Yellow Rose Mystery Blog by Leann Sweeney

2007-07-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness I finally figured out how to get back here! The latest Yellow Rose Mystery is "In the can" and will be on shelves the first week in January. Also, if you enjoy audio, the first two Yellow Rose books are available for rental or purchase at www.recordedbooks.com Recorded Books has an exclusive right now, so that's the only place you will find them.

I have a "my space" page now www.myspace.com/leannsweeney if you're ever cruising around there. It's all a new world for me.

And don't forget my regular Friday blog at www.writersplot.typepad.com

Thanks to everyone who reads my books and keeps me in good graces with the Penguin Group. You guys are the best and I love hearing from you. Hope everyone's summer is going great. Me? I can't wait for fall. My first grandbaby is due October 10th. Exciting, huh?

Take care, one and all,
Leann

2007-04-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

My friend and fellow NAL author Elaine Viets suffered a stroke several weeks ago. She remains hospitalized and is making progress. But she has a book due to be released in the next few days--May 1. Of course she cannot tour. Her fellow authors have joined together to "tour" for her by supporting her latest Dead End Job Mystery, Murder With Reservations. I hope you'll log on to Murder by the Book in Houston, www.murderbooks.com and buy her latest. Heck, buy two and give one as a Christmas or birthday or mother's day or father's day or ... you get the idea. And if you'd be interesting in reading how I feel about this very bright, funny lady, read my post "When a Friend Falls..." on www.writersplot.typepad.com

Thanks so much,

Leann

2007-03-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone who visits!

I guess blogging alone was not for me. But, I have joined with some other authors on a new blog and I hope you'll visit over there. I have a deadline! Maybe that's what I needed. My posts appear every Friday. Check it out: http://www.writersplot.typepad.com/

And thank you, everyone who has read my books and written to me with such kind, kind words! Pick Your Poison is in its third printing and A Wedding to Die For just went into its second. Yahoo!

Take care all,
Leann

2006-10-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hi there again,

I should blog more, I know, but I have been under treatment for chronic Lyme disease for the last nine months with at least three more to go. Writing books is about all I can manage and I again face a short deadline. The book I'm working on is titled Pushing Up Bluebonnets and follows my friends Abby and Kate through some major adjustments after some shake-ups in the soon-to-be released Shoot From the Lip (January 2--just in time for gift card redemption!). And of course there is a mystery for Abby to solve, one I am very much enjoying when I have the energy to write. I have the ADHD labradoodle puppy to deal with and she is a 'frisky fiddler' as Abby's daddy might say. I will be signing with the wonderful Dean James right after the release of Shoot From the Lip--the signing date is January 6, but I am not sure of the time yet. Check www.murderbooks.com for updates. By the way, Murder by the Book in Houston is probably one of the best independent bookstores in the country with a fantastic staff. If you are ever in Houston, don't miss it!

Leann, who could compete with the Lipstick Chronicles. I envy those ladies' energy!

2006-07-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that NAL/Signet has chosen to extend my contract for two more books so after Shoot From the Lip comes out in January, Abby will be around twice more. I am beginnning work on a new mystery now that I have survived jury duty with only a very long voir dire day. I was one of the 12 strikes considering my number was 6. I am proud that at least one lawyer might actually be worried I could separate the wheat from the chaff concerning the facts in what sounded like a very boring civil case. Or maybe they thought I was too dumb. Hmmm.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Leann

2006-06-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe June is almost over. Shoot From the Lip, book 4, is finished--it's a long one--and will be out in January '07. I am working now on the outline for book 5 in hopes there won't be such a big gap between books. I was surprised to learn through some online friends that Pick Your Poison was featured in the Southwest onboard magazine Spirit in their summer reading issue. Besides the cover and a mention in the article there is also a picture of a woman reading Pick Your Poison on the beach. I was really surprised and glad someone sent the issue to me. David Thompson, who is the publicity coordinator at Murder by the Book in Houston was so kind to mention my books to whoever wrote the article.

In other news, I will be on 3 panels at the ConMisterio mystery convention in Austin July14-16. It was such a fun time last year and there will be plenty more people there this year. Their website is www.conmisterio.org This is a convention geared toward mystery fans, not writers and the hotel is wonderful. The most comfortable beds I have ever slept in on the road.

Right after that, my next appearance is for jury duty on July 17th. Yahoo!!! I LOVE jury duty, unlike most other people. Last time I was picked for a criminal case and I hope I get lucky this time. I will be in a criminal court so I've got a shot. Oooo. Got a shot. That doesn't sound so good. Last time I was able to make the jury by answering a defense attorney's voir dire question with the answer they love to hear. She asked if I would be swayed if the defendant did not testify on his own behalf. My answer was NO. I added that it was his constitutional right not to do so. This is the right answer if you WANT to get on a jury. Now, many people who had other things to do decided to answer just the opposite. Something to remember next time you might be called. :-)

Hope all of you who drop by here on occasion have a great summer!
Leann

2006-04-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is April. I am now emerging from writer's heaven or hell--whatever you want to call it. The manuscript for book 4 in The Yellow Rose Mystery Series will go out to the publisher tomorrow. The new title is Shoot From the Lips and the release date is January 2007. I will be at the Malice Domestic Convention in Virginia from April 20-23 and will be moderating a panel on April 23. Traveling is not easy for me, but I have learned only recently that I have Lyme disease and have probably had it a very long time. Now that I am being treated, I am hoping to regain the energy I once had. In fact I am already feeling some small changes but will be taking five different medicines for about a year. So keep those e-mails coming because they really make my day. Now... as for the house I have neglected for months while I wrote the latest book ... any volunteers? People who just love to clean?

2005-11-02T05:39:00.000-08:00

My Dilemma

Okay you three people who might be reading this, I have an essay up on www.breakthroughpromotions.com about "How I Write" which sort of makes this blog obsolete, doesn't it? With that said, Dead Giveaway is on the shelves now and I need feedback from readers. There were no advance copies on this book, as I think I have mentioned before, and thus no pre-release reviews. So PLEASE tell me what you think. I read reviews looking for information on how to be a better writer, how to develop my characters in a way that will continue to draw readers. See, I'm not in this for the money. I don't want to do James Patterson-esque TV commercials. Lots of writers would disagree about the money thing, but writing is the biggest challenge in my life. My brain would wither without the process. And it is a process. Not so much a learning curve as a series of learning curves. But despite my protestation that I do no write to get rich, I DO need readers to buy my books because you allow me to keep doing what I love, what gives me life. This is a dilemma I choose most days not to think about. But when a book is released, I am forced to do so. Maybe I think too much, but the some of the wisest words ever spoken, IMHO, are "I think, therefore I am." So I better kepp thinking, huh?

2005-10-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

My newest release, Dead Giveaway, will be on the bookshelves November 1. I have no advance reviews on this book, so I am nervous. Reviews, good or bad, calm me. Let me know that people are reading and giving some thought to what they have read. My first two books sold through my advance within 6 months, but this one is the first on the latest two book contract, so it's important to me to know whether Abby's development and the mysteries themselves are still interesting. Book 4, my work in progress, is titled Reality Check. Abby butts heads with Hollywood in this one. I am writing again, by the way. Major stops in the writing process for me always mean something is wrong. This time it was the pacing. I picked things up and that helped. I have a problem with slow books and my own are no exception. Sometimes you have to take a step back. Wait a little and find that creative cell--and yes, I think I only have one and it's getting tired--the cell that moves you forward while deftly avoiding the sledge hammer self-editor cells. Why are there so many more of them?

I did my first radio interview Wednesday morning, a call-in to a station in Florida NY, which does happen to reach parts of NYC and New Jersy. Now THAT was fun. No pressure, just conversation about my book. Every tiny bit of publicity helps, right? Of course that was the night of the 14 inning Astro loss, so I was up from 5 AM until 1:30 AM the next day. Please do not offer your condolences about my beloved Astros being swept. I have loved them for years, will always love them, and can't wait for spring training. They're the best.

take care anyone who might be out there.

Leann

2005-10-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

This is a supposed to be a blog about my life as a writer, but since I have not written anything since Tuesday, I'm feeling guilty. I'm still settling into my fulltime writer mode and do not have a schedule nailed down--for many reasons too boring to bring up. I feel out of rhythm dealing with non-writing things that are so boring and time consuming they suck the creativity right out of me. How did I write 3 novels in 18 months while I still worked a 40 hour week? Maybe I have to revisit the past two years--but they are a blur. One thing I do know, when I write, I spend hours in Abby's world. Time flies. Yeah ... that's how you do. Just go there and see what happens. And if you have read this, let me know. I have no idea if anyone is listening.

Take care,
Leann

2005-10-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

I am re-posting this to allow comments after some spammers inserted themselves in the discussion!

A really nice thing happened today, one of those special moments that make me so glad I'm a writer. An elderly woman who cares for an even older woman than herself called and asked if I had copies of my second book. She had met me at one of my first signing events at an assisted living center. Last time we met was at a local grocery store for her to buy a couple more copies of my first book--gifts for friends. This time we met in the same place--she can't drive too far and gets easily lost and this was the simplest way for us to meet. She was so thrilled to have the second book, she told me, because she has read the first one twice. And the 90 year old woman she cares for, who "never" reads mysteries needed a copy, too, as she loves Abby and her antics. They make her smile. Gosh, does it get any better than this? I used to get my warm fuzzies from the kids I took care of as a school nurse for the last twenty years. Now I've learned they can come from different places. I only hope I'll keep meeting my new friend in front of the Randalls grocery store for a long time to come.

2005-10-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

A really nice thing happened today, one of those special moments that make me so glad I'm a writer. An elderly woman who cares for an even older woman than herself called and asked if I had copies of my second book. She had met me at one of my first signing events at an assisted living center. Last time we met was at a local grocery store for her to buy a couple more copies of my first book--gifts for friends. This time we met in the same place--she can't drive too far and gets easily lost and this was the simplest way for us to meet. She was so thrilled to have the second book, she told me, because she has read the first one twice. And the 90 year old woman she cares for, who "never" reads mysteries needed a copy, too, as she loves Abby and her antics. They make her smile. Gosh, does it get any better than this? I used to get my warm fuzzies from the kids I took care of as a school nurse for the last twenty years. Now I've learned they can come from different places. I only hope I'll keep meeting my new friend in front of the Randalls grocery store for a long time to come.

2005-09-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog! This is a new world for me, but I hope you will enjoy the musings of a writer who had her dream come true when her first novel was published in 2004. Please stay tuned.

All best,
Leann Sweeney
www.leannsweeney.com