Judith Post's Blog, page 40

A long snippet

In A CUT ABOVE, Karnie agrees to meet Donna Amick’s brother, Duncan, at a bar to try to learn who might have killed Donna. The bar’s on the rough side, though, so her brother, Chuck insists on going with her. But he gets sick and asks his friend, Matt, to go in his place:

Matt was doing her a favor.  Actually, he was doing Chuck a favor, but she’d let that ride.  When he pulled up in his truck and she ran out to climb in, she gave him an apologetic look.  “I’m sorry you got stuck doing this.  I could have called Duncan and rescheduled our meeting.

Matt shook his head.  “No problem.  I’m happy to do this for you.”

She bit her lip.  For Chuck, she wanted to say, but Matt was here, and they were headed to The Alehouse Bar.  She’d keep quiet about that.  “Chuck said I owed him a supper for meeting Duncan with me.  Same goes for you, and as many beers as you want.  On me.”

He shook his head.  “I’m going home to kids and have to get up early in the morning.  Only two beers for me on a week night.”

“You’re a cheap date.”

“Is this a date then?  Our first one.  I’ll mark it on my calendar, so I can remember our first date anniversary.”

Her stomach clenched.  She stared at him.  “You’re kidding, right?  I was kidding.” 

“Here I thought you were starting to take a shine to me.”

“I am.  We could be great friends.”

He put a hand to his heart.  “The words no man wants to hear.”  Then he glanced at her and started laughing.  “Relax.  Don’t panic yet, but you’re awfully easy to tease.”

No wonder he and Chuck were such good friends.  Too much alike.  She relaxed and took a deep breath.  “Not funny.  I’ve never worried about things getting awkward between us because Chuck said you have so many girls chasing you, you have to beat them away.”

“Hardly. I don’t have time for chasing skirts.  The farm and the kids keep me busy.”

“But your parents took the kids last weekend.”

“So you think I spent time with a girl?  That’s why you were so surprised I came to the Sunday dinner.”  He shook his head.  “I had some friends over for pizza and we played cards.  I don’t get to do that much anymore.”

She fiddled with the hem of her T-shirt.  She’d misjudged him.  She felt a little ashamed of herself at how fast she’d decided he was shacking up.

He grinned at her.  “You know, even back in my high school days, I wasn’t quite the slimeball you thought I was.”

She grimaced at the term.  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have called you that.”

“We didn’t know each other.  Girls did follow me everywhere, but that didn’t mean I slept with every single one of them.”

But she’d bet he slept with a few. 

He could read her thoughts by the look on her face and chuckled.  “No more than your brother Chuck.  He was no innocent back then either.”

True, and she knew he was a good man.  Matt was, too.  “I’ll amend my opinions about you.”

He laughed.  “Then they must be going up because I don’t think they could get too much lower.”

She waved that away.  “It doesn’t really matter what I think about you anyway.”

“But it does.”  His voice was sincere.  “We’re friends now, and you’re going to invite me and my kids over for supper sometimes.  I don’t want to mess that up.”

“You’re really motivated by food.”

“No arguments there.”  They reached the bar and he pulled into a parking space.  “You ready?  Chuck said this Duncan was a real winner.”

She nodded, and they started to the Alehouse.  When they walked through the door, loud music made them both wince.  The place had the typical, funky old bar smell.  The lighting was dim, and they waited to let their eyes adjust before moving further inside.  A guy at the bar turned to raise his glass at her.  She waved.  A friend of Chuck’s.  Karnie spotted Duncan at a booth and they wove their way past filled tables to join him. 

Duncan sneered when Matt slid across from him.  “She had to bring a nursemaid to meet me?”

Matt leveled a look at him.  “You might let a woman come alone to a bar like this, but I wouldn’t.  Did Donna meet you here?”

The sneer vanished.  “I always picked her up.  We came together.”

“My point.”

The waitress came, and Matt ordered a beer.  Karnie asked, “Do you have wine?”  She’d never gotten used to the taste of hops or the bitterness of beer.

“One white wine.  One red.  Which do you want?”

“White.”  She’d take her chances.  Bad wine was better than good beer.

Duncan shook his head.  “I can’t see you and Donna working together.  She had a problem with people who were too uppity.”

Karnie raised an eyebrow.  “Not every person who likes wine is a snob, but Donna and I wouldn’t have gotten along anyway.  She was too pushy.  Sort of like you.”

“You didn’t like her.”

“Not a bit.”

The waitress brought their drinks.  “Are you eating or just visiting?”

“I’m paying,” Karnie said before Matt could.  “For all three of us.  I’ll take a burger and fries.”

After the guys ordered and the waitress left, Duncan studied Karnie.  “You’re used to being in charge, aren’t you?”

She wasn’t going to disagree.  Instead, she asked, “How did you and Donna get along?”

After he took a hit of his beer, he said, “We were brother and sister.  We argued sometimes but always had each other’s back.  She was three years older than me and was always telling me what to do.  Talked me into taking a few jobs I hated until I stopped listening to her.  Now I’m doing okay, running a few different businesses.  Said once the shop got going, she’d make me part of it.”

“Did you want to be part of it?”

Their food arrived, and Duncan waited until the waitress left again to answer.  “There were things I could do to help her, but I knew my sister.  There’s no way I’d drop what I was doing to work with her unless she legally signed part ownership over to me.  Either that, or I’d do a lot of work, she’d get bent out of shape about something, and she’d fire me.  She was like that.”

Karnie and Matt exchanged glances.  “She did that to Worth,” Matt said.

“The kid should have known better.  He had to live with her, for heaven’s sake.  He knew she could be a witch.”

Duncan had no delusions about her.  Karnie gave him credit for that.  “Would she have promised the shop to P.J. if she didn’t mean to give it to him?”

Duncan put down his burger with a snort.  “P.J. was on his way out, wasn’t he?  Donna wasn’t too happy when she found out he’d ordered a watch worth a few thousand for himself with her credit card.”

“She told you that?” Matt asked.

Duncan wiped his mouth with his napkin.  “She said he was starting to be more of a bother than he was worth.”

“Did she love her husband before he died?”  It wouldn’t help decide who’d killed her, but Karnie was curious.

Duncan took a long sip of beer, his brows furrowed in thought, before saying, “I’m not sure she ever loved anyone.  Not our parents.  Can’t blame her.  Not me.”

“Why not your parents?”

“Mom clerks at a small dollar store, smokes all the time, lives for Bingo.  Dad works as little as he can.  They kept a roof over our heads and didn’t pound on us, but that’s about it.  Donna hated being poor.”

Karnie nodded.  That explained a lot.  It didn’t excuse how badly Donna treated people, but it helped her understand Donna more. 

Oops!

Things got busy lately. I didn’t realize how busy until I sat down to write a new blog and looked at the date of the last one I posted. It was scheduled for May 13th. That means I missed an entire WEEK of blogging. I don’t even go that long between posts when I’m on vacation. I don’t know what to say. Time flew.

I’ve been trying really hard to write a chapter a day on the new straight mystery I started, and I’ve done a decent job of that. I made it up to 32,000 words today. Not quite half, but I’m getting there. I’ve read the first two chapters to my writers’ group, and they like it. I was aiming for a Louis Kincaid type feel, but it’s not going to happen. Laurel’s story isn’t going to be a cozy, but I just couldn’t muster up the oomph to come up with an unusual, emotionally charged crime. I loved the first Kincaid book I read. He was a new cop, and the department he was hired into was hiding a dark secret. Color me intrigued. The second book was about a progression of killings from a man who was very black, to one who was lighter, etc. Each victim was a lighter shade than the one before. Louis is a very light black man. Guess who’s next in line? Interesting. Each book I’ve read, though, has upped the ante on the cringe-worthiness of the crimes committed until I’m to the point, I’m hoping the next book is just a strong mystery and doesn’t push me too far. The last book came close. So I decided to write a strong mystery with only a little shock value. Just enough to titillate:)

HH and I relax at the end of the day by watching TV. First, the news–and that can be depressing. And then Wheel of Fortune, because HH is hooked on it. And finally, a show or two. We turn the TV off at 10:00 or 10:30 and I pick up a book to read and HH picks up his tablet. I won’t even pretend it’s for anything more than surfing. Tonight, though, we watched a Hometown Takeover that we’d recorded, and watching that show made me homesick for Jazzi and Ansel and their house flipping and cozy feel. When I finish Laurel and Nick’s book, I have a decent outline for their next mystery. Switching back and forth from a straight mystery to a cozy will give me balance–a gritty crime followed by murders ala family style.

I’m a little worried about trying a straight mystery. I downloaded the free book, How To Market A Book, by Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy. Amazon.com: How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market (Reedsy Marketing Guides Book 1) eBook: Fayet, Ricardo: Kindle Store He recommends sticking to your niche and writing a series. I know he’s right. I’m a fan of many mystery writers, and they don’t muck about changing genres. They find what works for them and stay in that lane. I like Lynn Cahoon’s Tourist Trap mysteries. Yes, she writes a few different series, but they’re all COZIES. I auto-buy Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby series, and yes, she has another series, too, but it’s still historical mysteries. When readers like your work, why tempt fate?

I wrote some paranormal mysteries, the Raven and Hester series, but they had a cozy feel, so I didn’t push the boundaries too much with those. I just added a little magic. And some battles. In Muddy River, every supernatural works together. Vampires help shifters who help witches, and a demon watches over the entire area. In their community, their biggest threat is humans, so they stick together–like family.

In the marketing book by Ricardo Fayet, he stresses that the most important things in marketing a book is a wonderful cover that hints at what kind of book you wrote, a great blurb, and choosing the right tags and categories so people can find it. A great title doesn’t hurt. For the moment, the working title for my manuscript is VOLUNTEERING FOR TROUBLE, but it’s not good enough. It sounds too lightweight. It sounds too much like a cozy. A title should give the reader an idea of what lies between your book’s covers. I need a cover that has a darker, more sinister mood, too. I want readers to look at the book and KNOW it’s not another cozy. .

Anyway, I’ve been writing and working on marketing, and life intruded, and I really didn’t realize eight days had passed since my last blog. I have a feeling summer’s going to be even busier, but I’ll try to keep track of everything. In the meantime, hope you’re enjoying the warm weather! Happy reading, writing, and. . . whatever.

Fantasy Fun & Writing Advice

I’ve read more gritty books than usual this year, and when I finish one, I need something light and fun to balance it out. So I was delighted when my writer friend, Kyra Jacobs, let me read her upcoming novel, BLUE MANHATTAN. I’m a big fan of witches, demons, and gargoyles. Believe me when I tell you, I hadn’t read any quite like Kyra’s before. The humor was a perfect blend with battles and power struggles. The protagonist tends bar, and the scene with supernatural customers coming in for a drink made me think of the bar scene from STAR WARS. I loved it.

But I’ll let Kyra tell you about it herself. I invited her here to help promote her book and to talk about writing. She surprised me by adding some nice things about me (blushing and trying to stay humble). Writing has its ups and downs, and Kyra–who works to be a positive person–has some great advice about that:.

Kyra Jacobs Guest Post

Hi all! Judi graciously invited me to pop by for a visit this week to help celebrate the release of my tenth novel, BLUE MANHATTAN. And honestly, whether she knows it or not, Judi had a lot to do with me writing this book…

You see, Judy was there when this whole Kyra Jacobs thing began. I’d just finished another draft of my debut novel ARMED WITH STEELE (I had at least eleven drafts of that book…couldn’t tell you which one I was on when I first met her LOL) and had joined a small local writing group that gathered once a month in the back corner of our local Barnes & Noble. I’m pretty sure her dear friend M.L. Rigdon was there as well, along with Shirley Jump and a few other wonderful authors and writers. Me, I was clueless and green and doing my best to be a sponge to all their wonderful advice. And Judi? Well, she just seemed so at ease with the whole writing process. And cool. I mean, she was writing urban fantasy before it really hit the genre scene—talk about a true visionary!

Okay, I may be getting a little carried away, but she definitely made a positive impression on me. Since then, I’ve loved being a cheerleader for her writing. I also love how she’s become a treasured one of mine.

This writing stuff? It ain’t easy. Doing that thing with the words and stringing ‘em together to build a story up from nothing (and pray it all still makes sense in the end) takes imagination. It takes time. Patience. Maybe even some honest-to-goodness skill.

But honestly? I think something that’s just as critical to have along this journey is a tribe you can count on. People who support you, who understand you, who empathize with you. People who cheer for you when you’re celebrating a success—no matter how big or small—and bring a spare tissue along when this writing gig has got you down.

Because it most certainly will sometimes, not gonna lie.

Yes, family and friends are wonderful support networks, but as most writers know, unless your family/friends are writers too, they don’t always GET us. They can’t fully understand the excitement you feel when you have that eleventh-hour plot breakthrough just before a deadline to your editor, or the frustration that’s beginning to eat you alive when you’ve hit a brickwall in your story for the umpteenth time and are thiiiiiiiiis close to shutting your laptop for good. They won’t fully appreciate why hitting 1000 words this afternoon (or 3000 or maybe just a really tough 50) might be something to celebrate, or how painful it was for you to trim those 5600 words from an overinflated genre submission.

But your tribe does.

They understand everything you’re feeling because they’ve likely experienced it at some point too. Our shared pains and joys and frustrations and elations are what bind us on a different level. Having a tribe gives you a safe place to vent, or to bounce ideas around, or to test out plot twists and watch for reactions. Priceless, is truly what they are, repaid in hugs and thank you’s and endless cheering from the sidelines.

Sure, the involvement of your tribe’s members may change over the years as some journeys wind down while others’ ramp up, but those connections and friendships can last a lifetime.

I’d be lost without my tribe—they know who they are, and each of them have secured a precious place in my heart. Judi and M.L. are certainly there, for all the wisdom and support they’ve gifted me with over the years, as are countless others. Some, I’ve met in person. Others, I’ve made connections with from across the country to even around the world, all thanks to the amazing technology that is the interwebz. Each one is a true blessing, and help keep me grounded when life starts spinning off-kilter. Their resilience inspires me to keep trying, keep dreaming.

Keep writing.

So yes, Judi, in her own steadfast journey, has helped keep me moving forward with mine (and I’m certain that I’m not the only one, if the dedication of her regular, on-going local writers group is any indication.) Her bravery in trying different genres and rolling with the punches helped inspire me to give my imagination freer rein with BLUE MANHATTAN, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite stories. Will it sell a million copies? Eh, who knows. But one thing I do know is this: my tribe will be right beside me either way, and to me those friendships are worth their weight in gold.

Thank you, Judi, for being part of my tribe, and for all the support and encouragement you’ve graciously offered me over the years. And thank you all for sharing your time with me today. Stay safe, take care, and write on!

P.S. If you’re looking for a new wild and crazy fantasy romance, I’ve got you covered.

Blurb:

Bartender Shayla Tempest wants nothing more than to stay out of trouble. Oh, and to kill the supernatural mob boss who’s stolen her sister. So, when Mauricio Hunter demands Shay deliver some “special package” in exchange for her sister’s life, this supe masquerading as a blue-skinned witch doesn’t hesitate to agree. Until, that is, she learns the package is one that’s completely off-limits for her kind: a human.

Computer programmer Jamie Knight just wants to finish debugging his latest app. But some douche bag named Mauricio has kidnapped his girlfriend, and now Jamie’s dodging dangerous mythical creatures in a race against time to pay her ransom. His only hope? One seriously stubborn witch who’s blue, scary powerful, and sexy as hell.

With an unexpected attraction brewing between them, this unlikely duo will break every rule in the supernatural underworld to complete their rescue mission. But something far more devious than kidnapping is on Mauricio’s true agenda, and the erlking will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Do Shay and Jamie have what it takes to thwart his plans without losing themselves—or each other—along the way?

Available now at Amazon .

Deep POV

I enjoy deep POV in stories. It sucks me into the main character’s head and makes what’s happening more immediate. I use some methods to achieve it–eliminating tags and words like “she thought” and “she felt.” But I have a friend who EXCELS at it, and it makes her stories riveting. She’s proof deep POV brings a story to life because when I put together the anthology MURDER THEY WROTE, Kathy’s story was mentioned by reviewers over and over again.

Murder They Wrote – Kindle edition by Lynn, Judi, Boyack, C.S., Clair, Mae, Palm, Kathleen, Donner, Julia, Reisig, D.P., Roberts, Rachel Sherwood, Lynn, Judi. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

What IS deep POV? It’s plopping yourself right inside the main character’s head, thinking his thoughts, seeing what he sees. It’s more than third person limited. It’s living and breathing the character. I found a site that does a great job of explaining why a writer should use it and how to achieve it. How to Write Deep POV: 8 Tips for Using an Immersive Point of View – 2021 – MasterClass

The reason I’m thinking about it again is because I read Kathy’s newest story, REVEALED, in the free issue of Hellhound Magazine: ISSUES | My Site (hellhoundmagazine.com). Whenever I want to remember how effective deep POV can be, I read one of Kathy’s stories. This one is amazing!

This blog is a bit of a plug for Kathy’s writing, but it’s also a plug for deep POV. If you’re like me, you might only use it here and there in your usual third person limited story. But it’s something to think about. It works when you want to make part of your story more immediate.

Prickly Characters

Confession time. When I first found M.C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth mysteries, I was ecstatic. I immediately fell in love with a detective who had no ambition, who didn’t want to rise in the ranks and to be forced to leave his little community. Then I learned that M.C. Beaton wrote a second series with Agatha Raisin. So I bought one…and didn’t finish it. Agatha drove me NUTS. I bought a second one, thinking that the first book in a series isn’t always the best to judge an author on, and I didn’t finish the second one either. Agatha was rude, and rudeness bothers me. Huge numbers of fans disagreed with me, but I never picked up another book. But then, I found Agatha Raisin on BritBox, and for some reason, when I watched the TV show, I liked it. Yes, Agatha could still be pushy and abrasive, but somehow, her good qualities overrode her bad ones. And the characters in the show were quirky. I like quirky.

When I started writing A CUT ABOVE, I wanted Karnie and the new series to feel different than Jazzi and her series. Jazzi is pretty go-with-the-flow. She likes people and is accommodating. Karnie likes people, too, but she’s NOT accommodating. She’s fine living by herself and staying single for the rest of her life. And she pretty much says what she thinks. No filter.

I don’t think she’s as pushy as Agatha, but she is stubborn. I like characters who aren’t always likeable. One of my favorite characters I’ve read is Jorg, in the PRINCE OF THORNS. Jorg does terrible things. He’s not a nice person, but then, no one else in that time setting is nice either. It becomes a question of whose moral code I liked better–and Jorg’s seemed the best to me; whereas his father’s was despicable. Power hungry rulers stoop to horrible deeds to hang on to their power or gain more. Even the ordinary people Jorg meets are reprehensible, including the peasants.

Karnie is no Jorg. Not even as rude as Agatha. But she’s no Jazzi either. She’s just prickly and opinionated. But she’s loyal, and if she likes you, she’ll go the extra mile to help you. I don’t know if I’d consider her more flawed than most characters I write, because opinionated or not, I really like her.

Do you have any prickly, flawed characters you love? I’d love to hear about them. And happy reading!

How Much is too Much?

I’ve fallen in love with the Louis Kincaid mystery series, but I wasn’t as fond of the last book I read as the others. Why? Because it pushed my comfort zones, and I don’t want to read things that make me cringe these days. Maybe because I’m older. Maybe because it’s been a hard year. But I want happy endings these days, And damn, if I haven’t read more downer endings than usual.

I have a theory about downer endings. When writers are unhappy, they write unhappy endings. Understandable, but I don’t want to read them. As a reader, I’ve had enough challenges. I want the good guys to persevere, to come out ahead..

I surprised myself, though, by downloading a book that Mae Clair recommended on her weekly blog reviews, THE BAD SISTER. https://maeclair.net/2021/04/20/book-review-tuesday-the-bad-sister-by-kevin-obrien-the-dinner-guest-by-b-p-walter-domesticsuspense-psychologicalsuspense-bookreviews/ I remembered that suspense and horror are supposed to RELIEVE fears, worries, etc. And I’ve always liked dark fantasy, as long as it doesn’t gross me out. So I thought this book would be a good catharsis for any lingering worries I wasn’t dealing with. And I really enjoyed it. BUT the reason I enjoyed it is because all of the negative/icky stuff was offscreen–like Agatha Christie or EVERY cozy, except in this book, the ickies were definitely hinted at more to build tension. And there was an escalating body count throughout the entire book until the protagonists (and there was more than one this time) all met their final battle to survive.

I had a few issues with the book, but not because it pushed my boundaries. I’d guessed who the killer was but didn’t want it to be him and even had trouble accepting that it was him. And I’d guessed the twist, too, but it worked for me, so I was okay with it. I even guessed the second surprise, but I was okay with that, too So I’m glad I read it. And it made me think about the book I’m working on now, because it’s not a cozy. It’s a straight mystery that deals with a serial killer. He only chooses women in their forties who have long, beautiful hair.

But it’s been a long time since I wrote a serial killer book, and I had to remind myself that the body count in a book like that needs to be higher. The pace has to be more urgent. And I need to play mind games with the readers. Because they might still be ahead of me:)

I have 25,000 words done that I’m happy with, so for the moment, I feel good about where the book is going. I’ve written long enough that I know that might change. But I also keep reminding myself that I don’t want to push past any comfort level. There’s a line that divides suspense and thrillers from horror, and I don’t want to cross it. Two of my friends write horror, and that’s a whole different feel when you read it. You always think that the evil might win. Mysteries are all about the good guys catching the bad guys. Evil is always punished. Mysteries are about justice.

So for now, women in their forties with long, beautiful hair are prime temptations for a killer who stalks them. The why comes into play. And the good guys–Laurel and Nick–are driven to catch him. I’ve found a story that keeps challenging me to write it. I know where it’s going and what started it–for each of them–but I haven’t plotted it as rigidly as usual. I can’t remember the last time I started a book with so few plot points. I’ll be interested to see how that works . But for now, I’m happily tapping keys.

And I hope you find lots of good books to read, but none that make you cringe:) Unless you WANT to.

Lucky Me!

M.L. Rigdon, from my writers’ group Scribes, is one of my best friends and ALSO one of my critique partners. Which means–and this is the lucky part–I’m her critique partner. We trade manuscripts to beta read. She scribbles with red ink on my pages, and I scribble on hers. She just gave me the first half of her newest book, DROVER’S LANE, to critique. I love all of her books, but I think I love her historical novels the most. Don’t get me wrong. I love all of them, but I have no patience for researching every little last detail for historicals, so I’m happy when someone else does it for me.

Mary Lou, as Julia Donner, writes Regency romances in a Friendship Series that I devour. I was a big fan of Georgette Heyer (who’s in trouble now for being racist, but I never got it at the time. I didn’t read the book that made it so apparent). Mary Lou has the same wry humor and Jane Austen mannerisms with strong females and men who know how to win them. When I want a fun read, her Regencies do the trick. But like me, Mary Lou needs to change it up once in a while, and then she writes fantasies, action/adventure, and historical Westerns.

DROVER’S LANE is a historical Western, and I’m not that far into it, but I’m already hooked. The only things I know about that period of history is what I watched on Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, and my dad’s favorite TV shows. And there are some missing pieces because of peoples’ preferences back then. So far, I’m already enthralled with Millie–a Chinese woman who’s working with the protagonist, a widow, in her bakery/breakfast/and lunch shop. Millie has a sharp mind and a sharper tongue. I love her. But as always, Lillian Flowers–the protagonist–is complex and intriguing and the romantic interest has depths we don’t expect. I’m in for a good read.

I have to say, I have a thing for historicals. That’s why I’m so drawn to Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby series and C.S. Harris’s Sebastian St. Cyr novels, along with a few others that I read sporadically. Most of the ones that are automatic buys focus on the Regency or Victorian periods, and those are what drew me to Mary Lou’s Julia Donner Regencies, too. But I’m enjoying the historical Westerns just as much, and I didn’t expect to. But I should have known better. I fell in love with Zane Grey’s THE LAST TRAIL and BETTY ZANE. I read every James Fenimore Cooper Natty Bumppo novel in middle school.

I mostly write mysteries, but when I read, it’s nice to go outside of my genre sometimes. I don’t know if you’re a fan of historicals or if you like Westerns, but I can recommend Julia Donner Western romances. And a warning. Her writing can get mighty spicy–another reason I enjoy them:)

Snippet from A CUT ABOVE, due out May 3rd:

They were getting ready to open when Sam Lessman’s mother called and asked for Dad.  He listened to her a minute, then said, “Let me put you on Speaker.  We’ll all want to hear this.”

Karnie, her mom, and Chuck gathered around him.

“The police keep questioning Sam over and over again,” she told them.  “They think he killed Donna.  His cleaver has gone missing.  It was the same type they found in Donna’s skull.  Tony, you bought it for him as a going away present, remember?  It had his initials on it.  He told them that, but they don’t believe him.”

“I had them engraved on the handle,” Dad confirmed. 

“Would you tell the police that?  Have they called you to ask about it?”

“They haven’t, but I’ll call them.”

“Thank you.  I think the only reason they haven’t arrested him is because he wasn’t at the shop yet during the time they think she was murdered.”

“What time do they think that was?” Karnie leaned closer to Dad’s phone to ask.

“Between six and eight that morning.”

Karnie frowned.  “Why would Donna be at her shop that early?  Hers doesn’t open until nine, like ours.”

“Sam told me the workers have to be there at eight-thirty.  He got to the shop a little late that day.  He was waiting for a mechanic to finish work on his car.  But he said there was no sign of blood anywhere in the parking lot when he arrived.”

“The police think she was killed at her shop?” Karnie asked.

“They know she was.  In the parking lot.  They used a special piece of equipment that can scan for traces of blood.  It lit up when they waved it near the back door at the parking spot Donna always used.  They think someone washed it away with a power hose the workers use to keep the lot clean.”

 “Didn’t Donna have security cameras?”  Dad glanced at the cameras near their front doors and the parking lot.

“Donna angled them so that her private parking spot wasn’t covered.  She wanted to be able to drive in and walk in the shop without warning the workers.  She thought she might catch them at something.”

“A little bit of a tyrant?”  Chuck shook his head. 

Mrs. Lessman made a rude noise.  “Some tyrants are nicer than she was.”

Karnie asked, “Why are they just focusing on Sam?  There must have been lots of people who didn’t like her.”

“Because she spent half an hour screaming at Sam before she left the shop the night before she died, and his meat cleaver is missing.”

Chuck sounded irritated.  “She took turns screaming at people, didn’t she?  He’d probably heard it all before.”

“She threatened to fire him this time.”

Dad raised his voice.  “What for?  The boy’s good at what he does.”

Mrs. Lessman hesitated.  “She wanted Sam to cut and label steaks so that they looked like more expensive cuts than they were.”

“She wanted him to cheat customers.”  Chuck exchanged a hard look with Dad.  “Sam would never do that.”

“That’s why she threatened to fire him and find someone who would.”

 “Customers would know.  She’d go out of business.”  Dad’s lips pressed together in a tight line. 

“That’s what Sam tried to tell her.  She said it would only be for a month or two until her money was in better shape.”

Mom glanced at her sister, listening intently, and shook her head.  “A business has to work hard to get a good reputation when it starts up.  Once you lose that, it’s almost impossible to get customers to trust you again.”

They could hear Mrs. Lessman’s sigh.  “Donna didn’t listen to anyone.  Sam told me, he thought he was probably going to be fired, just like Jose was.  He was so happy to get that job, but he said he wouldn’t ruin his reputation as a good butcher just to please Donna.”

Dad puffed up like a proud papa.  “Good for him.  If he needs help, tell him to call me.  We’ll help him find a good shop to work in.”  Dad could do it, too.  He knew a lot of other butchers.

“Please.  Just call the cops and tell them Sam’s cleaver had his initials on the handle.  The one that killed Donna wasn’t his.”

A Cut Above: a Karnie Cleaver mystery – Kindle edition by Lynn, Judi. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Amateur Sleuths

Every one of my mysteries features an amateur sleuth. In the Jazzi Zanders mysteries, Jazzi, Ansel, and her cousin Jerod are house flippers. Karnie, in my new series, works in her family’s butcher shop. Lux is a freelance journalist. And in the new straight mystery that I’m working on, Laurel is an ex-nurse and volunteer whose friend is killed by the Midlife Murderer.

The thing about amateur sleuths is that they need to have a REASON to get involved in solving a case. Curiosity isn’t enough for a protagonist to put him or herself in danger. If a protagonist is a cop, it’s his JOB to solve crimes. Cops have the authority to question people. When a writer has a P.I. as the MC, it’s his job to deliver answers to a client. A P.I. gets paid to dig for answers, too. The difference is, people can tell him to take a hike. He has no authority. Even cops can stonewall him. It’s even harder for amateurs. They have to convince people to talk to them, and they have to have strong motivation to .bother with a murder in the first place. So why do they do it?

In all of my books, the reason is that someone they care about was either the victim OR someone they care about is the main suspect. Both work. That’s how Jazzi and Ansel get involved in solving every murder in their series. In book one, Jazzi and Jerod find the bones of Jazzi’s aunt in a trunk stored in the house’s attic they’re working on. In book 7, Ansel’s uncle wants him to prove neither of his sons killed the man buried when a retaining wall collapses on their work site.

In A CUT ABOVE, out May 3rd, Karnie’s dad and brother trained Sam Lessman at their butcher shop and grew fond of him. When he becomes the number one suspect for murdering Donna Amick, Karnie decides to prove he didn’t do it. In trying to clear his name, she’s forced into stepping outside her comfort zone and to accept help (which she usually doesn’t do) .

In the Lux series, Lux was a reporter in Chicago before she moved to Summit City. It’s in her nature to dig for answers, but she only gets involved in solving a murder in HEIRLOOMS TO DIE FOR to keep people she cares about safe. When she finds a body in her storage unit, she discovers it’s someone who was close to Cook–her parents’ servant that she loves. How did he get past her secret code to steal things from her? And why is someone still interested in the belongings she brought here when she moved from Chicago?

If you’re a fan of amateur sleuths, HEIRLOOMS TO DIE FOR will be free April 28th to May 2nd. Hope you give it a try!

Heirlooms To Die For: Lux Mystery 2 – Kindle edition by Lynn, Judi. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Audio Podcast

Leah Bailey invited me to a Q&A on her podcast, COZY INK, and it aired today. I was nervous, but she’s so easy to talk to and so pleasant, I ended up really enjoying myself. Leah’s an author herself, so it was like talking shop with a new writer I’d never met before. If you’d like to check out the podcast and read more about Leah, you can find the interview here:

Author Interview with Judi Lynn