When I Am Picking Up Dead Squirrels
My friend Vicky is a wildlife rehabber who takes in injured
creatures, nurses them back to health, and pushes them back out into the wild.
You can’t feed a Cooper’s hawk or a rat snake on cat kibble. So when I see a
squirrel on the roadway who has succumbed to the death wish that seems to
plague squirrels I overcome my squeamishness and scoop him up. It’s not
pleasant but I like to see the expression on her face when I hand her a bag
full of dead squirrels and think of the good meals I’m providing.
This is somewhat like overcoming my natural squeamishness
about self-promotion. Tweeting about my new book Payback just isn’t natural to me. Nor is making new connections
with near strangers on LinkedIn.
But authors must do this. I know the arguments: you’re not
touting your book, you’re sharing it.
You’re not trying to get someone to buy your books, you get your name out there
by sharing good news about other mystery authors.
Okay. I like the sound of that. Nobody is ever going to
write the same book I did or appeal to exactly the same audience. The
ruthlessness of today’s publishing climate hasn’t completely overcome the small
generosity of spirit it takes for me to genuinely praise another mystery
writer’s work.
When my fingers hesitate over the send button I grind my
teeth and tell myself I’m not promoting Mar Preston. I’m offering a few good murder mysteries that
take readers out of the grind of daily life for a time to enjoy a little dance
on the dark side leavened with a bit of acid social commentary, a nice romance,
and some thrills and chills.
In the scope of human endeavor, this is better than picking up dead squirrels.
Here’s the link to Payback:
Mar Preston is also the author of: Rip-Off
and No Dice.
And here is Mar Preston:
She doesn't look like someone who collects road kill, does she?
Thanks for visiting today, Mar.
Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith
Comments