SOMEONE LIKE THEM IS HERE!

Finally! Someone Like Them has been released.  I've been talking about it for so long it's hard for me to believe, but the novel is out.  Right now it can be purchaed at Amazon.com, in paperback and Ebook formats.  However, many of my other novels can be purchased at HALF PRICE during SMASHWORD'S annual SUMMER SALE.  The sale will end the last day of July.   

Someone Like You is the last book in the Stillwaters series.  I had fun writing about the different roads that each of the Carson sisters took on the road to happiness.  I have two more romantic suspense novels that I hope to release. Hopefully, that should happen in the coming year.  In addition, I've taken a stab at writing a historical fiction novel which I've been working on this year.  We'll see where that goes, but historical fiction is an area of writing in which I've grown increasingly interested.  I have ideas for at least two more novels in that genre. Meanwhile, Someone Like Them is ready and waiting to be read.  Just CLICK  ON THE BOOK COVER and you can read an excerpt and then purchase a copy.

SOMEONE LIKE THEM COMING JUNE 30th!

 All right, I know I said that this book would be released in May, but so many good things happened that had to addressed that the month's delay became necessary. Finally, a release date for SOMEONE LIKE THEM has been written in stone.  Superstar, Wanda Carson, will step on to the public stage and do her thing on Wednesday, June 30th.   SOMEONE LIKE THEM ,  the third and last book in the Stillwaters  series, can be pre-ordered as an ebook on Amazon.com.  The book will also be published as a paperback.  In case you haven't read my previous post about the story line, it is as follows:

  

Lady C is a superstar!  The Grammy winning diva is 

the toast of Broadway, and will soon grace the silver

screen.  She is on her way to becoming an

entertainment legend, but in the real world she is

WANDA CARSON, single, mother of three, and the

legal guardian of her two grandchildren by her

wayward daughter.  Having been poverty-stricken

most of her life, Wanda has overcome many

obstacles.  Yet, wealth and fame doesn’t mean that

she has it all.  Not only is she estranged from her

daughter, whose whereabouts is unknown, Wanda’s

life is threatened by a dangerous man.  

Plagued by fears and filled with insecurities, Wanda

goes into hiding, where the last thing she expected

was to meet a man.  A victim of abuse in past

relationships, DONALD CHAPMAN turns out to a

complete surprise.  A giant of a man, he is kind,

thoughtful and intelligent.  The friendship she forms

with him changes her perspective in life.  Yet, just as

unexpectedly another man enters the picture with a

 plan that could disrupt Wanda’s entire world.

  

A WRITER' S EBB AND FLOW

 It seems like I've been working forever on my latest novel, SOMEONE LIKE THEM .  This pandemic has heightened my creativity instead of lessen it.  I've been working on two books and a new play all at once, so getting my latest romantic suspense novel out has been slow since I'm doing so much.  However, I wouldn't do it any other way.  I'd get bored if I worked on one thing at a time.

I've made progress on each of my projects.  My latest play, Ebony Eagles, is finished, and I've entered it into several play contest.  I'm still working with my writing partner on our latest mystery novel, but  it's about to be completed very soon.  As for SOMEONE LIKE THEM, I'm on my third edit of this book. Each time it gets better and better, so I have no complaints.  I hoped to have the book out this year, but that may not happen.  I'd rather put a good book out there than a rushed book.  I want it to be a book that I am proud to have written.

Meanwhile, thanks to all of those people who went to Smashwords.com to get my books last month.  Two of them were free during the month of July, but there were a lot of sales of my other books as a result of readers liking the stories from my free books.    I really appreciate the support!         

SMASHWORDS SUMMER/WINTER SALE!

Smashwords.com is at it again.  The book site is holding another sale for all of the summer sun worshippers.  Of course I'm participating in this sale. Through the entire month of JULY, all of my ebooks at the Smashwords.com site are on sale for only $1.50 and THREE of my BOOKS are FREE:  SINFUL INTENTIONS, SWEET SACRIFICE and WHOSE KNIFE IS IT ANYWAY? 

SWEET SACRIFICE is the second book in the Sin Series, and it was nominated for an award by an on-line review site.  SINFUL INTENTIONS is the third book in the Sin Series and I have to say it is one of the best books that I've written.  It only took me three months to write it, and I didn't use an outline.  The words just came to me, flowing like a river.  I still don't know how I did it.  As for
WHOSE KNIFE IS IT ANYWAY? This is the latest cozy mystery novel in the Grandmothers, Incorporated series that I write with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans. It's very funny.   So, go to Smashwords, pick an ebook, read and enjoy .

PRODUCTIVITY PLUS!

I've been so busy that I nearly missed this month's blog post. It seems that the pandemic is affecting different people different ways, and I'm one of those people who seems to be thriving while sheltering in place during this pandemic.  I've finished two books and a play!  The first draft of my third book in the Stillwaters Series, Someone Like Me, is finished and is now in the process of being edited.  It seems like I've been writing this book forever.  

My writing partner for the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mysteries, L. Barnett Evans,  and I have been busy writing a  new thriller that is very different then our usual work..  We've been working on this book since 2016 (can you believe it!) and we finally finished.   We're in the editing stage now.

 As for my playwriting, one of my One Act plays. won another play festival  (my third in four years).  It will be presented in Columbus, Ohio next year, that is if the pandemic is over.   During April and May of this year I made sure that all of my books were a part of the Authors Giving Back sale at Smashwords.com.  The sale was quire successful.  Thank you to the many readers who purchased my books.   

AUTHORS GIVING BACK SALE CONTINUES!

The authors on Smashwords.com continue to respond to the shelter in place directive that citizens are being asked to follow, and we are extending the  AUTHORS GIVE BACK sale that started in April.  Titles continue to be offered at 60% off through May 31, 2020! 

This means that all of my romance suspense titles in ebook format are only $1.20 on Smashwords.  The title that launched my career as an author SIN,  remains absolutely FREE during the entire month of  May!

In addition, through May 2020, the hilarious novel, There's Something Wrong with Miss Zelda,  one of the funniest titles in the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy book series that I write with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans, is being offered FREE on Smashwords this month!  All of the books in this series are also on sale.  Don't miss out on this opportunity to read a good book.

Go to Smashwords.com. CLICK on one of my titles, and ENJOY!   

AUTHORS GIVE BACK SALE!

In these precarious times when nearly everyone in the country is sheltering in place to protect each other from the virus that has overtaken our country, the authors on Smashwords are responding. We are offering 60% off our titles during the AUTHORS GIVE BACK Sale through the month of April, 2020. 

This means that all of my romance suspense titles in ebook format are only $1.20 on Smashwords.  To kick the book reading off,  the title that launched my career as an author SIN, is absolutely FREE during the entire month of April!

In addition, Whose Knife is it Anway?  the latest titled in the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy book series that I write with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans, is on sale as well!  All of the books in this series are cheap this month, so don't miss out on the opportunity to read a good book.

Go to Smashwords.com. CLICK on one of my titles, and ENJOY!   

SMASHWORDS READ AN EBOOK WEEK IS BACK!

The 11th Annual Read an Ebook Week Sale Kicked off Sunday, March 1 and runs through Saturday, March 7 on Smashwords.com.  

My romantic suspense books will be on sale for 50% Off.  These are only some of the titles on sales:

Sin

Sinful Intentions

Sweet Sacrifice

Secrets

Strangers 

Shadows of Love 

Go to Smaswords.com, use the Half Price Coupon and Enjoy the Read!

A REWARDING MONTH FOR WRITING

I've been very busy this month and nearly missed writing this month's blog.  I had my playwright hat on and was privileged to be one of the winners of the Ivoryton Playhouse Theatre's Women Playwrights Initiative for 2020.  My One Act drama, 1200 MILES FROM JEROME, was given a  staged reading at the Ivoryton Playhouse, located in Connecticut, and it was quite a success. 

The play is set in 1942 during WW II.  It is about a courageous teacher and members of an African American family who are transporting a young Japanese American boy who has escaped from an interment camp in Jerome, Arkansas to New York City where he can be shielded by relatives.  Danger is lurking for the car's occupants every miles it will take to get there, and along the way a lot of truth is revealed.

Below is the link to the TV interview I gave while in Connecticut on a program titled "A CERTAIN AGE", with  host Li Hayes.  The interview was broadcast in Connecticut only, but it will tell you a lot about my career as a writer:

Crystal Rhodes - Author/Playwright TV Interview

Also, here are some photos from the powerful play reading that was held at the Ivoryton Playhouse Theatre in Ivoryton, Connecticut. Everyone involved in putting on the Women Playwrights Initiative for 2020 did a wonderful job!

The Cast of 1200 MILES FROM JEROME

(l to r) Justine Hall, Brie Covington, Jacob Goodhart, Kathryn Markey (Director) Crystal Rhodes (playwright) Renee Sutherland and Denise Johnson

Director, Kathryn Markey in front of the Ivoryton Playhouse Theatre in Ivoryton, Connecticut 

HELLO 2020!!

Here we are in the first year of a new decade, and I welcome it with open arms!  Last year was so fantastic for me creatively that I'm giddy with excitement to see what 2020 will bring.  My goal to finish the first draft of Someone Like Them by the end of 2019 was achieved.  I finished the final draft on December 31st, New Years Eve.  While other people were partying fervently, I was writing feverishly.  Such is the life of a writer.  It's not all wine and roses.

I look forward to going through Someone Like Them again, to fine tune it.  I like my character,  Wanda Carson.  She is a 50 year old grandmother who she is living a dream that can only be imagined by others.  Unfortunately, she discovers that all that glitters is not gold.

Someone Like Them should be released by this fall, if not sooner.  Meanwhile, I'm also working on a new Two Act play.  My latest One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, which won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut, will enjoy a staged reading early this year.  I'm also writing another mystery novel with L. Barnett Evans, my talented co-author of the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series.  It looks like 2020 will be as creatively satisfying as 2019.  I sure hope so.  Meanwhile, Happy New Year!

2019 - THE YEAR OF ALL YEARS!

I can't account for other people, but I am one who is grateful for every year of my life, and the majority of them have been good ones.  Fortunately, I pursued my passion for writing, never limiting myself, and I have been richly rewarded. I've done it all, books, plays, TV scripts, articles.  You name it, I've tried it.  As we come to the end of 2019, I look back and recognize that this year has been one of the most creatively rewarding that I've ever had.  Financial rewards are always welcomed, but when one is an artist and receives recognition for ones art that's a feeling that is difficult to describe.  The word elation is the only one I can think of at the moment.

The year 2019 opened with my Two Act play, The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin, winning a national playwriting contest, The American Theatre's 21st Century Voices New Play Festival.  I spent a weekend in January in St. Petersburg, Florida where a staged reading of the play was presented, and it received an excellent reception.  The next few months saw the re-release of one my romantic suspense novels, Singing a Song, and the writing of the third book in my Stillwaters Series, Someone Like Them (which it seems like I've been working on forever).  I acquired a drama agent in the fall, presenting me with the opportunity to have my plays presented in more theatres, and a shot at having my work acquired for TV--one of my major goals. 

I attended severalwriting workshops.  My writing partner and I won scholarships to attend an artist conference.  We gave presentations on writing to two college classes, and a visit with one my favorite book clubs was quite a treat. To top it off at the end of this year I won a second national playwriting contest! My One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut.  I'm looking forward to that staged reading.   

Recently, the year was further topped off with my having been presented with a Creative Arts Fellowship by the Indiana Arts Council.  What an honor it is to be recognized and appreciated for my art.  With this fellowship I can travel to anywhere in the world I want.  I'm still tingling from the excitement.  

Yes, 2019 was quite a year!  I can't wait until 2020.  

STILLWATERS COMING

It looks like I’m going to finish editing the re-release of my novel, Stillwaters, before I finish my novel Someone Like Them. Actually, that makes sense, especially since Someone Like Them, is the third installment of what I call the Stillwaters book series.  For readers who are unfamiliar with the town of Stillwaters and some of the people in it, the re-release of the Stillwaters novel will introduce readers to the town. It’s an extraordinary place, and the characters that I create who live in and around the town find benefit from the association.  In the Stillwaters novel, not only is the reader introduced to the town and its residents, but you get to meet Bev Cameron and Ray Wilson, two people who don’t look as though they have much in common, but looks can deceive.  Here’s an excerpt from the first chapter of Stillwaters.  

CHAPTER 1

     “What do you mean, Ray is coming here?”  Bev Cameron gripped the telephone tightly, uncertain that she heard her daughter correctly.  Everyone in their family knew the strict criteria that must be followed in order to bring a stranger to her hometown, and Ray Wilson, the man who had been shamelessly flirting with her for years, did not fit the criteria. “There must be some mistake. Who told you this?”

     “Thad.”

     Bev knew that there was no doubt about the validity of the information.  Her daughter’s husband was movie star Thad Stewart and he adored his wife, singing superstar Darnell Cameron.  She was the love of his life, his confidante and his best friend.  Thad wouldn’t lie to her.   

     Darnell explained.  “Thad was excited about playing golf on the new course, and he said that he couldn’t wait for Ray to get here so they could play together.  Then, he thought about what he had said he clammed up, but it was too late by then.  It’s my guess that Ray’s coming with Dana.”

     Bev was shocked.  “My sister?”

     “Who else could it be?  Aunt Dana said that she was coming home and the two of them are friends.”

     “That’s true, and it does make sense.” Bev could tell by Darnell’s tone that she was also finding it difficult to believe the scenario.  

     “What should we do?” the younger woman asked.  “Tell the Family Council and have them stopped at the gate?”

     “I’m not sure.”  Bev considered the alternatives.  “I’m just wondering why she’s bringing him here, and how she expects to get him into town.”

     “There’s only one way that she can get him in,” Darnell affirmed, “and that’s with a lie.”

     Bev knew that she was right.  “Why would she do this?” Her heart sank at the idea of her younger sister engaging in such deception. 

     “Maybe it’s some move to stop Aunt Tessa’s family from taking over the town.”  Even through the telephone Darnell could feel her mother’s pain.  The two sisters had been estranged for quite some time and Dana’s return home might have provided an opportunity for their reconciliation, if it wasn’t for this new development. Darnell could hardly comprehend what her aunt must feel about their family to do something like this.

     “You might be right,” Bev’s voice was hollow. “She’s probably plotting some kind of legal maneuver that could wreck havoc in the family.” She gave a shuttering sigh. 

     “So what’s the plan, Mama?”  Darnell’s voice was filled with sadness.

Bev tried to think. “We’ll keep this to ourselves for now.  If she gets past the gate with Ray, let’s see what Dana is up to.”

     Darnell was receptive.  “That sounds reasonable.  Meanwhile, I’m going to see if I can pump some more information out of Thad.  Kiss my little gem for me.”

     The women disconnected and Bev sat reflecting on their conversation. What was Dana up to?  What part did Ray Wilson play in her sister’s scheme?  She was familiar with her younger sister’s escapades, but why had she aligned herself with that middle-aged playboy and dared breach the security of their family haven?

     A loud yawn interrupted Bev’s musing and she looked down into the face of the little brown bundle nestled in her arms and smiled.  Her granddaughter, six-month-old Nia Cameron-Stewart, was awake.

     “Hey there, little one.”  Gently, Bev caressed the baby’s soft cheek and was rewarded with a toothless grin.  The dimples inherited from her father winked at her and Bev melted.  This had to be the most beautiful baby in the world.

      “Let’s get you something to eat.”  She rose and headed toward the kitchen with Nia.  “Then we’re going to wait for your Aunt Dana and your godfather Ray to arrive.  When they do, there’s going to be some fireworks lighting up this town, and it’s not even close to being Independence Day.”  

SINGING A SONG is in Paperback

As stated in the last blog, the paper back version of Singing a Song is now available on Amazon.com.  As long as I continue to write and my books are published my work will not only be in eBook format, but in paperback as well.  Who knows, one day I may even have a book published in hard cover.

I'm not sure how many people read books other than in eBook format anymore, but I know that I enjoy a good paperback.  They bring back memories of my childhood when I used to curl up in bed at night, or on the couch, and sometimes even lay under the shade of a tree, being entertained for hours.  Books have always taken me into a world of imagination where I could become the heroine, or hero, capable of doing anything.  It is because of books that I became a writer, but it wasn't simply the words on the pages that I enjoy.  I like the feel of books in my hand, the enjoy turning the pages of a book in anticipation of what's coming next.  I even enjoy sticking bookmarks between the pages of a books.  I don't know why.  It's probably some kind of psychological satisfaction that I get from the experience, but I do know why I get upset if the bookmark falls out and I loose my place.  It sucks!

In my opinion, an e-reader simply can't replace a real book.  But, I'm glad that eBooks and eReaders were invented.  They make my work available to so many more readers.  Plus, I don't have to pack ebooks around to book fairs trying to making sales.  That's a real plus.          

STILL WORKING HARD

Things have been moving so swiftly over the last few weeks I almost forgot about the blog.  In the course of the last few weeks,  I've been working hard on my next novel, Someone Like Them, and  editing and updating my novel, Stillwaters, for re-release.   The latter is the novel that introduces readers to an amazing town and equally amazing characters, and this book is connected to the  storylines about the three sisters in the Stillwaters book series.  So, I'd like to get the Stillwaters book out before I release Someone Like Them.   

Meanwhile, the paperback version of Singing a Song will be available on Amazon.com before the end of this month.  While all of that is happening, I'm still working on a novel with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans, a thriller this time, and in the process I went in search of an agent to help me introduce my plays to more theatres.  I more or less gave up on finding a literary agent, but miracle of miracles, I got the attention of a theatrical agent right away.  So that goal is attained.  Now, all I have to do is finish the first draft of Someone Like Them and eventually get it out there.  Keep your fingers crossed.  But at least I have the cover.  Here it is again.

MY NEXT NOVEL - SOMEONE LIKE THEM

Thanks to everyone who responded to the half price sale of my books on Smashwords during the month of July.  It went well.  Over the next few months (maybe years), I hope to re-release several of my previous novels from the Sin series. 

I'm presently working on the last book in the Stillwater series.  The title of the book is Someone Like Them and I hope to finish the first draft of the story by the end of this year.  

In the Stilllwaters series, each one of the three sisters that I follow in the storylines finds the strength in themselves to overcome their life circumstances.   Wanda Carson is the oldest of the three sisters in this series, and to say that her life goes from rags to riches is any understatement.   Here's a preview of the book's opening.    

SOMEONE LIKE THEM

PROLOGUE

Wanda stood bathed in the glare of the brilliant spotlight with tears streaming down her face.  What was being sung was a love song, just for her.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot…

How could it ever be?

And never brought to mind?

Not brought to mind?  That was impossible. 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot…

This was the end. 

And auld lang syne?

This was her last performance. 

For auld lang syne, my friend…

The most important people in her life were out there beyond the lights.  Her mother, Faith, her younger sisters Melanie and Jolene, her granddaughters, Raven and Racine…

For auld lang syne,

And of course, her beloved godmother Miss Emma.

We’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,

Yes, everyone she loved was present, except the ones she loved beyond comprehension—Armand, Davon and Christa— her children.

For auld lang syne.

As the audience at the Broadway theatre finished the song for the woman who they felt was just like them, the chant that followed Wanda Carson’s extraordinary rise to stardom began, reaching a crescendo.

Lady C!  Lady C! Lady C!

She stood center stage, a vision in gold, bathed in the spotlight, amid a shower of flowers, chants of adulation and deafening applause.  The curtain came down slowly.  Torrents of tears washed her glittering makeup away.  No one would have guessed that they weren’t tears of joy.

For the past eighteen months, she stood on this stage, eight times a week, singing her heart out.  Every song that she sang was for her children.  Every tear that she shed, in the past and in the present, onstage and off, was for the three of them.

The curtain came down.  The spotlight faded.  The last performance was over.  Or was it just beginning?

HALF PRICE BOOKS ON SMASHWORDS!

The  11th Annual Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale is back! From July 1, 2019 - July 31, 2019 you can purchase all of the ebooks in the SIN series and Someone Like Me , the first book in the STILLWATERS series at HALF PRICE. 

That's right during the entire month of July you can read it all! The sale even includes my latest re-release in the SIN series, Singing a Song. Start with Sin (Book #1) and fall in love with Reverend Nedra and bad boy, Sinclair.  Meet their best friends, Brandon and Sash, on their exciting adventure in Sweet Sacrifice (Book #2).   Cheer for Nedra and Sin as they fight for the life of their child in Sinful Intentions (Book #3).  In Singing a Song (Book #4)  follow the battles between superstars Darnell and Thad, and catch your first glimpse of the mysterious, Mr. Hardman, whose deadly past is painstakingly revealed in Secrets (Book #5), Strangers (Book #6) and uncovered completely in Shadows of Love (Book #7).  Enjoy the first book in the STILLWATERS series, Someone Like Me , and meet Melanie, the sensible sister in a trio of bodacious women. 

The GRANDMOTHERS, INCORPORATED  cozy mystery book series, which I co-write with fellow author/playwright, L. Barnett Evans, is also on sale on Smashwords during the month of July.  Grandmothers, Incorporated, Saving Sin City, There's Something Wrong with Miss Zelda and Whose Knife is it Anyway? are all available.  Read one of these novels and you'll laugh until you cry!  go to our website, www.grandmothersinc.com, and read all about us. 

 

 

SINGING A SONG IS BACK!

It's here, the second edition of Singing a Song has been released and it's better than ever.  In this updated version of the romantic suspense novel readers will once again be introduced to a mysterious character who eventually becomes instrumental in two more Sin Series novels:  Strangers and Shadows of Love. 

Singing a Song is the fourth novel in the Sin Series.  Read the SINGING A SONG synopsis below:    

www.smashwords.com/books/view/941897

Diva, DARNELL CAMERON, and playboy, THAD STEWART, are both superstars. She is a singing sensation and he is an actor extraordinaire. When their cars accidentally collide so do they, and war is declared. The battles between them are epic, and both are intent on declaring victory. These are two American idols who openly despise each other. It would take a major miracle to get them together, or perhaps the mysterious stranger stalking one of them and intent on killing the other one might hold the key to their mutual destiny.

SINGING a SONG is available in ebook format on Smashwords.com and Amazon.com.  The paperback version will be published soon.  CLICK on THE LINK ABOVE and read an excerpt from the novel.

IT'S A NEW LOOK!

I almost missed my post this month, but I made it and it's a short one.  I'm working on the re-release of Singing a Song, and Someone Like Them, the latest book in the Stillwaters Series, so I'm super busy.  However, I did want to take the time to invite anyone who reads this post to view the new look on my website.  I've got all of my books listed, past and present, as well as upcoming releases.   I've even added a photo gallery.  I also added information about my playwriting. 

Just CLICK www.crystalrhodes.com.  Hope you enjoy the new look.

FROM THE PAGE TO THE STAGE

As stated in this blog last month, I am a playwright as well as an author, and one of the plays, Grandmothers, Incorporated, which I co-wrote with fellow author and playwright, Lillie Barnett Evans, enjoyed a production by   

The Theatre Arts Club of Detroit on March 15th and 16th. The Theatre Arts Club (TAC) is a Michigan non-profit organization established in 1910 as an all women's theatre group.  The TAC produces two shows a season.  We were happy that Grandmothers, Incorporated was one of them.

In the Two Act play, the  four amateur sleuths, who call themselves Grandmothers, Incorporated go to an isolated cabin in the woods for a  weekend of peace and quiet and, unexpectedly, encounter a notorious drug dealer hiding in the cabin.  The result is less than peaceful or quiet, but it is hilarious. 

The play, which is also the title of the popular cozy mystery novels of the same title, made its debut Off Broadway in 2010 at the Billie Holiday Theatre, and enjoyed a successful run just as it did in Detroit.  Below are  some of the photos from the Detroit production. 

The CAST of Grandmother's Incorporated (Seated-Left to Right, seated), CAROL WOTRING (Bea Bell), MARIANNE SHRADER (Chevron Harris), ERIN ANN DISANTE (Hattie Collier), (Standing-Left to Right) MARY STELMARK (Connie Palmer), PATRICIA O'BRIEN (director) and SHEILA WADE KNEESHAW (Fanny Collier)

The ladies of Grandmothers Incorporated in action

 

Playwrights with the Cast, Producer, Director, and Staff of Grandmothers, Incorporated  

THREE MONTHS of MARCH MADNESS!

These last few months have been moving like a freight train.  I am an award winning writer who doesn't like to be put in a box, so I write romantic suspense novels, cozy mystery novels, plays (both comedy and drama) and anything else I feel like writing, and I'm blessed to have been successful at it.  Oh, I don't mean famous successful, but able to make money successful, and I am grateful for this talent that has brought me so much joy.

In January I went to St. Petersburg Florida after having won the 2019 American Stage Theatre New Play Festival competition with my latest two act play The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin.  There were 544 entrants.  The trip included a stipend, three days of hotel accommodations, and a staged reading of my play.  It was awesome!  The play was well received by the standing room only audience and I had so much fun. 

In February, I worked on, and finalized, a new cover for the re-release of one of my most successful romance suspense novels, Singing a Song. I've been re-editing that novel for weeks.  Look for the re-release of that novel soon.

New Singing a Song Book Cover

Then this month, I traveled to Detroit, Michigan, with my writing partner, Lillie Barnett Evans.  She and I write the hilarious Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series together.  Go to our website:  www.grandmothersinc.com to find out more about that. The book covers are featured below.  Years ago, we wrote a play with the same title that placed the characters from our book series on stage.  In 2010 the play appeared Off Broadway to full houses and enjoyed an extension.  We've been marketing the play ever since to theatre groups.  In March, The Theatre Arts Club in Detroit produced the play. Lillie and I traveled there to see it.  The ladies in the theatrical group were most gracious and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Lillie (l) and Crystal (r) with Theatre Arts Club play producer, Lisa (m) 

Yes, the past three months have been busy ones, and I love every minute of it.  Oh, and next month one of my other plays will enjoy a production in the Midwest.  I love the writing life!!!