a group of friends. His brother was wounded, and after getting him out of harm’s way and on his way to the hospital, he remained in the parking area doing triage, giving medical help, and sending those who could be saved off to a hospital. The details were heart-wrenching.

Someone asked him how he knew what to do. He said, “All my training kicked in.” That’s something to remember as we write about first-responders.

I’ve copies of my newly edited and with new covers of the first four books in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series too. I am ready for my next in-person event which comes up in August.

My personal life has been busy too—doc visits for hubby, regular household chores, a birthday party for a great-grand, some nice dinners out, and just living.

What about you? What’s happening in your life?

Marilyn