My university fiction writing classes have begun—another academic year is off to a start. Things in my writing life are crazy. And lets not talk about the animal rescue, where I have way, way too many animals.
I want to talk about writing and the crazy adventures I’ve had this summer. KILLER TAILS is an e-bundle of 8 pet mysteries, each penned by a different author. The bundle is on sale right now for .99 cents. The price will go up to $5.99 soon, so get it while it’s hot and almost free!
Here’s the flap copy—to give you an idea of who is in the bundle.
KILLER TAILS unleashes a kennelful of fun. Many of the reigning cats and dogs of mystery, all with a nose for trouble, are found in these furry tales of curious cats and daring (and darling) dogs penned by eight bestselling and award-winning authors: Carole Nelson Douglas, Carolyn Haines, Leighann Dobbs, Harper Lin, Connie Shelton, Pamela DuMond, Denise Dietz, and Joanne Pence. Plus, one of the tales–or tails–is a never-before-published novella by Carolyn Haines.
“Guru Bones” was my contribution to the bundle and includes the regular Bones cast of characters, including Pluto, the black cat, and Sweetie Pie, the red tick hound, who help Sarah Booth Delaney solve mysteries. Sarah Booth has a human partner, Tinkie Richmond, who is the Queen Bee of Daddy’s Girls (you know, those smart but helpless women who can wrap a man around their little finger). Sarah Booth is more of a tomboy, so she and Tinkie make an excellent pair of detectives in the Mississippi Delta.
The story, which is a novella, revolves around Priya Karsan, an international food guru who preaches against pesticides and GMO foods—and the people who want her dead. Priya’s celebrity status and her willingness to speak out about dangerous chemicals in foods and pesticides in fields make her a target.
We had a killer launch party this week with fun contests and photos. Several “embarrassing pet stories” were laugh out loud funny. You can check them out at the FB site, Killer Tails: Cozy Mysteries to Die For.
The other big August news was the Bookbub ad and the lowered price for SPLINTERED BONES, the 3rd in the Sarah Booth series. It is still available (but only for a brief time) at $1.99. Soon the price will return to $4.99. Click here for details.
AND “Jingle Bones,” my 2015 Christmas short story, is up for pre-order at $1.99. I love stories about Christmas pageants, and in this short story I got to write my own! I hope you find it as fun and funny as I do.
Here’s what the publisher says about this story:
Jingle Bones, an e-original Christmas story featuring Mississippi PI Sarah Booth Delaney, offers all the Southern charm and zany adventure Carolyn Haines’s fans have come to expect–and more.
Sarah Booth just wants the perfect Christmas holiday. Even with the dissolution of her engagement, she refuses to lose her Christmas spirit. But when Theodora Prince–an ex classmate and current Pastor’s wife–comes calling with a year-old case and cash upfront, Sarah Booth must find the truth about the boys who ruined last year’s Christmas pageant in time to stop them from doing it again.
This week I also finished a draft of the 16th Bones book, ROCK-A-BYE BONES! Set for publication May, 2016. Jitty (the ghost that devils Sarah Booth and gives her sexual/romantic advice and a whole lot of grief) has been after Sarah Booth to have a baby so there will be an heir to Dahlia House—and Jitty will have someone to haunt in the future. A baby does come into Sarah Booth’s life in this story, but there are many unexpected twists. I just got the cover and I love it! I hope you do too.
So August has been the month of Bones, Bones, and more Bones—and I am not complaining at all.
One of the wonderful things about being a writer is that each day when I wake up, I don’t know where my characters will take me. Since I live on a farm with a lot of older and unwell animals, I don’t travel as much as I used to. But I can ‘mind travel.’ (If I could figure out astral travel, I would be the bomb!)
The other day I was sitting in my kitchen talking with a friend who’d dropped by and I realized I’d spent the whole day without speaking to anyone except my characters and the critters. Wow. But that will change with the beginning of school. I’ll be forced to interact. I do love my students, though. Some of them are so talented it takes my breath away.
Please sign up for my FB page—I do post things about other great writers I have the privilege of knowing. And I post farm photo because I live in a very beautiful place with handsome critters, and I post book news and big lies about my friends (and they love it!).
I also have a newsletter. You can sign up here at my website www.carolynhaines.com or follow me on Twitter.
Stop by for a visit. No telling what foolishness I’ll be involved in.