Twenty-seven Years Later, Twenty Novels & Now an Audiobook

/in , , , /by

By Lois Winston

I’ve had a busy September. Guilty as Framed, the 11th book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, officially released on September 6th. My virtual promo tour for the book began before the release date and will extend into next month, but beginning October 1st, I plan to start writing the next book in the series. I’ve given Anastasia enough of a break from murder and mayhem. Now all I need is a plot, but hey, it’s only September 28th. I’ve got three days to figure this out!

And now Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, is an audiobook with the other books in the series to follow.

Guilty as Framed marks my twentieth published novel since my first book debuted in April of 2006. I’ve also published five novellas, a middle-grade book, a nonfiction book, and several short stories during that period. But that’s not the entire story. I began writing back in 1995. It took me nearly ten years to the day I first set fingers to keyboard to sell a book.

My first attempt at writing a novel was the result of a weird dream I had one night while on a business trip. Weird because I normally don’t remember my dreams and weirder still because it didn’t involve anyone I knew. Or even me! And the dream continued to grow every night for a few weeks, unfolding like the chapters in a book.

Eventually, I decided to commit the dream to paper, and by the time I’d finished, I’d written 50,000 words of a highly emotional romance that spanned thirty-five years. I gave it to a friend to read, and she was in tears by the time she’d finished it. From her reaction and encouragement, I thought I’d penned The Great American Novel and began the search for a literary agent.

However, I quickly learned I’d written The Great American Drivel. But I’d enjoyed the process of writing so much that I wasn’t discouraged. I set out to learn what I’d done wrong and how to do it right. I read books, joined writing organizations, and attended workshops and conferences. Eventually, I signed with an agent and sold my first book, Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous tale of a mother, a daughter, and a buttinsky imaginary friend. The second book I sold was the novel formerly known as The Great American Drivel. In the ten years since I’d first written it, I’d revised it into Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception, a 90,000-word romantic suspense that spanned a few months instead of thirty-five years.

Then, encouraged by my agent, who loved the humorous voice I’d employed in Talk Gertie to Me, I began writing a humorous amateur sleuth mystery series, giving birth to Anastasia Pollack, my reluctant amateur sleuth.

Looking back over the last twenty-seven years, I’m amazed at what I’ve accomplished. There have been major stumbling blocks and roadblocks along the way, some of my own making and some completely beyond my control. But with encouragement from fellow writers who have become lifelong friends, my late agent, and my own stubbornness, I persisted and persevered. One of those dear writing friends used to add a quote from Galaxy Quest to the bottom of all her emails: Never give up! Never surrender! I’m glad I didn’t.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

From My Point of View by Penny Manson

/in /by

Penny Manson

Penny Manson has become a dear friend since we worked together on the Sisters in Crime Capitol Crimes Chapter’s Killer Workshop. Penny is bright, articulate, funny, talented, and exactly the kind of person you would want to be at your side in any situation. At a Zoom meeting where our friend Carla Damron spoke about her new novel that deals with human trafficking and the need to tackle social issues in fiction, Penny expressed how she recently felt while attending Bouchercon in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We were moved by her words and encouraged her to write them down. That’s exactly what she has done. Please take the time to read her important message. Thank you, Penny, for sharing with us. — Paula Gail Benson

From My Point of View by Penny Manson

I attended Bouchercon this year in Minneapolis Minnesota. While many people took pictures with the Mary Tyler Moore statue flinging their hats into the air in the iconic pose most of us watched on TV while growing up, I went to George Floyd Square. When I was younger, I watched Mary Tyler Moore too. What happened on May 25, 2020, came long after that show was on the air nevertheless, the episode was familiar.

I didn’t have transportation of my own and I admit I might not have made it to the square if not for taking the time to visit an Army buddy. Jeri and I went through basic training in another life and I love her dearly. If I was ever in danger, I would want her by my side. As we looked at the mural, brown eyes met blue, and she told me she’d purchased a gun for protection during the days following the George Floyd killing. They lived close enough to the square that if the city erupted in violence, there was fear of getting caught in the cross-hairs. Never before had she ever considered people might want to harm her just because she was white.

Photo by Penny Manson

Most people of color in America were saddened and outraged by what happened to George Floyd, but not all that surprised. For many, it has felt like open season on us for a very long time. I felt unbelievably moved and sad as I looked at the mural that stood vigil over the square. Then I looked at the light fingers intertwined with mine. I thought of the Emily Dickinson poem, “Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul…” Isn’t it amazing how it’s crap that makes things grow? The last Bouchercon I attended was in Dallas in 2019. The makeup of the panels is more diverse now. The look of the authors whose books were nominated for awards has changed. When George Floyd lay, his neck squeezed shut underneath the knee of that officer, not just the Black community was impacted, we all felt the ripples.

I hope we can build a better world from the lessons we have learned. Change is happening, slow but sure, and I believe we’re “gonna make it after all.” I think I’ll go outside and throw my hat in the air.

Photo by Lonnie Paulson

The Art of Defense

/in /by

In addition to being a writer, I am a few other things, at least one of which sometimes surprises people.

When I was a rookie at the Birmingham Police Academy (many years ago) my Physical Training instructor was a short, 71 year-old man. Despite his age and stature, Mr. Alex Marshall was more than a match for any police officer on the force, often to their chagrin. He took a liking to me and suggested that I study Aikido outside of the police academy to counter the disadvantage of my gender and stature (or lack thereof).

I loved the training . . . for reasons I never thought to articulate and even married my Aikido instructor (husband #2)! But when that divorce happened, I stepped away from the martial arts for a long time. The year after I retired, I found a new dojo (school) that was founded by Mr. Marshall and started learning a system that was familiar (as Mr. Marshall incorporated a great deal of Aikido in addition to Judo and Ju-jitsu).

Mr. Alex Marshal with my current Akayama Ryu teachers—Mark Barlow and Richard Worthington

Why did I go back after thirty years? Why do I still train in my late sixties? Of course, as a writer it is helpful to pull on what I know about fighting to make action scenes realistic. And its really fun to let a character do techniques that I will probably never have an opportunity to do. But there are deeper things that draw me to the mat for two hours twice a week.

Focus: When I attend class, the world and whatever thoughts or worries I might have fade away. There is only room in my head for what I am doing. This is a form of meditation, even though it is active, resulting in a refresh and reset. I always have more energy when I leave class than when I entered.

Learning: Like all art, learning is ongoing. Learning evokes joy and wonder. Learning is play. It is what we do as children as naturally as breathing.

Teaching: Helping others achieve gives me deep satisfaction.

Self-confidence: Rose—the police-witch in my urban fantasy trilogy (HOUSE OF ROSE, HOUSE OF STONE, and HOUSE OF IRON) also studies martial arts. She observes: “It’s not about being a badass or thinking I can handle every situation that might arise, but the training has somehow restored some of the confidence I took for granted before . . . . I think it’s rewiring my brain to overwrite the role of victim.”

Studying martial arts instills a certain kind of confidence—a trust in the body and subconscious that allows one to enter a state where the conscious mind stills, and training takes over. In the movie, The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise played an American who studies Japanese sword fighting. He has studied hard but keeps losing to his trainer until instructed to have “no mind.” When he gives up trying to figure out what to do to counter the sword moves and just allows his body and instincts to react, he is able to match his teacher. (Of course, in a movie where the director only has at best a couple of hours, this happens quickly; in reality it takes a “bit” more time. 🙂

The mind (consciousness) is not separate from the body. It is an organ whose importance rises or falls depending on what is required. There are times when it is important to engage mind, and there are times when it is best to let go of mind, as we do for critical functions like breathing and heart rate and the thousands of other tasks done without our conscious oversight.

Create: A musician strives for a place where the notes are so ingrained, the fingers do without direction and the player is free to devote energy to the emotional interpretation of the music.

For a visual artist, the paint can seem to act on its own to express the painter’s deep intent.

When I am writing in the “flow,” the words come from a deeper place than conscious mind. Once they are written, I engage critical thinking to edit, but even then, a better phrase often emerges from the deep mind or subconscious. I don’t know “where” it came from, any more than I know how my body regulates my heartbeat. A skilled writer knows when to let the conscious mind still and when to engage it.

Like a ballet dancer’s perfectly executed pirouette, reacting with “no mind” to engage and redirect the energy of an attacker can create a moment of beauty and harmony that reflects something universal and profound. I will be on the mat, I think, until I can no longer stand . . . and then maybe I’ll get a chair and watch.

T.K.Thorne is a retired police captain who writes Books, which, like this blog, go wherever her curiosity and imagination take her. 

The Dream by Juliana Aragon Fatula

/in /by

 

Analogue Bookstore, Pueblo, Colorado 2022

 

 

Bridging Borders Writing Workshop mentoring for leadership with young teenage girls.

 

The Dream by Juliana Aragon Fatula

I woke this morning and immediately had to record my dream. Vivid and full of similes, alliteration, metaphors, onomatopoeias, rhymes, imagination, and details about a past life and a bright future. The dream arrived on September 9, 2022, at midnight in my home on a full moon. I had an epiphany after this dream. It healed my broken heart and guilt complex over my son’s struggle with drug addiction. I hadn’t slept the night before. A full moon kept me from my dreams. I was awake until 4 a.m.

In my dream, I tried to rescue a teenager, 14-year-old Chicana. She was me. In the dream I didn’t know it was me. She was pregnant and about to get married in love with a man. She was on her way to California from Colorado to marry the father of her baby. And in the dream, it turned out that he was my ex, the father of my son. My son will be 50 this year. In the dream, I was meeting myself. She was pregnant with a son, maybe the son was my son. She was about to marry my ex.

I realized who she was, not even realized that she was me, just realized she was someone like me. I became friends with her, and she invited me to return with her to California to the wedding, as her friend. I immediately said yes. I packed my bags and off we went. We arrived at the wedding, and she introduced me to her parents and twin brother. I don’t have a twin brother. I’m not sure how to analyze that part of the dream, but it will come to me.

There were two of them, a male and a female. The bride sent us to pack up the gifts from the wedding. I shared my secret with her brother. We sat down in a corner and he asked me, “How Mexican are you?” I said, “I’m not Mexican. I’m Chicana. I didn’t want to talk about me. I wanted to talk about his sister. She had a twin, a male twin. I could talk to him because he would feel differently about protecting his sister. I could see in his eyes that he was thinking, why is this woman friends with my sister? She’s the ex of my sister’s husband. She’s here to disrupt and ruin their marriage.

I could see that he had observed this man and the brother had doubts, so he listened. I told him go with your sister when she marries and protect her. I was alone, and I had no one. We talked until his sister yelled at us for not getting the boxes sooner. She wasn’t feeling well. We returned to the party and noticed a lot of the guests weren’t feeling well, and in my dream, I thought of the Covid 19 Pandemic.

The groom’s family eyed me suspiciously; they weren’t friendly; they knew who I was, they knew why I was there. They didn’t try to stop me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my ex watching me talk to his bride, but he didn’t stop me. The bride was not feeling well. I asked her to sit with me and rest. I didn’t tell her about my ex. I had told her brother and she didn’t ask; she didn’t want to know. I understand that. She was young and in love and carrying her husband’s child.

She was feeling sick and weak. Many of the guests were sick. Did they die? Did they get so sick they ended up with long haulers? Did they suffer? Did their loved ones mourn their death and weren’t allowed in the hospital room with them because of contagion and infection? I don’t know. I don’t know what it means. It was a dream.

When I woke, I knew I had to record the dream. It’s not a story I made up; it’s a dream I had on a full moon. My subconscious trying to heal my broken heart by trying to save my younger self. If I write it down, I will understand it, and if I share the dream, it might just save someone. In life, my ex died from his years of using heroin and methadone. He didn’t survive. But I did. And my son survived. I’m sharing my story.

Spotlighting an SG Sister

/in /by

Having read T.K. Thorne’s House of Rose, and loved it, I’m obsessed with how one person could accomplish so much while excelling at everything. If you want to know, too, read on.

 

T.K.Thorne has been passionate about storytelling since she was a young girl, and that passion only deepened when she became a police officer. Serving for more than two decades in the Birmingham (Alabama) police force, she retired as a precinct captain and then as the executive director of a downtown business improvement district, to write full time. Her books include two award-winning historical novels (Noah’s Wife and Angels at the Gate); two nonfiction civil rights era works (Last Chance for Justice and Behind the Magic Curtain: Secrets, Spies, and Unsung White Allies of Birmingham’s Civil Rights Days); a dally with murder, mystery, and magic in the Magic City Stories (House of Rose, House of Stone, and House of Iron) and a YA science fiction, Snowdancers. She writes from her mountaintop home northeast of Birmingham, often with a dog and cat vying for her lap and horses hanging out in the yard.

Here’s the description of House of Rose:  Rookie patrol officer Rose Brighton chases a suspect down an alley. Without warning, her vision wavers, and the lone suspect appears to divide into two men–the real suspect, frozen in time, and a shadow version with a gun. Confused by what she’s just seen, but with no time to second guess it’s meaning, Rose shoots the real suspect in the back.

Forced to lie to detectives, she risks her job and her life to discover the shocking truth of who she really is–a witch of an ancient House, the prey of one powerful enemy, and the pawn of another.

Set in the Deep South city of Birmingham, Alabama, this is the first book of the Magic City Stories.

I had the privilege of interviewing T.K., and here’s what I learned:

  1. As a former police captain, you must have created Rose from some of your own experiences. How is she like you, and how is she different?

Funny you should ask. I created Rose as I’d liked to have been! Unlike me, she is 5’8” (I was 5’3”); she has decent-sized hands (mine were too small to hold a gun correctly); and she is young and gorgeous. She is also a witch, of course, with interesting abilities while I, alas, am just an ordinary ole human. On the similar side—she has an incorrigible sense of humor, questions everything, and seems to find herself in “trouble” without trying.

  1. I’d never heard of a red diamond, but, after reading House of Rose, I researched it and learned about its rare beauty. How did you decide to write about a red diamond? Have you ever seen one in person?

Diamonds have always fascinated me (my birthstone) and maybe it was the fact of Rose’s name that made me go in that direction. “Rose” was my grandmother’s name, and the incongruency of the sweet-little-old-lady image versus sharp (protective) thorns, along with the play on my married name (Thorne) intrigued me.

 

Roses come in many colors (as do diamonds), but I was drawn to red as a very rare color and, of course, traditionally related to roses. Diamonds are actually unique carbon constructions that are being considered for energy storage, in fact, they can even contain radioactivity! The true nature and function of the rose stone diamond in my book is revealed in the second book, House of Stone, so I don’t want to give away a spoiler, but it is extrapolated from the extraordinary structure of diamonds.

 

Never seen a red one, but I think it would make a great anniversary gift, don’t you? (My husband will be proofing this.)

  1. Your love for all things Birmingham spills into your writing and makes me appreciate its culture and history, too. What’s it like to be a local author with a series set in your hometown?

As people who live or lived in Birmingham discover the trilogy, they tell me how cool it was to read about places they knew or existed under their noses. We did the first book launch at a historical location mentioned in the book. The owner was so excited. Much fun!

I didn’t grow up in the city but moved there after college and lived in a house on the Southside that was the inspiration for Rose’s neighborhood. It was also where I lived when I was a police officer working in that precinct, so it made it easier to envision Rose’s world.

Birmingham is unique in that the three ores needed to make steel (iron ore, limestone, and coal) are found within proximity to each other. That discovery in the late 1800s gave rise to a boom town that grew so rapidly it was nicknamed “The Magic City.” Those three ores are the basis of powers for the legacy family Houses in these books (House of Rose, House of Stone, and House of Iron).

At the same time that I was writing these stories, I was also working on a nonfiction project (now out) set in Birmingham—Behind the Magic Curtain: Secrets, Spies, and Unsung White Allies of Birmingham’s Civil Rights Days. Those same ores gave rise to a set of circumstances and economic forces that propelled the city into turmoil and onto a world stage. So, I was looking at Birmingham through very different lenses—real/imaginative, past/current—at the same time.

  1. When you wrote House of Rose, did you envision the series? What are the advantages of series writing?

House of Rose was a spontaneous story that began when I was brushing my teeth one day, wondering what my next writing project would be. Three little words just popped into my head, and I hurriedly rushed to computer to write them down, having no real idea what they meant, but feeling the muse stirring.

Those words were “You’re a hero.” As I typed, it turned out Rose’s sergeant said them to her after she shot a man in an alley. That was the first moment her heritage revealed itself, but at the time she had no idea what had happened or that she was a witch of an ancient, dying House, the prey of a powerful enemy, and the pawn of another.

I didn’t either!

Eventually, the notion of the different Houses evolved, and I realized the story needed three books. To answer your question, I did not set out meaning to write a trilogy. But the advantages to writing multiple books with the same characters are primarily that the world is established, and the characters become multidimensional and very real, seeming to respond on their own to whatever is thrown at them by the sadistic author.

  1. Your prose is superb, and your books have won high acclaim. What advice would you give to a new writer who wants to follow your star?

Many thanks for those kind words that mean much coming from you!

 

I’ve been writing for decades, and I assure you my early attempts (which are still “in the desk drawer”) were rough, but I kept going and that is really the Secret. In addition, a good writer analyzes everything—books, movies, and that best source of emotion and perception, ourselves.

  1. You write in multiple genres. Tell me something about your other books.

It’s true that I don’t know what I want to write when I grow up, but so far, I have two historical novels about biblical women no one thought to name or give more than a cursory line—Noah’s Wife and Angels at the Gate (Lot’s wife). Then two civil rights nonfiction, Behind the Magic Curtain, which I’ve mentioned, and Last Chance for Justice, which covers the forty-year search for justice for the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four young girls. Additionally, I have a YA science fiction, Snowdancers, and am working on a mystery/thriller with a working title of The Old Lady about a retired police officer with a penchant (clearing throat) for finding trouble.

Getting to know T.K. better has been part educational, part magical. If you could interview the author of any great book you’ve read, who would it be?

Purchase House of Rose at https://www.amazon.com/House-Rose-Magic-City-Story/dp/1603817581/ref=

 

And check out my books at Amazon.com: Saralyn Richard: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle

James M. Jackson Sends Seamus McCree on a New Adventure

/in /by

Interview with Paula Gail Benson

James M. Jackson’s suspense/thriller series features protagonist Seamus McCree, a former analyst who specializes in financial crimes. So far, Jim’s work includes seven novels (Ant Farm, Bad Policy, Cabin Fever, Doubtful Relations, Empty Promises, False Bottom, and the recently released Granite Oath), and two novellas (Furthermore and Low Tide at Tybee). In Granite Oath, Seamus’ clients are his eight-year-old granddaughter Megan and her new best friend Valeria, whose mother and Nana are illegal immigrants. When Megan tells Valeria that her grandfather’s name means investigator, he has to explain the difference between “Seamus” and “Shamus.” What Seamus learns while trying to find Valeria’s missing mother is that illegals have to deal with a secretive lifestyle that deprives them of basic necessities and exposes them to danger.

Today, the Stiletto Gang welcomes Jim to talk about Seamus’ latest adventure.

Seamus’ business background is as a financial analyst. How does his perspective influence his methods of investigation?

A hammer initially approaches the world as though everything it meets is a nail. Only when an object clearly cannot be a nail does the hammer consider other alternatives. Seamus is more sophisticated, but if he does not see an obvious explanation for someone’s behavior, his inclination is to try to understand the individual’s financial motivations. He uses his deep knowledge of monetary shenanigans and financial systems to “follow the money” in ways most investigators cannot.

Family is an important aspect of Seamus’ life. How do interactions with the various members of Seamus’ extended family (girlfriends, ex-wife, son, granddaughter, mother, and step-sister) help reveal his character traits?

Granite Oath is told from Seamus’s first-person point of view. This provides the reader direct insight into his thinking and reactions. While this gives a valuable insight into what makes Seamus tick, none of us see ourselves accurately. Seamus would have us believe that he is a hermit-wannabe whose word is his bond. His ex-wife corroborates that Seamus will “turn a pinkie swear into a granite oath that nothing less than a glacier can crush.”

Yet his relationships with his family show a different side to Seamus. He dotes on his granddaughter, and with her we see a more playful side of Seamus. He’s always looking for an opportunity to expand her experiences (even if Megan’s parents would object if they knew). His family and “girlfriend,” as you call Niki, take great joy in pointing out Seamus’s foibles, forcing him to reconsider his perspective. The ending (which I will not spoil) involves another character putting words in Seamus’s mouth about his feelings that he would never speak, but we as readers know to be true.

When Seamus’ mother speaks seriously to him, she uses his full name: Seamus Anslem McCree. I remember you saying your mother called you by your full name when you were in trouble. Did you draw upon some of your mother’s qualities in creating Seamus’ mother?

Good memory, Paula. I think many parents fall into that same behavior of using their kid’s full name to emphasize the gravity of a situation. When my mother confronted a DEFCON 1 (the worst trouble) situation, she’d be so mad, she’d run through the names of my sisters, my father, even our dog before finally landing on my full name as the culprit. That’s when I needed to slide a book down the back of my pants to mitigate the coming corporal punishment!

Now that I think about it, one major strength that my mother and Seamus’s share is both are/were survivors. Life was not always easy for either of them, but after each setback, they picked themselves up and carried on.

Granite Oath is particularly intriguing because Seamus, in seeking to help Valeria and her family, must confront suspicion and resistance as a male caring for young females who are not his own children. His situation seems most precarious when he takes Valeria to see a doctor. Did you research this issue or depend upon your own observations to write these scenes?

When Jan and I traveled with our granddaughters, she had signed permission from the child’s parents, allowing her to act in loco parentis. When we crossed through customs, we made sure Jan was driving to answer the agent’s questions. Agents always asked—often of the child—what my relationship to the girl was.

I attended an informational meeting a few years ago about how to spot human trafficking. An older guy with a young woman or girl, especially one who appears timid or scared, is a huge trigger. Even with my daughter, I’ve had people ask her questions designed to make sure she was not under duress.

In your website biography, you say, “If I can’t be outside enjoying nature, I want to be able to see outside.” Those of us who know you have always appreciated your excellent nature and bird photography. How has seeing the world through a camera’s eye helped your writing?

A good photograph tells a story. Different photographers, when presented with the same scene, will tell different stories beginning with where they focus the lens and what shutter speed and depth of field they choose. Do you focus on the bee, the flower from which the bee is harvesting pollen, or the meadow that includes the flower and the bee?

What I’ve learned is often when I zoom in, I can imply the larger picture with a single aspect. For example, if I focus on the bee’s front, showing pollen on its face and legs, while blurring or cropping everything else, those specific details imply a complete bee, and a flower, and a meadow. I may not have seen that when I took the picture, but through editing, I can crop out the extraneous and highlight what I want the viewer to pay attention to.

Understanding that process helps me turn my early drafts into finished manuscripts. I look for those same opportunities to imply a larger whole through a single detail and crop away anything extraneous—unless I want to hide a clue or create a red herring. Then I widen the lens to hide the telling detail in a cornucopia of extraneous detail, but it will be there if you look/read closely enough.

Your novel titles progress alphabetically. Do you envision 26 Seamus’ books?

No. Sue Grafton only made it to twenty-five, and she started at a much younger age than I. I have a tentative title and core idea for the “H” novel which revolves around Seamus and his nemesis, the Happy Reaper, meeting one final time. But Granite Oath needs to sell sufficiently well to justify the effort.

How did writing the Seamus’ novellas differ from writing the novels?

My novels are four to five times longer than my novellas (and twenty to thirty times longer than a typical short story). I enjoy creating myriad complications and twists and turns between the inciting incident and the story’s conclusion. With novellas, the primary storyline requires most of the words, leaving only a few for a single subplot. I find it helpful with novellas to constrict the elapsed time of the story.

What would be the most important impression you want readers to take away from Granite Oath?

Every reader brings their individual experiences to a novel. Given that, each discovers a different story, none of which is the story I thought I wrote. The best I can hope is that people will enjoy my story and read it to its conclusion. Then it becomes like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Africa: we’ll never know how reading Granite Oath affected anything, but we know it will.

Short Biography:

James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these domestic thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. August 2022 saw publication of the 7th novel in the series, Granite Oath. (Click here for information and purchase links.)

Jim splits his time between the wilds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the city life in Madison, WI. You can find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com or contact him via email.

Mint Chocolate Wordplay

/in , , , /by

by Shari Randall/Meri Allen

Do you Wordle? Do crossword puzzles? Enjoy Words with Friends?

I love word games, so when I was asked to make an anagram from the words in the title of my latest Ice Cream Shop mystery, MINT CHOCOLATE MURDER, I jumped at the chance. It was a fun to do – but challenging. So many O’s! But it was an enjoyable exercise and it made me think about my book in new ways.

M – Mysterious supermodel with a royal secret

I — Ice cream social to die for

N  — New England village of your Hallmark dreams

T — Teashops and treachery

 

C — Crafty clues and red herrings

H — Haunted Scottish castle

O — Obsessions turned deadly

C — Cat who needs therapy

O – One hot veterinarian

L — Locked room mystery

A – Art world gossip

T – Tantalizing twists

E – Enemies and frenemies

 

M — Malicious suspects

U – Unrequited love

R — Race against the clock

D — Danger in the dungeon

E – Extra sprinkles!

R — Riley Rhodes, my main character, an ice cream shop manager and former CIA librarian with plenty of secrets of her own

 

Readers, I hope you’ll find something here that intrigues. Writers, give it a try with one of your titles!

Do you enjoy word games? What’s your favorite?

Meri Allen is the pen name of Shari Randall, who loves playing Scrabble. She lives in New England, where she’s looking forward to the fall foliage.

 

 

Using All The Senses by Lynn Chandler Willis

/in /by

One of the easiest ways to immerse a reader into your story is by making use of the five senses. You want the reader to be able to taste the spice in that cajun chicken and dirty rice. You want them to enjoy every bite right along with your character. You want the reader to feel the softness of a piece of velvet when they touch it. To feel the cloud-like texture as your character holds it against their cheek.

You want the reader to see what your character sees. They don’t just see raindrops fall into in a puddle. The raindrops strike the surface of a small puddle, sending ripples outward. You want the reader to hear what your charter hears, You want them to hear the soft pitter-patter of rain falling, or the driving explosions of a heavy metal band live in concert. You want the reader to smell bacon frying in the morning as the main character fixes breakfast for his wife.

But what if your main character is lacking in one of these senses? Let me tell you…it is not easy to write.

In my second new series, scheduled for release in May 2023, my main character, Raynor Beck, is hearing impaired. He suffers from total hearing loss in one ear and profound loss in the other ear. He’s also a private investigator. His job hasn’t been the difficult part in writing him, or bringing him to life if you will. What’s challenging is reminding myself he can’t hear.

He reads lips and knows sign language. I can’t have one character walk away from him while they’re still talking and Raynor comprehend what is being said. And as helpful as sign language is, not everyone uses it. So unless the other characters use sign language, it’s a moot point. Ever try to write dialogue using sign language?

Phone calls are another problem. Thankfully, he uses texts more than voice when communicating with someone on the phone. Another issue when writing Raynor’s story is making sure I’ve got the logistics right. He can’t hear someone say something from another room. Conversations can’t take place in a car, or as his daughter reminds him from the passenger seat — eyes on the road, dad. He can’t read her lips and drive at the same time.

Don’t get me wrong. Bringing Raynor to life is fun. Fun with a capital F. It’s also quite challenging but being profoundly hard of hearing myself, I’m up to the challenge.

Which senses do you enjoy experiencing the most when reading a good book? What’s the least?

Former small town newspaper publisher, Lynn Chandler Willis is an award-winning, best-selling author of crime, mystery, and suspense. Book 1 of the Death Doula series, What the Monkey Saw, is scheduled for release in November 2022, followed by book 1 in the Raynor Beck series, The Devil to Pay in May 2023.

She is the current president of the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, past president of Sisters in Crime’s Murder We Write chapter, and a member of International Thriller Writers. She’s served as a judge for several national awards for novel length and short fiction works.

Lynn lives in a small farmhouse in the heart of North Carolina, surrounded by farmland, family, a bunch of free-range chickens, two Weimaraners, three goofy French Bulldogs, Willy the one-eyed hell cat, and her own chunky calico named Jingles and the best rescue dog ever, her border collie named Finn.

Social Media Links:

https://www.facebook.com/lynnchandlerwillis.author

https://www.instagram.com/lynnchandlerwillis_author/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lynn-chandler-willis

Welcome

 

 

Research

/in , /by

by Bethany Maines

Recently, I was working on a bit of research for a novel and was forced to reach up into my library of reference books… OK, let’s just pause and admit that’s how old I am.  I have reference books.  When I wrote my first novel, Bulletproof Mascara, my heroine was a linguist, a subject about which I knew very little, and one of my plot points actually hinged on her being familiar with a Latin phrase.  So as I result I ended up purchasing a book on Latin and several on linguistics.  But shortly after that book was published (all the way back 2011) the world changed.

Articles on linguistics and Latin are now readily available (and reliably accurate) online.  Heck, everything is available online.  And nothing has driven that point home more firmly than the book I’m currently working on—a paranormal romance with heavy Indiana Jones/The Mummy vibes. Once more I’m looking up Latin phrases and trying to remember everything I knew about about German menhir.  It used to be that I’d be trotting over to my friends and family and asking to see their Germany photo albums.  Now I just hit YouTube and there is Marburg Castle and I can see the color of the stone and check out the artwork without having to leave my computer.

There is nothing like actually visiting place to provide accurate detail, but it can’t be denied that life has gotten easier in the research department.  Which is why I was amused at my own grumpiness at having to actually rise from my seat, walk all the way over to the bookcase and pull down the book on Latin.  Oh, the horror!  The absolute drain of life force from having to flip pages.  How dare the internet fail me?!

Don’t be distressed.  I have recovered.  I managed to make up some absolute nonsense to counterbalance the actual facts I included regarding Egyptian canopic jars and German history and was thus soothed.  But remind me not to write anything close to historical fiction. I would probably have a historically accurate fit of the vapors if I had to have an entire book full of research.

You can check out my paranormal romances from the same world here: bethanymaines.com/supernaturals/

Or my upcoming magic free Romantic Suspense here: bethanymaines.com/the-deveraux-legacy/

The Fallen Man – Book 4 of the Deveraux Legacy Series – releases October 18 – PREORDER: https://books2read.com/FallenMan

The Deveraux Family: wealthy, glamorous, powerful… and in a lot of trouble. Senator Eleanor Deveraux lost her children in a plane crash, but she has a second chance to get her family right with her four grandchildren – Evan, Jackson, Aiden and Dominique. But second chances are hard to seize when politics, mercenaries, and the dark legacy of the Deveraux family keep getting in the way.

***

Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

 

Gay Yellen: Motorcycle Diaries

/in /by

Back when we worked nearly 24/7 to make a living, my husband and I managed to make a few getaways on his motorcycle, a sparkling red Honda Goldwing. For a two-wheeler, it was a stout and sturdy machine, weighing in, fully packed, at around nine hundred pounds. Once, at a gas station, when we pulled up beside an old Honda Civic, the man at the other pump noticed the 1500CC logo on the side of our bike. He shook his head and laughed. “That thing’s more powerful than my car!”

Indeed it was, and comfy, most of the time. We had no worries on a trip from Texas to Yellowstone National Park, until we ran into an unexpected hail storm.

As we all know, hail is made of ice. Depending on the density and size—from a small, sleety pea to a rock-hard grapefruit—it can be a pain to ride through, especially on a bike.

Our bright, sunny day suddenly turned dark and cold and wet. The nearest town was a tiny hamlet, thirty miles away. With no shelter in sight, and no better option, we sped to it.

By the time we found a fast food place, I was so chilled that I’d lost control of important muscles. I wobbled inside (with help) and ordered hot coffee, but I was spazzing too violently to hold the cup and drink it. I hunched over it for warmth until the spasms eased.

On another ride, we were heading home from Colorado on a perfect, blue bird day. Cruising over backroads through the Rockies, we came to a lovely valley with acres and acres of golden flowers that blanketed the fields around us. The air smelled like warm honey. A gorgeous afternoon, until I heard my husband scream, and the bike swerved sharply underneath us, pitching us toward the ditch. Somehow, before disaster struck, he managed to slow us down and guide the bike to the shoulder. We jumped off just before it landed on its side, halfway into the ditch.

Meanwhile, my husband kept shrieking and running in circles in the middle of the road like a barnyard chicken. He ripped off his helmet and began swatting at his head.

Turned out that the luscious honey aroma wafting from the golden fields had attracted thousands upon thousands of bees that were dipping and diving as they hovered over the flowers. One wayward bee had flown into his helmet and crawled inside his ear. Thank goodness the little buzzer soon recognized the error of its ways, turned itself around and flew away.

We were lucky that our near disaster ended happily. After many more road adventures (like the deer that came out of nowhere and leaped over us, barely avoiding a deadly collision), we sold that Goldwing. I hope the new owners had as much fun with it as we did.

Have you had a near-disaster that became a happy memory?

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the Samantha Newman Mystery Series , including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and the upcoming Body in the News.