New Books Available in March 2013!

Good Lord, another month’s come and gone. I guess time flies whether you’re having fun or not. Doesn’t seem fair somehow.

However, March will be an interesting month for me (note I didn’t say a “good” month. Sigh). PECOS VALLEY DIAMOND, book #1 in my Pecos Valley cozy historical mystery series and my very first audiobook, is now available from Audible.com and Amazon.com and for your iPod! This is actually exciting news for me, since I listen almost exclusively to audiobooks because hideous arthritis now prevents me from reading paperbacks at all, and hardbacks only occasionally. Bummer, but at least there are audiobooks now. Not enough of them, but they’re out there. Somewhere. Here’s the cover and links to where you can buy it. It would be really swell if someone other than I would buy the thing, y’know? Not that I’m expecting miracles or anything, but . . . well, never mind.

Buy PECOS VALLEY DIAMOND from Audible.com

Buy PECOS VALLEY DIAMOND from Amazon.com

And you can buy PECOS VALLEY DIAMOND for your iPod, but I guess you have to do it through Audible or Amazon.

Also, this month PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW, book #3 in my Pecos Valley cozy historical mystery series, will be published by Five Star/Cengage. Here’s the book cover and purchasing information.

Buy PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW from Amazon.com

Buy PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW from Barnes & Noble

Buy PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW from Five Star/Cengage

Also, Five Star has told me they want to publish ANGELS REVIVED, book #7 in my Daisy Gumm Majesty series, although they haven't communicated since the week before last, so I'm not sure if that's a cruel joke or not. I hope it's for real.

Other than that, life is as boring as ever, although I have a beautiful foster-wiener dog. In fact, I’d keep him (his name is Bruce, but that’s not his fault) if I didn’t already have entirely too many dogs. Here’s Bruce. He reminds me very much of my very first dachshund, Hansel Schnitzel Fritzel von Poncho Poo Puddle Monsieur von Puppy Stink Duncan, who was the love of my life from fourth grade on up. He’ll probably be snapped up instantly when New Mexico Dachshund Rescue has its adoption event in Albuquerque on March 9. Sigh.

If you’re interested in reading PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW and don’t feel like buying it (an event that happens quite frequently in my life), please feel free to enter my contest. Send me your name and home address to alice@aliceduncan.net, and I’ll put your name into my special contest doggie dish, from which Bam-Bam, another black-and-tan wiener dog (although a rather strange one, due to his having been crated at a puppy mill in Big Spring, Texas, for his first two years) will slurp up three wieners—I mean winners—at the end of the month. And then I’ll send out both February’s and March’s books to the winners of February’s and March’s contest. Sorry I haven’t sent February’s books yet. I haven’t felt well for most of February.

And please visit my updated web site: www.aliceduncan.net (where you can read the first chapters of almost all of my zillion and three books) and my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/alice.duncan.925 where I mostly post funny dog pictures, because I’m afraid people will hate me if I post anything political.

Thank you!

January's Over!

Good grief, it’s February already! How do these things happen so fast? Well, I don’t suppose it matters.

Anyway, in January the narrator of PECOS VALLEY DIAMOND! It’ll be available sometime or other on Audible.com. I’ll be sure to let everyone know when the audiobook is available. Here’s the cover art, courtesy Melissa Alvarez at Book Covers Galore:

Jim Hull, an OLD friend of mine (actually, I’m older than he is, but who’s counting) is putting right along with the narration of SIERRA RANSOM. Here’s Melissa’s cover art for that one:

As for the narrator of my Daisy Gumm Majesty books, I haven’t heard a word. However, the narrator of my Mercy Allcutt books is forging ahead with LOST AMONG THE ANGELS. I don’t have cover art for that one yet. Cover art costs money, y’know?

As for the rest of the month, it wasn’t exactly tippy-top, mainly because two friends from my old folk-dance days died, which is very sad. I don’t like it when friends die.

As for the rest of life, not much has gone on. A childhood friend of mine, Dr. Mary Ray Cate, visited for a couple of days, and that was fun. The two of us go WAY back. She’s leaving to go back home in Santa Fe on Friday, February 2. And I’ll be stuck here in Roswell. Sigh.

Anyhow, I’m going to be giving away copies of FALLEN ANGELS at the end of February. So if you’d like to enter and perhaps win a copy (it won the New Mexico-Arizona Book of the Year Award for Mystery/Suspense, don’tcha know), just send me your name and home address at alice@aliceduncan.net and I’ll throw your name into the special contest doggie dish. And if you’d like to read the first chapters of any of my books, check ‘em out on my web site: www.aliceduncan.net

Thanks!

The Mayhem and Magic of 2012

Truth to tell, 2012 was the most mayhem-filled year I’ve endured in my life, although there were a few bright spots.

It began with me half-blind from having surgery to correct a detached retina in December of 2011. Then I had to go around with a gas bubble in my eye. When that went away and the eye healed, a cataract developed, so I was still half-blind. Then I had to have the cataract removed. Then I had to have a back surgery that was supposed to last four or five hours, but became a ten-hour nightmare when the neurosurgeon discovered a bunch of lumbar discs had fused together, and she had to get out a hacksaw and jackhammer to bust ‘em apart so she could put spacers in. Recovery has been . . . painful. Then I FINALLY got new glasses two weeks after my back surgery, so I can see again! The year ended with the funeral of a friend’s brother. Besides all that, my two darling dogs, Daisy and Rosie died, Rosie from a brutal and mysterious accident (I had to have her put down).

I tell you 2013 HAS to be better than that!

On the magical side, I got to attend my younger daughter’s wedding to a wonderful man (even if he is a Republican) and see my grandson Riki and a whole bunch of old friends in Pasadena in June. That was mega-fun.

I published my very first book on Create Space, ANGELS OF MERCY. So far, this has NOT been a smashing success. Sigh. But two of my books were finalists in the New Mexico-Arizona Book of the Year Awards. GENTEEL SPIRITS didn’t win in the historical novel category, but FALLEN ANGELS tied for first place with AN AMERICAN CAFÉ, by Sara Sue Hoklotubbe. That was nice.

Um . . . I can’t think of anything else good that happened in 2012, actually.

However, here’s hoping 2013 is kind and gentle to all of us. On the book front, PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW will be published in March of 2013. I’m also giving away copies of ANCIENT SPIRITS in my January contest. If you’d like to enter, please send me your name and home address via email at alice@aliceduncan.net . Also, please visit my web site: www.aliceduncan.net and my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/alice.duncan.925

Thanks! Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Short blog for December, mainly because I forgot all about it until tonight (November 30).

The only big news is that, while both FALLEN ANGELS and GENTEEL SPIRITS were finalists in the 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book of the Year Awards, FALLEN ANGELS actually won the award in the mystery/suspense category. It tied with THE AMERICAN CAFÉ, by Sara Sue Hoklotubbe (a Choctaw name she got when she married her very handsome husband). Oddly enough, we sat at the same table together at the banquet. If I’d taken any pictures, I’d show them here, but I always forget my camera. Sigh. However, I did take a picture of the award when I got it home. It’s very nice, and they even printed the name of the book on it! When I won the HOLT Medallion for ONE BRIGHT MORNING, they didn’t bother to engrave the title on the back of the medallion, so I think this is swell:

Other than that, the month was pretty much like any other month. I’m still recovering from my hellish ten-hour back surgery, but I’m in a whole lot less pain than I was before the surgery, so I think all’s well there. Pretty soon, I’m sure the doctor will allow me to lift more than fifteen pounds, so I’ll be able to reclaim my Giblett from Fort Stanton, where he’s being well cared for by another dachshund rescuer, Kari Coburn, bless her. In the meantime, I have another foster wiener dog here. He’s Peanut, and he and Scrappy like to play. All day long. Here they both are. Peanut's the one in the purple collar on the red pillow:

Oh! I also got advance reading copies (ARCs) of PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW, my March 2013 release from Five Star. I’m giving copies away this month in my contest, so if you’d like to enter, please send me your name and home address at alice@aliceduncan.net

If you’d like to read the first chapter of PECOS VALLEY RAINBOW (and just about any of my other books), just wander on over to my web site, which is all decorated for Christmas: www.aliceduncan.net

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and that the rest of your holiday season will be bright and merry!