C. Hope Clark's Lowcountry Bribe- Part of the Carolina Slade Mystery Series

“He winked and clicked his tongue. Panic coursed through me at the altered state. Like hearing that your church-going mother likes her bourbon straight and sex on top. He’d offered me a bribe.”

Welcome to C. Hope Clark’s other world. Lowcountry Bribe, released in February 2012, is the first book in the Carolina Slade Mystery Series which is set in South Carolina and is certain to captivate you.

C. Hope Clark was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University. She has 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in most of her novels.

Welcome to Writers in Business! I understand there is an interesting story behind the concept for your series.

Yes, the concept of the series originated from my many experiences with USDA investigations as well as those of my husband, retired Resident-Agent-in-Charge Gary W. Clark, Sr. I spent a career in the rural arena, covering every county in South Carolina via my positions within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The main character in my series, Carolina Slade, fights crime, with the aid of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, a little touted arm of the federal government filled with badge-toting agents just like the FBI.

Can you tell us more about Carolina?

Carolina Slade is smart, sometimes too smart. She’s cocky, sometimes too cocky. She has a white streak in her long dark hair, and what goes against the grain of many mystery writers in the industry, she has two kids. Ivy and Zack provide a three-dimensional side to Slade unseen in other mysteries with female characters. And they can be a hoot!

Slade stumbled into sleuthing by accident then fell in so deep she had to embrace it. Then she learned to love it. Then it became her job. Her love life, well, let’s say she has one, but the kids and solving cases seem to come first, turning into a rub with the man who wants to become her guy. .

In researching for our interview, I was thrilled to discover your book had already won several awards.
Yes, Lowcountry Bribe's opening chapter took first place in the Phillip Mangelsdorf Award, third place in Alabama Writer’s Conclave Competition and honorable mention in The Writing Show Chapter Competition as judged by bestselling mystery author C. J. Box. The chapter also made top three finalist status of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Romance Writers of America. The novel enjoyed semi-finalist status (top 100 out of 10,000) in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

As an award-winning writer, you have been published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Chicken Soup, Next Step Magazine, College Bound Teen, Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), TURF Magazine, Landscape Management and other trade and online publications. Can you share a marketing tip with us based on your experience?

The most successful marketing tip I can give writers promoting themselves and their work, whether novel, copywriting, plays, etc., is to write articles. That means guest blogs, magazine articles, newsletter pieces. Do you know that one article can reach more people in a weekend than your book could sell in a year? That's serious promotion.

I love guest blogs, no matter how large or small. They are today's word-of-mouth, and so quickly re-delivered via Facebook and Twitter. How hard is it to write 500-700-word pieces? And each article improves your search power on Google, and the viral potential is phenomenal. People find me more through articles on other sites than any other method.

Thank you Hope!

You have until March 15th to win a free copy of Lowcountry Bribe through GoodReads . If you don’t win, be sure to buy your copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bell Bridge Books.

Taking the Mystery Out of Business - new release by Linda Faulkner

Today I'd like to introduce Linda Faulkner from Missoula, Montana. She is an entrepreneur and the founder of four businesses. Her new release, Taking the Mystery Out of Business: 9 Fundamentals for Professional Success, is destined to be a best seller.

Putting words together has been Linda's lifelong passion. In addition to writing fiction and non-fiction books, Linda is a freelance writer and has been multi-published for many years. She develops and writes career development workshops, procedures manuals, and continuing education seminars, workshops, texts, and online courses.

Linda is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.

She is visting us today to share the details of her new book, Taking the Mystery Out of Business.


Linda, why do you think people consider the business world to be “mysterious?”

Most people occasionally encounter subjects about which they know little or nothing. When they bump into such topics at work, however, they tend to get frazzled and often find themselves unable to avoid or work around them. Because I’ve worked in the business world for over thirty years—as an employee, manager, and business owner/entrepreneur—I’ve run into many personalities and perspectives about what to do and how/when to do it. I believe the best way to learn or overcome gaps in knowledge is to simplify a subject (i.e., de-mystify it). That’s what Taking the Mystery Out of Business is about: taking subjects that seem to be complex, simplifying them, and sharing my business knowledge and expertise in a way that anyone can understand.

Many writers hate the business side of writing and, in fact, do not consider themselves to be business people. What advice do you have for them?

If writers want to sell their work, they either have to be business persons or hire one or more people to assume that role for them. Books don’t sell and market themselves; neither do they pay bills, acquire a following, or manage a writer’s time. Self-employed individuals (i.e., writers) need to operate from the same perspective as other businesses. Yes, adaptations are made--a writer won’t handle his or her business in the same fashion that IBM handles its business, for example--but the fundamentals are the same.
Following the advice of those who are successful in their own business endeavors is a quick and easy way for a writer to learn what techniques will and will not work. Each person has his or her own personality. Shy people tend to avoid large gatherings and speaking in public. Readers and fans, however, love to meet writers and learn more about them. Shy people should arrange marketing events that allow them to interact with people while taking advantage of their personalities. Social networking, blogging, and other types of online marketing take a great deal of time—more so than speaking in public and addressing large groups of people. Creating events that involve small groups, like book clubs, however, works well for individuals who prefer avoiding large crowds. If a shy person enjoys smaller venues, is successful at them, and doesn’t mind the extra time and effort involved—that’s what he or she should do.

Being creative is essential. Writers should read and study the successes of other business people and then use their creativity to adapt those processes so they work for themselves.

Who should read Taking the Mystery Out of Business and why should they read it?>

In this practical primer, I lay out the fundamentals of business, providing examples and tips so newcomers to the business world can easily gain an understanding of the challenges they face. Experienced professionals will benefit from a refresher on basic strategies and how to stay ahead of the competition.

Linda, your book should be on the desk of every writer who is serious about their career. Thank you for telling us more about your newest book. Readers can order a copy through her web site and through Amazon.com. Linda also offers a newsletter and blog with tips. You can learn more by visiting her web site.