THANK YOU, MS. GERARD

You all know Cindy Gerard for the wonderful books she writes and her terrific, entertaining posts on this blog. Some of you know her personally and will nod your head in agreement when I’m done with what I have to say today.

I met Cindy a few years ago on a cruise ship. Yes, you heard me right. She was participating in a promotional cruise called Authors at Sea, and I had signed on to the cruise as a reader. Mostly because I had just sold my first book to St. Martin’s Press and wanted to be part of the literary scene in any way I could.

Every night, during dinner, the authors on the roster would rotate tables, sit with the readers and break bread. One night, Cindy sat at our table and when I shyly told her that I had just sold a book, she broke into a big Cindy smile and congratulated me. She seemed almost more excited for me than I was.

Cindy and I have since become good buddies, largely through email, but also meeting up and having lunch at a couple of conferences. And this is how good of a buddy Ms. Gerard is:

When I was writing my latest book, TRIAL JUNKIES, Cindy took time away from her hectic schedule and approaching deadline and edited the book for me. Line by line, chapter by chapter. She did this while I was still writing it and also played cheerleader in chief all along the way.

There’s nothing more supportive than another author—an author you respect—giving you that boost of confidence you need when you’re lost in the midst of creation, wondering if what you’re writing is any good or simply isn’t worth squat.

I can tell you, with certainty, that TRIAL JUNKIES wouldn’t be half the book it is if it weren’t for Cindy. Not simply because of those terrific edits that helped me see the forest for the trees, but because her daily encouragement kept me believing and made me want to write my best work.

And I do think TRIAL JUNKIES is my best work.

I’ll get the obligatory blatant self-promotion out of the way by telling you that TRIAL JUNKIES is the story of a group of old college housemates who, after ten years, come together to support a friend on trial for murder. Convinced that their friend is innocent, they decide to search for the real killer themselves—and wind up in a boatload of trouble.

The book is currently in the midst of a FREE promotion for Kindle users on Amazon. Just click here Trial Junkies and download—but be quick, because the promotion ends tomorrow. I hope if you do download the book and enjoy it, you’ll let other readers know by posting a review on Amazon.

But enough of that. I just want to take a moment to get back to Cindy. I’m sure she’s going to argue with me and say, “Oh come on, don’t make me post this.” But I’m going to insist. Because although I may have thanked her in the book’s acknowledgements, that isn’t nearly enough.

So I just want to say, here in public, THANK YOU, Ms. Gerard, for going above and beyond on my behalf.

I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Note from Cindy: Thank you Mr. Browne for writing this just the way I told you to and putting me in such a fantastic light.  Not that anyone will believe all your BS but I do appreciate the effort.

PS note from Cindy:  Even if I didn’t know this guy – I’d buy every book he’s ever written and will ever write.  Yes, he’s that good.  Sony even bought Kiss Her Good-bye and developed a Pilot for CBS.  It ALMOST made it.  Go figure – Tom Sellack and Blue Bloods inched it out.

PPS note from Cindy:  For the record, I really am that nice in case you ever wondered.  <g>

PPPS note from Cindy:  You’re going to LOVE Trial Junkies which, let me remind you is FREE for the price of FREE! Yes, I said FREE.  Just click on the title and download it …. wait for it … FREE~~~  Are you sensing a theme here? 

And for the whopping price of 99 cents, you can buy Bottom Deal a terrific short story featuring Nick Jennings, a character I want to see more of.  And FREE for Prime members but only $2.99 for everyone else is Kiss Her Good-bye another super read

Once you’ve read them and LOVED them, make sure you check out his other fabo titles.  I’m a huge Lee Child fan but Rob (Mr. Browne – ahem) is right there at the top of my list.

  
So – have any of you ever read books you’d like to see turned into a movie or a TV series?  Have you ever found a new author by picking up a free book on Amazon or B&N or your e-book provider of choice?  Who out there is still holding out and doesn’t have an e-reader?  And if you don’t … are you waffling about buying one?  Inquiring minds want to know these things.

Starting Over – You Up For It?

Are you happy with the path your life has led you? Are you satisfied with your job? Does your personal life work for you?  I know, serious and heavy questions. But I suspect we all have to face them in some form or other at some point in our lives.  If you had to start over, with a job, relationship or whathaveyou, could you do it?  How would you do it?

This question has touched my life recently in that I’ve been watching my husband face those questions. Because of the economy he’s facing some serious life changes. And it’s made me look at him in new ways.  Our menfolk are supposed to be the strong ones, the stoic heroes in our lives. They are not soft. They are bold and impeccable.  Yet really, we all know they are the ones who fall the hardest and need the most support. He’s facing the tough questions, and I’m asking myself those same questions as he learns the answers, good, bad or ugly.

So what about you? Have you ever thought about the challenges that would go into starting a new career?  Starting over in a new relationship after many years in a secure one, either in business or personally?  Do you think you could do it, or would you prefer life just remain as it is, steady on course and never changing?

I’ve always thought I liked my life as it is. I have a job I enjoy, my family is well and I’m basically happy.  But life has a way of forcing us to meet challenges at any turn. I guess I won’t know if I’m up for it until I’m in the thick of it, but if I’ve learned anything by watching my husband, I do welcome the challenge when it arrives.

Starting over can be scary, but many people do it because they have to, or even because they want to.  I’d love to hear your story about starting over, the trials and the rewards.  It’s a part of life, isn’t it?

Michele

Celebrity Thrill!

Okay, he might not be George Clooney or Brad Pitt, but I sat within twelve feet of a singing and sorta-dancing Keith Carradine last night…and he was great!

Surfer Guy and I went to see a new American musical titled “Hands on a Hardbody” based on a 1997 documentary of the same name. (BTW, had perfect view of the solar eclipse on the way to the theater). It tells the story of 10 contestants trying to win a hardbody truck. The contest requires the participants keep a hand on it at all times…the last one still touching the truck wins it.

I predict it will go to Broadway, as did several of the other playgoers around me. What makes it work is that the 10 people all have different life stories and motivations for wanting the truck and we get to learn about them and they learn about each other during the course of the contest. I thought the songs were great. There might be a little more they could do on the dancing end, but they have some imaginative choreography–remember, the people have to keep one hand on the vehicle at all times.

Completely fun night at the theater! We have season tickets and sit in the front row, center, so I really felt as if they were performing exclusively for me. And we got to drink wine during the performance! This is new. They used to only allow you to drink in the lobby and outside before the play and during intermission but now you can bring your drink to your seat. We wondered if they were trying to keep up with concert venues, but no, they said: “We just want to sell more wine.” Hey, it was much better than trying to drink a glass quickly during the brief intermission.

This is the same theater that introduced “Jersey Boys,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and “Memphis” (among others) before Broadway. I’d say another winner!

I’ve been so busy this is the first theater I’ve been to in ages. What have you seen at the movies? I haven’t yet been to “The Avengers” and I think I might really like it.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Or even better than a chicken dinner?  A copy of Cynthia Cooke’s Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies!  And the winner is…  Kathy Bennett!

Kathy, email toastfaery@gmail.com and state the email address at which you’d like to receive the digital copy of this book from Cynthia.  Congrats!

Download THE LAST GOOD MAN free today

As of midnight last night THE LAST GOOD MAN was # 1 on the Amazon free download list, and it still holds the # 1 spot as we speak!

Today is the last day of the promotion, so get yours now.  If you like it, please do a little review on Amazon and B&N.  That’s one of the reasons for giving the book away—satisfied readers are our best advertisers.  And THE LAST GOOD MAN aims to please.

Happy weekend!

Everybody Wins Today!

Free is good, right?

I love a good deal, and have I got one for you.  For 2 days—count ‘em, May 17 and 18—you can download THE LAST GOOD MAN free at Amazon.   Don’t have a Kindle?  I don’t either.  You can read it on your computer and store it in your “cloud.”  Archive.  Whatever.  Do it now.  We’ll be here when you get back.

As I said, I love a deal—it smells like victory—which is why I’ve been inhaling Groupon and Living Social e-mails lately.  I’ve discovered local restaurants and shops, bought gifts and services—things I’d wanted to try but not ready to buy.  Price is often the deciding factor.  Besides being an affordable way to try things, I’m guessing that Groupon is an affordable way to advertise and bring in new customers, especially for small businesses.  I’m seeing deals on all kinds of summer activities and lessons lately—sailing, horseback riding, martial arts, ballroom dancing.

My best buy lately was a photo scanning service.  I’m the keeper of the Pierson family pictures, and at one point I’d said I’d have copies made.  That point was long ago.  Technological gizmos have come and gone.  When I saw the Groupon deal last fall, I pounced thinking I’d finally get this done, great Christmas present for my brother and sister.  So I managed to get it done for…let’s see, missed Spring equinox…Ah, Mother’s Day.  I plugged the CD into the machine as soon as the box arrived, and I have to tell you, I am really pleased.  I just sent my sibs their surprise copies—can’t wait to hear their squeals of delight.  Seriously, the California company did a fabulous job, and the deal was a steal.  But I’m already working on my next batch of pictures.  Guess what my adult kids are getting for Christmas?

I had one Groupon buy—a special board game I wanted for a birthday party—that didn’t arrive in a timely fashion.  I contacted Groupon.  They gave me $10 in “Groupon bucks” (the $25 game was $14 with shipping) AND got me the game pronto.  Two thumbs up on the service.

So back to the free download.  It’s a time-sensitive deal, remember, Thursday and Friday only.  But it’s totally free—a fabulous promo from my publisher, Bell Bridge Books.  Why free?  Because free is good.  But so is—if I do say so myself—THE LAST GOOD MAN.  (Check out this new review.)  It was on Library Journal’s “Top 5 Romances of the Year” list.  It’s the only Romance ever (as far as I know) to be a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award.  We think you’ll enjoy it.

And then we think you’ll come back for the sequel, YOU NEVER CAN TELL, which is Kole Kills Crow’s story.  Coming soon from Bell Bridge Books.

Tell us about the deals you’ve found lately.  Do you Groupon?  How about free downloads—have you discovered great books and new authors that way?

Technorati Tags: Kathleen Eagle,free download,free book

Guest: Cynthia Cooke

Yay!  Good friend, and longtime critique partner, Cynthia Cooke is riding in the convertible with us today.  Though, the last time we critiqued anything was, well…  Cynthia has an exciting new release AND she debuts the new Dead Sexy line from Entangled with DEADLY SECRETS, LOVING LIES.  She’s got an electronic copy for one lucky commenter, so show her some love in the comments!

Twins!

Who doesn’t love cute cuddly twins?  Even when they’re older, we are all fascinated by them. I know I am.  And as a mother of twins, I can tell you everything you hear about them is true! What one child doesn’t get into the other one will. They are constantly keeping you hopping.

My twins are fraternal; meaning, two sperms, two placentas, two babies growing independently at the same time. So they don’t have that “twin” thing. You know, where one feels what the other one is feelings, etc. Some kind of cool psychic connection. Though I’m sure my daughter really does NOT want to know what my son is feeling, and I can assure you, visa versa is definitely true.

Personally, I love shows and books with twins. One of my all-time favorite books is Deceptions by Judith Michaels about identical twin sisters who switch places. Obviously, it’s old. But I loved it and the movie they made based on it with Stephanie Powers.

And, if you didn’t watch Ringer this season, you missed out.  It was one of my favorite shows this last season. In Ringer, a twin on the run takes over her sister’s identity after she believes her sister to have committed suicide. Of course, she hadn’t, she was up to some nasty scheming all of her own.  Juicy fun!

Given my fascination with all things multiple, it’s no surprise then that I would have sisters in my new book, Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies.  And they’re not just sisters, or twins, but triplets!

Adorable!!   Only they’re all grown up.   And they do have that “psychic” thing. In fact, they’re all psychic. And not only that, they rock!

Genie — is our super kick-ass agent

Cat – is our mom with boy/girl twins of her own who keeps WAY too many secrets

Becca – the drama queen who causes more trouble than the girls or the men in their lives know how to deal with.

All three of these girls are too hot to handle, and don’t make it easy for the men in their lives. See for yourself in this small excerpt from Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies:

 

Kyle stared in disbelief at the odd, mushroom-shaped
structure rising up from the cracked, dry earth of the
Nevada desert.
“There she is,” the voice of Johnny Garino, his crew
chief and closest friend, buzzed in his earpiece.
Genie stood on the roof of the strange house. Three
black SUVs were corralled on the ground far below her.
She looked incredible, breathtaking, silhouetted against
the brilliant blue sky. Kyle sucked in a breath as she
clipped a cable to her belt.
“She’s getting ready to fly!” Johnny called out, his
voice rising in pitch.
“Hold on, baby. I’m almost there.” Kyle pushed down
on the throttle urging the bird faster, even as he willed
Genie to turn and see him, to hold on until he could sweep
her away from the danger.
And once he did, once he had her safe and secure in
his cockpit, then what?
Then he’d try not to kill her himself.

This book and these characters were a blast to write.  And I know, they won’t be the last twins and triplets I write about.   How do you feel about multiples? And what are some of your favorite shows and books portraying the lives of twins and triplets?

Cynthia Cooke

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies

The teaser book for Entangled Publishing’s newest Romantic Suspense line Dead Sexy Books!

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook at

http://twitter.com/cynthiacooke5

https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.cooke.authorpage

Also, if you have a moment, please stop by the online auction called A Win For Berlin benefitting a child with brittle bone disease. With the help of some incredibly generous members of the writing community and local businesses, an online auction has been created.  Beginning Friday, May 11, at 1:00pm PST, simply go to Ebay.com, enter A Win For Berlin in the search field and start bidding on the great gifts and services donated by Award Winning and Bestselling authors, artists, and local businesses.