An Interview on Chiseled in Rock

Today on my virtual book tour, I am interviewed by Patricia Stoltey at Chiseled in Rock, the blog for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW), a writing organization to which I belong. Among other interesting topics, we talk about my new release, Deadly Currents, which is the first book in my new RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner. It has received good reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly and from other reviewers.

Please stop by and ask me some questions of your own. Remember, if you post a comment at Chiseled in Rock you will be entered into a contest for a free copy of Deadly Currents. You can find the schedule of my complete Virtual Book Tour HERE. I hope you'll read each day's post, and leave a comment on each one. And I hope you'll spread the word about my book and my VBT to your mystery-reading friends. Good luck in the contest!

Third Stop on my Virtual Book Tour: Patricia Stoltey's Blog

Today on the third day of my virtual book tour, I am a guest on Patricia Stoltey's blog, and my article is about "What Whitewater River Rangers Do".

My March 8th release, Deadly Currents, stars whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner, who patrols the upper Arkansas River in Colorado. It is the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series that has received good reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly and from other reviewers.

The article includes some photos I took of river rangers in action during their spring swiftwater rescue training course.

Do you think being a river ranger sounds like an attractive job or not? What questions do you have about river ranger job duties? If you post a comment at Patricia's blog, you will be entered into a contest for a free copy of Deadly Currents.

You can find the schedule of my Virtual Book Tour HERE. I hope you'll read each day's post, and leave a comment on each one. Every comment gives you another entry in the contest. Good luck!

I've Been Tagged!

Friend and fellow Colorado author Patricia Stoltey tagged me on her blog to answer the following five questions about myself.

For a "Tag" you answer 5 questions 5 times to share a bit about yourself. I hope my answers are as entertaining and enlightening as Pat's were!

Question 1 - Where were you five years ago?

1. Living with my husband and children in our home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is currently up for sale.
2. Shopping my first mystery manuscript (A Real Basket Case) to literary agents.
3. Revising the second manuscript for the series (To Hell in a Handbasket) while desperately hoping the first one sells.
4. Making plans to vacation in Cozumel, Mexico, over Thanksgiving week, which were changed to Mazatlan after hurricane Emily wiped out Cozumel.
5. Celebrating the publication of my second short story, "Global Domination," in the Kansas Writers Association anthology, Words Out of the Flatlands.

Question 2 - Where would you like to be in five years?

1. Living in Breckenridge, Colorado.
2. Thinner and fitter as a result.
3. Celebrating the appearance of my ninth novel on the New York Times bestseller list. (It's good to dream big.)
4. Packing for an extended trip to the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu.
5. Enjoying my first grandchild. (Not to pressure my children or anything!)

Question 3 - What is on your to-do list today?

1. Write two blog posts.
2. Give a set of website updates to my husband, who is my techie guru.
3. Enter a bunch of new names from Malice Domestic and the Festival of Mystery into my newsletter subscriber list.
4. Make plans for a trip to the Texas hill country in June.
5. Get some exercise!

Question 4 - What snacks do you enjoy?

1. Chocolate, the darker the better.
2. Berries of all kinds.
3. Air-popped popcorn.
4. Walnuts dipped in Nutella (my guilty pleasure).
5. Frozen chocolate pops (notice a theme here?).

Question 5 - What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Become what I've always wanted to be, a philanthropist, and donate money wisely to my favorite causes where it would do the most good.
2. Travel to all the places on my long "bucket list."
3. Help our grown kids and other relatives and friends fulfill their special dreams.
4. Build or buy a dream house in Breckenridge and fill it with entertaining games and sports toys so the family will always want to visit.
5. Employ a full-time housekeeper, gardener, and cook.

Now I get to tag five other bloggers I admire. I choose:

1. Bill Crider at Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine
2. Jen Forbus at Jen's Book Thoughts
3. Lesa Holstine at Lesa's Book Critiques
4. Janet Rudolph at Mystery Fanfare
5. D. P. Lyle at The Writer's Forensic Blog

A nice review of A Real Basket Case

Hart Johnson writes the blog, Confessions of a Watery Tart, a digressionary journey of a writer. In this Wednesday's Murder Mysteries post, she reviews my book, A Real Basket Case, as well as a book written by a fellow Colorado mystery author and friend, Patricia Stoltey, titled The Prairie Grass Murders. Hart says she always calls it like she sees it, but she seemed to really enjoy reading both titles.

I agree with Hart when she said about The Prairie Grass Murders, "I loved this story, primarily for the characters—they were smart." I thoroughly enjoyed Patricia's book, too. About my A Real Basket Case, Hart said, "It was sassy, periodically naughty, but only in a PG way, and a very fun read." Wow!

Please go to Hart's blog to read the whole review of both books and to check out what else Hart has to say.

"Creative Writer" Blog Award

Some of my fellow bloggers have decided to nominate me for this award. This fun award was created by Lesa Holstein at Lesa's Book Critiques. Are authors natural born liars? That seems to be the point of this blogosphere game.


The rules for this award are fairly simple.

Recipients must -
1. Thank the person who gave this to you. (Thanks Sue Ann Jaffarian, Maryann Miller, and Keith Raffel)
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person(s) who nominated you. (See #1)
4. Tell us up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth (or the other way around). (See below.)
5. Allow your readers to guess which one or more are true.
6. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies (or as many as you would like).

I nominate the following:
Patricia Stoltey
Bill Crider
Terry ODell
Donna Lea Simpson
Joanna Campbell Slan
Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace
Terri Thayer

7. Post links to the blogs you nominate. (See #6)
8. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them. (Done!)

So, below are some things you might not know about me. Truth or fiction? You be the judge and let me know what you think in a comment. At least one is false and at least one is true. Here's a hint: read them carefully! I will post the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth here on Monday.

1. I have snorkeled with sea turtles, barracudas, and stingrays, but not sharks or dolphins.
2. I love to ski the green (beginner), blue (intermediate), and single black diamond (advanced) ski slopes of my home state of Colorado, but I stay off the double-black diamond (expert) slopes.
3. I broke my arm on the playground when I was young, then danced the Virginia Reel with it afterward because I didn't want to miss the dance.
4. I wore a walking cast for six weeks after dancing on a bar at a college fraternity party and slipping on a beer puddle and falling.
5. I've hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.
6. I used to have a car vanity license plate that read FAKE IQ.
7. I've spent a night in jail.