So far about 275 people have requested a copy of my new book. I am surprised it isn’t more; for “A Simple Murder” there were many more requests. Of course it does mean that those who have put in their names have a better chance. But you can’t win it, if you aren’t in it.
Category Archives: librarians
Death in Salem Goodreads Giveaway
Well, I’m excited. After the first day of the giveaway, almost 200 people requested the book. Fantastic!
Spring Gardening
With the arrival of the first nice weekend in months, many many months, I began setting up my garden.
What is the hardware cloth doing around the base of the fence? Funny you should ask. Last year I got hardly any peas or broccoli because the baby rabbits got through the fence and ate the sprouts. Not this year they won’t. After this picture was taken, I put in radishes, carrots, beets and kale. All the cold hardy veggies. (I still have at least a month before tomatoes, cukes and peppers go in.) Next weekend, if it nice, I will start laying out the plastic mulch so I can get a jump on the weeds.
While I was working, my dog ran around looking for critters that might have gotten inside the fence without her knowing. She spent a lot of time inspecting the first and largest groundhog holes.
She goes all the way in, hoping, I think, that she will find another groundhog that moved in, and all we can see is her tail.
Although we have tried to fill in the hole, I think it goes to China. It is enormous, not just from the successive groundhogs but from Shelby digging.
Maybe I should plant a tree.
New Goodreads Giveaway
I’ve barely caught my breath after the excitement of the giveaway of “the Simple Murder”. Now, beginning on April 13, my publisher, Minotaur, will be giving away twenty copies of “Death in Salem: my newest mystery. Be sure and go on Goodreads on Monday, April 13. The giveaway will go on for two weeks, until April 27.
Final Goodreads number
I never dreamed I would hit such a high number. Thanks to all who participated. My final number was 1874.
Winter again?
Usually I am very happy to get to St. Patty’s Day; I put in my peas. Not this year. Even with the warm up there is still too much snow on the ground. And more coming.
OK, I know that we sometimes get snow this late, sometimes into April. But after this year? Seriously?
What is wrong with this weather? I thought climate change meant we’d be more like Florida, not Alaska.
In fact, we have Alaska’s weather. The Iditirod had to be pushed way north. Hey, they could have had it in my yard.
Audiobooks and narrators
I am very excited and happy to announce I have selected a new audio book narrator for “Cradle to Grave” and “Death in Salem”. As any librarian will tell you, audiobooks are very very popular. A good narrator can really make a story shine. I am very glad to see both these titles become audiobooks for all my patrons.
Shelby – and Snow
by eleanorkuhns
Snow – and Shelby
This winter has been more like living in the Arctic than the Northeast, and more like living in the Arctic than living in the Arctic. We’ve broken all kinds of records, both for cold and snow. This past week we had three storms, small ones in comparison to some of the ones we’ve had, but the snow still added up to a foot.
Even Shelby is beginning to get tired of it all. But it doesn’t stop her from going out on the trail and making sure no squirrel or rabbit has come on to her territory.
audiobooks and more
I am happy and excited to announce I have just signed the contracts with Dreamscape for audiobooks editions of “Cradle to Grave” and “Death in Salem“. Because Cradle is already out, I hope to see the audiobook come out this spring. “Death in Salem” won’t be out until June 17, 2015 so I hope the audio will be available in the summer.
I am cautiously optimistic that I will be able to choose the reader.
Just a reminder too: I will be running a giveaway from Goodreads and my website for “A Simple Murder” through the month of March. I hope to run another for Death in Salem, maybe in May?, but that will be determined by the number of copies I will get from the publisher.
Salem tunnels late eighteenth century
So there were already some tunnels in Salem linking the fine houses, the docks, the brothels and the counting houses. Many of the men who had made their fortunes running privateers became Senators, a Secretary of State, and other wealthy and influential men. As Salem shipping imported cargo from Russia, India, the East Indies, and finally China, Salem became not only the sixth largest city in the U.S. but the wealthiest. Custom duties to a large degree supported the Federal Government.
To collect these duties during the time Rees visited Salem, the merchant ships were required to tie up about three miles out. The customs inspector would row out to inspect the cargo and assess the duties. Do I believe that this prevented smuggling? Not a chance. I’m sure a number of shippers found ways to circumvent these efforts and used the already existing tunnels to transport goods to the counting houses out of sight of the prying eyes.
In 1801 Thomas Jefferson became the third president of the United States and began, not only enforcing the already existing laws on the books but put in new strict laws on the collection of duties. The harbor was silting up and New Bedford, Boston, and other ports would soon become more prominent. Elias Haskell Derby Jr. found it difficult to maintain his lifestyle. He embarked on a building program in the Commons, and put in tunnels to the wharves, the counting houses and the banks. But isn’t 1801 is several years after Death in Salem? Yes, that is so but a number of the houses listed as having tunnels connected to them were built before 1797.
I made a leap and decided to claim there were many tunnels prior to the Derby scion in 1801. The tunnels would have been helpful during the Revolutionary War and the British incursion, especially when it would have been important to move goods without British knowledge.
Finally, my excuse for this bit of slippery history is: Well, the story is fiction and I think the tunnels could have been there and been used as I described.