Stir Up (Lark Davis Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Independently Published (July 1, 2019)

Synopsis

Peace and quiet is underrated.

After her last brush with murder, Larklyn Davis is relieved to be spending her time with the talented new horse at her stables instead of tripping over body parts. While she’s trying to figure out why her newest horse has lost his mojo, she’s also puzzling over her relationship with the brooding, uncommunicative Detective Brecken Wilson.

But then, disaster strikes, and both Lark’s reputation and business are on the line. Once again she finds herself pulled into a murder case and in close proximity to the handsome Detective. Throw in a dashing veterinarian plus a matchmaking town and Lark’s life spins out of control. As clues pile up and all evidence leads back to her barn, Lark gets saddled up to solve another mystery.

Who knew life in Barrow Bay would stir up so much trouble?

Guest Post

Writing and isolation…

When I dreamed of being an author, I had this image of being locked in a room (preferably a tower) and living in relative isolation with just me and my computer. Because, to me, authors were these successful introverts who lived the dream by only interacting with people at their choosing.

I wanted that. After being in sales for years. I wanted it so bad.

But it’s a huge lie. Huge. I can’t tell you how big of a lie.

Oh, wait. I’m about to.

The first thing I learned after finishing my first book was that I needed people. I needed someone to read it and tell me what they thought. So I cleaned it up as best I could (which wasn’t very good at all) and bribed three of my best friends into reading it. And I got back seven words that changed my life.

“This wasn’t horrible. You should keep trying.”

But, to keep trying, I would need more people to read it and give me feedback. And we couldn’t afford an editor without seeing if my word was any good to people who didn’t already love me… so, to the internet I went. I joined beta reading groups other people’s works. I found some great people to read my work and realized something even more shocking. I didn’t know what their advice meant. I mean, I got that there was a problem… but I didn’t understand why it was a problem. And I’m a ‘systems’ person. If I don’t understand the why, I don’t understand the problem. So back to my best friends I went, and one of them gave me the best advice I’ve ever had. She told me to go beta read other people’s work and learn from them.

Seriously. Best. Advice. EVER.

After a week of beta reading numerous books, I had a better understanding of what people meant when they gave me advice. I had studied other books for errors so I could understand those problems on my own. I worked with other people and edited my own feedback to try and not make them cry. I used some of the very words that had mystified me when I got them from my beta readers. Gasp!

Then I wrote again. And sent it out and got back more positive feedback. It was, almost actually good — if I fixed these things. I did, and then I had to find more people to read it. And then more. And then more.

I started this to stop having to talk to people. I hadn’t even published before I realized that, at a minimum, I needed a team of Beta readers. Not just a few, a team of people who all felt confident enough to tell me the truth in a nice tone.

I needed people. This was not the promise of my dream.

Then I went into the editing phase and realized that not only did I need a good editor, I needed an editor that I trusted. Who got me. I found two, because I have been so incredibly lucky. Now I don’t know what I would do without them. I definitely wouldn’t have published. Let me tell you, if you find an editor who can make you laugh so hard you’re crying as she points out failures in your manuscript, you keep them. Because they are golden.

So now, I had a team of people that I could count on to beta my work, all amazing people. And two editors. But I needed people to talk to about publishing. To learn from. So I joined two writers groups. There, I learned from their mistakes and how to market my book.

I watched other authors on the internet to learn from them. I did everything but sit in a room and write.

I joined groups in my genre to share what worked and how to promote my book in my little area of printing. I got even more social media and I check it every day, learning to post and interact with people I don’t know.

To write, publish and sell a book, I need people. Lots of them.

Isolated? Not even close.

Missing being isolated? Not even a little bit.

About the Author

Annabelle Hunter is a stay-at-home mom and an avid fan of classic mystery shows and dressage. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, and too many animals.

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