Organizing Cheap and Easy — Part 1
Spring has officially hit the calendar, and that means we’re all ready to dig out from more than just snow under the windows. While some people like to take their Spring Cleaning & Organizing in one big bite, I prefer little nibbles myself, so I don’t get off-track on all of the other to-do lists I have every day. If’ you’re like me, I offer my room-by-room spring cleaning and organizing ideas–but best of all, I don’t bring in anything new and costly to do the job. Look around the house and find amazing ways to re-purpose items for organization by thinking outside of the box. I’m starting today with the Living Room with a Baker’s Dozen of tips, and I will be moving through other rooms in the house throughout the next week or so. So come back in the days ahead, and leave any springtime ideas you already Read more…
We’re Going Into the Home Stretch…
Do you know how writer’s whine? Well, let me tell you I’ve been happily whining up a storm lately because I’m having such a difficult time staying focused. But all the promos are starting on Marked Masters, the second book in my Bodies of Art Mysteries, and that makes me think of Florida and Florence, Italy–the two places Laurel & Jack focus their own attention in the book. The picture at the right shows the Duomo complex in Florence (you can see a hint of the exquisite dome on the far right edge) and the Giotto Bell Tower in the background plays a key role in the book. So… I’m having some difficulty staying in one point of view each day, and my cozy deadline is looming, and I have to keep reminding myself to get out of Laurel’s smart mouth POV and back into Kate’s much nicer and more dedicated one. Read more…
More Great Reads, Contest Fun and Prizes
A lot of great new contests and giveaways have started up lately, and this is the third blog I’ve written on this subject in the past week. If you didn’t read the other blog posts, scroll down to look them over as some of the contests mentioned have long entry periods, and the book blogs mentioned have new contests all the time. But in the spirit of new opportunity, here are a few more sites to check out, and these links are the kind that have giveaways pretty regularly. Dru’s Book Musing is a great reading site that offers unique and fun info for fans, and giveaways as well. Features include A Day in the Life, that lets secondary characters in books take the spotlight to reveal more of their personality and voice, cover reveals of new and upcoming books, book reviews, and giveaways provided by authors and/or publishers. All you Read more…
Why Two is Better Than One–And a Giveaway
I’m over at Lori’s Reading Corner today, blogging about books and authors that shaped the way I write. I also give the evidence behind the title I used for this brief post. So if you’re curious, or have a couple of minutes to spare, check out the blog post at Lori’s. There’s a Book Giveaway, too–a copy of ORGANIZED FOR MURDER–so be sure to leave a comment at the Lori’s Reading Corner blog to enter! Here’s the link to the blog: Guest Post with Giveaway ~ Organized For Murder by Ritter Ames
Launch Week of Organized for Murder
It’s been several days since I’ve had time to blog on organization tips because I’ve been blogging so much on the new release. Anyone reading this who purchased ORGANIZED FOR MURDER, read & reviewed it, and/or blogged about it to share the news, thank you so very much. I cannot begin to put into words how much it has meant to see people like this book and help spread the news about it. Early reviews and sales have been overwhelming. More than a hundred 5-star reviews on the online bookseller sites, and the book hit #1 on Amazon’s Cozy Crafts & Hobbies category on the first day. Right now, it’s still #4 as an Amazon Cozy, #1 on their Top Rated books, #2 in Hot New Cozy Releases, and #13 for Women Sleuths, which means that my amateur sleuth is measured against the popularity of all the other women sleuths in all the Read more…
Kitchen Organization Tips
Today is Day 2 of my mini-blog tour at my publisher’s FB page (Thank you, Gemma Halliday), and I’m offering a couple of new tips I use every day that not only keeps my kitchen organized, but also helps me save on my food budget. Look for the post in the left column of the page, and be sure to click ‘See More’ at the end of Gemma’s intro paragraph to see the rest of the blog. If you didn’t read the tips posted yesterday and the day before, scroll down that same column and you’ll find those posts, too! Happy Saturday, everyone! https://www.facebook.com/gemmahallidayauthor All of these tips, of course, are to get you thinking about buying my newest mystery novel ORGANIZED FOR MURDER which will be released in all ebook formats and print on Monday, Feb. 24th. The sale links go live on Monday, and I’ll post all bookseller links here. In the Read more…
Posting Organization Tips Today on My Publisher’s Facebook Page
My wonderful publisher, Gemma Halliday, is offering me her Facebook page for the next three days to post even more great organization tips. How cool is that? You don’t have to be her Facebook friend to see the tips (though you can be), just go to her Author page at https://www.facebook.com/gemmahallidayauthor and look for the cover of my book near the top of the left hand column. Also, be sure to click on the blue ‘See More’ link near the end of her introductory paragraph to bring up my organization tips. Enjoy! More tips will be posted on her FB page tomorrow and Saturday, and here on this site you can still read the Chapter One excerpt on my post for yesterday. One final note: to tie to the Monday, Feb. 24th release for ORGANIZED FOR MURDER, my publisher has set the price on the first book in my other series COUNTERFEIT CONSPIRACIES at Read more…
Kate McKenzie’s Down To Earth Organization Style
The main character in ORGANIZED FOR MURDER is Kate McKenzie, wife, mother of twins, and small business owner. While her daily focus is on keeping her family’s and clients’ lives running efficiently and well-organized, she’s a pretty easygoing person and doesn’t feel one must go to heroic (or expensive) measures to keep life running smoothly. In the book, she speaks at an organization workshop in the local bookstore. This is a little taste of her common sense approach to keeping a household on-track, and may give you some ideas, too. Kate’s Notes: How to Keep a Happily Organized Home (for the organization presentation) Unless you live alone, don’t try to organize your home by yourself. Involve the same people who helped get your disordered abode in its present state. Teamwork isn’t just more efficient time-wise, it’s critical if you want to make permanent organizational changes. Learn as a team to clean as Read more…
Easy Office Organization Tips
As I revealed yesterday, my new cozy mystery ORGANIZED FOR MURDER will be released next Monday, February 24, 2014. And while many an early reviewer on GoodReads notes the novel’s great tips woven within a satisfying mystery, I’m using this blog to give some organization tips that readers won’t find within the covers of ORGANIZED FOR MURDER. The main protagonist, Kate McKenzie, has a small business named Stacked in Your Favor, and has office space carved out of a back bedroom in her home. At a couple of points in the book, the story takes readers into Kate’s office, and we learn a few of the little things she does to keep her office organized. But there are many more. Since I’ve had a nonfiction writing business for about 15 years, I’ve tried a number of ways to keep my home office organized so I can stay on-track and in-the-black when it Read more…
How Pictures Can Help Organize Life
A week from today, on February 24th 2014, marks the release date of ORGANIZED FOR MURDER, the first book in my new cozy Organized Mysteries series, with amateur sleuth and organizational expert Kate McKenzie. For a fun tie-in to the book, my publisher, Gemma Halliday Publishing, and I are running organization tips here on my blog and later in the week on her Facebook author page (but I’ll post info on the days of the posting for her site when the dates get closer). Today, I want to cover a couple of ways I used pictures for years to help my kids keep themselves and their space organized. I know every child is different, but most little kids really want to help. They just don’t always understand how. With young ones, I quickly realized two things: 1) all little children love playing match games, and 2) kids love marking things off Read more…
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