Meet Author April Nunn Coker: Newest member of The Underground Authors

Author April Nunn Coker's first Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles novel, Just Dying to Glamp is releasing this week on Thursday June 20th. It's available for preorder NOW. Although this is the first book she's written for the series, it is book 25 overall. As a member of the Underground Authors myself, I am proud to welcome her into the fold. 

I had the opportunity to preview some of Just Dying to Glamp, and I'm very excited for April's work to be a part of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles family. This is a wonderful addition to the series, and I know you're all going to love it!

You can get your copy of Just Dying to Glamp for the limited time price of just 99¢ by clicking here: MBCC - book 25

April is an accomplished writer with several published books under her belt, including her romantic suspense series, The Keeper Trilogy, inspired by her husband's life as a zookeeper. She has been writing since the age of ten, but it was many years before her dream of becoming a published author came true. She was a public school teacher and administrator for thirty years and raised two children along with her husband, whom she recently lost to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Her first book, published in 2006, was a tongue-in-cheek guide to saving money at Christmas time. It was born out of her need to respond to an especially hectic holiday season where she exhausted herself spending and doing way too much. 

April is also a freelance writer, whose work has appeared in professional education journals, teacher magazines, and a society magazine. She resides in East Texas with her Boston terrier Stella and stays busy writing, glamping, traveling, tutoring, thrift shopping, and spending time with her three grandchildren. 

You can learn more about April and find all of her books here: April's Amazon Page

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Here is the blurb from Just Dying to Glamp:

For Newly widowed Mamie West, it's time to get out of the house and do something. She has no

idea what she is getting herself into.

After buying the vintage camper of her dreams at a local used car lot, she joins the Gals Gone Glamping. At her first campout, one of the Three Gees is found murdered in her own campsite. Mamie soon discovers a cryptic note in the woman's RV, but when the same note is left for her, she becomes the sleuth, trying to figure out who the killer is before she becomes the next victim. Along with her sidekick, Boston terrier Babs, she captures the interest of Magnolia Bluff police officer, Nick Vandegan, who not only investigates the murder but is willing to offer his protection to women, especially Mamie.

Who would want to kill an innocent, fun-loving, adventurous woman on a camping trip?

Will Mamie's curiosity and determination to solve the mystery get her more than she bargained for?

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You can find all the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles mystery books by clicking here: MBCC Series

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

You can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

Keeping Myself Sharp - What I've Learned by Writing Short Stories

When I first decided to be a writer, I went all in and started with a full-length novel. I had no idea what I was doing and figured, how hard could it be? I'd been reading fiction novels forever and, in some cases, just felt I could do a better job at it than a particular New York Times bestselling author who had probably been writing since I was in diapers and had several books to his name. I had an awful lot of confidence for someone who hadn't put a word on a page since getting out of school. Yet, I was going to knock this guy off the bestseller's list.

Now as any writer who's been practicing their craft for any length of times knows, I was in for a rude awakening and several hard lessons. Fast forward several years and having written five full-length fiction novels at this point, with my sixth being released this July, I've picked up a few things along the way. First and foremost, I believe I'm a much better writer than I was when I wrote Dead is Forever. Second, I've worked hard to keep any lessons learned and skills I've gained sharp since that first book, by writing short stories in between the full-length stuff. And third, I've still got a lot to learn.

I've written many shorts over the years. I've published a few, but most have never seen the light of day. Scribbles on my Word program meant for my eyes only. They were not written with any thought of publication. The sole responsibility of these works of fiction are simply to keep my head in the game between my actual writing projects.

Writing a short piece of fiction can be cathartic as well as educational for me. Some of the stories are much darker than others and allow me an outlet for when I'm feeling anything short (pun intended) of amazing... which happens often. Writing short stories between the full novels also helps me from coming down with a severe case of writer's block. It keeps the juices flowing and my mind thinking outside the box.

I enjoy the process of working through scaling down a story to fit a self-imposed, predetermined word or page count. It forces me to get to the heart of the action. It helps me to understand how far along the conflict or pain or life changing event my protagonist is experiencing should be when the story begins. It also keeps me in tune on where I need to exit the narrative, leaving the reader to understand the character's world continues beyond the ending. The shorts still need structure with some sort of beginning, middle, and end, but the art is in how to become more succinct in telling the character's story in as little as a hundred words or up to maybe a max of five-thousand words. You begin to grasp what details need to stay and what needs to be left out. You lose the luxury of having a lot of words at your disposal to describe a scene or how a character is dressed -- learning the skill of using the right words to quickly create a picture in a reader's mind becomes a necessity. Less becomes more with the ability to rely on your readers to fill in the blanks.

Who knows? Maybe one day I'll package up some of the shorts I consider to be worthy of being read by others and put them into an anthology or two. But for now, I'm happy to just let them continue to help me improve my craft by keeping my mind and focus sharp, and I hope, each book I write better than the last.  

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

You can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎