Win A Copy of "Small Favors"!

Threats. Stalkers. Sexy pirates. It's just another day on the job for Tai Randolph and Trey Seaver in "Small Favors," a between-book novella releasing October 25th for Amazon Kindle. And you can win your very own copy! See the entry below for all the ways that YOU can enter.

The contest begins at 5:15 Tuesday, October 11th and runs until 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 19th.

The fine print: No purchase is necessary. You must be at least 18 years old to enter and must supply an e-mail address compatible with Amazon Kindle US. The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter from all entrants for the prize. The winner will be notified by email. Tina Whittle is not responsible for transmission failures, computer glitches or lost, late, or returned email. Prizes must be claimed within 5 days or they will be forfeited.

Winners to be announced Monday, October 24th.

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Secret Subscriber Only Giveaway

Thank you for being a newsletter subscriber, and for supporting my Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver mysteries. The 6th book in that series—Necessary Ends—is scheduled for an April 2018 release from Poisoned Pen Press.

Until then, please have a free short story on me! I've made all my independent works FREE on Tuesday, September 26th FOR ONE DAY ONLY! (except for "The Seventh Rule of Swimming" which will be free Wednesday 9/27, but which you can go ahead and read for free HERE).  See them all at my Amazon Author Page. But remember, this is just between us, so I'm keeping it on the QT.

Don't forget to enter the drawing below! The contest starts September 17th (my guy Trey's birthday) and runs through October 1st.

PS: Thanks again. You are appreciated. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway—

For All The Pantsers Out There

*This is a re-post from 2011, but I got several questions at Murder Goes South about my very pantsy outlining process, so I'm sharing again.

Are you an Outliner or a Pantser? My guess is you know.

As a former English teacher, I'm supposed to be a fan of outlines. But here's my dirty little secret—I hate the things. I taught my students how to create them, use them, revise them, but deep inside I was all bletch.

And then I wrote a mystery novel without an outline, flying—as it were—by the seat of my pants. I went Pantser all the way, baby. It took me seven years to get the thing in somewhat novel-shaped form, and I swore I'd never do another mystery novel that way ever again. Outlines started looking pretty sexy.

But they're not. Outlines are mean snippy things, the schoolmarms of pre-writing. My Muse went on vacation. I was alone with the blank page, and the Outline was just sitting there, mocking me.

But then I got a visit from that other Muse—Desperation—and she suggested something radical. And so we have this thing now (see right).

This is my version of a timeline—the eight-day span of my novel with descending business card-sized chunks of the scenes that happen each day. I can see the WHOLE book this way, plus move bits and pieces around as I see fit (or even take them out). I still get to write like a Pantser—just diving right in, scribbling scene after scene, letting the story go where it will—but when I'm done, I have a very tactile, spatially-coherent way to give those scenes some order.

I stole this idea from Trey, one of my main characters. He likes things organized and linear (he loooves outlines) and this is one of his ways of making sense of a whole lot of information. And surprisingly enough, it worked for non-linear me. I could never create a book this way, but it sure helped while revising it. And I'll take all the help I can get (thanks, Trey. You're a mensch).

PS: For you word mavens out there, here is an interesting explanation of where the phrase "flying by the seat of your pants" actually originates.

50 Shades of Cabernet - Coming Soon!

Woo-hoo! I've got a short story coming out! It's called "And Wine to Make Glad the Heart" and was co-written with James M. Jackson for the mystery anthology 50 SHADES OF CABERNET (to be published by Koehler Books in March).

It's set in Atlanta, and features Tai and Trey and Jim's savvy sleuth Seamus McCree. There's darts and drink, tarot and shenanigans. You know, the usual.

And so here I raise a glass to the fine company Jim and I will be keeping: Heather Baker Weidner, Lyn Brittan, Barb Goffman, Debbiann Holmes Author of Unforeseen Circumstances, Maria Hudgins, Maggie King, Kris Kisska Mehigan, Doug Lutz, Alan S. Orloff, Jayne Ormerod, Ken C Wingate, Nancy Naigle, and Jenny Sparks, with special thanks to Teresa Inge for making it all happen. It's a fine bunch, and I'm looking forward to working with them.

Got Ink?

Tai's 5th adventure, Reckoning and Ruin, is now in the wild! Send me your pic of R&R—whether in your hands, or on a library shelf, or at a bookstore—and I'll send you a set of faux tattoos just like Tai has. Where you put 'em is your business—Tai's not telling and you don't have to either.

Just post a pic on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Tag me, and I'll get your new tattoos right to you.

Psst! Want some faux tattoos?

Reckoning and Ruin is now in the wild! This sighting was captured by my husband at the Savannah Barnes and Noble.

Send me your pic of R&R -- whether in your hands, or on a library shelf, or at a bookstore -- and I'll send you a set of faux tattoos just like Tai has. Where you put 'em is your business -- Tai's not telling and you don't have to either.

Just post a pic on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Tag me, and I'll get your new tattoos right to you.

More Ways to Win RECKONING AND RUIN!

It's out! I'm so excited. And I'm especially excited to see all the giveaways going on at some of my favorites blogs and websites. Get yourself in on the action before the deadlines fall. And here's hoping YOU are one of the lucky winners (each giveaway has its own rules and fine print, so check there for those specifications).

* Dru Ann Love has a great review of Reckoning and Ruin up in her My Musings, and my protagonist is sharing fashion tips for amateur sleuths in her Day in the Life feature. You can win one copy of any book in the Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series by commenting HERE -- this giveaway ends April 14th.

* Terry Ambrose is featuring Reckoning and Ruin along with Tammy Kaehler's Red Flags in his Double Trouble giveaway for April (he also featured a behind-the-story interview with me -- commenting there will get you extra ways to enter) Two books, one contest! You can find the entry form HERE. This giveaway ends April 17th.

The Amazon Giveaway Continues!

If you have to miss the Facebook party to celebrate Reckoning and Ruin, don't fret --  you've still got until Monday, April 4th to enter the drawing for the $25 Amazon Gift Card.

To enter, leave me a comment on this post telling me which book in the Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series you're most excited about. It can be one you've read or one you're looking forward to reading.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No purchase is necessary. You must be at least 18 years old and a US resident to enter. Winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter from all entrants for the prize. Winners will be notified by email, which will not be shared or sold or used for any other purpose but notification. The author, Booklover’s Bench, its member authors, Facebook, and Rafflecopter are not responsible for transmission failures, computer glitches or lost, late, damaged or returned email. Prizes must be claimed within 5 days or they will be forfeited. 

Help Celebrate the Release of RECKONING AND RUIN!

It's here! It's here! And it's out early!

So to celebrate, I'm having a Facebook Party at the Booklover's Bench FB page from 5-7 PM EDT on Tuesday, March 29th.

I love prizes, and I've got quite a selection to celebrate Reckoning and Ruin, the fifth in the Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series. Fake tattoos! Faux shark teeth! Revolver-shaped charms! You know, the usual. I'll be giving these away during the party from 5-7 PM and announcing the winners on Wednesday, March 30th.

Plus, I'm sponsoring a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 gift card to Amazon. This giveaway runs from March 29th through April 4th.

Please drop in, y'all. Tai and Trey and I would love to have you. You can visit the event page HERE (and find the Giveaway tab for the Amazon gift card at the top). I hope to see you there!

Necessary Small Print: No purchase is necessary. You must be at least 18 years old and a US resident to enter. Winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter from all entrants for the prize. Winners will be notified by email, which will not be shared or sold or used for any other purpose but notification. The author, Booklover’s Bench, its member authors, Facebook, and Rafflecopter are not responsible for transmission failures, computer glitches or lost, late, damaged or returned email. Prizes must be claimed within 5 days or they will be forfeited. 

Get THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS for FREE!

To celebrate the April release of Reckoning and Ruin, Poisoned Pen Press is offering the e-book of the first in the Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series, The Dangerous Edge of Things, for FREE!

This sale is for a limited time only, so grab a copy while you can at your favorite online store:

Amazon Kindle

Kobo

iTunes

Google Play

It is also available on Nook, though that price has already increased to 99 cents -- still a bargain!

I hope you'll grab a copy.  And, as always, thank YOU for being a reader!

For the Warriors

When my friend and fellow mystery writer Tammy Kaehler offered to name one of her secondary characters after a female cancer warrior, I immediately wrote and nominated my high school classmate Tara Howell Raffield.

At the time, Tara was in the final stages of her battle against ovarian cancer. And oh, what a battle it was. Anybody who was acquainted with Tara will tell you this -- the woman was fierce, and tough, and strong, and she gave this fight her everything. But the most amazing part was that she never lost her compassion, her sense of humor, and her righteous love of friend and family and God. 

She shared her journey with all of us, her friends and classmates and community. And even though we lost her, she won. She triumphed. And this is what we remember of her, that no matter the pain that is left at her absence, we still have the joy that comes from having known her. What a privilege.

Tammy chose to name her character Tara Raffield. And so now a sassy, strong spitfire of a woman walks the pages of the book, Red Flags. She is fictional, yes, but she wears the name Tara well, and I can't help but think our Tara would be delighted.

Red Flags comes out April 12th. I plan on having some copies available at my Saturday, April 23rd book signing in Cochran. The cost is $15.95, and all profits from this one-day sale of Red Flags (and my own Reckoning and Ruin) will go to the American Cancer Society in the name of our BCHS Class of '85 members who left us too soon due to this horrible disease, including our beloved Allen Brantley.

If you'd like me to reserve an autographed copy for you, please write to me at tina @ tinawhittle dot com, and I'll have it ready for pick-up between 10 and 12 noon at Flowers by Jimmy in Downtown Cochran. I'd you'd like to order your own, it will be available on Amazon after April 12th, and I can have an autographed bookplate mailed to you.