Wouldn't You Rather Be a Minion, Too?

Actually, you're not going to be a minion, but part of my Croo.
No, that's not spelled wrong. That's a revision and deliberate twisting to get your attention.

I need a CREW to help me promote my books. Because honestly, there's just too much to do, too many places to reach, and I have too many commitments to handle it myself.

So, would you join my CROO?
It's just in the planning stages, but here are some definites:
Inside news on upcoming books.
Sneak peeks at artwork
A chance to weigh in on works-in-progress
Goodies, like T-shirts, mousepads, and other fun stuff as I find it.
A chance to voice your opinion on stories and characters and offer suggestions/requests for future stories, and advice/volunteer to help me promote my books.
And .... FREE books. Actually, ARCs -- Advance Review Copies. You'll get the uncorrected ARCs for my books when I get them, when my publishers send them to me for last-chance-to-fix-that-really-STOOOOOOPID-glitch-before-you-embarrass-yourself-in-public.

Well, maybe the books won't be free, and not everyone in the CROO will get one -- just the people who are interested in that particular series -- because I will ask you to very kindly write and post REVIEWS of the books you get to read before everyone else. Yeah, places like Amazon and Goodreads and B&N and other review sites. Be honest, but be nice??? Okay???? If you don't like the book, if it let you down completely, hmmmm, maybe just don't say anything? I'm not asking you to lie through your teeth and be like the worst used car salesman in the world, but if you could convince other people to read the book, that would be splendiferous!

Here's how to join:
Go to Facebook, find either of my pages, either personal or writing -- they're both public. Send me a message saying you want to join the CROO, and then send me a friend request. When I approve the friend request, I'll send you the invite to join the CROO page -- because this is a private, closed group. Only people who join can see what everyone is saying, can join the fun, participate in our plotting for world domination. You know, like Pinkie and the Brain did every week for three seasons ...

Interested?

Off the Bookshelf: THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN, by Terry Pratchett

The world of fantasy and humor and fantasy-humor books suffered a great loss last year when Sir Terry Pratchett died. He was an inspiration to me, and the Discworld books were a revelation that fantasy didn't have to be all angsty and doom-and-gloom-and-we-must-sacrifice-ourselves-to-save-the-world seriousness.

You know?

Discworld was a glorious romp of silliness and insight disguised as snark, and the giggling destruction of sacred cows. If you haven't seen any of the animated or live-action films of several of the Discworld books, DO. An especially wonderful version is "Hog Father," the Discworld take on Christmas, starring Michelle Dockery of Downton Abby fame -- in case you don't recognize her in her white wig, she plays Susan, Death's granddaughter.

THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN is the fourth Tiffany Aching YA fantasy adventure, the 41st Discworld book, and, alas, the final Discworld book.

The grand master of mythical humor and mayhem knew he was dying, and I believe that impacted the story, because it dealt with change and fighting catastrophe and loss -- and saying goodbye to Granny Weatherwax. And yet, like Sir Terry will be through his books, Granny Weatherwax is still there in spirit as Tiffany learns to stand up and lead in the defense of Discworld.

Tiffany is in many aspects still a girl, growing up, trying to find love, trying to figure out her own style, her destiny, her duties, and trying not to let other people shove her into predetermined molds and patterns. When the nasty elves who appeared in previous books find the barriers keeping them out of Discworld have weakened, they attack. They never learn their lessons, do they? Tiffany finds a way to defeat them once again -- and learns some valuable lessons for herself, as well.

I hate saying goodbye to Tiffany and Granny Weatherwax, Ankh Morpork, Nanny Ogg, Lancre, Queen Magret, and all the others ... but they live on in their books, and I can always go back and visit. Still, there's just something incredible about opening a NEW book about your favorite people and places.

Thank you so much, Sir Terry Pratchett. It was a wild and glorious ride.

{PS: The next book on my to-read list is RAISING STEAM, the 40th Discworld book, so technically it comes before SHEPHERD'S CROWN ... but I like Tiffany's stories so I read them out of order. So sue me!}

Off the Bookshelf: THE DISCOVERY, by Dan Walsh

I've been hearing Dan Walsh's name mentioned around ACFW -- American Christian Fiction Writers -- and saw his titles mentioned in various places. Now, I can see why people refer to his books and recommend them.

THE DISCOVERY is, at its most basic, a story-within-a-story. The narrator, Michael, has dreams of becoming a writer like his famous, much-admired grandfather, and is pleased when he inherits his grandfather's home, including his office, and the old manual typewriter he used to produce so many popular books.

There is a mystery in his grandfather's life, starting with a hugely blank past. To all intents and purposes, Michael's grandparents were alone in the world, no relatives, and didn't talk about their lives before they married. Then Michael finds an unpublished manuscript in the typewriter box, and as he reads, he discovers this is the answer to the questions he has had. This is a story of love and sacrifice, fear overcome by courage, and faith, set against a background of WWII and attempted Nazi espionage.

I just wish I hadn't waited so many years, with this book on my to-be-read pile.

Off the Bookshelf: BROTHERHOOD IN DEATH, by JD Robb

Ah, the glories of Overdrive -- the software that lets you borrow an e-book from the library.

This latest installment in the In Death series by JD Robb was a present to myself for finishing a few deadline-driven jobs. Even better when I didn't have to pay for it. I'm kind of trying to reduce my to-be-read bookshelves to a decent level, and I just can't justify buying new books, y'know?

BROTHERHOOD IN DEATH deals with ... well ... a brotherhood. A group of men are being hunted down and tortured and then killed in rather gruesome, painful fashion. Determining what these men have in common, other than their manner of death, and what they did to justify their murderers' actions, is Eve Dallas's task.

Sometimes it's really hard to stand for the dead victims when, the more you learn, the more sure you are that these particular people might just have deserved to die.

As always, the character interactions and the constantly growing personalities and relationships are the best part of the book. I love reading Peabody and McNab, Eve and Roarke, and all the side characters who just grow on you and become more real as time goes on. A guilty pleasure!