Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I have free audiobooks! "Death by Didgeridoo" is now available!

I'm excited that my first Jamie Quinn Mystery, "Death by Didgeridoo," is now an audiobook, narrated by the talented voiceover actress, Carrie Lee Martz.

It's available on Amazon, Audible and iTunes, but I have some free ones to give away!  

Message me if you'd like one, either for you or a friend.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

How I Did It--The Confession of a Mystery Writer

What inspired you to write “Death by Didgeridoo”?

A reluctant lawyer myself, I was trying to teach myself to play the didgeridoo to help me sleep better, which sounds odd, I know, but I was desperate. A didgeridoo is a large, primitive wind instrument invented by Australian Aborigines and it’s tricky to play. It sounds awful if you do it wrong and only a little less awful if you do it right.
One day, I dropped it on a table and broke the glass which led me to think about it as a possible dangerous weapon. The story came to me over time and, luckily, I didn’t have to master the didgeridoo to write it!

How is writing in the mystery genre different from other genres?
“Death by Didgeridoo” is my first mystery, but not my first work of fiction. Writing a mystery is like figuring out a puzzle while watching characters performing in a play--in your head! I started writing this book with one character in mind as the killer. To my surprise, the story changed direction as I got to know my characters and it turned out to be someone else.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Write every day for a set amount of time. Don’t let your self-doubt overwhelm you.
Don’t judge what you write, just keep going.
Write because you love to write. If you get stuck, start asking questions about your story that still need to be answered. As you ask them, you will start to think of the answers. Another trick when you get stuck is to write down all the possible ways your story could go and follow each one to its conclusion in a sentence or two.
Take your favorite books by your favorite authors and try to imitate their styles for practice. That way, you can analyze how they do what they do. Also, read some terrible books and analyze what went wrong.

What inspired you to write “A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities”?
I wanted to make people smile and even-dare I hope?–laugh, as they read my book. We are all so busy with our lives and our laundry and our to-do lists that we forget to have fun. If you watch kids playing, they laugh and smile non-stop, but us, not so much.
So, either sign up for laugh yoga or read my books, people. Or be grouchy, it’s your choice…
How is writing in the humor genre different from other genres?
I try to keep my writing light and full of surprises, even for myself. If I’m not surprised and delighted as I write, you won’t be either, is my thinking. I try to write about topics that everyone can relate to, including funny issues that come up with family, friendships, and marriage. One of my essays deals with planning a dinner party for a group of friends and trying to please everyone, with disastrous results! It was an imaginary dinner party with my very real friends and they all enjoyed being included, even though they didn’t actually get a meal out of it….

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

8,300 downloads of "The Case of the Killer Divorce"-Just wow!

When I ran a five day free promotion of "The Case of the Killer Divorce" on Amazon, I never expected such a huge response! Not only was the book downloaded 8,300 times from all over the world, but the reviews were very positive and the book was featured on numerous blogs.  And now, after it's over, people have been buying both Jamie Quinn books, which, to me, is the highest compliment. I want to thank everyone for all the feedback and support, you guys are the best! :-)

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

NO RIGHT ANSWER

            I decided to call my friend Melanie (not her real name) last week because I hadn't heard from her in a while.
            "Hey," I said when she picked up, "How have you been?"
            "Good, you?"
            "Doing great," I said, "What's new?"
            "Oh, not much."
            "How's your family?"
            "Everyone's good, thanks," she said.
            I wondered why I wasn't getting much of a response from her as she was usually quite chatty. In fact, she seemed rather cool towards me. I racked my brain trying to think of what I might've done to deserve that. Finally, I just asked.
            "Are you mad at me for some reason?"
            "No, not mad."
            "Okay…then, why do you sound mad?"
            "Well, to be honest with you, I'm trying to be careful about what I say. I'm afraid you might write about me in one of your essays."
            "What are you talking about?" I asked.
            She sighed. "I know you were referring to me when you wrote about people who dote on their pets too much."
            "No, I wasn't!" I protested.
            "And," she went on, "You were definitely talking about me when you wrote about your friends with annoying food allergies."
            "I swear that wasn't about you!"
            "And when you wrote about people's phobias? Me, again."
            "No, wrong," I interjected, "Did I even mention your phobias?"
            "And the worst one was when you made an example out of my procrastinating. I'll never live that one down."
            "But, Melanie, I wasn't writing about you at all, I was writing about me, my procrastinating!"
            There was a long pause.
            "I see," she said quietly.
            "So, are we good?"
            "Not really," she said stiffly.
            "What's the problem now? I asked.
            "Isn't it obvious? You think I'm too boring to write about."

             

           

           

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

"The Case of the Killer Divorce" has been downloaded 4,000 times!

My 2nd Jamie Quinn mystery, "The Case of the Killer Divorce" has been on free promotion since Monday and has already been downloaded 4,000 times! Who knows what will happen in the next three days?  I am working hard on the third Jamie Quinn book, "Peril in the Park" and hope to have it out by the end of April. :-) Thank-you everyone for your support!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

New free promotion-Jamie Quinn Mystery :-)

Check out my free promotion on Amazon Kindle!
My book, "The Case of the Killer Divorce," the second in the Jamie Quinn series, is free on Amazon through 4/5 at midnight. Check it out! :-)