FROM MID-CENTURY MODERN TO PODCASTS TO AI, OH MY!

Today marks the release of Sorry, Knot Sorry, the thirteenth book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Lucky number thirteen for my author, not so lucky number thirteen for me because once again, author Lois Winston has wreaked havoc in my life with yet another dead body. This one, gunned down in front of my house. Right after the guy left my house! So, it’s not like I can shrug my shoulders and say there was no connection between the two of us.

Lois is a news junkie who likes to draw on current and newsworthy events when developing the plots for the books in the series about me. In Sorry, Knot Sorry she weaves together such disparate topics as podcasts, artificial intelligence, and the current trend for all things mid-century modern, including a nod to tie-dye and macramé. After all, this is a crafting cozy series.

 

Speaking of artificial intelligence, did you hear about my author’s experiment, using me as a guinea pig? When AI hit the news full force several months ago, worry began to mount among authors. Would they all become obsolete in the not-too-distant future? Lois decided to ask Chat GPT to create a novel for the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. She wanted to test just how intelligent this artificial intelligence is to see if her days as an author really were numbered.

 

Now keep in mind that you can find information about me, as well as the stories Lois has created about me, all over the Internet. A short synopsis of each book, along with the first chapter, are not only available on her website, but also on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Books-a-Million, Audible, and countless other e-tailers. You’d think with all that available information, Chat GPT would scan the Internet cosmos and come up with something that bore some resemblance to me, my family, and the world Lois has created for us.

 

Think again! The results were so off base that they were laughable. The not-so-intelligent artificial intelligence transformed Ralph, my African Grey parrot into my uncle. My mother’s Persian cat, Catherine the Great, morphed into my employee. Instead of working as the crafts editor at a women’s magazine, AI made me the owner of a knitting shop. Worst of all? There was absolutely nothing funny in any of the pages that AI had generated. Lois writes humorous amateur sleuth mysteries. I get through all she dumps on me by relying on my sense of humor. But apparently, this new technology lacks a funny bone and is both incapable of seeing humor or generating it.

 

This has turned out to be a good news/bad news situation. Good news for Lois because she now feels she can rest easier, knowing her career won’t be usurped by a bunch of algorithms anytime soon. Bad news for me, though, because Lois is already plotting how she can wreak more havoc in the life of this reluctant amateur sleuth for Book Fourteen. And you can be sure, there will be more dead bodies.

 

Sorry, Knot Sorry

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 13

 

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth. 

 

Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script.

 

Craft tips included.

 

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BOOKCLUB FRIDAY ON A MONDAY--MYSTERY AUTHOR E.J. COPPERMAN'S NEW SERIES

E.J. Copperman is the author of thirty mystery novels. He advises you can count them if you like, but you’d have to count the first six under another name. Among them have been the Haunted Guesthouse, Agent to the Paws, Mysterious Detective and Asperger’s Mysteries, a collaboration between both those names. Learn more about E.J. and his books at his website. Today he joins us to talk about his newest series, the Fran and Ken Stein Mysteries.

Creating Characters from Scratch

Some years ago – and by “some” I mean a lot – the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series was going strong and my publisher was interested in perhaps branching out a bit. (No, there aren’t going to be any more Guesthouse books and no, that wasn’t my idea.) Could I come up with something else that sort of touched on the paranormal without being, you know, scary?

 

Well, I wasn’t interested in frightening people so I started to think of things other than ghosts that could play into a mystery novel series. (My editor had been clear on one point: “NO ZOMBIES!” and I was more than okay with that.) Vampire detectives? It had been done. Werewolf detectives? Done. Invisible detectives? More than done. 

But one area of the Universal Pictures monster pantheon had not yet been written as a mystery series, in particular a traditional one without the horror theme, before. The idea struck me as perfect: Frankenstein, P.I.

 

Before you tune up and tell me Frankenstein was the scientist and not the creature, trust me, I know. But in this case, if the creation could be a person living in present times and in a familiar setting, there could be some fun to have with it. Suppose this was a descendant of the original creature, living generations later in New Jersey (I set everything in New Jersey in those days) and trying to solve crimes because his (the creature was male until Elsa Lanchester came along) ancestor had been so badly treated by the criminal justice system of his time. Suppose he had some mystery about his creation that he needed to solve over a series of books. Suppose I had a better idea than that.

 

I decided against the descendant thing. It was too complicated to figure out who the mother was, for one thing, because Elsa had been adamantly against such things. And I felt that over all that time, what made the creature special would have been diluted by genetics. Thawing him out from being frozen (which is closer to Mary Shelley) was a possibility but didn’t especially interest me.

 

But what if this creature was a woman? What if she was created outside the Frankenstein universe? What if…

 

Wait a minute. Frankenstein. Fran. Ken. Stein.

 

Suddenly I had a pair of siblings and that’s where it took off. Fran and Ken were (when the book opens) an adult brother-and-sister pair of investigators who had questions about how they were created, who the people were who created them (and to whom they refer as “our parents”) and why those people had abandoned them at an early age, reportedly due to concerns about the children’s security?

 

It took a while, but UKULELE OF DEATH, the first Fran and Ken Stein Mystery, was published on May 2, and it answers some, but not all, of the questions. The Steins have opened a detective agency that specializes in helping adopted people find their birth parents because Fran and Ken have some experience with growing up knowing very little of their lineage. When they stumble (or walk, more accurately) into a murder plot that seems to have something to do with their own situation, things get complicated in a hurry.

 

Years have gone by, but Fran and Ken are finally seeing the light of day. Their origin story is, let’s say, unique and their attitudes (not to mention their physical abilities) might be a little unusual as well. They know they’re different and they know why. But does that mean they’re not people?

 

It’s up to you to decide, but I’m glad you’re finally getting the chance. 

Ukulele of Death

A Fran and Ken Stein Mystery, Book 1

 

After losing their parents when they were just babies, private investigators Fran and Ken Stein now specialize in helping adoptees find their birth parents. So when a client asks them for help finding her father, with her only clue a rare ukulele, the case is a little weird, sure, but it’s nothing they can’t handle.

 

But soon Fran and her brother are plunged into a world where nothing makes sense – and not just the fact that a very short (but very cute) NYPD detective keeps trying to take eternal singleton Fran out on dates. 

 

All Fran wants to do is find the ukulele and collect their fee, but it’s hard to keep your focus when you’re stumbling over corpses and receiving messages that suggest your (dead) parents are very much alive.

 

Ukuleles aside, it’s becoming clear that someone knows something they shouldn’t – that Fran and Ken Stein weren’t so much born, as built . . .

 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AUTHOR KRIS BOCK ON HER NEW HUMOROUS MYSTERY SERIES

We’re happy to have a return visit from author Kris Bock who writes mystery, suspense, and romance, many with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Today Kris discusses the inspiration behind her new humorous Accidental Detective Series. Learn more about Kris and her books at her Website and Blog where you can also find links to her on other social media sites. Sign up for her newsletter to get a ten-page mystery short story set in the world of the Accidental Detective, information on the series, and three fun short stories originally written for children.

In the Accidental Detective Series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Something Shady at Sunshine Haven, the first book in the series, debuts April 7^th.

 

When patients are dying at an Alzheimer's unit, a former war correspondent must use her journalism skills to uncover the killer and save her mother. Kate has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world, but can she survive going home? 

 

What inspired the series?

For my Accidental Detective mysteries, I started with a character who is trying to reinvent her life as she turns fifty. She spent thirty years as a war correspondent, so she’s pretty fearless, but that doesn’t always help her with the challenges of aging. She’s dealing with elderly parents who have health problems, a resentful sister, her own lack of retirement planning, and a body that doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to. These challenges provide humor as she narrates her attempts to solve local mysteries and build a new life.

 

Why did you set the series in the Southwest?

I've been in New Mexico for more than twenty years, three times longer than I've lived anywhere else, so this is home. I live with my husband and our two ferrets in a small town, where I enjoy walking, hiking and archery.

 

I love New Mexico, but I wanted to set the mystery series in a big city. In Arizona, I could create a fictional city within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. That allows me to use this fictional city government for political issues, and make the mayor an old friend of Kate’s, without stepping on any real toes.

 

Arizona also provides tons of mystery opportunities. The large senior population attracts scams and abuse. You have the potential for arguments over inheritance (or even murders to get that inheritance sooner). The border with Mexico creates anxiety over immigration and various kinds of trafficking. Plus, you have all the usual potential crimes in any large population. I’ll be able to keep Kate busy for years.

 

How did your writing journey get you here?

Twenty years ago, I started writing for children, using the name Chris Eboch. I have eight middle grade novels (for ages 9 to 12) published under that name and I’ve been a ghostwriter for some popular children’s mystery series. I also write a lot of educational nonfiction and fiction. 

 

Around 2008, I was starting to feel restless and wanted a change. I had mostly been reading adult romantic suspense novels, so I started writing those under the name Kris Bock. Desert Gold follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found was inspired by finding the body of a murder victim while hiking in the woods. (Read about the whole experience of finding a dead body here.)

 

More recently, I started a sweet romance series set in and around a cat café. These cafés are a relatively recent trend, but you can now find several hundred all around the world. Typically, they partner with a shelter, so all the cats you can visit are available for adoption. In each of my Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series books, a couple falls in love and in addition one or more cats find their permanent homes.

 

So I have over 100 published books now, but that includes fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. The variety keeps me interested! I have four Accidental Detective novels written and scheduled for publication, and in the meantime, I'm writing a romance series about a ranch family that wins the lottery. It's a lot of fun.

 

Something Shady at Sunshine Haven

The Accidental Detective, Book 1

 

She’s pursued the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?

 

Injured in a bombing, war correspondent Kate Tessler returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age of nearly fifty despite living like a teenager again: staying in her childhood bedroom with only a cat for company, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into people who still refer to her as Kitty. The hardest part? Seeing her once-sharp and witty mother stuck in an Alzheimer’s unit.

 

When an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at the nursing home, Kate limps into action. Is a self-appointed “Angel of Mercy” killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit.

 

If Kate can’t uncover the truth quickly, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.

 

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MURDER MEETS MIRTH EVENT

Murder Meets Mirth--with Prizes!

Join Lois Winston, along with humorous mystery authors Jacqueline Vick and J. Michael Orenduff, on Tuesday November 30th at 5pm PST (6pm MST, 7pm CST, and 8pm EST) for an online discussion of funny mysteries and the launch of A Scaly Tail of Murder, Jacqueline Vick's fifth Frankie Chandler Pet Psychic Mystery. There will be prizes! Special guest moderator will be Kim Taylor Blakemore, author of the bestselling historical thriller After Alice Fell. This event will be held through Crowdcast, not Zoom. Register ahead of time here.

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AN INTERVIEW WITH HUMOROUS MYSTERY AUTHOR CINDY SAMPLE

Humorous mystery author Cindy Sample has stopped by for a visit from time to time, but she’s never sat down for an interview. Today that changes. Learn more about Cindy and her books at her website.    

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I discovered Nancy Drew in the first grade and by the time I turned eight, I’d read all of the series. So I decided to use my spelling words one night and dashed off a sixteen-page Nancy Drew sequel. I received an A+ and was hooked. I knew then I wanted to be a mystery author.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

It took half a century before my next mystery was completed. But technically, it took eight years to write Dying for a Date, the first book in my series, get an agent, then find a publisher.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

My first two books were released by a small publisher that closed shortly before the release of my third book. They gave me my rights back and I decided to try self-publishing which I ended up loving. I like being in control of every aspect of the publishing business, including not releasing a book until it’s ready.

Where do you write? 

I stand in front of my laptop which is perched on my kitchen counter. For some reason that works for me. Plus I convince myself that standing in place is a form of exercise. It’s also next to the pantry in case I need culinary inspiration.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I need complete silence. Music is too distracting because I tend to cha-cha around the house once the music begins.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular? 

My character is a single soccer mom at the beginning of the series so she occasionally contends with a few domestic scenes that I might also have encountered. And she is a complete klutz just like I am.

Describe your process for naming your character?

I came up with the name “Laurel” when I was visiting a botanical garden and her last name of “McKay” just magically appeared.

Real settings or fictional towns?

I live in the California Gold Country, a beautiful area with historic gold mines, wineries, and apple orchards, close to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I wanted to profile the town and some of my favorite places, and the town of Placerville loves the publicity.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Laurel thinks chocolate has medicinal powers.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

Ditto!

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

The Husband’s Secret or Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. Both are brilliant – suspenseful but also witty.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves? Chocolate, chardonnay and my Kindle

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Typing card catalog cards for three hours every afternoon during college. That had to be the worst library job ever.

Ocean or mountains?

Tough call.  It’s a tie!

City girl/guy or country girl/guy? 

Complete country girl. I grew up on a farm in Illinois.

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m currently two-thirds through chemotherapy (yay) so once chemo brain has dissipated I’ll be working on another Laurel McKay mystery. I’d also like to put together a book filled with brief cancer survivor essays that will be heartwarming, helpful and/or humorous. The positive stories I’ve heard from other authors and non-writers really helped me get through this onerous period, and I’d like to be able to share the positivity with others fighting the same battle.

Dying For a Deal

A Laurel McKay Mystery, Book 7

Laurel McKay Hunter is thrilled when she signs up her first client, a friend of her grandmother, for Gold County Investigations, the detective agency she and her husband have recently formed. The case involves a South Lake Tahoe timeshare scam, which is perfect for Laurel, given her financial background.

When the timeshare salesman is found dead, with her grandmother’s fingerprints on the murder weapon, Laurel adds solving the murder to her caseload.

When a second murder occurs, Laurel discovers that this case could have greater depths than the turbulent waters of Lake Tahoe. From the summit of snow-capped Heavenly Valley, a boat race across the lake, and an unexpected dumpster dive, Laurel is determined to catch the killer.

Unfortunately, the killer is willing to stop at nothing. Including eliminating Laurel!

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FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS--GUEST AUTHOR TERRY SHAMES

Critically acclaimed, award-winning author Terry Shames writes the bestselling Samuel Craddock series, set in small-town Texas. Her most recent release is a prequel to the series. Learn more about Terry and her books at her website.

Favorites

This is a great time of year to give a shout-out to favorites. I am going to list my favorite bookstores and books of the year, because they are what sustains readers when everything not-so-favorite is happening.

My favorite bookstores, and why I chose them:

Mrs. Dalloway’s Art and Garden Center, Berkeley. This is my “local.” If it were a pub, I’d have my own stool with my name on it and the bartender wouldn’t have to ask for my order. It has a wonderful, welcoming feel to it and the customers are book-lovers who will engage readily in conversation.

Borderlands, San Francisco. Specializing in sci-fi and mystery. You will never find a bookstore more supportive of writers.

BookPeople, Austin, TX. My home away from home. Scott Montgomery, the mystery section honcho, has probably sold more of my books than any other bookseller. He is also a writer, so he understands the struggles writers have to promote their books, so when he finds a book he likes, he makes a huge fuss over it.

Book Carnival (Orange, CA) and Clues Unlimited (Tucson, AZ)— A couple of months before a book comes out, both Anne and Chris contact me to say, “When are you coming? Let’s get it set up now!” It makes me feel special. I know I’m not the only author they do that for, but it feels that way.

Favorite books? I am an eclectic reader. I will try anything. I may not finish if I don’t like it, but I have been happily surprised by books that I thought were out of my interest range.

Mystery? Not exactly

Liane Moriarity’s books are not necessarily mysteries, but as with so much good fiction, there is a mystery at the heart of each book. Big Little Lies completely captivated me. Moriarity is a writer who isn’t satisfied with an easy ending, which I appreciate.

Sci-fi

The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber. Rich and satisfying. As you peal the onion of the story, you get philosophy, humor, religion, psychology, and a dynamite plot.

Underground Airline, Ben H. Winters. This is a serious “alternate history” book. After Winter’s Last Policeman trilogy, this shows that his imagination is boundless.

Mystery

Gun Street Girl, the fourth in Adrian McKinty’s “trilogy” will break your heart, make you laugh, and make you wish you could write characters as well as McKinty does.

Lamentation, Joe Clifford. I loved this book. About losers who struggle not to be losers when it seems to be their destiny.

Fields Where They Lay, Tim Hallinan. One of my favorite authors. This is in the Junior Bender series—the philosophical thief, hired to catch thieves at Christmas.

Literary Fiction

My Name is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Stroud. Not much needs to be said since this is on just about everyone’s “best of” list. But everyone is right.

Pleasantville, Attica Locke. Winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction. It is a mystery, but so, so much more.

Mystery of sorts

Dead is Better by Jo Perry. One of the most imaginative books I’ve read in a while. Really short and really satisfying.

Thrillers

Descent, Tim Johnson—It’s breathtaking, well written, and compelling. About family and courage.

The Drifter, Nicholas Petrie. Great writing, compelling characters, relevant to contemporary life. Action scenes were totally believable, a rarity in thrillers.

Humorous Mystery

The Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn is funny without being precious. Paw and Order does not disappoint. Quinn has an uncanny ability to imagine what a dog is thinking.

Hope everyone has a terrific 2017. Visit bookstores, and read on!

An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock

A Samuel Craddock Mystery

When the Jarrett Creek Fire Department is called to douse a blaze on the outskirts of town, they discover a grisly scene: five black young people have been murdered. Newly elected Chief of Police Samuel Craddock, just back from a stint in the Air Force, finds himself an outsider in the investigation headed by the Texas Highway Patrol. He takes an immediate dislike to John Sutherland, a racist trooper

Craddock’s fears are realized when Sutherland arrests Truly Bennett, a young black man whom Craddock knows and respects. Sutherland cites dubious evidence that points to Bennett, and Craddock uncovers facts leading in another direction. When Sutherland refuses to relent, Craddock is faced with a choice that will define him as a lawman—either let the highway patrol have its way, or take on a separate investigation himself.

Although his choice to investigate puts both Craddock and his family in danger, he perseveres. In the process, he learns something about himself and the limits of law enforcement in Jarrett Creek.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR CATHY STRASSER

Cathy Strasser’s short stories have been published in several anthologies, and one of them, “Afterward,” was a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her debut novel, An Uncertain Grave, is a humorous hiking mystery set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Learn more about Cathy and her writing at her website. 

Writing Process – Ideas for books

How does an author get an idea for a book? I think if you ask a dozen different authors you’d get a dozen different answers. I’ve heard people say they take ideas from their family histories, overheard conversations, newspaper headlines and even dreams. In my book, An Uncertain Grave, I started with just two words: colossal ineptitude.

I love words. I have fun playing with them in different combinations, playing with alliteration, putting together catchy phrases, basic writer type stuff. When I make a phrase I like, I write it down in a notebook and save it for the future, like a musician might save a series of notes that has the potential to grow into a song.

“Colossal ineptitude” was one of those phrases. I liked the way it sounded when I said it, and I liked the way it started to paint a picture in my mind. If I applied that phrase to a person, what would he/she be like? They’d be a bumbler, someone who never seemed to do anything right. It would be more than just clumsiness; they would have to perform poorly in most things they tried, but in order to be colossal they’d have to try many things. Therefore, they wouldn’t realize they were inept; they would have the illusion that they were acing an activity.

What would sustain that conviction? Equipment. Lots of shiny new gadgets. Heaps of high tech gear and the most advanced tools and tackle. Sport specific clothing and footwear that branded you as a participant. Now one of my main characters was taking shape. An inexperienced guy who felt he knew it all because he’d bought all the coolest stuff. He would be a hiker. Someone who felt buying the best paraphernalia would propel him up any mountain he wanted to climb.

So what was this guy going to do? He was going to prove he was more show than go, and then completely fall apart when faced with a real crisis – finding a body.

Now that I had my first character, I needed a counterweight. Someone with the opposite characteristics to provide conflict. Who better than a pair of experienced State Troopers? Excellent. I put them all on a mountain and let them interact. The first couple of chapters were fun, but I could see that just emphasizing the ineptitude wouldn’t be enough to sustain an entire book. I needed another main character.

I decided to add in a newspaper reporter, someone who also felt he knew it all, and in most cases, actually did. All these characters would be competing to discover the identity of the body found on the mountain, and would be guaranteed to get on each other’s nerves. Excellent, plenty of conflict and plenty of opportunity for snappy dialogue. I added a few ancillary characters for local color, and I had the ingredients for an engaging book. All from a simple phrase!

An Uncertain Grave

A stray hiker reports finding a partially decomposed body on Mt Lafayette in the “North Country” –  the top third of New Hampshire around the Franconia Notch –  where the rugged terrain and sparse population provides the space and isolation to keep any number of secrets. Cliff Codey and Mike Eldrich, New Hampshire State Troopers with the Investigative Services Bureau, set out to solve the case in spite of the weather, reticent locals, and a bored, nosy New York reporter and his ambitious girlfriend who compete with the troopers to discover the victim’s identity.  As the investigation widens, both teams contend with a variety of local residents who have secrets they don’t wish to share. A shadow from Cliff’s past soon intrudes on the current investigation, complicating matters further. All these threads combine as the killer prepares to take action to keep his secret and himself safe.

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AN ANASTASIA POLLACK CRAFTING MINI-MYSTERY

We don’t usually post on Saturdays, but author Lois Winston has sent me on another adventure, and this baby is hot off the cyber-presses. Did you notice the new cover over on the right sidebar? Crewel Intentions is an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery. For those of you anxiously awaiting next month’s release of Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, think of it as a little appetizer to tide you over while you await the main course.

In this short story addition to the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series about moi, I receive a desperate phone call from former American Woman fashion editor Erica Milano. You remember Erica, don’t you? She was fashion editor Marlys Vandenberg’s assistant in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun and took over as fashion editor when my glue gun dispatched Marlys to that big catwalk in the sky.

Erica is now in Witness Protection and living under a new identity in Western Pennsylvania. But someone is stalking her, and she has compelling reasons why she can’t go to the police or notify her Witsec handlers. I’m the only person she can trust to help her (lucky me!) and she knows I won’t let her down. After all, she once saved my life.

But will I be able to return the favor before the stalker strikes?

Want a nibble? There’s an excerpt on Lois’s website.

Crewel Intentions is available as an ebook only from Amazon right now. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow it for free. Otherwise, it’s a mere $1.99.

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