I arrived home just two days ago from a fantastic vacation – The 70’s Rock & Romance Cruise on Celebrity Cruises! I won’t bore you with the details just yet, but I did manage a little first hand research for Recurring. Above is a shot I took on Grand Cayman, where Elaine and Trevor Masters honeymooned. The island figures significantly in the book (without going into spoilers), so I thought I’d include it. It’s gorgeous, and far removed from the book’s New Jersey setting – but the story also begins on the island, which you learn toward the end of the book. I hope to have the synopsis in the hands of a few agents by next week. Wish me luck, folks.

Now onto my vacation! Oh My God! The music was fantastic! My cousin and I decided to go for it way back last fall when I saw a commercial for the cruise on Antenna TV. We heard The Guess Who, Air Supply, Badfinger, Ambrosia, War, America, Styx, B.J. Thomas, and my favorite – Michael McDonald. Everyone got older, but these bands and singers still rock. I lost my voice after The Guess Who, for which my cousin was eternally grateful. I sang every song along with them – everyone else did, too – but I didn’t sing when Michael McDonald sang and neither did anyone else. We all wanted to hear him, not ourselves, and we weren’t disappointed.

           Michael McDonald                   The Guess Who  

 

I have always been a music fanatic, so this vacation was the perfect fit for me. Even the tribute bands were great.

On Jamaica I swam with Dolphins! Beautiful experience. What gentle, friendly creatures.

I just noticed I don’t have on any makeup in the pictures (a mortal sin for a Jersey Girl), and my hair went way blonde! Have to change that fast! Anyway, it would be great to fit a nice murder mystery within the music industry for an upcoming book! But not with dolphins. No way!

Have a great night all. Peace be the journey.

 

It’s been such a long time since I last posted here. It’s been an amazing few months for me when it comes to writing. Recurring should be all polished and ready to make the agent rounds by early next week, and Lesser Saints is coming along well enough, thanks to the new critique group I’ve joined.

For those unfamiliar with what is accomplished in a critique group, each person brings a work-in-progress and reads it, with other members of the group scrutinizing every single freaking word. Critique groups are not for the faint of heart. You have to steel yourself for criticism and the shame of having others catch all your stupid errors, forgotten words, and downright bad typing and careless editing skills. I am particularly ashamed of skipping words – being notorious for leaving out “a” and “the” in my haste to fill up a page. Yes, we all do it. No, there’s really no excuse for it after you’ve proof-read the thing six times before printing it out for others to see.

The most useful purpose of a critique group is that it forces those who participate to actually write something – not just think about writing something, or making notes, or doing endless research. I love it and am very comfortable with allowing these other people to see my work in progress, at least so far.

That’s where things stand for now. Not much news, I’m sorry to say. But I have this feeling deep in my gut that Recurring will be snatched up soon by some clever publishing house. I also think Lesser Saints will be a sensation – though what kind of sensation, I can’t say. Maybe I’ll be ostracized, or blacklisted, or even excommunicated!

On a brighter note, it’s 78 degrees here in New Jersey! I can practically taste the spring in the air. If you’re in the area, go outside and enjoy it while you can. Tomorrow the temperature drops to the 40s!

Have a great night everybody, and keep reading.

 

Ho-Ho-Ho everyone!

I know it’s been over a month since my last post and I’m truly sorry. I got so caught up in life that I simply forgot! It happens. And it’s been happening more and more. It could be that I no longer write to-do lists and it slipped my mind, or maybe it’s an early onset of something or other, or perhaps I’ve gotten just plain lazy. Regardless, I’m determined to do better to keep everyone informed of my current works in progress.

As of right now, I’m frantically working on Lesser Saints. The novel is timely considering all the news about sexual harassment. If this book gets finished and can hopefully hit the shelves in the next year or so, it might be viewed as a solid, serious piece of literary fiction. Attitudes toward sexual harassment don’t develop overnight, as you will come to understand if this book is lucky enough to see the light of day. The story centers on a horrific incident that takes place in the 1960s, and shapes the lives of four Catholic grammar school girls who carry on in the aftermath of an assault with a shocking secret.

Recurring, unfortunately, is taking a back seat to Lesser Saints at the moment, though this book also can be considered timely in light of the all the illegal drug stories in the news, as well as the mounting drug addiction crisis in the country.

As for Colleen Caruso and the gang, I haven’t heard anything at all from the publisher. Sales of Another Man’s Poison aren’t what I hoped they would be, and I haven’t seen many reviews either. All this means the probable end of the Jersey Girl series. I love Colleen and the Tranquil Harbor crew, but as the old, annoying saying goes – it is what it is. This is a reality for fiction authors. Many of my author friends have expressed the same view regarding their own cozy mysteries. Bummer, ain’t it? But maybe it’s high time for a change. My writing seems to be going in a totally different direction anyway, so . . .

I hope everyone reading this has a beautiful Christmas, a Happy Hanukah, and an amazing New Year. May all your dreams and wishes come true!

Happy Halloween readers and writers! I love Halloween almost as much as I love the fall.

Pictured above is the most vibrant foliage I’ve seen so far this autumn. The trees changing just aren’t as colorful as in past years. They say (whoever THEY are) it’s because of the weather staying warm far longer than is usual.

I’ve finished the virtual book tour of Another Man’s Poison, which was loads of fun and thankfully attracted the attention of a few new fans of the series. Gotta love that! I know Colleen Caruso is grateful for all the attention.

For the past week, I’ve been re-editing the Recurring manuscript in order to find an agent. I kept this book on the back-burner far too long and haven’t given it the attention it deserves. This book is now my No. 1 priority.  I’ll let you know how it goes, but I think this will be the next book published. As for Lesser Saints, this is proving to be a difficult tale to tell and it will command all my attention to make it a great story. My next series now occupies the vacant back-burner. I wish I could write three things at once. Unfortunately, I’m not talented enough to accomplish this feat of magic, so I have to choose.

I’ll leave you with one other photo taken this morning of the sad state of our under-par autumn trees. Hope the colors are better in your area, guys! Have a great week and don’t steal too much of your kids’ trick-or-treat candy!

And remember, keep reading!

I’m posting this as a reminder to check out the various sites and blogs that will feature Another Man’s Poison (as well as a few reviews and author interviews). I believe the first site, Books, Dreams, Life, on October 2nd will be absent due to a medical emergency in the blog mistress’s family. Wishing them all well and a quick return to good health!!

Once again, here’s the schedule:

Tour Participants

October 2 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT  

October 3 – Valerie’s Musings – INTERVIEW

October 3 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

October 4 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW

October 5 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

October 6 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

October 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

October 8 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST

October 9 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST

October 10 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 11 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW

October 12 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

October 13 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

October 14 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

October 15 – A Blue Million Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Thanks everyone and have an amazing, productive week!

 

 

Finally. We’re in print! Another Man’s Poison was available for pre-order on Amazon for about a week, but now it’s a go and so is the print version.

The link for the paperback on Amazon is:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939403421/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503711879&sr=1-4&keywords=another+man%27s+poison

For the Kindle version link just click on: Another Man’s Poison

If you prefer, you can preview this and go right to Amazon from using the tabs directly above. If I’m doing something totally illegal, I guess Amazon will sue my sorry butt! They won’t get much. Either way, leave a comment if it does or doesn’t work – I’m not too skilled about linking up these things and I’m no techie either!

Barnes and Noble is only offering the Nook edition as far as I can tell. Here is that link:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/another-mans-poison-jo-ann-lamon-reccoppa/1127008297?ean=2940158561641

That’s it for now! Thanks for your patience everyone and I hope you enjoy the book!

Colleen Caruso’s Midas Touch, which is A Day in the Life of Colleen Caruso, is up on Dru’s Book Musings today. If you visit the site and leave a comment, you’ll have a chance to win a print copy of Another Man’s Poison. Good luck to all who enter!

Here’s the link:

https://drusbookmusing.com/2017/08/22/colleen-caruso-3/#comment-75029

The book tour is all set and there is lots of time to think up clever interview answers before the virtual excursion begins. I’ll post the schedule again and check all the links to be sure they’re in working order as the tour dates draw nearer.

Tour Participants

October 2 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT  

October 3 – Valerie’s Musings – INTERVIEW

October 3 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

October 4 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW

October 5 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

October 6 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

October 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

October 8 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST

October 9 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST

October 10 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 11 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW

October 12 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

October 13 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

October 14 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

October 15 – A Blue Million Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Things are finally moving fast. On Tuesday, August 22nd, I’ll be doing A Day in the Life  for Dru’s Book Musings  https://drusbookmusing.com/ and will respond to all comments posted on the site throughout the day. I’ll send the link out again on Tuesday as a reminder, and hopefully one of you will post a comment for the chance to win a copy of Another Man’s Poison.

The book is also available on Amazon for pre-order, though as far as I can tell, it’s only for the Kindle edition. I have to contact the publisher to find out why the paperback isn’t available for pre-order yet. If anyone is interested, here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Another-Mans-Poison-Jersey-Mystery-ebook/dp/B074XG62GP/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503263697&sr=1-3&keywords=Another+Man%27s+Poison

Enjoy what little remains of the weekend everyone! I’ll post a reminder on Tuesday about Dru’s Book Musings. If you get some free time, check it out!

The above patio umbrella (in beloved Devils red) will soon be closed for the season! I can’t believe how fast the summer is slipping away. I haven’t accomplished even a small fraction of the things I planned to do! The heat really got to me this year. I’ve all but deserted my own backyard. The humidity is paralyzing. Lately I refuse to lift a finger anywhere if air conditioning isn’t involved.

News of Another Man’s Poison – it’s coming. The tentative release date, August 10^th, has come and gone. Any day now is all I can say. It will definitely be out by August 22^nd, as I am doing another Day in the Life guest post for Dru’s Book Musings on that date. I will have all the links here on this site, as well as links on Dru’s site if anyone cares to purchase it.

As I said in a previous post, I’ve been busy working on other things. I wish my brain could function at a faster pace, and I would love to have fingers that fly across a keyboard instead of staggering like ten drunks! As it stands, there’s another series in the works, revisions on Recurring to make the book a lot more edgy, and an extremely serious book that I have to drag, kicking and screaming, out of my past – Lesser Saints. This one is tricky. It’s not exactly a mystery. The book is about the religious restraints placed on Catholic schoolgirls growing up in the sixties, the importance of virtue and chastity even though the abuse is not the victim’s fault, four reticent classmates who make a solemn pledge to keep a deadly secret, and the ethics involved in lying to save one’s own skin. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever written, even more tough than a newspaper story I covered years ago about a brave woman who chose to have a double mastectomy as a preventative measure when first diagnosed with a cancerous lump at age 29 (that one really upset me).

I will update the exact release date of Another Man’s Poison as soon as I hear the news. Meanwhile, stay cool, enjoy what’s left of the summer, keep your patio umbrellas open and tilted, and remember to read while you’re tanning!

 

August Release!!!

 

It’s been over two months since my last post and I’m thoroughly ashamed about that! I received a comment on my site this morning under the Cover Reveal post about the upcoming book’s release and she pushed me into action! The fact is, I hadn’t heard much about Another Man’s Poison for a while, when Dru Ann Love contacted me last month to ask if I was interested in doing A Day in the Life for her popular blog, Dru’s Book Musings. That inquiry got the ball rolling. I bugged the editors at PageSpring Publishing and shamelessly pushed. They’ve been a little behind in releasing titles due to several unforeseen events and authors simply had to wait their turns. As it happens, my turn has finally arrived.

Another Man’s Poison will definitely be released in August. I’m doing a guest post for Dru’s site on August 22^nd, and I’ve sent in my dedication, acknowledgments, and a revised bio to the publisher to be included in the book. The publisher is putting together a nice blog tour (I’ll post the schedule when it is all booked and finalized). All very exciting!

It’s been exactly two years since Hide nor Hair! I can’t believe that much time has passed. I think everyone’s been sidetracked – at least I know I have, working on other things and dealing with the obstacles life throws at me to trip me up and comically entertain the cosmic universe.

So it’s coming. And soon. And thank you all for your patience and interest!

Off discussion and on a side note – has anyone experienced the latest Microsoft update and had trouble? I turned on my desktop this morning and was greeted with a shot of a field filled with lavender and a prompt to type in my password. The problem – I had absolutely no idea what my password was! So I placed a call to Microsoft, where I needed a linguist to interpret the tech’s suggestions, took a dozen more tries at guessing the right password, received an advisement to wipe out the whole system (and lose tons of files which aren’t backed up including one entire manuscript, the start of two separate new series, and an outline of a book that I hope will be a NYT bestseller, as well as over a thousand pictures). Obviously I wasn’t about to do that. After a suggestion to contact HP, I hung up. This exchange took over an hour and my blood pressure skyrocketed. I ran to the bathroom cabinet and took a whole Xanax pill (I hate taking medications) to avoid a stroke. I finally controlled my shaking hands, calmed down, and started fooling around with password combinations and took some wild guesses. I was finally able to sign on!

The moral of my story — write down every single password you’ve ever used. Back up everything – no matter how insignificant you think it is – on a flash drive or a disk! Microsoft automatically did this “update” without my permission (second time in a row). They will never hold me hostage again.

Have a great night everyone! Remember to back up your work!