Pond’s Postcard
An ornament I made for our Christmas tree.
Hello!
A little about the author.
I am the author of the Pond Investigations Mystery series. I have dreamed of being a writer my entire life. Story ideas have poured out of me onto paper since I was in third grade when my best friend and I wrote a picture book together about a purple monster named Eeple. We wrote and illustrated it, stapled the pages together, and brought it to our teacher. You can imagine the look on her face when we asked if we could put it in the school’s library. It didn’t get added to the library collection. I often wonder if we’d have gotten a different answer if we’d taken it directly to the librarian.
Goal Met!
I have awesome news to share. I’ve been working to surpass 300 copies sold of “Mad Money & Murder”. This goal was met over the second weekend in November at our local “Christmas in November” event.
I met many people and sold a lot of copies of my debut mystery. Some were going to be enjoyed by the people who bought them. Others were going to be wrapped up as Christmas presents. Please help me achieve my next sales goal of reaching 400 copies by spreading the word. Tag me in your social media posts and I’ll jump on and say hi!
Reader Response
I want to thank Anita for telling me what she thinks of “Mad Money & Murder” in person. Anita bought the book directly from me at an event a couple of months ago. She told me she’s enjoying the book, loves the humor, wishes she could hang out with my characters, and then the words that made me clasp my hands in delight: I’m her new favorite author!
Death is in the Cards
The release date for the next mystery in the Pond Investigations Mystery series is February 18th, 2025. I’ve been getting a fantastic response to the new book from my family, beta readers, and editor. For those of you who haven’t read the blurb yet, here it is
After an eventful winter, Pond Private Investigation’s daily routine is interrupted once again.
Coaxed by a friend, Liz Pond sets up a fortune teller booth for a charity fundraiser. Of course, the people coordinating the event don’t know they are getting a real psychic.
Liz spends her morning reading fortunes for the lovelorn and hopeful. When a young man enters her tent, the mood turns serious after the Death card makes an appearance. A vision of his murder fills her mind. She tries to warn him, but he won’t listen. Before she can do anything more, she is struck on the side of her head by a wayward softball. The injury results in a concussion and a little something extra. Her ESP abilities spin out of control. Her family and friends surround her to help. But with a potential murder on the horizon, Liz may need to bring one more person into her circle of trust. How will Detective A. J. Sowell handle it if Liz tells him she is more than a private investigator?
Life Lesson
I’ll end this first newsletter with a valuable life lesson. Don’t chop jalapenos without gloves on. Because it doesn’t matter how many times you wash your hands, there are still remnants of the juice on your skin. How do I know this? Because I chopped jalapenos for chili, and an hour later, I rubbed my eye. The burning sensation was immediate and returned in waves even after using lots of eye drops to flush them out. Tip: Don’t use water to flush your eyes. That’ll make it worse. Also, according to my daughter, you also have to fight the urge to pour milk into your eye. Something I understand but hadn’t even considered before that moment.
Holiday Gift Guide
I have to share. “Mad Money & Murder” is listed in this month’s Holiday Gift Guide put out by Lone Star Literary. Here’s a link to peruse their guide to buying books written by Texas Authors:
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/hgg2024#page/1 (“Mad Money & Murder” is on page 26.)
Do you have any readers on your holiday shopping list that are fans of Agatha Christie, Mary Higgins Clark, or Hallmark Mystery movies? If you do, the ad is a link that will take you to the Amazon page if you’d like to order a copy.
Happy Reading! Happy Holidays!
Jenni Stand
December 2024