For the next few weeks, I’ll have blog posts and Q&As with bloggers around the world. The tour is to promote my new release The Arranger, but there’s lots of great information about a variety of subjects and an opportunity to win print and e-books. I hope you’ll stop in at a few.
Like all writers (and humans!), I have moments of jealousy. Sometimes when I see someone post a glowing review of their book from Publisher’s Weekly, I think: I wish I could get reviewed by PW. I want my first thought to be: That’s terrific. I’m so happy for you. I don’t want to be jealous or ungrateful or negative. Those kind of thoughts can end up in a spiral, so I’m currently trying to retrain my brain, especially for how I think and feel about a certain family member. Read more →
What do you do when a minor character is so much fun you can’t let her go? You plot a novel just for her. That story became The Arranger, a futuristic thriller involving two wildly different concepts: a software technician who devolves into a killer and a national endurance competition called the Gauntlet. This unusual story developed from several ideas that came together for me: Read more →
I came across some statistics on school bullying recently and was dismayed that this practice is accelerating. It was bad enough when I was in high school, but those incidents seem tame in comparison. Still, a single incident had a profound effect on me. I entered high school the size I am now, but during initiation week, I worried that seniors would harass me. I was prepared to stand my ground, but it never happened. I was big, smart, and confident and no one messed with me. Others weren’t so lucky. Read more →
I met Marva at a book fair and critiqued a few chapters of her fantasy novel. The writing was terrific, the story was engaging, and if I had been a YA fantasy publisher, I would have bought it. I’ve since read several of her novels, and I’m happy to recommend them. Now Marva has turned to writing mysteries, and I’m pleased to introduce her new e-book, Missing, Assumed Dead, a fast-paced engaging story. Read more →
I’ve gone back and forth for months trying to decide whether to price the e-book version of my new release, The Arranger, at $.99 or $2.99…for the launch phase. The thinking is this: At 99 cents, I’ll sell more copies, the book will go higher on the Amazon charts, and I’ll get more exposure. But I won’t make much money…unless it hits the top of the charts and stays there for a long time. But can I count on that? Read more →
This is the third post in a series about exceptional women in Eugene.
It takes a special kind of person to be so committed to a goal that it factors into nearly every single life decision. Sarah Bertram is that kind of person. The 26-year-old champion weightlifter has her eye on making the 2012 Olympic team, and she won’t let anything get in her way. Vacations are out of the question; they take too much time away from training. Read more →
This is the second post in a series featuring exceptional women in Eugene.
As a student of English literature, Kathy Flynn never imagined she would one day carry a gun and conduct a traffic stop that would almost turn deadly. “When I was young, if anybody had told me I would be a police officer, I would have wondered what they were smoking,” says Sergeant Kathy, who supervises the Eugene Police Department’s violent crimes unit. Read more →
This is the first post in a series about exceptional women in Eugene.
For most young women, planning for college is a matter of filling out paperwork. For Hoang Nguyen, a native of South Vietnam who’s now a cardiothoracic surgeon, it meant putting her life on the line, crossing a treacherous ocean in a boat with a converted motorcycle engine, and braving unimaginable hardship. Read more →
As a thank you to readers who’ve supported me and made it possible for me to write full time—and in celebration of my birthday—I’m offering all five Detective Jackson books on Kindle and Nook for $.99 for the month of July. If you own another type of reader and want to take advantage of this offer, contact me. Read more →
