Hi, Everyone:
After getting in some early reviews for Big Shot, I noticed a trend. Several reviewers said they were surprised by the tone of the book (though they liked the book and were complimentary otherwise). I ignored the first, noted the second, grew mildly alarmed at the third, and hit full panic mode on the fourth. So I made some tweaks to the book description and am now using this cover for Big Shot.
I'm not happy about the last minute change. The book launches May 31st. BUT, I think it's better to sacrifice a few sales than to confuse readers. Big Shot is a funny book, but not as light and floofy as the cover may have suggested. The heroine, Alice Sommerland, is in the personal protection business. She takes that seriously, and she takes murder seriously too, even while she's making her way through a town full of oddballs. The mystery is complex. The clues are all there, but it's not an easy puzzle.
When I started writing, "cozy mystery" was one genre. You knew what to expect. Now even that category has been subdivided into smaller and smaller niches, and they don't all have names, like "witch cozy mystery." You just know it when you read it.
Anyway, I put more money and effort into this launch than usual and was hoping to make the USA Today list. I may have just shot that dream in the foot in a spectacular display of self-destruction. But... Oh, well. It's done.
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