Talk about the icing on the cake!

This week Gayle Trent’s MURDER TAKES THE CAKE mystery series relaunches with a new personality for traditional print copies (Pocket Books, New York) AND a revised ebook novel (available only from Bell Bridge Books.)

 Check it out here:  AMAZON.COM

How Many Are You Up Against?

 Murder Takes the Cake has been on a long and winding journey, and now it feels like here we are back at home. The book was originally turned down by New York publishers—I imagine they felt the Southern flavor wouldn’t set that well on the nation’s (or world’s) palate as a whole.

Then good things began to happen: my friend Deborah Smith e-mailed to ask if I knew any authors with some good Southern fiction to offer BelleBooks’ new imprint. I said “me” and sent her the manuscript. The book was accepted, and the editing and publishing process began.

Having dabbled in publishing, I knew the importance of author marketing. I also knew I needed to reach my niche markets—cozy mystery readers and cake decorators. It was in cold calling some of the latter that I spoke with a woman who said, “You need to talk with my friend Kerry Vincent!” As has been the serendipitous case with Murder Takes the Cake, one thing led to another, and Ms. Vincent invited me to come to Oklahoma for the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show.

And that, dear ones, brings me (pretty much) to the title of this post.

During a visit with my in-laws prior to the sugar art show, my husband mentioned where I was going. Later my father-in-law and I were sitting on the front porch alone. Roy was a man of few words, so we weren’t talking much…just rocking, enjoying the breeze, and watching the humming birds flit back and forth from the trees to the feeders.

Suddenly, Roy blurted, “So, how many are you up against?”

It took me a second to get the gist of his question. He’d seen my decorated cakes—I’d made him a birthday cake just a few months prior. Trust me. I’m not ready for a Food Network Cake Challenge by any stretch of the imagination.

I laughed. “I’m just going to visit, Papaw Roy, not compete.”

Papaw Roy is gone now, and that is one of my fondest memories of him. He’d thought I was going to Oklahoma to compete in a cake decorating contest, and he was getting ready to give me a pep talk. It never entered his mind that I wasn’t that good.

“How many are you up against?” is such a loaded question, isn’t it? We’re all up against the competi

(Not Gayle Trent, although Gayle also has a charming smile and frequently bakes.)

tion, and the crowd appears to grow larger every day…especially in the seemingly-shrinking book market. The key is to find someone who believes in you. Deb and the rest of Bell Bridge believed in Murder Takes the Cake. After it became a hit on Kindle, it garnered the attention of New York, and we were able to negotiate a deal that benefits all of us.

So look around and find that person who believes in you. And if you don’t see anyone around you, look up. God has believed in you from the beginning.

(This is Gayle Trent.)