Kelegeen

Historical Fiction

Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc. (March 1, 2018)

Paperback: 433 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Ireland 1846

 

Meg O’Connor, daughter of poor Irish cottiers, eagerly anticipates her wedding to Rory Quinn.  Her dreams of marriage and family vanish along with Ireland’s potato crop when Kelegeen’s inhabitants awaken one morning to find their sole source of food destroyed by blight.

At first Meg and Rory are able to use their skills, hers of sewing and his of wood carving, to provide for themselves and their families.  But tragedy and a costly mistake end those means of survival forcing them into more dangerous ventures.

As An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger, continues to churn through Ireland ravaging the country’s peasantry with no let up in sight, Meg is compelled to make the most difficult decision of her life.  What she chooses could be the salvation of the O’Connor and Quinn families or it could separate her forever from all she knows and loves.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Siobhan O’Toole

 

My name is Siobhan O’Toole and I’ve been asked to regale you with tales of my part in the story of Kelegeen. You’ll not believe it, but I’ve never stepped foot in the town of Kelegeen. As it happens, I’m not even alive when the story takes place, but that doesn’t stop me from having a role in it. You see, I was in love, long before that story began, with a man named Brian O’Malley. In Kelegeen you’ll know him as Father O’Malley, but his priestly vocation came after I died. Oh, he’s a good priest, he is. Faithful, devout, completely committed to God and his parishioners. He’d have been just as good a husband and father had I lived long enough for us to marry and give him wee ones. We were everything to each other. That’s why I couldn’t leave him even after I’d died.

You’ll be more comfortable calling him “Father” after you’ve read the book, no doubt, but to me he’ll always be Brian, so don’t think I’m showing disrespect by calling him by his Christian name.

Brian and I met one night when I was playing the fiddle for my brothers who were dancing up a storm. He thought himself bewitched at first sight of me. I can’t say I blame him, what with my long, tangled red hair flashing in the moonlight, me hopping about on a rock while I played a rollicking tune. He came and asked me to dance, so I gave the fiddle to my brother, Quentin, and we danced. From that moment on we were inseparable.

I think Brian was intrigued by the stories, legends really, that he’d heard about my family. The best one being that I had an ancestor who was one of the good people – what you folk would call a fairy. Quentin, being the mischievous sort, told him I was one, as well. He asked me if it was true. He made out like he was only teasing, but I could tell a small part of him actually wondered. I had a grand time with that, I can tell you! I never did give him a proper answer. He may have gone his whole life wondering after it for all I know.

We planned to wed, but it wasn’t to be. I’ll let the story of Kelegeen explain what happened to me and how it led him into the priesthood. Aye, but the ways of God are mysterious indeed.

When you love someone with all your heart and they love you as much, even death does not fully part you. That’s how it was for Brian and me. He talked to me often throughout his life. At times, he believed he felt me with him. Sure enough, he was right. I was always at his side. Always, that is, until he sent me away. But that he did for a noble reason – a reason of selfless giving. He would sacrifice anything for any one of his people including my cherished presence. How could I not love him all the more for that? How could I not do what he asked of me?

 

 

About the Author

 

Eileen O’Finlan calls her writing “history with a twist” because she is intrigued by the unusual and little known aspects of history – the stories on history’s margins, the things rarely taught in the classroom. For her, that’s where history really gets fun.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, her family moved to Worcester when she was two.  Four years later they moved to Holden where Eileen grew up and where she now resides with her 93 year old mother and two cats.

Eileen holds a Bachelor’s degree in history and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry.  She works full time for the Diocese of Worcester and teaches online courses in Catholic studies for the University of Dayton, Ohio.  She is proud to say that Pope Francis owns a copy of her debut novel, Kelegeen.  Erin’s Children, the sequel to Kelegeen, will be released by BWL Publishing, Inc. in December of 2020.

 

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Storms of Malhado

 

by

 

Maria Elena Sandovici

 

 

Genre: Historical Fiction / Ghosts

Publisher: Independently Published

Date of Publication: March 26, 2020

Number of Pages: 252

 

 

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Galveston Island, Texas, September 2008 Katie doesn’t believe in ghosts. And she certainly doesn’t believe the rumors that her family’s home is haunted, despite its tragic history: two young women who lived there in different eras died in hurricanes—one during Hurricane Carla in 1961, one during the Great Storm of 1900, the greatest natural disaster to befall the United States. But that was the past, a fact Katie reminds herself of when she returns to Galveston to await Hurricane Ike with her parents and boyfriend in her family’s Broadway mansion, hoping to rekindle her flailing relationship.

While Katie is not afraid of the ghost stories she’s heard, she is afraid of the monster storm approaching. As even die-hard Islanders evacuate, her fears grow—fear of the looming hurricane, fear that she’s talentless as a painter, fear that her relationship with her boyfriend is already over. As Katie struggles against her fears, the past whispers to her of the women who died there and the haunting similarities they share with Katie’s own life.

Through three different timelines, Storms of Malhado weaves a story of Galveston’s past, underscoring its danger and isolation, as well as its remarkable resilience, and its capacity for both nostalgia and reinvention. Full of contradictions, at once insular and open to the world, Galveston Island is as much a character of the novel as Katie, Suzanne, Betty, their lovers, and their confidantes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“Taking place entirely on a beautifully moody Galveston Island, Ms. Sandovici weaves three simultaneous stories with ease. With a timeless tale, ethereal language, and complicated characters, readers will be entranced by this modern ghost story. How many times can the past repeat itself? How do we recognize people through generations? The author tackles this topic amid a backdrop of violent nature and intangible dreamscapes.”  —Courtney Brandt, author of The Queen of England: Coronation, Grand Tour, Ascension

 

“Three women, three great storms, and one house, haunted by forbidden love and frustrated ambition. Get ready to be swept away by Sandovici’s foray into Galveston Island’s tempestuous history in this tale of lives intertwined across time.” —Donna Dechen Birdwell, author of Not Knowing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of My 1900 Bathing Dress

 

(View the Pinterest board the author created for Storms of Malhado)

 

 

Writing historical fiction came with many challenges. The part of Storms of Malhado taking place in 1900 required tons of research and two rounds of critique from Margaret Doran, who established her expertise on Galveston Island’s history through her long collaboration with the Galveston Historical Foundation and the Rosenberg Library. Luckily, she is a meticulous critic who read my manuscript twice and picked out small—and larger—blunders. “Suzanne would not be reading a paperback,” she pointed out as part of her feedback on an early draft. Easy fix, no problem. “Why is Suzanne in Galveston for the summer?” she inquired in response to the same draft. “Wealthy women would travel to milder climates.” Addressing this was harder than the paperback issue and required inventing an illness and some serious phobias for Suzanne’s mother. This ended up adding depth to that character, so it was a win. But what was I to do about a young lady of means not being able to go to the Strand unchaperoned and definitely not being able to sneak into her lover’s room? This was tricky, but finally I came up with the Ward house—a wealthy family’s mansion, boarded up for summer, which ends up being a secret refuge for the lovers. This added an extra layer of romance to the affair, so I was happy.

 

 

It was a small, easily fixed mistake that took me on the most exciting adventure. “Suzanne’s bathing dress would not have been white,” Margaret Doran wrote. I could have simply changed “white” to “dark” and moved on, but editing is hard and yours truly loves to procrastinate. I got on Pinterest and pinned tons of pictures of young women in 1900 bathing dresses to my Storms of Malhado board. Then I happened upon an advertisement from a place called Historical Emporium, offering to sell me an accurate replica of Suzanne’s bathing dress—complete with white pantaloons! How could a small business owner struggling to make ends meet resist such a useful purchase? To make the investment complete, I immediately called my photographer, the talented Bogdan Mihai at Buburuza Productions, and booked a photoshoot for as soon as the bathing dress arrived. What’s funny is that I had just completed a photoshoot with him—dressed in my favorite outfits, studio lights aimed expertly at my face, fans blowing my hair, and all that jazz—and wasn’t crazy about the results because I just couldn’t relax. In fact, I couldn’t sleep a wink before the shoot. Afterwards, seeing the circles under my eyes shine through my Chanel makeup, I experienced an instant midlife crisis. Was this it? Was my life over, all my beautiness gone? (I assure you I’m an empowered woman well aware of my worth, but such thoughts do occasionally plague me). My wonderful photographer reassured me that posing takes practice. And playfulness. But I had my doubts.

 

 

 

My much-needed dose of playfulness arrived promptly in a package from Historical Emporium. I was back under the studio lights, fans blowing my hair, music playing, and this time I was having too much fun to be nervous. I laughed and smiled through the entire photoshoot and feigned panic at a most unexpected overflow arriving despite the Weather Bureau’s assurances that Galveston was safe. I love the resulting pictures! Turns out I can pose after all! All I need is a 1900 bathing dress! And because my self-confidence was at its peak, I entered the historical Bathing Beauties contest, a vintage bathing suit extravaganza, which has taken place every summer in Galveston for 100 years now, on Splash Day. Reader, I got in! I’m a Bathing Beauty! Splash Day had to be postponed because of the pandemic, and you bet I cried, but it’s still taking place the weekend of August 1, and my 1900 bathing dress and I will be in it!

 

 

 

 

Maria Elena Sandovici is a full-time writer, artist, and gallery owner living in Houston, Texas. After obtaining a Ph.D. in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2005, her curiosity led her to Texas, where she taught at Lamar University for fourteen years. She felt attracted to Galveston Island from her first visit and lived there part-time for three years before her artistic career took her to Houston.

 

Sandovici is a 2008 graduate of John Ross Palmer’s Escapist Mentorship Program, a program that teaches artists business skills. She resigned from her tenured academic position in December 2018 and opened her own private gallery space. Her previous works of fiction are Dogs with Bagels, Stray Dogs and Lonely Beaches, Lost Path to Solitude, The Adventures of Miss Vulpe, and Lone Wolf. She is also the author of Stop and Smell the Garbage, a volume of poetry in the voice of her dog, Holly Golightly. You can follow her daily adventures on her blog HaveWatercolorsWillTravel.blog.

 

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5/21/20	Notable Quotable	The Page Unbound
5/21/20	Review	Forgotten Winds
5/22/20	Author Video	Hall Ways Blog
5/22/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
5/23/20	Playlist	That’s What She’s Reading
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5/25/20	Character Interview	Texas Book Lover
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5/28/20	Guest Post	StoreyBook Reviews
5/28/20	Review	All the Ups and Downs
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Killing Time (A Dodie O’Dell Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Press (June 2, 2020)
Number of Pages: 215

Synopsis

 

With Halloween just around the corner, Dodie O’Dell is making preparations to transform the Windjammer Restaurant on the Jersey Shore into a haunted house, while the Etonville Little Theatre is staging Dracula. But casting the titular Transylvanian is proving challenging. The amateur actors in the company are not shy about chewing the scenery, but who among them can convincingly sink their fangs into a victim’s neck? When a mysterious newcomer with a transfixing Eastern European accent lands the part, rumors that he might be an actual vampire start to take flight—not unlike the bat who’s recently been spotted in the town park.

 

But everyone’s blood really runs cold when a stranger is found in the cemetery with a real stake in his heart. Dodie decides to put her Halloween theme menu on the back burner and stick her neck out to bring the killer into the light of day. She’d better keep her wits about her, though—or Dodie may be the next one to go down for the Count . . .

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Today we welcome Lola from the Dodie O’Dell mysteries and she gives us a look into her character and the series.  Take it away Lola!

 

I’m beside myself! As artistic director of the Etonville Little Theatre I am responsible for making sure the production gets on its feet. At least that’s what I thought my job was, but now I find myself holding Walter’s hand, because he’s always about five minutes away from a panic attack, keeping Penny in control and muzzling her whistle, if possible, and calming the members of the theatre whenever a crisis hits a production… “Lola, take a breath and pump the brakes,” Dodie, my BFF and the manager of the Windjammer restaurant, would say right about now.

I’ll start over… ever since Walter, the founder of the Etonville Little Theatre, was caught doing some creative bookkeeping with the theatre’s box office, the board appointed me acting artistic director to replace Walter. I was perfectly happy as the theatre’s diva, starring in nearly every production. I loved it…the bright lights, the applause, the ecstatic reviews in the Etonville Standard…well, mostly ecstatic. But now I’m wearing two hats: artistic director and occasional performer.

Except for Walter’s moods,  anxiety, and decision to direct/perform/or write every show, and production manager Penny’s claim that the only way to corral actors is by blasting her ridiculously loud whistle, things have been running smoothly. As smoothly as possible given that the ELT is usually on the brink of a disaster.

But I had such hope for a calm, stress-free fall production. I campaigned for a small comedy, something simple, fun… that I could star in. Walter wouldn’t hear of it. He said we needed to make a “big splash,” impress the New Jersey community theatre association with a “spectacle.” I just hoped the ELT wouldn’t make a spectacle of itself. Since the show was scheduled to open late October, Walter insisted on Dracula. The ELT members went gaga, the town applauded Walter’s choice, and we were off to the races. I started twisting my blond hair…a nervous tic that Dodie says is a sure sign “I am beside myself.” See what I mean?

Casting wasn’t too much of a problem, except for the lead. Where were we going to find a leading man to play the vampire? Now I was really twirling lengths of hair. Then I caught wind of a new couple in town. They’d rented the old Hanratty house on the edge of Etonville, which definitely looked haunted. They seemed so normal…he was tall, dark and handsome, with a vaguely foreign accent and a widow’s peak. She was serene, pleasant, and read palms. I couldn’t believe our luck, at first. He agreed to play Dracula and the part fit like a glove.

But then strange things started to happen. Props went missing, light cues were erased, and according to Mrs. Parker, who I must admit is a little daffy, a bat was seen flying around the Etonville park. And no one could remember seeing our Dracula in town during the day. Only at night. The thought made me shiver. Dodie would tell me I was letting my imagination run wild… Suddenly, Etonville had contracted vampire fever and the Banger sisters were wearing garlic necklaces. Now, with the opening and Halloween approaching, I’m nervous. Walter is so preoccupied with both directing and playing the lead—I warned him that wearing two hats was one hat too many—that he can’t be bothered with my fears. What if our leading man really is a …? No I can’t say it. It’s unthinkable…

I need to slip next door see to Dodie before dress rehearsal tonight. I know she’ll calm me down. Her logical explanation for everything is a dose of tranquility. That and a glass of chardonnay. Is it too early for happy hour?

 

Excerpt

 

“It sure looks haunted,” Edna murmured to no one in particular, to the cast of Dracula in general. They were grouped around her on the sidewalk that ran past the old Hanratty place that Carlos and Bella had rented. I’d never been inside though once I’d driven by it when I first moved to Etonville on my way out of town. The house stood on half an acre of scruffy lawn with patches of dried dirt, surrounded by a few straggly trees—minus leaves at this time of the year—and no neighbors. The nearest houses were on a side street some distance away. The three-story building looked as if it might collapse at any moment, its outer walls covered with weathered, gray shakes, the steps to the front door supported by concrete building blocks. There was no handrail. Light leaked out of windows on the first floor. Curtains covering small, circular panes on the third story—an attic room?—quivered. Was someone up there watching us? I shivered. A turret rose upward from the right side of the structure, giving the house a smidge of outdated dignity. A drain pipe dangled loosely from the gutter.

“Let’s go.” Penny corralled actors and nudged everyone forward to the front door. There were six company members, Renfield saying he’d be along later, plus Penny, Lola, Pauli, and me. Strength in numbers.

We crept across the porch cautiously, aware of the creaking beneath us as the flooring shifted with each individual’s footsteps. Penny put out a hand to knock on the door. Before she could hit knuckles to wood, it flew open. “Welcome everyone!” Bella stood in the doorway, a silhouette backlit by muted foyer lighting.

Behind her Carlos stood silently, observing the group huddled in his entryway, like deer caught in headlights.

Lola took the lead, moving graciously into the house. “Thank you. So nice of you to invite us to your home.”

I’m not sure what the members of the Etonville Little Theatre were expecting. Given the exterior and location of the Hanratty homestead, I anticipated something out of a late-night classic horror film.

 

 

About the Author

 

Suzanne Trauth is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and a former university theatre professor. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Dramatists Guild. When she is not writing, Suzanne coaches actors and serves as a celebrant performing wedding ceremonies. She lives in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

 

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Secrets of the Treasure King (Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: Satori (April 29, 2020)
Print Length: 261 pages
Digital ASIN: B085DC4ZVS

 

Synopsis

 

 

The Seaside Cove rumor mill is buzzing about the captain of The Treasure King. He claims to know the location of the San Manuel, a four-hundred-year-old sunken Spanish galleon with a cargo worth millions. And now, he’s dead, the victim of a speargun attack.

When the police ask B&B owner Rick Atwood to consult in the investigation, he has mixed feelings. Consulting for the police is not the problem. He’s done it before. The problem is his eleven-year-old daughter, Alex.

Alex is fearless, precocious, and fueled by a strong sense of girl power. She’s also convinced the cops will never find the killer without her help, so she launches her own investigation—and quickly becomes a candidate for Seaside Cove’s youngest felon.

Now, unless Rick can solve the case with the clues Alex found illegally, his daughter might face charges of breaking-and-entering, the treasure of the San Manuel will be lost to pirates, and a killer could get away with murder.

 

 

Guest Post

 

Four hundred years ago…

 

Imagine yourself crammed aboard a small sailing ship with a hundred and fifty others. Your fellow passengers include soldiers, traders, families—and farm animals. That’s right, 400 years ago you might have shared your sleeping accommodations with a horse, a lamb, a cow, or maybe the rats, fleas, and cockroaches. It was an ideal environment for diseases like yellow fever.

The rewards, however, made the risks worthwhile. Everyone was there for a chance to make their fortune by trading, stealing, or other means. Although no 400-year-old sailing ships have survived, there is one replica in existence, the Andalucia.

 

Replicas, all that remain

 

In San Diego, we don’t have a galleon, but we do have a replica of the 18^th Century Royal Navy frigate Rose. The H.M.S. Surprise was built in the 1970s, then painstakingly refurbished for the film Master and Commander. The photos of the Surprise may give some inkling of what life was like for those aboard an old sailing vessel. For months at a time, a sail-powered ship would ply the seas, hoping for favorable winds and ports of call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding the San Manuel

 

In the first four Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast mysteries, everyone wants to find the San Manuel, a fictional Spanish galleon. According to the legends about the San Manuel, its luck ran out and the ship became of victim of the sea.

There are two reasons I found the search for a 400-year-old sunken treasure ship so fascinating. First, there’s the allure of finding riches from so long ago. A ship traveling to the Americas from the Far East would have been carrying china, ivory, and ancient artwork. The second reason is that treasure hunting hasn’t changed much in 400 years. When I began my research, I spoke to a man who had spent his life researching Sir Francis Drake and those that try to find lost treasure. He warned me that even today’s treasure hunters are an “unsavory bunch.”

Treasure hunting was a cutthroat business in Drake’s time. These days, the technology has changed, but not much else. Treasure hunters around the world—from individuals to multinational companies—compete to make their fortunes, and many of them will stop at nothing to get what they want.

 

Secrets of the Treasure King

 

Come join me in Seaside Cove. It’s the little town where murder meets the sea. And where secrets just might get you killed. A lost treasure ship. A web of lies. A murdered ship captain. Can a father-daughter duo unravel this mystery before a killer escapes with a secret worth millions?

 

 

About the Author

 

Terry Ambrose is a former skip tracer who only stole cars when it was legal. He’s long since turned his talents to writing mysteries and thrillers. Several of his books have been award finalists and in 2014 his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.

 

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Title: THE MARVELOUS MECHANICAL MAN

Author: Rie Sheridan Rose

Publisher: Independent

Pages: 270

Genre: Steampunk Adventure Romance

 

Synopsis

 

The Marvelous Mechanical Man is the first book in a Steampunk series featuring the adventures of Josephine Mann, an independent woman in need of a way to pay her rent. She meets Professor Alistair Conn, in need of a lab assistant, and a partnership is created that proves exciting adventure for both of them.

Alistair’s prize invention is an automaton standing nine feet tall. There’s a bit of a problem though…he can’t quite figure out how to make it move. Jo just might be of help there. Then again, they might not get a chance to find out, as the marvelous mechanical man goes missing.

Jo and Alistair find themselves in the middle of a whirlwind of kidnapping, catnapping, and cross-country chases that involve airships, trains, and a prototype steam car. With a little help from their friends, Herbert Lattimer and Winifred Bond, plots are foiled, inventions are perfected, and a good time is had by all.

 

 

Guest Post

 

I love it when I find new Texas authors and while I have never ready this series, the author is here to the rescue to tell us about the characters in this book.  Sort of an introduction if you will.  I love this little snippet about the various characters and it gives me a little more insight into them and I hope that you will find them intriguing as well.

 

Top Ten Characters in The Marvelous Mechanical Man

 

10) Vanessa, the companion/maid who keeps Aunt Emily’s house running like clockwork.

 

9) Aunt Emily Estes, Alistair’s widowed aunt with a sharp eye and a convenient piano box.

 

8) Paul Blessant, a professorial colleague with an eye toward profit.

 

7) Ma Stark, landlady with a heart of gold and a kitchen that never seems closed.

 

6) Miss Priss, Jo’s bosom companion and solace in times of trouble.

 

5) Herbert Lattimer, whose airship is indispensable in saving the day.

 

4) Winifred Bond—Fred to her friends—who shoots straighter and spits further than anyone else Jo knows.

 

3) Phaeton, the Marvelous Mechanical Man himself, who is really the heart of the matter.

 

2) Our hero, Professor Alistair Conn, whose ingenuity exceeds even his own expectations.

 

1) And, of course, our heroine Josephine Mann who narrates the story with her own inimitable style.

 

 

Excerpt

 

I was debating just what I should do next when I heard the sound of a key in the front lock. Hurrying back to the laboratory, I was just in time to see Alistair Conn step inside.

“Professor Conn! Am I glad to see you.”

He set the bundles he was carrying down on the counter.

“What is it, Miss Mann?”

“Your mechanical man…can it walk on its own?”

He frowned, glancing quickly at the rear door and back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I rolled my eyes.

“We don’t have time for shilly-shallying. Yes, I know I didn’t have your leave to look in the back rooms, but I did. I saw the automaton, or statue, or whatever he was, but when I opened the door to the hallway this morning, the door to the storage room was ajar and the man was gone.”

“Gone?” All the color fled his face, and he pushed me aside, practically running down the lab to the rear door. He threw it open and darted to the storage room. “No…no! This is impossible! How could he be gone?”

“That’s what I was asking you.”

“He can’t move on his own, Miss Mann. He has no power source. He’s just a big metal doll without his heart—and that doesn’t work yet.” He wiped his hand across his lips then turned and ran back to the lab, searching furiously amid the items I had so carefully arranged—apparently to no avail—on the counter. “It’s gone!” he cried. “They got that, too? Oh, this is disastrous, indeed.”

“Got what?” I asked, following him back to the lab, where he seemed determined to destroy all my neatening efforts of the day before.

“The heart, Miss Mann, the heart! I showed it to you yesterday morning—it’s an oblong machine, about so big….” He held up his hands about six inches apart. “You asked me what it did.”

I stepped over to the counter and opened the drawer beneath it. Rummaging in the back, I withdrew the silk-wrapped package I had placed within it the night before.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

He practically snatched it from my hand.

“Thank God! Oh, that was most clever, Miss Mann. Most clever.”

I decided there was no need to tell the man it was only chance that had protected his precious…whatever it was. Let him think it had been foresight.

“You say that’s the statue’s heart?”

“Well, it will be, if it ever starts working. This little object will provide the power necessary to move the automaton’s limbs, to let him think. He will be a true mechanical man.”

“But it doesn’t work.”

He sighed.

“Not yet.” He set the oblong down on the counter. “I’ve done everything I can think of, but I just can’t make it do anything.”

I looked down at the funny little machine. I couldn’t tell him I had played with it and added things. He would never forgive me.

Something looked odd about the assembly. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what, so I put my finger on the machine instead. There was a tiny lever half-hidden by the new gear assembly. It shifted under my fingertip, and suddenly, the heart began to beat.

 

 

About the Author

 

Rie Sheridan Rose multitasks. A lot. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including Nightmare Stalkers and Dream Walkers Vols. 1 and 2, and Killing It Softly Vols. 1 and 2. She has authored twelve novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs. These were mostly written in conjunction with Marc Gunn, and can be found on “Don’t Go Drinking with Hobbits” and “Pirates vs. Dragons” for the most part–with a few scattered exceptions.

Her favorite work to date is The Conn-Mann Chronicles Steampunk series with five books released so far: The Marvelous Mechanical Man, The Nearly Notorious Nun, The Incredibly Irritating Irishman, The Fiercely Formidable Fugitive, and The Elderly Earl’s Estate.

Rie lives in Texas with her wonderful husband and several spoiled cat-children.

 

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Nearly Departed (An Eve Appel Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Publisher: Epicenter Press (January 14, 2020)
Print Length: 180 pages

Synopsis

 

Tired of sitting surveillance on insurance fraud, apprentice PI Eve Appel Egret gets her first big case, one where the outcome is important and personal. Eve’s best friend Madeleine has few relatives, so her Uncle Shamus is special, but someone is determined to kill him and has tried several times. Eve is certain she can identify who is after him, but this time she may have taken on more than even our self-confident Eve can handle. Coping with a growing toddler and a teenager, devoting time to the consignment shop and finding someone who can go undercover in a sexual harassment case all vie for Eve’s attention. Eve knows she cannot fail Madeleine. This is more than her favorite uncle’s life. His death would mean devastating loss for Madeleine and call into question Eve’s commitment as a friend and her ability as a PI.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Today we have Madeleine from Nearly Departed joining us with some few insights.  Welcome Madeleine!

 

My name is Madeleine Boudreau Wilson, and I’m Eve Apple Egret’s best friend and business partner. The two of us own a consignment shop in a rural Florida community. We’ve been BFFs since sixth grade. Since everyone says we are such different people, you may wonder how we established this relationship and why it has survived for so long.

It’s never easy being a new kid in town, and if you’re the smallest kid in the class and you have carroty red hair like I had, you get picked on. My nickname, and not one of my own choosing, was “Shrimp” not only because of my size, but because one of the bullies thought I looked red like a prawn when cooked. Eve came to my rescue and taught me how to handle bullies. She told me to punch them in the gut, which I did, but since I was so short, my blow landed somewhere south of the gut area and in another more delicate spot. That lucky punch made the bullies back off. I returned Eve’s favor by telling all the girls in the class that Eve’s spikey hairdo had b been specially created for her by a famous New York salon operator. Every sixth-grade school was so jealous they tried to imitate Eve’s do with a similar one of their own. It never worked for them because only Eve Apple can pull off that look.

Eve’s advice in sixth grade is only one evidence of Eve’s take action approach to life. Me? I’m more laid back. Our different approaches to dealing with others provided the opportunity for each of us to learn from the other, although I think Eve never holds back when she feels strongly about something.

Here in rural Florida two Yankee gals charting a course this conservative southern town is not easy. Once people get to know Eve, they respect her, even like her despite her in your face approach to living. I think I’ve helped make her acceptance here easier because I have a way about me with others. I’m too tiny to be a threat, and my ladylike charm allows me to fit in well. Eve’s manner can offend easily, but I’m there to smooth things over. Don’t get me wrong. Beyond that rough exterior Eve is a thoughtful, kind and loyal person. Like me, Eve believes friends and family are everything. We’re always there for each other.

When Eve enters a room, everyone knows she’s there. When I enter a room, unless I trip over someone or drop something or crash into somebody (despite my ladylike appearance and manner, I’m clumsy), I’m ignored. In fact, I’m so awkward that there are stores in this town who would prefer I not shop in them for fear I’ll destroy their merchandise… or their customers. I ran through a lot of would-be boyfriends until I met my husband, David. Before him, a second date with a guy was rare because I’d managed to step on their feet on the dance floor or knock their drinks out of their hand. One fellow suffered a mild concussion when I accidentally hit him on the head with my purse as we both leaned over at the same time to retrieve his dropped car keys. I backed into a retaining gate at the annual rodeo, popped the latch and freed a herd of bulls, horses and steers. I’ve never been back. I think the rodeo’s sponsors are happy I stay away.

Another reason that Eve and I are such good friends is that I’m patient. She’s not. I put up with a lot from that gal. She likes to plunge headfirst into situations no one with any sense would tackle. She smart, clever and has a nose for sniffing out crime. When she gets an idea into her head, she pursues it, usually by herself although lately because she now has a family of her own to think about, she’s being more cautious. I’ve never been able to talk her into taking baby steps, but then, with her six-foot height, baby steps aren’t part of her DNA. There are times I envy her adventures in crime, but I have twin children, a boy and a girl, to think about. The boy is like his father, smart, handsome and the best child. The girl, who I named after Eve, turned out just like her. Evie is tall and was a handful from the time she was born. How did I get a child so unlike me and my husband and so like my friend? Did I offend someone, and Evie is my punishment for some social faux pas?

Eve mentioned once that we should get into the private detecting business together, pointing out how well we have done with the consignment shop. I have no interest in chasing down murderers, kidnapers and other criminals. I have my hands full just trying to raise my twins. I look ahead to their teenage years and shudder to think that my daughter could follow in Eve’s footsteps. Not that Eve was boy crazy. She was simply competitive with the boys. If driving cars fast was what guys did, then so did Eve. Daring Eve to do something wild meant she would. She was raised by her grandmother who must be some kind of saint to have put up with all Eve’s shenanigans, but I suspect her grandmother was not unlike Eve when she was an adolescent. Some families have renegade genes. I think Eve’s does. Eve now has a daughter of her own, more rambunctious than my daughter and destined to take after her mother. Her daughter will be payback for Eve’s past high-spirited youth. As mothers, we’re both in for some trying years ahead with our kids.

 

About the Author

 

Cows, Lesley learned as a child growing up on a farm, have a twisted sense of humor. They chased her when she went to the field to herd them in for milking, and one ate the lovely red mitten her grandmother knitted for her. Determining that agriculture wasn’t her career path, she took a job as a stripper, book cover stripper for a publishing company, that is. Now after many years as a college professor and university administrator, she has returned to the world of books and uses her country roots and her training to concoct stories designed to make people laugh in the face of murder. “A good chuckle,” says Lesley,” keeps us emotionally well-oiled long into our old age.”

 

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Staging Wars (A Laura Bishop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Henery Press (April 28, 2020)
Hardcover: 254 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Laura Bishop’s new home staging business is growing in popularity, though not with her nemesis. Laura has long suspected established interior designer Monica Heller of sabotaging her fledgling company—and having an affair with her late husband.

When the ultra-chic Monica is caught at the scene of a murder, Laura is plenty happy to imagine her languishing in a prison cell with bedsheets far from her normal 600-thread Egyptian cotton. But her delight is short-lived.

 

When Laura’s friends land on the police’s radar, Laura must overcome her dislike of Monica to help solve the crime. Not an easy task since Laura and Monica have been at war since the second grade.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

 

Finding Pleasure

 

By Grace Topping

 

For a number of years, my family and I lived in a 1950s home with a bathroom with pink fixtures and black tile. Not a terrible combination and something we could live with, except for the garish plastic toilet seat that didn’t match the rest of the pink. So you might imagine how pleased I was after an extensive search to find a good quality toilet seat in the right shade of pink. To say it made me happy is an understatement.

So what’s so exciting about finding a pink toilet seat? What it says about me is that I can still find pleasure in little or simple things.

You might ask what that has to do with writing mysteries? On April 28, my second mystery, STAGING Wars will be released. I started the first one ten years ago, so to finally reach this point is quite thrilling. In an ideal world, it will become an instant best seller, selected by Oprah for her book club, made into a Hallmark TV movie, or optioned for Hollywood by Reece Witherspoon.

It would be great if even one of those things happened. But being realistic, I doubt my cozy mystery is going to hit the big time. It will give me pleasure hearing that people enjoyed my book, read reviews that say some good things about it (and learn from the things readers didn’t like), and be invited as a guest to some book clubs. In comparison to having my book made into a Hallmark TV movie or adapted by Hollywood, having someone say they loved my book might be a little thing. But it will give me immense pleasure. And sometimes that’s enough.

But if you hear Reece Witherspoon is looking for me, please give her my contact information.

 

 

About the Author

Grace Topping is a recovering technical writer and IT project manager, accustomed to writing lean, boring documents. Let loose to write fiction, she is now creating murder mysteries and killing off characters who remind her of some of the people she dealt with during her career. Fictional revenge is sweet. She’s using her experience helping friends stage their homes for sale as inspiration for her Laura Bishop mystery series. The series is about a woman starting a new career midlife as a home stager. The first book in the series, Staging is Murder, is a 2019 Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. Grace is the former vice president of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and a member of the SINC Guppies and Mystery Writers of America. She lives with her husband in Northern Virginia.

 

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Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble: (Asbury High YA Cozy Mystery Series)
Young Adult Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Purple Milk Publishing (February 1, 2020)
Paperback: 260 pages

Synopsis

 

Asbury, although a haven to shoobies (tourists) in the summer, is a divided coastal town. With the rich half living in the East, and the rest living in the West, most friendships stay within their boundaries. Luckily for a spunky-smart tomboy, a clever billionaire athlete, a gossipy-in-the-know cheerleader, and a wrong side of the tracks technological genius, boundaries are a foreign concept. In fact, Maddie, Cornelious, Carly and Pilot have been Asbury’s strongest quartet for years, despite their vast differences.

 

Nevertheless, after a few weeks of starting high school, the foursome’s friendship is tested.

 

After a string of burglaries in East Asbury, the gang decides to solve the crime as a reason to make time for each other. The further they investigate, the more they find themselves constantly side-stepping tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum-like policemen, outsmarting local bully JB and his gang of misfits, and dealing with Cornelious’ billionaire father and Governor—who has disapproved of his son’s choice of friends for years. In addition to these obstacles, the foursome must also adapt to their evolving friendship with each other and their peers.

 

With upperclassmen, teachers, and teammates vying for their attention, the gang must work even harder to root out the red-herrings from the true thief. Aided by Carly’s gossip, Maddie’s boldness, Cornelious’ quick-wit, and Pilot’s knack for technology, the gang soon discovers its edge over the local police department.

 

 

 

 

Guest Post

 

Maddie Petrozza joins us today to share her thoughts about this book and series.

 

Who is your favorite fictional character and how do you think you’re alike?

My favorite fictional character would have to be Neptune’s finest Private Eye, Veronica Mars. She is just too cool. And she doesn’t care what anyone has to say or thinks about her…mostly because she knows how awesome she is. I wish I could apply for my private investigator’s license, but it might be for the best that I don’t actually. Sometimes it’s nice to fly under the radar, and—on the rare occasions that my friends and I get caught— we can just act like we didn’t know any better.

Honestly, I like to think we have quite a few similarities. I may be more athletic than she is, and she may already have her private investigator’s license… but we both love mysteries. And the feeling must be mutual because mysteries sure do have a way of popping up in both of our lives. Which leads to another similarity, I guess. We may not necessarily go looking for crimes (despite what Carly might tell you), but once involved we’re like an opera singer at a karaoke party—we can’t be stopped, and most people won’t even try to anyway.

The last thing we definitely have in common is our 100% faithfulness to our closest friends. Veronica is so successful because she knows she can’t solve crimes all on her own, and although she had to find out the hard way which friends weren’t real, once she realized who her true friends were, they were unstoppable. Just like me and my gang!

 

About the Author

 

 

For as long as she could remember, Kelly Brady Channick loved making up stories and leaving her listeners/readers on the edge of their seats.

Perhaps that’s why she always managed to talk herself out of trouble…

After graduating from NJ’s own Ocean City High School, Kelly accepted a basketball scholarship to Holy Family University, in Philadelphia. As a lifelong athlete, Kelly understands the importance of teamwork and overcoming adversity, something she hopes translates into her books.

Before writing page-turners, she taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade — like a dessert menu, she simply had to test them all out. But her favorite job is the one she’s now doing full time: writing. Kelly loves to craft whodunit mysteries, leading readers through various twists and turns filled with red-herrings, hidden clues, and more peculiar characters than a reality show.

Kelly lives in South Jersey with her handsome husband, energetic baby boy, two cookie-stealing dogs, and an awfully smart cat.

 

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All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (April 7, 2020)
Hardcover: 304 pages

 

Synopsis

For fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal, All We Buried disturbs the long-sleeping secrets of a small Washington State mountain town.

Interim sheriff Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has always had one repeat nightmare: a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into her hometown lake in Collier, Washington. For the longest time, she chalked it up to an overactive imagination as a kid. Then the report arrives. In the woods of the Cascade mountain range, right in her jurisdiction, a body floats to the surface of Lake Collier. When the body is extricated and revealed, no one can identify Jane Doe. But someone must know the woman, so why aren’t they coming forward?

Bet has been sitting as the interim sheriff of this tiny town in the ill-fitting shoes of her late father and predecessor. With the nightmare on her heels, Bet decided to build a life for herself in Los Angeles, but now it’s time to confront the tragic history of Collier. The more she learns, the more Bet realizes she doesn’t know the townspeople of Collier as well as she thought, and nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Small Towns Murders and Real Places in Fiction by Elena Taylor

 

As a mystery writer, I have a certain sensitivity to killing characters off. Murder mysteries, even ones without graphic violence, still need a victim. If you’re dealing with a murder in a small town, the considerations for killing those characters off are a little different than if you set your story in a place like Los Angeles or Chicago.

Two aspects to think about are where the murders take place and how often characters are killed through acts of violence during any given year.

In 2019, Chicago had 490 homicides and over 2,000 shootings. Compare that to the town of North Bend, Washington, where I live, which had a total of . . . well . . . zero.

If I locate my novels in Washington D.C.—160 homicides in 2019—and I have a victim of a violent crime, no one will find that “unusual.”

If I kill someone in Bellingham, Washington, however, where my first series takes place, that’s the average number of homicides in an entire year.

The “Jessica Fletcher Effect” is a term coined from the long-running TV series, Murder She Wrote, set in the tiny town of Cabot Cove, Maine.

An estimated 300 homicides occurred in Cabot Cove during the years of Jessica Fletcher’s amateur sleuthing, making it the murder capital of the United States. Yet not one of the residents of Cabot Cove appeared bothered enough to lock their doors at night.

Even with that remarkable suspension of disbelief, Hollywood finally sent Jessica off to New York City and other locations to continue to investigate homicides in other places rather than wipe out the entire community of Cabot Cove for the sake of her shenanigans.

Sending characters out of town is only one choice an author like me writing about small towns can make. We can also choose to have books in a series spread out over time. So rather than occurring just months apart, which a busy police detective in Los Angeles could certainly pull off without raising an eyebrow, the events in the books can be separated by years.

Cold cases also work well, as a sleuth can uncover crimes committed in the past.

The location of a crime is another issue for a writer to keep in mind.

If I describe a street corner in Houston, Texas, unless I give the names of the streets, no one is likely to recognize the intersection.

Not so in a small town.

If I describe a single building in Bellingham, Washington, someone is likely to know exactly where I’m talking about, even without specific street names.

When I’ve located my books in real places, I don’t have my characters commit crimes in a location that exists in the real world. I either modify a location, such as an intersection that doesn’t exist because the two roads are actually parallel, or I change the details, such as names or addresses or descriptions.

I do this such that someone familiar with the area may recognize something about where I set a murder, but they can also tell it’s not a place that exists in the real world.

While clues and character interactions are located in places a reader could visit, the crime scenes are less easy to identify.

For my latest book, All We Buried, my town is fictional. There are some advantages to that, as I don’t have to worry about putting something violent at a location that might bother a reader who knows the area. There’s a freedom to creating whatever kind of town I want.

Because the stores, restaurants, and every building in my fictional valley are made up, I can choose to have crimes take place in as public a location as I want.

That leads me back to how many homicides I want to have in my town of Collier, population roughly 1000 hardy souls.

One a year is plausible. Two or three in a year is possible, especially if they are related homicides. A spree killing, for example. Or a situation of a murder/suicide.

More than that, however, and I’m likely to run afoul of the Jessica Fletcher Effect.

So, as I work on the next novel in the series, I’m taking that into consideration.

One of my favorite authors, Louise Penny, sets her mysteries in the tiny town of Three Pines, Ontario, Canada.

The sixteenth book of her Detective Gamache series launches in September, and I recently saw a picture of the Eiffel Tower on the cover.

A line on her website states, “You can probably tell by the cover where it’s set.”

I’m wondering if Louise Penny has started to wonder about the Jessica Fletcher Effect too.

If she is, I’m in terrific company.

 

 

About the Author

 

Elena Taylor spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning her storytelling skills to fiction. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, written under the name Elena Hartwell, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime-fighting duo. With All We Buried, Elena returns to her dramatic roots and brings readers a much more serious and atmospheric novel. Located in her beloved Washington State, Elena uses her connection to the environment to produce a forbidding story of small-town secrets and things that won’t stay buried. Elena is also a senior editor with Allegory Editing, a developmental editing house, where she works one-on-one with writers to shape and polish manuscripts, short stories, and plays. If you’d like to work with Elena, visit www.allegoryediting.com.When she’s not writing or coaching writing, her favorite place to be is at the farm with her horses, Jasper and Radar, or at her home, on the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in North Bend, Washington, with her husband, their dog, Polar, and their cats, Coal Train and Cocoa. Elena holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Ed. from the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

 

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Perils and Pearls: In World War II, a Family’s Story of Survival and Freedom

from Japanese Jungle Prison Camps

 

by Hulda Bachman-Neeb

 

Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 190 pages

Genre: Memoir / Japanese History

Publisher: BristleCone Press

Release date: September, 2019

 

 

“The story of our Dutch family being ripped apart isn’t unique. Millions suffered beyond description during the war. However, today, I have the opportunity to share our story with others so that they may know just how priceless their freedom is. That is my sincerest wish in bringing this book to the general public.” – Hulda Bachmann-Neeb

 

 

Synopsis

 

In World War II much of Asia fell under Japanese control after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. All non-Asians were imprisoned in concentration camps until August of 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific. This is the story of a Dutch family, resident in the Dutch East Indies, that fell victim to the Japanese occupation and was interned in jungle camps throughout the war. It tells the journey from riches to rags, from fear and suffering, to the joy of freedom and recovery.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Rootless

 

The first few years of my life, from my 2nd to my 6th, were not years a child psychologist might prescribe. My brother and I, both toddlers, were in Japanese concentration camps when the Second World War hit the Pacific Rim. Those years were chaotic, and very unhealthy, to say the least. It is a miracle that we survived, my mother, my brother and myself. My father was away in Australia with the Allied Army. The years after the camp continued to be chaotic. Where was our footing? We traveled back to the Dutch East Indies, back to the Netherlands, then to Dutch New Guinea. It did not help our learning capabilities, but my brother and I made it through school, with tutors and help.

All this traveling gave me no roots. I studied languages at the Interpreter School in Geneva and Munch, but still did not know where to settle, and especially why I needed to settle in a certain place. After a few jobs in Holland, that did not root me either, I contacted the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hague, hoping I could get a job at an Embassy. I was called for an interview and shortly afterwards received the message that I was accepted. I had the choice of Cairo, Baghdad or Damascus. I opted for Damascus. This was in 1963 when Damascus was still a city with many monuments and Syria a country with a lot of history.

Then, from 1963 till 1996 I traveled the world. I had 27 assignments, just to name a few: Moscow, New Delhi, Nairobi. Manilla. These assignments lasted from a few weeks to two to three years. On the way, I married my husband and for the last ten years of my career, we traveled together. I am not a tourist in that sense of the word, I don’t join call on travel agents, cruises or groups. I had the tremendous fortune of airline tickets, hotels, housing paid by my government, but especially I enjoyed the benefits of my daily life in these countries. It gave me the possibility to explore the culture, the customs, the religions. Through the Embassy I had access to many events and to many people of all walks in life. I returned to Holland every two years in between the longer postings. I was happy to be reunited with the family and happy again to be sent on to my next assignment. I have traveled, I have enjoyed it immensely and now I am well settled in the beautiful state of Colorado.

 

About the Author

 

Hulda Bachman–Neeb was born in Indonesia of colonial Dutch parentage two years before the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Because much of Asia fell under Japanese control, all non-Asians were imprisoned in concentration camps until August of 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific. As a member of the Dutch Foreign Service in her adult life, Hulda held assignments in twenty-five countries over a period of thirty-six years, retiring in 1996. She is married to an American, James Bachman, a historian and author, and has dual citizenship. Hulda and her husband live in Estes Park, Colorado.

 

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Giveaway

 

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