Today’s blog article will be short, sweet, and to the point. I’m running a contest on Goodreads to give away three advanced, autographed copies of my most recent Downward Dog Mystery, Karma’s a Killer.
Enter to win at the link below, and good luck!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/159348-karma-s-a-killer
Good luck, and I hope you read and love it!
Tracy Weber
Today is my weekly posting for Inkspot, the blog for authors of Midnight Ink. This week I post a photo review of a recent workshop I attended called “The Art of Character Development.” I really did take the class, I swear! But was it before or after the Zombie slot machine ate my brains? You’ll have to read it to find out. Check it out, and please share!
http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2015/09/attending-mystery-writers-of-america.html
Namaste
Tracy Weber
And if you want to show me some love, you can preorder my newest mystery, KARMA’S A KILLER, now at Amazon Barnes and Noble.
Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!
Check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series. A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere
Not long ago I lamented to my husband how exhausted I was. He looked at me oddly and reminded me that I’d been on sabbatical for the past six weeks. I understand his confusion. I reminded him, in a very kind and gentle way 😉 that I was, indeed, still working. In many ways harder than normal.
I call my time off from teaching every August a sabbatical, but really I should call it a time of refocus. These days, that refocus is around writing. So for those of you wondering what I did on sabbatical, here’s a partial list of things both fun, not-so-fun, and surprising. I don’t feel like as much of a slacker when I read it!
What I did on my summer sabbatical:
What I didn’t do that I planned:
So, all, I’ve missed you, but I’ve been busy! I look forward to being back teaching starting tonight. I hope you all had a fantastic summer, filled with love, joy, and lots of play.
How did you spend your summer vacation?
Tracy Weber
My newest mystery, KARMA’S A KILLER, is now available for pre-order at at Amazon Barnes and Noble, and Whole Life Yoga!
Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!
As part of my teaching sabbatical, every August I look back at the blog to see what people have found the most useful over the past 365 days. I’m always a little surprised. The list below has some of my personal favorites as well as one that warms my heart!
Here’s my summary:
Two of the top five discuss form in asana in two of our most common poses, which is both good news and bad news. The good news is that people want to learn how to do them “right.” The bad news is that they don’t already know. 😉
One discusses the meaning of Namaste, arguably the most common Sanskrit word used in yoga classes. Again, I hope this means that our students are searching for meaning, not that we’re sprouting off terms in class without defining them.
One that always makes the top five is how we can use yoga to decrease belly fat. Need I say more about that one?
The surprise this year is the 50 ways to show authors some love article. Published relatively recently compared to the others, it hasn’t had as many days to collect hits, yet there it sits solidly at #3. That one warms my heart a little.
There they are below, for your enjoyment. As we head into fall, may you have many enjoyable blog reading moments in the future!
Tracy’s Whole Life Blog’s Top Five Blog Articles for the Past Year:
Namaste
Tracy Weber
And if you want to show me some love, you can preorder my newest mystery, KARMA’S A KILLER, now at Amazon Barnes and Noble.
Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!
Today is my weekly posting for Inkspot, the blog for authors of Midnight Ink. This week I post the final in my three-part series outlining over 50 ways authors can show their readers that they appreciate them. Check it out, please share, and add to the list. Above all else, rest assured that I love you!
http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2015/08/fifty-ways-to-show-readers-some-love.html
Namaste
Tracy Weber
And if you want to show me some love, you can preorder my newest mystery, KARMA’S A KILLER, now at Amazon Barnes and Noble.
Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!
August is an exciting time for me on so many levels. I’m on sabbatical from teaching yoga, which means I can concentrate on my writing. Sounds simple, right? It’s significantly more complex than you might think. Just as I was ready to dive into the second draft of my fourth novel, tentatively titled A TWISTED DEATH, I got requests to read and endorse two new fabulous mysteries, and my second editor at Midnight Ink got back to me with edits on my current novel, Karma’s a Killer.
This is the first time I’ve worked with Sandy, and I must say she’s AWESOME! She brings an attention to detail that my work has rarely seen before. And, if I have to brag, I guess this is the time: Karma’s a Killer is my best book so far. I truly believe it. Even better, it’s definitely by far my best cover!
Just when I thought my excitement couldn’t get any higher, the advanced copies and press release for Karma’s a Killer arrived on Wednesday. I keep burying my nose in the books, inhaling their new book smell. Can you tell I’m excited or what?
Here’s an excerpt from the press release for this newest installment in the series.
The latest mystery by award-winning novelist Tracy Weber, Karma’s a Killer is a fun, fresh, feisty new mystery featuring Seattle yoga teacher Kate Davidson and her trusty canine companion Bella.
About Karma’s a Killer: Yoga instructor Kate Davidson is about to discover that when it comes to murder, there’s no place like om. When she agrees to teach doga—yoga for dogs—at a fundraiser for Dogma, a local animal rescue, Kate believes the only real damage will be to her reputation. But when an animal rights protest at the event leads to a suspicious fire and a drowning, a few downward-facing dogs will be the least of Kate’s problems…
The police arrest Dharma, a woman claiming to be Kate’s estranged mother, and charge her with murder. To prove Dharma’s innocence, Kate, her boyfriend Michael, and her German shepherd sidekick Bella dive deeply into the worlds of animal activism, organizational politics, and the dangerous obsessions that drive them.
And if solving a murder weren’t complicated enough, Kate will also have to decide whether or not to reconcile with the estranged mother who abandoned her over thirty years ago. Not to mention having to contend with an almost-bankrupt animal rescue, a cantankerous crow, an unwanted pigeon houseguest, and a rabbit in a doga class. What could possibly go wrong?
A taut tale with more twists and turns than a vinyasa yoga class, Karma’s a Killer brims with suspense, wit and whimsy. With a to-die-for plot, sensational storyline, and charming characters—of both the two- and four-legged varieties—Karma’s a Killer is a clever, colorful, and utterly captivating cozy mystery.”
Sounds like a book I’d actually like to read. How about you?
Time to get working on scheduling those book launch events!
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series. A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere! KARMA’S A KILLER is available for pre-order now!
My husband and I suffer from what we’ve dubbed “The Vacation Curse.” Whenever we go on vacation—as soon on we go on vacation—bad things start happening. We’ve endured pretty much everything: multiple business disasters at my yoga studio, car breakdowns that stranded us for several days, personal illnesses, several veterinary emergencies. I was even notified that my father had been hospitalized with a serious health condition—when I was literally halfway to Mexico. My studio assistant quit the day I came back from my one and only week-long cruise, saying that she couldn’t handle the stress of dealing with everything that went wrong while I was gone.
Welcome to my life.
Jury duty this past week proved to be no better. By 9:30 AM on my first day, I was already desperately trying to find out why the instructor hadn’t shown up for our morning class and scrambling to deal with a mistake by my publisher that forced me to pull back and re-write several newsletters, e-mails, and other marketing materials that were scheduled to automatically post later that day.
Before I go on, let me say that this is my fifth time on jury duty, so I have plenty of experience to put in my novels. I’ve served on three trials—two of them about two weeks long. I’ve experienced the grace and the challenges of reaching a verdict, as well as the frustration and heartbreak of being a member of a hung jury. I’ve done my time. I’ve given to the system.
Yet the next time I’m called, I’ll do it again. Happily.
For those of you who don’t know, I’m a survivor of a violent crime that happened about twenty years ago. The person who committed that crime was sentenced to seventy years behind bars. Seventy years during which I can have a happy, productive, fear-free life. Seventy years during which I don’t have to worry about him harming me again. Seventy years during which he can’t harm anyone else.
That gift was given to me by twelve jurors and two alternates who donated close to three weeks of their lives to a trial. Fourteen people who had business fires to put out, sick kids to nurse, life hassles to deal with, and lord knows what else. Fourteen people who probably didn’t want to be there. Fourteen people who will never understand how important their time was to me and to the other women my assailant hurt.
And those fourteen people were there for him, too. They listened to make sure that justice prevailed for him, too. In some ways, that’s even more important. If I’m ever accused of a crime, I hope busy people (most of whom would rather be doing anything else) will temporarily put their lives on hold for me again.
So you see, in spite of the hassle, in spite of my frustrations, in spite of the curse that seems to follow me, I will never say no to jury duty—not if I can help it. I hope you don’t, either.
As for vacations, well, that’s still to be determined.
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series. A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere! KARMA’S A KILLER is available for pre-order now!
Today is my weekly posting for Inkspot, the blog for authors of Midnight Ink. This week I post the second of a three-part series outlining over 50 ways authors can show their readers that they appreciate them. Check it out, please share, and add to the list. Above all else, rest assured that I love you!
http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2015/07/fifty-ways-to-show-readers-some-love-part-2.html
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series. A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere! KARMA’S A KILLER is available for pre-order now!
![Relaxing-Cover-600px-h-optimized-353x436-242x300[1]](https://tracyweberblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Relaxing-Cover-600px-h-optimized-353x436-242x3001.jpg)
This lovely work has been sitting on my desk for months, waiting for me to take a look at it. The book and its companion CD were developed by fellow writer and yoga teacher, Amber Polo.
Peppered with inspirational quotes, Relaxing the Writer covers topics often ignored but desperately needed by writers of all genres, including:
Even better, the book comes with audio guides that help uptight writers relax to the sound of Amber’s soothing voice. Unfortunately, I can’t adequately convey the book’s artistic, easy to read, and compact format. You’ll have to check that out for yourself. Suffice it to say that the book has tons of useful information in an easy-to-digest package.
My favorite quote from the book is an ancient Chinese proverb:
“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”
I highly recommend this book for writers or artists of any type. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series. A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere!
Today is my weekly posting for Inkspot, the blog for authors of Midnight Ink. I’m starting a three-part series outlining over 50 ways authors can show their readers that they appreciate them. Check it out, please share, and add to the list. Above all else, rest assured that I love you!
http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2015/06/fifty-ways-to-show-readers-some-love.html
Namaste
Tracy Weber
Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series. A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere!