Christa Charter's Blog - Posts Tagged "schooled"
Schooled Sequel is coming!
Today I finished the first draft of Pwned, the second Lexy Cooper mystery. It begins just a few weeks after Schooled ended and features a new mystery (or maybe two), new characters, and many new and original curse words from Lexy...mostly directed at Agent 54. Nearly all the characters from Schooled make an appearance, but of course Lexy Cooper and Detective Mike Malick are front and center in this new story.
I've got a lot of rewriting to do before handing off to my editor Marti and thence to proofreader Stacie, but it feels great to hit this milestone!
I've got a lot of rewriting to do before handing off to my editor Marti and thence to proofreader Stacie, but it feels great to hit this milestone!
Free - First Chapter of Schooled
I've posted the complete first chapter of my debut Lexy Cooper mystery, "Schooled" on my blog.
In it you'll meet Lexy Cooper, 28 year old community manager and website editor for video game console company Xenon Corporation.
You'll also get to know her uncle, homicide detective Mike Malick.
And you'll meet Calliope "Callie" Caldwell. She's a PR manager for Xenon, blonde, beautiful...and recently dead.
Read it here for free.
In it you'll meet Lexy Cooper, 28 year old community manager and website editor for video game console company Xenon Corporation.
You'll also get to know her uncle, homicide detective Mike Malick.
And you'll meet Calliope "Callie" Caldwell. She's a PR manager for Xenon, blonde, beautiful...and recently dead.
Read it here for free.
The side-effects of being a mystery writer
I write mystery novels. This is a fairly new occupation. I published the first book in the Lexy Cooper mystery series in November, the second is now in the process of being edited by the fabulous Marti McKenna and will be available in June, and I’m writing number three right now. (Okay, I’m procrastinating writing number three by blogging, but whatever.)
When I’m not actually writing I re-fill the creativity coffers by reading mysteries, watching movies and TV shows about murder, and researching everything from cyberstalking legislation to poisonous mushrooms.
And this has had some unforeseen side effects.
Suspicion
I wouldn’t say I’m paranoid, exactly, but I often question the motives of the people in my life. Sure, mom says she’s working in her garden, but what’s she REALLY doing? Getting rid of evidence? My friend and her son skipped soccer practice last weekend. Did they know something I didn’t know? Was something bad going to happen at soccer? That white sedan with Michigan plates has parked next to my car in the lot six out of seven days this week. Is he following me? Okay, maybe I’m a little paranoid.
Places to dump a body
I just CAN’T drive past a wooded ravine without thinking “There’s a good place to dump a body.” However, this does pre-date my mystery writing. I live in the Pacific Northwest which is not only damp and lush with groundcover it was also the stomping ground of notoriouis body-dumpers Ted Bundy and The Green River Killer. But now, I note the potential body dump with an extra interest. My mysteries are set on the East Side of Lake Washington, so if there’s a great place to stash a corpse along, say, Redmond Way, I may put a body there in book #4.
Preponderance of forensic evidence
Forensic evidence is everywhere. Hair, fibers, fingerprints. Just looking around my desk I think: You could get DNA from my Diet Coke can or the hairs stuck in that comb. My prints are all over the keyboard, the pens…everything! Yesterday I saw a guy throw something away at a gas station garbage can. He didn’t look particularly dodgy, but I thought. “Dude, your prints are all OVER that.” It’s a good thing I don’t have some sort of germ phobia or I’d be freaked out all the time.
Internet history
I’m going to specify in my last will and testament that my surviving loved one’s clear my browser history. Sprinkled in between my bookmarked macaroni and cheese recipes and swimming lesson schedules are pages devoted to poisonous plants, the care and feeding of a Glock 26, mental disorders, and investigative techniques for determining time of death. I don’t know for sure how closely the government is monitoring mostly law-abiding citizens, but if some red-flag pops up at the FBI or my local sheriff’s department when someone Googles “faking an alibi” “creating a false identity” or “how long does the human body take to dissolve in acid” then I am surely fucked.
When I’m not actually writing I re-fill the creativity coffers by reading mysteries, watching movies and TV shows about murder, and researching everything from cyberstalking legislation to poisonous mushrooms.
And this has had some unforeseen side effects.
Suspicion
I wouldn’t say I’m paranoid, exactly, but I often question the motives of the people in my life. Sure, mom says she’s working in her garden, but what’s she REALLY doing? Getting rid of evidence? My friend and her son skipped soccer practice last weekend. Did they know something I didn’t know? Was something bad going to happen at soccer? That white sedan with Michigan plates has parked next to my car in the lot six out of seven days this week. Is he following me? Okay, maybe I’m a little paranoid.
Places to dump a body
I just CAN’T drive past a wooded ravine without thinking “There’s a good place to dump a body.” However, this does pre-date my mystery writing. I live in the Pacific Northwest which is not only damp and lush with groundcover it was also the stomping ground of notoriouis body-dumpers Ted Bundy and The Green River Killer. But now, I note the potential body dump with an extra interest. My mysteries are set on the East Side of Lake Washington, so if there’s a great place to stash a corpse along, say, Redmond Way, I may put a body there in book #4.
Preponderance of forensic evidence
Forensic evidence is everywhere. Hair, fibers, fingerprints. Just looking around my desk I think: You could get DNA from my Diet Coke can or the hairs stuck in that comb. My prints are all over the keyboard, the pens…everything! Yesterday I saw a guy throw something away at a gas station garbage can. He didn’t look particularly dodgy, but I thought. “Dude, your prints are all OVER that.” It’s a good thing I don’t have some sort of germ phobia or I’d be freaked out all the time.
Internet history
I’m going to specify in my last will and testament that my surviving loved one’s clear my browser history. Sprinkled in between my bookmarked macaroni and cheese recipes and swimming lesson schedules are pages devoted to poisonous plants, the care and feeding of a Glock 26, mental disorders, and investigative techniques for determining time of death. I don’t know for sure how closely the government is monitoring mostly law-abiding citizens, but if some red-flag pops up at the FBI or my local sheriff’s department when someone Googles “faking an alibi” “creating a false identity” or “how long does the human body take to dissolve in acid” then I am surely fucked.
Schooled is 99 cents for a limited time!
With the sequel releasing this Friday, we're celebrating with a huge sale on Lexy Cooper's first mystery: Schooled!
Pick it up on Amazon and get ready to get Pwned!
Pick it up on Amazon and get ready to get Pwned!
Pre-order next Lexy book, get rewards!
I've been to every location in the first two Lexy Cooper books Schooled and Pwned. In the third book, due in early 2014, the most important part of the story--the climactic ending--takes place in Roswell, NM, a place I've never visited. So, I'm planning a research trip to check out the town, the vibe, the locals, and the former Walker Air Force Base.
Right now I've got an IndieGoGo campaign to fund the Roswell trip, and I think the perks are very fun. Half of the Executive level slots (perks are digital copies of all three books, a character based on you, signed paperback of Schooled,etc) are already gone, so if you're interested, take a look.
Just ten bucks gets you the next Lexy book and a shout-out in the acknowledgements. Plus, you can put "Patron of the Arts" on your resume. :)
Check out the Lexy Goes to Roswell campaign!
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Right now I've got an IndieGoGo campaign to fund the Roswell trip, and I think the perks are very fun. Half of the Executive level slots (perks are digital copies of all three books, a character based on you, signed paperback of Schooled,etc) are already gone, so if you're interested, take a look.
Just ten bucks gets you the next Lexy book and a shout-out in the acknowledgements. Plus, you can put "Patron of the Arts" on your resume. :)
Check out the Lexy Goes to Roswell campaign!
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Free signed Schooled paperback!
The Goodreads Giveaway for a signed copy of Schooled in paperback ends Sunday so be sure to enter to win. The offer is valid in US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Griefed is coming Feb 28!
Lexy's next adventure, Griefed, will arrive at the end of this month. To celebrate? A most excellent giveaway! You can enter to win an Alien Swag Pack from Roswell, New Mexico or signed copies of the first two Lexy Cooper mysteries, Schooled and Pwned.
Check out all the details!
Check out all the details!
Schooled Audiobook is on the loose!
Now you can listen to Lexy Cooper's debut crime-solving adventure, Schooled. Narrated and produced by Tassoula Kokkoris and chock full o' sex, murder, and video games.
http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-T...
http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-T...
Put Triple Threat on your to-read list!
Now that the cover has been unveiled, I've added Lexy Cooper: Triple Threat to Goodreads! It's a collection of three Lexy novels, plus some bonus material: a short story, an excerpt from the upcoming Mike Malick solo novel, and a foreword by Jenn Frank.Lexy Cooper: Triple Threat
