Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 62

Wrap a Scarf Around It!

Edith/Maddie here, so happy to welcome my fellow novella writers to the blog!

Christmas Scarf Murder releases tomorrow, and the three of us thought we’d share our thoughts on the difference between writing a novella and writing a full-length book. Read down for a three-book giveaway!

Carlene O’Connor: *Absolutely no scarves were harmed during the writing of CHRISTMAS SCARF MURDER.

What’s the difference between a novel and a novella? A novella is shorter. The End. Cued canned-laughter and symbol-smash. A novella is around 32,000 to 50,000 words as opposed to a novel which ranges from 75,000 words to 125,000 words. Okay, all the boring stuff is out of the way. Are novellas limited in theme, or scope? No, I don’t feel limited. Do I have less suspects? You would think I would— but looking at my work, I still have around four to six suspects, although some get cleared sooner in the novellas. I tend to “loosen up” a bit with my approach to the novellas. Employ a “let’s just have fun” attitude, which is the secret of writing anything. Since we are given the method of murder— the first thing I consider is — who was murdered with a scarf, how, and why?

For “Christmas Scarf Murder” I wanted a fun tradition that is found in Ireland. For this one I decided to go with a Christmas Tractor Parade. When I lived on a houseboat in Seattle I always loved their Christmas boat parade, lights twinkling as they motored up and down Lake Union. It’s the same with the tractor parade— tractors lit up in Christmas lights parading down the street at night— how fun. That is of course unless something nefarious occurs, say, a long ugly Christmas scarf that gets caught in a tractor wheel…

Writing something short without sacrificing quality, can be daunting. As Mark Twain put it: “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” It can be much easier to ramble on. But I like the challenge of a novella, and the change of pace. It is also fun to be given the same theme as the other writers, knowing they’ll soon come together in a fun anthology. (Shout out here to Maddie Day and Peggy Erhart). On release day it’s triple the celebration! That’s a wrap. I hope you enjoy the novellas as much as I do. And if you receive a lovely (or ugly) scarf for Christmas, do be careful whilst wearing it! Happy Christmas!

Peggy Ehrhart: The Knit & Nibble novellas I’ve written for Kensington’s holiday novella collections differ from the full-length books in ways obvious and not so obvious. Of course the novellas are shorter—each is about a third as long as a typical book in the series. Therefore I’ve given each novella only one murder, whereas the books usually have two. And the novellas have fewer suspects, because my sleuths have less time to work through and reject red herrings.

In the full-length Knit & Nibbles, the knit and nibble knitting club usually meets three times, with the first meeting very near the beginning of the book. The club members are an eccentric and opinionated group, and their discussions at the meetings offer me a chance to lay out aspects of the mystery and keep the reader posted on my sleuths’ progress or lack thereof. The third meeting usually happens at the end, and it gives my chief sleuth, Pamela Paterson, a chance to explain to her fellow knitters how she unraveled the mystery and identified the killer. Since the meetings always include coffee, tea, and dessert, the festive mood lends a celebratory feel to the last meeting, appropriate to the fact that with the killer brought to justice, order has now been restored.

The biggest difference between the novellas and the full-length books, however, is this. The Knit & Nibble series features an ongoing romantic subplot, presented in installments book by book: Will my sleuth, young widow Pamela Paterson, find love again? Individual books often include dramatic scenes in which hopes are raised—or dashed. It occurred to me when I was invited to contribute my first Knit & Nibble novella to Kensington’s 2020 Christmas collection, Christmas Card Murder, that the novella, “Death of Christmas Card Crafter,” might be a reader’s first experience with the Knit & Nibble series. So I decided to pause the romantic subplot in that one and in “Death by Christmas Scarf.” The reader might hear references to or meet current or past romantic possibilities but no progress is made in the novellas toward answering the crucial question of Pamela’s romantic destiny.

Maddie Day: Thanks, Carlene and Peggy! I can’t wait to read your contributions. I never hesitate to say Yes when my editor asks if I can write another novella, even though my schedule is always full, because … short. Mine have been about 25,000 words, and it simply doesn’t take as long to craft something that short, Mark Twain nothwithstanding. Like Carlene, I don’t find that I use fewer suspects. But similar to a short story, I need to make sure every character counts. I don’t name anyone who doesn’t play an important role in the book. Unlike Peggy, I haven’t thought about pausing a particular subplot for the novella. Maybe I should!

This novella is another in the Country Store Mysteries series, so I did have to figure out how to slide the story into book time between the published and to-be published books. This time it worked well. Batter Off Dead took place in July, and the next book, Four Leaf Cleaver (now up for preorder and on NetGalley!), is a St. Patrick’s Day story. Fitting in a Christmas novella was easy.

Another tricky part is the theme we share, Christmas Scarf. Hmm. At first I wanted to write a tale of someone meeting their end because they ate too fast. Scarfed down their food, so to speak. Editor says, “No, no, it has to be death by an actual scarf.” Back to the drawing board! But I figured it out, even though my contribution to the collection stayed titled “Scarfed Down.”

We hope you love our stories, and if you do, a short positive review is always a big help to the author.

Readers: What’s your favorite holiday garment, scarf or otherwise? Kensington will send a book each to three of you!

Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today bestselling author of The Irish Village Mysteries, and the acclaimed Home to Ireland Series, and soon the County Kerry Mysteries. Her mysteries have also been published in the UK, Germany, and Estonia. The Irish Village Mysteries have been optioned for television. She can be reached at https://carleneoconnor.net or https://www.facebook.com/CarleneOConnormysteries/.

Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor who currently writes the Knit & Nibble mystery series for Kensington. The eighth book in the series, Death of a Knit Wit, appeared in March and her Christmas novella, Death by Christmas Scarf, is included in Kensington’s just-released Christmas Scarf Murder. Her amateur sleuth, Pamela Paterson, is the founder of the Knit & Nibble knitting club, and Peggy herself is a devoted crafter. Visit her at www.PeggyEhrhart.com

A Perfect Situation by Author Jule Selbo and a #giveaway

Hello, everyone. Please welcome my Maine friend, Jule Selbo, here for a return visit. Jule’s mystery novel, 9 DAYS, A Dee Rommel Mystery (second in the series), has its official release September 28, 2022. You can comment at the end of the post to be entered to win a copy of this terrific book.

Take it away, Jule!

A Perfect Situation

Thanks to Barbara Ross and the Wickeds for inviting me to post about it and to offer a BOOK GIVEAWAY! (Read on for how to enter.)

When I started the Dee Rommel series, I soon realized I’d set up two perfect situations for myself. The first: a reason to do deep research dives. I can get giddy when I head to my libraries in Portland or Falmouth or my favorites in Lincoln County – Gibbs and Skidompha – or one of the most welcoming – Waldoboro Library in Knox County (near a funky camp I’m doing my best to make comfy) to check the online catalog for books and magazines on a certain subject and then browse through them for nuggets of insight. I can also lose myself in Internet searches (doing my best to ignore the demon ads for gummies that will make anyone skinny). I watch YouTubes. I call offices and/or people to see if they’ll share information. (Most will.) I take people with certain expertise out for coffee or wine (one source allows me to pick his brain regularly if I buy him a glass of whiskey at Ironsides Bar in Portland’s Hotel Regency).

In 10 Days (released September 2021) my research focused on artificial intelligence, artificial limbs, MDMA (club drugs), privacy issues (what we give up for convenience sake), and the variances of high and low crimes. In 9 Days, my research was aimed at the pros and cons of inherited wealth, small pistols, melting silver, Portland’s West End, astrology – its history, its heyday, its falling out of favor and who embraces its tenets and why.

The second reason I’m in writer’s nirvana: I love long character arcs. In Dee’s case, I get to “live with” a character with flaws, strengths, and a strong ego dotted with insecurities. She needs to grow and change, and I have ten books to explore that. My admiration may have started with Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes and then continued with Perry Mason (Gardner) Julia Snowden (Ross),Mickey Haller (Connelly), Kinsey Malone (Grafton) V.I. Warshawski (Parestsky), Mac Almeida (Maxwell/Day), Jack Bowditch (Doiron), John Byron (Coffin) and countless others. My interest probably magnified during my time as a television writer – plotting arcs for characters on Flash, Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Melrose Place and more. If it’s a choice between a stand-alone and a series – I’m series all the way.

10 Days has two “A” crime stories that Dee Rommel juggles in the ten-day time frame. In one, the antagonists are skilled, manipulative and greedy. In the other, the antagonists are heartless and immoral. These, and the “B” (supporting) stories, help reveal Dee’s need for justice and her very wobbly belief in goodness and love. In 9 Days, the antagonists are rich and entitled; Dee compares herself and her beliefs to theirs, puts her trust in the wrong people and faces the consequences.  

I’m working on 8 Days now, deep into research on tracking devices, trafficking rings, and how history repeats itself. The antagonists have built a long history of successful criminal activity using inhuman actions. Dee (so far) is avoiding becoming viscerally and emotionally connected – but the fallout of witnessing this particular injustice remains to be discovered.

My plan is to write ten books: 10 Days, 9 Days 8 Days 7 Days… (you get the idea:J). So, I’ve got lots of library time ahead, a lot of people to interview, a lot of Internet searching to do and lots of intricate character arc-ing to explore!

Thanks again, Wickeds!

Readers: Who is your favorite main character in a crime/mystery series and why? Answer below or just say, “Hi” to be entered to win a copy of 9 Days.

*Giveaway perimeters: 9 DAYS, A Dee Rommel Mystery. Paperback (USA only), Kindle (open to all). Deadline for entry: October 5, 2022.

About 9 DaysA powerful family will stop at nothing to protect its secrets…

Famous astrologist Agnes Sants-Mekler, a member of one of Maine’s elite families, pleads guilty to murder. Her gifted, pre-teen son, Zar, says she’s lying and he wants Dee Rommel to prove that – in nine days.

Former policewoman Dee Rommel, not yet thirty, is dealing with a permanent, life-changing injury sustained while part of Portland’s police force. Her medical leave is up; she’s made a contested decision to delay her return to the department and continue working with her godfather, PI Gordy Greer. Dee discovers the police are content with Agnes Sants-Melker’s confession, but her intense curiosity – and need for justice – compels her to dig deeper to find the truth. As she sifts through the evidence, misdirections, and deceptions she finds that trusting the wrong person is unraveling a more devious plot – and leading to a life-threatening confrontation.

9 Days is the thrilling second installment in the award-winning Dee Rommel Mystery series

About JuleJule Selbo

Jule Selbo spent a few decades working as a produced screenwriter in Los Angeles and then moved, four years ago, to Portland, Maine to focus on writing in her favorite genre (crime/mystery). 10 Days: A Dee Rommel Mystery was listed on the 2021 top-five list of Kirkus’ best crime/mysteries, nominated for a Clue Award, a Maine Literary Award, and received a Foreword Review Honorable Mention and a nomination for the Silver Falchion Award. 9 Days, A Dee Rommel Mystery is the next book in the ten-part series. https://www.juleselbo.com,

Happy Autumn Equinox!

By Liz, embracing pumpkin season

Happy fall!

Today is the first day of fall, or the autumn equinox. I think you all know me well enough by now to know that while I love summer and being warm, I love fall and pumpkin spice pretty much equally. The only downside of the fall is that winter comes after it.

So of course, I moved further north so I can be colder earlier and longer. Go figure. 

In any event, I’m not thinking about the winter yet. I’m 100% focusing on fall and fact that Halloween is coming (yay!). And that it’s now chilly enough to justify the first pumpkin spice latte of the season—which I love, but I also push myself to put off as long as possible. 

I’m also celebrating the fact that I’m much closer to Salem again and can celebrate Halloween “properly” for the first time in a few years. This is one of my favorite places on earth—it never gets old. My protag, Violet, would be in her element…

 It made me realize I needed to start planning early for how I’m going to experience the season. I’m determined not to sit on the sidelines this fall. I’m gearing up to experience all the fun stuff that’s been on hold for the past couple of years and to really reconnect with everything I love about the season. 

Here’s a few things I came up with:

Visit a corn maze. Eat (and drink) pumpkin everything. Visit Salem during Haunted Happenings. And go to a psychic fair!Go on a ghost hunt. Find a fun apple orchard. (No, I don’t really want to pick apples, but I’ll buy some! And cider donuts). Buy a new cozy sweater and fuzzy socks. Take the dogs on the beach for our daily walk. 

What am I missing, readers? And what are your favorite fall traditions? Tell me in the comments!

Paradigm Shift: Our Paradigm Shifts

Regular readers know that in our September Wicked Wednesdays, we’re looking at paradigm shifts.

Originally a concept brought into general consciousness by physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn and applied to natural sciences, paradigm shifts arise when the dominant paradigm under which normal science operates is rendered incompatible with new phenomena, facilitating the adoption of a new theory or paradigm.

Or as we laypeople think of it, when the weight of new evidence is not simply additive, but causes us to rethink the entire framework through which we view or experience something. A fundamental shift in our ideas and practices.

I’m curious, Wickeds. Can you give us an example of a paradigm shift in your own life–a time when you had to give up an old idea or way of doing something and adopt a new one in light of new evidence?

Edith/Maddie: The biggest one was my divorce twenty years ago. I had been deeply unhappy for years and all my efforts to improve the relationship had failed. As my sons (ages 15 and 12) began to look for love in their own lives, I stopped worrying about how a split would affect them. I decided to stop modeling a contentious, dysfunctional marriage and instead support them through into a new way of living. We all came out better for it, including my ex-husband, but it was a huge step to take. I’m delighted to report my boys are both in happy, functional marriages (or soon-to-be-married, for the younger one) – as am I!

Jessie: What a thought-provoking question, Barb! I think for me an especially good example of this was a lightbulb moment I had about three years ago when I first completed the Couch to 5K program. I had not thought of myself as someone who could run since I was in elementary school. I completed the 8-week training program and blew my own mind. As soon as I got over the shock I asked myself what else I had erroneously believed. Not long after that, I bought some watercolor painting supplies and set about tackling a one-hundred-day project where I painted something new every day for 100 days. By the time I was done I had acquired oil painting supplies and had set up a tiny studio in the corner of my kitchen.

Barb: I love that you thought about your self-imposed limitations and set out proactively to broaden yourself, Jessie! I don’t think I’ve ever done that. For me a paradigm shift definitely occurred when my kids left home. I hadn’t expected to break a sweat. In fact, I was pretty excited, for them launched on new adventures, and for my husband and me, no longer tethered to the house. Much to my surprise, I experienced a profound sense of dislocation. I realized I had defined myself for years as a person who had excellent work-life balance– too much of each. Who was I now that I wasn’t that person? And what was our marriage now that it was no longer an elaborate childcare enterprise? It took time and conversation to make that shift.

Sherry: There have been a lot of paradigm shifts in my life. However, one of the biggest was going from Vice President of Marketing for a financial planning company to Air Force wife and stay-at-home mom. At the same time we moved from Cheyenne, Wyoming to the Los Angeles area. So there I was pregnant, with no friends, no job, and navigating a very different world, on and off base, than I was used to. I had to reinvent my entire life and all the concepts of who I thought I was.

Liz: What a great question, Barb! I’ve had to do this a couple of times, the first when, like Edith, I found myself super unhappy in a marriage and looking to get out, which set off a whole chain of events that resulted in me realizing I didn’t have to live my life the way other people expected me to and I could go off and figure it out on my own. Then again last year when my corporate job blew up and I realized how truly unhappy I’d been there and that I didn’t actually want to be in that environment anymore, at least not in. the same way. So I’ve spent the last year thinking about what I really want out of work and how it fits into the life I want, instead of the other way around. It’s been scary and awesome and incredibly freeing.

Julie: Change is hard. Paradigm shifts require being open to change, and also to rethinking what you’ve always assumed. Like Jessie, one example for me was when I decided to run a half marathon 10 years ago after a lifetime of not being considered athletic. That was a huge shift for me, and helped me realize anything is possible, but not without effort.

Readers: Tell us about a paradigm shift in your own life.

Welcome author Gigi Pandian, with a #giveaway

Friend of the Wickeds, Gigi Pandian, is here with us today to celebrate the release of her sixth Accidental Alchemist novel, The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin. This is Gigi’s fourth visit to the blog, just like Traci Wilton last week. We really need to get going on those Five-Timers jackets! Be sure to comment below to be entered to win her giveaway.

Here’s the blurb

A riddle, a game, and a clue in the garden.


When Zoe Faust sees the ghost of a murdered young woman, is it really a spirit—or a flesh and blood woman who stopped aging because she’s a fellow alchemist?

Sixteen years ago, high school student Ridley Price discovered a secret she planned to reveal through a party game—but someone killed her first. The baffling crime was never solved. Zoe’s friend Heather has always wondered: which of the seven guests at the party killed Ridley? When the newly-appeared ghost turns dangerous, threatening people they love, Zoe teams up with her gargoyle roommate Dorian to unmask the supposed specter.

Take it away, Gigi!

When a sidekick unexpectedly takes over

My sixth Accidental Alchemist novel, The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin, came out on August 30. When I began writing this culinary & paranormal cozy mystery series, the main character in the book was centuries-old alchemist Zoe Faust. She’s been running from her past, and is finally ready to slow down and put down some roots in Portland, Oregon. But trouble follows her to her new home—namely a living, breathing gargoyle she finds hiding in her moving crates.

From that first book, I’ve adored my supporting cast, especially Dorian Robert-Houdin, the humorous gargoyle who was once stone before being accidentally brought to life through alchemy—but I never imagined Dorian taking over the series as much as he did!

Dorian is a French chef and a food snob who thinks very highly of his abilities as a cook and as an amateur sleuth. He thinks he’s a natural fit for a detective, since as a stone gargoyle he literally has “little grey cells” like Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

Though I didn’t expect it, Dorian came to life so vividly that he stole pretty much every scene he appeared in. Now, six books and one novella into the series, Dorian shares the leading role with Zoe—and some readers are convinced he’s the main character!

I’m not complaining. Well, maybe I’m complaining—but for a different reason. You see, I’m an author who loves to outline the basic plots of my novels before I dive into writing. But Dorian absolutely refuses to stick to an outline! He makes me go in a completely different direction than I intended. I’ve decided to go with it. Because it turns out he’s right—the books are better when I listen to my characters. The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin was so much fun to write—in spite of the fact that the mystery veered in directions I never saw coming, thanks to a little gargoyle chef.

Readers: Are your favorite characters in the books you love always the main character, or do you fall in love with sidekicks (or villains, or anyone else)? One commenter will win an ebook of any of the 7 books in my Accidental Alchemist mystery series—winner’s choice! (So far there are 6 novels and 1 novella.)

BioGigi Pandian

GIGI PANDIAN is a USA Today bestselling and multiple-award-winning author, breast cancer survivor, and accidental almost-vegan. She writes the Secret Staircase mysteries, Accidental Alchemist mysteries, Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries, and locked-room mystery short stories. Gigi has won Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and was a finalist for the Edgar Award. She lives in Northern California with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the backyard garden. Learn more and sign up for her email newsletter (which includes a free short story and free mini cookbook) at www.gigipandian.com.

Other ways to stay in touch:

www.facebook.com/GigiPandian

www.instagram.com/gigipandian

www.bookbub.com/profile/gigi-pandian

www.amazon.com/Gigi-Pandian/e/B004UAUDS0

A Decade of Books

Edith/Maddie, writing from north of Boston and feeling blessed.

I’m so happy to share with you my first decade of being a published mystery author! I have a special giveaway to offer, so please read to the end.

Edith, Tace, and Maddie, with all of our books (except A Tine to Live a Tine to Die – novel #2 – which is hiding on the top left)

Yes, Speaking of Mystery, my first novel, came out exactly ten years ago.

Speaking of Murder released under a pen name from a small press, Barking Rain, which has since closed. With the help of Beyond the Page Publishing, it’s out again with fresh edits, a fabulous new cover, and my own name.

It was such a huge thrill to hold my very first launch party in September, 2012, at an indy bookstore in the next town. The Book Rack had about ten chairs set up. From the responses I’d had to my invitation, I told the manager, “You might want to set up more chairs.” More than sixty people from many walks of my life – Quakers, work friends, neighbors, my critique group, and fellow crime writers, including Wickeds Julie and Barb before we were even blogmates – showed up to support me!

Pic by friend and marketing guru, Jeanne Wallace

When the bookstore ran out of books, Hugh brought in the box I’d stashed in the car, just in case. (Pro tip to authors: always keep a box of books in the car.)

Not sure why the photo is fuzzy, maybe because I was so happy!

And now, ten years later, Murder in a Cape Cottage is my twenty-eighth published novel, and it releases next week! This feels like a huge milestone, even though more books are in production and under contract, for a total of six series (three now ended). In addition, I’ve had two novellas release in collections, plus about twenty short stories. Of course I had to bake a cake to celebrate.

[CAKE AND BOOK PIC]

Find the cake and frosting recipe on MysteryLoversKitchen.com this Friday!

I have so very many people to thank, tops among them my beloved Wickeds. Nobody could wish for a better support group than Barb, Jessie, Julie, Liz, and Sherry.

Writers farther along the path than me boosted me as I was starting. Bless you, Susan Oleksiw, Kate Flora, Hallie Ephron, Lucy Burdette, and Hank Phillippi Ryan, as well as the late Sheila Connolly.

Sisters in Crime and the New England chapter (note lots of overlap with previously mentioned ladies) made my path to publication possible, with workshops, networking, the New England Crime Bake conference, along with the online Guppies chapter. For many years I read scenes to the Monday Night Writers Group and have to thank those ladies (plus Doug) for their valuable feedback.

Gratitude also to my agent, John Talbot, for taking a chance on me early on, and to my several publisher/editors: Sheri Gormley, John Scognamiglio, Terri Bischoff, Amy Glaser, and Bill Harris. To my sisters, my sons, my close friends, my Quaker community, my partner Hugh – I couldn’t do it without you.

My biggest thanks go to all the lovely fans who keep reading my books, buying them, recommending them, requesting them from the library, and passing them along to others.

To celebrate, I put together a special giveaway. Apparently tin is the metal for the tenth anniversary, but it was kind of hard to find. Instead I’m adding a pretty metal starfish to a package with an author apron, Kensington coasters, recipe cards, a Wicked Authors bag, and signed copies of the new book and the novella collection!

Readers: Thanks so much for joining me. What ten-year anniversary have you celebrated? Bonus point to anyone who has read all 28 books! I’ll send one lucky commenter the special prize.

Guest Marilyn Levinson

Edith/Maddie writing from north of Boston, where it’s looking and feeling like fall!

I’m happy to welcome my fellow Guppy Marilyn Levinson to the blog today. She’s going to tell us about ending a series, and she’s offering a hardcover copy or ebook of Dewey Decimated as a giveaway (US only)!

But first, the blurb: Carrie Singleton is just off a hot string of murder cases centered around the spooky local library in Clover Ridge, Connecticut when a dead body is found in the basement of the building attached to the library, and it turns out to be Carrie’s fiancé’s Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years. But Alec has no intention of truly checking out, and his ghost makes itself at home in the library, greatly upsetting the patrons. Carrie and Evelyn, the library’s ghost, work hard to keep Alec out of sight, but what was he doing in Clover Ridge to begin with? And why was he killed? 

Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound. As the dispute rages, there’s another murder, this time involving a council member. Could the two murders be connected? And could Carrie be next on the hit list?

End of a Series

I often wondered how and when a mystery writer decides to end a series. Does she kill off her sleuth? Have her go off into the sunset with her lover like in a romance? Or does she simply stop when she realizes she wants to write about other characters?

My decision to end the Haunted Library series that I write as Allison Brook came to me while I was writing the seventh book. My sleuth, Carrie Singleton, has come a long way from leading a semi-vagabond existence dressed like Goth Girl. Once Carrie accepts the position as head of programs and events at the Clover Ridge Library her life slowly begins to change. She takes her new responsibilities seriously and with a sense of pride. She develops friendships as she solves homicides with the assistance of library ghost, Evelyn Havers. Carrie’s relationships with each of her parents improves. She falls in love with Dylan Avery, and after conquering her anxieties is ready to take the next step—marriage.

As I contemplated the themes and events of  book number eight, I realized that this would complete Carrie’s story arc. For despite the many victims and suspects she’s been dealing with over the course of the series, my main concern has been Carrie’s development and growth. Though she grew up in a dysfunctional family, Carrie has managed to thrive and become a contributing member of her community. So much so, that the mayor practically begs her to join the town council to replace a member that is leaving. And so, as I plot the travails and murders that threaten to keep Carrie from her perfect wedding, I know that all will end happily and that this eighth novel will be the last in the Haunted Library series.

Of course I may decide to write a series revolving around Carrie and Dylan, who is a licensed investigator, a la Mr. and Mrs. North. Or Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, two of Agatha Christie’s sleuths. But that’s a far off possibility. Meanwhile, I do have a new series in mind that I’ll begin when this one has ended. The setting and the characters are quite different, but hopefully the same cozy feeling will prevail.

Readers, if you’ve loved an author’s series, are you open to read a new series that she’s writing? Authors, have you ever wanted to end a series but hesitated to do so?

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series. DEATH OVERDUE, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. DEWEY DECIMATED, the sixth in the series, was just published. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series, the Twin Lakes series, and GIVING UP THE GHOST. Her juvenile novel, RUFUS AND MAGIC RUN AMOK, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice. It will soon be reissued, followed by three more books in the series. AND DON’T BRING JEREMY was a nominee for six state awards.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, and chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids.

website and sign up for her newsletter: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Buy links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3yCmu1t
All buy links: bit.ly/3AR5eFd
social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson ; https://twitter.com/AllisonBrookML
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marilyn-levinson; https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allison-brook
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marilynlevinsonauthor/

Genre Hopping with Author Richard J. Cass and a #giveaway

Hi All–Regular readers know that once a month the Wickeds branch out from our usual cozy-traditional-historical niche to recommend authors and books from a broad range of genres, crime and otherwise. This month my guest is author Richard J. Cass, aka my Maine friend, Dick Cass. Dick is here celebrating the September 21, release of his newest book, The Last Altruist.

Q & A with Dick Cass

Dick: First of all, thanks a million to Barbara Ross and the Wickeds for the invitation. It’s always a treat to talk to new audiences. If you’ve had a chance to read any of the Elder Darrow mysteries, I’d love to hear what you think. You can reach me on Twitter (@DickCass) or through my web site rjcassbooks.com.

Barb: Your six Elder Darrow Mysteries, I’ve always thought of as noir. Is that how you think of them? How do you classify the books? Tell us a little about Elder Darrow.

Dick: The Elder Darrow books definitely come out of the noir tradition: bars and booze, dark emotions, unhappy male characters, and violence on the page. Elder Darrow has eschewed his place in the family business for an adulthood of drinking and hanging about, only to reach the point where he realizes he needs to stop drinking or he’s going to die. He never really reaches complete rock-bottom, though. He is trying to convince himself that owning a bar, because he’ll be faced with temptation all day every day, will help him learn to control his drinking. Definitely not an approved sobriety program. His establishment, the Esposito, is a dive bar he wants to turn into a more sophisticated jazz joint, with good live music and a less seedy clientele than he starts out with. So the series bounces off any number of the noir tropes.

What I was also after in the books, in addition to the noir feel, is the interplay between the different economic backgrounds in the city of Boston. I grew up there and some of the tensions between socioeconomic groups in the city are as fierce as the ethnic ones.

Elder is a scion of an investment banking family that’s been in business since the American Revolution. He grew up in Louisburg Square, a private enclave on Beacon Hill, and attended prep schools and Harvard before getting kicked out.

Dan Burton, the homicide cop and Elder’s friend, grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood of Charlestown, also known as the bank-robbing capital of New England. Though he went to college, his background is working class, which gives some interesting back and forth to how he and Elder get along. Many of the people Burton grew up with ended up on the wrong side of the legal system, including Mickey Barksdale, who runs the gangster side of things in this version of Boston.

Barb: Your new release, The Last Altruist, isn’t part of the Elder Darrow series. What’s different about this book?

Dick: The Last Altruist is part of my ongoing interest in the challenges and realities of people in the military. I have three nephews in various branches of the service and I found myself talking to them about the strictures and unwritten rules they’re subject to that civilians are not. Most notable, I think, is chain of command, the rigid understanding that you do what you’re told by your superiors, that you don’t think for yourself too much.

The germ of the book sprang from the story of Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was ultimately acquitted of the fatal stabbing of an ISIS prisoner (and pardoned by Donald Trump for other crimes he was found guilty of). The loyalties of members of his SEAL team were split between bringing him to justice and maintaining the cohesiveness of a combat team that requires full trust in your fellows.

I started thinking about what might happen to someone who reacted to a crime like Gallagher’s while actually in the war zone. The protagonist of The Last Altruist, Armand Theberge, returns to his home state of Maine after being tried and incarcerated for striking a superior officer. He meets a former Foreign Service officer with an intellectually-challenged son and a secret that could affect national politics. The book is a combination of murder mystery and thriller and comes out on September 21.

Barb: What motivated you to change it up? Are you moving away from or taking a break from your established series?

Dick: The Elder Darrow series has six entries so far. As anyone who writes a series (or more than one, goddess love you!) knows, the challenge is to balance between keeping the characters fresh and developing and maintaining the tone and attitudes that attracted readers to the series in the first place. I had a hitch after the fourth one, Last Call at the Esposito, that made me think I was running out of stories to tell about the characters. But, as happens, inspiration wandered in from an unexpected source and gave me motivation for two more. I honestly don’t know if I’m done with the series, though I have a tickle of an idea for another. We’ll see.

As far as The Last Altruist, the opportunity to take on a new locale and invent new characters and stories was a real refreshment. It could be the beginning of a news series, but I also love the notion of doing an occasional standalone.

Barb: One thing you and I have in common—amateur sleuths. What attracts you to the everyman detective?

Dick: I’m a huge fan of the amateur detective. It gives me much more latitude for how a character, a protagonist especially, acts and reacts. Most readers have expectations, true or not, about how police detectives work, how private detectives work, and so the few times I’ve tried to write those kinds of characters, I’ve felt constrained to have them act in those recognizable ways. Even a rogue detective’s reactions feel to me as if there’s no element of surprise—they’re working against the norms, which is as predictable as working with them. Amateur sleuths may bumble, but they bumble in interesting ways. And I think readers may relate more to an amateur sleuth, maybe because it’s easier to imagine themselves into the story.

Barb: Music has always been a big part of the Elder Darrow series. You’ve even released your playlists. I’m fascinated. I get too distracted by music to write with it. Tell us about the role music plays in your writing process.

Dick: Jazz is a large part of Elder’s trying to make the Esposito more respectable and I do a considerable amount of name-checking of artists and tunes in the books. It’s also a kind of music I enjoy, so it’s fun to incorporate that sort of thing. There’s probably more music in the first two books, In Solo Time and Solo Act, as I was building the characters and the bar, than in later books, but I also use the music to set the tone for the action. For example, I’ve used Wes Montgomery’s Road Song to accompany a trip by Elder up the Massachusetts coast.

I do not listen to music while I’m writing, though—I too find myself too distracted by it. I did try for a while to listen to music without words, Gregorian chants and instrumentals, but even that kept pulling my attention away from what I was doing.

Barb: What are you reading right now?

Dick: Today, I’m reading the ARC of The Last Altruist for final edits, but once I’m done with that, I will go back to a hugely interesting book I’m reading called Cloudmoney, about how the drive to turn us into a cashless society is being driven by a combination of big tech and big finance. These corporations care less about your convenience and mine and more about the commercial (and political) benefits of knowing where people buy, what they buy, where their money is, and so forth. It’s a chilling read if you’re interested in privacy issues.

For fiction, the next book in my TBR pile is Gabino Iglesias’s The Devil Takes You Home, a combination of hitman and horror that I’m really looking forward to.

Barb: What do you see when you look up from writing?

Dick: For a while, I had my desk pointed out the back window of my office toward Trout Brook, the woods, my gardens, until I realized how easily I was getting distracted by the antics of our resident fox, the squirrels, the hummingbirds, and so on. Now, when I look up from my desk, I see the driveway into my garage underneath the office and the asphalt circle of the cul de sac we live in. Trees, though. Plenty of trees.

Barb: What are you working on now?

Dick: Right now, I’m working on a standalone novel about three Vietnam nurses, one of whom was raped and bore a son from it in 1970. Dying of cancer, she charges one of her fellow nurses, now a sixty-four year old PI, with finding the man who raped her, so her son will have some kind of family after she dies. Then she is murdered. So far, it’s only the hardest thing I’ve written.

The PI is something like a mouthier V. I. Warshawski and, because several of the characters are over sixty, I’m also trying to incorporate some of the smartass vibe of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club.

Barb: Thank you so much, Dick!

Readers: How do you feel about every-person vs. professional sleuths? Do you have preset expectations about how professional sleuths must conduct themselves? Do they add to/detract from your enjoyment a crime novel? Tell us in the comments or just say “hi,” to have a chance to win a copy of The Last Altruist.

BioRichard J. Cass

Richard Cass is the author of  the Elder Darrow jazz mystery series, which he originally pitched as “an alcoholic walks into a dive bar and decides to buy it.” The first book, Solo Act, was a finalist for the 2017 Maine Literary Awards; the prequel, In Solo Time, won the award in 2018. Dick has also published a thriller called The Last Altruist and a book of short stories entitled Gleam of Bone. He holds a graduate degree in writing from the University of New Hampshire, where he studied with Thomas Williams, Jr. and Joseph Monninger. He’s also studied with Ernest Hebert, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Molly Gloss. His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Playboy, Gray’s Sporting Journal, ZZYZVA, Tough, and Best Short Stories of the American West. He lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife Anne and a semi-feral coon cat named Tinker.

Paradigm Shift: Unreliable Narrators

We continue with our September Wicked Wednesdays on the theme of paradigm shifts. Today I want to talk about that mind-altering thing that is the unreliable narrator.

Unreliable narrators are point-of-view characters who are either unintentionally or deliberately deceptive. They may be impaired by mental illness, youthful naivete, addiction or some other challenge. As a reader you may know from the moment you meet them that you shouldn’t trust what they’re telling you, or it might come as a creeping realization, or a sudden, breath-taking reveal.

The Wickeds are sick of hearing this from me, but I believe all narrators are unreliable, just as all people are. We only know the story we tell ourselves.

To make my point: Have you ever talked to a cousin or a sibling about a common event in your past, and not only is their memory of it different, their conception of its meaning and its impact on the rest of the family and the rest of your lives is utterly different?

In Clammed Up, (mild spoilers) Julia Snowden is called back from her successful New York career to rescue her family’s failing clambake business. Julia comes in like the white knight, determined and scared in equal measure. Everywhere she looks there’s a mess she must dig the business out of. She’s the savior and she’s making the sacrifice. She believes that. And I believed that, as I wrote the first draft. Until, late in the book, her brother-in-law, Sonny, calls her on it. He points out that he and her sister have been the ones who ran the business and supported her parents while her father was dying of cancer. They’re the saviors, the ones who stayed. He isn’t wrong. And neither is Julia. But they would each tell the story very differently.

Maybe that’s just point of view, but I say this, dear reader, don’t believe everything you read.

Wickeds, what do you think? Unreliable narrators, yes or no? Have you used them in your writing? Do you like them in your reading? Can you give some examples you love or hate?

Sherry: As soon as I saw “unreliable narrators” in the title I thought, Barb always says all narrators are unreliable. I don’t think we can talk about unreliable narrators without talking about Spoiler Alert– Gone Girl. I thought it was a brilliant book, but I felt like I’d been slimed when I finished. It’s not a genre that I’m drawn to and would avoid a book if Gone Girl is referenced as similar. I don’t think I’ve set out to have Chloe or Sarah — the narrators of my book lie. But other people certainly do.

Liz: Sherry – I felt the SAME WAY about Gone Girl. I don’t mind other unreliable narrator books, but for some reason the ending of that one sent me over the edge. I know the Wickeds are sick of me talking about Dennis Lehane, who I absolutely worship as a writer, but his book Shutter Island was absolutely brilliant and to this day a book I reread every now and then to pick up some new technique. I am working on something with multiple POVs that don’t necessarily set out to lie, but everyone sees the same thing in a completely different lights. So perhaps many of them are unreliable…

Julie: As readers of this blog know, I adore the Amelia Peabody books. Her first person narrative is a wonderful example of an unreliable narrator–Amelia is unaware of the effect she has on others, but Elizabeth Peters lets us know through the writing. I’m writing a multiple POV book, and each POV tells the story through their lens, with their truth. As Delia says in my Garden Squad series at least once per book, facts are facts. Truth depends on who is interpreting the facts. Like Barb, I think this genre depends on all narrators being unreliable, since we’re playing a game with our readers.

Jessie: I’ve never set out to create an unreliable narrator either. I am always squeamish about betrayal and somehow an unreliable narrator feels a bit in that vein to me. I do like to highlight different points of view on the same subject or incident and I tend to use that technique frequently when I switch between protagonists in each of my historical series. I enjoy letting each tell the truth as they see it and allowing the reader to decide what they think of the characters’ opinions.

Edith/Maddie: What a great topic, Barb. A couple of years ago I read half a book that was really bothering me. I was talking with Sherry and learned the narrator is living in a fantasy, at least according to everyone else. No wonder it bothered me. I didn’t finish the book. Of course we all have our own ideas and memories about life, but I need to be able to trust my narrator, both in the books I write and the ones I read.

Readers: What do you think? Do you enjoy stories with unreliable narrators? Are all narrators unreliable? Do you need to be able to trust the narrator as a character or only the author as the storyteller?

A Wicked Welcome to Kimberly G. Giarratano **giveaway**

by Julie, making seasonal adjustments in Somerville

I am delighted to welcome Kimberly G. Giarratano to the blog. I’ve heard about her new book, which will be released in February, and asked her to come on the blog and give you all a sneak peak.

Greetings, wicked readers! My name is Kim, and I coming at you from a rainy Poconos day. Frankly, we’re in a drought, so I’m happy to see the precipitation. My grass is brown; my trees are stressed; and the deer look parched. I swear one of them was eyeing up my sweat the other day.

Rain aside, I am feeling sunny because I’m here to discuss my debut adult mystery, Death of a Dancing Queen (Datura Books, Feb 14), or as I lovingly refer to it — my East Coast, Jewish Veronica Mars fanfiction.

Like most fans, when Veronica Mars went off the air, I was at a loss because there was nothing out there to take its place (and this was before streaming services like Acorn or Britbox where I could watch enough British crime dramas to last three lifetimes). And so to mostly entertain myself, I decided to write my own private eye story starring a snarky, young heroine who solves bonkers crimes. But to really make it mine, the protagonist had to be formed in my own image — a Jewish girl from New Jersey, birthed in New York City, but raised in its suburbs. Hence, Billie Levine was born.

Although I grew up in Monmouth County — home to sprawling subdivisions and shopping centers — I wanted Billie’s environment to be a little more constricting. No half-acre lots built on old farmland, but rather postage-size backyards and neighbors within shouting distance. Towns, all with their own police department, libraries, mayors, and exorbitant property taxes stacked one on top of another, living within Manhattan’s shadow.

Billie would be from Bergen County. I spent a lot of time there in college, and I could think of no better spot for Billie’s blue collar family to figure out their lives than in Teaneck, New Jersey.

A long time ago, one of my cousins, visiting from Texas, remarked on how congested New Jersey was. “There are so many towns,” he said. “One right after the other.”

Yes, what else would there be? There are no unused areas in North Jersey; the outskirts of town is another town.

That congestion, that frustration of an hour commute to travel twenty miles, that feeling that everyone is constantly on top of you — that is what I wanted my poor Billie to feel.

Sure, I moved to the mountains to escape the headaches of Jersey congestion, but headaches are what make Jersey so infuriatingly special.

There’s a reason why Jersey Strong is the Garden State’s unofficial slogan, and it has to do with more than rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. Because the high taxes, traffic, flooding, and close proximity make its residents resilient. Jersey folk are strong; you have to be to survive living here.

Although this author might’ve left her home state for the Poconos, I couldn’t imagine a better place for a person, fictional and real, to grow up in than New Jersey.

Readers: Where did you grow up? Do you still live there now? What is your hometown notorious for?

One commenter will win an advanced readers copy of Death of a Dancing Queen. Warning: this book is hardboiled, not soft-boiled, so there is salty language and a bit of violence. If that isn’t your thing, let me know in the comments, and I’ll take your name out of the proverbial hat.

About the book:

After her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Billie Levine revamped her grandfather’s private investigation firm and set up shop in the corner booth of her favorite North Jersey deli hoping the free pickles and flexible hours would allow her to take care of her mom and pay the bills. So when Tommy Russo, a rich kid with a nasty drug habit, offers her a stack of cash to find his missing girlfriend, how can she refuse? At first, Billie thinks this will be easy earnings, but then her missing person’s case turns into a murder investigation and Russo is the detective bureau’s number one suspect. 

Suddenly Billie is embroiled in a deadly gang war that’s connected to the decades-old disappearance of a famous cabaret dancer with ties to both an infamous Jewish mob and a skinhead group. Toss in the reappearance of Billie’s hunky ex-boyfriend with his own rap sheet, and she is regretting every decision that got her to this point.Becoming a P.I. was supposed to solve her problems. But if Billie doesn’t crack this case, the next body the police dredge out of the Hudson River will be hers.

Bio:

Kimberly Giarratano is an author of mysteries for teens and adults. Her debut novel, Grunge Gods and Graveyards, won the 2015 Silver Falchion Award for Best YA at Killer Nashville. A former librarian, she is currently an instructor at a SUNY Orange County Community College and a reviewer for BookPage. She is also the chapter liaison for Sisters in Crime. Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Kim and her husband moved to the Poconos to raise their three kids amid black bears and wild turkeys. While she doesn’t miss the Jersey traffic, she does miss a good bagel and lox.

Visit her website at www.kimberlyggiarratano.com