Well, cats, I promised an update on the murder-mystery party I hosted and here it comes!

It was fantastic. Everyone that showed up (we had quite a few last-minute drop outs, which was regrettable) was in costume and in character and did it wonderfully. The setup for the clues was somewhat compromised as there was a considerably pushy group having a wedding reception in the same vicinity (we stayed respectfully out of their way) but things overall went smoothly.

Everyone said they had a great time, and I know I did. It was a lot of work, but my night as Detective Irene Adler was so entirely worth it.

My friend from Missoula, two of my sisters and a lot of folks from my creative writing class were present, all of which added to the night. And the fella I'm sweet on at the moment was there, and very much into the whole ordeal, which set my poor little heart aflutter something awful XD But enough about that.



So, I don't believe I've mentioned it, but I'm biting the bullet and I'm going to begin my author career as a self-published schmoe(ette?) on Lulu.com, which is a fantastic site for such things. You set your own price, and don't have to sink thousands of dollars into something that might phail, which is great for birds like me that don't have thousands of dollars...period.

I want to publish this murder-mystery party that I wrote, after a good deal of glossing and writing a lot more characters, introductions, etc., and make a series of it. I'd like to have some sort of system where I publish a new one every six months or so, which seems like a long time, and truthfully is, but also seems about right for just testing the waters. And in lieu of my busy college schedule, blah blah blah.

There are just a lot of things I'm not certain about. I originally wanted to write five mysteries and include them in one book for about fifteen American dollars. Then I was smacked upside the head by various relatives and told that I should just stick to one, and sell it for twenty (most parties for eight are sold for about one game going for 40 smackaroos) but the whole point of me selling it cheaper is so folks like me who are cashmentally challenged can still throw fun murder-mystery parties. So perhaps what I'll do is include two full mysteries, a long list of possible suspects (I'm thinking 75 right now), and sell it for twenty bucks. That seems fair, yes? No? Thom Buchanan?

Another matter is the cover of the book. Obviously I have some interest in art, and feel semi-confident that what I draw can be recognized as its elemental form. But I want the cover to look really nice. I'd also like to have some recognizable token to go with the series.

Should I commission someone to do a neat cover? Or try to do a basic one myself? Or just leave the cover as big impressive text?

Questions, questions, so many questions.


I want to have the book ready and available on Lulu by this Christmas. That is my goal. Hoo-ah!