Unfortunately, I ordered two different postcards from the same printer. I waited and waited and waited and finally the second order arrived yesterday. They are exactly what I ordered. They're perfect. But I'm soured on the company because they printed something that was obviously wrong and then they wouldn't even discuss how to make me happy.

I will never order from them again.

But I still need postcards to send out for my local signing. So I started hunting around on the Internet. My new postcards are supposed to arrive by Monday, but as they've already shipped, I'm hoping they arrive early--just so I don't have to go through the angst of worrying they might not be right. And there's a good possibility they won't. The rep didn't want the cover to sit on a black background--she wanted it to bleed off the edge. The problem is, the cover wouldn't FIT perfectly on that size. It was too big (cutting off part of the title and all of the author name) and I didn't want white space around the cover. So we made it smaller and plunked it in a sea of black. Which looks terrific on screen.

"But our cutting machine might wobble," said the rep.

Oh boy.

I gambled. The price was even better than the first one, and no one else could guarantee I'd get them before my absolute kill date. If I can get 80 good ones, I'll have to be satisfied. At least the printer rep contacted me to talk about her concerns--the first (very well-known to authors) did not.

The above postcard is what I'll send out in my library campaign, which can't happen until I get some Dead In Red reviews. *Sigh* Hurry up and wait--hurry up and wait.

I feel like I'm in the army.

Stoneham, N.H., the picturesque setting of the pseudonymous Barrett’s charming first in a new series, boasts a newly renovated main street devoted to a variety of bookstores. When Tricia Miles—mystery bookstore proprietor and city refugee—discovers her unpleasant cookbook store neighbor stabbed to death and a rare book missing, Tricia soon finds herself under the sheriff’s surveillance and dubbed the village jinx. Determined to clear her name and track down the stolen cookbook, Tricia enlists a few friendly locals to aid in her investigation. When her difficult older sister, Angelica, arrives unexpectedly, Tricia worries she’s in for another headache, but Angelica turns out to be a willing conspirator in Tricia’s search for answers. The mix of books, cooking and an engaging whodunit will leave cozy fans eager for the next installment.</em> (Apr.) </p>

(You can read the complete reviews by clicking on the reviewers names.)

Is my angst over? No way. I'm crossing my fingers that there's either a PW, Kirkus, Library Journal and/or Booklist review in my future. Without one of those, the library sales will tank. So I'll just have a single martini.

I'll make a pitcher when/if one of those big four reviews comes through.

First things first:  the LARGE PRINT rights have been sold for Murder Is Binding. 

YEEEE-HAAAAA! 

I don't actually get to see any up-front money, though.  The publisher applies it against my advance.  (All 15 cents of it.)  But that means if I sell enough copies, I'll actually see a royalty check.  (It took four books in one series before a friend of mine saw a royalty check.  She said it's a very nice feeling.)

Having two books come out in one year is proving to be...expensive.  Publishers don't cough up dough for promotion for mid-list authors.  It just isn't done.  They give you some nice exposure on their web site, and some bound galleys, and that's about it.

So it's up to me to come up with the cash for promotion. 

I've already had bookmarks made up for Murder Is Binding, and boy-howdy they are pretty!  I've also ordered postcards so that I can send them to people announcing the book.  And I've done a postcard that mentions both Murder Is Binding and Dead In Red.  I'm going to include them in my library campaign--and wouldn't you know, it's too late to add the ISBN for the large print edition (not that I have it yet).  Oh well. 

Bookmarks are also in the pipeline for Dead in Red, but I'm waiting for the reviews to come in before I do that.

After that, it's time to STOP spending money on promotion and time to buckle down and get the next book written.  Because without the book...there's no reason for promotion.