2019- MONTH 2 - A GRANDMOTHERS, INCORPORATED PRODUCTION

Lights!  Action!  But no cameras, not for this production of the stage play Grandmothers, Incorporated, by Evans and Rhodes. The play will be presented in Detroit, Michigan in March 2019.  What a nice way to enjoy the third month of the year.

Grandmothers, Incorporated, the play, features the characters from the Grandmothers Incorporated book series, Bea, Hattie, Connie and Miss Fannie.  Of course the storyline is totally different than that in any of the novels, but it's still funny.  In the Two Act play the ladies go on a weekend outing only to come across a notorious drug dealer hiding in the remote cabin in which they are staying.  The results are hilarious, because as readers of our novels know the ladies back down from nothing!

Grandmothers, Incorporated, the play, made its debut in 2010 Off Broadway at the Billie Holiday Theatre, and it was a hit.  It was even held over.  There's no doubt that a good time will be had by all at the Detroit production. 

2019- MONTH 1 - NEW YEAR, NEW DETERMINATION

It’s a new year and with it comes a new effort to write at least a blog a month.  Maybe it doesn’t sound like a big deal to most, but when you’re busy writers with multi-projects going on, then finding the time to keep up with a blog can be a Herculean task, but it’s nothing the creators ladies of the Grandmothers Incorporated cozy mystery series can’t handle--we hope.

Last year was a major one for Evans and Rhodes.  L. Barnett Evans successfully produced a play she wrote.  C.V. Rhodes won a national Play Festival contest with a new play she wrote and earned a trip to Florida.  Yes, 2018 turned out to be quite a year for both of us and this year looks as though it will be just as exciting.

The year 2019 will open with a production of the play, Grandmothers, Incorporated, written by Evans and Rhodes.  The play will be presented in March in Detroit, Michigan.  Evans and Rhodes will begin a speaking tour this year, touting their success in turning the characters in their cozy mystery novels into stage characters, and encouraging everyone to follow their dreams and to live their best lives.  In addition, we will be turning our writing talents to developing another mystery series which should be released in the near future.  We may provide more information on that development in this blog over the next few months.  We’ll see.  Meanwhile, we continue to collect new ideas for the next adventure for the ladies of Grandmothers, Incorporated.   Yes, 2019 should be quite productive.  We’re looking forward to sharing it with you!

2018 - MONTH 12 - Mission Accomplished!

We did it!  Evans and Rhodes completed all twelve months of this year with blog posts.  The time seemed to just fly this year, or maybe so much has happened during this time that everything was a blur.

Earlier this year L. Barnett Evans produced a One Act play for a Fringe Play Festival.  She wrote the work, titled Take My Hand ,and it enjoyed a successful run even during a snowstorm.  C.V. Rhodes wrote a Two Act play titled, The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin.  It won the American Stage Theatre’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival for 2018.  The work will get a staged reading and a chance for a regional production.  Meanwhile, the latest cozy mystery by Evans and Rhodes, Whose Knife is it Anyway, continues to sell.  Our Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series does especially well on Smashwords.com, particularly outside the United States.  Perhaps we’ll explore the reasons for this in an upcoming blog.

Evans and Rhodes are in negotiations now with a theatre in Detroit, Michigan for the Midwest debut of our Two Act play, Grandmothers, Incorporated.  So the year 2018 ends on a high note.  It pays to be versatile writers..Let’s see what we come up with in 2019!

2018 - MONTH 11 -GRATITUDE FOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Often when writers are working we have tunnel vision.  All we see is what’s in front of us until its completion.  We want to get our creation written, completed and out to the public.  After that it’s about promoting the work so that it sells.  After that, it’s on to the next project.  That’s how it has been with Grandmothers, Incorporated.  Over the years, we’ve written four books in the series and we’re proud of that fact.

There have been other areas of which we should be proud, but more of less have taken for granted, not reveling in the accomplishments.   Maybe we’ve been too busy to acknowledge them.  Characters from the Grandmothers, Incorporated novels have been featured in two plays, the Two Act, aptly titled Grandmothers, Incorporated and in the One Act play, Stakeout.  Both productions were successful.

The titles from our book series have received great reviews.  When the book Grandmothers, Incorporated was released years ago, it received two on-line awards as best cozy mystery, but as busy authors we didn’t take the time to savor those honors.  We simply moved on to writing the next book.  We’ve spoken at Book Clubs, at Conferences and we’ve conducted Workshops and the positive reception has always been heartening.  Yet, we as authors rarely took the time to enjoy the compliments, because the next book was on our minds.

Now, in this 11th blog of the year--the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving— the writing duo of Evans and Rhodes is taking the time to review all of those accomplishments and blessings that have come our way as the result of the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series, and we are grateful. 

2018 - MONTH 10 - Grandmothers, Incorporated goes Women's Lit

We've added another label to our categories for the Grandmothers Incorporated cozy mystery series.  That label is Women's Lit.  According to a definition on Google "Women's fiction is an umbrella term for women centered books that focus on women's life experience that are marketed to female readers, and includes many mainstream novels. It is distinct from Women's writing, which refers to literature written by (rather than promoted to) women."

Alright, we'll buy that.  The Grandmothers, Incorporated series focuses on three women--four if you count Miss Fanny.  Each of the women in the series is "sixty something"-- again, except for Miss Fanny, who is "eighty something"--so they definitely have experienced a lot of life.  Women's Lit is marketed to female readers.  There's no doubt that mostly women purchase the books in our series, but we accept greenbacks from any gender.  We don't discriminate.  We've sold our novels to quite a few men, young and old.  As for the words mainstream novels. back to Goggle for a definition.

"Mainstream Fiction Is Any Novel That Sells Well. According to this first definition, any novel, whether genre or literary, which attracts a wide audience and sells in large numbers is a mainstream novel."  

Bingo!  So we're making it official.  Mini Musings is proud to announce the addition of the Grandmothers Incorporated cozy mystery series as  part of the Women's Lit label.  Now all that remains is to see what's next for our ladies!

MONTH 9 - TRYING TO KEEP UP

Okay, so we tried to upload a video on this blog promoting our latest title, WHOSE KNIFE IS IT ANYWAY? Guess what? No such luck. Yes, we're disappointed, but what can you do? Either you're tech savvy or you're not. There is a way readers can see the Grandmothers, Incorporated videos.  Go to YouTube and type in Grandmothers Incorporated Adventures.  All of our book promotion videos are there including the latest one for WHOSE KNIFE IS IT ANYWAY.  Who knows, maybe we'll become savvy enough to put one of them on the blog in the near future.  We keep trying.

Meanwhile, we're busy gathering material for a new mystery novel  Everywhere we go we come up with ideas that could put our ladies in hilarious situations.  Mackinac Island, a quaint island in Northern Michigan looks like it might be the next candidate for one of their adventures.  It's isolated.  The only way to get there is by ferry.  No motor vehicles are allowed on the island.  Either you walk or ride a bike to get around,  and rumor has it that there are areas  on the island that might be haunted.  Sounds like the perfect place for a Grandmothers, Incorporated Adventure, doesn't it?

Mackinac Island, Michigan

MONTH 8 - GRANDMOTHERS INCORPORATED SERIES SALE CONTINUES

The July Summer Sale on Smashwords.com went so well for the Grandmothers, Incorporated book series that we decided to celebrate! For the rest of 2018 Grandmothers, Incorporated, Saving Sin City and There's Something Wrong with Miss Zelda will be on sale for .99, as well as From the Stage to the Page.

Of course we can't give all of the books in our fabulous cozy book series away.  Our latest novel  Whose Knife is it Anyway will still be the same low price, but click on any of the links below and read a sample of the book you want to purchase.  Happy Reading!  

 

Grandmothers, Incorporated

www.smashwords.com/books/view/85519

 

Saving Sin City

www.smashwords.com/books/view/111068

There's Something Wrong with Miss Zelda  

www.smashwords.com/books/view/344422

 Whose Knife is it Anyway

  www.smashwords.com/books/view/720349

AND 

From the Stage to the Page

www.smashwords.com/books/view/535997