Treasure Most Deadly (A Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Satori (April 28, 2021)
Print Length: 265 pages

Synopsis

Seaside Cove amateur sleuths Rick and Alexandra Atwood are back!

 

Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast owner Rick Atwood is again called on to assist his friend, Chief of Police Adam Cunningham, with a murder investigation. The case seems straightforward enough. Clive Crabbe, who has a quick temper and a strong jealous streak, was found hunched over the victim after the man made advances toward Clive’s ex-wife.

A murder investigation is the last thing Rick wants right now. The B&B is booked solid. The town is inundated with tourists and news reporters chasing stories about treasure thieves. And Rick’s wedding to Marquetta Weiss is just weeks away. As if that wasn’t enough, Rick’s eleven-year-old daughter Alex is not only itching to help the cops solve another murder, but she’s forming an unhealthy friendship with a B&B guest.

As the murder investigation progresses, Rick realizes Alex’s new friend could be at the center of everything. The worst part is that Alex may be the one person capable of cracking the case.

Guest Post

GUEST POST – MY WRITING JOURNEY

I’m not one of those people who knew he wanted to be a writer from an early age. At least, I don’t think I did. To be perfectly honest, there’s not much I remember about my childhood. However, if the subjects I took in high school and college are any indication of my interests, I’m confident ‘writer’ was never a job description that occurred to me.

The journey began with stress

By the time I was in my late thirties, I was in a job where there was a lot of stress. I had so much frustration built up that I knew I needed to do something, but didn’t know what. I turned to writing. There were several reasons for this choice—I’d been in jobs that involved writing and research; I’d enjoyed that process; and I definitely felt like I wanted to kill someone.

I’m basically a big chicken and a firm believer that I have bad luck where crime is involved. During my one and only teenage attempt to toilet paper a house, we got caught. All my friends got away with it, but I did not have that sort of luck. That memory was enough to remind me I didn’t want to do the time, so I was not actually going to do the crime. As a result, I decided I could write about murder and not have to pay any consequences.

The plot thickens as reality sets in

So I had a mission. Write a novel in which I’d kill off the primary source of my stress. That part was easy. It took one chapter. At that point, I realized my story was over. I had no plot to speak of. No believable characters. Hadn’t described the setting well. But one good thing came of that little exercise—I felt better.

I realized that writing is a cathartic process for me. The ability to immerse myself in a world divorced from my current reality was, as we say today, a game-changer. Being a perfectionist at heart, I also realized that if I was going to spend any time writing, I had to get better at it.

The plot thickens—again

I spent the next twenty years learning more about writing. I attended classes, read books, and got into critique groups. Over the years, I did my best to soak up criticism like a sponge and then use what I’d learned to wring more out of the next book. I tried being a pantser, but dropped that method after I had to rewrite two-thirds of my second thriller in the License to Lie series.

That one experience set me on another path, to get to where I would never have to rewrite most of a book because I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the plot or the characters. I’m now a thorough plotter and use Blake Snyder’s beat sheet as my way to control the tension in each book. For each book I have a timeline, a spreadsheet, and the equivalent of a murder board. I also go through about ten drafts. It’s an exhaustive process in my attempt to become the best storyteller I can be.

Unlike that little boy who never knew he wanted to be a writer, I now realize that my journey has brought me to telling stories. And just like that little boy, I want to be the best I can be. What about you? Are you a writer? Do you have aspirations? Or are you content to leave that process to us crazies who feel driven to tell stories?

About the Author

Once upon a time, in a life he’d rather forget, Terry Ambrose, tracked down deadbeats for a living. He also hired big guys with tow trucks to steal cars-but only when negotiations failed. Those years of chasing deadbeats taught him many valuable life lessons such as-always keep your car in the garage. Today, Terry likes fast, funny mysteries and cool photography. He writes the Trouble in Paradise McKenna Mysteries and organized an anthology to benefit Read Aloud America. He fondly likens his efforts to those of a blind man herding cats.

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