Diane Bator presents Drop Dead Cowboy and a NaNoWriMo teaser

Today, I'm taking over!!

I'm so grateful to see this blog grow and expand but today I've had to reschedule someone so here I am! I'd love to tell you more about me and what I do as a writer. Here it goes....

Hi everyone, my name is Diane Bator. I am the author of 10 mystery novels and a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime Toronto, International Thriller Writers, and the Writers Union of Canada. I am proud mom to three grown kids and grateful to be a prolific writer. When I’m not writing, I work in a theatre which may be subject to immortality in a whole new series. No surprise I’ve considered trying my hand at writing a play, right?

 

What genre do you write?

I used to love reading mysteries and inhaled the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Kathy Reichs, Karin Slaughter, Mary Marks, Lillian Jackson Braun, and so on. Ironically, I never tried my hand at writing one but I didn’t have one specific genre. Then a few years ago I entered a contest to write a mystery novel and won! Just like that, I found my niche.

Thanks to a couple great friends, I’ve also slid into writing fantasy, which isn’t a genre I’ve read much of until lately.

 

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Write the book YOU want to read. I love to create books that speak to me in some way and I hope that they will interest other readers. If you write to the market, it may become work and no longer fun. That’s where something like Nanowrimo comes in! For me, November is playtime with stories.

 

What are you working on now?

Part of the way I write is that I always have a few irons in the fire. Currently, I’m working on:

All That Shines (Book 2 Glitter Bay Mysteries) coming June 2021

Dead Without Remorse (a Gilda Wright novella) coming August 2021

Written in Stone (an AJ Cadell Mystery – ALL NEW) coming November 2021

As well, I’m planning to self-publish my award winning novella, Murder on Manitou. Watch for that as well!

 

AND This is where the Nanowrimo part of this comes in!

My newest novel, Drop Dead Cowboy, was written during Nanowrimo 2019. If you’re not familiar, the goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November, which works out to 1,667 words per day. (You can find out more at https://nanowrimo.org/)

Since many authors find that to be far too many words to deal with, they will set smaller goals for themselves. Personally, I find writing about 1,667 words per day is a great challenge and have “won” the contest twice. Winning just means that you meet YOUR goal!

Do you have to write a complete story? No. You can write poetry, non-fiction, flash fiction, whatever you want to write. The biggest goal is to WRITE!

Aside from my blog, you can find me just about anywhere. I’d love for you to follow me around social media. You never know what I’ll post:

  My publisher:  https://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

Website	http://penspaintsandpaper.com
Blog	http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Twitter Instagram	https://twitter.com/dibator  https://www.instagram.com/dianerondeaubator/
Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/dianebatorauthor/?ref=settings
Goodreads	https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7179945.Diane_Bator

DROP DEAD COWBOY

DROP DEAD COWBOY 

Sugarwood Mysteries is my newest series that features Audra Clemmings and her partner in Stitch’n’Time Merilee Rutherford as well as Audra’s dog Drake. Needlepoint, a collection of voodoo dolls, and small-town antics are all featured in this series.

In Book 1, Drop Dead Cowboy, Audra Clemmings sees the display of voodoo dolls in the shop next door that resembles nearly everyone in Sugarwood, Ontario—including her. 
Then there’s the matter of the dead cowboy on the bench in front of her shop Stitch’n’Time…

Book 2 (a future project) will feature the same characters, a Christmas theme, and even more voodoo dolls!
Just what is going on in Sugarwood?

 

The best place to purchase my books:  https://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

To hear more:  

An Introduction to Diane Bator's Wild Blue Mystery series!

Welcome to Packham and the

Wild Blue Mysteries

The ladies of Packham are going to drive the sleuths of Wild Blue Detective Agency to drink

-- if they don't get them killed first.

The Bookstore Lady will always have a spot in my heart. Mostly, because it was the first book I had published, aside from a novella called Murder on Manitou. The image at the top of this blog was created by one of my very good friends and fabulous editors Laura LaRocca who has stood by me from the start. I keep this on my wall as a reminder of how far I've come!

How did this series come about?  Oddly enough, it all started with a dream about a cat. That scene appears in The Bookstore Lady where Danny Walker and Katie Mullins are getting to know each other. As I wrote the scene, those two characters came to life and the rest of the book evolved from prompts in writing group meetings.

Why is the series called Wild Blue Mysteries?
Wild Blue is the name of the Detective Agency Danny and his partner Leo Blue set up for a sting operation where Danny first meets Paulina Chourney. Once the whole case takes them back to Danny's home town of Packham, they start to shift gears and try to escape from the city. Where Danny finds it agreeable and even buys a century home in the country, Leo finds it harder to enjoy small town life until he meets Christina Davidson who runs the local bakery.

Why doesn't Katie go back to using her real name, Paulina Chourney, after the bad guys are caught?
Partly because her character has been known as Katie by the locals who are a little set in their ways. Also because she's afraid of becoming that person she was before her life changed so drastically. Paulina was drawn into a world of corruption and money. Katie lives a simpler life running a bookstore and living with an elderly woman writer who loves a good mystery--and to mete out justice of her own.

Why do all of the books feature different pairs of main characters?
Danny and Katie start to become a couple in The Bookstore Lady - once Danny tracks her down and tries to save her from her former bosses. With meddling writers and henchmen who love nothing more than a good fight, he's got more than enough action on his hands. 
In The Mystery Lady, Danny investigates Lucy Stephens, a local mom and mystery writer. Leo Blue meets Lucy in this book as well, but the chemistry isn't quite right.
The Bakery Lady became Leo and Christina's story. Not a fan of the small town and its nosy inhabitants, it isn't until Leo goes to the local tattoo parlor and hangs out with Clancy Davidson, that he meets a secretive woman who changes his mind about small towns and romance. Christina Davidson takes no nonsense and has a history that draws him in like a bear to honey.
The Painted Lady is a continuation of Leo and Christina's story with more life altering secrets coming to light, including an art forgery and murder.
Book five, The Frightened Lady, will take the story back to Danny and Katie who have run into their own obstacles once again. This time with a woman who confesses to a murder that took place many years earlier and an angry man who stalks Katie.
After that... well, I guess we'll see what new ideas come along.

***Be sure to read through to the bottom for a fun treat!!

Here are the list of Wild Blue Mystery novels to date. I hope you check them out!

Book 1: The Bookstore Lady

Danny Walker is tracking Paulina Chourney who fell deep into the dark side of life and is lucky to get out before her boyfriend Maddox kills her. She escapes Maddox and arrives in a small town, which she sees as a blessing in disguise since the men she worked for would never think to look for her in a lazy, backwater place like Packham. She changes her name to Katie Mullins, makes a deal on a little bookstore and joins a local writing group then successfully fades into anonymity. Until Danny Walker shows up to visit family and figures out who she is.

When Paulina catches her 80-year-old landlady sneaking out in the middle of the night, the bad guys catch up to her and Danny disappears, she has to choose between spending her life on the run or standing up to face her past. Hopefully before the quirky townsfolk turn her death into a spectacle.

Book 2: The Mystery Lady

Danny Walker used to enjoy chasing criminals, but after being kidnapped and nearly killed, he longs to close the Wild Blue Detective Agency and live a simpler life. Forced to take leave from the police force, he has a long way to go to convince the shrink he's even close to sane, especially when he helps his former partner solve a series of murders, which endangers the woman he's tailing.

Wanna-be writer Lucy Stephen never wrote about murder until her husband moved out and thinks some man in a blue car is stalking her. When her husband and his girlfriend take her kids on vacation, Lucy discovers a hidden package of jewelry her husband desperately wants. The more she learns about the assorted pieces, the more Lucy realizes she may never see her kids again and needs to fight back with the help of the man who stalks her.

Book 3: The Bakery Lady

From the moment Leo Blue meets the tattoo artist 's sister Christina, he's drawn into a web of bread dough and lies. Christina Davidson has returned to Packham with a duffle bag full of secrets. Leo soon discovers her biggest secret is Christina's alter ego and her husband who stands accused of murdering an up-and-coming artist. He promises to help set things straight and plans to bring husband and wife together for Christmas—even if it costs him his sanity and the love of his life.

Book 4: The Painted Lady

The pieces of Christina Davidson's life have built up into place over the past few months, despite the one last secret she's trying hard to hide. When Leo Blue returns to town, then people from her past turn up, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble and the only people who can help her now are the men of the Wild Blue Detective Agency.

Leo Blue can't escape Packham nor the life of a private detective no matter how hard he tries. Six months after the murder of artist DJ Gage, the prices of Gage's paintings soar. When a woman winds up dead and a forgery is discovered in the local art gallery, Leo has to find a murderer and a forger.

Where to find me and my Books (Here, obviously!)

Website:  http://penspaintsandpaper.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dibator

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diane-Bator-Author/263599617046736?ref=hl

BWL Publishing:  https://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

AND NOW THE TREAT!!

Click here to hear my Virtual Storytelling Session for the Orangeville Public Library and Community Living Dufferin! (about 15 min long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ-D_osk6GE&fbclid=IwAR2GU86agQBT0zjVOmQiTAAazueXpDcIld5niFbuHl0OSthqrvW8r6lsVnk

Hope you enjoy!

Diane

Dog Days of Summer

                                                        

I'm so grateful this summer that I've had lots of time to write and edit! Some days in the coffee shops, some days up at the lake...


My latest work in progress, Written in Stone, is nearly ready. I'm in the editing stage right now and will give it one more good read before I send it off to a publisher in September. This one will be my first novel set in Canada on the shores of Georgian Bay. Fingers crossed it does well. I'm loving this book!


I'm working behind the scenes on a newsletter which will appear this fall.
I'll also be on a Mystery Panel at Orangeville Public Library on September 28 with 5 amazing ladies from the Crime Writers of Canada. It'll be a great time!

In the meantime, I'm working all next weekend at an incredible performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Island Lake. I won't get a lot done writing wise, but it'll be fun to hang out with co-workers at a nice venue. Outside under the sun!

After the long weekend, I'm back to full time at my day job, but the writing never ends!
Watch for not only a new Gilda book in 2020, but a few novellas and anthologies.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Diane 

                   

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've popped out from beneath mounds of editing long enough to with everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and let you all know I'll be at the Brampton Artist's Festival this coming Saturday, October 13 from 10am - 4pm with my books. The festival takes place at Bramalea Retirement Residence at 30 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton.

Another piece of good news is that I've finished The Painted Lady and sent the manuscript off to my wonderful publisher Books We Love. If you've lost count, that's book Number 7!
The one last book slated for 2018 is Dead Without Pride which I plan to submit on time Oct 15 for republishing.

I had an amazing local photographer take some incredible headshots for my upcoming new books, public events, and websites. I'll be uploading those as soon as all these edits are done. In the meantime, here is a look at the postcards I'll be handing out this weekend....

I'll also be attending WOW at the Orangeville Public Library this coming November.
Watch for details!

Upcoming Events!!

Looks like this fall will be a busy one! I'm starting to do a few more public events and getting both The Painted Lady and Dead Without Pride ready for my publisher before October 15. 

After that, I'll be working on Book Five for my Wild Blue Mystery series and Book Four for my Gilda Wright Mysteries! 

Once those are done.... much, much more to come, my friends!

Coffee, Conversations & Books Author Event – Diane Bator

September 19, 2018, 7pm-8pm   Jelly Café, Shelburne 

Local self-published author Diane Bator rekindled her passion for writing in 2007 when she joined Dufferin County’s foremost writing group, the Headwaters Writers’ Guild. She has written assorted short stories, murder mysteries, and YA novellas. Her first murder mystery, Murder on Manitou, was published after winning a writing contest in 2010. In 2016, Diane was nominated to be an Established Artist of the Year at Orangeville’s Celebration of the Arts. 

To register for Coffee, Conversation and Books email Jade Noble: jnoble@shelburnelibrary.ca This month's venue is the Jelly Craft Bakery in Shelburne. Refreshments provided.

Brampton Artists Festival

Saturday, October 13, from 10am - 4pm

30 Peel Centre Drive (Next to Bramalea City Centre, Bramalea Retirement Residence)

Join us for The ARTISTS Festival - a cultural intersection where the residents and the general public can meet artists from the local and GTA arts and culture scene.  Celebrate the creative arts, enjoy performances, and discover artistic treasures in over 30 displays; a select marketplace showcased within an elegant atrium venue. ​Stay for the day, enjoy performances and displays, book a tour of the Bramalea Retirement Residence at the festival for five free raffle tickets towards the Prize Packages.   

 Looking for a good read?  Check out my books!

BWL Publishing Inc.:  http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/bator-diane-mystery/

Amazon US:   https://www.amazon.com/Diane-Bator/e/B009CGCPRE

   

My Paintings are moving!!!

Finally a little bit of sunshine in a cold, snowy week.

As a part of the Orangeville Art Group, two of my paintings will be on temporary display at the Orangeville Public Library downtown starting Saturday February 27, 2010 until summer. Not sure which ones are going to be there just yet - that will be a surprise. I'll be sure to take a picture when they are put up!

Also got an email from Gloria to say the final proof is in the works and our new book will be out soon! It was so exciting to see a real copy of it. There will also be a book launch at BookLore on a future date. Will let you know when!