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Storms
Melanie Travers has been through a combating school bullies and a bad home environment in her youth, then—as a wife--withstanding an abusive husband and village gossip. She's fought through every storm, and now that she's emerged triumphant, she knows the fight was worth it, no matter the pain.
214 pages, Paperback
Published March 8, 2025
1 person is currently reading
About the author
Jo A. Hiestand
83 books568 followersJo A. Hiestand is the author of two British mystery series. While this may not seem so unusual, Jo was born in -- and still lives in -- St. Louis, Missouri.
To get around the technical difficulties dictated by living in one country and writing about another -- especially about police procedures and crime detection, of which she has no personal experience -- she travels to Britain every few years for research. It was on one such trip that she met English police Inspector Tony Eyre (now retired) who supplied police information for her first novel, "Death of an Ordinary Guy." Since then, two other English police officers have become close friends of hers and help with police procedure, catching American words that creep into her writing, and reading the novel manuscripts to eliminate police inaccuracies.
This is all well and good, but nothing beats hands-on experience for writing. Since one of her series features a team of police detectives from the Derbyshire CID and her other highlights an ex-cop who investigates cold cases on his own, Jo knew she'd either have to commit a crime to get first-hand police knowledge or enroll in a citizen's police academy course. The latter seemed safer, so she signed up through a St. Louis county's PD. It was there that she met future co-author police officer Paul Hornung. As Paul remembers their first ride-along, they talked more about writing than about police work. During several ride-alongs they established a bond through these two mutual interests; eventually they agreed to collaborate on books. They've done this with Paul supplying information, writing the fights scenes, and finally writing some of the chapters as one of the series characters. Writing together is definitely fun but sometimes a challenge. Neither knows specifically what the other person's chapter will be, as the storyline is never fully detailed to the other. This is so each can read the other's work with a fresh eye, untainted by "what I meant to say."
Jo took a short respite from novel writing to try her hand with a play. Her contest-winning play "Teething Pains" was produced on stage in 2010. She flatly denies that her fear of dentistry was instrumental in selecting the subject.
Her love of writing, board games and music combines in "P.I.R.A.T.E.S.", the mystery-solving game that uses maps, graphics, song lyrics, and other clues to lead the players to the lost treasure. She also enjoys walking through the woods, playing guitar and harpsichord, her animals (pets as well as backyard wildlife), and reading.
Jo realizes she's living many authors' dreams. Who else has three police officers helping her commit murder?
- Amazon.com
To get around the technical difficulties dictated by living in one country and writing about another -- especially about police procedures and crime detection, of which she has no personal experience -- she travels to Britain every few years for research. It was on one such trip that she met English police Inspector Tony Eyre (now retired) who supplied police information for her first novel, "Death of an Ordinary Guy." Since then, two other English police officers have become close friends of hers and help with police procedure, catching American words that creep into her writing, and reading the novel manuscripts to eliminate police inaccuracies.
This is all well and good, but nothing beats hands-on experience for writing. Since one of her series features a team of police detectives from the Derbyshire CID and her other highlights an ex-cop who investigates cold cases on his own, Jo knew she'd either have to commit a crime to get first-hand police knowledge or enroll in a citizen's police academy course. The latter seemed safer, so she signed up through a St. Louis county's PD. It was there that she met future co-author police officer Paul Hornung. As Paul remembers their first ride-along, they talked more about writing than about police work. During several ride-alongs they established a bond through these two mutual interests; eventually they agreed to collaborate on books. They've done this with Paul supplying information, writing the fights scenes, and finally writing some of the chapters as one of the series characters. Writing together is definitely fun but sometimes a challenge. Neither knows specifically what the other person's chapter will be, as the storyline is never fully detailed to the other. This is so each can read the other's work with a fresh eye, untainted by "what I meant to say."
Jo took a short respite from novel writing to try her hand with a play. Her contest-winning play "Teething Pains" was produced on stage in 2010. She flatly denies that her fear of dentistry was instrumental in selecting the subject.
Her love of writing, board games and music combines in "P.I.R.A.T.E.S.", the mystery-solving game that uses maps, graphics, song lyrics, and other clues to lead the players to the lost treasure. She also enjoys walking through the woods, playing guitar and harpsichord, her animals (pets as well as backyard wildlife), and reading.
Jo realizes she's living many authors' dreams. Who else has three police officers helping her commit murder?
- Amazon.com
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 17, 2025
Part of the character development novellas from the McLaren series, this book is a powerful read. Melanie is a beloved character that all McLaren mystery fans have treasured since they first met her.
The curtain is pulled back and for the first time the reader gets a look into the inner working of this character. Melanie has had to overcome challenge after challenge in her life. That she managed to make it to a happy marriage with McLaren is a tribute to her inner character's strength. No, that marriage doesn't happen in this novella; it occurs later in one of the greatest McLaren mysteries ever written.
There are layers and layers to what makes Melanie the person she is. The author exposes these in such quality fashion. The reminisces which come to Melanie are so perfectly scripted, it feels natural.
A fantastic addition to what is one of my favorite mystery series. If you are fan of the McLaren mysteries, then you must read this great character insights that are provided in this creative set of novellas.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
The curtain is pulled back and for the first time the reader gets a look into the inner working of this character. Melanie has had to overcome challenge after challenge in her life. That she managed to make it to a happy marriage with McLaren is a tribute to her inner character's strength. No, that marriage doesn't happen in this novella; it occurs later in one of the greatest McLaren mysteries ever written.
There are layers and layers to what makes Melanie the person she is. The author exposes these in such quality fashion. The reminisces which come to Melanie are so perfectly scripted, it feels natural.
A fantastic addition to what is one of my favorite mystery series. If you are fan of the McLaren mysteries, then you must read this great character insights that are provided in this creative set of novellas.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
March 26, 2025
I’m a big fan of this author’s series, McLaren. This is one of the stories of the lives of her characters. The first story is about Michael McLaren. It’s a prequel called The Swim. This story is about his current lady love, Melanie.
Hiestand is incredibly good at writing series and each of her books can be read as a stand-alone. She creates wonderful characters and makes certain you know a little about past major events in their lives. That way the reader has a whole picture.
But this is the story of how Melanie got to be who she is today. I really enjoyed it. She endured a lot of trials, and each one affected her, created her fears, and built her strength.
There can be no question I want more McLaren series books, but I really enjoyed reading a bit about a character’s beginning and how she came to meet McLaren.
A quick read. Well done as are all the books in the series.
Hiestand is incredibly good at writing series and each of her books can be read as a stand-alone. She creates wonderful characters and makes certain you know a little about past major events in their lives. That way the reader has a whole picture.
But this is the story of how Melanie got to be who she is today. I really enjoyed it. She endured a lot of trials, and each one affected her, created her fears, and built her strength.
There can be no question I want more McLaren series books, but I really enjoyed reading a bit about a character’s beginning and how she came to meet McLaren.
A quick read. Well done as are all the books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews