Updates--Updates--and More Updates!

Sorry for going missing again. Life seems to always get in the way. But there are so many awesome things happening, I wanted to drop in and update ya'all on the good news.

First off, I was asked by my favorite blogger, Kristen at Pretty Little Pages to run an event called The Indie Fall Fest with her next month! I was so humbled and excited when she asked me to take on such a huge role in it. I am more than excited to be able to help her out as well as all the fabulous indies out there just like she helped me out numerous times. I'm ready to give back! It's going to be 24 days of giveaways, guest posts, interviews, reviews, creative writing prompts, and more! Check back for more updates within the next few weeks!

In book news, I finally finished Into the Darkness! I'm pretty sure I have been working on it for more than a year, but I lost track of time. I am really excited with what it has become and can't wait to get a few beta readers on it to help me flesh out all the last bit of kinks. The Fighter has been making it's rounds through betas and so far, I've heard only good feedback. I know I will end up having to add more to it and flesh it out a tiny bit more, but I am also happy with the product and response thus far. I haven't decided yet which one will be my next release but I am hoping for an October release. Stay tuned!

Reviews on all of my three books out currently are going great! I am so close to 20 reviews on each, I can practically taste it. I wish more people who obtained the books while they were on free promotions would post reviews so it said "verified review", but I'm happy with what has transpired so far. I am testing out a theory with Beautifully Broken, so I have lowered the price down to $1.99 for the next couple of weeks. I'm curious with the change in price if it will increase my sales or not. It's actually been selling decently at the $2.99 rate, but since it's free promotion it has slowed down quite a bit.

I have 31 likes on my Amazon author page and over 375 on my Facebook author page. It's climbing slowly. Hopefully it won't be too long before I reach 50 and 500! 

Have I mentioned lately how tiring, non-stop, and difficult marketing is? It's hard! I feel like I pushed so hard originally and now I am losing steam. I need to get some of it back. It's a full time job. You only get back as much as you put into it. 

I finally got my first Amazon payment! Apparently I didn't realize I needed to set it to EFT payments. But I was paid for my sales during the month of July. They told me they were going to send me a one time check payment as well, so I'm wondering when that will show up because that should be my payment for June. I'm happy with how well things are going, but I know they could be better. I'm wondering with the releases of The Fighter and Into the Darkness how that will affect my future sales for my backlog. Only time will tell.

I'm anxious to get back to writing Against All Odds. I've been anxious since I began outlining it to get deeper into Austyn and Avery's heads and now I finally can! I probably won't be able to release it before the end of the year like I had wanted, but I am shooting for a January release. I am nervous about writing it and know there are a lot of people with high expectations and I don't want to let anyone down. I need to figure out how to create a boxed set so that when I do release it, that is something I can offer my readers.

I've also been debating creating a newsletter to keep people updated with all my new releases. And special excerpts and teasers only for my newsletter. I've been worried no one will sign up though. I think I will wait until I am closer to 1000 likes on Facebook to do that as well as think about creating a street team.

I've had two recent reviews of Pieces of Me that deserve honorable mentions. The first was from Kat at Escape Reality. She gave the book three stars and broke down her feelings for the majority of the characters. I thought it was a quirky fun review. You can check it out here.

The second review came in from Hayley at The Reading Wonderland who gave it a whopping 5-star review! Check out the awesomeness here.

Okay, I think I've blabbed on enough. Hope you're having a fabulous Sunday! :)

A Good Girl: A Charlie McClung Mystery by Mary Anne Edwards

A Good Girl: A Charlie McClung Mystery by Mary Anne Edwards

For Charlie McClung, going home to Virginia with Marian was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but upon arrival at his childhood home, he’s met with a note instead of his family. “Don’t worry, Love, we’re all okay. Come to the shop. A dead girl was found in an armoire delivered just now. Huggies, Ma” Charlie is quickly recruited to help solve the murder of a young girl who was on the path to becoming a nun. The suspects begin to mount as Charlie delves deep into the girl’s life revealing a sordid and ugly side of the town’s good girl.

Interview with Mary Anne Edwards:

          1.) What inspired you to write The Charlie McClung Mysteries?

The first book is loosely based on a true story. It was originally going to be a stand-alone. But at the end, I want to know more about Charlie and Marian. So it became a series with ten planned so far.

2.) How long have you been writing?

For as long as I can remember, but seriously since 1999.

3.) What book inspired you to begin writing traditional mysteries, if any? 

You asked for one, but I can’t peg it on just one book. “Face of a Stranger” by Anne Perry, “A Killing at Badger’s Drift” by Caroline Graham, and “The Mummy Case” by Elizabeth Peters.

4.) Who is your favorite author(s)?

My favorite authors are Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters, Agatha Christie, and Caroline Graham, just to name a few. I’ve found a new author, Gretchen Archer. I love her main character, Davis Way. Her books are fun mysteries, if that makes any sense.

5.) If you had to choose a fictional character from one of your books to have lunch with, who would it be and why?

That would have to be Ma, in the second book, “A Good Girl”.

6.) What has been your biggest accomplishment since publishing?

Hmm, that’s a hard question. I guess, sitting on a panel at Killer Nashville this year. I was flattered to have attendees ask me for advice after the session was finished.

7.) Do you have anything else in the works apart from your series?

I have a stand-alone women’s fiction manuscript that I would like to publish. And I have an out of print collection of short stories, I’d like to rework.

About the Author:

Mary Anne was born in Mercedes, Texas, but has lived in Georgia most of her life.  She has had a variety of experiences in her life. Some were great and some, well let's just say Mary Anne has learned many lessons the hard way.  

    

Mary Anne has been married for nearly 34 years to the most practically perfect man, Jeff.  They enjoy traveling and watching mysteries on TV.  Mary Anne is active in Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter and sits on the advisory board of Rockdale Cares, Inc., a non-profit advocacy group for the developmentally challenged.

Although Mary Anne began writing in high school, she didn't get serious about it until 1999. She writes traditional mysteries that are influenced by some of her favorite authors: Agatha Christie, Anne Perry, Caroline Graham, & Elizabeth Peters. 

 Her first book in the Detective Charlie McClung mysteries, "Brilliant Disguise" was released on January 21, 2014. The next book in the series, "A Good Girl" was released on September 23, 2014. Mary Anne is currently working on the third book in the series, "Criminal Kind; there are seven more to follow. 

Other books by Mary Anne Edwards:

Buy A Good Girl: A Charlie McClung Mystery:

Amazon  

Connect with Mary Anne Edwards:

Goodreads - Website - Twitter - Facebook - Amazon

                                                         a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Suicide in Tiny Increments: A Tragic Comedy by Riya Ann Polcastro

Suicide in Tiny Increments: A Tragic Comedy 

by: Riya Anne Polcastro

The smartest decision Daniel Long ever made was to take a hit out on his own life.

Too scared to kill himself but also too scared to live, he is a sad, pathetic man; a miserable martyr of depression. A year after he was dumped by his self-centered alcoholic girlfriend, he still wallows in the hole she left behind. And, except for the cubicle that he spends forty hours a week in, Daniel rarely leaves the bare white walls that make up his apartment. Trapped in his self-made ennui, his only escape is to hire a hitman.

But when one of his few friends kills herself Daniel realizes the error of his ways. He tries to cancel the hit but in the process he offends his contracted killer. Now his impending death is personal and his life is about to get more exciting than he could have ever imagined. 

Interview with Riya Anne Polcastro:

1.) What inspired you to write Suicide in Tiny Increments? 

I've always been really fascinated by mental illness and why people do the things they do. And of course perspective. Also, I wanted to write something that tackled a serious subject but in a funny way. The concept behind Suicide in Tiny Increments, suicide by hitman, is one that hasn't been overdone to death so I felt like there was an opportunity here to write something different.

2.) How long have you been writing?

I've been writing seriously for about five years but I have enjoyed "writing" stories since before I could technically read or write. 

3.) What genres do you write in?

I mostly write dark literary fiction. Really dark literary fiction. The whole fascinated with mental illness thing . . . it finds its way into most of my work. But I do branch out and enjoy many different genres. In fact, I will be genre hopping with the next book I have coming out (see #7). 

4.) Who is your favorite author(s)?

My favorite authors are Chuck Palahniuk, Leo Tolstoy, Christopher Moore, and Donald Ray Pollock.

5.) If you had to choose a fictional character from a book you read to have lunch with, who would it be and why?

Tyler Durden, Fight Club. Because Holy CRAP! I'm sure he would blow my mind. But it has to be Tyler Durden from the book, not the tame movie version. 

6.) What has been your biggest accomplishment since publishing?

Right now I think publishing is still my biggest accomplishment. 

7.) Do you have anything else in the works?

My next book to come out will be the first in a trilogy called Left Behind. I haven't settled on a title for Book One but I better hurry since I aim to have it out in about six weeks. Left Behind is middle grade sci fi lite. The concept of the trilogy is the idea that maybe earth isn't the first planet humans have lived on. Maybe those little green men in outer space are the descendants of those left behind when humanity escaped environmental disaster. It's a tale of history repeating itself; a moral tale, yes, but in a way that kids can relate to and with plenty of adventure. Plus it's told by a fourteen year old alien so that's pretty cool. The Left Behind Trilogy will be released under a somewhat different ::pen name: R. Anne Polcastro. I want to have a distinction between my adult and young adult work because what I write for adults is definitely not something kids should read. But at the same time I want the name to be similar enough that my adult audience can recognize it and share it with their own kids. Well I am quickly getting off topic of the question but I do want to say that if you are interested in featuring Left Behind too that would be amazing! I should have ARCs available in the next couple of weeks. I'm still trying to navigate the whole pre-release thing but I hope to have it available for free to anyone who wants to write a review through Story Cartel ASAP.

Buy Suicide in Tiny Increments: A Tragic Comedy:

Amazon - Createspace - Lulu - Barnes & Noble -Smashwords

Connect with Riya Ann Polcastro:

Goodreads - Website - Blog - Suicide in Tiny Increments: A Tragic Comedy Website - Facebook

First two people to comment on this  blog post will each win a Smashwords coupon toward Suicide in Tiny Increments: A Tragic Comedy!