Now I need to go back and fix a number of issues that my critique group has already noted.  Then I’ll forge onward.

I’ll keep everyone posted as I go through the inspiration to publication. I really do think that this book is going to be my best yet.

I have fifty copies shipping to me right this second. (Well, perhaps the UPS man is taking a break right now.)

It’s been a long process, due to life upheaval on both my part and my editor/cover designer/business partner (yes, it’s all the same person).

Hopefully, Write of Passage will be smoother sailing (although, well, they are on a cruise ship, not a sail boat).

I’ve written three chapters so far. I’ll be trying to keep everyone posted as I write and edit the novel.

Or… both.

I do apologize that it took so long (and those waiting for a print version have a couple more weeks to wait). I hate when Real Life gets in the way of good fiction.

Hopefully, Book 3 “Write of Passage” won’t take as long to come out.

For those looking for the books:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Wrongs-Write-Cassandra-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B005ZU5FIC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1320268252&sr=1-1

Link to Nook Version

As soon as the print is available, I’ll post that as well.

Instead, it’s about why I chose to set the Cassandra Ellis mystery series in Baltimore, MD.

I think it makes more sense to set it in a larger city rather than the small towns seen in many cozy mysteries. Think Cabot Cove and Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. With all those victims dying and their murderers going to  jail, you’d think that the population of that town has to be approaching zero. Soon it will only be Jessica Fletcher and the Sheriff left in the town. I know I wouldn’t move to Cabot Cove.

Besides, since Baltimore has the fifth highest murder rate per capita, this means that Cassie has plenty of murders from which to choose.

 The book was first published in Kindle format on Friday, August 13, 2011.  We deliberately choose Friday the 13^th, deciding that a day traditionally connected with bad luck would bring good luck to a murder mystery book.

 And it has brought plenty of good luck.  Since that date, Dead to Writes has sold over 30,000 copies in one year, which isn’t shabby at all for an independent press published book. A vast majority of these sales were e-books, especially since Dead to Writes ebooks were discounted to 99 cents from March until last week.

 The best day for Dead to Writes was undoubtedly June 25, 2011.  On that date, for reasons unknown, the book rating dropped down to #35 in Paid Kindle (remember, lower is better.  Out of over 945,000 books on Kindle, Dead to Writes was number 34 in sales.)  On that day alone, we sold 1,000 copies.  It was a good day. J

 The book then spent about ten days in the Top Paid 100. It’s still doing fairly well, ranked around 4000 or so.

 I’ve been fortunate enough to receive dozens of positive emails from fans and over 35 reviews at Amazon (with a 4.3 rating at last check).  I don’t think any author has the words to describe how wonderful these lovely messages make one feel.  After all, each book  is a culmination of months or years of work. It’s my baby.

 And talking about babies, I truly do hope to get Dead to Writes a new sibling when Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Write is released.  Hopefully, that blessed event will happen before October.

While I can’t explain why these sometimes morbid ideas come to me, I thought I’d let you into my brain to see how.

One thing that has helped, actually, is the pattern I’ve established with the “write” titles in the Cassandra Ellis series: Dead to Writes, Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Write, Write of Passage, etc. I’ll hear phrases with “right” or “rite” and that leads to clever titles and great plot ideas.

But this example worked the other way around. I came up with a concept and found a title that will work for it.

I was dropping off some books to my friend and fellow MWAB board member, Gary Lester. Besides being an author, he’s also a gem appraiser, so I was visiting him at a jewelry store in a local mall where he was conducting appraisals.

When I walked in, Gary was just finishing up with one dejected looking customer. I saw the man take the jewelry box and the packet of information and mope out of the store. I had to ask Gary what had happened and he told me that he had just appraised a diamond ring for thousands less than the man had paid for it.

As I was leaving the mall, I was pondering how interesting it would be to be a gem appraiser. I then decided to include a gem appraiser in the Cassandra Ellis mystery series. So I needed a “write” title that would work for gems or appraisals. I grinned as The Price is Write came to mind.

So now I needed a motive for why a gem appraiser would be involved in a murder mystery. Thinking back to the client who had just found out his ring wasn’t as valuable as he had thought, inspiration struck. I won’t spoil the plot by revealing details, but I will say that Gary was disappointed to find out that the gem appraiser was going to be a victim in the book, rather than a villain or witness.

There will also be a really fun scene between Cassie and Whittaker that relates to the plot.

So this is one example of how I come up withe ideas. The real problem is that I come up with more ideas than I have time to write. This book will be Book 7 in the series, so I’ll have a long time before I get to write this particular story.

I have been extremely busy, but unfortunately not due to writing. I took a family trip to Germany, packed and moved, and have been taking care of my mother after a knee replacement.  So I’ve been a wee bit busy.

Still, I need to blog more. Especially since March was only the beginning of a fantastic run for “Dead to Writes.”  The book went all the way down to #34 and I greatly enjoyed being in the Top 100 Paid Kindles for a little over a week. The book is not that low anymore, but hopefully when the second one comes out, both sales will be boosted.

I am editing the first half now and hope to get edits on the second half soon.

I’ll keep everyone updated (no, really) as it gets closer.

But March came in like a lion and is going out like a lion (in terms of sales).

This month, Terry and I decided to lower all of Zapstone’s books to .99 for a March Madness sale. On March 2nd, that move resulted in Dead to Writes being featured on Pixel of Ink. It was a total surprise for me, since I had planned on recommending our books to that site, but hadn’t gotten a chance to do so. Sharon, the awesome host of that site, had found it herself.

Checking the computer and finding 74 sales on March 2nd was awesome. For the rest of the month, the book has been selling fairly consistently, and the sales rank at Amazon dropped from 18K to around 4K… then to the 1K mark and flirting around with triple digits.

Right now, the book is ranked #174 in Paid Kindle, the lowest rank it’s has ever achieved (and remember, low is good).

I ended up hitting 1,000 sales in one month (a milestone!) yesterday morning, the same day as my Book of the Day sponsorship on Ereader News Today. Since that sponsorship hit, I’ve sold over 300 books!

It’s a freaking amazing thing and I’m beyond excited.

In other news, my short story “Miked for Murder” was selected to be included in the anthology This Job is Murder. This is the fifth anthology published by the Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime. That book will come out in March 2012. I’m honored to be included with some really amazing authors.

I’m also getting closer to finishing Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Write. I had it mostly done, sent it off to a beta reader and wonderfully honest friend… and she found a number of issues with it (mainly motive-based).  So I’ve been struggling with it but should have it finished soon.

Again, I am so happy that my first book is doing well, and thank everyone who has read it, reviewed it, liked it or hated it… and a definite thanks to Terry Roy, my amazing friend, business partner, graphic designer, editor, and supporter.

Still finished Chapter 13. Chapter 14 should be fun, since Cassie is about to get interviewed by some not-very-nice cops.

First line written tonight: Perhaps a dolphin or two could break up the fight.
Last line written tonight: And I really hope that your father has an alibi this time.

According to the sheet, I need to get the first draft done and in Terry’s hands by February 28th.  If all goes well, the book will then be released in e-book format on May 8th and in print on May 15th.

This means I basically need to complete ten chapters in five days. Many of the chapters are partially written, so this is doable. I only managed one today… but I don’t work tomorrow, so should be able to do three.

First line written/edited tonight:

Gritting her teeth, Cassie stared at the outside of her home.

Last line:

It was humiliating to be embarrassed on the large screens.