Who loves Jane Austen?

I found out that not everybody does when I was in graduate school and announced to my Romantic Literature class that I had chosen Pride and Prejudice as my essay assignment. My fellow classmates dismissed Austen's book, saying that "it was just about some silly girls wanting to get married"; one of the ladies said, "Oh, I read that in grammar school." I couldn’t help but be reminded of a letter that Jane Austen wrote to her sister, saying, “I must confess that I think [Elizabeth Bennet, the main character in the novel] as delightful a character as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her …I do not know.”

Here's some good news for Jane Austen fans: "The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice" is now available at the lowered price of $1.99. It's about Mary Bennet, the plain middle daughter in Pride and Prejudice, as she compares herself to her beautiful sisters, tries to get her father to notice her, complains about her mother’s melodramatics, falls in love, considers a move to America, becomes a writer, and a ultimately becomes a champion of those less fortunate. What makes this book different from other books written about Pride and Prejudice is its depiction of the social history in Britain during the nineteenth century. Mary Bennet learns about the worlds of their servants in Pemberley, poor chimney sweeps, and factory workers. Transport yourself back to the Regency era and get better acquainted with one of period's famous fictional families.

The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice

is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble,

Kobo, Smashwords, and Google Play

for $1.99 

The Body in the Law Library

Hooray! Our book, Death Among the Stacks: the Body in the Law Library, just received a five star rating on Goodreads!

It is the first book that my husband and I wrote together. It is loosely based upon something I witnessed while working at a library. My nieces helped us with the cover: Allison posed as the shushing librarian and her sister took this great picture. I love the way it looks as if the shelving is closing in on her, which was perfect because that is how the victim in our whodunit died.

Here is a description of our murder mystery: Why did an Inspector from the Government Printing Office get crushed between two rows of electronic compact shelving? Find out in this murder/mystery, an Agatha Christie-type whodunit with multiple suspects whom the book's detective assembles together in the final chapter for "the big reveal." Death-by-compact-shelving may seem like a stretch, but it actually almost happened at a library where I worked. You will never look at librarians and library shelving the same after reading this whodunit. 

Only $2.99. Available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Smashwords, Kobo and Scribd.  Also available in paperback at Amazon.

Making Book Trailers

When it comes to the indie publishing world, things have never been so exciting and daunting for us writers.  These days, it's not enough to write a book, come up with a description, and go on social media to market it.  Now, many writers are making book trailers.  Luckily, I have a tech savvy husband who knows how to make anything work out whenever it comes to the computer.

We came up with this "music video" for our murder mystery "Fighting Demons: A New Orleans Mystery."  I wrote the text and we both chose the pictures to show them on.  I wanted the music to be slightly mysterious and more, important, it needed to be by a New Orleans musician.  There are so many classics from which to choose.  Ultimately, we picked Sidney Bechet's rendition of Summertime because not only is it fantastic, but it also corresponds with the mood of our story.

I've been looking at other book trailers and found one intriguing video that had each letter appear on the screen one-by-one, as if someone was typing them.   I thought that it looked slightly "film noire": perfect for a mystery by Raymond Chandler, for instance.

So, without further ado, here is our music video/ book trailer for "Fighting Demons: A New Orleans Mystery."

Book Trailer for Fighting Demons: A New Orleans Mystery

Our book is available for $ 2.99 at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble,

Google Play, Smashwords and Kobo

Also available in Paperback at 

Amazon and Createspace

New Orleans Murder Mystery

In this suspenseful and romantic murder mystery, Homicide Detective Yvonne Dauphin risks her life and sanity when she checks herself out of the hospital after a bipolar meltdown, determined to prove to her boss and coworkers that’s she still up to the job of capturing a serial killer who has been terrorizing New Orleans. To further complicate matters, she’s hoping to reunite with her ex-husband at the same time she’s fighting a blossoming attraction to a young detective.

This murder mystery is half-off during the month of July 2016, exclusively at Smashwords.  Use coupon code SSW50 upon checkout to purchase it for only $1.50.  Here's the book link at Smashwords:

Purchase at Smashwords

Available at the regular price of $2.99

at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Google Play, and Kobo

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at iTunes

Purchase at Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Google Play Books

Purchase at Kobo Books

Who Stole the Vermeer Masterpiece?

The Stolen Masterpiece: A Nancy Keene Mystery 

by Louise Hathaway

My new Nancy Keene Mystery, portrays five loves of mine: Nancy Drew Mysteries, Holland, Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, genealogy, and a loving, indulgent father.

Join my precocious teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, on another of her international adventures. This book finds her in Amsterdam visiting her newly-found Dutch relatives who have recently discovered a secret room in their house that contains valuable artwork, including a Vermeer masterpiece worth millions. Someone has stolen it, and it’s up to Nancy and her team to find out who. If you enjoy travelogues, this book includes descriptions of some of my favorite sights I've visited in Holland.

Available at the following stores for 99 cents.

Click on the following links to Purchase:

Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at Apple
Purchase at Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Smashwords

Pitching Your Book

Okay, you’ve just written the great American novel and can’t wait to release it to the world; then watch those royalties come streaming in.  You’ve asked a friend to proof-read it and give you constructive criticism.  He thinks your book is really good.  You may have even forked over $100.00 to a professional who designed a mind-blowing cover. Who wouldn’t want to buy a book with a cover like that? you ask yourself.

Stop.  Take a deep breath.  There’s one more make-or-break job you have to do: write a book description.  That’s not as easy as it sounds, especially with publishers like Smashwords who limit the short description to only 400 characters.  You may have a great long description, but you are going have to start deleting parts of it to fit into the short one.  It can be very frustrating.  I've seen some short descriptions where part of the last sentence is cut off.  Obviously, the writer didn't double-check it before publication.

Here are some suggestions to consider:

1. Don’t use subplots:  Keep to the main point and don’t confuse your readers: they probably don’t want to take the time to read a long description anyway.  Ask yourself, “What is the primary action that drives my book?”
2. Make it concise.  A creative writing teacher once told me that a poem is more difficult to write than a short story or novel because with a poem, every single word must be packed with meaning.
3. Keep it under 150 words.
4. Write in the third person, present tense.  Imagine sitting face-to-face with your reader and they’ve asked you what your book is about.
5. Write it as if you are the publisher—not the writer. Remember—the book description is a marketing tool—it's not literature; so it’s okay to hyperbolize a little.  Just don’t overdo it.
6. Read book descriptions by other authors in your genre.

Last, but not least:  Use Emotional Power Words.  Make your readers wake up and take notice.   How?

1. Use words that will raise their spirits and make them feel better.  Examples: miracle, triumph, jaw dropping.
2. Sex sells.  Take advantage of this by using words such as: sensual, thrilling, naughty, steamy, brazen.
3. Make it forbidden by using these words: Pandora’s Box, confidential, cover-up, bootleg, Black Market.
4. Fear is a powerful motivator, especially if you write murder mysteries.  Use words like: looming, revenge, frantic, searing.
5. Fan the flames.  Make them feel outraged at injustice. Use words such as sick and tired, back-stabbing, ruthless.
6. Feed Their greed: most people either want to make or save money. Use these power words to take advantage of this: bargain, profit, discount, quadruple.
7. Make them feel safe.  Use these words: no risk, privacy, official, tested, guaranteed

Try using only six to ten of these emotional power words in your description. And last, but not least, here’s the most important factor to keep in mind when you are writing your description: make sure that your book lives up to your promises.  You don’t want your reader to feel cheated.  Make sure you deliver what your advertise, or your reader may want his money back; and even worse, may feel compelled to write a bad review or give a one-star rating.  And that’s the last thing we writers want.  Happy editing and good luck with your amazing new novel.

Books about Great Dads

I was blessed with a wonderful Dad and several of my books are about the special relationship between fathers and daughters, especially those in my Nancy Keene Mysteries. Teenage sleuth Nancy has a father who is every girl's dream of an ideal Dad.  He gives her a tremendous amount of freedom: he is often away on business trips, which leaves her with plenty of unsupervised time to investigate her cases.  It seems like all she has to do all day is to drive around in her vintage blue roadster and solve mysteries.  She has no pestering Mom telling her to clean up her room.    Because her father is a successful attorney, he has plenty of money to treat Nancy and her friends to wonderful vacations, including ones to New Orleans and London.  She can wrap him around her little finger, and almost always gets her way.  How lucky can a girl be?!

In the first Nancy Keene Mystery I wrote, "The Buried Treasure on Route 66", her Dad is having trouble accepting the fact that his precious Nancy has just turned 18, has a boyfriend, and is going away to college.  How will he handle the empty nest?  And what lessons will he learn when he joins Nancy and her boyfriend on a road trip?  This book is rated PG and only costs $1.99.

I love New Orleans and have been there many times, so I have Nancy going there on vacation with her Dad and her friends. When a docent at Oak Alley Plantation is found dead, Nancy will not rest until she figures out whodunit. She has to leave New Orleans before the murder is solved, but Nancy twists her over-indulgent Dad around her little finger and he allows her to return to the Crescent City to stay with her fun and funky Aunt Audrey in "The Ghost in the Plantation".  This book is rated PG and costs $2.99.

My most recent Nancy Keene Mystery finds Nancy, her Dad, and her girlfriend going to London. Nancy has her first serious crush at 16 when she sees that Daniel Craig is staying at the same hotel as they are.  She's a big fan of James Bond and even goes to Harrods to try a find an outfit like one of the Bond Girls to impress him.  When someone steals his BAFTA award out of his hotel room, Nancy is hot on the trail trying to figure out who stole it and why.  This book is called "The Stolen Mask" and is rated PG and costs only $1.99.

Nancy and her Dad are big fans of "A Prairie Home Companion" and she talks him into going on a pilgrimage with her in search of the towns that inspired Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon.  Her Dad wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while they are in Minnesota, but Nancy has other plans when a bachelor farmer goes missing.  This book is called, "The Missing Bachelor Farmer" and it is rated G.  It only costs $1.99.

All of these eBooks are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.  Three of them are also available in paperback at Amazon.com.