While my forthcoming novel is classified a cozy mystery, there is nothing cozy about the real-life tragedies on which the mystery part is inspired — the heat stroke deaths of high school athletes.
Life was good. For the first time in months, I had no book-related deadline worries. It was mid-August, and eight days had passed since I’d completed the second read-through of the final draft of Dust Bunnies & Dead Bodies and returned it to Rebecca, my editor at PageSpring Publishing. For a few bliss-filled days after that, I operated as if my part in this project was done. I had written the book, made all of Rebecca’s requested rewrites, proofread the manuscript from beginning to end four times, and sent it back to her to publish. It was out of my hands. Yay, I thought, from now until my book debuts in mid-October, I’ll just bask in the afterglow. Sometimes as we wander aimlessly along our little path, if we’re lucky, a special person comes along to help us reset our compass. If we’re smart, we pay attention. This post is about the man who helped me reset mine and who I consider my mentor as well as my friend, Ray Moscowitz. Throughout his long career, Ray, a life-long newspaperman, mentored hundreds of cub reporters, some of whom went on to achieve great things in their careers. They called it the “Ray Moscowitz School of Journalism.” I was lucky to be one of his grads. Thank you, brave soul, for clicking the link to the first-ever blog post by me, Crystal Cropper, editor-in-chief of the Elmwood Gazette, a daily newspaper serving Elmwood, Indiana, since 1893. I’ve been a professional news writer for going on forty years, but this social media hullabaloney is still news to me. Despite my Internet illiteracy, I was told that, because the novel--Dust Bunnies & Dead Bodies-- featuring li’l ol’ moi comes out in less than two short months, I needed to establish my platform, increase my tweets, enhance my Facebook presence, and write a blog ... STAT! The other day, I commented on a Facebook posting made by one of my former high school teachers. In his response to my comment, he digressed from the topic at hand (Roy Rogers vs. Gene Autry) to add, “By the way, congratulations on the completion of your first novel... there are many of us who are jealous because we did not have the self discipline or will power to complete the novel that is within all of us.”
A book title is a workhorse that pulls a ton of weight.
The title, like the cover, must immediately communicate the story’s genre, hint at the plot, and generate curiosity that quickly entices readers to pick it or click it. Besides that, it must be original, clever, memorable, and unique enough to appear at the top of the list when a potential reader does an online search for the book. Choosing a book title that does all of this is not for the faint of heart. I now know this firsthand, as I chose the title of my first novel, Dust Bunnies and Dead Bodies, only after I was swept up by a veritable “title wave” of ideas. Yesterday — Saturday, July 26 — I helped close up the 2014 Midwest Writers Workshop held in the Alumni Center, located on the Ball State University campus in Muncie, Indiana. It was a new kind of ending for me, filled with equal parts relief and sense of accomplishment.
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Archives
November 2023
2020 - ROAD TRIP with the DEAD
• Sept. 1 - STOP 1: Jesse Worley Osborn, Greentown • Sept. 3 - STOPS 2 & 3: Harry & Nellie Hiatt, Cicero • Sept. 5 - STOP 4: Walker & Enoch McClintock, Strawtown • Sept. 7 - STOP 5: Belle Sheridan Shenkenberger • Sept. 9 - STOP 6: Lt. William Wirt Daugherty • Sept. 11 - STOP 7: Mayor Henry C. Cole • Sept. 13 - STOP 8: Fairy McClain-Miller • Sept. 15 - STOP 9: Grover & Louisa Blake • Sept. 17 - STOP 10: Daniel Snider • Sept. 19 - STOP 11: A.J. Baker • Sept. 21 - STOP 12: Richard Gladden • Sept. 23 - STOP 13: Garnet Ginn • Sept. 25 - STOP 14: Dink Carter & the Agrue Family • Sept. 27 - STOP 15: Dee, Homer & Jesse McClure • Sept. 29 - STOP 16: Nora Coleman & Sepharna Gleason * * * * * * * * * 2019 BLOG TOUR • June 13 — Interview, Diane Ascroft • June 14 – Character Q&A, Defining Ways • June 15 – Author Q&A, MJB Reviewers • June 16 – Character Post, StoreyBook Reviews • June 16 – Author Q&A, A Place In The Spotlight • June 17 – Guest Post, Books Direct • June 18 – Guest Post, Brooke Blogs • June 19 – REVIEW Baroness’ Book Trove • June 21 – Character Post, The Book Diva’s Reads • June 22 – REVIEW, Brianne’s Book Reviews • June 23 – REVIEW, Christa Reads and Writes • June 24 – Character Q&A, A Wytch’s Book Review Blog * * * * * * * * * * 2017 BLOG TOUR • June 19 — Spotlight Celticlady's Reviews • June 20 — Review My Journey Back • June 21 — Spotlight Books, Dreams, Life • June 22 — Interview Annette Drake's Blog • June 23 — Review Back Porchervations • June 24 — Guest Post Island Confidential • June 24 — Guest Post Escape with Dollycas • June 25 — Interview Laura's Interests • June 26 — Interview Pulp and Mystery Shelf • June 26 — Review Caleb & Linda Pirtle • June 27 — Spotlight Socrates' Book Reviews • June 27 — Spotlight Blogger Nicole Reviews • June 28 — Spotlight Celebrating Authors • June 29 — Review Queen of All She Reads • June 30— Interview Teresa Trent Site • July 1 — Guest Post StoreyBook Reviews • July 2 — Interview Deal Sharing Aunt • July 2 — Review Nadaness in Motion • July 4 — Interview Gotta Write Network • July 12 — Review A Holland Reads • July 19 — Guest Post Gotta Write Network |