You’ve read something. You have an opinion about it. Should you review it?

YES!

As an author myself (and husband of an author) I can tell you that reviews are vital – and very appreciated!

How then do you do it? Here’s some tips (and, ahem, feel free to apply these to a review of any of the Plant Lady Mystery Series!):

• Be brief to start. I think a lot of potential reviewers get nervous that their review has to be a detailed piece of writing. Far from it. Look at Amazon reviews. How many of the extra long ones have you read? Think short and to the point. And, once you start writing, you may find more things to mention – but I think it’s easier to start by telling yourself you’ll say just a little right now.
• Be genuine. In fact, Amazon rules emphasize that reviews MUST “give customers genuine product feedback from fellow shoppers.” Amazon is very careful to prevent any type of fraud or “gaming” of the system. That’s why I won’t ever be asking for positive reviews here – I’m asking for ALL reviews. And by the way, no one should EVER promise ANY benefit in exchange for a review, with one exception: A free book (which complies with Item #4 of the Amazon Rules.)
• Be informative. Don’t get me wrong – 200 posts about Gwen’s books saying “I love it!” are most welcome. But imagine you have a friend asking about this book. What would you say? More than likely, you’d say exactly what you think your friend needs in order to make a decision – and that’s just what a review should have.

  For example, I used to write reviews for a local monthly paper, where I’d try to focus on who would benefit most from the product. For example, a software program might be useful for a beginner. So, I could either trash the software as simplistic, or talk about the features that made it great for a beginner. Which review do you imagine would help buyers most? By aiming to the audience I felt would benefit, my reviews were more useful to everyone (I hope!)

A well-crafted review, especially on a site like Amazon, can be a boon to a writer, both ego- and career- wise. We thank you if you consider reviewing one of Gwen’s books, and I think I can join in with authors everywhere to say a big “THANK YOU” to everyone who has put reviews out there – you’ve made our buying decisions easier, and opened the doors to discovering new writers and stories!

PLM#3 (Codename: Pear Tree) is on its way…

I want to say the REAL title – I really do. It’s funny, it’s punny, and the manuscript (from what I’ve been allowed to hear!) is really good.

It involves some horticulture (the oft-mentioned “pear tree” I use in my code name for it) but it’s mostly about friendship and the real good in some people. There’s too much bad in the world right now, and I’m delighted Gwen is working on something upbeat and positive (serious in places of course) – the kind of book that warms instead of terrorizes. If James Herriot had written fiction I’d like to think his and Gwen’s books would be on the same bookshelf in libraries…

So stay tuned. The book is on its way. Like a fine meal, you can’t rush the recipe, but I can smell it wafting from the kitchen, and my stomach is rumbling. SOON, I say to it, soon you will dine…

At long last, we present the official Plant Lady Mysteries beverage cup:

(Donuts not included)

Yes, while you’re waiting for Plant Lady Mysteries #3 (Codename: “Pear Tree”, because I can’t tell you the real title until Gwen lets me) you can get some refreshing PLM goodness in coffee cup form. In multiple forms, actually, since you can get the PLM logo on a travel cup, frosted mug, or even a stein (now PLM AND a beer stein, that’s a match!)

You have a choice of blue logo with the artwork from PLM#1 on both sides of the cup, red with PLM#2’s artwork, or a cup with red on one side, blue on the other – mucho choices!

So click here and get them on Zazzle today!

2017 has been very good in PLM-world – a second book, readers (and fans!) and Gwen hard at work on book 3.

Still plenty to do, but it’s been a dizzying few months as PLM takes off.

As thank you to everyone, click on this link to get a free copy of “Plant Lady Twigs to Villainy” for a limited time.

You’ve helped our dreams go well in 2017, so thank you – and here’s hoping we all get to dream more in 2018!

In getting Gwen’s books out there, one real problem is where EXACTLY do they fit?

The term “Cozy Mysteries” is pretty popular (by the way in Britain they call them Cozies) but it’s also pretty broad, and I’m not sure it conveys everything.

For example, there’s a mystery, but it’s not front and center – character development and the growing relationships between the people of Packard Falls is.

And although it’s quite clean (no swearing or bed-hopping) it’s not religious – the people are simply moral (except for the bad ones, of course!) Think Agatha Christie, and you realize that a good story doesn’t have to be salacious…

In talking about it, Gwen came up with a new word – Mayberryesque.

Take The Andy Griffith Show, and the adventures there in Mayberry. Always entertaining, but the fact is the events would be pretty tame to someone who watched a few 2017 Vampire shows, or just about anything on TV these days. Yet it WAS popular, and very much enjoyed. And you can still find it on TV 50 years later, something I’m not expecting for at least 95% of the TV on today.

Watch this video from the “Today Show” of 1996, where the main characters talk about the style – cue to about 1:45 for the point I’m making.

There you have it – entertaining stories, interesting characters, but good, clean fun.

So how about a subgenre of Cozy Mysteries, say, Mayberryesque Cozy Mysteries?

Feel free to weigh in with comments!

So thanks to everyone who helped make PLM#1 popular – due to that successful Facebook campaign, we now have an active Facebook page, over 1,300 new readers, and 8 (and counting) STELLAR reviews!

To thank everyone on Facebook I had this idea to put a heart up – but not some old mamba-pamby clipart heart, something special – and it turns out that the red of PLM#1 and the blue of PLM#1 go together well in a mosaic:

It’s hard to see details, but you can click on the image to see the original, much larger one and see the titles. The books were combined with a free mosaic program, graciously written by AndreaMosaic. Thanks!