Good news and a lazy day

My conscience bothers me on a Sunday when I’m too lazy to go to church, but today I told myself that I was still tired, recovering from the hospital stay. I’ve got to stop giving myself that message. Resolve: to get out more, to exercise more.

Because, tonight, good news. Our neighbors, who are both doctors, came over to catch up with my health. It was extremely kind of them, but we wanted them to know so that if I have an episode and want immediate help, I can call them. The good news part is that my heart rhythm is regular—no a fib. I pray that it stays that way. A little learning is a dangerous thing, and of course I have a theory about what caused the a fib and why it’s gone, but I won’t go into that. I honestly do feel better—but still tired.

Wrote my thousand words today and piddled the rest of the day. We had a picnic tonight—that’s sort of what we call it when we eat in the cottage instead of at the dining table inside. But the dining table apparently is still full of now-clean dishes from last night’s dinner party, and homework has been added to the mix. Christian fixed barbecue chicken in the crockpot and, lacking any other buns, served it in hot dog buns.

A belated thought about last night’s dinner party: I entertained often in the house, with frequent dinner parties of six or eight (plus me, always adding the odd number). I am delighted that Jordan and Christian have taken up that custom, and invite me most of the time—It’s truly a pleasure to still sit at my usual place by the kitchen door (Jordan calls it my princess chair) and enjoy the conversation and good food. Christian is a good cook and also an adventuresome one. Last night we had bulgogi, a Korean dish he made of flank steak. Megan had given him the recipe, saying her boys loved it. It was the first time in a long while that I’ve had flank steak that wasn’t too chewy—and I attribute that to Christian’s carving it really thin. The marinade made it delicious, so thanks to Christian and, secondhand, to Megan.

After the picnic, Jacob brought his homework out. Christian was puzzled by some grammar questions, but I found a secret long ago to pronoun usage. Suppose the sentence given is “We and them wanted to go to dinner.” Instead of trying to remember the rule, break it into two sentences. You would say, “We wanted to go to dinner,” but not “Them wanted to go to dinner.” Clearly it should be “they.” I thought my explanation was wonderful, but I fear Jacob was a bit confused. Oh well, I’m sure it’s not the last time I’ll repeat that little lesson.

Busy week coming up. Doctor and dentist, a radio interview, and the biggie of the week—my launch/signing for Pigface and the Perfect Dog. I hope if you’re close by, you have it on your calendar. At the Wine Haus just down Park Place and across the tracks, closer to Eighth Avenue, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Come enjoy fun and fellowship. I’ll post a graphic on Facebook tomorrow.

Launch day for Pigface and the Perfect Dog

Launch day for Pigface and the Perfect Dog

There’s something unsettling about launching a new book. It’s both satisfying and anticlimactic. It is, after all, the culmination of all your work for at least a year, often much longer. At last you can present that perfect (well, maybe close) baby to the world, and we all hope to do so with pride. I am indeed proud of Pigface. It’s the first full novel since my hip surgery, although I had written close to half of it before I gave up writing due to pain and confusion, months before the surgery. It was a joy, during recovery, to go back read what I’d written, and think, “Hey! This isn’t half bad.” At that point, the final half seemed to come easily. So this book is special in a way some others of mine aren’t.

But launch day is also anticlimactic. The universe appears unchanged by the big event in my own personal universe. I’ve been sharing the cover, writing advance guest blog posts, doing the things you’re supposed to do to announce your book. So what is different today, except that folks can now go online to order the book? I am not one of those authors who checks sales or author rank or any of that stuff hourly or daily, but I do hope for some sales.

And speaking of online sales, if you live in the Fort Worth area you might want to hold off. There will be a launch party, celebration, signing, whatever you want to call it—on September 21, from 5-7 p.m., at the Wine Haus, 1628 Park Place Avenue. There will be a cash bar, but snacks will be served, and I expect a lot of hilarity. Nope, no giveaways, no cutesy contest, no gimmicks—just come celebrate with me, enjoy a glass of wine, and snack on some great hummus and pita. Mark your calendar, though you can rest assured that I’ll remind you.

Launch day brought out a funny story. A friend has just published a terrific memoir, Travels with Maggie, about her six-month odyssey in a RV with her dog. She knows it’s there, but she can’t find it on Amazon. Several of us suggested she add her name when she searches, and lo! There it was. I remember having that problem with The Gilded Cage, because, alas, there are several books with that title. Not to worry, there is not another book title beginning with the word “Pigface,” though the first few times I searched for it, Amazon offered to sell me a pigface T-shirt. I thought it might be funny to wear to the signing, but it was pretty ugly. I’m still thinking about that. I can always use another T-shirt to sleep in.

So there you have it—the book is out in the world and will now have to pretty much make its own way. I’ve done the best I can, and now it’s time for me to turn to the Blue Plate Café Mystery I’m working on, halfway through. As with Pigface, I put it aside for almost two weeks now, and I’m hoping inspiration will strike when I go back to it.

One small request: if you read Pigface and the Perfect Dog and like it, please leave a review on the Amazon page. Two sentences will do, anything, whatever you want to write. It is an enormous help to me. If you didn’t like it, I can only say I’m sorry. You don’t need to tell Amazon.

Waiting all summer for this day

August 15, 2017

Today is the day I’ve been waiting all summer for—cover reveal of my new novel, Pigface and the Perfect Dog (an Oak Grove Mystery). It’s my first full-length novel in over a year, and the first time I have revisited the college town of Oak Grove since The Perfect Coed was published three years ago.

Kudos to Sherry Wachter for the great cover, which I think matches the cover of The Perfect Coed in style and color. I’ve itched to share it with you for weeks, but when you sign up for a cover reveal, you’re pretty much bound to that date. So today’s reveal can be found at

http://readeropolis.blogspot.com/2017/08/coming-soon-pigface-and-perfect-dog-oak.html

English professor Susan Hogan and her partner, Jake Phillips, chief of campus security, return in this cozy mystery with an edge. Susan thinks she’s about to meet her maker when she confronts a rifle-carrying man, who looks like a pig, in a grocery store. Jake investigates the body of a young college student, shot in the back and found in an empty pasture. Aunt Jenny showers love on the new puppy a young man from the grocery gave her, but she feels she must get rid of that heavy collar.

 Trouble in Oak Grove begins with open-carry protestors in the grocery store and leads to a shooting, breaking and entering, threats, a chase, an attempted kidnapping, and a clandestine trip to the woods late at night. Will Susan Hogan land in trouble…or the hospital…again? Will Susan and Jake survive this as a couple? Susan is still prickly but she learns some lessons about life, love, and herself in this second Oak Grove Mystery.

Reader reaction to The Perfect Coed thrilled me.

Susan is a prickly character, and she doesn’t put up with any guff from her male colleagues, the cops, or even Jake. Aunt Jenny is funny and a great cook. I have a feeling all these characters will be returning for a sequel, so you’ll want to pick this one up now before you get behind. You won’t regret it.

—Bill Crider, mystery author

Few mysteries open with a single paragraph of eye-popping intrigue, but The Perfect Coed is full of such moments and its introduction is apt warning that readers will rapidly become involved in something far from mundane or predictable: “Susan Hogan drove around Oak Grove, Texas for two days before she realized there was a dead body in the trunk of her car. And it was another three days before she knew that someone was trying to kill her.”

—D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Pigface, as I affectionately call this new novel, is available for pre-order on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Pigface-Perfect-Dog-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B073VSDKMH/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502833947&sr=1-1&keywords=pigface+and+the+perfect+dog in both paperback and ebook form. It will be available September 7.

For those in the Fort Worth area, there’ll be a launch party September 21, 5:00 -7:00 p.m., at the Wine Haus, 1628 Park Place Avenue. Cash bar, snacks will be offered, and fun will definitely be had. Ya’ll come celebrate with me, please. Many of you will get an evite soon; if you don’t hear by September 11, please let me know. Questions, comments? Write me at j.alter@tcu.edu.

The week in retrospect

I'm laughing at myself. I've cooked supper for four tonight--meatloaf, oven fried potatoes with rosemary, broccoli, marinated asparagus, and a blue cheese salad. Cooking was the focus of my day--a big deal! I realized though that for years I worked, wrote and cooked for four teenagers every night. It wasn't a big deal. Yes, I do cook fancy dinners for company now, but this is just an ordinary family meal and I should have done it without a thought. I also did manage lunch with a friend, a trip to the grocery, a bit of reading and a nap. This is a terrible thing for an author to say, but I'm not in the mood for writing. Guess what I did this week has to simmer in my brain.
I did make progress this week--I have 5500 words on the second Oak Grove novel, I've contracted to with a reader to do an audio version of my short story collection, the neighborhood newsletter is out the door, I only have one blog pending for someone else. And several of my personal blogs were written for me--by contributors to the Small Town Charm, Love and Mystery boxed set who were my guests.
The boxed set has been a learning experience. I've never had a book in a set before, and I know there's come controversy over them. Some writers believe it amounts to selling your book too cheaply, but eight books are 99 cents--some romance (sweet not sexy), some mystery, some funny, some serious. My publisher must have had great success with these before to keep doing them. We've been blogging and sharing on Facebook and Twitter, and if there's a person left who doesn't know about this set, I'm surprised.
I'm also scheduled autograph parties for what I consider my "big" book--The Perfect Coed, first in the Oak Grove Mysteries from Alter Ego Publishing (yeah, you can figure out who that is!). Watch for details in the next couple of weeks, and if you're in Fort Worth, mark your calendar--Saturday, Sept. 20, from 7:00-9:00 a.m. (that's right, early morning) and 5:00-9:00 p.m. Monday Sept. 22. Both at the Old Neighborhood Grill.
So it's been a busy week, including several lunches and dinners with friends, and tonight I'm going to enjoy dinner with my family and reading Loved Honor More by Sharon Wildwind. Halfway through and enjoying it.
Friends were talking the other night about retirement and suggested that too many people retire and want to talk about their past careers. They don't have a life in the present. A big compliment for me when they said I'm living in the present, not the past, with my writing, my family, my friends. Boy am I! Keeps me busy.
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