Not Your Usual Blog Tour #NewRelease

I AM MAYHEM released yesterday. <happy dancing> Since I shared a video excerpt when my new thriller went on preorder, I thought it’d be fun to share the love with the amazing friends who hosted my blog tour.

I had a blast at each and every stop, and I hope you’ll find the posts fascinating. A gigantic THANK YOU to my hosts. Book bloggers also hopped aboard the I AM MAYHEM train and shared early reviews on their sites, which only made the blog tour more exciting.

If you aren’t following these folks, I hope you’ll swing by and check ’em out. Many of my gracious hosts I’ve known since I first started blogging. Considering Murder Blog is approaching 8 years old, they’ve had to put up with me for a LONG time. With my obsession passion for serial killers murder the dark side, you can probably guess they all deserve an annual award (here’s your Coletta trophy, you’ve made it through another year!). Our friendships never wavered, even during one particularly rough year when my online presence nosedived for a while.

Anywho, enough rambling. Let’s get back to the blog tour.

The first book review showed up on Staci Troilo’s site. Not only is Staci an uber-talented multi-genre author, she also writes terrific book reviews. Y’know how some people can rock out such a compelling book review that you automatically click the buy link without even reading the description? Yep, that’s Staci. It’s a superpower I don’t possess. <sigh>

Here’s a snippet:

Talk about an edge of your seat thrill ride. The Mayhem series by Sue Coletta starts with a scene that had my stomach in knots and my heart in my throat, and I don’t think I caught my breath until I read the last word.

Scratch that. I still haven’t.

We learn so much more about Shawnee’s past—both about her family and her culture. It’s a fascinating look at indigenous history and at the “nature versus nurture” debate. How much of who we are is a product of our circumstances and how much is a circumstance of our birth?

— Staci Troilo. 

The next stop in the blog tour was at Entertaining Stories, where I shared a fascinating tidbit about crows. Here’s a snippet:

German scientists put crows through a series of puzzling tasks. During which they measured neural activity in different types of neurons, with the goal of tracking how crows sensed and reasoned through their work. They sought to study a specific kind of thinking called sensory consciousness.

Sensory consciousness isn’t as simple as the definition: awareness of the visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory, and taste qualities of stimuli. Sensory consciousness arises from specific brain processes. In simpler terms, the sensory feel of an experience is not something that happens to us, but rather, it’s a skill we exercise. It also differs from other mental phenomena, like conscious thought or memory.

Consider the difference between physically feeling pain vs. imagining that you feel pain. Or rubbing the softness of fleece between your fingertips vs. envisioning how fleece might feel. We writers use our sensory consciousness all the time.

Do crows have this ability, too? Find out on Entertaining Stories.

Next, the blog tour stopped at Staci’s blog again. This time, I shared another amazing tidbit about crows — they can count!

Here’s a snippet:

One of the few character traits of crows I’ve yet to use in my Mayhem Series is their ability to count. Since Poe—Mr. Mayhem’s lead crow—plays a pivotal role in the series, I thought it might be fun to share a research study about yet another amazing crow ability.

For years, puzzled scientists couldn’t figure out why crows seemed able to count. After all, the brain structure enabling humans and other primates to count evolved long after crows and humans shared a common ancestor, suggesting this ability may have independently evolved in crows.

To explore how the crow brain enables them to count, researchers trained carrion crows to play a numerical matching game. For each round, the crows viewed 1-5 dots inside a gray circle on a computer screen. The size of each dot and the placement within the circle changed at random. Crows who tapped the corresponding number when it appeared received a treat.

How do you think they did? Find out on Staci’s blog.

Multi-talented author Mae Clair spotlighted I AM MAYHEM with a humbling 5-star review. Yeah, she has the superpower, too. One of the many features on her blog is Book Review Tuesday. Every week, I’m in awe at her abilities and my TBR list grows higher and higher. Seriously, read her reviews. They’re fantastic.

Here’s a snippet of the one she wrote for I AM MAYHEM:

Wow! I’ve followed this series from book one, and it just keeps getting better. Coletta has penned a wonderfully unique and memorable set of characters—Shawnee Daniels, a (reformed?) cat burglar/computer hacker currently working for the police, her detective boyfriend, and Mr. Mayhem—serial killer, and chameleon-like adversary. Oh, and there are crows. Not just ordinary crows, but birds who are characters in their own right. Mayhem has three crows who do his bidding—Edgar, Allan, and Poe.

 

Poe, in particular, is a scene stealer. A charmer with Mayhem, Poe is oil to Shawnee’s water. Nails on a blackboard which makes for intriguing interaction.

— Mae Clair

A sassy redhead who also possesses the superpower reviewed I AM MAYHEM on her site, The Sassy Redhead Book Reviews, as part of my blog tour.

Here’s a snippet:

This was such a great book to go along with the Mayhem Series. It was so enlightening, entertaining, awe inspiring, and it may be my favorite so far of the Mayhem Series. I love Shawnee Daniels and her interactions with Mr. Mayhem and Poe. This story was so much more than I was expecting, and I loved every bit of it.

The delightful Caleb and Linda Pirtle showcased I AM MAYHEM as the Book of the Day. If you’re unfamiliar with Caleb, he’s an outstanding author with more than 70(!) novels to his name, yet he never misses an opportunity to support others. What an incredible human being.

The blog tour detoured for my Monday on the Kill Zone, where I wrote about finding the underlying story beneath the headline (nonfiction) or new story idea (fiction), but I’ll still include a snippet for my fellow writers:

Author/instructor Gary Provost created a simple paragraph to encapsulate the dramatic arc in a story.

Once upon a time… something happened to someone, and he decided that he would pursue a goal. So he devised a plan of action, and even though there were forces trying to stop him, he moved forward because there was a lot at stake. And just as things seemed as bad as they could get, he learned an important lesson, and when offered the prize he had sought so strenuously he had to decide whether or not to take it, and in making that decision he satisfied a need that had been created by something in his past.

This works because of its classic dramatic structure, which is the most satisfying type of story for the reader. It’s brilliant, if you take the time to dissect it. For now, I’d like to concentrate on a quick and dirty shortcut to test a story idea.

Gary Provost thought of stories in terms of a series of “buts.”

Joyce is a poor secretary, but she meets a millionaire and marries him.

She’s married to a millionaire, but the marriage goes sour.

She wants to end the marriage, but she (allegedly) thinks she’ll be left penniless.

She perhaps has a motive for murdering her husband, but so do other people.

After the murder, police suspect her, but she passes two polygraph exams at two different times and places.

Use a series of “buts” to test your story idea. Obviously, a “but” won’t fit every sentence. When it doesn’t, try “and then.” But a “but” should follow “and then” soon. Why? Because “buts” are complications. Complications = conflict. And conflict drives the story.

Example:

Husband kills wife, and then stuffs her body into a 3ml bag, and then drives to a secluded area to bury her, but his foldable spade isn’t in the backseat. Did the neighbor borrow it again?

When you write don’t keep all the “buts” and “and thens.” Think in those terms, but you don’t want all of them in the final draft. Over time your story sensibilities will automatically search for (nonfiction) and/or apply (fiction) this rhythm. 

You might’ve noticed by now that I didn’t share excerpts like I did on my blog tour for Pretty Evil New England. Seems odd for a #NewRelease tour, doesn’t it? It is, but I packed I AM MAYHEM full of conflict-driven twists and turns. Too many excerpts could turn into spoiler alerts. I made an exception for my final stop on the blog tour at The Write Stuff, because it landed on release day. What better way to celebrate?

I’ll repost the excerpt below, but please swing by The Write Stuff when you get a chance. Marcia posts something for everyone on her site, including Monday Meme, Tuesday Guest Day, First Line Friday, etc. It’s a super fun blog.

Excerpt

Rather than enter through the front door, I clicked my flashlight app and hustled around the side of the house, into the backyard. Halfway to the deck, a twig snapped to my left, and I whirled toward the tree line.

Icy tingles shimmied down my spine. “Mister Mayhem?” Though I couldn’t find him in the pre-dawn darkness, my voice still cracked, pitched. “Please let me explain before you—” Mid-sentence, my mouth gaped open.

Into my light beam stepped the same enormous dog I’d encountered weeks ago. On hind legs, he towered over me. Piercing yellow eyes narrowed to thin slits as it cocked its head, spit dripping off razor-sharp canines, a low rumble growling in its throat. Frozen in place, our gazes locked. His wolf-like stare held me hostage, his overpowering presence weakening my resolve.

A yenaldlooshi—better known to the world as a skinwalker—stood within striking distance. Gigantic, distorted, uncharacteristically canine, its ear-splitting screech fissured cracks across my skull. I couldn’t move. As much as I longed to resist, its spell rooted my boots to the grass, my muscles limp, my mind fuzzy.

Without provocation, the beast lunged toward me, its fangs on full display. Hot breath blew back my bangs, poison huffed in my face. Blinded, my fingers clawed at my eyes, and I folded in half, bent at the waist, choking, coughing, spitting, trying everything to clear the powdery grit off my tongue.

Nadine’s high-pitched shrill shattered the silence.

In a flash, I straightened. Through the haze I could barely make out her silhouette in the porch light’s glow. I choked out, “Help,” and staggered toward the deck stairs. The backyard whirled faster than a carnival ride, and I fell face-first on the grass.

“Shawnee!” Nadine’s footsteps pounded down the stairs. She reached for me, but I flashed a flat palm.

“Don’t touch me. I’m covered in poison.”

“Oh-my-God, you must’ve hit your head. Okay.” Her frantic tone eased. “Time for a quick trip to the emergency room.” She squatted, ready to sling my arm over her shoulder to help me up.

“No, Nay.” I rolled on to my back and angled the cell phone toward my face. “Look.”

“Whoa.” Her finely waxed eyebrows V’d, an intense stare as though I’d sprouted a unicorn horn. “What is that stuff?” She leaned closer. “Looks like some sorta gray powder. It’s all over your face, neck, and chest y’know.”

“Thank you, Nancy Drew. I’m aware.” I shooed her away, not unlike the way one might stave off a hungry mosquito. “Stand back. This shit’s lethal.”

“Alrighty then.” As I crawled to my feet, Nadine took a half-step backward. “How pray tell, did you get covered in poison?”

“Why? You never believe a word I say anyway.”

“Try me.”

Hands stuffed in my front pockets, I sloughed off a half-shrug. “What the hell? Got nothin’ to lose at this point. You want the truth? Fine. An evil dog—wolf?—whatever the hell it is, just huffed the shit in my face.”

“A what?”

“See? Told ya, you wouldn’t believe me.”

She quailed back, full lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. But not without reason. Even I could barely grasp the words rolling off my tongue.

“Lemme see if I’ve got this straight.” Her lips smoothed, almost as rigid as her spine. “Crows deliver body parts, and dogs—or wolves—carry around vials of poison. And to top it off, both species are out to get you. Nobody else. Just you.”

“Why do I even waste my breath? You only see what you wanna see.” I slogged toward the stairs, muttering, “And she wonders why I don’t tell her squat.” With one hand on the railing, I turned back. “There are things in this world that defy reason, defy comprehension, but that doesn’t make them any less real.” Oy. Now I’m quoting Mr. Mayhem. “For someone who devours multiple books per week, one might think you’d have an open mind.”

“Y’know what?” She pushed past me, her slippers pounding each tread of the stairs, and tossed “I’m done listening to your lies” over her shoulder.

The moment Nadine slipped through the sliders, two crows rocketed toward me from a nearby tree, screeching at decibels unfit for human ears. Their talons each held the end of a rope, an identifiable object dangling between them. As I raised my cell phone’s flashlight, my eyes widened in disbelief. Are those—?

***

And…you’ll have to read the book to find out what Poe and Edgar delivered. LOL Sorry! #notsorry 😉

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sneak peek of my blog tour. Now that I AM MAYHEM is officially available, I’ll add future book bloggers to the appearances/events page as a thank you for featuring my work. If you review I AM MAYHEM on your blog, let me know and I’ll add your link.

I AM MAYHEM is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Kobo Books

Smashwords

A complete list of retailers can be found HERE.

Tirgearr Publishing

Paperback releases in May 2021!

*The 99c SALE is only on Amazon for a few more days.

P.S. If you’re reading this on 4/22, I’m getting my 2nd shot but I should be back in the afternoon. My online activities may be spotty after that, depending on the side effects, but I will respond to comments as soon as possible. Thanks for understanding.