Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no
mistakes in it yet? ~ L.M. Montgomery
Or Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life. Some of you may
remember this mantra of the 60's. I painted it across the dashboard of
our Volkswagen bus. But that's another lifetime and another story.
Although no one is entirely sure, it is widely believed Charles Dederich
who ran a drug rehab center said it. Whoever coined it, I still live by
it to this day.And that's a good thing since the release of my latest book had me reeling with the timing. Normally when I release a book I have a two month plan and schedule for getting the word out and promo. Not so with Southwest of Love and Murder, book two in my Love and Murder Series which released on January 7th. I received notice of the release date days before Thanksgiving, in the middle of taking care of a very sick daughter-in-law and my granddaughter, and planting garlic on the farm. In the midst of the holiday season and worrying about my daughter-in-law, not to mention the late planting of the garlic, there was no way to get a promo plan.
I had to take a deep breath and keep in mind this book will be out in the world for a long time. Release day is not the first and only day. So, not only for my life but for the book's life, today is the first day for the rest of our life!
Blurb:
Mystery writer, Phoebe Anderson,
owes her success to killing her first husband on paper seventeen years earlier.
Now, someone has actually done it. When she decides to take a few days away on
the ranch of her best friend’s brother-in-law, she doesn’t expect romance to
find her...or murder to follow her.
Mason Meadowlark is happy with his
wild cowboy ways, avoiding love since the death of his baby and the end of his
marriage twenty years ago. When Phoebe shows up, he fights to control his
emotions, but soon wonders if she just might be worth the risk of opening his
heart again.
With an obsessed fan close on her
heels, Phoebe is thrown into her own murder mystery…and the next target on his
list is Mason.
Excerpt:
Phoebe
shuddered and stilled.
Like the aftershocks of an
earthquake, trembling overtook her body. Her knees wobbled, but Mason caught
her before she collapsed.
“What’s wrong?” He hugged her
briefly then brought his face even with hers. “Phoebe, tell me. Why are you
shaking? What’s happened?”
“Oh my God, Mason.” She spread
her hands on his chest and glanced back at the bathroom. “Tell someone to call
an ambulance. Hurry!”
He took a step toward the ladies’
room, but she grabbed his shirtfront. “No!” She peered around him and shouted.
“Someone call nine one one.”
Mason touched his pocket. “My
cell’s in the truck.” He grabbed the shoulder of a male customer, the closest
person to them. “You got a cell on you?”
The man nodded and pulled a phone
from his pocket.
“Call nine one one right now.
There’s been…” His face questioned her.
“Someone’s badly hurt in the
bathroom. Oh hell, hurry!” She thumped her palms against his chest.
The man pulled out his cell as he
raced into the ladies’ room.
Phoebe wrapped her arms around
Mason, tipped her chin upward, and found the words. “It’s that
waitress, Mason. Carla.”
His expression went blank, from
concern for her to no comprehension.
“There’s so much blood.” She
stifled a gag, the sweet, copper penny reek still heavy in her nostrils. “Her
throat.” A shudder rippled the length of her body. “I think she’s dead.”
Visit
Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com.
Or
on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor
She
blogs on the 9th and 24th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
She
blogs about prairie life and writing at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/
19 comments:
Brenda, what a test of endurance you've been handling, and very well it seems. Keep-on-Keeping-on is a little diddy my mother taught me years ago that still rings in my ears today. Endurance works out so many things if we don't give up. I enjoyed your post and, and I wish you lots of sales for SOUTHWEST OF LOVE AND MURDER.
Thanks, Lynda. And I like keep on keeping on too!
And I believe it was John Lennon who said "Life happens while you're making plans." And so it is. I hope your daughter-in-law and granddaughter are okay now.
You had a Volkswagen bus? I always wanted one, but just got a bug instead.
Now that you're able to promote your new release, I hope it becomes very successful
All the best to you.
Brenda, Loved the excerpt and the premise. I'm getting this one.
Brenda, Loved the excerpt and the premise. I'm getting this one.
Hi Sarah. Thanks for visiting. My DIL is managing her condition now and back to full time motherhood. I always wanted a bug - still do! My hubby and I hit the road in the bus and lived out of it for a month. Fun times. Some day I'll get that little yellow bug!
Sometimes real life intrudes on the best laid plans. Wishing you all the best with promo!
Catchy title and a murder mystery too. Good luck.
Catchy title and a murder mystery too. Good luck.
Brenda, I think you did a great job with the promo for Southwest of Love and Murder. I can only imagine the energy it took to manage so many farm, family, and literary duties all at once!
Love the phrases shared here today.
I don't see how you do it, juggling all you do And writing And promoting so effectively. Best of luck with Southwest of Love and Murder! I need to remind myself of that phrase Today Is...I remember it from back in the day, but I often forget it. If we could only remember that first days are that--forgetting the negative and beginning with a fresh outlook. Thanks for that--and for Keep on Keeping On because, Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. I'm smiling for the rest of this day. :)
Don't know what happened to my first part of my message, Brenda. Only the bottom posted. But...glad to see that your DIL and granddaughter are doing well. It's so hard for us to concentrate in situations like that. Take care.
Barbara E - Yay. Thanks. Thanks to Janinne and Cotton, Too.
Alison and Barbara B - I have an idea you juggle just as much as I do. Most writers do!
I'm glad your family's doing well, too. I love reading about your adventures in Tortuga Flats!
What a lot you've had to deal with. So sorry. I am glad things are better, and sending good thoughts and prayers for your daughter-in-law. Your latest release sounds awesome. What an intriguing blurb and excerpt. Best wishes!
Brenda you are amazing and so is your book. Loved the excerpt. Hoping your daughter-in-law is better. Best wishes!
Thanks, Liz. Glad you enjoy. Thank you, Alicia. You flatter me, Kayden, but thanks!
Good to hear the worst is over and your family is on the mend. Life is what happens when we're busy making other plans, so true. Best of luck with yours - plans and life that is. Oh, and the book, too.
Thanks so much, Margo.
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