How a Rural Colorado Sheriff’s Office Works

I'm blogging over at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, today about how a rural Colorado Sheriff's Office works. Please read the post and leave a comment there for me about your own experiences with and impressions of your local Sheriff's Office or Police Department.

Sale! Sale! Sale!

Great news! Amazon has put the Kindle version of both books in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner on sale from August 11 - 23 as part of its "August Big Deal" promotion. You can get Deadly Currents and Wicked Eddies for just $1.99 each. Move fast to take advantage of this special promotion, and please spread the word to all of your mystery reading friends!

SALE! SALE! SALE!

I have big news to announce! The Kindle ebook edition of my mystery, Deadly Currents, the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series, went on sale June 15th at Amazon for the amazingly cheap price of $1.99. The sale only lasts two weeks, so hurry over to HERE to buy yours! I hope you'll consider picking up a copy of the second book in the series, Wicked Eddies, at the same time.

And, here's some more late-breaking news! Wicked Eddies is now available for the Nook. If you have a Nook, go HERE to buy your copy.

Water Sports Blogs and Websites I Recommend

Given that my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series has a whitewater river ranger as its sleuth, you would expect me to have my finger on the pulse of the whitewater sports community, and you would be right. If reading Deadly Currents has piqued your interest in this activity and you want to learn more, here's some recommended blogs and websites:

American Canoe Association blog

American Rivers blog, a river conservation organization that I support

River Ranger blog (particularly if you're inspired to become a river ranger and are looking for job postings)

Waterblogged, the blog for O.A.R.S.

Rafting.AllAboutRivers.com for a list of outfitters serving each state with whitewater rivers

Whitewater Rafting for similar information about outfitters throughout the US

Rafting Colorado website for information about Colorado outfitters

About.com's Whitewater festival calendar

FIBArk whitewater rafting festival website

US National Whitewater Center website, where our Olympic whitewater athletes train

A Wild Ride!

Today I'm over at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, talking about the wild ride I took when Amazon picked Deadly Currents for their Kindle Daily Deal on January 6th. Read all about it, and let me know what you think!

Deadly Currents Daily Deal!!!

I want to share some exciting news. Amazon has selected Deadly Currents, the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series, for its Kindle Daily Deal today!! It's for sale at somewhere between $2.99 and 99 cents, which is much, much less than its list price of $14.95 and the standard Amazon discount price of $9.99.

You can find the deal HERE.

If you received a Kindle for the holidays, here's a great chance to load one of my mysteries on your new device for a song! But, you don't need to have a Kindle to read Kindle formats. Many other electronic devices will accept Kindle ebook formats. So I hope everyone who hasn't had a chance to buy a copy of Deadly Currents yet will take advantage of this special offer.

And please mark your calendars for May 8th, the official release date for the second book in the series, Wicked Eddies. You'll find the Amazon page for it HERE.

A Best of 2011 Pick and an Appearance on Poe's Deadly Daughters

Wow! Another avid mystery reviewer has placed a book of mine in her Top Reads for 2011 list, this time Deadly Currents! To be on the same list as Louise Penny and to have her pass over Craig Johnson and Nancy Pickard (whose books I love) for mine is almost frightening. See Juliet's Top Picks for 2011.

Also, Sandra Parshall, one of the Poe's Deadly Daughters bloggers, interviewed me about my thoughts regarding fiction with a message for her post yesterday. Read it HERE.

Deadly Currents in a "Year's Best Books" List!

I'm thrilled that Colorado Country Life magazine picked Deadly Currents as one of their "Year's Best Books"!!! And they gave it a lovely review, too. :-)

A Double-Nickel Birthday Gift!

I'm celebrating my 55th birthday this week at Inkspot today, the blog for Midnight Ink authors. I'm sharing some great news--the best present an author can receive--and sharing my good fortune with a contest. Check it out!

More Good Reviews for Deadly Currents

Most of the reviews for my Deadly Currents mystery novel came out before or around the time of its release in March. However, some good ones have trickled in lately, and I can't help bragging about them. :)

The first is in the Summer, 2011 issue of the Mysterical-e ezine, an excellent collection of mystery/suspense/thriller short fiction and nonfiction. Go to the website to read the whole review, but I loved the last two lines:

"There’s lots of suspects, plenty of excitement, and even some time for romance. Groundwater knows her business and has made this not only exciting but also realistic."

Also, the Mild to Wild blog, a (Rafting) Guide's Life Blog, had these words of praise for the book:

"The Mild to Wild staff has discovered a great new book release called Deadly Currents. Combining murder mystery and the adventure of whitewater rafting in Colorado, we found this book to be a great read in the comforts of our beds, sitting around the campfire, or in on a cot and under the stars!"

Follow the link to read the rest of the review, and if you've got a hankerings to ride the rapids of the upper Arkansas, this outfitter is one of the best.

Lastly, avid mystery reader and reviewer Kari Wainwright posted the following review on the DorothyL mystery discussion email list:

"Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater

Running the Arkansas River rapids in the Colorado Rockies is not for the meek. A Class V rapid can toss a raft and its riders head-over-heels into the foaming water and turn them into human debris dodging rocks and other dangers in the whitewater.

Deadly Currents protagonist, Mandy Tanner, has left her river guide job to turn to law enforcement as a river ranger. In her twenties and new to the profession, she has much to learn, both on the job and in her personal relationships. But she is gutsy and hardworking, so the reader feels she can tackle any task she takes on. Except for one. Struggling to rescue two whitewater “swimmers,” she’s only able to save one. The other, Tom King, dies.

At first, King’s death looks like possible negligence on the part of the rafting company, owned by Mandy’s Uncle Bill. She’s grateful to learn that it wasn’t Bill’s fault because King was murdered.

Even though Mandy is warned to stay out of King’s death investigation, the young woman gets involved with the possible suspects, stirring up more turmoil than even a Class V rapid can cause. King, a rich developer, had no love for the river or the natural beauty near Salida, Colorado, which earned him enemies. He also had business rivals. Plus a wife, a mistress and a son, who all had problems with him. There’s a virtual plethora of people who could have wanted him dead. And some of them don’t like Mandy asking questions.

The author creates colorful characters to people this small Rocky Mountain town. My only dislike with characterization was that sometimes Mandy’s reactions to her boyfriend and brother were on the immature side. On the other hand, that makes her more human and leaves her room to grow in future books.

Groundwater has definitely done her research in the world of rafting on the Arkansas near Salida. She brings it to a frothy, churning life, which is one reason I loved the book. My husband and I have rafted the Arkansas through the Royal Gorge twice, having exciting incidents happen each time, once culminating with my husband becoming a “swimmer.” Even though Mandy wasn’t there to pull him out of the water, he survived. Deadly Currents makes me wish I could go again, but with a bum knee, that’s out of the question for me. So when I get the urge to go for another wild ride, I’ll just have to pick up a Mandy Tanner RM Outdoor Adventure Mystery."

Many thanks to Kari, the Mild to Wild rafting guides, and Mysterical-e!

News Tidbits: A Bestseller List, A New Cover, Plummeting Squirrels

For the end of the workweek, here's some news tidbits.

First, Deadly Currents made it onto the May Trade Paperback Bestseller List from the Mystery Lovers Bookshop, one of the largest specialty mystery book stores in the country. And it's position was #6. Woot! Many thanks to all of my readers.

Second, Thorndike Press has released the cover art for the large-print version of Deadly Currents that will be released July 27th. You can see it HERE, and here's the Amazon page for it (which as of this writing didn't have the cover art on it yet).

Third, the plummeting squirrels. My husband and I are in our Breckenridge house for awhile, in anticipation of my Saturday, July 2nd, 3-5 PM book signing at The Next Page Bookstore in Frisco, Colorado. It will be a fundraiser for the Gore Range Chapter of Trout Unlimited. If you're in the area, I hope you'll stop by and bring friends.

But, back to the plummeting squirrels.

They've managed to make a nest in the roof eaves above the sliding glass door out to the deck. They don't have a deck or porch, though, just a hole leading directly out into open air. So, every so often during the day, we'll hear a THUD as one of them falls out and drops to the deck. They always manage to shake themselves off, and with much chittering with their family members up above, eventually scamper up the side of the house back to the hole. We've been lucky that none have landed on us as we go in and out, but we'll have to BEWARE THE PLUMMETING SQUIRRELS!

Part Two of My Experiences at FIBArk

Yesterday, I blogged about being the Honored Guest or VIP in the FIBArk Parade in Salida, Colorado, last weekend. I'll continue talking about the festival, and my participation in it, today and tomorrow. First and foremost, FIBArk's reason for existence is whitewater races.

Freestyle events award points based on the paddler's ability to do tricks and maneuvers in a river hole or standing wave. Below are photos of two standing board paddlers in a freestyle event.



Slalom racing requires paddlers to negotiate a course of gates, poles hung three feet apart and suspended above the river, through the Whitewater Park in downtown Salida. Below are two photos of kayakers going through slalom gates, followed by a cataraft paddler aiming for a gate. In my mystery, Deadly Currents, my whitewater river ranger paddles a cataraft, so this photo gives you an idea of what one looks like. The fourth photo shows slalom gates across the river and also shows how high the water is, washing over the riverside sidewalk.





Also, FIBArk was the venue for the 2011 U.S. Wildwater National Championships. Below is a photo of two kayakers pushing hard to get a good start in the wildwater race. Notice the slim, sleek shape of the boats, which are built more for speed than maneuverability.


The festival also hosts its signature race that it began with 63 years ago, the downriver, which is a 26-mile long-distance marathon paddle to the finish line. Below is a photo of the start of the raft downriver race.


Over time, many other activities have become part of the festival, including a carnival with games and rides for the children, food stands, musical performances, foot and bike races, and more. Below is a photo of a line of food stands, followed by two of the Amphitheater in Riverside Park, the music venue.




Last but not least are two photos of Lisa Marvel, the owner of The Book Haven bookstore, and me manning our book signing table for Deadly Currents across the street from Riverside Park and in front of the very popular Boathouse Cantina.



Tomorrow, I'll post photos of some of the creative and wild entries in my favorite FIBArk event, the Hooligan Race. You'll also see some interesting crashes. Be sure to check back!

I Love A Parade...

...especially one that features moi!

Here's the scoop and the photos. This past weekend was the FIBArk (First in Boating on the Arkansas) whitewater rafting festival in Salida, CO. Because I feature Salida and the festival in the first book of my new Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures mystery series, Deadly Currents, I was invited to be their Honored Guest or VIP in the FIBArk Parade.

The weekend began with a noon interview on Friday on the local radio station, KSBV, "The River Rat." They also had me record a promo spot for the station while I was there. Something along the lines of "Hello, this is Beth Groundwater, author of Deadly Currents and the FIBArk Parade VIP. I tune into KSBV, the River Rat, every time I visit Salida." Here I am with on-air radio personality Marc Scott during the interview.


The parade took place at 10 AM on Saturday morning. The next three photos show a float and the local roller derby team lining up to participate, and the color guard that started the whole shebang off.




The next two photos show me perched on the back seat of a PT Cruiser convertible and waving to the folks lining the streets. It was an absolutely amazing experience, especially when we pulled into the heart of downtown, where the crowd was 4-8 people deep and the parade announcer introduced me.



The next four photos are of antique cars and floats in the parade. Some of the floats, such as Boris the Spider, were rafts constructed for the upcoming Hooligan Race.





And the last four photos are of Shriners who came from all over the state of Colorado to participate and put on a show during the parade. In the background you can see The Book Haven Bookstore that hosted my signing table at FIBArk.





My next two posts will feature photos of FIBArk events, my booksigning table there, and the always outrageous Hooligan Race. Tune in tomorrow and the next day for a look see, then let me know what you think. And make plans to attend next year's FIBArk!

Many Thanks to my Goodreads Reviewers!

It's been three months since Deadly Currents, the first book in my new Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventure mystery series, was released by Midnight Ink in trade paperback and ebook formats. The book has received excellent professional reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Mystery Scene magazine and more. And I'm very, very grateful for those. But the reviews that really warm my heart are the amateur reviews from plain old readers on the Goodreads social network.

As of this writing, Deadly Currents has been placed on the book lists of 250 Goodreads readers and has received 41 ratings and 25 verbal reviews. The average rating, on a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best) is a 4. I'm thrilled with that! And reading the insightful comments of readers about the book is pure pleasure. Here are some samples:

"I was surprised by how much I liked this one. It was given to me and I'm not into rafting at all. Well, at least I wasn't. Now I'd like to try. Along with the rafting and scenery details, the mystery was well crafted and pulled me along at a great pace. I thought the main character was very fleshed out. I'll read more of this series."


"I really enjoyed this book. It was great to read a cozy set in a different setting and Beth is obviously very knowledgeable on the subject of white water rafting!"


"This is a new series for Beth Groundwater and it is as good as her earlier one.
...
I didn't figure out "who dunnit" until Groundwater was ready to let me, which is always a good thing. Now, waiting impatiently for her next book."


"Now you can enjoy whitewater rafting to your heart’s content—from the cozy comfort of home! This book had everything: a spunky protagonist, a picturesque Colorado setting, and a plot that kept me twisting in the wind (or churning in the water . . .?) until the final chapter. I predict that this will be another winning series for Beth Groundwater."


"I went to high school in Colorado... and I just loved learning about the culture of river rafting... something I am deathly afraid of since I can't swim! I thought the characters were great and loved how Groundwater pegged the stereotypical Coloradoan! The storyline was great too! It kept me guessing...I look forward to some more books by this author."

Goodreads book reviews are syndicated widely, including to Worldcat (and to libraries all over the world through that system), Google Books, Blio, Stanza, Better World Books, Alibris, and Facebook. Goodreads applications are available on the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, Android (f0r mobile phones), iPhone and iPad, among other devices. And when Lifehacker, a website dedicated to making life easier with technology, asked thousands of its readers where they got their book recommendations, 39% picked Goodreads. That was well over the 26% who picked Amazon, the 13% who picked Shelfari, and the 11% who picked LibraryThing.

Given this information, the most important place on the web to collect good reviews for your book is Goodreads. And Goodreads readers have come through in spades for Deadly Currents. I am so very grateful that not only did so many folks on Goodreads enjoy reading the book, they took the time to give it a high rating and explain why they enjoyed it. Many thanks to you all!

Large Print Books

I received two nuggets of information about large-print versions of my books today. The first piece of news is that Thorndike Press will release a large-print version of Deadly Currents on July 27th. The Amazon preorder page for it is HERE. I'm glad that I can now give a definite date to readers who have been asking me when a large-print version will come out!

The second nugget of information was a terrific royalty statement (with a large check attached) summarizing the large-print sales of To Hell in a Handbasket in the last half of 2010. The Amazon page for that book format is HERE. I'm so very pleased by how well the large-print version has sold, which to me is an indication that libraries have gotten their hands on some book-buying money again. Libraries provide such a service to those readers who are vision-impaired by making large-print and audio book formats available to their patrons!

And this is a reminder to writers that the subsidiary rights (large-print, audio, foreign, etc.) for your books can be very valuable and should never be given away for nothing. This is where a good literary agent can help you.

A Charlottesville, Virgina Booksigning

After the Festival of Mystery in Oakmont, Pennsylvania on Monday, I drove down to Charlottesville, Virginia for a signing at the Barnes & Noble bookstore there. I stayed with my sister that evening. The next photo shows me with her, between my former sister-in-law and her daughter. The next two photos show me with women who bought copies of my books. It was a busy event, with lots of chatting, and I enjoyed catching up with my sister afterward.




The last few days of my tour will be in the Tidewater area of Virgina, and I'll post photos of those events most likely after I return home on Sunday. It will be nice to be back home on Mother's Day!

A Fundraiser Booksigning

Thursday, April 28th, on the first day of my 9-events-in-10-days book tour, One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia, hosted me for a fundraiser booksigning for American Rivers, a river conservation nonprofit. The first photo below shows me with store owner Eileen.


It was a fun event with a mix of conservationists, river paddlers, mystery writers and readers, friends of mine from when I used to live in Northern Virginia, and a niece and her boyfriend who attend nearby George Mason University.

Wilke Nelson, the Deputy VP of Resource Development at American Rivers, began the evening with a brief overview of American Rivers and what they do (he's with me in the first photo below). Then I talked about my former days as a "river rat," the research I did for Deadly Currents, and what the book was about (second photo below).



After that, we opened the floor for a free-ranging Q&A discussion that ranged from my writing process to the water rights subplot in the book, to characteristics of the paddling community.

After the Q&A session, we socialized over coffee and snacks and I signed books. What an interesting evening! It was a great kick-off for my tour, the store donated 10% of their sales that evening to American Rivers, and I bought some local Virginia wine and gourmet chocolates to give as bread-and-butter gifts to my future hosts on the trip.

My niece and her boyfriend are in the first photo below. followed by other attendees in the next two photos.




Here's the friendly staff of One More Page Books.


And here's a view of the bookstore, as the event wound down.