Cheryl A. Head's Blog, page 6

Vacation in Maine

I had a unique vacation this year. Partly R & R and partly work.  But the location made the mixed bag enjoyable.  Maine’s southern coast is an ideal July destination. We had cooler temps than in the Northeast, and the mix of water and trees and expansive skies made waking up a wonder everyday.

I didn’t get as much writing done as I intended, but I had some good food, good visitis with new friends, and good news for the month.

Goodbye, for now to beautiful Maine. 

Conversation With Librarian Caroline Pak

I had a chance to sit for a one-on-one with the librarian at the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library.  I was happy to address my personal writing practice, my first novel Long Way Home: A World War II Novel and the difficulty of research for that project.  I address the growing representation of diverse crime writers in the mystery/crime genre, and pose a challenge to mystery readers to go beyond their comfort zones.  I mention two other unpublished works that are completed, and read an excerpt from Book 6 in the Charlie Mack Motown Mystery series: Warn Me When It’s Time.

Reading starts at: 37:45

Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Book 6

I kind of like this graphic my book cover designer (TreeHouse Studios) produced for Warn Me When It’s Time.

Available June 29, 2021 wherever you purchase your books, and soon to libraries.

Book Trailer-Warn Me When It’s Time

Friend, writer, colleague, Suzie Carr produced this marvelous book trailer for Book 6 in the Charlie Mack Motown Mystery series.  Please, give it a look!

Warn Me When It’s Time is a case that takes Charlie and her team to dangerous territory, as they try to outsmart a group of white supremacists hell bent on starting a race war.

Credit:  Sunny Bee Productions/Suzie Carr, Producer

Buy the ebook, at Bywater Books, Here

Pre-order the book, Here

Lammy Mystery Finalist

Join us for the fun, entertainment and acknowledgement of quieer literature.

Tuesday, June 1  7 p.m. Free Tickets

Lambda Literary Awards

Register Here

Thank You, GCLS!

Golden Crown Literary Society members have voted Find Me When I’m Lost a Finalist in the GCLS Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award category.

Thank You!

From the Library Journal-Catch Me When I’m Falling

Thought to post this blurb from the Library Journal on Catch Me When I’m Falling, which was also a 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Myster yFinalist

Head, Cheryl A. Catch Me When I’m Falling. Bywater. (Charlie Mack Motown Mystery, Bk. 3). Mar. 2019. 260p. ISBN 9781612941455. pap. $16.95; ebk. ISBN 9781612941462. MYS
Head’s third entry in her “Charlie Mack Motown Mystery” series ( Bury Me When I’m Dead; Wake Me When It’s Over) finds PI firm owner Charlene “Charlie” Mack about to buy a house with girlfriend Mandy. She is distracted from her packing, however, when her mother asks her to look into the brutal murders of several homeless people in the Detroit Corridor neighborhood. Her private investigator team are all on board, even though they know they’ll be working for free. No one wants Charlie to go undercover pretending to be a street person, but that may be the best way to find out the truth. Can she and her colleagues pull it all together in time to prevent another murder?
VERDICT Head packs a ton of drama and action into this short novel, along with important developments in Charlie’s life and those of her friends and colleagues, with Detroit as much a character as the others. This novel should appeal to readers of contemporary PI stories and those interested in varied settings and diverse characters.—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Hooked on a Book: From the San Francisco Public Library

The San Francisco Public Library is hooked on Charlie

1/6/2021

NOPE. Not going backwards.

Rioter carrying a confederate flag into the U.S. Capitol building.

HAPPY. NEW. YEAR.

It’s a relief to bid 2020 adieu. A year that brought unprecedented econimic, health and political hardships to America.

As is the case with really hard times, we can learn so much about ourseves and others if we pay attention, and reflect. 

COVID-19

Those of you who are extroverts (I’m not one) had to slow your social roll. Reduced face time; reduced personal engagements, reduced outings.

For those who, sadly, lost jobs or businesses you’ve had to change your lifestyles, and in many cases ask for help. Nothing teaches like being in the position to have to ask for help.

For those who suffered the ultimate loss-the loss of loved ones and friends-you’ve had to often mourn without even the simple comfort of a hug. Or the ceremony of funerals and memorials for your loved ones.  My heart goes out to you.

For students, you’ve had to make adjustments in your young lives that affect the way you learn and connect with friends, and live life.  Things will, soon, change. I hope the loss of some of your freedoms will push you to appreciate the things you DO have.

Social Injustice

Befor Covid rocked us on our heels, we were outraged by another slew of police shootings of black citizens. Covid-19 gave us the time and bandwidth to reflect on where we really stand when it comes to championing racial justice.  A lot of people read books, gave money and time to the Black Lives Matter movement. Some of us were changed, forever.  Let’s continue to work and fight for the fair treatment of ALL of America’s citizens. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the ONLY thing to do to keep our divisions from growing wide and wider.

Politics

Men (so far) have come and gone from the most important position in our democratic Republic.  We’ve reeled from 4 years of chaos, fear mongering, and mean spiritedness. We can do better, and in my abundantoptimism, I believe we will. If not, like the perils of ignoring racial injustice, we will have what James Baldwin invokes in his seminal work on race, The Fire Next Time.

So, Happy New Year. We can be hopeful, and look forward to more peace and grace and trust and good works. But, we can’t be complacent, or sit on our laurels, or revert to our old ways.  If we do 2020 will be a preamble rather than an anomaly.