Blabbing at Inkspot

I'm over at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, today, with a round-up of the reviews, blogs, and excitement surrounding the November 8th release of A Basket of Trouble, the third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series. Please take a look!

Release Day for A BASKET OF TROUBLE!

Yippee!! Today is the official release day for A Basket of Trouble, the third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series. It takes place in Colorado Springs, CO, and features horseback riding and hippotherapy. Follow the link for the book blurb, reviews, excerpts, discussion questions, and "buy me" links.

A Basket of Trouble has hit ALL FOUR of the big 4 review publications (Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly)!! Only one other release of mine has hit all four, and that was the first in a series, Deadly Currents. Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the reception that A Basket of Trouble is receiving from reviewers so far. Just to whet your appetite, here's a pull quote from the latest review by Library Journal:

"Groundwater’s third series entry (after To Hell in a Handbasket) is an action-packed cozy that successfully weaves in her small business and disability awareness."
  -- Library Journal, November 1, 2013

A Basket of Trouble is widely available in bookstores (If it's not on the shelf, order it!), libraries (If it's not on the shelves, request it!), and from on-line retailers, including: Indie Bound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and direct from the publisher, Midnight Ink. Do you have any mystery readers on your holiday gift list? This book, and the first two in the series, A Real Basket Case and To Hell in a Handbasket, might be perfect for them. If you'd like signed bookplates or business cards to go with your gifts, contact me at my website, and I'll arrange to send them to you.

I'm visiting a number of blogs next week to promote the book, and I'll post links here to those guest articles as they go live.  In the meantime, here are a couple of recent interviews with me (the first one was posted yesterday) that were done for the release:

Lisa K's Book Reviews

The Big Thrill 

I'm also still visiting the Barnes and Noble mystery book club through Saturday and responding to reader questions there, and my Goodreads Giveaway contest is still running until the end of today.

I hope you'll celebrate this release with me by lifting a glass of your favorite beverage and wishing me luck. Buying a copy for yourself wouldn't hurt either! ;-)

A Blog Visit Today and Two Signings This Weekend!

Today's blog post polishes up my promotion week of on-line activities to celebrate the release of Fatal Descent, the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger/rafting guide Mandy Tanner. I am a guest today on the Murder By 4 blog, with an article about "Teasing Apart the Acknowledgements in a Book" where I use Fatal Descent's Acknowledgements page as an example. Do you read Acknowledgements pages? What are you looking for in them? What have you found? Please leave a comment there with your thoughts.

Also, I'm mentioned in Shelf Awareness today, in the article about Covered Treasures Bookstore's 20th Birthday Month.

This weekend, I'll be appearing live at two signing events in Colorado:

Saturday, June 15, 2013, 10:30 – noon and 1:30 – 4 PM
Signings During FIBArk Whitewater Festival
The Book Haven
128 F Street, Salida, Colorado 81201

Sunday, June 16, 2 - 4 PM
Signing during Kingdom Days Sidewalk Sale (after the Outhouse Races)
Breckenridge Welcome Center
203 South Main Street, Breckenridge, CO 80424

If you are in the Colorado high country this weekend, I hope you'll come to one of these events and say hi!

Lastly,  I want to take a moment to talk about the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs, now the most disastrous wildfire in Colorado state history. I am nowhere near it, living in Breckenridge now. However, many of my friends from when I lived in Colorado Springs have been evacuated and some have almost certainly lost their homes. I hope you'll keep the families of Black Forest and the firefighters working so hard on the fire in your thoughts and prayers. On my Facebook page, I shared some horrible photos and an educational video of the firefighters at work.

Release Day for FATAL DESCENT!!

Today is the official release day for FATAL DESCENT, the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series starring whitewater river ranger/rafting guide Mandy Tanner. Follow the link for the book blurb, reviews, an excerpt, discussion questions, and "buy me" links. I hope you'll celebrate the release with me by lifting a glass of your favorite beverage and wishing me luck. Buying a copy for yourself wouldn't hurt either! ;-)

One Month to Launch for FATAL DESCENT!

In one short month, Fatal Descent, the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series starring whitewater river ranger and rafting guide Mandy Tanner will be released by Midnight Ink. Here's the blurb:

"A fast-paced locked-room mystery in Utah’s awe-inspiring canyon lands

River guide Mandy Tanner and her fiancé Rob Juarez, owners of RM Outdoor Adventures, are leading an off-season rafting and climbing trip on the Colorado River. The unfamiliar topography and a lecherous local climbing guide have Mandy on edge — but that’s nothing compared to the trouble the clients bring. When a young man is found dead, everyone on the trip is a suspect. Since there’s no way out of the Colorado River’s steep canyons, it’s up to Mandy and Rob to solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again."

The book has already received some great reviews (see below), and both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have a special preorder price for the trade paperback of only $8.51 (save 43% off list)!

"The tension runs high in Groundwater’s absorbing third RM Outdoor Adventures mystery … Scenic descriptions and folklore add atmosphere to a suspenseful tale." -- Publishers Weekly (for full review, go HERE)

"Groundwater’s books keep getting better. The mystery is well written, but the scenery takes pride of place in this exciting story." -- Cayocosa72 - Book Reviews (for full review, go HERE)


I'm busy making plans to promote the launch, writing articles for mystery magazines and blogs, setting up signing events, organizing contests, etc. I hope some of my blog readers will be able to join in the fun! Stay tuned here and to my website and sign up for my email newsletter, if you aren't already, to be privvy to the plans!

Today is the Official Release Date for Wicked Eddies!

Today is the official release date for Wicked Eddies, the second book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series. Yee-haw!

Whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner rides the waves again, this time while patrolling the upper Arkansas River in Colorado during a fly-fishing tournament. And wherever there's competition, there's the chance for tempers to flare, for cheating to occur, and even for murder! But there was also something darker going on in the life of Howie Abbott, the fisherman whose body Mandy discovered in a riverside campground with an ax in his neck!

"Once again, Groundwater, mixing mystery with outdoor adventure, comes up with an excursion that will please most comers."
-- Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2012

I hope you'll join in the excitement by purchasing your own copy of the trade paperback or ebook from your local bookseller or favorite on-line retailer!

Goodreads Giveaway

The official release date for Wicked Eddies, book 2 in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series is one month away, on May 8th. To celebrate this countdown milestone, I'm giving away a copy on Goodreads to a lucky winner of the giveaway contest there. If you're a Goodreads member, please enter the contest and good luck to you!

Also, if you're a Goodreads member, I'm opening up my Q&A group for discussion during the month prior to the release. Ask me any question you like! And if you aren't a member of the group, feel free to join. It's public.

Lastly, here are a few things that Goodreads members can do for me:

1. Befriend me or become a fan at my author page.

2. Add Wicked Eddies to your to-read list.

3. If you've read one of my other books, please rate and/or review it on Goodreads.

4. Send a book recommendation to your Goodreads friends suggesting that they read Wicked Eddies.

And, just in case you haven't had a chance to read the blurb for Wicked Eddies at my website or Amazon's or Barnes and Nobles's or Midnight Ink's or ... here it is to whet your appetite:

Fly fishing is dangerous? River ranger Mandy Tanner had no idea until days before a huge tournament in Salida, Colorado. True, the Arkansas River can be a man-eater, but the rapids weren’t responsible for driving a hatchet into the neck of would-be competitor Howie Abbott―a secretive man who may have been cheating. While casting about for suspects, Mandy seeks clues from Abbott’s family members, including her best friend, bartender Cynthia Abbott. But when Cynthia becomes the prime suspect, Mandy realizes she’s wading into deeper, more hazardous waters than ever.

Cover Art! Cover Art! Woot! Woot! Woot!

It seems like I was just doing this, back in October, when I posted the cover art for Wicked Eddies, my May 8th release. But, here I am again, with the cover art for the trade paperback and ebook re-release on November 8th of To Hell in a Handbasket. I'm especially pleased with this one, because purple is my favorite color! (What else would you expect from a Leo?)

So, what do you think? Please let me know.

Ta Da! Release Date!

Today is the official release date for the trade paperback and ebook re-release of A Real Basket Case, the first book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series, though some retailers have been selling copies already. I hope you'll join me in celebrating the release with a libation of your choosing and by hollering hurrah! :)

Even better, you could buy a copy of your own or to give to someone on your holiday gift list.

A Real Basket Case was a finalist for the 2007 Best First Novel Agatha Award. Here's what some reviewers and fellow mystery authors had to say about it:

“This will appeal to Desperate Housewives fans and those who like cozies with a bit of spice.”
-- Barbara Bibel, Booklist Review, February 1, 2007

“Drugs and jealousy add up to a Rocky Mountain murder. A tense, exciting debut.”
-- Kirkus Review, January 1, 2007

“A crackling good novel with the kind of twists and turns that make roller coaster rides so scary and so much fun!”
-- Margaret Coel, author of Wind River reservation series

“A gutsy sleuth, a fast-paced plot, and intriguing characters that keep you guessing. A Real Basket Case is a real winner! Don't miss it.”
-- Maggie Sefton, bestselling author of the Knitting Mystery series

You can find out more about the book, read excerpts and more reviews, and find "buy-me" links, at my website.

RELEASE DAY!

Today is the official release date for Deadly Currents, the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner. What does that mean, really? It used to mean that no one except reviewers could get their hands on a copy of the book before the official release date. But Amazon has been shipping copies of Deadly Currents already, and some bookstores already have the book on their shelves. For those who've preordered the Kindle version, however, it does mean your downloads should be delivered today.

And for me, it means I'll spend the day at the computer trying to get the word out via email to friends, family, etc. Then, I have a blogtalkradio interview at eight. After that, I'm going to celebrate with some bubbly! How can you help me celebrate? Click on one of the "buy me" links below OR make plans to attend one of my in-person signings that are listed HERE.

To order an autographed copy to be shipped to you, contact Black Cat Books.

To buy the book elsewhere, choose one of the following:

1. • Order from your local independent mystery bookstore
   

2. • Order from your local independent bookstore
   

3. • Order from Barnes & Noble
   

4. • Order from Amazon
   

5. • Order direct from Midnight Ink