Merlin’s Tomb and Author Insights

Banner, front and back of Harrogate Chronicles Book 3 Merlin's Tomb, two women in Victorian dress and their sidekick Trell on Kinzy's raised arm, with green magical waves coming from Trell and wrapping around the bottom of the cover and around to the back. All centered in a victorian scroll frame in gold. — Merlin’s Tomb

(Moody mystery music) Sue sits at night in a pitch dark office in front of the glaring screen on her laptop, wide eyes intently searching for where her new book, Merlin’s Tomb, sits in the Amazon reader standings. Any reviews yet? Then suddenly she gives a screech in the small dusty office, a self-glorifying moment hoping to boost her down mood, “OMG, We published BOOK 2!”

Yeah, I’m laughing. Typical new book author. I really need to get off this computer and figure out marketing more. I hate that part. I need a marketing magic wand. Spread the word far and near! Merlin’s Tomb is actually here!

We’re higher in the standings than Atahualpa’s Mummy, but no reviews yet on the new book. (But perhaps not everyone speed reads in the dark like a book demon, Sue.–yeah, I suppooooose.)

Merlin’s Tomb Amazon Rankings Monday After Release:
- #279 in Steampunk Science Fiction
- #314 in Steampunk Fiction
- #639 in Gaslamp Fantasy

Then Wednesday, Friday, and later it all falls much lower in rankings. What does this mean?! Should an author care? New author training continues. Did you post your review yet? I decided karma might be involved and went back to my Kindle and left reviews for other authors and their books that I have read lately and hadn’t reviewed yet. At least it kept me from staring at my Amazon account, waiting to hear what people think of our latest. Next time I’ll highlight some books for you to check out that I’ve loved so far this summer.

I did order the author copy paperbacks for Merlin’s Tomb and when they finally arrive next week, I’ll hop over to our local library, fill out the forms and submit a copy to the Local Author shelves. Another item to look forward to! I’ll also be heading to a few book shops in the area and see what we can do. Then it’s back online to some Steampunk sites and other places we can highlight our hard work.

That aside, Book 3, Aztalan’s Idol, moves forward. I ended up purchasing Lacuna, a new formatting program, and turned out some pub files for Nan and I to go over carefully and do any final tweaks. I practiced on Merlin’s Tomb, but we still used our regular formatter from the first book. Now we’re trying me out as our new formatter. In the future, when we find small errors in our books, it won’t take too long to fix and generate the new file to upload. I’m excited about that part!

Turns out Aztalan’s Idol is going to be a little longer than the other two books. Nan and I took a horrendous writer gut punch when we realized we had to cut out 30-40,000 words from the manuscript. We did it, and brought it down to a manageable 408 pages. We’re still rather fond of the sections we had to ditch, and figure they will show up somewhere, someday, in either the shorts we do or other books related to our world.

There are the occasional days now that I’m working on my cozy mystery series set in fictional Sunset Lake, Wisconsin, and hoping to get those books out and ready soon. Most likely early 2027. Book 1 is done, Book 2 is in the works, and Book 3 is outlined. Whew. But at least I’m once again writing instead of so focused on edits as I’ve been doing for the past year.

What is this Sunset Lake Cottage Mysteries that I’m working on? Here’s the current back cover copy for Dockside Murder:

Patricia Wells jumped at the job offer from her in-laws, the only family she has left after the death of her husband Sean. She’s moved to Sunset Lake, Wisconsin and taken over as manager of the family cottage rentals.

With the prime summer rental season only weeks away, the business is a wreck. Patty settles into the challenge with the support and help of her best friend and newest investor, Kelly Sanders, the local junior medical examiner. They’re determined to grow the business, but their plans sink deeper when the owner of the best restaurant on the lake turns up dead, and her new handyman, Travis Brannon, is the prime suspect.

Once again she’s surrounded by police and media, reliving the trauma of her husband Sean’s murder. And seeing his ghost. But she doesn’t dare tell anyone about that.

Pat hoped for a quiet life of sunset drinks on the pier with friends. Instead she’s adopted by a bossy cat, hires a very handsome handyman who might be a murderer, and talks to her dead husband’s ghost. She might be more cracked than anyone suspects.

I’m still tweaking it, but these mysteries are based on the towns and people of my own life, though not the murder parts! What do you think of the back cover? Let me know!

I’m heading back to work now, hoping for good news for you and Aztalan’s Idol. Remember to contact me if you find errors, and please, get that review in anywhere you can. We need to spread the news. Thank you for the help!