Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 26

Bopping Around the Internet

As my regular blog readers know by now, I've got a new release due out on November 8th, the trade paperback and ebook edition of To Hell in a Handbasket with a phenomenal purple cover (see above). To celebrate and promote the release, I'm visiting various sites on the Internet, leaving articles or answering interview questions. Today, I'm on the Mysteries and Margaritas blog, with an article about "Researching How Colorado Sheriff Offices Work."

Last Friday, October 26th, the "Writing From the Peak" blog of Pikes Peak Writers spotlighted To Hell in a Handbasket in it's Sweet Success feature, where accomplishments of members are trumpeted.

And tomorrow is day two of my appearance on Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz's blog, Law and Fiction, where I'm talking about serving on a jury for three days. The article about my first day of jury service appeared on her blog on October 23rd. The third article, about my last day of service, will appear on Tuesday, November 6th.

More on-line appearances are coming up, and I'll try to keep you posted about them here. I hope those of you who haven't read To Hell in a Handbasket will get your hands on a copy and read it soon. I'd love to know what you think of it after you read it, too!

Lastly, for you whitewater enthusiasts, here's a great article on the OARS blog by George Wendt, an early river runner, about his exploits.

Project Healing Waters

Last week, I blogged about how Wicked Eddies , the second book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner, features a fly-fishing tournament that I modeled on The America Cup, which is held in Vail, Colorado every fall. The folks at The America Cup are also involved in a worthy nonprofit effort called Project Healing Waters. The tournament organizers offered a Soldier's Day of fly fishing instruction before this year's tournament.

The goal of Project Healing Waters is to provide basic fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying and rod building classes, along with clinics for wounded active military personnel and disabled veterans ranging from beginners to those with prior fly fishing and tying experience who are adapting their skills to their new abilities.  The program gives our wounded warriors a chance to get outside and enjoy nature while becoming competent and confident in a new or revised skill. If you're interested in fly fishing or in helping our veterans, I hope you will check out the website for Project Healing Waters and consider making a donation.

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Kathleen Ernst

As promised yesterday, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Kathleen Ernst is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post.

The photo above is the cover for her October 8th release, The Light Keeper's Legacy , the third book in her Chloe Ellefson series. Hoping for solitude at last, museum curator Chloe Ellefson leaps at the opportunity to be a consultant for the historic lighthouse restoration project on Rock Island, a state park in Wisconsin’s scenic Door County. Hoping to leave her personal and professional problems at home, Chloe’s tranquility is suddenly spoiled when a dead woman washes ashore. Determined to find answers behind the mystery, Chloe dives into research about the island’s history and discovers the amazing, resilient women who once lived there. But will the link between the past and present turn out to be a beacon of hope or a portent of doom?

Sounds like a great read to me! Below is Kathleen's guest article about Location, Location, Location. Please feel free to respond to Kathleen's questions or to ask her a question of your own in the comments. Doing so will enter you into her contest for a copy of one of her Chloe Ellefson mysteries.

Location, Location, Locationby Kathleen Ernst
When I began creating the Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites mystery series, I had the setting nailed down long before I developed my protagonist.  I conceptualized the series because I missed the historic site where I once worked as an interpreter and curator of interpretation and collections.

In 1981 I was fresh out of college and looking for seasonal work.  I’d studied environmental education at West Virginia University, with a whole lot of history and creative writing classes tossed in, too.  To me, the mix made perfect sense.  I love nature; I love history.  And how can we begin to understand the past without understanding the relationship between people and their natural environment?


I moved from the Atlantic coast to the Midwest in order to take a job at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum.  Historians had chosen almost six hundred acres within Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest to create a sprawling historic site featuring dozens of historic structures moved from all over the state.  No one can truly reconstruct an historic environment, of course, but this site comes close.  Wooded land, glacial ponds, and prairie remnants surround the living history museum’s homes, gardens, and fields.


I left OWW in the mid-1990s.  However, I really missed the place!  So in time, Chloe Ellefson developed in my imagination as curator of collections there.  In Old World Murder, Chloe is trying to settle into her new job at the site.  The second book, The Heirloom Murders, takes Chloe a bit farther afield by featuring a nearby Swiss-American community, but the story is still firmly rooted at OWW.

The Light Keeper’s Legacy, just out from Midnight Ink, is set entirely elsewhere.  Chloe accepts a temporary consulting assignment that takes her to Rock Island State Park, just off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula in Lake Michigan.  She’s charged with doing research and developing a furnishings plan for Pottawatomie Lighthouse, a real structure that was magnificently restored by The Friends of Rock Island and the Department of Natural Resources.

My husband and I have served as live-in docents at Pottawatomie, a magnificent 1858 building perched on a cliff on the roadless island.  I knew it would provide the perfect setting for a Chloe mystery.  The island is remote and ruggedly beautiful, and the lighthouse has a fascinating human history.  What could be better?


This area is beloved vacation spot for many Midwesterners, so I’ve gotten lots of positive feedback about the setting.  However, I’ve also heard from a few people who—while looking forward to reading The Light Keeper’s Legacy—mention that they’ll miss the Old World Wisconsin setting.  Readers who know and love the real historic site enjoy imagining each scene while reading.

I’ve long been a fan of Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon mysteries, and a large part of my reading pleasure comes from knowing that I’ll be immersed in a new national park with almost every volume.  I’d like to do something similar by getting Chloe to different historic sites and museums as the series progresses.

But I also understand that knowing the setting for any series can be quite enjoyable for readers who feel as if they’re revisiting a favorite place with each new book.  I’m choosing to straddle the issue by keeping Chloe employed at Old World Wisconsin, but letting her visit other locations by taking consulting jobs, attending conferences, etc.

How about you?  Is the familiar setting in your favorite series something you particularly look forward to, or are the human stories more important than the setting?  I’d love to know your thoughts!

**
I’m grateful to Beth for allowing me to be a guest on her blog.  And I’m grateful to readers!  I love my work, and I’d be nowhere without you.  Leave a comment here, and your name will go into a drawing; the winner may choose any of my Chloe Ellefson mysteries:  Old World Murder, The Heirloom Murders, or The Light Keeper’s Legacy.  For more information see my website or my blog. 


Okay readers, I'm expecting a lot of comments and contest entries for Kathleen. Fire away!

Tomorrow's Guest: Kathleen Ernst

Tomorrow, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Kathleen Ernst will be a guest on my blog. The Light Keeper’s Legacy is Kathleen Ernst’s twenty-fourth published book.  In addition to the Chloe Ellefson series, she has written many books for American Girl, including the six-book series about the newest historical character, Caroline Abbott.  Several of her mysteries for young readers have been finalists for Edgar or Agatha awards.  Kathleen and her husband Scott volunteer as live-in docents for a week each summer at Pottawatomie Lighthouse.

In her guest post tomorrow, Kathleen Ernst talks about Location, Location, Location, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Then, please feel free to respond or to ask her some questions in the comments.

My Experience Serving on a Jury

For those of you who missed my posts in July about serving on a jury, those three articles are scheduled to appear again on Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz's blog, Law and Fiction, over the next three weeks. The first one, about my first day of jury service, will appear tomorrow, October 23rd. The second one, about the second day I served, will appear on Tuesday, October 30th. And the third, about my last day of service, will appear on Tuesday, November 6th. I hope you will read the articles and check out Leslie's very useful and informative blog.

The America Cup International Fly Fishing Tournament

Wicked Eddies , the second book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner, features a fly-fishing tournament. I modeled that tournament on a real fly fishing tournament called The America Cup, which is held in Vail, Colorado every fall. For the book, I replaced the loch (lake) days of the competition with downriver rafting days, held on class I-III whitewater sections of the Arkansas River near Salida, Colorado. Otherwise, the details of how the tournament was run, including wading fishing days, are the same as those in The America Cup.

I was able to include such realistic details because John Knight, the Tournament Director of The America Cup, invited me to shadow him on a competition day. Early in the morning, I observed the check-in of two-person fishing teams and volunteer controllers. These controllers measured and recorded fish catches using large PVC pipes cut in half and marked with inches and fractions of inches. John Knight was acting as a controller, too, so I tromped along muddy, brambly terrain alongside the Arkansas River with him while we shadowed a fly fishing team.

As a thank you to John for his help in researching Wicked Eddies, Midnight Ink and I gave him seven autographed copies of Wicked Eddies to use as prizes in this year's tournament. On The America Cup website, you can see photos of the award ceremony, and copies of Wicked Eddies appear in at least two of the photos. I hope those award-winning fly fishers enjoy reading Wicked Eddies, and I hope all of my blog readers do, too!

Fun Times in Breckenridge

 Yippee! I just received my author copies of the trade paperback version of To Hell in a Handbasket, book two in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series. Here's a photo. Isn't all that purple and sky blue beautiful?!


I thought I also would share some photos of recent events I starred in or attended. The first is of me with the three other authors who spoke with me at the Colorado Author Night at the Frisco Library last Friday evening.


The authors in the photo are, from left to right, Gregory Hill, me, Paula Scanland, and Mark Stevens. We had a great turnout and a lively Q&A at the end. Many thanks to the Summit County Library System for organizing the program and providing treats!

Then last Saturday, my husband and I attended a talk given by a North Face speaker, Cory Richards, a mountain climber and adventure photographer. His program was very inspiring! In the photo below, Cory is sandwiched between my husband and me.


And here I am at the end of a shift of volunteering to bottle bourbon at the Breckenridge Distillery. The tank ran out in the midst of filling bottles, so two bottles were left partially full. The volunteers volunteered to dispose of that extra product after our work was done, and the bottles were passed around. Here I am in front of the still doing my bit to help clean up:

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Duffy Brown

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Duffy Brown is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post.

The photo above is the cover for her October 2nd release, Iced Chiffon , which begins her new series, the Consignment Shop series. To pay for rehabbing the dilapidated Victorian house in Savannah, Georgia that she loves, Reagan Summerside opens the Prissy Fox consignment shop on the first floor, filling it with the remnants of her rich-wife wardrobe after her divorce. Reagan gets involved in the lives of her Savannah customers and neighbors and her vivacious Auntie KiKi who helps run the shop.

 After a gruesome discovery, murder and mayhem ensue at the consignment shop for Reagan's ex, his young blond cupcake and the badass attorney who screwed Reagan over in the divorce. The local gossip—and the sales—pick up, but the gossip fiends flooding Reagan’s shop will give her a lot more than just their unwanted clothes—they have information more precious than a vintage Louis Vuitton…

This sounds like a really fun series! Below is Duffy's guest article about Sleuthing and the BFF. Please feel free to tell us about your BFF or to ask Duffy a question in the comments. By doing so, you'll be entering Duffy's contest (details below)!

Sleuthing and the BFF…
 By Duffy Brown

It’s winter, a dark and stormy night, your car just broke down in the middle of nowhere and you forgot to recharge your cell phone. In the moonlight you see an old dilapidated farmhouse in the distance.

The question is… Who’s walking to that farmhouse with you?

Sherlock has Watson with him, Perot has Captain Hastings, Nancy Drew has boyfriend Ned, Stephanie Plum has Lula. Some sleuths even have a cat or dog. Sometimes they even talk. I wish my cats talked. Actually I wished they did the laundry and vacuumed but I digress.



Every sleuth has a BFF (Best Friend Forever) to chat with, get into trouble with, drink with.

On TV, Beckett has Rick Castle. The CSI people have each other kicking around and Lisbon has tea-drinking Patrick Jane in The Mentalist.


It’s not just solving the crime together that makes them BFFs but sharing their personal lives. In my opinion, it’s this personal touch that’s the most interesting part of the show or book. Don’t you love when Sherlock does something nice for Watson or Perot and Hastings take on the chase together?


That LuLa is a once-upon-a-time hooker makes for a great character, that Patrick Jane is hunting for Red John keeps us riveted, that Rick Castle is raising his teenage daughter and has his mother living with him gives a human touch to finding killers?


In my book, Iced Chiffon, protagonist Reagan Summerside has BFF Auntie KiKi. KiKi was once a roadie for Cher and spouts Cher-isms when giving sage advice.


When KiKi was born, the angels chanted cha-cha-cha over her crib and turned her into Savannah’s resident dancing teacher. There’s also the other Bruce Willis, a stray dog who takes up residence under Reagan’s porch.


Back to our dark and stormy night. We know the BFF our sleuths have at their sides when running for the creepy old house. Who would you have? When life goes right to hell in a handbasket, who do want at your side?


Thanks, Duffy, especially for that reference to To Hell in a Handbasket, my upcoming release! Remember, everyone, that Duffy Brown is running a contest for those who comment on her post here for an Iced Chiffon tote and T-shirt. Also, she will send a packet of Iced Chiffon goodies (pen, notepad, bookmark, magnet etc)  to anyone who asks for it. Fire away!

Tomorrow's Guest: Duffy Brown

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Duffy Brown will be a guest on my blog. Duffy loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, she longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson, and conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. Iced Chiffon, out October, 2012, is the first in the Consignment Shop Mystery series. Killer in Crinolines is scheduled May, 2013. Duffy Brown also writes romance as Dianne Castell and is a USA Today bestselling author.

In her guest post tomorrow, Duffy Brown talks about Sleuthing and the BFF, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Then, feel free to respond or to ask her some questions in the comments. She's running a contest for those who comment for an Iced Chiffon tote and T-shirt. Also, she will send a packet of Iced Chiffon goodies (pen, notepad, bookmark, magnet etc)  to anyone who asks for it. Tomorrow's going to be a fun day!

Going to Hell in a Handbasket

Today I am blogging at Inkspot, the Midnight Ink author blog, about the November 8th re-release in trade paperback and ebook of To Hell in a Handbasket, the second book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series. I hope you will join me there--and enter the contest I'm having by making a comment and following the blog if you aren't already a follower!