My WorldCat count passes 100!

In a prior post, I described WorldCat, the world's largest network of library content and services at worldcat.org. Authors use Worldcat to see how many libraries have copies of our books in stock, which gives us an idea of our library sales. Not ALL libraries participate, but enough do to make the search worthwhile. Last night, the library count on the system for A REAL BASKET CASE passed 100. Not only that, but many libraries have multiple copies. I clicked through to a few libraries and saw that some of my books were checked out and there were hold requests pending on some. People are reading my book! People WANT to read my book!

My Second Review from a Plain Ole' Reader

I LOVE getting feedback from readers! Here's a mini-review of my book from a member of the crimeandsuspense yahoo email loop:

A REAL BASKET CASE
By Beth Groundwater

Beth Groundwater has penned a keeper in her entertaining page-turning novel full of mystery, intrigue and suspense. It is a story of friendships and hardships. While Claire’s marriage is not on the high road, she was not prepared for the many incidents that would send everyone on ventures right up to the last page. The twists and turns spin all over the map in one’s mind.

I would highly recommend A Real Basket Case as a light, fun, suspenseful read. But be prepared, you will not want to put it down; save a day for reading.

Bontie

A Launch Party and a Panel Signing

I had a busy but successful weekend. At my Book Launch signing at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Colorado Springs on Saturday, the Liberty High School Band was having a fundraiser across the aisle. The students serenaded me with lovely music the whole afternoon. I asked them if they would wear my buttons in exchange for me handing out their fundraiser coupons to folks buying my books. They were very appreciative of my help, given that my son is in a band that competes with them, and five of the Liberty supporters bought copies of my book!

My website master & dear hubby posted a photo from the Launch on the "Author Photos" page of my website, accessible from either the "About Beth" or "Press Kit" pages. You can see from the photo that I brought snacks and a balloon bouquet to jazz up the signing, and I collected names for a gift basket drawing. The snacks, napkins, tablecloth, and balloons were color-coordinated to my book cover colors. I ended up selling out the stores' stock of 35 copies and brought in 5 of mine to leave as signed stock.

Sunday was my second "Mystery Through the Ages" panel at the Reader's Cove bookstore in Ft. Collins with three other debut Colorado mystery authors. We had a nice crowd, even with the lovely weather that was driving folks outside. I sold 7 copies and left 3 for signed stock. A photo of the panel in action (look who's got her mouth open) is also on the "Author Photos" page of my website.

And the Woodmen Edition, the neighborhood weekly newspaper, was kind enough to coordinate the timing of the publication of an interview with me for the Friday before these events!

Romance Reviewers like A REAL BASKET CASE

I've gotten a couple of reviews from romance publications on my amateur sleuth novel, A REAL BASKET CASE. It's heartening to read that reviewers in this genre that focuses a lot of attention on characterization enjoy my mystery. Here's an abbreviated version of the reviews:

"Ms Groundwater has written an amateur sleuth mystery with a gutsy heroine. The situations that she manages to get herself into as she tries to uncover the truth will have readers chuckling, gasping, and turning the pages. Readers will be kept guessing to the end in the best fashion of a good who-done-it."

-- Love, Romances and More, April, 2007

"At first, I feared that Claire would be a character I couldn't relate to, let alone like. But it's clear from the first few pages that this is simply a woman at a crossroad in her life, and with one mistake, that life, and the lives of others, are now in peril. Many wild scenarios run rampant throughout Beth Groundwater's book, and the author has successfully mixed humor with the macabre. An enjoyable mystery that will weave its way into your psyche, A REAL BASKET CASE should not be missed."

-- Courtney Michelle, Romance Reviews Today, April, 2007

First Book Road Trip--in a Blinding Blizzard!

I just returned from my first 2-day, 1 night promotion trip, and I thought I'd tell you how I crammed in as much as possible--and how you can/should do the same when you promote your book. I drove north at 2:30 pm Tuesday and barely made it over very-scary Monument Hill in a wild snowstorm to arrive in Boulder at 5 pm for dinner with some members of the Rocky Mountain Sisters in Crime chapter there. At 7 pm was our "Mystery Through the Ages" panel signing at High Crimes bookstore (with fellow Five Star authors, Pat Stoltey and Mike Befeler), and I was heartened by the hardy audience that came in from the rain to hear us (since Boulder is at a lower altitude than CO. Springs, the precipitation was just rain there).

After sleeping over at Mike's home, I did the following Wednesday:
- met with a gift basket business owner, who took 3 copies on consignment for "Mystery Lover's" themed gift baskets
- two stock signings at B&N bookstores
- a pitch to the Westminster acquisition librarian to buy my book
- a visit with a Book Club (wine & food included) who had bought & read copies of A REAL BASKET CASE

I even got some shopping done at the Flatiron Crossing Mall! If some/all of my signed stock sells, the trip probably netted me 30-45 direct sales and hopefully more word-of-mouth sales. This weekend is my Book Launch at a local Barnes & Noble in Colorado Springs on Saturday afternoon and another "Mystery Through the Ages" panel signing at Reader's Cove in Ft. Collins on Sunday afternoon.

Pikes Peak Writers Conference

What a great conference! I had to do a lot of sleeping afterward to recover, but it was a good exhaustion. I sold 19 copies of A REAL BASKET CASE and 2 MAP OF MURDER anthologies, better than I expected. Whoo-hoo! Bill Reed, a reporter at the local Gazette newspaper, and I had a good discussion, so I hope he includes some of it in his article that he's writing about the conference. Thanks to an introduction by a good friend, Ronald Kovach at The Writer Magazine asked me to submit an article. And Eric Maisel, the creativity coach, was SO inspiring! Everything he said resonated with me. Folks seemed to like my workshop on "After the Call" and the "Niche Mysteries" panel I served on, because I received lots of compliments on them.

This was a milestone conference for me--getting to sign copies of my debut novel. Thanks to everyone who bought one! That's a feeling that I hope every aspiring author will have the pleasure of experiencing. As I was talking to Bill Reed, I told him how each PPWC was a different experience for me as I moved through the phases of my career, from my first one in 97, when I hadn't written any fiction yet and just came to learn, to my second in 99 when I entered the Paul Gillette writing contest, got lousy scores and realized I had so much more to learn, to my third in 2000 when I found my critique group buddies, to my fourth in 2001 when I placed third in the Paul Gillette, etc.

In a Cold Sweat

Why? I just finished up a 7 minute live radio interview on local station, KCMN, 1530 AM, with the morning show personality, Tron Simpson. I'd prepped what I wanted to say and managed to wedge in 4 of the 5 "talking points" I wanted to cover. Hopefully my voice wasn't too shaky, because boy, was I nervous! I'll have to get quite a few radio interviews under my belt before I feel confident enough to appear on TV without soaking my blouse. :)