Debra H. Goldstein's Blog, page 3

A Happy Accident by Jenny Adams

I sometimes call myself an “accidental” mystery writer. I’m not an accidental writer, by any means; I’ve been telling stories since I could speak, and began writing them down shortly after. I have notebooks upon notebooks filled up with stories from my elementary and middle and high school days - stories written during class, when I should have been paying attention to things like math or chemistry. When I graduated from college, I started writing seriously. I was a big fantasy reader, and, since it was 2010, a voracious YA reader. My first manuscript was a YA fantasy.

So was my second. 

By the time I signed with my agent, in 2021, I was on my sixth YA fantasy manuscript. I worked so hard at knowing my age category and genre; I threw myself into world-building and magic systems and learning romance beats and making friends with other YA fantasy writers. I was convinced, beyond a doubt, that when I was (finally) published, I’d be published as a YA Fantasy author. 

I was wrong. 

I should back up a bit. I’ve always read widely. Even as a child, I gravitated towards stories with strong female main characters and knuckle-biting action.. My great-grandmother, who lived with us, would take me to the library every week and fill up her bag with Mary Higgins Clark and Sue Grafton and Elizabeth George and Janet Evanovich, and I’d read them right after her, as soon as I finished up my own stack of Nancy Drew or the Boxcar Children. In college, I read so many thrillers and romantic suspense novels that I wasn’t able to sleep if I was home alone. Mysteries and thrillers always kept me company, and I loved books that blended fantasy and mystery, like Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. So, when my agent (gently) prodded me and said that maybe I should try writing in another age category, I pivoted to adult and wrote the first draft of the book that would become A Deadly Endeavor. It was still fantasy–in it, Edie saw ghosts and Gilbert was an accidental necromancer–but it was just as equally a mystery. I had so much fun plotting the whodunnit and leaning into the beats that when it went on submission, my-now-editor called and asked my agent if I’d be open to rewriting it as a historical mystery, and leaving out the magic all together. 

I hesitated. I had never pictured myself as a mystery writer! I didn’t know anyone writing mysteries! I was a fan, not a peer! I worried that other mystery authors would know I was a total fraud. That I didn’t belong. That I never meant to be among them. I almost said no, out of nothing more than imposter syndrome.

But then, by chance, I came across a box of childhood belongings my mom had packed up for me. In it was a slim, hardback, handwritten book. I remembered it instantly; I’d written it for a school project in third grade. It was a Nancy Drew-inspired mystery, complete with illustrations. I’d even given it a copyright page, and the bio read, “Jenny Adams is the author of mystery books. This is her first novel.” 

I told my agent I’d do the revise & resubmit. I rewrote the manuscript again–this time, putting my world-building skills to work making the 1920s Philadelphia setting come alive. None of the skills I’d honed in YA fantasy went to waste; I was a stronger writer for those six manuscripts. I wrote and rewrote, and two weeks after sending the R&R back to that editor, my agent called, and my life changed forever. 

Now, A Deadly Endeavor and the sequel, A Poisonous Silence, sit beside that third-grade project on my shelf. Jenny Adams is an author of mysteries. Every word I wrote, every book I read, every dream I chased led me here. So don’t be afraid to say yes, to pivot, or to try something new. It might just be the happiest accident you’ll ever make. 

Bio

Jenny Adams has always had an overactive imagination. She turned her love of books and stories into a career as a librarian and Agatha Award-nominated novelist. She holds degrees in Medieval Studies and Library Science from The Ohio State University and Drexel University, and currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her family.

Links:

Website: http://jenny-adams.com 

A Deadly Endeavor: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741924/a-deadly-endeavor-by-jenny-adams/ 

A Poisonous Silence: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/770231/a-poisonous-silence-by-jenny-adams/

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If Walls Could Talk: Historic Houses in Crime Fiction by Kate Michaelson

Old homes have always fascinated me. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a hundred-year old farmhouse hearing stories about those who lived there long before our family. I remember looking at the towering maples in the yard, thinking of the people who planted them a century ago, and marveling at how different their lives were from ours. But more than anything, I’ve always been intrigued by the human dramas these houses witnessed. Several homes in my community served as stops on the Underground Railroad, only increasing my fascination with the stories they could tell. That’s why when I wrote my debut mystery, Hidden Rooms, I knew it would be set in a rural community full of historic homes where both the people and the houses held their secrets close.

Of course, I’m following in a long literary tradition of using historic settings to enhance atmosphere and intrigue. If you’ve ever removed wallpaper or remodeled an old home, you know that just like people, buildings have lifetimes’ worth of layers, making them rich symbols for the mysteries that unfold within them. Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca provides the perfect example of how the past can linger in the present. The overgrown grounds and dark interiors of Manderley embody the presence of the narrator’s predecessor, Rebecca. As the main character explores the estate, she uncovers hints of a past that everyone else would prefer remain hidden. 

Silvia Moreno-Garcia uses similar techniques in Mexican Gothic, where the rotting grandeur of High Place, an isolated mansion in the Mexican countryside, becomes a malevolent force in its own right. The estate is intricately tied to the twisted secrets of the family living there. As the protagonist, Noemí, delves deeper into her surroundings, the house itself increasingly becomes an active antagonist.

While both Rebecca and Mexican Gothic are set in the past, Tana French uses historic homes in modern settings to develop characters and themes. In The Likeness, the almost otherworldly home of a group of students becomes integral to the mystery. When the main character, Cassie, assumes a false identity to infiltrate a group of friends, she finds herself seduced by the sense of belonging and intimacy of this tight clique living apart from the world in their graceful Georgian mansion. In French’s The Witch Elm, the setting of Toby’s familial home—dubbed the Ivy House for the thick vines that encase it—becomes a metaphor for the fragmented memories and misunderstandings that drive a group of cousins apart and lead to murder.  

In Hidden Rooms, the idyllic, old houses of the Midwestern countryside serve as perfect cover for the secrets of their inhabitants. As characters restore buildings, they discover truths about the people within them, spurring them to confront uncomfortable questions about those they thought they knew. From classic novels to newer works of mystery and suspense, old homes are not merely settings; they are characters in their own right, reflecting the internal struggles of the people who live there and serving as catalysts for the story. 

Kate Michaelson’s debut mystery, Hidden Rooms, was inspired by her own struggles with chronic, invisible illness and won the 2022 Hugh Holton Award. Her articles, short stories, and poems have appeared in academic and literary journals. In her free time, she loves hiking and anything else that takes her outdoors and away from her laptop. She lives in Toledo with her husband and their small but mighty herd of pets. You can follow Kate at www.katemichaelson.com , on Instagram, and BlueSky.

You can get the Hidden Rooms ebook and audiobook on sale for a limited time at the following links:  

eBook: https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Rooms-Kate-Michaelson-ebook/dp/B0CB1S4M24/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0 

Chirp audiobook sale: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/hidden-rooms-by-kate-michaelson

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Malice Domestic – April 24-27 – Bethesda, MD

Debra will be moderating the Influencers in the Cozy Community panel featuring Heather Harrisson, Tiffany Gullion-krieg, Dru Ann Love, and Joanna Campbell Slan on Friday, April 25 from 3-3:50 p.m. in the Glen Echo room.

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Mysteries to Die For Podcast – S8 E7: OPERA DINNER CLUB by Debra H. Goldstein – April 18

The podcast of Debra’s short story, Opera Dinner Club, will drop on Mysteries to Die for hosted by TG Wolff and Jack Wolff
Jessica Rothman is close to discovering who betrayed her grandparents, Helen and Wilhelm Rothman, to the Nazi’s but she needs our help to figure out who from the final dinner party betrayed them. Here is the list, in the order we met them:
– Melinda Brooks, smuggler, last of the party remaining
– Albert Brooks, professor, opposed to Melinda’s activities
– Lloyd Edgerton, armament dealer, opposed to Victoria’s activities
– Victoria Edgerton, smuggler, Melinda’s usual partner
– Marta Schmidt, servant to Helen’s parents, now living with the Rothmans
– Hans Schmidt, servant to Helen’s parents, now living with the Rothmans
– Bernard Schmidt, son to the Schmidts, working at times as a servant to the Rothmans
– Ari, Jewish man working to get children out of Austria

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Opera Dinner Club Anything But Murder: Larceny and Lies – April 15

Opera Dinner Club will appear in the anthology, Anything But Murder: Larceny and Lies

Prefer to read your mysteries?

Check out Larceny and Lies, the anthology of the eleven stories from the first half of the season. The e-book is formatted with the deliberation so you can lock in your suspect. The print book is beautifully formatted with space to jote notes and check off clues.

Inspect all of our books on our Anthologies page.

Mysteries. It’s not just what you read…it’s what you do!

Releasing April 15, 2025

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The Gift that Keeps on Giving by Carmen Amato

“If the police show up, make sure you’re holding the package.”

The fellow CIA officer prepping me to meet a deep cover agent wasn’t trying to scare me, although he sure succeeded.

No, he was simply being practical. I was expendable. The source wasn’t.

Meeting a CIA source in a foreign country involved a head-spinning number of variables, not least of which were avoiding local cops and hostile intelligence services like those from China and Russia.

As my heart hammered, I memorized the details of the upcoming rendezvous. I’d been a CIA officer for 12 years, but meeting agents was never my job.

In the language of modern espionage, the officer who was supposed to meet the agent had been “burned.” Basically, the bad guys knew who he was. With a hostile service on his tail, the compromised officer could not meet the agent, whose situation already simmered with danger.

Part of the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, I wasn’t the kind of officer you read about in John Le Carré novels, furtively doing brush passes with agents or leaving coded messages in dead drops. I ran a technical collection platform which kept me behind a computer keyboard.

This meant that I was completely unknown to the opposition. Thus, the perfect candidate to replace the compromised officer.

My heartrate was still in the red zone as I drove, stopping multiple times to check for a tail. At a pharmacy. Stationery store. Pet shop where I bought dog food and studied the reflection of cars in the parking lot as I paid.

My inner voice was frantic the entire time. You’re not trained for this!

No one followed me. I got to the meeting site on time. The agent showed up with the package.

Far from the discreet Manila envelope of my dreams, it was a big box covered in bright birthday wrapping paper and topped with a bow.

The thing would have been less eye-catching if it was on fire.

Squelching my panic, I snatched it up and improvised an animated chat about a belated birthday gift for one of my children.

A few minutes later, we parted like the old friends we weren’t. The agent disappeared back into their double life, and I delivered the box into the proper hands.

Did it contain information that allowed the US to take down a terror network? Reveal critical information about nuclear weapons? Solve the mystery of what’s up with North Korea?

Twenty-five years later, I still have no idea.

That experience sowed the seeds of my second career as a mystery and thriller author. Urgency, uncertainty, deception, and risk are the foundation of my books, especially the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series.

Starting with Cliff Diver, the series combines current events torn from today’s headlines with the highs and lows of my CIA career. Emilia is the first female police detective in Acapulco, confronting Mexico’s drug cartels, official corruption, and social inequality.

With its incredible horse-shaped bay and stunning beaches, Acapulco is a glorious setting marred by violence. It’s Mexico’s homicide capital, where drug gangs fight over territory, smuggling routes, and access to chemicals from China that pass through the port en route to inland drug labs to be made into fentanyl.

The most recent release, Barracuda Bay, is the ninth book in the Detective Emilia Cruz series. Emilia is on the run, alone, and stalked by killers. The reader is shoulder-to-shoulder with Emilia as she struggles with the unpredictability of a meeting, the pressure of a decision, the adrenaline of a breakthrough, and the vulnerability of deception. Raw, real feelings make her perilous situation believable.

To fellow writers, I encourage you to examine your own experiences. Everyone has moments of doubt, danger, and discovery. How did you feel? What physical reaction did you have? Build connections with readers by infusing your scenes and characters with these authentic emotional reactions.

As an author, your experiences are gifts that keep on giving.

Brightly wrapped and topped with a bow.

BARRACUDA BAY

Detective Emilia Cruz Book 9

With plot elements inspired by recent presidential elections in both the US and Mexico, Acapulco police detective Emilia Cruz stumbles on the body of a woman brutally shot to death. Incredibly, the victim was the sister of Acapulco’s ambitious mayor, who is running for re-election against an opponent with deep pockets.

Emilia’s investigation is immediately under pressure for a fast result. The victim’s ex-boyfriend has a suspiciously weak alibi, but is the crime scene the key to finding the murderer? The building was once used for a secret Mexican government operation targeting a ruthless drug lord.

Meanwhile, there’s a conspiracy within the police department to force Emilia out.

Before Emilia can save her job or arrest her prime suspect, she’s sent on an errand of mercy to Washington, DC. There she becomes a fugitive, hunted by killers masquerading as cops in a deadly game of political intrigue on the wrong side of the border.

Alone, desperate, and on the run, Emilia turns for help to a man she once vowed to murder. Her brother.

Given today's uncertainty over the future of the US-Mexico relationship and the popularity of international crime fiction in general, Barracuda Bay arrives at the perfect moment. This isn’t just another detective novel—it’s a visceral, immersive dive into the war on drugs and corruption from an author who has been on the front lines.

BUY LINKS

Amazon: https://geni.us/bbay2025
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/barracuda-bay-carmen-amato/1146877496
Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Barracuda-Bay/Carmen-Amato/9798989140374

ABOUT CARMEN

Carmen Amato is the author of the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series, pitting the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's cartels, corruption, and social inequality. Starting with Cliff Diver, the series has twice won the Poison Cup Award for Outstanding Series from CrimeMasters of America. Optioned for television, National Public Radio hailed it as “A thrilling series.”

Carmen is also the author of the Galliano Club historical fiction thrillers, inspired by her grandfather who was a deputy sheriff in New York during Prohibition. Murder at the Galliano Club won the 2023 Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical. Revenge at the Galliano Club was nominated for the same award in 2024.

Her standalone thrillers include The Hidden Light of Mexico City, which was longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award.

A 30-year veteran of the CIA, where she focused on technical collection and counterdrug issues, Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. A judge for the BookLife Prize and Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award, her essays have appeared in Criminal Element, Publishers Weekly, and other national publications. She writes the popular Mystery Ahead newsletter on Substack.

Originally from upstate New York, after years of globe-trotting, she and her husband enjoy life in Tennessee.

Website: https://carmenamato.net/links
Substack: https://mysteryahead.substack.com

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Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Materialistic Eighties – April 14

Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Materialistic Eighties releases on April 14 from Down & Out Books. The anthology contains Debra’s story, “Who Shot J.R.?”

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Release Day by Bethany Maines

Today is the official release day for Elevator Ride- Book 1 of the Valkyrie Brothers Trilogy—an action-packed, age-gap, rom-com mystery! For me, “release day” always conjures visions of a novel in a cage with the barred door being slowly raised in a darkened Barnes & Noble. Slowly, the novel takes its first steps into its natural habitat with a voice over from David Attenborough, discussing the savage yet beautiful jungle of the bookstore where the novel must cross the frosty tundra of non-fiction, avoid the predatory romantasy, and duke it out with a few dukes in regency romance, until at last... it finds the homeland of romance. Or mystery. Or possibly over there in rom-com. Oh, the trials of a cross-genre book looking for its home.

This year, I’m publishing the Valkyrie Brothers rom-com mystery trilogy, while writing my next paranormal romance. Focusing on the marketing for the trilogy while keeping my head in the fantasy of werewolves, witches, and wizards can be a bit challenging, but they can also provide a break from each other. When all the fated mates get too angsty I can go over to hang out with the Valkyrie brothers Rowan, Forest, and Ash--as they struggle to find love AND stay alive in Seattle.

I debated what to call the series – Valkyrie Brothers or Elevator Ride. But since I wanted to use Elevator Ride as the title for book 1, I ended up settling on Valkyrie Brothers. But Elevator Ride would have been appropriate because each of the brothers meet their love interests in an elevator. I actually came up with the meeting scene in book 3 first and had to work my way back through the brothers to figure out what the heck everyone was doing in their respective elevators. In Elevator Ride, Rowan a tough guy ex-Marine gets ambushed by Vivian serving a cease-and-desist letter. In Between Floors, Forest gets stuck with Chloe, the nanny candidate he just rejected. And in Emergency Exit, Ash accidentally takes Harper to the wrong party. The Valkyrie Brothers are smart, tough, and in love, but there are threats looming and they each have to unravel their own mystery. With Elevator Ride (out today!), Between Floors (June), and Emergency Exit (September) there will be laughs, romance, action, and of course a happy ending and I hope readers will enjoy all the flavors that come with being a cross-genre novel.

About the Book

Elevator Ride - Vivian Kaye has been tasked with serving a cease-and-desist letter to Rowan Valkyrie—the most hated tenant in Seattle’s Hoskins building. When the ambitious paralegal ambushes the seasoned security expert in the elevator, she ignites a powder keg of tempers and attraction. Rowan and Vivian clash like only a twenty-something progressive and a forty-something ex-Marine can, but when one misstep sends Vivian flailing into Rowan’s arms, the pair also find themselves tumbling into a secret office romance. Vivian is soon head-over-heels for the older CEO, but worries that he might not take her seriously. Before Rowan can fix things, a shocking attack puts Vivian in the cross-hairs of a mysterious assailant. Heartbroken, Vivian is determined to deny her feelings and put all her energy into catching her attacker. And Rowan is desperate to protect Vivian because unless he can push all the right buttons, this elevator ride might be going straight down.

GENRE: Rom-Com Mystery-Thriller
RELEASE DATE: 3/24/25
BUY NOW: https://amzn.to/3AnaMLQ

What Readers Are Saying

“Elevator Ride is a delightful read that balances humor, romance, and intrigue with aplomb. Bethany Maines proves herself a master of her craft, delivering a story that is as heartfelt as it is entertaining. Fans of romantic comedies with a twist of suspense will find this book hard to put down.”
–BooksShelf.com

About the Author

Bethany Maines is the award-winning indie and traditionally published author of romantic action-adventure and fantasy novels that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind-end. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel or screenplay. You can catch up with her on Facebook or on her website – www.bethanymaines.com

• Website - https://www.bethanymaines.com
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBethanyMaines

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How to Write a Complex Plot by Maggie Toussaint aka Valona Jones

It is an accomplishment to write the first draft of a book, but it is an even greater feat to polish that book into something that sparkles. This post is written by a mystery author, but elements of it can be applied in total or in part to other genre fiction.

As I’ve published in the genres of romantic suspense, science fiction, and mystery, I’ve tried writing from strict outlines, making it up as I went along, and writing to specific turning points. While my muse is stymied by a strict outline and while writing without a net is stark terror, my compromise of without-a-net writing to turning points worked for me for many years.

But the editing part never got easier. However, I realized that if I considered all the story elements (pacing, tension, characterization, plotting, setting, and dialog) as I wrote, that would take the sting out of editing. It would also mean left brain and right brain would work simultaneously, and my brain would explode. Still, there had to be a better way to create a tight first draft.

Since I hated the moments of stark terror in “pantsing”, I tried outlining again. Except this time, I regarded the outline as a strong suggestion and only deviated later when a better idea to accomplish the same result occurred. The key story points were set in stone. This semi-flexible outline allows me to better see the scenes where the subplots naturally layered in and eliminates major book surgery later.

There is no “filler” in my outline. Everything is germane, which yields a tighter first draft. All those cool research rabbit holes don’t go in the outline or story, unless they move the plot along. When the urge to share that stuff sticks with me, I blog about it or include it in my newsletter. It doesn’t go in the book. Unless it matters. I can’t emphasize that enough.

Commit to multiple subplots (if they work for your story) from the get-go. By doing this, you build in character foils and conflict. Your characters’ strengths and weaknesses become part of the story fabric. That leads to stronger plotting and three-dimensional characterization.

Next, put your characters in trouble. If you have only almosts and  maybes in your story action, you siphon off the tension before it happens. Those are wasted opportunities. Litter obstacles in your story the way a toddler drops cookie crumbs. Your readers will thank you.

In the cozy mystery genre, red herrings are a must. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it means someone who walks like a duck and talks like a duck but isn’t a duck. In other words, they seem like the perfect bad guy, and they divert your attention from who the real threat is.

Create strong villains. But don’t make them too strong for your story. It’s important to balance the power between protagonist and antagonist. For instance, you wouldn’t believe a story where Hannibal Lector was pitted against Dumbo the Elephant, where the Unabomber warred with the little old lady in your neighborhood, or where the Wicked Witch of the West took on Mr. Rogers.

Develop strengths and weaknesses for your major characters and the minor ones. Make it a point to have the villain’s strengths be a weakness for another character and vice versa. That way you are starting stronger and will have less rewriting to do.

Exploit doubt once you create those inherent weaknesses and strengths. Judiciously select the right scenes to plant that doubt, which is where an outline shines. It shows you exactly where that scene needs to be in the story progression.

Escalate conflict as you build to the climax. Again, edit out the almosts and nearlys. Put the protagonist in jeopardy to make him or her rise to the occasion and save the day.

If you compare a pyramid structure’s wide base and the opening of a story, you’ll see that foundation is keenly important. As the layers rise (or the story progresses), the different levels/plots and subplots are independent and yet codependent. That extra cohesion makes a lasting impression on readers.

Thanks for reading about my writing process journey. Since we all come to writing from different experiences and places, I hope some of this will work for you. One of the most important things to remember about writing is that there is no absolute right or wrong way to do it. It’s finding the right way that works for you and streamlining your efforts into tightly crafted stories.

My latest series, A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries, is written  using this flexible outline approach. Newly released Candle With Care, book 4 in a 5-book series, rings with authenticity and emotion due to the strength of planning before writing. Don’t take my word for it,-visit my website.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Southern author Maggie Toussaint writes cozy and paranormal mysteries under her name and a pen name of Valona Jones, romantic suspense, and dystopian fiction under the pen name of Rigel Carson, with more than twenty-nine novels of fiction published. Her recent release, Candle With Care, book four in A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries, is a cozy paranormal written as Valona Jones. A multi-year finalist for Georgia Author of the Year, she’s won Silver Falchions, Readers’ Choice awards, and the EPIC Award. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America-Southeast chapter and Sisters In Crime-Guppy chapter. She lives in coastal Georgia, where secrets, heritage, and ancient oaks cast long shadows. Visit her at https://maggietoussaint.com/

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Living in Interesting Times by Lois Winston

We live in interesting times. Then again, I suppose all times have been and always will be interesting in one way or another. 

I’m someone who has always found plots and characters for my books in current events—from local to worldwide. Everything I read about, see on the news, and observe winds up parked in the various crevices of my brain, especially human-interest stories. It’s all fodder for future books. And because I write humorous mysteries, no story or event is too weird or too absurd. After all, truth is stranger than fiction.

There are topics I steer clear from, though. I make a point of not giving readers a reason not to read my books. That means I avoid certain subjects, especially politics and religion. The one exception is when it come to my sleuth’s communist mother-in-law. Based on the personality and political leanings of my own mother-in-law, Lucille Pollack is always good for both a laugh and for pushing readers’ buttons. She’s the character many of my readers love to hate. However, others have gone so far as to ask that she become the next murder victim in my series.

Tempting though that may be, I’ve decided against taking such drastic action. Anastasia has had the patience of a saint when it comes to Lucille, allowing the woman who has never had a kind word for her to remain in her home after the passing of Anastasia’s husband. However, in Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the latest book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, Lucille has gone too far, and Anastasia has finally reached her limit. You won’t get any spoilers from me, though. All I’ll say is change is afoot, and early reviews have given Anastasia’s decision (and mine) two thumbs up.

Meanwhile, for this book, I also dug into one of my brain crevices to resurrect some extremely odd neighbors who lived across the street from me decades ago. I don’t know if the man Barry Sumner is based on was ever a Revolutionary War reenactor, but the odd behavior I describe in the book comes directly from my own observations of him and his wife.

When I hear writers complain that they don’t know what to write, my advice is to look no further than your own experiences and observations. You’re bound to find something lurking in one of those brain crevices that would make for the perfect character, scene, or plot. All you have to do is dig a little into your own memories. It’s amazing what gems you’ll discover.

Seams Like the Perfect Crime

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 1

When staffing shortages continue to hamper the Union County homicide squad, Detective Sam Spader once again turns to his secret weapon, reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. How can she and husband Zack Barnes refuse when the victim is their new neighbor?

Revolutionary War reenactor Barry Sumner had the odd habit of spending hours mowing a small patch of packed dirt and weeds until his mower ran out of gas. He’d then guzzle beer on his front porch until he passed out. That’s where Anastasia’s son Nick discovers his body three days after the victim and his family moved into the newly built mini-McMansion across the street.

After a melee breaks out at the viewing, Spader zeroes in on the widow as his prime suspect. However, Anastasia has her doubts. There are other possible suspects, including a woman who’d had an affair with the victim, his ex-wife, the man overseeing the widow’s trust fund, a drug dealer, and the reenactors who were blackmailing the widow and victim.

When another reenactor is murdered, Spader suspects they’re dealing with a serial killer, but Anastasia wonders if the killer is attempting to misdirect the investigation. As she narrows down the suspects, will she jeopardize her own life to learn the truth?

Craft projects included.

Buy Links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/49KvjaG
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seams-like-the-perfect-crime
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seams-like-the-perfect-crime-lois-winston/1146583329?ean=2940184679983
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/seams-like-the-perfect-crime/id6738502932
Books2Read Universal Link to Other Sites: https://books2read.com/u/3LXa1e

USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother determined to bring her home to marry the boy next door. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.

Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job, Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor.

Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes fourteen novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries and has written several standalone mystery novellas. Other publishing credits include romance, chick lit, and romantic suspense novels, a series of romance short stories, a children’s chapter book, and a nonfiction book on writing, inspired by her twelve years working as an associate at a literary agency.

Learn more about Lois and her books at www.loiswinston.com where you can find links for her other social media sites and sign up for her newsletter to receive a free download of an Anastasia Pollack Mini-Mystery.

Website: http://www.loiswinston.com
Newsletter sign-up: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/dc9t0bjl00
Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com
Booklover’s Bench: https://bookloversbench.com
The Stiletto Gang: https://www.thestilettogang.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston

The post Living in Interesting Times by Lois Winston first appeared on Debra H. Goldstein.

The post Living in Interesting Times by Lois Winston appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.