Coming this summer, Marnie Baranuik is at it again, this time out-witching dark witches in STIFF COMPETITION, the next Between The Files story. I meant it to be a shortie, but the story was demanding we have more fun, so technically, I think at this length it’s called a “novelette,” which sounds like there should be a lot more wine and kissing with tongue.  STIFF COMPETITION (or “Stiffy” as I like to call it) is heading to my long-suffering editor, Bossyboots McMeaniepants, for his punishment with the Red Pen Of Doom in June. Which is (*eep!*) next week! I guess I’d better figure out how it ends, eh? Heh Heh.

On a light note… I know that Marnie’s world has been a little rough lately. She’s taken us to some dark places. And by us, I mean all of us. To be honest, I consider myself a hapless bystander most of the time when writing Marnie; she’s a strong personality, and when I try to manipulate her, she usually shuts me down pretty hard until I make the story go the way she thinks it should go. You may be pleased to discover that she wants to be ridiculous again, though she will deny it. although Marnie considers herself Marnie 3-point-oh, her most recent follies prove that Original Marnie is lurking not so far below the surface, and book six in the series (Oh yeah, impromptu title reveal: *trumpet toodles* CINERARIUM) continues that exploration.

On a darker note, my first psychological thriller CLOSET FULL OF BONES launches Tuesday, May 30th, and I’m very proud of the way it turned out. I hope you’ll enjoy it as well. I am hard at work on wrapping Marnie’s next two projects, but I think after that, my winter project will be another thriller. We’ll see what happens during NaNoWriMo. I’ve got a pesky dentist making trouble in my brain and he may have a weird story of his own.

Onward and upward, my wacky friends!

Stuff I’ve Been Doing:

I’ve had a lot going on in the past few weeks that is soooooper exciting but also a lot of work. I went ahead and incorporated Pixiegrind Ink publishing, hired three new early readers, finished writing CLOSET FULL OF BONES, got an amazing cover done by the talented Dean Samed. CLOSET FULL OF BONES is now in edits, which makes me stress-eat all the things. The next Marnie Baranuik Between The Files story, STIFF COMPETITION, is almost finished as well.  Then I start work on the next mystery, LAST BITE, and book six of the Marnie Baranuik Files, which currently has no title. Boy howdy, it’s going to be a busy spring!

We also signed a contract for audio rights for TOUCHED, DEATH REJOICES, and LAST IMPRESSIONS with Tantor Media! ~Major perk~ I get to approve the narrator, and I’m really excited about it.

AND Pixiegrind Ink has hooked up with 16 Hand Marketing to bring all the paper goods to all the reader-type folks. Is that what we’re doing? That sounds suspiciously like book trafficking. (Is “book trafficking” a thing?)

Things I Have NOT Been Doing:

I have NOT been dicking around playing old video games for weeks on end. Especially not original Everquest, which is free to play on Steam. *ahem* Or I hear it is. I wouldn’t know, because I’m a serious corporate business woman now and I’m far too busy with… I dunno, writing off my morning Timmies? What am I supposed to be doing, here?

I have NOT been stress-eating like I said before. Nope. No sirree-Bob, I sure haven’t been buying chocolate bars in the check-out line at the grocery store, tearing into them in the car in the parking lot, and stealth-gobbling entire bars while pretending I’m still on my diet. Nope. Cuz that would be bad, and I’m a good girl. *slow grin*

Look forward to catching up with y’all soon. xo -AJ

Ah, winter. When the heart turns to ice, and the body shivers, and the joints aches and… oh, that’s hardly supporting my romance theme, here. Hrm. Lemme try again. *ahem* Winter! Cuddling by a fire! Snuggling up with hot, boozy beverages and smooshing your nether regions together in a desperate attempt to forget the fleeting, pointless misery that is life. There. Now you can’t tell me that wasn’t romantic. Made my heart flutter. Anyway, on to the contest!

Do you have a romantic pairing in the world of the Marnie Baranuik Files that doesn’t exist outside of your headcanon? We want to hear about it! We want to hear about why that pairing popped into your mind. (We are talking about ourselves in the first person plural for some reason! We’re not going to stop that! We find it amusing!) Share with me here or on the AJ Aalto Facebook page by January 1, 2017. One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the respondents on January 1st, and will receive a $25 Amazon gift card!

Here are my animals, Cookie and Esme, wondering why I will not share pizza. I am a mean, mean lady.

This is Truffles, judging me and my reading material.

This is Cookie, “helping” me write. Such a good helper.

Again, being oh-so-helpful, Cookie is guarding my work in case a wind gust were to snatch the pages away. Thanks, cat.