Happy Halloween and welcome to November

cj Sez: Monsters Got Talent, and they are celebrating Halloween at OWA—for those readers not familiar with OWA, it’s the amusement theme park operated the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Foley, Alabama. The picture below is of monster/werewolf grandson Jeff singing to the crowd and “having a blast.”

Photo by Lori Goodrich Photography

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The history of Halloween from various computer searches

Halloween or Hallowe’en, a contraction of Hallowed Eve, is also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve) and is observed in many countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. The tradition originated with the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. From present-day Ireland to the United Kingdom to Brittany, France, the ancient Celts marked this as one of their four most important festival days of the year.

   And a little background about my short story in the HALLOWEEN PIECES anthology:

   If a month happens to have two full moons, the second full moon is called a “blue moon,” and that happens on Halloween/Samhain once about every nineteen years. 

   My short story, “Once in a Blue Moon,” is a fantasy mystery so named because Samhain fell on such a rare event in 2020. 

   The story takes modern-day Katherine Johnson into a mysterious village where she’s caught in an ancient celebration from which she might never return.

   Halloween is the theme but everything in the anthology is an enjoyable read for any season. As of the time of this post, HALLOWEEN PIECES is free on Kindle Unlimited and $1.99 to buy for your own library.   Buy Halloween Pieces Now

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NOVEMBER NEWS

SinC into NaNoWriMo with Sisters in Crime

From a SinC Press Release

   Starting November 1, join #SinC for a month of write-ins, socials, tips, and encouragement! Sign up here so you don't miss a thing: https://www.sistersincrime.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1554098&group=

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COMING SOON

STORMY PIECES…

Number 5 in the Mobile Writers Guild anthology series. 

 

   Copies of the new anthology, as well as cj’s thriller/suspense novels, will be available at an author book signing on November 12 (6 to 8 p.m.) at The Haunted Book Shop, 109 Dauphin St. in downtown Mobile. 

   If you’re in the Mobile area, come on down and meet some of the authors!

   Available for preorder   Buy Stormy Pieces Now

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REMINDER

Be sure to mark your calendars to stop by Lyrical Pens on November 10 for a guest post by author Barbara Hinske about her soon-to-be-released THE UNEXPECTED PATH, the second novel in her Guiding Emily series. 

   P.S. Barbara is the author of the novel THE CHRISTMAS CLUB, now on the Hallmark Channel.

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Next Sunday, you can be very early to church or you can get an extra hour of sleep. Daylight Saving Time, sometimes called incorrectly by the plural Daylight “Savings” Time, ends on Sunday, November 7, 2021, at 2:00 A.M. 

   Ergo, “fall back” (set your time pieces back an hour) next Saturday night, so you can sleep in and still be right on time.

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HOLIDAY SALE

Fast-paced and exciting suspense with a touch of Jane Bond romance, the ebooks of DEATH ON THE YAMPA and THE DAWGSTAR are on sale @ only $1.99 each. Available at your favorite eTailer and on request from your local library—just provide them with the ISBN number.

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NOTE TO READERS  

No Lyrical Pens post on November 7. This coming week is dedicated wholly to my son Mark’s Celebration of Life.

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cj Sez: That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

P.S. TO ORDER a book by any author on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop. 

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

Coming soon: Stormy Pieces and a guest post by author Barbara Hinske

cj Sez: From the Facebook press release from the Mobile Writers Guild: “The Mobile Writers Guild is excited to shine the spotlight on the local contributors of our 2021 anthology, STORMY PIECES, as we countdown to our book signing at November’s ArtWalk (in downtown Mobile).”

   

   “Today we asked suspense writer cj petterson Author what inspired her short story, “Ida, Fate, and Mister Leon.”

   (And cj Sez:) “The idea for my story started way back in 2005 when I saw a writing prompt about a woman doing a traditionally man’s job. I wrote a few pages featuring an unnamed November storm then buried the draft in an “Ideas” file. 

   When the MWG published a call for submissions for STORMY PIECES, I thought, “Eureka! I’ve already written that story.” So I dug it out and named the November storm Hurricane Ida, after the one that meandered around the U.S. in 2009. 

   And (pinky-swear), I submitted my story on February 11, six months before 2021’s Hurricane Ida devastated the Gulf Coast and northeastern U.S. on August 29."

   If you’re in the Mobile area, anthology copies, as well as cj’s thriller/suspense novels, will be available at The Haunted Book Shop, 109 Dauphin St in Downtown Mobile for an ArtWalk book signing, November 12th, 6-8pm”

   Available for preorder   Buy Stormy Pieces Now

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NEXT SUNDAY IS HALLOWEEN

Wow, where did the year go? To get you in the mood, I’ll suggest an anthology to read before ghosts, goblins, witches, and troops of trick-or-treaters come knock, knock, knocking on your door.

Buy Halloween Pieces Now

   Halloween Pieces, the fourth installment in the Mobile Writers Guild anthology series, has an eclectic collection of stories, poems, and a play that explore the chills, thrills, and giggles of the day. Halloween is the theme, but every piece is an enjoyable read for any season.

   My short story, “Once in a Blue Moon,” (a fantasy mystery so named because Halloween fell on such a rare event in 2020) is one of 18 pieces in the anthology.

   At the time of this post, HALLOWEEN PIECES is free on Kindle Unlimited and $1.99 to buy for your own library.

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

On November 10 author Barbara Hinske arrives to do a guest post about her soon-to-be-released The Unexpected Path. You’ll read of her deep and emotionally charged dive into first-person research for her story about the struggles and victories of newly blind Emily Main and her guide dog.

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  The Yellow Wood … Jeff D. Johnston photo computerized to resemble a painting.

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STILL ON SALE: 

The ebooks of DEATH ON THE YAMPA and THE DAWGSTAR are on sale @ only $1.99 each. Fast-paced and exciting suspense, with a touch of Jane Bond romance. Available at your favorite eTailer, and on request from your local library—just provide them with the ISBN number.

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cj Sez: That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

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P.S. TO ORDER a book by any author on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Which would you rather do first…read the book or see the movie?

cj Sez:  Here are two authors who have both formats for you. In case you don’t remember, on Oct 3, I posted a Lyrical Pens 4+star review of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s novel BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED.

   The novel is peopled with flesh-and-blood characters you want to love, want to hate, and want to win. And her settings? You will know where you are, and you will fear who lurks in the shadows.

   Seems some movie folk liked it, too. From a press release:

   “Entertainment One has acquired the rights to bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s novel Before She Disappeared with Oscar winner Hillary Swank set to star and executive produce via her Film Bandits banner.”

Congratulations Lisa Gardner!

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   Be sure to watch for a guest post by author Barbara Hinske about her soon-to-be-released THE UNEXPECTED PATH, the second in the Guiding Emily series featuring her blind protagonist,  Emily Main.

Buy The Unexpected Path Now

   I’ll announce the date of the mid-week post on Facebook soon.  In the meantime, the Kindle version of THE UNEXPECTED PATH is available for pre-order for 99 cents.

P.S. Barbara is the author of the novel THE CHRISTMAS CLUB, now on the Hallmark Channel.

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New to my TBR books:  

   I went to the library on Saturday and picked up THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS by Robert Dugoni…hailed by one reader as “A fearless and sensitive coming-of-age story.” Since it’s a hold-in-my-hand-hardcover book with a time limit on it, I’ll start it next week.

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Buy Halloween Pieces Now

 My short story, “Once in a Blue Moon,” is one of 18 short stories and poems in the anthology HALLOWEEN PIECES, the fourth anthology from the Mobile Writers Guild.

Click here to watch as I read an excerpt, and watch for the cameo by the cat.   

   As of the time of this post, HALLOWEEN PIECES is priced at $1.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited. 

NEW NEW

Buy Stormy Pieces Now

The STORMY PIECES anthology launches November 3 and is now available for preorder. 

   From the Amazon blurb: 

“In this fifth installment of the Mobile Writers Guild Pieces anthology series, our members give you their unique perspectives in the form of short stories, poems, and one play.”

Look for my short story, “Ida, Fate, and Mister Leon.” 

   My inspiration for the storm in the story came from a NOAA report… “November 10, 2009: The beginning of the extratropical cyclone that would become known as "Nor'Ida", which formed from the remnants of Hurricane Ida made landfall in Dauphin Island, Alabama and later in mainland Alabama before moving into Florida.”

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SALE: The ebooks of DEATH ON THE YAMPA and THE DAWGSTAR are now on sale @ only $1.99 each. Fast-paced and exciting suspense, with a touch of Jane Bond romance.

                  DEATH ON THE YAMPA 

... is available at Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Hoopla, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio and on request from your local library ( ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8 )

                        THE DAWGSTAR

... is available Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio and on request from your local library ( ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 )

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That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

P.S. TO ORDER a book by any author on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Writers: Write a Novella

cj Sez:  Writers, this week's guest post on Jane Friedman's blog is about NaNoWriMo. Readers, you can look forward to being the beneficiaries of all that effort.

   Some of those novellas are polished and published, some are developed into great novels. 

From Jane Friedman blog: “On the off-chance you aren’t acquainted with the acronym, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. November is the month, so about now, around the country and across the world, writers are sharpening pencils and clearing off kitchen tables. They’re preparing loved ones to do without them for 30 straight days or at least until Thanksgiving.  … NaNoWriMo may be what you need to get motivated.” 

To read more of the post: https://bit.ly/3At0u78 

cj Sez: National Novel Writing Month is when thousands of writers commit to sitting their butts in chairs (B-I-C) and writing 50,000 words in one month. Since November has thirty days, that comes out to 1666.66 words a day (plus .2), but who’s counting. If you’re thinking about accepting the challenge, go to the official website National Novel Writing Month for more information and be sure to connect with like-minded writers who will encourage you when the going gets tough.

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BOOK REVIEW

You’ll Never Know, Dear by Hallie Ephron embodies all the elements of a true Southern gothic fiction: isolation and marginalization, violence and crime, a brilliant sense of place, a decaying mansion, the sorrow of destitution, oppression, and discrimination. Oh, and it’s a suspenseful mystery as well, with great plot turns on its way to a twisted ending.

   I hope I didn’t miss anything because Ephron surely didn’t in this intricately woven saga of three generations of “bless their hearts” Southern women who must rise above their own prejudices to solve a forty-year-old crime.  IMHO, a five-star read.

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My short story, “Once in a Blue Moon,” is one of 18 short stories and poems in the anthology HALLOWEEN PIECES, the fourth anthology from the Mobile Writers Guild.

Click here to watch as I read an excerpt.   

   As of the time of this post, HALLOWEEN PIECES is priced at $1.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited.

STORMY PIECES is coming in November, and yes, I have a short story in that one also—more about that next week. And it has another great cover by MWG member Steven Moore that you’re going to love.

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SALE SALE: The ebooks of DEATH ON THE YAMPA and THE DAWGSTAR are now on sale @ only $1.99 each.

For Draft2Digital info: Death on the Yampa

Also available at these fine e sites and on request from your local library (ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8):  

Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Hoopla, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio

For Draft2Digital info: The Dawgstar

Also available at these fine e sites and on request from your local library (ISBN 978-17369146-0-1):

Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio

(p.s. FREEBIES: Write a review, then shoot me an email at cjpetterson@gmail.com and tell me about it—Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, wherever—and I’ll send you some lovely swag.)

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That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

A personal note: Today marks one month since my son Mark died from complications of Covid 19. This heartache can’t heal. If you have chosen to not get vaccinated, please reconsider your choice. 

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cj

P.S. TO ORDER any book by any author of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

It's Fall, Y'all !!

 cj Sez: Lyrical Pens is back . . . Let’s kick off the blog’s return with a “It’s Fall, Y’all” sale and a couple of giveaways. 

  My short story, “Once in a Blue Moon,” is one of 18 short stories and poems in the anthology HALLOWEEN PIECES, book 4 of 4 anthologies from the Mobile Writers Guild. 

Click here to watch as I read an excerpt.

As of the time of this post, HALLOWEEN PIECES is priced at $1.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited.

   BONUS CHANCE: 

   Like and leave a comment on my author Facebook page about this blog post for a chance to win a paperback copy of Book 1 PIECES
(35 pieces, 2 of the short stories are mine).

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SALE: The ebooks of DEATH ON THE YAMPA and THE DAWGSTAR are now on sale @ only $1.99 each.

For Draft2Digital info: ➜ Death on the Yampa 

Also available at these fine e sites and on request from your local library (ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8): 

Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Hoopla, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio

For Draft2Digital info: ➜ The Dawgstar

Also available at these fine e sites and on request from your local library (ISBN 978-17369146-0-1):

Amazon, Apple, Baker & Tayalor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio

(p.s. Giveaway: Shoot me an email at cjpetterson@gmail.com and tell me you wrote a review—Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, wherever—and I’ll send you some great swag.)

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A BOOK REVIEW:

   In the novel, BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED, author Lisa Gardner takes readers on a gritty tour of life in life in a rough and poor Boston neighborhood known as Mattapan, or “Murderpan as the locals call it.” Her setting descriptions are dead on…you will know where you are, and you will fear who lurks in the shadows.

Gardner creates flesh-and-blood characters you want to love, want to hate, and want to win. The main character, Frankie Elkin, lives a life that is a contradiction in terms. She attends AA to battle her alcohol demons and prays for one more day of sobriety, even as her choice of jobs and expertise is bartending.

Frankie is a self-described expert in finding missing persons—she is not a police officer, she is not a PI, she is a volunteer. She has so far found fourteen. She desperately wants teen-aged Angelique Lovelie Badeau to be the one she brings home alive. But her search for a missing teenager whose disappearance seemingly left no clues comes with other barriers, too. Like being a white woman in a dark-skinned community that has many reasons to not welcome or trust a stranger. Like sharing a miniscule room with a feral cat. Like stepping on the toes of the detective who unsuccessfully investigated Angelique’s disappearance eleven months before. 

Applause for Lisa Gardner’s writing skills. I enjoyed this story and recommend BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED as a 4+-star read.

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   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. 

cj

P.S. TO ORDER a book of your choice (by any author) on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop and sign it for you.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6