Happy New Year and Contest Recap

Farewell, 2011. Welcome 2012.

A few updates for the end of the year.

First, thanks to all my followers, friends, readers, "likers" and commenters. I write this blog as much for you as I do for myself. And a special thank you to those who have bought and read my books, with even more thanks to those who have taken the time to tweet, rate, or review them somewhere in cyberspace.

My newsletter is just about ready to send, and thanks again for all the feedback. There's still time to sign up so you won't miss the first issue of 2012. And I'm having an exclusive giveaway for those getting my newsletter, so if you haven't signed up, be sure to take a minute to do it now.

And my ongoing book giveaway contest … although I didn't hit all my goals, I'm still giving away books. But if you want some, you have to enter.

A recap:

I'm cleaning out overflow on my bookshelves. Some new, some gently read. Some autographed. Maybe even a 'collector's item' from my box out of print books. I'll stuff as many as will fit in flat rate priority mail box.

There are five ways to enter, and you get one entry for each:

1. Follow the blog on Google Friend Connect (sidebar)
2. "Like" the blog (sidebar)
3. Sign up for my newsletter at my website
(remember it's a 2 step process; you have to click through the confirmation email)
4. Share a recipe for my What's Cooking Wednesday
5. Share photos for my Friday Field Trips.

Send your entry to contest @ terryodell. com (remove spaces) Put "Big Giveaway" in the subject line. 1 email is enough, just tell me what categories you're entering, and I'll add your name to the list as many times as needed.

Contest entry deadline: Friday, January 6, 2012. 

And don't forget the Backlist eBooks 99 cent sale. It ends Jan 8th, so don't miss your chance to pick up some great bargains from some great authors. Deadly Secrets is my sale book, but you can find others here.

Also, if there's anything you'd like to see more (or less) of on this blog, you can let me know at terry @ terryodell. com (again, remove spaces)

Have a safe, healthy, productive and Happy New Year! See you in 2012.


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Friday Field Trip - Birds (not angry)

I asked Jason if he had any more pictures to share. He said he'd already given me all his "good" ones and didn't have anything new. So, I dug through my hard drive and found these that he'd given me back in 2005, before he took up photography full time. I think they're just fine.

Happy New Year. Be safe.

Fun With Rhetoric

What I'm reading: Surrender at Dawn, by Laura Griffen (Nook)

Many of us (not saying me, mind you) remember those grammar and rhetorical device lessons from our English classes. You know, things like analogies, metaphors, similes, and the like. Well, today, as my last "writing-related" post of 2011, I thought I'd share a fun one: paraprosdokian. Everyone could use a smile or two.

Disclaimer: Hubster sent this via email, and I don't have sources for the examples.

A paraprosdokian sentence consists of two parts where the first is a figure of speech and the second an intriguing variation of the first. They're used typically for humorous or dramatic effect.

- Never argue with an idiot. He'll drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

- Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

- The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list

What's Cooking Wednesday - Ham Sandwiches

What I'm reading: Freaks, by Tess Gerritsen; Second Son, by Lee Child (Nook); Highlander's Curse, by Melissa Mayhue (bike)

Thanks to Jonnie for yesterdays' guest post. Series and Stand Alone is something I can relate to.

My physical therapist's office hosted an Open House, and I'd like to thank Carol Greenstreet, who enjoys poking me in the back with needles, for sharing her recipe for some yummy ham sandwiches. If you had a Christmas ham, this might be a good way to use up leftovers. If not, you can certainly find ham in the deli section of your local grocery store.

Ham Sandwiches

1/3 c butter, softened
2 T finely grated onion
3 ½ T poppy seeds
2 t Dijon mustard
2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 dozen small dinner rolls
½ lb thin sliced baked ham
8 oz package sliced Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 325. Beat butter, onion, poppy seeds, mustard and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl until blended. Split rolls with serrated knife; spread butter mixture on both cut sides. Place ham and cheese on bottom half of roll. Replace tops.

Place on baking sheet and bake until brown and a bit crispy on the edges.

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In the Beginning--Series vs. Stand Alone

Jonnie Jacobs is the author of Paradise Falls (forthcoming March 2012) as well as twelve previously published mysteries. Today she discusses the thrill of starting a new book, and the differences when starting a stand-alone and a series.

Now that the various winter holidays are behind us and we look forward to the clean slate of a new year, I’m reminded of the way I feel when I’ve finished a book and am ready to start another. I love beginnings—a new year, a new day, even the oft-dreaded Monday. And I especially love beginning a new book. Getting characters into trouble is a lot easier than getting them out it! But more than that, I like the freshness of a new book. I have a pretty good idea of my characters, but they always surprise me. I think I know where the story is going, but it rarely does. At the start of a book, anything is possible.

Where to start when the possibilities are seemingly endless?

I’ve written ten books in two different mystery series. The nice thing about a series is that after the first book, many of the decisions are already in place. I know my main characters, their friends and family, the setting, and much more. Of course, series characters need to grow and change. Each book is complete in itself, but it’s also a chapter in an ongoing story, and one of the things readers like about series is being able to follow characters over time. I try in each series book to move the character in some new direction in her personal life, and in each book I learn more about her.

A series also means that decisions you made in prior books stick with you. If you’ve written about an amateur sleuth in book one, readers might be upset to find she’s turned into a veteran detective by book two. Similarly, readers expect the author’s voice and writing style to remain fairly consistent. And decisions about your lead character, even if they were minor and offhand, can come back to haunt you.

Newsletter Survey Results

What I'm reading: Second Son, by Lee Child (Nook)

And Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate.

Thanks to all who participated in my Newsletter Survey question. I've taken all your responses into account as I work on my next issue. The survey asked to check any items you'd like to see in an author newsletter, and these are the results:

New Releases: 100%

In the Works: 83%

Contests: 63%

Personal Glimpses: 58%

Excerpts: 46%

Photos: 29%

Recipes: 20%

Puzzles & Games: 12%

If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so at my website.  (And you can win some of my overflow books if you sign up--just email me to let me know you want them. Details, as always, on the Deals & Steals tab). I'll also be giving away another ARC of ROOTED IN DANGER via my newsletter, so you'll need to subscribe to enter that one.

Other Bits and Pieces: The Backlist eBook authors are having a 99 cent sale through January 8th. This is a great way to fill up those new e-readers! My book, DEADLY SECRETS is one of the books on sale. You can find all my indie books here.

I'll be doing a month-long workshop for Savvy Authors in February. I've blogged about it at their site here.

And, I'm still hoping for a few more likes and follows before Saturday. 

Tomorrow, my last guest blog post of 2011! Author Jonnie Jacobs will be talking about Series vs Stand Alone.

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Happy Holidays Again

Normally, this is a "Jewish Christmas"



However because this year, Christmas Day falls in the middle of Hanukkah, we'll be celebrating with family, and won't be going out for Chinese food. (Not to mention, the Jewish population in Teller County isn't large enough to support either of the two Chinese restaurants in the county, so they're not open.

We'll be having Hanukkah at Gram's this year on Christmas Day.

Happy Holidays

For some it will be Christmas Eve tonight. For us, it's night 5 of Hanukkah.
Wishing everyone a happy weekend and hope you can share it with loved ones.

Friday Field Trip - Oh, Deer

First: DEADLY SECRETS is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Take advantage of this special price for the holidays. Buy for yourself or give as a gift.

I'd hoped to get out to take some winter pictures around the neighborhood yesterday, but woke to about 8 inches of snow, and it was still snowing. So I went through my hard drive and thought I'd share some deer pix. They're not reindeer, but those don't live around here.  The pictures were all taken from our house. Some through glass, some with quickly grabbed cell phones, so I make no claims that they're high-quality shots. Only high-quality subjects.

And have a wonderful holiday weekend. Since Hanukkah and Christmas overlap this year, we're having our family get together on Sunday. No Chinese food this time. Latkes, rugelach, and more.

 

Character Names

What I'm reading: Eye of Heaven, by Marjorie M. Liu (bike)

I hope everyone is getting ready for their holiday celebrations in a calm, peaceful, stress-free way! And if you're stuck having to find a last-minute gift, may I humbly remind you that e-books can be given as gifts. It's been around for a while on Amazon, but Barnes & Noble has joined in the "gifting" parade, and you can buy any e-book (of course, I hope one might be mine) and send the gift to someone on your list. They'll get an email telling them the gift has arrived, with instructions for download. The only caveat might be where they live—for various legal reasons I don't understand, non-US folks might not be able to redeem the gift. But it definitely works for anyone in the states.

No braving the crowds at the mall, no standing in lines, no postage, no wrapping. Easy-Peasy.

On the writing front—a recent read had me pulling my hair, and not because of the quality of the writing, or the story. It was simply one of those things that tangled my brain and kept slowing the read. I've talked about it before, and it's a common enough "problem" that I wonder why editors aren't more alert to it—or at least the editor who was "in charge" of the book. However, since one of my editors apparently paid no attention to character names, I can sympathize—WHAT'S IN A NAME? had 3 characters named Hank/Henry If you have the print version of that book, you can find them. The new e-version, thank goodness, has been fixed.