Tag: Amwriting

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Inside or Outside?

JAB

Which is your preference?

When it comes to Arts and Crafts festivals, outside wins for me, hands down, EXCEPT when it’s raining. When we’ve been caught in a passing shower, the Hubs and I have said for years, “We’ve been wet before; we’ll be wet again.”

However, books don’t do well in overnight dew or a little shower, much less a downpour. We watched the weather closely for the Calico Arts and Crafts Festival, and as the chance of precipitation and thunderstorms rose, the more we worried about the books.

I had originally requested an outdoor spot, but ten days before the Calico Arts and Crafts, I sent a frantic email to the organizer asking to be moved indoors.  If you’ve read the Grid Down Survival series, you know that Rosalie is the “Weather Girl.” I channeled my inner Rosalie.

The organizer relieved my worries when she graciously switched us to indoors. Almost all the vendors, indoors and outdoors, set up Friday afternoon to be ready for the Saturday morning event. A terrible thunderstorm with destructive wind blew through late Friday night, and quite a few tents were destroyed. It was tragic.

I was relieved we were inside at the Calico Arts and Crafts Festival, but we had to modify our usual setup. what do you think?

Calico Arts and Crafts in Moultrie GA, March 16-17  (Indoors)

Calico Arts n Crafts Mar 16 2024 smaller

We had a glorious time talking to so many great readers from Georgia and Florida who went home with dry books! The event coordinator had everything well-organized, including an organization of young men on Friday afternoon who unloaded our bins of books for us at our assigned vendor spot!

As usual, we picked up brilliant tips from the vendors around us. Calico is on our Definitely Return list for their next event in November.

Peanut Proud in Blakely GA, March 23  (Outdoors)

Blakley GA Mar 23 2024 Peanut Proud

Our set up at the Peanut Proud Festival was our usual with our canopy tent and my banner on the front of the tent. It got a little windy in Blakely that day, but the organizers were remarkable hosts, and we had a wonderful time.

We were surprised how many readers from Georgia and Alabama braved the wind gusts and went home with a new book or two. Amazingly, our tent didn’t blow away.  Peanut Proud is another event on our Definitely Return list for next year.

The Stars of the Shows: Books!

ALL the BOOKS Jan 2024 Barrett Book Shop Paperbacks

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

One Big Book, A Bundle, and Readers Rock

JAB

One Big Book 50% Off

An OMNIBUS of 820 pages!

Exclusive from Barrett Book Shop

A paperback  to read while you rock. Bookmark included.

DL Love Big Books Feb 2024 Shop Now Button clipped

The complete set of Donut Lady books all in ONE BIG BOOK! 

Donut Lady’s side hustle is exposing killers.

Karen O’Brien is a former teacher and convicted felon. After prison, she looks forward to a new, quiet life in her hometown in Georgia despite the disruption of her lurking shadows and terrifying nightmares.

She becomes the Donut Lady after she buys a donut shop complete with a sweet German Shepherd, Colonel, and a sassy gray cat, Mia.  

Donut Lady’s specialties are freshly made donuts, scones, hot coffee, and solving crimes. Good plan, except for the pesky killers that intend for her to die.

 The COMPLETE set of ALL the  Donut Lady Cozy Mystery books in ONE Hefty Paperback!  (1)Sweet Deal Sealed, (2) Sweet Deal Concealed, (3) Sweet Deal Revealed, (4) Sweet Deal Appealed, (5) Sweet Secret Deal, and (6) Sweet and Sour Deal.

 

A Bundle 50% Off

Maybe you’d rather have the entire Cozy Mystery Series in eBooks with a little less weight to carry around. 

Exclusive from Barrett Book Shop

I gotcha!

SIX BOOK eBUNDLE Feb 5 2024 

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The Complete Set of Donut Lady Books for you to read on your Kindle, Nook, or phone!

Donut Lady’s side hustle is exposing killers.

Karen O’Brien is a former teacher and convicted felon. After prison, she looks forward to a new, quiet life in her hometown in Georgia despite the disruption of her lurking shadows and terrifying nightmares.

She becomes the Donut Lady after she buys a donut shop complete with a sweet German Shepherd, Colonel, and a sassy gray cat, Mia.  

Donut Lady’s specialties are freshly made donuts, scones, hot coffee, and solving crimes. Good plan, except for the pesky killers that intend for her to die.

The COMPLETE Set of ALL the Donut Lady Cozy Mystery Series eBooks delivered to your Kindle or ereader!  (1)Sweet Deal Sealed, (2) Sweet Deal Concealed, (3) Sweet Deal Revealed, (4) Sweet Deal Appealed, (5) Sweet Secret Deal, and (6) Sweet and Sour Deal.

 

 

Readers Rock!

Readers Rock

I wanted a really cool sticker to include with signed paperbacks that are ordered from the Barrett Book Shop. Because…Readers Rock! 

But while I created the sticker, I wondered about the history of rocking chairs…a natural progression, wouldn’t you think?

Trivia

History of Rocking Chairs

Here’s a rabbit hole for the fascinating story of rocking chairs History of Rocking Chairs. I’d forgotten about the therapeutic uses of the rocking chair. Add a book, and you’re relaxing your back and going on an adventure with your favorite characters! 

History of Donuts

Donuts have a much longer history than rocking chairs. Here’s what the Britannica has to say on the topic of donuts: https://www.britannica.com/topic/doughnut 

My favorite was the tale of the sailor, Hanson Gregory, who was said to have pierced a hole in the pastry with the ship’s wheel during a storm, which reminded me of the pirate in another series… but that’s ANOTHER story!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The History of Rocking Chairs

 

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Author at Work

JAB

authorwriting      Chickens with grass Jan 2023 clipped

My New Author Bio?

Judith A. Barrett: The Georgia-based, award-snatching author who’s convinced her chickens might be plotting the next big mystery, or are they burying the evidence? 

With her loyal husband as her alibi, two dogs who are terrible at keeping secrets, and a penchant for spinning yarns ranging from mysterious thrillers to cuddle-worthy cozies, Judith has a story for every kind of reader. She’s taken on the challenge of combining mystery and crime with just a sprinkle of sweet romance to all her stories to keep them mildly spicy like sugar and cinnamon – not like jalapeno and ghost peppers!

Her motto? “You keep reading, or the chickens get it! Just kidding… I’ll keep writing!“

Bitter-barn-smaller-1 Chickens who go broody and won’t leave the nest go into the Bitter Barn to cool off. She’s crying fowl on the charges. If she begs you to open the barn door with a promise of eggs, she’s scamming you. Broody hens don’t lay eggs. There’s a story…

Buy Judith a cup of coffee!

Did you enjoy the new bio? Consider buying me a cup of coffee! Coffee is magical writer’s fuel and keeps me writing, researching, and sharing stories with you. Thank you for your continued support!

$2.00

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Legendary Author/Legendary Readers

JAB

Pepper Festival Sept 2023

My latest festival was the two-day Pepper Musical Festival: I wore my taco socks and used my chili pepper apron to spice up my table.  I expected to see a pepper eating contest or some  reason for the event to be the Pepper Festival, but as far as I know, it was the Pepper Festival just because.

You might have noticed that we finally realized that putting up the side panels on our tent helped block the sun. We also remembered to charge the fan the night before. For some unexplainable reason, I forgot all my tablecloths except for one small, white one. Walmart to the rescue! We found the cheap (yay!), green vinyl tablecloth that is now my favorite.  I love a bargain!

The vendor sites were spacious because of the large field where the event was hosted; we didn’t feel crowded at all and had a perfect location for our booth. The stage for the bands and the bleachers were in front of our site with an open, spacious, grassy area between us.

The two-day event was a challenge because the festival lasted until ten o’clock both nights, but Friday night was a blast. The headliner band played Hispanic music, and the area in front of us was filled with families. In addition to our  all time favorite music from the southwest, we had live entertainment as the children chased each other and rolled in the grass, and the toddlers bounced to the music.  We enjoyed an impromptu wrestling match between preteen boys that could have rivaled any high school wrestling team for style and technique.

Saturday was exhausting. We had to take our books back to the campground Friday night then haul them back to the event on Saturday morning because books and morning dew don’t mix; however, our campground was less than ten minutes away, which was a wonderful bonus.

A young, local police officer entertained himself most of Saturday by stopping by my booth and teasing me about some imaginary flaw in one of my books. He brought  a group of other police officers and firefighters to my booth to show them my fan then expounded on the imaginary flaw. I told him he was fired as my public relations manager, and his buddies roared with laughter.

The Saturday night crowd was mostly teenagers who were there to see and be seen. They were entertaining enough to watch, but they couldn’t come close to  the bouncing toddlers. The headliner music was not their type of music or ours either. Adults sat on the bleachers and politely applauded; it must have been their type of music.

The most amazing sight of all on Saturday night was the number of food trucks that magically appeared; everyone we saw was eating something!

We quietly packed our things and left at nine o’clock.  In theory, we won’t be invited back as vendors because we left before ten, but we’re okay with that. Our campground was great, and we had a terrific time; we’ll go back next year to camp at the great campground,  shout out to you, Tifton KOA Journey,  and enjoy the Friday night music and entertainment.

Will we consider another two-day event? It depends…

Remember the pesky police officer? The police chief stopped by my booth later and told me I was a legend.  Legendary Author: should I add that to my biography?

You know who reads the works of a Legendary Author, don’t you?

Legendary Readers: readers who  form theories based on clues and stray, almost random, hints the author leaves along the way in the story. That’s you, isn’t it?

How’s this for a new tagline?

The Legendary Author Who Writes for Legendary Readers.

Buy Judith a cup of coffee!

Did you enjoy the story? Consider buying me a cup of coffee – it’s writer’s fuel and keeps me writing, photographing, and sharing stories with you. Thank you for your continued support and being a Legendary Reader!

$2.00

QuickJAB

Go for the Burn

JAB

The past year has been rough on our trees: windstorms, heavy rain, a tropical storm, a hurricane, and two tornados have taken their toll.

We’ve waited for the downed trees and branches to dry out, then we waited for a relatively wind-free day  to Go for the Burn.

Do you see the helpers who showed up? There’s a fire witch and a fire ghoul who brought their cannon to the fire. If the fire hadn’t been roaring so loudly, we would have heard the fire ghoul signaling, “Ready? Aim! FIRE!”

If you don’t see them, it’s okay. I don’t write horror, so you won’t see them later in a book, which is why we don’t know their names.

This was a cameo appearance of the fire apparitions to encourage me to Go for the Burn while I’m writing, and I am! I’m on a roll and ready to announce the PreOrder of the new GRID DOWN SURVIVAL Series, Book 7.

Ready?

FIRE IN THE HOLE!

Here’s the cover!

Preorder Now!

Barrett Book Shop

Use the Barrett Book Shop link for a 15% discount off any Grid Down Survival Series novel (through May 31)

Pick Your Retailer

Release Date: June 29, 2023

Ideas, QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

New Spring Projects

JAB

We had an old fire ring that we’d almost forgotten about because it had been overrun by several years worth of weeds and brush on the edge of our woods. After  FarmerMan cleared away the dead weeds and brush, he rescued the fire ring,  the few stones that hadn’t been repurposed for other projects, and the concrete benches that had surrounded the fire pit for the past ten years.

We walked around our property while we discussed the best site for our “new” fire pit. After we considered several spots, we decided on a location in the backyard that was relatively flat;  we also decided that our folding camping chairs would be more comfortable than the concrete benches and would make mowing around the fire pit easier. We relocated our concrete benches to be near near the chicken coop, so we would have somewhere to sit while we watched the chickens and their latest antics.

We had a beautiful Bottlebrush tree next to our driveway. In case you’ve never seen a Bottlebrush tree, this is an example of its flowers  from the University of Florida Extension Service.

The Bottlebrush attracts hummingbirds and butterflies and has bright red flower spikes that are reminiscient of a bottle washer. The Bottlebrush plant is frequently sold as a shrub, but it can grow as a tree up to 25 feet in height. Our tree was probably only 15 or so feet tall, but it was beautiful.

Our weeklong hard freeze this past winter took its toll on our beautiful Bottlebrush tree. In a last ditch effort to revive our tree, FarmerMan severely cut back the branches in the hopes there was still life in its roots…

…and there was.

In January 2023, I made a career shift as an author and a publisher and moved all of my e-books from being exclusive with a single US/UK-concentrated retail distributor to the additional top four retail distributors, and dozens more smaller distributors, that are now delivering my e-books world-wide.  I expected a drop in royalties because the single retail distributor sales were based on the readers purchasing an annual subscription to read “free” books. Authors were paid royalties of a fraction of a penny for each page read.

While my gross income dropped, my net income has dipped only slightly because my marketing costs have drastically dropped; because more people (including libraries!) are willing to buy a book they want to read, more of my stories are flying off the pages and being read world-wide!

Would you like to pick a book to read?  Tap HERE to pick one out! (With the magic of invisible electrons, when you select a book, the webs will deliver your book to your favorite ebook reader.)

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing!

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Starting Over

JAB

The fragrant, beautiful gardenias in the front of our house have bloomed every May since we bought the house in 2018, and we know they were there when the previous owners bought the house  in 2013, so they had survived the high and low temperatures that fluctuated from year to year for more than ten years.

When the hard freeze that lasted four days hit in February 2023, we were saddened by the loss of so many of our pine trees that we had planted over the past three years but were completely shocked that our three sturdy gardenia bushes didn’t survive.  So, we started over.

In November 2022, in a series of unfortunate events, our faithful camping trailer that we bought new in 2015 bit the dust in a most unlikely incident. Out of respect for her faithful service, we won’t go into the details, but no humans, dogs, or chickens (even though they weren’t there) were injured. We had a choice: give up camping or get a new camping trailer. I’m certain you aren’t surprised that we bought a new camping trailer. We’re starting over by taking short trips to get used to our new trailer.

As an author with a publishing business, I’ve been closely tracking the dwindling benefits of exclusivity with a single online book distributor. I started over in January 2023, and now all 30+ of my books are being sold by over a dozen book distributors.

In February, I investigated several options of selling my books directly to readers online. By the beginning of March, my online Barrett Book Shop was live and in business!

 

I’ve been excited to learn that other authors are doing the same!  Take a peek at a very delightful author, Maria E. Schneider, at Bear Mountain Books. 

I’ve found my toe-tapping, head-bobbing theme song for 2023 on You Tube:  Chris Stapleton

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing!

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Celebrate the Small Stuff

JAB

Have you heard the old saying, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”? Not all that easy, is it? It hasn’t been for me!

Here’s an idea, before we hustle from one small stuff thing to another, let’s CELEBRATE the Small Stuff we’ve accomplished! Our timeless sage, Oprah Winfrey, said, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

Here’s my first celebration for 2023:

I haven’t been celebrating the glorious, but small accomplishment of  THE END when I publish any of my books, and I have no idea why not. FarmerMan has been so faithfully supportive since my first book was published in 2016, my second book was published in 2018, and all the books after that. I was on a roll, or maybe it was a roar because I never took time to celebrate THE END before I charged forward with the next book.

How did we celebrate? We went to a new-to-us restaurant and enjoyed a nice dinner. I don’t have any photos to commemorate the grand celebration because our phones were OFF while we talked and laughed.

What have you celebrated lately? What should you celebrate this month?

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

A Mountain of Goodness

JAB

Our beautiful Buff Orpington and Appenzeller Spitzhauben chickens were two days old when we brought them to their forever home coop from the feed store last August.

This morning, they had their first experience of two mountains of newly-mowed grass and weed clippings from the front field. Initially, they were very suspicious of the two new monstrous creatures in their run, but eventually two of the Buffs ventured close and discovered seeds, fresh green grass, and bugs. Game on!

The chickens have spent the entire day scratching and snacking at the two large piles; the mountain in the back that is much smaller than it was this morning, probably because it had the most green grass blades on top, but they are discovering more tasty grass, seeds, and bugs in the closer mountain.

I understood exactly how they felt when they first saw the two large, foreboding creatures. I tackled my first 2023 mountain when I expanded selling my books through new retailers: Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, Apple, and a myriad of other international booksellers in addition to Amazon. As I scratched and searched through the mountain of goodness, I’ve discovered a few yummy royalties and am sharing the bounty with my newsletter readers.

The second mountain, with which I’m more wrestling than tackling, is the daunting monster of developing an online book shop, so I can sell my ebooks and paperbacks directly to readers. I’m taking small steps because it’s an entirely new world with all kinds of strange creatures to wrangle. I’m hoping Barrett Book Shop will be live by the end of February.

Have I ever told you learning is fun? It still is!