Just wanted to write a little bit about some of my favorite reads. I guess what brought this up is my inability to find anything to read lately. I don't know if it's me or the books, but anyway here are two of my absolute favorite reads. The first legal thriller that really grabbed me and made me a fan of the genre, is "The King of Torts" by John Grisham. I remember reading this book in one sitting and just on the edge of every page. When I finished it, I remember feeling so satisfied and I wanted to write a book like that. Something that would make people just keep reading until they got to the last page. The other book is "Weep No More, My Lady" by Mary Higgins Clark. This book really got me emotionally involved in the story and I remember reading it on my bed, just completely absorbed in the story. When I finally reached the last page, I actually cried because the ending was just wonderful. To me, this is what books are supposed to do: keep you involved until the very last page and make you emotionally involved so that the character's ups and downs are yours as well. I have always felt a wonderful connection to books, and I hope that everyone has that one book that really stays with them. I know my books have always stayed with me and I know that I am better for it.
Until next time...
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Just one question for today, what draws you to a book? Is it the characters, the story, the genre, or is it the author's name? Do you care what the story is as long as it is written by your favorite author? For me, I have very few authors I read, however if the story is slow-moving or is poorly written, then I prefer to just close the book then force myself to finish it. I find that a lot of books I try to read have unnecessary words in them or they describe a thing to death instead of moving the story forward. For me, I would much prefer the pace of the story to continue then to stop and describe something that has no connection to the plot. Maybe that's why some books are 600 and 700 pages? The author was too busy to achieve some word quota instead of crafting a story the reader could enjoy. Anyway, I stopped in at my local bookshop and saw an illustrated copy of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, so naturally I had to snap it off the shelf. When all else fails, always retreat to a classic and it will never disappoint.
Until next time... Not much to write about today...just a quick writing update. Still in the process of typing up my draft of Tell Me Everything. After I get that done, I can move on the proofreading and editing - which is not my favorite part. I've also got the cover for my Killer Deception Audiobook done and I think it looks pretty good. I had to do some research on how to create one, but thankfully it wasn't too difficult. That audiobook project will have to be on hold until I can figure out the financial part of it. I've also decided on my next Kathy Hamilton mystery...the next book will be called Bad Gamble. Looking forward to getting back to that story. The plot will be picking up from now until the end....which I am hoping that no one will see coming. So, lots of writing projects floating around and chipping away a little bit at a time at them. I guess that's all for now.
Until next time... Well, another book giveaway has come and gone. I was so pleased with how well it went. I had several people enter from the Facebook post and from my newsletter subscribers. So, the winner of this year's book giveaway is Cheryl Teachey. Congratulations to this year's winner! Thank you to everyone who participated and sent in your answers. If you missed out this time, I'll have another giveaway next January. Newsletter subscribers always get first notice, so sign up today so you won't miss out. Click here to sign up to my On-the-Scene Newsletter.
Until next time... Not much to post this time...I think all this cold weather has put a damper on everything. There's something about cold weather that just makes me want to curl up in a blanket and not do anything else. And trust me, there's plenty of things that I should be doing...writing, editing, book promotion, and more. On top of this I realized that my post for last time didn't post correctly, so that's a little disappointing. I'm in the process of (still) typing my first draft of my novel. It's just slow going for some reason...I blame the weather. On a better note, I've had good participation for my book giveaway, so that's exciting. I've also made some progress on turning Killer Deception into an audiobook. Anyway, nothing big going on right now...just all the book grunt work before the big stuff starts to happen. Well, I guess that's it for now.
Until next time.. My blog post for this time is about my annual book giveaway. Read below for details...
My book giveaway will run from January 1st - 25th, 2024. Deadline is January 25th, 2024, at 8PM EST, for the US only. On January 26th, one winner will be selected from the Facebook comments and newsletter emails submitted. They may pick their choice of free book: Killer Deception, Hush Now, Don't Cry, No Good Deed, The Fatal Truth, Into the Storm, Road Less Traveled or Ruff Rewards. The winner will also receive a book lovers gift basket with their choice of free book. ** I will contact the winner privately to get their prizes to them.** Go to my author Facebook page AuthorMaggieCasteen and look for the post at the top of the page or if you don't use Facebook then send me an email with your answer to [email protected]. Until next time... This will probably be my last post for the year, so I thought I would go ahead and do my year in review now. 2023 has definitely been eventful and I believe that I have made a lot of progress this year. I have published two books this year: The Fatal Truth and Into the Storm, I have made several upgrades to my website, I started an author Facebook page for my penname Elisabeth Casteen, and I have also added 11 people to my On-the-Scene Newsletter. I am excited for all these positive additions, and I am grateful for each one of my subscribers. My website has gone through a few necessary changes and has come a long way from when I first started. I am so proud of all the work I have done, how far I have come, and the fact that I am still writing, and people are still reading my work. I am so grateful and thankful for the opportunity to write and publish books. It sometimes still feels like a dream, I have wanted to do this ever since I was a little girl. I have always enjoyed writing and now I am a published author and readers enjoy my books. That is such a feeling of satisfaction and happiness for me...I can't really explain it. All I can say is thank you to everyone who has bought one of my books, signed up for my newsletter, left a book review, or told me how much they've enjoyed my books. Thank you to each and every one of you....I don't take any of it for granted. So, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope next year will be another positive year for me and I'll take another leap forward in my author journey.
Until next time... Just a quick update: I'm making slow progress on my Read-through-the-alphabet challenge. So, far I've crossed over the letters N, B, C, & I. On a brighter note, I've just finished writing my first draft of my first novel and I'm also drafting my next Kathy Hamilton mystery! So, lot's going on as well as all the Christmas to-dos. I can't believe it's less than 2 weeks away from Christmas. My next project is to get my first Kathy Hamilton book into an audiobook, so I'll see how that turns out. Anyway, I've taken some time off for Christmas and I can't wait to start my Christmas baking and movie marathons. So, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Until next time... It's hard to believe that December is already here. I usually do my Christmas decorating the day after Thanksgiving, but it didn't happen that way this year. However, I finally got my act together and the house is now decorated for Christmas. I am still waiting for my new Christmas tree to be delivered, and then everything will be done. I do enjoy Christmas, the music, the movies, and just having some vacation time to take it slow and enjoy the holiday. On another note, I have published my third Bible study and am now working on my first single novel, Tell Me Everything. I'm in the process of working on my first draft and it is coming along nicely. I have several writing projects that I am trying to work on and, hopefully, some of them will actually get finished. Anyway, I guess that's about it for today....I need to get back to writing.
Until next time... |
AuthorA North Carolina author who published her first novel, Killer Deception, in 2020. She doesn't profess to be a professional blogger, just a writer with many thoughts. Archives
July 2024
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