On-line Excitement for A BASKET OF TROUBLE

In conjunction with the November 8th release of A Basket of Trouble, the critically acclaimed third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, I am visiting some blogs this week. Yesterday, Jessy Randall on the Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room blog interviewed me. Find out about the worst job I ever had and more!

Today, my amateur sleuth, gift basket designer Claire Hanover, is visiting Dru Ann Love's blog, Dru's Book Musings, to talk about a stressful day in her life. Both she and I will answer questions from mystery readers there, and Dru Ann is running a contest for a free autographed copy of A Basket of Trouble, drawing the winner's name from among those who leave a comment. Good luck!

Also, a few days ago, A Date With a Book blog posted a very complimentary and detailed 4-star review of A Basket of Trouble. I hope you'll go over there and read it!

Finally, unrelated to this release, but to my other 2013 release, Fatal Descent, the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series, Colorado Country Life magazine selected the book as a Recommended Read for 2013!

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.

Happy New Year and Happy Blogging!

I had a wonderful New Year's Eve in Breckenridge, Colorado, skiing, hot tubbing, watching the torchlight parade down the mountain from Boreas Pass Road, eating a champagne and steak dinner with hubby, son and friends, then watching the fireworks from Grandview Drive. To cap off the evening, a young man in the group got down on his knees in the middle of the fireworks show to propose to his girlfriend. After she said yes, we all cheered and clapped. They had about a dozen friends circling them in a hushed, anticipatory circle who were in on the secret beforehand, so I'm sure her girlfriends advised him that her answer would be yes. It was so romantic to watch!

New Year's Day was a lazy day spent in PJs watching the Rose Parade, then window shopping on Main Street. Marta Stephens, however, over at the Murder By 4 blog was busy this morning posting messages from some of their 2009 guests, including me, on our thoughts about the past 12 months and our hopes for 2010. You can find out what I have planned for the new year by visiting Murder By 4. Please comment here or there and let me know what YOUR plans are for 2010. And have a very happy new year!