Psst! A Special Just For My Readers

If you haven't read my cozy mystery Sounds of Murder and are just waiting for the price to come down before you purchase a digital copy--well, now is your lucky day. For readers of Subjective Soup--and only for you--I have created a coupon at Smashwords.com where you can purchase Sounds of Murder in digital format to fit almost any e-book reader for only $2.00. All you have to do is type in coupon number KR63S when you sign out.

This coupon will not last long, so hop to it, fellow bloggers and get your copy today!

Tomorrow Is Tarzan's Big Day--Maybe

Tomorrow is the day I'm slated to become a grandmother. That is, tomorrow is my daughter-in-law Kerry's due date--the date when baby Tarzan (named thus until his parents reveal his REAL name) is supposed to arrive. So, just how likely is it that the little fellow will arrive on schedule?

As I search the Internet, I find a variety of answers regarding statistics on how many babies are actually born ON their due date (not all that many). It appears that first babies generally tend to arrive AFTER the due date (sorry, Kerry!). If I go by my own personal birthing experiences, the little fellow should arrive early, but then, Kerry is not biologically connected to me, so there is probably no correlation there.

Our family are all excited about the impending birth. Milt bet he would arrive yesterday (sucker!). Cecilia votes for Sunday. I've got a feeling it's going to be Monday. Whatever day it turns out to be, you can tell, we're all anxious to meet little Tarzan.

What is your experience with due dates? Early? Late? On time?

(graphic from www.bestshopzones.com)

Rosemary: Our Prototypical Reader?

We autographed copies of our cozy mysteries for a delightful lady named Rosemary at the Aurora Public Library's Local Author Fair last Saturday. Rosemary told us (my writing buddy Diane and me) that she loved cozy mysteries and she quickly bought copies of each of our books (Sounds of Murder and Too Dead to Dance). They were a birthday present to herself, she said, for her 80th birthday!

Rosemary was a sweet, energetic lady with a twinkle in her eye. Diane and I enjoyed discussing cozies with her and finding out about her life. Rosemary told us why she liked cozy mysteries so much--she likes puzzles, and figuring out "who dunnit" but she dislikes, as she said, "all that violence." Yup! The prototypical cozy reader, I thought--just like Diane and me.

Meeting Rosemary made me wonder if most cozy readers are sweet little old ladies. Are there any young readers out there who enjoy solving crimes but don't care for all the gore and bloodshed? Are there any men out there who are intrigued by the investigation of a crime but prefer their crime novels with little graphic sex, foul language, or rolling heads?

Don't get me wrong. I love our readers--whatever gender or age. I'm just curious. Do any of you fit the prototype of a cozy reader?

(graphic from www.ofthejoys.blogspot.com)

The New Scribd

I've had my articles on the website Scribd for quite some time--mostly academic articles from my University publishing days. I tried to sell a short brochure on communication skills too but that hasn't been at all successful. Therefore, when I noticed that Scribd was really getting a lot of attention lately with its outreach into online book selling as opposed to merely document sharing, I decided to post my cozy mystery Sounds of Murder on my Scribd page.

In looking around the Internet for information on Scribd, I find a lot of controversy. Some folks think Scribd is a potential competitor of Amazon--others think it's merely a cheeky upstart. Some traditional publishers are leery of the Scribd format, but others are jumping in feet first.

As for me, as a small independent book publisher and author, I'm all for using any and every avenue that will get my books to the public. I'm curious about you--my readers. Have you heard of Scribd? Have you visited their site? Do you/would you buy ebooks from Scribd?

p.s. Please drop by my Scribd page and give me a shout out (or Follow Me) if you would be so kind!

(graphic from www.book-addicts.com)

Local Author Fair a Hit

Yesterday's Local Author Fair hosted by the Aurora, Illinois, Public Library, was a rousing success. My writing buddy Diane and I enjoyed ourselves, sold some books, and met many wonderful new friends among local area writers.

We were extremely impressed with how well organized the fair was. When I arrived, I had no sooner opened my car door than a perky young man was at my side offering to carry my box of books inside (and that was greatly appreciated as it was raining at the time). After checking in, all 45 authors were treated to lunch. Diane and I sat at a table with two other ladies who both write fiction. We were eventually joined by a gentleman who writes humor, and finally one of the library staffers. I probably learned enough at this lunch to make the entire experience worthwhile.

After lunch, another energetic young person assisted me by carrying by belongings to the display hall. Here, Diane and I were given a table to ourselves and time enough to set up our wares. At 1 p.m. the public was admitted and book lovers began arriving at our table. Many stopped to talk and ask about our books--Sounds of Murder and Too Dead to Dance. Many took literature about our books and our publishing company Cozy Cat Press. Some even purchased our books on the spot. It was a good thing that I had my husband Milt buy me a cash box and a receipt book and get me change at the bank.

Between customers, Diane and I had an opportunity to speak with other local authors at some of the neighboring booths. We swapped stories with them about the trials and tribulations that we had in writing our books and starting our company. It was gratifying to be able to share our experiences with like-minded individuals. Throughout the three hour event, the library staff came around regularly to bring us beverages and snacks and to check to see if we needed anything. We were truly pampered. This was a wonderful experience and one we hope to have again next year.

Come Up and See Me Some Time

If you live near Aurora, Illinois, and are searching for something to do tomorrow, please consider dropping by the Aurora Public Library's Local Author Fair. You'll get to meet many authors from the surrounding area (including me and my writing buddy Diane) and check out our books. The Library has planned a fabulous day for all who attend and I surely hope some of my blogger buddies in the area will drop by some time during the afternoon.

The event takes place in the Eola Road Community Center at 555 South Eola Road, in Aurora, from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, September 18th. Admission is free!

Amazon Prices Go Lower; Royalties Go Higher

For those of us authors who sell our books on Amazon's Kindle, we received a great piece of news this morning--not only great for us, but great for our readers too. Amazon is allowing authors who sell their books for their Kindle to increase their royalties from 35% to 70% which means we will be able to sell the Kindle versions of our books to you at much lower prices.

Amazon says it may take a day or two to process the change, but I've already changed the price of my Sounds of Murder on Kindle from $4.99 to $2.99, so if price was keeping you from getting a copy, I hope it is no longer a factor, and I hope you zip over to Amazon (in a day or two) and snap up your very own copy of Sounds of Murder.

How about my fellow authors out there? If you sell your books on Amazon's Kindle, are you changing your prices too to reflect their new royalty policies?

Linoleum Logic

Who in their right mind would cover a kitchen floor with white linoleum? Well, our house has just that in the kitchen and it's been driving me crazy since we moved in three years ago. Yes, plain, white linoleum--no pattern to hide dropped food particles, no dark color to cover stains--just plain old white linoleum.

Not only the plain color makes me bonkers, but the linoleum is of such an inferior quality that if you should drop a knife on the floor, it leaves a cut mark that eventually gets brown and rusty and no amount of scrubbing will remove it. It doesn't even help to have people walk around in their stocking feet because anything and everything leaves marks! Egads!

Why do they even make linoleum like this?

One Month Before

Vincent posted this poem on Goodreads. He wrote it after visiting the top of the World Trade Center exactly one month BEFORE the terrorist attacks of 9/11.




It's evening on August 11th, 2001,

and I'm on vacation in

New York City.

A friend who works in Manhattan

invites me to the

World Trade Center.

I meet up with him and take

the ear-popping rise

106 floors.

I step into a restaurant

and grab a drink at a place called

The Greatest Bar on Earth

There's music,

laughter,

people.

I follow my friend to one side of

the building to experience why they call this

Windows on the World.

I press my hands flat against the

thick glass pane and lower my gaze

to the illuminated city that flows below us.

My heart races from the view,

from the striking thought of my perch

on this sremarkable creation of steel and glass.

I turn to my companion and talk about

the past and present,

two Americans reconnecting.

More music,

laughter,

people joining our paradise in the sky.

Soon a second drink is handed to me

and my eyes return to the view,

not looking down now, but across.

I spot a twin building,

soaring above like ours,

The South Tower.

It has an observation deck on the roof,

my friend says,

you can see the entire city from it.

I picture myself atop that symmetrical giant,

staring up as a breeze cools my skin,

seeing only stars for a ceiling.

I turn and face the restaurant,

the bar, the people, and sip my drink

as if this glass heaven

would

always

exist."

(photo from www.bcuniversal.com)

Local Authors Are Blooming

Here is the poster for the Aurora, Illinois, Public Library's Local Author Fair which will be held Saturday, September 18. If any of you will be in the area, please drop by and say "hi" to Diane and me. We'll be there to publicize our publishing company Cozy Cat Press and our two cozy mysteries--Sounds of Murder and Too Dead to Dance.

My Love/Hate Relationship With Tom (Tom)

I had my first rendezvous with Tom-Tom when my sister and I took a trip to Davenport, Iowa, a few years ago. The dulcet tones of Tom-Tom's voice soothed me and its magical ability to determine exactly where we were and where we needed to go, comforted me. Unfortunately, Tom-Tom was a bit unforgiving when we attempted to stop for a quick snack and seemed almost belligerent that we had the audacity to make adjustments to its prepared itinerary.

More recently, I have made the acquaintance of another Tom-Tom which we got for my daughter--newly arrived from Louisiana--to help her learn the highways and bi-ways of Illinois. We have been testing this Tom-Tom on its ability to find the most effective route to my daughter's new job--a good thirty minutes from our house. Tom-Tom Number Two does seem to be fairly accurate (although it is convinced my daughter's office is across the street from where it actually is). My main complaint for this Tom-Tom is that it is seemingly frivolous in its choice of routes. Each time we plug in the same destination--it plots a different route. I don't know if it's trying to provide us with some variety in our drive or it's searching to avoid traffic, but what we'd like is some consistency in the route. There's probably a button to request "same route" but so far we haven't found it.

How about you? Do you have a Tom-Tom? Any GPS? Do you love it? Hate it?

(photo from www.gpstrends.com)

I Threw Out My Cereals

Yes, I threw out the Honey Bunches of Oats. I threw out the frosted flakes with pecans. I threw out the flakes with apple bits. I threw out all the boxes of cereal that my husband Milt bought at the grocery recently. He had orders from me to buy some new, tasty cereals, but what he brought home instead was more like candy.

I haven't eaten any new cereal in ages. However, some of the more recent kinds on the market are anything but cereal. Don't get me wrong. Most of these new cereals taste great, but they are so addictive--no doubt because of the amount of sugar in them. Eat a handful and you'll just keep on eating.

No, I think I'll stick with my old favorites--Cheerios and Grapenuts--and forget those overly sweet ones that merely masquerade as cereals.

What about you? Do you like any of the new cereals? Or do you have an old favorite?

(graphics from www.freemania.net and www.thecouponproject.com and www.sodahead.com)

Super Dooper Droppers

Many thanks to the wonderful folks who visited Subjective Soup during the month of August. Here are the names of the Top Ten Droppers from Entrecard who stopped by.

AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles
Guitarbench.com
Sparkle
The Ad Master
T-Shirt Reviews
comatised
Unofficial Chart Blog
Slightly Sarcastic
Parent Times
Living and Wellness

(photo from www.retrosuperfuture.com)