This week we’re playing in the Roll-A-Prompt series again. This time, I’m joined by my co-author Lisa and our friend Kristina. I picked a random set of elements from the Genre Mashup Edition, we cut to write (so you don’t have to be bored while no one is talking) then come back and read. It was lots of fun. If you’d like to play along, the prompt is below. Grab some dice, roll for your elements, write and leave your story in the comments. I’ll read it on a future show.
My new June Nash Mystery, How to Square Your Grouper is on pre-order with a release date of May 10, 2020. Yay! To celebrate, I’m reading the first three chapters on the podcast.
Gifts from strangers are never good. Especially when they’re big bundles of drugs.
June Nash is back. In Key West on vacation. And not at all hiding out from her famous brother’s crazy fans, The Dewzers. It’s been a tough couple of months and she just wants a little peace and quiet. But life doesn’t work that way in June’s world. Drug runners have mistaken her for their contact and she ends up with a sailboat full of Square Groupers. Which the Coast Guard immediately takes off her hands. So she’s in the clear, right? Not even a little. Now she’s dodging bullets from rival drug runners as she tries to escape her mom’s attempt to bond and Morgan’s obsessive need to figure out why someone from their past has followed her to Key West. How do you go from sipping rum one minute to running for your life the next? With June, it’s just another Tuesday.
Even if you don’t read either genre, you need to follow Linda on facebook just for her photos of itty bitty and giant dog.
What’s new with me? Ahhhh. I may have given myself too much to do this month. I’m final drafting book 2 of the June Nash Misadventure series, I’m first drafting book three (same series) and book one in a new horror series, and I’m at the formatting stage for the 6 book non fiction series I co-authored. I’ll have more on that for one of the shows this month. I just need to finish lining up the guest stars. It will probably coincide with the Amazon release of the series. (Non river lovers – I’ll start releasing it on additional retailers shortly thereafter)
That’s it. My mind must be fried, I just spent several minutes trying to think of the word retailer. I need to go take the dog for a walk and get some fresh air. It’s already been a 9 hour day and I’m not done.
And as I always say on my show, let me know what you’re reading! My kindle is almost bare.
This week I had a blast chatting with Noir author John D. Patten about his pulp detective series. Gritty bad guys. Gritty good guys. Off the charts action.
Read John’s books – they’re currently in Kindle Unlimited. (Oct 2019)
It’s almost NaNoWriMi. – November 1 marks the start of National Novel Writing Month. Authors write a 50k word book in 30 days. This year, I’m going big. I’ll be working on the first draft of the third book in the June Nash Mystery series (about to be rebranded mysteries) Getting down the basics for a new horror series, and gosh darn it releasing the 2nd June Nash book – How to Square Your Grouper. How the heck am I getting it all done? Thanks for asking. My editor introduced me to this great guy Winston.
Actually, Winston is a typewrite app for mac complete with clackity clack noises and carriage return bells. Best part? You can’t go backwards. If you hit the return key, it Xs out whatever was there. So, no revisions. Revisions are my downfall. And the reason it takes me so long to finish a project. I think all that’s going to change with Winston. Today marks day 8 and I’m just under 9000 words. With no revisions! I’m not even going to look at any of it until I hit finish my words on day 30. Then I’ll switch to my editing program and hopefully make June Nash a three book series by my birthday. (April) Or sooner.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be back next time with another interview and news about a 6 book non fiction series that I co-authored.
Go read a good book!
Melissa
PS.
~~What do I write? Thanks for asking.
A pool of blood. A missing body. A famous brother accused of murder. June Nash has the worst luck. Grab your copy of How to Sex Your Snake today. https://books2read.com/u/bxvJYq
Today, I’m reading chapters 4-6 from my work in progress which is tentatively titled, Four Bullets and a Ghost but who knows. That might change. Rather listen to the podcast? Click here.
Today, I’m chatting with paranormal romance author TK Lawyer about her Angel series. Have a listen and check out her books. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment. Especially if you’re a fan of romance with angels.
Me and my better half at Disney world. We’re more than a little excited.
In the Tampa Area?
I’ll be signing copies of How to Sex Your Snake at the Tampa Indie Author Book Convention July 14th and 15th. If you’d like free tickets, you can get them until June 30th by clicking here. I’ll have a few book bags to give away too.
Now I’m off to my little booth by the bathroom in Panera Bread to work on June’s next misadventure due out in September!
It’s Sunday. Time for this week’s book update. Since my latest novel, a sequel to How to Sex Your Snake , takes place in Key West, and I’ve been immersed in research, I thought it would be fun to include some memories from my time on the island. Last week, we looked back at one of my favorite watering holes, the Bull and Whistle bar, which features 3 distinctive bars and with some iffy nudity. This week, we’re outside, looking at some actual water. But first, the update.
How to Square Your Grouper – A June Nash Misventure, Book 2
Premise: Following an embarrassing blunder, June heads down to Key West to hide out and accidentally becomes a drug runner.
Captain Eddy rallies the troops
Genre – Adventure New words this week –1239 (plus a few pages of handwritten notes) Total word Count – 13,543 Release date: Summer 2017
Goals last week: continuing my research, tightening up my outline
What I did: Mainly research. I spend the week reading up on the Coast Guard and some other things that will spoil the book if I mention them. The more I read, the less I feel like I know. I’m currently looking for someone who was actually in the Coast Guard. So, if that was you, drop me a note in the comments. Outlining – I realized I had two different outlines for the book. So, I’ve been combining both into a notebook. That’s my preferred method. I can take paper and pencil more places that I can take my computer.
Goals for next week: finish up my outline sometime during the week. I’d like to start the actual writing around the 20th. (I’ve got a few pages here and there but it’s mostly in outline form) I’m still living in a delusional state thinking I will be able to hand the book to my editor around tax day. We’ll see.
This weeks trip down memory lane:
I spy with my little eye…
See the boats on the right? Diana Nyad is somewhere in the middle, about to finish her world record Cuba to Key West Swim. Mark and I happened to be biking down the southern side of the island, probably headed to Caroline’s for a cuban sandwich, when we noticed the news crews and the swarm of people on the beach. Mark checked the internet and Diana was still a few hours away, so we did our lunch thing, wandered Duval a bit and then headed back to Smathers. By this point, it was close enough that we decided to lock up the bikes and find a good spot. We lucked into a roped off section and ended up against the barrier. When Diana came ashore, we’d have a ringside seat as she emerged from the Atlantic Ocean.
And then, of course, life happened. Later, Ms. Nyad said that as she was approaching Key West, she wasn’t sure where she was supposed to land so she just picked a spot. Which wasn’t anywhere close to where everyone was standing. Chaos ensued and people raced to be first to her new landing spot. Mark and I were separated and I quickly gave up. There was no way I was going to get close up to the action. I texted my husband, took my sandals off and headed for the sidewalk and our bikes. And got stuck in another crowd. I pulled out my phone to text Mark again and realized, almost too late, that Diana was on a stretcher being wheeled to an ambulance by EMTs. I hit video on my cell phone and held it up just as they went past. If you’re interested, you can read more about her historic record here.
That’s it for this week. Next Sunday, we’ll reminisce about men dressed in tiny shorts pushing a bed up the street. Believe it or not, it has absolutely nothing yet absolutely everything to do with the time the tiny island of Key West succeeded from the United States.
Until then, keep your head above water, don’t drink too much rum, and Write on,
Melissa Banczak 