Elena Hartwell's Blog, page 29
December 13, 2023
Win eBooks For the Holidays!
Win eBooks for the holidays!
Three More Days to Enter to Win eBooks!Click the link here to discover more new titles.
Author & EBook Info + Author Pet Wall!
To enter to win eBooks, email: authorbookgiveaway@gmail.com *The EBooks!A Cajun Christmas Killing
The third recipe-stuffed installment in the Cajun Country cozy mystery series is a “fun and heartwarming . . . holiday treat that will keep you guessing until the end” (San Francisco Book Review).
Louisiana B&B owner Maggie Crozat joins forces with her longtime enemy to prevent a murderous Grinch from ruining Christmas.
Maggie Crozat is back home in bayou country during the most magical time of the year. In Pelican, Louisiana, Christmastime is a season of giant bonfires on the levee, zydeco carols, and pots of gumbo. Except, this year, the Grinch has come to stay at the family-run Crozat Plantation B&B. When he floods travel websites with vicious reviews, Maggie thinks she’s identified him as rival businessman Donald Baxter. That is, until he’s found stabbed to death at Maggie’s workplace. And Maggie and her loved ones become top suspects.
The Crozats quickly establish alibis, but Maggie’s boyfriend, Detective Bo Durand, remains under suspicion. With Bo sidelined during the investigation, Maggie finds herself forced to work with an unlikely ally: longtime family enemy Rufus Durand. Her sleuthing uncovers more suspects than drummers drumming, and lands her in the crosshairs of the murderer.
The sleigh bells are jingling, and the clock is ticking for Maggie and Rufus, who must catch the killer—or it will be the opposite of a Joyeux Noël.
Can’t wait? To purchase A Cajun Christmas Killing, click any of the following links: Amazon & Barnes & Noble,Murder in PostscriptWhen one of her readers asks for advice following a suspected murder, Victorian countess Amelia Amesbury, who secretly pens the popular Lady Agony column, has no choice but to investigate in this first book in a charming new historical mystery series.
Amelia Amesbury—widow, mother, and countess—has a secret. Amelia writes for a London penny paper, doling out advice on fashion, relationships, and manners under the pen name Lady Agony.
But when a lady’s maid writes Amelia to ask for advice when she believes her mistress has been murdered—and then ends up a victim herself—Amelia is determined to solve the case.
With the help of her best friend and a handsome marquis, Amelia begins to piece together the puzzle, but as each new thread of inquiry ends with a different suspect, the investigation grows ever more daunting. From London’s docks and ballrooms to grand country houses, Amelia tracks a killer, putting her reputation—and her life—on the line.
Can’t wait? To purchase Murder in Postscript, click any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, IndieBound & AudibleMurder on Mistletoe LaneEx-pat Stella and British aristocrat Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst are thrilled to celebrate their first Christmas together as Morrington Hall comes alive with caroling, intricate decorations . . . and a deadly murder.
Taking on the responsibilities that come with being Lady Lyndhurst, Stella is eager to embrace yuletide traditions in the Edwardian English countryside and use her strong social influence for good. Her world becomes so consumed with starting a horse farm charity for the holidays that she barely notices the usual oddities attached to her upper-crust lifestyle. At least, not until items vanish from her bedroom and maligned housekeeper, Mrs. Nelson, becomes seriously ill—only to be found dead in the cold on Mistletoe Lane . . .
Cheery spirits are dashed following the sudden death, especially once Stella questions whether her own staff knows what—or who—killed the woman. Her suspicions mount when another person dies under strange circumstances during New Forest’s annual Point‑to‑Point Boxing Day race. Then there’s the case of Morrington Hall becoming plagued by false identities, secret affairs, and disgruntled employees . . .
Now, with two murders unfolding before their eyes in late December, Stella and Lyndy realize they can’t fully trust anyone except for themselves while investigating. Because as disturbing answers come into focus, identifying the criminal responsible and surviving into the new year would be the greatest gift of the season . . .
Can’t wait? To purchase Murder on Mistletoe Lane, click any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org & Hudson BooksellersOne Dead, Two to GoThis mystery featuring a crime-fighting mother-daughter duo is “smart, page-turning fun, with the most feisty and likable P.I. since Kinsey Millhone” (Deb Caletti, National Book Award finalist).
When private investigator Edwina “Eddie Shoes” isn’t fending off surprise visits from her troublemaking mother, she’s spying on cheating husbands, hoping to land hefty divorce settlements for their heartbroken wives. But when the latest mistress Eddie captures on film dies—and Eddie realizes she’s the last person who saw the woman alive—things begin to take a twisted turn.
It doesn’t help that the detective on the case is her ex, Chance Parker, who’s none too happy with the way Eddie left things between them. So when Eddie’s mom, Chava, unexpectedly shows up on her doorstep, Eddie’s actually glad to see her for a change. Because there’s no one better acquainted with the criminal mind than her card-shark of a mother.
And now that Eddie’s in deep with the dangerous crowd, she’s going to need all the help she can get . . .
Can’t wait? To purchase One Dead, Two to Go, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barns & Noble, Apple Books, Google & KOBOWith Option to KillYou can choose your friends, but you sure can’t choose your relatives.
It’s been a busy year for real estate agent Cindy York. She’s excited to be making a killing at selling houses and in the middle of planning a surprise 50th birthday party for her husband, Greg.
If this wasn’t enough to deal with, Greg’s younger sister Annette, who’s been estranged from the family for 20 years, makes an unexpected visit to celebrate the event. Annette asks Cindy for help finding a house to rent.
She claims she wants to get to know her loved ones again, but Cindy suspects the woman is hiding something.
When Annette’s troubled past catches up with her in a hurry and leaves an innocent bystander dead, Cindy must step in and find a killer. If Cindy can’t close this deal quickly, someone she loves will pay the ultimate price.
Can’t wait? To purchase With Option to Kill, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, & KOBOEnter to win eBooks! Just email: authorbookgiveaway@gmail.com *The Authors of the eBooksCatherine Bruns, With Option to Kill
USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns lives in Upstate New York with a male dominated household that consists of her very patient husband, three sons, and assorted cats and dogs.
She has wanted to be a writer since the age of eight when she wrote her own version of Cinderella (fortunately Disney never sued).
Catherine holds a B.A. in English and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Catherine is represented by Nikki Terpilowski of Holloway Literary. For endorsements, please contact Nikki at nikki@hollowayliterary.com.
To learn more about Cathrine, click any of the following links: Website, Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads & BookBubEllen Byron, A Cajun Christmas Killing
Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief, her first Vintage Cookbook Mystery, won the Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Award and was nominated for Agatha and Anthony awards. She also writes the Catering Hall Mysteries (under the name Maria DiRico) and will soon debut a new series, the Golden Motel Mysteries.
Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.
An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, Ellen blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America, is a member of Sisters in Crime. and serves on the national board for Mystery Writers of America. A native New Yorker, she lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and a rotating crew of rescue pups.
To learn more about Ellen, click on any of the following links: Website, Newsletter, Facebook, Facebook (Catering Hall Mysteries), Instagram, BookBub, BookBub (Maria DiRico), Goodreads & Goodreads (Maria DiRico)Elena Hartwell, One Dead, Two to Go
CREDIT MARK PERLSTEINElena Hartwell spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning her storytelling skills to fiction. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo.
With All We Buried, (written under Elena Taylor) Elena returns to her dramatic roots and brings readers a much more serious and atmospheric novel. Located in her beloved Washington State, Elena uses her connection to the environment to produce a forbidding story of small town secrets and things that won’t stay buried.Elena is also a senior editor with Allegory Editing, a developmental editing house, where she works one-on-one with writers to shape and polish manuscripts, short stories, and plays. If you’d like to work with Elena, visit www.allegoryediting.com.
Her favorite place to be is at Paradise, the property she and her hubby own south of Spokane, Washington. They live with their horses, Jasper, Radar, and Diggy, their dogs, Polar and Wyatt, and their cats, Coal Train and Cocoa.To learn more about Elena, click on any of the following links: Website, Newsletter, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, BookBub & GoodreadsClara McKenna, Murder on Mistletoe Lane
Clara writes the acclaimed historical cozy Stella & Lyndy Mystery series, about an unlikely couple who mix love, murder and horse racing in Edwardian England. MURDER AT MORRINGTON HALL kicks off series. MURDER AT KEYHAVEN CASTLE, the third book in the series, was selected as a Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choice and voted one the BEST cozy mysteries of 2021 by SUSPENSE MAGAZINE. Her latest release, MURDER ON MISTLETOE LANE, captures Christmas at the turn of the last century.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the founding member of Sleuths in Time, a cooperative group of historical mystery writers who encourage and promote each other’s work.
With an incurable case of wanderlust, she travels every chance she gets, the UK being a favorite destination. When she can’t get to the UK, she’s happy to write about it from her home in Iowa.
To learn more about Clara, click any of the following links: Website, Facebook, Instagram, & BookBubMary Winters, Murder in Postscript
© Julie Prairie Photography 2016A longtime reader of historical fiction, Mary set her latest works in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Look for the second book in the Lady of Letters mysteries, Murder in Masquerade, in February 2024.
Mary also writes the Professor Prather Mysteries, featuring amateur sleuth Emmaline Prather, solving crimes on a small college campus, and the Happy Camper Series featuring Zo Jones. Zo runs a gift store in beautiful Spirit Canyon, South Dakota … when she isn’t solving murders that is!
To learn more about Mary, click on any of the following links: Facebook, Instagram, Website (Mary Winters), Website (Mary Angela) & GoodreadsTo enter the giveaway, email: authorbookgiveaway@gmail.com **Entry in the giveaway gives permission for your email to be added to each author’s newsletter.
Author Pet Wall!
The post Win eBooks For the Holidays! appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
December 8, 2023
The Shabti Cover Reveal!
The Shabti Cover Reveal!
Don’t miss any ITW Debut Author Interviews, click the link here.
Can you flimflam a ghost?
It’s 1934. Former medium Dashiel Quicke travels the country debunking spiritualism and false mediums while struggling to stay ahead of his ex-business partner and lover who wants him back at any cost. During a demonstration at a college campus, Dashiel meets Hermann Goschalk, an Egyptologist who’s convinced that he has a genuine haunted artifact on his hands. Certain there is a rational explanation for whatever is going on with Hermann’s relics, Dashiel would rather skip town, but soon finds himself falling for Hermann. He agrees to take a look after all and learns that something is haunting Hermann’s office indeed.
Faced with a real ghost Dashiel is terrified, but when the haunting takes a dangerous turn, he must use the tools of the shady trade he left behind to communicate with this otherworldly spirit before his past closes in.
For readers who enjoy A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, and Malice by Heather Walter
Learn more about Megaera C. Lorenz by clicking any of the following links: Website, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram & LinkedInThe post The Shabti Cover Reveal! appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
December 5, 2023
If You See Me: New Thriller
If You See Me by Audra McElyea
Spotlight on New Books!Don’t miss any new books! Click the link here for more posts.If You See Me
When Leighton Marx is taken at a festival in front of her loved ones, police are quick to label it a random trafficking incident, but Leighton’s husband, Owen, and her ex-best-friend, Marnie, suspect there’s more to the story.
After Marnie meets Sarah, who saw something at the festival that doesn’t add up, she starts looking for Leighton herself—only to uncover secrets and inconsistencies surrounding her disappearance that grow deeper and more complicated by the minute.
As Marnie continues to search, she receives threats from two parties with conflicting agendas, and she must decide whether she should risk it all to find her friend, or if she thinks it’d be better for everyone if Leighton stays gone after she learns the whole, twisted truth.
IF YOU SEE ME is an edge-of-your-seat story full of unexpected turns where you can truly trust no one.
To purchase If You See Me, click on either of the following links: Amazon & Barnes and NoblePraise for If You See Me“An insidious thriller filled with scandal, drama, and oh so many twists! As we flip back and forth between past and present, McElyea gives us little glimpses of the truly terrifying world she’s created. A world where no one is safe and no one can be trusted. What starts out as a simmering plot filled with unease and questions soon boils over with a twist that will make your jaw drop! Perfectly cunning and intense, IF YOU SEE ME is one you’ll want to read!”
-Kiersten Modglin, million-copy bestselling author of The Arrangement
“IF YOU SEE ME hooked me from the first chapter, and the twists never stop. Told in the past and the present, with each chapter adding a new layer, it will keep you reading deep into the night.”
-Samantha Downing, internationally bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
“IF YOU SEE ME is an unsettling thriller with an ominous warning: don’t trust anyone, even those closest to you. Through her characters’ complicated, tangled relationships in which everyone’s keeping secrets, Audra McElyea drops bombshell after bombshell, creating a bingeable story filled with twisted behavior.”
-Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot and Thicker Than Water
Audra McElyea is a former corporate buyer and magazine contributor turned thriller author who writes books in their villain era.
She’s a self-deprecating, anxious, introvert at heart who loves her husband, little boys, and dog even more than books and movies (which is a lot).
Her taste is broad though. she loves watching Marvel and Christopher Nolan films just as much as she enjoys classic noirs like Hitchcock and Agatha Christie.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, exercising, and listening to Taylor Swift songs over and over.
Audra is represented by Liza Royce Agency in New York.
To learn more about Audra, click any of the following links: Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Threads & TikTok5 eBook Giveaway!Email: authorbookgiveaway@gmail to enter.
The post If You See Me: New Thriller appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
December 4, 2023
Murder on the Books: New Cozy
Murder on the Books, a Modern Midwife Mystery
Spotlight + Book & Author InfoDon’t miss any new books! Click the link here for more posts.Murder on the Books
Books and bells, midwives, and murder…
Maeve O’Reilly Kensington has fully recovered from her heart-pounding escape from a murderer last summer. Now she and her husband, Will, are happily adapting to life as parents of an eight-month-old while also preparing for the birth of their second daughter. Will’s catering business, A Thyme for All Seasons, is booming and Maeve’s midwifery practice has blossomed under new hospital leadership.
It’s winter in the seaside New England town of Langford, and the holidays are fast approaching. Maeve decides to make a last-minute dash to the Langford Library just before closing time…and discovers the body of the well-loved library director in the snow! Did she have a medical issue? Did she fall? Is murder on the books?
A tangled web is weaved and Maeve and her wealthy, forthright sister Meg are stymied at every turn. At the same time, jewelry thieves may have targeted the Hanville Grove senior center where Maeve and Meg’s mother and the “ladies of the lobby” reside. Holidays, murder, and robberies pile up as Maeve’s pregnancy marches on. Can the sisters solve the crimes in their limited time frame? Will Maeve have the birth of her dreams? Will the Langford Library ever be the same?
“Christine’s writing style is very entertaining with sensory laden description of the various environment, characters, and even the state of Maeve’s cookies and knitting. Clever & Entertaining Gem!”
~ Kings River Life Magazine
“Readers will fall in love with this series immediately!! I highly encourage and suggest you grab your copy.”
~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
Christine Knapp — Author of Murder on the Books
Christine Knapp practiced as a nurse midwife for many years.
A writer of texts and journal articles, she is now thrilled to combine her love of midwifery and mysteries as a fiction author.
Christine currently narrates books for the visually impaired.
A dog lover, she lives near Boston.
To learn more about Christine, click any of the following links: Website, Instagram, Twitter/X & FacebookEnter to win 5 eBooks!Email: authorbookgiveaway@gmail.com to enter
Header image from Pixabay
The post Murder on the Books: New Cozy appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
December 1, 2023
Judgment of Beasts: Author Spotlight!
Judgment of Beasts, by Ed Leahy
Author Spotlight + Excerpt + Book & Author InfoDon’t miss any new books! Click the link here.Judgment of Beasts
“Author Ed Leahy introduces a deep, strong dose of how fragmented humanity can be, whether seeking justice, witnessing crime, or enjoying the simple perverted joy of ruining people’s lives.” –C. Hope Clark, The Edisto Island Mysteries
While Detective Kim Brady is in Bermuda recovering from depression, an aid of the mayor’s arrives with a summons to return to New York to investigate the assassination of Sabrina Dunn, a long-time critic and political opponent of the mayor’s. Although the mayor pledges his full support, Kim can’t ignore the mayor’s potential motive. But she soon learns of others with a potential motive, including Sabrina’s estranged father and a group of investors pushing a major redevelopment project that Sabrina opposed.
The investigation is soon complicated when details are leaked to the press. No sooner does Kim learn the identity of the assassin than his body is found. Shortly after, the assassin’s identity is also leaked, along with a report that the mayor and the assassin had at one time been coworkers, a fact the police did not have. Kim struggles to find the source of the leak, to learn if there is some connection between the redevelopment project and the assassination, and to determine, once and for all, the mayor’s guilt or innocence.
To purchase Judgment of Beasts, click the link: AmazonExcerpt from Judgment of BeastsSunday, July 3rd
The enthusiastic crowd that had packed the plaza in front of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall held its collective breath. Sabrina Dunn, the former New York City Public Advocate who had once served for a brief time as its acting mayor, paused before finishing her speech. “I am running as a third-party candidate for governor because the two major parties have sold us out to the moneyed interests that control this city, this state, and this country. And if I’ve taken positions in the past that appeared radical, it was only to drag our government kicking and screaming back to the interests of the people rather than the interests of the favored few. I come to Brooklyn, and I ask for your help.”
The throng surged forward against the police manning the perimeter in front of the entrance, but one man held back. Dunn’s limo was parked on Court Street, and he watched as police forced open a path from the podium to the car.
Just as he’d foreseen.
But he hadn’t foreseen the density of the crowd.
An expectant mother cried out, “We love you, Sabrina!”
All it took was a shove that no one saw. “Help! She fainted. We need a doctor.”
Those nearby clustered around the fallen woman. In the pandemonium, no one heard her assurances that she was all right.
And his own path to Dunn’s limo opened like magic.
No one saw the weapon as he pulled it from under the oversized tee shirt he wore, tucked into the waistband of his cutoffs. The candidate, spooked by the crowd, rushed ahead of her security people to get to the car.
He broke free of the crowd rushing to help the fallen expectant mother.
Two shots.
Screams.
“Oh, my God,” someone yelled. “She’s down.”
He had a clear path to Court Street.
He turned left onto Joralemon Street, tossing the gun into the shrubbery on the corner, and walked at a brisk pace toward the Borough Hall subway stop. As he reached the stairway, he turned as the rear door opened on a yellow car resembling a cab but without a dome light. He hesitated, surprised to see a fellow employee waiting for him in the back seat.
“Done?”
He exhaled with relief. “Done.”
“Are you certain? We can’t have any screwups.”
“Positive. And the gun is in the shrubbery.” He slid into the back seat and pulled off the flesh-colored gloves he’d been wearing.
The sudden jab of a needle in his left shoulder startled him, and then…
Wednesday, July 6th
After nearly two weeks in St. George, Bermuda, Detective Kim Brady no longer jumped at the sudden blare of a car horn from behind as she ran. She moved off the asphalt of Barry Road and onto the grass, slowing her pace both to watch her footing and to take in the ocean view.
The car zoomed past, and she crossed Grenadier Lane and kicked it into high gear as she tackled the final hill toward the St. Regis Resort. A quick change into one of her new bikinis, and she and her husband, Jake Dudek, would head for the beach for a swim.
This Bermuda trip had been Jake’s idea. Coming four months after Kim’s third miscarriage in as many years and during an extended personal leave to deal with the depression that was no longer just a passing occurrence, it had been as therapeutic as he’d promised. They’d talked about adopting or fostering; perhaps they’d remain a childless, professional couple, as she’d expected when they’d married. Long walks and ocean swims, and even a return to gentle lovemaking, had all contributed, but nothing had done so much to raise her spirits as returning to running, something she’d stopped when she joined the NYPD twelve years earlier.
She finished hard and was sweating and panting, grateful for the chill of the air conditioning as she entered the lobby of the resort. As she crossed to the elevator bank, she spied a familiar face: Justin Cates, a long-time employee of the current mayor of New York City.
As soon as they made eye contact, he sprang from his seat with a big grin. But as he approached, the grin turned sheepish. Four years earlier, when he’d been tailing her as she pieced together bits of evidence linking a serial killer to the death of her grandfather, she’d learned that once he was a friend, he was totally honest.
She extended a sweaty hand. “I suppose it’s too much to hope this is a coincidence and you and Rick just happened to fly down for a quick getaway.”
He shook her hand, slightly discomfited. Justin could also be finicky. “Can we talk in private?”
Her runner’s high evaporated. “No more private place than a crowded room.” She forced a laugh. “Sorry. Come on up. Jake will be happy to see you.”
Justin’s expression suggested he thought otherwise. “Ricky’s back in New York. He’s just been promoted to executive ADA. We’re both ecstatic, but there won’t be any getaways for us for the foreseeable future.”
“Too bad because they can do wonders, especially in a place like this.” As she opened the door to their room, she called out, “We have company.”
Jake, wearing shorts and a tee shirt displaying the logo of his employer, the Brooklyn Nets, shook Justin’s hand. “Nice to see you.”
Kim broke the mood. “So, why has the mayor sent you to Bermuda?”
Justin turned serious. “I take it you haven’t been following the news from New York. Sabrina Dunn was shot and killed Sunday night after a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Three days earlier your lieutenant went on medical leave, apparently undergoing a series of tests. I’ve come down on a private jet loaned to the mayor by one of his generous donors with instructions to bring you back to the city this afternoon…”
More about Kim Brady … Lead character in Judgment of Beasts
Kim was born in 1988, the daughter of Joseph Francis Xavier Brady, a New York City detective, and the granddaughter of Daniel Patrick Brady, who had been killed on the job in 1963.
Unlike her hero grandfather, Joe Brady was not. He’d worked in narcotics for much of his career and had often broken the rules, both in the job and off. Kim’s mom became increasingly suspicious, until one night when Kim was ten, Joe came home long after the end of his tour. Kim’s mom had had enough, and the fight that followed not only woke Kim from a sound sleep but signaled the end of her parents’ marriage.
After the divorce, Kim’s mom grew bitter and increasingly isolated, setting unbearable limits on Kim. After an initial estrangement, Kim came to an understanding with her dad, although she never knew about the liberties he took on the job, taking drugs seized in arrests and using them to trade for information from other addicts.
Joe was proud of her when she chose to attend John Jay College, but was appalled when, upon graduating, she applied to and was accepted by the New York Police Academy. Not wanting that kind of life for her, he tried to convince her to choose law school instead, but Kim’s mind was made up. When she graduated from the Academy, Joe presented her with the weapon Dan had carried, a long nose .38 caliber pistol that held five rounds made by Smith and Wesson called the Chief’s Special. Kim carries it as her second piece, usually tucked in the waistband of her slacks behind her back. She also lives by the words drilled into her at the Academy by one of her instructors, “The law: learn it, love it, live it, breathe it.”
Kim’s first tour of duty was at the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where she soon earned the sobriquet “the Queen Bee of the Seven-Three.” While there, she earned a citation for Community Service and after five years, made Detective, 3rd Grade. She was ready to apply for a position in Narcotics when Joe begged her to stay away from it, finally telling her of his past. Wrongdoings. He retired from the force in the hope that his bad reputation wouldn’t rub off on his daughter.
Kim instead applied for a position at Manhattan South Homicide, where is where we find her at the beginning of Past Grief. She had just returned to the job after her father’s funeral and caught a mass murder case in which she needed to convince the lone eyewitness, a transgender woman, to testify, and find the mastermind of the crime who was obstructing her investigation and gaslighting her.
Ed Leahy — Author of the Judgment of Beasts
Ed Leahy is the author of the Kim Brady Detective Mystery Series and the Dan Brady Detective Mystery Series. He is a past finalist for the Freddie Award for Excellence.
A member of the International Thriller Writers and the Mystery Writers of America, he has also been published by New York Teacher Magazine.
He is a retired International Issue Specialist for the Internal Revenue Service and holds a B. A. and an M. A. from St. John’s University in Government and Politics and served on the Board of Directors of AHRC-NYC, an agency providing services for children and adults with developmental disabilities, from 1998 to 2023.
Born and raised in the New York City Borough of Queens, he lives in Jackson Heights with his wife, Cindy, and serves as Secretary on the board of their co-op.
To learn more about Ed, click on either of the following links: Facebook & TwitterTo purchase any of Ed’s previous books, click on the covers. (Including the series books before Judgment of Beasts)
The post Judgment of Beasts: Author Spotlight! appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
November 30, 2023
Bladestay: Debut YA Western
Bladestay: a young adult Western by debut author Jackie Johnson
Author Interview + Book and Author Info + Pet Corner!Don’t miss any debut author interviews! Click the link here.Bladestay by Jackie Johnson
Be Careful Who You Root For
When a violent, decades-long feud between two powerful men comes to a head in the small settlement of Bladestay, Colorado, cunning resident Theo Creed must use her wits to stay alive.
Disguising herself as a young boy, seventeen-year-old Theo bluffs her way into the inner circle of August Gaines, the magnetic leader of the ruthless gang that has descended on her town. But the deeper Theo gets into the con, the more she starts to question her loyalties.
Complicating her subterfuge is a mysterious outlaw whose small moments of kindness contradict the blood he has on his hands, making Theo wonder who, exactly, is conning who.
To save her town, Theo must parse façade from reality and choose between the barefaced malevolence she’s infiltrated and an evil she didn’t know lurked at home.
To purchase Bladestay click any of the following links: Amazon, CamCat Books, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.Interview with Jackie Johnson, author of Bladestay Bladestay features seventeen-year-old Theodora “Theo” Creed. What would you like readers to know about her?Theo is an incredibly fun character because of her ability to slip from one persona to another without batting an eye.
She’s strategic, contemplative, has a razor sharp wit and a dry sense of humor, and carries a lot of rage underneath a cool demeanor. She’s highly protective but also deeply egotistical, which proves to be a tricky combination throughout her journey. All of these things just so happen to be an apt description of the antagonist as well, and as mirror images of each other, it all makes for some really tense, complicated conflict.
Bladestay is set in Colorado in the 19th century. What kind of research did you do to bring that era to life?I studied history in college so I have a decent foundation, but my general process is I don’t do any serious research until I start my second draft, until I’m certain I know who my characters are and what they’re after.
Getting the cast right is always my first priority.
When it was time for me to build Bladestay’s world around the characters, I spent time in my textbooks and, of course, many hours scouring the Internet. The majority of my research was on the Mexican-American War, specifically its catalyst and aftermath, which plays a large role in the book.
Bladestay has a fair amount of graphic violence, but it’s also considered YA. How did you determine how much violence to include? Did you pull any punches as you were writing and editing your debut?I pitched this book as both YA and adult. When I pitched it as adult, I had agents tell me it was YA because of the age of the protagonist, and I was told the opposite when I pitched it as YA because of its thematic elements.
When I wrote the book, I pulled zero punches, but in the editorial process, we cut a lot of the language and dulled some graphic detail. It’s still a stabby little book, but if it was a movie, it could have a PG-13 rating. Ultimately, I believe this book belongs in the Adult-YA Crossover section.
In addition to novels, you also write poetry. Tell us about that side of your writing experience:I do! I think poetry and novel-writing are symbiotic—novels are big picture, and poetry is the microcosm. I’m usually inspired to write pieces of poetry based on any given novel I’m working on. It’s essentially a way for me to find a lyrical voice for the heavy issues I’m wrestling with in the story. For me, being a novelist is an addiction; being a poet is the fine tuning, putting melody to prose.
I’m a sucker for wordplay! Here’s a fun one:
When opportunity
comes mocking at your door
just take it with a reign of salt;
the stars—
it’s not their fault
The devil’s in the derails
but that’s not the hardest part:
it’s finding out this life
is for the feign of heart
I love this!
You live on a working ranch. Tell us about your horses and your real life cowboy love story:I’ve been riding horses for about twenty-five years, and my husband and I both have a formal equestrian education.
We met when we were training at the same barn, under the same trainer. He’s a show-jumper, I did dressage, and we both competed in long-distance (25-50 mile) endurance races. We were inseparable from day one.
The day he proposed to me, we galloped our horses to a place called Machine Gun Hill and at the top, he got off his horse, then got down on one knee. Does it get any better than horses and romance?
His skills as a horseman quickly surpassed mine and he’s now a brilliant horse trainer. It’s been our lifelong dream to own a small farm of our own, and in 2019 we bought a piece of raw land and built the infrastructure from scratch.
We spent the first couple years living in a travel trailer, off-grid, as we installed electricity, water, and eventually a house—what started as two horses, has now grown to ten. We have Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Knabstruppers, Warmbloods, and a mini horse!
What are you working on now?I’m working on a fantasy about a young woman who embarks on a dangerous voyage across the sea in search of a rumored utopia. It’s a swashbuckling adventure with high stakes, an impulsive heroine, and lots of romance.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:It took me seven books and over ten years to get my first book published. This industry is tough, you’ll hear a lot of no’s, but the only difference between a published author and an unpublished one is the writer who didn’t give up. Keep writing, keep learning, and don’t quit.
Author Pet Corner!
In addition to our small herd of horses, we have a feisty goat named Meredith, a goofy but protective Doberman Shepherd named Heath Ledger, and five cats!
Jackie Johnson — Author of Bladestay!
Jackie Johnson is a San Diego born poet and novelist.
With a background as a journalist, a BA in history, and an education in armed defense, Jackie has a uniquely authentic voice within the historical genre.
She’s been riding horses for over twenty years and has her own real-life cowboy love story when she fell in love with and married a horse trainer.
Together, they established a ranch in Southern California where she spends her days writing, riding, and chasing after their dreams, their two children, four horses, six cats, and two dogs. Bladestay is her first novel.
To learn more about Jackie, you can find her at the following links: Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, Website.Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
The post Bladestay: Debut YA Western appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
November 28, 2023
Anthology of Cozy Mysteries & Crime Fiction
Anthology — Malice, Matrimony & Murder: 25 Wedding Cozy Mystery & Crime Fiction Stories
Author Interviews + Anthology & Author Info + Authors Pet Corner!Looking for more new books to read? Check out my interviews with ITW Debut Authors. Click the link here.The Anthology — Malice, Matrimony & Murder
Between bad bridesmaids, conniving caterers, greedy guests, ill-mannered in-laws, savvy sleuths, and vengeful villains, this anthology has it all!
Over two dozen authors have teamed up to offer you this wedding-themed collection of brand-new cozy mystery and crime fiction stories.
Plus, solve the overarching wedding whodunit and access a special ebook filled with bonuses and extras.
If you’re drawn to shorter mysteries that are light on gore and language, and high on humor, entertainment, and happy endings, then this anthology is for you!
Click here for buy links and to download a story sampler. Happy reading!
Anthology: Malice, Matrimony & Murder: A Cozy Mystery and Cozy Crime Fiction AnthologyThank you so much to the wonderful Elena Hartwell for inviting us, the authors of the recently released Malice, Matrimony, and Murder anthology, to guest post on her blog today! We’ve brought with us some inside information on our characters and stories, sneak peeks at our upcoming releases, advice for aspiring writers, and pet photos. Enjoy!
Great to have you all visit!The Anthology Author InterviewsWhat would you like readers to know about the protagonist of your Malice, Matrimony & Murder story?Charlotte Morganti: Persimmon Worthing, the protagonist of “A Wedding Planner’s Nightmare,” is a woman of a certain age who often declares “if solving mysteries was a sport, I would be Police Sergeant Courgette’s color commentator.”
J. Aquino: The two protagonists in my story, “Death, the Uninvited Wedding Guest,” Jenny and Lynn, are government agents skilled in weapons and hand-to-hand, smart, independent, and able to laugh when situations become difficult. Jenny is military trained, Lynn is an attorney and ex-FBI. They are close enough for Jenny to be invited as a bridesmaid to Lynn’s sister’s wedding for which Lynn is the maid of honor.
What project are you working on now?Barbara Howard: Thank you for the question. I’m currently working on The Spice Code, The Clover City Files Book 2. The release date is December 6, 2023. This cozy mystery series is set in a small town, Clover City, where a college student/part time health aide, Amira Cooper, and her boyfriend, Darius Browne, Esq. uncover secrets and solve murder cases. Amira is a good hearted and somewhat naive heroine that readers love to root for.
KD Sherrinford: Book No. 3 in my Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler Romantic Mysteries, Meet Me in Milan, was released by Extasy Books on the 29th of September. I’ve already started work on book four, Nicco Sapori’s Abduction, which should be available next year. My debut award-winning novel and the first book in the series Song for Someone is longlisted at The Chatelaine Awards.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?Karen McCullough: Find a way to protect yourself from negativity and rejection. Most writers are thin-skinned – we tend to be more empathetic and open than most people. It’s what allows us to crawl into our characters’ heads and tell their stories. But once you put your work out in public, you’re going to encounter waves of rejection (from editors, agents, publishers and, even when published, the public in the form of bad reviews).
Becky Clark: I published my first book in 2001 so I’ve been around the literary block a few times. And—spoiler alert—I have lots of advice! For writing: • Do not edit as you go. You can’t fix the beginning of your book until you get all the way to the end. • Use laser-focused one-hour blocks of time to write. • Have a plan about what you’re going to write every time you sit down. For publishing: • Don’t take rejection or negative reviews personally and never read your reviews. • Get comfortable with talking about yourself and your books. For being a writer: • Take care of yourself. Writing is a weirdly strenuous activity. Take time to stretch every hour. • Meet with other authors on the regular. There’s nothing like being surrounded by like-minded folks. • Please yourself with your writing first and foremost. If you’re having fun, it will be obvious in your books and your readers will be drawn to that.
What inspired you to write your story for the anthology Malice, Matrimony & Murder?Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier: My mysteries featuring St. Thomian food journalist Naomi Sinclair tell stories about Virgin Islands cuisine, but ultimately, stories about food are always stories about people. “Chill” is about soursop ice cream and restaurant sabotage during what SHOULD be a relaxing Bridesmaids Day at Magens Bay, but as the title implies, it’s also about finding the right work-life balance and making space for relaxation. One bridesmaid owns an ice cream store, and she’s very much in the “all work and no play” camp. I hope whoever is reading this will make the time to “chill,” perhaps on something comfortable with a good book … and if you’re looking for suggestions, why not try Malice, Matrimony & Murder?
Sally Milliken: What inspired me to write “Icing on the Cake”? I am an avid ice hockey player and skate with two women’s teams in my area. It is great exercise and a lot of fun with interesting, accomplished, and supportive teammates. I’ve participated in several tournaments and know full well the feeling of both winning and losing (and at our age, mostly losing, but we still have the best time). Although I’ve never played in a pond hockey tournament, several friends have, and it is on my bucket list of activities to do.
Rebecca Olmstead: What inspired me to write Love and Death in Madison, Georgia? When I was trying to come up with a story for the anthology, I kept going back to the south, and a time when wealthy young ladies were cared for by nannies. I imagined the bond between the child and her nanny would grow into love, and then I asked myself, how far would someone go to protect someone they loved that much? The main character, Violet began to tell me her story, and I wrote it down. Of course it was nothing like I had planned. Such is the writing life.
What can we find you doing when you aren’t writing?Lynn Hesse: When I’m not writing, I’m rehearsing and dancing in several local troupes. My dandelion persona comes in handy during performances with the Dancing Flowers for Peace. I’m a member of the Beacon Dance Board and work with professional dancers and intergenerational dance to build community. I taught sacred dance in the United Methodist Church for many years.
Paige Sleuth: My rescue cats are very demanding, so when I’m not writing I’m usually attending to their needs. That includes petting them, brushing them, taking them outside, cleaning up after them, and, of course, feeding them. If I ignore them for too long, one of them will sit on my keyboard until I get my priorities straight!
Malice, Matrimony & Murder Authors Pet Corner!
Sally Milliken: Beryl, a rescue and everyone’s favorite member of our family.
Becky Clark: Nala, Becky’s quirky muse and the basis for many furry—and one aquatic—characters.
Paige Sleuth: Anna Belle and Molly, rescues and cover models for the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series.
The post Anthology of Cozy Mysteries & Crime Fiction appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
November 26, 2023
Lest She Forget: Psychological Thriller
Lest She Forget, debut psychological thriller by Lisa Malice
Guest Post + Excerpt + Book & Author Info + A Giveaway!
Don’t miss any blog tour posts! Click the link here.
Lest She Forget
Haunted by a forgotten past. Hunted by a ruthless killer. No one to save her but herself.
After surviving a car crash, Kay Smith wakes from a coma with amnesia, a battered face, and no one to vouch for her identity. Her psychiatrist is convinced that her memory loss is connected to the horrific flashbacks and nightmares haunting her. As she digs for clues to her past, Kay uncovers a shady character following her every inquiry.
Who is he? And what does he want from her? As Kay’s probes deepen, she realizes that everyone around her has deadly secrets to hide—even her. Emerging memories, guilty suspicions, and headline-screaming murders push Kay to come out of the shadows and choose: will she perpetuate a horrendous lie or risk her life to uncover the truth?
Book Details:
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Published by: CamCat Books
Publication Date: December 2023
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 9780744307153 (ISBN10: 0744307155)
To purchase Lest She Forget, click on any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books
Guest Post
The Appeal of Memory Loss in Our Stories (And Lives)
By Lisa Malice, Ph.D.
Everyone loves a good amnesia story. Authors and scriptwriters love to cook them up, readers and TV/film fans love to devour them. Don’t believe me? Plug “amnesia” into BookBub’s search engine and you’ll get a list of 2,977 books across a variety of genres that interweave memory loss as a plot point, among them dozens of bestsellers. The Movie Database lists 298 feature films with amnesia as a key element, starting with Across the Atlantic, a 1928 romantic suspense about two lovers separated by war and a forgotten memory. The list includes numerous book-to-film blockbusters, such as Girl on the Train, Before I Go to Sleep, and the five movies in the Jason Bourne series.
Why do we, as readers and viewers, find amnesia stories so appealing? That depends on who you talk to. A mystery and thriller writer (such as myself) would draw from the examples above and press the point that we enjoy casting our lot with the memory-challenged protagonists, racing along, just as desperate as the heroes and heroines, to uncover the clues to their buried pasts before any harm can come to them. Along the way, we encounter—often delightfully so—surprises, twists, and revelations that challenge our assumptions and expectations until the tale ends with a satisfying triumph over evil, with justice prevailing over corruption, envy, and greed.
Psychologists (again, me) would suggest that amnesia stories allow us to explore the nature of memory and identity. How much of who we are depends on what we remember? What happens when we lose our memories or gain new ones? How would we cope with the uncertainty and confusion of not knowing ourselves or our past?
The 2001 film Regarding Henry explores these questions with Harrison Ford playing the role of a man who miraculously survives a bullet to the brain during a convenience store robbery—though the memory of his life does not. Henry, a high-powered, philandering attorney and head of an unhappy, dysfunctional family, never recovers from his amnesia, leaving his old, flawed self behind to start life anew. The path Henry takes, the choices he makes—vastly different from those he made in his forgotten past—yield more satisfying outcomes for Henry, who becomes the loving, attentive soul his wife and child so desperately missed and needed in their lives.
The psychologist in me also would point out that the happy ending Henry and his family achieve reflects a desire many of us experience once in a while when life gets us down—the desire to escape from reality, start over, and re-invent oneself. One film that exemplifies these three desires and pulls them together so perfectly is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Jim Carey and Kate Winslet play a couple in such a troubled relationship that they each undergo a procedure to have their memories of each other—every recollection from the moment they met—erased from their minds (escape). But Fate plays its hand. The two lovers find each other once again (start over), only to have their newfound love threatened by the discovery of recordings revealing the distressing problems the couple grappled with in their forgotten lives. In the end, they give in to what Fate seems to have in store for them and stay together, committed to learning from their mistakes and finding happiness the second time around (re-invent).
Similarly, my debut psychological thriller, Lest She Forget, offers a tale of memory repression. As in Beloved, the story follows a young woman struggling with the aftermath of a soul-searing psychological trauma. Her psychogenic memory loss goes much deeper, however, leaving her without a name, nor a past to claim as her own. Her psychiatrist is convinced that her amnesia is connected to the horrific flashbacks and nightmares that haunt her.
As the woman digs for clues to her past, she uncovers a shady character following her every inquiry. Who is he? And what does he want from her? As her probe deepens, she realizes that everyone around her has deadly secrets to hide―even her. Emerging memories, guilty suspicions, and headline-screaming murders push her to come out of the shadows and choose: will she perpetuate a horrendous lie or risk her life to uncover the truth?
A sociologist (not me, this time) might offer that amnesia stories are popular when they are used as a metaphor for social and cultural issues, such as the effects of trauma, oppression, or erasure on individuals and groups. Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved (1987) is a prime example. The American gothic psychological horror story was inspired by the 1856 criminal trial of Margaret Garner, a runaway slave from Kentucky who, after being hunted down by a posse, took desperate measures to keep her children from suffering a horrific life of bondage—she killed her infant daughter, then attempted the same on her remaining brood.
Beloved is a haunting indictment of the Atlantic slave trade, dedicated to the “sixty million and more” who lived and died in bondage, and told through the eyes of freed slaves in the post-Civil War years. It fictionalizes the collective horrors inflicted on Black slaves, their struggle with the loss of identity and self-fragmentation, and the unconscious desire to dissociate from the past and its horrific memories. The tale of collective human tragedy brilliantly illuminates an oppressive chapter of US history, the sharing of which can be helpful in healing the deep wounds left behind and creating a more just and unifying society for all.
What are your favorite stories of memory loss? Why do you find them so appealing? If you could wipe your mind of one memory in your life, what would you choose and why?
Read an excerpt of Lest She Forget:
The loud heavy beat of my heart echoes in my ears, pulsing in sync with the car’s wipers as they furiously slap at the snow alighting the windshield. The frantic rhythm draws me in as I stare ahead into the darkening night and the thick snowflakes swirling in the beams of the headlights. The effect is almost mesmerizing.
My eyelids start to droop. I want nothing more than to sleep, let my mind shut off. Under slumber’s spell, the ache in my heart would subside, the guilt in my soul would vanish, and, if I was lucky, I’d wake up to find that the words I heard earlier today were just part of a gruesome dream, an awful nightmare.
She’s dead.
My chest tightens, my heart races as my thoughts are pulled toward our last moments together. Fraught with suspicion, accusations, anger. My eyes tear up.
It’s your fault.
The words reverberate in my ears as my head starts to throb. How could I have been so stupid and naïve to fall for that man’s lies, his manipulations? If I could go back in time and change everything, fix my mistakes, right a host of wrongs, I would. Things would have turned out differently. Two—no, three—people would still be alive. But there’s no going back. Worse, I see no path forward, at least not one I can live with.
My gaze is drawn to a hazy pair of headlights reflected in the rearview mirror. A chill runs down my spine, even as a bead of sweat trickles down the side of my face. My fingers, clenched atop the steering wheel, go numb as my foot presses down on the accelerator.
“Calm down,” I tell myself. I can’t let fear trick me into imagining what is not there.
I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, then open them again and glance into the side mirror. They’re still there, those headlights, keeping pace with me. I focus on the road in front of me, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Get a grip,” I tell myself. “If he wanted me dead, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Staring ahead, a forest of tall pines engulfs the road, blocking out much of the remaining daylight and casting a gloom all around that grows blacker and grimmer with each fleeting moment. But I can’t go back. Not now. I’d have to face the truth, accept my own culpability, surrender myself, my life, my future. I’m not ready to do that.
I turn on the radio and press the scan button, hoping for a distraction. Music pours through the speakers in short clips—Spanish, hard rock, country, polka—and then a soft, familiar melody, its words just on the tip of my tongue.
“. . . I would surrender my soul, if it would bring back yours . . .”
My gut twists with remorse. The pain is cut short as the radio scanner moves to the next station.
“. . . Could you forgive me, if I made it to Heaven . . .”
Tears well up in my eyes as the radio, again, moves on.
“. . . My name won’t be on St. Peter’s list . . .”
A mournful sob erupts from deep inside me. My hands, clutching the steering wheel, suddenly go weak and start to tremble. Those songs, their lyrics—words that never held any personal meaning—now haunt me. It’s as if some cosmic disc jockey knows what I’ve done and doesn’t want—no—won’t let me forget it.
“Please, no more!” I shout.
A woman’s voice pops over the speakers, a news program. “Finally, I sigh, poking the scan button to set the station.
“. . . it’s time for a quick station break, after which we’ll go to a weather update with WCVA’s meteorologist, Alec Bohanan. Our weather team says this blizzard hitting Virginia and much of the East Coast, the first significant snow event of 2017, is a bad one. It could be a killer, so sit tight at home and keep your radio dial tuned to this station . . .”
She’s right. The snow is coming down thicker and heavier with each passing mile. The roads will only get worse. But I need to press on. I must get home. I can think better there. Figure out what options I have left.
My attention is pulled back to the voice on the radio. “When the last segment of The June Jeffries Show returns, we’ll join the Virginia State Police press conference with breaking news on the missing person case of—”
It’s your fault.
The words echo in my ears, pulsing louder and faster with each echo, drowning out the newscaster’s voice. I slam my fist down on the radio’s power button.
Suddenly, flashes of light bounce off the windshield. The muscles in my jaw tighten. My neck stiffens. My hands, locked in a death grip on the steering wheel, grow cold, numb. My gaze darts to the rearview mirror. Unable to look away from the looming vehicle behind me, I throw my left arm up to block its intense beams.
The steering wheel jerks to the right, pitching the passenger-side wheels off the road. I grasp the steering wheel with both hands and pull to the left, but overcorrect. The car careens across the snow-swept blacktop, skids beyond the center line.
When I finally pull the car into the right lane, my heart is pounding, my body trembling, while my grip on the steering wheel goes weak.
*** Excerpt from Lest She Forget by Lisa Malice. Copyright 2023 by Lisa Malice. Reproduced with permission from Lisa Malice. All rights reserved.
Lisa Malice, author of Lest She Forget
Lisa Malice earned her B.S. in psychology at the University of Minnesota, her M.S. and Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her debut novel, Lest She Forget, a psychological thriller, was a finalist in five unpublished manuscript contests. Lisa is an active member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and the Authors Guild.
A native of Minnesota, Lisa lived in the Atlanta area with her husband for nearly thirty years before moving to the Tampa area in 2019 to enjoy a life of sailing, fishing, and shelling on the Florida Gulf Coast. They have two adult children and a granddog.
Find out more about Lisa by clicking any of the following links: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, X, Facebook.
Visit all the Stops on the Tour!
11/20 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
11/20 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
11/21 Review @ Country Mamas With Kids
11/22 Interview @ darciahelle
11/22 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
11/23 Review @ Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
11/24 Review @ Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin
11/25 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
11/26 Guest post @ The Mystery of Writing
11/27 Showcase @ Nesies Place
11/28 Review @ Review Thick & Thin
11/29 Review @ Novels Alive
11/29 Review @ Reading is my Superpower
11/30 Review @ Catreader18
12/01 Review @ fundinmental
12/04 Review @ Urban Book Reviews
12/05 Podcast interview @ Blog Talk Radio
12/05 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
12/06 Review @ Wall-to-wall Books
12/08 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
12/10 Review @ Paws. Read. Repeat
12/11 Showcase @ Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
12/12 Review @ ashmanda. k
12/13 Showcase @ fuonlyknew
12/14 Review @ Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
The post Lest She Forget: Psychological Thriller appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
November 24, 2023
Grounds for Murder (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries)
Grounds for Murder (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries),
a cozy mystery by Lena Gregory
From author Lena Gregory comes a tasty new mystery with a killer twist…
Danika Delaney is thrilled to have taken over her uncle Jimmie’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island and is working hard to make it her own. In an effort to increase business, Danika invites a mystery writer to the Cookies & Cream Café for a discussion and book signing. Things seem to be going well, until a guest shows up and confronts the author, accusing him of plagiarizing his work.
Embarrassed by the incident, Danika goes to the inn where the writer is staying the following morning, hoping to apologize and offer him another chance to return. What she finds instead is his dead body—beside a cup of poisoned coffee! Now it’s up to Danika to find out who wanted to silence the author… before the killer decides to write Danika a not-so-happy ending!
Grounds for Murder (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Watchogue, Long Island, New York
Gemma Halliday Publishing (November 21, 2023)
Number of Pages 226
Digital ASIN : B0CCLT922F
Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs.
Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking.
Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
To learn more about Lena, follow her at any of the following links: Newsletter, Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, XVisit all the Stops on the Tour!
November 21 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 21 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 22 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
November 23 – Thanksgiving U.S.
November 24 – The Mystery of Writing – SPOTLIGHT
November 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 25 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
November 26 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
November 26 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
November 27 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
November 27 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
November 28 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
November 28 – My Reading Journeys – SPOTLIGHT
November 29 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 29 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW
November 30 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 30 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
December 1 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
December 1 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 2 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
December 2 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
December 3 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
December 4 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
The post Grounds for Murder (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries) appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
November 21, 2023
Unknown Rider: Debut Military Thriller
Unknown Rider: Battle Born Book 1, a military thriller from debut author Jack Stewart
Author Interview + Book and Author Info!Don’t miss any debut author interviews! Click the link here.Unknown Rider
After a Navy pilot inexplicably loses control of his stealth fighter, he stumbles upon a global conspiracy, and embarks on a thrilling chase filled with espionage and betrayal.
“A high-octane and adrenaline-powered thriller… Strap in and hold on!” —Jack Carr, Former Navy SEAL sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of the James Reece Terminal List series
TOP GUN instructor Colt Bancroft has just catapulted off the USS Abraham Lincoln, his F-35C Joint Strike Fighter trailing blue and yellow flame as he climbs into the night sky off the California coast.
When he is sent to investigate a series of mysterious lights floating dangerously close to his aircraft carrier, disaster strikes. His jet becomes unresponsive as it rolls inverted and enters a nosedive aimed right at the aircraft carrier’s unsuspecting escort cruiser…
What follows is a tale of heroism and betrayal, spycraft and suspense, and aerial combat against an unexpected adversary.
To clear his name and unmask a traitor, Colt must survive a dangerous game of spy-vs-spy, where trusting the wrong person could cost him his life. To stop the enemy from hitting their ultimate target, Colt must use every ounce of his skill and training…and uncover the identity of the UNKNOWN RIDER.
From author Jack Stewart, a former US Navy Top Gun instructor pilot, comes an exhilarating military thriller that’s packed with high-octane action and puts the reader behind the controls of a modern jet fighter. Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Dale Brown.
To purchase Unknown Rider, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books & Kobo.Unknown Rider is available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audio.Interview with Jack Stewart, Author of Unknown Rider Unknown Rider features Top Gun instructor Colt Bancroft. What would you like readers to know about your hero?Colt is just your average guy … who happens to fly at almost twice the speed of sound.
He is a skilled pilot and regarded as an expert by his peers, but you wouldn’t know it if you ever ran into him at a party. No, wait. That’s not true … You’ll always know when a pilot is at a party because he’ll tell you. Yeah, that’s it.
Colt is just your average overly confident jet jockey.
Describe your publishing journey for Unknown Rider :
Whew… That’s a loaded question. Unknown Rider was actually my sixth completed novel. I queried the other five (with a few full requests), but nothing stuck.
I met my agent, John Talbot, at Killer Nashville in 2021 and we talked about my fourth book. He was interested but thought it wasn’t right for the market. Six months later, another agent offered me representation, so I asked John if he was still interested. He said he was, but he wanted to read some of my other writing. I sent him another I had finished and a few chapters of what eventually became Unknown Rider.
He signed me on those chapters, and after several revisions, we finally went on submission in the summer of 2022 and landed a four-book deal with Severn River Publishing.
Outlaw , the follow up to Unknown Rider in the Battle Born series, is already available in pre-order. Had you planned to write a series? Tell us about the process for writing the second book.
I definitely planned on writing a series. But I had thought through a three-book arc and was surprised they wanted me to do four books.
The challenge with writing in a series is to include enough back story organically that you can pick up the third book without reading the first two and still enjoy it, but give readers who have been there since the beginning little details that tie them all together.
As a former US Navy Top Gun instructor pilot and combat veteran, you are an expert in the world of modern jet fighting. What was it like creating a fictional pilot? Did you stick close to the reality of those experiences? Or were you able to suspend your disbelief for dramatic effect?
When you read Unknown Rider, I think you’ll find the circumstances I put Colt in entirely unrealistic.
But what I did try to convey was the emotional experience of aerial combat. I wanted the reader to feel what it’s like behind the controls of a modern jet fighter. I wanted to give an insider’s look at life aboard a modern aircraft carrier.
I love this answer!
You grew up in Seattle and went to school in Southern California at the University of San Diego. Now you live in Texas. You have also traveled a lot, though much of that was while flying combat missions from aircraft carriers. Tell us about some of your favorite places that you have visited or lived and why: I moved away from Seattle when I graduated high school to attend the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
During my time in the Navy, I lived in Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas (I earned a Masters from USD through a cohort in Corpus Christi).
I’ve sailed in every ocean, set foot on every continent but one, but my favorite place is always at home with my wife and three kids – wherever that is. It’s true what they say: Home is where the heart is.
What are you working on now?
I just finished writing Bogey Spades, Book 3 in my Battle Born Series. I am currently working on Book 2 in a series I will publish with Tyndale beginning in 2025.
Once I finish that, I will return to Colt and Punky and close out the series with Book 4 – Declared Hostile.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Treat writing like a sport. You don’t get better by reading about it. You get better by doing it.
You get better by watching how others do it.
Surround yourself with others who want to push you to improve. Seek out opportunities to push others. Build a community and don’t shy away from asking an expert from help. But, above all else, never ever ever give up. I received countless rejections on five completed novels before I finally found my agent. If I gave up after the first (or hundredth) rejection, I wouldn’t be where I am now. And, I can’t wait to see where I’m going!
Jack Stewart, author of Unknown Rider
Jack Stewart grew up in Seattle, Washington, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy before serving twenty-three years as a fighter pilot.
During that time, he flew combat missions from three different aircraft carriers and deployed to Afghanistan as a member of
an Air Force Tactical Air Control Party. His last deployment was with a joint special operations counter-terrorism task force in Africa.
Jack is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and holds a Master of Science in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego. He is an airline pilot and has appeared as a military and commercial aviation expert on international cable
news.
He lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and three children.
You can learn more about Jack by clicking the following links: Website, Instagram, X, Facebook.Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
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