The Bookaholics Blog Tour

As part of The Bookaholic's Book Tour, I am tooting my own horn today and chatting about my novels!

My series, Wild Blue Mysteries, is set in the fictional town of Packham, based on my current home town, and set in New York State. Why New York when I live in Canada? Advice from a writing friend. On his advice, I change settings and never looked back. Interestingly enough, my second series will be set in an actual town in New York State that I have fictionalized to the point it only resembles half the original town.

Wild Blue Mysteries is a five book series which tells the story of a group of three detectives who work for the Wild Blue Detective Agency. When Danny Walker starts up the agency, he is a cop and the agency is a cover for him to get involved with some local crime bosses who are looking for a mole in their organization. Thus begins the series.

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 as a mechanic. 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 endanger the woman he's tailing.

           Wanna-be writer Lucy Stephen never wrote about murder until her husband moved out and she 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 that her husband desperately wants back. 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 very man who stalks her.

                                                             

Available later this year!  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's are her 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.

So there you have it, the first three books in the Wild Blue Mysteries series and there are still two more to come. I do hope you'll check them out and follow me on the adventure.

You can order my books online on Amazon.com at: Diane Bator, Author

As well as on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.au!

Round Robin Blog Fest Aug 23 2014

      Welcome back to another edition of Round Robin Blog Fest!

Pour a cup of coffee and pull up a chair while we discuss this month's topic:

      "Have you ever read or written a story that had a secondary character take over?"

For those of you who don't know, I have written a series called Wild Blue Mysteries published by Books We Love. The name comes from the detective agency my main character Danny Walker has opened as part of an undercover operation while he is a police officer on the Newville Police force. When I first started writing The Bookstore Lady, one of the secondary characters seemed to struggle with playing second fiddle. Danny, my leading man, suddenly had to compete with his sidekick Leo Blue for the limelight. From Danny's point of view: "Leo, severely wounded while stationed in Afghanistan, was both a former professional boxer and third degree karate black belt. He was the one person Danny wanted to have watch his back..."

Leo Blue remained a secondary character in The Mystery Lady, where mystery writer Lucy first sees him outside her house and labels him the Ponytail Man:  "Ponytail Man's face seemed carved from marble, yet handsome in a rugged way like the photo of the hunk she'd pulled off the Internet. Unlike the male model, this guy scared the crap out of her even from afar."

I'm glad to say the third book in the series, The Bakery Lady, is all Leo's and readers get to know this mystery man a whole lot better. "Leo tossed his cell phone onto the sagging green couch that doubled as his bed by night and sighed. A detective by trade, he wasn't in a big  hurry to take on a new case, not since his nightmares had returned. He blew out a long, bracing breath and reached up to work his hair into a braid. Instead of a foot and a half of red locks, he scrubbed his fingers through the inch-long do he had to endure after Lucy's daughter Gina cut his braid off. Someone fighting cancer somewhere, would get a soft, manageable wig. In return, Leo got a brief bout of the warm fuzzies and cold ears."

I guarantee Leo Blue will hang around for the next two books and will be the male lead in the series finale.

Be sure to stop by and visit Margaret Fieland who is next on the tour and have a lovely weekend!
Hopefully you get a chance to stop and see the other amazing authors who are a part of this tour:

• Marci Baun   
• Anne Stenhouse
• Fiona McGier 
• A.J. Maguire
• Beverley Bateman
• Diane Bator
• Margaret Fieland 
• Victoria Chatham 
• Connie Vines
• Geeta Kakade 
• Rhobin Courtright

Exciting Week!

I've had a bit of a struggle lately to get things done and organized. Suddenly within a couple days, I have even more things on my plate! Far from feeling overwhelmed, I'm energized. Why?

1) I received a 2 book contract offer from Gemma Halliday Publishing for Death of a Jaded Samurai and a second book. Woohoo!! I love this series and have been waiting patiently for a publisher to pick it up.

2) I submitted the third book in my Wild Blue Mysteries series, The Bakery Lady, and got the cover art back. The Bakery Lady will be released in time for Christmas! I have arranged with BWL to release two more books in this series before we end it. That means 2 more books to write!

  

3) On a whim, I applied for a job at BTS emagazine and GOT IT! Starting in September, I will be the new Author Liaison for BTS. Not a huge job, but it should be fun and a great experience.

4) While talking to someone the other day, they told me how much I inspire them, which was really great to hear! I know my kids tell me that all the time, but from a total stranger it was amazing!

5) Last, but certainly not least! I've started my own Editing business. I know my start up prices are low, but I will raise them in 2015 as I gain experience. I posted my information on Facebook and had someone inquire a day later. I'm hoping this will become something that will start to pay bills one day!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me! I hope you will continue to support me in the future!

Special Guest Appearance!

I will be appearing on Southern Writers Magazine Blog "Suite T" on Aug 4, 2014 to chat about the excuses we make as writers. Be sure to stop by and say hello. 

I also appear tomorrow (Aug 3) on my publisher's blog: Inside Books We Love.

What else have I been up to since I haven't updated my own blog in a while? A lovely vacation with the kids to the beach. We had a great time playing miniature golf, checking out a lighthouse, swimming in Lake Huron, riding a Yak Board, eating spider dogs and hanging out with some fabulous friends! 

A walk upon the beach every day is great for the soul! All the little things were washed away we were left with laughs and a tan. 

The great news is The Bookstore Lady and The Mystery Lady are both being released into print soon from Books We Love Ltd. and will be available in bookstore catalogues soon! Pictures will follow. 

I have also finished edits on Death of a Jaded Samurai, which is back in the hands of my wonderful agent. Fingers crossed as she submits my book to a promising publisher. 

In the meantime, I have a zillions things to update and some final edits to The Bakery Lady for November release. So glad I've had a few days to kick back and relax! I'll be back to work in full force next week.

Hope you all get time to relax and pick up a good book!

Blog Hop - What I Write and Don't Write

Paul Carr invited me to join in a blog hop with authors talking about what they write and what they don't write. Today, this is about all I'll get to write as I'm preparing for a company picnic tomorrow! So how did I get involved in this? It all started with Paul who writes:

Dr. Joan Curtis recently tagged me for this blog hop to post my version of "What 3 Things Do You Write? What 3 Things Don't You Write?" Dr. Curtis is an award winning writer who has published 5 books and numerous stories. Her newest mystery/suspense novel, The Clock Strikes Midnight will be released this fall. 

So what do I write? The 3 things I prefer to write are:

Cozy Mystery: I am currently editing my newest novel, a cozy set in a small Great Lakes town. It's the first book I've written that is only on one point-of-view and has a little more romance than any of the others I've written.
Young Adult: I have written many stories and novellas over the years, most of which reside in my closet. Bit by bit, as my work is published, I am unearthing and revamping the older books, many of which are Young Adult. Being the mom of 3 teenage boys, this seems like a good area to dabble in!
Short Stories: One of the things I love to do in my writing group is work from prompts. In fact, that is where a great many of my short stories--and novels--are born. I do have a collection of short stories I'm pulling together. All I need is a serious edit, and a few more stories!

The 3 Things I don't write are:

Erotica: I have many friends who write erotica and hard-core romance novels. Somehow, I just can't bring myself to write "those" kinds of scenes. Maybe it's hearing my mom's voice in my ear saying, "I can't believe you'd write something like that!"
Science Fiction: While I love to create new places, new people, new situations, the thought of creating whole new worlds is a bit overwhelming.
Horror: Things that go bump in the night are the last things I want to think about. I've never been a horror movie buff, yet love to read Stephen King and John Saul. I've just never tried to write like them.

Glad you popped by. Feel free to visit Paul Carr and say hello. A fellow mystery writer, his Sam MacKenzie books are a lot of fun and adventure all set in the tropics of the Florida Keys.

A Summer in the Life of...

Run or Dye Toronto 2014

I'm a bit laid up this summer. I've pushed so hard to do a 5km run and my Blue belt grading in karate, that I've injured my knee. A minor thing that a bit of rest will help, if I can sit still. In the meantime, I'm embarking on a new venture! Not only am I actually updating my own blog for the first time in...I've offered to do blogs for my publisher Books We Love on their blog page http://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/ starting this week on July 3.





What else is in store this summer? A few trips to the beach, a lot of walking, and an awesome retreat weekend with girlfriends!
With The Bookstore Lady and The Mystery Lady published and for sale, it's been nice to take a few days to sit back and enjoy Canada Day and my family. It's easier to take a break when Book #3, The Bakery Lady, is DONE and off to my beta readers! After a few days of forced rest, my brain is churning with ideas for Books #4 and 5.

As for Death of a Jaded Samurai, my agent Dawn is still seeking a publisher. Keeping my fingers crossed for some wonderful news this summer! Watch for more updates!

Wow, it's been an entire month since I posted to my blog! Work, family, and a huge karate seminar have all taken me away for the month, but I'm back on the merry-go-round that is The Round Robin Blog Fest! This month, a long string of authors are chatting about a whole new topic:

What is the most inspiring, romantic, or dangerous setting 

you have ever read or written?

I was born under the sign Cancer, a water sign. I'm a crab with a natural affinity for water so for my entire life, I've been fascinated with the ocean, lakes, rivers, and so on. As a result, I tend to write stories set near bodies of water. The Wild Blue Mysteries series doesn't directly mention the lakes until Book 2, The Mystery Lady, but Lake Erie is within an hour drive of Packham. The novel my agent is currently querying, Death of a Jaded Samurai, is set in a fictional small town called Sandstone Cove, which I picture on the shores of Lake Erie.

If I could spend my time writing in my favorite place, it would be on the deck of a small cottage on the seashore or near one of the amazing Great Lakes, which have the same inspiring feel. The rush of waves to shore are very calming and bring the romance of the ocean a little more inland. The nearest beach, along the shores of Lake Huron, is an hour and a half away, but is a wonderful place to visit! 

Lucky for me, I get to attend a writing retreat next month in a building that resembles a lighthouse and sits along the edge of a babbling river. I'll take that for now. Let's take a wander over to Geeta Kakade's blog to see what kind of settings inspire her!!

To order my books online, simply click on the title! 

The Bookstore Lady

The Mystery Lady

Murder on Manitou

Be sure to check out the other amazing writers who are a part of this monthly event!

* Heidi Thomas at http://heidiwriter.Wordpress.com
* Lynn Crain at http://lynncrain.blogspot.co.at/
* Anne Stenhouse at http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
* Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca
* Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
* Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com
* Marci Baun at http://www.marcibaun.com/
* Beverley Bateman at http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
   * Ginger Simpson at http://mizging.blogspot.com
   * Margaret Fieland at http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog
         * Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com
         * Rhobin Courtright at http://rhobinleecourtright.com