Cj Fosdick January Newsletter😄

HOW TO WRITE A BEST SELLER? Taping quotes from White House staffers gave Michael Wolf a ticket to

fame. FIRE and FURY is #1 on charts, with more than a million copies sold in a week and over 2400 reviews already posted on Amazon! The book even boosted sales of two other books, one with the SAME title about the Allied bombing of Germany, the other with the transposed title, “FURY of FIRE.” The latter is a fantasy about dragons, however, which may disappoint readers looking for political firebombs. Hmmm. How does THE ACCIDENTAL FURY grab you for my Book #3 title??? (JK)

LOSING “Z” Beginning with “A is for ALIBI” in 1982, Sue Grafton has been pulling me along with faithful readers of her alphabet series about the fictional cases of Kinsey Millhone, diligent, detailed, peanut butter-loving gumshoe who aged only seven years since 1982. Sadly, Grafton died of cancer a few days after Christmas, leaving Kinsey’s last case, “Y is for Yesterday,” just one book short of the expected finale. I managed to read about half of her books and will soon be lost in “V is for Vengeance” from my growing stockpile of READS-in-Waiting.

     “Writing is really hard to master,” she admitted. “You learn by failing over and over. It’s a helluva journey—I’ll tell you that.” Grafton aspired to be "The King" (in her words) "NOT the Queen of American mysteries.” Halfway through the alphabet, she earned her crown with publishing advances in the millions. Grafton's characterizations, wit, detail, and tone inspired my imagination and the mystery that seeps into my own writing cocktail--ROMANTIC SUSPENSE (with a few secret twists.) Thanks, your majesty. You will be missed.

GOURMET HACKS? Not what you think. Wild Rose Press publishes a cookbook each Christmas featuring recipes by rose garden authors. This year, we contributed Hacks (aka “Hints”) that can save time and money. Watch for a unique HACK in all my “Connection” newsletters this year. When a granddaughter drew on my laminated wood floor with a permanent marker on Christmas Day, my daughter deftly erased the artwork by tracing it with an EXPO pen—one of those “eraseables” that write on white boards! A damp sponge magically absorbed it all.  Phew!

Curl up with a warm drink and a hot book this winter! Cj