Character Spotlight: Investigating Annie Hansen, Private Eye

This week, I'm delighted to welcome Author Kenna McKinnon to the stage! She's here to shine the Spotlight on the heroine from her latest novel, Blood Sister - Annie Hansen, Private Eye.

Set in the small Canadian island town of Serendipity, population 1,200, Blood Sister is a murder mystery, and much more, Dear Reader. Annie is no ordinary private eye. Scarred by her own past, she must find a way to come to terms with her mother's death and help catch a killer, all while battling her own demon - schizophrenia. Seems like a lot to deal with? Let's turn the stage over to Annie to find out what she has to say....

Summer Society Promotions

The minis and I are really trying not to melt here... Definitely a pool day! I hope it's not nearly as hot wherever you are. If it is, hopefully you have plenty of water nearby! One of my favorite ways to beat the heat is floating in the pool with a good book. With the minis I don't get to use the floaty-things much,though, and the books tend to get wet, so, I don't get to as often!

Speaking of pools and reading....

Sam's timeline is getting seriously twisted.

Society in the Shadow of Civilization
Book Two

Sam Marquet's journey continues with unexpected twists, as she struggles to find the balance between her new role in the world her grandfather created and her place in the real one.... 

More Midnight Rambling: Burning the Candle...

It's half past midnight, I'm sitting here, at my desk, taking a break from corrections on A Shadow in Doubt. I haven't been sleeping much the last couple of weeks. Some of that has to do with the heat. The rest, well, I'm doing that thing I do when there is a deadline approaching

March Updates: Sorting Laundry

I'm pausing from my marathon of fluff and fold this evening to post, since I haven't in awhile. I start posts, and then get distracted, and wind up deleting them because they no longer feel relevant. I guess I just haven't had much to say.

Silence is golden, except when you're trying to get your book out to readers. I know this is important, especially for indies ... so I'm now on Twitter too (@roaribenjamin). It's still very new, so bear with me....



But really, what I need to sort out is the status of A Shadow in Doubt - the sequel to The Shadow Watcher. I was originally planning to release it last Fall. Then, this Winter. Now, I'm hoping for Spring?

A Shadow in Doubt by Roari Benjamin

The original draft was my NaNo 2013 novel, which I wrote before The Shadow Watcher was published. In the process, I realized changes were necessary to book one, which I made. Once The Shadow Watcher was out there, I had to figure out how to get the word out. Side note - nothing will sell nothing, even if it's the greatest nothing in the world. Listen to what everyone else has been saying, and learn from my mistakes: start marketing before you publish, even more so if you're self-publishing. Don't wait to get on social media. I spent so long living in my own little world, I forgot to let the real one know it was there. I'm still playing catch-up.

But, back to ASID.... After getting The Shadow Watcher out there, and fixing some problems, and tweaking the cover, I got back to ASID, and then went back and fixed more problems, and tweaked the cover(s) more. I planned on writing a novella of Jay's time waiting for Sam and Michael to return to release before ASID, and then got side-tracked on the Fore Shadows stories. (Yes, that's plural, too. Escape 2169 is the first. There are drafts of two more, and tidbits of others. Another one pops into my head at least once a week.)

Along the way, there was trying to market The Shadow Watcher, another Nano, and the holidays. When I finally got to reading through it again, I found ASID needed to go another direction. As much as I was set on the original plan, the new one has to happen, and the reason why won't be obvious until much later - another book or in the Fore Shadows, don't know yet. I need to get a dedicated block of time, preferably at the start of the day - even one hour a - etched out here, soon. Who needs clean laundry anyway? (kidding....)

I hope you're having a beautiful night, or day! (I hear the dryer calling me....)

Roari

Final Front Cover Art, and First Chapter!

Time is capricious.

Sam's story continues - look for the first chapters on or Writing.com!