Your Eight O'Clock is Dead
by Kat Jorgensen
Book Synopsis:
Becca
Reynolds is having a bad day. Her grandfather’s lecture (#405: Eat a Healthy
Diet or Die Not Trying) makes her late for her job at Daley and Palmer, the
psychiatrists' office where she works as the office manager—her title, not
theirs. Then her sausage and egg breakfast biscuit creates an oil slick that
takes out half her desk, along with that day’s patient files. But she knows the
day has taken a really bad turn when she discovers the firm’s eight o’clock
patient dead with Dr. Dick Daley’s letter opener opening the patient instead of
the mail.
With the fledgling firm in danger of an early demise, Becca appoints herself the unofficial investigator since the police seem to be looking in all the wrong places and doing a half-assed job of solving the crime. She begins a journey to find the killer, keep the practice afloat and with it, her job. In the course of her interfere—er, investigation—she finds a virtual cast of characters who could have done it, including the fancy side piece of the murder victim, his wife, his business partner, and even his psychiatrist.
The case takes Becca from the sordid depths of the Russian mob, to the upscale West End of Richmond, Virginia (known locally as River City), and even to her own backyard. In the course of the story she finds herself in hot water, hot danger, and with dreams of hot men.
With the fledgling firm in danger of an early demise, Becca appoints herself the unofficial investigator since the police seem to be looking in all the wrong places and doing a half-assed job of solving the crime. She begins a journey to find the killer, keep the practice afloat and with it, her job. In the course of her interfere—er, investigation—she finds a virtual cast of characters who could have done it, including the fancy side piece of the murder victim, his wife, his business partner, and even his psychiatrist.
The case takes Becca from the sordid depths of the Russian mob, to the upscale West End of Richmond, Virginia (known locally as River City), and even to her own backyard. In the course of the story she finds herself in hot water, hot danger, and with dreams of hot men.
ARTICLE:
Some Good Things Come From Rejections
Rejections. If you’re a writer you know all about
them. I consider them part and parcel of
the business. But I still don’t like
them. So why the title of this post?
After ten
years of banging my head against the doors of traditional publishers and New
York agents, I took the plunge and indie published the first book in my
humorous mystery series, “Your Eight O’Clock Is Dead.”
Why? Consistently, I received feedback from the
publishers and agents that they loved the book.
Great! But then came the proviso
- with these economic times we’re not going to take a chance on an
unknown. Ouch! It was like
the old to get a job you need experience, but to get experience you need a
job. Major Catch 22.
I did a lot
of soul searching. Did some research to
help me make my decision. And then
conferred with my trusted inner circle and came to the conclusion to take a
chance on myself. Why not?
I believed
in the story, the characters, the series.
And after reading the manuscript probably thirty times, I still laughed
out loud at some of the scenes and marveled that I had written this
material. Yes, I amuse myself.
But that’s
what it’s all about. Doing what you love
and having a good time while you’re doing it.
Don’t get me wrong. Writing is
hard work, at least for me it is. But
it’s also the most fun I’ve ever had.
Where else can you sit in your pajamas with your hair in a point at the
top of your bed-head and make up stories to entertain readers? It’s the best.
Do I regret
taking a chance on myself? Heck no! It’s been the best decision I’ve made. To have readers enjoy the book and email me
(I love getting emails) about how the book got them through a rough patch in
their lives or even through some airplane turbulence - why that’s just the best
feeling. And to have people looking
forward to the next book in The River City Mystery Series is very
flattering. I hope I can please the
readers just as much with the rest of the books in the series.
Without
rejection by the big guns in New York, I’d still be sending out the manuscript,
waiting for a reply and living in a vacuum.
Dreams do come true. I’m living
proof of that. So when you see something
come into your life that could be a negative, find a way to turn it into a
positive. You may be pleasantly
surprised.
Bio:
A
notorious daydreamer, Kat knew it was only a matter of time before she became a
writer. She learned to read by age four and had her first library card before
her fifth birthday. To this day, she can lose herself for hours among the books
at her local library or neighborhood bookstore. Ebooks and online ordering have
made it really easy for her to keep her To Be Read pile from ever going down. A
native of Richmond, Virginia, Kat is married with children and has a cranky
tuxedo cat named Ben.
Websites:
15 comments:
Thank you Kat for stopping by today and everyone should know, that she has a giveaway at every stop for someone who comments or asks her questions.
I know you are all reading this; I can hear you breathing out there. So, voice up and let Kat know you are there too.
Kat,
The book sounds like a ton of fun. Once you had the finished product in hand, how did you go about promoting it? Thanks so much!
Liv
The publishing industry made a big mistake in passing on your book. What if no one had taken a chance on J.K. Rowling?
So glad you believed in yourself enough to make your wonderful characters available to the reading public.
Keep 'em coming!
Liv, I've simply tried letting all of my friends know and they have been awesome about getting the word out. I've taken out some inexpensive ads on different sites to help get my name out there - since I'm a virtual unknown. And I'm doing the blog tour. : )
I'm just happy that I decided to let the book go out into the world. Lots of big name writers started with this route - John Grishm for one.
In publishing you have to have the product, but luck also factors into the picture. I feel very lucky to be building such a solid readership.
Thank you for your comment, FF.
Hi Kat! Your book sounds great! I will definitely add it to my TBR list!
I am planning on going the traditional route (or trying), but I am definitely keeping my options open as far as self publishing goes, should plan A not work out :-)I think sometimes the best books get passed over (and some terrible ones make it into print). It is nice to know there are other options out there. :-)
Great post Kat. I love hearing how authors deal with rejections, good learning experience. Thanks for hosting Patti :).
BK
In today's uncertain economic times, we have to keep all of our options open. Indie publishing worked for me. I'm happy I decided to do it and have not regretted it for a single second. Thank you so much for posting and good luck with your writing!
BK, it's easy to get discouraged in this business. I think we all have to find our way and find out what works for each of us. I'm glad you enjoyed the post : )
It's a crazy publishing world out there right now. With so much upheaval, and with authors having to do much of their own legwork, marketing and the like, it seems that self-publishing has more merits than not. Especially if it means a book as wonderfully funny and charming as yours gets read instead of collecting dust. GASP!!!
Lots to consider these days and every story and situation with be different. Must do the homework to work it all out.
Ginger :)
That is so true Ginger. In this publishing world there is so much out there to read, so we must stand out somehow in the crowd to be noticed.
Thanks Kat for being my guest author today and I encourage more comments. Keep on writing Kat.
Thanks BK for the opportunity to introduce these terrific authors and their work to readers.
Patti Hultstrand
Thanks for commenting, Ginger. Much appreciated.
Patti,
Thank you so much for having me as your guest blogger today. You've been a wonderful hostess. : )
Kat ~~ even your blogs crack me up! Now I have a visual of you writing and will be grinning all day! Thanks for sharing that there's more than one way to get to YES and I'm delighted that you found a way to make a dream into your reality. Readers everywhere thank you! Cheers
Kat Jorgensen:
I love your article "Some Good Things Come From Rejections".It opens up the door of hope for others!
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