Guest blogger - Alice Duncan

Am I the only one who’s happy to see the end of 2009? Talk about mayhem.

My main problem has concerned the ramshackle house in which I live, which nobody wants but I can’t seem to buy. But that’s neither here nor there, has nothing to do with cozy mysteries, and concerns family matters about which nobody is interested but me. Well, and my kids. And my friends. Maybe a lawyer or two. Anyhow, housing has provided too much mayhem for one year, so I won’t go into it here, but shall go on to happier topics.

Speaking of which, what about Kindle? I understand Kindle sales are taking off like wildfire. I’ve put most of my backlist to which I have the rights on Kindle, and am actually making some (not much) money thereby. Betcha Dan Brown is making a bundle, though, and it’s possible that those of us mid-listers might break through on Kindle, too, not to mention all the other electronic media that seem to be springing to life all over the place.

I have another book, a historical romance novel called PHOEBE’S VALENTINE, that I’m waffling about. PHOEBE was published by a print-on-demand publisher in 2003 at the urging of a friend and because the owner of the POD house didn’t charge me a set-up fee. However, since PHOEBE’S already been published in print, it’s pretty much ineligible to be published by anybody else. But it’s a good book, and I hate to see it sit, neglected, on several disks and flash drives (maybe one of these blogs, we should go into author paranoia about losing books). However, PHOEBE’S VALENTINE points out more mayhem in my personal publishing world. Phooey. Should I publish PHOEBE on Kindle? Should I feature a chapter of PHOEBE per month on my website and then put her on Kindle? I’d like anyone’s input who’d like to give it.

However, there’s still magic in the world! My fourth Daisy Gumm Majesty book, HUNGRY SPIRITS, will be published in June of this year, and it has probably the best cover I’ve ever been given for a book. It also features Daisy, who can burn water, teaching a cooking class (which provides mayhem aplenty, believe me). There are two more books coming out in 2011: PECOS VALLEY REVIVAL (set right here in Roswell, New Mexico, only I call it Rosedale in the book so no one will sue me) in January, and FALLEN ANGELS in May. All these books are set in different places but in the same decade: the 1920s, and they’re all historical cozy mysteries. I love writing books set in the twenties!

Not only that but my kids, grandkids and great-grandkids are wonderful and, even better, we all like each other! If you knew the shenanigans that went into my sucky 2009, that might be such a a surprise, if not such an honest-to-God miracle, you’d consider it magic, too! And then there were the two doggies I had to have put down, contributing to the mayhem. Not to mention the foster wiener I have now who climbs fences. A dachshund. Climbing fences. I’ve never heard of such a thing before. If he weren’t so darned darling, he’d be lunch.

But you know something? My abysmal 2009 might just be a plot in the making. Hmm. I’ll have to think about this . . .