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Groundhogs, Valentines, & Dead Presidents

February 9, 2022 By Barbara 4 Comments

February is the deepfreeze month stuck between New Year’s and the March of Leprechauns. Although the shortest of months, it has three auspicious days of note.

Groundhog Day leads the way on the 2nd! This is the day big fat rodents determine the length of our suffering in cold and darkness. Not strange at all, right? Apparently, Pennsylvania and Nova Scotia are the main areas where this weather forecasting animal is used, but regardless of its superstitious origin, someone managed to get this bizarre date included on the national calendar. Having their own day must really puff those little diggers up. I bet from their exalted status, they look down upon all the moles, voles, prairie dogs, and gerbils with utter disdain.

On the 14th, February is suddenly all about romance and love, full of chocolate hearts, flowers, and insanely priced cards. Some people claim Valentine’s Day is a made-up holiday, as though a day to celebrate rodents is completely legitimate but a day to celebrate the one you love is a government conspiracy.

And finally on the 21st, we have President’s Day. I’m old enough to remember it being called George Washington’s Birthday, but apparently it became a birthday celebration for George and Lincoln ( who both had February birthdays) and then finally in the 1970s was officially changed to President’s Day. Probably because the other dead presidents felt slighted. Or more likely, the live ones did.

In Minnesota, February is basically the beginning of our second winter. We get about 4 days of above freezing and then we’re back to black-ice, frost-bite, and a drop in crime as all the criminals head south.

With winter feeling extra long this year and February being a tri-celebration month, I am gifting a book for you! From my own experience, cold months are great reading months! So…

February 11th-28th, ENTANGLED (A Fredrickson Winery Novel) will be FREE at all online stores! Pick up a copy if you haven’t read it yet, and tell your book-loving friends and family members to download a copy too!

Get it here> ENTANGLED

Thanks for stopping! Leave a comment and tell us which February holiday you enjoy celebrating the most, or do you have another one I don’t know about??

Barbara

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, Entangled, fiction, Free book, Groundhogs, mystery, Presidents Day, ValentinesDay

What are you reading in the New Year?

January 3, 2018 By Barbara Leave a Comment

Welcome to the New Year!

They say if you stay busy, time goes by faster. When you are at work and are longing to go home, that might be a good thing. But looking back at 2017, I feel like it went by so fast that it was sort of a blur. There was a lot going on for me and my family. A wedding, foot surgery, another wedding, the writing and release of MidSummer Madness… and suddenly Christmas was here.

Now that we’re living in sub-zero temperatures again, maybe we’ll all have time to slow down and smell the icicles. I vote to stay inside with a cup of hot coffee, and read a good book.

I have enjoyed many new authors this past year. They aren’t actually new authors, just new to me. But I love finding a fun novel or series that I can add to my reading list. After all, you can never have too many books on your Ereader, or too much chocolate in your desk drawer.

In case you’ve read all of my books and are looking for something new to fill your days until my next release… Here are a few titles I read in 2017 and truly enjoyed. Most are authors I haven’t read before, but Sibella and Diana are continuing favorites. I linked them all with Amazon but I’m sure you can get them at other stores as well.

The Illegal Gardener by Sara Alexi

The Closing (Whippoorwill Hollow Book 1) by Ken Oder

Shattered Image (Chain of Lakes Book 1) by Stacy Monson

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

The Moon Stands Still (Raleigh Harmon Mysteries #7) Sibella Giorello

A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

If you haven’t read my Double Barrel Mysteries series yet… here’s a link to AWESOME!

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year and lots of time to read! Leave a comment and tell me what book you’re reading right now!

Thanks for stopping,

Barbara

Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Grace Award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pup.
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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, book suggestions, fiction, New Year

and the winner is… Much Ado About Murder!

June 8, 2017 By Barbara 18 Comments

And the winner is…

For those of you who watch award shows and love to see all the celebrities in their fancy dresses and tuxedos strutting down the red carpet, posing for paparazzi and answering inane questions from entertainment reporters, The Grace Awards may seem a bit lame and lacking in glitter. But for a writer who does her best work alone in a tiny home office and rarely gets asked for an autograph other than when her husband hands her the tax returns to sign… it’s AWESOME!

I feel like a star. I may not have my own star on the walk of fame, but my dad did let me put my handprint in the new concrete he poured for our porch steps when I was eight. Does that count?

So let’s imagine I’m wearing strappy, silver, three-inch heels and a navy colored gown with a lacy top. Oh wait, you don’t have to imagine. I just wore that for my daughter’s wedding, so here you go.

(You WILL have to imagine the red carpet, flashing cameras, screaming fans, and me sitting in the audience with my dear friends and fellow writers, Mary Higgins Clark and Stephen King.)

The big moment is here…

The audience collectively holds its breath in anticipation as Iris Johansen rips open the envelope and reads the embossed words on the card. “And the winner of The Grace Award in the mystery/suspense category is… MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER!!” {massive applause as the orchestra plays Get Up And Boogie}

I climb the steps to the podium – elegant, cool, and poised – and take the golden Grace Award from Iris’ hands. She smiles and nods toward the microphone.

(Every winner gets to make a speech and since this is my blog and I’m the winner…)

“First of all, I would like to thank my readers for nominating MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER for this award and for believing in the characters of Port Scuttlebutt as much as I do. I also want to thank Blake and Shelby Gunner, Alice and Tucker, Evelyn, Jack, Pete, and every one of the players who have taken up residence in my head and make Double Barrel Mysteries such a joy to write.” {orchestra strikes up the get off the stage music but I keep going, talking fast} “I would also like to thank my beta readers, editors, cover designer, my husband for bringing me coffee and chocolate while I write, my dog for giving me walk breaks, my hairdresser, Internet provider, and the UPS man.” {skinny model tries to tug me away from the microphone but she’s weaker than me because she doesn’t eat meat. I stand my ground and keep talking.} “Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Microsoft Word program, for without your spellcheck, formatting, layout options, and imaginative fonts, I would be lost.” {three skinny models surround me and collectively pull me from the stage as I yell out my last words} Thank you, thank you all. I will finish the 3rd book! I will! I promise!  

~~

Praise from the Grace Award judges:

MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER is a well-written, entertaining cozy mystery. The characters are believable and feel like people you might know in your own town. Blake and Shelby are charming main characters, just the right mix of strengths and weaknesses to keep the pace moving and the plot plausible. Alice and Tucker provide a light, romantic thread while Jack and Oliver add a touch of humor. The setting is presented well and the mystery progresses at a steady pace that keeps the pages turning.

See the winners in all categories at the Grace Awards

Haven’t read The Double Barrel Mysteries yet? Check out my bookstore page or click on the titles below.

ROADKILL #1

MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER #2

~~

Thanks for coming to my award show! Hope you had as much fun as I did. Don’t forget to leave a comment and say hi!

Barbara

Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries, Roadkill and Much Ado About Murder. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pups.

 

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Queen For A Day

November 16, 2016 By Barbara 1 Comment

With all the depressing, angry news lately, I thought I’d share a little light-hearted story for your enjoyment. Happy Wednesday! Hope you all enjoy!

Cute funny fashionable glamour pink small princess piglet in queen crown standing indoor in studio on wooden background, horizontal picture
Photo from Fotolia

Queen for a Day

She was Miss South Dakota twenty years ago. The life-sized portrait in the sitting room was proof of that. In her silver and white gown and jeweled tiara she reigned over the small farmhouse with a $3000.00 orthodontic smile that put Marie Osmond to shame.

When she cruised down Main Street people still stared as she drove by in the red, Pontiac Firebird given to her when she won the state pageant. It was a little rusty around the doors now, but she had touched up the writing on the side so everyone could see it was Miss South Dakota’s car. She knew it excited them when she raised her hand and gave them her special wave. She enjoyed pleasing the little folks.

She said the two things she wanted most in life were world peace and to marry a pig farmer. Her love of pork had secured her the title of Mrs. Daryl B. Cimpl. She still needed to work on that peace thing, but she felt sure in time even that would be fulfilled. Besides, it was hard to believe that on their quiet little farm the world was not at peace.

She and Daryl had two wonderful twin boys, named after their father. She made sure they were educated in all the right areas. She taught them to tap dance by the time they were four. They would tap around the new pine floor of the barn while Daryl gave the baby piglets their shots and snipped off their tails, distracting the mother sows long enough for him to get out of the pen without a chunk missing from his rear-end.

When they were six she started them in organ lessons. They would never be in the marching band, but they would definitely be asked to play at all the weddings and funerals for miles around. That’s where the fame was. In South Dakota, folks congregated at family gatherings.

Daryl gave her everything he had promised, a home, kids, and all the pork she could freeze in a 24 Cubic foot freezer. He wasn’t much to look at, but she loved the man inside the thin, stooped, shell. His blonde hair was still boyish when he combed the long pieces across the top of his shiny pate, and the way he looked at her when she wore her tiara to bed could send her pulse racing. She had everything she ever wanted.

One day while dusting the frame of her portrait and watching General Hospital, she realized something was missing in her life. Somewhere along the way, she had lost her purpose.

She tried to pinpoint what it was she wanted. She loved her husband and sons, and taking care of their every little need. She loved helping out part-time at Black’s Funeral Home, where she applied makeup to the sunken eyes and withered cheeks of the deceased, making them appear 10 years younger or almost alive again. But these things weren’t a challenge to her talents, and that’s what she needed.

The new batch of baby pigs was born, shots were administered, tails were snipped, and Miss South Dakota had an idea. She picked the cutest, most perfect piglet of the litter and made it her protégé. She named her, Ambrosia.

Ambrosia was hand-fed with a bottle, while listening to classical music played on the organ by a Daryl Jr. Every evening she was bathed in ham-scented water and patted dry with a white terry-cloth towel. She was given a bed of pillows on the back porch where she lay with her hoofs pointed to the ceiling and her little snout wiggling as she dreamed piglet dreams. She was fed only the best corn, which she learned to eat from a silver doggy bowl. She was walked each day down the gravel road to the end of the section and back, eagerly pulling against the diamond-studded leash in anticipation of the meal that awaited her on their return.

Finally the day came for the family to pack up the truck with 400 lb Ambrosia in the back and head for the South Dakota State Fair. This was what being Miss South Dakota was all about, using the talents she had learned along the way by giving someone else a leg up; or a cloven hoof in this case.

The judges looked the pigs over, checking for flaws inside and out. Ambrosia stood docilely as they pulled on her ears and stuck their fingers in her mouth. She held her head high as she had been taught and kept that happy gleam in her eye. The judges were amazed by her posture, nodding to one another as they checked off their lists.

At one o’clock the ribbons were to be awarded. There was even a sign on the pig barn announcing that she, Miss South Dakota, would be attending the pig judging. It surprised her that they knew. She had only informed a couple dozen people that she would be there. When the judge slipped a blue ribbon over Ambrosia’s head and she gave an excited squeal of victory, Mrs. Daryl B. Simpl, Miss South Dakota 1985, cried tears of pure joy, even though it made the mascara run down her cheeks in rivulets.

As she led Ambrosia from the judging ring, she saw a crowd of people standing around a red car outside. On the door in large scrolled letters it said, Miss South Dakota 2006. She stopped and stared as a young, blonde woman stepped from the vehicle and turned to wave at her adoring fans. The blonde turned toward the barn and their eyes met, then her gaze dropped to Ambrosia.   Her smile froze in place and her eyes widened in shock. Ambrosia oinked a greeting as she took a pose, her jeweled tiara tilting crazily over her snout.

~~~

Thanks for stopping! Feel free to leave a comment below.

Barbara

photo-3

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, fiction, humor, short story, south dakota, state fair

Indie Author Bonanza!

May 31, 2016 By Barbara 2 Comments

IMG_2703I’ve been an Indie author for quite some time now and I have to say that regardless of the downsides of self-publishing, there are many upsides. And in fact, I’m willing to call it a bonanza of bonuses!

“Going it alone” usually means you are either a maverick or an idiot. Perhaps both. To be self-employed, you have to be self-motivated and willing to do more than what you signed up for. I’m a writer, but now I’m also in charge of editing, cover design, promotion, and formatting. I need to learn how to get my book on different book sites, peek the interest of readers with an attractive cover, blurb, and one-liner tweets.

If you do your research and find a group of friends who are paddling a similar one-person kayak in this very over-populated river of wanna-be writers, you can do what only huge publishing houses once did with endless money and a full roster of employees… take a book from conception to birth and actually make enough to pay your editor and cover designer. If you’re really successful you might even be able to pay your car payment.

It wasn’t very many days ago that the Indie author was looked down upon, and in many cases, is still seen as a second-class citizen in the publishing world. As an Indie you have to be willing to learn and grow to navigate the ever-changing current. You also have to be able to ignore the snide comments and/or reactions you get from people who have no idea the work you’ve put in or the many hats you wear in order to self-publish.

Self-published was once synonymous with “lacking enough talent to get published traditionally.” Ironically, there are many well-known, traditionally published writers going the self-published route these days. They may have veered off the traditional path in order to make a better living, have more say over the final outcome of their books, or because it’s now “hip to be square” for all I know. I do know that with all the writing competition out there, and the lower and lower number of actual readers, this career choice is sink or swim. Here’s hoping I can keep my head above the waves.

Regardless of the sharks in the water and other writerly trials, I am counting my blessings that I can still do what I love and love what I do.

Bonanzas:

I can sleep in and don’t have to catch a bus to work.

I can wear sweats and t-shirts or pajamas. Nobody is here to care.

My desk is comfortably situated in my home office and not in a cubicle.

My computer runs on Barbara time and not a company clock.

I write the stories I want to write and don’t have to continue writing a series if I no longer feel the inspiration or desire.

I can hire whomever I want to help with editing, cover design, etc, and have complete control over every aspect of my book.

I set my own deadlines and change them without asking permission.

I have met many other self-published authors and have found some great friends with common interests.

I’m not a starving artist with a publisher doling out a small percentage of my book’s earnings like breadcrumbs. I’m now a semi starving artist with a whole lot bigger cut of the earnings and a very small overhead.

My books are never found in the clearance bargain bin.

I’m proud to be Indie and think this is as good a place as any to remind you to pick up myImbedMuchAdo2 latest published masterpiece. MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER (Double Barrel Mysteries #2) You can find it at these online stores:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble   iTunes   kobo  Smashwords

Thanks for stopping! If you love reading Indie or are an Indie writer, leave a comment below.

Barbara

Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries, Roadkill and Much Ado About Murder. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pups.
Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries, Roadkill and Much Ado About Murder. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pups.

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, Double Barrel Mysteries, fiction, indie publishing, self-publishing

Roadkill giveaway!

May 5, 2016 By Barbara 2 Comments

No, I’m not giving away dead squirrels or turtles that failed to get across the highway quick enough to avoid an early demise. That’s a completely different kind of road kill.

roadkillcoverImbedI’m giving away 5 signed copies of ROADKILL (Double Barrel Mysteries) book #1 at Goodreads! Starting May 6th, you can sign up for the giveaway at Goodreads and maybe you will be one of the lucky winners of an autographed paperback of ROADKILL.

This giveaway ends May 22nd, coincidentally the exact day book #2, MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER (Double Barrel Mysteries), hits the ebook shelves everywhere!

So, sign up now!

You can use the link over in the sidebar>>>

Or click here and go directly to Goodreads.

 

If you’ve already read Roadkill, leave a comment and tell me what character you’re hoping ImbedMuchAdo2will make an appearance in book #2! Don’t forget to preorder MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER! >

Thanks for stopping!

Barbara

Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries, Roadkill and Much Ado About Murder. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pups.
Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries, Roadkill and Much Ado About Murder. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pups.

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara E Brink, Double Barrel Mystery, fiction, goodreads giveaway, Much Ado About Murder, Roadkill, signed copies

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Split Sense

Split Sense

When a senator and pharmaceutical giant partner to experiment with a new drug on pregnant women, they tap into a world they never knew existed – the supernatural touching the natural – and it will cost the innocent more than they know. Grace Awards Winner!

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