Killer Cakes – Issue 4
Welcome!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of terrific food . . . especially cake!
Congratulations to Michelle (a/k/a dolls123) the Twitter contestant who won a signed copy of Murder Takes the Cake, Dead Pan and a red Murder Takes the Cake apron. For those of you who did not win the Twitter contest, there is still time to enter Gayle’s November contest at Fresh Fiction and also her Fresh Fiction Christmas contest wherein one entrant will win a copy of each of my books along with a $25 Amazon gift card. While you’re at Fresh Fiction, check out the other contests. There are some great giveaways going on during the month of December!
Book Signing
Gayle will be in Kingsport, TN at Waldenbooks in the mall on December 12 from noon until 3 p.m. If you’re in the area, please stop by and say hello.
Something Interesting
I don’t know how you feel about webisodes . . . you know, the mini-programs available on some sites (in particular, TV network sites). I haven’t seen very many myself, but I have seen In Gayle We Trust, a web series on the USA Network. Each episode lasts about 31/2 minutes and is about an insurance agent named Gayle. They’re really cute. My favorites are Gayle and the Birthday Call and Gayle and the Hypnotist. Check them out.
Spotlight: BCakes by BKeith
B. Keith Ryder is an award-winning designer who has been decorating cakes since 1996. He has been featured in the Washington Post, the Washington Times, and American Cake Decorating Magazine. He is a past president of ICES, and director of the National Capital Area Cake Show (NCACS). He is featured in a Food Network special on the nation’s largest wedding cake competition at the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show where he placed in the top ten. Keith is an internationally recognized instructor in the sugar arts.
BCakes by BKeith is located in Falls Church, Virginia. You may contact him by e-mail at bkeith@bcakes.com. Some of BCakes most popular flavors include butter pound cake, carrot cake, sour cream white, almond, lemon, pumpkin, deep dark devil’s food and coconut. Fillings and frostings are available in a variety of buttercream, mousse and ganache flavors. BCakes also has flavored fondant available in two-pound tubs for sale.
Check out BCakes for additional information and lots more photographs.
Sew Deadly – Issue 3
Check out my cover!
Don’t you love it?! I do. I’m really thrilled. Gayle told her editor she wanted to hug the artist. So she (a/k/a Amanda Lee) and I have something else to be thankful for tomorrow.
I’m keeping this newsletter short and sweet since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. I hope all of you have a wonderful, blessed day.
Killer Cakes – Issue 3
Welcome!
I finally have copies of Dead Pan. Yay! I also got a hardcover, large-print version of Murder Takes the Cake from Thorndike; and the book has the original cover. The books look terrific.
The blog tour is going well. Congratulations to Belen Pensamiento, Sharon Castleberry, Rebecca Bradeen, Katie Mathews and Laura Burness, winners of the Free Book Friday giveaway. Your autographed books will ship within the next couple days. Jessica told me 1400 people entered to win. So, way to go!
If you didn’t win a copy of Dead Pan, you still have several chances. I’ll be giving away books along the blog tour, and the FreshFiction and Twitter contests are still ongoing. So, keep trying. Or, if you can’t wait, you can order Dead Pan from Amazon or from your local bookseller.
Blog Tour (to date):
Just in case you might have missed some of the fun we’ve been having, here are some links you can check out:
The Old Silly’s Free Spirit Blog
Spotlight: Frosted Celebrations
Look at this cake. It just melted my heart. It’s titled “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Excellent.
Frosted Celebrations is located in Chino Hills, California. This company strives to bring the WOW factor to your event. They provide custom creative designs for all of your special occasions, delivering the ultimate “cake with a personality” to impress your guests. They can also reproduce cakes from photos that you provide.
I love this cake, too. It’s so elegant. Frosted Creations does wedding cakes, birthday cakes, corporate event cakes, bridal and baby shower cakes, holiday cakes and just about any type of event cake you can imagine. Take a look at their website to see custom cake and wedding cake galleries, read testimonials and get pricing information.
Parting Shots
Please don’t forget if you’re in the
Marion, Virginia, area that I’ll be signing copies of both Dead Pan and Murder Takes the Cake at the Christmas Market on Cherry Street on Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21. I’ll also have copies of The Writer’s Planner on hand. Please stop by to say hello. Please also remember to enter the Twitter and FreshFiction contests before the end of the month. For the FreshFiction contest, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. For the Twitter contest, simply RT the post announcing the contest.
Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!
Writing Up A Storm – November 2009
Welcome!
First of all, let me apologize for not putting the October issue in
the blog. During the second full week of October, my website was
hacked for three different days from an ISP in Rugby, England. At
some points, the entire website was taken down; and at other times,
only the blog was missing. That’s why this month we’re talking
about Internet security.
IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE:
Question of the Month: How can I protect myself from computer
hackers?
Link of the Month
Market Spotlight
SHAMELESS Self-Promotion
Thanks again for joining me. I hope you have a wonderful month.
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Question of the Month: How can I protect myself from computer hackers?
The week of October referenced above turned out to be a very stressful and costly one for me. Infected files had to be deleted and recoded by my web host’s computer programmer. I had the additional fear of what other information the hacker had gleaned.
So, what’s the solution? Writers and other professionals have careers that demand they spend numerous hours online. If we aren’t online promoting our books in this Internet world, then readers are buying other authors’ books. And yet, if we’re surfing the Internet unprotected, we risk losing more than book sales.
1) Invest in good virus protection.
I had virus protection that I thought was sufficient. Apparently, it wasn’t. I checked with a computer programmer I trust, and he recommended Norton’s 360. This package includes anti-virus protection, backup, identity protection, pc protection and pc tuneup. If you’re unsure about the virus protection you’re running on your computer, check with a computer professional you trust; or consult with Best Buy’s Geek Squad, either in person, by phone or via the Web.
2) Run multiple scans.
Even if you feel your PC is adequately protected, run free virus scans from trusted sites. Again, a good source of trusted information is the Geek Squad. Also, run a scan to ensure you have the most up to date versions of Adobe Reader and other free programs. My friend, the computer programmer, warned that old versions of these programs are often susceptible to hackers.
3) Beware of following e-mail links.
We all know better than to follow the link to the Nigerian aristocrat or the “update your bank information now” links, but some e-mails aren’t so suspicious. Years ago, I worked for the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Commission where an upper-level co-worker fell victim to the “I Love You” virus. The newlywed received the e-mail, thought it was from her husband, opened it and infected her computer. Always check the return address; and when in doubt, delete. Also warn your children against downloading
screensavers.
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Links of the Month:
Here are some virus scans you might find helpful:
http://malwarebytes.org
http://combofix.org/
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml
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Market Spotlight: Barefoot Books
Barefoot Books publishes quality children’s picture books celebrating independence of spirit and openness to others. Publisher prefers submission of completed manuscript. See website for additional information.
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S h a m e l e s s Self-Promotion
Gayle Trent: Dead Pan will be available on Amazon by November 9.
Look for Bell Bridge Book’s full-color ad which includes Dead Pan
in the November issue of RT Book Reviews. I’m a guest on Cozy
Chicks Blog on November 12 and on Free Book Friday on November 13.
If you Twitter, you can enter a contest to win a signed copy of
Dead Pan, a signed copy of Murder Takes the Cake and a red Murder
Takes the Cake apron. The contest runs through “black Friday,”
November 27. To enter the contest, Twitterers should follow Gayle
at
http://twitter.com/gayletrent and re-Tweet (or RT) the contest
announcement. There is no limit to how many times a person can
enter the contest.
Check out my page on Fresh Fiction at
http://freshfiction.com/author.php?id=22856.
Also, check out my audio interview on Fascinating Authors at
http://fascinatingauthors.com/authors/podcasts/gayle-trent-dead-pan/
Be sure and send in your own shameless self-promotions!
Take care,
Gayle
Copyright 2009 by Gayle Trent.
Introducing Dianne Sagan, author of Rebekah Redeemed
About Dianne Sagan
Dianne is an author, speaker, ghostwriter, and consultant who has been a storyteller much of her life. She started writing short stories for her children when they were small. Dianne has spent several years honing her craft as an op-ed columnist in the regional newspaper, Amarillo Globe News, short stories for anthologies and online articles on Suite 101, Writing for Dollars, and others.
Born in the Midwest, she grew up on the plains of West Texas and in her heart of hearts always wanted to write. She says that she loves being married to a writer and an editor because she always has someone to brainstorm with. Her interests include reading, quilting, gardening, time with her children and grandchildren. She has spent years in volunteer work through Boy and Girl Scouts, her church, and the Sharing Hope Ministry to incarcerated women. She is also involved in writing about women’s issues and loves speaking to groups about these issues and about writing.
About Rebekah Redeemed
Orphaned Rebekah becomes a servant in her uncle’s house in Bethany. Traded from relative to relative, she suffers neglect and abuse. When a Roman soldier assaults her, she flees in fear of her life and hides. Rebekah is discovered and Lazarus becomes her kinsman redeemer. Can Jesus redeem her soul? Can she forgive or break the chains of her past?
The book’s site on AWOC further states that Rebekah is the daughter of a shepherd who saw the Christ child that first Christmas night. What better Christmas gift than a book of hope stemming from the time of Christ’s birth? Visit Dianne’s site to learn more about her and her books.
Sew Deadly – Issue Two
Marcy’s Musings
So, here we are in the 2nd week of November. Happy Veteran’s Day to all you veterans out there!
Gayle has been busy promoting her “other” series–the cake decorating mystery series–which is fine because she has a new book out called Dead Pan and lots of opportunities for you to win a copy.
Gayle is participating in Jessica Brody’s Free Book Friday this week. Five autographed copies of Dead Pan will be given away on Friday, November 13. Also, Gayle is hosting a Twitter contest through “Black Friday,” November 27. Do you follow Gayle on Twitter? If not, click the link at the top of this page to do so. If you already follow Gayle, then you’re all set. Just watch the “tweets” to get information on an upcoming contest in which Gayle will be awarding the winner a Daphne Martin mystery prize pack including both cake decorating mystery books and a Murder Takes the Cake apron.
If you’re not already tired of hearing about Dead Pan by now, you can listen to a podcast wherein Gayle discusses the book and some other subjects (caution: giggle warning) with Penny Sansevieri of Fascinating Authors. Not that I’m jealous or anything, but I have to admit I’ll be happy when Gayle is out promoting my series The Seven-Year Stitch! 
Site Spotlight: Nordic Needle
Have you visited this site yet? I’ll give you fair warning, you can get lost for hours at this site. This site features fabric, needles, threads, accessories, books, patterns, kits and even finished needlework. In fact, the photo above is a suncatcher for sale in Nordic Needle’s finished needlework Hardanger section.
This site is terrific for specific, hard-to-find items. For example, when Gayle was working on her tree-topper angel (featured in Issue 1), she couldn’t find the fabric or some of the threads she needed at local shops. The site also has a newsletter you can sign up for to receive stitching articles, profiles and sales information.
Nordic Needle is currently hosting its Annual Hardanger Embroidery Design Contest wherein contestants send in photographs of their hardanger embroidery pieces. According to the Nordic Needle website (click above for contest details), finalists will be selected to send in their actual pieces. Entries will be accepted until April 8, 2010. Entries are judged on overall beauty and attractiveness, technique and workmanship, and originality of design. Each entrant may submit only one entry per year. The top six designs will be awarded top honors and will receive $125.00 per design. Two to five honorable mentions will be awarded $100.00 each. In addition, all prize-winning Hardanger embroidery pieces will be published in a book including the autobiographies and pictures of the designers.
Dead Pan Blog Tour
Dates and locations (to date) of Dead Pan blog tour:
10.26.09 Podcast interview with Penny Sansevieri of Fascinating Authors’ site.
11.02.09 Crimespree
11.04.09 The Lady Killers
11.10.09 Killer Hobbies
11.12.09 Cozy Chicks
11.13.09 Free Book Friday
11.14.09 Fresh Fiction’s blog
More dates to come. I’ll keep you posted!
Take care,
Gayle
Killer Cakes – Issue 2
Welcome!
Dead Pan is experiencing a slight delay, but the book will be here soon. In the meantime, you can listen to a podcast wherein author Gayle Trent discusses Dead Pan and some other subjects (caution: giggle warning) with Penny Sansevieri of Fascinating Authors.
Gayle will be participating in Jessica Brody’s Free Book Friday the week of November 8. Five autographed copies of Dead Pan will be given away on Friday, November 13. I know, I know – Friday the 13th! But, hopefully, it will be a lucky day for you.
Do you follow Gayle on Twitter? If not, click the link at the top of this page to do so. If you already follow Gayle, then you’re all set. Just watch the “tweets” to get information on an upcoming contest in which Gayle will be awarding the winner a Daphne Martin mystery prize pack.
Spotlight: Angels Cakes & Confections
I had the pleasure of meeting Janet Allen at the 2008 Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Believe it or not, she is as sweet as her cakes!
Janet’s bakery, Angels Cake and Confections, is located in the Alabama area; and Janet has been in business for more than 15 years. Janet specializes in wedding cakes, chocolate centerpieces, sugar art and pieces that will have special meaning for your event, family and/or guests.
Just look at this 
one. I’m not sure where the building this cake is based on is located or whether it’s made of cake or gingerbread, but isn’t it gorgeous? Maybe I can get Janet to check out this blog post and comment with some of the details on the cakes I’m spotlighting.
As you can see, Janet does terrific, intrinsic work! For more information about Angel Cake and Confections, visit Janet’s website at http://angelsconfections.com/ or e-mail Janet at janet@angelsconfections.com.
Here’s hoping everyone enjoys a sweet week!
