JoAnn Chaney's Blog

I don't tend to read too much nonfiction. I don't know why, because a lot of it is so, so good. I need to make that a resolution as well, to pick up more nonfiction. Especially the true crime stuff.

So I was listening to a podcast (OPEN BOOK with Maggie Downs and Tod Goldberg, in case you're interested) and Maggie mentioned this book several times--THE FACT OF A BODY by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich. I'd also seen this book a lot on Instagram, where I spend an OBSCENE amount of time looking at...

I do believe in the old adage that a good writer must write a lot...and also read a lot. But here's the truth: I haven't been doing nearly enough of either of those lately. Especially the reading part. Oh, I REREAD plenty of my old favorites, but lately when I try to peek into something new I end up walking away pretty quickly. I've been unable to read much of anything for the whole of 2017, but I'm hoping it's going to change.

Correction: IT IS GOING TO CHANGE.

So I went on a book-buying binge...

I didn't expect that 6 months would pass and I'd not update this blog, BUT HERE WE ARE.

It's nearly Christmas, and I've been busy. With work and my family and FINISHING UP BOOK 2. That's right, I've been slowly editing and revising Book 2--title has changed and is forthcoming--and it should be announced soon, I hope. Exciting times, people.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, and hopefully I'll be poking my head in here more in the new year.

J

I woke up yesterday to a flurry of tweets from all over, because it turns out WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW has been longlisted for the CWA's New Blood Dagger, an award for the best crime novel by a first-time author published in the UK.

It's so cool, and also strange, to have these things going on while I'm just bopping along in my own life. :)

Link to the CWA here:

https://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/cate... 

I've been busy--but really, when do I not use that excuse? Not TOO much has happened since my last post, but here are a few things that've happened since then, documented with photo evidence:

I GOT A FLAT TIRE.

This happened just last week, on a day when it'd been snowing on and off. And soon after I took this picture and had to call my insurance to send out roadside assistance, it started BLIZZARDING. So I sat in my car and waited until a guy showed up and changed the tire in about 2.5 minutes...

A lot of people don't know I have a full-time job in retail, which can be thankless at the best of times... but it helps to have a great boss who wants to celebrate the wins of her team, both in and out of the business.

At a meeting today, my boss (all the way in the back, dead center) surprised me and handed out a copy of #whatyoudontknow to everyone at the meeting. She'd taken the time to visit several bookstores looking for copies, because she wanted all my peers to have a signed one from...

And it's been totally laidback, just like I like it. I went out to breakfast with my husband, went shopping and splurged on a few things for myself, and I got a tattoo. I have two other tattoos, but I've been thinking about this one for a long time. It'll be the start of my whole arm, I think. The beginning of a constant work in progress.

Here it is, a quote pulled from my favorite comic book of all time:

Also, my arm looks like a huge chicken wing. :D

Uh, NO SHIT, in the post I just made I also forgot to post that I got a great review in THE GUARDIAN:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/31/the-best-recent-crime-novels-review-roundup?CMP=twt_books_b-gdnbooks

So, so cool.

A few days ago I headed up to Vail, Colorado for a book event at The Bookworm in Edwards. It was the first event I did by myself, where I had to speak in front of people and answer questions. I'm not going to lie--I was nervous. I was scared no one would show up and I'd be standing in front of a bunch of empty chairs like an idiot. I was scared I was going to barf on the floor in front of a bunch of strangers. I was scared someone would ask me a question I wouldn't know how to answer--or wors...

There's nothing real exciting going on, despite the double exclamation points in the title of this post. But here are a few things:

-Three weeks ago I came down with the flu. Which hardly ever happens. I just don't get sick very often, so this steamrolled right over me, and pretty much sucked out my will to live. After this bout of flu, I can totally understand how people die from flu complications. (Not that I even came close to dying, but it was ROUGH. And if there's one thing I believe in,...