Guest Post

HAVE A BOOK TO PROMOTE? Lyrical Pens welcomes guest posts. Answer a questionnaire or create your own post. FYI, up front: This site is a definite PG-13. For details, contact cjpetterson@gmail.com cj

Sunday, February 1, 2026

BREAKING NEWS

cj Sez: Coming soon! After a five-year novel writing dearth, I have a new book coming out. (I’ve been writing short stories for anthologies in the interim.)
 

 A TIME TO DIE is a Southern, mystery/romance novella with a Stephanie Plum-style protagonist.

  I’m still putting the finishing touches on the publication requirements and waiting for a proof copy. Watch this space and my Facebook page for news about the launch date. I love this story and hope you will, too.

  Next on my to-do list are the promotions and setting up an author landing page. The landing page website is a maybe, however. I am not particularly techno inclined. If you have any suggestions about an easy way to accomplish that, please let me know.

§§

Writers:

  It’s officially tax season, so I thought this information from Kaye George (National Best-Selling & Agatha-Nominated mystery author) might be of interest for our fellow authors.

Kaye George says:

  “I HOPE you all know that you should ALL be deducting your writing expenses on a Schedule C, no matter whether or not you're published, no matter whether or not you're making or losing money! There are MANY CPAs who do not know that writing is NEVER considered a hobby, as long as you are seriously trying to get published. The hobby rule does NOT apply to authors.

You can refer to my last yearly tax related blog post, from ‘Travels with Kaye,’ that I used to do. https://travelswithkaye.blogspot.com/2022/01/

Show this is your CPA or tax preparer if they need to see it.”

Plotting assist

  From the archives: Back in 2020, Lyrical Pens quoted the following David Mamet thoughts on plotting. Since then, the wise words have made their way into and out of a lot of other mouths, including YouTubers. Still good info, whomever you choose to cite.

  “When you’re plotting . . . if you replace the W in what, when, and where with T, you have the answer to all those questions.”

§§

Readers:

  Mardi Gras is celebrated on February 17 this year. Otherwise known as Fat Tuesday, it’s the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. 

  While some people celebrate Mardi Gras on only that Tuesday, along the Gulf Coast—from Florida to Louisiana—Mardi Gras is a Season, and the parades and festivities have already started.



Put the following books on your buy/to-be-read list to help you join in Mobile, Alabama’s festivities.

MARDI GRAS PIECES 

  Tis Mardi Gras Season, so grab this book while the grabbing’s good and learn more about Mobile, Alabama’s authentic connection to Mardi Gras.

  Everyone from Mobile, Alabama, has a Mardi Gras story. In this second installment of the Mobile Writers Guild PIECES anthology series, the guild members share their stories—some true and some fictional, some funny, some touching, and some downright chilling.
 
  The anthology is still available (the Kindle version is only $1.99).      BUY MARDI GRAS PIECES NOW


 MASKED FLAWS and Other Stories

by prolific Mobile author Carrie Dalby


  Click on the Books2Read universal book link below to find your favorite ebook seller.


§§

  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj




  My fast-paced novels, The Dawgstar (books2read.com/u/3LRRG5 ) and Death on the Yampa (books2read.com/u/bxe1AP ), are available through your favorite e-Tailer and bookstore. Amazon has paperback copies as well.

  Nota bene: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my paperback books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

Just a reminder: Lyrical Pens blogs for readers and writers is now a monthly blog. I’ll be aiming for the first of the month, whatever day that turns out to be, so watch for it please. That said, thank you for stopping by Lyrical Pens today. I really do appreciate you . . . and you . . . and especially, you.

➜ Follow me on        
➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page
➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

 

Thursday, January 1, 2026

2026 is here! Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

cj Sez: Onward! Looking hopefully forward to a Far-Better Year . . .


  I do not make New Year’s resolutions. To me, the word implies a passive ending, something already resolved. My career in a corporate environment taught me to use the word “goal,” a word that infers action, a constant striving to reach that target or be defeated. I will change direction and adjust my expectations if necessary, but I will not be defeated.


§§

   I love words. Even more so than the plot of a story, the syntax and cadence of a well-crafted sentence, paragraph, chapter, story invites me to read those lines over and over.  But my personal writing enthusiasm wanes and ennui waxes when I contemplate finding a critique group/partner and beta reader then going through the tedious processes of self-publishing and marketing of novels. Besides the time it takes, marketing dollars are the main deterrent for me. I think I earned less than $20 in royalties last year, which leads me to another of my goals for 2026: Make a monthly budget/placement plan for maximum return on marketing dollars spent.

“Goals are dreams we convert to plans and take action to fulfill.” 
Zig  Ziglar

§§

Book Review


 
I've had the book for a couple of months, but I just finished A DANGEROUS HOMECOMING yesterday. (Yeah, I know. I’m a slow reader and writer.) 

My take:

  Oh what a tangled web of plot twists and turns Susan Yawn Tanner expertly weaves. An elopement fated to fail. A quest for a murderer. A love story decades in the making. 

  Tanner’s characters are 3D perfect as is her latest novel in The Bellamy Legacy series, A DANGEROUS HOMECOMING. 5-Stars!  


§§

Etcetera

  When I first saw the picture of Mr. Scrappy Rooster on Facebook, I wasn't sure if he was the winner or the loser of that fight.    

  I look a lot like him as I skid into 2026.

  Then I realized, he’s not only upright, he’s strutting. He’s definitely the winner.

  I’m hoping 2026 is a winning year for you, too.

§§

   I want to end this first Lyrical Pens post of 2026 with one of Billy Graham’s prayers for a new beginning for all of us in another uncertain and turbulent year.

   “Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future. We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year. In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.” —Billy Graham

§§

  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

  My fast-paced novels, The Dawgstar and Death on the Yampa, are available on Amazon or through your favorite e-Tailer and bookstore.

 Nota bene: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my paperback books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  



  Just a reminder: Lyrical Pens blogs for readers and writers is now a monthly blog. I’ll be aiming for the first of the month, so watch for it please. That said, thank you for stopping by Lyrical Pens today. I really do appreciate you . . . and you . . . and especially, you.

➜ Follow me on        
➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page
➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6