Jo Dereske

December 21, 2011

b>Happy Holidays and Welcome, 2012!
The best thing about the arrival of winter is that we can count on the days growing longer. With less than eight hours of light right now, and much of that foggy, misty, twilight or rainy, I’m gulping my vitamin D and searching for well-lit rooms. Bundle up and play a little this winter. Don’t forget to put feeders out for the birds (a friend calls them “cat-feeders”). And may 2012 be one of the best.

Events:
~ Thursday, January 12, 7:00-8:30. Mystery Writers Panel: Bellingham Public Library Lecture Room, with mystery authors Pam Beason and Robert Lopresti.

~ Fun Winter Holiday Interview in the Seattle PI: To read it, click here.

A Small Holiday Gift
Free, for three days only, Dec. 25-27, the ebook version of BOOKMARKED TO DIE, the 9th Miss Zukas mystery, is free to you to download from Amazon Kindle.

Farewell to the Quarterly Newsletter
They’ve been such fun to write, but it’s time to go off the seasonal clock. This will be my last quarterly newsletter. From time to time I’ll issue a fresh newsletter to share good news. Who knows where the future will lead us? I’ll continue to update my website and also to respond to your wonderful notes and emails. I’ll also continue to write and work on new projects, and when there is news in that area, I’ll be sure to share it with you. Thank you, thank you for your loyalty to Helma and her world. It’s been a grand journey!

Ebook Conversions Ongoing on NOOK
The Miss Zukas mysteries continue to be uploaded to the Nook ereader. All of them are available on the Kindle. In paper, two (CATALOGUE OF DEATH and INDEX TO MURDER) are available from bookstores through Avon/Harper. Farewell, Miss Zukas is also available in paperback from bookstores and Amazon.

Good Reads
Helma, keeping in mood with the long dark days of winter, is reading HURRY DOWN SUNSHINE, by Michael Greenberg, the devastating account of Greenberg’s 15 year-old daughter’s mental breakdown. Shockingly honest, black-humored and rich, it’s one of those books you feel you’ve lived instead of just read.
Ruth, also thinking of colder, darker times, is reading Ukranian author, Andrey Kurkov’s DEATH AND THE PENGUIN, which defies description. Viktor, a struggling Kiev writer, takes in Misha, a penguin from a bankrupt zoo. And those are the only facts you can count on. Be prepared to break into out-loud laughter between bouts of head shaking.

Please keep your emails coming - I'll always answer. jo

www.jodereske.com