Cemetery pictures
don’t often make good blog illustrations, but this one is special to me. It
shows the gravestones of my father and sister at St. Jude Cemetery in Oakville,
Ontario. I’ve talked to someone in the city office responsible for the
cemetery, and she tells me the graves will be well maintained when I get
there—right now they need some attention. She also sent me a map of the
cemetery, so I can easily find the plot. My detective work continues.
Who
says book giveaways are old hat? I discovered a “Set up a Giveaway” link on the
Amazon page for Murder at the Blue Plate
Cafe. Clicked on it out of curiosity but wasn’t quite prepared to have to
pay full price for five ebook copies. Still, Amazon is clever, and they know
how to hook you in. Soon I was busily filling in the details to give away five
copies, one to each fifth person to respond (the method they recommend). The
site confirmed the giveaway was live about two this afternoon.
Those who know me
know that two o’clock is about the time I take an afternoon nap, a luxury I’ve
become addicted to in retirement. And that’s where I headed when I got the
confirmation email. I thought I’d publicize the giveaway after my nap, which
often lasts an hour.
But I woke up to
another email that told me the giveaway was closed. All five copies had been
given away, so Amazon was busily spreading the word while I snoozed. I’d love
to know how. If anyone reading this got an email or something, please let me
know. I hadn’t expected to spend the money, as I said, but it may have been great
marketing, depending on how many people Amazon notified. The notice I got had a
link to the giveaway which, in turn had a link to “Learn more about Judy
Alter,” so maybe some new readers saw my name and books.
I chose to give
that book away to publicize the new Blue Plate Café Mystery, Murder at the Bus Depot. My thought was
to interest readers in the series in general as a way of leading them to the
new book. I just never got a chance to say it. Thanks to Lois Winston for that
train of thought. Lois thought up the anthology, Sleuthing Women: Ten First-in-a-Series Mysteries, put it together
(including my Skeleton in a Dead Space), and
marketed it. It’s done great but will go away April 30. Here’s a buy link if
you want to take advantage of this great bargain before it disappears forever: https://tinyurl.com/y882o7zw
Haven’t read the
first in the Blue Plate Cafe series, Murder
at the Blue Plate Café? Not to worry. I’m working on making it free, and it
is already free on several platforms. But Amazon moves slowly on such things.
I’ll keep trying. Then I’ll leisurely publicize it. The ways of Amazon are
sometimes devious, but I’m still a fan.
This is not the
week for me to complain about being alone in the cottage. I’ve been out to
supper with friends four nights in a row. Tonight, with Subie and Phil, I tried
the new Mexican restaurant at Clearfork, Mesero. The evening started off badly when
they seated us at a table in the bar area—too noisy for both Phil and me. We
asked to be moved, and when we were put in the main section of the dining area,
with carpet on the floor, the noise level was much more manageable. Subie was
quite sure they seated us in that less desirable, out-of-the-way spot because
we had Phil’s service dog with us. My chicken enchiladas with white crema sauce
were attractively presented and really good but so rich. I have ¾ of an enchilada
in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. A pleasant, early evening.
