By Donnell Ann Bell
I’m glad I only blog once a month on The Stiletto Gang. Mainly because when I stumble on a topic I’d like to discuss, that’s how long it takes to condense the mushroom cloud in my brain into a few cohesive paragraphs.
Case in point, I recently read an ad in American Police Beat Magazine for a device called the MX908 mass spectrometer. This handheld gadget is portable, and because of its cost, (close to $60K per unit) is currently being used by elite first responders.
What does it do? The MX908 mass spectrometer is capable of detecting real time chemical identification (such as explosives, HazMat operations and priority drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and more). 908 Devices – YouTube
I can’t tell you how happy I was to learn about this advancing technology. During ridealongs and citizens academies, I’ve learned that while cops live daily with the knowledge they may take a bullet, they and their fellow first responders, face a greater risk known as exposure.
Exposure to explosives, chemicals and toxic drugs. I’m excited about the advancement of this mass spectrometer. I believe it will save innumerable lives.
I didn’t mean my blog to be an ad for the MX908, however. My original intent was to pinpoint how and when the technology may have evolved and how fiction authors (in particularly science fiction authors) may have contributed.
That idea proved fruitless and of little merit.
DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy Source: Public Domain
Lois Winston and I are critique partners, and I told her about the device and quipped something like Gene Roddenberry, screenwriter and creator of Star Trek, would be proud. If you recall Roddenberry created Star Trek in 1964. One of his characters, Dr. Leonard McCoy, aka Bones, used a medical scanning device on patients to determine illness or injury.
Still, Gene Roddenberry can’t take credit for the spectrometer. As I dove further down the rabbit hole, I learned the first mass spectrometer was invented in the 19th century and before that Issac Newton and others were delving into the color spectrum, telescope, microscope and myriad other devices. Did you know Newton is responsible for calculus?
And please don’t get me started on Benjamin Franklin!!!
I did learn quite a bit about science fiction authors while I was researching but I’ll save that for another blog. There are some amazing authors I’d like to include.
Also, during my explorations, I discovered I was attempting to engage in what is known as Synoptic philosophy, which comes from the Greek word συνοπτικός synoptikos (“seeing everything together”). Add synoptic to the word philosophy, it means the love of wisdom emerging from a coherent understanding of everything together.
Obviously, although my curiosity knows no bounds, I have much to learn.
Does your research lead you down the proverbial rabbit hole? Have you heard the term Synoptic philosophy?
About the Author: Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning author who began her nonfiction career in newspapers. After she turned to fiction, her romantic suspense novels became Amazon bestsellers, including The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas. In 2019, Donnell released her first mainstream suspense, Black Pearl, A Cold Case Suspense, which was a 2020 Colorado Book Award finalist. In 2022, book two of the series was released. Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense won Best Thriller in 2023 at the Imaginarium Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Currently, she’s working on book three of the series. Readers can follow Donnell on her blog or sign up for her newsletter at www.donnellannbell.net.
Newly Issued Short Story Anthologies to Explore
/in Artificial Intelligence, Debra H. Goldstein, Paula Gail Benson, Short Stories/by Paula Bensonby Paula Gail Benson
With March coming in like a lion and continuing to exhibit changeable weather, why not enjoy a virtual vacation by taking advantage of some great reissued short story anthologies?
What amazed me in reading these stories is how, with such limited words, the authors drew the settings so clearly and the characters so poignantly. Both S.A. Cosby’s and Debra H. Goldstein’s stories deal with young women learning about the world through their connections with similar honky tonk venues, but each does so in a completely unique and unexpected manner. John M. Floyd’s story contains a wonderful twist in the end. All the stories are delightful and engaging.
So try a staycation with one or both of these fun anthologies. You’ll really enjoy it!
Cardinal takes flight
/in Detective, Mysteries, Mystery, Paranormal Mystery/by donalee Moultonby donalee Moulton
I envisioned aliens, not my most-favorite image. I learned, however, the term refers broadly to anything unusual or unnatural that we can’t scientifically explain. That meant aliens could take a back seat to ghosts. So, I went ghost hunting.
Like most places, Nova Scotia is full of lure and lore about those who have failed to cross over or who have made a return appearance. One of the former is Catherine McIntosh, a little girl who died in rural Nova Scotia before the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth and one month before her ninth birthday.
There does not appear to be anything sinister or suspicious about Catherine’s death. It’s what happened after that has made the little girl part of the fabric of the otherworldly in my province. Catherine decided to stay.
Today people travel the backroads of Pictou County and wind their way along a narrow dirt road to visit her grave and bring her gifts. She likes it when you bring her presents, and this may earn you a giggle or a muddy handprint on your car. Don’t take one away though. Catherine is usually friendly and warm, but she is still a little girl.
Now she is the cornerstone of Cardinal. In these pages, private detective Em Montgomery is hunting for a missing woman. She expects dead ends. She does not expect a dead girl who refuses to stay buried. Em finds herself knee-deep in fog, small-town secrets, and the uneasy sense she’s being watched by more than wildlife.
Oh yes, there is also blueberry grunt. You know why they call it grunt, right?
Book Clubs, By Saralyn Richard
/in Book Clubs, Book events, Detective Parrott Mystery Series, Mysteries, Reading, Saralyn Richard/by Saralyn RichardI’ve been thinking a lot about book clubs, and I’ve known a lot of them over the years. Big ones, small ones, literary ones, social ones, online ones, in-person ones. I’ve belonged to a few, myself, but in recent years I’ve attended mostly book clubs where my books were being discussed.
And even those have been varied. Some are book review clubs, where the audience has not yet read the book, but would like to hear about it in anticipation of reading. One of these has been in existence for over 75 years and is still going strong.
Some are into dressing up like the characters in the book and decorating the room with artifacts from the book.
Some are serious readers and love discussing the book using Socratic questions.
More than a few serve meals and like to model the menu after the foods mentioned in the book.
Many of them are in farflung places and meet online, or they meet in person, but stream me into the fun. These are no less exciting and fun.
I feel so fortunate when I’m invited to lead or participate in a book club meeting. It’s an honor to be able to discuss my book with readers in an intimate setting, where all questions and answers are enlightening and welcome. Getting to know my readers makes the writing of the next book more exciting, as well. Since I have a sharper image of who is reading, what they like, and how they think, I can communicate better with them.
All in all, I think book clubs are the best “invention” since—well, you know, books, themselves. How about you? What is your book club experience like?
Saralyn Richard is a multiple award-winning author of seven mystery novels, a children’s book, and numerous short stories, poems, and essays published in anthologies and magazines. Her works include the Detective Parrott Mystery Series, the Quinn McFarland Mystery Series, A Murder of Principal, and Naughty Nana. Saralyn is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers, and she has taught literature and creative writing to high school students and adults through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Saralyn and her husband live in Texas in the house she grew up in.
The Summerville Book Festival
/in Uncategorized/by Paula Bensonby Paula Gail Benson
Summerville Book Festival–Main Street Reads
At the end of February, I journeyed to Summerville, South Carolina, which is a growing metropolis of about 53,000 people located a little more than 20 miles from Charleston. I went there for the 2nd annual Book Festival sponsored by Main Street Reads, an independent bookstore located in the center of the historic area. Main Street Reads also was celebrating its 7th anniversary.
The Festival was well organized, presented a large variety of books and authors to the public, and had a lot of fun events. I commend the bookstore for all its efforts. If you check out its website, you’ll notice that it encourages book clubs and writing groups. Several of the authors on the panels I saw had begun with a Main Street Reads writing group and that led to their getting their work published.
When I arrived in Summerville, I wondered if I would find a park. Vehicles seemed to have taken every possible space around the square and side roads. Finally, I slid into a vacant one about a block and a half from the bookstore. I walked along Main Street, noting the restaurants and shops I would like to visit. Tents were set up in the center of the square. Later, when I had a chance to walk past them, I saw they had book and craft exhibits for all ages. You could hear reading over a loudspeaker.
The bookstore itself was a narrow building tucked among the other businesses. It was well stocked with books but also featured items that would enchant literature fans including totes, clutch bags designed to resemble books, bookmarks, pens, games, and puzzles. While some festival events were free, others required general admission or a special ticket. I had purchased my tickets online for two panel presentations that would be held consecutively. I got directions from the bookstore for the venue.
Just half a block away, the Flowertown Players Theatre had a makeshift bookstore at its entrance and provided the stage for the panels. Summerville is known as “Flowertown in the Pines” for its beautiful floral displays and flower festival. The theatre also is named for James F. Dean, a local resident with a theatre degree, who designed the theatre’s interior.
First, I attended the Kiss and Tell panel with romance authors Savannah Reed, Robin Hillyer-Miles, Catherine Mann, Elaine Reed, Rebecca Wrights, Addie Bealer, and Marissa Hale, who moderated. In addition to featuring writing that ranged from sweet to steamy, this panel’s authors included those with significant collections of work like Catherine Mann and Elaine Reed and those making their debuts like Robin Hillyer-Miles and Addie Bealer.
The second panel, Fabulous Fantasy, had Dorothy McFalls as moderator and Yasmin Angoe, A.F. Winter, E.M. Etheridge, Denise Lee, Allen Lyle, and Crystal Michel. Each of these authors approached world building and character development from unique perspectives. The diversity in their work was fascinating. An added feature was that every ticket holder got an advance copy of Yasmin Angoe’s young adult novel She Drinks the Light.
During the Festival, workers, volunteers, and authors passed out Mardi Gras beads. At the conclusion of the Festival, the person who had the most beads would win a $50 gift certificate to the bookstore.
Everyone had a great time. If you’re in the area or can get there for next year’s Festival, I encourage you to do so. Also, if you are an author nearby, see if you can get on the bookstore’s event schedule. They are very accommodating.
The Anthropomorphizing of an Octopus
/in Author Life, Kathleen Kaska, Nature/by Kathleen KaskaThe Anthropomorphizing of an Octopus
I just finished reading Shelby Van Pelt’s delightful novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures. Van Pelt tells the story of an octopus named Marsellus who lived in an aquarium and befriended the elderly nighttime cleaning lady. Several chapters are written from Marcellus’ point of view. It is an excellent example of anthropomorphizing, the attribution of human form, personality, or emotions to something nonhuman.
This book brought back a lot of memories. My degree is in physical anthropology. I’ve only met two other people who also hold this degree. True, it’s not easy to find a job in this field, but I loved the coursework. When people hear the word anthropology, they think of the study of the development of human societies, cultures, languages, and social organization. They think of Margaret Mead. That is cultural anthropology. Physical anthropology is the scientific study of human biology, evolution, genetics, and variation, both past and present. It was a perfect field for me because I love these scientific fields. I could read a biology text as if it were a compelling novel.
One of my college courses was primate behavior. I was assigned to work with a professor who was studying vervet monkeys to compare their behavior with that of humans. My lab work involved observing and documenting monkey behavior, and I was instructed not to anthropomorphize, just to record their activity. Each monkey was assigned a number. My documentation went like this:
Needless to say, the class was the highlight of my day. Years later, I taught life science to middle school students. Watching those active preteens, I was often reminded of the vervet monkey I studied. Their behavior was not that different. My teaching curriculum covered the classification and taxonomy of living things, as well as evolution, so my degree proved useful. One of my lessons focused on the octopus, the most intelligent invertebrate. Other members of the invertebrate group include insects, spiders, clams, oysters, corals, and earthworms. Intelligence is not typically associated with these animals. It involves learning, problem-solving, and a higher level of understanding—traits usually attributed to vertebrates, animals with backbones. However, many studies have shown that octopuses can solve problems, remember, and respond to different situations; in other words, they demonstrate a higher level of thinking. I believe the octopus is a bridge species, and if evolution continues, it might eventually develop a backbone and join the class shared by other backboned animals.
Marcellus, in Van Pelt’s book, figured out how to escape his tank, roam the aquarium at night, and dine on his fellow captives: sea cucumbers, mussels, clams, and more. He could open locked cages, read, and respond to people’s emotions.
How often do we anthropomorphize? For example, saying your dog’s feelings were hurt when you stopped throwing him the ball, or that your cat shredded your drapes because you bought her the wrong cat food. The humanizing of animals appears in many children’s books and adult novels. Think of all the cozy mystery series featuring animals as the protagonists: Spencer Quinn’s Chet (a dog) and Bernie (his human) make up the Little Detective Agency series, all of which I’ve read. The stories are told entirely from Chet’s point of view. There’s also The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy series featuring a cat and a Corgi, and The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency by Mandy Morton. I remember a Martha Grimes mystery, The Grave Maurice, where a horse’s point of view adds a touching depth to the story that a human character couldn’t express.
What about writing a series with an octopus as the detective? I could call it the Tentacle Tales series. I’ll add it to my very long list of projects to write, but if you beat me to it, that’s okay. I know I’ll read it.
Do you ever anthropomorphize in your writing?
Check out my Sydney Lockhart mysteries and my Kate Caraway Animal-Rights mysteries: Kathleen Kaska’s Books
Every Little Thing
/in New Release, Romance, Romantic Suspense, writing life/by Bethany MainesQuarter 1 had a lot of things…
And Thing 1 and Thing 2 were not blue-haired pranksters. The things were both writing. Last year, I blithely signed a contract with Varus Publishing to provide 4 books in 2026. I had exactly 1.5 books of those four written when I signed. Well, if you want to meet editorial and layout schedules, then you must turn in your manuscripts at a date that is not the last minute. Then I took on teaching a new writing workshop (which means developing the workshop), being the Treasurer for the Mystery Writers of America Northwest Chapter, volunteering my design skills to a worthy-cause website, supporting my brother’s new business, and oh, yeah, my daughter’s birthday is in a week. Keep reading for the news breakdown.
The workshop “Murder Boards & Master Plans: Brainstorming Your Mystery” went from being hybrid to being all virtual due to the possibility of snow in the forecast. While a bit of a curveball, the workshop still went well as we discussed how to pick which information we need to start outlining (or if you’re a “pantser – how to just start writing) and then broke it down to have some fabulous shared moments and help each other move our stories forward. It was so fantastic to see attendees have a lightbulb or a breakthrough moment on their plot.
Being a Treasurer is not particularly difficult. What’s challenging is the bank who, despite non-profit boards routinely rotating all across the US, seem shocked that there is a new treasurer literally every time. But it’s not my first time being a treasurer so I just gathered up all my bits and went down to the bank and talked to real person until it was mostly straightened out. Sadly, I’ll be doing it again this week in order to set up online banking. It never seems to happen all in one visit. However, the rest of the job is going fine, and we’ve already started our programming for the year – Check out Mystery Manon as she discusses social media for mystery writers!
As part of our MWA Chapter’s mission to support writing, this year we took on the support of Noir at the Bar Seattle. While a fixture on the Seattle literary scene since 2014, NATB has never had it’s own website. Until now. With some graphic design wizardry and a little tech know-how, I was able to put together a NATB website. It’s main goal is to share news of upcoming events, and keep track of past performers. You can also sign up for the mailing list and listen to recordings of previous readings. To learn more visit: https://www.noiratthebarseattle.com/
My daughter’s birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day and as per usual, we have picked out and tested a green dessert. This year it’s… Greenies. Because they can’t be brownies if they’re green. If you’re interested in getting the recipe (and news about new books, giveaways, and author spotlights) then sign up for my once a month newsletter! Visit: https://bethanymaines.com/connect/
Book 1 of the 2026 novels is now out in the wild and being read and reviewed by real human beings – ack! Look for Book 2 – Forged in Flame – June. This one is a perfectly delicious second chance romance with dragons because… of course there are dragons in Hawaii — it’s got a volcano.
Heart’s Curse
Writing under the pen name Sirena Corebeau for Varus Publishing, Heart’s Curse is about Lucas Kane, a hotel boss who’s on his way up the ladder and his first shot at the big time in Vegas is The Lucky Heart Hotel & Casino. There’s just one tiny problem… it’s cursed. Charlotte “Charlie” Auvray has always been told she’s nothing special—just the magicless daughter of a powerful witch family. But when a disastrous spring break lands her in Las Vegas, she stumbles into the path of Lucas Kane, a dangerously magnetic casino boss with secrets of his own. Lucas is juggling mob ties, a cursed hotel, and powers he can never reveal. What he doesn’t need is a heartbroken college girl counting cards at his tables… or kissing him in front of her cheating ex. But when blood rains from the showers and guests descend into madness, Charlie proves she sees what no one else can—the curse that haunts the Lucky Heart’s Casino. To break it, she’ll have to embrace her hidden magic and trust Lucas with her heart. Because in Vegas, the stakes aren’t just money—they’re life, love, and destiny.
ORDER NOW: https://amzn.to/49fdeli
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See more books from the Stiletto Gang: BOOKS
Life in the Cracks
/in Author Life, Book Clubs, Gay Yellen, Romantic Suspense, Samantha Newman Romantic Mystery series, Spring/by Gay YellenI had an entirely different topic planned for today’s post until I learned that this date marks a celebration of “life in the cracks” for at least one community in California. I think it’s actually something we all should celebrate, especially these days.
It’s the Festival of Life-in-the-Cracks Day!
Time to celebrate the first signs of Spring that bring us fresh crops, fuzzy little ducklings, and even sprouts of greenery that rise up through our cracked sidewalks.
It is a day to celebrate rebirth and renewal, a day to appreciate the beauty of life anywhere you find it.
There’s something about new greenery popping up and out all around us that offers us a mental boost. Given the current state of the world, we could use a reminder to celebrate life. No matter how bleak the outlook, here comes Spring to remind us that things can change for the better.
In our park’s family garden, spring has definitely sprung. Cabbage, okra, tomatoes, figs, and apple blossoms abound.
Bees are buzzing, flowers blooming, and crops are bursting with life. Just to be surrounded by it all can lift our spirits.
With the world in turmoil, I can’t think of a more timely celebration than Life-in-the-Cracks Day. It
calls to mind the encouraging message in Leonard Cohen’s beautiful Anthem which shares the wisdom that—even when life feels like there’s a crack in everything—remember this: it’s how the light gets in.
I’m no Pollyanna, but I am so very, very eager to mute the bad news and turn myself toward hopeful things right now. Here’s to a bright, refreshing Spring for us all!
How about you, friends and readers… Are you ready for a brighter day?
The Samantha Newman Mystery Series is packed with suspense and full of romance, heart, and humor. Available on Amazon or order through your favorite bookseller.
Down the Rabbit Hole
/in Donnell Ann Bell, History, Ideas, Police, Research, writing life/by Donnell Ann BellBy Donnell Ann Bell
I’m glad I only blog once a month on The Stiletto Gang. Mainly because when I stumble on a topic I’d like to discuss, that’s how long it takes to condense the mushroom cloud in my brain into a few cohesive paragraphs.
Case in point, I recently read an ad in American Police Beat Magazine for a device called the MX908 mass spectrometer. This handheld gadget is portable, and because of its cost, (close to $60K per unit) is currently being used by elite first responders.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to learn about this advancing technology. During ridealongs and citizens academies, I’ve learned that while cops live daily with the knowledge they may take a bullet, they and their fellow first responders, face a greater risk known as exposure.
Exposure to explosives, chemicals and toxic drugs. I’m excited about the advancement of this mass spectrometer. I believe it will save innumerable lives.
I didn’t mean my blog to be an ad for the MX908, however. My original intent was to pinpoint how and when the technology may have evolved and how fiction authors (in particularly science fiction authors) may have contributed.
That idea proved fruitless and of little merit.
DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy Source: Public Domain
Lois Winston and I are critique partners, and I told her about the device and quipped something like Gene Roddenberry, screenwriter and creator of Star Trek, would be proud. If you recall Roddenberry created Star Trek in 1964. One of his characters, Dr. Leonard McCoy, aka Bones, used a medical scanning device on patients to determine illness or injury.
Still, Gene Roddenberry can’t take credit for the spectrometer. As I dove further down the rabbit hole, I learned the first mass spectrometer was invented in the 19th century and before that Issac Newton and others were delving into the color spectrum, telescope, microscope and myriad other devices. Did you know Newton is responsible for calculus?
And please don’t get me started on Benjamin Franklin!!!
I did learn quite a bit about science fiction authors while I was researching but I’ll save that for another blog. There are some amazing authors I’d like to include.
Also, during my explorations, I discovered I was attempting to engage in what is known as Synoptic philosophy, which comes from the Greek word συνοπτικός synoptikos (“seeing everything together”). Add synoptic to the word philosophy, it means the love of wisdom emerging from a coherent understanding of everything together.
Obviously, although my curiosity knows no bounds, I have much to learn.
Does your research lead you down the proverbial rabbit hole? Have you heard the term Synoptic philosophy?
About the Author: Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning author who began her nonfiction career in newspapers. After she turned to fiction, her romantic suspense novels became Amazon bestsellers, including The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas. In 2019, Donnell released her first mainstream suspense, Black Pearl, A Cold Case Suspense, which was a 2020 Colorado Book Award finalist. In 2022, book two of the series was released. Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense won Best Thriller in 2023 at the Imaginarium Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Currently, she’s working on book three of the series. Readers can follow Donnell on her blog or sign up for her newsletter at www.donnellannbell.net.
Judging a Book by Its Title
/in Author Life, Mysteries, Sparkle Abbey, writing life/by Mary Lee AshfordWe often get asked about our book titles and we do have some fun with them. The Sparkle Abbey books sport titles such as “The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo” and “Fifty Shades of Greyhound” and the Mary Lee Ashford books, “Game of Scones” and “Risky Biscuits.” As with most traditionally published authors, we had no guarantee that the publisher would keep the titles we’d created but in almost all cases they did.
Still, in this new world of hybrid publishing and ever more complicated methods of discoverability, we got to wondering about how much impact a title has for readers in finding the books they like to read.
Over time there have been different trends such as the X Y format – two word titles – “Demon Copperhead,” “The Maid” or “Gone Girl.” And then there’s the really long book titles. For example: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” or a children’s favorite of ours, “Alexander’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.” Or the lovely, “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.” There also seem to be some new trends with cross-genre type titles and a surge of retro-sounding titles. Though some of these are specific to particular type of books or sub-genres, most seem to cross the lines.
And as with all things in the publishing world, title trends are ever changing. So we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Do particular types of titles appeal to you? And how much impact does the title of a book have on whether you would buy it or maybe at least stop to take another look?
Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series.
They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.)
They love to hear from readers and can be found on social media or contacted via their websites:
Sparkle Abbey: Facebook Website
Mary Lee Ashford: Facebook Instagram Website
Steps In A Journey
/in Brooke Terpening, Colorado Gold Rush Literary Contest, Donnell Ann Bell, Pacific Northwest Writers Association Contest, Publishing, Royal Palm Literary Awards, Severn River Publishing, Writers League of Texas Literary Contest/by Brooke TerpeningThe creative side of writing is a joy, but, as we all know, the business of getting your novel into the world can be daunting. As I’ve learned, it takes a village and a support network along with a healthy dose of determination to birth a book.
I started my publication journey by joining Sisters in Crime. It was during one of their book clubs that I had the good fortune to meet Stiletto Gang member Donnell Ann Bell. She took an interest in my legal thriller featuring a former Miami prosecutor, which I hadn’t shared with anyone other than my husband, critique partners, and a few close friends. I nervously let Donnell, an award winning published author, read my first chapters. As a result, she demanded (and if you know Donnell, that is not an exaggeration) I enter writing competitions.
That was three years ago. Despite winning or finaling every writing competition I entered, my novel couldn’t find a publishing home. I kept writing my legal thriller series and faithfully scoured Manuscript Wish List and Query Tracker for agents representing my genre. No one was looking for a legal thriller. I began to doubt myself. Was there no market for anyone outside of the big three — Grisham, Connelly, and Turow?
Time for my own market research. An Amazon search on “legal thriller” turned up many authors with hundreds and even thousands of four-star and higher reviews. This confirmed that there was a huge number of readers and buyers out there, hungry for legal thrillers. An even bigger surprise was that outside of the big three, almost all were self-published, with only a couple of exceptions.
One of the exceptions caught my attention: Severn River Publishing. Curious, I researched the company. What I saw resonated with me. Relatively new, the company “was founded by military veterans and family members who shared a love of story.” When I saw they focused on thriller and mystery genres including — I held my breath—legal thrillers, I submitted my first novel to them.
Fast forward three months. I signed with Severn River for a four book series and couldn’t be happier working with a publisher that exceeds expectations. I’m excited to share their announcement in Publisher’s Marketplace with you.
“Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
– Harriet Beecher Stowe, author