Blessing or a Heart’s Curse?

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I was elected…

To the Board of the Northwest Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America!  As a cross-genre writer who bounces between mystery and romance, I’m subject to imposter syndrome in every genre I touch.  Is this enough of a mystery?  Is this romance-y enough?  Someone give me a kiss-o-meter!  So when a friend reached out and suggested I run for the Board I thought… eeee, I don’t know.  What if someone finds out that all my mysteries have kissing in them?  Then I realized that was probably the silliest thing I’d thought lately and I said we could maybe think about it.

And now I’m Treasurer.

Where’s that facepalm emoji when I need it?  Although, to be honest, this is also how I ended up as the Treasurer of my local business district a few years ago. And that turned out fine. (We held a wine walk and a farmer’s market!) So I suppose we shall see if I can figure out how to make the MWA hold a wine walk.  What’s the author equivalent of a wine walk?  Now I need the heavy thinking emoji.

Crime’s of the Heart

But as I ponder if I’m mystery enough for the mystery crowd, or romance enough for the romance crew, I realize that I couldn’t have written my most recent book without my mystery and crime fiction background. The idea was simple enough—I hate The Shining.  (Confession: I’ve never read the book.)  The movie bugs me.  It’s stylish, terrifying, and (for me) the characters behave in completely unbelievable ways.  Every time I’ve seen it, I think… why would the caretaker leave?  Why would she not leave her husband prior to going to a snowed-in hotel?  Why has no one ever noticed the creepy ass shit before this? What kind of hotel owner would let a hotel be empty for six months of the year? And then I had the action movie thought, that this could be solved a lot of ways that weren’t… any of this.  It’s like how most action movies could really be avoided if someone just shot the bad guy the moment he started pontificating.  Which led me to think that this kind of nonsense wouldn’t fly in Vegas. Cursed hotel?  Oh, hell no.  The mob is not standing for that—they would be getting in a priest the first time some evil twin ghosts interfered with a slot machine.  Crime families cannot be having blood dripping from the walls.  That would cut down on the profits.  And then I said, “Ooooooh. I might need to do something with that.”  And since I’m an adult and I can give in to all of my intrusive thoughts if I want… I did just that.

Heart's Curse

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

Heart’s Curse releases March 3, 2026!  Whether or not my reign of terror at the MWA treasury position goes as well as the romance for Lucas and Charlie remains to be seen.

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Bethany Maines drinks from an arsenic mugBethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities, including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.  She has also writes under the pen name Sirena Corbeau for spicier paranormal romance novels. Learn more at: bethanymaines.com or sirenacorbeau.com 

See more books from the Stiletto Gang: BOOKS

 

Are Men More Romantic Than Women?

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Valentine’s Day can bring on a variety of emotions, from high-stakes excitement to blasé indifference, or even outright dread. But, ready or not, it’s barreling into our lives this week. Who loves romance more, men or women?

Romantic Love

Before we get into how we feel about it, a little history may shed some light on this red-letter date.

(Spoiler alert: The earliest celebrations were fraught with unpleasantness, to put it mildly.)

According to History.com the red-letter day began as an ancient pagan fertility ritual in which a goat was usually sacrificed. The poor animal’s hide was sliced into strips that were soaked in blood, which then got slapped (lovingly?) against young village women and nearby crop fields to insure successful procreation. Allegedly, that festival was so popular, it was observed for over a thousand years until, in the 3rd century, a February date was adopted to commemorate an entirely new horror: the martyrdom of Valentinus, an early church priest who advocated for marriage, a rite the emperor at the time apparently frowned upon.

Whew!

We can thank the Victorians for turning the date into an occasion for the  more humane ritual of exchanging cards and tokens of affection with people we liked.

Things remained in that pleasant mode for well over a century, until modern life took a more ironic turn. Nowadays, not all women pine for a Prince Charming. The old obligatory box of chocolates and bouquet of roses can fall short of making a woman swoon. Instead of hearts and flowers, it’s common to find restaurants that tout “Galentine” or “Palentine” specials to include a wider audience.

In my favorite new twist, even a well-respected institutions like the Museum of Natural Science is offering a chance to dedicate a live Madagascar hissing cockroach in honor of your favorite person.

Could this be another sign that Romantic Love is dying?

Not so fast, because hope sometimes comes from where you might least expect it.

According to an article in the New York Post, men outnumber women as fans of romance novels, at least in the world of publishing. A recent survey of 2,000 American romance readers revealed that more men in the survey consider themselves die-hard romance enthusiasts compared to women. And men spent more of their leisure time reading romance: 364 hours per year for men; 312 hours for women.

The survey also uncovered the mental images romance junkies think of while they’re reading. Seventeen percent of married readers picture their spouse as the love interest in a book, 21% conjure up a celebrity crush, and 7% confessed that they envision their ex. Awww…

For the writers among us, take note: regardless of gender, those same readers also mentioned their least-favorite romance tropes: love triangles, office romance, and fake dating (whatever that is).

Best loved? Forbidden romance, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers. What seemed most important to those readers: good character development, realistic dialog, and ample romantic moments. Not a bad checklist.

And speaking of romance, my award-winning Samantha Newman Romantic Mystery Series has just been named a Semifinalist at Chanticleer for their Best Series Award! That’s a Valentine I heartily welcome.

How about you, friends and readers, how do you feel about Romantic Love on this Valentine’s Day?

Gay Yellen’s award-winning writing career began in magazine journalism.

She later served as the contributing editor for the international thriller, Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), which debuted as a New York Times “Notable.”

The Samantha Newman Mystery Series : includes The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News. The books are  packed with suspense,  romance, and humor. Available on Amazon or order through your favorite bookseller.  More at GayYellen.com

 

 

Would You Take This Advice?

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As the calendar turns, it seems like we’re bombarded with suggestions about how to improve our happiness and well-being in the new year. Much of this purported wisdom comes from professional gurus, some from ordinary folks, and some—heaven help us—from chatbots. A meme I recently came across suggested that we had to invent artificial intelligence because we are running out of real intelligence. But I digress…

The New York Times columnist, Melissa Kirsch, asked her readers to share the best advice they got in the past year. A few ideas were practical, such as: “Don’t think harder, breathe deeper.” Or, “Baby steps still move us forward.” Or, “Always have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge.”

And others seemed less helpful, such as “You don’t need to tell everyone everything that goes into making the chicken soup.”

I’m guessing that one was from a chatbot.

If you take advice from TEDTalk gurus or best-seller book lists, you’ve probably come across the podcaster Mel Robbins and her blockbuster “Let Them” theory. At its core is this message: Don’t waste your energy worrying about people and situations beyond your control. Let them be stupid, mean, or just plain wrong, and get on with your life.

I received similar advice years ago. After venting my frustration over a personal relationship, an older and wiser woman of few words, responded, “When you argue with a fool, there are two fools arguing.” She saved me from allowing an untenable situation to ruin my life. It’s been a lesson I’ve returned to time and again.

When our family doctor retired, we thought we’d lost his gentle, humorous counsel forever. But he recently reappeared as a columnist on The Buzz, a local publication that’s often fun to read. On New Year’s Day, he cited a university’s report showing that less than ten percent of resolutions are kept, and almost half are abandoned before the end of the month.

The good doctor’s believes it would help if we promised ourselves to do something less boring than lose weight or exercise more. “Why not resolve to do things that you really secretly want to do,” he asks, like “eat some chocolate every day?” Wise man.

Still, the urge is strong at New Year’s to look inward for ways to improve ourselves. My own resolutions tend to revolve around my writing career, which puts me in mind of the main character in my Samantha Newman Mystery Series.

Samantha is too headstrong to worry about any personal shortcomings, even though they often lead her into dangerous territory. When she sees an injustice, she dives headfirst into fixing the situation. So far, she’s survived relatively unscathed. But will she make it through another dicey situation?

We’ll see. In the meantime, let’s all cut ourselves a little slack.

Have fun, be well, and no matter what… have a great year!

Gay Yellen began her award-winning writing career in magazine journalism. She also was the contributing editor for the international thriller, Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), which debuted as a New York Times “Notable.” Her Samantha Newman Mystery Series is packed with suspense and laced with touches of romance, heart, and humor. Find it on Amazon or through your favorite bookseller. 

 

Food Fight by Gay Yellen

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I’ve been stuck in a vigorous debate over an important cultural matter. It’s a food fight, of sorts, only with cookbooks. It would be nice to clean up the mess once and for all. So, here’s your chance to weigh in on the silliness.

Are you familiar with the ongoing on-line debate over whether a hot dog is or is not a sandwich? Well, my beef (!) is similar, except it’s about doughnuts.

Let’s start with a bit of history:

Today is National Pastry Day. A reason to rejoice, because the list of pastries associated with this event is mouth-watering, and includes one of my favorites: doughnuts.

A Wikipedia entry defines the doughnut as “a type of pastry made from leavened dough,” which seems straightforward enough to begin with. Wiki continues to state that it may come in many shapes, which explains the latest popular spinoff, the cronut, a mash up with another delicious pastry, the croissant. Given short shrift in the definition is the one made of cake, which contains no leavening yeast.

Lovers of the knock-off seem as passionate about their choice as I am of mine, the addictive, puffy, sugar-glazed delight which has fueled me through many long days at the keyboard.

In my world, as long as the doughnut-adjacent sweet remains qualified by its “cake” modifier, it may be okay, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing.

A bagel is similar in shape, but at least it has the dignity not to call itself a “bread” doughnut.

I believe a cake donut is merely cake trying to pass itself off as a something more interesting. This doesn’t preclude other people from  calling the doughnut-adjacent treat whatever they want. But it will never be the real thing for me.

Which brings us back to the hot dog debate.

If, as some skeptics claim, a hot dog is not a sandwich, I’d ask why the lowly sausage between two pieces of bread doesn’t deserve that appellation. If you slice a tomato, add some cheese, lettuce, and maybe a little turkey‚ then put it all between two pieces of mayo-slathered bread, is that a sandwich, or a chef salad?

I love doughnuts so much, I lent my addiction to the heroine in my Samantha Newman Series. Sam has been known to scarf down a few whenever she’s stressed. And in Book 3, The Body in the News, she manages to bond with a potential murder suspect over their shared appreciation of the glazed goodies.

Perhaps, one day all of us will settle our differences and agree on the same gastronomic appellation of a doughnut/pastry/cake thingy. Then, we could meet in the middle to share a baker’s dozen.

And from there, perhaps, move on to weightier subjects, like sharing Peace on Earth.

Where do you stand in the hot dog sandwich controversy? What about the doughnut/cake/pastry debate?

Gay Yellen’s award-winning writing career began in magazine journalism.  She later served as the contributing editor for the international thriller, Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), which debuted as a New York Times “Notable.”

The Samantha Newman Mystery Series is packed with suspense and laced with touches of romance, heart, and humor. Available on Amazon or order through your favorite bookseller. 

 

Illustration of Smith Tower from the novel Emergency Exit

Exit Inspiration

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The Inspiration Behind Emergency Exit

The opening of Emergency Exit, book 3 of the Valkyrie Brothers series, was actually the first scene I wrote in the series.  Ash Valkyrie sneaks into the building (because… reasons) via the service elevator and due to the loud vent system Harper Smoak has a misunderstanding about which party the elevator is heading for and… the hijinks and the plot ensue from there. The Valkyrie Brothers trilogy is a laugh-packed series of connected romantic mysteries starring the Valkyrie Brothers—Rowan, Forest, and Ash—as they struggle to find love AND stay alive in Seattle.

So I had the perfect set up for my characters! But then the scene sat there.  And sat there.  I would open it up periodically, re-read it and think… that is a great opening! Too bad I had no plot to go with it.  And then finally, finally, finally another elevator-based idea snuck into my head. What if the couple in the Smith Tower elevator weren’t the only ones to meet in an elevator?  And thus the premise for the Valkyrie Brothers began. But the series started and now ends with the Smith Tower.

What makes the Smith Tower Memorable?

Completed in 1914, the 38-story, the Smith Tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River until the completion of the Kansas City Power & Light Building in 1931. It remained the tallest building on the U.S. West Coast until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962. It was owned by the wealthy industrialist Lyman Cornelius Smith, and construction was completed by his family after his death in 1910.  It was designated as Seattle Landmark in 1984 and has faced a variety of economic misfortunes from careless owners, to low tenancy and a foreclosure sale in 2012.

But aside from being old, what’s it got that’s cool?  Architectural style for miles.  From the tower being clad in distinctive white terra cotta and a pyramid top to the tower that has an apartment inside, the building is an Art Deco beauty. But the real show-stopper was the Chinese Room.

Tucked on the 35th floor of the Smith Tower, the Chinese Room was reportedly a gift from China’s Empress Dowager Cixi, complete with a carved teak ceiling, blackwood furniture, and silk paintings, and even a famous Wishing Chair said to bring good luck in love. It opened alongside the tower in 1914, delighting visitors who would ride the original hand-operated Otis elevator to soak in the views—and the décor. Although the room was closed in 2014, much of its ornate charm—like the ceiling and chair—was preserved in a new speak-easy style bar space.

I’m sorry, did you say hand-operated elevators?

That’s right. The building was one of the last on the West Coast to employ elevator operators. It wasn’t until 2017 that the elevators were automated (and OK, renovated for seismic safety).  The elevators have lattice like scissor gates that allowed riders to see the floors as they go by and they have kept those, but now they operate with the press of a boring button, rather than by a gentleman turning a lever to the correct floor.

How did the Smith Tower Inspire Emergency Exit?

My business partner and I worked an event at the Smith Tower in early 2014, which means that we were one of the last people to see the original Chinese Room in all its splendor and ride up all those floors with the uniform-clad elevator operator.  And for years, I thought that it seemed like such a fabulous location that it needed to be commemorated in story and song.  But I can’t sing and I don’t write music, so fiction is what I’m bringing to the table.  And when it came time to write about the Smith Tower, I made the choice to fudge the timeline a bit.  I wanted to bring back the Chinese Room and elevator operators in all their splendor and inconvenience.  And I did!  So if you want to learn more about Ash, Harper, and the Smith Tower, check out Emergency Exit!

Emergency Exit, Release Date: 9/22

Emergency Exit 3D book mock up

One bad ex. One fake relationship. Sometimes the only way out is the Emergency Exit.

When a misunderstanding lands new-to-town Harper Smoak at the wrong event with gorgeous tech investor Asher Valkyrie, she hopes she’ll be able to sneak out without embarrassment. But when she fends off his manipulative ex, Emma, by pretending to be his girlfriend Ash offers Harper $10,000 to continue the role and bolster his image while he works on a high-profile Pentagon project. Hesitant, but struggling with a debt she never asked for, Harper agrees. However, the faux-relationship quickly sends real sparks flying, and what began as simple arrangement quickly becomes something more. But while Harper and Ash draw closer, navigating Ash’s secrets, judgmental social circle, and Emma’s interference, test their growing bond. And when Ash’s enemies target Harper, Ash knows that he has one chance to make things right or Harper will be making an emergency exit.

PRE-ORDER: https://amzn.to/43ZKsT6

 

 

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities, including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Decisions Decisions

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Donnell Ann BellBy Donnell Ann Bell

Some changes are in store for me in the upcoming months. As I write this, I’m about to join the ranks of hybrid author. After 25 years in business, my publisher BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books/Imajinn is closing its doors. Debra Dixon, who has owned and operated the publishing house (and admirably I might add), will retire.

As far as this author is concerned, as a publisher and editor, Debra Dixon has been exemplary, following through on every commitment she’s made. And to have the author of Goal, Motivation and Conflict as my editor for my Cold Case Series, has been both and education and has made me a better writer. So, now it’s time for this fledgling duckling—I mean author—to decide what she wants to do next. As I await my rights reversion letter, I look at this transition as an opportunity. For the most part, I’m thrilled with the product that Bell Bridge Books produced that bears my name on the covers. Still, like most books, dare I say, every published novel contains surprise gremlins. These gremlins called errors pop up in spite of critique partners, beta readers, editors, copy editors and proofreaders.

My friend Annette Dashofy is famous for saying if a mistake makes it into our books upon publication, after an author’s painstaking review, followed by the numerous editorial eyes on it, that typo deserves to be in there!!😉While I think her philosophy is clever, I respectfully disagree and want that typo corrected. Being traditionally published, I haven’t had the luxury of fixing a digital copy after it’s published. When my books are returned to me, I plan to fix those pesky errors that have plagued me these many years.

Which brings me to something else I’ve been thinking about and would love your opinions. Over the years I’ve received both good and bad reviews. Some readers lamented I didn’t put enough sex in my books, while other readers appreciated that I didn’t. Then there’s the subject of expletives. My mother worked for a doctor who claimed that using foul language was a sign of a weak mind. Moreover, if the speaker did use expletives, it was because he  couldn’t think of anything else to say. As a young woman, I heard that story so many times, I came to believe the doctor had a @#$% valid point!

In my debut novel, The Past Came Hunting, I used expletives. Namely, because my protagonist is a cop. Further, the story begins with a rebellious seventeen-year-old in the process of making the mistake of her life when she hooks up with a California bad boy (later a vengeful ex-con). While my female protagonist cleans up her act (and her language), and the cop occasionally expels an oath, the ex-con absolutely refused to say, “Gosh” and “Darn.” Honest, I asked him!

My debut won several awards, was requested by agents and was responsible for my publication. I remember receiving one letter about the language while the book has hundreds of positive reviews and hit #7 on Amazon’s list as a new author. I’m pretty proud of that. Here’s another question for you. What is it about criticism that we can receive numerous accolades, but we continually focus on the negative?  Also, as I’m going over the book line by line and have the opportunity to sanitize this manuscript, I’m not sure I want to.

Do I still hate expletives? Absolutely. I try hard not to use them. But it’s not about me. It’s about the characters. Fortunately, my other books don’t include a truculent psychopath. Brooke Terpening, another Stiletto Gang member, sent me the following blog written by author Harry Bingham to help me weigh my decision: Click here (content warning).  Mr. Bingham has an incredibly interesting take on the subject. By the way, the article provides an “f-bomb” score. Believe it or not my index is 28/82 = 0.35 which means my book is “unsweary.” Seriously?

Meanwhile, decisions, decisions.

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.

The Publishing Game

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What Are We Publishing?

Publishing is always a bit of a game, but sometimes I feel more like I’m racking up publishing “points.” This year, I’ve found myself with some unexpectedly free writing time. I wrapped up writing the series I was working on (the Valkyrie Brothers) and I didn’t have a next grand project to launch into. Which meant I found myself surfing around the author communities and checking out open submission calls. Short stories are always a unique challenge, but for some reason there have been some what I would call “long-short story” openings.  Usually short stories are under 5,000 words, but these were running 8 or 9 thousand words and then there were some novella openings at 15,000 – 20,000 words.  Which was when I decided to give myself carpal tunnel syndrome and to rack up as many publishing points as possible.

Short Stories

Short stories usually publish in magazines and anthologies and are often snapshots of a moment. Compressing an entire plot into a short story is almost impossible.  Respect to the writer’s who can accomplish it, but my view of short stories are that they are their own format and have their own rhythm and conventions.

Mid-Length

But mid-length stories?  Hmmm… This was a new challenge for me.  At 8-9k words that seemed like enough room to get an entire plot in.  So I went back to my plotting systems, worked on some outlines, and then did math. I know that doesn’t sound natural for a writer, but once I knew how many scenes/chapters I had, I could divide by the total allowed word count and figure out my allowed words per scene.  And then I could see how badly I was blowing past that word count.

Novellas

I used the same formula for the 15-20k word novellas as I did for the mid-length stories and was happy with the increased word count. The finished products seemed a bit “naked” in that I felt like if I wanted them to be full length novels they should have more description. However, even with the length requirements and fast pacing I still felt like I had a complete story and I was happy with the results.

For this experiment the openings were in spicier romance novels, which is not my usual readership.  Since I didn’t want to ambush any of my readers with extra spicy content, I decided to submit the stories with a pen name and I asked the Stiletto Gang and readers for help picking what to use. The results are now in and Vivienne Cross was the clear winner.

Results of the voting for a romance pen name to use in publishing spicier romance novels

So What’s Next?

Here’s a quick run down of stories that are in the works (or have been published already).

  • Front Desk Staff – Short Story – This crime short found a home in Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers and was released June 18 – BUY NOW: https://amzn.to/3FGfkzF
  • Carol of the Bells – Mid-Length – This Hallmark-style small town romance will be in the 12 Knights of Christmas anthology and will be out in October.
  • Love, Lefse, & Murder – Mid-Length – This Cozy Culinary Mystery is on submission and was sent off with a lingonberry jam recipe.  Fingers crossed, but if it doesn’t go to the anthology I’ll still be sure to share the recipe with all of you!
  • Bound by Desire – Novella – This incubus romance is on submission to the publisher and I’m hopeful that this sex positive tale will find a home, but it will definitely be a Vivienne Cross story.
  • Forged in Flame – Novella – Also with a publisher, this dragon shifter romance has got all the tropes and takes place in Hawaii.  It’s possible I just wanted to go to the beach when I wrote it, but it’s another Vivienne Cross novella.
  • Savage Hope – Novella – I was going to submit this story about a girl on the run from her necromancer stepdad, but I ended up loving it too much.  So I’m keeping it and will be adding it to my Supernatural series.  It’s got horror story vibes, motorcycles, and an army of undead roadkill.  One of the most fun things I’ve written recently.
  • Deja Brew – Novella – A paranormal (but clean) romance, this one features a coffee shop owner who sees the future, but only a few minutes ahead.  I’m still writing this one, and the girl just found out that the guy used to work for the corporate coffee chain that wants to buy out her store (gasp!)! Wish them (and me) luck.
  • And of course (and most important) … Emergency Exit – Novel – Release date: 9/22/25 – Book 3 of the Valkyrie Brothers series. Tech investor Asher Valkyrie hired Harper Smoak to be his fake girlfriend for stress-free social events, but the faux-relationship quickly sends real sparks flying. What began as a simple arrangement soon turns into a high-stakes game of love and survival when Ash’s lies begin to unravel. – PREORDER NOW: https://amzn.to/43ZKsT6

If all goes well, then between 2025 – 2026 then I should have 5-6 additional publishing credits beyond my usual novels.  And yes, that seems like a lot to me too.  But if I’m going to get all the publishing points and play the game, then I’m going to play to win.  I’ll keep everyone posted on how things go!

***

Bethany Maines drinks from an arsenic mugBethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Find out more about the Stiletto Gang and our books: Books

 

 

Between Floors

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When You Get Stuck Between Floors

When I start writing a book, I often have a specific scene in mind.  For Between Floors, book 2 of the Valkyrie Brothers series, I didn’t.  I knew generally what the plot was and who my characters were, but I didn’t have the scene that locked me into the story.

How to Get Unstuck?

Finding the scene to kick off story sometimes means becoming a detective in my work. I have to go back and start stacking up clues and facts about my characters and review what I know about them already so that I can determine what comes next. But as I pondered the riddle of where does the story start for Forest Valkyrie and Chloe Jordan I realized that I already knew the answer.

I remembered a moment in Elevator Ride (book 1) when Forest Valkyrie rushes in late to his brother Rowan’s office.  Rowan has been babysitting Forest’s son Oliver and Forest is late to pick him up.  Forest is stressed and has provided way more equipment than anyone could possibly need to babysit a three year old (something that amuses Rowan).

 

“That’s going to be Forest,” said Rowan without moving from the floor. He tossed the little boy up in the air again as the door burst open.

“I’m here. I’m here. Sorry, sorry.”

The man looked to be in his thirties and with dark, disheveled hair as if he’d run all the way up from the parking garage. Vivian recognized the piercing green-flecked eyes that Rowan shared with Oliver, but the slightly frantic edge was not something she associated with the Valkyrie aura.

“Daddy!” chirped the little boy.

“Breathe, Forest,” ordered Rowan, using what Vivian thought of as his commanding voice, and Forest automatically inhaled. “We’re fine,” said Rowan more softly.

“Sorry,” said Forest again. “I didn’t mean to be late.”

“Everything’s fine,” said Rowan. “Olly is training for the paratroopers, and I am getting my arm workout for the day.”

 

But as I went back to that scene looking for clues to Forest’s character I asked… why is he late?  And that kicked off an exploration of what Forest had been doing. And that’s when I realized the answer: Forest was stuck in an elevator with the girl of his dreams… the girl he just rejected as a nanny candidate.

That Sounds Awkward

It was! For them.  For me, it was hilarious.  First and foremost I write to entertain myself and getting those two into and out of the elevator made me laugh.  I hope that readers will as well.  Check out Elevator Ride (now on sale for $.99!) to get caught up before launching into Between Floors.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SERIES:  https://amzn.to/3XEL9id

Between Floors

Between Floors

One broken elevator. Two polar opposites.  Sometimes love gets stuck between floors.

Free-spirited Chloe Jordan returned to Seattle to face her past, but when she gets stuck in an elevator with grumpy Forest Valkyrie—the terminally stressed single dad who just rejected her as a nanny candidate—Chloe discovers that it’s her future at stake.

Genre: Rom-Com Mystery

Release Date:  6/23/25

 

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Find out more about the Stilettog Gang Books!

Rabbit Holes & Root Beer

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Help! I’ve burrowed down another rabbit hole, and I’m stuck in a warren full of of too many possibilities. So deep am I into the research for my next book that I lost track of time. Which is to say, I almost forgot to write this post.

With no plan for what to post today, I turned to a holiday calendar for inspiration. Maybe this date in history would spark and idea. Boy, did it ever, though it sent me burrowing even deeper.

Turns out, today is National Black Cow Day. Curious as to why we should celebrate dark bovines, I clicked and learned that today’s Black Cow hoopla is all about a drink I’d always known as a root beer float—that delicious concoction of vanilla ice cream melting inside a tall, icy glass of root beer.

Okay, I thought, a fun subject, but not meaty enough to write about—until I read more, and discovered sassafras.

Sassafras is an incredibly fun word to say out loud. (Try it!)

It’s also the original ingredient in root beer, first marketed in America in the 19th century by Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Hires. But that’s not what kept me deep inside that rabbit hole.

When I discovered how important sassafras was to native tribes across the eastern half of what became America, I had to read on.

Here’s why: Attentive readers of my Samantha Newman Mystery Series may recall a mention in Book 3, The Body in the News, of the discovery of a possible ancient Native American campsite on Carter Chapman’s Serenity Ranch. With the idea of that as a plot point in the next book, I’ve been researching indigenous people who may have once inhabited the region.

Cornell Botanic Gardens

Who were these people? What did they eat? What tools did they use? Were they peaceful, or warlike? What might they have left behind at the campsite? I’ve already done a ton of research based on those questions, with more to go. And, to that, I now add this question: Did sassafras trees grow on their land?

Today I learned that every part of the sassafras tree was used by Native Americans from the east coast to west of the Mississippi into Central Texas. Roots from which root beer flavoring is derived were used as toothbrushes. An emetic made from bark was used in purification after funeral ceremonies. Leaves, rubbed onto bee stings, wounds, cuts, sprained ankles, and bruises, were thought to have healing properties.

Ground Sassafras/Cornell Botanic Gardens

Timber from the sassafras tree was used in construction, furniture making, and—when explorers learned of its utility— shipbuilding. By the early 18th century, sassafras became the second-most exported American product, right behind tobacco.

I could tell you everything I’ve learned about sassafras and the possible tribes who may once have hunted on what’s now Carter Chapman’s Serenity Ranch in my books, but I’m running out of time to get this posted.

Also, I have to get back to my research.

bittersoutherner.com

But I’ll leave the foodies among you with one more sassafras fact: its leaves were also dried and pulverized for use as a thickening and flavoring agent. If you’ve ever had true Cajun gumbo, you’ve enjoyed the flavor of filé, made from ground roots or leaves of the sassafras tree.

All of which makes me hungry for some gumbo right now. Maybe I’ll chase it with a few frosty swigs of a root beer float.

Happy National Black Cow Day to you, and may your day be full of fun adventures, down rabbit holes or wherever you roam.

Gay Yellen is the author of the award-winning

Samantha Newman Mystery Series including:

The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News!

Mother’s Day Index?

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There are all sorts of mothers in modern literature, from the unbearably overbearing and ambitious Mama Rose in Gypsy to the kind, upstanding, Marmee in Little Women.

This past Mother’s Day weekend, the local paper published an article about the “Mother’s Day Index” a numerical attempt to calculate the monetary value of a mother’s work, based on time preparing meals, doing laundry, day care, budgeting, counseling, and so on. Apparently, this year, a mother is worth $145,235.

I laughed out loud at that number.

My mother has been gone five years now. She’s still very present in my life, especially lately, as I’m finally emptying the storage space that held lasting remnants of her time on earth.

Surrounded by physical evidence of her life, and what she managed to accomplish—not just for our family, but for the wider community as well—I can’t help but believe that the so-called index calculation is way off. It’s contemptibly low, as is the premise that a mother’s worth can be defined in dollars and cents.

I’m not normally prone to quoting the Bible, but Proverbs 31:10 (often referred to as the “woman of valor” verse) describes a woman who embodies strength, virtue, and wisdom as someone who is worth far more than any earthly treasure.

Surrounded as I am these days by so many mementos from my Mother’s life, that is exactly who and what she was.

Besides excelling at all the mundane Mom skills, she was a whiz at sewing and tailoring, writing, party-making, and creating art in many forms. When my Dad was building his professional practice, she was also his first office manager.

And how to value her volunteer roles as a non-profit museum director? Or as a Braille typist who transformed newspaper and magazine articles into tiny raised dots of code on pages for the blind to read?

Or as president of a statewide women’s organization, where she wrote and produced puppet shows (“The Good Fairy’s Crown” and “The Tooth Fairy’s Helpers”) to promote positive health habits for Texas elementary school students, or her art history adult education series, and her personal art-making as well.

Good Fairy 1967, Tooth Fairy Helper (Astronaut), 1969

I celebrated this Mother’s Day, not at a posh restaurant with Mom, but inside a rapidly emptying storage space and in my increasingly storage-box-cluttered home. I’m glad to have found a couple of appreciative charitable causes to take most of the things I can’t find room for. But I still have some paintings stacked in the corner with no wall space left to hang them on, and other precious mementos I’m not ready to let go of.

How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?

Jonathan Larson‘s lyric from the smash hit musical “Rent” echoes the Bible quote from Proverbs. For those of us lucky enough to have known or been loved by women or men of valor, there’s no way to put a value on that experience, except perhaps with an occasional tug on the heart, a random tear, a wistful smile, and deep, deep gratitude.

May all your celebrations be happy ones.

Gay Yellen is the author of the multi-award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series: #The Body Business, #The Body Next Door, and #The Body in the News!

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