Free herbal e-book for three days only!

 Dear friends,

As announced over on my Earthly Gardener blog, my COOKING WITH HERBS & SPICES e-booklet is free for three days on Amazon.com, starting today.  Formatted for the Kindle, you can also download free software there to read it on other devices, as well as on a Mac or PC.

Since it went live this morning, there have been almost 900 free downloads, and I couldn't be happier!

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Spices-Earthly-Gardener-ebook/dp/B008JHVR08

It's currently #262 Free in the Kindle Store,  and #1 in Kindle Store for Gardening & Horticulture > Herbs, and  #2 in Kindle Store > Cooking, Food & Wine > Reference.

That's a big Yeehaw!

Thanks for looking!

bobbi c.

Readers & Reviewers Rave about LONE STAR DEATH

Dear friends,

I've finally collected all the reviews of my new historical mystery novel into one file. I couldn't be happier with the comments that people are making about the new (improved) version of LONE STAR DEATH (previously published as LONE STAR STATE OF DEATH).

The book is now available in both Kindle and Nook e-book formats, and in trade paperback, also available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble online and Createspace.com.

If you haven't already done so, you can read a free excerpt as a Kindle download, or on the Amazon sales page, where there are even more reviews of the book.

LONE STAR DEATH Sales Page & Free Excerpt

Readers & Reviewers say:

"Lone Star (State Of) Death is the intriguing tale of journalist Samantha Slater in her new move to a small town in Texas and immediate assignment to cover a local murder mystery. When Samantha's boss, George Stanley, is suspiciously killed by a runaway horse, Lone Star Death takes swift turns through an increasingly thickening plot as the mystery surrounding recent happenings, envelope Sam's life in the intricacies of finding the truth. Lone Star Death is very highly recommended reading for mystery buffs with a preference to murder mysteries featuring an inventive tale of deceit, thrills, and colorful characters. " Midwest Book Review, June 2006 review of previous edition

"...Samantha Slater is a young woman who does not wait for her life to come to her - she goes out to make her own. The mystery begins on Samantha's arrival in a small town to begin her new job as assistant editor to the local newspaper. But before she is able to meet her new boss, he is brought in to the newspaper office fatally injured by his favorite horse. Abruptly realizing that she is now the editor in chief, she decides that the editor's death is the news to report. However, when she begins questioning the locals, all she ends up with are more questions. I really enjoyed this story of Texas in the 1800's. The haracter development is wonderful - you really begin to see the people as the story unfolds. The final question is this: Will Samantha survive to write her next story?" from Amazon.com reviews

"LONE STAR (STATE OF) DEATH is a history mystery with a well-researched Texas setting and fine cast of characters, including Sam(antha) Slater, a sleuth with gumption and a sense of humor.  This is a debut you don't want to miss."  Bill Crider, Texas--author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series.

"Wow!  I really enjoyed reading your book! It is all your fault that I didn't get enough sleep this week because I kept staying up just a little later to read just a little more....the twists you threw in there were great!  Well done!"  Barbara T., in LA

"LOVED the book!"  Michael M., Texas

"I really enjoyed this one! Couldn't put it down..."  Lou R., Texas

"Just couldn't put it down!  I really liked the details--the meals, scenes and true to Texas observations."  Debbie B., Texas

"I really loved your book!" Elaine S., Texas

Please take a look!  Thanks, and Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Lone Star Death Slide Show

Lone Star Death by B. A. Neal

More PowerPoint presentations from bobbi chukran

Self-Publishing is a whole new thing!

I'm publishing printed copies of LONE STAR DEATH for sale to libraries, schools, and of course, anyone who wants one. :-)  It's been quite an education going from a very old Word document, to a Kindle e-book format, to a Nook format, and now to a printed digital printed-on-demand format.

I published the trade paperback book through Createspace, Amazon's print-on-demand company.  Over all, it was a very easy process, and I'm still blown away by the idea that I can submit it today and get a finished paperback book next week.  WITH full color cover.  Amazing.  Technology has finally caught up to me.  Now all those finished books and manuscripts sitting in my drawer can see the light of day.

 I had to scramble around and design a logo to put on the cover, and came up with this simple design:

Publishing the first e-book is always the most complicated.  If I did dozens everyday, I could do it a lot faster.  But I've learned so much in the last month, I feel like my brain has been stretched.  
Next thing, I'm teaching myself to do book trailers.  Piece o' cake, right?  LOL!

The whole field of digital publishing  has given many authors a new way to get their writing out there.   And with print-on-demand, there are no returns, no wasted paper, no books sitting around in cartons collecting dust.

Amazing stuff, this e-publishing!

Oh, by the way, as soon as I get a copy of the printed cover, I'll post it.  It's different from the e-book cover, but still has that familiar horse on it.  :-D

Happy trails from Texas! 
bobbi c.
Lone Star Death
Available in Kindle, Nook and Printed editions (coming soon)

One Little Thing---A free mystery short story

Mystery writers can be strange.  It's just the way we're drawn.  On one of my online listservs, we've been talking about the logistics of how to hide a body in a septic tank, a landfill or some other not-easily-located place.  On another list, we're talking about amateur sleuths and what bugs us about them.  I can't help myself sometimes; I just have that Inner Spoof thing going and this stuff has gotta come out!  When a member of the group mentioned the time worn idea that the amateur sleuth finds way too many bodies, this short story came to me.  Enjoy!  And yes, it's a spoof, and yes, it's the brand new, unedited version.  :-)

Happy trails y'all!

bobbi c./b.a. neal

http://bobbichukran.com

 -----

One Little Thing

By  B. A. Neal

“Aren’t you the one that found that body last year?  The one stuffed into the septic tank at that old farmhouse?” the Sheriff asked her.

“Well, yes, Sheriff, as a matter of fact, that was me,” she answered, modestly.

“And here you are again—right in the middle of another big mess!  How do you explain that?” he asked.

“I just have the knack, I guess.” She shrugged.

“Either that, or you’re the killer!”  He looked her up and down, suspiciously.

She smiled. “Who, me?  I’m just a little old lady who loves to knit.  I saw all the lights and thought I’d come over and check it out.  I’ll go back home now, if you don’t need my help.  I need to get two more rows finished on this damned afghan before bedtime.”

“No, we don’t need your help. Please go home.  We're the experts here."

She started to walk away, then stopped. “There is just this one little thing….” 

The End

--------------

Lone Star Death---new title!

My Texas historical murder mystery, LONE STAR STATE OF DEATH, published back in 2006,  has a new title, new cover, and a new author!  Well, not exactly a new author.  Same ol' author (me!), with a new name.

For some time now I've been pondering using a pseudonym on the updated Kindle e-book version of this book.  I finally decided on B. A. Neal, my maiden name, and a little more generic.  Also, easier to spell and pronounce.  :-)

Since the book is totally updated, I wanted a new title, something that would set it apart from the previous version and be a bit shorter.  I pondered many hours over this, and finally came up with LONE STAR DEATH.  Close enough to the old name to be found by Google, but different.

As for the cover, I've always loved that photo of the horse, but wanted something a bit more "western-ish" in design and color.  Luckily, I have an art, graphics and publishing background and was able to easily redesign it.  Using a little Photoshop Elements magic, here's the new cover I came up with:

The plot and characters are the same.  The new version takes care of some pesky typos and formatting errors that ended up in the original one.  I also fixed the problem of the doctor whose eye color changed from chapter to chapter!  LOL

To read a synopsis of the book, read about my inspiration for the book and a little background, check out the book's blog, here.


I'll post more news when the book is available for sale on Amazon.  Hopefully, that will be within the next week!

The book is now live, and available for purchase!

BUY LONE STAR DEATH

This book has been through an exciting adventure since I first wrote it sixteen years ago, and I'm happy to see it available once again, this time for the Kindle.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.