Elena Hartwell's Blog, page 62
May 24, 2020
We Write Through: Free Livecast Writing Workshops
We Write Through is a once-a-week, free, livecast writing workshop available to writers everywhere regardless of experience or publishing history.
We are all in this together
The ongoing pandemic has created a lot of challenges for all of us in our daily lives. I know it has impacted my ability to focus and tested my ability to stay upbeat. It has made even simple tasks feel overwhelming.
And I consider myself incredibly lucky, as I usually work from home and both my husband I continue to be in good health. I can’t imagine the experience for those out of work or fighting the illness.
But life is still challenging in ways it wasn’t before I went into stay-at-home mode on March 14 and it’s hard sometimes to think everything will be okay.
Along with working as an author and blogger, I also wear the hat of Senior Editor with Allegory Editing. We are committed to working with writers to improve their manuscripts and learn and sharpen writing skills. We realize how much the ongoing upheaval of our current situation is, and how much it can make the path to finishing a writing project even more difficult to navigate.
With that in mind, we have launched We Write Through
We Write Through is designed to help writers identify areas in their manuscript that they may be struggling with. It’s also to teach new skills and discover alternative ways to think about the writing process. Perhaps most importantly, we can come together every Wednesday morning at 9AM PST and chat about writing and the challenges we all face.
It’s nice to know you are not alone.
Join us from anywhere!
The first workshop went great! I haven’t completely mastered ZOOM yet, but it was a terrific hour with engaged participants and excellent questions throughout.
Last week was a “traditional” workshop. I led a discussion about specific writing techniques. This coming week—May 27 @9AM PDT—I’ll be hosting a Q and A.
Participants can send in questions in advance or ask questions live after we begin.
On June 3, I’ll return to the “traditional” workshop style with specific topics.
I anticipate we’ll go back and forth between those two workshop styles for the foreseeable future. Even after things return to “normal”, we at Allegory plan to continue our Livecast workshops, in a form that best suits all our needs moving forward.
While we started these workshops with the hope it would help other writers face the challenges the pandemic has created, I learned it was exactly what I needed, to connect with other people as we travel down this very strange road.
While the workshops are free, participants must register. You can click the link here to register for any of our scheduled events. I hope you can join us weekly as #WeWriteThrough.
Elena Taylor.
We Write Through: Free Livecast Writing Workshop
We Write Through is a once-a-week, free, Livecast writing workshop available to writers everywhere.
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite on-line retailers. And don’t forget many independent bookstores can order books for you and have them shipped to your home or for curbside pickup.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Images:
Don’t Worry from Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
Desk work station from Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
Ship at sea from Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
The post We Write Through: Free Livecast Writing Workshop appeared first on Elena Taylor.
May 17, 2020
PI Novel Launches a Brand New Series
The PI Novel has always been my go-to subgenre in Crime Fiction. I cut my teeth on Sue Grafton and wanted to be Kinsey Millhone when I was twelve. The genre continues to grow and change, but that feisty, female protagonist is still alive and well in Mary’s addition to the canon.
Interested in other PI Novels? Don’t forget my very own Eddie Shoes Mystery Series. Click the link here for more information.
The Author
Mary Keliikoa
Mary Keliikoa spent the first 18 years of her adult life working around lawyers.
Combining her love of all things legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails.
She has had a short story published in Woman’s World and is the author of the PI Kelly Pruett series which debuts with Derailed in May 2020.
At home in Washington, she enjoys spending time with her family and her writing companions/fur-kids, Bella, a bossy golden retriever and August, her mischievous kitty.
When she’s not at home, you can find Mary on a beach on the Big Island where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.
To learn more about Mary, click on her name and photo or any of the following links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads
The Book: PI Novel
#1 in a new PI Series
“It’s that perfect blend of personal and professional that makes Derailed a welcome addition to the genre. I can’t wait to follow both Kelly and Keliikoa’s careers.”
–Kellye Garrett, Anthony, Agatha, and Lefty Award-winning author of Hollywood Homicide
“Derailed has it all: an engaging heroine, a twisty, twisted crime, and plenty of food for thought about families and their secrets. I loved this debut and can’t wait to read about Kelly Pruett’s next case.”
–Kristen Lepionka, Shamus Award-winning author of the Roxane Weary mystery series
“Mary Keliikoa’s Derailed is a humdinger of a good read. Sharp, detailed writing, a riveting plot and well-drawn characters make it practically unputdownable. And how exciting to have another tough, smart, female PI to follow. I can’t wait for PI Kelly Pruett’s next case!”
–Tracy Clark, author of Borrowed Time
When a single mom of a deaf daughter inherits her father’s PI business and aims to prove that a young woman’s death by train wasn’t an accident, she finds herself on a crash course with her complicated family and a killer determined to keep the truth hidden.
To buy the book, click on the following link: Amazon
The Interview
Describe your publishing journey:
I wrote consistently from the age of 27 to 35. During that time, I finished 4 novels.
Derailed is the last book I wrote during that time. I did try to find an agent during those 8 years for some of my earlier novels, but didn’t accomplish that goal. At 35 I started a company with my husband and the writing took a backseat for 15 years.
Fast forward, we sold part of the company and in 2016 I pulled out Derailed and entered it into Pitch Wars. I was chosen as a mentee to the fabulous Kellye Garrett and Sarah Henning. However, that was only the beginning of this part of my journey as I didn’t get an agent during agent rounds.
In fact, I subsequently received over 100 rejections and reworked the novel once again from top to bottom before I got the agent call, and then a year later, the offer for publication. From the time I pulled the novel out to publication will be 4 years.
“My inspiration for Kelly stemmed from my love of female PI novels…”
What inspired you to write this PI Novel?
The inspiration for Derailed really came from just my years of working with lawyers in downtown Portland and playing the “what if” game.
My inspiration for Kelly stemmed from my love of female PI novels in general and wanting to create someone as tenacious and resourceful as the investigators found in them.
The PI Novel makes for a great series. We love to follow the evolution of these characters, such as Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro by Dennis Lehane, and V.I. Warshawski by Sara Peretsky.
What are you working on now?
Edits for Kelly Pruett’s second novel, Denied, are already back with the publisher, so I am busy working on Book 3, Deceived, which will be due to my editor the first of the year.
Congratulations on your PI series! Very excited to read the second book! Looking forward to having you back on my blog for your next launch.
Header photo by ar130405 on Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite on-line retailers. And don’t forget many independent bookstores can order books for you and have them shipped to your home or for curbside pickup.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
The post PI Novel Launches a Brand New Series appeared first on Elena Taylor.
May 13, 2020
Notorious Minds Boxset: Spotlight on Author Karen Randau
Notorious Minds Boxset available for pre-order now.
I’m thrilled to introduce this epic boxset of stories by an amazing list of authors along with a spotlight on author Karen Randau
Looking for other exciting reads? Check out a variety of interviews and reviews for All We Buried, my latest release with Crooked Lane Books. Click the link here.
What does it take to commit the perfect crime?
Delve into these dark and twisted tales by twenty USA Today and International Bestselling Authors. No matter what kind of crime story typically catches your imagination, there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Discover a narcissistic grandmother running an underground syndicate, or a support group bent on murder…and even a serial killer who turns his victims into fairytale creatures.
Conspiracies, political plots, and yes, even murder, are just a few of the crimes waiting inside this box set. Discover a narcissistic grandmother running an underground syndicate, or a support group bent on murder…and even a serial killer who turns his victims into fairytale creatures.
Prepare to delve into an elite killing team who made a mistake, an oil rig filled with secrets ready to explode, and a reporter uncovering a treasonous plot.
Uncover how fatal passion, jealousy, and fear can be to a group of royal marines and learn from a detective who is far from home fighting demons from his past in order to stay alive.
Can you figure out how the police solve a killer’s confession to nine murders that haven’t happened yet? or how a girl that got a heart transplant became the FBI’s number one ally in solving crimes?
This box set is packed with thousands of pages that will hold you on the edge of your seat, crying for answers. Definitely a must for fans of Patterson, Lee, and Grisham. One-click it today!
AUTHOR LINE UP: Click any name below for more information
Judith Lucci – USA TODAY AND WSJ BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Carlyle Labuschagne – USA TODAY
Eva Winters – USA TODAY
Lena Bourne – USA TODAY
Karen M. Bryson – USA TODAY
Inge – Lise Goss – USA Today
Karen Randau – Award Winning Author
Eric J. Gates – Award Winning Author
Deborah Shlian & Linda Reid – International Bestselling Author
Sian B. Claven – Award Winning author – Check out her YouTube Video by clicking the link here.
Majanka Verstraete – International Best selling author
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE……
Pre order now and you will receive their amazing pre-order gift – products are digital and printing is at reader’s cost.
LINK FOR HOW TO CLAIM A PRICE: https://www.subscribepage.com/notoriousmindspreordergiveaway
PRE-ORDER PURCHASING LINKS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085S2DYPH
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940163815098
Itunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1502417965
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/za/en/ebook/notorious-minds-boxset-mystery-thriller-crime
GIVEAWAY READING BUNDLE FOR EVERYONE
https://books.bookfunnel.com/notoriousmindsboxedsetgiveaway/mv0ohn8sb6
Spotlight on Karen Randau
Karen Randau
Karen Randau: Author of the Rim County Mysteries.
A native of the southwestern U.S., Karen Randau has been writing and telling stories since elementary school. She holds a degree in journalism/public relations from The University of Texas at Austin and has enjoyed a long career in marketing communications.
After a short stint working in a psychiatric hospital, when she wrote three self-help books, Karen joined an international relief and development organization to use her skills to help people struggling with extreme poverty. She has traveled to numerous developing countries, witnessing famines, violence, and hopeful people working to overcome a generational cycle of poverty.
She loves to read and write fast-paced mysteries and thrillers, especially those with intricate plots, lots of action, and rollercoaster-like twists and turns.
To check out her YouTube video, click the link here.
So many mystery and thriller stories all in one place! Can’t wait to dive in.
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite on-line retailers. And don’t forget many independent bookstores can order books for you and have them shipped to your home or for curbside pickup.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
The post Notorious Minds Boxset: Spotlight on Author Karen Randau appeared first on Elena Taylor.
May 3, 2020
YA Thriller Author Leslie Lutz On Her Debut
Meet YA thriller author Leslie Lutz as she chats about her debut novel and what’s coming next.
I’ve been reading a lot more YA and Middle Grade recently, such great stories available to kids and adults.
Interested in more books with young protagonists? Check out my interview with debut author Eliza Nellums by clicking the link here.
The YA Author
Leslie Lutz
Leslie and Pumpkin!
Leslie Lutz is the author of Fractured Tide (HarperCollins/Blink; May 5, 2020).
Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in various journals, including Typishly, The Lyric, Raintown Review, Kaaterskill Basin Literary Journal, and Orca.
She draws on her volunteer experiences—including her time teaching GED courses at the Atlanta Women’s Prison—to tell stories that challenge stereotypes about forgotten people.
Leslie lives in Fort Worth, and when she’s not writing, you can find her watching B-horror movies, scuba diving, or taking care of chickens.
To learn more about Leslie, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Instagram and Twitter
The YA Thriller
YA Thriller
Lost meets Stranger Things in this eerie, immersive YA thriller, thrusting seventeen-year-old Sia into a reality where the waters in front of her and the jungle behind her are as dangerous as the survivors alongside her.
For an experienced scuba diver like Sia, it was supposed to be like any other wreck dive.
Then a boat accident sends her and a handful of survivors onto the shores of a time-bending island.
The best hope for finding answers—and a way home—rests at the center of the jungle, in a flooded sinkhole that only Sia has the skills to navigate.
But if the creature lurking in the depths doesn’t destroy her and the other survivors, the fractured reality within might.
To buy the book, click on any of the following links: IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
The Interview
Describe your publishing journey:
Although I’ve been writing since I was a teenager, I started taking my writing more seriously about 15 years ago.
Almost a decade passed as I sporadically revised my first manuscript, hoping I’d find the right story in there and land an agent. I can’t remember when it hit me or why, but I finally realized I’d been putting all my creativity and hopes into one story, and it was never, ever going to work. So I let it go—which wasn’t easy—and wrote something else.
And I kept moving, finishing one project and developing the next idea. Manuscript four came with me to DFW Writers Convention, and Amy Bishop, an agent from Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret, took a chance on me. That changed everything. A year later, she sold the book to HarperCollins/Blink, and I’ve been celebrating ever since.
YA or Young Adult is a category, not a genre. The age range YA books target is 12-18, however adults and younger children can enjoy them too.
What inspired you to write this novel?
Wreck Dive
I’ve always been fascinated with exploring the Big Blue, and my favorite dives are around the beautiful wrecks off the coast of the Florida Keys.
The way nature swallows up the bones of those ships over time is both beautiful and eerie.
One of those ships, the Spiegel Grove, stuck in my imagination and became the U.S.S. Andrews, the wreck that the main character’s dive charter stumbles upon.
I also have always fantasized about what it would be like to be stranded somewhere for months and have to rely on nothing but your wits.
What would you like to be asked about your novel?
Why did you choose to have the story told as a letter from the main character to her incarcerated father?
When I spent a year volunteering once a week as a GED teacher at the Atlanta Women’s prison, I went into the classroom with a lot of stereotypes about incarcerated parents that I’d picked up watching TV.
But my classroom was filled with people, not stereotypes, and reading their personal essays was a revelation to me. Most of the women wrote about their children and how much they were looking forward to seeing them next week, or how they dreamt of being with them again. I was astonished at the resilience I saw in people who live under the worst circumstances.
After that experience, I began to notice that incarcerated parents depicted on TV are usually painted in one of two ways: either they’re the wrongfully accused or just plain evil. These extremes make for dramatic storytelling, but what about all those children of incarcerated parents out there who never see themselves in TV and movies?
I wanted to show a real relationship, and I hope that the love between Sia and her father comes through.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a creepy ghost story set in the Deep South. Another bizarre ship makes an appearance, but this time the main character and her archaeologist father are excavating its bones out on the Savannah Back River, a place almost as inhospitable as the island I write about in Fractured Tide.
The main character, Charlie, is much younger than seventeen-year-old Sia, so I gave her an identity crisis that a lot of young teens experience when their parents push them in opposing directions. I’m also exploring the realm of sleep in this story and what happens when a character is put under pressure and denied this basic need.
This all sounds amazing! Thanks for visiting us on my blog.
Wreck dive photo by Martin Str on Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite on-line retailers. And don’t forget many independent bookstores can order books for you and have them shipped to your home or for curbside pickup.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
The post YA Thriller Author Leslie Lutz On Her Debut appeared first on Elena Taylor.
April 20, 2020
Librarian Sets A Historical Mystery In East Texas
Thrilled to introduce another debut author in the crime fiction genre. Elementary school librarian Shanessa Gluhm launches her first novel with a twisty, turny historical novel set in Carthage, Texas, during two different eras.
Curious about other librarians-turned-authors? Check out my interview with research librarian Edwin Hill by clicking the link here.
The Author/Librarian
Librarian turned Mystery Novelist
Shanessa Gluhm works as a librarian at an elementary school in New Mexico where she lives with her husband and children.
It was during her own elementary days when a teacher encouraged Shanessa to write and share stories with the class.
She hasn’t stopped writing since. Enemies of Doves is her debut novel.
To learn more about Shanessa, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and BookBub
The Book
Debut Novel
On a summer night in 1932, twelve-year-old Joel Fitchett wanders into an East Texas diner badly beaten and carrying his unconscious brother, Clancy. Though both boys claim they have no memory of what happened, the horrific details are etched into their minds as deep as the scar left across Joel’s face.
Thirteen years later, both men still struggle with the aftershocks of that long-ago night and the pact they made to hide the truth. When they find themselves at the center of a murder investigation, they make a decision that will change everything. A second lie, a second pact and for a time, a second chance.
In 1991 college student, Garrison Stark, travels to Texas chasing a rumor that Clancy Fitchett is his biological grandfather. Clancy has been missing since 1946 and Garrison hopes to find him and in doing so, find a family. What he doesn’t expect to discover is a tangle of secrets spanning sixty years involving Clancy, Joel and the woman they both loved, Lorraine.
Told in alternating timelines from World War II to 1992, Enemies of Doves is a tale of family secrets, jealousy and deception perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Katherine Webb.
To buy the book click either link: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
The Interview
Your debut novel, Enemies of Doves, takes place in multiple eras. What drew you to writing a novel that skips back and forth in time?
Many of my favorite books are told in alternating timelines.
Kate Morton, one of my favorite authors, uses this storytelling method in all of her books. I like the idea of a story having roots in the past and present.
It can be challenging as a writer because you have to make sure both are equally engaging, so the reader isn’t trying to rush through one to get back to the other. However, when done well it can deepen character development. Since those are some of my favorite books to read, I decided to attempt one as well.
One of my favorite book critics/authors is Librarian Nancy Pearl. She appears on NPR and is one of my favorite speakers on all things literary. You can find out more about Nancy by clicking the link here.
How much research did you do for this project? What was that like?
United States during WWII
I decided to set the story in the 1940s and 1990s. I chose the WW2 era because my late grandfather fought in that war, and I always enjoyed hearing his stories.
Although the book is set during this time, I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as WW2 fiction because with some minor tweaks it could take place in another era. I originally had more WW2 history, a few battle scenes and a scene where a character is in a POW camp, but they didn’t make it through edits.
So most of what I had to research was what life on the homefront was like, what the world my characters were living in looked like.
As for the 1990s, I suppose that decade is now a part of history as well and can hardly be called a “modern timeline.” However, I didn’t have to do much research for that since I was a girl of the nineties.
You set Enemies of Doves in east Texas. What is it about that area that interested you? How did that landscape inform your work?
Carthage, Texas
Enemies of Doves is set in East Texas because I spent my childhood summers there visiting my grandparents.
I think places tied to childhood memories have a special sort of nostalgia for us. It’s been many years since my grandparents lived there, but I’ve found myself wanting to go back for a long time.I’d love to see their old home, walk those streets that my feet haven’t touched since childhood.
My grandfather is gone now, and my grandma’s health and memory are declining, so I often turn to those memories.Writing a story set in Carthage was a way to revisit.
I joined an East Texas writer’s group and spent a lot of time looking at old pictures and doing some tours via Google Earth. I love the area and the people and I hope that comes across on the pages.
“There are so many wonderful children’s books that I love.”
In addition to being a novelist, you are an elementary school librarian. What are some of your favorite children’s books? Either that you loved as a kid or recent publications you like to recommend now?
There are so many wonderful children’s books that I love. A few of my favorites are Little Tree (Loren Long), The Banshee (Eve Bunting, Emily Arnold McCully), Pumpkin Jack (Will Hubbell), Love (Matt de la Peña, Loren Long), and Guess Again (Mac Barnett, Adam Rex).
For chapter book readers, I love The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate DiCamillo), Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt), The One and Only Ivan (Kathrine Applegate), and Crenshaw (Katherine Applegate).
Great suggestions for Children’s book titles. Thank you, Shanessa!
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m what is referred to as a “plotter” in the writing world, so I always start with an outline.
I believe the outline for Enemies of Doves was about 40 pages. During this process I also make a character notebook where I list all that I can about each character.
Most of it will never make the book, but it helps me have a clear picture of them in my mind. I focus heavily on their strengths, weaknesses, and emotional wounds, so I can predict how they will react in various situations.
Next is the first draft where I just get the story out as quickly as possible. It’s at that point where the hardest work for me begins, editing. I’ve found that most of the writing process is in fact editing.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my second novel, Crow’s Nest Creek. It’s about a young woman named Sloan who is trying to solve the mystery of her brother who disappeared (and was believed to be murdered) years before.
It is similar to Enemies of Doves in that it is set in two timelines, this time around I chose 1988 and 2007. Character notebooks and the outline are done, and I’m plugging away at draft one.
Final words of wisdom:
Work hard and don’t give up. It’s a bumpy ride to a wonderful destination. I’m going to borrow words from Stephen King who said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Your novel sounds amazing! Can’t wait to read it. Best of luck with your second novel as well. Come back and visit with us again soon!
Header photo by 12019 on Pixabay. For more information, click the link here.
The post Librarian Sets A Historical Mystery In East Texas appeared first on Elena Taylor.
April 8, 2020
New Standalone by Cold Case Investigation Series Author
A Standalone is a novel that well . . . stands by itself. There are no other books with the same characters. A series book is one that is intentionally written to have additional books with the same characters (or location or other carryover between novels).
This week’s author has a successful series, the Cold Case Investigation Series, but has now come out with a brand new standalone. New characters, new crime.
In addition to sharing a launch day with fellow Crooked Lane author Katharine Schellman, I also share a book birthday with Lissa Marie Redmond. She’s the author of The Secrets They Left Behind and three Cold Case Investigation novels, with a fourth coming out May 5.
Read my joint interview with Katharine by clicking the link here.
The Author
Lissa Marie Redmond
Lissa Redmond was born in Buffalo and grew up in a compact little neighborhood south of the city called Woodlawn, squashed between the massive Bethlehem Steel plant and Ford Stamping plant. Growing up she rode her bike, played on the shores of Lake Erie and never dreamed she’d someday be a cop.
During her days at the University of Buffalo she took the exam to be a city of Buffalo police officer and got on the job. At the age of twenty-two they gave her gun, a badge, a bullet proof vest, and put her on patrol. Twenty-two years, a detective’s badge, a fellow detective husband and two kids later, she retired to pursue a “normal” life.
She decided to become a writer instead.
She still lives in Buffalo with her husband, raises her kids, feeds and pampers her ungrateful cat, and writes about the things that kept her up at night, staring at the ceiling in the dark, asking herself, “What if?”
And she invites you to come along.
To learn more about Lissa, click on her photo, name, or the following links: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Book
Standalone
Three college freshmen go missing from their rural hometown of Kelly’s Falls while on Christmas break. Their cell phones, coats, and purses are left behind, but the girls have disappeared without a trace. As the days turn into weeks and the investigation grows cold, twenty-three year old Buffalo police officer Shea O’Connor is called on to dig up leads undercover.
Still bearing the emotional and physical scars of a previous case, O’Connor infiltrates as eighteen-year-old Shea Anderson, a college freshman and the “niece” of the town’s police chief.
As she begins to immerse herself in the missing girls’ world, befriending their friends and family, and doing whatever it takes to maintain her cover, O’Connor realizes the track is far colder than she initially thought. But whoever was behind the girls’ disappearance was only warming up, and they have set their crosshairs directly on her.
The heat is on for O’Connor as she closes in on the shocking truth about what really happened the night the girls vanished.
To buy the book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, and Dog Ears Bookstore, click here.
“It’s my first title with Crooked Lane Books and I couldn’t be happier with the people there.”
Some thoughts from the author on The Secrets They Left Behind . . .
First off, I want to congratulate Elena on the release of her book. I can’t wait to read All We Buried. If my latest book is any indication, small town secrets are right up my alley!
(Thank you! So excited to share a launch date with you. I’m looking forward to reading yours as well!)
I’m very excited about the release of my new novel The Secrets They left Behind for a couple of reasons. It’s my first title with Crooked Lane Books and I couldn’t be happier with the people there. They’ve made it such a positive experience in this time of tragedy and uncertainty. I hope the story gives my readers a few hours of escape at the end of the day. I know I curl up in my bed with a book every night until I fall asleep.
“I did undercover work and I know what’s it’s like to feel like you have to earn the respect of your peers…”
Another reason I’m glad to see this book hit the shelves is because I was once a twenty-three-year old cop (a long, long time ago, it seems now). I did undercover work and I know what’s it’s like to feel like you have to earn the respect of your peers, so the character of Shea is very dear to my heart.
While she’s very different from me and this is fiction, I remember the knots in the pit of my stomach, always wanting to do the right thing, believing I could make a difference. Hopefully I bring that raw emotion to Shea as she tries to find out what happened to the three missing girls.
A little bit about Crooked Lane Books
A crime fiction imprint that publishes today’s most gripping mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels. From high-concept thrillers and white-knuckled suspense to traditional mysteries and literary crime, our titles consistently deliver driving plots, engaging characters, and stunning twists from the most talented authors on the scene.
Crooked Lane Books was founded in 2014 to publish the highest quality crime fiction titles in both print and electronic editions. From editorial and production to promotion, distribution, and sales, we are a house that focuses on working with our authors to reach readers of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense.
Crooked Lane Books is distributed through Penguin Random House Publisher Services. They are committed to providing the highest level of sales and distribution services to independent publishers, and unparalleled access to information, new technologies, a leading supply chain, and the benefits and reach of the Penguin Random House sales force.
Crooked Lane is also represented by Biagi Literary Management for subsidiary rights licensing in foreign and domestic markets, and our business relationships include some of the most respected companies in the industry, including Bookspan, home of the country’s largest book clubs, and Blackstone Audio, one of the nation’s largest independent audiobook publishers.
With our experienced staff, hands on approach, and innovative marketing techniques, Crooked Lane Books partners with our authors to publish the best possible books for fans of every kind of crime fiction.
For more information about Crooked Lane, click the link here.
Header Photo by Philm1310 on Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
The post New Standalone by Cold Case Investigation Series Author appeared first on Elena Taylor.
Cold Case Investigation Series: Book Three!
A Cold Case Investigation guaranteed to heat up your reading!
So many great books launched this week! In addition to sharing a launch day with fellow Crooked Lane author Katharine Schellman, I also share a book birthday with Lissa Marie Redmond. She’s the author of the Cold Case Investigation Series. Book Three launched April 7!
Read my joint interview with Katharine by clicking the link here.
The Author
Lissa Marie Redmond
Lissa Redmond was born in Buffalo and grew up in a compact little neighborhood south of the city called Woodlawn, squashed between the massive Bethlehem Steel plant and Ford Stamping plant. Growing up she rode her bike, played on the shores of Lake Erie and never dreamed she’d someday be a cop.
During her days at the University of Buffalo she took the exam to be a city of Buffalo police officer and got on the job. At the age of twenty-two they gave her gun, a badge, a bullet proof vest, and put her on patrol. Twenty-two years, a detective’s badge, a fellow detective husband and two kids later, she retired to pursue a “normal” life.
She decided to become a writer instead.
She still lives in Buffalo with her husband, raises her kids, feeds and pampers her ungrateful cat, and writes about the things that kept her up at night, staring at the ceiling in the dark, asking herself, “What if?”
And she invites you to come along.
To learn more about Lissa, click on her photo, name, or the following links: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Book: A Cold Case Investigation
Book Three
Three college freshmen go missing from their rural hometown of Kelly’s Falls while on Christmas break. Their cell phones, coats, and purses are left behind, but the girls have disappeared without a trace. As the days turn into weeks and the investigation grows cold, twenty-three year old Buffalo police officer Shea O’Connor is called on to dig up leads undercover.
Still bearing the emotional and physical scars of a previous case, O’Connor infiltrates as eighteen-year-old Shea Anderson, a college freshman and the “niece” of the town’s police chief.
As she begins to immerse herself in the missing girls’ world, befriending their friends and family, and doing whatever it takes to maintain her cover, O’Connor realizes the track is far colder than she initially thought. But whoever was behind the girls’ disappearance was only warming up, and they have set their crosshairs directly on her.
The heat is on for O’Connor as she closes in on the shocking truth about what really happened the night the girls vanished.
To buy the book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, and Dog Ears Bookstore, click here.
“It’s my first title with Crooked Lane Books and I couldn’t be happier with the people there.”
Some thoughts from the author on The Secrets They Left Behind . . .
First off, I want to congratulate Elena on the release of her book. I can’t wait to read All We Buried. If my latest book is any indication, small town secrets are right up my alley!
(Thank you! So excited to share a launch date with you. I’m looking forward to reading yours as well!)
I’m very excited about the release of my new novel The Secrets They left Behind for a couple of reasons. It’s my first title with Crooked Lane Books and I couldn’t be happier with the people there. They’ve made it such a positive experience in this time of tragedy and uncertainty. I hope the story gives my readers a few hours of escape at the end of the day. I know I curl up in my bed with a book every night until I fall asleep.
“I did undercover work and I know what’s it’s like to feel like you have to earn the respect of your peers…”
Another reason I’m glad to see this book hit the shelves is because I was once a twenty-three-year old cop (a long, long time ago, it seems now). I did undercover work and I know what’s it’s like to feel like you have to earn the respect of your peers, so the character of Shea is very dear to my heart.
While she’s very different from me and this is fiction, I remember the knots in the pit of my stomach, always wanting to do the right thing, believing I could make a difference. Hopefully I bring that raw emotion to Shea as she tries to find out what happened to the three missing girls.
A little bit about Crooked Lane Books
A crime fiction imprint that publishes today’s most gripping mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels. From high-concept thrillers and white-knuckled suspense to traditional mysteries and literary crime, our titles consistently deliver driving plots, engaging characters, and stunning twists from the most talented authors on the scene.
Crooked Lane Books was founded in 2014 to publish the highest quality crime fiction titles in both print and electronic editions. From editorial and production to promotion, distribution, and sales, we are a house that focuses on working with our authors to reach readers of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense.
Crooked Lane Books is distributed through Penguin Random House Publisher Services. They are committed to providing the highest level of sales and distribution services to independent publishers, and unparalleled access to information, new technologies, a leading supply chain, and the benefits and reach of the Penguin Random House sales force.
Crooked Lane is also represented by Biagi Literary Management for subsidiary rights licensing in foreign and domestic markets, and our business relationships include some of the most respected companies in the industry, including Bookspan, home of the country’s largest book clubs, and Blackstone Audio, one of the nation’s largest independent audiobook publishers.
With our experienced staff, hands on approach, and innovative marketing techniques, Crooked Lane Books partners with our authors to publish the best possible books for fans of every kind of crime fiction.
For more information about Crooked Lane, click the link here.
Header Photo by Pexels on Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
The post Cold Case Investigation Series: Book Three! appeared first on Elena Taylor.
April 5, 2020
Two Crooked Lane Authors Launch New Books!
Not just one, but two Crooked Lane Authors on my blog this week! And one of them is me!
I’m thrilled to share my launch date with fellow Crooked Lane author Katharine Schellman! We thought it would be fun to do a joint interview to celebrate our new books.
As you can imagine, things have changed a LOT in recent days from what either of us anticipated for launching our books. I had planned a lot of events to celebrate the new book and meet with readers. Some events have been rescheduled, others are in flux, please check my events page for updates.
And don’t miss my Facebook Launch Party on Tuesday! Check in from wherever you live. Click the link here to find the event and all the details. Guest writers, fun chat, and giveaways!
Our Wonderful Press
The Crooked Lane Authors
Katharine Schellman
Katharine Schellman studied theatre and history at the College of William & Mary, after which she went on to dance professionally, marry her college sweetheart, and collect addresses up and down the east coast of the United States.
The Body in the Garden is her debut novel.
Katharine currently lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia, and she is still recovering from that time she worked in political consulting.
To learn more about Katharine, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
Photo by Mark Perlstein
Elena Taylor lives on the banks of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River in a town made famous by Twin Peaks.
When she’s not writing or working one-on-one with writers as a developmental editor, she can be found hanging out with her husband, dog, and two cats.
Her favorite place to be (besides home) is the stables down the road, with her two horses Radar and Jasper.
To learn more about Elena, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
Two Crooked Lane Books
Book One!
Perfect for fans of Tasha Alexander and Rhys Bowen, Katharine Schellman’s debut novel is sure to delight.
London 1815. Though newly-widowed Lily Adler is returning to a society that frowns on independent women, she is determined to create a meaningful life for herself even without a husband. She’s no stranger to the glittering world of London’s upper crust.
At a ball thrown by her oldest friend, Lady Walter, she expects the scandal, gossip, and secrets. What she doesn’t expect is the dead body in Lady Walter’s garden.
To buy the book, click on any of the following links: IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, KOBO, AppleBooks, and Books-A-Million.
Book One!
For fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal, All We Buried disturbs the long-sleeping secrets of a small Washington State mountain town.
“A lifeless lake, a floating corpse, a small-town sheriff trying to make her mark, ALL WE BURIED is a gripping mystery about memory and the dark secrets we can’t leave behind. Fast-paced and impeccably plotted, the story keeps you guessing as it sinks ever deeper into the community’s troubled past. A late-night read that mystery lovers will devour.”
—Lili Wright, author of Edgar-nominated Dancing with the Tiger.
To read the Publisher’s Weekly review, click the link here.
To buy the book, click any of the following links: IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, KOBO, AppleBooks, and Books-A-Million.
The Interview
To Katharine: We both landed at Crooked Lane for our books launching on April 7. Tell us about your journey from draft to published author with Crooked Lane:
In a word: long! Though not as long as it could have been, which I feel very fortunate about. You don’t realize until you’re in the publishing world how much timing and luck impact things. The right person needs to see your query or manuscript at the right time, and that’s not something you have any control over.
What you do have control over is writing, and that’s something I’ve been doing my whole life. I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since I was about six years old. There are multiple novels saved on my hard drive that will never see the light of day again, but they were really good practice.
When I finished the first draft of the book that became The Body in the Garden, it was not a good book by any means, but I knew it had potential. So I kept working on it whenever I had time.
All told, it took three years, five beta readers, and five drafts before I was ready to start querying.
All told, it took three years, five beta readers, and five drafts before I was ready to start querying. And I had an abnormally fantastic experience in those trenches! I signed with my agent four weeks after I sent my first query letter.
We spent the summer revising, went on submission that fall, and sold the book to Crooked Lane in April, just under a year after I started querying. My pub date was set for a year after that, and I’m in good company!
So from starting to write the book to publication will be about five years. It felt very long at the time but, in the grand scheme of traditional publishing, I’ve discovered that five years isn’t much time at all.
To Elena: How has your writing process changed from your first book to this one?
The biggest change was less about my writing process and more about the style of the mysteries I’m writing.
My first three books, the Eddie Shoes Mystery Series, are light and funny. They are about a private eye, Eddie Shoes, who solves homicides with her card-counting, poker-playing mother for a sidekick.
…a very different style than All We Buried , which is a return to my more serious and dramatic roots.
That’s a very different style than All We Buried, which is a return to my more serious and dramatic roots.
I spent a lot of years in theater writing plays about complex social and environmental issues, so the Eddie Shoes books were a blast to write and a fun break from all the heavy drama.
With All We Buried, my protagonist is a sheriff, rather than a private eye, and it includes a much deeper investigation into the human condition. Sheriff Bet Rivers solves not just a homicide, but also mysteries from her past and how to move forward in her own life after her father’s death.
For fans of Eddie Shoes, I promise Eddie, Chava, Franklin, and the crew will be back! But right now I’m totally engaged in the world of Bet Rivers, and I hope you find her as fascinating as I do.
For Katharine: You have also worked as an actor and a dancer, how does your actor and dance training impact your writing life?
My years performing really taught me a lot about how to be self-motivated in a creative career and how to juggle your time — especially about how to balance a day job with a creative job that doesn’t quite pay the bills! It also gave me a very thick skin. Acting is about 90% rejection and comes with a lot of critical (and often very personal) feedback.
Learning how to take that and use it to grow in your craft, rather than getting discouraged, was a lesson that has been incredibly helpful as a writer. And having been through hundreds of acting and dancing auditions meant that when it was time to query or go on submission, I was able to keep things in perspective.
Dance and acting have also given me some very particular writing quirks! My dance background made me a very physical actor, so figuring out how my characters moved was always how I got into their emotions and personalities. That has definitely spilled over into my writing.
I tend to describe what characters are doing physically as a way of showing how they are feeling and reacting. Mostly I think this is a good thing, but I’ve been lucky to have beta readers and editors who are willing to point out when I’m overdoing it.
For Elena: Planning and researching a book usually involves stumbling over all sorts of weird facts. Is there a strange-but-true detail you came across while writing this book (or another) that didn’t make it into the final draft?
What a great question! I do a lot of research, both reading and interviewing experts. There are a lot of details that fascinate me that don’t make it into the final drafts, but this question brings to mind a story that isn’t exactly about research, except it says a lot about small towns.
My new series is set in the tiny fictional town of Collier, Washington. While the town itself is from my imagination, it’s based on real places in Washington State. So I visited the tiny town of Roslyn, just east of Snoqualmie Summit, to scout out some fun real-world details to include in Collier.
Best Beef Jerky in the State!
There’s a great meat market there, called Carek’s. I stopped in for some yummy ribs to take home and other treats. I started chatting with the lovely woman behind the counter, who I believe is also the owner. She asked what brought me to Roslyn, and I explained what I was doing.
That took us to how I rely on experts for my research and how a specific person in Ellensburg, a much bigger town thirty miles away, had been very helpful to me. I didn’t say a name, just his title.
She said, “Oh, yeah, Nick. I went to high school with him.”
It had never occurred to me that I was talking to someone who would actually know the expert I was talking about! It reminded me that small towns make it so much more likely that people, or at least their names, are recognizable.
While I have lived in small towns, including Alpine, California, Roy, and Port Townsend, Washington, I didn’t grow up in one. So these kinds of coincidences aren’t what I expect.
It was a terrific reminder about how much harder it can be to remain anonymous in a town that size.
(On a side note, Roslyn has a population of 947, very similar to Collier)
For Katharine: Historical mysteries require research for the mystery and for the time period, then you also set your mystery in another country – what were the challenges for setting your story in 1815 London?
Early 19th century England was a period that I had read a lot of fiction set in or written during, so when I started writing I thought I was really familiar with the era. I quickly discovered how much I still had to learn!
London 1815
I had to research everything, from checking maps for the names of landmarks to reading letters and court records to get a sense of colloquial speech to studying fashion plates to learn about nuances of dress. I especially had to do a lot of research into what life would have been like for people who were not upper class, or not white, or not wealthy.
I’d guess that about 70% of the research didn’t make its way into the final novel, but it informed everything I wrote.
Fortunately, the research wasn’t a hardship for me: it’s something I genuinely enjoy. I have less interest, for example, in studying modern forensics and computer science in order to write a believable police procedural. I’m glad there are other writers tackling that genre so I can enjoy their books while focusing on my historical research instead!
For Elena: What’s the best message you’ve ever received from a reader?
Show Poster
I’ve had a lot of great messages from readers over the years. About how things resonated with them, or what they loved about a book. Franklin, the dog in the Eddie Shoes Series, and Chava, Eddie’s mother, could have their own fan clubs.
But the best messages I’ve ever received have been through productions of my plays.
One of my favorites came several years ago, when I wrote a play for a college production out in Greenville, South Carolina. I wrote a play about teen suicide and bullying.
I got several really wonderful messages from the students involved in the production, but it was an email from a parent that really touched me.
She and her daughter saw the play together, even though the daughter wasn’t excited about going. The daughter, who knew firsthand about bullying and the very real dangers of teen suicide, ended up returning to see the play multiple times and brought her friends along with her.
To know that I impacted this young woman and her friends in a positive way has stayed with me.
It was a wonderful reminder that art has real world implications. That helps me stay committed to being a storyteller, even when it’s hard.
For Katharine: What are you working on now?
I recently finished the first draft of a completely separate novel, a crime drama set in Jazz Age NYC, which was so much fun to write! (It also required lots of research. Still does!)
I started working on it before The Body in the Garden sold, and my agent and I decided I should finish it before returning to my Regency mysteries.
Now I’m taking a break from that one to plan out the next Lily Adler Mystery. My editor is waiting on that one, so hopefully, it won’t take me three years this time around!
For Elena: What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on what I hope will be the second Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery. I also have a partial draft for a fourth Eddie Shoes book. There are a couple other projects that I continue to mull over.
I spend a lot of time working in my head on projects even when I’m not actively writing them. Let’s just say I have enough projects to last me for at least the next ten years!
For Katharine: Final words of wisdom:
It takes about 300 words to fill a typed page. If you write a page a day for a year, you’ll have 365 pages. That’s a book, and it only takes 300 words a day.
For Elena: Final words of wisdom:
No one is forcing you to write. No one will die if you don’t publish. No one cares more about your work than you do.
Do this for yourself. Be proud of your accomplishments. You don’t have to convince anyone else your work matters. You know it does.
Header photo by enriquelopezgarre on Pixabay. Click the link here for more information.
The post Two Crooked Lane Authors Launch New Books! appeared first on Elena Taylor.
April 1, 2020
Book Blast: Sue Hinkin Releases Book 3!
Book Blast: Looking for something new to read? Don’t miss the third book in Sue Hinkin’s Bea Middleton & Lucy Vega Series!
Want to read my interview with Sue when she launched her debut novel? Click the link here.
The Author
Sue Hinkin
Sue Hinkin is a former college administrator, television news photographer and NBC-TV art department manager.
With a B.A. from St. Olaf College, she completed graduate work at the University of Michigan and was a Cinematography Fellow at the American Film Institute.
She is an active member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and the Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America.
A long-time L.A. resident where the series takes place, she now lives with her family in Littleton, Colorado.
The Burn Patient is her third novel. Other books in the Bea Middleton & Lucy Vega series are Low Country Blood, and Deadly Focus.
To learn more about Sue, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Facebook and Pinterest.
The Book Blast: Available in Ebook and Paperback Format!
Book 3!
Lucy thought she’d seen her uncle’s murderer die in Guerrero. He was incinerated in a Jeep explosion while trying to put a bullet through her head.
She didn’t know officials had never found the body.
Now, Gary Mercer, Hollywood bad boy, drug czar and psychopathic murderer, is back from the dead with a new face, literally.
This time his perverted sights are set on Bea’s beautiful, naïve teenage daughter, Alyssa. Trafficking her into the porn industry would be the perfect instrument of revenge against Bea and Lucy, whom he blames for his horrific condition.
As Mercer continues to recover from traumatic burn injuries, with the help of a stunning sociopathic transvestite with a penchant for sewing roadkill, he must also fight to claim undisputed leadership of the black tar heroin cartel, which has been badly shaken by the death of its long-time jefe, General Luis Alvarez.
As Bea’s daughter sneaks off to audition for the music video that will result in her ruin, Mercer’s henchmen start a brush fire on Lucy’s Malibu ranch. She and Bea struggle to save Alyssa, the ranch, and end Mercer’s reign of terror before it’s too late.
To buy the book click on the following link: Amazon
Praise for The Burn Patient!
“With likable heroines, depraved villains, and a cast of interesting supporting characters, Hinkin proves she is more than just a writer of thrillers, her writing is a thrill to read as well.” —Colorado Book Review
“One of the best things in the book was the twists and turns. They made the story more captivating, and so it was hard to put it down. What I liked most in the book was character development. The characters were relatable. There is nothing that I did not like about the book.”
—OnlineBookClub 4/4 Stars
Header photo by Erad on Pixabay. Click the link here for more info.
The post Book Blast: Sue Hinkin Releases Book 3! appeared first on Elena Taylor.
