Friday Field Trip - Flowers

Up here in the mountains, we don't have much in the way of pretty 'flower shop' flowers. But my mom sent some of her favorite flower shots to share. Enjoy! Spring is here.

Trends in Publishing?

What I'm reading: Alibi in High Heels, by Gemma Halliday (Nook); Killing Kate, by Julie Kramer

First - for those with Kindles, SAVING SCOTT is now available at the Kindle Store, and at Smashwords. Other e-tailers coming soon. 

I'm headed out to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this afternoon. I'll admit that I'm looking forward to a fan-girl moment at dinner tonight, where I'll be seated at a table with author Robert Crais. I shall try not to blather. Or drool. I love his Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books, and years ago, when he spoke at SleuthFest, he was very nice about answering this not-yet-published author's questions, and offered encouragement.

I'll try to take notes during the workshops and have recaps next week.

I've been judging a contest for published romantic suspense books. I was given four books to judge, and I noticed something different about this years' entries. All four of mine were from small presses, most of which I'd never heard of. Yet they're all legitimate, royalty-paying publishing houses.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Crockpot Quiche

As I'm sitting here watching the snow fall, I figured this recipe, contributed by frequent visitor to Terry's Place, Karen C, might make a tasty dinner. (Although, as I'm typing this, it's Sunday afternoon, and we usually go out to our local pub for dinner. But if Karen says it's good, I'm sure it is.) Thanks, Karen!

Karen says: Feel free to improvise with whatever vegetables you have on hand. Try asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, onions or a mixture. You will need about 3 cups of cooked vegetables.

Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
3 cups chopped well-drained cooked broccoli or other vegetables
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon or basil
1 cup grated Gruyere, Emmentaler, Gouda or cheddar cheese (or a mixture)
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions:
1. Generously butter a large slow cooker. (I used a cooking spray.)

2. Beat eggs together with flour, salt, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Whisk in half-and-half and milk. Stir in broccoli, herbs, Gruyere and ½ cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

3. Pour mixture into slow cooker. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 ½ hours or until quiche is just set in the center. Run a knife around edge of quiche, cut into wedges and serve hot.

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The Power of Point of View

I’d like to welcome Vonnie Davis to my blog today. Vonnie is a romance author of contemporary, historical and romantic suspense. She’s also held workshops on Savvy Authors. Today, she's offering her insights on one of my favorite topics, Point of View. And while she's here, I'm doing my monthly post at The Blood-Red Pencil.

Thank you for having me, Terry.

I’d like to share some thoughts about the bane of my existence when I first began writing full time—point of view.

You see, I’d majored in English and retired as a technical writer. So I knew how to craft a sentence. What I didn’t know was the craft of writing. Character arc? Conflict resolution? Dialog tags and beats? GMC? Isn’t that a truck? Point of view? After all the classical literature I’d studied, I certainly knew about that. I was good to go.

Yes, folks, I was blissfully ignorant.

My soon-to-be agent phoned to tell me I had some real point of view issues. When I told her I was using third person omniscient, I’m sure I heard her fall out of her chair laughing.

My learning curve just shot upward at a forty-five degree angle.

Gee, and I thought I knew so much.

Etiquette Tips for Author Events - And a Nook First Recap

What I'm reading: Contest entry 3 of 4; In Plain Sight, by C.J. Box

First – a quick Nook First recap. My 30 day commitment is almost over (and thanks to those who—I hope—have been patiently waiting for SAVING SCOTT to be available for all the other e-reading devices out there). Sales are, as expected, dropping off, but are still far more than what I'd seen at Barnes & Noble prior to the Nook First campaign

Before Nook First, I was very pleased with my Amazon sales. I still am, but I thought a quick comparison might be in order. Remember, this is "regular" Amazon, not their Select program. I've never done free giveaways there.

Amazon sales, all my titles, between March 19th and April 14th: 2,329.

Barnes & Noble sales, all my titles, same date range: 13,824.

Adjusted Barnes & Noble Sales, excluding SAVING SCOTT, which isn't available at Amazon: 9,270.

On Saturday, I participated in a library program, Mountain of Authors, at one of the Pikes Peak library branches. There were panels on thrillers and on e-publishing, as well as a keynote speech by author Connie Willis. In addition, between the panel discussions, local authors (myself included)  were "showcased" and allowed to introduce themselves, their work, and sell books to help raise money for their Friends of the Library.



(And there were a few perks. Hubster came along to "see what you really do" but I think he came because, as my guest, he got a free lunch.

There were 32 authors present. We tend to get wrapped up in our own genres, and forget that there are publishing genres for just about everyone. There were children's books, non-fiction books, niche market books, as well as the usual genre fiction.

I was interested in the panel on e-publishing. The takeaway there is that if you've got books published, the more formats you can offer them in, the better. But there IS a difference between books published in e-format by recognized publishers and indie, or self-publishing a book. As I'm sure I've said before, e-publishing should never be a shortcut. Make sure you've got a quality product, which requires investing time and usually money in good editing. Having your mother tell you your book is great is not a good reason to self-publish. But if you've got a good book, perhaps in a narrow niche market, where no publisher will take it because your target audience is too small, e-publishing offers you the opportunity to get it out there.


As for the 'showcase' side of the program.

Friday Field Trip - Sedona

First, I hope nobody suffers from triskaidekaphobia. If so, hope your day is a safe one.

Today's field trip comes courtesy of Karen C, a regular here at Terry's Place. We're going to Sedona. Thanks so much!

Tips for a Radio Interview

What I'm reading: In Plain Sight, by C.J. Box; Alibi in High Heels, by Gemma Halliday (Nook)

Tonight I'm headed into new territory. I had a request for a web radio interview, and I accepted. My first reaction when I got the confirmation was panic. Had I really agreed to do this? The show is scheduled for three hours. THREE? Now, talking doesn't usually bother me, but I do tend to ramble blather, and I don't think my verbal meanderings would interest listeners for that long.

Fortunately, follow up emails revealed that there are a whole bunch of authors who will share that time block, with each given a featured half hour. That seems more reasonable.

Since I've never done a phone-in interview before, I thought it might be wise to plan ahead. Stammering and hemming and hawing probably won't make a good impression.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Kale Salad with Asian Dressing

What I'm reading: Contest Entry 2 of 4

First, I was hit with a bunch of interview questions for Candice Coghill's blog. Hop over and see if you learn anything new. (And leave a comment if you have a moment.)

On to the recipe of the week: My mom made a yummy kale salad while we visited her in Los Angeles prior to the LA Marathon. I replicated it, more or less, when I got home, and added shrimp to make it a main dish. It's one of those "anything goes" recipes.

Kale Salad with Shrimp and Asian Dressing

Salad –
No rules here; use as much as you like, add other favorites or delete things you don't like. For most of the ingredients, I'd ballpark about 8 ounces. Depends on how many people you're feeding, and what you like.


1 bunch kale, stems removed, chopped. (Would work with any greens.)
Frozen shelled edamame (soy beans), cooked per package directions & cooled.
Dried cherries (or craisins, blueberries, cranberries)
Slivered almonds
Cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 T toasted sesame seeds
Frozen salad-sized shrimp, thawed and drained well. (for a side-dish salad, you can leave this out)

Asian Dressing (this will make more than you need; save the rest for other salads.)

1/4 c soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. sesame oil
1 T honey
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t dried ginger (or 1 t fresh, grated)
1/4 c salad oil.
Salt, pepper to taste.

Mix everything together.

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Writing as Therapy

Today I welcome Karla Brandenburg to Terry's Place. Karla is the author of contemporary romance, with a hint of the paranormal.

It has been my experience that many writers begin the process as catharsis. Something traumatic happens in their lives and writing is a way to deal with what they’ve been through. For myself, I started writing as an angst-ridden teen. Back up. Amend that. I actually wrote my first story when I was VERY young (when I was first old enough to put a sentence together – yes, that young). I actually sent it to Random House! Writing was a way to express myself, but I didn’t make another serious attempt until my teen years. Even I realized, by the time I’d outgrown all the angst, that the stories I’d written weren’t very good, but as a quiet, introverted kind of person, it helped me to deal with things that I had trouble expressing.

As I got older and more vocal/outspoken, I didn’t need the outlet quite so much, but expressing myself “on paper” was still easier. I also had a vivid imagination – always. The stories continued to come and I still put them down, just to empty my head. They were less personal, more observational by that time. My imagination conjured up all sorts of stories about the people around me, people I’d never met and didn’t know. You might think of this as people watching at the mall, in greater detail.

Nook First - Week 2, and Writing Series

What I'm reading: Stay Close, by Harlan Coben; Dutch Me Deadly, by Maddy Hunter (bike); Contest entry 1 of 4.

First, a brief summary of my second week at Barnes & Noble. The program puts your book on the home pages for two weeks of the 30 days you've committed to the exclusive, so the first two weeks are where I expected to see the greatest sales. I wasn't disappointed. (If you haven't read my summary of Week 1, click here.)

(clicking should enlarge the image)

For Week 2, I had two books on the Top 100 in the Nook Store. All my books moved well up in the rankings, four of them under 500. (Note: my best-selling Amazon titles are in the 3000 – 5000 range, and I've always been happy with that.) I sold over 5000 books that week.

Week 3 is almost over as I write this, and, as expected, my sales have dropped. However, let's put things in perspective. Prior to Nook First, I was thrilled to sell 10 or 20 books a day at Barnes & Noble. In Week 3, my sales are still in the hundreds. So, just because it's not as spectacular as it was, I'm still seeing more sales per day at B&N than I am at Amazon. Who'd have thought I'd ever say, "Oh, darn. I only sold 300 books today." Or, "Oh, darn. I need a tax accountant."

As for writing, I'm gearing up for my next Mapleton Mystery. This is the first time I've committed to an actual "series". Yes, I have my Pine Hills Police "series" and my Blackthorne, Inc. "series." But in reality most of those are spin-offs and connected books. HIDDEN FIRE is a true sequel to FINDING SARAH, but although the rest do feature a recurring cast of characters, they're merely set in the same general universe.