Meteors and Rio and Aliens, Oh My!

My futuristic, dystopian thriller novel, G-3, will be on sale July 25-29, 2016. That's right, you can try this quirky series on the cheap, for all of $0.99. I write this series under the pen name of Rigel Carson.

In this story, a meteor shower changes everything on Earth, and not for the better! An unusual meteor in Rio may have some answers.

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Here's the book blurb:

Guardian of Earth, Dr. Zeke Landry has even more reason to protect his planet now that his wife is carrying his child. Little did he know, the romantic evening they enjoyed at the beach watching meteor showers was the last peace on Earth.

Fish and wildlife vanish. Seas thicken with mud. The dolphins warn Zeke to stay away from the ocean. An environmental catastrophe of the highest order is in the making, and no one knows how to prevent it.

Zeke seeks extra-planetary advice from his alien allies, but the news is not good. The threat is dire, and the clock is ticking. Unless a solution is found, the Earth will be transformed into an uninhabitable world. Will Zeke and his android sidekick find a remedy in time to save the day?

~*~

I had a great time writing this book. It's rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon, and here are two review snips:

"With its unique science angle, memorable characters, and sense of urgency, G-3 will keep you awake at night turning pages. After reading this book, you might want to keep a cat for company."

-Nancy Cohen, author of Peril by Ponytail

"The build-up of tension to the final showdown is very well done. Overall, an engaging, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable story." - -Lea Kirk author of Prophecy

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And while you're shopping books, G-1 of this series is marked down nearly 1/2 price for a few more days. You might want to check it out as well!  CHECK OUT G-1

That's all for now. Happy Reading!

Maggie aka Rigel

Maggie's new books, iPad Mini giveaway, free roses, free cookbook

I'm delighted to announce the release of G-3, the next book in my near-future thriller series. G-3, written under my pen name Rigel Carson, releases today, Feb. 5, 2016! After meteor showers litter the Earth with a foreign substance, Dr. Zeke Landry and his android sidekick must stop this threat or life as we know it will be ancient history. Don't delay on getting your copy. BUY G-3 NOW

I'm having 3 events to celebrate G-3's release. I hope you can make it to one of the parties!

Friday, Feb 5, 6:30 to 8 p.m. EST at http://www.facebook.com/NewReleaseParty
Tuesday, Feb 9, 8 to 10 p.m. EST at http://www.facebook.com/BandofDystopian

For my local fans, I will be having an in-person signing on Feb 13 at 10 a.m. at the Sapelo Island Visitor's Center in Meridian, GA. I hope you'll join me for this fun event.

​BONUS GIVEAWAY! At Booklover's Bench, I'm running a week-long contest in my Let's Talk post to give away a print copy of G-3 to one lucky U.S. addressee. The contest closes on Feb. 10. We have fresh content weekly on the Let's Talk tabs, so I hope you'll visit the site frequently. At Booklover's Bench, readers are winners. ENTER PRINT BOOK GIVEAWAY

OMIGOSH! My Booklover's Bench group is giving away an iPad Mini. You'll need to click over to our contest page. We have multiple ways to enter. And there are also seven runner-up prizes, so 8 people will win in total. The contest runs until Feb. 18. CLICK HERE TO ENTER

HAPPY HOMICIDES 2: I'M IN IT! I'm delighted to announce the debut of my new sleuth, Lindsey McKay, in a novella titled "Really, Truly Dead" in the next Happy Homicides anthology. All-star authors include Joanna Campbell Slan, Teresa Trent, Neil Plakcy, Elaine Viets, Annie Adams, Camille Minichino, Nancy Jill Thames, Linda Gordon Hengerer, Kathi Daley, Carolyn Haines, Anna Celeste Burke, Randy Rawls and Maggie Toussaint. Recipes and craft ideas will be included, too! This cozy mystery anthology releases Feb 14, but you may pre-order your copy right now: CLICK TO ORDER HH2

The Happy Homicide 2 authors are giving away a dozen roses. That's right. You could win beautiful red roses in our contest.  Preorder your copy using the link above for HH2 and then enter by following the next link: CLICK HERE FOR ROSES

BUBBA DONE IT released in Large Print in late January. If you prefer Large Print editions, please ask your library to order a copy of this paranormal cozy mystery. It would be great if you asked your libraries to carry it in any event. ISBN-13: 9781410485519, Thorndike Press This highly-rated mystery is already out in digital and hardcover at Amazon and in hardcover at Barnes and Noble.

Coming this year: I will have novella releases in the next two HAPPY HOMICIDES cozy mystery anthology editions. My contributions will continue with my new sleuth, Lindsey McKay. In June, look for "Turtle Tribbles," where Lindsey tries to figure out who killed the Turtle Girl. My September story is still a twinkle in my eye.

I've been invited to contribute another short story to the 2nd Killer Nashville anthology, which will release in conjunction with the conference in August 2016.

Also coming this year: DOGGONE IT, Book 3 in my Dreamwalker parnormal cozy mystery series, featuring psychic Baxley Powell. In this story, a ghost dog helps Baxley solve the case. DOGGONE IT releases in late October 2016.

Do you know about my free cookbook? KP AUTHORS COOK THEIR BOOKS is perma-free. I have two recipes in the cookbook under my Rigel Carson personna, and all the recipes in the cookbook look positively yummy. If you haven't downloaded your free copy yet, consider this my early Valentine's Day present to you. DOWNLOAD KP AUTHORS

What I'm doing now: I'm busy editing another Dreamwalker mystery, those novellas for the Happy Homicide anthologies, and writing a short story.

I love to hear from readers, and I hope you will take the time to post reviews after reading my books.

Thanks so much for your interest in my books!

Maggie Toussaint

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Connect with Maggie:

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Also: sign up for my newsletter on my website or the sidebar of my blog!

Connect with Rigel Carson, my pen name:

Rigel Website   Rigel on Twitter    Rigel at Amazon Author Central

Survivor or Darwinian Marketing?

Some rambling thoughts on the future of book reading and author marketing...

Coming Feb 5, 2016

I’m a hybrid author, with books out through a few traditional (and one non-traditional) presses as well as some titles I’ve released myself. My sales rise and fall, seemingly on the fate of the wind, though my marketing efforts are consistent and expanding.

The population who read mystery and romantic suspense are aging. Macular degeneration and other reading-related issues are game-changers, as are other long-term health issues with readers or the parents they are suddenly tending. Mystery fans are loyal, though, so the challenge is to keep them aware you’re out there without annoying them with too many “buy me! Buy me!” messages.

Print books are here to stay. So are ebooks. Having multiple book formats (including audio) helps authors access readers on all platforms.

The DIY pressure on indies is immense. I put out a new title in 2015 and I’ll release another book in 2016. You can’t skip any steps or your product will suffer. A strong, well-edited story is what you want to bring to market. The cover needs to be awesome in an eye-catching, provocative kind of way. Formatting needs to be spot on, and typos must be invisible to man and machine. Then there’s the whole selection of keywords for the web crawlers and readers to use to locate your books. This is more important than you might think. And finally, getting the word out in a friendly, compelling way. It’s no wonder authors farm some of this out. It’s a lot of time and effort to get a high quality book out there.

Some indies and some pre-published authors will say to heck with this and spend more time with their grandkids. I mean, who hasn’t had those thoughts?

The rest of us, the ones who’ll go crazy if we don’t get these story people out of our heads, will hunker down and find a way to survive. How do I know this? Easy. I’ve been doing it for a few years now and so have you. We will continue to network through great resources like SINC, and we are stronger because of the ties we form, the alliances we make for marketing.
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SIDEBAR: anyone here a Survivor TV show fan? This year the strategy changed from alliances with a few trusted associates to voting blocks, where people scrambled around and voted independently  when it suited their solo purposes. The publishing world to me is like the game of Survivor. Whether we use alliances or voting blocks to command market share, we are pooling efforts, melding audiences, and benefiting from cross-promotion. Something to think about if you haven’t already. And good luck to all our authors and readers in 2016.

Maggie Toussaint
aka Rigel Carson
G-3 by Rigel Carson coming Feb 5
http://www.RigelCarson.com