Mayhem in the Midlands

I've posted a full report on the Mayhem in the Midlands conference held in Omaha, Nebraska this past weekend to The BookBitch Blog, so I'll just post photos to accompany that article here.

The first photo is of the conference registration desk, the second is of Tom & Enid Schantz, and the third is of Kathy Magruder. The fourth photo is of fellow Five Star author Michael Mallory and me, and the fifth is of me with two fellow Sisters in Crime Guppies chapter members, Jackie McElroy-Edward and Kaye George.

The sixth photo is of me with Margaret Grace and the mininature scene she made for me in exchange for two signed copies of my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery books. The last photo is of Carl Brookins taking my photo while I took one of him, Kent Kruger, Ann Parker and Margaret Grace.

Twelfth Stop on To Hell in a Handbasket Blog Book Tour

Today, the amateur sleuth in my gift basket designer mystery series, Claire Hanover, is visiting the Killer Hobbies blog to talk about Tips for Making Effective Gift Baskets. I hope you'll stop by for a chat with her!

Tomorrow at the same blog, Camille Minichino, who writes a miniature mystery series under the name of Margaret Grace, will talk about the miniature scene that I commissioned from her. She'll present it to me at the Mayhem in the Midlands conference this coming weekend, and I can barely wait!

After that, I'll take a break from my blog tour to prepare for and attend the conference. I'll be back on Sunday/Monday at the BookBitchBlog with a report from the conference.

Tenth Stop on To Hell in a Handbasket Blog Book Tour

Today I am discussing book covers in my article "You Can't Judge a Book by its Cover" at the Murder By 4 blog. Read about the one that almost made me cry!

Sunday at 4 pm EST you can chat with me live at Kim Smith's blogtalkradio show, Introducing WRITERS.

I hope you'll join me in the fun! Today is the official release date for To Hell in a Handbasket. Whoo hoo!

Ninth Stop on To Hell in a Handbasket Blog Book Tour

Today and tomorrow, I am visiting the Mysterious People blog. Today Jean Henry Mead, the blog host, has posted an interview with me. Tomorrow she will post an article titled "Interviewing Characters to Get to Know Them" that will talk about how writers interview their characters to make them come alive.

Remember, every time you comment on one of my guest blog posts, or comment on my blog during the tour, you will be entered into a drawing for an autographed set of both books in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series: A Real Basket Case and To Hell in a Handbasket!

A Wonderful Review for To Hell in a Handbasket

I'm absolutely thrilled with a review of To Hell in a Handbasket that Kevin Tipple recently posted at his Kevin's Corner blog and other locations, such as the Blogger News Network, Epinions, and Shelfari. To read the whole review, go to Kevin's Corner. Please peruse his blog for other reviews, too. His reviews are always well-written and thorough, not just summarizing the plot.

I loved the last line:
"This cozy mystery packs quite a punch and proves that good story telling is good story telling no matter what the label of the sub genre."

Eighth Stop on the To Hell in a Handbasket Blog Book Tour

Today & tomorrow, I am discussing researching Colorado sheriff's offices at The Little Blog of Murder. Please stop by to read what I learned in the El Paso County Sheriff's Citizen Academy and ask me questions about researching local sheriff’s offices. And if you've had any interesting experiences with your local county sheriff’s office or police department, would you like to share?

Seventh Stop on the To Hell in a Handbasket Blog Book Tour

Just a quick note to let you know that today I am visiting Jen's Book Thoughts , a lovely book review and author interview site. Along with asking me some probing questions for her interview, Jen wheedled some ski-action photos out of me. Check out the one at the end of interview of me with my husband and kids at the top of the highest high-speed quad ski lift in North America!

I got a late start today because I was called into the city court as a potential juror, but after a couple of hours of waiting around, they let me go. I was kind of disappointed because I was looking forward to observing a one or two day trial for research. Please stop by Jen's Blog and comment, so you'll be entered into the blog tour contest for an autographed set of Claire Hanover books. I'll be checking Jen's blog tomorrow, too, because I don't have another stop until Monday.