BOOK RELEASE: Death by Adverb by Rebecca Douglass

Today is the official release for the latest entry in the Pismawallops Mystery series, "DEATH BY ADVERB" by Rebecca M. Douglass. I love the title, and the book looks fabulous. In honour of this momentous occasion, I turn my blog over to Rebecca to give you all the details of this latest thrilling caper, so that you can do yourself a favour and grab your very own copy of DEATH BY ADVERB. Take it away, Rebecca!

THE BOOK!

Title: Death By Adverb (Pismawallops PTA Mysteries #3)
Author: Rebecca M. Douglass
Genre: Cozy mystery
Ebook: 85,000 words
Paperback:   approx. 285 pages

JJ MacGregor’s having a rotten summer. Her arm’s in a cast, her jeans are too tight, and her son is spending his vacation with his dad. To make matters worse, her relationship with Police Chief Ron Karlson is up in the air and they haven’t spoken since June. Maybe the only good thing is that she’s got a writing job at last. Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford want her to help him with his memoirs, and JJ doesn’t care if he’s making it all up. All she has to do to make some much-needed money is keep her mouth shut and fix some of the worst prose she’s ever seen.

Of course, keeping her mouth shut isn’t JJ’s strong point. When she loses her temper so does her boss, and she’s back to job-hunting. That’s bad enough, but when Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford turns up dead, everyone remembers JJ fought with him. About the time the police are wondering if JJ might have tried to avenge the English language, her sewer backs up, and the dead man’s missing daughter shows up on her doorstep—only to disappear again before morning. JJ has her work cut out for to find the girl, the killer, and a new septic tank before anyone else dies—but at least the murder has her talking to Ron again.

THE AUTHOR!

Rebecca Douglass was raised on an Island in Puget Sound only a little bigger than Pismawallops, and remembers well the special aspects of island life.  She now lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area, and can be found on-line at www.ninjalibrarian.com and on Facebook as The Ninja Librarian.  In addition to the Pismawallops PTA Mysteries (Death By Ice Cream and Death By Trombone), her books include three Ninja Librarian book, tall tales for all ages, and the humorous middle-grade fantasy Halitor the Hero.  Rebecca is a long-time volunteer and servant of her local schools, now due to retire (and seek now opportunities to serve).  She spends her free time bicycling, gardening, reading, and supporting her grown sons. For a vacation she likes nothing better than hiking, camping and backpacking.

THE LINKS!

BLOG | AMAZON | SMASHWORDS

FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

THE EXCERPT!

  
“What the—hey, watch that thing!” I yelled as the man in white brought his saw toward my immobilized arm.

Nurse Chu patted my shoulder comfortingly, but she didn’t loosen her grip on the casted limb she held against the table.

“Don’t worry, Ms. MacGregor,” she said, “The doctor hardly ever slips and cuts off anyone’s arm.”

I swallowed hard, reminding myself that these were medical professionals. Despite appearances, they weren’t planning to torture me, cut off my arm, or damage me in any way. I was in the Pismawallops Clinic getting the cast off my broken arm at last, a happy event.

I cringed anyway as the saw started to cut the plaster. “Easy there,” I said, trying to sound like I was joking. “My insurance runs out in a couple of months, and I need to be healthy when that happens!” In fact, I was doing plenty of worrying about insurance. Once my coverage under my ex-husband’s policy ran out, I was going to be scrambling to make payments on even the cheapest insurance. It was worth it, to be free of the man I thought of as pond scum, but I still worried. I fixed my gaze on the educational poster on the wall in front of me, and resolutely ignored the whining saw.

Dr. Salisbury finished cutting the cast loose and peeled the remains away. I stopped staring at the poster enjoining me to wash my hands and avoid the flu, and looked at the thing lying on the table.

The exposed arm looked white and dead, and I wasn’t sure it was attached to me.

THE SALE!

For those of you who need to catch up on the Pismawallops Mystery series, the first two books are on sale at Amazon for JUST 99 CENTS! Seriously, you cannot let a deal like this pass you buy, so go check it out.

Buy DEATH BY ICE CREAM for 99 cents!

Have I mentioned that I love this cover? Because I love this cover.

Buy DEATH BY TROMBONE for 99 cents!

The sale is on until the end of April. DON'T MISS IT!

Ups and Downs (#IWSG March 2018)

March IWSG Question 

How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal/ finish a story?

This is going to sound super dumb, but I celebrate by starting the next one.

I have so many ideas for stories in my head and I just want to get to all of them. After I've been working on something for a long time my mind starts to wander to the next project, and the revising and editing on the current WIP just becomes a drag. So finally finishing a project (as finished as it can ever be) and moving onto something new and fresh is very exciting and invigorating. Starting a new story is my favourite part of writing - everything is so full of promise and possibility, a long way off from the miserable pile of dreck it's going to become.

#

So I haven't done much writing or blogging so far in 2018, which I knew was going to happen. I make a point of hammering out the IWSG posts though, just so I don't lose my cherry spot on the sign-up list (currently at #93!).

I do however have a couple of bits of writing-related news. First the good - remember that story I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, that I found out was short-listed in a new anthology back in December? Well, they officially accepted it earlier this week! That will be my second acceptance this year, so I'm on a bit of a roll.

Since I don't have time to write any new stories, my roll will probably end right there, but hey, 2 for 2 ain't bad.

I'll have more details when I get them, and when I know I'm allowed to share.

As for the second bit of news...

From the highest high to the lowest low...

I was asked to submit one of those author interviews to a review blog as we all have done from time to time, only for them to reject it when they realized that I tend to write stories with vulgar language and mature content. I was mildly annoyed because I had stayed up late and rushed to get the interview in on time (as I mentioned, my writing time is nil), but mostly I just have to laugh. For those keeping score, this is the second time the content of my writing has gotten me kicked out of something. Remember last year when I was the first book eliminated from the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off because of a crass joke? I guess I'm developing a bit of a reputation. If only I could harness it for publicity.

I think I'm probably travelling in the wrong circles. I know my audience is out there somewhere, I just need to find it find the time to find it.

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The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/.