Malice, Matrimony & Murder Now Available

Karen McCullough Posted on by

It’s here!

Twenty-five cozy mystery and cozy crime fiction authors have teamed up to create Malice, Matrimony, and Murder, a collection of brand-new, wedding-themed short stories that will keep you wondering whodunit and what’s next from the first page to the last. Between bad bridesmaids, conniving caterers, greedy guests, ill-mannered in-laws, savvy sleuths, and vengeful villains, this anthology has it all! My story is titled “The Other Wedding Crasher.”

Amazon (paperback only) https://www.amazon.com/Malice-Matrimony-Murder-Limited-Collection/dp/B0CGT6T9BL
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940167329775
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/book/id6456454509
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/Search/Query?query=9798223878360
Books2Read universal link: https://books2read.com/malicebook

Assessing Goals for 2023 – 3rd Quarter Report

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I’m a month or so overdue with my report on where I am with the 2023 goals. Blame goes mostly to having broken my ankle back in August. I was incapacitated for the next six weeks or so, which should have been good writing time but wasn’t. I’ve found that the brain doesn’t really want to work when the body is busy healing itself.

So I’m not going to achieve my 2023 goals completely, but I have made good progress.

On the novel front, I’ve finished the first draft of Treadwell House, and I’m now in the editing process. I’ve also begun the next book in the Market Center Mysteries series. Just 2500 words written or 1/30 of the way to the goal of 75,000. More on that in a future post.

I have met my goal of 5 short stories written, though only one of them will see publication this year. My story, “The Other Wedding Crasher” is part of the Malice, Matrimony & Murder anthology, due out in November. It’s available for pre-order here. https://books2read.com/malicebook

Due to changes in the audiobooks market, I haven’t been able to do an audio version of A Vampire’s Christmas Carol ready for release as I’d hoped. But I will have a Christmas short story releasing at the end of November. The Ghosts of Christmas Present was part of an anthology of Christmas romances a couple of years ago. I’m giving it a new launch as a stand-alone. Pre-order will be available shortly.

Otherwise, I’ve done better with the blogging, though again I had a couple of long breaks this summer. My personal autobiography and family history project is in progress, but it won’t be finished this year.

And I’m still trying to get rid of stuff!

The Ghosts of Christmas Present

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Now Available for Pre-Order

This long-ish short story was part of the 2021 Home for the Holidays anthology. I’m now releasing it as a stand-alone.

Lyndsay Williams reluctantly returns home for Christmas only to find her brother has brought a friend to spend the holidays with them. He’s the last man she wanted to meet again.

Because her brother Josh asks her to come for Christmas, Lyndsay Williams returns to the house where she grew up. She has no happy memories of the place other than her relationship with Josh, but she’d do anything for him. Her goals for the holiday are to survive the visit, avoid most contact with her cold, mean foster mother, and return as quickly as possible to her budding career as an architect.

She’s not surprised Josh has brought his wife and father-in-law. She’s dismayed to find he also invited his best friend, Aaron. Lyndsey had a crush on Aaron growing up, but after a mortifying incident with him at Josh’s wedding, she’s avoided contact with him since. Having to deal with Aaron and her foster mother could turn this Christmas celebration into a nightmare.

Not everything is what it seems, though. Josh has reasons for bringing together this group of people he cares about. Change is in the holiday air, and it offers the possibility of healing and forgiveness.

If Lynsday can let love— the love of family, friends, and one special man—heal the wounds on her heart, there’s a happier future waiting for her.

Pre-order (ebook only):
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMDDXLNJ
Other Retailers: https://books2read.com/u/mdP5Gd

The members of my email list helped choose the cover and they will be getting a special Christmas gift from me in thanks. There’s still time to sign up and join the fun using the form to the right.

Recycling the Halloween Pumpkin

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It was a great Halloween despite the cold and the rain that cooperated by quitting just before four o’clock in the afternoon. We didn’t have quite as many trick-or-treaters as last year, when we had better weather, but still had enough to dispose of most of the candy I’d laid in.

After Halloween, I have another ritual. I call it recycling the pumpkin. No, not on the compost heap. I cut it up, cook it, mash it, and turn it into pumpkin bread and muffins.

It’s surprisingly easy to do. I wash the pumpkin, cut it into chunks, microwave them for 8 to 10 minutes (until you can poke a fork into it easily), strip off the hard outer skin, and use an immersion blender to mash the pulp until it’s smooth.

I usually get 5-6 cups of cooked pumpkin and I’ll freeze any of it I’m not going to use right away in one cup measures. You can use this in pretty much any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin.

This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe:

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups self-rising flour (or 3 cup plain flour + 4-5 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt)
3 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 cup melted butter

Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Form a well in the center and eggs, pumpkin, and butter.
Stir until moistened.
Pour into 2 well-greased loaf pans
Bake at 350 degrees, 45 – 50 minutes.

Happy Halloween!

Karen McCullough Posted on by

 

I hope you have a great day! We usually get a lot of trick or treaters since we live in a densely populated suburban neighborhood with sidewalks. But I’m not sure we will today. It’s cold and raining. The rain is supposed to stop later this afternoon, but temperatures are supposed to continue to plummet. I’ll still be ready with carved pumpkin and baskets of candy. If you’re looking for some quick, spooky reading, why not try one of these?

Halloween Reading from Karen McCulloughUnmasking: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FBYRQOS
Guardian of the Grimoire: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G02VQLO

Healing

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It’s been a while since I posted an update on the broken ankle. I had a visit with the doc last Monday for X-rays and evaluation. The news was good–the bone is healing well. He told me I could go ahead and walk on it as much as I could tolerate. Turns out I can tolerate quite a bit. It aches some toward the end of the day, but mostly not too uncomfortable. I was using a walker last week because the boot made my balance wobbly. I’m now transitioned from the boot to a much less bulky ankle brace and walking with the help of a cane. I’ve lost a lot of muscle in the bad leg after not using it for six weeks and it’s noticeably weaker than the other leg. I go back second week in October to check on the healing, but as of right now, it’s progressing well. I just need to build up strength.

Testing My Patience

Karen McCullough Posted on by

I’ve been absent for a while, but I have an excuse. Here’s why:

I’m not known to family and friends as a particularly patient person. I’ve occasionally said that it would probably benefit me to learn more. You know, everyone says it. No one really means it. I didn’t.

Nonetheless, I’ve been given the opportunity to practice the virtue. I’m not happy about it.

On August 12, I slipped on the bottom steps of a staircase and broke my ankle. My left leg and foot are now in a heavy boot and I’m not supposed to put any weight on it. The docs initially said I’d likely be off it completely for 6 to 8 weeks. I’m now close to five weeks and it’s driving me crazy.

I have crutches and a knee scooter, which let me get around the house and take care of my basic needs, but it’s hard to do a lot of things. I’m fortunate to be married to a wonderful man who has been great about picking up all the tasks I can’t do. It doesn’t mitigate the frustration, though.

The doctor insists I sleep in the boot. A friend suggested putting a pillowcase over it to protect the sheets. That works, but it doesn’t mitigate the fact that this thing feels like an anchor on my foot and there are only two positions I can manage comfortably. Rolling over at night is incredibly hard. Making a middle-of-the-night trip to the bathroom is a major project.

In fact, doing almost anything is a major project. Everything takes twice or even three times as long as it would if I had two good ankles.

I’m learning patience and empathy for those who have any kind of disability. It’s hard for most of us to understand how difficult it is to do normal things with limitations.

July Gardening

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In central North Carolina, gardening in July is mostly about maintenance and enjoying the fruits of the spring labor. Since I do mostly flowers, I don’t mention the abundant and wonderful fruits and vegetables. The Farmers’ Markets are overflowing with summer bounty right now.

The roses have had their showtime. When temperatures regularly hit above 85, they’re done. Time for a nap. But that doesn’t mean I’m done with them. In fact, they need a lot of help to make it through the hot, humid summer days, when they’re attacked by blackspot, beetles, and other bugs. I’ve found BioAdvanced 3-in-1 Rose Care is the best solution for keeping roses going through the stressful summer.

The daffodils, tulips, iris, and other spring flowering perennials are done, too, and they tuck themselves away to save up for next year’s show.

It’s time for hydrangeas, daylilies, gladiolas, and other summer blooming perennials to do their thing. The shasta daisies, rudbeckia, coreopsis, and veronica are all gorgeous right now.

The annuals are putting on a glorious display. Zinnias, marigolds, alyssum, cosmos all seem to thrive in our hot, steamy climate and clay soil (supplemented with as much organic matter as I can manage to mix in).

It’s too hot to do much work there except in the early hours of the morning. That’s the time for deadheading and weeding to keep everything thriving.

Now’s the time to sit on the porch swing and admire the show.

2023 Goals – Halfway Through

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Back in January, I posted my list of writing goals for this year. With half of 2023 now done, it’s time to check in and see how I’m doing.

I said I wanted to do two novels-finishing Treadwell House-Sanctuary and the next novel in the Market Center Mysteries series. As of right now, the first draft of Treadwell is at 60,000 words of a projected 75,000, so I should finish the draft within a month. So far, I’ve done some thought-work on the fourth of the Market Center Mysteries, but I’m not ready to start writing it.

Another goal was to write five more short stories and submit at least three of them. At this point I’ve done three short stories and submitted two of them. One of them is the wedding story included in the forthcoming Malice, Matrimony & Murder anthology. I’m well on the way to meeting that goal.

Then there was the audiobook thing, which I haven’t done much about yet. Sigh. I also wanted to do better and be more consistent about blogging. Well… I’m getting better. I still sometimes go for a while between posts, but I’m getting more regular about it.

And there are the personal goals—working on my memoir and eliminating stuff. I’ve made some progress, but not as much as I would like. I need to do better with both.

Another One Bites the Dust (Publisher, That Is)

Karen McCullough Posted on by

I just got a letter from Sweet Promise Press reverting the rights to my three “No Brides Club” books to me. The publisher is closing its doors. <Sigh>

It’s not the first time this has happened to me. In fact, it’s become a pattern.

My first four books were all published by Avalon Books. Avalon no longer exists, having been bought by Amazon some time ago, although this was well after my time with them. That came to an end when my then-editor left and the new one didn’t like my writing so much.

A few years later, New York publisher bought one of my books. Within weeks, though, they closed down the line I was supposed to be part of. I got paid, but my book was never published.

I then sold a number of books to four small-press publishers. Not one of those publishers still exist. Rights for all but two of those books have reverted to me. I’ve mostly released those myself since then. My two fantasy novels were an exception. They were originally published by one of those now defunct companies, but ImaJinn Books acquired the rights and republished them. ImaJinn is now a branch of Belle Bridge Books, but those two are still in print with them.

About ten years ago, I sold the first of my Market Center Mysteries, A Gift for Murder, to Five Star/Cengage for their mystery line. They produced a beautiful hardcover book that sold pretty well to the library market. A couple of years later, I sent them the second book in the series, Wired for Murder. The editor accepted it. I waited for the contract. And waited. And waited. Almost a year later Five Star announced they were closing their mystery line and reverted all rights to the authors.

And now, this. Another in a long line of publishers I’ve worked with is closing its doors. I’m glad to have my rights back, but disappointed that an enterprise started with such high hopes has crashed.

I’m not giving up on those books, though. Some of the other No Brides Club authors and I are hatching plans to republish the books ourselves. Stay tuned.