Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 93

Wicked Wednesday: Teenage Hangout

by Barb, in Maine where we’re having a rainy July (so far)

Continuing with our theme of Hangouts & Hideaways, Wickeds where was your high school hangout? The convenience across from the school? The mall? Under the bleachers? Tell us about it and what shenanigans you got up to if you dare!

Edith/Maddie: I remember a lot happening on and under the bleachers of my high school’s football field. Friday night games were a Very Big Deal in my little suburb east of Los Angeles. Everybody went. There was always a “Fifth Quarter” dance in the gym afterward (dancing to In a Gadda Da Vida under a spinning light ball, with Julie Krug reputed to be wearing no underpants…). And under the bleachers when I was in ninth grade, Dave Roth somehow thought it was a romantic overture to snap my bra in back. Now I might consider that abusive. At the time? I wanted all the experiences, all the shenanigans – and it never went further than that, anyway.

Julie: The Hanover Mall in junior high, Downtown Annapolis or my parents’ basement in high school. And there was a lot of driving and coordinating to get something–like a Slurpee. I was a wicked nerd in high school, so no shenanigans for me. In fact, I skipped school once and had lunch at the mall with my friend Paula. I was such a wreck I confessed that night, and my father wrote me a note.

Liz: The mall, totally! The old Methuen Mall in my hometown was THE place to be on Friday nights. If you were going to meet up with a guy, that was usually the place to do it. I remember setting up my best friend with another friend of mine for the prom, and we arranged to meet at the mall with our respective posses to gauge the situation. I usually had to lie about going and pretend I was somewhere else, and then hope no one told my parents.

Jessie: Like Julie and Liz, I am going to have to go with the mall too! I spent a lot of hours there before I was old enough to have a driver’s license shopping with my sisters and my friends. As soon as I turned sixteen I spent most of my free time there working at a variety of clothing shops.

Barb: In summers in high school, it was the parking lot of the Dairy Queen. The cops would show up every once in a while and we would break into smaller groups and walk around the block, arriving back as soon as they left. Looking back, I feel bad for the poor guy who owned the franchise, who was just trying to make a living. On the other hand, we never interfered with customers that I remember and I ate more than my fair share of Dilly Bars. Our town was small enough it seemed you couldn’t get away with anything, and my parents were duly informed by some busybody driving down the main drag when I puffed on my first Winston there.

Readers: What about you? Where was your high school hang? Any notable shenanigans (that you’re willing to tell us about?)

Writing Mystery Fiction by Mary Marks

Hi Wicked friends! Mary Marks is here with us today, celebrating Knot Ready for Murder, the ninth book in her popular Quilting Mystery series, which is being released on July 27th and is currently available for pre-order.

Here’s the blurb.

Before quilter Martha Rose can tie the knot to Crusher, she has to track down his missing first wife…

One loose thread threatens to unravel Martha’s wedding plans: the groom-to-be married a pregnant teen to save her from scandal thirty years ago–and the marriage was never annulled. Now Crusher’s wife Hadas is coming to LA, along with his sister Fanya. But soon after she arrives, their houseguest goes missing, with her room ransacked and a chloroform-soaked cloth left behind. Could her apparent abduction be connected to her brother’s unsolved death from a hit-and-run six months ago? Martha and her quilting cohorts must find the pattern to solve the twin mysteries and determine if Crusher is still married–or now a widower…

Take it away, Mary!

Writing mystery fiction is all about imagination, research and making choices. Using her imagination, the writer should create a world that is both believable and interesting. That world needs to be populated by characters who feel like they could be real–characters the reader can relate to. And finally, the plot of the story must be plausible. Readers are just too smart to accept anything less. The author must also play fair with the reader; that is, the solution of the mystery should be traceable from the clues in the story. Red herrings and distractions are okay. A good piece of storytelling will keep the reader guessing right up to the end.

Research is essential for creating a believable world. Fudging the facts is dangerous, as there are bound to be readers who know more than the writer and who will expose the writer’s mistakes. The best possible scenario is to have a real expert vet the author’s writing to make sure the details are correct. However, not all authors have access to real-life experts, so they must rely on careful research. Nowadays, the internet is the library where a writer can instantly look up information on any subject. In this way, they can become knowledgeable enough on any aspect of a story to write a plausible account.

Imagination and research result in many possible details for the writer to choose from. Whether it is character development, plot or setting, descriptions matter. Particularly powerful images may come from the most subtle details. They can give the reader a real flavor of the world the author is working to create. Dialogue also presents a rich opportunity for the author to make a character come alive. With the right choice of words, the author can flesh out a character in a way simple description cannot. Using bad grammar, incomplete sentences, accents—these all help the reader understand the character.

Finally, writing mystery fiction can be a way for the skillful writer to construct a world that readers will enjoy and want to experience more of.

Readers: Have you read a book or series that you wanted to return to? If so, how did the author manage to grab your interest?

About Mary

Mary Marks is the author of the award-winning Quilting Mysteries featuring Martha Rose, a zaftig, Jewish divorcee of a certain age living in the San Fernando Valley. The first book in the series was published in 2014 when Marks was 70, proving that anything can happen with persistence and a little bit of luck. The author lives in Camarillo, California with her husband and her orange cat Louie.

Where are the Wickeds at Malice?

by Barb, back in Maine, after a quick trip to Virginia to see kids and grandkid

Of the many disruptions in the universe the last year and a half, one has been the ability for crime fiction lovers to get together. Last year, Malice Domestic was reduced to the streaming announcement of the Agatha Winners (Our own Edith Maxwell among them–for Best Historical!)

This year, Malice is, unusually, in July and fully online. It runs July 14 to 17, though some of the panels are available earlier.

Where can you find the Wicked Authors? See below.

You’ll find all of us in the program book, which is digital this year! Julie made the ad. Isn’t it great?

Two Wickeds are Agatha Award nominees: Sherry Harris for Best Contemporary Novel and Edith Maxwell for Best Historical. The Agatha panels are available now and are open to the general public, not just those who are registered for Malice. However, only those registered can vote.

Sherry Harris is nominated for her book From Beer to Eternity, Donna Andrews for The Gift of the Magpie, Ellen Byron for Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, Louise Penny for All the Devils are Here, and Lori Rader-Day for The Lucky One. Everyone can access the panel here.

Edith Maxwell is nominated for Taken Too Soon, Rhys Bowen for The Last Mrs. Summers, Susanna Calkins for The Fate of a Flapper, Dianne Freeman for A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder, and Catriona McPherson for The Turning Tide. Everyone can access this panel here. (Scroll down.)

In addition to our Agatha nominees, two of the Wickeds will be on panels. The panels are only accessible to those who have registered for Malice. The date and time indicates is when the panel will be shown and the panelists will be available for Q & A. However, the panels will be accessible throughout Malice and for some period after.

Barbara Ross will appear on the panel Keep It Confidential: Secrets, Scandals, and Lies. The official panel date and time is Friday, July 16, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. The other participants are Donna Andrews, Kate Carlisle, Maureen Jennings, and Laurie R. King.

Sherry Harris will appear on the panel Past as Prologue: The Roots of Crime. The official panel date and time is Saturday, July 17, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. The other participants are VM Burns, Amanda Flower, Katherine Hall Page, and Caroline Todd.

The Agatha Awards will be announced on Saturday, July 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm ET.

Readers: All the panels have been pre-recorded, and the Agatha panels are already available, so there’s nothing left to do but wish Sherry and Edith luck!

10 Days: A Dee Rommel Mystery and #giveaway

I first met Jule Selbo at the Maine Crime Wave a few years ago. We both lived in Portland, were newish to Maine, and were writing mysteries. However, unlike me, Jule was from the west coast and had a long career as a movie and television writer and a teacher of screen writing. She’s been published in many forms, but her first mystery, 10 Days: A Dee Rommel Mystery, will be released on August 11th and is available for pre-order now.

Jule is giving a copy of 10 Days to one lucky commenter below.

Here’s the blurb.

Early summer, Portland, Maine… Eleven months after young policewoman Dee Rommel’s mysterious and life-altering on-the-job injury. Her medical leave is nearly up, and the Police Department and her ex-training officer, newly-single Detective Donato, expect her to reinstate. But her decision is postponed when she’s challenged to step in for her godfather – private investigator Gordy Greer – to investigate the disappearance of a brilliant high-tech heiress, Lucy Claren, who has announced hasty wedding plans that could derail her father’s empire. Life is further complicated when Dee’s good friend, Karla, is physically assaulted by a sadist that Dee had helped put behind bars. Newly released, he decides to turn his sights on justice-driven Dee, making it his personal mission to ensure her failure – and demise. Dee dangerously navigates through the two worlds of crime – determined to survive them both… in just ten days.

Take it away, Jule!

Dee Rommel, the protagonist of my debut crime/mystery novel, is a policewoman on medical leave from the Portland (Maine) Police Department. Her recent, devastating on-duty injury was life-changing and now she’s rebuilding her health and her psyche.

The challenge I gave myself was to compose a character, nearing thirty, who is absolutely intent on justice – but her self-image is in disarray. Crime and despicable deeds continue to flourish around her, I wanted to see if she’d be able to access her once-healthy self-confidence and deal with the realities of her below-the-knee amputation. I wanted to explore her physical tests, and bruised, raw emotional conflicts.

I’ve always been an avid reader of crime/mysteries – starting, in elementary school, with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and graduating to the more complex plots and characters constructed by the great writers of the genre. The balance of plot vs. character has always fascinated me and even in my other books (historical fiction and Women’s Lit), I was aware of wanting to keep the story engine cranking. However, I realized that when I finally became brave enough to embark on stories in my favorite genre, I had to ‘up’ my game. Yes, there are multiple types of crime/mystery tales. But I wanted mine to be a page-turner, for the detection to be story-forward, for good and bad elements and truths and lies to tumble into view at a good pace. That’s my favorite kind of crime/mystery – and it’s also the kind of narration that needs the greatest high- heat stoking of the story engine.

At the same time, I wanted to explore the complexities of Dee Rommel. Her long-term romantic partner has left her after her injury, the police department’s therapist hasn’t been able to break through her self-built walls, the natural chip-on-her-shoulder has gotten heavier, and her sarcastic side gives her the opportunity to dodge overtures of intimacy from friends and family.

This is the first book in a series and even I wonder what’s in store for Dee Rommel. How will she grow and change? I’m writing the second book in the series now – and she’s keeping me guessing!

So, even as I strived to keep the plot of 10 Days – Dee’s intensive efforts that bring about the solving of the crime and tracking down villains who preyed on the weak,or fearful, or too-trusting victims at the forefront of the story – I hoped that my commitment to illuminating Dee’s deep personal need for justice (and why) is evident. That her personal journey to reclaim self-confidence is also a major part of the must-read (here’s crossing fingers) quality of the novel.

Let me know! https://www.juleselbo.com

QUESTION: Why did you want to write a crime/mystery series – and not a stand alone?

For me, it comes down to the desire to explore of one character. I was a screenwriter in Hollywood for two decades and I worked on quite a few tv series. The plotting of the season (generally 22 episodes) was one of the most exciting parts of the task. The writing staff had to make sure the character started at a certain pivotal juncture in their lives, the we’d pile on the obstacles (emotionally and physically and psychologically) and figure out an endpoint for that character – 22 episodes later. That opportunity to build a fictional life and the fictional events that shaped that life made me want to examine the ‘real’ tipping point moments in my own life. What are the moments when each of us pivot to a new path? Make an important decision? Take risks? Looking at – and answering these questions for my fictional Dee Rommel is such a fun challenge and of the main reasons I wanted her character inhabit a series – to give her time to grow and change.

QUESTION: Why is it important for you to have your character to desire ‘justice’ above all else?

I read somewhere, a long time ago, that there were five main ‘desires’ of human beings and whichever was the most important to a person, helped define their character. The desires were love, respect, power, justice, and security. Whether the article I read was true or not, it stuck with me. In a crime/mystery series, it’s often ‘justice’ that makes the investigator (professional or amateur) become obsessed about solving a crime. A search for order, or adherence to the idea of‘fair play’, or recognizing a moral compass that could make for a better world. I know I get upset if I read or see or hear about injustices (in the many forms they can take). The pursuit of justice, I think, is a strong motivating factor – creates a strong ‘story engine’ for an investigator protagonist.

Readers: Is the drive for justice as a motivator for the sleuth and important element for you in your enjoyment of crime fiction? Comment below or just say “hi” to win of a copy of 10 Days. (as soon as available after release).

About Jule

This guest post is by Jule Selbo. Selbo is an award-winning author and screenwriter, an active member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, she has given workshops and presentations at numerous writing conferences and book events. She lives in Portland, Maine. Her latest book is 10 DAYS: A Dee Rommel Mystery (Pandamoon, August 2021).

“Jule Selbo’s 10 Days is a complex, well-constructed mystery that hooked me on Day 1. Selbo’s characters, good and bad, are emotionally satisfying, well sketched out, and the pacing of the plot is spot on and full of surprises. Dive into 10 Days and enjoy the ride.”-John Lansing, best-selling author of The Devil’s Necktie and other books in the Jack

All Good Things…

Ending a series is always hard on an author and most of us don’t like to talk about it. I’ve had a lot of readers reaching out and asking me when the next Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery would be out. Sadly Absence of Alice is most likely the last book in the series. While writing is joyful, publishing is a business and sometimes a tough one.

On the bright side – I have nine books—NINE—in a series. I loved writing them all, but especially love Absence of Alice. I feel like I get to go out on a high note. Readers have always said each book has gotten better and I can’t ask for more than that.

Let’s take a little waltz down memory lane. On a Monday morning in December 2012, Barbara Ross reached out to me saying that her agent, John Talbot, was looking for someone to write a garage sale mystery series for an editor at Kensington – Gary Goldstein. Would I be interested in giving it a whirl? I told Barb I had to think it over. While I loved garage sales, I’d never thought about writing about them. The next morning, I woke up and thought, why am I hesitating? Of course, I want to try.

Barbara connected John and I via email. He said he needed the proposal fast. I had no idea what that meant, but Liz and Barb, both sent me their proposals and by Friday I turned it in. John had a few tweaks and sent if off to Gary who had a few tweaks and then boom, we had a contract signed for three books. I will always be grateful to John and Gary for taking a chance on an unknown me.

Tagged for Death came out on December 2, 2014. I will never forget how I alternated between scared and excited. What if everyone hated it? What if there were trolls who trashed it? Would I ever be able to show my face again? Of course none of that happened and three more contracts for two books each followed. The team at Kensington is amazing and I’m so grateful I got to work with them. Here are the original sketches for the cover of Tagged for Death. I still remember how thrilled I was to see them:

I’m so grateful to everyone who reads my garage sale mysteries. So many of you took the time write me notes saying how they helped you through a hard time or made you laugh or that you loved the sense of community and the strong, compassionate woman Sarah was. I loved highlighting a little bit of what military life is like as a spouse and touching on the amazing history of the area around Bedford, Massachusetts.

I also have good news! The muse is still inspiring me and I have several projects in the works including writing the fourth book in the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries. A Time to Swill releases on July 27th! Three Shots to the Wind, the third Chloe Jackson book, is up for preorder and comes out on March 29, 2022! I LOVE the cover and the story–I hope you will too.

Here’s the cover copy: Chloe’s Windy City ex-fiancé gets blown away in the Florida panhandle…
 
DEAD EXES TELL NO TALES
 
Saloon owner Chloe Jackson appears to have a secret admirer. She’s pouring drinks at the Sea Glass Saloon in Emerald Cove when an airplane flies by above the beach with a banner reading I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON. She immediately rules out Rip Barnett. They are in the early stages of dating and no one has said the L word. Then a bouquet of lilacs—her favorite flower—is delivered to the bar, followed by an expensive bottle of her favorite sparkling wine. It couldn’t be…
 
Sure enough, her ex-fiancé from Chicago has flown down to Florida for an accountants’ convention. But is he trying to mix business with pleasure and win her back? Unfortunately he’s not in a hotel conference room, he’s floating facedown in the lake next to her house, clutching a photo of Chloe. Who murders an accountant on a business trip—it just doesn’t add up. When Rip becomes the prime suspect, Chloe is determined to find the secret murderer. But if she isn’t careful, it may be closing time and lights out for her…

Readers: What do you think of the new cover? I’ll giveaway one copy of any of my books to someone who leaves a comment.

Wicked Wednesday: Childhood Hideaways

by Barb, enjoying a Maine summer

And now a word from our sponsor

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Back to our regular programming

Our theme for July is Hangouts & Hideaways. At the end of the month we’ll be celebrating two Wicked books that center on places where people gather. But before we get there, let’s go back in time. When you were a kid, did you have a special place where you would escape to when siblings and parents and friends got to be too much? Maybe a place you could stick your nose in a book? Indoors or outdoors, cozy or the wide-open spaces? Tell us all about it.

Edith/Maddie: Can I cheat and say it was the book that was the hideaway? As the third of four kids, I didn’t really have a place where nobody could find me – except in a story. I have such fond memories of sitting outside in a southern California summer under the peach tree with a homemade chocolate milkshake and a book. It might have been something by Jules Verne, something in the Borrowers series, a biography of Jane Addams, or one of the Mushroom Planet stories. It didn’t matter. I could hide away and be lost until someone brought me back to earth.

Liz: It was always books for me too – and usually in the summer I would find a quiet place somewhere in the yard where no one would bother me. When we got a pool, I did like to float around on the floating lounge chair with my book – that was awesome. It was a small above-ground pool so there wasn’t too far to float, but still!

Sherry: Oh, how I longed for a hideaway! A playhouse or tree house or secret passageway like the kids in my favorite books had. The two closest things we had were an old set of bunk beds in our basement where we hang a blanket from the top bed to cover the bottom. That ended when a student at the junior high where my father taught house burned down and my parents gave that family the beds. We also had a big box that something came in — maybe our ping-pong table — that we’d set up in the basement to use as a house.

Barb: We moved a few times when I was a child. Each house had its own hiding place. But the common thread throughout my childhood was trees. I was always up in one. Reading, watching, or just hanging out, I was happy above the earth, among the branches.

Julie: We had a playhouse and lots of woods when we were kids. That said, like Edith and Liz my escape hatch was always a book. My sisters used to make fun of me because they could talk about me in front of me, but if I was reading I didn’t hear them.

Readers: Tell us about your childhood hideaways.

What We’re Writing: Mid-Summer Edition

by Barb, still loving it here in Maine

Hi Wickeds. We haven’t done this since February. What are you writing this July?

Edith/Maddie: I’m putting final polish on Murder in a Cape Cottage, Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery #4, which is due August 1. Then I have to start my Christmas Scarf Murder novella, title TBD (A Scarfed-Down Murder? A Scarfed-Down Christmas? ) which is in the Country Store series. I have NO idea what will happen or how Robbie will solve it. Any ideas, readers?

Julie: Edith, A Scarfed-Down Christmas made me giggle–not sure why. Then I thought of poisoned holiday treats. Ah, the mind of a mystery writer. July is Camp NaNoWriMo, so I’m using the time to finish the edit on my thriller, tentatively titled Z Quest. It’s moved from hot mess to okay over the past few months, so I want to send it to my first reader Jason. He’ll let me know if it’s a book or not.

Jessie: Good luck, Edith and Julie with your projects! They both sound like fun! I have recently been in the gathering, rather than writing stage, and am having a lovely time reading and researching all sorts of things from different times and places as I noodle on the next idea! That said, today I am doing no work at all as it is my wedding anniversary and I am in celebration mode!

Edith: Congratulations, Jessie and Elias!

Liz: Yes, congrats, Jessie! I am madly trying to finish the first draft of Cat Cafe #6 (title still TBD). Then I need to move on to Full Moon Mystery #3. Lots to do before the end of the year!

Barb: I don’t envy you, Liz! I just this moment pressed send on the edits for Maine Clambake #10. I’m taking a 6 Weeks, 6 Stories virtual course at Grubstreet, following the prompts to create some totally new work and setting some personal goals as well.

Sherry: Happy anniversary, Jessie and Elias! I love hearing about what you all are writing. I’m trying to work on three different project. The fourth Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery which is due in December, a meet/cute book with a Westie puppy (how did I ever come up with that idea?) and an action thriller that has been whirling in my mind since last December when there was that terrible bombing in Nashville on Christmas Day. I’m too afraid to look back at our February post to see if I said the same thing!

Readers: Do any of these projects catch your eye? Are there any you’re excited to see? Something you didn’t see you wish one of us was working on? Let us know in the comments.

Great Murdery Expectations–and #giveaway

Hello Friends of the Wickeds. Today I’d like to welcome Libby Klein back to the blog. Libby’s latest title is Beauty Expos Are Murder, which came out on June 29. It’s the sixth book in her popular Poppy McAllister mystery series. AND she’s giving away a copy to one lucky commenter below.

Palm and tropical beach

Here’s the blurb:

Easter weekend on the Jersey Shore is hopping. Poppy’s Bed and Breakfast is busier than ever, but she needs to leave things in the hopefully capable hands of Aunt Ginny–and paws of Figaro the black smoke Persian. She’s selling her paleo muffins and keto cookies at the Health and Beauty Expo in Cape May’s Convention Hall. Normally sharing a booth with the love of her life would be a treat, but she’s recently discovered secrets that throw her new romance into chaos.

But more secrets are about to be exposed at the expo. In his keynote address, prominent cosmetic surgeon Dr. Lance Rubin reveals his breakthrough anti-aging technology. Unfortunately, someone has one-upped him with a truly foolproof anti-aging formula: murder. With the plastic surgeon dead under his own UV mask, and bedlam reigning in the hall and back at the B&B, Poppy needs to follow a twisted trail marked by glowing footprints to unmask a killer…

Take it away, Libby!

Even since my first cozy mystery was published, friends and family have been trying to test my detective skills. Somehow, it’s become their personal mission to stump me like I’m channeling the ghost of Agatha freakin’ Christie here. They’ll chose a movie for us, then watch me watch it.

Them: “Did you figure it out?”

Me: “The victim hasn’t even died yet. Settle down.”

Sometimes I figure it out right away and tell no one. The humiliation of being wrong is way too high a price to pay. Like all my street cred as a mystery author is tied up in one episode of Poirot.

Then there are other times I think I’ve figured it out only to be disappointed at the reveal. Not only was I wrong about who the murderer was, but my version of the ending would have been way better. Oh, this week’s guest celebrity really was the killer. I was expecting the lead to have multiple personalities – but I guess this is good too.

And of course, most mysteries, whether book, TV or movie, are written in such a way that anyone could have done it right up to the end. So, most of the time when I figure it out – I didn’t actually figure anything out. I just had a hunch that paid off because that’s how I would have written it.

I was horribly deceived with one British mini-series recently. I suspected the killer right away (again – because that’s how I would have written it) but discounted them because my author’s sense of pacing was tricked. When a series has six episodes you expect the tension to go back and forth for six episodes. Not four episodes and two episodes that turn out to be postproduction interviews – I’m talking to you Acorn.

This brings me to Mother’s Day. My daughter bought me one of the Murder Mystery kits where you have to comb through the evidence of a crime and figure out who the killer is. We went through it together on vacation. I was very serious with my investigation. I wanted to put the clues on the wall and tie strings to link them, but I was afraid she’d think I was crazy. (It’s a good thing she hasn’t seen my office when I’m working on one of Poppy’s mysteries.)

I was so afraid of being wrong and looking like an idiot that I took a very long time to declare my killer. When we checked the answer online, I was beyond thrilled to have figured it out. I was relieved. I didn’t realize how important it was to me to be right. And it was close too. My second prime suspect had an error in the game documents. A typo affected the clue that was supposed to give him an alibi so we never cleared him. I mean no one is in jail for a year waiting to get bail. Not even in the 1800s. We figured he must have been released after a few hours and gotten himself arrested again a year later. Right? I thought it was a red herring.  Stupid typo.

Readers: So how about you? Do you usually figure out whodunit before the reveal? Are you taking notes when you read and watch TV, or are you just along for the entertainment ride? And have you done a mystery box puzzle before? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Comment below and I’ll give away one copy of Beauty Expos Are Murder to a lucky poster.

What We’re Reading

by Barb, in Maine. How did it get to be July already?

Wickeds, the long, lovely weekend is upon us. If I know my Wickeds, over the next four days you’re going to sneak in some time with a book. Tell us, what are you reading?

Edith/Maddie: I just finished The Bombay Prince, Sujata Massey’s third Mystery of 1920s India, which was just as good as the first two, and I loved Mia Manasala’s debut cozy, Arsenic and Adobo. I’m excited to have Pardonable Lies on my stack, another Maisie Dobbs historical mystery, as well as the latest issues of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Short stories are great reads to tuck in between visits or holiday cooking.

Julie: I’ve got a toppling TBR pile. First up is and arc of Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day. I’ve been saving that one for a long weekend. I’ve also got The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden and A Spy in the Struggle by Aya de Leon on the pile.

Jessie: I always love this question, Barb! I am currently tucking into Saxons vs. Vikings by Ed West. Up next is The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley and Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan.

Liz: I have a huge TBR pile too, Julie! Right now I’m bingeing Bosch books to celebrate the 7th season dropping on Netflix. Next up is The Concrete Blond.

Barb: All these books sound so intriguing. I want to read Saxons vs. Vikings, though I only made it through an episode and a half of The Last Kingdom. Worth sticking with it? And, I’ve already binged the final season of Bosch. They definitely stuck the landing. I’ve been reading a lot of books lately for blurbs and because I was moderating a panel. Fortunately, they are all good and some of the panel ones are great, but it feels a bit like homework. I don’t know how our book blogger friends do it! So I’m going to indulge myself this long weekend with a purely voluntary, non-research, not-in-my-genre read, Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.

Friends: What are you reading this long weekend?

Guest Cheryl Hollon + #giveaway

Edith here, reeling that it’s already July, but I’m loving full summer! I’m so happy today to welcome my good friend, and good friend of the Wickeds, Cheryl Hollon. Her new Paint and Shine mystery is out and she’s giving away a copy of Draw and Order to one lucky commenter today.

Appalachian artist and local guide Miranda Trent opens a new murder investigation after her Paint & Shine tour group discovers the remains of a missing hiker along an ancient trail. For her latest excursion, Miranda is thrilled to take a close-knit group of rock climbers, the Risky Business Adventurers, up the challenging Battleship Rock Trail to paint and sample moonshine. But the outing is cut short when they discover a skeleton near the trailhead. Even more startling, the bones belong to Howard Cable, Miranda’s cousin…and a former classmate of the Risky Business group.
 
The sheriff chalks it up to a hiking accident, but Miranda isn’t convinced that Howard, an experienced woodsman, died within sight of a well-marked trail. So, with the help of Ranger Austin Morgan, Miranda sets out on her own investigation and discovers that the Risky Business group is keeping plenty of secrets. But is one of them hiding the truth about Howard’s death?

Cheryl’s post isn’t really about the book, but it is a lovely, bittersweet homage to her mother, a woman I wish I had known.

Thank you, Edith. I’m delighted to be back here again to launch Draw and Order, the second book in the Paint & Shine Mystery Series. The setting for this series is an area of outstanding beauty in eastern Kentucky within the Daniel Boone National Forest. It is also the place where my parents were born, married, and now rest in peace.

I’ll always have a special place in my heart for this book – it was the last one my mother read before she died peacefully, just a few weeks shy of 95 years of age. She loved to read about strong women with fascinating lives. I love having a series of books about the country life she enjoyed while growing into a young woman.

Marcella Hollon lived an exciting life that she carved out for herself from a cultural environment that didn’t always appreciate her determination. She was known for her love of painting portraits and playing music on her favorite bass guitar, a traditional folk autoharp, and performing duets with her late husband on harmonicas. She was an enthusiastic square dancer and founded the Tuesday Afternoon Plus dance club in Dayton, Ohio. She also danced with the Friendly Squares, the Golden Squares, Kitty Hawk, and Gem City Squares dance clubs.

Marcella belonged to several popular gospel quartets, including the Holy Hills and the Glorylanders. She performed with her husband and children in a band known as The Hollon Family. Marcella was a talented seamstress, painted in oil on canvas and sketched in pencil and charcoal. She was an accomplished poet and songwriter. In 1958 she was awarded the Ohio third-place championship in longbow archery. Marcella was prolific with her quilting, crocheting, knitting, cooking, and gardening.

(Edith: Readers, see what I mean about Marcella?)

As you can see, my mom inspired me to get off my duff and tackle my dreams with energy and determination. She wouldn’t be happy if I faltered now. Future books in the Paint & Shine series will be full of bittersweet memories, but she’s a willful force of nature in my stories.

Readers: What gets you going when you don’t want to budge? For a chance to win a copy of Draw and Order, please leave a comment on who or what inspires you to keep going when the going gets tough.

Draw and Order released on June 29, 2021, and is available for you to order at Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and in your favorite bookstores. Kensington Books publishes the Paint & Shine Mystery Series.  If possible, support your local independent bookstore.  Also, if your budget is tight, please ask your library to order it.

Cheryl Hollon is the author of the Webb’s Glass Shop Mysteries and the Paint & Shine Mysteries. She writes full-time after an engineering career designing and installing military flight simulators in England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Living the dream, she combines a love of writing with a passion for creating glass art with her husband in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cheryl is the Past President of the Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime, a member of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.

Visit Cheryl at her Website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter