Pro football player drives Hello Kitty smart car

Happy Friday! I hope everyone's week went well. I have 4 chapters left on the final draft of A Forfeit Owed so I'm feeling pretty good this morning.

I'm admittedly not a huge sports fan, but this article caught my eye. What happens when a 6-foot-4, 320-pound NFL defender likes Hello Kitty? Well, this:




Wow. I'm impressed, Antonio Garay, but how do you fit in there??? More here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Antonio-Garay-The-nose-tackle-who-drives-a-Hell?urn=nfl-wp8318

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cheesy Poofs!

For real! As found by my daughter and me at our local Mordor, I mean, um, Walmart:







I once referenced Cheesy Poofs in a Star Wars crackfic, but that was a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Sushi Pops

From the too cute to eat department -- sushi cake pops! Made from cake, not sushi...


http://www.etsy.com/listing/71579865/sushi-pops

New review for an old short

I'm always happy when an older story gets a new review, particularly if it's a nice review for a short story that's received less fanfare than my longer works. Which is why I'm excited to learn Outlaw Reviews just gave M/M short A Roof for the Rain 9 out of 10 stars.

Reviewer Nancy Ferrer says my eco-apocalypse piece is "a beautifully written and very descriptive story that made me sit on the balcony, enjoy the breeze, and wait for rain. I loved the flashbacks that allowed vivid glimpses into Jacob’s past, pleasant memories of loving parents, watermelon, rain, and painful memories of his family’s move underground."

Read the full review at:

http://reviews.logophilos.net/index.php/2011/09/a-roof-for-the-rain-by-katrina-strauss/

Many thanks to Nancy Ferrer for her kind words on one of my lesser-discussed stories.

My Top 5 Sellers and other publishing notes

I'm not one to release actual sales figures, but I thought it might help readers and peers alike to post my top five selling titles. Here they are, starting with my top seller:


1. Blue Ruin 1: Some Kind of Stranger

2. Sleight of Hand

3. Blue Ruin 2: Close to Me

4. Off the Beaten Path

5. Blue Ruin 3: Chains of Love


A few notes, based on my entire list of titles and accompanying private statistics:

* Some newer titles have outsold older ones.

* Sleight of Hand shot up to the number two position in just the past three months thanks to Kindle sales.

* Blue Ruin 4: Need You Tonight is not in the top 5, but sold more copies in its first year of release than either Blue Ruin 2 or 3 in their respective first year.

* With the exception of Sleight of Hand, novellas and shorts don't sell as well as novels.

* While none of my M/F titles made the top 5, Eldritch Legacy 1: Secrets Revealed is currently one title and a few sales away from doing so.

* My M/M definitely outsells my M/F. However, looking at my lower ranking titles, M/F with larger publishers generally outsells M/M from smaller houses. (Although my lowest selling title is an M/F with an otherwise high selling publisher.)

* Kindle figures currently comprise the majority of sales on all of my titles.

I hope this gives readers a better idea of what they might want to read next. And although every author's experience is different, I hope this gives fellow writers a little insight into what may or may not work in the e-book industry right now. Of course, that could all change tomorrow -- a year ago, Kindle was barely a blip on my statements; now, it pays the bills.

Once upon a time...

Nathan Bransford poses a great question at his blog today: What is the first book you remember reading? As in, the first one you read on your own?

Mine was one of my Little Golden Books, I think Tootle but perhaps it was The Saggy Baggy Elephant or maybe The Poky Little Puppy. I'm not consciously aware of when or how, exactly, I started reading, as it was sort of an organic process for me, but I vividly recall the night it dawned on me that hey, I can read! My parents thought I was "reading" out loud from memory, until I tried to sound out a word phonetically and asked for help. They were so excited, they kept me up past bedtime and made me read several more.

Looking back, I'm grateful my parents thought reading was a big deal. I've aimed to pass that importance on to my children, and in this high-tech day and age, 2 of my 3 kids turned out to be bookworms with well-used library cards. (The one who isn't has ADD and finds reading "boring"... which would break my heart, but he loves educational TV and can quote facts he picks up verbatim, so I've accepted that's how he learns.)

I used to spend entire days reading. Now that I'm a writer, I don't have as much time to read other authors as I'd like. I make time when I can, as input fuels the output, while the second best pleasure behind getting lost in my stories is to get lost in those of another. I can trace it all back to that night my parents made me read half the books on my shelf. Thanks, Mom & Dad. And thanks, Mr. Bransford, for spurring this morning's trip down memory lane.