tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768812232048837832024-03-17T22:03:00.385-05:00Karla BrandenburgIf this is your first visit, welcome. My books are what one reviewer describes as "The Perfect Blend of Romance and Mystery,” often with a bump in the night thrown in. We’re all friends here, so I hope you’ll let me know which posts you like best by leaving me a comment, but if you are the shy type, I’m happy to have you lurk until something resonates with you. Oh, and did I mention cookies?Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.comBlogger752125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-19564675552528230602024-03-13T06:07:00.112-05:002024-03-13T06:07:00.141-05:00Everything old is new againWhat can I say? I'm a nerd. I've been lazy with the last several books and let a program format my books for me. When I first started out, I did all of that myself because those options weren't available. Welp, I've decided I don't want to use the program I'd been using because I don't want to distribute the paperback via the channel that did the formatting. So where does that leave me whileKarla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-69004292996612251882024-03-06T05:21:00.074-06:002024-03-06T05:21:00.137-06:00The new cover!THE JANE DOE GHOST is inching closer to release day. Drum roll, please. 🥁What do you think of the cover?And, of course, I KNOW you want a taste, so here's an excerpt for you!
"Do you want to go downstairs to see what’s in the basement?
Or upstairs to the attic?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed in a way the made me think he was slightly
anxious about both ideas. “How regular is this Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-79475497998171800212024-02-28T08:01:00.005-06:002024-02-28T11:12:56.572-06:00In the editing chairApologies in advance, I’m strangled with edits and personal business and trying to commission the rest of the Epitaph audiobooks. This post speaks to where I am in the writing process currently.Yay! I've finished the next book. Now begins the real work, the various forms of self-editing before it goes to a real editor. Developmental editingDoes everything make sense? Do my characters start Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-6335812305605920762024-02-21T05:27:00.057-06:002024-02-21T05:27:00.317-06:00Working on the timelineIf you've read my blog before, you might remember that I have trouble with my timeline management when I write. I've tried several different "hacks" to keep on the straight and narrow, and I'm doing better, but...One of the hacks is starting off each chapter with what day it is. I even started keeping a calendar beside me so I can put down what is happening on what day. Figuratively, if not Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-3903289458051668922024-02-14T05:46:00.002-06:002024-02-14T05:46:00.129-06:00Surplus goodiesHappy Valentines/Galentines Day! 💘I'm embroiled in final edits to the next book - I'm kinda liking the title The Jane Doe Ghost - so I'm taking the easy way out today.If you subscribe to my newsletter, you had the chance to pick up one of my romance novels (a Valentines Day Special). If you don't subscribe, I have a limited number of e-copies of BREAKING THE MOLD left for those of you who don't Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-7697750516225886342024-02-07T05:38:00.004-06:002024-02-07T05:38:00.137-06:00Going down the rabbit holePart of the writing process is research. As an author, you need authenticity so people don't say "that would never happen." The funny part is that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and "that absolutely WOULD happen." But I digress. Today is about going down the rabbit hole.In the quest for authenticity, I've learned many things. Like how to fight fires. How and when to file a missing Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-48855293792096095332024-01-31T05:07:00.009-06:002024-01-31T05:07:00.136-06:00"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!"I first heard this quote in a movie, of all places. One with Shirley MacLaine, where she keeps marrying men who leave her bundles of money. She wants a simple life, but marries a farmer and he hits an oil well in his fields. Marries another "poor" man and he strikes it rich. One of her husbands quotes Thoreau to her. (What a Way to Go, thank you to Google for the title.) She wants a simple life, Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-12385798882824147722024-01-24T05:17:00.023-06:002024-01-24T05:17:00.135-06:00And now there's a deadlineSo far, I've been writing on my own schedule. Don't get me wrong, I usually write a book fairly quickly (although not as fast as I used to "pre-plague"). Elspeth Barclay book 3 is nearing completion, and after checking in with my editor, I am now writing to finish rather than just writing to find my way through the story.The inspirationThat means I need a title! Ugh. Here's a hint. Elle breaks Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-11965126459082177922024-01-17T05:30:00.026-06:002024-01-22T07:08:37.129-06:00Coffee and disappearing productsI have a knack for liking products that apparently aren't all that popular with the rest of the world. I can't tell you how many times I've thrown myself into going "all in" with a product, only to have it disappear off the shelves. It's happened with cereal it’s happened with deodorant. It's happened with hair products. It's happened with perfume. I get it. Trends change. Products change. Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-32131711365856291662024-01-10T06:30:00.009-06:002024-01-10T10:28:49.698-06:00New Year, New Ereader?You know what I haven't done in a while? Give away a book, just because. Lots of people got ebook readers for Christmas, and the "stuff my kindle" event showed that people are looking for new things to read. Are you missing one of my books in your collection? As a thank you for being a reader and for joining me here on my blog, I'm giving away one book each to three lucky winners simply by Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-68929663550740150342024-01-03T05:56:00.148-06:002024-01-03T05:56:00.135-06:00Losing Weight in the New YearI'm Baaaack...New years are always cause for re-evaluation. I think it's the nature of the beast. Unavoidably, people are going to talk about New Year's Resolutions, or things they want to accomplish in the new year. I stopped doing that years ago, but one thing always remains.I'm going to talk to you about my weight today. Not a pleasant topic in the best of circumstances, and one no one wants Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-73823265276019978222023-12-13T05:37:00.002-06:002023-12-13T05:37:00.137-06:00Back at the KeyboardI haven't been able to get "out and about" like I normally do and was somehow still surprised when my pictures scheduled to social media ran out. That happens when you don't get out to take more! I finished my round of treatment Sunday and started feeling well enough to sit down with my characters again, who promptly informed me I was spending too much time on subplots and not enough time Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-31656472602558101912023-12-06T05:30:00.005-06:002023-12-06T05:30:00.136-06:00The odds are ever against youIf you don’t believe in vaccines, you can step away now. This isn’t a post you’ll want to read.I’m of a certain age where doctors recommend more vaccines. The evidence of their effectiveness is demonstrated in the near eradication of polio and small pox. Yes, I’ve had my covid vaccines. And the flu vaccine. And shingles, because YIKES. For three years I’ve managed to avoid the plague, and right Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-59930266337731217882023-11-22T05:30:00.004-06:002023-11-22T05:30:00.140-06:00The table's a little smaller now, but I'm still thankfulWhen I was little, we always traveled to visit family on Thanksgiving, until one year it snowed and we couldn't make the trip. Somehow, we stopped going after that. Might have had something to do with the fact us "kids" started getting older and it was harder to corral us all together at the same time.After I got married, I made Thanksgiving dinner for my in-laws every year. Turkey. Stuffing. Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-55654212128685731682023-11-15T06:00:00.011-06:002023-11-15T06:00:00.143-06:00Developing CharactersI recently had a conversation with my buddy Bobbi about where my characters come from. The answer? Everywhere.They usually start as an inspiration from someone I knew or have met. I need to add another thought here - a fellow author recently lamented he needed to make sure his characters had their own thoughts and not reflections of his. To quote him during his editing process, "I'm struck today Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-81442193451562955082023-11-08T05:26:00.014-06:002023-11-08T05:26:00.145-06:00Don't Try So HardQuite often when I start a new book, I get stuck with "what am I doing?" "What happens next?" Then, when I sit to write, I struggle with words. I generally know what's going to happen in the story, but the words just won't come. Writing a novel is NOT easy. I knew I was going to write a book around my trip to Bar Harbor before I left Maine. In fact, my buddy Jennifer was asking me what Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-445872625563399802023-11-01T05:54:00.010-05:002023-11-01T07:48:08.135-05:00All Saints DayYesterday was Halloween (in case you didn't know). Years ago, my oldest sister made me this house. The roof has an opening in the back for handing out candy. I have been using this house, even when it's just for decoration, for decades. This house has more meaning to me these days. Now it also serves as a remembrance of my oldest sister who is no longer with us. She was "my person."She was Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-70626795186108390082023-10-25T05:17:00.020-05:002023-10-25T05:17:00.136-05:00Producing an audiobookI have worked with a couple different narrators and have gone through the process myself, narrating my own work. My latest narrator has just completed work on the audiobook for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. When she did the first book, HORNED OWL HOLLOW, she checked in when she had questions about how something might be pronounced, but ultimately, she recorded and mastered the whole thing beforeKarla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-86350998909178079352023-10-18T05:30:00.010-05:002023-10-18T11:49:48.558-05:00Getting to workBeing an author is far from glamorous. For years, I balanced my writing with a day job. In many ways, that made me more disciplined with the writing because of my limited availability to disappear into an alternate universe. Now that writing is my full-time gig (and no, it doesn't support me. I have the years at the day job to thank for that), my writing schedule is somewhat more haphazard.&Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-3925729492009599162023-10-11T05:41:00.030-05:002023-10-11T05:41:00.137-05:00Little Miss MuffetIf you’re squeamish about bugs - spiders in particular - you might want to skip this post…I’ll start out easy. While on my trip to Maine, my buddy Jennifer very casually mentioned the big black spider in the bag she’d packed with car snacks. Eek! (After she’d properly disposed of it, thank heaven.)Fast forward to back home. I sent the Big Guy out for groceries, and broccoli that was on sale. I Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-67674601500365025622023-10-04T05:44:00.175-05:002023-10-04T08:00:10.561-05:00More trollsI just love these guys, so I had to share all of them. You can read about them in the pictures with their names. I found them in Maine, at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens, but the artist, Thomas Dambo, has been creating them all across the country from sustainable materials.
Roskva
Birk
Gro
Soren
LiljaHere a Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-74416296173590145862023-09-26T05:56:00.025-05:002023-09-26T05:56:00.146-05:00I am inspired!The new book is out! (in case you hadn't heard, you can buy THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT here!) But you know that... or at least I hope you do! So I won't bore you with the details, although I hope you'll get your copy!Work has started on Elspeth's third book. I took a trip to unwind, reinvigorate, play with my friend, get inspired. Jennifer took me sightseeing in one of her favorite playgrounds and Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-19296255346364248932023-09-13T06:15:00.023-05:002023-09-13T06:15:00.142-05:00Empty Nest Syndrome?I have to say it's a wonderful feeling when I get final edits back and I can address them in the span of two hours. Shocked and amazed, I moved on to the final proof of THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. Having Word's "Read" function read the text back to me for those typos that slip by my eyes but which can't escape the ears. The narrator for the Elspeth series will begin work for the audiobook version Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-61841039325514736542023-09-06T05:37:00.010-05:002023-09-06T05:37:00.148-05:00HairI'll have final edits back on Friday, so as I twiddle my thumbs (I have a new story in queue, but with interruptions abounding, it consists mainly of notes), I've been doing research and taking field trips. Field trips are fun. The weather is not. As with most of the country, we are in a final (one would hope) heat wave as summer makes its last stand, along with high humidity. Earlier this Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676881223204883783.post-13874842533265709402023-08-30T05:45:00.005-05:002023-08-30T05:45:00.150-05:00I'm not a patient personI want to be done with the new book, but I still have to clear final editor comments. In this same vein, I want it off my plate. Because I'm not a patient person. Because I'd already reviewed it and edited it, and even though I knew that one section didn't really work, I was tired of looking at it. Deep breath.A month later, I have fresh eyes and more patience. I took another look at Karla Brandenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12662958593514530762noreply@blogger.com2