CREWEL INTENTIONS

by Lois Winston

I don’t like change. I much prefer the security and comfort of habit. So when I’m forced to make a change, the decision is one that takes much soul-searching and deliberation on my part. I’m not the kind of person who climbs a mountain just because it’s there. I need a really good reason to step out of my comfort zone, lace up my hiking boots, and ascend upwards into the unknown.

Unfortunately, the publishing industry is fraught with change lately. Gone are the days when an author had a home for life and the people she worked with at the publishing house became like a second family to her. These days there’s a lot of divorce going on in publishing. More and more authors are being dropped because their sales aren’t strong enough. Or authors decide for various reasons that they need to leave their publisher. Both situations are very scary for the author. No matter which party institutes the divorce proceedings, fear of the unknown can overwhelm an author.

Several months ago I realized I needed to institute a change in my life. I didn’t want to, but after countless weeks of soul-searching, I knew it was time to climb the mountain. So I laced up those hiking boots and decided not to sign another contract with Midnight Ink for more Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery books.

However, Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, which came out in January, will not be the last book in the series. Hopefully, Anastasia and I will find another home. We’re looking. Along with all the negative change in the publishing industry lately, there are also opportunities opening for authors that never existed prior to a few years ago. If all else fails, I’ll be able to publish more Anastasia books on my own. Anastasia has a lot more of her story yet to tell, and I fully plan to tell it.

To that end, I recently published Crewel Intentions, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery. Crewel Intentions is a 10,000 word short story that takes Anastasia on a side adventure.

Crewel Intentions sells for $1.99 and is available only as an ebook. I plan to write more mini-mysteries. I’m also working on Book 4, the next book in the main series. Time will tell if that book is published by a traditional publisher or in the brave new world of indie publishing. It all depends on what I find at the top of the mountain.

Crewel Intentions Blurb:

In this short story addition to the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack receives a desperate phone call from former American Woman fashion editor Erica Milano. Erica is now in Witness Protection and living under a new identity in Western Pennsylvania. But someone is stalking her, and Erica has compelling reasons why she can’t go to the police or notify her Witsec handlers. Anastasia is the only person she can trust to help her, and she knows Anastasia won’t let her down. After all, Erica once saved Anastasia’s life. But will Anastasia be able to return the favor before the stalker strikes?

Crewel Intentions is available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series also includes Death By Killer Mop Doll, Revenge of the Crafty Corpse and Crewel Intentions, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. In addition, she’s an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. She’s also the author of the recently released Top Ten Reasons Your Novel is Rejected. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog.