What Happened?

When you finish a book, what’s the first thing you do? Sigh loudly and grin? Jump up and down in your chair? Wave your arms in the air and act like an idiot? Or maybe you just take a deep breath and breathe again. On the other hand, if you’re like me, you do all of the above and forget everything you should be doing, like writing last week’s post.

People Lookin’ Half Dead – A Bogey Man Mystery is about to be edited and will be available soon. Right now I’m working on the cover, which is a whole ‘nother story, but think hot summer with record-breaking temperatures. And in the midst of the heat, homeless people are disappearing.

 Rough draft of the book cover. It will probably change. Well, yes, it will change.

Quite by accident, and with the help of Chris Cross’s grandmother, he and his wife, Pamela, become involved – again. Keep the heat in mind because it’s not going anywhere, and neither are the people who live on the street – with the exception of the few who are disappearing.

There was a young, tall, very thin homeless man whom I saw at a fast food place in Arizona. He was so dirty that his skin looked ashen. All he wanted was a drink of water. He was so soft-spoken and polite that you had to listen closely to hear him. I’ve never forgotten him, and he inspired this story. I wish I could have known what happened to him, but since I don’t, I gave him his own story.

There’s a touch of humor in the book. Even homeless people can laugh at life sometimes.

What about the book cover? Have you ever looked at an asphalt street during the hottest part of summer? Have you noticed the heat waves emanating from the asphalt? I wish I could have found a photo like that to use for my book cover, but I guess you can’t photograph heat waves. So I’m sticking with a very hot sun and a view of the city from a distance. Simple authors create simple covers.

Once the book is released I’ll look at doing some promotion. I haven’t really promoted much over the past few years. Oh, well… Life has changed and so have I.

The next book will be another Sandi Webster Mystery, but I haven’t decided on the subject matter yet. Another cold case? Maybe. Something current? We’ll see. I’ll be as surprised as you.

Back to the grindstone. I can’t seem to get the cover quite right. At least it keeps me busy while I try to dream up another escapade.

What do you do when you type The End at the finish of your story? Something exciting, I hope.

Until next time, I wish you a week of beginnings instead of endings. Maybe your personal story is just about to begin, and I hope it’s filled with laughter.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

A New Book (Coming Soon) - A New Cover

I’ve read that titles initially draw the attention of readers, and covers often come in second. If the books are facing outward, generally the cover will grab my eye first. If not facing outward, I scan the titles.

The title of Sandi Webster’s latest adventure will be, Gin Mill Grill – A Sandi Webster Mystery. It’s not quite finished yet, but the gist of the story is that someone wants Sandi to solve a murder from the early 1930s which indirectly involves an old speakeasy from the Prohibition era.

A few huge surprises await Sandi when she begins looking into the cold case. As often happens, things aren’t always as they appear. Additionally, why would someone from a younger generation be taking an interest in the old crime? Yes, Sandi’s in trouble again.

In the 1930s, a man was murdered and his brother disappeared. The police are pretty sure they know who committed the murder, but how did the brother disappear so completely and without a trace? Did he really take his brother’s life? Why?

There’s more to Horace and Harley Glosser’s story than anyone might suspect.

Like I said, that’s the gist of the story. However, there’s more to a book than just the story itself. A book cover would be nice. This is a “friend of a friend” situation. Dori Pendergrass is a friend of a friend, and now my friend. She’s also an artist, and she agreed to paint the cover for this latest book. Here’s a preview:

 

Yes, that’s a mummy sitting in a chair with a small Chiweenie on his lap. (Dogs do the darnedest things.) I’d explain, but you’ll want to read the book when it comes out to understand the dynamics.

The exciting part to me is that I have the original painting hanging over my fireplace.

I normally create my own book covers. I’m certainly no expert, but I sure have fun putting them together. Once in a while, I’m able to use photos I’ve taken myself, like the black butterfly, which visited in my own backyard. These are my personal three favorites:

And now I have a Dori Pendergrass painting to add to my list of favorites.

I’ve also created a few Book Trailers that can be found on my website on The Books Page. Those were a lot of fun to put together, too.

But then there’s the dreaded marketing and promoting. Some authors love this part of the process. I’m not one of them. To me, those are the most difficult parts of getting a book “out there.” Wouldn’t most of us just love to write a book, have it placed on a shelf, and move on to the next story? It doesn’t work that way, and I’ve been quite lax about the process for the past couple of years.

I kept writing, but life got in the way of the process. Well, life goes on, and so do I. It’s time to start thinking up some new promotional ideas. Maybe I should go back and read some of my old blogs. I offered advice to others but failed to follow my own advice.

Anyway, now you know a little about the story and you’ve seen the cover. Other than writing the book, what part of the process do you find to be the most fun or most fulfilling? The curious want to know.

Until next time, do something book-related this week and enjoy yourself. Read a new book, write a new book, browse at the bookstore or online. (I still enjoy a brick and mortar bookstore, but that’s just me.)

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website (I will update it soon.)

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

 

Back and Raring to Go

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been absent for a while. I’ll make a long story short.

My dog, Murphy, had to have surgery on his knee. There were complications, mostly from the medications he was on.

In the meantime we sold our two-story house and bought a one-story house. That meant packing, moving and unpacking. There were a few complications there, too.

It seemed like everything dragged on and on and on. Thankfully, we had a great Realtor who made things a little easier for us. (Thanks, Todd!)

Just to add to the issues, my daughter caught that nasty virus that’s going around, and I caught it from her. My heart goes out to those who are going through the illness.

During this time I did no writing and no reading. By evening I was tired and my eyes wouldn’t focus on book pages.

I had a dozen chapters done on my Work in Progress (WIP) and had to set it aside a few months ago. Now I’m back and I’ve picked up where I left off, and I’m having a great time.

Before the dog and house situation, I picked up a book of old newspaper headlines which were actually the first page of news. None of the headlines inspired me, but one story at the bottom of the page caught my eye and I read an account from many years ago, or at least part of it. It was continued on another page, and this book was only headline pages.

Anyway, there was a story about a man who was murdered in his home. When the police entered the residence, his brother (whom they believed to be the killer) had mysteriously disappeared. I didn’t do further research on the story. I didn’t want to know if the brother was the killer or how he disappeared. The general information from this article inspired “Gin Mill Grill,” my WIP.

As I sometimes do, I’ve created an old crime that has to be solved today. I kind of like Sandi Webster not having to walk in on a current crime and a, um, fresh corpse. Although, along those lines there are a few surprises in this story.

Just to add to the excitement, an artist, Dori Pendergrass, has already painted the new book cover. I’ll share it in the not too distant future. I’m totally taken with the cover, and the original painting will be proudly displayed on the wall in my office.

I live in Washington state, where it rains frequently. I’ve been so wrapped up in the new story that I haven’t really noticed the dark and dreary skies or the rain-soaked surroundings, except when I go outside. I glance skyward and think, Really? It’s cold and raining? When did that start?

Many of you know how it goes, but I’m still unpacking and setting up the house. Where do I hang this? Where do I place that? What can I give up without having fits? Two-story to one-story really puts a crimp in what there’s room to display and that includes both furniture and decor. Looks like there might be a yard sale come spring.

So, I’m back and happy to be here.

I don’t know that I’ll keep up with a blog-a-week, like I’ve done in the past, but I’ll do my best. In the meantime I want to get back to the book I was reading when this all started. I’ve missed my reading time as much as I’ve missed my writing time.

Have you ever noticed how things seem to happen in rapid succession? You take care of one issue and another pops up? Hopefully, things will turn around now.

Until next week, if you’re moving, my heart goes out to you. If your beloved pet is having surgery or any other issue, my heart goes out to you. If you’ve got the flu or the latest virus, get in to see the doctor quickly. I hope that from now on, things go smoothly for all of us.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website (In dire need of updating)

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

COMING SOON, or as soon as possible, Gin Mill Grill – A Sandi Webster Mystery. In the meantime you might want to keep up with her in Entrance to Nowhere – A Sandi Webster Mystery.