Taking a Break

With my blog tour and two great bookstore events, I've been talking about myself and Avoidable Contact for two weeks straight, so I'm going to shut up for a few days!

But before I go quiet, just a little bit of recap...

Saturday, I was down in San Diego at the fantastic Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, sharing an event with my fellow Poisoned Pen Press author, Ken Kuhlken. We had a great turnout, thanks to my San Diego friends and family who turned out to tailgate (yes, really) before the event and then stayed to hear me and Ken talking about writing.

Thanks also to surprise guests Barb and Mary, all the way from Scottsdale, AZ! (Call it the "San Diego 350"?!)


In other news, my "two weeks of promotion" wrapped up on Saturday with a couple last posts:

• A post from Kate herself, about her visit to the Indy 500--and her plans to get there in the future.
• A thorough and thoughtful review from my favorite racing blogger, Pressdog.

I still have a couple guest-blog spots coming in the next few weeks, as well as at least one more bookstore event (a big Poisoned Pen Press party in Scottsdale next month). Thanks for reading along!

Weekly Tour Roundup

The second week of Avoidable Contact means more blog stops and more chances to win a copy of Dead Man's Switch!

(It's almost over, I promise. Seriously, I'm tired of talking about myself so much!)

Fresh today! A thorough and interesting interview with Omnimystery News, including my 140-character summary of Avoidable Contact.

A review and a giveaway at Fundinmental, by a NASCAR fan. 

A review and a giveaway at the Community Bookstop, where the reviewer notes, "This book was fabulous and such a difference from many cozy mysteries nowadays."

A review and blog post on Michele Lynn Seigfreid's blog, where I'm talking about a decade of change. Can you believe it's been 10 years since I first went to a race?!

Another peek inside my mind—or at least at my writing space—in a Q&A at Brooke Blogs.

Rhonda at Readalot blog (like that name) gives Avoidable Contact four stars and says I even made her want to watch a race to see if there's really that much drama!

Another interview at Deal Sharing Aunt in which I'm asked if I "have to" travel to research the books. It's a chore, you know....

Over at A Blue Million Books, I'm asking (and answering) the question ... should we be writing what we know? (Hint: I say no.)

One of my favorite quotes comes from Mystery Playground's review: "Whether you’re an actual race car driver, or you just play one at the mall, this book is a fun read."

In my interview posted at Cicero's Children, I talk about sidekicks, beta readers (are those the same thing?), and racing school.

A review from Mommasez, including this gem about Kate, "She's definitely the epitome of a strong female heroine and she's likeable to boot."

And almost the last blog post on my tour: at Back Porchervations I'm confessing that I sometimes ask that question, too. You know, the question that authors don't know how to answer: how the heck do you come up with that stuff? 

I've got one more of each kind of post remaining in my tour: an interview, a review, and a blog post—but this blog post has a twist: it's written by Kate! Stay tuned, and find me on Facebook or Twitter for more.

Blog Tour Off and Running

With the launch of Avoidable Contact, I've embarked on a virtual tour. It's also time for a lot of different reviews to show up. Here's a round-up of the news and my blog visits so far!

A look at what I'm reading (or what I was reading a week ago...) on Writers Read.

A great review from Publisher's Weekly, including my cover quote, "as exciting as a spin around the speedway."

A review in the Oswego Patch from a non-race fan who found the racing scenes "fast paced and nail biting."

A mention in the weekly roundup of BOLO Books.

The Page 69 Test about how indicative page 69 of Avoidable Contact is of the rest of the book (answer: very!).

An interview and a giveaway of Dead Man's Switch with Shelley of Shelley's Book Case (who's also a racing fan!).

A short post on Lucienne Diver's Drivel about my not-so-secret reason for writing about Kate Reilly.

Amy from the Bad Groove blog, says Avoidable Contact has "moved into first place" as her favorite Kate Reilly Racing Mystery, in her #NASCAR Reading List review. (Yeah, Amy knows it's not NASCAR, but it's her blog.)

An interview with IndyCarUK, a fan of American open-wheel racing living in the UK.

More to come, stay tuned! And connect with me on Facebook or Twitter for more.

Release Week Blogging

It's release week! In addition to visiting a few blogs this week, I've also been mentioned in a few lovely reviews. All the links below!

BLOGS

At Jungle Red Writers (today!) I'm Confessing MyReality TV Addiction.

Over on the Nice Girls Don't Read Naughty Books blog, I'm talking about how Kate and I are similar and different in Kate Reilly and Me.

On the Poisoned Pen Press authors' blog, I'm talking about the wonders of social media and Tweeting My Way to Readers.

On Two For The Road, the blog I share with my friend Simon Wood, I'm sharing the videos of racing laps I studied over and over (and over and over and over...) while writing Braking Points: Racing in Braking Points.

And on Shelf Pleasures, I'm sharing what's on my nightstand, photo included (scroll down, I'm the third author there), in Nightstand: the Second Book'd in Burbank Edition.

REVIEWS

The Corvette Blogger shared my book with his readers, saying, "At Road Atlanta, Kate once again proves she belongs in the driver’s seat, with Kaehler expertly taking the reader into the mind of a race car driver doing 140 mph on the backstretch of the Braselton, GA race track." (I just love that quote!)
Book Review: Tammy Kaehler's Braking Points

My new best friend (poor guy), Pressdog, wrote an amazing review of both books for his well-loved site, saying "Kaehler’s work is smooth and sleek at the sentence level. As a fan of both well written mystery and car racing, I found her books an excellent combination of the two that held my attention throughout."  
Kaehler Strikes the Right Balance in Entertaining Reilly Mysteries

Pressdog also did me the honor of naming me his 25th Woman of Pressdog®, and he wrote the most wonderful profile of me I've ever read. I couldn't write it half so well.  
Tammy Kaehler Gives Readers Racing's Ultimate Backstage Pass

Finally, Braking Points was reviewed on CriminalElement.com, and included this gem: "Reilly is a likeable character. She’s not perfect, but her flaws humanize her, which contrasts nicely with the public image put forth by the drivers and their publicity teams throughout the book. It’s a terrific balance of the media image versus the private people behind them – a balance that seems to be bleeding into more professions than ever these days." 
Fresh Meat: Braking Points by Tammy Kaehler

More Guest Blogs to Visit ...

Things are still crazy in my life, as I prepare for three separate events this weekend (starting tonight!) to celebrate my release. It's a good kind of chaos, I keep reminding myself. In the meantime, I'm on a couple other great blogs....

Poe's Deadly Daughters: Racing Into the Mystery World

Suspense Your Disbelief: My Made It Moment

Hope you'll stop by!

Guest Blogging Today

Today I've got a guest blog post up at the fun Buried Under Books blog, all about how I wear the sportsfan-pants in my family....

http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2011/07/26/wearing-the-sportsfan-pants-in-my-family/