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12 days of Christmas raffle
I’m sharing stories with a raffle to get the word out about my published novels and future novels with 12 days of raffle giving.
Nothing to buy, just give your name and e-mail address in exchange for a chance to win. Every time you LIKE or share with social media or e-mail, Rafflecopter adds another chance in the mix for you to win!
Good Luck on the raffles and best wishes to you for a joyful holiday season and a happy year of good health in 2013
TMC a International seller! :-)
I checked my sales yesterday to see how my books were selling this week with all the Black and Cyber sales events. This year has been crazy, and I’ve been off my game when it comes to marketing and participating in events. Sales had dribbled to a miserable halt, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a surge in sales.
My friend and book-cover designer Joleene Naylor sponsored a Cyber
J Naylor
Monday as an Amazon Listmania Event and invited me to participate as an author. It’s still going on, so check it out for yourself. I found some good books at a great price. All book prices range from free to $2.99 for this event.http://www.amazon.com/lm/R17NP7HPI2V7ZB/ by the way (BTW?) if you’re into vampire stories, check out Joleene’s books.
Anyway, what I wanted to ‘crow’ about was the news that The Murder Channel has been sold on Amazon UK, making it an International Seller. I know my first novel, Unexpected Rendezvous sold in the UK but with all the turmoil in my personal life this year (the death of my grandson), I hadn’t followed the sales of A Deadly July to know if it enjoyed international sales. So there you go; three good books at a great price to have when you need a Fiction escape!
In case you don’t have a Kindle, or if you’re like me and your older e-reader won’t accept a Kindle App go to Smashwords to get my three novels at the Listmania prices and download whatever format that works best for you.
I just had a thought. If you’d like to pass along some painless help & joy….. When you’re at Amazon and reading the pitches for books, move your mouse up and click the LIKE button. The author will appreciate it.
When you’re at Smashwords you can click to share on Facebook or twitter, believe me, the author will appreciate you effort. There are so many authors and so many books that it is very difficult for an author to break out and be noticed. You can help!
While your surfing today, take a look at my new website I’m transitioning to.It isn’t finished, but is starting to take shape. I’m not really thrilled with the theme for my content, but it’s a start. Some themes I liked better didn’t allow me to take along my book pages and other stuff that is all important to me. I’d love to hear your feedback. http://ckbrooks.com
Cyber Monday deals!
If you have a Kindle or Kindle app, This list is for you!
WOW! I was asked to participate in a Listmania event! All e-books listed for this event are priced under $3. Go shopping and maybe you’ll win extra give-aways like an Amazon card for $25! Check it out!
Black Monday may be gone, but Cyber Monday is just around the corner! Check out some great ebook deals – for less than the price of a sandwich you can feed your imagination! – http://www.amazon.com/lm/
My entire book LIST is on a Listmania promotion for Monday, November 26th, 2012! 
Well, that may sound fantastic, but my whole list is comprised of 3 novels. Hey, that’s better than only one or two! Check them out for some fiction escape!
Hears hoping you had a great Thanksgiving holiday, so far, and you’re ready to stock up on some good reading deals for a cold winter snuggle up with your e-reader. No long lines to wait in, and you might even win some prizes along with your good deals.All the books listed on this Cyber Monday list are under $3.
And if you have a hankering for a free print copy of The Murder Channel, Goodreads is offering a chance to win an autographed print copy of my newest novel, The Murder Channel. Goodreads will let me know the winners, just before Christmas. Or even better you can take advantage of my own Black Friday week and get your autographed copy in time for Christmas for just $12. (regularly priced at $15) REVIEWS NEEDED! If you are counting your pennies and on a really tight budget but want some good reads ….. be one of the first five readers to respond with a comment, that is, if you are willing to post reviews of the book after you’ve read it. Be sure to include “Review Offer” in your comments with your e-mail along with what e-format you need.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Murder Channel
by CKay Brooks
Giveaway ends December 22, 2012.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Hints to help authors: When you land on an amazon page of an author or book… LOOK for the “LIKE” button. Yes, Face book doesn’t have a exclusive on “LIKE” buttons. If you’ve read the book, leave a review. Reviews sell books! How many times have you bought a book because of the reviews?
Good LUCK! and have a safe and happy Cyber Monday! Please remember to share this post and comment to help me fight my way through cyberspace. ~Kay
Little things in the Big Picture
For three novels my pin name has been CKay Brooks, but I’ve learned that when people hear rather than see the name, they hear CK Brooks. On advice, about a year ago, I purchased the domain, but am just now creating a website for CKBrooks. It’s definitely under construction and isn’t available to SEO’s yet. (Search Engine Optimization) but I’d love you to check it out, question, offer suggestions and comment. CKBrooks.com
So with baby steps as well as long strides, I move forward through my life, but it’s often the little things that mean so much, cause me to pause, bring back memories and add value to everything.
At work, I’m supposed to wear a name tag. I don’t mind wearing one, because I’d rather be addressed as a friend rather than “Bus driver” this or that. On military moves, I don’t mind the Marines calling me Ma’am, but it’s nice when they call me by my first name. My company provided a plastic tag that is painful, literally. The push pins leave the sharp points exposed to dig into my skin. It isn’t so bad when attached to a vest, sweater or jacket, but in summer there is nothing between the prick and my skin.
A few years ago, another driver (Thank you, Caroline) found a place making magnetic name tags for about $20. (a metal bar beneath your shirt or vest ‘seals the deal’. I loved mine. It was so easy to move or position and no more ouch.
Last spring it disappeared. I tried to think back to when I’d last worn it. I’d been on a 5 day charter with a group of girls from the UK who were skiing at Sierra @Tahoe Ski Ranch west of South Lake Tahoe. My last day with them was Valentine’s Day.
Later that night we got the awful phone call from my daughter. Her only child,and our only
Another white cross for Texas Roads
grandson, Steven, had been killed by a 21 year old distracted driver. With Steven’s 17th birthday only 4 days away, our next weeks were filled with travel and tears.
By the time I went back to work, the weather was warmer and the name tag was not to be found. I had to resort to wearing the prickly company tag. I even dug out my heavy coat to see if I’d put the tag in a pocket. I tried to remember what I’d been wearing before that fateful night and looked and looked, but the tag was not to be found.
In mid-October, when my company flew me coast to coast to pick-up a newly purchased 
bus (check early blogs for that fun trip) I was required to wear my uniform and somehow, ‘Prickly’ fell apart along the way. I saved the pieces, thinking I could get out the hot glue gun for a repair job. It’s now mid-November and glue job hasn’t taken place. I feel guilty about it, but not too much.
Today, I was sorting a bag of sweaters and jackets in my semi-annual rearrangement of clothing in closets and shelves. A ‘black thing’ fell on the floor and became two things when I picked it up. I unfolded them to see what I had, and recognized my Sierra @Tahoe pull-over hoodie. And there was my magnetic name tag gleaming at me. The weather had been so nice that week, and I now remembered wearing the cozy hoodie over my uniform all week.
It’s the little things that mean so much. With the holidays upon us, enjoy those little things. You never know which will mean the most or which will be for the last time. A year ago, I was packing to spend a week with my daughter and Steven. It was a good visit, and I’m so glad I have those memories.
Best wishes for you and yours. To help you enjoy the holidays, I’m offering my first ever 
‘Black Friday Deal‘. A personalized print copy of The Murder Channel mailed to an address of your choice. Purchase between now and December 1, 2012 for gift giving. You can specify who the personalized autograph should be made to, including the name of the person doing the giving (To Aunt Mary from your nephew John) along with a reason why the book might be of interest (Reno Nevada setting, mystery, arm chair travel or love of reading, etc). The author autograph will be dated and all shipping cost covered if shipped within the US. All for a low $12 and won’t the recipient feel special! (And you check-off another item on your gift giving list with a painless click of the mouse).
The Print version has been shipped!
On Dec 3, 2012, the first print copies of The Murder Channel should arrive at my doorstep!
You can get your copy at
https://www.createspace.com/4052037
or http://www.amazon.com/dp/1480267295
Between now and then, I’ll be working on getting a pay pal button for you to order your personalized, autographed copies.
What a great idea for holiday giving. It could read something like this…
“Mary, I hope you enjoy reading about Kayla’s adventure.
Your niece Jane, thought you might enjoy the references to Reno and Nevada’s desert,
and she said you enjoy a good mystery.”
and of course it will be signed and dated by the author, ME!.
No Bus-Driver Hat in Today’s Snow
The Murder Channel is now published, complete with a preview of the next novel coming down the tubes from CK’s imagination. It made it through the ‘Meat Grinder’ on the first try and was approved for the Premium catalog. The premium catalog is sent to Apple, Barnes and Noble and a bunch of other places on Friday. so check it out! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252088
The Murder Channel can also be found on Amazon at
http://amazon.com/author/ckaybrooks
The Print version will be out soon, so be sure to leave room on your holiday shopping list.
Last month, I had an unexpected wind fall of a cross-country trip from Reno to San Fransisco to Newark NJ to pick-up a new Prevost Tour bus. I then drove the bus back to Reno in six days. Along the way I blogged and offered copies of The Murder Channel as prizes for winning submissions to answer questions or guess where I would sleep each night.
Barb Mosier in California was the big winner, guessing the correct answer before I even knew. Later she said she just googled trying to allow and average speed for 10 hours of driving. I didn’t always drive for 10 hours, but did drive over 600 miles for 3 of the 6 days.
- So the first night was spent in Lewisburg, PA after 2700+ miles of flying (yes my arms got tired) and 190 miles of driving a wonderful bus.
- Night 2, I was pushing to make Gary IN, but the Motel 6 had no available rooms. Stretching my 10 hours of legal driving to the minute, I drove 6 miles further to stay at a Red Roof Inn in Lansing IL. My first 600+ mile day.
- Night 3, I enlisted my husband’s help to search the web. I landed in Grand Island, NE. I never did find out how the town got it’s name. Was it someone’s idea of a joke? After my 2nd 600+ mile day, it was nice to have a TA truck stop next door to fuel.
- night 4 Rock Springs WY. Burrr it got cold. The 3rd 600+ mile day.
- Night 5, Lovely Winnemucca NV. It’s good to be back, even if I didn’t have enough hours to get all the way to Reno. It was a shorter day with just less than 600 miles, but t was no way I could make the 700 miles into Reno.
It’s snowing like crazy in Carson City today. The roads are covered and all is quiet. I’m so glad I’m not wearing my “bus-driver hat” today.
It’s called Lake Effect Snow. Lake Tahoe is directly west of us and the water in the lake is unseasonably warm (maybe a sultry 60 degrees) so the moisture is dumped as snow to the east.
With the Lake affect snow, there is often a temperature inversion where it’s actually colder in the valley than in the 
Mountains. Shadow enjoyed making yellow snow, but was ready to go back inside very quickly. He’s seeming to say, “Hurry, Momma, let me back in. My butt’s cold.”
It’s often hard to photograph him because his blackness sucks in the light, or maybe more accurately, doesn’t reflect light making it difficult to see details other than a black blur.
The white around his mouth is white hair, but the white on his legs is snow. No wonder his butt is cold.
Stay warm, and order your copy of The Murder Channel now! Ask me about Autographed copies for yourself of gift giving.
24 hour code for your Free Copy
The Murder Channel is now published, complete with a preview of the next novel coming down the tubes from CK’s imagination. It made it through the ‘Meat Grinder’ on the first try and is now waiting for a human to give it the once over and approve it for the Premium catalog. The premium catalog is sent to Apple, Barnes and Noble and a bunch of other places on Friday.
With the holiday season upon us, I need reviews for The Murder Channel, so I’m offering a code for a free copy. The code is only good for 24 hours, so jot it down and go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252088 If you don’t have an account with Smashwords, you’ll need to open one, but it’s free. Add The Murder Channel to your shopping cart and use the code at check out. You can choose the format you need for your e-reader, phone, or whatever. THE CODE IS…… QW34J
So grab a read and have some fun.
Http://Amazon.com/author/ckaybrooks
https://www.facebook.com/TMC.CKay
60 Tips to write your novel
This is November, so that means the NaNoWriMo challenge is in full swing. Can you write a 50,000 word first draft of a novel? Sure you can! It must have a beginning, middle and end. Hopefully it has a plot and some interesting stuff. Remember it’s only the first draft, for your eyes only. My A Deadly July and The Murder Channel are both NaNoWriMo winners. As some of you know, TMC will be published this month.
NaNoWriMo Tip #1: Read Two Years’ Worth of Advice in a Single Post – GalleyCat.
I can hardly wait to try “My Brain” mapping. What hint did you find most helpful?
Don’t forget to share and hit the like button. Have you checked out my Book Trailer for The Murder Channel? Hit subscribe or rss so you’ll get the timely post for a free copy during the first 24 hours after it is published!
Home Again, for a little while.
TA DAAAAA!
I’m home and on my regular lap-top again!
2728 miles of driving my new friend, the 45’ 2012 Prevost bus with hardwood flooring!
After posting from Rock Spring, Wyoming….
(Yes, Barb, you nailed it! My stopping places had more to do with Motel 6 than driving hours, although I was told to try and drive for 10 hours. There were no Motel 6 rooms within my range for the first two nights and there was no Motel 6 in Green River, WY or Little America)
…anyway, I snuggled down for a nice sleep after splurging at Applebee’s for a delicious steak and vegies.
At three in the morning I woke up because I was cold. All the covers and blankets were in place and even thrown over my head, but a chill was working its way up my feet. When I could put it off no longer, I reluctantly pulled the covers back to race to the bathroom.
I wasn’t imagining it; it was cold in my room. The thingy on the wall was set to heat and high fan as it pumped cold air from the vent. With teeth chattering and hands shaking, I quickly dressed and even pulled on an extra t-shirt over my uniform shirt. I moved as fast as I could to gather my things and get to the bus.
At 3:30 in the morning there seemed to be nothing open that would welcome me in to get warm. I knew I could turn the bus heater and defroster up full blast and get warm, so that is where I went.
Now remember how I didn’t see a single tour bus in Wyoming until I was walking to Applebee’s? Well, guess what I passed within a mile or two after getting on the freeway! That same bus that I’d seen the night before; I guess I wasn’t the only one getting an early start. Later, on the west side of Salt Lake City, another bus from the same company passed me. I guess his govern wasn’t set at 72 miles per hour.
Not long after leaving Rock Springs, a flashing light appeared on my dash warning of freezing conditions and posting a temp of 32 degrees.
When the bus got warm, my muscles and joints began to hurt and I feared my chill was going to make me sick. When I was able, I stopped at a rest area and downed 2 aspirin, hoping for the best.
I’m so sorry I missed seeing the final views of Wyoming because it was very dark at four in the morning. There was also nowhere easy to stop for Coffee until I got to Utah!
That coffee tasted really good and I finally took off the extra T-shirt and my jacket. I was so close to home now, but Reno was just out of reach for Monday night. I stopped in Elko, NV for lunch and as usual, someone asked about the bus and where I was coming from and going to. Then he says, “They must really trust you.”
I hope he realized later how dumb that statement was. Did he really think the owner would invest the kind of money he did, and then send someone he didn’t trust to fetch his prize? Open mouth, insert foot!
Before leaving Wyoming, I did see some spooky shadows of wind turbines. Wish I could have gotten a photo of the bus with the turbines in the background! The wind farms in Nebraska were awesome. Pennsylvania had the prettiest fall colors, but Wyoming was my favorite. I guess I just like mountains on my horizon.
But I also liked the radio stations in Wyoming. The bus has speakers set for the driver on the partition behind the driver seat. The controls to change stations and adjust the volume are on the steering wheel so there is no need to take your eye off the road. Happy music is great for the road!
Winnemucca, Nevada offered a warm room and because I started my journey so early that day, for once I got to park my bus while it was still daylight outside. Needless to say, I crashed early.
Early to bed, early to rise so I surprised everyone when I rolled into the bus yard in Reno at 10am
WOO HOO! I’m home!
- I called and got an appointment for a haircut tomorrow. Yeah, I need one bad, and couldn’t get an appointment before the trip. The new hair cut means I can get a profession portrait done for the back of the book, but I’ll hate to give up my sun glasses
- My hubby saved up a stack of laundry for me to do.
- Tiffany wants me to work on Friday (I’ll finally have hours again)
- And I have to review my editor’s notes to get TMC on the road to being published! She said I need to change the last name of one of my lead characters. Kayla it looks like that will be you. Got any favorites?
Thanks to all who followed my trip and commented.
It was nice to know I wasn’t ‘talking’ to myself.
CK
