Debra H. Goldstein's Blog, page 18

Guest Blogger – Janis Wilson – Time for History

Time for history by Janis Wilson

Victorian England is the setting of my novels. In Goulston Street, I wrote about the crimes and search for the world’s most famous killer, Jack the Ripper. Extensive research about the period in which the crimes occurred was time-consuming but essential.

The most compelling question about the story, of course, is the Ripper’s identity. The second most troubling question is why he wasn’t caught. In other words, were the cops inept or uninterested?

With other cases, all one would have to do was read the police file,  However, the Ripper case has held such fascination for so many for more than a century, the files were examined repeatedly by the public. Scotland Yard took no precautions against the purloining of key documents. Ripperologists have been significantly hampered by Scotland Yard’s failure to protect its internal memoranda. Another drawback to studying the case was the lack of police training in the late 19th century.  Scotland Yard led the way in creating a detecting protocol. Police didn’t start working in plain clothes until 1842. The Ripper murders took place in the Autumn of Terror, 1888. These police were far from welcomed by the community; they were feared. Londoners suspected they were spies.

There being a shortage of material about the Ripper case, I had to do my own detecting. I wondered to whom the police reported. In many cities, the Police Department comes under the mayor or city council. I asked myself who was the big cheese in London and the answer was easy. Queen Victoria. If provoked, she wasn’t shy about commanding her subjects to take action. Sure enough, I discovered she’d written a coded telegram to the Home Secretary (the equivalent of the American Secretary of State) expressing displeasure with the lack of progress in the investigation.

Armed with this information, I began a search of Home Office materials on the case, cross-referencing with key events in the case. The Police Commissioner made one particularly bone-headed move cost him the respect of the men he led. A message written in chalk on a wall off Goulston Street read, “The Juwes are not the men that will not be blamed for nothing,” or words to that effect.

Actions that quickly followed discovery of the message left the investigators uncertain precisely what it said but it was widely accepted that the message was an anti-Semitic statement in an area populated primarily by Jews. Officials feared people would take the words to link Jews with the Ripper crimes.

The confusion arose after the police commissioner ordered the words be washed from the wall. Police responsible for finding the killer took offense at this order, which was carried out before a photographer could memorialize the message. I realized the decision would have to have been explained so I sought out the written record. The commissioner had written a detailed memorandum to the Home Secretary explaining his reasoning, but to no avail. So shocking was this destruction of evidence that, in a day or so after explaining his reasoning, the commissioner bent to pressure and resigned.

As mentioned, there was no formal police training at this time, so there were no protocols for investigating crimes like serial killing. The crimes occurred in the East End, the most impoverished and densely populated area of London. Today, crime scenes were be roped off to preserve footprint and DNS evidence.  In 1888, East End residents wandered through the crime scenes on their day to day errands. No one knew about preserving shoe prints. DNA had not been discovered at that point, so the cigarette butts on those streets were not collected.

Another useful tool to investigating police work was the newspaper. Cbeap newspapers, often called “penny dreadfuls” proliferated. I read them not only to discover how the investigation was conducted but also what police were not doing.

Police intensely distrusted these newspapers, seeing no benefit to sharing information with the press. But reporters are indefatigable and enterprising, so they followed the detectives around and interviewed witnesses as soon as detectives departed. When information was no forthcoming, reporters made it up. In fact, the name “Jack the Ripper” was created by a newsman who wrote a penned a purported confession to the crimes and signed it, “Yours truly, Jack the Ripper.”  To this day, the title is shorthand for any serial killings, especially those committed with a knife.

In trying to identify those responsible for the investigation, I discovered a problem that plagued investigators after the 9/11 attacks.  There was no coordination of investigative efforts.  The “City of London” is not only the financials district of England, but a separate governmental entity with its own police force separate from Scotland Yard. One of the five murders was committed inside its borders, meaning the City police were solely responsible for solving that crime. Scotland Yard did not share information with City police and vice versa.

I have an entire bookcase devoted to the Ripper case and have studied many theories. As discussed in my novel, I landed on one theory advanced by a gifted historian that I found persuasive. I am still researching the Victorian era and am working on a book about a famous socialist and the harsh view of government opposition to the left wing that still rings true today.

Research is fun. I recommend it for everyone. It is a learning constellation that goes in multiple directions, all of them enriching.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Janis Wilson is a writer, trial lawyer, and lecturer.  For the past several years, she has been a true crime commentator on the Investigation Discovery and Oxygen Channels. She has appeared on such programs as “Deadly Affairs,” Evil Stepmothers” and “Killer Couples.” She could be a called a Renaissance woman, but she swears she is not that old.

She attended the University of Memphis, graduating with a degree in journalism. She became a newspaper reporter, but later returned to the University of Memphis and obtained a Master of Arts in Political Science.  Hoping to combine her love of journalism and politics, Janis moved to Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg, and resumed her newspaper career. In Harrisburg, Janis spent countless hours in state and federal courts, covering investigations, grand jury proceedings and trials.

In court, Janis observed the best and worst trial lawyers.  One was so bad she decided, “If he could get through from law school, so can I.”  And she was right; she graduated from the Temple University School of Law.

Her novel, Goulston Street, purports to name the real Jack the Ripper.  Janis is a renowned Ripperologist and has taught a course at Temple University on the famous Victorian era killer.  She is a co-organizer of RipperCon, an international conference of persons who study the Ripper’s crimes and Victorian era police practices.

Janis is a chapter president of Maryland Writers Association and belongs to Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Guppies, The Wodehouse Society, and Sherlockians of Baltimore.

She lives without incident in Baltimore with her husband and two rescued cats.

 

,

 

,

 

The post Guest Blogger – Janis Wilson – Time for History appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guess Blogger: Judy Penz Sheluk – It’s Not Always a Murder

It’s Not Always a Murder by Judy Penz Sheluk

The first thing I do after writing The End is to send a copy of the manuscript to my beta readers. I did just that with Where There’s A Will, the third (and final) book in my Glass Dolphin cozy mystery series, and waited to hear back.

Now, I’ll be honest with you. Even after five published novels, I still get nervous. After all, when you’ve been immersed in a project for months, you tend to lose perspective. What if they hated it? After all, I encourage honest feedback. That’s the point of having beta readers.

Fortunately, the feedback for Where There’s a Will was positive. One reader, however, did make this comment:

“I know the first two books in this series had murders at the center of the drama, so I was surprised that, although there were compelling mysteries reminiscent of your style in the Marketville series, there was no murder. Even more surprising was how much I enjoyed the story, even without a murder in the mix. I really couldn’t put it down. The mystery of the wills and how it all could impact the lives of all the characters was really intriguing.”

Now, as an author, I knew I was taking a risk. Cozy mystery readers have come to expect a murder. In fact, there’s often a dead body in the first chapter, sometimes on the first page.

But I wanted this story to be about friendship and forgiveness, about second chances, and about leaving my main characters—Glass Dolphin antiques shop co-owners Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland—at a good place in their lives.

That’s not to say that some of the characters in Where There’s A Will don’t deserve to fall victim to a bad end, and not everyone gets the second chance they might have hoped for, had one been offered. But hey, I write without an outline. Is my fault that when it came to “their turn for redemption” I didn’t find them worthy? I don’t think so. But that’s the thing about pantsing my way through the pages. I’m often surprised by who gets forgiven, and who doesn’t. Even when there’s not always a murder.

About the book: Emily Garland is getting married and looking for the perfect forever home. When the old, and some say haunted, Hadley house comes up for sale, she’s convinced it’s “the one.” The house is also perfect for reality TV star Miles Pemberton and his new series, House Haunters. Emily will fight for her dream home, but Pemberton’s pockets are deeper than Emily’s, and he’ll stretch the rules to get what he wants.

While Pemberton racks up enemies all around Lount’s Landing, Arabella Carpenter, Emily’s partner at the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, has been hired to appraise the contents of the estate, along with her ex-husband, Levon. Could the feuding beneficiaries decide there’s a conflict of interest? Could Pemberton?

Things get even more complicated when Arabella and Levon discover another will hidden inside the house, and with it, a decades-old secret. Can the property stay on the market? And if so, who will make the winning offer: Emily or Miles Pemberton?

Purchase Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KFLQ6KH

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-theres-a-will-judy-penz-sheluk/1137780682?ean=2940162992455

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/where-there-s-a-will-87

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/where-theres-a-will/id1533844283?ls=1

About the Author: A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and the Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including The Best Laid Plans and Heartbreaks & Half-truths, which she also edited.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves as Chair on the Board of Directors. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.

 

The post Guess Blogger: Judy Penz Sheluk – It’s Not Always a Murder appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blog: FOUR AUTHORS Tell All About Four “Tails” of Miscreants and Murder

Teresa Inge

FOUR AUTHORS TELL ALL ABOUT FOUR “TAILS” OF MISCREANTS AND MURDER

To Fetch A Villain, the third book in the Mutt Mysteries series, features Four Fun “Tails” of Miscreants and Murder. Tell us what it’s like to write with multiple authors?

Teresa Inge – We coordinate the stories, editing, cover art, publication, and book promotion. Since the four of us are in other series together, we love coordinating the series.
Heather Weidner – It’s fun. I love being in group projects for discussions and camaraderie. Writing is solitary, so I enjoy hanging out with writer friends in a collaborative effort.
Jayne Ormerod – Great fun. We write individually, resulting in four stand-alone stories. It’s like Christmas morning when reading the book from start to finish. The real fun is planning (often at Williamsburg Winery), marketing, and book signings.
Maria Hudgins – The best part is readers get more than just my slant on things. My dogs and are friends, partners, and equals in brains and common sense. The other authors provide entertainment and activities for their pets.

Since readers of crime fiction love a series, what is your protagonist’s name and background and

Heather Weidner

do you use the same protagonist in each book?

Teresa Inge – Catt Ramsey, owner of the Woof-Pack Dog Walkers in Virginia Beach, is in the wrong place at the wrong time throughout the series. But when accused of murder, she’s on the case with pups Cagney and Lacey, sister Em, and family friend Jonathan Ray
Heather Weidner – My protagonist is sassy private investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald. She’s also my sleuth in the Delanie Fitzgerald mysteries. It was fun to include her and her computer hacker/partner, Duncan, and his English bulldog, Margaret, outside the regular series.
Jayne Ormerod – I use a different protagonist and canine sidekick in each story. Different personalities are needed for different situations. But the “voice” is the same. It’s more like sitting in a sharing and caring circle while each amateur sleuth tells her adventures in crime fighting.
Maria Hudgins – Jessica Chastain, a mystery writer is totally deaf but very competent on her own. Her trained service dog, Trey, acts as her ears and watches out for her. In my other series, Dotsy Lamb, a retired history professor gets into trouble around the globe, and Lacy Glass, plant pigment expert and archaeology wannabe, attends digs, wherever a certain archaeologist is working.



Joyce Ormerod

As dogs are the primary characters in your story, what are their names and breeds and how do they help solve crime and murder? And do you ever include your own dogs in the series?

Teresa Inge – Cagney and Lacey, two Yorkshire Terriers go everywhere with Catt Ramsey to solve crime and murder. They bark and alert Catt to dangerous situations. I sometimes include my own dogs Luke and Lena, two shepherd mixed dogs in the series.
Heather Weidner – Margaret, the Wonder Dog, an English bulldog is sidekick to Delanie’s partner, Duncan, at Falcon Investigations. She naps, snacks, and provides security at the office. One summer, she alerted Delanie and Duncan to a snake in the ceiling. My Jack Russell    Terriers are Disney and Riley from the same litter.
Jayne Ormerod – We’ve had six dogs during our lives. Each inspired certain traits of my fictional dogs. In my story “Ruff Day”, Mr. Belvedere is a silver Great Dane and some of his antics stem from my sister’s experiences as a dog walker.
Maria Hudgins – Trey and Kim, Bichon frises are based on my bichons, Holly and Hamilton, who were with me until five years ago. Trey, a trained service dog, is devoted to making Jessica’s house run like clockwork. Kim, a rescue is working to put her sad past behind her. Together, they’re playful but can be forces to be reckoned with!

Anything else you want to share about future books in the series or yourself?

Maria Hudgins



Teresa Inge – I am writing a story for the next Mutt Mysteries book, To Fetch a Killer. Murder by the Glass and Virginia is for Mysteries will be published in 2021.
Heather Weidner – I write the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries and the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. The fourth Delanie book will be out in 2021, and the first Jules book will launch in October 2021.
Jayne Ormerod – Some book proceeds are donated to animal welfare by each author. I send mine to Hope for Life Rescue in Virginia Beach. Our dog Scout and grand-dog Porter came from there. Tiller is our double rescue dog.
Maria Hudgins – I have no dogs now. Lulu, my snowshoe cat that I keep indoors has little opportunity to fight crime. She loves to be read to and prowls the house at night. Her nightly snooping might be a start to a story.

Maria Hudgins

Maria Hudgins is the author of four Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries, Death of an Obnoxious Tourist, Death of a Lovable Geek, Death on the Aegean Queen, and Death of a Second Wife. These stories are set in Italy, Scotland, the Greek Islands, and Switzerland. Before using a place as a setting, Hudgins visits and takes copious notes. Two mysteries in her new Lacy Glass Series are available on Kindle and Kindle Prime. Scorpion House centers around an expedition house in Luxor, Egypt. The Man on the Istanbul Train follows the young botanist from Istanbul to an archaeological dig in central Turkey. She lives in Hampton, Virginia.

Teresa Inge

Teresa Inge grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Today, she doesn’t carry a rod like her idol, but she hotrods. Love of reading mysteries and writing professional articles led to writing short fiction and novellas. She is president of Sisters in Crime Mystery by the Sea chapter and author of short mysteries in To Fetch a Thief, To Fetch a Scoundrel, To Fetch a Villain, To Fetch a Killer, Virginia is for Mysteries, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Coastal Crimes: Mysteries by the Sea, and Murder by the Glass. Connect with Teresa and her social media sites by checking out her website: http://www.teresainge.com .

Jayne Ormerod

Jayne Ormerod grew up in a small Ohio town then went on to a small-town Ohio college. Upon earning her degree in accountancy, she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy thing, but a Certified Internal Auditor). She married a naval officer and off they sailed to see the world. After nineteen moves, they, along with their two rescue dogs, have settled into a cozy cottage by the sea. Jayne’s publishing credits include more than a dozen mysteries of varying lengths. A complete list can be found on her website www.jayneormerod.com.

Heather Weidner

Heather Weidner writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series set in Virginia (Secret Lives and Private Eyes, The Tulip Shirt Murders, and Glitter, Glam, and Contraband), and her Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries launch October 2021. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm. Her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. Through the years, she has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers. Find out about Heather and her social media contacts through her website: http://www.heatherweidner.com

 

 

The post Guest Blog: FOUR AUTHORS Tell All About Four “Tails” of Miscreants and Murder appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blogger: Judy Alter – Never Throw Out a Manuscript

Never Throw Out a Manuscript by Judy Alter

Back in the day we used to say every author had a stack of unpublished manuscripts in the basement or the closet. Today, those hidden gems are on our computers. I recently reclaimed one from the forgotten files.

In the spring of 2017, I started a culinary mystery about a TV chef, Irene Foxglove, and her assistant or gofer, Henny (Henrietta) James. The story was set in Chicago’s historic Hyde Park, the neighborhood of my childhood. It was fun for me to revisit familiar places, but still I ran out of steam. In spite of the protests of a reader who said she liked it and thought it had promise, I abandoned Irene and Henny.

Other nice things intervened—a contract with Rowman and Littlefield to write The Second Battle of the Alamo led to a working relationship with one of the best editors I’ve ever had. She shepherded through a contract for a second nonfiction manuscript and reprints of five of my historical novels. And she was encouraging about a proposal on a project I had in mind.

But then COVID-19 hit, and editorial work at Rowman and Littlefield went on hiatus. I was left at loose ends. I wrote blogs, I read books, I fiddled. Like much of America, I was anxious about the pandemic, but I had nothing to distract me. Work was always my usual refuge when life got tough, but this time work failed me. I couldn’t come up with a new project with several others hanging fire.

Then one April day, impulsively, I opened the file of the culinary novel and re-read. To my surprise, I thought, “This isn’t half bad.” I liked the voice, and I saw plot possibilities. Being a pantser, I began to write. I wrote almost daily, and the story flowed more easily than some of my others By July, I had a finished manuscript.

Not only was it fun to research the Hyde Park and discover changes since I was last there, the story allowed me to explore food writing, a subject that increasingly interests me. With Henny, I figured out new recipes and spent long hours in the kitchen. I fell into the stereotype and gave Irene a faux French background, enough to add to the mystery. Of course, there was intrigue—Irene was clearly distraught and hiding something. And then there was a murder and a kidnapping. And there was a hint of romance. That too-handsome guy next doior became Henny’s best friend as she recognized, with regret, that he didn’t much like girls.

It all came together with a climactic scene at Chicago’s fabled Palmer House Hotel, another fun bit of research for me.

Today that manuscript is a published book, available in print or digital form. The title is Saving Irene, though, being an old-fashioned hymn singer, I’ve had a hard time to keep from calling it Saving Grace. And one of my fans write that though she’s read all my mysteries, this is the best one ever.

Me? I’m exploring other old back files on my computer.

 

The post Guest Blogger: Judy Alter – Never Throw Out a Manuscript appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blogger: Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day – Two Releases in One Month!

Two Releases in One Month! by Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day

First, big thanks and a (virtual hug) to my buddy Debra for hosting me here. It’s been so fun watching our careers develop on parallel tracks. Please read down for a double giveaway.

But two new books in September, you ask? Yes, I am in the enviable (maybe) and crazy position of having two mysteries release in a single month. Taken Too Soon, the sixth Quaker Midwife Mystery (written as Edith Maxwell), came out September 8th. Candy Slain Murder, number eight in the Country Store Mysteries (penned by my alter ego Maddie Day), releases on the 28th. Yes, from two different publishers. Beyond the Page and Kensington arrange their schedules without consulting me, thus the convergence.

So what’s an author to do? How do I promote and celebrate two books simultaneously?

Three years ago I was in the same position, with new books in these same two series both coming out in April. Back then, of course, we were having lovely events like in-person launch parties. I threw one, as I have many times, at Jabberwocky Bookshop, my local indy. I made sugar cookies from the 1880s and Kahlua Brownies from Pans ‘N Pancakes, my fictional Country Store restaurant. I brought my Quaker bonnet and a Hoosiers ball cap.

Here’s what happened. In front of about fifty fans, friends, and family, Edith and Maddie interviewed each other. Maddie picked up her Indiana cap and asked Edith a question about Called to Justice. Then I (Edith) switched positions (and hats), answered the question, and asked Maddie something about When the Grits Hit the Fan. It was fun, and people loved it. I signed lots of copies of both books afterward, too.

Now what to do? Should I repeat the dual self interview? Nah. Been there, done that. There are a couple of common threads between Taken Too Soon and Candy Slain Murder – except I can’t tell you because it would spoil both stories. But I hope you’ll read the two books and tell me what you find.

So I’m sitting tight and writing posts like these and others. Please check my web site for a list of other guest posts, including at least one post featuring a recipe from the book. And – I do have a box of Candy Slain Murder. I’d love to give away a signed copy to one of you and an ebook of Taken Too Soon to another.

Readers: Which other authors do you read who write under different names? Do you prefer historical mystery or contemporary?

Taken Too Soon

Quaker midwife Rose Carroll’s maiden aunt calls Rose to Cape Cod with her new husband when Tillie’s teenage ward is found dead. Rose and David’s modest honeymoon turns into a murder investigation. A Native midwife and her family are among the suspects, as is David’s own brother. With the help of the local detective, Rose digs in the shifting sands of the case until the murderer is revealed.

Candy Slain Murder

As December sweeps through South Lick, Indiana, Robbie Jordan’s life seems merry and as bright as the string lights glistening around town – until things get bumpy. A man claims to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie’s assistant. A fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist, exposing skeletal remains in his attic. Unavoidably intrigued, all Robbie wants for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare. With a decades-old mystery taking shape, can she run as fast as she can in pursuit of a killer who’s harder to crack than a stale gingerbread man?

 

Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Agatha Award winning Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries and short crime fiction. With twenty-two mysteries in print and more underway, Maxwell lives with her beau and their energizer kitten north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. She hopes you’ll find her on social media under both names and at her web site.

 

 

The post Guest Blogger: Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day – Two Releases in One Month! appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blogger Susan Van Kirk: The Mix-Ups of Multiple Mysteries

The Mix-Ups of Multiple Mysteries by Susan Van Kirk

Several years ago, when I spent winters in Phoenix, I heard multiple marvelous mystery writers at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore. On one occasion, I listened to a gentleman who was writing a series with four books published. Several times people asked questions about events that happened to his characters, and he had trouble remembering which book contained the deeds in question. That’s odd, I thought. You would think a person would remember what he wrote.

Nowadays, I find I must eat my words. I’ve now written three mystery series, two of them published and the third off to publishers. The first series took place in the small town of Endurance with a protagonist, Grace Kimball, age 56, dating a newspaper editor, Jeff Maitlin, during the three novels. In the second series, Sweet Iron is the small town where Beth Russell goes to find out about an inheritance. Beth, age 48 when that series begins, is interested in a police detective named Kyle Warner. The first book of the Apple Grove series isn’t out yet, but its protagonist, Jill Madison, is the youngest of all—age 30. She is a painter and curator of an art center, and she meets a young doctor named Sam Finch, but their relationship is just getting off the ground.

Today, I’m working on the plot for the second Sweet Iron series and I think I may need a coroner. That’s easy, I think. There’s Alexander P. Atkins, III, who is quite a crazy character straight out of the wild West. Oh, no, wait. TJ Sweeney talked to him. That was in The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney in the Endurance series. Well, there’s Abe Calipher, spiffy dresser and always carrying a cup of coffee from some coffee shop. Hmmm. He won’t work because he’s in Death in a Pale Hue. Did I have a coroner in the Sweet Iron series? I guess I didn’t. No coroner, so I may have to invent yet another coroner.

I also have three protagonists. Grace Kimball is most like me, a retired schoolteacher, but younger than I am. She’s a cautious woman and curious about everything. A widow, she has been single and raised three now-adult children. Grace has a circle of friends who support her, and a detective friend, TJ Sweeney, who was a former student. A trip to her downtown will elicit many humorous conversations with former students.

Beth Russell, from the Sweet Iron Series, is a bit of a loner, although she’s becoming more social as the series continues. She’s a historical researcher and genealogist, and shares Grace’s intellectual curiosity. Beth has developed a circle of friends very slowly as she becomes more involved in the life of the town. Her past has been unlucky in love, but that doesn’t seem to stop her from falling for the town detective.

In the small town of Apple Grove, Jill Madison is the youngest protagonist at 30, and I occasionally must call my daughter-in-law, who is also 30, to ask her questions about how she reacts to things and uses language from a different generation than mine. Jill deals with depression caused by a past event, but she is doing much better now that she is back in her hometown with her family supporting her. Unlike her more intellectual protagonist-cousins, she is an oil painter who takes some stupid chances when she gets involved in a murder investigation.

A different day, a different book to work on, and I work a little harder now to remember who is where with which love interest. Sigh.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Susan Van Kirk is President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a writer of cozy mysteries. She lives at the center of the universe—the Midwest—and writes during the ridiculously cold and icy winters. Why leave the house and break something? Van Kirk taught forty-four years in high school and college and raised three children. Miraculously, she has low blood pressure.

Her Endurance mysteries include Three May Keep a Secret, Marry in Haste, The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney, and Death Takes No Bribes. Her Sweet Iron mystery is A Death at Tippitt Pond. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Website:  www.susanvankirk.com

 

 

The post Guest Blogger Susan Van Kirk: The Mix-Ups of Multiple Mysteries appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blogger: Donnell Ann Bell – My Scrap File: Then and Now

My Scrap File: Then and Now by Donnell Ann Bell

When I was a new fiction writer, I joined a critique group in which a multi-published author said to us, “You’ll write one million words before you’re any good.”

At the time I thought that was a rather narrow statement. I’d met authors who were natural born wordsmiths. They’d sold their novels shortly after completing them. Surely, they hadn’t written one million words. Surely, I wouldn’t have to wait that long.

Later, I realized I’d heard that author’s words through a young writer’s lens. She wasn’t criticizing our work at the time. She wasn’t even talking about selling, which we all desperately wanted to do. She was sharing her philosophy about craft. What she meant was that with every sentence we write, and every manuscript we finish, the more we grow and fine tune our skills as a writer.

Just for fun I pulled out my earlier scrap files. My first abandoned files have less words than my files of today. Was I a better writer then? I hope not. My scrap files of yesterday were from a novice writer learning. My scrap files of today are of a more advanced writer, more critical of the work she puts out, and who still has a lot to learn.

For the record, I’ve written a great many words since I began my fiction career, and I’ve easily surpassed one million words. Know what I plan to do? Keep on writing. I hear if you write two million, you get even better.

How about you? Do you share my critique partner’s writing philosophy?  Or how about that of Edgar Rice Burroughs?  Do you look at future projects as a job, a contract, or a chance to get better?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Donnell Ann Bell gave up her nonwriting fiction career in newspapers and magazines because she believed she could write a mystery or thriller. An award-winning author, including finalist in the 2020 Colorado Book Award for her latest release Black Pearl: A Cold Case Suspense, Donnell’s other books have been Amazon bestsellers. Currently, she’s writing book two of her cold case series. www.donnellannbell.com

 

 

  

 

 

The post Guest Blogger: Donnell Ann Bell – My Scrap File: Then and Now appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

New Beginnings – But With Old Friends

New Beginnings – But With Old Friends

To put it mildly, the world is in a crazy state. Hugs, sitting close and laughing, randomly dining out, and big get-togethers for family celebrations, book events, or down home fun have been replaced with social distancing, hand sanitizer, and washing hands for the same amount of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday.”

My normal reaction would be to pull back and hide until a new normal replaces the present one, but I can’t. Instead, my husband and I have been busier than ever while wearing masks. We got the brilliant idea, during a pandemic, to build a new house. It’s coming along nicely, I think – I social distance from it when I see people working in or on it (and I mean literally on the roof). We also decided to sell our current home. To avoid being there when strangers were coming and going, we moved into a hotel room that I carefully sanitized. The house sold in seven hours, closed in two weeks, and I found myself one of those people going in and out of places finding us a temporary place to live until the new house is ready and watching movers pack and move our possessions into storage units.

We’ve seen a few friends – at proper social distancing. That has proved to be an enjoyable experience though I held my breath waiting for my husband’s hearing aid batteries to die in the middle of dinner. I had images of us yelling, which is a no-no, to make him hear us.

The biggest loss for me, though, has been the interaction I had planned this spring for promoting my second Sarah Blair mystery, Two Bites Too Many. I relish being in different cities and having the chance to meet new readers and make new friends. I was able to do almost a month of conferences, store visits, and library talks before everything shut down in March. Since then, promotion has been through the written word, zoom, crowdcast, and when old friends tell their friends about the series. Happily, old friends apparently were my best promoters (and it doesn’t hurt that our recently re-opened Barnes & Noble at the Summit has a table displaying my books as their local featured author), but I’m worried.

On August 25, Three Treats Too Many will be released. Although I still will donate the proceeds of the first month of the book to charity, I haven’t aligned with a special one, yet. I haven’t wanted to bother them as they fight to survive and take care of people in need. I also don’t know if first month sales will be as good as they were for One Taste Too Many and Two Bites Too Many because I won’t be introducing the book at conferences or hands on meetings. I’m having to depend on word of mouth (old friends introducing my book to their friends) and pre-orders.

Where in the past I looked forward to signing your book in a bookstore, I hope you will trade the fun of getting an immediate signature for pre-ordering the book. Not only will it help me have stronger sales numbers, but it consequently will enable me to do more good with what the book earns in the first month. Am I begging for a pre-order of Three Treats Too Many or for you to tell others about the book? Yes. Why? Because I’d hate to break the string of making a nice donation to those in need that you’ve previously made possible. Promoting Three Treats Too Many will be “a new beginning,” but I’m hoping my “old friends” will make it as successful as in the past.

Thank you for being my friend…and helping me help others with the gift and joy I’ve been given.

Three Treats Blurb

When a romantic rival opens a competing restaurant in small-town Wheaton, Alabama, Sarah Blair discovers murder is the specialty of the house . . . 

For someone whose greatest culinary skill is ordering takeout, Sarah never expected to be co-owner of a restaurant. Even her Siamese cat, RahRah, seems to be looking at her differently. But while Sarah and her twin sister, Chef Emily, are tangled up in red tape waiting for the building inspector to get around to them, an attention-stealing new establishment—run by none other than Sarah’s late ex-husband’s mistress, Jane—is having its grand opening across the street.

Jane’s new sous chef, Riley Miller, is the talk of Wheaton with her delicious vegan specialties. When Riley is found dead outside the restaurant with Sarah’s friend, Jacob, kneeling over her, the former line cook—whose infatuation with Riley was no secret—becomes the prime suspect. Now Sarah must turn up the heat on the real culprit, who has no reservations about committing cold-blooded murder . . .

 Includes quick and easy recipes!

Pre-Order/Buy Links — any of our local bookstores can order it for you or:

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Three-Treats-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496719492

Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-treats-too-many-debra-h-goldstein/1135275342?ean=9781496719492

The post New Beginnings – But With Old Friends appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blogger: Mary Feliz – Joseph Campbell’s 17 Stages of Myth – The Seamstress’s Journey

Joseph Campbell’s 17 Stages of Myth–The Seamstress’s Journey

Covid-19 transformed my life into an epic adventure, aligning neatly with the seventeen stages of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. For added drama, imagine this essay accompanied by music from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Chariots of Fire.

Ordinary World

My husband and I live with our cat Charlie in a tiny beach condo, enjoying salt air and sunshine.

Call to Adventure

Covid-19, the adversary that never tires, drew close and threatened my family.

Refusal of the Call

Do masks make a significant difference for the general public? Science at first said no. I did too.

Meeting the Mentors

Medical appointments require masks. Patterns pop up in newspapers and on the internet.

 

Crossing the Threshold.

I hauled out my sewing machine only to find it covered in rust and mold—the downside of beach living.

 

Belly of the Whale.

I dive into the internet to order supplies, ignoring my husband and cat.

Road of Trials

One machine is available to ship from Home Depot. Can I type fast enough to get it? Will it arrive before the crisis peaked? There’s no way to tell. I can’t locate elastic. I order the machine, put elastic on backorder, and sew two masks by hand. It takes forever.

Meeting with the Goddess

A UPS driver delivers the sewing machine. I’m tempted to kiss her feet, but for social distancing.

Woman as Temptress

My sister suggests I ditch the patterns I’ve found. A friend says pantyhose and paper towels form the best shield. Neighbors report that creating masks ruined their sewing machines. They all urge me to give up.

Facing the Abyss

A friend calls. Within the past 24 hours, she’s lost her mother and brother to Covid-19. My adult children live in virus hotspots. My 93-year-old mom is required to wear a mask in Connecticut. A neighboring county reports rapidly increasing cases and deaths. Locals fight to hold the line by wearing masks in public. Suddenly, making masks has more urgency. But I still have no elastic. And only 25 pins.

 

Apotheosis/Realization

Physician friends tell me masks with ties are more comfortable and easier to adjust than elastic ones. My path forward is clear.

Ultimate Boon

I complete the first mask on the machine.

Refusal of the Return

It’s time to put away the machine, get my 10,000 steps, and prep for the upcoming release of Snowed Under. But making masks is fun. And easier than writing or promotion. I make twenty-four more.

The Magic Flight

In isolation, I’m not going anywhere, but the treasure still makes its escape. I place them on neighbors’ doorknobs, knock, and run away. I send them priority mail, watching tracking details, and living vicariously.

Rescue from Without

My publicist sends me the Snowed Under marketing plan–with deadlines. I put the machine away.

Crossing the Return Threshold

I knock out blog posts and interviews like a champ, but am still drawn to making masks. I order new materials online. And decide to share my experiences in a blog post.

Master of Two Worlds

New fabric arrives, masks become mandatory, and book-promotion requests pile up. Eventually, I learn to manage both projects.

Freedom to Live

With everyone I love outfitted, we all have more freedom and more protection from Covid-19. (Hero music crescendo.)

What’s all this got to do with Snowed Under? For thousands of years, solid narrative structure creates powerful stories that keep readers turning the page and theater goers in their seats. My job is always to use all the tools I can to create the most gripping stories possible. Did I succeed? Only my readers can decide.

Are you making masks? What pattern are you using? Here’s one I used. https://www.deaconess.com/How-to-make-a-Face-Mask I altered the design to make two-inch-wide tie pieces. It uses more material but makes handling the fabric much easier.

 

I used this pattern for the ones with elastic. https://buttoncounter.com/2018/01/14/facemask-a-picture-tutorial/

The post Guest Blogger: Mary Feliz – Joseph Campbell’s 17 Stages of Myth – The Seamstress’s Journey appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.

Guest Blogger: Nancy Nau Sullivan – Location, Location, Location

Location, Location, Location by Nancy Nau Sullivan

My sister asked me if I knew of a ghost writer. I tried to be a ghost writer one time. It didn’t work. I couldn’t get into the head of character, nor the setting. Especially the latter.

My sister is the tireless founder of a non-profit for mothers and children. I’ve never seen anyone more passionate about a project—she gives me inspiration. I suggested to her: Why don’t you write the story? I think she could do it. She’d a terrific speaker and a prolific writer of letters asking for money!

My response was four emojis, crying, green, with their tongues hanging out.

Well, I guess I better find her a ghost writer. I’m a mystery writer, and if I wrote her story, there would be a murder or two, and I don’t think she would like that. Especially because she’s trying to save lives!

So I ask the question, Do we write what we write because we are inspired and passionate about….what? The character? The setting? The plot?

For me, it’s setting, and I arrived there through a series of explosions.

I’d been a working journalist for years, always looking for the story, the angle. Writing dibs and dabs of this and that. Then I got a divorce, my mother died, and my father told me he was leaving Indiana and coming to live with me and the kids on an island in Florida. It was quite an explosion of events, all at once, and I struggled to put the pieces back together. I’d always been a proponent of writing as therapy (besides, it was my job), and so I set out to write a memoir. The events were crazy enough, but the setting is what drew me into my story: Anna Maria Island on the Gulf coast of Florida. Ever since I was six, I’d been going down there, and it was my haven. When things got hot up north, I went hotter, back to the place I loved. I know, for addicts, the saying is that change of setting will not cure the disease. For me, the island was my cure.

The memoir, THE LAST CADILLAC, was published in 2016, a roller-coaster ride of high family drama that pit me between my elderly father and the two kids. The mistakes I made, and the joy I found, propelled me to tell my story so others who found themselves in similar circumstances could glean something from this tale. One thing that struck me was that this set of circumstances usually happens overnight—to almost everyone. Everything is hunky dory, and the parents fall ill, the child is in command, and there is no manual for it.

Fortunately, my dad and I had Anna Maria Island, the place we loved best.

Anyone who has published one book knows that the itch goes on. It’s like hitting a hole in one; that’s just great, but then the hunt is on for the next one. Since I love mysteries, and since I looked around and saw what was happening to my beloved island, the story began to hatch. The land-grabbing goons were coming to take down the cottages and build McMansions on “Santa Maria Island.” (I changed the name.) Throw in a dead body, a kidnapping, a hurricane, and Blanche Murninghan was born of mishap on an island she would defend to the death (almost). My mystery, SAVING TUNA STREET, launches June 23, the first in the Blanche Murninghan series. And since Blanche can’t sit still, the series will find her in a bunch of places: Mexico City next, then Vietnam, Ireland, Argentina, and Spain. The girl was born with a bitty little suitcase in her hand.

I don’t think I would have written these books if I hadn’t been so inspired by setting. The island sustained and fed me, the warm breeze, the crackling palm trees and parrots, the white sand and turquoise Gulf. It is where I healed myself and found a way to get my stories into shape. Although Blanche will travel, you can bet she will always land back in her cabin. On the beach. On Tuna Street, Santa Maria Island.

` ` ` ` ` `

Nancy Nau Sullivan invented the life and times—and island—of Blanche Murninghan after returning to Anna Maria Island, Florida, the setting of her award winning memoir, The Last Cadillac.  Blanche and Nancy both have the travel bug, and the new mystery series is all about that. Saving Tuna Street launches June 23; Trouble Down Mexico Way is slated for June, 2021. A former newspaper journalist, Nancy later taught English in Argentina, in the Peace Corps in Mexico, and at a boys’ prison in Florida. She lives in Northwest Indiana and, often, anywhere near water. Find Nancy at www.nancynausullivan.com.

 

 

The post Guest Blogger: Nancy Nau Sullivan – Location, Location, Location appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.