May 2014 – Boom-Books

Someone’s about to get Croaked!

Posted on May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 by CJ Verburg

by CJ Verburg

“If Lydia Vivaldi hadn’t tried to read the Cape Cod Times Help Wanted ads while driving, she wouldn’t have wound up on the side of 6A with a flat tire. Her yellow Morris Minor wouldn’t have caught the eye of Alistair Pope, passing in his vintage Mercedes. Lydia wouldn’t have joined Alistair at Leo’s Back End for lunch; Leo wouldn’t have hired her to replace his assistant cook, Sue, who had just stormed out in tears after Leo diluted her split-pea soup; and the murder rate in Quansett, Massachusetts, might have stayed at zero.”

Just about now, at the end of May, is when Lydia Vivaldi fled Cambridge for Cape Cod and launched “Croaked: an Edgar Rowdey Mystery.” To celebrate that benchmark and the verge of a new summer, Boom-Books is offering $1 off the Kindle e-book on Thurs. 5/22 ($2.99 instead of $3.99).

Thanks to RP Dahlke & All Mystery Newsletter for inspiring and promoting this 1-day sale!

I’ll be on Cape Cod for the actual anniversary, and to see Rick Jones’s 2014 show at the Edward Gorey House: “F is for Fantods: an Exhibit of the 28 Books of Edward Gorey’s Fantod Press.” According to rumor, this is the best show ever since Edward’s house became an artistic and biographical museum. Catch it if you can!

You’re also invited to donate to Chris Seufert’s Kickstarter campaign for his Edward Gorey film. Chris reminds us that although the campaign reached its original target, much more money is needed to cover Mooncusser Productions’ expenses, including use of as much of Edward’s art as they can afford.

Best wishes for a fine Memorial Day weekend!

News, Reviews, & Thank-Yous

Posted on May 15, 2014 by CJ Verburg

As Boom-Books celebrates our third anniversary, and our first audiobook, we want to THANK YOU for your essential part in our success!

If you bought a copy of any of our books, or asked your local library or bookstore to buy one, THANK YOU!

The #1 way readers find out about books they’d like to read is from other readers. If you posted a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or elsewhere of CJ Verburg’s Edward Gorey On Stage…a Multimedia Memoir, or Croaked: an Edgar Rowdey Cape Cod Mystery, or Silent Night Violent Night: a Cory Goodwin Mystery — THANK YOU!

If you’d like to review one or all of Charisse Howard’s short spicy Regency Rakes & Rebels romances — Lady Annabelle’s Abduction, Lady Barbara & the Buccaneer, Lady Caroline, the Corsair’s Captive — THANK YOU in advance!

We’ll be happy to e-mail you a free review copy of any of our books, including the new Lady Annabelle audiobook, brilliantly narrated by Stevie Zimmerman. Just e-mail us the title and format you want at [email protected].

THANK YOU to Stevie Zimmerman, the brilliantly versatile and expressive British-born narrator of Lady Annabelle’s Abduction; to artist Barbara Oplinger, who designed the eye-catching covers for Dark Horseman, the award-winning Croaked, and Edward Gorey Plays Cape Cod; and to Richard Arnold, comrade-in-arts for many decades, who drew the wonderful chapter-opening garlands in Silent Night Violent Night.

Boom-Books news:
– Charisse Howard is delighted with the warm welcome listeners are giving her first audiobook. Lady Annabelle’s Abduction runs 2 hours 16 minutes, a little longer than the average movie, and costs less ($6.95). It’s a perfect accompaniment for commuting, chores, or relaxing, and a perfect try-out for any romance fan who’s curious about audiobooks but not up for a big commitment. If Lady Annabelle does well, we’ll bring you audio versions of Lady Barbara and Lady Caroline later this year from Charisse and gifted narrator Stevie Zimmerman.
– CJ Verburg is chugging ahead on Zapped, the sequel to Croaked, which she hopes to finish in time for the holiday season. Look forward to a gala seaside fete which is cut short by disaster — a new challenge for those reluctant Quansett sleuths, artist Edgar Rowdey and soup-chef Lydia Vivaldi.

Other news:
– San Francisco’s Mechanics Institute Library continues to host the Indie Publishers’ working group on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 55 Post St.
– Next Wednesday, May 21, the Internet Archive will host the official launch of the Authors Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the public interest by supporting authors who create in order to be read, seen, and heard.
– Last but not least: If you’ve ever been involved in a theater production, especially a community theater production, don’t miss The Onion’s hilarious “Community Theater Gives Part Of Blanche DuBois To Kathy Fucking Hamilton” (thanks for that tip to thespian Bill Ring).

Make Art! Support a Film! Two Unique Kickstarter Opportunities

Posted on May 6, 2014May 6, 2014 by CJ Verburg

by Carol Verburg

When my friend, Cape Cod neighbor, and theatrical comrade Edward Gorey died in April 2000, I moved (temporarily) into his house. His executors wanted someone to keep an eye on his enormous trove of art; and I’d promised Edward that if anything ever happened to him, I’d look after his cats.

One of the first people I called at this grim time was Chris Seufert.

Edward and I had met Chris at C3TV, Cape Cod Community Television. Later Chris asked Edward for permission to follow him around with a camera and shoot what would eventually become a film. Since Edward wanted someone to videotape his puppet show of Cautionary Tales for Children — our first production at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, soon to be our theatrical home — he cautiously agreed.

Chris is endlessly patient and cheerful as well as perceptive and creative — a good match. He caught hundreds of beautiful moments and trenchant insights on film. After Edward’s death, Chris brought over his camera and recorded this brilliant artist’s private domestic landscape just as his executors started to dismantle it.

Now Chris’s company, Mooncusser Productions, is preparing to release the film. Want to be part of it? Join the fun on Kickstarter!

Once Edward’s house was squared away, and my own, too, I moved to San Francisco. That’s where I met the remarkable filmmaker Judy Irving. She was just finishing her wonderful film The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, an affectionate portrait of our neighborhood’s beloved flock of birds and the man who befriended them, Mark Bittner.

Over the past several years Judy has focused her creativity, patience, and insight on pelicans. She’s now completing a glorious film about these extraordinary birds, which I’ve enjoyed at two rough-cut screenings. If you’d like to watch pelicans soaring across the sky, skimming the waves, and flying under water, as well as peek into many secret parts of their little-known lives, join Pelican Media and friends by becoming a supporter of Pelican Dreams on Kickstarter.

Celebrate the Lusty Month of May with “Lady Annabelle” the Audiobook

Posted on May 1, 2014 by CJ Verburg

by Charisse Howard

Have you wanted to try an audiobook, but you’re not sure you’ll like it? Does the 6-12 hour length and $15+ price of a novel sound like too big an investment?

Try Lady Annabelle’s Abduction!

What better way to tickle your ears and your heart than this spicy, suspenseful romance novella? That’s why Boom-Books is kicking off the Lusty Month of May and its new audiobooks line with Lady Annabelle’s Abduction, #1 in my Regency Rakes & Rebels series.

Think of it as a movie you can watch in your head. At 2 hours and 16 minutes, Lady Annabelle’s Abduction is the perfect length for doing chores or commuting to work, shopping or exercising, knitting or quilting or gardening . . . And at $6.95, it’s cheaper than a movie!

Launch your own Lusty Month of May with Lady Annabelle’s Abduction, available now on Audible or iTunes — or on Amazon, where you can also pick up the e-book for just 99 cents.

Tra la! It’s May!