Not Your Typical Friday Date Night

March 19, 2022March 19, 2022 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

GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES

February 5, 2022February 5, 2022 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

Author Goals – 2022

December 30, 2021January 9, 2022 JAB

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!

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

Cyber Monday Shopping

November 29, 2021 JAB

What do you think about on Sunday night after you’ve gone to bed? In the olden days when I was employed in the Corporate world, I’d lie awake and worry about all the stress and deadlines that had piled up from being out of the office for four days. Good times.

Last night after a weekend of being reminded by ads and emails that Cyber Monday bargains were in the works, I wondered when and how Cyber Monday got started. These days, when I wonder about something in the middle of the night, I hop online and do a little research first thing in the morning.

What I learned: In the early 2000’s, savvy marketers noticed a creeping trend of online shopping on the Monday following Thanksgiving. They surmised that people either didn’t finish all their Black Friday shopping or were opting to avoid the craziness of waiting in line in the cold at four o’clock in the morning for a bargain, only to be trampled in the crush when the doors opened at the insane hour of six am or discovered their item had been completely sold out before they made it into the store. More good times.

Each year, more and more shoppers waited until they got to work on Monday to do their online shopping on the faster, more secure Corporate internet. Of course, that was against Company Policy, but pfft.

In 2005, the US National Retail Federation coined the term “Cyber Monday,” and an entire nation became slackers at work on the Monday after Thanksgiving. In 2020, data shows that Americans spent a record $10.8 billion online by the end of Cyber Monday, and 2021 is expected to break that record.

Not to be outdone, I’ve jumped onto the Cyber Monday train, and TAGGED BY DEATH, Book 1 of the Riley Malloy thriller series, is free today. As a bonus, Amazon joined me and lowered the price of the $17.99 paperback to the unbelievable price of $9.92!

Now’s your chance for a real Cyber Monday bargain that won’t disappear before you’ve finished your Monday morning coffee or tea!

Only the vet tech who’s a dog whisperer can identify a serial killer if she can put the pieces together before she’s murdered; death follows her.

Want the complete Riley Malloy Thriller Series with one click? Here you go!

QuickJAB

Bingeworthy Thriller

November 23, 2021 JAB

MAGGIE SLOAN THRILLER SERIES

When Maggie and her unusual team uncover long-hidden crimes, the desperate criminals attack, and Maggie fights for survival. It’s kill or be killed.

Maggie Sloan, librarian and self-taught spy and her unforgettable, unique team avenge a heart-wrenching murder in I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A SPY, BOOK 1.

In RED IS THE NEW GRAY, BOOK 2, Maggie and her team travel to Galveston Island, Texas. Maggie persists in her pursuit to uncover the deadly crime and the vicious criminal who has escaped detection for years.

In HIDDEN BY FIRE, BOOK 3, When Maggie and her team investigate the puzzling clues that point to a long ago, unsolved theft of famous works of art, Maggie intends to discover the truth hidden behind the series of fires.

In ONE EYE ON THE KILLER, BOOK 4, Maggie uses her uncanny skills and talents to piece together the deaths of senior center residents and staff and the theft of valuable jewelry. A deadly attack on Maggie leaves her maimed, but the killer wants her dead.

What the Readers say:

A well-crafted story! If you’ve thought you have it all figured out, the story jack-knives off the page and spins you in a whole other direction. Very fulfilling. — Amazon

I love it! Taut, well plotted mystery. Beautiful turns of phrase. Laugh aloud moments. A kickass heroine. Imaginary companions who are somehow tangible. You’ll love it, too. — Amazon

Have you read some of the Maggie books? Tap the download button for the ones you have missed!

QuickJAB

Hot Summer and Hot Peppers

September 10, 2021September 14, 2021 JAB

Our jalapeno plants are producing fat, hot jalapenos. I can’t make jalapeno jelly to go with cream cheese on top of crackers, though, because we’d never be able to eat all the jelly before next year. Pickled jalapenos, however, go with everything – cheeseburgers, scrambled eggs, tacos, enchiladas, mixed with cream cheese for bagels, sloppy joes, spaghetti, fried potatoes…

Our jalapenos tend to be mild, but that’s our New Mexico-Texas taste buds talking.

How many pounds are in a peck? It depends… the internet appears to be fond of random numbers. For example, a peck of apples is 12-14 pounds; a peck of tomatoes is 10ish pounds… there’s a meandering trail on the internet of conflicting information if you’re ever tired of scrolling the same old stuff and want to read something different with no memes… be my guest.

While you’re doing that, I’ll be canning on the back deck in the sticky Georgia summer heat because who wants to overtax the air conditioning system with a canning pot that is full of boiling water?

Bring a big ole glass of sweet tea if you wander by, and I’ll tell you a story about how the ripening of peppers can lead to a grand adventure. Better yet, bring a pitcher because you know one of my stories always leads to another…

QuickJAB

Series Readers Are Awesome

August 8, 2021 JAB

RILEY MALLOY MYSTERY/THRILLER BOOK 2

For all the readers who are advanced series readers and already read TAGGED BY DEATH, BOOK 1, here is BOOK 2.

For all the series readers who wanted to be sure there’s a BOOK 2, here you go! Also, please read BOOK 1 first, because RILEY MALLOY MYSTERY SERIES is an actual series that follows the challenges of Riley Malloy, fulltime vet tech and part time crime buster.

DEFY DEATH

Riley, vet tech and dog whisperer, stands in the way of a desperate criminal. Easy fix. Kill Riley.

TAP for DEFY BY DEATH

For all the thriller and mystery readers that missed TAGGED BY DEATH, BOOK 1, you are not forgotten either.

TAP for TAGGED BY DEATH, Book 1

QuickJAB

Another Sweet Donut Lady Novel with a Side of Murder

July 25, 2021August 5, 2021 JAB

Donut Lady Mystery Series continues with Book 5, SWEET SECRET DEAL.

Donut Lady is in a race to uncover the secrets and solve the murders before the desperate killer murders her.

Donut Lady’s reputation for solving murders continues to grow in Book 5 of the Donut Lady Mystery saga.

KAREN O’BRIEN is puzzled by the secrets of a respected, longtime resident of Asbury. How many secret partners can any one person have? And when one of the partners and then another is murdered, Karen is convinced the killer must have been one of the other partners, but which one? And why? The Donut Lady asks too many questions and uncovers too many secrets. She’s in the killer’s crosshairs.

DONUT LADY mysteries are best enjoyed by starting with Book 1: SWEET SEAL SEALED.

QuickJAB

More than Ever…Survival

June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 JAB

The GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES continues with Book 4, DANGER IN THE FIELD.

A killer obsessed with hate seeks revenge.

Stuart and Aimee Louise scrap their plans to return to Florida when their neighbors fall victim to home invasions and murder. After the ruthless gang halts all travel with roadblocks and the attacks escalate, Stuart and Aimee Louise suspect someone on their team is the target. When the callous enemy closes in, Stuart and Aimee Louise plan their own attack.

Stuart, Aimee Louise, and Rosalie stayed in Georgia because lawlessness still rules. No electricity has become the new normal as their fight for survival continues in Book 4 of the Grid Down Survival saga.

GRID DOWN SURVIVAL is best enjoyed by starting with Book 1: DANGER IN THE CLOUDS as our SURVIVAL heroes grow with each new adventure.