Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 57

The Orange Cone — Welcome Guest T. G. Herren

I’m so happy to welcome Greg Herren to The Wickeds! I saw him speak in 2016 at SinC into Great Writing in New Orleans. I was so impressed and he’s made a big impact on my life. I love his brand new book, .

Greg: For me, it’s the little things that bring a place like New Orleans to life on the page.

Take, for one example, potholes.

Who likes potholes?

Nobody, that’s who.

New Orleans has more potholes than anywhere I’ve ever lived or visited.

It has something to do with the ground here and the water table, so I am told, either the water table is too high or we’re below sea level or we get too much rain or the city is sinking a fraction of an inch every year or maybe, just maybe—it’s because that’s what happens when you pave over a swamp.

If the sheer number of our potholes is legion, their depth is a mystery and every one of them is different. The one on my street has resisted all efforts of the city to fill and patch for going on eighteen years now, an ongoing war of attrition between nature and humanity. Currently humanity is winning, and my street is intact—but Nature will not be denied. The pavement has already sunk some, and cracks are beginning to appear at its lowest point.

Soon, our pothole will be active again, and a danger to strangers driving down our street during a thunderstorm, as the swirling floodwaters hide it—and its warning cone—from sight.

The inability of the city to keep the potholes filled and our streets in good repair is an ongoing commiseration for New Orleanians. We talk about the potholes and the cracks, the sinking pavement and surprise dips that wreak havoc on our shock absorbers and mufflers, while standing in line at the grocery store or the pharmacy or waiting for the streetcar. There’s no way of knowing when, or if, the city will ever send a crew out.

But they do come by, to let us know that they know there’s a problem, by planting an orange cone in the pothole. I’ve never seen the mysterious person who delivers the cone.

No one I know has.

But the cone gradually, slowly, day by day, begins to disappear into the pothole. (I’ve watched countless such cones disappear into the pothole on my street when it’s in its active state.)

New Orleanians, though, have a sense of humor about everything. We love to celebrate, we love to throw parties and go to parades, put on costumes and play dress up. We decorate our houses for every holiday, some going to incredibly elaborate lengths—and considerable expense. When the Carnival season parades were canceled for the pandemic, people decorated their houses with a theme, turning them into house floats.

And so, we also decorate the orange cones in our potholes.

Obviously, during Carnival the cones wear strings of beads, perhaps toilet sunglasses from the Tucks parade, hats and stuffed animals and other things caught at a parade. The cones are decorated for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Bastille Day and the 4th of July, St. Patrick’s Day and Twelfth Night, every holiday you can think of and some you may have only heard of due to a cone decoration.

So, when trying to bring New Orleans to life in my new book, what better way than to give my heroine a determined pothole and a orange cone, ripe for decoration and conversation?

(One person planted corn in their pothole, but that’s a story for another time.)

So, dear readers, let me ask you: what is one small thing that makes your community different from others? Or have you ever seen something unique to its place?

Here’s the blurb:

Blackmail in the Big Easy turns to cold-blooded murder in this debut cozy mystery perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland.

When the mysterious letter arrives by courier, Valerie Cooper doesn’t know what to make of it. She’s become the beneficiary of her late husband’s estranged uncle’s will—a man she never knew—and inherited a majority partnership in the family’s company, New Orleans Fine Antiques. Valerie knows nothing about antiques, but she decides to learn the business and become an active partner. She’s also got her hands full fending off Collette, a woman who wants to sell the huge old house in the Irish Channel neighborhood Valerie and her husband painstakingly renovated.

Valerie isn’t interested in selling—but when her best friend Lauren, drags her to a costume party for the women’s Mardi Gras club, the Krewe of Athena, she stumbles over Collette’s body, a jeweled dagger sticking out of her chest. In a rush of panic, Valerie recognizes the dagger from her shop—and before she knows it, she’s become murder suspect number one.

Egged on by Lauren, she starts digging into Collette’s business dealings, and the deeper she digs, the dirtier it gets. Now all fingers are pointing at Valerie. In a desperate bid to clear her name, Valerie frantically tries to find who could have gotten hold of the dagger. But among a cadre of guests in full costume, it could be impossible to find the thief—and unmask the real killer.

Bio: T. G. HERREN is a pen name for Greg Herren, an award-winning author and editor of numerous novels, anthologies, and short stories. Greg has lived in New Orleans for twenty-seven years in the lower Garden District. His hobbies include decorating orange cones, dropping rocks into potholes, and waiting for Carnival.

Www.gregwritesblog.com

Twitter: @scottynola

Facebook: Greg Herren

Instagram: gregh121

HiveSocial: Greg Herren

Is It Really Failing?

I decided to try NaNoWriMo again this year. National Novel Writing Month occurs every November and the goal is to write 50,000 words or 1667 words a day for thirty days. (And yes, I know if you do the math, it’s actually 50,010 words.)

I’ve signed up for NaNo two other times. The first year I barely did anything. I had more success on my second attempt. My Facebook memories from two years ago said this: I finished NaNoWriMo thanks to the support of Sisters in Crime and the SinC50K with Sisters in Crime NaNoWriMo Group. I wrote 50004 words plus the 8835 I’d already written. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. When I hit 3000 words today, Bob said why don’t you just try to finish so I did — 4880 today. I’m tired!

That book was Three Shots to the Wind. I wrote it doing a lot of sprints. (A writing sprint is where you write for a specific amount of time without taking your fingers off the keys.) It seemed to come out funnier than some of my books. I always wonder if the sprints had anything to do with that.

This year I didn’t come close to the 50K goal. I only wrote 8,646 words on my new manuscript. However, that’s more words than I started with so that is a win as far as I’m concerned. And I’d already written 6541words. So, all total, it’s about twenty percent of a 75,000-word novel.

A couple of things kept me from finishing. First, I’ve been working on a Hallmark-type holiday romance novel. My original goal was to have it to my agent by October 1. A bout of Covid, and the book needing more editing than I thought it would, put me behind. So, while I wanted to add words to my new manuscript, I also wanted to send off the romance and I did! Finally, on November 15th I hit send. Second, I’m always drained when I send off a project and it took a bit to reorient myself to the NaNo project.

I like these quotes on failure:

“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” ― Samuel Beckett

“Do not judge me by my successes; judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” ― Nelson Mandela

“Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” ― Oprah Winfrey

Readers: How do you feel when you don’t make a goal? Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?

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Why Our Characters are Grateful in 2022

We’re closing out our month of expressed gratitudes (we’re grateful twelve months a year) by telling what our main characters are grateful for in 2022.

Wickeds, pick ONE of your main characters from ONE series and tell us, from a novel, novella, or short story published in 2022, what person or event or place or thing made that character feel grateful for this year. (For you historical writers, in a book published this year, not the character transporting to 2022.)

Julie: The Plot Thickets takes place, in book time, a year after Pruning the Dead, so Lilly Jayne spends some time in the book reflecting on the changes in her life over the past year. While she was always grateful for her friends, she’s especially grateful to Roddy, her handsome next door neighbor. He’s helped her get out of her own way a bit, and added a lot to her life.

Edith/Maddie: My vote has to go for Mac Almeida for Murder in a Cape Cottage. In a five-day period, she manages to not only solve the cold case of the antique skeleton-bride she and Tim found imprisoned behind a wall but also fend off a modern-day would-be killer. Mac gets a last fitting for her wedding dress, meets Tim’s parents for the first time, and, at last, marries her beloved. It’s been a journey for her to arrive at this point, and she is grateful.

Liz: I think Violet Mooney in the upcoming Witch Way Out has a lot to be thankful for. She has a whole new family thanks to her mother Fiona and her sister Zoe coming to town, and they’re really growing on her. She’s leaning into her powers and coming into her own personal power, and she’s super grateful for this unexpected plot twist in her life.

Sherry: Chloe Jackson in Three Shots to the Wind is grateful that she’s coming into her own in Emerald Cove, Florida. She’s learning to trust her instincts and the people around her and they are beginning to trust her. Although all of this is rattled when someone from her past shows up–someone she thought she knew. But as Chloe delves into the past everything she thought she knew is upended.

Barb: Julia Snowden, of the Maine Clambake Mysteries, is grateful that after a tumultuous period in her personal life, things are settling down, even becoming enjoyable. She’s still living at her mom’s house and hasn’t solved the problem of finding winter work that can keep her in Busman’s Harbor. But she does have a tight cohort of single friends in Jamie and Zoey, who are keeping her busy and entertained. And that’s made all the difference.

Jessie: Everyone has such heartwarming gratitudes! Mine would be for my protagonist, WPC Billie Harkness who is grateful to be doing her bit for the war effort in 1940 Hull, UK. She has wanted to make a meaningful contribution since WWII was declared and is finally fulfilling that desire!

Readers: What do you think one or more of our characters have to be grateful for? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Or tell us about the feelings of another character you are currently devoted to.

Welcome Author Sarah Fox

I’d like to welcome author Sarah Fox to the blog. She’s here to celebrate the publication of Through the Liquor Glass, the fifth book in her popular Literary Pub Mysteries, which comes out today!

Take it away, Sarah!

Thank you to Barbara Ross and all of the Wicked Authors for inviting me here today!

I was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and that’s where my love of mysteries began. Growing up, I never really pictured myself living in a small town, but that’s where I’ve ended up. Living in a small town has turned out to be a good thing for me as a cozy mystery writer because it has provided me with plenty of fodder for the imagination.

Although my first cozy mystery series, the Music Lover’s Mysteries, takes place in Vancouver, all of my subsequent series are set in fictional small towns: the Pancake House Mysteries in Wildwood Cove, Washington; the Literary Pub Mysteries in Shady Creek, Vermont; and my upcoming True Confections Mysteries in Larch Haven, Vermont.

Small-town living has inspired many of the events in my books. The first Literary Pub Mystery, Wine and Punishment, features an autumn festival with a pumpkin catapult competition. The idea for that came from my town’s annual pumpkin harvest festival, which also has a pumpkin catapult competition. Then there’s ladies’ night at the hardware store, which made its way into Yeast of Eden, A Pancake House Mystery #4 (more fun than you might think—I went every year until the pandemic hit). In the latest Literary Pub Mystery, Through the Liquor Glass, the protagonist, Sadie Coleman, takes part in a food and drink festival called A Taste of Shady Creek. Once again, the idea for that event came from one held here in my town.

The local festivals and events aren’t the only sources of inspiration for me, however. I’ve also experienced other aspects of small-town living that I’ve incorporated into my books, like how the local hair salon is a great place to gather gossip and hear the latest news. In fact, the stories I’ve heard at the hair salon inspired plot elements like the flower thefts mentioned in one of my Pancake House Mysteries. Even after publishing sixteen books, I still have plenty of ideas inspired by small-town life that I hope to incorporate into future cozy mysteries. For the moment, however, I hope readers will enjoy the small town atmosphere and autumn vibes of my latest mystery, Through the Liquor Glass.

Readers: Does your town or city hold any fun seasonal events?

About Through the Liquor Glass

In the picturesque New England town of Shady Creek, Vermont, fall is in full swing, and Sadie Coleman, owner of the literary-themed Inkwell pub, is serving up delicious food and drinks—with a side of sleuthing . . .

Autumn brings a wonderland of color and atmosphere to Vermont. As the last leaves fall from the trees, the town is gearing up for a new festival: A Taste of Shady Creek. Pub proprietor Sadie Coleman is looking forward to visitors coming to sample her literary-themed cocktails. She’s a little more wary about her mother’s impending first visit. What if her mom doesn’t like Sadie’s adopted town—or her new boyfriend, Grayson Blake?

Those concerns are overshadowed when a food critic is found dead at Grayson’s craft brewery, pinned under a barrel. Curiouser and curiouser—the victim is linked to Grayson’s past as a private investigator, and all the evidence points to him as the killer. While Grayson lays low, Sadie starts some investigating of her own, diving down a rabbit hole of suspects. Was it a bad review that made the killer mad as a hatter? Or are there other motives at play?
 
In between serving Kiss of the Cider Woman cocktails and book-minded bites to festival goers, Sadie is striving to clear Grayson’s name. But it’ll take more than a dash of ingenuity to prevent the festival from fizzing out completely—and stop a killer from downing another innocent life . . .

About Sarah Fox

Sarah Fox was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she developed a love for mysteries at a young age. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer she is often reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English springer spaniel. http://www.authorsarahfox.com

  

Welcome Guest Author Lauren Elliot and a #giveaway

Hi all. I hope you had a marvelous Thanksgiving.

Today, the Wickeds welcome guest Lauren Elliott, whose book Steeped in Secrets, first in her new Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery series, will be published tomorrow!

Lauren is offering a hardcover copy of her book to one lucky commenter below.

Take it away, Lauren!

Love of All Things Irish

Hi, everyone! I would like to say a huge thank you to Barbara Ross and all the wonderful Wicked authors for inviting me to be a guest on their blog today. Many of you may know me through my Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. However, today I would like to give you a glimpse into my latest work Steeped in Secrets, book one in my brand new Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery series. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it has been to create an entirely new fictional world filled with colorful characters stemming from my strong Irish roots and love of all things Irish—especially its history, folklore, and folk medicine.

It was through my research about folk medicine and ancient healing practices that the inspiration behind the Crystals & CuriosiTEAS series took hold. If you’re well versed in Irish history, you may already be familiar with the stories about what some called a real Irish witch named Biddy Early. Born 1778 in County Claire and known as the “wise woman of Clare,” Biddy Early came from a long line of healers and had been taught herbal cures by her mother, which had been passed down through the generations.

The term witch was often used by the church to explain the dealings of those who worked with elements they didn’t understand and feared. Today, most would agree that Biddy Early was a healer and a seer, a follower of the old ways. Biddy, along with others who followed the old ways, concocted cures and saught out natural remedies to create medicines by using a bounty of herbs, plants, seeds, berries, bark, roots, and flowers much like the native peoples in the Americas and other parts of the world had for millennia before the settlers came. Most of these so-called witches were just simple folk who had learned the ways of the natural world and used their gifts and talents to help ease other people’s ailments and troubles.

As time went on, Biddy started to make a name for herself as a highly sought after healer, who helped peasants with her mix of teas and potions. It’s reported that she spent her whole life gathering and experimenting with herbal cures and tea blends and at some point acquired a magical blue bottle that became as famous as she was. She would frequently look into the bottle, which contained some sort of dark liquid, and it gave her the answers she required when considering possible cures or treatments or allowed her to see into the future. It was widely believed at the time that the fairies, with whom she regularly communicated, had given the bottle to her. When she died, the bottle disappeared, and it was said that the fairies had come to reclaim it.

It was the stories about Biddy, her cures, teas, and the blue bottle that was rumored to induce her second sight abilities that inspired the contemporary character of Shayleigh Myers or Shay, as her friends and family call her. Even with her life in ruins in New Mexico, Shay feels uneasy about settling into the small seaside town where she grew up on California’s Monterey Peninsula and taking over an estate bequeathed to her by Bridget Early, a woman she had barely known. Her heightened senses—an empathic gift she’s had since childhood—go into overdrive upon touring Crystals & CuriosiTEAS, Bridget’s eclectic tea and psychic shop brimming with Irish lore and Celtic symbols. Things reach a boiling point though when Shay looks up and discovers a stranger’s body sprawled across the shop’s greenhouse roof. To top things off, Shay also discovers that an expectation of her running the teashop is that she provides the services her benefactor had, which includes Tasseography—tea leaf reading, protective and healing stone treatments, and dispensing the various herbs and teas used in healing practices, something as a trained geologist she knows absolutely nothing about.  

It is said that one of the reasons why Biddy Early was frequently referred to as “the wise woman of Clare” was because she was a woman ahead of her time. You see, until recently the medical profession dismissed and were suspicious of healing with plants and herbs. Now, those same folk medicine treatments that Biddy used are often recommended by doctors for ailments and herbal extracts, tinctures, oils, and teas can be found in pharmacies, markets, health-food stores, grocery stores, and can even be purchased online. There are numerous types of herbal teas all with their unique benefits, and with the help of journals left to Shay by her benefactor, she sets about learning the old ways of brewing various teas and learning the common ailments they were used to treat. A few of the teas Shay and Biddy might have used include:

Elderflower

Elderflower reduces mucus in the sinuses and lungs and also treats coughs, bronchitis, and asthma, and in treating winter colds, fevers, and the flu.

Peppermint

Can soothe an upset stomach and serve as a cure for constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and motion sickness. It has also been proven to offer some pain relief from tension headaches and migraines.

Blackberry

Studies show that the leaves contain high doses of flavonoids, which are known for their powerful antioxidant activity.

Lavender

Lavender is more than a sweet smelling flower and is perfect for treating anxiety, coughs, colds, stress, feelings of anxiety, and even insomnia.

Chamomile

Chamomile is one of the world’s most popular teas when it comes to calming the body, relieving stress and anxiety, and helps with insomnia. It also helps to reduce menstrual pain and muscle spasms.

Rosehip

One of the best sources of Vitamin C to be found, which is important for immune system support.

Green Tea

Green tea is often called “the wonder tea” as it helps lower the user’s risk of developing cancer and inhibits the carcinogenic effect found in processed foods and other toxins.

Ginger

Commonly used for cooking, ginger root tea has been popular in Asian and European countries for many years. It is best known for its ability to stop nausea and vomiting but is also good for treating allergies, muscle aches, cramps, reducing fevers, and cleansing the colon.

Lemon Balm

Calms nerves, soothes nerve pain, strengthens the memory, and improves mood.

Rooibos

Can help improve blood pressure and circulation, boosts good cholesterol while lowering bad cholesterol, keeps hair strong and skin healthy, and provides relief from allergies.

Hibiscus

Lowers blood pressure and fat levels, improves overall liver health, can starve off cravings for unhealthy sweets, and may prevent the formation of kidney stones.

Lemongrass

Is an excellent detoxifying agent, promotes good sleep, and aids with anxiety and depression.

Readers: Tell us, have you ever drunk tea for its medicinal properties, or do you drink tea purely for the sense of relaxation and well-being a nice “cuppa” brings with it? One comment will be randomly selected on November 30, 2022 to win a signed hardcover copy of Steeped in Secrets. 

About Steeped in Secrets

Flat broke and divorced, intuitive gemologist Shay Myers has changed since leaving her artsy hometown of coastal Bray Harbor sixteen years ago. But when she moves back under strange circumstances, old instincts may be the only key to spilling the tea on a deadly mystery.

Even with her life in ruins in New Mexico, Shay feels uneasy about settling into the small seaside town where she grew up on California’s Monterey Peninsula and taking over an estate bequeathed to her by Bridget Early, a woman she had barely known. Her heightened senses—an empathic gift she’s had since childhood—go into overdrive upon touring Crystals & CuriosiTEAS, Bridget’s eclectic tea and psychic shop brimming with Irish lore and Celtic symbols. They reach a boiling point when Shay looks up to discover a stranger’s body sprawled across the shop’s greenhouse roof . . .

With her new business a crime scene and questions brewing over Bridget’s so-called accidental death, Shay fears she’s also inherited the attention of a killer. The terrifying realization sets her on an impractical investigation for answers aided by her sister, an elusive pure-white German Shepherd, a strikingly handsome pub owner who speaks in a gentle brogue, and a misunderstood young woman with perceptive talents of her own. As Shay struggles to figure out her true purpose in Bray Harbor and the powerful connection she has with the tea shop, she must trust her judgment above all else to identify a ruthless murderer and save herself from becoming victim number three.

Order Now at https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9781496735232/steeped-in-secrets/

About Lauren Elliott

Lauren Elliott is the USA Today bestselling author of the Shay Myers Tea Shop Mysteries and the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery Series. She grew up devouring Nancy Drew, graduated to Agatha Christie, and then began writing her own mysteries, as well as bringing her passion for storytelling to careers in professional theater and journalism. She can be found online at LaurenElliottAuthor.com.

Lauren Elliott – USA Today Bestselling Author

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How to just do it now

By Liz, feeling chilly already

So, it’s almost my birthday (yay!). One of my friends always said that she looked at her birthday as the start of the new year, instead of Jan. 1. This year I decided to adopt that practice because I need to get some good habits going STAT.

And I thought I’d start with ditching this all-or-nothing mindset I somehow developed along the way.

I could spend some time on where this came from, but that would probably be its own whole blog post. Suffice it to say, it’s probably related to the notion I’ve had since I was a kid about perfectionism, feeling unworthy unless I was succeeding, terrified to fail. So as a result, I’ve been stuck in this idea that I have to do everything within the construct of some false idea I have about time spent or success achieved or some other wacko metric that I came up with in my own flawed mind. Usually followed up by It’s not enough, I’ll never get it done/right/fill in the blank.

For instance, some of my blocks in the past included things like:

Unless I can devote four, five, eight hours a day to writing, there’s no time to write, therefore I do nothing.Unless I can work out for an hour, why bother.If I don’t have exactly every single ingredient that’s laid out in the recipe for the healthy dinner I was thinking of making, I can’t do it.If I can’t save xxx dollars a month in my investment account, what’s the use of saving anything.

And on and on.

I’ve started to recognize this in myself and how it’s been holding me back. Because the truth is, it’s the little steps, the few minutes, the $20 you save, that is going to add up. I realized I’m not going to get anywhere if I wait for the perfect time block to work on that next book. The time is going to pass anyway.

Instead, I’m going to do it now.

While I’m waiting for my coffee to brew, I’ll do 10 squats. And if I have 10 minutes this morning, I’m going to write a few words.

I’m guessing it’s going to add up real fast.

What about you, readers? What can you do with a few spare moments, dollars, or other asset you have? Tell me in the comments below.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dearest Readers: All month, we’ve been writing about the people, places, organizations, and things we’re grateful for. One thing is certain, we are grateful for you. Book readers, blog readers, bookstore browsers, library borrowers, and ebook and audiobook downloaders. We love and are grateful for you all. For your time, your interest, your dedication, your comments, emails, and encouragement.

Wherever you are, whatever the day holds, we hope you have a happy Thanksgiving. Whether you are madly cleaning, cooking, or up to your elbows in dirty dishes, we hope you have a quiet moment at the end of the day with a good book.

Grateful for People in 2022

Who is a person who you find yourself especially grateful to this year? It can be someone new in your life or someone who’s been around for a long time but who either did something specific this year or who stepped up generally across the year. Pick ONE person and tell us why. To make it even more challenging, no partners, parents, or kids. Tell us who and why.

Julie: I’m going first, and I’m already cheating. Last year my parents went into an assisted living facility, and this year we moved my mother to another floor into memory care. For any of you on this journey, you know how challenging this can be. I am SO grateful for the staff of the facility, and the care they give my parents. My father still refers to it as a minimum security prison, but he appreciates all that people do to take care of him. And my mother is being well taken care of, a huge blessing. Grateful is too small a word for the peace of mind they bring my sisters and I.

Edith/Maddie: Can I kind of cheat, too? Alexandra Santiago Llegus agreed to marry my son John this year. A talented designer and graphic artist, a woman beautiful in spirit and appearance, and a warm, affectionate soul, Alex is making my son happy beyond description.

It took my younger kid a while to find his true love (he’ll be thirty-four in January), and I am infinitely grateful he and Alex have decided to seal their bond with a wedding in Puerto Rico in February.

Liz: Is it cheating to say my therapist?? I don’t think I’ve ever acknowledged what a huge difference she’s made in my life. I’ve been working with her for years and she’s really helped me see some of the patterns I’ve been stuck in that have impacted my life. She’s taking a few months off to have a baby and I was thinking about how I’ll survive without her (LOL) and realized how grateful I am for the work we’ve done together, especially during times of massive change like this year.

Sherry: If laughter is good for the soul then I’m very lucky to have my daughter. It’s been a wonder to watch her grow into the hard working, charming, funny (oh, so funny) woman she’s become. She was a huge help after my husband had his hip-replacement surgery last fall. She’s great company and loves fiercely.

Barb: You people are impossible! Remind me not to put any restrictions on answers to future posts. This year I am grateful for my friend, Carol. We’ve been friends for years, colleagues, and business partners at important times. The gratitude, respect, and support goes on into our fourth decade.

Readers: Who is a person in your life you are grateful for in 2022? (I won’t even try to put the restrictions on you that I put on the Wickeds–no partners, parents, or kids–since that clearly was a failure.)

Festive Mayhem 3 from Guest Carolyn Wilkins

Edith/Maddie here, feeling festive and excited for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

I’m also excited to welcome author Carolyn Wilkins to the blog to share Festive Mayhem 3, the newest anthology of crime stories from seven crime writers of color. Read down for a generous giveaway!

Take it away, Carolyn!

I am excited to announce the release of Festive Mayhem 3, a holiday-themed anthology of fiction written by seven crime writers of color.  In addition to my work, this year’s collection features new stories by Francelia Belton, Delia C. Pitts, Paige Sleuth, Stella Oni, Barbara Howard, and Elizabeth Wilkerson. Grab your copy now, because it’s only available until January 31.

My contribution is called A Serenade For Suicide.  The central character in the story is Bertie Bigelow, a much put-upon music professor and sometime amateur sleuth. Bertie’s given up her singing career in New York City to teach at an inner-city community college in her old neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.  When her ex-boyfriend, a Grammy-winning songwriter, shows up to give a special workshop for her students, Bertie suddenly finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. 

The inspiration for this story comes from the many years I spent teaching aspiring rock stars at Berklee College of Music.  Like many other music schools, Berklee frequently brings well-known industry professionals to campus to give special workshops to their students.  I’ve often thought about the many disastrous (and possibly fatal) things that could happen during one of these events.  Writing A Serenade For Suicide gave me the chance to explore at least one of these deliciously deadly possibilities, and have a bit of fun in the process. 

Here I am with my students.

Here’s a bit more about the other stories in this collection:

• “Black Easter” by Francelia Belton. In 1967, a militant husband and father tries to push his political views onto his wife’s conservative family at the annual Easter social—and things don’t end well.
• “A Deadly First” by Delia C. Pitts. Thanksgiving takes a fatal turn when New York private eye SJ Rook finds himself thrust into his first murder case in this darkly atmospheric tale of noir. (Originally published with the first Festive Mayhem.)
• “Whiteout Wipeout” by Paige Sleuth. A lost cat leads Cherry Hills, Washington, animal rescue maven and amateur sleuth Imogene Little to the body of a murdered man at the start of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.
• “The Troublesome Rich Girl” by Stella Oni. When Elizabeth agreed to look out for the rebellious teenager Tayo Adelaja and her cousin Angelica, she enlisted the help of the Mews hotel’s social media obsessed apprentice, Rosie O’Toole—only for the three to disappear!
• “Trace of Lace” by Barbara Howard. On the eve of his wedding day, Milo has to save his bride when news of a serial killer near Birston College puts the campus on lockdown.
• “A Christmas Tip” by Elizabeth Wilkerson. A surprise Christmas bonus becomes too tempting for Philadelphia nursing assistant Brianna Byers to resist—even if accepting requires some skillful skirting of the law. (Originally published with the first Festive Mayhem.)

Readers: Have you ever had a rogue moment of idle speculation in which a mundane event at your workplace goes horribly wrong?  I get these moments all the time, and I suspect you do, too.  We are mystery lovers, after all! I will give a digital download of Festive Mayhem 3 to the reader who shares the most creative workplace disaster fantasy here.  Let your imagination run wild!  I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Carolyn Marie Wilkins is the author of three mystery novels:  Death at a Séance, Melody for Murder and Mojo for Murder, all available from Pen-L Publications.  She is also the author of Tips for Singing (Hal Leonard Press) and two memoirs: Damn Near White: An African American Family’s Journey from Slavery to Bittersweet Success, and They Raised Me Up: A Black Single Mother and the Women Who Inspired Her, available from the University of Missouri Press.

Carolyn is a Reiki master, a psychic medium and a Professor at Berklee College of Music Online.  Carolyn has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and represented her country as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department.  An initiated priestess of Yemaya, the African goddess of motherhood, compassion and the ocean, Carolyn holds certificates of completion in mediumship from the JVP School of Mystical Arts, the British mediums Tony Stockwell and Mavis Pittilla.  To find out more about Carolyn, visit her website: www.carolynwilkins.com

Snap up your e-copy here before the end of January, 2023:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK8J7KRH
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BK8J7KRH 
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BK8J7KRH 
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BK8J7KRH 
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/book/id6443860758 
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940166760630 

Celebrations and #giveaway

Edith/Maddie writing from a frigid – but not snowy – north of Boston.

I am a firm believer in celebrating blessings, victories, and milestones big and small, mine and those of others. Barb has done a great job of bringing us together about our gratitudes this month for Wicked Wednesday posts. Let’s also celebrate what we’re grateful for! Read down for a special giveaway, too.

So what am I celebrating today, three weeks into November, when it’s ever colder and darker here in New England?

A – Staying healthy after a weekend of hugging and eating and drinking with author pals and fans at the New England Crime Bake. It’s a major victory to celebrate, especially when the weekend was capped off by lunch with four of the Wickeds (and missing Sherry terribly)!

B – Toasting Susan Oleksiw and Leslie Wheeler for each receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at Crime Bake. Leslie has a long history of editing great short stories, writing her own books, and heading up the Al Blanchard Award. Susan has several series under her belt, is also a long-time short story editor, and has been a mentor to many writers, me in particular.

I was delighted to write a paragraph of celebratory tribute that was read while Susan received her award.

C – This time next week I’ll be celebrating turning in Murder Uncorked, my first Cece Barton mystery. Right now I’m nearly done polishing the manuscript, and I’m feeling much better about it than I was a couple of weeks ago. And while this isn’t an official cover reveal and the book, out next October, isn’t even up for preorder yet, to celebrate I’m giving you all a sneak peek at the cool new cover.

It shows the wine bar patio, the adobe buildings, and Cece’s vintage sixty-six Mustang. What do you think?

D – And then there are birthdays to celebrate. Yes, it is my birthday month, and last night four dear friends threw me a belated party. We had food, wine, cake, and most important, we celebrated decades of sharing with and supporting each other through joys and sadness and everyday life.

I try also to celebrate a pretty leaf I see on the ground, an arthritis salve a friend made and sent, the taste of my dark roast coffee, and the joy of seeing the favorite young people in my life, plus so much more.

What might you celebrate this month? I hope you at least have a bite of delicious food to celebrate on Thanksgiving! I’ll send one commenter a celebratory author apron.