By Tracy Weber
I'm finally wrapping up the big press push for my third Downward Dog Mystery, Karma's a Killer. Check out some of my favorite articles and interviews. From insider tips on writing and the path to publication, to photographic tours of pivotal settings in the book, to a character interview with Kate, the yoga teacher/sleuth in the series. I've had a blast connecting with all of these bloggers and editors! Check them out and conduct your own interview by asking questions in the comments! I love chatting with readers!
- Book Publishing Secrets: A fun interview about my path to publication and my advice to other writers. "Once you sell your work to a publisher, you give up both creative and marketing control. In return, you get marketing and editorial expertise, a little prestige, and a potential path onto the shelves of major booksellers. If you decide to self publish, you need to be more than a writer. Successful self publishers are small business owners who spend as much time editing, formatting, and marketing their books as they do writing them. It’s all about trade-offs."
- Beyond the Books: An interview with Kate Davidson, the yoga teacher/sleuth of my series: "Who could have predicted that three hundred pages after being attacked by a Chihuahua, I’d have come to peace with a repressed memory from my childhood and reconnected with a long-lost family member? And I even ended up with a new way to torture Tiffany! Nothing is more fun than that."
- It's Not Always a Murder: An article about Green Lake Park--a pivotal location in Karma's a Killer. The photos alone are worth a look! "In the summer, the area near the lake’s shore is smothered with lily pads; its surface, dotted by boats. The path around its circumference is crowded with thousands of locals who flock to it each day. What better place to plot murder!"
- Read Your Writes: An article about my dog, Tasha, and the unique friendship she has with several local crows. "I still don’t know what magical connection that first crow has with my dog, but I think it’s lifelong, in both animals. I’ll never look at crows the same way again."
- Straight from the Author's Mouth: An interview about publishing, priorities, and the business aspects of writing. "I write for three blogs, I’m on social media, I book blog tours, I do signings, and I attend conferences. I’m out wherever I can be, however I can be. I’ve yet to see a correlation of any single activity with sales, so instead I focus on having fun with whatever I’m doing."
- The Serious Reader: What kind of yoga teacher writes about murder? Most of my readers don’t practice yoga, which isn’t surprising. Reading immerses us in worlds we might otherwise never experience. I write murder mysteries, but I don’t expect my readers to be killers, either. ;-)
- Island Confidential: An interview about writing, character development, and yoga classes from hell. Even experienced yoga teachers sometimes teach the class from hell. The class in which everything goes wrong. You say right when you mean left; you say big toe when you mean bicep. You step on students’ hands and cell phones go off during Savasana. Then you look down to realize—or in my case, a student tells you—that your pants are not only unzipped, they are also on inside out.
- Blogger News Network: An interview about writing and creativity: "I get my most creative ideas outdoors while I’m walking or playing with my German shepherd, Tasha. I suspect the combination of fresh air, exercise, and being with the love of my life all conspire to get my creative juices flowing. Besides, you meet a lot of crazy people when you’re attached to the leash of an unruly, hundred-pound German shepherd. Sometimes, you just want to kill them."
- Kings River Life Magazine: Detailed interview about the themes in Karma's a Killer and the life of a writer. And a fantastic review! "Despite the complex issues facing animal shelters and rescues, the novel never becomes too dark due to the wit and humor of the dialogue. The strongest attribute of this very engaging and smartly-plotted mystery series, though, is how the author successfully balances animal rights with dynamic human relationships."
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
Tracy Weber
