Congratulations to my Tenth Gift Basket Winner!

I'm very pleased to announce that my March gift basket winner is Valerie Holst from Schenectady, New York. She chose the relax-a-bath theme, the second winner to do so. The basket is on the way to her now, and given the rate of new subscribers to my email newsletter, I should be able to award another gift basket in March. If you aren't a subscriber yet, check out the Newsletter page of my website: www.bethgroundwater.com.

The next issue should be going out shortly. It will announce an extension of my preorder promotion through the end of March.

Work in Progress

I haven't talked lately about the current novel manuscript that I'm working on. Titled Wicked Whitewater it's a mystery where the protagonist is a female whitewater river ranger in her late 20's. My planned schedule is to finish editing it and send it to my agent for review before I hit the promotion road for A Real Basket Case. With that aim, I've been pushing two chapters through my critique group every two weeks. Out of a total of 21 chapters, they have chapters 13 and 14 now, and I'll submit 15 and 16 next week. So, the end is in sight. Between chapter edits, I'm making passes through the whole text for character consistency, use of senses, passive voice, and other general edits.

Two Weeks to Release Date!

I've ordered my own first 50 copies of A REAL BASKET CASE and am anxiously awaiting the boxes. I can't wait to hold that final hardcover in my hands. These copies will be used for signing at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference the weekend of April 20-22, since that bookstore wants consignment copies. They'll also be backup copies for my Colorado bookstore signings in case a bookstore runs out. I'll be shipping another set of books to Virginia for my tour back east for the same purpose.

My first interview is out in this month's "Mouth Full of Bullets" ezine at:
http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com/3.4InterviewBethGroundwater.htm

Also, Kevin Tipple has posted his complimentary review of A REAL BASKET CASE both there and in the "Mysterical-E" ezine:

http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com/3.6Review-ARealBasketCase-BethGroundwater.htm

http://www.mystericale.com/index.php?issue=current_issue&body=file&file=book_reviews.htm

More to come in Spinetingler, Crime Spree, Mystery Scene and other fine mystery-related publications...

Promotion: Five-Seven Steps to Purchase

I've always heard that someone needs to hear about you and your book five-seven different times, on average, before they make the decision to buy it. Thus the need for many different kinds of promotion. This week I submitted an interview and guest blog to mystery bloggers as yet another way to make those five contacts. My hope is that the process will go something like this:

A mystery fan reads a few of my emails on DorothyL or cozymysterykorner and says to herself, "that new author seems like a nice person." Then she reads a complimentary review of my book in a publication she trusts, like Booklist or Kirkus Review, and says "oh, I've heard of her, and her book sounds interesting." Then she visits a favorite blog site and reads my interview or guest blog and thinks, "so-and-so blogger likes this author,too." Then she reads my upcoming article in the April Mystery Scene and says, "wow, this author's getting a lot of press." She goes to my website to read a couple of excerpts from my book and check out my appearances list. There, she finds out I'll be appearing a mystery conference she's attending, like Malice Domestic, Mayhem in the Midlands, or Murder in the Grove. Finally, at the conference, she listens to a panel I'm speaking on, and says to herself, "I think I may buy her book." At the conference signing, she visits my table, we chat, she gets a good vibe, and she makes the decision to have me sign a book for her.

The process may happen differently for different readers. For instance, the last step may be my appearance at a local bookstore or with her book club or she remembers my book when she's putting together $25 worth of Amazon buys to get free shipping. :) Whatever the process, the important thing is to get my name out there in many different media. Now, if only I could book some radio interviews...

Congratulations to two Agatha Award Nominees

The attendees of the Malice Domestic mystery conference for fans of traditional or "cozy" mysteries award the Agatha prize, named for Agatha Christie, yearly to writers in various categories. Two fellow Sisters in Crime members, who have become friends of mine, have been nominated for the prize in two categories:

L.C. Hayden, Best Novel, for her book, WHY CASEY HAD TO DIE
Sandra Parshall, Best First Novel, for her book, THE HEAT OF THE MOON

I'm so pleased for them, and I'll be rooting for them to win when I attend the conference May 4-6 in Arlington, VA. It turns out that L.C. and I will be driving together afterward to attend the Festival of Mystery in Oakmont, PA the next day, May 7th. The long drive and sharing a room will allow us to really cement our friendship. And, Sandy and I will conduct a joint booksigning at the Creatures 'n Crooks Bookshoppe in Richmond, VA on Saturday, May 12th. I'm hoping that some of the cachet from these two Agatha nominees will rub off on me!

Four Weeks to Publication!

The final countdown to publication for A REAL BASKET CASE starts today, with four weeks to go to March 21, 2007, the official release date. I've been busy with preparations, and the excitement is building. I mailed off seven advance review copies to newspapers yesterday, made arrangements for an Internet radio interview, and finalized my last booksigning for my May trip back east. There's lots more to do, so in between chores, I'm trying to take deep breaths and savor the experience. You only publish your first novel once!

Congratulations to my Ninth Winner!

I'm very pleased to announce that Kathryn H. from Redmond, WA is the ninth winner in my email newsletter gift basket contest. She's the first one who picked the relax-a-bath theme, so I had a lot of fun constructing her basket. It's winging its way to her now. The newsletter list is rapidly approaching 1000 email addresses, so I should be able to award another gift basket in March. There's nothing I like better than giving away prizes, so if you're not receiving my email newsletter, sign up! Also, I announced a Preorder Promotion in my February newsletter. If you want to read about it, go to my website by clicking on the active text to the right, then click on Newsletter on my website to get access to past newsletters.