Leave a comment and I'll gift you one of my novels or a subscription to my Wellness Ezine.

Leave a comment and I'll gift you one of my novels or a subscription to my Wellness Ezine.
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Friday, November 12, 2010

FREE sample chapter of wacky mystery just for you!

Like wacky mysteries?

Go to www.carolynchambersclark.com/id146.html for sample chapter of CANDY, MURDER & ME, complete with one of Cookie's delicious mysteries. When Cookie's not eating candy or consulting with her dachshund, Sigmund Freud, she's solving mysteries, to wacky results.

Enjoy!

Carolyn

If link doesn't show up as clickable on your screen, highlight it, and copy it into your browser address line at the top of this page.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

New Contest for Writers of Young Adult Fiction

Hi Everybody,

There's a new contest over at Guide to Literary Agents you or your friends or family might be interested in.

It's the 7th "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest. This time, it's for writers who've completed a Young Adult novel that they're seeking repesentation for.

The address for detailed information on how to submit is:

Guide to Literary Agents

You can also find information about Guide to Literary Agents in my links to the right of this article.

Good luck!

All best,

Carolyn

Thursday, October 14, 2010

How Sweet it is

Yesterday? Not great. Got 7 rejections for various projects. Amazing how a few short e-mails can drag you down. Especially when they're rejections.

Last night, I questioned whether I should just do e-books with Amazon and forget about finding a spot for other works of fiction in hard copy. Somehow, I got to sleep and woke up with a newly-renewed work ethic. (Yeah, I know, I go through these phases all the time, but this time, I think it really took.)

And the reason is...I write because I love writing, because I love to laugh and cry right along with my characters. So, there will be no giving up. Understand?

When I sat down at my computer this morning, what a pleasant surprise! Another request for the full manuscript of FORENSICS BY THE NUMBERS! That makes 4, count them 1,2,3,4 and quite a few requests for chapters. Best showing ever, so maybe one of these will pan out.

If not? Then I keep writing, because it makes me happy and keeps me sane.

Hope you've found something that does the same for you.

Best,

Carolyn

Friday, October 8, 2010

What fiction are people reading these days?

Yes, yes, I know you're reading erotic fantasy, but what is the rest of the world reading?

According to a new Harris poll, here's what happening...

*Mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels beat out chick-lit (no surprise) and romance novels (big surprise!) by a large margin

*More women than men read mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels; no surprise, more women read books...and buy books

Let's see how that breaks down...

*Almost half (48%) of fiction readers said they read mysteries, thrillers and crime novels

*A quarter read science fiction (26%) and another quarter (24%) read “literature.” One in five said they read romance novels (21%) and one in 10 have read graphic novels (11%) in the past year. Chick-lit (8%) and western (5%) books are less popular

(Bear in mind this was an online survey of 2,000+ people who may not represent everybody who reads books)

*Among those who read nonfiction, 31% read histories, 29% read biographies, and 26% read religious and spirituality books.

*Although politicians garner huge advances for their books, lesser numbers have read political books (17%); so who's buying all those books? What's you guess?

*Self-help books came in at(16%); does this mean people already know what to do to help themselves or does it mean something else?

*Current affairs came in at 14%; are we tired of knowing what next bad thing is around the corner?

*True crime (12%) and business (10%) came in at the bottom; I'm surprised about true crime, but that may be part of the "wish to escape from reality" that books bring; and, business books, well, just try to read one...

*42% of respondents aged 18 to 33 said they were more likely than other age groups to read “literature”; is that because they're more apt to be in school and required to read such books or is that, "I'm refined and read only high level writing," or is it something else? You tell me.

*of course, this age group was more apt to read graphic novels (what we used to call comic books now called) graphic novels (18%).

*Readers 65 and older are more likely to read mystery, thriller, and crime novels (61%) and westerns (9%)

*As mentioned, women are more likely than men to read mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels (57% versus 39%), romance (37% versus 3%), chick-lit (12% versus 4%), and religious books (30% versus 21%).

*But men are no slouches; they're more likely to read science fiction (32% versus 20%), history books (40% versus 23%), political books (25% versus. 10%), and business books (16% versus 4%).

So that's it...If you're a writer, what does it mean for you? If you're a reader, what does it mean?

I know what it means to me...it's back to the thrillers and mysteries, and forget about writing those westerns, graphic novels, and business books.

Leave a comment and let me know what these findings mean to you!

For Fiction Writer...

That's all folks.

Oh, oh, I almost missed a chance to plug our MYSTERY AND CRIME books...You can get the e-books at the Kindle store on Amazon. com (That's ARMED AND DANGEROUS and CANDY, MURDER & ME). To read a chapter, in case you're not ready to ante up the $2.99, stop by my web site and read the first chapter, that's http://www.carolynchambersclark.com/id146.html.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Two Track Mind...or is that three?

The excitement over publishing our e-books has settled into a pleasant glow, and now it's back to getting our books published in hard copy. It's like I have two tracks running down my brain: entrepreneur/e-book hound, and fiction writer who spends hours writing and more hours looking up agents to submit to.

Oh, and did I forget? Every evening, I work on my contracted health promotion book. Pressure's on a bit with that one because it's due the end of December and I've got scads to write. It's going to be a beaut, though, at least I think so. So much information for nurses to use to promote health in themselves and others.

So, that's three tracks, and then there's the one just getting ready to go out and do some yard work with my teenage neighbor.

Can you run out of tracks? Not sure, but I'll let you know.

Stay tuned.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

E-Books are hot!

According to Joe Konrath go here his e-books have sold more than 100,000 copies! Mostly from amazon.com.

So, we've decided to give it a go and put three of our novels up there.

So, here are the three ebooks on www.amazon.com

Here's our international thriller, ARMED & DANGEROUS


In ARMED & DANGEROUS, Intelligence officer and ace motorcyclist,
Captain Caitlin Stanwyck’s been handpicked for a special assignment to
investigate the deaths of twenty U.S. women who died suspiciously in a
U.S. Military Hospital in Germany.

Major Keller, her old nemesis, keeps turning up at every twist and
turn of the investigation, and she can’t help wonder what game he’s
playing. When a hired assassin starts taking out the witnesses and
puts Caitlin in the cross hairs of his weapon, she finds evidence that
Keller may be drawing her into the swirling waters of deception and
betrayal of her country. Can she trust him after he’s lied to her so
many times?

With the clock ticking, the action takes her across Europe and Asia as
she tries to unravel the mystery of why the women were killed and stay
alive herself.

Readers who like plenty of action, a little romance, snappy dialogue
and whirlwind travel around the world, will like this story.



CANDY, MURDER AND ME, the first in the Cookie Berelli, Full-Figured
Mystery Series not only provides a humorous romp of a mystery, but a
lot of good recipes for you to try.

CANDY, MURDER, AND ME is an 80,000-word cozy mystery set in Florida,
in and around a dress design company, which co-stars Sigmund Freud, a
psychoanalyst dachshund.

When full-figure dress designer and candy addict Cookie Berelli
discovers the PI she hired to clear her of embezzlement charges dead
in her design studio, she investigates, to wacky results. For example,
is Eugene Gemstone involved? After all, he is her number one fabric
cutter at Florida Fashions, and he did start acting overemotional
after he wore one of the dresses she designed into the ladies’ room at
Chez Riso and got arrested. He's especially suspect now that he's
disappeared with all of Cookie's candy stash. Then again, it could be
that cute PI, Andy Shea, who shows up at the funeral of her dead PI,
and makes her hear the love song from GONE WITH THE WIND in her head,
or it could be just about anyone else on the planet.

Everyone's starting to look suspicious now, especially Yuri Yarutski,
who owns a sports bar in the bad part of town and wants to go a few
rounds with Cookie, the woman who lives in a tree (who in Florida can
live without air conditioning?), and even Bernadette Humphreys of
Bernie's Tattoos who comes up with the weirdest body art. Okay, yes,
Cookie did find the body, in fact two of them,and so she has to clear
herself, but does that mean the murderer has to go after her?

Recipes from her Norwegian and Italian heritage including Grandma
Berelli’s Pralines (“Worth going to jail for”), Cookie’s Maple Candies
(“So good they’re criminal”), and Nana’s Kringlas (“To kill for” ), among others, are available
throughout the story to break up the mayhem.



Amazon copy; don't forget to type in ebook and the title, or
or to read a sample chapter and get the e-book in your e-mail inbox, go here and scroll down


The other book we posted is I AM THE FOX. This is for middle grade readers, age
9-13, so if you have any kids, nephews or grandchildren who might appreciate
a great adventure/fantasy, this could be for you!

Here's the story...A teen's whole world is turned upside down when he receives a visit
from a 19th century dueling master after he wishes for help with his
messed up life.

In I AM THE FOX, a middle grade boys' adventure, fourteen-year-old
Luke Cassidy, the oldest son of a single parent mother, is responsible
for his eight-year-old brother, Cole. So far, Luke isn't doing too
well, what with his mother's mean boyfriend breathing down his neck
and his brother not listening to a word he says. When a man who calls
himself The Fox appears in Luke's bedroom and tells Luke he will help
him become a man, Luke is shocked. The Fox convinces Luke, and
together, they navigate the halls of Luke's school and the streets of
New York City, stopping crime and finding excitement. The only problem
is, only Luke can see The Fox

For I AM THE FOX Kindle/Whispernet copy Go here and scroll down
or have it sent in an email from my website here


If you do buy from Amazon.com, please, please, please, write a
sparkling review for the book(s) on the Amazon page where the book
appears. We don't want to grovel (too much), but getting great reviews really ups the buying process for other readers,so hurrah! and thanks for anything you can do to help!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

New Contest for Fiction Writers--Listen Up!

If you know a fiction writer, pass this on. Big contest. Straight from the mouth of Guide to Literary Agents' Blog.

It's a recurring online contest called, "Dear Lucky Agent" with agent judges and super-cool prizes, including having your first 10 pages critiqued by an agent who represents your genre. How cool is that? So much better than receiving, "Sorry, this doesn't fit with our line," or "I didn't fall in love with this."

This contest is for writers of paranormal romance or urban fantasy..hot ticket items these days. So many people love vampires, werewolves, zombies, fairies, and who knows what else?

Is this an attempt to get away from the stress and boredom of daily life? Who knows? Readers of this genre flip for it. I mean, the Twilight book series was so hot, it spawned a couple of movies. Who would have believed a werewolf and a snotty vampire would vie for the love of a boring teenage girl in the northwest? Go figure...I think it has something to do with sex and living forever, but what do I know?

Oh, but if you write "high fantasy" (dragons, elves, or other planets), you're out of luck for this contest

More about the contest at www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog

Am I entering? Of course. Tony and I are sending 200 words of our humorous vampire novel in. Oh, and 190 words of our teen urban fantasy, and whatever else we can find that's teen and paranormal. See, that's the cool thing about this. Enter as many times as you like.

Let's see what happens...

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

BUY BOOKS LOCALLY

Here I go on my soapbox. Tony says I should take a break, but hey, I'm a writer...I can't.

The thing is, bookstores are closing--even big ones. Yes, I know, everybody says e-books are the future. Buy your Kindle now. But, in my opinion, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like opening the pages of a book, settling back and traveling around the pages with a bunch of highly interesting people.

Kindle? Never!

I know, I know, never say never, but I have to put my four cents in about this.

I know, I know, save a tree and buy a kindle. But to use a Kindle, you first have to buy the Kindle. Then you have to pay for each and every book besides. Seems like less of an environmental action than a profit motive, but that's just my opinion.

Stay on message...Okay, okay...The best way to make sure there are any hard copy books left on the planet is to buy your books at a local bookstore. Keep that bookstore going or we all know who's going to own every kindle and e-book around. Clue: starts with Am and ends with azon.

So, buy books from your local bookstore. For yourself. For others as gifts. Donate them to the library if you run out of people to give them to. They're suffering too with reduced budgets to buy books.

Okay, that's it, I'm off my podium and back to my chair, ready to write a new chapter in my latest work in progress.

Stay Well,

Carolyn

P.S. Please tell your friends, colleagues, family, and anyone else you care to about my blog. Thanks so much!
P.P.S. Enter my raffle. All you have to do is comment on this or any other post I've written and I'll put you in the running to win one of my health-related books (your choice as long as copies remain).

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

How Impatient Can My Sixteen-Year-Old Self Get?

I remember waiting for my boyfriend to make the trek home from the state university and how I'd take a bath, do my nails and hair, pace the house, pull back the curtain and stare at the driveway, willing him to appear. And this was all before lunch. When he had 300 miles to travel.

Yes, I was born impatient, and through the years, I've struggled with trying to be more patient, more relaxed, more calm, more....why doesn't it happen!?!

So, what is it this time, oh teenager forever?

Well, it's those full manuscripts I've sent out.

Just how does it work? Does Agent X put my m.s. at the bottom of the pile to be read sometime in the next century, or does she start to read it, only to be interrupted by meetings with editors, phone calls, hungry kids and pets, all the while salivating to get back to my tome?

Probably neither, and why don't I just get back to business...to writing my next novel?

Because, maybe it was just an hallucination I had and no one requested my manuscript at all.

Boo hoo. It couldn't be that. Could it?

Who knows these days? Ever since I was out cutting branches off that snarky pepper tree that grows a foot a day (well, maybe only six inches) and stood back up after hauling a huge limb away, the branch reached out and bonked me. Okay, the branch didn't do that, I just wasn't watching what I was doing, and hit my head on the remaining tuber. (Or are tubers only underground?)

Anyway...bonk. I saw lights, I heard buzzing, and I had no idea what just happened. As my head cleared...sort of...I realized...another closed head injury. Those are the worst, because nobody can see it, but you sure can feel it. Intense pain and throbbing in the left side of my forehead, followed by the need to sit down on a stump before I fell down.

So, like I said, it could be due to my closed head injury. The second one. That I remember. The first came after I took up tap dancing and fell on a tile floor trying to do pullbacks, which I had no business doing at my level of tap. Not that my teacher was any help. She kept urging me to let go of the bar and try it.  The next thing I knew, I was lying on my back on the floor, looking up at the ceiling through the blood dripping down from above my eye. I had to have hit my face, but how did I get turned onto my back? Some kind of magic?
I never found out and only have the tiniest scar to remind me not to do pullbacks again.

Enough about closed head injuries.

The larger question is, when will I gain the patience I've been struggling to find lo these many years...

Monday, September 20, 2010

HURRAH!

Okay, it's finger-crossing time and pants wetting time, and...

Yup, two agents asked for the full manuscript of FORENSICS BY THE NUMBERS...and within four hours of getting the query. Either the query is fantastic, or they loved the premise. Time will tell. Meanwhile, another agent asked for the first chapter, so on it goes.

Millions of sugar plums dancing in my head...and my fingers...something inside me says "You've been here before..."

Yes, I have and it never resulted in getting an agent...so let's not get TOOOOO excited!

Okay, but Tony and I disco danced at 6 a.m. this morning. That oughta tell you...

Bye for now.

Carolyn

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Where have I been?

I woke up this morning and it was September.

Where have I been?

No, I wasn't in an alien spaceship, although that might have been neat. Oh, excuse me, cool. Neat went out in the 1950s, whereas cool, has been, well, cool since the 1920s.

Instead of being carefree in an alien spaceship, I was a prisoner to my household appliances. First the washer started doing weird dances across the laundry room floor and making ungodly (almost possessed) sounds even our neighbors could hear. Not only that, but on the rinse and spin cycles my husband or I had to hold the machine down so it didn't smash into the dryer or bang into the wall and take chunks of wall out.

Days of bugging my friends and family for ideas for a new washer, checking out the internet for sales and a list of the most dependable and inexpensive washers, tramping through mega stores and listening to sales pitches, and asking the same questions over and over...We bought a front loader. It's quiet, doesn't walk or bang across the floor and is energy efficient. We may even get a governmental rebate or whatever it's called for being energy conscious. (I think that's better than being energy unconscious, but I'm not sure).

I sit down at my computer, ready to compose another GONE WITH THE WIND when the air conditioning starts making weird cracking, crackling, and banging sounds at night. Great for late night blogging or sleeping if you're deaf. By then, I'm beginning to think: The house is possessed by a household appliance demon. But not only noises filled the evening air, weird wet deposits appeared on the bedroom floor. "It's your outside handler. You need a new one, but you'll have to get both inside and outside machines because of new governmental rules. No more freon. Only SEER ratings of 14 and above and yada, yada, yup, $4,000 later...Magic, we have an air conditioner that doesn't make a sound. It darn well better not at those prices. And get this...we have two air handlers; one for each side of our house. I can hardly wait for that outside handler to go...Yes, I can. And no more nightmare dreams about the air handler from hell, please.

Then the lawn mower goes, right when my husband's about to cut down all that tall grass in the front we've been letting go because of the air conditioning and washing machine encounters. Yup, it dies, rolls over, and won't even yap. Off to the lawn mower repair place, because everyone knows it's cheaper to repair than purchase a whole new one. Yes, but when you have to return the darn thing three times after the initial repair because they stripped the screws, forgot to put in a gas filter, yada, yada, you are pulling out your hair and screaming, "Not us! Why us!"

But okay, summer is over and we don't need air conditioning as much ( so even if it does go, who cares?), and the lawn is growing more slowly because the summer monsoons have shut down, and yes, we still have to do wash, but that machine is guaranteed for 10 years, or so they say, but I couldn't read the tiny print at the bottom that probably says, "Ha, ha, April fool!"

So that, in a nutshell, is what I've been doing since my last entry. I swear on my Girl Scout badges that I will faithfully report to this blog and share my fiction writing experiences now and forever forward from this day.

Signed in blood...or at least a dab or strawberry jam...

Fiction Writer

Carolyn Chambers Clark

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Are you a fiction writer, too? Psst...Here's something you may want to know more about

If you're a fiction writer, you may or may not know about the cool feed/blog sponsored by the Guide to Literary Agents.

To find out more, go to...

Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog

Let me know what you think.

Keep writing...

It's not only about writing...

Yes, I do sit at my computer all day and write.

Okay, that's a lie...

I write fiction, but there are the feeds to read...who's publishing what, where...what do agents want this week...what do editors want this week...what contests are available...should I enter a contest or spend my time writing?...

Forget all that, and get back to writing.

But what if I'm writing nonsense? That's right, I need at least one critique group to check in with weekly. But that means I have to read up to five other people's work and critique that.

Okay, that's a lot of work, but I probably need a second critique group, just to make sure I'm covering all the bases, one more specialized perhaps.

Oh, dear, I think I'm getting "sticky brain" just like one of my main characters. I guess that's an example of art influencing reality...or maybe it's something else.