I don't think we're in Kansas

So this is just a quick post to say I haven't completely blown away here in Tornado Alley. It's been an interesting Spring for sure. I think it's hailed every day this week--three times today.

It hailed on the roofers when they came out to give us an estimate for the damage (caused by wind, not water). It hailed on me while picking up the kids at school.

Hail, hail, go away!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The winner of a copy of Becoming Mr. Brooking and the $25 Amazon card is...

*insert imaginary drumroll*  

Sartori! Woo hoo!

*cue confetti*

Just email me with your preferred format at margueritewrites@gmail.com.

But wait! Don't think if you commented it means you didn't win anything. From the Aurora Regency Blog:

But because we're feeling particularly spring-like today--my daffodils bloomed overnight--everyone who participated will receive a single free book from Aurora Regency. So if you entered, go and pick out the one book you'd most like to read from Aurora--then email me the title and format.


Some authors are giving away their own prizes--check their blogs to see who won.

Congratulations to everyone and thank you for participating!

*cue balloons*

So if you commented, just do a little shopping at  www.auroraregency.com and let the editor know what book you chose. You can email her at  auroraregency@gmail.com. Let her know the title and format and she'll send it to you. How awesome is that?

Win Some Stuff

So, everyone likes stuff for free, yes?  Oh, me too. I have an announcement and a present for you--yes, YOU.  First the announcement: (can I get a drumroll?)

Death by Scandal does indeed have a home with Aurora Regency. Hooray! As you can tell by the title, this one has a lot more mystery and adventure. Release date is September.

Now on to the celebration part. It's been a good week for me.  News of a new contract for Death by Scandal and then some awesome reviews for Becoming Mr. Brooking.
It's a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick! 4.75 of 5 stars :
"In Becoming Mr. Brooking, Marguerite Butler has created a warm, witty romance featuring the most lovable hero and heroine I have encountered in a long while."
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/Reviews/Christy-Carlyle-reviews-Becoming-Mr-Brooking-by-Marguerite-Butler.aspx

And also:

Long and Short Reviews says: "The conflicts, complications, humor, and love make Becoming Mr. Brooking delightful reading." http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/becoming-mr-brooking-by-marguerite.html

So how to celebrate? Give stuff away, of course. Go to my publisher's blog. They're running a big contest. Sign up to be a follower and then leave me a comment in this thread.  You have until March 31st to comment. That's all. Just be an Aurora Regency follower and give me a shout out in my comments. What do you win? A copy of Becoming Mr. Brooking and a $25 gift card from Amazon. Please make sure and check back if you enter or leave me a note how to contact you. I'll need an email address to be able to send the winner their book and gift card. (Psst: this card is for Amazon.us not the uk store).

So comment and win. It's just that easy.

Spring has sprung

So, where to begin. How about the happy?  The First Ghost is out now! sublimial message-buy it now right here Awesomesauce, right?  It was a fantastic day. 

But it became very clear by that night that all was not right with my elderly Meggie cat. We went into the vets the next morning and sure enough, the news was grim. I made the decision to put my old girl down. Just like that, thinks went from sweet to sour.

I won't regale you with all the details, but the last two weeks have been a roller coaster. I'll soon have exciting news about my latest novel Death by Scandal. It may have a new name soon and just possibly a new home.

I'm going to stay focused on the good stuff. If I needed any reminders how quickly the good can be swept away, the news from Japan made that clear.  So today is wonderful. My fruit trees are blooming. My chickens are laying. And Panini the goose has completely recovered from January's scary predator attack. This morning she followed me all over the farm demanding hand-outs from the grain buckets and tugging on my pants leg if I neglected to pet her enough.

It doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Everything cuteness and light

So, nothing is cuter than a baby goat, right? This little guy is one of the offspring of my new boyfriend. Okay, he's not my boyfriend exactly cause I'm married and that would be wrong. No, he's the new boyfriend my dairy goats. So they can continue making delicious milk and make me cute little babies like this. Let's say it together. Awwwwwwwwwwww!

See, this is what happens when I have no content. I give you cuteness. Not a bad trade off, no? What's that?  You need more cuteness to make it worth your while? How about...

Baby chicks. This little cutie is Iris. She is now big and sassy, but here, she was small and sassy.

Here is the big and sassy picture.

She has the most awesome muff and beard. Not a chicken fan? How about duckies?

Now aren't you just overwhelmed with cuteness? Need more?  Man, you are tough.  Okay, here's something so cute you won't be able to resist. 

I give you...

DONKEY CUTENESS! SQUEE!

Aren't you squeeing? Why aren't you squeeing? 

Content? Pfft. Okay fine. Content and cuteness?  I can do that.  Here goes...

Are you squeeing now? I have a new book out February 21st. yay! As the cover and the title might hint, this is a paranormal mystery.

The dead have no respect for anyone trying to have a life.


Portia Mahaffey always liked that she was the only woman in her family without a psychic 'gift'. But a concussion awakens her latent ability to see ghosts. And one of those ghosts is prepared to haunt her until Portia agrees to convince the police her death was no accident.


With no choice but to help Corinne, Portia reluctantly uses her new gift and some good old-fashioned detection to track down the truth.


Seeing the dead is just the beginning. Portia's world becomes filled with hungry demons, mercenary shadow beings, vengeful poltergeists…and one very alive murderer willing rank her among the dead.

Who knew hanging with the dead could be so hazardous to the living?


See? Content and cuteness all in one package. You're welcome.

I looked it up so you don't have to...

So I haven't posted in forever, but I'm here now and I think you'll agree this was worth waiting for.  Or maybe not.  Anyway, a recent kerfluffle about agency pricing model and Kindle and ebook pricing made me curious about ebook prices.

I read a lot of ebooks. A. Lot. Last year I think I might have read in excess of 150 epublished items. I write for epublishers as well, so the debates on pricing concerns me.  It also makes my mind wander when it should be doing other things like writing or folding laundry. So I started wondering what the most expensive ebook out there was.

The internet makes everything so easy. A few minutes and I had the answer. It took me considerably longer to put my eyes back in my head and close my jaw. The most expensive ebooks were all scientific treatise, and when I say expensive, I mean a gasp-inducing $6,431.20.  Yes, I'm serious. Selected Nuclear Materials and Engineering Systems sells for over six grand. Plus the 20 cents. No idea what the small change is about. Six grand isn't enough?  It's actually discounted. The price used to be over $8K.  Hey, it's expensive, but it's part 4 of a series (all similarly priced) and it's #53 in the Kindle Store for ebooks on thermodynamics. At only $4,960, Selected Systems from Al-Fe-V to Al-Ni-Zr is kicking Selected Nuclear Materials and Engineering Systems butt in the rankings.  The "customer reviews" are hilarious. "I had to sell my car and take out an equity loan on my house to buy this book, but it was worth every penny." They are worth following the link.

Fiction was a distant cousin. I had to sort through over 1,000 books to find fiction. The most expensive fiction ebook I could find was a self-published novel.  The author priced it at $200 and strangely hasn't sold one yet. Maybe that's because he keeps describing it as "a film" in his back cover copy--which is also rife with errors.  No, I'm not making it up. Go check the link. I'll wait here. I'm not sure what makes it worth $200, but that makes me think twice for griping about a $15 ebook. I still won't pay $15 for an ebook when the mass market paperback is 7.99, but I don't go pick up the paperback either. I just generally don't buy the book.

There is someone offering his resume for the same price. Also a selection of clearly gag offerings are listed. I guess everyone needs a hobby. There is even a listing by someone who doesn't want you to buy his book. No, really. He has some sort of dispute with his publisher, so he raised the price up to $199.99 and begs people not to buy his book.  Sadly, he has a higher Amazon rank than the self-published novel that thinks it's a film, indicating that people have ignored his wishes and purchased the book in spite of the fact that there is no indication of the subject matter.

All of this of course raises the question of just how much to price something.  Fortunately for you, my next ebook is only $5.50. The First Ghost will be released on February 21st and, as you can see, it's a bargain.  You should buy it.

Paybacks are . . .

. . .rather nice actually.  It's time to share somebooks I've recently enjoyed by authors I know.  Yes, I have a new book out and I'll pimp that later.  But first I have to say how much I enjoyed this story.  This is June Kramin's (aka: Aunty Bug) first novel.  I don't read a lot of contemporaries, but this one had a lovely little time travel twist.  No, she didn't go back to medieval England.  The heroine went back in her own life.  And forward.  And back again.  And then forward.  And then...oh, just read the book already. Here is the author's website: http://www.junekramin.com/.

Back Cover blurb:



A successful veterinarian, Kaitlyn thought she was content with her life. That is, until she turns thirty and realizes that her current ‘boy toy’ is simply not the father material she was looking for. As her biological clock ticks loudly in her ear, both her ‘toy’ and fate strongly disagree.


But something happens and over the next several days, she starts traveling between her birthdays of an altered present and those of her past, leaving her more confused than ever. With the help of a kindly old custodian named Frank, Kaitlyn comes to terms with her feelings for Dustin. And can Dustin Time quiet the ticking she’s trying so desperately to ignore?

See?  Time travel.  Sort of.  Just go read it already and tell me you don't fall in love with Dustin.  You'll be glad you did.