Longest short story ever!

Dear friends/fans of mysterious fiction,

Back in 2008, I had a published mystery novel, LONE STAR DEATH, that weighed in around 85,000 words. I wanted to write short stories since I really enjoyed them when I was much younger. I started out with flash fiction and came up with a story of 500 words.  Writing a short story is sometimes harder than writing a novel (yeah it is) because you have to encompass the entire story line in such a small space.

At that time, I thought I'd never be able to write a longer short story.  I wrote a lot of poetry, and of course, it's much shorter.  Over the years, though, I started reading voraciously---collections of mystery and macabre short stories.  I read them online, in older library books, new e-book collections/anthologies I purchased through Amazon for my Kindle and haunted used bookstores for sometimes rare volumes.  Reading those was a huge education for me, and eventually my brain started seeing how I could write longer stories, too.

Eventually, I wrote several stories in the "Nameless, Texas" short story series. These were longer, but not nearly as long as this new one.

So I did.  Yesterday, I finished  a new story that is around 8,550 words.  I did it in four drafts, adding a bit more each time.  And it only took me a month, in addition to all the other writing I'm doing (volunteer work for the local Art Guild, editing friend's work, blogging, e-mails, bits and pieces of my novel in progress, etc.) 

I'm really proud of the story.  I think (and friends agree) that it's the best thing I've written--so far.  "The Passing of Big Mama Mayhall" is a macabre, strange story that could mostly be categorized as Southern Gothic. And maybe a bit "Hitchcockian."   I love it when people tell me my stories are Hitchcockian! :-D

So, writing the story was the FIRST step.  Now I have to decide what to do with it.  I tried not to worry about this while writing the story---that's something I frequently get all jacked up about. Sometimes I write to themes or specific Calls for Submissions, sometimes a line will come to me.  This time, the first line came to me as a bit of dialogue.

"Elsie, honey. I'm so sorry . . . Big Mama has done gone and passed."  From there, the characters started speaking, and the story emerged.

Happy trails from Texas!

bobbi c.

Free book chapters now available

...on my website!

Now you can read a free chapter from my 1880s Texas historical mystery novel, Lone Star Death, on my website.

AND you can also read a free chapter from my new fairy tale spoof for middle grade kids, Princess Primrose and the Curse of The Big Sleep.

I hope you enjoy them both!

Happy trails,

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.

Featured on Literary Austin

I was pleased to see that I and my new book, Lone Star Death, are featured this week on Literary Austin. Thanks to Allyson Whipple for having me!

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Now available for the Nook on Barnes & Noble

Less than 2 days later, my novel Lone Star Death went live and for sale on Barnes & Noble, in Nook e-book format.  Click on the links below to be magically whisked away to the Amazon.com or the Barnes & Noble sites where you can read free samples of the book, or to order. :-)

 

Purchase from Barnes & Noble for the Nook

Purchase from Amazon.com for the Kindle

Happy trails from Texas!  bobbi c.

AKA "B.A. Neal"

LONE STAR DEATH for the Nook!

Dear peeps,

After a lot of hair-pulling, cussin' and cursin', I finally got my new mystery novel, Lone Star Death, formatted correctly and uploaded to the Barnes & Noble website (in spite of hours of "technical difficulties" where I wasn't sure if it was something I did, or something really wrong with their system.  Yep, it was THEM. :-) )

Hopefully, within 24 to 72-hours, it will be published and available to buy there for the Nook.  Yay!

It's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but a milestone for me.  It's been years since any of my printed (on paper!) books have been for sale in the Barnes and Noble stores.  I'm just glad I'm able to make the book available for the folks who have Nooks AND Kindles.

And since I still love holding books in my hot little hands, AND love seeing my books on library shelves, I'll be signing up with CreateSpace to make that happen.  Soon, very soon.

Ginger Snap Ann says "You can't sit on an e-book, dagnabbit! Whassup with THAT?"

Baby steps, people, baby steps!

Happy trails from Texas--
bobbi c.
http://bobbichukran.com

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.