Health Update and eBook Deals

Great news! The pathologist’s report came back and it turns out that the mass I had removed was a benign thymus cyst, so all is good. My chest is still sore if I do too much bending over and reaching for things in awkward places, but otherwise recovery goes well. I have one more chest x-ray to do on Friday and a follow-up consultation with the surgeon on Monday, and then that’s it, I hope!

My daughter and granddaughter Ellie were sick on Mother’s Day so we postponed our family BBQ until this past Sunday. My son, who works in the tech field, also happens to be a wonderful cook. He grilled the most amazing steak sandwiches which is a family favorite. Honestly, if he ever tires of a tech career, he should operate a food truck.

Unfortunately, my sister had to reschedule her surgery as she came down with Covid late last week. Both of her cats passed away this year, so 2023 has been a tough year so far. We do what we can to help her, and hope that things turn around once her surgery and radiation treatments are over.

On the promo front, I’m taking part in a great one that’s offering free ebooks in four different genres: science-fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance. To take advantage of this newsletter signup offer, click on the link HERE.

I’m also offering my 5^th Casey Holland mystery, Knock Knock, for $.99 until June 19^th. This book is definitely on the thriller side of things. I often incorporate real-life crime events from Vancouver, and this book about home invasions targeting seniors that occurred in Vancouver several years ago.

When a home invasion kills senior Elsie Englehart, security officer Casey Holland is devastated. She’s supposed to be watching over elderly bus riders in an area frequently targeted by thugs. Determined to keep others safe, Casey escorts a senior to his home, only to come under attack by an armed intruder. Hospitalized and angry, Casey struggles to regain control of her life, despite interference from family and colleagues, and the postponement of her wedding. Yet another home invasion compels Casey to take action, but at what cost to her health and her relationships?

To grab a copy, click HERE:

Out With the Old, In With the New

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the nostalgic experience of tossing out old papers and magazine clippings on a variety of topics. Since then, I’ve started purging my writing-related files which has also been a nostalgic exercise. I found folders containing pamphlets and notes, and old itineraries from conferences going back to 1997. I found a folder containing news clippings about famous Canadian authors including Mordecai Richler, Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Carol Shields, and many others. I brought to the students of the Saturday morning writing workshops I facilitate.

I found five different folders containing story ideas, partially completed first drafts and the occasional completed draft. Some of the ideas I did use, others I’ve now discarded, and a few I kept because they still resonate with me. Thankfully, it’s all in one file now 😊 The purging will continue over the next couple of weeks, but I see an end in sight, thank goodness.

As mentioned last week, I’m resuming book promotions for 2023. The first is a BookFunnel $.99 sales promo for my second Casey Holland mystery, Deadly Accusations. This group promotion features over 140 discounted crime fiction titles to choose from, which you find HERE:

The second event is a newsletter signup promo, offering an even more varied selection of books including free mystery, humor and romances, which is available HERE:

Since many of you, including me, are still experiencing freezing winter temperatures, this is a perfect time to try new authors and curl up with some great ebooks.

Socializing Through a Pandemic

Summer’s here and many fun events are returning to British Columbia. I’ve just finished facilitating an 11-week long spring session of the creative writing program offered in our city. The group was small, but I’d still been a little worried about exposure to Covid. Hospitalization rate were still fairly high in April but have been going down since then. Happily, the rec center gave us a large room in a quiet part of the building, so we felt safe. One of my students came down with Covid and was away for one week, but no one else was impacted.

As I write this, my daughter’s place of employment currently has about ten percent of their staff sick with Covid, after having been encouraged to return to work. As you can imagine, those who work in a common area are the ones who are sick. Those who have their own offices are so far staying healthy. Still, ten percent is a lot.

The cautionary tales I’ve been hearing from medical experts tells me that it’s probably still a good idea to wear my mask in public indoor places. Like many of you, I’m also eager to get back to socializing, especially when it comes to writing events. I turned down two invitations to indoor book launches this spring. I had no idea how many people would attend, how large the venue was, or whether the room was well ventilated. Generally, I don’t feel particularly anxious about most things, when you’re babysitting a two-year-old most weekdays it seems wise to be cautious.

Having said that, I’m attending two outdoor events this week. One is a BBQ with my old employer at Simon Fraser University. Since 97% of the university’s population is vaccinated, I figure it should be okay, although I’ll keep my hand sanitizer close by.

I’m also a vendor at an outdoor mini-craft fair at the TownShip7 Winery this Sunday. This is one of my favourite venues, as the event has musical entertainment and the artisans will be spread apart. Wine tasting, bookselling, and music in a vineyard is a wonderful way to spend the day. The event is also fundraising for the Osteoporosis Society. I know that some of you live in the Lower Mainland, so if you have some time and enjoy wine tasting, this is a great opportunity to get out and enjoy what will be a bright, sunny day.

I’ll be participating in another Art on the Vine event in late August and also selling books at a local Farmer’s Market on Thursday July 14^th. So, yes, I’m socializing more, but honestly, I’ll be taking precautions.

For those of you who are looking for more free crime fiction reads, I’m taking part in another BookFunnel offering until the end of June. This is the Women Solve Crime Mystery Giveaway and a good number of the 30+ offerings are cozies, which make great beach reads. The link HERE.

How about you? Are you over Covid anxiety and attending events this summer, or are you still a little anxious?

Free and Discounted Mysteries For You

Before I launch into today’s topics, I want to say that Canadian Independent Bookstore Day last Saturday was a great success for our local store, Western Sky Books. This was their best event ever, and it was heartwarming to see supporters come out in droves. It was great fun to see a number of writers I hadn’t seen in person in more than two years, and one author I hadn’t seen in a decade!

So, here we are in May, one of my favorite months of the year. The weather’s warming slowly although there’s still a fair bit of rain and cloud hovering over BC’s lower mainland these days. Flowers are blooming, albeit slower than last year. Since I was married in mid-May nearly 34 years ago and our family always celebrates Mother’s Day, it’s a special month.

This weekend, I’m offering great deals on most of the titles in my 6-book Casey Holland series this weekend, which ends on May 9^th. You can find the link to the entire series with just one click HERE. By clicking on that page, you’ll see that the combined price for all the books is under $10.

I’m also taking part in two BookFunnel events offering free mystery ebooks all month. One is the Leading Ladies of Mystery giveaway featuring female lead characters. The link is HERE.

The other offer focuses on mystery and suspense titles, with either male or female protagonists, which you can find HERE.

So, please take advantage of these opportunities. Summer’s coming and it’s time to load up your devices with new books as you prepare for holidays or at least a little more downtime. Couldn’t we all use some R & R and escapes into great fiction?

How I Spent My Break

If you’re looking for free mystery and suspense novels, I have one more BookFunnel promotion I’m taking part in this summer. This one ends on August 1^st and there are nearly seventy authors participating. My Casey Holland mysteries, Deadly Accusations (#2) and Beneath the Bleak New Moon (#3) are also free, but only through BookFunnel’s newsletter campaign till Aug. 1. You can find the whole roster of books HERE.

I’m not sure that writers truly ever stop writing, even while on holiday, but I sort of managed it. I didn’t look at my urban fantasy for eight days, which became kind of difficult after four or five days. The thing is, when your mind is relaxed and all is quiet, ideas pop up.

This is how I found myself working on characters and an outline for the paranormal mystery I’ve mentioned in the past. It was great fun exploring ‘what-if’ concepts and creating characters. It was even more fun coming up with ideas for monsters. I’m trying to stay away from old familiars like vampires, werewolves, and ghosts, at least with this book. Creating monsters is a whole new challenge in my writing life, but I’ve read a couple of good books on the topic.

Speaking of reading, I read a terrific how-to book called Mastering Your Mystery by Cheryl Bradshaw. She goes through the basics of writing a crime novel, but takes it further in the second half of the book by offering helpful advice on marketing, publishing, and promotion. I especially liked that she went the extra mile to provide a list of awards and competitions to submit to, and a list of sites to help promote your work. Although I’ve read my share of how-to books, I always find that reading these books sparks ideas for current projects.

Last, but definitely not least, I spent a great deal of time with little Ellie, who’ll soon be one year old. Last week, she learned to crawl up a couple of steps and had her first ‘swim’ in the lake with her mom and dad. I’m always amazed by the astonishing changes during a child’s first year of life, and can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.

She’s hold a favorite new toy, a bowling pin.

She loves her food.

New Giveaways and Crime-Writing Award Winners

This month, I’m taking part in another giveaway of mystery and suspense ebooks. For anyone looking to load up on summer reads, this is an opportunity to sample the work of authors you might be unfamiliar with. Please check it out HERE:

Speaking of crime fiction, on May 27^th Crime Writers of Canada announced winners of the Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing awards (formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards). I’ve been part of this organization for over twenty years and it’s a great one for crime writers. Their link is HERE:

Now for the winners!

Best Crime Novel: The Finder, by Will Ferguson (Simon & Schuster Canada)

Best Crime First Novel: The Transaction, by Guglielmo D’Izza (Guernica Editions)

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada: Stay Where I Can See You, by Katrina Onstad (HarperCollins)

Best Crime Novella: Never Going Back, by Sam Wiebe (Orca)

Best Crime Short Story: “Cold Wave,” by Marcelle Dubé (from Crime Wave: A Canada West Anthology, edited by Karen L. Abrahamson; Sisters in Crime- Canada West Chapter)

Best French Crime Book (fiction and non-fiction): La mariée de corail, by Roxanne Bouchard (Libre Expression)

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (fiction and non-fiction): Red Fox Road, by Frances Greenslade (Puffin Canada)

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Non-fiction Crime Book:Missing from the Village: The Story of Serial Killer Bruce McArthur, the Search for Justice, and the System That Failed Toronto’s Queer Community, by Justin Ling (McClelland & Stewart)

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript: The Future, by Raymond Bazowski

Congratulations to all the winners!!