Sherry Harris's Blog, page 4

An Unconventional Path with Rob Osler

Edith/Maddie writing from a chilly north of Boston.

But my heart is warmed by the prospect of a new book by Rob Osler! I love his two Hayden and Friends mysteries and his award-winning short stories, but the premise of his new historical Harriet Morrow Investigates series delights me even more. How much do you love the cover of The Case of the Missing Maid?

The book will be out December 24, and you can bet my copy is preordered from the local independent bookstore.

Check out this starred review! “The first woman hired by a Chicago detective agency faces one daunting challenge after another in this excellent historical series launch from Osler… With lush historical detail, optimistic but plausible gender politics, and an unforgettable heroine, this series is primed for success.”—★ Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

Take it away, Rob.

I couldn’t have possibly planned it (better).

“Sorry, your project is not the right fit for our list.” That phrase is triggering for any author who has ever queried agents or had an agent submit their novel to publishers. Here are two others: “Don’t write to a trend because by the time your book comes out the market will have moved on” and “Write what you know.” Hold those wise words in your head while you consider the wisdom of my decision to write a lesbian, bicycle-riding detective in America’s Progressive Era (1890 to 1920). If you’re curious how my new series “Harriet Morrow Investigates” happened, read on. You’ll discover its path to publication was as unconventional as Harriet herself.

The very beginning.

I was raised in Boise, Idaho (don’t worry, I’m not going back that far) and return annually to visit. Boise has a superb greenbelt that follows the river through town. About ten years ago, I came across a plaque at the southeast end of the trail for a long-gone historical site: the Natatorium, a palace-like indoor swimming pavilion. I thought, “That’s a setting for a murder mystery!” So I wrote Murder at the Nat. I queried agents. I got multiple requests for full manuscripts and eventually signed with a leading New York agency. After ten months of slow back and forth, my agent unexpectedly left the agency, and I was dropped as a client.

The next beginning.

Scarred, I changed course. I wrote a contemporary, zany amateur sleuth novel. I titled it Devil’s Chew Toy and called it a “Quozy Mystery.” That book was a finalist for last year’s Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity awards for best debut. Naturally, I thought, “Now I’ll return to that historical mystery set in Boise!”

The mushy middle.

I dusted off Murder at the Nat. I revised. I queried agents. Randomly, I happened upon an agent’s social post that mentioned the need for more diversity in crime fiction. I leaped. “I have one!” She replied, “Send it.” Months passed before I got a response. It came with notes. Lots of notes. I revised and resubmitted. The cycle continued. More than a year after first sending the novel, I was offered representation. Fun fact: my now agent was among those who, seven years earlier, had requested a full of the original Murder at the Nat and eventually passed.

Get to Writing, Writer!

After more polishing, my agent sent Murder at the Nat to potential publishers. Right away, we heard from one editor, “I liked it, but other readers thought . . .” Those thoughts included shifting the novel’s setting to Chicago (from where Harriet set out for Boise) and the year (rewinding ten years to Harriet’s first day as the Prescott Detective Agency’s first and only woman operative). “This is an opportunity!” My agent said, “You’ve been given a roadmap! Get to writing! Give me a tight outline and four polished chapters.” Fast forward three months, and page one of The Case of the Missing Maid, set in 1898 Chicago, begins with Harriet Morrow, wearing a bowler hat and men’s shoes, arriving for her first day of work for Theodore Prescott. Three weeks later, I got the call from my agent. “Three book deal.”

A new historical series, present tense.

The Case of the Missing Maid arrives Dec. 24th. The Case of the Murdered Muckraker awaits copy edits. Book three, The Case of the Swindled Suffragist, is peering up on a screen behind this one, demanding my attention.

Readers: Can you name a historical mystery with a main character, time, and place unlike any other you’ve read? What is something you accomplished by not giving up but which came about in a roundabout way?

I’m excited to share that my publisher, Kensington, is featuring THE CASE OF THE MISSING MAID in a Goodreads giveaway. 100 lucky winners will receive a copy. Enter here now through Dec 10th.

Professional Headshot by S72 Business Prrtraits

Rob Osler writes traditional mysteries. His new series, Harriet Morrow Investigates, launches with THE CASE OF THE MISSING MAID, which features a woman detective solving crimes in Chicago in America’s Progressive Era. Rob’s work has been a finalist for the 2024 Edgar Award (MISS DIRECTION, EQMM), 2023 Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity Awards (DEVIL’S CHEW TOY), and a winner of the 2022 Mystery Writers of America Robert L Fish Award (ANALOGUE, EQMM).After living in Boise, Chicago, and Seattle, Rob resides in California with his husband and a tall gray cat.

Graveyards with Catriona McPherson

Edith/Maddie writing from a wintry north of Boston.

But it’s never too cold to welcome back the delightful and brilliant Catriona McPherson, especially when she has a new book out – today!

Scotzilla is the seventh Last Ditch mystery, and if you haven’t already picked up this series, you should. It’s one of my favorites. Here’s the blurb:

Lexy Campbell is getting married! But in the six months of planning it took to arrive at the big day, she has become . . . a challenge. Friendships are strained to breaking point, Lexy’s parents are tiptoeing around her, and even Taylor, her intended, must be having second thoughts. Turns out it’s moot. Before the happy couple can exchange vows, Sister Sunshine, the wedding celebrant, is discovered dead behind the cake, strangled with the fairy lights.

Lexy’s dream wedding is now not just a nightmare: it’s a crime scene. She vows not to get drawn into the case, but the rest of the Last Ditch crew are investigating a bizarre series of goings-on in Cuento’s cemetery and every clue about the graveyard pranks seems to link them back to Lexy’s wedding day. Will the Ditchers solve the case? Will Sister Sunshine’s killer be found? Will Lexy ever get her happy-ever-after? Not even Bridezilla deserves this. 

No Bone to Pick with Graveyards

So wrote Samuel Beckett, in 1946. He went on “I take the air there willingly, when take the air I must.” Doesn’t sound like him, does it? Well, it got dark right after that and sounded exactly like him in the end. So let’s leave it there. I genuinely have no bone to pick with graveyards. I like a good cemetery for taking the air in.

That’s why I enjoyed writing the four cemetery geeks in Scotzilla so much, even though their enthusiasm for the fictional necropolis of fictional Cuento, CA, is a bit too keen at times. There’s nothing horrible in the book, I hasten to add: they’re just a bit unhinged in their devotion to the social and cultural history of graves. They wouldn’t approve of me at all, the way I think cemeteries are just pleasant places for a stroll.

It started with my Granny MacDonald. She loved a cemetery walk. In her case, I think it arose in nosiness. She lived in the same smallish town for a lot of years and, even if she never got past the front door of someone’s house, once they died she could make her own judgement about the size, style, wording, upkeep and – mostly – cost of their memorials.

For me, the words chosen and the words not chosen are always fascinating. When I see an “ in Memory of Joe Bloggs, husband of Joella Bloggs and father of Joseph Junior” and then in newer engraving below “In loving and eternal memory of Joella Bloggs, loyal wife of the late Joe and dearly beloved Mother of her devoted son Joseph” – and I really did see that once – I’m left wondering who hated whom in the Bloggs family and why. The love certainly wasn’t evenly shared around. “Loyal” is quite a choice, isn’t it?

Abercorn Cemetery, walking distance from my childhood home.

And it’s hard to feel warm towards those Victorian patriarchs whose names are finally chipped in at the bottom of the headstone after they’ve worn out three wives and buried eleven of their twenty-odd offspring.

Much more accessible warm feelings belong to those loving families who make the cemetery where they’ve laid a sorely-missed loved one into an extension of their home. The title character in A Man Called Otto, goes to visit his wife in the cemetery, taking a flask of coffee and a folding chair, and fills her in on all his news. (The protagonist in the book, A Man Called Ove, might do it as well, but I haven’t read it.) And a dear friend of mine and probably of yours too, some of you, is currently taking great comfort from reading comic novels to her son at his graveside. If grief is the last act of love, that particular love was a hell of a show.

I admire the honesty of going to a grave to talk to a loved one. Or maybe “matter-of-factness” is a better term. The flip side of that is the scorn I felt when the residents of a quite posh street of houses, again in my home village, got together and changed their address from Cemetery Road, to Ferrymuir Lane. (There’s still a cemetery at the far end, whether they like it or not.) Likewise, I can imagine buying a gravedigger’s cottage called Gravedigger’s Cottage more easily than I could see myself buying a Yew Tree Cottage, trying to style out its quiet neighbours. Hey, that reminds me!

And I don’t mind a bit of humour in a graveyard either. Dorothy Parker’s “Pardon my Dust” is famous, although the joke is kind of obsolete now. Jack Lemmon’s gravestone reads “Jack Lemmon in”, which is adorable. And Spike Milligan (Irish comic) went with “I told you I was ill”. I hope his widow thought it was funny.

But I’m just as happy in cemeteries and graveyards with no witty epitaphs, no famous names – no names at all if they’ve worn off the soft sandstone over the centuries. Brompton Cemetery lists its celebrity . . . departed, but it’s most loved by the residents of West London for being a green space and a wildlife haven in the middle of such a busy city.

My favourite cemetery of all – actually a graveyard, because it’s set around a church – is at St-Just-in-Roseland in South Cornwall. It’s a small, semi-tropical garden full of palms and passionflowers, bougainvillea and agapanthus – so exotic (before I moved to California) and it’s in the most exquisite setting by the mouth of a river in a tiny, sleepy hamlet. I have no idea why I don’t have any pictures of it after the number of times I’ve been, but click here and you’ll see.

It’s so tranquil and such a perfect place to relax. In the daytime. I need to come clean. Even though I have no supernatural beliefs, I’m still a product of my culture – Bram Stoker to Buffy Summers – and all of my cemetery appreciation disappears when the sun goes down. I could not walk through a graveyard in the dark if you paid me. I know what happened to Tam O’Shanter. I know he’s fictional. I know that doesn’t matter at night.

In Scotzilla, the Last Ditch crew spend quite a bit of time in the cemetery in darkness. I’m like a brave general sending my troops off where I’d never dare to go.

Readers: How about you? Are you a twenty-four-hour graveyard coper? Do you avoid them in the day-time too? Can you read about exploits far beyond your own courage? I’d love to know.

Serial awards-botherer, Catriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the US in 2010. She writes: preposterous 1930s private-detective stories; realistic 1940s amateur-sleuth stories about a medical social worker; and contemporary psychological standalones. These are all set in Scotland with a lot of Scottish weather. She also writes modern comedies about a Scot out of water in a “fictional” college town in Northern California. Scotzilla is book number seven of what was supposed to be a trilogy. She is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.  www.catrionamcpherson.com

The Power of Last Lines in Fiction and a #Giveaway

by Barb, first December ever in Key West

My friend Leslie Wheeler is here today with an interesting post about last lines in fiction. Leslie is writing in support of the latest release of Best New England Crime Stories, The Devil’s Snare. One lucky commenter below will receive a copy.

For six years I was a co-editor, co-publisher of the Best New England Crime Stories series, along with Leslie and our friends Kat Fast and Mark Ammons. It was one of the most interesting and fun things I’ve ever done and I learned a ton about writing, editing, and publishing.

Fast forward nine years and there have been numerous changes on the ownership and editorial fronts but it makes me so happy this wonderful annual collection persists, now with editors Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler.

Take it away, Leslie!

The Importance of Last Lines

As a writer and editor, I am well aware of the importance of first lines in novels and short stories. They are the invitation writers send prospective readers to enter their fictional worlds. That invitation often involves a question or problem that must be resolved. If done right, readers accept the invitation. In last lines, the author bids readers good-bye, and either leaves them satisfied they took the journey, or not. Some last lines in novels have been so effective that they are stamped on readers’ collective memory. For example, Gone with the Wind ends with Scarlett O’Hara’s response to Rhett Butler’s equally famous: “My dear, I don’t give a damn” with these words: “I’ll go home and I’ll think of a way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.”

Writers of short stories, however, don’t have the luxury of length to dole out their openings or closings. They must find not only the right words but the right number of words for the beginning and end. I would argue that last lines can either make or break a story. What makes a successful ending? Here are three examples taken from stories, which appear in Devil’s Snare, Best New England Crime Stories 2024, co-edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and myself.

“The Business of Others” by Gabriela Stitler ends thus:

“It’s over,” he said.

“I know.”

“I’m sorry.” He said it so softly I almost didn’t hear.

So softly we could pretend he didn’t need to say it.

This is a low-key but telling ending to a story about a couple who watch their neighbors ruin their lives in a love triangle gone bad, and must find a way forward themselves. The last lines show us that they will probably succeed, having learned from the mistakes of others.

But stories don’t have to end with a change in behavior of a main character to work. In Paula Messina’s “Fish Eyes,” a young man struggles to find out why a fishmonger is in danger. Although he is successful in finding a resolution to the problem, he realizes that the fishmonger can’t stop the behavior that got him in trouble in the first place.

“Nothing, no one would ever stop Mr. Clemente from reveling in a beautiful women’s eyes.”

This humorous ending is in keeping with the overall light-hearted mood of the story.

Stories can also end well even when the main character fails to achieve his chief goal. In “Chinese Exclusion” by Michael Ditchfield, a young, newly married lawyer cannot save a wrongfully accused man from the death chamber, but succeeds on the home front.

“We needed more justice. . . Then I got off my internal soap box and surprised Gladys: I put in the laundry.”

Here, the shift from the lofty to the mundane is a nice twist.

As I hope these examples demonstrate, there is more than one way to write effective last lines.

Readers: Do you have favorite last lines from novels or short stories? One of the commentators will receive a free copy of Devil’s Snare.

About The Devil’s Snare

Devil’s Snare brings together 24 crime stories featuring the innocent to the professional hitman in circumstances that highlight shrewd, the clever, the professional, the accidental, the reluctant sleuth and more. Authors are Christine Bagley, Nancy Brewka-Clark, Bruce Robert Coffin, Hans Copek, Michael Ditchfield, Christine Eskilson, Kate Flora, Connie Johnson Hambley, Sean C. Harding, Kathryn Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight), Chris Knopf, Alison McMahon, Paula Messina, Susan Oleksiw, Eugenia Parrish, Ang Pompano, Stephen D. Rogers, Clea Simon, Sarah Smith, Shelagh Smith, Gabriela Stiteler, Mo Walsh, and Leslie Wheeler.

Devil’s Snare on Amazon

Crime Spell Books website

Crime Spell Books Facebook page

About Leslie Wheeler

Leslie Wheeler is a co-editor/publisher at Crime Spell Books, which publishes an annual anthology of Best New England Crime Stories. She is also the author of two mystery series: the Miranda Lewis Living History series and the Berkshire Hilltown Mysteries. She divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Berkshires, where she writes in a house overlooking a pond.

Leslie Wheeler’s website

Leslie Wheeler’s email

Leslie Wheeler’s Facebook page

Thanksgiving Quiz

Thanksgiving Quiz

Give yourself one point for every answer you say yes to. The highest score is 15.

I’ve cooked a turkey.I’ve used the gizzards, liver, and heart.I’ve made dressing/stuffing from scratch.I’ve stuffed the dressing/stuffing into the turkey (yes, I know it isn’t supposed to be safe).I’ve made sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.I’ve never used canned cranberry sauce.I’ve made my own gravy from scratch.I’ve made green bean casserole.I’ve made rolls or bread from scratch.My favorite dessert on Thanksgiving is:I’ve made that favorite dessertMy favorite time to eat Thanksgiving dinner is:I’ve actually served dinner at that time.What are you talking about? I’ve never cooked any of that!My favorite leftover is:I love leftovers.I’ve gotten up way too early to shop on Black Friday at a brick and mortar store.I haven’t gotten up early, but I have shopped on Black Friday at a store.

Okay, Wickeds break the answers down for me! Which did you say yes to?

Edith: This is hilarious. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday AND I love to cook! So, I answered Yes to all but 17, 14, and 5 (and18 was decades ago with my mom), which makes my score a 12. I’ll shop online, thank you very much. Sweet potatoes are already so sweet that in my opinion they taste better with olive oil and curry seasonings. 10 – favorite dessert is my own pumpkin pie with whipped-from-scratch cream. 12 – two to three pm. 15 – favorite leftover is stuffing/dressing, although pumpkin pie for breakfast is pretty awesome, too.

Sherry: My answers might surprise you all with my reputation of not liking to cook! My score is 12. I’ve cooked a turkey but the innards go in the trash. I’ve made my mom’s delicious stuffing and stuffed part of it in the turkey. Yuck to sweet potatoes with marshmallows. We weren’t a big cranberry family growing up but surely I’ve used it canned sometime. I like making it from scratch. Green beans yes, bread/rolls no. Apple pie ala mode is the best dessert, but I’ve never made it. I like to eat between one and two and have indeed gotten the food to the table at that time. I love ALL the leftovers. I don’t remember ever getting up early (not a morning person) to shop on Black Friday.

Liz: So fun, Sherry! I’m kind of a failure at this Thanksgiving thing (mostly because I don’t eat meat now) but I have cooked a turkey in the old days! I only answered yes to 1 and 8. I hate cranberry sauce and don’t care if it’s canned or not – yuck! My favorite dessert is pumpkin pie and I have made that. I don’t care when we eat as long as I don’t have to cook! My fave leftovers are stuffing and gravy and yes I love leftovers. For Black Friday – my mother and I used to get up at 4:30 a.m. and go shopping! Now I wouldn’t touch a physical store, but I definitely shop online!

Barb: I can’t remember if I’ve cooked a turkey. If I did, it was years ago. Bill, however, has cooked lots of them. When we had our big Thanksgiving dinners with his whole extended family, it was always his job to bring the “second turkey.” I have made stuffing and gravy from scratch, which is my job in the years we have our smaller family gatherings. And the gravy involves the gizzard and heart but not the liver. Or is it the other way around? Also, I make my grandmother’s turnips every year. My mother-in-law had a fabulous recipe for homemade cranberry sauce–which is great on the day. But Friday, on my turkey, stuffing, mayo on toasted white bread sandwich, give me sliced, canned cranberry. That also happens to be my favorite leftover. My favorite dessert is pumpkin pie but I’ve never made it. It’s my sister-in-law’s job. I make the apple pie, which I love for breakfast Friday morning–my second favorite leftover. I’ve never shopped on Black Friday, except maybe online.

Julie: What a fun quiz! I got 13. While I prefer homemade cranberry sauce, members of my family prefer the slide and slice version. I recently saw a recipe on Instagram that took slices of cranberry sauce and coated them with dark chocolate. That sounded surprisingly good to me. I prefer my sweet potatoes with my bourbon caramel sauce, but again there are family members who love the roasted marshmallows. I would love to not use the inners of the turkey, but again, family members. My dad liked them as part of his gravy, so we’d divide the gravy out and make his with the liver, etc. My best friend’s mother growing up hosting huge holiday gatherings, so I’d go over and help cube the bread and she taught me how to make it from scratch. I also was taught how to stuff it in the bird, though we don’t do that anymore. I don’t have children of my own, so I’ve never shopped brick and mortar stores back in the day. But I was there to support my friends on cabbage patch doll and other “must-have” toy adventures.

Jessie: Sherry, this is such fun! Thanks for setting it up! I learned to make Thanksgiving dinner from a retired Navy cook when I was 11 and have been in charge of some or all of it most years since then so I have a lot of experience in this arena. I got a score of 13. I make sweet potatoes, but I boil mine in cider and and mash them with butter and freshly cracked black pepper, nary a marshmallow in sight. I have no experience with the green bean thing. I’ve never even had a guest bring it. I love to make my homemade stuffing, my freshly made cranberry sauce, and my savory pumpkin pan rolls. I always roast at least one turkey, serve graving made from the pan drippings, and shop online for Black Friday. My favorite dessert is a spice bundt which I have made many times. Generally, dinner is at 2:00 and I have had things ready then more often than not. As to the leftovers, I make stuffing waffles and then pile them with sliced turkey and a spread made with may, chipotle peppers, and leftover cranberry sauce with gravy on the side for dipping. It is delicious!

Readers: What are your answers?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! We wish you good food, friendship, and great books to read!

Wicked Wednesday — Celebrating Deadly Crush

Deadly Crush released yesterday! I was so thrilled when I read the back cover copy, which reveals that Edith includes a character named Josie who is a mechanic.

The Wickeds heard about Josie several years ago when Edith’s editor at Kensington asked her to come up with a new series. Mechanic Josie and her auto repair shop was one of the ideas Edith pitched. Josie didn’t get her own series, but I’m delighted readers will get to meet her in Deadly Crush.

Here’s the back cover copy: It’s the beginning of a new year, and for widowed single mom and recent L.A. transplant to California wine country, Cece Barton, that means green hillsides, flowing streams from winter rains, pruned vineyards—and a murder to solve . . .

After a mostly stress-free Christmas with her college-age daughter, and despite enjoying a current budding romance with fellow newcomer, Benjamin Cohen, it’s time for Cece to focus on Vino y Vida, the Colinas wine bar she manages. Electrical work and an outdoor security camera are needed, and she’s hired local electrician Karl Meier to do the job, along with the help of his nephew Ian. But she regrets her choice when she witnesses Karl needlessy berating Ian in her presence. On top of that, Karl leers at her, then presents her with an inflated bill before the work is complete. Still, she’s shocked when she gets a call from Karl’s ex-wife, Josie, that she’s found Karl . . . crushed to death beneath the lift in her automotive shop.

Cece convinces Josie to call the police, even though Josie is terrified. After all, Karl was an abusive husband, was threatening her, and she has no alibi. With Josie’s future on the line, and maybe her own, Cece starts her own investigation. From the customers Karl cheated to the other women he harassed, she finds there’s no lack of suspects—other than the shelter kittens to whom he was an uncharacteristically sweet volunteer. With a bouquet of motives and unanswered questions, Cece is going to need the help of her twin, Allie, who owns a nearby B & B, as she dives into Karl’s past—before the killer catches up with her, and the lights go out for good . . .

Wickeds, if you could spin off one character, who would you choose?

Liz: Congrats, Edith! I’ve actually been thinking of a spinoff from my Full Moon Mysteries – either Mazzy the journalist or Zoe, Violet’s sister. We left her in kind of a cliffhanger at the end of the third book and her story doesn’t feel finished to me.

Barb: Congratulations, Edith/Maddie! I was approached in a very soft way by my publisher about setting another series in Busman’s Harbor after they cancelled Jane Darrowfield. I never wanted to do that. Those poor people have suffered enough! If I were to choose someone from the Jane Darrowfield world, it would probably be Jane’s gentleman friend, Harry Welch. Who knows what he was doing all those years traveling the world “consulting” on security issues?

Sherry: Congratulations, Edith! I’m thrilled for you! My editor and I discussed spinning off Harriet who was introduced in Sell Low, Sweet Harriet and returns in Absence of Alice. I wrote a proposal but nothing ever came of it. She’s a fascinating character and it would have been interesting to explore more about her. Also writing a main character closer to my age would have been fun.

Julie: Congratulations Edith! I’m so glad Josie is getting her moment in the sun! As for spinoffs–what an interesting question. I always imagined that Roddy Lyden was a former spy with a complicated past. He’d be a fun spinoff, off for new adventures with Lilly as his sidekick.

Edith/Maddie: Thanks, my friends! My editor suggested I spin off Aunt Adele from the Country Store Mysteries into her own contemporary series. After a lot of thought, I declined. But – speaking of Cece’s mechanic Josie Jarvin, I dished on vintage cars I’ve loved over on Jungle Red Writers last week! Here’s the link if you missed it.

Jessie: Super congratulations, Edith! I know how pleased you are with this one! If I were to spin something off I think it might be Constable Gibbs from my Beryl and Edwina novels. She served as the village constable long before my sleuth got involved in crime-solving and is an interesting person in her own right, at least as far as I am concerned.

Readers, is there a character you’d like to see in a spin off? Writers who would you spin off?

Release Day #35, plus 3-book #giveaway!

Edith/Maddie writing from north of Boston where we are finally getting some much-needed rain.

And I’m doing my happy rain dance, because Deadly Crush releases today!

I love that the Cece Barton Mysteries are now solidly a series, with two books and a novella. In Deadly Crush, we get to know Cece’s support crew better including her twin sister Allie – who is sharing a day in her life over on Dru’s Book Musings today. I also had fun bringing in a lot more about vintage cars, about which I wrote over on Jungle Red Writers last week, and I shared other inspirations for parts of the series on Chicks on the Case.

Cece Barton Book #3 is next up on my schedule to write, and, no, I have no idea of the plot or the story!

But Deadly Crush is also my 35th published book. I have celebrated 34 of those releases right here on the Wicked Authors, starting with A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die back in our first year, 2013. (My first novel, Speaking of Murder, came out in fall of 2012.)

I was delighted to sign TINE after the first of many launch parties to follow at my local independent bookstore, Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport, MA.

If you are anywhere in the Northeast, I hope you’ll join me at Jabberwocky from 5-7 pm on Saturday, December 7 to celebrate the release of Deadly Crush.

One of the things a number of the Wickeds have said to debut authors when they ask for advice is, “Enjoy the ride!” Every finished chapter, every finished book, every release is cause for celebration. This book, despite being my thirty-fifth, is no exception. I have #38 (Murder at Cape Costumers) all buttoned up and ready to send to my editor on its due date of December 1. And there’s always another book to write, another short story to fiendishly devise.

I love my writing life, even when it’s hard, and I plan to break out the bubbly a little later today – heck, maybe even over lunch!

Readers: What’s your favorite way to celebrate a milestone? (Also, any thoughts about what Cece should get up to in the Alexander Valley in June or July?) I’d love to send one of you a three-book hardcover set of the series, with a wine bag thrown in for good measure.

Writing Anna Hoyt: A Novel of Colonial Crime—Welcome Back Dana Cameron

I love when writers are fearless and change things up and Dana is one such writer. She’s written mysteries, urban fantasy, and now a historical crime novel that sounds incredible.

Dana: Fear, outrage, and desperation are powerful motivators. If everyone in the world was against you and if your life was worth only what others want from it, what would you do to survive?

         I asked that question when I wrote what would become the first chapter in Anna Hoyt: A Novel of Colonial Crime in 2009. It was originally a short story in Boston Noir, featuring Anna Hoyt, who has the uncommon right to own and run her tavern in 1740s Boston. She believes the tavern is the one thing that will keep her safe from poverty, but every thug on the waterfront wants the profitable place for themselves. Her husband wants her to sell it, and isn’t above beating her to get his way. The religion and law of the period demanded women’s subordination to their husbands or male family members, and the criminals her husband wants to please aren’t worried about her legal rights. Anna’s back is always against a wall, and at every moment, I had to ask: what would she do to survive this? 

         It turns out, over the course of the novel following that first story, Anna was willing do a lot more than I expected. She’s a broken soul, and I didn’t know just how badly until after the story came out and someone pointed out her true nature to me. When I was writing her, I felt only her peril and her resolute will to survive, which somewhat mirrored my own emotions at the time—though of course, I was only angry about gender politics within the mystery-writing community and getting a good story written in a new style in a very short period of time. The depth of her rage surprised me, because it seemed to come so easily to me, and our lives couldn’t be more different.

         I’m not even sure you can call Anna an antihero, much less a hero.

         A few weeks ago at a convention, someone asked me how to keep writing when you learn how amoral a character is? My answer was that eventually I realized that, despite Anna’s skewed view of the world, she kept learning. From the first moment she realized she was in danger, Anna learned from every situation she was in. She knew she could not survive as she was, and dedicated herself to being willing to change in ways that would make her more secure. She wasted no time on wishing for what should be. Anna navigated legal loopholes and the social mores in every sort of society, from the guttersnipe to the aristocrat, as well as among the criminal classes, though for her, the two groups were never mutually exclusive. When given the chance for a little education, she was transfigured. Her interpretation of Biblical passages would scandalize any cleric and her take-away from Shakespeare’s tragedies would have baffled a scholar, but she learns from them in her own way. For her own sake, to keep her world together, and that’s what kept me able to continue writing her.

         I learned so much from channeling a deep emotion in my life into my fiction, so I ask you, Writers: what’s an example of a character who surprised you when you were writing them? What did you learn from them about writing? Readers: Has a characters ever surprised you?

About the book: Anna Hoyt is in the enviable position of owning and running her own tavern; in 1745 Boston, Massachusetts, women had to be granted the legal right to run a business alone. The Queen’s Arms is located on the busy Boston waterfront and the thriving tavern’s location makes Anna a target for the toughs who want her to sell the place to them. The tavern is Anna’s only security, and she’s stubbornly determined not to sell, despite the threats of her abusive husband and the thug he wants to impress. There’s no one to turn to, no organized police force to protect her, and while the law may be on her side, a piece of paper won’t stand in the way of dangerous men. Faced with the choice of a quick and brutal death or enduring misery in poverty, Anna takes matters into her own hands.

Bio: Dana Cameron writes across many genres, but especially crime and speculative fiction. Her work, inspired by her career in archaeology, has won multiple Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity Awards, and has been nominated for the Edgar Award. Dana’s Emma Fielding archaeology mysteries appear on Hallmark’s Movies & Mysteries Channel. Her latest book is Anna Hoyt, a noir novel set in 1740s Boston. When she’s not traveling or visiting museums, she’s usually spinning, weaving, and yelling at the TV about historical inaccuracies.”

www.danacameron.com

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Wicked Strong Women — Welcome Back Patricia Sargeant #Giveaway!

It’s always a pleasure to welcome Patricia Sargeant back to the blog! Second-Chance Bodyguard (The Touré Security Group, 3) comes out on November 26th! Look for a giveaway at the end of the post!

Patricia: A huge, heartfelt, “Thank you!” to The Wickeds Blog authors. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to visit this fun and thought-provoking community.

Please don’t adjust your monitor. The reason I look so much like those photos that come with the Olivia Matthews guest blogs is that I’m both Olivia Matthews and Patricia Sargeant. Short story long, I started my career mumble, mumble years ago in romantic suspense as Patricia Sargeant. When my then-editor alleged the bottom had fallen out of the romantic suspense market, I moved to contemporary romance. But I’ve always wanted to return to romantic suspense. In an effort to get back to my roots, I transitioned to cozies. However, my new editor said I needed a pseudonym for my crime fiction since people who read mysteries don’t trust one written by a romance author. Ouch.

I absolutely love writing cozies and plan to write more. But one day while I was hanging out with my Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries characters, I got an email from Harlequin asking me to write romantic suspense for them—and the Touré Security Group trilogy was born: three brothers who run their family-owned security firm and the women who inspire them to be the best version of themselves.

In the first two books, DOWN TO THE WIRE (September 2023) and HER PRIVATE SECURITY DETAIL (March 2024), our heroes are assigned to protect our heroines from serial killers. But in book 3, SECOND-CHANCE BODYGUARD (November 2024), our heroine must protect our hero from a revenge killer.

I love gentlemen-in-jeopardy stories. I’ve written one before as Olivia Matthews. In MURDER OUT OF CHARACTER: A Peach Coast Library Mystery, Book 2, a serial killer is targeting Spence, a member of Marvey’s amateur sleuth team and her love interest. To protect Spence, Marvey must identify the murderer. But I digress …

One of the reasons I enjoy having the female protagonist as the protector is that I love making women the hero of their story. Even in DOWN TO THE WIRE and HER PRIVATE SECURITY DETAIL, the heroines do as much protecting as they are protected. The villains wouldn’t have been brought to justice without the heroines’ active participation in solving the mysteries and protecting themselves and the heroes.

I love writing stories featuring women who are capable, courageous and strong, whether they recognize that about themselves or not, whether the people around them realize it or not. Like Lyndsay Murray in my Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries. She started taking kickboxing classes as a child to build her confidence. Years later, she uses those skills to protect herself and her family. (Not to worry. It’s a cozy mystery. We’re not talking John Wick-level violence.)

Readers: Who are some of the capable, courageous and strong fictional female characters you enjoy reading about, or watching in films or TV? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts. I look forward to reading them.

About the Author: Best-selling author Patricia Sargeant writes romantic suspense as Patricia Sargeant and mysteries as Olivia Matthews. Both Patricia and Olivia enjoy putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations to have them find The Hero Inside. For more information on Patricia, Olivia or any of her other identities, please visit her website, https://PatriciaSargeant.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPatriciaSargeant

Second-Chance Bodyguard: Touré Security Group, Book 3

By Patricia Sargeant

He needs her help… And he wants her love.

Corporate security expert Hezekiah Touré cares about two things: looking after his younger brothers and managing the Touré Security Group. To protect his family, he agrees to go into hiding with private investigator Celeste Jarrett after a serial killer’s threat. Celeste has information Zeke’s family can use, but she’s always been a distraction Zeke should avoid. Will sharing a safe house bring them closer together—or force them farther apart?

Buy link: https://bit.ly/3ZJFAkr

Treats, the Sequel

By Liz, wondering how we’re even at the end of 2024?

We’re heading into the holiday season, otherwise known as food season. 

Does anyone else think of it this way? Those couple of months where calorie intake doesn’t really rate as something to think about often, or when sweets become a major food group and no one questions it?

Yeah, same. 

I made my favorite vegan chili this weekend—one of my favorite things to do when the weather gets cold and the days get shorter. I leave it simmering in the crock pot for a day or two and just eat it constantly. And it always gets me thinking about the role of food in our seasons, our lives and perhaps more importantly, in our relationships. 

I grew up in an Italian family so food has always been front and center as a way you show affection, a way to greet and make guests feel at home, a way to center the family around a common event or activity. I think that’s why I have so many fond memories of holidays at home as a kid. The special things like my mother’s homemade fudge or the cookies my grandmother and my great-aunt made just for Christmas.

The Christmas Eve pregame food that other families would mistake for the actual dinner (yeah, always wear elastic-waist pants). The homemade apple pies that I had a hand in when I was little. To this day the smell of baking apples brings back so many memories of standing on a stool in the kitchen while my mother showed me how to measure out ingredients.

Food cultivates relationships. But it’s not just the fancy, special holiday food. 

Today, I have a lunch date with a very old friend. We used to work together when I worked at Market Basket during my high school and college years (Massachusetts peeps, I know you can relate to some good old MB memories!). He was a father figure to me when I was struggling with my bio family. To all of us younger people on the crew, really, but we definitely had a special found-family bond. 

We both worked in the back of the store, me wrapping produce and him heading up the store’s ordering and delivery department. His desk was about 20 feet from where I spent a lot of time with hot plastic and overripe fruit. We talked a lot when the days were slow. 

He looked out for me. Mostly he wondered, often, if I ate enough. Especially when I pulled double shifts for some extra college money and never bothered to take a break. 

He didn’t wonder at me, though. Instead, he would leave me treats at my work station. Food from the deliveries that were overstock. Meals that his wife prepared and sent along a portion for me. If a package of cookies or some other treat was damaged, he’d deliver it right to our produce station. 

I swear that man kept me fed for four years. So much so that I wrote an essay about him for one of my first college classes, predictably titled “Treats.” When I got my paper back with an A, I made a copy for him. 

He told me he still has it to this day. 

We don’t get to see each other all that often—a couple times a year since I moved back to the area, if we’re lucky. But when we do get together, we make sure it’s at a place where the food is good and the desserts are plenty. 

The conversation, well, that’s just a given. 

Since my own father has been gone for nearly a decade, it’s been comforting to still have his presence in my life. To have the conversations I imagine my dad and I could have had, after time had passed and fences were mended. 

The creme brûlée doesn’t hurt, either. 

So I suppose I should send him a copy of this blog post. It’s why I called it “Treats, the Sequel.” 

But first, I’m going to enjoy the lunch we’ll share and the time we’ll spend together today.  Food always tastes better when it’s shared with love, yes? 

Readers, how has food influenced your life or your relationships?