P.D. Workman's Blog, page 51
April 29, 2021
Get some free reads this weekend. Changing Fortune Cookies and more
Changing Fortune Cookies, book #14 in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series is free this weekend at all of the major online stores. Download today!
You can also get the first book in the series, Gluten-Free Murder as a free download, or a collection of the first three for just $2.99. Start reading this sweet series today!
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-e455062 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Changing Fortune CookiesFortune Cookies Favor the Bold
The baker turned sleuth is hard at work once more, trying to run her business while at the same time tracking down a missing boy. Is he missing by his own choice, as the police suggest, or has he been kidnapped and held against his will?
The clues are all there, but can Erin decipher them before it is too late?
I love this series and always look forward to another adventure with Erin, Terry and K9, but this one blew me away … This is an intense story for a cozy mystery but it is well worth your time.
— Kim, Goodreads reviewer
Like baking mysteries? Cats, dogs, and other pets? Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman brings readers back to small town Bald Eagle Falls for another culinary cozy mystery to be solved by gluten-free baker Erin Price and her friends.
Have your gluten-free cake and eat it too. Sink your teeth into this sweet treat now!
AUTHOR DIRECT RETAILERS SAMPLE BOOKBUB BINGEBOOKS GOODREADS
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Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
I have searched out more freebies for your enjoyment!
You can add all of the freebies available in the Kindle store with one click, or pick which books or which stores you want individually. As always, check prices before you check out, as prices may change without warning or not be free all days or in all markets.
.ugb-c3092bf .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-c3092bf .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-c3092bf .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-c3092bf .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-c3092bf .ugb-img{width:334px;height:auto !important}}Cutthroat CupcakesSeems improbable to Lina, but when an attractive detective snaps cuffs on her and accuses her of witchy crimes she’s forced to reconsider.
The murder weapon? A cupcake topper sold in Lina’s shop, Sticky, Tricky Treats.
The method? A killing curse.
The curse’s origin? Lina…sort of.
Except Lina hadn’t a clue that she was a witch, and certainly didn’t know she’d accidentally cursed some of her confections.
She’s got to catch the killer who’s used her magic to murder or face a conviction as an accessory.
Now, if only the wizard detective assigned to the case weren’t such a distraction.
.ugb-b3c8087 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-b3c8087 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-b3c8087 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-b3c8087 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-b3c8087 .ugb-img{width:354px;height:auto !important}}Apple Pie and FolliesAlice and Rupert Forrester have just moved into the house Abi used to call Creepy Castle. The basement apartment will soon be ready for newlywed Bethany and Harry with baby Freddie. Alice finds an old map of the area in the college library, which leads to some exciting discoveries.
Some items donated to the local cat charity cause serious problems for Abi and Danny, with Danny locked in a police cell and suspended from work at lawyers Branks, Davis & Waters, and Abi taken in for questioning.
Meanwhile, life at Button Up coffee shop proceeds in the usual way ‒ a way that is often far from normal.
.ugb-175576e .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-175576e .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-175576e .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-175576e .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-175576e .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Dog Collar CrimeOut of work and down on her luck, Lucie Rizzo is forced to do the one thing she’s long avoided—come home to her nutty, mob-infested family.
This move brings her back into the tempting arms of Frankie Falcone, the smoldering Italian ex who’s no stranger to living with the mob.
When Lucie parlays her temporary dog-walking gig into a legit career, Frankie becomes her number one supporter. Suddenly, shaking her mob princess reputation doesn’t seem so crazy…until three of her clients are dognapped.
Lucie is thrown into a criminal conspiracy straight out of a gangster movie. If she isn’t careful, she could end up…
…sleeping with the fishes!
.ugb-b9010f0 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-b9010f0 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-b9010f0 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-b9010f0 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-b9010f0 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Tempest in the Tea LeavesIn the fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but Sunshine Meadows is the real deal—and her predictions can be lethally accurate…
Leaving the Big Apple for the quaint town of Divinity, New York, Sunny is determined to make it on her own as a psychic. With an ancient Victorian house as her place of business, Sunny uses various psychic methods to aid the town’s residents. But when she uses tea leaves to give a reading for a frazzled librarian, what she finds at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful. Sunny informs the police of her deadly vision, but her warning is too late.
And with hard-nosed, ruggedly handsome Detective Mitch Stone denying her abilities and naming her prime suspect, the situation is dire. Now Sunny has to use her visions to clear her name, before the killer can put an end to the psychic.
.ugb-c186b08 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-c186b08 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-c186b08 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-c186b08 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-c186b08 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Publishable by DeathChange is hard in a small Southern town, especially when it brings a side of murder.
All Harvey Beckett wants to do is help the residents of St. Marin’s find the perfect book for that moment, snuggle with her hound dog Mayhem, and be ignored by her cat Aslan. But when the small, waterside town’s newest resident discovers the body of the community’s persnickety reporter in her bookshop storeroom just before her grand opening, Harvey can’t help trying to solve the crime, even when it might cost her business and her life. The more questions Harvey asks, the more secrets she uncovers.
.ugb-2280ae5 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-2280ae5 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-2280ae5 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-2280ae5 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-2280ae5 .ugb-img{width:352px;height:auto !important}}Coffee and CorpsesGod, Coffee, Small Town Murder
In the small town of Coffee Creek, things move pretty slow.
But when Connie Cafe finds the best golfer in town dead in a water hazard, suddenly, life in the Creek is anything but…
This is the first book in The Connie Cafe Mystery Series — a perfect series for lovers of clean Christian small town mysteries that feature coffee and an amateur sleuth who’s in way over her head.
.ugb-8ec8183 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-8ec8183 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-8ec8183 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-8ec8183 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-8ec8183 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Aged for MurderAGED FOR MURDER (A TUSCAN VINEYARD COZY MYSTERY) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Fiona Grace, author of Murder in the Manor (Book #1), a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five-star reviews—and a free download!
When Olivia Glass, 34, concocts an ad for a cheap wine that propels her advertising company to the top, she is ashamed by her own work—yet offered the promotion she’s dreamed of. Olivia, at a crossroads, realizes this is not the life she signed up for. Worse, when Olivia discovers her long-time boyfriend, about to propose, has been cheating on her, she realizes it’s time for a major life change.
Olivia has always dreamed of moving to Tuscany, living a simple life, and starting her own vineyard.
When her long-time friend messages her about a Tuscan cottage available, Olivia can’t help wonder: is it fate?Description for this block. Use this space for describing your block. Any text will do. Description for this block. You can use this space for describing your block.
.ugb-34dd523 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-34dd523 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-34dd523 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-34dd523 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-34dd523 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Unbaked CroakiesMy name is Naida Griffith and I’m a sorceress. I actually found that out not too long ago. I’ve lived with an undefined something burning in my belly for a while, feeling as if something wasn’t quite right under my skin. Then, on my eighteenth birthday I started getting headaches. Bad ones. And random stuff started following me around.
Recently I was approached by a group called the Société of Dire Magic to become Keeper of the Artifacts. A magical librarian. Given that magical artifacts have taken to following me around, I decided I might have an aptitude for the job. So I said yes.
But in the first few days, I’ve been flogged by flip flops, bludgeoned by gnomes, and discovered a corpse in a suitcase. Then there’s the woman who’s supposed to be training me. She’s…interesting.
.ugb-73ed908 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-73ed908 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-73ed908 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-73ed908 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-73ed908 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Beachfront BakeryBEACHFRONT BAKERY: A KILLER CUPCAKE is the debut novel in a charming and hilarious new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Fiona Grace, whose bestselling Murder in the Manor (A Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery) has nearly 200 five star reviews.
Allison Sweet, 34, a sous chef in Los Angeles, has had it up to here with demeaning customers, her demanding boss, and her failed love life. After a shocking incident, she realizes the time has come to start life fresh and follow her lifelong dream of moving to a small town and opening a bakery of her own.
When Allison spots a charming, vacant storefront on the boardwalk near Venice, she wonders if she could really start life anew. Feeling like it’s a sign, and a time to take a chance in life, she goes for it.
Yet Allison did not anticipate the wild ride ahead of her: the boardwalk, filled with fun and outrageous characters, is pulsing with life, from the Italian pizzeria owners on either side of her who vie for her affection, to the fortune tellers and scheming rival bakery owner nearby. Allison yearns to just focus on her delicious new pastry recipes and keep her struggling bakery afloat—but when a murder occurs right near her shop, everything changes.
Implicated, her entire future at stake, Allison has no choice but to investigate to clear her name. As an orphaned dog wanders into her life, a devoted new sidekick with a knack for solving mysteries, she starts her search.
.ugb-978ac49 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-978ac49 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-978ac49 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-978ac49 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-978ac49 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}In for a PennyWhen Lillian Summer Fairview’s husband up and dies on her, it leaves the last living member of the most prestigious family in the small town of Summer Shoals, Georgia, in a hot money mess. Desperate to keep up the family name and give the man a decent burial, penniless Lil cooks up a shady deal that lands her smack-dab in the slammer.
Burdened by her shameful secret and a crumbling family estate, Lil entrusts Summer Haven’s care to her best friend, Maggie, who recruits two more over-fifty ladies to help. But when Maggie discovers that Lil’s restitution is ten times the amount she “borrowed” from the federal government, she’s convinced Lil has taken the fall for someone else’s crime.
.ugb-a00d7b4 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a00d7b4 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a00d7b4 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a00d7b4 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a00d7b4 .ugb-img{width:354px;height:auto !important}}Donuts and DisasterIt’s late February and the area is experiencing an unexpected cold snap with snow. Liam, Steve Donovan’s eight-year-old son, is staying with Abi while Steve and Melanie are on their honeymoon.
Abi is concerned when single mum Bethany reports a man wearing a long raincoat, hanging around the local play area taking photographs. Bethany is afraid that her father and disagreeable Aunt Erica have sent him to spy on her, with a view to snatching baby Freddie. Abi thinks there are two men watching. Why two?
Young Liam is clearly upset by all the changes in his life, and Abi tries to win his confidence with jam donuts. Abi warns Liam and his friends to keep away from the deep pond in the woods, because the ice is too thin to walk on. But Liam is on the hunt for Bigfoot, convinced he lives somewhere amongst the trees.
Bethany’s friendship with Harry the builder seems to be turning into a romance, maybe even a wedding ‒ if Bethany’s father and Aunt Erica can be kept away. Pete and Hayley also wonder if this is a good opportunity to discuss marriage!
A cozy mystery romance taking place in a small English town, told by Abi Button.
.ugb-cbb41b7 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-cbb41b7 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-cbb41b7 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-cbb41b7 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-cbb41b7 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Killer CupcakesThings are going great for Lexy Baker. She’s finally opened her dream bakery, gotten rid of her cheating boyfriend and settled into her grandmothers house with her perky dog Sprinkles at her side.
But her blissful life doesn’t last long. When her ex boyfriend is found poisoned with cupcakes from her bakery, Lexy finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation headed up by her hunky neighbor detective Jack Perillo.
With the help of a gang of iPad toting, would-be detective grandmothers, Lexy decides to take it upon herself to find the real murderer in order to clear her name and get her bakery back in business.
As things heat up on the murder trail, in the kitchen and between Lexy and the hunky detective, it’s a race against time to put the real murderer behind bars and get back to baking.
April 28, 2021
Zachary Goldman Private Investigator Cases 1-10
Bundle/Collection!
Series: Zachary Goldman Mysteries
Genres: Brozy (Broader Cozy), Mystery
Author DirectSampleBingebooks Goodreads
eBook Price: $24.99 Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
Zachary Goldman is many things. He is dysfunctional, traumatized, often depressed, and a bit neurotic, but he is also a brilliant and tenacious private investigator whose dogged determination to resolve his client’s issues guarantee that his exploits are always a pleasure to read.
Kim, Goodreads reviewer
+ About Zachary Goldman Private Investigator Cases 1-10
Zachary Goldman, Private Investigator, is flawed with a capital F.Shattered by the tragedies of his own life, he will somehow still manage to pick himself up and dig just a little bit deeper than anyone else to find the vital clues.
Maybe being broken makes it easier for others who have faced tragedy to trust him. Walk with Zachary as he solves four cases that will stretch his abilities to the limit.
A case is only unsolvable as long as it remains unsolved.
Save $25 by getting 10 books bundled!
This set includes:
She Wore Mourning His Hands Were Quiet She was Dying Anyway He was Walking Alone They Thought He was Safe He was Not There Her Work was Everything She Told a Lie He Never ForgotShe was At Risk
Zachary Goldman has become one of my favorite fictional characters. He is so flawed and troubled and loyal and hardworking and, and…I want to be Zach when I grow up!
The writing is skillful, with a wonderfully complex plot and well-developed characters. Highly recommended!
Looking for a gritty PI series without foul language and gore? Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman brings you stories that delve into some of the darkest parts of society but leave you feeling good in the end
Even with his own life in shambles, Zachary Goldman is still the one you want on the case.
Add Zachary to your bookshelf today.Goodreads reviews for She Wore MourningReviews from Goodreads.com+ Praise for the Series
—I want to give more than five stars!! It’s like she pulled this out of a newspaper and personalized it!! Another nail biter to the end!!
—I read it almost straight through, but did have to sleep in there somewhere. I’ve been reading it this morning also for 3 hours straight. It is really an amazing book … As a clinical psychologist, this book was more interesting to me than many things that I read. I certainly will be looking for more books by this outstanding author.
—I purchased this book for vacation, but it didn’t get that far. I started reading and I seriously couldn’t put it down and finished it before we left.
—Wow, this story is stunning in more ways than one. The research alone had to take such a long time to make this story so real and compelling. My heart was breaking some of the time and then I was crying because of good things. I loved the story and really think this lady is one of the best authors I’ve ever had the privilege of reading!
—Zachary is not your normal, everyday detective, but because of his mental health issues he seems to have an extra sense in sorting out the reasons behind the crimes he is investigating … Ms Workman has again created characters with depth, feeling and realism… I am really looking forward to the next installment as Ms Workman has yet to disappoint me.
+ Book Club Resources Pinterest Board: Mental IllnessDisease and Disorder Pinterest Board
+ Praise for P.D. Workman
“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me in ways no one or almost anything else has. And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”
“The way that P.D. Workman writes just flows amazingly and allows the reader to get really invested in a book.”
“This is one author I certainly will be looking out for, I can’t recommend her enough.”
“I’ll read anything by P. D. Workman that I can get my hands on.”
“Every book by PD Workman that I’ve read has been a gripping one, however different the genres are, going from lighter mysteries to really dark ones… this is one of my favourite, most dependable authors.”
“P.D. Workman is an incredibly versatile writer. No matter which of her books I read I am drawn into a great story and honestly, I don’t think I’ve followed another author that could go from cozy mystery to YA to a PI series dealing with mental health issues. Really enjoy her books!”
+ Zachary Goldman on my Blog
Zachary Goldman Private Investigator Cases 1-10
Autism Acceptance: Reading about Intersectionality
Gentle Angel
Zachary Goldman Private Investigator Cases 8-10
Springing into Easter Reads
She Was At Risk and other Free Books
Visit death row with John Grisham in The Guardians
She Was At Risk and more new releases
Dosed to Death
Get He Never Forgot and other Free Reads
Get more of the holidays with The 19th Christmas
Get cozy with a brozy mystery
Dive into Iron Lake
Doctored Death
Unwind the Conspiracy in All the Devils Are Here
New releases – He Never Forgot, and more!
She Told A Lie and Other Freebies
Rick Riordan has Another Hit with Magnus Chase
She Told a Lie and More New Releases
Virgil Flowers is back in Bloody Genius
What’s Coming Next?
My new discovery – A Discovery of Witches
Mickey Haller Crosses the Aisle
Get into the Zachary Goldman Mysteries series for free #pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .pt-cv-title a, #pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .panel-title { font-family: 'Arial', Arial, serif !important; font-size: 14px !important; line-height: 1.3 !important; color: #be1e2d !important; font-weight: 600 !important; }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .pt-cv-title a:hover, #pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .panel-title:hover { color: #000000 !important; }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .pt-cv-specialp { background-color: #be1e2d !important }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .pt-cv-specialp * { color: #ffffff !important; }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .pt-cv-readmore { color: #ffffff !important; background-color: #be1e2d !important; }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf .pt-cv-readmore:hover { color: #ffffff !important; }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf + .pt-cv-pagination-wrapper .pt-cv-more , #pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf + .pt-cv-pagination-wrapper .pagination .active a { color: #ffffff !important; background-color: #00aeef !important; }#pt-cv-view-7e4f13eayf { text-align: center; } About P.D. Workman
P.D. (Pamela) Workman writes riveting mystery/suspense and young adult books dealing with mental illness, addiction, abuse, and other real-life issues. For as long as she can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure and from a very young age she was trying to write her own books.
Workman wrote her first complete novel at the age of twelve and continued to write as a hobby for many years. She started publishing in 2013. She has won several literary awards from Library Services for Youth in Custody for her young adult fiction. She made the USA Today Bestseller list in 2019. She currently has over 50 published titles and can be found at pdworkman.com.
Born and raised in Alberta, Workman has been married for over 25 years and has one son.
April 27, 2021
Start Over with the Christmas Cupcake Murder
Hopefully, you found my blog post on Intersectionality on Autism interesting and enlightening. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, click to hop over to it now!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
Start over? Yes, I am currently reading Joanna Fluke’s Christmas Cupcake Murder, and while it is book 26 in her Hannah Swensen series, it is actually set before the rest of the series in the timeline. Sort of the origin story for Hannah and the Lake Eden community.
As always with this culinary cozy mystery series, it is chock full of new treats to try out, with a recipe at the end of each chapter. Listening to it on audio, it is a little tedious to get through all of the recipes. I can’t just flip the page and start on the next chapter. (Well, I suppose I could fast forward to the beginning of the next chapter, but then I have to stop whatever I am doing, and hopefully the chapters are all marked and indexed properly.) With the audio version, it would have been nice if the recipes had all been moved to the end. Several of the characters sound a little breathy and naive to me. I don’t know if they are supposed to or not.
But as for the story itself, I am interested in how, in between all of their Christmas celebrations, Hannah and her cohorts will find out the identity of the homeless man with amnesia, and what his story might be.
…he smiled even wider as she delivered the cupcake and he saw that it was chocolate. “I love chocolate. My mother used to say that it was God’s gift to mankind.”
Joanne Fluke, Christmas Cupcake Murder
While Hannah speeds through a lengthy holiday checklist, drama in town grows like Santa’s waistline on Christmas Eve. Her sister Andrea wants to stave off the blues by helping out at The Cookie Jar, Michelle’s love life is becoming complicated, Lisa needs Hannah’s advice, and Delores has a Christmas secret she’s not willing to share. But nothing dampens the holiday mood more than the chilling mystery surrounding the man found near death in an abandoned storefront two doors down from Hannah’s bakery . . .
The befuddled John Doe can’t recall a thing about himself—except for his unusual knowledge of restoring antique furniture. With a smattering of clues and barely enough time to frost Christmas cookies, Hannah must solve a deadly puzzle that could leave her dashing through the snow for her life!
April 23, 2021
Autism Acceptance: Reading about Intersectionality
I have been writing about autism awareness and acceptance on my blog for a few years now. You can find some of my previous blogs…
Autism Awareness During CrisisAutism Acceptance MonthStarting with Autism AwarenessThe International Day of the StimExcerpt from NeurotribesI was asking an Autistic friend for his thoughts on topics of importance to Autists in 2021, and his suggestion was to look at intersectionality. So now I have about thirty tabs open as I have been researching and digging up some resources for you. I hope you’re ready for this!
What is intersectionality?In intersectionality, someone who is part of two minorities or lower in two (or more) power hierarchies finds that they are discriminated against for more than just A or B, but AB. For example, a black woman is discriminated against in more and different ways than a white woman or a black man.
Intersectionality is a term coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw to explain how several identities can compound each other and create a new kind of oppression.
As a mixed race woman with autism, I have three identities that give me unique lived experience that a white man with autism would not have. I experience disadvantage on account of my gender, neurodiversity, and race. Crenshaw helps to explain this by discussing he the concept of “injustice squared” . What is meant by this is that I go through something different by having a three-part identity. For many marginalised people who have multiple difficulties, intersectionality is a really useful way to describe how different parts of you can be discriminated against at one time. I have often felt like I could only experience racism or sexism, but once I realised I could experience racism and sexism simultaneously (sometimes understood as “misogynoir”), I had a better understanding of my own marginalisation.
Autism brought something new into the mix. As something I only learnt about after a challenging adolescence, I spent a lot of time looking back on injustice and inaccessible spaces that didn’t accommodate my needs or the needs of other neurodiverse people. My childhood involved years of sensory overload and unexplained meltdowns, the day-to-day triggers often being found in shared spaces like school, shops, and the dinner table.
Mette, I’m an autistic, mixed race woman – let’s discuss intersectionality
Autistic individuals are discriminated against in more/different ways if they are also women, POC, LGBT, have cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, etc. Historically, neurodiverse women have frequently not been recognized as being autistic and have not been studied to the same extent as male autists. Similarly, the diagnosis rate of autism among POC is much lower than among whites, and people are often surprised to find that non-whites can also be autistic. In a world where people think of Autistic individuals as being nonsexual beings, it can be a shock for family members and friends to realize that their loved one is also gay, transgender, or has another identity or attraction. Many Autistics do identify as trans or nonbinary, gay, queer, etc.
So what is it like at the autism intersection?Happily, there are many Autistic bloggers who are willing to share with us what that is like, so we don’t have to guess:
At the intersection of Neurodivergent and LGBTQAngela Weddle discusses the issues of being black and autisticMabz Beet talks about the similarity in the autism and transgender communitiesI’m an autistic, mixed race woman – let’s discuss intersectionalityUnderstanding the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Students on the Autism Spectrum at UCLA : The Intersection of Autism, Ethnicity/Race, Gender, and Sexual OrientationBeing autistic, black and femme highlights the experience of living intersectionallyOn to the books…I am still a Black, Indigenous, Afro-Latinx, femme-presenting, Queer, multiplicitous, chronically disabled, diagnosed with Western medicine’s constructs of mental illness, 32 years old, on SSDI, married, graduate student with a Master’s degree I am in a lifetime of debt over, with a Gandalf-esque stick — and the stigmas and biases that come with all of those identities and intersections still prevade even the most “progressive” and “diverse” collectives.
ChrisTiana ObeySumner, Being autistic, black and femme highlights the experience of living intersectionally
It’s a book blog, so you knew that was coming! Check out these great reads, many of which were written by Autistic authors.
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-5d5c9d0 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Autistic and Non-White• The Resistance, Persistence and Resilience of Black Families Raising Children with Autism
• The Secret Life of a Black Aspie: A Memoir #ownvoices
• The Odyssey of Woolly Mammoth Boy: One Man’s Journey through Autism, Racism, Grief, and Surviving the American Dream #ownvoices
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a59d79f .ugb-img{width:332px;height:auto !important}}Autistic and LGBT• The Autistic Trans Guide to Life eBook #ownvoices
• Trans and Autistic #ownvoices
• Spectrums #ownvoices
• Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults
• Cosplay Killer (fiction)
• Dare Vs the Doll (fiction) #ownvoices
•Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide for Lgbtqia+ Teens on the Spectrum #ownvoices
• Coming Out, Again: Transition Stories #ownvoices
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-e316d7d .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Autistic and Female• Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum #ownvoices
• Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism #ownvoices
• Women from Another Planet?: Our Lives in the Universe of Autism #ownvoices
• Spectrum Women—Autism and Parenting #ownvoices
And my books….ugb-4030a1e .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-4030a1e .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-4030a1e .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-4030a1e .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-4030a1e .ugb-img{width:677px;height:auto !important}}Medical Kidnap SeriesMito, the first book in the Medical Kidnap Series includes a minor character who is Autistic and trans. The series focuses on a number of other areas of intersectionality as well — underage characters with physical disabilities who are Black, Hispanic, homeless, in foster care, etc. In Toxo, one of the main characters is Autistic and deaf.
More about Toxo
.ugb-cf7dd15 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-cf7dd15 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-cf7dd15 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-cf7dd15 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-cf7dd15 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}His Hands Were QuietThe Zachary Goldman Mysteries deal a lot with mental health issues in all different circumstances and with different intersectionalities. His Hands Were Quiet deals with Autistic children who have been institutionalized, including one Black Autistic young woman who is trafficked.
Get it now
.ugb-76e3bf4 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-76e3bf4 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-76e3bf4 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-76e3bf4 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-76e3bf4 .ugb-img{width:681px;height:auto !important}}Virtually HarmlessMicah, the protagonist in Virtually Harmless is not explicitly labeled as Autistic or asexual/aromantic, but the clues are there if you are looking for them. She has a number of autistic traits and feels very alien in her family and lab. Micah is also revealed (minor spoiler…) as being having a DSD (intersex disorder.)
Buy Now
April 20, 2021
Get Hitched to Murder with Peacocks
Did you get a chance to pick up my newest release, Changing Fortune Cookies? This is book #14 in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series, but can be read as a standalone mystery. The baker turned sleuth is hard at work once more, trying to run her business while at the same time tracking down a missing boy. Is he missing by his own choice, as the police suggest, or has he been kidnapped and held against his will? Have your gluten-free cake and eat it too. Sink your teeth into this sweet treat now! Get Changing Fortune Cookies and more recommended new releases from my blog post.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I am enjoying my second book in a row from Donna Andrews. I just recently read Lark! The Herald Angels Sing, which is book #24 in this thirty book series, and have returned to book #1, Murder with Peacocks, to where it all started. All of the books in this series are named with bird names, as you might have guessed, and nearly every second book appears to have a Christmas theme.
So what’s with the “Get Hitched” in my blog title? Well, in this book, sleuth Meg Langslow is the maid of honor for three different weddings, so I just went with it. Not to be a spoiler, but I suspect that not all of these weddings are going to go off without a hitch. (Or with one!)
Fun, zany characters, a down-to-earth protagonist with a planner (the book that tells her “when to breathe”) and something mysterious is definitely afoot. I enjoyed Lark and am well into Murder with Peacocks.
By the time I was actually wide awake, I’d put a good hundred miles of winding mountain roads between me and Barry.
Donna Andrews, Murder with Peacocks
Three Weddings…And a Murder
So far Meg Langslow’s summer is not going swimmingly. Down in her small Virginia hometown, she’s maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones–each of whom has dumped the planning in her capable hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony, while another wants live peacocks on the lawn. Only help from the town’s drop-dead gorgeous hunk, disappointingly rumored to be gay, keeps Meg afloat in a sea of dotty relatives and outrageous neighbors.
And, in whirl of summer parties and picnics, Southern hospitality is strained to the limit by an offensive newcomer who hints at skeletons in the guests’ closets. But it seems this lady has offended one too many when she’s found dead in suspicious circumstances, followed by a string of accidents–some fatal. Soon, level-headed Meg’s to-do list extends from flower arrangements and bridal registries to catching a killer–before the next catered event is her own funeral…
April 15, 2021
New Releases! Changing Fortune Cookies and more
Changing Fortune Cookies, #14 in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series is now available! If you did not preorder, click through and get your copy now!
If you have not read anything else in the series, you might want to also pick up Gluten-Free Murder (free), or the collection of books 1-3 ($2.99 for a limited time)
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-e455062 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Changing Fortune CookiesFortune Cookies Favor the Bold
The baker turned sleuth is hard at work once more, trying to run her business while at the same time tracking down a missing boy. Is he missing by his own choice, as the police suggest, or has he been kidnapped and held against his will?
The clues are all there, but can Erin decipher them before it is too late? I love this series and always look forward to another adventure with Erin, Terry and K9, but this one blew me away … This is an intense story for a cozy mystery but it is well worth your time.
— Kim, Goodreads reviewer
Like baking mysteries? Cats, dogs, and other pets? Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman brings readers back to small town Bald Eagle Falls for another culinary cozy mystery to be solved by gluten-free baker Erin Price and her friends.
Have your gluten-free cake and eat it too. Sink your teeth into this sweet treat now!
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I won’t leave you hanging—one book is never enough. Check out these other new releases.
.ugb-44a0a6b .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-44a0a6b .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-44a0a6b .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-44a0a6b .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-44a0a6b .ugb-img{width:353px;height:auto !important}}Apples, Appaloosa and AlibisA good deed, a sexy French millionaire, and a deadly mystery. Just a typical day for Monica Baker…
Monica thought her luck was finally improving…until she found herself caught up in a murder investigation. Again. And running the risk of being the next victim.
Who knew that agreeing to pick up someone’s mail could end with a dead body in the den, a warning from beyond the grave, and a media circus?
As chaos ensues, only one thing is certain. If Monica wants her happily ever after with Tristan, she’s going to have to fight for it. Literally…
.ugb-eaf87a5 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-eaf87a5 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-eaf87a5 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-eaf87a5 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-eaf87a5 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}A Little Slice of DeathStormy Morgan thought coming home to Shadow Hills would break her. Instead, she’s found strength, and only part of it is because she’s discovered that she’s a witch. Now, with her great-grandmother coming to town, she’s finally in line for some answers. Now she just has to solve a pesky little murder before she’s free to cast and curse.
Following their first date, a quiet outing for pizza and romance, Stormy and her boyfriend Hunter Ryan discover that the owner Giovanni Rossi was gunned down in his parking lot sometime during the overnight hours. To make matters worse, Stormy believes she dreamed of the murder before finding out about it, which throws everybody for a loop.
Even though Hunter would prefer Stormy focus on her great-grandmother, he’s resigned to the fact that she can’t turn away from the investigation. Together, they start digging … and discover some disturbing clues involving various community members.
Stormy’s magic is evolving, almost on a daily basis, and it’s only outpaced by her curiosity. Once faced with a mystery, she can’t look away, and those who love her most will be dragged along for the ride.
Strap in, because as Stormy learns more about what she can do – with a little help from the Winchesters from Hemlock Cove – she’ll become a force to be reckoned with. She just has to survive long enough to reach her full potential … and that’s easier said than done.
.ugb-aa41214 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-aa41214 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-aa41214 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-aa41214 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-aa41214 .ugb-img{width:338px;height:auto !important}}Dearly DepartedThe year is 1965 and Patty Byrne is flying high as stewardess… until her life crashes when she finds her neighbor murdered.
While cooperating with the police, she meets FBI agent Bill Hart, who shows an interest in both her and the victim’s activities. When he asks Patty to introduce him to a couple of the suspects she knows, she immediately agrees, harboring groovy visions of leaving her stewardess job behind and becoming the first female FBI agent.
But as they dive deeper into the case, it only becomes more confusing. When Patty’s life is threatened, she realizes murder investigations aren’t for the faint of heart. Can she untangle the web of clues to find the killer, or will she be the next victim?
.ugb-f733775 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-f733775 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-f733775 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-f733775 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-f733775 .ugb-img{width:326px;height:auto !important}}The Poisoned PeerThe 99-year-old Earl of Middlemop has had his future cruelly snatched from him.
Who could have poisoned the richest man in Wessex? The answer lies within the walls of Gripedown Hall where family secrets and bitter rivalries prevail.
Senior sleuths Churchill and Pemberley investigate on the behest of their friend Tryphena Ridley-Balls. However, another friend needs their help too. Mrs Thonnings’s haberdashery shop is the target of a poison pen letter campaign. Her weak elastic has reportedly caused a stretch of sartorial mishaps, but are the claims true?
Just as they’re close to the answers, an embarrassing slip-up results in Churchill and Pemberley’s dismissal. With their reputations sagging, can the two old ladies snap into action and bounce back?
.ugb-3aa8b36 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-3aa8b36 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-3aa8b36 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-3aa8b36 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-3aa8b36 .ugb-img{width:354px;height:auto !important}}Mist at the Beach HouseThere is more than one type of storm aiming for Pearl Island!
An unusually powerful winter storm is setting its sights on Pearl Island, but is the storm being powered by more than natural weather events?
Another type of storm is brewing with the three visitors to the island as well. Morgan has a full house, with the Colbrights staying with her and Cordelia while their home is under repair, and there is no room for her old roommate and the couple traveling with Angela. It is easy to feel the tension between the three newcomers, but Morgan has other things on her mind. Cora is coming, and she is ready for battle.
Morgan is finding it hard to concentrate on Cora; Cordelia’s place in the Seaver household is threatened and there are strangers jeopardizing the tranquility of the island. Morgan is determined to protect Pearl Island any way she can, and once again her friends are there to give her the support she needs to face all challenges; real and unnatural.
Will this be the last battle between her and Cora? And is Morgan strong enough to face what lies ahead?
.ugb-7222262 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-7222262 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-7222262 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-7222262 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-7222262 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Buttercream MurderWhen Ruby and Bee are invited to cater the Yesterday Debutante’s Ball, they’re thrilled. It’s a great opportunity to meet the locals and increase the reach of their baking food truck. It’s just a pity that the host of the party, a mom-zilla, can’t stand their sweet treat offering: a cherry, buttercream cake.
Apart from that, everything’s going great. That is until the dance starts and an attendee, the most hated woman in the cozy small town, is stabbed at the party with the knife that was used to cut the cake. It’s murder, and with suspicions mounting, the local sheriff on their tail, and a literal mob after them, Ruby and Bee have a lot of sleuthin’ to do.
.ugb-6d6395d .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-6d6395d .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-6d6395d .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-6d6395d .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-6d6395d .ugb-img{width:230px;height:auto !important}}Bobbins and BodiesAll she wanted from the old farmhouse was the gorgeous mantel, not a dead body.
Paisley Sutton always expects the unexpected when she goes into a house to salvage the architectural prizes before its torn down. She evens knows she might encounter a rodent or two. But she really isn’t expecting to find a dead body, not again. And when it turns out the young man she found slumped in the house’s basement was killed, Paisley discovers that it’s not only the house that was abandoned.
.ugb-1262b53 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-1262b53 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-1262b53 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-1262b53 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-1262b53 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Temptation, Trouble & MurderCaffeine à la corpse, anyone?
The last thing Stacie Maroni expected to find in the break room was a dead guy. And even worse, a dead guy with her name, phone number, and office location in his pocket. If that’s not bad enough, a fellow member of the foundation she spearheads seems to be missing in action.
Although these events don’t seem to be linked, Stacie is in the thick of things and sleuthing for her life. At least the two mysteries distract her from the attention of, and her attraction to, the handsome detective. Mystery, suspense, and romance.
.ugb-a9adc76 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a9adc76 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a9adc76 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a9adc76 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a9adc76 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Past GriefKim Brady, third generation NYPD, returns to the job after her father’s recent suicide and catches a career-making case—a mass shooting in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. There is one eyewitness, Leanne, but she can’t come forward because she’s transgender and she fears coming out. Kim resists her lieutenant’s demands to force Leanne’s cooperation for personal reasons. She’s also being undermined by someone inside the department who is tampering with evidence, threatening the other witness, stalking Leanne.
Kim’s father died under a cloud and her feelings for him are complicated. And as Kim realizes that someone in the department is behind the shooting, her personal feelings clash with her professional mission. That tension stretches her relationship with her fiancé to its breaking point. The mastermind behind the attack presses Kim’s soft spots to gaslight her. Unraveling the elaborate criminal conspiracy forces her to apply the lessons from her father’s experiences.
.ugb-27e14e6 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-27e14e6 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-27e14e6 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-27e14e6 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-27e14e6 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Jumping RiseSummertime in the Adirondacks: the fish are biting, the hikers are trekking, the tourists are spending. All is well in Police Chief Frank Bennett’s patch of paradise.
Until a mysterious guest disappears from Trout Run’s Mountain Vista Motel, leaving her bill paid for a month in advance.
And an equally mysterious benefactor shows up at the Trout Run Library, tempting the librarian—Frank’s wife, Penny—with a huge donation.
When Frank and Penny visit the wealthy vacation homeowner at his camp on a remote private lake, they encounter unexpected luxury…and shocking competitiveness. What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend ends in tragedy.
Once he returns to Trout Run, Frank realizes that he and the people he cares about are pawns in a game they don’t comprehend.
.ugb-e561488 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-e561488 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-e561488 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-e561488 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-e561488 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Dead Man’s Diary“It was the end of their chapter and beginning of his story”
Six months ago, Roy Miller’s father disappeared like a smoke in thin air.
A private investigator by profession, Roy’s father had solved some of the most complex cases in the history of Miami. But six months after his unexplained disappearance, Roy was finally ready to move on with his life when he stumbled upon his father’s black diary.
A diary that was close to his father’s heart. A diary that Roy was prohibited to touch, but when he finally got to open it, the only thing that diary contained were a bunch of names. Suspicious that these names might give him a final lead about his father’s disappearance, Roy finally begins pursuing the names written in the diary.
And thus begins Roy Miller’s adventure as he crosses paths with some of the most sinister conspirators while he searches for his father. Witness a mystery like never before.
April 13, 2021
Catch The Last Train to London
Do you have a young writer in your life? Be sure to check out my recent blog post on International Encourage a Young Writer Day.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I just finished The Last Train to London. It’s a pretty heart-wrenching book, as you’ll probably guess when you read the description below. It is a fictionalization of Truus Wijsmuller‘s (Tante Truus’s) efforts to smuggle Jewish children out of Germany and Austria during WWII. Truus and those she worked with are credited with helping to save more than 10,000 children, and she was an amazing woman. The Last Train to London a slow build, with no graphic violence and while it is tense, you are not usually on the edge of your seat. But I will tell you, the scenes of the parents saying goodbye to their children as they were put on the train, knowing that they would quite likely never see them again had me pretty choked up.
She turned the ruby to catch the light, saying, “They’re more precious than anything, children.”
Meg Waite Clayton, The Last Train to London
In 1936, the Nazi are little more than loud, brutish bores to fifteen-year old Stephan Neuman, the son of a wealthy and influential Jewish family and budding playwright whose playground extends from Vienna’s streets to its intricate underground tunnels. Stephan’s best friend and companion is the brilliant Žofie-Helene, a Christian girl whose mother edits a progressive, anti-Nazi newspaper. But the two adolescents’ carefree innocence is shattered when the Nazis’ take control.
There is hope in the darkness, though. Truus Wijsmuller, a member of the Dutch resistance, risks her life smuggling Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to the nations that will take them. It is a mission that becomes even more dangerous after the Anschluss—Hitler’s annexation of Austria—as, across Europe, countries close their borders to the growing number of refugees desperate to escape.
Tante Truus, as she is known, is determined to save as many children as she can. After Britain passes a measure to take in at-risk child refugees from the German Reich, she dares to approach Adolf Eichmann, the man who would later help devise the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” in a race against time to bring children like Stephan, his young brother Walter, and Žofie-Helene on a perilous journey to an uncertain future abroad.
April 8, 2021
Encourage a Young Writer Day
April 10 is Encourage a Young Writer Day. #EncourageAYoungWriterDay
What a great idea! I know that I was interested in writing from a very early age. I have little construction paper books that I stapled together and scribbled in before I could even read or write. I have a number of stories and little books that I wrote while I was still in elementary school, and I wrote my first novel-length book when I was twelve.
I remember being selected to attend a young writer’s workshop at another school when I was in grade six or seven. I don’t remember who the speaker was, but he was a real writer and I was very excited to be there and to tell him about the book I was working on at that time (kids marooned on an island, a classic plot.) In High School, I participated in Writers Weeks at school, both submitting poetry for judging and listening to published authors talk about their books and their processes. when I was eighteen and joined some of the local writers guilds, I was always the youngest one attending meetings and workshops.
And now I’m not a young writer anymore! I am a mature author, passing my encouragement and expertise on to the younger folk. I always disliked the somewhat pat answers that adults gave young writers when I was one. Read lots. Write something every day, no matter how little. I was already reading 5-10 books a day and writing several pages a day. But I never really thought that I might some day be able to be a full-time writer, so to the up and coming generations of writers, I would say Dream Big, Be passionate about your writing, and Love what you Do. You never know where it might lead you.
I’m thankful for creative writing teachers who had me make my own spelling dictionaries, gave writing prompts and pictures, and helped me get published in school anthologies. They helped to fan the flames of creativity and keep it burning strong.
I don’t have any instructional books for young writers, so I’ll give you a link instead to my YA fiction!
What are some ways that you can encourage the young writers in your life? Give a journal. A journal provides a place for daily writing. From short poems to inspired essays, this is a place young writers can feel free to stretch their wings unjudged.Offer writing prompts. These random bits of inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources but often generate unexpected results. Prompts are available all over the web, as well as in books and apps.Encourage them to read. The more they read, their experience with writing and writers will expand.Have young writers try multiple writing styles and different voices. Changing perspective will keep their writing fresh, allowing them an opportunity to find their personal style.Create a young writers group. It’s a good way to see their story from the reader’s point of view and to receive feedback from peers.https://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-encourage-a-young-writer-day-april-10/Resources
Here are some resources that might be helpful:
Writing prompts / games / activitiesNanowrimo resources, including downloadable guides for high schoolers, middle schoolers, and elementary schoolersSpilling Ink: A Young Writer’s HandbookThe Writer’s Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the ‘Write’ Side of Your Brain (this kit looks like it could be fun for adult writer’s groups/workshops too)Advice and EncouragementI asked a few of my fellow authors to offer their advice and encouragement for young writers as well.
What can authors do to encourage young writers?
Not sure if this is of use, but outside of the pandemic, I do paid talks in schools (bio here) including sharing my life as an author and how to write and publish a novel. I’ve done this as a cruise ship speaker too and sometimes they have children’s/teen clubs. I’ve also donated books to local libraries and school libraries and been a book giver for World Book Night. Microsoft Education uses Flipgrid (was Skype in the Classroom) to connect experts with students worldwide and I’ve done this as a way of encouraging young writers previously. I like to share the young NaNoWriMo website with teachers and students I meet as that has some really great resources, including some books aimed at young people on novel writing. I know a couple of 12-year-olds who have since published and are now making passive income off their writing. Through my UK registered charity Oceans Project, I support literacy for disadvantaged young people aged 5-25.
Not sure if any of that helps at all, but there are basically a lot of ways to encourage a young writer, either through volunteering your time on a one on one basis, like mentoring or visiting a classroom, or going through some of the more formal established programs.
— Sarah Weldon
To young writers:
Nurture your talent. Resist pressure to write like someone else, or to race to publish. Explore your voice and your stories. Then learn your craft: point of view, dialogue, narrative, back story, creating believable characters. Give yourself a chance to grow and mature as a writer before you go in front of the public.
— Jacqueline Diamond
More to young writers:
Read other writers, read about writing, and know you’ll always be growing into a better, wiser writer!
— Jane Elzey
April 6, 2021
Immerse Yourself in Shed No Tears
Hopefully, you had a chance to pick up a free copy of Cold as Ice Cream and some other free books over the weekend. If not, some of them may still be available. Hop on over to my blog post to check them out. And, of course, I have a number of free first in series books available.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I am currently reading Shed No Tears by Caz Frear, book 3 in the Kat Kinsella series. I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but had no problem getting into it or following the storyline. I am definitely curious about the other books in the series and will pick them up as I see them. Shed No Tears is a UK police procedural, an investigation into a cold case. The victim was previously assumed to be the victim of a serial killer who had been caught and convicted, but when the body surfaces some years later, there are enough doubts raised to question whether it was actually one of the serial killer’s or not.
Good character development; I feel for Kat and some of the other characters that she works with. Kat has a bit of a dodgy past, through we don’t know all of the details of her disreputable family and past cases. Lots of secrets, lots of balls in the air that could come crashing down at any moment. And then there is her boyfriend…
CCTV footage put Holly in Clapham and an independent eyewitness put her quite literally on his doorstep. It was obvious to any right mind that Holly was Masters’ fourth victim.
Caz Frear, Shed No Tears
Four victims. Killer caught. Case closed . . . or is it?
Growing up in a London family with ties to organized crime, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella knows the criminal world better than most cops do. As a member of the city’s Metropolitan Police, she’s made efforts to distinguish herself from her relatives. But leading an upstanding life isn’t always easy, and Cat has come close to crossing the line, a fact she keeps well hidden from her superiors.
Working their latest case, Cat and her partner Luigi Parnell discover a connection to a notorious criminal: serial killer Christopher Masters, who abducted and killed several women in 2012. Though the cops eventually apprehended him, his final victim, Holly Kemp, was never found and he never confessed to her murder, despite the solid eyewitness testimony against him. Now, six years later, the discovery of Holly’s remains near Cambridge seems to be the definitive proof needed to close the case.
Still, a few key items of evidence don’t quite line up. As Cat and Parnell look closer, they find discrepancies that raise troubling questions. But someone will do anything to keep past secrets hidden—and as they inch closer to the truth, they may be putting themselves in jeopardy . . .
April 1, 2021
Chill with Cold as Ice Cream and other Freebies
Cold As Ice Cream, book 13 in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series is free as an ebook for a limited time. It is a culinary cozy mystery that can be read as a stand-alone mystery or as part of the series. You can also get the first book in the series, Gluten-Free Murder, for free, or books 1-3 for just $0.99. And books 14 and 15 in the series (Changing Fortune Cookies and Hot on the Trail Mix) are currently available for pre-order. Put in your order now to have them drop into your Kindle on release day!
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-e2660ec .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Cold as Ice Cream***** I love this series! This time Erin and Vic are reunited with friends they made on a recent Alaskan cruise. When Chef Kirschoff asks them to judge a culinary contest, they have no idea it will turn deadly. Many secrets will be unearthed before the killer is found. The plot is as twisty as a country road and the characters are well-developed and believable.
—Sandy, Goodreads Reader
How could a few bubbles have gone so wrong?
It’s a CO2 cook-off! Chef Kirschoff and Vic’s friends from the Alaskan cruise are back for a carbonation contest, with Erin and Vic acting as two of the judges. It’s fizzy, it’s fun, what could possibly go wrong?
Apparently, someone did not get the memo. At first, when Beryl Batcombe is found dead in the restaurant’s cold room, everyone assumes it was a terrible accident. But as Erin and Vic are drawn into the mystery, it becomes obvious that this was not an innocent mistake.
Like baking mysteries? Cats, dogs, and other pets? Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman brings readers back to small town Bald Eagle Falls for another culinary cozy mystery to be solved by gluten-free baker Erin Price and her friends.
Have your gluten-free cake and eat it too. Sink your teeth into this sweet treat now!
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Erin Price moves to Bald Eagle Falls, a place where everyone knows everyone as well as everyone else’s business, taking over the store left to her by her aunt to start up a gluten-free bakery. The grand opening is marred by just one thing, the death of her business rival, Angela Plaint. It appears that Angela was poisoned by one of Erin’s cupcakes, making her a prime suspect.
Equipped with cupcakes, her desire for the truth, and new bakery assistant Vicky’s help, Erin goes head-to-head against Detective Terry Piper to solve the murder. Rumors of treasure hunting, drug dealing, and a missing boy swirl around Bald Eagle Falls as Erin tries to sort the clues from the red herrings and find the killer before the killer can take care of her.
AUTHOR DIRECT RETAILERS SAMPLE BINGEBOOKS BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: Free
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I have searched out more freebies for your enjoyment!
You can add all of the freebies available in the Kindle store with one click, or pick which books or which stores you want individually. As always, check prices before you check out, as prices may change without warning or not be free all days or in all markets.
.ugb-f450b78 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-f450b78 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-f450b78 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-f450b78 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-f450b78 .ugb-img{width:354px;height:auto !important}}Mist at the Beach HouseMurder, Mermaids Legends, and a Kitten from the Mist
Morgan Seaver returns to her family home on Pearl Island, expecting a warm welcome. Instead, she finds her aunt has been murdered, and accusing fingers are pointing her way.
Soon she finds more than a murder needs to be solved. Her family has a history with the island, one that she is finding brings the legends of mermaids and her ancestors to the present.
She must solve the murder to clear herself and come to terms with a past that has a hold of her future.
.ugb-c862950 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-c862950 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-c862950 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-c862950 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-c862950 .ugb-img{width:320px;height:auto !important}}Apple Pie and ArsenicFinding the body was a shock.
Accused of the Mayor’s death, Maddie must find a way to clear her name.
As the timer ticks down in the race to find the murderer before Maddie’s put in jail, or the body count climbs, she enlists the help of her friends—one of the furry variety.
Then there’s the sheriff. Her ex-flame is as confused as she is when the mystery heats up with another batch of clues, but does he really believe she’s innocent?
If only solving murder were as easy as apple pie!
.ugb-b4eead7 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-b4eead7 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-b4eead7 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-b4eead7 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-b4eead7 .ugb-img{width:230px;height:auto !important}}The Spiritualist’s DilemmaDr. Chinew’s first night in his new house is disturbed by a break-in. The intruder steals nothing but leaves behind a message – Death Comes to All. Maya maintains she is not crazy, only different. Henry Camleman, the chief of Bombay Detective Agency, disagrees. He cannot think of any other reason why a (as far as he knew) reputable 21 year old woman would want to become a detective in his agency.
Solving crimes in Cardim, a city teeming with crime and criminals, is fraught with danger and involves dealing with the kind of people he wouldn’t imagine a woman mingling with in a thousand years. To humor the stubborn woman, however, he gives her a fairly harmless domestic case. A celebrated spiritualist claims that there are spirits in his house and Camleman wants Maya to prove otherwise.
He hopes the case would keep Maya indulged in a puzzle of ghosts and spirits while keeping her safe from the grime of actual crimes. Little does Camleman know the true extent of the affair. As Maya delves deeper into the mystery, it takes her little time to uncover a web of theft, deceit, betrayal and murder which would test the skills and perseverance of the amateur detective to the fore.
Will she pass the first exam of her professional career?
.ugb-9aff998 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-9aff998 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-9aff998 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-9aff998 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-9aff998 .ugb-img{width:320px;height:auto !important}}A Shot of MurderCharley Hall knows she’s a better reporter than any man in the newsroom. Frustrated to be demoted to the women’s page so her job on the city beat can be given to a returning soldier, she refocuses her energy into locating her brother who disappeared after his latest bender. She’s horrified when her search leads to the woman last seen with him, found dead with a bullet in her neck.
Driven to catch the killer and clear her brother’s name, Charley encounters a mysterious cop from out of town who’s showing an intense interest in the case. But as she uncovers the victim’s murky past, tracking down the shooter could land the gritty journalist in the obituaries.
Can this gutsy gal prove her investigative skills and live to tell the tale?
.ugb-567ad50 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-567ad50 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-567ad50 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-567ad50 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-567ad50 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Unbaked CroakiesMy name is Naida Griffith and I’m a sorceress. I actually found that out not too long ago. I’ve lived with an undefined something burning in my belly for a while, feeling as if something wasn’t quite right under my skin. Then, on my eighteenth birthday I started getting headaches. Bad ones. And random stuff started following me around.
Recently I was approached by a group called the Société of Dire Magic to become Keeper of the Artifacts. A magical librarian. Given that magical artifacts have taken to following me around, I decided I might have an aptitude for the job. So I said yes.
But in the first few days, I’ve been flogged by flip flops, bludgeoned by gnomes, and discovered a corpse in a suitcase. Then there’s the woman who’s supposed to be training me. She’s…interesting.
Will I survive the training long enough to get the job as an artifact librarian? You might as well ask me if a caterpillar gets manis or pedis. Who knows? But I know one thing for sure. This gig is hard.
I’m going to do my best to succeed. Or die trying.
.ugb-a9f2b86 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a9f2b86 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a9f2b86 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a9f2b86 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a9f2b86 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Cupcakes and CasualtiesThe residents of Peridale don’t like change, so when the famous actress, Candy Bennett, rolls into the village to demolish a historic cottage, things don’t go as smoothly as she would have hoped. With the ‘Peridale Preservation Society’ protesting her plans to build a modern home on the land, things quickly turn sour. Days into the project, Candy’s lead builder, Shane, is murdered and the task to solve the mystery once again falls into Julia’s lap.
Did one of the protestors kill the builder to make a statement, or was he murdered by someone from within his own team? With the preservation society, the actress, the architect, and the builders all keeping secrets, Julia soon has her hands full gathering evidence, but it’s a familiar-looking new arrival in the village that commands her attention. Julia’s life is torn apart when she learns of the stranger’s true identity, but will she be able to focus on the challenging case before another body turns up? The only certainty is that Julia’s life will never be the same again.
.ugb-4883f8e .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-4883f8e .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-4883f8e .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-4883f8e .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-4883f8e .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Murder at Catmmando MountainFor Georgie, it’s not always easy working at Marvelous Marley World, an entertainment empire founded on the success of a cartoon cat. Her boss, “Mad” Max Marley, is a tantrum-prone, creative genius, who doesn’t handle trouble well.
Still, Georgie loves her job, but when a body is discovered at the foot of Catmmando Mountain and she’s framed for murder, more than her job is at stake. Can she and the handsome homicide detective, Jack Wheeler, find out who’s out to get Georgie before it’s too late?
To find out whodunit, grab your copy of book one in the Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series by USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Anna Celeste Burke. She brings you murder, mayhem, and a second chance at love along with fun, food, and a Siamese cat named Miles.
.ugb-3e09c4d .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-3e09c4d .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-3e09c4d .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-3e09c4d .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-3e09c4d .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Alas, She DrownedMurder. Betrayal. Tea and Scones.
When ex-novice nun, turned steamy romance writer, Maggie O’Flynn moves to the charming village of Stratford Upon Avondale to open a tea room she expects plenty of murders, betrayal, and duplicity. On the stages of the town’s renowned Shakespeare Festival.
But when a theater critic is found murdered on the town’s riverbank and the prime suspect turns out to be the sexy bookshop owner Maggie has had her eye on, she takes matters into her own hands. Will she be able to dig through the layers of betrayal and duplicity to find the true murderer before that handsome bookseller, Nate Larimer, finds himself behind bars? With the help of her loud, brash, spitfire of a friend, Gina Mattucci, Maggie plans to do just that.
.ugb-d5ba639 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-d5ba639 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-d5ba639 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-d5ba639 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-d5ba639 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Dial P for Poison“My career in the San Francisco PD ended the day I arrested my husband.”
Maggie Doyle gives her cheating ex and crumbling career in the San Francisco PD the proverbial middle finger, and moves to the Wild West…of Ireland.
Lured by her aunt’s promise of a restful Irish vacation, Maggie agrees to help out at the Movie Theater Café in exchange for bed and board. Things are looking up—until the most hated woman on Whisper Island is poisoned at the café. With her aunt as the prime suspect, Maggie and her rock-hard muffins are hurled into the murder investigation.
.ugb-12cad23 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-12cad23 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-12cad23 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-12cad23 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-12cad23 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Murder at Sea of Passenger XA Honeymoon Cruise With A Boatload Of Mystery
Georgie Shaw and her handsome new husband, Detective Jack Wheeler, are living it up on Marvelous Marley World’s luxurious cruise ship when trouble strikes.
“The screaming came in bursts followed by shouts of man overboard, just like in a movie.”
Who is passenger X? Did he fall or was he pushed? Does it have anything to do with the rash of jewelry thefts or the murdered man found near the spot where Passenger X went overboard?
