Matinicus FREE on Kindle for 3 Days!

Matinicus will be FREE on Kindle Friday, Saturday and Sunday (3/29,3/30, 3/31), to celebrate the release of Reese's Leap, Book Two in the Maine Island Mystery Series! So be sure to grab one, spread the word, and gift them to your friends!
More great news...The Reese's Leap Kickstarter campaign was a huge success, thanks to the support of so many of you. I'm pleased and humbled by your belief in me. Next on the list is the ad campaign. Time to kick that puppy into high gear!

Speaking of kicking things into gear, the Reese's Leap Book Launch takes place next Thursday, April 4, 7:00 p.m.at RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, NH
( http://www.riverrunbookstore.com/ ), with an after party just up the street at the historic Portsmouth Athenæum ( http://portsmouthathenaeum.org/ ). Hope you can join us!

The Reese's Leap Kickstarter Campaign

Hello again, and thanks for checking in! There's a lot going on just now, what with the completion of the Reese's Leap galley edits and Anna Torborg's great work on the cover. Just 6 weeks to go 'til the April 4th Book Launch...yikes!

More news...I've just launched a Kickstarter Project timed for the upcoming release.  My hope is to raise $3500 to help fund a large print run and honkin' Internet ad campaign that will not only help sell this book, but take the whole, award-winning series to the next level. Those of you who are familiar with Kickstarter as a crowd-source funding tool, know that it's an all-or-nothing proposition. The full $3500 must be pledged by the end of the campaign on March 22, or the project receives nothing. I'm offering some great rewards to encourage any and all pledges!

You'll find lots of info on my project page: details about the campaign, book synopses, review links, awards, and rewards. And whether you're able to pledge or not, you can help get the word out by taking this link viral: family and friends, FB buddies, anyone you know who reads mysteries, loves stories about Maine, or who just loves to discover new writers.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darcyscott/reeses-leap-taking-the-island-mysteries-to-the-nex  

Hope you'll come along on the adventure!

Wanted to let you know about two Matinicus giveaways going on just now, one at http://www.goodreads.com/ (ending May 10) and another at http://www.librarything.com/ (ending May 18).  All winners receive a signed, personalized copy of the book. If you win, please remember to leave feedback on these sites and on Amazon.com!

Upcoming events include a radio interview discussing Matinicus with the folks at Zone Radio, 103.1 FM and AM620 in Bangor, Maine at 9:05a.m. on Tuesday, May 8, followed on May 17th by the official Matinicus Book Launch Party, 7:00 p.m. at RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. Hope you'll join us!

Baby Ruth

The candy bar, that is.

Those of you who follow me know the only time I eat one of these things—candy bars, I mean—is when something significant is about to happen in my "book life." It's a guilty little pleasure I've come to love. And not only are we creeping up on the May 17th launch of Matinicus (RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, NH, http://www.riverrunbookstore.com/), but I'm heading south to Newtown, CT early this coming week for a May 1st Hunter Huntress reading at the Booth Library (http://chboothlibrary.org/) where I plan a quiet little pre-launch launch.

So why a Baby Ruth bar? It's the name, of course. One of many theories as to its origin back in 1921 was that it was named for the ballplayer Babe Ruth, whose star was then on the rise. Early readers of Matinicus will know that the book's hard-drinking protagonist, Gil Hodges, is not only named for another All Star ball player, but is himself a baseball nut known to quote Ruth at odd moments. Seemed appropriate.

So kick back and join me, won't you? I've even cut you a piece!

Let's Launch This Thing!

Okay, so we're really rolling now. The Book Launch for Matinicus (my double mystery set on the Maine island of the same name) has officially been scheduled, so if you're a planner like me and you're going to be anywhere near Portsmouth, NH on Thursday evening, May 17, please join us at RiverRun Bookstore for a short reading and signing followed by a reception just down the street at the Portsmouth Athenæum. If you've never been the Athenæum, this alone will be worth the trip. Portsmouth's oldest cultural institution, its four floors are home to thousands of books, documents, centuries-old maps and all manner of ephemera relating to NH's Seacoast. Hope to see you there!

FYI...The cover for Matinicus is just about finalized, so be sure to check back!

Taking the bad with the good

Friends are everything, don't you think? So many helped out at Thursday night's book launch at the Portsmouth Athenaeum, it'll take days to get through all the thank-yous. It was a glorious evening after a day of T-storms and about twice as many people came out as were expected. Lots of insightful questions; lots of books sold, which always helps the bottom line. This was my very first "reading" and boy was I nervous. It ran about half an hour which I think is typical. Now I'll set to honing a shorter one, for those readings I'll be doing in conjunction with other authors.

Only bummer was just that day I received another rejection of my ms of Matinicus--this a very lovely one from Minotaur Books (div. St. Martins Publishing). Hand signed, even. Not quite as pretty as the one I received from Unbridled Press for Hunter Huntress, but close. But, hey, that's okay. File it away and send out another; that's my modus operandi. You should see my rejections pile--gotta be a foot tall. Damn proud of that!

Now, as the excitement of the last few days starts to fade, I can finally get back to writing. See me smile. See me sigh. This, after all, is what it's all about.