Ava Mallory

Dear Readers, Thank you to all who spent some time getting to know our amazing lineup of authors! Now, it's time to announce some winners. Congratulations to Joanne Kocourek and Sarah Taylor! You've both won an e-copy of 'Tis the Sneezin' just in time for Christmas!  Tis the Sneezin'  (Check your email, winners! :) ) As an added bonus for everyone today, I'm having a flash sale on all of the titles in my catalog. Stop on by and fill your Kindles with Cozy Mystery fun!  http://amzn.to/1m9n6nA But wait -- there's more! I have a couple of FREEBIES today too! You can grab both here:  FREEBIES Thank you all for stopping by! Have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year! Don't forget to stop by the other author's blogs to see if you've won. Merry Christmas, Ava Mallory

It's giveaway time! It's day three of the 12 Days of Christmas Book Giveaways and that means it's my day to host a giveaway. Two winners will win an e-copy of my new release 'Tis the Sneezin' ! (Winners will be chosen on Christmas Day 12/25/15.) Here's the book:  http://amzn.to/1TK0V1v Tis the Sneezin' Description: Traveling nurse Mercy Mares is up to her eyeballs in donations for the town's annual holiday celebration. Every nook and cranny of her house and all of her friend's and neighbor's houses are overflowing with gifts for ill children in her local hospital. It's all she can do to keep track of what is what and who is who.  On the night that she and her merry band of helpers are to deliver these gifts, everything, including gifts she bought for her loved ones, simply disappear without a trace.  Now, Mercy has to find the thief before those who appointed her this year's Mrs. Claus find out that they're missing an...

Good news readers ~~~ Beginning on Monday, December 14th (TODAY!), I will be taking part in the ultimate 12 Days of Christmas blog tour. Some wonderful authors have joined together to make your holidays brighter with giveaways galore. Why not get your holiday celebration started early and join in on the fun? Load your stockings and reading devices with some wonderful goodies courtesy of these fabulous Sci-fi/Paranormal/ Fantasy and Romance/Mystery authors below: Day 1 Monday 12/14/16 -- Angela Carling   http://angelacarling.blogspot.com/                                             Tamara Passey   http://www.whyigetup.blogspot.com/ Day 2 Tuesday 12/15/15 -- Jason Zandri  https://gunderstone.wordpress.com/2015/12/12/10-prizes-10-winners-author-jason-zandri/                         ...

Leave it to me to take a hiatus from my writing world during the holiday season! After writing 151,000 words during NaNoWriMo, I made what I thought was a good decision and declared that I'd not write a word during December. Brilliant, right? Well, considering that I'm writing this blog post right now and I send out daily tweets, Facebook posts, emails, a bi-weekly newsletter and write countless notes to myself and my children, I do believe I've failed. That's not to mention the book descriptions I'm constantly tweaking or writing for others or the notebooks full of outlines I've written this month. You see, I simply cannot stop writing, regardless of what I've promised myself. A writer writes. All. The. Time. We can't help ourselves. Even if I'm not physically writing -- either on paper or on my Alphasmart or my laptop -- I am writing in my head or in my dreams. Admitting I have a problem (sort of) is the first step to... I think it's ...

It's Tuesday and that can only mean one thing in my world: Read all the books! I buy a lot of books. I mean, A LOT of books. I read everything. Sticking to one genre is just not my thing. It never has been. If there's words in it, I'll probably read it. Within reason, of course. I also read several books at once. I can't explain why. That's just the way my brain works. I can bounce from book to book, genre to genre, and never feel lost. I guess that's why I also write in several genres.  Beginning next week, I'll post reviews for books I read in the previous week. None of the books were given to me. I purchased or borrowed every last one of them. You'll know what I'm reading in the upcoming week. To get things started, these are the books I'm reading this week (Tuesday through Tuesday): 1. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane - http://amzn.to/1jxHNaD  - This is a dark, gritty thriller. It was published in 1994, but still inc...

Look, Mom, I did it! I said I'd recommit to this whole blogging thing and I've done it. Day #3! This is my Short Story Sunday inaugural post. What does that mean? Every Sunday, a short story will be posted for your reading pleasure. I'll invite authors and readers to share a short story as well. Are you up for this challenge? Do you know someone who might be? Let me know. Whispered Words "You'll be okay," his small, breathy voice, filled the cold room. A quick inhale helped ground me in place. Everything hinged on my reaction to his words. He needed me. Perhaps not as much as I needed him in that moment and for every agonizing moment after that. "How do you know," I asked, my heart splintering into shards of regret and sorrow. "You're stronger than you think you are." I laced my fingers through his, fearful that I'd never feel the warmth of his skin again. "What are we going to do without you?" The tears I...

Shenanigans. I like that word. I really like that word! Prepare to see it used quite regularly as I continue on my blog reboot adventure. Speaking of my reboot, today - this post - is day #2! Woo-hoo! Way to be consistent! Today and every Saturday from here on out will be Saturday Shenanigans posts. What does that mean? Good question. In my world, here in the Midwest, that generally means I work harder than I do any other day of the week. I tend to play catch up on weekends and work far more hours than any rational human being should work. Yep, you heard it here first. My glamorous writer life consists of weekends spent tending to chores that were missed throughout the week and hours spent writing at a feverish pitch to hit my weekly word count. More often than not, laundry, vacuuming, floor mopping and grocery shopping take precedence. But, don't fret! Writing will get done - eventually. As I sit now at nearly 7 p.m., my 3K word goal for the day, sits at just over two...

I can't be trusted... - to blog on a regular basis because Netflix won't stop calling my name. (Neither will the children!) - stay clear of chocolate. (Solution: Stop buying chocolate. Yeah right!) - to hit my daily word count (5K) before someone needs me. (Or my Facebook feed beckons me.) - to stop buying books. (Why are writers so talented? They tempt me with their words.) - to stop reading blog posts. (Bloggers rock!) - to complete a Barre exercise video without wanting to die. (Yoga pants rule!) - to run 3.5 miles three times per week even when my knees beg me to stop. (Stop whining!) - to watch an episode of Fixer Upper and not want to move to Texas. (Humidity & curls, oh my!) - to not cry at commercials. (But, they eat Cheerios as a family!) - to stay away from anything containing cheese. (Everything tastes better with cheese!) The above marks my official relaunch into the blogging world. Woo-hoo! Now, someone please hold me accountable and send chocolate...