Tag: Coffee and Ghosts

It’s Freebie Friday!

On a whim, I submitted Must Love Ghosts for a Chirp Freebie Friday deal. To my surprise, they selected it.

So, for the next four days, you can get Must Love Ghosts over on Chirp for free. Plus, the following two books, The Ghost That Got Away and Nothing but the Ghosts, are $2.99!

I’m not going to lie. I love the audio version of Coffee & Ghosts. Narrator Amy McFadden is superb. She somehow hijacked my mind and made the characters sound the way they do in my head. I still don’t understand how she did that. Anyway, if you’re interested, you can get a great deal for the next four days.

Audio promo: science fiction and fantasy for under $10

Hey, everyone. I have a book (Must Love Ghosts) in this promo, narrated by the incomparable Amy McFadden.

If you’re looking for something to listen to during a trip this spring or need a binge-listen for some spring cleaning (my favorite, not the cleaning so much as the listening), then check out the books listed in this Science Fiction and Fantasy promotion.

One caveat: Audible prices may not be under $10. Unfortunately, the author doesn’t control the retail price there. Essentially, you suggest a price, Audible looks at it, laughs, and then sets its own.

Sunday sunrise (with bonus mall nostalgia)

I was going to Photoshop all the wires and utility poles out of the photo but then thought better of it. This is how my sunrise looks, warts (or rather, wires) and all.

This week, a video about people living in malls popped into my feed—because I’m a little obsessed with abandoned spaces, malls in particular. I wish they’d spent more time showing us all the different apartments. But it was still interesting, and yeah, maybe there’s a story idea or two in there.

In fact, Coffee & Ghosts, Season 4 (The Ghosts You Left Behind) has an abandoned (and the same not-so-abandoned) mall as one of the main settings. I based that particular mall on the one in my hometown, which opened when I was in eighth grade (I think) and was a Very. Big. Deal. This part of the story was fun to research and write, although I probably spent more time looking at “vintage” Orange Julius storefronts than was strictly necessary.

I also had fun exploring the whole “what if you’re locked inside the mall overnight” scenario. 0/10 would not recommend, but it helps if you have some ghostly companions.

So that’s me this Sunday. I think I’ll quit now before I go completely off the rails with this questionable 80s mall nostalgia.

Accountability check-in: Snow! Halloween! Chirp deal!

After a week of lovely autumn weather, we naturally ended up with snow (!) on Halloween. Even so, we had some good traffic, and the trick-or-treaters gobbled up at least half the candy I put out next to our Little Free Library. My daughter and I are making short work of the rest. I decided to opt out of taking a picture of our snow-covered lawn.

In writing news, it was a brainstorm kind of week, with progress on the story and word count front. Clearly, my subconscious has been working overtime (if maybe I haven’t been).

Also, this week, I have a Chirp Deal going on as well for the Coffee and Ghosts Books 1 – 3 bundle, narrated by the fabulous Amy McFadden. Book 4 also has a price drop.

And last, but certainly not least, if you’re in the US and you haven’t yet, please vote.

Accountability check-in: maybe it’s not the marketing

So, I’ve nearly finished the marketing-for-introverts course, and I had a realization. I don’t necessarily dislike marketing. Some kinds of marketing really drain me, and the course covers why that is, depending on your type of introversion. I found that part extremely helpful.

But I don’t lack desire so much as time, energy, and headspace—literal headspace, as in how much space I have in my brain for thinking about things that relate to writing and publishing.

And … I know the culprit in all this. And … I have a … let’s call it an exit strategy, for now.

In the meantime, however, I’m going to do a little marketing and tell you that Coffee and Ghosts, Seasons 1 – 3 is on sale for 99 cents. And it has been on sale for a while because I had a BookBub Featured Deal last month.

I also scheduled some other newsletter promotions around my BookBub day. But honestly? Nothing performs quite like a featured deal, which did most of the heavy lifting. I’m in the black in terms of ROI, so I’m very pleased. The bundle will be available for 99 cents through the end of the month.

The gift at the end of the treasure hunt

Bloganuary: What is the most memorable gift you have received?

My daughter worked so hard on this Christmas gift.

As you can see, it has the following:

  • a map
  • a treasure hunt with clues
  • a large glass crystal
  • a keepsake box with a hand-painted coffee cup

And yes, she sent me all over the house searching for my gift. And it was all in honor of the first season of Coffee and Ghosts (long before there was a second, third, and fourth season).

For my daughter, I’ve always been a writer. She witnessed my first novel being published by Simon and Schuster. She saw the ups and downs, mainly because I shared them with her and explained what I was doing and how publishing worked. My kids know how to check print books to see if the book in question is a first edition. This might be an unusual skill to pass along to your children, but there you go.

So she also witnessed my transition to indie publishing. I explained my reasons for that as well. How no publisher (in their right mind) was going to publish a series based on the slim premise of catching ghosts with coffee*.

When I reached the end of the treasure hunt, she told me why she created this Coffee and Ghosts-themed gift.

Because when everyone said no to you, you said yes to yourself.

And that’s a gift I hope will continue to linger—for both of us.  

*To be fair, “The Ghost in the Coffee Machine” was part of the Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic anthology. It was also produced in audio by The Drabblecast.

Weekly writing check-in: sweeping up

I spent this week doing a bit of clean-up. I finished adjusting my prices on Ingram Spark (for their price increase). I’ve been adding print book URLs to all my Books2Read links.

This is a manual process, and while I’m thrilled about having print links, It. Is. Tedious.

I’m really pleased with the release of The Ghosts You Left Behind. Early reviews are in, and the response is heartening. One of my biggest fears with this season was making things interesting and fresh while keeping the promise of the series.

What’s next? I’m not sure. I have several projects simmering on the stove of my mind. I visit each one, stir and taste, maybe add some spices, and set it back to simmering. (I’m not sure this makes sense to anyone but me.)

I’ve come to accept that I’m not the sort of writer who plans books and series in advance, with a calendar and project management software. One of those simmering stories will come to the forefront and let me know it’s ready to be written.

In the meantime, I have books to read, Photoshop tutorials to complete, and any number of writing-related things I can do.

Weekly writing check-in: it’s release day (and Halloween)!

Yes, at long last! The release of The Ghosts You Left Behind: Coffee and Ghosts 4.

The Ghosts You Left BehindIf Katy and Malcolm want a future, they’ll need to survive the past.

When Katy and Malcolm discover a secret stash of Springside ghosts, they can’t tell if they’re on a rescue mission, walking into a trap—or dealing with something far more sinister.

But the simple act of freeing the ghosts sets the past on a collision course with the present.

Katy has always known the past can haunt. Usually, that’s something she can fix with freshly brewed coffee and some Tupperware.

This time, old enemies lurk in the shadows, pulling strings and weaving inescapable webs.

When she falls in, survival may be impossible. But to escape, Katy must navigate threads from the past, deal with capricious spirits, dubious allies, and ruthless adversaries.

And if she fails?

No one she loves will have a future.

Coffee & Ghosts is a cozy paranormal mystery/romance serial told over multiple episodes. This series bundle contains all three novella-length episodes of Season Four:

  • Episode 1: The Ghosts You Left Behind
  • Episode 2: Misty Sandborne and the Vampire Husband
  • Episode 3: The Necromancer’s Nephew

What now? Well, now I have a Little Free Library and Halloween table to decorate. And maybe a nap to take. 

Weekly writing check-in: almost there

Almost more there for the release of The Ghosts You Left Behind: Coffee and Ghosts 4:

  • Print versions all set up.
  • Newsletters sent out.
  • Sale on the Seasons 1 – 3 book bundle on Smashwords (for those who need to catch up). 50% off!

This slow and steady approach seems to be working. Pre-orders are trickling in nicely. (Yes, I know. No one’s more surprised than I am.) This is definitely the way to release a book–low key and low stress. 

Weekly writing check-in: pumpkins and print

So, do you know what I have this week?

I mean, other than a pre-order?

Print books (in process) and pumpkins!

And I’m exhausted. It’s not that hard to do, but it adds up when you’re creating paperback, large print, and hardcover editions.

So, I will keep this short and take the rest of the day off while the title winds its way through all the various vendors and systems.