Publicity

Little Free Library Love

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I started noticing them a few years ago – one at a petting farm last summer and one in Mt. Horeb, WI (the troll capital of the US). I thought they were cute, but there weren’t any near my house or any that I passed on a daily basis. Then I realized I had 2 boxes of leftover ARCs of The Darkness Knows (and a new book coming out in less than a month), so I pulled up the old little free library map. I started to go hunt out LFLs I could visit on my lunch break at work, but there are only so many of those.

Then this past Saturday I found myself with a whole day of not much to do and some beautiful weather, so my 8-year-old and I went on a little free library scavenger hunt in southern Wisconsin. It was a blast – and truly a hunt, since we had to find most of them by GPS coordinates. I left a signed TDK in each and picked up many middle grade books for Kate (along with a few books for myself). I think we’ll do it again next weekend. I’m also seriously considering getting a little free library of my own. Now I just have to convince the husband that it’s a good idea to have strangers stop by our yard…

You can find LFLs near you on this handy map.

And if you’re inspired to get your own you can build your own from plans or order them fully assembled or in kits.

If you have an LFL and you’re in NE Illinois or SE Wisconsin let me know. I’ll stop by with a book!

 

Book #2 Has a Cover!

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Homicide for the Holidays_Cover

So here it is – the cover for Book #2 in the Viv and Charlie Mystery Series, HOMICIDE FOR THE HOLIDAYS! As you can see, the Sourcebooks marketing/art department has gone for more of a cozy mystery feel and really played up the Christmas setting of the book. A lot of reader comments that Sourcebooks and I have gotten about THE DARKNESS KNOWS have been along the lines of “cozy” and “fun” (which is exactly what I intended it to be!), so Sourcebooks wanted the cover of the second book to reflect that feedback a little more.
Before you ask, no, I don’t have any input on the cover. 🙂 I saw it myself for the first time last week, but I do get to tell them whether I like it or not. (I do.) What do you guys think?

The actual physical ARCs (advanced reader copies) of HOMICIDE FOR THE HOLIDAYS should be available in the next 2-3 weeks for review purposes.

Here’s the link to the book on Goodreads so you can mark it as to-be-read (if that’s your inclination).

It’s also available on Amazon for pre-order.

 

 

My TV Debut!

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Well, it’s my debut if you don’t count the kids news show in the 6th grade or the time I was interviewed at the airport for the Philadelphia news (long story). Anyway, I had the pleasure of appearing on Chicago PBS station WYCC‘s Fall Mystery Marathon in November. I had a lot of fun talking about The Darkness Knows, old time radio, Chicago, my writing process, and how my daughter thinks I’m famous. All six parts are below (each are only 2-3 minutes long).

My Interview on the Nostalgia Digest Podcast

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microphone

 

 

I had a fabulous time talking Old Time Radio with Steve Darnall of Nostalgia Digest (and I’m excited to be part of the Fifth Anniversary Podcast!). We talk about my “gateway drug” into old time radio, historical Chicago, and my inspiration for the characters in The Darkness Knows – among other things. I come in around the 36 minute mark.

In Case You Missed Them

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I’ve recently guested on some lovely blogs and thought I’d share those links here.

I wrote about “Writing a Woman Sleuth” on the History From a Woman’s Perspective blog.

I discussed research and “Writing an Authentic Historical Mystery” for the Recipe for Murder blog.

And finally, I related a favorite anecdote from my travels and The Magic of Coincidence (or Avoiding Jail Time in Rome) on the Dear Reader blog.

And here’s a bonus photo of THE DARKNESS KNOWS awaiting prospective readers on the New Arrivals table at my local Barnes & Noble (just because). Doesn’t it look pretty?

On the Shelf at BandN

 

BookCon 2016

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It was a whirlwind. A bit like getting married I suppose – you start and then when you have time to look up and breathe it’s already over. Two hundred ARCs of THE DARKNESS KNOWS are now signed and out in the world. I only misspelled a signee’s name once – my own name twice – in the process. Thank you to those lovely people in line who chatted with me and made me feel a little less awkward about the whole thing. Regardless of what happens with my writing career (and I hope it will chug along into a career) I will forever have the honor of acting blasé when I say in casual conversation – Oh, a book signing? Yeah, I had one of those.

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