Switching Over

I’m going to officially stop blogging here and switch over to my Kaye George blog, since I won’t be writing as Janet Cantrell any longer. I’ve effectively already done that, since I haven’t posted here since April of last year! But I’ll make it official today.

Please drop in at http://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com/ to keep up with my latest news. Yesterday I posted a piece about my new beginnings. (http://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com/2018/01/new-beginnings.html)

I haven’t been too regular, even there, lately. But I hope to change that and get back into my stride this year. I hope to see you there!

Photo from Morguefile.com

New Series!!!

I’m very busy right now and can finally officially tell you what I’m doing, even though I leaked a bit of it last month. I’m excited to have a fully signed three-book contract with Kensington/Lyrical Press for a brand new series!

I put some details up yesterday on Travels With Kaye, since I’ll be using that name for these new books.

http://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com/2017/04/squeee-as-they-say.html

Here’s the answer to the burning question: Will there be a cat?

Of course! Another cuddly, adorable male cat, a Maine Coon. I’ll be collecting info, anecdotes, and escapades for Hector. If any of you have one, feel free to fill me in on details. I may find a place to use them, you never know!

Meanwhile, I’ll go a bit quiet here until I have more info—cover, pub date. I do know the first one will be published in 2018, and I have the first three titles.

REVENGE IS SWEET

DEADLY SWEET TOOTH

INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER

The setting is lovely Fredericksburg, TX, a cute tourist town in the heart of Hill Country, chock full of wineries. My sleuth’s specialty, though, is vintage candy. More details as they develop!

To keep up, you may want to sign up for my newsletter. You can do that by emailing me at either kayegeorge@gmail.com or janetcantrell01@gmail.com. 

 Maine coon photo from morguefile by katmystiry

Cozy Author MIA

I hope my followers will bear with me.

I realize I haven't posted for a VERY long time. The Fat Cat series is not continuing, as most of my fans know. But there are 2 "howevers". (If you will allow me to use "but" and "however" in the same sentence.)

(1)
However, I continue to blog on Killer Characters on the 4th of every month. You can catch some excellent posts there by lots of cozy mystery writers.

(2)
However--and this is a good one--a brand new cozy series will begin in 2018 from Kensington's Lyrical Press line. I can't announce all the details yet, but a cat will be involved, a Maine coon named Travis. I'm very excited about this new series! I'm writing it as Kaye George, which is how I have written all of my other published work. This will be the first cozy series for me as KG, though. I hope you'll stick around and check things out occasionally.

In the meantime, feel free to visit my Travels with Kaye blog and to sign up for my newsletter. You can do that by emailing me at either kayegeorge@gmail.com or janetcantrell01@gmail.com.

Thanksgiving

It’s been a while since I posted here, since my Fat Cat series is winding down. I still see sales every day, which lets me know that the books are still being read by new people.

Today I want to officially thank every person who has read a Fat Cat book, every one who has emailed me, every reviewer, and those who have borrowed them and read them. I love you all!

I’m so grateful to have such an enthusiastic bunch of fans! I love you all (and Quincy does, too, you know)!

So, until I have news (coming soon, I think!), many, many thanks!!!

Some News about Fat Cat

I need to make a public announcement to answer the question that several readers have been asking me. I've told a few people, and did post it in the comments section of my Killer Characters post on the 4th.




You're welcome to bop over there and read the comments, of course, but I'll also tell you the news here. It's official that there will be no more Fat Cat books. As you might know, as a cozy reader, Berkley Prime Crime is mostly getting out of the cozy mystery business. They are keeping a few authors, but not many. A lot of cozy writers are continuing their series at other publishers. I'm so glad for them and happy to see this. In fact, they're getting snapped up, since this is such a popular genre.

The Fat Cat books have a lovely, loyal fan base, too. I get emails almost every week from happy readers who enjoy the books. (See the comments above for more of this, also.)

So, you may ask, why am I not continuing this series at another publisher? For a few cozy writers, the contract doesn't allow this. I wrote this series as a Work For Hire, WFH. The contract stipulates that the publisher owns the copyright on the books. They own the characters so that I can't write short stories featuring them without approval. They even own my author name for this series, Janet Cantrell. For those of us writing WFH, there will be no transferring to another publisher.

You might ask another question. Why did I sign a WFH contract? At the time, about three years ago, it was a good way to get my foot in the door at Berkley. I used a concept they came up with. When they approved the proposal I wrote, I knew they would publish it. Also, they know the market well and I was assured of an audience and probably success of the series. The natural progression, in years past, would be for me to get another cozy series with them, written as Kaye George. No one at that time foresaw how Berkley would forsake the cozy writers, of course.

My agent is sending another cozy series around to several publishers. If it gets taken, it will be announced in capital letters in my newsletter. You may even hear my shouts of joy from wherever you may be!

Meanwhile, the books continue to sell and Janet and Quincy will live on until people stop reading them. I hope that will be in a long, long time!

Heads Up!

Here’s a Heads Up for the 4^th. On the Killer Character blog, where I post on the 4^th of every month, I’ll be giving away a large print edition of the second Fat Cat book in July. I only have one to give away, but I’d love for YOU to win it! Look for this link on Monday.

http://www.killercharacters.com/2016/06/a-firecracker-of-giveaway.html

International Widows Day

I was surprised to see that today is a celebration of Widows. What would be appropriate for that day, as far as celebrating goes? I doubt Anna Larson, the business partner of Chase Oliver in the Fat Cat books, would want to celebrate being a widow. She loved her husband very much.

He has been gone for a good many years, though, and by the time the third book takes place, romantic things are happening for her.

But back to my question. What do you think of when you hear the word “widow?” I think of the biblical command to care for the orphans and widows. That would paint them as unfortunate beings. I’m sure that’s sometimes true, and many times not true. But, hey, all kinds of people are fortunate and unfortunate.

The only way I can think to celebrate this is for women everywhere to continue to advocate for the rights of women everywhere, including widows in that scope. We women in the US might also take a moment to be grateful we live in a country where things are at least a little more equal for us.

And, if you’re curious about how Anna is faring, check out FAT CAT TAKES THE CAKE. You can find it in bookstores, libraries, and online.

Picture from morguefile

PS. I find this everywhere without any apostrophe. Oh well.