A new thing: Starting today, Bedlam Book Sales.

We will offer books we love to blog readers for sale.

We want to make money but also like to give our readers a break. The books – signed if you wish –  will be sold to blog readers in the United States for $10 plus $5 shipping. You can buy one by first e-mailing Maria at [email protected].

When we have books to sell – we have a lot – we’ll offer them five at a time, announcing the sales on both blogs. Maria will administer the program and handle the sales and shipping; I would be a disaster. We will post updates on each of our blogs when new books are offered on sale.

But we are doing this together.

If you see a book you want,  e-mail her (not me) at [email protected] and say the book you wish to buy and the way you would like to pay – Paypal, Venmo, or by check to our P.O. Box, Maria  P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, New York, 12816. All sales are final, with no returns. One or two books have been bookmarked and had a page corner turned down to keep a place.

Once the book is paid for, it will be sent out soon. If you want a book signed by either one of us, ask.

Don’t buy anything without getting the go-ahead from Maria.

Books have always been sacred to me; I haunted libraries when I was young, and when I earned money, I went to bookstores. I love everything about bookstores, and I love all kinds of books. I love mysteries, novels, history books, spiritual books, and books relating to female writers and themes for Maria and me.

As a book writer, I’ve always believed that buying hardcover books is the best way to support other writers.

Maria is as rabid a reader as I am; we both read constantly.

I prefer hardcover books, and I can’t wait for library books to become available when I get the itch.

I get a lot of itches.

So does Maria; we are both eclectic readers; we like and read all kinds of books, take great care of them, and almost all are as good, neat, and clean as new. We’ve been donating books to the local library for years, but it’s a small library, and they can’t handle us anymore. We also love the idea of getting some reimbursement.

It’s also time for me to stop acting like a big shot; having these good-as-new books gather dust for months or years is silly.

If you’re interested in a book, you can look up book reviews online or read Amazon reviews. We only sell books we like and have read if that means anything.

The first batch is an exciting mix. (I’m big on novels and fiction; Maria can speak for herself.

As always, the social media wasps struck immediately, accusing me of ignoring libraries and wasting money on bookstores. Yuk. I know I have a lot of readers who love books, and the books are current and much less expensive than buying them outright. The mind is fascinating; I expect outrage and criticism for anything I do or write. We love this book idea.

I don’t have the time or space to describe the books in detail; people should do their homework and follow their instincts. Mostly, I delete, but the devil in me whispers in my ear to strike back occasionally, which is sometimes satisfying. I buy new books and read them carefully and respectfully. Books are sacred to me.

Glory Be is a terrific new mystery series with a beautiful heroine character named Glory Be, a feisty old Southerner. The Bee Sting is a much-praised (and long) book about a family after Ireland’s recession; Blood Sisters is a chilling story about a Native American Indian Agent fighting to find her missing sister and discover who is kidnapping young women in a reservation.

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Women is a charming story of courageous women in the 1880s who risk everything to help liberate persecuted women; the Secret Life Of John LeCarre lifts the lid on John LeCarre’s personal life, which was just as wild and conspiratorial and devious as his Russian spies,  Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, the compelling – charming –  story about a remarkable Chinese doctor living in 1511.

I’ll be offering new mystery writers, promising new novelists, and, from time to time, some of the spiritual books I have been reading and writing about. Maria has her interests and will describe them on her blog.

Each of these books is $10 plus $5 shipping, a sharp markdown from the cost. We are working to raise money for some expensive repairs to our septic and plumbing system, damaged by the endless rains.  We also like selling these new books cheaply to those who support us.

This feels good to us, and since I hear from book readers who follow the blog all the time, this might be good for everyone. I was looking at the bookstocks the other day, and it hit me that there is a lot of money in those stacks, and I am no longer a best-selling author getting big checks from a publisher. Like everyone else, I need to embrace reality and plan.

If you want to buy any of these books, e-mail Maria at maria@fullmoonfiberart. And tell us how you plan on paying. Please don’t buy anything without contacting Maria and ensuring you are the first buyer; we want this to be easy and efficient for both sides.

We’re ready when you are; this is exciting, hopefully fun, and a great use of the many books stacked all over our house. As soon as the books are sold, if they are sold, we’ll offer some new ones. I’m very proud of our list.