Author: JAB

Judith A. Barrett writes fast-paced dark thrillers, romantic suspense, and mysteries with a twist featuring sharp minds, moral tension, and characters who refuse to stay victims. Best known for her dark vigilante thriller series starring Maggie Sloan, Judith creates stories where small towns hide dangerous secrets, instinct matters more than appearances, and justice is rarely simple. Judith lives on a small farm in rural Georgia with her husband, two dogs, and a flock of unapologetically sassy chickens. Thou shalt not plagiarize. (See Commandment #8) But it's okay to share!
QuickJAB

Inspiration, Weeds, and Books

JAB

How could weeds that overtook a garden be an inspiration for books? There’s a story for that!

This is one of my four raised garden beds. When I first heard about raised gardens, I thought the gardens were on tables that were waist-high. I loved the idea of not having to bend over or kneel in the dirt. I signed up for the local county Department of Agriculture Extension Service classes on raising vegetables, and I was excited that one seminar was devoted to raised beds. I was sorely disappointed when a tall (everybody’s tall to me), young (ditto, young) woman led us outside to view the raised bed garden she had constructed for the class.

Her raised bed garden was six feet by six feet, and she had some green plants in it. She knelt next to her raised bed to show how easily she could weed and maintain her garden. She implied that a raised garden bed had to be six feet by six feet for the garden magic to work, but I pointed out that she had a little trouble reaching the middle of the raised bed. She said her raised bed was new, and everyone limbers up as they garden.

I’m not sure how much gardening it takes to become so limber that you’re taller. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

A few years later when we moved to the farm, FarmerMan built a raised bed for my short self, and I can pull weeds from the middle of it without climbing in. Last year, this raised bed had serrano peppers. After a visit to the hardware store yesterday, I came home with vegetable plants and vegetable seeds, and it was time to weed.

The best weeding news of the week is that it rained a total of three inches this week, so pulling weeds could have been much worse.

Here we are! I weeded the raised bed garden and planted nine plants: all collard greens. The irrigation system is in place, and rain has been in the forecast for today and one day next week. The perfect supplement to our irrigation system.

So, how does that relate to books?

My oldest series got a little weeding and a snazzy new look too. The series is great and fun to read, but the covers weren’t quite limber enough because they didn’t line up well with the cozy mystery theme.  You wouldn’t see them in a group of covers and say, “Ah ha! That’s obviously a cozy mystery novel!” They aren’t bad, and they kind of imply they are mysteries, but that doesn’t make them limber or cozy mysteries.

Old Cover. You can tell it’s a mystery because it says so on the bottom line, but you probably didn’t immediately read the fine print at the bottom before you saw the picture.

  

New Cover. If you’re a cozy mystery reader, you’ll probably recognize this as a book that’s suited for you because of the cover. If you aren’t a cozy mystery reader, you might like the donut cover better; not because it’s a book you’d want to read, but instead…Donuts.

  

If you’ve read any of the Donut Lady Mysteries, just a note for you that the stories have NOT changed. We just gave our DONUT LADY more of the center stage on the cover. Unless you want to have the paperback with the most current cover, please wait just a little bit longer for Donut Lady, Book 6, for a new Donut Lady story.

 

QuickJAB

What’s In a Name?

JAB

If you grouped the first three novels in a series together, so readers could read them one after the other without having to search for the next book, what would your call that group? A litter? A caravan? A herd?

While caravan has a nice ring to it because you read the books one after the other, I’m not sure anyone but us would understand. There isn’t an actual word that everyone in the book world uses for a group of related books, so we have choices.

When I researched the online bookseller websites, I found three common terms:

  • Collection
  • Omnibus
  • Boxset
    • Collection may be confused with an anthology, which is a collection of unrelated short stories in one book; according to the dictionary, a collection of books is a library.
    • Omnibus sounds a little old-fashioned, but it’s probably the most accurate because it’s defined as a volume of several novels that were previously published separately.
    • Boxset originated with paperbacks sold in bookstores that were sold in a physical container: an actual open-ended box with a cover portraying the series. When ebook publishers first published ebooks as boxsets, readers, especially literal me, were disappointed because we didn’t receive the novels inside the pretty box in the mail.

Which term do you like?

Here is a caravan of three novels for you. No fuss, no bother; each novel leads you to the next while Donut Lady solves another murder or two.

Donut Lady attracts customers with sprinkles, donuts, and coffee and attracts the attention of killers when she closes in on solving murders.

QuickJAB

Not Your Typical Friday Date Night

JAB

Some people go out on the town for Friday Date Night. We drive twenty miles into town for our Friday Date Morning.

 

We go to Grassroots Coffee for coffee, cinnamon rolls, and exciting computer and conversation time.  I frequently interrupt his computer time with a question or two that turns into a long, interesting to us discussion. My latest questions: When the grid is down, can I move a ham radio to a house when it is currently installed in a truck? How do I power it? We didn’t have any people stop by to listen to our absolutely fascinating discussion. They were either in awe of the intensity of our Friday Date conversation or befuddled by our novelist/consultant survivalist lingo.

Notice the cinnamon roll? It’s truly the best in town. I don’t know whether they actually use Maggie’s cinnamon roll recipe, but it certainly tastes exactly like the ones I make at home. There’s nothing like a homemade cinnamon roll and Grassroots special blend coffee for a stellar Friday Date.

If you can read my computer screen, you know my ham radio questions came from my almost finished novel. The answers are in DANGER AT THE FARM, Grid Down Survival Series, Book 5, which will be released on May 27. Preorder DANGER AT THE FARM now, and you won’t have to try to remember the date.

   

While you wait for May 27…

If you aren’t familiar with the Grid Down Survival Series, now is the perfect time to read DANGER IN THE CLOUDS, Book 1.

MAJOR DAVE ELLIOTT’s farm becomes a refuge and target after the abrupt collapse of the power grid and economy. His autistic granddaughter’s gift to see danger thwarts attacks on the farm. But when lawlessness rules, Major is determined to expose the treacherous plan to control the US government. Will he succeed where others have so tragically failed and died?

QuickJAB

Binge Readers Rock!

JAB

We’re being told we need to practice self-care, right? Binge readers actually invented self-care by immersing themselves in a story that takes them away from day-to-day stresses and into a world where they share the exciting adventures of overcoming bad guys with their favorite characters.

Somewhere not long ago, a sharp pyschologist peeked into her office waiting room and noticed that three relaxed patients were reading ebooks or paperbacks while the rest of the patients paced, fidgeted, or fumed about the wait. Ah, ha! Self-care! She promptly instituted a take one/leave one book table and hired another psychologist to help with her practice.

Ready to binge read? Here’s an omnibus of the first three books in the Donut Lady Mystery Series; or in today’s language: boxset. Tap or click on the books for MORE…

BookBrushImage-2022-3-11 Boxset

QuickJAB

GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES

JAB

Have you noticed there’s a new book on the block?

Dilemma: The original Grid Down Survival story made its appearance in 2018 as a Young Adult book, THE GIRL WHO SAW CLOUDS. The book was a blend of the stories of Major Dave Elliott and his granddaughter, Aimee Louise, but didn’t quite reach all the  readers who would enjoy the story.

Easy Fix: A “Major” (did you see what I did there?) adjustment, and DANGER IN THE CLOUDS expanded to focus on more of Major’s story and was released in January 2019.

A Series is Born: DANGER IN THE CLOUDS became Book 1 of the GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES in 2020 when DANGER IN THE WIND, Book 2 was published. Watch for Book 5 in June 2022!

Dilemma: The Girl Who Saw Clouds still had a lot of non-YA adulty boring stuff.

Fun Fix:  THE GIRL WHO SAW CLOUDS underwent a huge Minor (get it?) rewrite, and THE GIRL WHO SAW CLOUDS, SECOND EDITION was released in January 2022.

Related to A Series is Actually A Thing: Because THE GIRL WHO SAW CLOUDS is the same story as Book 1, except it’s from Aimee Louise’s point of view, the next book to read is DANGER IN THE WIND, Book 2.

Your Dilemma: Should you read both DANGER IN THE CLOUDS and THE GIRL WHO SAW CLOUDS? Aren’t they exactly alike? It’s up to you because both books tell the same basic story, and you’ll know what happens next and how the book ends. There won’t be any surprises for you except remember that even if two people go through an experience together, their points of view are different. Your choice, but either way, if you enjoy one or both of the books, you can continue on with DANGER IN THE WIND.

Friendly Fix: Confused? Tell me what confused you, and maybe I can help!

QuickJAB

Out with the Old; In with the New

JAB

The Girl Who Saw Clouds

GirlSawCloudsFrontCover5 Jan 2022

New GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES Book 1 a novel for YA readers.

Autistic and Orphaned. The nation’s survival depends on her.

Aimee Louise doesn’t see faces; she sees clouds. Happy, sad, and worried clouds, but most importantly, she sees the clouds of danger.

A local transformer explodes, but it’s only the beginning of the coordinated, widespread collapse of the nation’s grid and economy. When the power-hungry criminal discovers the information to stop his plan to take over the US government is hidden at the new family’s farm, the attacks escalate and become personal. The target is Aimee Louise.

Sometimes all it takes is the willingness to Go For It!

A week or so ago, I was on track to finish a new book that’s already set for preorder on March 15 when the admin of a really cool authors’ association announced only two members had submitted books for the upcoming Young Adult Science Fiction promotion that the association was sponsoring.

I had a YA Sci-Fi book! Of course, it was written in 2018 and was my second book. For any authors who are reading this and suddenly remembered your own second books, I heard your groans.

I assumed all Book #2 needed was a teensy rewrite to clean it up a bit; nice thought, but after I dived in, I was shocked at how awful it was. The story was good, the characters were great, but the writing was rough.

My talented editor, bless her fearless, flaming, red pen, and I did a four-day marathon of painful, exhausting writing, cutting, rewriting (me), and ruthless editing (her), and the end product was a brand-new book, Second Edition, Book #20!

I submitted the Second Edition with its own new cover, and BOOM! The Girl Who Saw Clouds, Second Edition, is included in the International Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors, IASFA, promotion from January 23 – January 27. Here’s the link to the promotion where you’ll find 14 sci-fi novels that will be FREE through January 27: https://iasfa.org/get-free-books/

If you’ve read DANGER IN THE CLOUDS or even the original THE GIRL WHO SAW CLOUDS, you already know the story, but the Second Edition has a bit of new material that wasn’t in either of the other two. You might enjoy a fresh read!

If you haven’t read any of the GRID DOWN SURVIVAL Series books, dive into the new second edition. BONUS! It’s free all five days from January 23 – 27.

TheGirlWhoSawCloudsBuy

QuickJAB

Fear of Missing Out

JAB

This is my FOMO jar. Fear of Missing Out.

When I reviewed my expenses for 2020 and 2020, I discovered I spent a significant amount of money, especially on the latest and greatest software tools that everybody else was getting, that was a total waste of money and of my  time. 

My reason for buying the Latest and Greatest Whiz Bang tools? FOMO

My reasons for not using the new tools were not impressive: the software wasn’t instinctive; the software tutorials were too much work to listen to; the software wasn’t as good as what I was using; I didn’t have time to spend learning new software; I had trouble with the download because my internet is slow, so I quit; it was foggy outside.  I know that last foggy excuse is pretty lame, but so are all the rest of them.

This year, I have a #FOMOjar. Every time I purchase something because FOMO, I’ll drop a quarter in the jar. Every time I decline a FOMO purchase, I’ll drop a penny in the jar. At the end of every month, I’ll set aside bonuses and penalties based on the cost of the purchase temptations. Penalties for FOMO purchases, and bonuses for saving money by avoiding a FOMO purchase.

The coins will be a reminder and a tracker of how I’m doing, and the bonuses and penalties will go toward paying for gas when we drive the the truck and camping trailer to a national convention next fall that I really want to attend.

Watch for my first report for January 2022 at the end of the month!

Follow my page on Facebook for more FOMO tips! Tap to follow me on Facebook

QuickJAB

Author Goals – 2022

JAB

strategy_image 2022

The road to 2022 is particularly appropriate because road trips are part of the plan.

RECAP

2018 Goals: Publish a book Results: Published two books

2019 Goals: Publish four books and earn a prestigious award Results: Published four books and received three prestigious awards.

2020 Goals: Publish four books, receive a prestigious award, sell one book through a bookstore; and stretch goal, end the year with a POSITIVE net income. Results: Published six books, received a prestigious award, sold books in US and UK bookstores, and ended the year with a POSITIVE net income.

2021 Goals: Publish six books including Book 1 of a New Series, sell a complete series through a bookstore, a wild dream of a stretch goal: end the year with a positive net income; and a bonus goal for 2021: Tame the wild unicorn.

2021 Results

  • Published six books including Books 1-3 of a new series
  • Sold 1 complete set of a series through a bookstore
  • Sold 4 complete sets of a series at in-person signing events
  • Sold and signed books at two in-person signing events
  • Wrote a short story that was included in a Halloween anthology
  • Attended a national book conference and incurred travel and lodging expenses but gained an incredible amount of knowledge.
  • Ended the year with a positive net income, and I learned a lot about marketing in 2021.
  • Tamed the wild unicorn! There’s a saying among authors that if a book receives 50 reviews on Amazon, the author receives a Unicorn. I received more than 50 reviews on 6 books: Each Book 1 in all four series, and Book 2 in two series. BOOM! Unicorns tamed!

UnicornsandCoffee

GOALS for 2022

  • Publish six books
  • Publish a Halloween novella
  • Publish a trilogy boxset
  • Write a Survivalist SciFi short story
  • Sell and sign books at four in-person signing events
  • Attend the national book conference (Road Trip, Baby!)
  • There’s a saying that when readers read more than one million pages of an author’s books in one month, the author has caught the Wild Rainbow Trout.

Bonus Goal: Capture the wild Rainbow Trout!

QuickJAB

Tagged by the Holiday Spirit

JAB

TJ, aka Black Dog, and Toby, aka Brown Dog, are always on guard. It’s that time of year to be watching for Santa.

A year ago on Christmas Eve, a brown, stray puppy followed our old, brown dog, Sadie down the long driveway to our farmhouse. The county animal control officer told us it was common to find abandoned puppies dumped in our rural area. Sadie must have told him to stay, because he did and became a part of our pack.

You’ll meet another abandoned dog named Toby in the RILEY MALLOY THRILLER SERIES. Book Toby is just as brave, faithful, and handsome as our farm Toby. Book Toby also has an old black lab friend, Jordy, who has a remarkable resemblance to TJ. Imagine that!

TAP to read about Toby and Jordy/TJ in TAGGED BY DEATH