Death by Adverb by Rebecca M. Douglass

Also CHECK OUT the review for Rebecca Douglass' ABC picture book, A is for Alpine, on my mom's blog!

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Isn't this such a great title for a book?!

And I just love the intriguing cover.

Welcome, Rebecca!

JJ MacGregor doesn’t actually want to kill her annoying boss, but someone did, and now JJ needs to find the killer before more people end up dead.

Title: Death By Adverb (Pismawallops PTA Mysteries #3)

Author: Rebecca M. Douglass

Genre: Cozy mystery

Ebook: 85,000 words

Paperback: approx. 285 pages

Blurb:

JJ MacGregor’s having a rotten summer. Her arm’s in a cast, her jeans are too tight, and her son is spending his vacation with his dad. To make matters worse, her relationship with Police Chief Ron Karlson is up in the air and they haven’t spoken since June. Maybe the only good thing is that she’s got a writing job at last. Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford want her to help him with his memoirs, and JJ doesn’t care if he’s making it all up. All she has to do to make some much-needed money is keep her mouth shut and fix some of the worst prose she’s ever seen.

Of course, keeping her mouth shut isn’t JJ’s strong point. When she loses her temper so does her boss, and she’s back to job-hunting. That’s bad enough, but when Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford turns up dead, everyone remembers JJ fought with him. About the time the police are wondering if JJ might have tried to avenge the English language, her sewer backs up, and the dead man’s missing daughter shows up on her doorstep—only to disappear again before morning. JJ has her work cut out for to find the girl, the killer, and a new septic tank before anyone else dies—but at least the murder has her talking to Ron again.

Purchase Links:

Smashwords / Amazon

Goodreads

Excerpt:

 

“What the—hey, watch that thing!” I yelled as the man in white brought his saw toward my immobilized arm.

Nurse Chu patted my shoulder comfortingly, but she didn’t loosen her grip on the casted limb she held against the table.

“Don’t worry, Ms. MacGregor,” she said, “The doctor hardly ever slips and cuts off anyone’s arm.”

I swallowed hard, reminding myself that these were medical professionals. Despite appearances, they weren’t planning to torture me, cut off my arm, or damage me in any way. I was in the Pismawallops Clinic getting the cast off my broken arm at last, a happy event.

I cringed anyway as the saw started to cut the plaster. “Easy there,” I said, trying to sound like I was joking. “My insurance runs out in a couple of months, and I need to be healthy when that happens!” In fact, I was doing plenty of worrying about insurance. Once my coverage under my ex-husband’s policy ran out, I was going to be scrambling to make payments on even the cheapest insurance. It was worth it, to be free of the man I thought of as pond scum, but I still worried. I fixed my gaze on the educational poster on the wall in front of me, and resolutely ignored the whining saw.

Dr. Salisbury finished cutting the cast loose and peeled the remains away. I stopped staring at the poster enjoining me to wash my hands and avoid the flu, and looked at the thing lying on the table.

The exposed arm looked white and dead, and I wasn’t sure it was attached to me.

First two books in the series on sale for 99cents!

Amazon

Amazon

Author Bio:

Rebecca Douglass was raised on an Island in Puget Sound only a little bigger than Pismawallops, and remembers well the special aspects of island life.  She now lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area, and can be found on-line at www.ninjalibrarian.com and on Facebook as The Ninja Librarian.  In addition to the Pismawallops PTA Mysteries (Death By Ice Cream and Death By Trombone), her books include three Ninja Librarian book, tall tales for all ages, and the humorous middle-grade fantasy Halitor the Hero.  Rebecca is a long-time volunteer and servant of her local schools, now due to retire (and seek now opportunities to serve).  She spends her free time bicycling, gardening, reading, and supporting her grown sons. For a vacation she likes nothing better than hiking, camping and backpacking.

Author Links:

Blog / Book Links / Amazon Author Page

Smashwords Author Page 

Goodreads Author Page / Facebook

Thank you for visiting, Rebecca!

Please leave Rebecca a comment. :)

Hurricane Crimes AudioBook! / Monthly Mishmash

AUDIOBOOK: I had no idea how quickly the audiobook would be ready after I approved it. This was my first time completing the process and my publisher didn't let me know how soon it could be done, so SURPRISE! I have an audiobook for Hurricane Crimes!

Remember when I first listened to auditions and chose a female narrator? Well, for some reason she took way too long to get back to us with the sample chapter, so we had to cancel the contract. But Craig Long, the narrator for Hurricane Crimes, did great. Although...it is still odd hearing a man trying to sound like Beth, my heroine. Bwahahaha! Nevertheless, he did a fine job.

Amazon / Audible / iTunes

 

TONSILLECTOMY: Wednesday I'm having my tonsils removed. I'm not looking forward to is after the nurse told me how miserable I'll be afterward. I've been through harder surgeries, but still...surgery is still surgery. Hopefully, I'll be feeling better for IWSG Day. She said recovery time is two weeks...

IWSG BOOK CLUB: We're reading a different kind of writing-related book for April/May, which should be a lot of fun...

Save the Cat:

The Last Book on Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need

by Blake Snyder

The discussion will start May 23rd.

JOIN US!

QUESTIONS: Did you listen to audiobooks? Have you ever considered learning how to write screenplays? 

Organization Tip: Expense and Earning Logs #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

PLEASE NOTE: I am not a tax pro. This post isn't really about taxes but keeping track of your expenses and earnings. 

With the start of a new tax year, it’s time for you to implement a good strategy to keep track of all of your expenses and earnings. This is a great way to keep you in your budget as well as organized. Even if you don't make enough for taxes, you will want to keep track of your expenses and earnings, as you never know when you'll need the info.

I have a red binder next to my desk with sheets of lined paper where I can jot down every expense, big and small, as well as my earnings, including sales and service fees I make.

In that same binder is an envelope where I store receipts.

For online receipts that I receive through email, I put them in a folder in my inbox. You can print them as they come and keep the emails for backups.

I also use PayPal for all of my writing expenses and for my editing service fees. PayPal is a great way to keep track of what you spend and earn, because PayPal does the work for you. You can use it to double-check your logs and as another source of proof if you lose the receipt email.

When it comes to expenses and tax deductions, keep a careful record of everything. No matter how small.

Here are the things I’ve put in my expense log:

-      Book event table costs

-      Books bought for events

-      Book event SWAG

-      Copyright application fees

-      Business cards, bookmarks, postcards

-      Author banner

-      Formatting fees

-      Illustrator fees

-      Editor fees

-      Website renewal fees

-      Postage/shipping supplies for mailing books (Make sure you use Media Mail)

-      eGift cards and giveaway items

-      Ads paid for

-      Award contest fees

-      Book easels for my table at events

-      Money lock box for events

-      Rolling cart for events

-      Desk and bookcases

-      Computer/laptop/devices

-      Printer ink and paper

-      Notebooks and pens

-      Internet costs

-      Mileage/Gas for traveling to events                                                                                

Anything and everything you spend as a writer/author should be added to your expense log. I like to divide my expenses into months and calculate each month’s expense. Then I add those numbers together to figure out the total amount I’ve spent. I do this throughout the year.

By doing these things, you will be able to handle your budget better and be ready for taxes.


QUESTION: How do you keep track of your expenses and earnings?

Reject Rejections

REJECT REJECTIONS

When you get rejection, don’t let it bring you down. Yes, it can feel very personal, but it’s not a personal attack. Change how you view rejections and how you take them.

Instead of seeing a rejection, see a badge of honor. All writers get them. Collect rejections like merit badges. The more you have is a testament of how much you’ve tried and how much your dream means to you.

The more rejections you get, the closer you are to an acceptance. Each one is a stepping stone. Visualize yourself standing on that rejection and leaping off it. The next stone you step on may be another rejection or it may be an acceptance. Follow those stones to your dream. It may be a short path, or it may be a winding one. The point is, all paths lead to something. You must stay on that path to get there, so keep hopping from stone to stone, rejection to rejection.

When you get a rejection, change how you react. Don’t mope. Reward yourself. Not for being rejected but for having the courage to send out a query or manuscript in the first place…and for having the courage to accept the rejection.

Go to the movies or rent a movie. Heck, pop a bottle of wine, but make sure you’re toasting your bravery for taking the next step as a writer, not drowning your sorrows.

When you get a rejection for a partial or full manuscript, give yourself a bigger reward. No, give yourself an AWARD. Many writers never get a partial or full request. Do you have a collection? Add a new item to your collection.

Then when you get that acceptance, when you get that contract, celebrate even more. Go out to dinner, throw a party, buy a memento to represent your story, do something to mark the milestone.

After all, those stepping stones of rejections lead to milestones of acceptances.

~*~

NEW DANCING LEMUR PRESS RELEASE!

CORNERS

By Corrina Austin

Everyone needs their own special corner...

It’s 1969 and ten-year-old Davy is in a predicament. With two weeks remaining of the summer holidays, he’s expelled from the public pool for sneaking into the deep end and almost drowning. How will he break the news to his hard-working single mother? She’s at the diner all day, Davy has no friends, and he’s too young to stay by himself.

The answer lies in his rescuer, mysterious thirteen-year-old Ellis Wynn. Visiting her Grammy for the summer, Ellis offers to babysit Davy. She teaches him about “corners”–forgotten or neglected areas fixed up special. Together, the kids tackle several “corners” and Davy learns what it means to bring joy to others.

Davy begins to wonder, though. Why does Ellis want to be his friend? Why doesn’t she ever smile? And is Davy just one of Ellis’ “corners?”

Book Details:

Juvenile Fiction - Boys & Men / Fiction - Coming of Age 

$10.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 136 pages

 $3.99 EBook available in all formats

Buy Links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

iTunes / Goodreads

QUESTION: How do you deal with rejections?