Patricia’s Occasional Newsletter (distributed only by request)

from author Patricia Crossley, www.patriciacrossley.com Please stop by for a visit, read some of my extracts and reviews & pick up some free downloads. email patricia@patriciacrossley.com,

* Hello to everyone and a special welcome to new subscribers to this newsletter.
This newsletter is a little late for a couple of reasons. First, February is a short month! Light bulb goes on! Things have to be prepared a bit earlier to hit a new month deadline. Second, I was away at a conference in Silverdale, Washington. Met some great writers, sold some books at a book signing and sent a partial to a NY publisher.

My third reason (excuse?) is a revamping of my web site. I wanted to finish it before I sent out the newsletter so I could invite you all to take a look. For a couple of years I've used a background that reminded me of the water and trees of the west coast. For the new version, I've chosen a background that looks like warm, dark chocolate. Have a peek and let me know what you think at patricia@patriciacrossley.com

I've added a new free download: Clearings (a collection of short stories by Thomas Mitchell) some more pictures of Africa and a zipped sampler of my extracts and some of the free books. If you find any problems with any part of the site, I'd be grateful if you would let me know.

I am delighted to find that subscribers to the newsletter are creeping up to the five hundred mark. It's wonderful to see addresses from all over the world. And the names you choose! I just wish I knew the why's and the wherefore's of some of them. And those of you who come back every month for the contest are beginning to feel like old friends!

The EPPIE results were announced this last weekend. You may remember that my ‛Dancing with the Devil' was a finalist in romantic suspense. It didn't win, but it was a huge thrill to be chosen amongst all the great writers listed. I'm including the complete list of winners at the end of the newsletter because you might find some great books. And since March 9-15 is national "Read an E-Book Week", you might want to give a couple of them a try.
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This month we have for you:

- contest winners
- exciting news
- meet some new authors
- March contest details
- book extract
- EPPIE winners


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* Congratulations to the winners of the February contest. The African necklace went to: Sherry Haut. The Victoria soaps are in the mail to Sheila Sloot and Patricia Boyle


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* I have some exciting news about A Suitable Father, my contemporary romance set in the Pacific North West. I told you that it is to be released in large print from Ulverscroft in July 2003. This last month I received the final draft of the German translation , so expect to find it available at http://www.springtree.de very soon.
I have also been offered a contract for regular print and electronic versions from Zumaya Publishing. No date as yet, but I'll keep you posted. This book was available through my web site. Thank you to those who bought it. Because of the new contract it will no longer be for sale until republished, but the reviews and extracts will remain at http://www.patriciacrossley.com

And here’s a ‘teaser’from A Suitable Father:

He looked at her over the rim of his glass, but he was still wearing those damned shades. She couldn’t read his expression.
"I see."
No, you don’t see, she wanted to shout at him. You don’t see what I’ve made of my life since you and Steve turned everything upside down. Between you, you hurt everyone you touched. But I’ve survived both of you.
"You’d be more comfortable at the motel," she said through stiff lips.
He took off the glasses, and she saw his eyes again. They were still blue, bright blue, just as she’d expected, more vivid than ever against the deep tan of his skin. A web of fine lines was etched around them. There was a dark bruise high on one cheekbone. She refrained from comment.
"Your room hasn’t been cleaned for years. . . ."
He brushed the lock of hair back from his forehead. Maggie’s heart lurched again, a funny kind of buzz starting low down in her abdomen. Damn you, Kurt, you have no right to still have this kind of effect on me! Go away! And stay away as you have for the last twelve years!
"No problem to me," Kurt said. "I’m used to camping out."
"I don’t want you here," she repeated.
"You mentioned that." He raised one eyebrow. "This is my grandmother’s house, isn’t it?"
She nodded.
"She invited me. I’m here for a while until I decide what to do." He turned the empty glass on the table, not looking at her. "Don’t worry, I won’t get in your hair. You won’t even know I’m around." His voice was cold.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. What on earth had Frieda been thinking of? Had she been in touch with him all these years without saying a word? Maggie clung to the promise that he’d leave her alone. She prayed to God he meant it.
She took another breath, struggling to center herself, to deal with the tumult of emotions. He wanted his old room! Kurt Rainer wanted to be in his old room, in the house that she now lived in! The man she’d firmly shut out of her life and her thoughts was back in flesh and blood and invading her home. She leaned back against the counter and closed her eyes. The clock ticked loudly in the silence that hung heavy in the kitchen. Through the open window, the chain on the humming bird feeder creaked softly as a bird came down to drink. Whatever she said would be wrong. "Go away, I don’t care if your grandmother promised you the whole house. You can’t stay here." Or how about. "Please make yourself at home. Share everything."
Not! as Jeff would say.
A scraping noise from the table startled her into opening her eyes. Kurt had pushed his chair back and was on his feet, doubled over, his hands pressed to his side. His face was waxy pale, his eyes squeezed shut. His mouth twisted in a grimace of pain.
"What is it?" Maggie thrust herself away from the counter and took two steps to his side.
He steadied himself with the back of the chair, then waved her away and straightened carefully. "It’s okay," he said in a gasp. "Don’t worry about it." He let go of the chair and took a tentative step. "Got to move the car," he whispered through bloodless lips. He reached the doorway with a visible effort and clung to the jamb for a long moment. Then, quietly and slowly, he slid down the length of the wall and lay crumpled in a heap at her feet.


Read the first chapters and reviews on my web site: (http://www.patriciacrossley.com)


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Let me introduce you to two of my fellow authors.

Vicky Hunnings
read an excerpt at www.vickyhunnings.com
The Bride Wore Blood
Avalon Books
ISBN 0803495498

When death investigator Detective “Shark” Morgan is summoned to investigate the tuxedoed body sprawled across the steps of the antebellum church just off Hilton Head Island, he is unsure if he is dealing with a tragic accident -- or murder. Either way, millionaire real estate developer Marcus DeSilva is very dead.

As Morgan and his partner, Dell Hassler, begin to peel away the layers of deceit and deception surrounding DeSilva’s life, one name keeps cropping up at every turn. Marissa, the widowed bride, a woman with a shadowy past whose face has haunted Shark since he first saw it filling his television screen on the local evening news. Is she simply another unfortunate victim, or is the violence that seems to follow in her wake more than just coincidence?

*A retired family nurse practitioner, Vicky didn't begin writing until 1998. This is her first novel.

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Betty Jo Schuler's story collection for teens, NO RAIN, NO RAINBOWS, is a 2003 EPPIE anthology finalist. "This is an important book for teens and preteens," this author says. "Reading how eight fictional heroines deal with difficult situations will help girls think ahead what to do if the same thing happens to them."

This is the third consecutive year one of Schuler's books has been nominated for one of these awards of excellence in electronic publishing. In 2000, CAMP CHEER was a young adult nominee. In 2001, WINNING CHANCE was a contemporary romance finalist.

Betty Jo, who also writes for kids, is currently teaching an online course for Writer's Digest Magazine, "Fundamentals of Writing for Children."

Check out Betty Jo's web site : Betty Jo Schuler http://home.webworks2000.net/bschuler/bettyjo.html
NO RAIN, NO RAINBOWS ~ 2002 EPPIES finalist YA anthology http://www.atlanticbridge.net/publishing/
New! YA pick-a-path mystery ~ CAMP CHEER http://www.hardshell.com/newErel.asp

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* March contest:
This contest will run from March 1 until March 31st 2003
March 9-15 is National "read an e-book" week! In honor of this event, you could enter my contest to win one of three 12 slot portable CD folders, including a CD with book extracts, a free wacky novel, an anthology, a cookbook and a short story. If you already read e-books, you'll love it. If you have never tried an e-book, maybe this is what you need to take the first step. Go to my web site at http://www.patriciacrossley.com to enter

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This month we have a book extract from Deadly Trail by Marilyn Meredith
Web Site: http://fictionforyou.com
Available from Hard Shell Word Factory http://hardshell.com


The muscular, bronze-skinned Yanduchi Indian plunged his Buck knife deep into the sidewall of one of the big tires of the truck fully loaded with newly-cut logs just as Deputy Tempe Crabtree drove her official white Blazer down the rough track. She didn't have to see his face, she recognized him by his build and waist long black braids--Nick Two John.

If it hadn't been for the group of angry loggers, their blocked equipment, and the belligerent demonstrators, the scene might have been idyllic. Lofty cedars and fir trees interspersed with an occasional Sequoia, grew so close together their foliage nearly blocked out the sun. Enormous ferns covered the floor of the forest.

Tempe jammed the brake pedal to the floor and leaped from her vehicle, but not soon enough to prevent Two John from yanking the knife downward and ruining the tire. Before she could reach him, a tall, skinny logger threw down his cigarette and stomped toward Two John. "What the hell's wrong with you, man? You can't get away with that!"

He swung at Two John. The Indian blocked the blow with the arm that held the knife. "Back off, buddy," he growled. "I don't want to hurt you."

With her hand on her baton, Tempe strode toward the grappling men. "Throw down your knife, Nick! Step away from each other. Now!"

"Did you see what he did, deputy?" the logger whined.

"How could I miss it? You're under arrest, Nick. You have the right to remain silent..." She recited the rest of his rights while Two John compliantly put his wrists together behind his back, awaiting handcuffs. He was only a few inches taller than her own five-foot eight.

When she'd finished, he said, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Crabtree."

Tempe laughed. "Because I arrested you? I'm only doing my job."

"No, that's not what I meant. You ought be demonstrating right along with me. Doesn't your Yanduchi ancestry mean anything to you?"

"Obviously not what you think it ought to." Tempe led him to the Blazer.

"Didn't your Grandma teach you anything about what it means to be a Native American?" Nick asked.

She opened the door. "I was only eleven when Mama Lena died." When Tempe thought of her grandmother, she remembered herself as a little girl sitting on the comfortable lap with her head against the cushioning bosom, gazing up into the wrinkled brown face and twinkling dark eyes. She remembered her grandma brushing out her long graying hair and braiding it, intertwining
colorful beaded ribbons. The memories made Tempe smile and feel sad at the same time. She had loved her grandmother very much.

With Two John locked inside the Blazer, Tempe turned to face the rest of the Save-the-Forest demonstrators who looked out of place in the usually peaceful surroundings. They shouted unintelligible slogans while crowding around her in a threatening manner. Logging in the national forest in the southern Sierra had been a controversial issue for a long time. Tempe had
never been drawn into the dispute before. As resident deputy of Bear Creek, she spent her time enforcing the law in and around the small foothill community. But today, when the dispatcher put out the call she had been the nearest to the trouble.

‛Dark Trails' is an Eppie nominee and the prequel to the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series.
Marilyn has several other books with electronic and paper publishers. She is also a Writer's Digest School instructor.


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Tampa, Florida: EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection, is proud to announce the 2003 EPPIE winners. The awards were presented Saturday, March 8th, at a gala banquet as part of EPICon 2003.

The winners are...

ACTION/ADVENTURE:
THE JOURNEY By James Bailey

ANTHOLOGY:
SHIFTERS By Jane Toombs, Myra Nour, Jennifer Dunne & Robin Bayne

CHILDRENS:
HYPER HARRY By Patricia Aust

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE:
LAST RESORT By Cheryl Norman

FANTASY/PARANORMAL/SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE:
FINDERS KEEPERS By Linnea Sinclair

FANTASY:
SHADOW PRINCE By Jennifer Dunne

HISTORICAL:
GENESEE By Juliet Waldron

HISTORICAL ROMANCE:
SALLY SWEET'S SISTER By Sarah Winn

HORROR:
WOODLINE By Lawrence Crossett

INSPIRATIONAL:
NECKLACE OF WARM SNOW by Brenda Hall Townsend

MYSTERY:
THE PRIDE OF PEACOCK By Josh Hardin

NON-FICTION - HOW-TO:
BECOMING YOUR OWN CRITIQUE PARTNER by Jane Toombs & Janet Lane Walters
NON-FICTION - PHILOSOPHY:
RE: VIEWING, THINKING, TURNING by Alan Wittbecker

POETRY:
AMERICAN LYRICON by Joel L. Young

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE:
PICTURE OF GUILT By Helen Haddad

SCIENCE FICTION:
FALLEN CITY By Greg Austin & Rick Sellers

SINGLE TITLE/MAINSTREAM:
THE BLUE MOSAIC VASE By Christy Shary

THRILLER:
DEADLY VISITS by Janet Brown

WESTERN:
LISTEN TO THE MOCKINGBIRD by Penny Rudolph

YOUNG ADULT:
Tie SPIRIT SINGER By Edward Willett
PAINTED WITH SHADOWS By Becca De La Rosa

EPIC congratulates the winners. For more information on EPICon 2003 and the
EPPIES, visit http://www.epic-conference.com

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Thank you for allowing me time in your busy lives once again. I’m interested in receiving your feedback on anything in this newsletter or on my website (www.patriciacrossley.com) . I’ve kept the format of the newsletter simple, so that it doesn’t cause a problem in your system. Please email me at patricia@patriciacrossley.com if you have any comments or suggestions. If you know anyone who would like to receive the newsletter, they only need to send me an email with ‘newsletter’ in the subject line. If you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, let me know by email and I will remove your name from the list. Remember, this newsletter is sent only on request. If you think you have been wrongly subscribed, please let me know and I will remove your name. Happy reading!