Amazing Trifecta

I'm blown away, and I hardly know which event to report first. On any given day, I would have been thrilled with any one of these occurrences, but the tide surged and I got three goodies at once!

There is no equitable way to showcase my news, so I'm going in chronological order of my awareness of them. This in no way detracts from the importance of anything. As I say, I'm OVER THE MOON about all three of these things.

AMAZING EVENT #1

My romantic suspense, HOT WATER, won the EPIC eBoook Award for Romantic Suspense. I was up against stiff competition, and I'm honored that this book got the nod. Thanks to Sharon Buchbinder who graciously accepted the win for me in San Antonio. Her book OBSESSION was also a finalist in the same category and a darn good book. The Wild Rose Press rocks! Thanks also to my editor Laura Kelly for all her encouragement and nudging.

(It was very difficult to photograph this clear, reflective award. The best spot turned out to be on top of the hot water heater, so there's the pipe in the background...)

If you haven't picked up your copy of HOT WATER yet, its in ebook and print at most online book places. A cop and an arson investigator are hot on the trail of a serial arsonist!  Hot Water on Kindle  Hot Water on Nook

AMAZING EVENT #2

I have a cover reveal for my next romantic suspense, ROUGH WATERS. Cover artist Kim Mendoza did a great job of capturing the essence of the story with her artistic treatment.

ROUGH WATERS will release in the not too distant future through The Wild Rose Press. It's about a florist and an ex-SEAL searching for stolen treasure. This story is set in my fiction town of Mossy Bog, conveniently located on the Georgia coast. There's action. There's adventure. And the clock is running out...

AMAZING EVENT #3

Kirkus reviewed my upcoming paranormal mystery release, GONE AND DONE IT. Here's a snip of the review:

“A landscaper uses her psychic powers to solve murders old and new . . . the last thing she wants is to unearth an ancient skeleton right where she’s supposed to plant a weeping cherry tree. The unfortunate discovery brings her job to a grinding halt . . . as Baxley moves closer to taking over her father’s role as county dreamwalker, her waking life is threatened by a murderer who’d prefer not to be caught. Toussaint takes a break from her Cleopatra Jones series for a brisk plunge into the paranormal.”

GONE AND DONE IT will release on April 18 and is available for pre-order on Amazon and B&N. The price is right!

 

GONE AND DONE IT (Dreamwalker Series #1)

Baxley speaks to the dead in her dreams.

BUY NOW at Amazon or  B&N

And, as luck would have it, of the 42 authors vying for 23 spots at Malice-Go_Round, not only was I lucky enough to land a spot, my name was picked first. I should've bought a lottery ticket this weekend!

Thanks for sharing in my good fortune. Having family, friends, and fans like you make it all worthwhile!

Maggie Toussaint

who is quite literally walking on air

Rough conference start leads to great finish

My trip to Sleuthfest got off to a rough start with a reservations snafu followed by an "Oops, I forgot my suitcase." Yeah. I'm that person. I'd like to say that's never happened before (the suitcase), but I made the same mistake about 25 years ago. Let's hope it's at least another 25 years before it happens again!

Maggie with Nancy J Cohen

But, everyone at the conference was so gracious and accepting of my total Space Cadet moment, that I stopped hyperventilating and enjoyed myself. I met up with Guppies, with Five Star Authors, with 3 of my fellow Booklover's Bench authors, with old friends, with my "home-team" crew from Killer Nashville, and of course, the incomparable Deni Dietz from Five Star.

From left: SL Menear, Maggie, Sandy Parks, Clea Simon, and Judy Knauer

I was fortunate enough to have been placed on two panels and asked to moderate a third. In the first panel about how our sleuths were not so ordinary, I was fortunate enough to be sandwiched between two authors with pilot sleuths (Sandy Parks and SL Menear ) while Clea Simon rounded out the author line up and Judy Knauer did an excellent job of keeping the conversation moving.We were supposed to dress up as our sleuths, if you're wondering about the hats. I'm supposed to be Cleopatra Jones, my accountant and terrible golfer sleuth.

Neil Placky, Jennifer McMahon, Heather Graham, and Maggie T

Panel #2 was all about paranormal mysteries, and I had the great fortune to be seated beside the wonderful Heather Graham. Other panels included Neil Placky and Jennifer McMahon, with moderator Diane Stuckart who did a wonderful job.

I moderated for the cross-promotion panel featuring author-marketing dynamos Nancy J. Cohen and Libby Fischer Hellmann, along with publicist Erin Mitchell.

from left: author Nancy J Cohen, librarian Judy Buckland, and author Elaine Viets from the Librarian and Author Mash up Panel

I attended several panels about the business side of the publishing industry and got a good vibe on what authors are doing to expand their reach. They're doing the kind of marketing they enjoy the most to maintain a consistent social media presence. They're also scrambling to write the next book!

I enjoyed meeting up with new and old friends, and I came home fired up and ready to write!

Good thing because I have a novel to finish. I'm currently at 48,000 words on Doggone It, book 3 in my paranormal dreamwalker series.

Stay in touch!

Maggie Toussaint
Gone and Done It coming in April
Available from Amazon for preorder... now!

Something HOT this way comes!

Hey blogging world! I've been busy editing two books, but I'm emerging from by editing cave to announce the smashing release of MURDEROUS BEGINNINGS!

This collaborative effort on Kindle brings you five FULL LENGTH mysteries from five authors, each the first books in a popular mystery series. That's right five great mysteries at a bargain basement price! The cost for the set is $0.99, but the catch is that it's available for a limited time only....

Wanna know more? My In For A Penny is included in the set. It's the first in my Cleopatra Jones series and this is the lowest price you'll find for it. Plus, a buy for Cleo will get you four other mysteries for your reading pleasure.

The books are arranged alphabetically by author, which brings Kathy Bennett's A Deadly Blessing front and center. Next up is RP Dahlke's A Dead Red Cadillac, followed by Connie Shelton's Sweet Masterpiece. Maria Grazia Swan's Love Thy Sister comes right before my In For A Penny.

The boxed set is available on Amazon as a digital title. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Murderous-Beginnings-Kathy-Bennett-ebook/dp/B00ILDJWZC/

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And in other news, Rough Waters, my upcoming romantic suspense is nearing the end of the editorial food chain at The Wild Rose Press. Look for an announcement soon about a release date and hopefully another great cover to round out this romantic trilogy.

Also, Gone And Done It, my first paranormal mystery, will be out in early May. Yay! Reviews for this title are already cropping up on Goodreads.

Stay warm and I'll meet you back here real soon!!!

Maggie

www.maggietoussaint.com

Holy Moly! New format for DIME IF I KNOW

Breaking news from the universe of Maggie: DIME IF I KNOW is now out in digital format. I'm so very pleased that my readers in the digital world will now have immediate access to the 3rd book in my Cleopatra Jones series.

I love how cool Rafe's car looks!

If you're new to the series, accountant and golfer Cleo saved her best friend from the slammer in IN FOR A PENNY, and in ON THE NICKEL, she sorted through Mama's evasions to prove she didn't run over the church lady. Now in DIME IF I KNOW, she has her work cut out for her. Boyfriend and golf pro Rafe Golden is accused of killing a former girlfriend. As Cleo digs into the case, she learns deep, dark secrets about Rafe and his family. The more she learns, the more she questions her trust in him.

Here's the blurb: Cleopatra Jones has visions of marriage dancing through her head, but her boyfriend, sexy golf pro Rafe Golden, is happy with the status quo. With three puppies, a Saint Bernard, two teenaged daughters, a free-spirited live-in mother, a kooky best friend, and an accounting firm to run, Cleo’s household is hopping. But still. After months of dating Rafe, her relationship should be headed somewhere.

Mama comes home engaged and the wedding is in three weeks. Cleo’s happy for her mom, and hopes Rafe takes the hint. Meanwhile, her best friend is running for mayor.

A former girlfriend of Rafe’s turns up dead in a seedy motel. His fancy red sports car was spotted there the night she died. Cleo questions him, but he swears he didn’t shoot her.

The police identify Rafe as their top suspect, but Cleo’s having none of that. She hires him a lawyer, gets crossways with his snooty family, and sets out to prove her boyfriend’s innocence.

The more she digs, the more questions arise. Rafe’s been keeping secrets from her, but are they deadly secrets? 

I'm so pleased to be able to post the buy link to the Kindle format of this book. Here ya go: http://www.amazon.com/Dime-Know-Cleopatra-Jones-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00G5K7VY2/

There's a "look inside" feature at Amazon to get you hooked, or you can read the entire first chapter at my website:   http://maggietoussaint.com/dime-if-i-know/http://maggietoussaint.com/dime-if-i-know/

*****

 In other news, I'm honored to announce that I've been listed on Washington Romance Writers Wall of Fame, along with a host of uber-talented writers. Thanks so much for the mention, WRW! http://wrwdc.com/wrw-wall-of-fame/ 

And, we're having a new contest at Booklovers Bench, which runs through Nov 18. I believe there are 7 different ways you can enter to win. Up for grabs: A $25 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, winner's choice, and 6 ebooks from mystery and romance authors. Just like the lottery - you gotta play to win! Here's the link to the site and the Rafflecopter form: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

Hope your week is as fantastic as mine!

Maggie Toussaint

mystery and romance author

www.maggietoussaint.com

Contest News! And a new Cover!

Amidst the thrill of notifying winners for our First Coast Romance Writers unpublished Beacon contest, I got some great news myself.

Hot Water won the 2013 Show Me Your Cover Contest for Sunshine State Romance Authors in Romantic Suspense. I'm thrilled about the acknowledgement as I always thought I had a darn good cover.

And more good news came in my email today. Hot Water (the book, not the cover) is a finalist in the EPIC competition. Yay!

I had to blow the dust off my blog settings and kick the tires because it's been awhile since I've visited this place. I've been so busy writing and promoting my two summer releases that I haven't had much time to blog. This week marks the last stop on my blog tour for Dime If I Know. I don't know who is happier, me or the book's characters, who can finally stop getting gussied up and trotting out on command.

While I'm here, I want to acknowledge Laideebug Digital who brought my website into the new millenium by making it user friendly. I've made a mess of it a few times already, and Dee has graciously bailed me out, but I was able to post my contest win tonight, on the actual night I got the news. That's worth a lot to me! For readers and fans, the website should look very similar; it's the behind the curtains part that got rewired.

Good things come in threes. I want to show off my new cover for my first ever paranormal mystery, Gone and Done It, which will come out next May. I have a reading snip on my website it you'd like to have a peek. http://maggietoussaint.com/gone-and-done-it/

Every month from the 4 through the 18, Booklover's Bench, where I'm a founding member, holds a giveaway of a $25 gift card and various ebooks. Be sure to check the site frequently to enter. You have a few more days this month to add your name into the pot. http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

That's about it for today. Thanks for swinging by to share in my good news!

Catch you later,

Maggie Toussaint

Release Day! Book 3 of my mystery series is OUT!!!

Yes, it's true! This is a special day for me. DIME IF I KNOW, book 3 of my Cleopatra Jones mystery series, is now available. I hope you're as excited about the event as I am.

Response from reviewers has already been so heartwarming! I'm delighted to share a few snips I've received so far on this book:

“Accountant Cleopatra Jones shifts into overdrive when her boyfriend is accused of murder. Toussaint makes her third entry into the sassy-working-girl-with-messed-up-love-life-solves-mysteries race . . .” - Kirkus

"Toussaint stacks the deck nicely against Cleo and Rafe, putting the reader into the position of wondering if they’ll survive their latest challenge and if Rafe really is Mr. Right. The plot has plenty of surprises to keep readers wondering what will happen next. " - Examiner.com 

"Maggie Toussaint scores a hole in one with this romantic mystery that combines suspense, love, and multiple puzzles.  Add in a few Saint Bernard puppies, and what could go wrong? A lot, as it turns out." - Tracy Weber, author of the Downward Dog Mysteries 

"Every book Maggie Toussaint writes is full of fun, mystery, great characters, and a wonderful storyline." - Mary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer

Let me tease you with the back cover copy:

Cleopatra Jones has visions of marriage dancing through her head, but her boyfriend, sexy golf pro Rafe Golden, is happy with the status quo. With three puppies, a St. Bernard, two teenaged daughters, a free-spirited live-in mother, a kooky best friend, and an accounting firm to run, Cleo’s household is hopping. But still. After months of dating Rafe, her relationship should be headed somewhere.

Mama comes home engaged and the wedding is in three weeks. Cleo’s happy for her mom, and hopes Rafe takes the hint. Meanwhile, her best friend is running for mayor.

A former girlfriend of Rafe’s turns up dead in a seedy motel. His fancy red sports car was spotted there the night she died. Cleo questions him, but he swears he didn’t shoot her. 

The police identify Rafe as their top suspect, but Cleo’s having none of that. She hires him a lawyer, gets crossways with his snooty family, and sets out to prove her boyfriend’s innocence.

The more she digs, the more questions arise. Rafe’s been keeping secrets from her, but are they deadly secrets?

Dime If I Know is set amid the rolling hills of contemporary mid-Maryland. It features fast-paced family life and Southern humor. Cleo’s trials and tribulations with the game of golf are a counterpoint for her success in following the money and identifying the real killer.

Read an excerpt at my website or at Amazon. This book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Amazon       Barnes and Noble      http://maggietoussaint.com/dime-if-i-know/

 

Wishing everyone a happy September and a lot of fun with Cleopatra Jones!

Maggie Toussaint