Friends of the CU Libraries, Just Desserts presents Shannon Baker!

A sweetheart of a day!

What could be more fun than Valentine's Day in Heart City? Valentine, Nebraska! The first Tattered Legacy event. What a sweetheart of a day!

My (Not so Secret) Graphic Design for Friends, Part Two

As I mentioned in my October blog, in my past life, when I worked full-time at a day job, I enjoyed graphic design, so I splurged a number of years ago and purchased Photoshop. Since then I've created graphics for my own books and short stories, including business cards, postcards, book trailers, posters, and ebook covers.

I've also enjoyed creating images for a few friends, and today I'm sharing more of that work!

Here's my most recent effort, a bookmark for Shannon Baker featuring the three books in her Nora Abbott mystery series!

Shannon Baker offers readers a deft mix of both important contemporary issues and the 

timeless spiritual traditions of the Hopi.  For those of us who hunger for the kind of novel 

Tony Hillerman used to write so well, this promising new series may just fill the bill. 

– William Kent Krueger, Bestselling author of the Cork O’Conner Mystery Series

Then there's Paul Flanders and his novel, Aspire.  Here's the full jacket for the paperback version.

On the earth plane Ernie Colstad, a high school English teacher, is grief stricken 

when his favorite student commits suicide. On the spiritual plane, his two guardian 

angels try to help Ernie find the fortitude to deal with the crisis and conflicts with 

the school administration in order to improve his chances to transcend to their tier.

And here's one of Paul's short stories, Learning to Lead.

Oh, how I love books!

~ Janet Fogg

www.janetfogg.com

Old Dog

By Nib

I miss my daughter. She’s all grown up and living hundreds of miles away from me. This is the kid who always makes me laugh. She often gives wise counsel well beyond her years. She’s smart and interesting. But what I’m missing most about her today is her youth.

Because simply by being young, she understands technical things is a way I fear I never will. I remember a time when I could keep up. I actually could program my VCR. I was a fairly early adopter of computer technology, researching online when we had dial-up connections. I had one of the first bag phones. But somewhere along the line, technology overtook me, ran me down and crushed me under its boots.

It worked out fine, though, since my daughter lived with me. She could teach me how to use the remote and DVR shows. She synced my iPod and programed the heater. But she moved on several years ago and I have lapsed into laziness, falling ever further behind. I quit using my iPod and since we moved to rural Nebraska and don’t have fancy TV service that would allow me to record shows, I settle for Netflix and Amazon (only doable because my daughter bought me a Roku device and my super-smart husband set it up).

But things are fixing to change around here. It all started a few months ago. A friend published an audio book and asked me to give it a listen. So I had to figure out how to download audio books onto my phone. Man, that opened up a whole new world for me. I had used books on tape and CD forever, but now I could listen to books anywhere!

Then my good friend and fellow Midnight Inker, Mark Stevens, kept talking about podcasts writers would find interesting. He started a new column in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter and his first recommendation is Reading and Writing Podcasts.

 I’d been listening to a few podcasts from NPR for a couple of years so I figured I could do this, too. Mark explained the podcasts were an easy download from iTunes and free.

Okay, first step: download an ap on my phone since I have an Android, not iPhone. Except the aps won’t download. On the website, it tells me it’s installed but on my phone, it’s in perpetual downloading mode. For hours and hours. Two different aps, same result. Several attempts (that old definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results) and nothing. Next step: find old iPod. How many times have we moved since I last used that thing? Too long.

Third step: borrow husband’s shuffle. Plug it into my computer, download the podcasts onto my computer and sync shuffle to iTunes. Except, it won’t sync. Read online guides. See nothing in the instruction illustrations that looks similar to the screens iTunes is showing. Curse like a sailor.

Two hours later, after much frustration, and temptation to start shooting whiskey at 10 A.M., I have a fully loaded shuffle. I have no idea how I did it. I’m pretty sure I can’t replicate the process.

I have a plan, though. When I finish listening to the podcasts, I’m going to buy my daughter a plane ticket to see me.

Have You Got It?

by Nib

I researched flights for Bouchercon. I checked my email and had an on-line conversation with my daughter. I wandered over to Facebook and blew an hour. After that, I messed around with some hot tub maintenance. Then it seemed like time for coffee so I brewed a pot and read a few articles in The Week.

I dug into the file cabinet looking for an obscure bill from last year to compare with this year. Checked my emails again and answered some questions. Then back to Facebook. And out to check on the garden….

All of this while carrying around a fifty-pound sandbag of guilt, knowing I have a big word count I set for today. I can’t seem to force myself to BICHOK this morning. (Butt In Chair, Hands on Keys) Now it’s nearly noon and I’m still in high-speed avoidance behavior. To break the seal and get the words “flowing,” I’ve finally settled into writing this blog.

I finished the draft of a novel and sent it off to an editor three weeks ago and I’m going crazy waiting to hear what she thinks. I know there will be suggestions, dear lord there are always suggestions. But I don’t know what those will be and how much work it’s going to take to make my little snot-nosed manuscript presentable. Still, I finished a book and have a great beginning on the next one.

And that’s my problem. I’m battling that “Hey, you rock” attitude with the “Don’t quit ‘til you’re done” guilt. I spent a lot of years as a Lutheran and I am from Nebraska, so you can see where the work ethic/guilt part might be pretty ingrained. Seriously, though, what would be so wrong with taking one day off? Sure, I know Stephen King never takes a day off, but I’m no Stephen King.

Then I happened along a TED Talk on something called grit. (Yes, I stumbled upon it while browsing in Facebook, why do you ask?) http://tinyurl.com/c2sxaay. According to Angela Lee Duckworth, grit is what causes success. It’s not how smart we are or how talented we are, but it’s the ability to dig in and keep working toward the goal.

Angela Lee Duckworth

I even took the quiz linked to the video. (Well, I was murdering time so why not?) If I answered the questions honestly—and I’m not above lying to myself—it turns out I have quite a bit of grit. I might go ahead and agree with that assessment, though. I’m not the most brilliant bulb in the chandelier, nor am I gifted with great heaps of writing talent. But I’ve been toiling away on writing books for a very long time.

I haven’t achieved success in terms of John Grisham or Nora Roberts but I’m continuing to make progress in my writing career. I’m becoming a better writer with each book I turn out and I’m learning more and more all the time. To stick with this crazy business and challenging career, it takes grit, not to mention a loose grasp on sanity.

So now, duly inspired and my fingers well oiled, I am shutting off Facebook, turning away from email and setting up in the blocks in today’s race for word count.

When you hit a writing funk, what fires up your gritty nature and sends you back to the keyboard?

New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards Finalist!

Shannon Baker's Tainted Mountain is a finalist in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards!

“A thoroughly satisfying mystery! Shannon Baker captures the grandeur and fragility of the western landscape while keeping the pages turning. And Nora Abbot is a fiery and tenacious sleuth whose future career in crime solving will be fun to watch.” — MARGARET COEL, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BUFFALO BILL’S DEAD NOW

Mining Words from Local Authors

Louisville Public Library

951 Spruce Street
Louisville, Colorado

Sunday June 2nd and June 23rd
1:30 - 4:30pm

Do you have an interest in publishing a book? Want to support our talented local authors? Meet Colorado residents who have recently published their books. The authors will have an opportunity to share their tales of writing, publishing their books, or share the stories that led them to becoming authors. The featured books will be available for purchase from the authors.

Authors for June 2nd
Janet Fogg, Fogg in the Cockpit and Soliloquy
Shannon Baker, Tainted Mountain
Drusilla Tieben, Discover the Life You Want to Live
Richard Evans, Alaskan Dawn
William Martino, Spirit Touch the Masteries in Meditation
Karen Leh, Dream of an Inland Sea

Authors for June 23rd
Tim Catalano, Running the Edge: Discover Secrets to Better Running and a Better Life
Howie C. Wolf, M.D., I Really Didn't Want to Become a Doctor
Dr. Debby Hamilton, Preventing Autism & ADHD: Controlling Risk

Factors Before, During, and After Pregnancy
Daniel Rirdan, The Blueprint: Averting the Global Collapse
Leanette Tarpley, The Changing: An Extraterrestrial Encounter
Donna Remmert, The Littlest Big Kid, The Jitterbug Girl, and Head Over Heels

Please join us!

A Terrific Book Signing!

Shannon Baker's book signing on March 16th at the Broadway Book Mall was such fun, and Tainted Mountain sold out! Fortunately, Shannon had additional copies of the book stashed in her car. Whew! 

Thank you, Shannon, for the amazing chocolate chip cookies. And for writing such a great book!

And thank you, Ron and Nina, for again hosting such a happy event!

“A thoroughly satisfying mystery! Shannon Baker captures the grandeur and fragility of the western landscape while keeping the pages turning. And Nora Abbot is a fiery and tenacious sleuth whose future career in crime solving will be fun to watch.” — MARGARET COEL, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BUFFALO BILL’S DEAD NOW

Book Launch! Book Launch! Tainted Mountain (A Nora Abbott Mystery)

Tainted Mountain by Shannon Baker is now available!

Nora Abbott needs to make enough snow to save her ski resort from the drought that is ravishing Northern Arizona, and her recent court victory should mean good times are ahead. But when the death of Nora’s husband brings her overbearing mother into town, energy tycoon Barrett McCreary uses the opportunity to launch what might just be a hostile takeover of her cash-strapped resort.

To make matters worse, the local Hopi tribe still claims that making snow on the mountain will upset the balance of the earth, and someone is taking matters into their own hands in an explosive way. The ruggedly handsome Cole Huntsman keeps turning up to help Nora, but he seems to be dealing from both sides of the deck. And with a business empire’s profits—not to mention lives—at stake, double-dealing is a deadly strategy.

Praise:

“Tainted Mountain is a story as mysterious and beautiful as the Arizona landscape in which it’s set. Shannon Baker offers readers a taut, cautionary tale that is a deft mix of both important contemporary issues and the timeless spiritual traditions of the Hopi. For those of us who hunger for the kind of novel Tony Hillerman used to write so well, this promising new series may just fill the bill. Pick up Tainted Mountain and prepare to be entranced.” ~ WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE CORK O’CONNOR SERIES

“Pitting greed against the future of a people, Baker’s thoughtful thriller, Tainted Mountain, not only presents a compelling clash of myth and violence that will keep you guessing, it also reads like such a love letter to the natural world, you won’t want it to end.” ~ KRIS NERI, AUTHOR OF REVENGE ON ROUTE 66

“A thoroughly satisfying mystery! Shannon Baker captures the grandeur and fragility of the Western landscape while keeping the pages turning.” ~ MARGARET COEL, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BUFFALO BILL'S DEAD NOW