Free Fiction! - God Speed

"Godspeed, John Glenn."

With those words, a true American hero rocketed into space fifty years ago, aboard Friendship 7.  A decorated Marine pilot, he became the first American to orbit the earth, and gained a permanent place in the minds and hearts of his country.

Years later, after a lifetime spent serving his country, he returned to space in 1998 at the age of 77, the oldest man to ever fly in space.  When the shuttle Discovery lifted off the pad, we once again heard the iconic words, "Godspeed, John Glenn."

Today we offer the story "Godspeed" for free, in honor of a real hero, a man who has lived a life of service and honor, and who has served his country with grace and dignity for more than half a century.  This is my tribute to a man I greatly admire.

Hero worship?  You bet!

Godspeed, John Glenn.

(Sorry, but you missed out on this free, limited-time posting.  You can purchase "Godspeed" for your electronic reader instead of reading it here, it is available for Kindle,  Nook,  iPad, through most other major ebook outlets, and downloadable in all formats directly through Smashwords.)

President John Glenn has Only Seconds to Change History...
His Own!

A Cover, At Last! (Plus, Romance for Valentine's Day!)

There it is, in all its glory!  OK, bad pun.  My heroine - the owner of the gift shop, and the parrot - is Gloryanna Martine, Glory to her friends.

Sorry it took so long.  There were a couple changes, and tweaks along the way, but I am delighted to have a real, final, gorgeous cover to share with you.

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and bookstores everywhere.  It's also available in ebook.  And if you want a signed copy, I'll be at Malice Domestic the end of April, or you can order a copy from my local bookseller pal, Sheldon McArthur at North by Northwest Books.

Number-one Fan and husband Steve jumping in here...

The post above was supposed to go out Sunday, but got stuck in the pipes somehow, so Christy asked me to play tech support and knock it loose for y'all.


While I'm at it, I'm going to remind you good folks that Christy (writing under her real name of Christina F. York) has written three contemporary romance novels, Loaves and Kisses, Dream House, and Dory Cove.  And given that it's Valentine's Day, it seemed like a good excuse to give them a quick plug.  All are available in ebook form, from Amazon (links below) and all other major ebook vendors, including Nook, iBooks, Sony, Kobo, etc.  There are also still a few copies of the Five Star print edition of "Dream House" out there too, if you're quick about it!


Enjoy!

Sunday Morning Musing

Number One Fan, AKA husband J. Steven York,  has been on my case to get back on here and talk to y'all.  Being MIA is understandable and all, but at some point you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back to the business at hand.


To quote Morgan Freeman, "Get busy living, or get  busy dying."  I choose living.


So I'm going to try and be here more often.


For starters, I want to share some good books with you.  One thing I have discovered is that I tend to read more nonfiction when I'm writing, and I just finished a really interesting book, THE WAVE, by Susan Casey.


I live close enough to the ocean to fall asleep to the sound of the surf.  I love being near the beach.  More than that, I need to be near the ocean.  The flat Midwestern plains?  They make me jumpy-there's no water nearby.  My West Coast roots go deep, I grew up in Southern California is the surfer-60s, and I now live in a tsunami evacuation zone.  (We watched - from a safe distance at the top of our hill - the surge from the Japanese earthquake last year.)  Of course I read this book!


My husband read it first and recommended it to me, and I'm passing along that recommendation.  Here's what he had to say about it:



"As it happens, I just recently finished reading an excellent book about big waves, dealing alternately with big-wave science, big-wave surfers, and the history of giant waves and their impact on people and ships. Amazingly little is known about the huge waves our planet is capable or producing. We don't even know how big they can get, and in fact, scientists are having trouble explaining the biggest waves that have already been reliably been observed. Waves seem simple, but it may actually require quantum physics to decode the mysterious behaviors and energies of giant waves."



And if you're a mystery fan (if you're here, you probably are!) and you haven't yet read any of Julie Hyzy's books, you should.  Her latest White House chef book, AFFAIRS OF STEAK, recently hit the NY Times list.  It's book 5 in the series, and she just keeps getting better!  But start with #1-STATE OF THE ONION.  You won't want to miss a single adventure in our nation's capital.


That's it for now.  I still have some books to write, and some cooking to do, you know.  I'll try to be back more often with bits and pieces from the life of a crazy writer!

Announcing New Ebooks from Christy!

Number One Fan here:  I'm pleased to announce two new ebooks from Christy (writing under her real name of Christina F. York), one short fiction, and a new romance novel!  I'm sure Christy will be along presently to talk about these herself, but I wanted to get the covers and links up for you to enjoy ASAP!  Be sure to download a free sample and try these great new books right away!

First up, Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth, a new installment in her 99-cent short-fiction series!

Step-daughter Cynthia may sound like the perfect princess, but you've only heard her side of the story. Disobedient, ungrateful, tarted up in glass heels and out past curfew in a pumpkin coach, Cynthia has a lot to answer for, and now it's "Evil Step-mom's" turn to set the record straight! 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Smashwords

Nook coming in the next day or two, with other major ebook outlets on the way!

Next a new novel of romance, fun, friendship and adventure, for the young-adult reader and the merely young-at-heart: Rodeo Royalty.

Tyler Forrester plans to be a rodeo princess, and get the attention of Brad Young, the hottest junior cowboy around. But when Tyler’s friend Amee decides to help her find some scholarship money, the plan gets out of control faster than a seven-second bull ride.

Thanks to Amee’s meddling and a large pile of scholarship money, Tyler is headed for Valenta, a tiny European country, to spend the month of August as a temporary princess, and her rodeo plans are headed for the last round-up.

Tyler is a long way from her friends, her family, and her horse. Sure, there’s a hot prince, but he can’t make up for everything she’s missing. Or can he? 


Buy It On Amazon


Buy It On Smashwords

Nook coming in the next day or two, with other major ebook outlets on the way!

The Fall of a Hero

I've been missing from this blog for several months, and from much of the rest of my world.  I apoligize to my fans for disappearing, and I feel as though I owe you an explanation.  This may take more than one post, but I find myself wanting to talk about what happened over the last year.

You see, I lost my hero, the man I have looked up to and admired for more than 60 years.  My dad.  I want to talk about him, about who he was and what he meant to me.

Over the last couple years I have watched dementia slowly steal the man I knew.  It was heart-breaking to watch this vital, larger-than-life man reduced to a confused and debilitated man battling with his private demons.

In the end he slipped away in his sleep on the 17th of August.  It was both a tragedy and a blessing, and brought grief, relief, and guilt for feeling relieved, in equal measures.  I will always miss him, but the man I grew up with would not have chosen those last months of dependency and loss of control.

Dad wasn't a conventional hero.  He didn't fly planes, or charge into burning buildings, or chase bad guys.  But he was my hero.  There are many things I want to say about him, to tell you why he was important.

I thought I was ready.  I had the words in my head to tell you what I want you to know.  But I still can't.  Sometime soon, I hope.

In the meantime, I hold onto one thing: Just a few days before he died, I got a revised cover image for the first book in the new series (it's getting a couple tweaks, and I hope to have it to post later in the week). 

This is the first book under the Fifield name.  My dad's name. 

I was able to email a copy to my mother, and she took it to show Dad - the first time the name he passed down to me appeared on the cover of a book.

I like to think he approved.

Cover Coming!

I've just seen a preview of the cover for MURDER BUYS A T-SHIRT, and I am very pleased with the results!  The art is wonderful, the composition is lovely, and there's a great quote from a writer I like and respect - a lot.

Did I mention that I am pleased?

There's a parrot on the cover - as well there should be - along with the new (old) name of Christy Fifield.  Technically that name is not exactly what my name was; I went by Christi Fifield when I was a child, but I didn't figure anyone would notice the difference.  Heck, it's been long enough since I used that name, no one would even notice, except my family!

Anyway, as soon as I have the okay I will be posting the cover - and the nice quote - here for everyone to see.  I also have a release date of March, 2012, so mark your calendars.

In the meantime, I do have a new short story available now on Kindle and coming soon to Nook, and through most of the other regular epublishing channels.  Here's the description for "Cheer Witches":


Some people think all cheerleaders are witches, which isn't really true. Except at Salem Township Public High School #4 - known to the student body as Witch High.



Regionals are coming, and Cassie wants to win. But not enough to cheat. Magic is strictly forbidden in competition, and by the coach. Still, a little magic seems to be creeping into their routines, and Cassie is worried. She prides herself on using her powers for good, and cheating isn't right.

If she can't find the hidden source of the magic before their next competition, they could be disqualified.

Or worse, in Cassie's mind, they could not be disqualified.

Then even if they win, they lose!


Find it on Amazon at the above link, or in all major ebook forms on Smashwords. Only 99 cents. Coming soon to Nook, Apple, Kobo, and all other major ebook outlets.  And while you're there, take a look at the other titles I have available.  There are two short stories FREE at Smashwords - Food Fight (also free for Kindle and Nook) and Songs of Lesser Voices (available for free on Nook) - and several others at only 99 cents.

I hope to be back here soon to post more recipes and cooking photos, and to share the new cover.  I'm excited to get your reactions to the cover - I'm already happy about it and I hope you'll like it, too!

One Book Down, Two To Go!

Big sigh of relief from Christy Mystery - the first book in the Haunted Gift Shop series went off to the editor today!  Which means we start the whole "Road To The Bookstore" process again, with MURDER BUYS A T-SHIRT.  We've already been working on the cover copy - that is, the fabulous people at Berkley Prime Crime have been writing, and I've been commenting - and I hope to have it for you in the next few days.

In the meantime, the banana pudding post is written, but there's yet another delay.  The Official Taster, who is also the Official Photographer, informs me that we took over 130 pictures the day I made pudding.  And to post on the blog, we need to tidy them up a bit and make sure they are the right size.

Now I grant you, we'll likely use 5-10% of those pictures, so we don't have to fiddle with every one of them, but the problem is knowing which 5-10% to edit.  Needless to say, this has led to much dithering and discussion, most of which I refused to participate in because I was busy with - oh, I don't know - finishing a book?

But as of today the book is in the hands of my editor, and before I plunge into the next book I will get a couple more posts - with pictures - up here to tempt your taste buds, and I'll get the cover copy to tempt your reading appetite.