SHIPS IN THE NIGHT

I was sound asleep, dreaming of the sequel to my light mystery. (When I'm trying to figure out plots, I often dream of whatever I'm writing.) Right in the middle of the heroine peering over a mountainside to find a makeshift air strip down below, comes this HONK!

Let me tell you, I jumped six inches and woke up pronto! And looked wildly around to see what train was about to run over us.

It was a ship. We're a couple blocks up from the channel and can usually hear them pass. Last night it sounded like it was coming through our bedroom. The boy-cat must have heard it, too, because he came and crawled into bed with us.

Took me a while to get back to my work-in-progress, what with my pounding heart and the boy-cat licking my face to make sure I was all right. Or maybe he wanted me to get up and feed him.

I don't think my guy heard a thing.

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY

I gave away two Advanced Reader Copy proofs of TAXED TO THE MAX in GoodReads. The giveaway ended October 23rd. This morning I sent off ARCs to the two winners. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they like it.

The Publishers Weekly review was not bad but not great. Kirkus Reviews was much kinder. Lines from both are going to go on the final book cover, I learned yesterday.

So now I'm thinking since I have more ARCs, why not give away five more on GoodReads? It was really easy to set it up; GR did all the work. The book won't be available till the end of December so why not? Seems to me the more ARCs out there, the more chance for people to recommend it to friends and family.

I also have an ebook gothic with paranormal elements, THE WARWICKS OF SLUMBER MOUNTAIN, coming out in November. I'm wondering whether to try to give away some advanced copies of it, too. A little more difficult since it's an ebook. I'm not sure GoodReads handles them. Guess I'll have to check.

And I'm also giving away earrings on the blog, remember! Anyone who comments with the word 'earrings' somewhere in it will be entered.

A different set will be given away next month, too. I believe they'll be tied in with my re-release of TREACHEROUS BEAUTIES.

A lot going on. And I still have to write!

FINAL COVER FOR TAXED TO THE MAX

I'm very excited since I just got the final cover for TAXED TO THE MAX coming out in late December from Five Star/Cengage. Since it's a hardback, the cover's kind of wide. I'm hoping I can get it all in here!

Here's what it's about in case you can't read the blurb:

Auto tag clerk Corrie Caters hates the tax office. The customers are irate and her co-worker Delores is grouchy. If Corrie ever gets through college, she's waving bye-bye.

When rumored arsonist and delinquent taxpayer Billy Lee Woodhallen attacks the tax commissioner, Corrie decides to call it quits. Too late. The next morning she and Delores find their boss murdered.  Billy Lee must have done it to keep his property from being sold.

County officials want to appoint Corrie tax commissioner, but she's not that stupid. Then the man who jilted her at the altar in front of two hundred people—most of them local—shows up.  A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, Bodie Fairhust thinks Billy Lee will strike again and tells her to refuse the job.

Like any self-respecting north Georgia woman, Corrie won't listen to a sneaky snake-in-the-grass. She takes the job to spite Bodie. But the snake was right. Billy Lee comes up with an alibi and is free to go after the new tax commissioner. Her.

Now obtuse deputies guard her 24/7, a state auditor breathes down her neck, and a pothead IT guy is doing heaven knows what to the tax digest she's responsible for. Not to mention Delores snubbing her and the weird tax office customers trying to do all kinds of illegal things. If Billy Lee doesn't do her in, the stress will.

A light mystery, TAXED TO THE MAX shows what really happens in property tax and tag offices.

ARC for TAXED TO THE MAX

Excited last week to open one (of two) boxes and find they contained the Advance Reading Copies for my light mystery TAXED TO THE MAX coming out in December from Five Star. This will be a hardback, but I still didn't expect such nice Advance Copies. They're like trade paperbacks.

Now I have to figure out places to send them out to for review. Five Star has already done the main ones so I must dig around and find smaller places. Can't remember if the Atlanta Journal Constitution still does book reviews or not.

Oh well. Guess I'll soon find out.