Tag Archive for: Julie Mulhern

Hearing is Believing

Recently, I stepping into a recording studio. Well, I
stepped into the comfortable production room outside the actual recording booth.
All the Country Club Murders are on audio, but my input as
to their production ended when I said, “Yes, I like her voice.” That voice, belonging
to Callie Beaulieu, is now Ellison’s voice.
Recording Fields’ Guide to Abduction was a completely
different experience.
A partner at Outpost Worldwide and I have been looking for an
opportunity to work together for years. Poppy’s adventure was that opportunity.
“I have a marvelous actress,” she told me.
And because I’ve seen Outpost Worldwide’s work, I believed
her.
I met Cathy—heard Cathy—the morning we recorded. I gave her
the briefest of character sketches then settled into a club chair. Cathy
disappeared into a box with a glass door and settled earphones on her head.
Then she read—acted—the first chapter.
Cathy Barnett – the voice of Poppy Fields

 
I followed along in a word document.
And, wow. Poppy came alive.
Hearing Poppy and watching the people who sat on my side of
the booth react—such fun.
Hearing them laugh—more fun.
Saying, “He’s a bad guy. You might want to make him sound
less sympathetic”—beyond fun.
Especially when the villain, who sounds an awful lot Ricardo
Montalbán from Fantasy Island, came alive, too.
We paused for things like pronunciation (Chariss rhymes with
Paris), the odd bit of Spanish, and lunch.
It took two days. Two days when I learned more about the
music words can make, about pausing for a laugh, and about character arc. 
Poppy will be available on audio sometime in the next few weeks. I’m counting the days!
***
Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Happy Holidays

I know there are writers out there with mad organizational skills. I am not one of them.

I’m more the I-think-I’m-forgetting-something sort. The writer who lifts her gaze from her computer screen and wonders if the kids are picked up, the dinner is made, and dog is walked. No, no, and no.
Which is how I realized that today is the second Monday of the month–my day on my favorite blog. I looked up from my screen and said, “EEEK!”
No I didn’t. I said something much stronger.
At any rate, I looked up. And I wished I had a beautiful blog written about the meaning of the holidays, or my love of Christmas cookies, or why I am the only one in my house who has any wish to decorate. (I don’t–not this year–but if I don’t get moving soon Christmas will look like any other day.)
Wishes don’t produce beautifully written blog posts.
And, this missive should have been posted more than six hours ago.
So, I’ll simply say this–I wish you joy and peace and a season filled with love and laughter.
Also, does anyone have a good black-eyed pea recipe for New Year’s? I need some luck in 2019!
Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Thrilled Beyond Measure

So, this happened! That’s me in the November 12 issue of
Woman’s World.
I can safely
say, this is probably the one and only time in my life I’ll be hanging out between John Grisham and Eleanor Roosevelt.
The nice-women-don’t-toot-their-own-horns part of me wanted
to say nothing. The that’s’-me-between-Grisham-and-Roosevelt part of me did a
little shimmy (a big shimmy). The time-to-make-a-living part of me was thrilled beyond
measure.
This holiday season, give an author a gift. Take a moment to
tell a friend about the best book you’ve read this fall. Encourage them to
request the book from the library, hurry off to their local bookstore, or
one-click. Believe me, somewhere an author will be thrilled beyond measure.


***





Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 



She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.




Her latest book, Back Stabbers is available at your favorite on-line retailer.

Red Shoe Musings

Here’s a  truth—if you’re
born and raised in Kansas City, red shoes are glittery and have the power, when
clicked, to take you home.

  

When I was in college, I dressed up as Dorothy for
Halloween. The dress was easy. The shoes less so. Simple red shoes wouldn’t do;
I needed ruby slippers. I bought a pair of red shoes, covered them in rubber
cement, and dunked them in glitter. I left a trail of sparkle behind me all
night.


As I write this blog, I’m taking a mental inventory of my
closet. There are no red shoes. There have never been any red shoes (I threw
away the glitter shoes the morning after).
For my daughters, it’s a different story. One of them has a
pair that makes the Stiletto Gang’s new logo look like flats.
What is it about red shoes? Do they connote power, a woman
owning her sexuality, or do they simply add a pop of color to a black ensemble?


Ellison, the 1970s heroine of the Country Club Murders, has
a closet like mine. No red shoes. There are navy and black and beige pumps.
There are boots (so many boots). There are sandals in delicate spring shades.
There are white espadrilles for summer. There are gold stilettos. No red.
Poppy—the heroine of Fields’ Guide to Abduction and Fields’ Guide to Assassins—she might have red shoes. Although, she wouldn’t wear them because
they make her feel powerful or sexy. She’d wear them because they look good
with her dress.
As for my daughters, this mother doesn’t want to examine the
meaning of the red shoes in their closets. Who am I kidding? Their red shoes
are tossed under their beds…but that’s another blog.

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Her latest Country Club Murder, Back Stabbers, will release October 23rd.

It’s a 70s’ Thing

Of late, I’ve been trolling advertising from the 1970s. Call
it research. Call it the human tendency to slow down and gape at a disaster.
Seventies advertising, Mikie and his Life cereal excluded,
was not a high-point for Madison Avenue. Women were objectified and belittled.
Girls were sexualized.
The ads followed attitudes.

It was not until 1974 and the passage of the the Equal Credit Opportunity
Act, which made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their
gender, race, religion and national origin, that a woman could have a credit
card independent of her husband.
Until
1978, a woman could be fired from her job for being pregnant.
Until
the mid-seventies, a could not refuse to have sex with her husband.
Thank
heavens, the times they were a changin’.
In
1974, Jackie Onassis got a job. A woman who didn’t have to work began a career
and suddenly the idea that women could find fulfillment outside the home went
mainstream.
Mary
Tyler Moore went to work as well.
Heck,
even Edith Bunker stood up to Archie.
What
I love about the seventies is the sea change. The shifts in attitude that took
hold and shaped the next decade, the one in which I came of age. Those shifts,
the struggle between the old and the new, inform the Country Club Murders far
more than memories of Watergate or Tickle deodorant.




 Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. 


She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.


Clouds in my Coffee, book three of the Country Club Murders, will release May 10, 2016.

Stiletto Gang Black Friday Gift Guide

by The Stiletto Gang

Want to avoid the crowds, but still get a little shopping done?  Sit back, peruse this list of 2015 Stiletto Gang Releases, and order the gift of the written word from the comfort of your own couch.

Sparkle Abbey

Downton Tabby (The Pampered Pets Series)

Amazon 5 Star Review: How would you like to find a dead body in a swimming pool, have two friends disappear, be followed by a black SUV and have your ex try to take away your clients? That’s what Laguna Beach’s animal therapist and sometime sleuth, Caro Lamont, faces in another page turning, suspense filled, and occasional humorous adventure as she tries to find a killer, disappearances of two friends, and dealing with a scurvy ex.

Need a treat today? Of course you do! Grab some snacks, your fav drink, and settle down in a comfy place and relish this latest mystery that’s pet friendly too!

Paula Gail Benson

Let It Snow: The Best of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, Winter 2015 Collection

Discover tales, all as different as snowflakes, in “Let it Snow: The Best of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Winter 2015 Collection.” The multiple award winning Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC brings you stories in a range of genres selected from their bi-monthly Writers Roundtable Journal. So, while the weather outside is frightful, curl up by the fire, read, and Let It Snow.

Fish or Cut Bait: A Guppy Anthology

Fish or Cut Bait, the latest installment in the Guppy Anthology Series, presents a collection of mystery stories by rising stars of the mystery and suspense field. Tales of revenge and retribution…police detectives…cozy characters…hardboiled P.I.s…there’s something here for every fan of crime and detection!

Killer Nashville Noir: Cold Blooded

Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Anne Perry join rising stars like Dana Chamblee Carpenter and Paula Gail Benson in a collection that proves Music City is a deadly place to be when your song gets called.

Marjorie Brody

Twisted, a novel of psychological suspense

Amazon or Barnes & Noble

A gang assault at a high school dance forces a young teen to confront the secret she hid from everyone, including herself.

TAA Best Young Adult Fiction Book Award, Honorable Mention, Great Midwest Book Festival, Finalist Red City Book Awards, 2015 Best Reads-Middlesex County College Library

“6 Stars Out of 5!” TWISTED, a multi-award winning psychological suspense, addresses sensitive issues in a stay-up-late, page-turning way.

“Brutally honest,” yet “tasteful,” and “hopeful.”  NYT Bestseller Sharon Sala declares TWISTED “Unforgettable.”

Anthologies, featuring Marjorie Brody

Short Story America Anthology, Vol. I, II, III, and IV

Short Stories by Texas Authors, Vol. I

Lynn Cahoon

Killer Run (A Tourist Trap Mystery)

Jill Gardner—owner of Coffee, Books, and More—has somehow been talked into sponsoring a 5k race along the beautiful California coast. The race is a fundraiser for the local preservation society—but not everyone is feeling so charitable…

The day of the race, everyone hits the ground running…until a local business owner stumbles over a very stationary body. The deceased is the vicious wife of the husband-and-wife team hired to promote the event—and the husband turns to Jill for help in clearing his name. But did he do it? Jill will have to be very careful, because this killer is ready to put her out of the running…forever!

Dressed to Kill (A Tourist Trap Mystery)

Jill Gardner—owner of Coffee, Books, and More in the tucked-away town of South Cove, California—is not particularly thrilled to be portraying a twenties flapper for the dinner theater murder mystery. Though it is for charity…

Of course everyone is expecting a “dead” body at the dress rehearsal…but this one isn’t acting! It turns out the main suspect is the late actor’s conniving girlfriend Sherry…who also happens to be the ex-wife of Jill’s main squeeze. Sherry is definitely a master manipulator…but is she a killer? Jill may discover the truth only when the curtain comes up on the final act…and by then, it may be far too late.

The Bull Riders’s Collection

Saddle up and get ready to ride with three of the sexiest cowboys in spurs. These heroes aren’t afraid of danger or a challenge, and neither are the sassy, smart women in their world. Slip on your boots and get ready to crown these men champions of the heart with The Bull Rider’s Brother, The Bull Rider’s Manager, and The Bull Rider’s Keeper

The Salem Gathering (The Council Series)

A babe in jeopardy, a coven on the loose, and only one witch hunter team can save them.
Parris McCall knows her best friend’s life in in danger, but when Parris gets orders from The Council to track down Coven X, she has no choice but to follow orders.

Ty Wallace knows there’s more to The Council’s directive than meets the eye. Can he figure out what’s not being said before he loses Parris to her distant relatives or worse, forever?

Kay Kendall

Rainy Day Women

“5 Stars! Kendall delivers a spectacular mystery. The protagonist, Austin Starr, balances being a wife, a mother and an investigator with great skill. This is definitely a coming of age story, for women and for our country. A revolution occurred during the sixties, changing the roles for women, politics and war. She shows it all.

Bethany Maines

High-Caliber Concealer (A Carrie Mae Mystery)

All Carrie Mae’s top covert agent, Nikki Lanier, wants is a quiet vacation on her grandmother’s farm. But her visit is complicated by dangerous drug smugglers, the childhood sweetheart who broke her heart, and the sudden arrival of not only her mother (who is obviously hiding something) and her teammates, but also her current boyfriend – CIA Agent Z’ev Coralles. Now Nikki must choose between doing what’s right and revealing what she really does for a living, if she wants to keep all of them alive. Nikki may be a High-Caliber Concealer, but this time it might not be enough.

An Unseen Current

When Seattle native Tish Yearly finds herself fired and evicted all in one afternoon, she knows she’s in deep water. Unemployed and desperate, the 26 year old ex-actress heads for the home of her cantankerous ex-CIA agent grandfather, Tobias Yearly, in the San Juan Islands. But soon. Tish is thrown head-long into a mystery that pits her against a handsome but straight-laced Sheriff’s Deputy, a group of eccentric and clannish local residents, and a killer who knows the island far better than she does. Now Tish must swim against the current, depending on her nearly forgotten acting skills and her grandfather’s spy craft, to con a killer and keep them alive.

Marilyn Meredith / F.M. Meredith

Not as It Seems 

Tempe and Hutch travel to Morro Bay for son Blair’s wedding, but when the maid-of-honor disappears, Tempe tries to find her. The search is complicated by ghosts and Native spirits.

Violent Departures

College student, Veronica Randall, disappears from her car in her own driveway, everyone in the Rocky Bluff P.D. is looking for her. Detective Milligan and family move into a house that may be haunted. Officer Butler is assigned to train a new hire and faces several major challenges.

Julie Mulhern

The Deep End

Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.

It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.

As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?

Guaranteed to Bleed

With his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, “Tell her I love her.”

Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way. Worse, a killer has Ellison in his sights, her newly rebellious daughter is missing, and there’s yet another body in her hostas. Mother won’t be pleased. Now Ellison must track down not one but two runaway teenagers, keep her promise to Bobby, and elude the killer—all before her next charity gala committee meeting.

Cathy Perkins

So About the Money

CPA Holly Price juggles dodgy clients, flakey parent, ex-lovers and a murdered friend before she gets to the bottom line in this fast and fun read. ~ Patricia Smiley, bestselling author of Cool Cache

When Holly Price trips over a friend’s dead body, her life takes a nosedive into a world of intrigue and danger. With an infinitely sexy cop—Holly’s pissed-off, jilted ex-fiancé—threatening to arrest her for the murder, the intrepid accountant must protect her future, her business…and her heart…by using her investigative skills to follow the money, before the killer decides CPA stands for Certified Pain in the Ass…and the next dead body is Holly’s.

Linda Rodriguez

Every Hidden Fear 
“This suspenseful and sensitive tale of small town secrets is captivating from page one. An absolute page-turner!” – Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark award winning author



“Engrossing” – Library Journal



“A peaceful college town goes berserk in Rodriguez’s solid third Skeet Bannion mystery.”– Publisher’s Weekly


“Cherokee heritage and the often very painful legacy of secrets have long been hallmarks of this excellent series. … Every Hidden Fear is another very good read from an award winning author and a book well worth your time.” – Kevin’s Corner: Book Reviews and More

For Love of Money?

Every so often when my husband and I are
watching Dateline, I’ll look over at him and say, “If you get tired of me,
divorce me. Don’t…” You may fill in the blank with whatever gruesome manner the
featured spouse has used to off their partner.
On Dateline, there is always an insurance policy in play, usually a mistress or another
man, and often heart-broken children left behind.
Dateline seems as interested in the “why”
of these killings as the “how.”
In that, Keith Morrison (the host who
exudes, “what drove the killer to do this?” with every nuance of his voice) and
I are alike.
The answer is usually money.
Thus far, when I am writing mysteries,
lucre has not appealed to me as a motive. I like secrets—the kind of secrets
people will kill to keep.
In the country club murders, where
appearance is everything (just don’t peek under the rug), characters will kill
to hold onto their reputations, keep themselves out of prison, or avoid
embarrassment. Far more interesting, at least to me, than a $50,000 life insurance
policy.
            Or perhaps not…
An excerpt from Guaranteed to Bleed follows: 

Prudence
Davies wasn’t as easily cowed. “I hear you had some trouble.” Her smile might
look sympathetic but it didn’t reach her eyes. Those held all the warmth of an
early morning in late January.
I
shrugged.
Grace
looked pained.
“If
you’re not careful, you’ll get a reputation as a black widow.”
I
lifted the scotch to my lips and drank. “There are worse reputations to have.”
Prudence
flushed.
Prudence
and my late husband had something of a…relationship. When I was feeling
petty—and even when I wasn’t feeling petty—I dreamed of sharing the details of
that relationship. But, lucky for Prudence, shielding Grace from Henry’s
misdeeds was more important than dragging Prudence through the muck. Besides
given Prudence’s predilections, she might enjoy the muck—or at least being
dragged.
“Amy
McCreary is talking about you as if you’re some kind of heroine.” Prudence
lifted the corner of her too-thin upper lip. “Florence Nightingale
reincarnated.”
“I
called an ambulance.”
Prudence
wrinkled her nose. “She’d be better off without him.”
Grace
choked on her Tab.
Prudence
gifted us another unpleasant smile, displaying her horsey teeth. “Everyone will
know by tomorrow. The man who died in your backyard was some kind of con
artist. John invested heavily. Lost everything.” She rubbed her hands together.
Some clever German coined the word Schadenfreude with Prudence Davies in
mind. She looked positively gleeful at the McCrearys’ misfortune. “Amy would be
better off if he’d died. At least she’d have his life insurance.”
Henry
once called Prudence a horse-faced, bony-assed harpy. That description was far
too kind.

Julie Mulhern is a USA Today bestselling writer who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean and she s got an active imagination. Truth is she s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.