March 2024: Free Ghostly Fun and a Triple-Book Prize
Stuff from Ann’s Brain …
I’m going to be honest about something: I haven’t been able to write much for the last month. I haven’t been able to round up the energy to be social online either.
Some of you may remember from last month’s newsletter that my mom was in the ICU in Rapid City, South Dakota. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it out of the hospital. After years of Parkinson’s and Dementia taking their toll on her mind, and then the dangerous infections that landed her in the hospital, her body was too tired to pull out of the tailspin.
Since I talked to you last, I’ve been reminded how precious family, friends, love, and laughter are. In the future, I would prefer these sort of reminders involve fewer sucker punches and less tears, but sometimes there is no way to avoid getting your heart bruised.
Thank you to all who reached out to me since Mom passed. Your thoughts and kindness were a sweet melody in sad times.
Now, my mom was a sassy spitfire, and she wouldn’t want me to dwell on life’s rainclouds for too long, so let’s move on to the fun stuff in this month’s newsletter:
* We have a brand new prize to win for this month, so be sure to throw your name in the hat for the drawing at month’s end.
* One of my favorite cool weather foods is in the recipe section: Chipped Beef in Cream Sauce (or S-O-S, which is one of the names we called it when I was a kid).
Read on …
AUTHOR STAR SPOTLIGHT: FREE Ebook Every Month!!!
Each month in 2024 I’m going to showcase an author friend who I think is quite wonderful. I’m going to tell you a little about her, in case you haven’t heard of this particular author yet, and then I’m going to include a special link only in my monthly newsletter where you can go to get a FREE ebook from her.
There are already authors lined up for this fun monthly treat for you newsletter subscribers, and they are each ready to share a FREE ebook to give you a chance to escape on the virtual pages with some of their favorite characters.
Angie Fox – award-winning, international bestselling author.
The star in this month’s spotlight is … Angie Fox!
The star in this month’s spotlight is … Angie Fox!
March’s Wonderful Author is … Angie Fox. Angie is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She writes sweet, fun, action-packed mysteries. Her characters are clever and fearless, but in real life, Angie is afraid of basements, bees, and going up stairs when it is dark behind her. Let’s face it. Angie wouldn’t last five minutes in one of her books.
Her books have been called “fabulously fun” by the Chicago Tribune and have won multiple Daphne awards for mystery and PRISM awards for fantasy. Angie is best known for her SOUTHERN SPIRITS™ mysteries and for her ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER series. She has also just released the new MONSTER MASH trilogy, which is gaining a lot of attention.
Angie is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
[Click **HERE** to head over to Angie’s website so that you can learn more about her and her books!](https://angiefox.com/)
Sign Up to WIN WIN WIN!
_Every month, I’ll be offering a chance to win a fun-filled gift pack containing different books and goodies._
This month, you can enter a drawing to win a 3-book Deadwood Mystery Series prize plus more! (To learn how to enter your name in the drawing, see below.)
This pack of goodies contains:
* _Dead Case in Deadwood_ paperback, Book 3 in the Deadwood Mystery Series.
* _Better Off Dead in Deadwood_ paperback, Book 4 in the Deadwood Mystery Series.
* _An Ex to Grind in Deadwood_ paperback, Book 5 in the Deadwood Mystery Series.
* An autographed set of Deadwood Mystery series magnets.
* Two Deadwood Mystery Series coasters: the Scharfrichter shield and the famous Purple Boots.
* A Purple Boots round autographed magnet.
* Three autographed Deadwood Mystery Series bookmarks.
**To enter your name in the drawing for this gift pack:** Send me an email with your full name and mailing address to [AnnCharlesAuthor@gmail.com](mailto:Mailto:AnnCharlesAuthor@gmail.com) with “March Drawing” in the Subject line.
**CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL LAW FROM CLIVE, IOWA ON WINNING THE FEBRUARY PRIZE PACKAGE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE BOOK AND PROMO GOODIES. ~ANN**
Chipped Beef in Cream Sauce (S-O-S)
Here is another yummy recipe from the out-of-print 2020 Ann Charles MOON THE COOK cookbook, which Mark and Michelle Davis helped put together.
This month, Mark, Michelle and I decided to share a recipe from Zoe Parker, Violet’s aunt in the Deadwood Mystery series–Chipped Beef in Cream Sauce (or as I knew it growing up: S-O-S). Yummmm!
_NOTE: This cookbook sold out in 2020, so for those of you who were unable to buy a copy from my Ann Charles online store before it was gone, now you’ll have access to some of the great recipes via my [monthly newsletters](https://anncharles.com/category/newsletters/)._
Wrap Up
Sam Lucky has been a busy bee! The end is in sight for the first draft of _Hip Deep in Bad Company_ (Deadwood Undertaker Book 5), with Sam typing away at the keyboard every day. I’ll keep you posted as we move closer to a release date on the latest exciting adventure in the Undertaker crew’s world.
As for me, after a month of living under a cloud of grief, the sun has come out again. I’m back to hitting the keys, too. And while I feel rusty at this point and wonder why I ever thought I could tell stories for a living, my mom would remind me that I always start out a book worrying that it’s no good. “Quit whining and keep writing,” she would say. So onward I go.
But I’m still going to whine a little. Ha ha ha!
Life is better when you’re laughing.
~Ann
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