Tag: BarrettBookShop

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

When You Run with the Big Dogs

JAB

And you are a Big Dog…

TJ and me writing Mar 2024 smaller

TJ and His Forever Family

TJ is eleven years old. When he was two years old, we spotted each other at the county animal shelter. He was in a crate, which he and I instantly agreed was a cage,  in the restricted area (don’t ask how I accidentally wandered into the restricted area) while he waited for his owners to pick him up from the pound for the third time. The label on TJ’s crate said ‘Runaway’.

A week later, FarmerMan saw a video of a dog that a man had posted in a local group on Social Media. Ten minutes later, we were in front of the house, talking to the man about a dog.

The dog was TJ, and the man said they’d had TJ about six months, but TJ’s boy  was going into the Marines. The family couldn’t keep the dog because of Old Cat, who had a rule “No dogs in the house or zip code”. According to the owner, TJ had never been to the vet because  he’d never been sick. TJ went home with us.

First Vet Visit

TJ had his first visit with our talented vet. After a round of vaccinations and a check up, the vet told us that his wonky right back leg was from an untreated injury when he was a puppy, and most likely he’d been hit by a car. When we told her  he’d been labeled a runaway, she said he was looking for us, and we wouldn’t have any issues. Our brilliant vet was right.

Old Dogs Still Got It

Even though TJ now suffers from osteoarthritis, especially in his right back leg, he still guards me while I write, stalks and chases field mice in our front field,  reminds me to take our daily  walk, so he can have his supper, is a fierce hunter of armadillos, and will dance and sing for his meals or treats.

Teaching the Young Ones

TJ also taught our sweet Toby, who was a stray that came to the farm and stayed, the fine art of being a Faithful Kitchen Sentry. In the mornings, FarmerMan frequently whips up a batch of scrambled eggs with potatoes and sausage for us and a second breakfast of fried eggs for the sentries.

In the evening, I’m notorious for my wild chopping of vegetables that hit the floor, dropping the whisk while I make gravy, or the obligatory offering  of half of a pecan to each sentry when I whip up a batch of cookies.

Kitchen Sentries Mar 2024 smaller

Dog Stories

You might have noticed all my stories have at least one dog in them.  No surprise at all, is it?

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You keep reading; I’ll keep writing.

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

A Tale of Two Videos

JAB

TAGGED BY DEATH February 2021

This is the link to the ancient video that was a trailer for Tagged by Death. I can’t get it to load, but while I work on a way to convert it, check out the new one!

https://judithabarrett.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/tagged-by-death-trailer.wmv

TAGGED BY DEATH January 2024

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Dressed for Success

JAB

Mistletoe Market 2024 smaller

Dressed for Success? I didn’t realize how well my new Christmasy long-sleeved shirt matched my $5.00  Walmart tablecloth. At least no one had trouble finding my booth!

My last event for 2023 was the Mistletoe Market in Cairo, Georgia. It’s one of my favorites; I love seeing my previous readers who return for more books and meeting new readers!

A shout out to the Mom who marched up to my booth with a slip of paper in her hand and announced, “My daughter said I’m supposed to get the Stalking book for her.”

Nearby shoppers gave her the side-eye, but she was a Mom on a Mission and impervious to any judgy attitudes.

In 2022, I ordered five of my newest paperback, which was book 3 in a series, as soon as I published it. When my books arrived, I was thoroughly embarrassed when I realized I had the wrong title on the spine! The five books were perfectly fine except for the spine. I hid them in the back of our office closet.

I decided to embrace my mistake and offered the first three books of the series, with the third book being the mistake book, at the same price as the two books plus $5.00. I have three mistake books (rare first editions?) left.  I’ll keep taking my mistake books to events until they’re gone.

My plan for 2024: Even more in-person events and increased focus on BARRETT BOOK SHOP where readers can buy paperbacks, ebooks, and audiobooks directly from me.

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing! 

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QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Current Affairs

JAB

              

Readers tell me that the events in the GRID DOWN SURVIVAL stories seem close to real life but are actually encouraging because of the hope and strength in the exciting stories of Major, Aimee Louise, Stuart, and the rest of their friends and family.

I published my first Grid Down book, DANGER IN THE CLOUDS, in 2019. I wrote it for my resident FarmerMan because he’d read all the books in all the post-apoc series that he liked.

He asked me to write a book for him, and I did. He liked it, and so did a few other people. When he asked me to write the next book, I did, and more people liked the stories, so I kept going from there. I’ve published at least one book a year since the first book. 

Book 7, DANGER ON THE RISE, was released a little over a week ago. Interesting trivia, at least   to me  and three other people: Five of the seven books were published in May, June, or July. The other two were published in December or January. 

This might be a stretch, but it’s hot outside in Georgia, and maybe where you are too, and we deserve a break! It’s time to celebrate the Series that hatches mostly in the summer!  (told you it was a stretch)

If you’re interested in becoming immersed in the exciting adventures of a small family that joins with their neighbors in overcoming adversity, start with DANGER IN THE CLOUDS.

If you’re intrigued AND love a bargain, buy two or more GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES books between now and July 17. The bargain? Use the discount code GRID16 for 16% off two or more of the books in the series.

Tap HERE for the GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES  and use your GRID16 discount code!

Have you already read all the GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES, or would you like to see what other books might interest you more? (I have more series and bargains to entice you to try a new series!)

Tap HERE for BARRETT BOOK SHOP to browse for other bargains or on the Barrett Book Shop logo that doubles as a button. 

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing!

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Fences in My World

JAB

FarmerMan has fenced in our peach trees. Do you see that the left side of the tree is bare? There is another peach tree next to it, and it looks just the same.

We had apple trees growing in the same two spots for the last few years, and they were always bare on that east side, just like this peach tree. We thought we had a strange weather environment in just that small spot because the rest of our fruit trees were fine. Or maybe there was a type of bug that ate only part of the tree because they were too lazy to fly or crawl to the other side.

We had two fig trees that were west of the two suffering apple trees that also finally died after all their fruit that was almost ripe disappeared and their leaves were stripped. We pulled up the dead trees, so they wouldn’t spread their strange virus to the rest of our trees.

When we planted the peach trees this year, FarmerMan fed and fertilized them and double-checked their irrigation. All was good until it wasn’t, and we were perplexed.

Our son visits regularly; FarmerMan showed him our troubling trees.

“Deer,” he said.

FarmerMan used what we had on hand, and the fences went up around all the peach trees. The green tape gives a little more height to the fence.  We’re hoping to slow the all-you-can-eat free  buffet for our deer neighbors.

Have you heard the old saying, “good fences make good neighbors”? I’m hoping our hungry neighbors decide to move on for their night time snack. I’d like to rewrite the old saying: “Good fences make absent neighbors.”

TJ and Toby, however, don’t share in our fondness for fences. They’d much prefer no fences or at least an open gate, so they could visit their friends who live half a mile away and find new friends that might be two or three miles from the farm.

Ella Fitzgerald sings TJ and Toby’s theme song: Don’t Fence Me In

My world revolves around what’s happening outside. What is your world?

Looking for a great book to read to be immersed in an exciting world?

Browse, shop, read, enjoy!

Barrett Book Shop

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

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

Grand Opening! Barrett Book Shop

JAB

Do you try to buy from your favorite local store or vendor? It’s not always that convenient, is it?

Announcing a new way to purchase Judith A. Barrett books – the ONLINE Barrett Book Shop!

All the thriller, post-apocalyptic science fiction, and mystery books  are conveniently at your fingertips; it’s just like going to an in-person event to buy a book from your favorite author, Judith A. Barrett, amiright? without spending money for transportation or even having to  put on your shoes or change out of your comfy pants.

Barrett Book Shop has the same deals and specials as any of the Big Gorilla Book Sellers in addition to exclusive discounts and deals!  Match THAT, Big Gorilla! <- I say that lovingly, BG, in the extremely unlikely event you’re reading this blog.  

Tap the link Barrett Book Shop and browse, drop a book or two into your cart then check out for a special Welcome Discount!

REMEMBER to mark Barrett Book Shop as a favorite in your browser, and let me know what you think!

Meanwhile, You keep reading; I’ll keep writing! 

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!