Summer Reading Plans

This week I'm starting off the start of summer with my wonderful critic buddies doing a blog hop. This is my first blog hop but not my last. Joselyn Vaughn, Tess Grant and JQ Rose know my worst mistakes, my greatest fears and my best writing moments. If you like my books, check out theirs. I love them. The are teh best. I mean both the authors and their books) Add them to your summer reading list.

Summer: It should bring images of hot, lazy days at the beach, long bike rides and kayaking across lakes. It should be a slowing of activities, communing with nature and enjoying ice cream, lots of it…I mean all three. That doesn’t seem to happen in my life. If anything with longer hours of daylight, I try and pack in more.

My dream day would be watching the sun rise and walking along the beach and then a late morning nap with a warm breeze. The afternoon would be spent reading a great book and then getting dressed for dinner with the love of my life. I doubt I’m going to get my dream day but what I am going to make a point of doing this summer is getting in some reading time. It is hard for me to read for pleasure when I’m writing. I analyze the books instead of getting lost in the story. That is the one thing I don’t like about being a writer is that reading books has now become work. Kind of like the reading you had to do in your high school English classes. Took all the fun out of the story when you had to figure out the character’s motivation and what setting added to the plot.

So I am going to give myself permission to read, just jump in and read. On my list for reading is my favorite author, Catherine Coulter’s latest in her FBI series, “Split Second” and “Back Fire.” (I’m a little behind in the series.) A new favorite author is also on my to-be-read pile, Julie Hyzy’s latest in her White House Chef series, “Affairs of Steak.” If I get those three done, I may read some classics that my daughter has to read for school so we can discuss them. I will be happy if I can get my fun three done but I am determined even if I only get in five pages a day.

What about you? What books are on your list for this summer?

Let me know your reading plans and you will be entered for a chance to win one of my books, your choice. Check out these blogs for other great giveaways:

My critic buddies' blogs:
JQ Rose: http://jqroseauthor.blogspot.com/
Tess Grant: http://tessgrant.wordpress.com/
Joselyn Vaughn: http://joselynvaughn.wordpress.com/

Love is Murder is grand time!

This past weekend I attended my second Love is Murder conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago. This was the perfect place to get my head back in writing and to met some truly terrific people. I also knocked off my to-do list the horrible task of getting a new author photo. I will be unveiling it soon.  Stay tuned. Now back to LIM,  I would like to give you my top 10 list of why you need to put the next Love is Murder conference on your must attend list.

10.   Always be personal in your marketing and put your contact info on your website. This includes an email address.

9.    Sue Peterson from Brain Snacks is a great person to sell your books. Thank you!

8.   My favorite quote: "Positive relationships are your best marking tools." --Karen Syed.

7.   I saw real photos of autopsies of suicides, gun shot wounds, drownings  and other creepy things to help me describe the gore and add realism.

6.   The program had a forensic track that covered every aspect of crime and a few I'd never thought of. It also had a writing tract for those who wanted help with their writing.

5.   Real undercover stories from a New York City cop who was retired but didn't look old enough. I've never seen so many cops get off a bus and will never look at a parquet floor in quite the same way.


4.   Hank Phillippi Ryan, Julie Hyzy and Julie James are three very different, but classy woman who write great books and received some well deserved recognition. They also were very entertaining and shared some secrets as well as embarrassing moments.

3.   I laughed so much and enjoyed Donald Bain's take on ghostwriting and his Cabot Cove jokes. His list of books numbers three digits with many carrying our favorite Maine mystery author as sleuth.

2. David Morrell who made Rambo a household word has a great sense of humor, grounded in the real world and a wicked glint in his eye when contemplating murder and mayhem. I sat next to him on a panel and enjoyed his philosphy of writing only the books he wanted to no matter the pressure.

Drum roll here...And my favorite thing thing from LIM...

1.   The FBI guy (who will remain anonymous for his own protection) talked for hours about life as an agent to writers sharing secrets and showing me his credentials so I could get them right in my next book. I had to call it a night before he did. A true professional about the good, bad and the politics about his job.

While many of these people will not be the guest of honors next year, most of them were no strangers to Love is Murder and regular attendees. Pencil Feb. 1-3, 2013 into your calendar and sign up for the newsletter with all the information at http://loveismurder.net/.  I would also like to thank all the wonderful volunteers who work so hard to make it fun. I hope you enjoyed your down day. You must have been exhausted but I truly appreciated it!