Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Fresh Pick | KARMA’S A KILLER by Tracy Weber
Fresh Pick / February 1, 2016

Fresh Pick for Monday, February 1st, 2016 is KARMA’S A KILLER by Tracy Weber #SuspenseMonday – murder and yoga? About KARMA’S A KILLER When Seattle yoga teacher Kate Davidson agrees to teach doga (yoga for dogs) at a fundraiser for a local animal rescue, she believes the only damage will be to her reputation. But a few downward-facing dogs are the least of Kate’s problems when an animal rights protest at the event leads to a suspicious fire and a drowning. The police arrest a woman claiming to be Kate’s estranged mother and charge her with murder. To prove her innocence, Kate, boyfriend Michael, and German shepherd sidekick Bella dive deeply into the worlds of animal activism, organizational politics, and the dangerous obsessions that drive them. All while discovering that when it comes to murder, there’s no place like home. Buy KARMA’S A KILLER: Amazon.com | Kindle| BN.com| iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR About Tracy Weber My writing is an expression of the things I love best: yoga, dogs, and murder mysteries. I’m a certified yoga teacher and the founder…

Lucy Arlington | Adventures of a Literary Agent
Author Guest / February 1, 2016

When I first started writing, literary agents were an enigma to me–mystical creatures, who I imagined spent their days reading inspiring works, dining with editors in fancy New York restaurants, and jet-setting off to Hollywood to negotiate lucrative film deals for clients. And sure, some of that really does happen. But when I was fortunate enough to land one of those agents, I quickly came to realize that a typical day for a literary agent includes much less glamorous activities: Reading query letters from hopeful authors includes sending them a disappointing “No thank you.” Editing book proposals demands hours of word-smithing. And matching a prospective book project with the right editor at the right publishing house takes networking, persuasion, finesse, and lots of just plain work. In short, a literary agent is like a tireless gatekeeper to the world of publishing, a writer’s travel partner along the bumpy road to publication, a dream maker. That’s exactly why I enjoy writing the Novel Idea Mysteries featuring Lila Wilkins, literary agent and amateur sleuth. Lila sees herself as someone who helps authors realize their dreams. I depict her working life with both the glamorous aspects she enjoys and the tedious efforts her…

M. L. Buchman | A Series Is My Favorite Thing
Author Guest / February 1, 2016

No, I didn’t have Julie Andrews dancing in my head when I wrote that title…well, not much…okay, you caught me. I wanted her to be my mom when I first saw The Sound of Music all those years ago. One of the curious side effects of that feeling, is that I’ve tended to focus on finding my “favorite things” right through my adult life as well. I’ve often changed career paths to seek it and I held out until I met the most amazing woman. As I became a writer, I didn’t start with short stories and work my way up, I jumped straight into novels. And by my fourth book I dove off the high board and into my first series. I enjoy short stories, have read them since forever, and now write a dozen or so new ones every year. And novels are great too. But what I loved was series. Give me Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Asimov, Nora, high fantasy, Cussler thrillers…all of it. I love it. Of course, the next challenge was that while I wrote novels, actually writing a series is a whole different animal. I floundered, I flailed, I wrote, and I (sometimes massively) discarded….