LA RUE THE LLAMA HELPS HIS MAMA WILL BE FREE AUG 18-20

If you have little ones who love picture books, mark your calendar. 

The Kindle edition of LA RUE THE LLAMA HELPS HIS MAMA will be free on August 18, 19 and 20. This is the very first book I ever wrote (and illustrated) so many years ago, but just published recently. It is also the only children's book I've written. Download a copy for your little one. La Rue is a charming little critter who means well, but...well, check out the book to find out how he winds up in so much trouble.

And his Great Aunt Fay is also quite the character. A feisty motorcycle-riding old llama. What's Mama Llama to do?

I've been so busy with other projects, this is the first time I'm really promoting it and offering it free. Share with other mommies.

MAKING MURDER FUNNY -- IN BOOKS, THAT IS

And my blog hopping continues. Today I'm over at Christa Nardi's blog http://christanardi.blogspot.com/ talking about making murder funny--at least in books. With three comical Silver Sisters Mysteries, the crime caper Ripoff and the just released Bumping Off Fat Vinny, I have a little experience with this. Check it out, leave a comment and share. Thanks.

TODAY I GUEST POSTED ON MADELINE GORNELL'S BLOG ABOUT "WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR PUBLISHER GOES OUT OF BUSINESS"

https://mmgornell.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/morgan-st-james-is-visiting-today/#comments
 

Some of the new books

First of all, I want to say thanks to Madeline for asking me to talk about this. Most authors are so excited  when their book(s) get picked up by a publisher, they never ask themselves the question: "What happens when your publisher goes out of business?" I was no different.

When L&L Dreamspell picked up 5 of my books, I became one of their 200 authors. It seemed like it would go on forever and they were anxious to consider anything else I'd written.

Then tragedy struck. One of the partners died of cancer, and the other was so devastated she closed the business and gave all of the authors back their rights. Overnight, I  had 5 books out of publication and had to make a decision.

Betrayed, was formerly two books ( Devil's Dance and The Devil's Due) when it was with Dreamspell. All of the Silver Sisters Mysteries, including the book that had been recently published before the closed, Vanishing Act in Vegas were affected. Since being republished with new covers, some edits and updates, all of the books that went out of publication are selling again. So, it isn't "the end of the world." Keep positive and think logically.

Check out my post on Madeline's blog for the way I solved it, and while you are there please leave a comment and share. This is something all authors should include in their knowledge base. Thanks. My personal website is www.morganstjames-author.com .

A very moving and inspirational story

I received this in my email today, and upon reading it knew I had to share this story with as many people as possible, so here it is. As a cancer survivor myself, I found it particularly moving. Sometimes things happen that have no logical explanation. We often call those things miracles.

  AN EAGLE KISS

   

  This is the kind of story you need,

When it seems like the world is spiraling out of control…

   

Not many people get a picture of this proud bird, Snuggled up next to them!

FREEDOM AND JEFF

Jeff says: Freedom and I have been together 11 years this summer.
She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings.
Her left wing doesn't open all the way even after surgery;
It was broken in 4 places.
She's my baby.

 

 

When Freedom came in she could not stand
and both wings were broken.

She was emaciated and covered in lice.

We made the decision to give her a chance at life,

So I took her to the vet's office.

From then on, I was always around her.

We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off,

and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper,

for her to lay in.

I used to sit and talk to her;
Urging her to live, to fight;

and she would lay there looking at me,

with those big brown eyes.
We also had to tube feed her for weeks.

 

 

This went on for 4-6 weeks,

and by then she still couldn't stand.

It got to the point where the decision was made,

to euthanize her, if she couldn't stand in a week.

You know you don't want to cross that line;

Between torture and rehab,

and it looked like death was winning.

She was going to be put down that Friday,

and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon.

I didn't want to go to the center that Thursday;

Because I couldn't bear the thought of her being euthanized;
But, I went anyway, and when I walked in,

everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

I went immediately back to her cage;

and there she was,
standing on her own,

a big beautiful eagle.

She was ready to live.

I was just about in tears by then.

That was a very good day.

 

 

We knew she could never fly;

So the director asked me to glove train her.
I got her used to the glove,
and then to jesses,

and we started doing education programs,

for schools in western Washington .
We wound up in the newspapers,
radio (believe it or not) and some TV.

'Miracle Pets' even did a show about us.

 

 

In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed

with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

I had stage 3;
Which is not good

(one major organ plus everywhere);

So I wound up doing 8 months of chemo.

Lost the hair - the whole bit.

I missed a lot of work.

When I felt good enough,

I would go to Survey and take Freedom out for walks.

Freedom would also come to me in my dreams,

and help me fight the cancer.

This happened time and time again.

 

 

Fast forward to November 2000.

 

 

The day after Thanksgiving,
I went in for my last checkup.
I was told that if the cancer was not all gone,

after 8 rounds of chemo;

Then my last option was a stem cell transplant.

Anyway, they did the tests;

and I had to come back Monday for the results.

I went in Monday, and I was told that,

ALL THE CANCER WAS GONE.

So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey,

and take the big girl out for a walk.

It was misty and cold.

I went to her flight and jessed her up,

and we went out front to the top of the hill.

I hadn't said a word to Freedom;

But somehow she knew.

She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me,

to where I could feel them pressing in on my back,
(I was engulfed in eagle wings),

and she touched my nose with her beak,

and stared into my eyes,

and we just stood there like that for I don't know how long.

That was a magic moment.

We have been soul mates ever since she came in.

This is a very special bird.

 

 

On a side note:

I have had people who were sick,

come up to us when we are out,

and Freedom has some kind of hold on them.

I once had a guy who was terminal come up to us,

and I let him hold her.
His knees just about buckled,

and he swore he could feel her power course through his body.

I have so many stories like that...

 

 

I never forget the honor I have of being so close
to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this!

 

 

A SMALL REQUEST..

93% won't forward; But I'm Sure You Will.

 

 

A small request.. Just one line...

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.
Even if it's only to one more person.
In memory of anyone you know,

Who has been struck down by cancer,

Or is still living with it,

Or just someone who enjoys a GREAT STORY

 

 

 

BUMPING OFF FAT VINNY - COMING SOON

It should have been easy - their plan was foolproof - so what went wrong? A funny crime caper from true crime author Dennis N. Griffin and me. Watch for the release in May 2015.

We had a ball writing this and devising schemes that would backfire. Murder can be funny--when it's in the hands of Morgan St. James and Dennis N. Griffin.

LAST SATURDAY AT PASEO VERDE LIBRARY IN HENDERSON NV

Here I am on Saturday, March 28, at Paseo Verde Library in Henderson NV with author Eric James Miller.

It was the second annual Local Author Showcase and more than 70 authors had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their books to the Las Vegas/ Henderson area community. Many thanks to everyone at Paseo Verde Library for making this possible. I was invited to give a workshop at 3:00 that afternoon about MARKETING IN THE DIGITAL AGE.

It was very well attended and I was able to present information a little outside the box by talking about some promotional websites available free with some cool stuff that helps separate you from the ever-growing "herd" of authors. 

How gratifying that afterwards some of the attendees made it a point to tell me I'd given them information they hadn't heard before. One woman told me she had presented a marketing workshop the week before and I'd covered information she didn't know about. And the emails and Facebook messages the next day saying that I'd inspired some writers.

Wow! That's what it's all about. I love sharing with other writers and readers.

I'm available for personal appearances in the general Las Vegas (and sometimes L.A.) areas or by Skype. Just message me with a request. 

RAINY DAY IN LAS VEGAS

Looking out the window at the rain here in Las Vegas. Of course, people on the East Coast or Pacific Northwest would call it a slight drizzle.

Still, we have to take precautions when it rains because we have areas that get flash floods due to the normally dry conditions and some other factors.

We are in the foothills, so it doesn't get as bad as it does in the Las Vegas Valley, but just a few miles away some of the streets become hazardous when we have any ongoing rain. My Mustang is low, so I have to be particularly careful if I decide to venture out into a downpour. As for little Dylan the Dog, he won't go out! Hope he doesn't have an accident in the house. I need a "doggie litter" box.

Good day to write, listen to some good music or watch an oldie on TV.

Okay, okay, call us wimps, but we are not used to adverse weather conditions.

By the way, this IS Las Vegas, but certainly not your vision of the Strip. See we really do have neighborhoods with houses, shopping malls, grocery stores, and more. I never go to the Strip unless I have to or perhaps there is something I really want to see.

SETTLE DOWN AND RELAX WITH A GOOD BOOK

Settle down with a good book, whether it's paperback, Kindle or one of the ePub platforms like Nook.

This fun escapade involves a clever scam to embezzle millions from the Federal prison system, and the three savvy women who brought it down.

How can something like this happen...from the prison system. Well, the truth is, and you can check it out, that the manufacturing division sells close to a billion dollars a year in goods they manufacture in prisons to the Federal government.

Caroline Rowe and I worked for the private sector marketing company for that division and we each sold millions of dollars of projects a year. We also got the idea for this scam that a former FBI undercover agent said really could have worked.

So, get your paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or any number of online bookstores for just #14.99 or their discounted price. You can also find the Kindle edition on Amazon and the Nook edition on B&N for just $2.99. Kobo has it, too, and so do lots of other sites. Check your favorite one and try to guess "howdunit."

HAPPINESS IS A DAMP TOWEL

A CORPSE IN THE SOUP RANKING MOVING UP

Thank you to everyone who is downloading FREE copies of A CORPSE IN THE SOUP, a Silver Sisters Mystery, and helping to propel it up in the ranks. http://amzn.to/1mzTh7T

Please share the opportunity to get a FREE copy with any of your friends who enjoy a funny whodunit. It is fast paced with lots of twists and turns, zany situations and some surprises at the end. Amazon current rating 4.3 stars. Ranking as of 6:00pm on January 20 in the FREE store is
#565 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#10 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Humor & Satire > General Humor

Those zany sisters, Goldie and Godiva, take the reader through the glitzy world of TV cooking shows as they track a killer. Their octogenarian mother Flossie and Uncle Sterling aren't far behind, dressing in disguise and going undercover. This foursome doesn't go looking for trouble. It finds them!

Update on the Fender Bender

Not having heard anything from the insurance company since the accident on January 8, I called to follow up. I was told they hadn't been able to get their insured's version so I would have to wait until they spoke to the insured. Keep in mind that we were both insured by the same company.

When I asked how long they allow, they UNBELIEVABLY said 3 weeks. Then he said if they don't hear back they send a demand letter. How long is allowed for that? Another 10 days--like over a month all together until the other guy would be declared liable and his insurance would pay for the repair. When I asked what would happen if my car couldn't be driven, the peson said, "Well you could always put in an uninsured motorist claim on your own insurance and then if we find our party liable it would be reimbursed." Yeah, sure! and my insurance would probably go up in the process even though I was the one that was hit.

I told him the insured wasn't even in the car and was relying on what the woman driving the car told him, which was a lie. I asked if they'd looked at the satellite photo of the parking lot with the diagram of the position of the cars as well as the photo of the position of the cars. Can you believe this? He said, "No, he didn't have access to those and I'd have to wait until they talked to their insured. Then he'd be able to see what I submitted. Keep a lid on. Be nice even though you want to scream. All I said was, "Fine. I'll wait to fix the car until you talk to him, but if you'd look at the photo you'd see I've have had to be able to drive sideways to be the one that hit her. I might look into changing my insurance to another company and doing a lot of social media posts as to why I took that action.

Fifteen minutes later the phone rang. It was the insurance guy. He asked if I'd calmed down. I replied, "No, I'm still pissed." So he said, "Well I'm going to make you feel better. We finally touched base with our insured and it was the woman's fault and we'll make arrangements to get your car fixed."

My take. The claim was sitting there gathering dust, waiting for the guy to call back. I rattled their cage and they probably called him and got it settled.

You have to stick up for yourself sometimes to get action.

Lady backs into my car, then lies about it

Yesterday I was in a shopping center parking lot at Sunset and Green Valley Parkway in Henderson NV, or maybe it's Las Vegas...sometimes it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Anyway, after a great corned beef sandwich at Weiss Deli, I was waiting for oncoming traffic to pass so I could make a left turn onto the long driveway that exits onto Green Valley, my left turn clicker going, and me at a dead stop.

BANG! All of a sudden there was a little jolt. A woman had backed her car out of the space right into my car. Fortunately there wasn't much room for her to pick up steam, so the damage isn't too bad. I'm the orange rectangle, she's the green one.

Under normal circumstances we would have exchanged info, reported to the insurance companies, and that would be the end of it.

Not so. She said, "I'm sorry. I didn't see you." and I replied, "Well, I was standing still right behind your car." A normal exchange.

I asked for her driver's license and she proceeded to pull everything out of her purse...no driver's license. Then she gave me the number of a State Farm insurance policy in someone else's name, took a cell phone photo of it and emailed it to me. I didn't bother to look at it right then. Should have. She also gave me a passport number and I did see that card.

When I got home, I opened her email and saw that what she photographed was a temporary insurance card that expired in November and it wasn't in her name. Since I'm also insured with State Farm I called to make a report. Ooops. Yes, the insurance was in force. That was the good news, but more pertinent, the owner of the car had already called to report the accident and said he didn't want a claim filed. Excuse me. His car hit and damaged my car. No claim?

Well, the woman was not on his policy, so the question at this point is whether she was driving the car with his permission, which would make it covered. If not, she is individually responsible. Did she actually have a driver's license. Who knows? There is a law in Nevada about driving uninsured. She could be in lots of trouble.

But worse, she LIED. The adjuster said the account of the accident was based upon what she told the owner. Apparently she told him that she had already pulled out of the space and I was moving and hit her. Hmmm. I didn't know I had a car that could drive sideways, since that is the only way my damage could have been sustained. After it happened, she pulled back into the space slightly, and it's a good thing I took a cell phone photo just as my phone battery was dying. It's fuzzy, but tells the story. Check the position of the cars. The damage to the rear right side of my car is directly in line with the back of her car. Impossible for me to have hit her. So, I sent the photo and diagram to the insurance company.

Truthfully, I wouldn't have told the insurance company about her not being able to produce a driver's license. If everything was taken care of, that wasn't my problem. But now creating stress for me by lying and trying to put the blame on me, she is messing with the wrong person. Depending upon how this all works out and if my own insurance has to pay for the repair, I will report her to the DMV in writing for not being able to show a license and not being insured. If she has insurance for a car of her own, that should get a black mark. If not, well, time will tell, but I simply don't like liars. If DMV takes any action, they can trace her by her U.S. passport number. Whatever she gets, she deserves.