COZY IN KANSAS IS ALMOST HERE!

COZY IN KANSAS will release online December 1st. It is available for preorder now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and ChristianBook.com. I got word yesterday that it is on its way to stores now!

For readers who enjoy my Ivy Towers series, COZY IN KANSAS will give you three stories in one book. COZY IN KANSAS contains: IN THE DEAD OF WINTER, BYE, BYE BERTIE and FOR WHOM THE WEDDING BELL TOLLS.

The last book in this series will go out to Heartsong Mysteries book club members any day now.

Remember, books make great Christmas gifts. They keep giving and giving.

Nancy

TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!

I've been tagged.

This evening I learned that this means I must share six things about myself that people don't know.

Hmmmmm. Here goes:

1. I actually helped to catch a murderer. Actually, a pair of murderers. Short story: A friend of mine worked as an apartment manager. The owner of the property was murdered. I was on the phone one night with my friend when she told me about a couple who were moving out of the apartments. Something felt wrong to me about it so I told my friend to hang up the phone and call the police. Although she didn't want to do it at first, she finally decided to call. The police came and checked out the couples' trailer. Lo and behold, they found some of the owner's property. Oh...and the murder weapon!

2. I hate the color orange. No idea why.

3. I have perfect pitch.

4. I have a secret longing to play the banjo.

5. I love bluegrass music. And Rich Mullins. And The Lettermen. And Marty Robbins. And Secret Garden. (I'm very eclectic...)

6. And finally....I detest Lima beans!

Is that enough information for you, Aston??? LOL!

GREAT CONTEST ON MAINLY MYSTERY!

Pop over to Mainly Mystery Reviews for a great contest. We are giving away twenty-four - yes, that's twenty-four wonderful cozy mysteries to one winner!

Go to www.mainlymystery.blogspot.com and click on the contest link at the upper right of the page.

Hope you win!

MY NEWEST COVER!!!

I've mentioned more than once how much I love Barbour's covers. My newest cover is my favorite so far. It's for a book that will be released to the Heartsong Mysteries Book Club in November.

THERE GOES SANTA CLAUS is the last book in the Ivy Towers Mystery Series. When a man dressed like Santa Claus falls off Ivy's roof and dies, a mystery ensues! I love the story and hope my readers will, too.

If you live anywhere near Wichita, Kansas, you're invited to a booksigning on December 6th. I will be signing copies of COZY IN KANSAS, a 3-in-1 book that contains the first three Ivy Tower's mysteries. And although book club books are usually only released to the public six months after they've gone through the club, Barbour is going to make copies of THERE GOES SANTA CLAUS available at my book signing. I will post more details later.

One final note: My apologies to those of you who have expressed a desire to buy IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. It was supposed to be available on Amazon July 1st. Due to circumstances beyond my control, it has just recently shown up. To make things even more confusing, there are two Amazon pages. One only has used copies. (This is the page without an official cover picture.) The actual page says the book is temporarily out of stock. I'm confident this will change any day now. Please go ahead and order. Your books should go out soon.

Again, sorry. The publishing business doesn't alway go smoothly. I wish it did.

Nancy

WHY MYSTERY?

With so many genres out there, sometimes people wonder, "Why mystery?" In other words, what is it about writing mysteries that some authors love? Truthfully, there aren't a lot of mystery writers who drift into other genres. What's the hook? Why are mystery writers and fans so fanatic?

Some enthusiasts will tell you that mysteries present a puzzle, making them interactive and engrossing. That's true. There aren't very many other kinds of stories that are specifically geared to pull readers into the plot the way mysteries do. Clues, red herrings, heroes and villians - readers of mystery look for these important road signs that may point toward or away from the ultimate prize: the solution. Can you guess "whodunnit" before "the end" or will the author lead you down a rabbit trail and surprise you? It's always rewarding to figure it out, and good mystery authors will give you that chance. Nothing will cause a reader to throw a book against a wall faster than an unfair puzzle - clues that mean nothing or a solution that comes out of the blue.

All of these elements are a vital part of mystery. But for me, there's something more important. The struggle of good versus evil. Evil happens. Someone is killed. Now a sleuth is offered a chance to right a wrong - to bring an evildoer to justice. Many times our hero is someone who has no actual training - an amateur sleuth. We've now moved into the David versus Goliath realm. If our author offers us a protagonist we can identify with, suddenly we see ourselves thrust into battle. We have the chance to outwit the bad guy and bring him to his knees. What a great opportunity and what a good feeling!

When we close the last page of a good mystery, we believe that we could do just what the protagonist did. If he or she could go up against the worst evil imaginable - we can too.

It's Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader. Superman against Lex Luthor. Sarah Conner against the machines. Sherlock Holmes against Professor Moriarty. Yet our hero looks like us. Talks like us. Is us. And it feels great.

Mystery is the place where we see the hero in our hearts displayed between the pages of a book. And even though in the real world we're bombarded with stories of inhumanity and horror - when we read a mystery, for just a little while, the bad guys lose and the good guys win.

And that means that we win.

Kristy Dykes

A beautiful lady is strolling the shores of Heaven today. She has done what "I can only imagine." She has looked into the eyes of Love and touched the face of her Savior. Although I wish she had finished out her time with her family, I rejoice in the knowledge that no matter what happens, the devil always loses and the children of God always win.

I never got to meet Kristy Dykes in person. I only knew her through an incredible blog kept going by her dear husband, Milton, after Kristy could no longer write her own messages. Through him and through all the previous messages written by Kristy, I was able to experience a life truly lived to its fullest. I saw a woman who knew how to pack every day with her special touch.

Kristy made me think about my own life. How many hours have I frittered away that could have been turned into something useful? And how many times could I have reached out and touched someone else's life the way Kristy was so eager to do?

Those of us who know God, know that Kristy has only stepped away from us for a while. She is walking along a beautiful beach somewhere, soaking in the SonShine - and waiting for the day when her loved ones will walk beside her. And someday I'll be able to walk up to her, introduce myself, and give her a big hug.

I look forward to that day.

Thanks, Kristy.

The Christy Awards!!!!

Congratulations to all of the Christy Award winners and nominees! It isn't man's award that's important, it's the knowledge that you have impacted lives with the Gospel. Thank you to all of the Christian authors who have opened up their hands and asked God to use them to further His Kingdom and feed His sheep. I salute you all!






THE WINNERS:

Contemporay Stand Alone: CHASING FIREFLIES by Charles Martin
Contemporary Series: HOME TO HOLLY SPRINGS by Jan Karon
Historical: A PROPER PURSUIT by Lynn Austin
Lit: HALLIE'S HEART by Shelly Beach
Romance: REMEMBERED by Tammy Alexander
Suspense: THE CURE by Athol Diickson
Visionary: SCARLET by Stephen Lawhead
YA: HOLLYWOOD NOBODY by Lisa Samson
First Novel: THE STONES CRY OUT by Sibella Giorello