Hello. Thanks for taking time to visit my website. It's a work in progress as I strive to improve my technology skills, so please bear with me. You might want to visit often- if nothing else you might get a good laugh at my mistakes.

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For first-time visitors, I'm Jodi Casstevens-Short, an author from Central Illinois. Encouraged by my mom to write down the elaborate stories I told her as a child, I've been creating fiction since I was 7. As the youngest of three, I was often left to my own devices as my older siblings went off with friends to do things I was deemed too young for. Armed with my books and my imagination, the characters in those stories became my fictional friends.​ Don't feel bad for me-I made real friends too-but sometimes they had to do their homework or eat dinner. My fictional friends were always there no matter what. 

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I was an elementary school teacher for 35 years, and the majority of those years were spent with second and third graders. My favorite time of the day was reading  aloud to my class. I shared the books of Roald Dahl, E.B. White and MadeleineL'Engle, to name a few. I loved teaching my students how to write their own stories for others to enjoy. Okay, I loved teaching math too, but that doesn't seem to apply here. 

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I'd always dreamed of becoming a published author and seeing my books on the shelves of libraries and bookstores. As retirement loomed, I began writing more and more. Characters and plot lines danced in my head at night, often keeping me from falling asleep. A particular story spoke to me, and after much soul-searching, I determined this would be the one I would write. Murdered by the Books was born.

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Five months of writing followed by five years of editing, searching for an agent or publisher, and editing again was the long road I traveled. This was to be the first book in a cozy mystery series, and you can't call it a series if there's only one book. I wrote Book Two-Murdered by the Blooms, while querying the first one. Two contracts that fell apart, many sleepless nights, much self-doubt, and the support of my friends and family got me  to that fateful Saturday in April, 2023. I met with the CEO and owner of Elk Lake Publishing via Zoom to pitch my novel. She asked for a book proposal which I had no idea how to write. Google became my new best friend. Working 36 hours straight, I created a thirty-seven page proposal that I prayed would get me a book deal. I hit send on the email, then hoped for the best.

 

I don't know how fast most people can read and comprehend thirty-seven pages of overview, genre, target audience, author bio, competitive works, purpose and need, book promotion, marketing, and sample chapters; but this wonderful woman was quick. By late Monday evening (the same day I sent the proposal), she sent me an email with the offer of a contract. I cried. Then screamed. Cried again. Read the contract. Signed the contract. Cried some more.

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The rest is her-story (see what I did there). My first novel, Murdered by the Books, was released on April 30, 2024. The second book in this series, Murdered by the Blooms is coming in June of 2025. 

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If you'd like to follow along on my writing journey, I'd love for you to subscribe to my website (it's free) and keep coming back for book updates, book teasers, and much, much more. You can also help this new author by following me on social media and leaving a kind review either on Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, or all three if you're so inclined. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated.

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Thanks for stopping by-hope to see you again and again and again.....

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           Jodi 

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