Mr. Stumpy’s younger cousin. Not a murder weapon.
Kindle Press
Bad News, Good News, and Life’s a Mystery
Yesterday’s email brought some bad news. As of today, Kindle Scout is no longer taking new submissions, and Kindle Press, the Amazon imprint which published Scout selections (along with other books for the Kindle) is not open to direct or unsolicited submissions. As many of you know, Ghosts in Glass Houses was a Scout selection—as was the decidedly un-cozy debut novel by my evil twin.
I’ve been quite happy with Kindle Press and will remain forever grateful for the opportunity Scout gave me to get in the door and published. I am sad to see that door closed.
Limited time offer: On sale for 50% off—$1.99!
On the good news side, so far nothing has been said about Kindle Press closing up shop, and Ghosts in Glass Houses is currently discounted to $1.99 in the US and Canada. As always, it’s free to borrow in Kindle Unlimited. If you missed it, now’s your chance to get it for half price!
In other maybe good news, I’ve been working away at the second book featuring Marti Mickkleson and Grandma Bertie. Marti is effectively working for her mother. Dmitri is cold, distant, and quite possibly angry at her and no one knows why. The young woman haunting her new office won’t speak to her. The ghosts of her third-grade teacher and her great-grandmother are nagging her to solve a decades-old mystery. As for her sister and brother-in-law—we’ll leave that for another time. She has, however, gained a new friend in Bernard, the big orange cat who first appeared in book one.
Agatha nominee for Best First Novel!
Why the “maybe” on the good news? With Kindle Press likely closed to me, chances are the only way more Marti Mickkleson Mysteries will see the light of day is through self-publishing. Don’t believe those articles you read telling you self-publishing is easy. It’s a lot of work and time. I’ll need to work my courage up and decide if I’m up to it.
In the meantime, I will finish writing this book. Among other reasons, if I don’t, VM Burns will be mad at me. She may write really nice cozies, but she scares me! (And if you haven’t heard, she’s an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel!)
Ghosts in Glass Houses is available for Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.
Read a sample.
Release Day Happy Dance
The Kindle and paperback editions of Ghosts in Glass Houses are now available on Amazon. The two editions aren’t yet linked and on the same page, so here are the US links for each:
Buy for Kindle & any device with the free Kindle App
Buy in Paperback
The paperback will also be available in the next few weeks from Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, and IndieBound.
Ghosts in Glass Houses Gets a Lovely Review!
“This is a delightful book with a story that quickly sucked me in and kept me turning the virtual pages. Marti can see ghosts. And while we might be familiar with that concept (Odd Thomas, Sixth Sense, etc.), it’s handled very, very well…a thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended.”
Read the full review at readper.com!
Coming Soon from Kindle Press
The Gilmore Girls and Stephanie Plum meet Aunt Dimity in small-town America.
UPDATE: Coming September 5, 2017 from Kindle Press.
Pre-order now!
I’m pleased to announce that Ghosts in Glass Houses, my cozy-ish mystery novel, has been selected for publication by Kindle Press. The contract is for digital only, and the ebook will only be available for Kindle (including any device running the Kindle app) and through Amazon. But, I will be making a trade paperback available through all of the usual online sources. Publication date is not yet set, but I’m guessing late Summer.
A little about the book:
Marti Mickkleson sees ghosts. No one believes her except her great-grandmother. Since Grandma Bertie died the day Marti was born, her support isn’t worth much in the world of the living.
Ten years ago, Marti ran away from her wealthy family and the small town where she was known as “Marti Cray-Cray.” When she wakes up in a compromising position and sees her father standing over her, she thinks he owes her a big apology. After all, he’s dead and talking to her—and she talks back.
He doesn’t apologize. Instead, he claims he was murdered and demands she go home and do something about it. If she does, he’ll move on to the afterlife and leave her alone. If not, he’ll haunt her forever. With her life going downhill fast and nothing to lose, she agrees.
In Bicklesburg, she finds her once formidable mother in the throes of dementia, her perfect-prom-queen sister now a lawyer married to a not-so-perfect man, and her bad-boy high school boyfriend a private security guard watching over the family fortress.
Before Marti can decide if staying is worth it, her mother wanders away and is found cradling a bloodstained garden gnome. Marti is the only one who sees the ghost of her father’s former girlfriend hovering beside Mom, but it’s not long before the body is discovered.
With the help of Grandma Bertie, Marti must make peace with her family, deal with old friends and enemies and new scandals—and uncover a murderer without ending up a ghost herself.
Kay Charles 