The Secret in the Wall: A Novel (Silver Rush Mysteries)
Historical Mystery
8th in Series
Poisoned Pen Press (February 15, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages

 

Synopsis

 

 

Sometimes you can’t keep your gown out of the gutter…

 

Inez Stannert has reinvented herself—again. Fleeing the comfort and wealth of her East Coast upbringing, she became a saloon owner and card sharp in the rough silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, always favoring the unconventional path—a difficult road for a woman in the late 1800s.

Then the teenaged daughter of a local prostitute is orphaned by her mother’s murder, and Inez steps up to raise the troubled girl as her own. Inez works hard to keep a respectable, loving home for Antonia, carefully crafting their new life in San Francisco. But risk is a seductive friend, difficult to resist. When a skeleton tumbles from the wall of her latest business investment, the police only seem interested in the bag of Civil War-era gold coins that fell out with it. With her trusty derringer tucked in the folds of her gown, Inez uses her street smarts and sheer will to unearth a secret that someone has already killed to keep buried. The more she digs, the muddier and more dangerous things become.

She enlists the help of Walter de Brujin, a local private investigator with whom she shares some history. Though she wants to trust him, she fears that his knowledge of her past, along with her growing attraction to him, may well blow her veneer of respectability to bits—that is, if her dogged pursuit of the truth doesn’t kill her first . . .

 

 

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Guest Post

 

 

Mapping out the past

 

When I settled in to create my Silver Rush historical mysteries, set in the 1880s “Victorian West,” I weighed whether to use fictional or real settings. I quickly realized that grounding my historical mysteries in real locations gave me a framework to build upon… and I’m very fond of structure (of all types, including buildings).

To get a better feel for the places I write about, I turn to historical newspapers, city directories, census data, and (my not-so-secret passion) maps!

With Leadville, Colorado, the primary setting for the first five books of my series, I was lucky. Much of the downtown and nearby streets of Leadville had not changed much from its long-ago days. But there were challenges.

For instance, I found many newspaper references to a thoroughfare called “The Boulevard,” in early Leadville articles and descriptions—in fact, it’s mentioned several times in an 1880 Leadville Daily Chronicle article, quoted here. (You can also view a great photo of The Boulevard by photographer William Henry Jackson on my Pinterest site, here.) However, by the time I went looking for it for the second book in my series, IRON TIES, it seemed to have fallen off the map. Honestly, how could a wide, macadam road described as “so smooth that it had nary a straw to impede the wheels of a carriage” disappear so completely? Finally, in an early-2000s version of a Google Maps satellite image, I spotted the faintest track heading out of town in the right direction through a wooded area.

When I tried to find The Boulevard on a research trip, it was almost invisible: more an overgrown, rubble-strewn trail than a road. I would have never found even that, if not for Google Maps.

For IRON TIES, I also had to invent a fictional gulch since one did not actually exist exactly where I needed it to. I named it “Disappointment Gulch” and confessed all in the Author’s Note. However, that particular agony had a silver lining: A Leadville expert, who I had exchanged increasingly desperate email about nearby real gulches and the various distances, etc., from town, gifted me with a large, plastic, three-dimensional topographical map of Leadville and its environs.

 

 

 

When my protagonist, Inez Stannert, decided to pick up and move to San Francisco, I sure wished I’d had such a 3D map of the “Paris of the West,”  to help me chart the ups and downs of the hilly city. However, Google maps had much improved at this point, and with its “street view,” I could trudge (virtually) all over, from the east-facing waterfront on San Francisco Bay to the Cliff House overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the west. Also, there is a wealth of San-Francisco historical maps available online. Two map-related sites I often turn to are the David Rumsey Map Collection and OldSF.

On the David Rumsey site, one of my favorite maps is Bancroft’s 1881 map of San Francisco. This map is very high resolution and, like all maps on this site, can be downloaded for free. To get my bearings for the first San Francisco book, A DYING NOTE, I took this map and zoomed in on the area that includes the intersection of Pine and Kearney streets, where Inez now works in a music store. To get a better sense of this area, I printed that section out and plotted where various historical buildings and businesses were, using the map’s “reference list” and the 1882 city directory. After doing so, I realized the building holding the music store and the apartment above—where Inez lives with her young ward, Antonia Gizzi— is encircled by houses of worship. The sounds of bells would have been deafening at certain times of day, a fact I incorporated into my fiction.

 

 

OldSF combines a map of current-day San Francisco, a database of historical photos, and a variable timeline. You can widen or narrow the timeframe, choosing any period from 1850 to 2000, and view photos at various locations from those times. For instance, choosing 1850–1898 provided two very nice images of the Montgomery Building on the corner of Montgomery and Washington Streets—the perfect location for one of my fictional lawyers in THE SECRET IN THE WALL to have his office.

In THE SECRET IN THE WALL, I also needed a map of Alcatraz Island so I could better envision what my characters would see there in 1882. From 1853 onward, the military outpost was in constant transformation, with structures and fortifications built, expanded, repurposed, and destroyed at a rapid pace. I searched long and hard but never could find a map specific to my timeframe. However, my brother dug up a 1910 Alcatraz map online. With many thanks for his sleuthing, I gleefully printed it out and, working from 1880s written descriptions, marked it up to get a sense of what it looked like in 1882 (or thereabouts).

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Ann Parker is a science writer by day and a fiction writer by night. Her award-winning Silver Rush Mysteries series, published by Poisoned Pen Press, a Sourcebooks imprint, is set primarily in 1880s Leadville, Colorado, and more recently in San Francisco, California, the “Paris of the West.” The series was named a Booksellers Favorite by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association, and Ann is listed in the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame. The Secret in the Wall is the eighth and newest entry in the series.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Huh? Why? and Punch: A Silicon Valley Mystery
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
BGM Press (January 14, 2022)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages

Synopsis

 

When murder crashes his vacation, can a techie in paradise still catch some waves while snaring a killer?

 

Marty Golden is ready to kick back at the beach. When his neighbor offers free rooms in Hawaii, the software engineer is quick to round up his girlfriend, sister, and nieces for the luau of a lifetime. But his arrival at the resort turns his sun-filled hopes into hunches about homicide after he encounters a very deceased and inconvenient body.

Pressured into helping, a grudging Marty uses his sharp attention to detail to hone in on a crucial clue missed by the police. But his half-hearted investigation spirals out of control with wild chases, burglaries, and secret passageways before the reluctant sleuth gets serious when he’s suddenly added to the target list.

Can Marty hula his way to the real culprit before he’s lei’d to rest?

Huh? Why? and Punch can be read standalone and is the humorous fifth book in the Silicon Valley cozy mystery series. If you like brilliant but bumbling heroes, crazy fun supporting casts, and daring escapades, then you’ll love this laugh-out-loud whodunit.

Buy Huh? Why? and Punch today to dive into a unique taste of paradise!

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Life Hacks and General Words of Wisdom

from Marty Golden, protagonist in Huh? Why? and Punch: A Silicon Valley Mystery (#5)

 

 

“Life hacks,” as they are known, are all about eliminating life’s many frustrations in simple or clever ways. Marty Golden, the protagonist in the Silicon Valley Mystery series, is all for simplifying life.

Marty is not your typical, cozy mystery protagonist. As a male amateur sleuth who doesn’t own a bakery, bookstore, or bed & breakfast, or live by the beach, he stands out from the crowd of cozy protagonists. Marty bumbles his way through the investigations, armed with nothing but an eye for detail, powers of self-delusion, and the complete inability to leave a coherent voicemail message. Fortunately, these are enough to solve crimes.

In Huh? Why? and Punch, Marty’s heading off on vacation to Hawaii with his girlfriend and family when he encounters an ill-timed dead body. Soon he’s hip-deep in trouble as secrets from the past emerge.

Can Marty hula his way to the real culprit before he’s lei’d to rest?

Marty manages to save the day and nab the killer while also offering inadvertent life advice along the way. Here are a few life hacks that Marty has developed over the years that he shares in the pages:

Marty’s Life Hacks:

• “Don’t let reality cloud your perceptions.”
• “Nodding in agreement to yourself gives you at least one person who visibly concurs with your opinion.”
• “Pools are everywhere, but oceans conveniently coincide with beaches—like an awesome two-for-one deal.”
• “Foresight is a magical power. Some less-than-helpful colleagues have pointed out that I could develop this skill if only I paused first for careful thought. That would certainly help me avoid perilous circumstances.”

 

HUH? WHY? AND PUNCH is available at getbook.at/HawaiianPunch. It can be read standalone but you’d enjoy reading all five of the Silicon Valley Mystery series in order even more. You can find them at: http://getbook.at/SiliconValley. The first three of those are also out on audiobooks from Tantor Audio, available everywhere audiobooks are sold. All of my books are free for Kindle Unlimited members.

For another humorous, clean cozy mystery series starring a newlywed couple and set in a small town in the Ozarks, try FISH OUT OF WATER: AN OZARKS MYSTERY (#1). It is available at getbook.at/Fish.

I love to hear from readers as that motivates me to keep going on the next blank page.

 

 

Excerpt

 

Once the cops were out of sight, I asked, “Doesn’t it seem suspicious to you?”

“Huh? Why?”

“And,” I finished, and smirked.

“What?” Meghan’s eyebrows squashed together in confusion as she stared at me.

“Get it? ‘Huh, Why, And.’ It sounds like Hawaiian.” I laughed at the play on words.

Meghan grimaced and pointed me into the elevator. “It’s way too late for that nonsense.”

I ignored her criticism. Good humor didn’t follow a clock.

 

…

 

“Nah.” I shook my head. “I’ve got a feeling about it.”

“What kind of feeling?” Meghan shot me a bemused glance.

“I’m feeling like it’s a good thing Marty Golden, super sleuth, is on the job.”

“Nobody’s ever called you that.” She leaned her head back and squinted skeptically at me.

“You could start.” I implored her with my best puppy-dog eyes.

“No.” She shook her head decisively. “Not going to happen.”

 

 

About the Author

 

Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. He credits his years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley for honing his writing skills and sense of humor. While his high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, these were just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.

For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. As he’s gotten older, he’s encountered more funny and odd people and situations. This has made it even easier for him to write what he knows and make up the rest. It’s a skill that’s served him well, both as an author and marketer.

The publication of Marc’s first novel, UNCLE AND ANTS, gave him permission to claim “author” as his job. This leads to much more interesting conversations with people than answering, “marketing.” Becoming an Amazon best-selling author has only made him more insufferable.

Like his characters Jonas and Elizabeth from the Ozarks Lake Mystery series, Marc grew up in the South and spent plenty of time in and around Arkansas. Like his character, Marty from the Silicon Valley Mystery series, Marc now lives in Silicon Valley, works in high-tech, and enjoys bad puns. Along with all his protagonists, Marc too has a dog, although his is neurotic, sweet, and small, with little appreciation for Marc’s humor.

Visit his website for free chapters of novels, special offers, and more.

 

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Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tea & Talismans: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Prickly Pear Psychic Mysteries)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Arizona
Independently published (November 29, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 262 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Alara Beatty never thought her life would change so fast.

She’s only just begun to use her psychic abilities, and she’s already being met with a slew of truths and challenges. In a short span of time, she’s met her biological aunt, solved a murder, and discovered that she was given up for adoption due to a mysterious prophecy.

But that’s certainly not all that’s in store for Alara. Suddenly, her biological family members are flocking to her small town of Prickly Pear, Arizona to meet her…and evaluate her psychic strength.

As Alara begins to get used to her new situation, her cousin Todd receives a mysterious death threat…one that she knows to take seriously. Together, she and Todd must investigate the threats and try to determine who they’re coming from—before it’s far too late.

Not only must Alara learn to use her psychic abilities, she also needs to determine who she can trust. Her newfound family? And what about Rudi Rivera, her charming, handsome police officer friend who has no idea that Alara is psychic?

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Are Dogs Good Cozy Mystery Companions?

 

By Elle Wren Burke

 

In the world of cozy mysteries, cats seem to reign supreme! Scrolling through any online bookstore, you’ll find cat after cat on cozy book covers. These adorable felines are usually companions to the main character and sometimes even help solve the mystery. In a few cases, the cats are the detectives!

Seeing all these cats can leave dog lovers wondering if there’s something about canines that makes them less than ideal costars alongside our beloved amateur sleuths. Do they require too many walks? Do their barks draw too much attention? Is their breath too awful? Or maybe they just don’t make good cover models for cozies?

So what’s the answer—are dogs good cozy companions? Yes, of course! Dogs are better than just good—they make wonderful pets for our amateur sleuths! They have amazing noses. They can protect their owners (even the smallest ones!). They give awesome snuggles. And they will always greet their owners at the door after a tough day of investigating (unlike cats, who are likely to be hiding in a cabinet or closet somewhere!).

I know a lot of readers are firmly Team Cat, so you might not believe me. I’m highly allergic to cats myself, so I tend to lean more towards dogs when I read cozies (mostly so I don’t get a phantom itchy nose thinking about all the cat fur). This means I’ve read lots of dog cozy mysteries and have lots of proof for you!

One of my favorite dogs so far is Oliver from the Cookie House Mysteries by Eve Calder. I recently read the first book—And then there were Crumbs. Oliver, possibly a Goldendoodle, is his own dog in this book. He goes where he wants with who he wants, but always seems to know exactly where he’s needed. From raising the alarm during a break in to laying on laps when bad news arrives, he’s there to help. The main character makes fast friends with Oliver and it sounds like they have many more adventures to come.

Another beloved dog for me is Coal from Heather Day Gilbert’s Barks & Beans Cafe series. In the first installment, Coal is actually wrapped up in the mystery, which I thought was great fun. Coal is a Great Dane and a sweetheart of a gentle giant. Not only does his size make him a wonderful protector, but his mellow nature is just what the main character needs after a hectic day of investigating.

I recently read An Embarrassment of Itches by M.K. Dean, the first in her Ginny Reese Mysteries series. The main character is a vet who travels to her customers’ homes, bringing her German Shepherd, Remy, along for the ride. Not only does Remy provide support and companionship to her each day, he plays a key role in protecting the veterinarian when someone involved in the investigation decides she’s getting too close.

If I had to pick a favorite dog, though, I would choose Lady from Amy Boyles’ Magical Renovation Mysteries series. Lady starts out as a normal Dachshund, but quickly gains the ability to talk. Not only does she help the main character throughout the series, such as alerting her to suspicious noises and smells, but she’s also snarky and hilarious. She has a mind of her own and knows exactly what she wants. She goes almost everywhere with her owner and demands food and cute outfits along the way. She knows her worth and isn’t afraid to ask for what she deserves.

Then there are the dogs in my own cozy mystery series—Prickly Pear Psychic Mysteries. My main character is lucky enough to own two dogs, Pretzel and Blueberry, a Pitbull and a Rottweiler. Though they might look scary, they’re both big softies. I gave them each distinct personalities which shine in the books, but the dogs are also involved in the mysteries. In the second book, Tea & Talismans, one of the dogs plays a very important role towards the end of the story. And they might both be involved in the mystery of the upcoming third book, Canines & Cacti.

There are so many other wonderful dogs in the world of cozy mysteries! These are just a few examples to help prove to you that dogs pull their weight in cozies. I’m not saying they’re cozier or better than cats, just different. Personally, I’d like to find some cozies that feature a cat and a dog working together! Know of any? Shoot them my way!

 

 

About the Author

 

Elle Wren Burke is a paranormal cozy mystery author who writes witty, fun books with strong females as protagonists.

Elle has Master’s degrees in Geography and Business. She lives in Arizona with her husband and fur baby. She enjoys puzzles, baking, and board games.

 

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Giveaway

 

 

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Ghost Agents
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Independently published (July 26, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 309 pages

 

Synopsis

 

An organization that has operated in secret for centuries… a mystery that threatens to burn it all to the ground… and she’s the only agent who can stop it…

 

To the residents and tourists of Galveston Island, Claire Abelard is the friendly young woman who works at the local candy store by day and leads ghost tours of the island’s haunted locations by night. They don’t realize this persona is a cover for Claire’s real job as an agent of the Bureau for Historical Preservation, a clandestine organization that monitors and assists energy projections, or the entities more commonly known as “ghosts.”

When projections begin disappearing from around the island, Claire worries that history may be repeating itself. She launches a dangerous investigation and uncovers a sinister, arcane organization whose agenda threatens not only Galveston’s ghosts, but everything she has worked her whole life to protect.

The truth behind the disappearances rocks Claire’s world to its core and shows her that ghosts aren’t the only things that can come back to haunt you.

Ghost Agents is a genre-defying, cozy paranormal mystery, with a little sci-fi, romance, and Texas history thrown into the mix!

 

 

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Guest Interview

 

Interview with an Agent of the Bureau for Historical Preservation

 

Instructor:       Congratulations on your recruitment to the Bureau for Historical Preservation and your entrance into the new agent training program.

 

At this point in your training, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed by all the information that’s been coming your way over the last few weeks, so we thought it might be nice for you to hear about the job from a veteran agent. So, today we’re here with Claire Abelard, the senior agent in charge of the Bureau’s team in Galveston, Texas. Welcome, Claire.

 

Claire:             Thank you. It’s great to be here.

 

Instructor:       So, Claire, tell us about how you came to work for the Bureau.

 

Claire:             Well, my family history with the Bureau dates all the way back to its founding in the early 1700s, so you might say it’s a family business.

 

Instructor:       That’s right. Pierre Abelard is your great, great… how many greats?… grandfather.

 

Claire:             (with a laugh) I’m not really sure. I’d have to do the math.

 

Instructor:       Well, however far back it goes… Hopefully, our recruits will remember Pierre was one of the original scientists who discovered that all humans give off varying degrees of energy, and that some people leave behind projections of that energy after they die.

 

Claire:              That’s right. He and his fellow scientists started the Bureau as a way to monitor and help the energy projections they were meeting.

 

Instructor:       You’ve been an active agent with the Bureau for a few years now, Claire. Can you share with the recruits your favorite thing about the job?

 

Claire:             Oh, that’s a tough one. There are so many rewarding things about being an agent. I think for me, the best thing would be knowing that we’re helping keep history alive and active in the minds of the general public. If it weren’t for our efforts, so much of history would be forgotten and lost forever.

 

Instructor:       What are some of the challenges you face on the job?

 

Claire:             (with a chuckle) Honestly, sometimes the projections we monitor can be a little childish. I imagine it would be a lot like refereeing a toddler soccer match.

 

Instructor:       How’s that?

 

Claire:              Well, we call them projections, but it might be more accurate to think of them as remnants of the living person’s energy. Whatever personality traits the person had when they were alive, their energy projection will be a streamlined, static version of that. Basically, pure personality without the potential for growth or development, and sometimes that can make our job challenging. But I find it’s best to just embrace the challenge and try to enjoy their personalities for what they are.

 

Instructor:       Thank you, Claire. Now, if you’re up for it, I’d like to open up the floor to questions from our recruits.

 

Claire:              I’d be happy to answer some questions.

 

Recruit #1:      I was curious about acumens. I know Communicative Acumen is the basic requirement for an agent, but does it really matter all that much if you have any of the other abilities?

 

Claire:              Actually, yes, it really can matter. Communicative Acumen is just the foundation that allows you to talk to the projections. But the job just gets a lot easier if you can bring other abilities to the table.

 

Recruit #1:      How so?

 

Claire:             Well, one example would be that Affective Acumen helps you gauge a projection’s mental and emotional state at any given moment. This gives you an advantage in regulating your own emotions to help you direct your interactions with them. Believe me, you never want to let the projection steer the ship.

 

Recruit #2:      Is it possible for a sensitive to develop new acumens?

 

Claire:              It’s my understanding that, yes, it is possible, but it takes a lot of work and training.

 

Recruit #2:      Have you been able to develop any new acumens?

 

Claire:             (hesitantly) Actually, I’ve never tried.

 

Recruit #2:      But you just said more acumens make the job easier.

 

Claire:             (nodding) They do. I’ve just never had to try to acquire any new acumens.

 

Instructor:       (in disbelief) You possess all the acumens?

 

Claire:              Well, not all of them, but the ones I do have, I’ve always had. It’s probably because I was raised in a Bureau family, but I just don’t remember a time when I didn’t have my acumens.

 

(murmurs among the recruits)

 

Instructor:       (steering the conversation back) Okay, I think we have time for one more question.

 

Recruit #3:      Are rogue projections really as dangerous as our training materials make them out to be?

 

Claire:             (choosing her words carefully) Well, yes and no. They all have the potential to deteriorate more quickly than monitored projections, but that doesn’t mean they all will. Many of them just want to be left alone. Of course, there are those who get out of line and pose a danger to livings, but our P.I.D. teams handle them.

 

Recruit #3:      You mean, they dispatch them.

 

Claire:             When necessary, but usually a warning does the trick. Honestly, most rogues just go about their business and don’t cause any problems at all.

 

Recruit #3:      What’s the scariest encounter you’ve ever had with a rogue?

 

Claire:              I’ll be honest and say I have encountered some aggressive rogues in the past, but I wouldn’t call the experiences “scary.” The living people we encounter while doing our job pose more of a threat to us than rogue projections do.

 

Instructor:       Well, I think that’s all we have time for today. Thank you so much, Claire, for stopping by to chat with our recruits and answer their questions.

 

Claire:              No problem at all. I’m always happy to help out.

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Nita DeBorde is a published author and teacher from Houston, TX. Writing and teaching are her two major passions, though traveling and being dog-mom to a crazy Staffordshire-Boxer mix named Mabel are high on the list as well.

Nita has taught high school French for more than 20 years and absolutely loves her “day job” job (about 95% of the time). She loves to travel, and not surprisingly, France is her favorite destination, though her home state of Texas runs a close second.

She is also a huge history buff, which comes through in her fiction writing, and particularly in her latest novel, Ghost Agents, a genre-defying, cozy paranormal mystery with a little sci-fi and romance thrown into the mix. Ghost Agents: Revelations, the 2^nd book in the Ghost Agents Trilogy, is slated for release in March 2022.

Nita’s first novel, Project Lachesis, is currently available in both Kindle and hardcopy format from Amazon.com.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Out of Temper (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
‎Golden Tip Press (February 1, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand has been the scene of two murders – both of which she has been instrumental in helping solve. So when she gets invited to demo her chocolate skills aboard a cruise ship sailing out of the local port, she’s excited at the chance to get away from the shop long enough to regain her equilibrium. She even brings her best friend along, and makes plans for time at the spa. But when she gets on board, she finds out that she’s been booked for a mystery-themed cruise, and said best friend, Autumn, has to finally deal with the real reasons she quit writing mysteries. Only – if that wasn’t stressful enough – it doesn’t take long before there’s a real murder on the cruise, and someone Felicity knows becomes the prime suspect. When said suspect asks her for help, she can’t exactly say no, can she?

Felicity finds herself surrounded by cruise goers who all had connections to the victim – and finds that both Logan (her business partner, whom she recently kissed) and Arlo (the cop who was once Felicity’s first boyfriend, before she moved away from Galveston) are dealing with the case until more official help can arrive. How will Felicity survive the ensuing awkwardness?

One thing that helps: the retired police dog turned therapy dog she meets on board. Satchmo helps Felicity deal with being back on the water after tragedy in her past – and also helps her uncover a vital clue to the case. Can Felicity unmask the killer and keep a friend from being framed before all the suspects leave the ship?

 

 

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Character Guest Post

 

 

 

Hi Everyone!!!!  I’m Satchmo!  I’m a beagle, and if you’ve had a bad day, it’s my job to make you feel better.  Have you heard of a therapy dog?  Well, I’m in training to become one.  It’s just about the greatest job in the world to me!  I love people.  I know some dogs who don’t.  And some of them have their reasons.  But not me.  I’ve had some pretty great people in my life.  I’ve always been fed and taken care of, and I’ve always had something to do.

See, I’ve been working most of my life.  I used to work for the police.  I’m proud to say that beagles have some of the best noses in the business.  We can sniff out anything!  I used to work with a handler who teamed up mainly with homicide detectives.  It was really sad work, searching out people who were missing and sometimes never coming home again.  It kind of gets to you, after a while.  Maybe that’s why I got to retire.  Retirement is a concept I don’t completely understand.  I mean, I don’t work with the same handler, but now I have Bea, who’s teaching me to be a therapy dog.  So isn’t that the same thing?  And I don’t go to the police station anymore, but my nose still works overtime, catching the same smells.  Bea still works with the police, so she even brings home a lot of the same smells I knew from before.  So what does it mean to be retired?  I’m still me, after all.

Bea has brought me onboard a cruise ship.  It’s actually my third time to be on a boat.  One time was when I was working for the police.  That time was very sad.  I don’t really want to talk about it.  Just know that the bad guys got caught, I got treats, and everything was almost okay at the end.  Because when someone’s life ends, things are never quite the same, you know?

But the cruise ship!  It is spectacular!  Especially the floor where the big restaurant is.  You would not believe some of the smells coming out of that kitchen.  And right when we got here, there was a party, and someone dropped an entire plate of meatballs.  I was over there, snacking them up before the person could even figure out who to ask for cleanup.  Bea scolded me.  I’m supposed to wait for treats to be offered.  But seriously.  Meatballs!  Who could resist?

Right after that, I met Felicity.  She smelled of sadness and nervousness.  I got the idea that it was something about being on a boat that makes her uncomfortable.  Bea asked me to spend some time with her, and you know what?  I really helped!  She stopped freaking out about the boat moving.  And she gave me roast beef.  Roast.  Beef.  Mmmmmmm.  I only get to eat meat like that as a special treat, so I must have really helped Felicity.  I’m not even out of training, and I already have a success story!

Go me!  Who’s a good dog?  I am!  Right?  Tell me I’m a good dog!!

I never get tired of hearing that.

So right now, I’m hanging out with Felicity, and I smell a cat.  Right?  What’s a cat doing on a cruise ship?  It doesn’t make any sense.  But the cat starts running before I can find out, so I have to chase after it, to get some answers.  It’s more of a kitten really, and it runs a lot faster than it looks like it should be able to.  So I’m flat out running when I pick up a familiar smell in the air.  An unsettling smell, of iron and inky blackness.  A smell I don’t like.

But my training from the police kicks in, and I have to go towards the smell instead of away from it, like any reasonable canine.  And yeah, there’s a dead body.  And surprisingly, Felicity’s response is, “What?  Again?”  Like this happens all the time.  Which doesn’t make sense.  She isn’t part of the police.  She smells like chocolate.  Which I’m not allowed to eat.  Bea says it’s poisonous to dogs, but I’m not so sure.  It smells so good, sometimes I think she’s just saying that so she can keep it all for herself.  But if there’s even a chance she’s right – I’m not going near the stuff.  Especially not now, since we just found a dead body right near a whole display of boxes with chocolate’s deep, earthy smell.

I don’t know the dead guy, but he smells of coffee and sweat and ink.  It’s not pleasant, so maybe he wasn’t a pleasant person, but no matter who he was, he deserves justice.  I look over at Felicity, and somehow I can tell that she’s thinking the same thing.  I hope we can work together on this one.  But can a therapy dog and a chocolate maker solve a murder?  Find out in Out of Temper.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate at . She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.

 

Website * Blog * Instagram * Facebook

 

YouTube * Twitter * Amazon * Goodreads

 

 

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Ice Cold Murder (Charlie Kingsley Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Love-Based Publishing (January 25, 2022)
Number of Pages ~250

 

Synopsis

 

When Charlie agrees to accompany her friend Claire to her late grandmother’s reading of the will, she assumes she is simply there for moral support.

She doesn’t expect things to get so … strange.

It’s odd enough that it takes place over a weekend, but that’s just the beginning …

They also need to stay in Claire’s grandma’s supposedly haunted house with Claire’s estranged family.

Things get even worse when a huge storm snows them in. No electricity, no phone, and no way out.

Throw a dead body into the mix, and there’s no question it’s now the world’s worst family gathering. Ever.

At least Charlie brought lots of tea, which she’s going to need as she races to solve this closed-circle mystery before her friend’s dysfunctional family get-together results in anyone else being murdered.

Meet Charlie. Better known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She’s back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.

 

 

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Character Interview with Michele

 

Meet Charlie, the main character of Ice Cold Murder (interview conducted by author Michele Pariza Wacek).

 

Hi, I’m Michele, the author of Ice Cold Murder, Book 2 of The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries. Of all the characters I’ve written about, I can honestly say that Charlie is in a league of her own.

When she first came to me, she didn’t even have a name—she was simply the dead aunt who left Becca her house in her will in the beginning of It Began With a Lie (Book 1 of The Secrets of Redemption series).

Eventually, I gave her a name, Lottie, which wasn’t right (she definitely gave me an earful about it). And even though I don’t write paranormal books, she still ended up becoming a force to be reckoned with, appearing in Becca’s dreams to guide her and give her advice.

As I wrote the first three books in the series, Charlie informed me I needed to write her story, about how she first came to Redemption, Wisconsin. So, that became Books 4-5.

Once I published those, I assumed I was done with Charlie.

That was not the case.

A few months later, I got the idea for a Christmas murder mystery starring Charlie. The Murder Before Christmas was published on November 9, 2021, and it launched a whole new cozy mystery series called The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries. (Of course!).

To celebrate the launch of Book 2, I thought it was time to have a little public heart-to-heart with Charlie. So, without further ado, let’s jump in.

 

MPW: Thanks for doing this with me.

CK: Of course. You and I are in this together, after all.

 

MPW: That is true. So, when did you first realize I was … ‘underutilizing’ you? I guess that would be the best way to describe it …

CK: (Chuckles.) So, first off, I think ALL characters feel underutilized. But what it comes down to is the lengths the characters are willing to go to get noticed. For me, it was about persistence. You kept wanting to stray, and I had to keep reigning you back. Remember that fairy tale retelling project that went nowhere for ten months?

 

MPW: Um …

CK: You spent ten months writing the first book, and you barely got halfway through the first draft!

 

MPW: That isn’t one of my prouder ‘moments.’

CK: That’s an understatement. And you were just so stubborn. It took you getting an eye infection during the pandemic before you would slow down long enough to realize the project you should be working on was my story in The Secrets of Redemption series.

 

MPW: Okay, but give me some credit. I pivoted last summer to start on The Murder Before Christmas pretty quickly.

CK: Yes, you’re improving. Not perfect yet, but definitely getting better.

 

MPW: Speaking of The Murder Before Christmas, when did you realize the spin-off series was going to be a cozy?

CK: I always knew it was going to be a cozy. I’m not sure why it took you so long to get on board.

 

MPW: Well, for one, the original series was a psychological suspense.

CK: Yeah, but there are cozy elements in it. Especially in Book 2, This Is What Happened to Jessica. But they’re all mystery-driven—they take place in a small town with a repeating cast of characters, and they’re clean.

 

MPW: That’s true.

CK: So, with The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries, it just made sense to step fully into the cozy world.

 

MPW: When you put it that way, it does make sense. So, there are now two books in the series: The Murder Before Christmas and Ice Cold Murder …

CK: Don’t forget about the prequel short story, A Grave Error.

 

MPW: Yes, that too. Do you have a favorite?

CK: Hmmm. I like them both, but for different reasons. I was excited we were finally writing a Christmas mystery … I know we both wanted to do that for a long time.

 

MPW: That’s true.

CK: But Ice Cold Murder was a lot of fun, as well. After all, what’s more intriguing than being trapped in a supposedly haunted house with a dead lawyer and a dysfunctional family in the middle of a snowstorm? At least when it comes to solving a mystery.

 

MPW: I can’t think of anything better.

CK: Although if you ask Claire, she might have a different answer.

 

MPW: Yeah, that’s why we’re not asking her. And that leads me to my last question—do you ever get upset with me for all the bad things that happen to you?

CK: That question assumes you’re the one coming up with the bad things.

 

MPW: Wait … what?

CK: I mean, has it occurred to you that our stories are our stories and you’re just the one writing them down? Honestly, you’re kind of like a glorified secretary.

 

MPW: Um …

CK: Now, that isn’t to say I don’t get upset with you. But it’s mostly when you get stubborn and start working on other projects and listening to other characters when you should be paying attention to me.

 

MPW: Okay then. Good to know.

 

 

About the Author

 

When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but she does spend much of her time writing stories now. Mystery stories to be exact, ranging from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn’t enough, she also hosts a virtual book club you can check out and join (for free!) at MPWNovels.com.

Michele holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.

Website * Facebook * LinkedIn * Twitter * Instagram

 

 

 

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Laughing Can Kill You: A Hazel Rose Book Group Mystery 
Edgy Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Virginia
Olive Lane Press (December 6, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

 

Synopsis

 

He who laughs last, laughs longest.

Unless he’s dead.

When romance author Hazel Rose is dropped by her publisher, she sees herself heading down a path strewn with has-been authors. While disappointed, Hazel won’t give up without a fight—she signs up for a mystery-writing class, thinking that crime fiction will jumpstart her career.

But what’s a mystery-writing class without a mystery? So when Randy Zimmerman, an obnoxious classmate given to laughing at others’ expense, is murdered, Hazel tackles the case. Solving a real-life murder will surely lend authenticity to her creative writing.

She recruits her book group pals to help with the investigation. Trouble is, there are more suspects than they bargained for—even Hazel herself, who endured Randy’s thumbs-way-down review of her writing, had a motive.

A second body drives the stakes higher, and Hazel doubles her efforts to find who’s behind the murders, unearthing secrets that a killer would go to any lengths to keep hidden.

Will Hazel succeed? Or will this be “The End” for her?

 

 

Amazon *  Universal Book Link * Barnes & Noble * Bookshop.org * Kobo

 

 

Guest Post

 

I love what Maggie is sharing with us today!  Our book club sometimes needs to shake things up and I’m going to suggest some of these ideas.

 

 

Want to Start a Theme Mystery Book Group? Here’s How

 

by Maggie King

 

 

I hated that book! Sound familiar? Someone in your book group hated the assigned book and doesn’t think it’s even worthy of discussion. There are thousands of book groups (clubs, if you will) in the United States alone and the majority read the same title each month before gathering to discuss it. But a group can fall into a rut and struggle to come up with choices that enthuse its members.

There’s another option: the theme book group.

In such a group, the members pick a theme, read a book of their choice based on the theme, and meet to talk about what they read. This format allows more flexibility of choice and all but eliminates the “I Hated That Book” syndrome that plagues many groups.

If your group favors in-depth book discussions, the theme approach may not be for you. However, you may consider trying it on occasion, like during the holiday season or the summer. Sometimes the theme itself will kick off a spirited dialogue. Whatever you decide, the main objective is to read and share your love of books.

In the Murder on Tour group featured in the first Hazel Rose Book Group mystery, Murder at the Book Group, the members read mysteries set in geographical locations. In the opening chapter, the group talks about the books they read with Florida settings. Titles include The Paperboy by Pete Dexter and The Deep Blue Good-By by John MacDonald.

In the second Hazel Rose mystery, Murder at the Moonshine Inn, the group travels back in time to the ancient world via Silver Pigs by Lindsay Davis and Germanicus Mosaic by Rosemary Rowe. Martin Lorin’s Genesis One: Abel is Missing sparks an animated back and forth on the age-old question: why did Cain kill Abel?

In Laughing Can Kill You, my recently-released Hazel Rose mystery, the book group is on hiatus. Two members are actually globetrotting, as opposed to vicariously traveling with the group. The other members are taking a mystery writing class. Once they reconvene, plans are to read mysteries set in countries the wandering pair visits.

Why did I choose a theme group for Murder at the Book Group? In 1993 I went to my first mystery book group in Santa Clarita, California. My instructions were to read a mystery set in New York City and I chose one from Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series. That first night launched my love of mysteries and eventually lead me to writing my own. Themes included main characters with professions in journalism, business, law enforcement, and academia. We chose stories set in specific regions, small towns, large cities, you name it. We changed the theme, or themes, annually.

The members not only discussed the books they’d read for that month, but they recommended others as well. I left each meeting with a lengthy TBR list. I attended that group for three years until I relocated to Virginia. While I modeled the Murder on Tour group after the Santa Clarita one, it bears no resemblance—no one was murdered!

Ready to try a theme group? The ideas I’m presenting are for mysteries, but you can adapt the suggestions to your chosen genre. For mysteries, you can go super cozy to the darkest hard-boiled. You can pick a theme for a year, or however long you choose. Get creative!

 

• Read your way around the world with a different country or a different type of setting (city, beach, country, etc.). That’s what Hazel Rose’s Murder on Tour group does.
• Read books set in your state. Hazel Rose and her group spent one year reading the works of Virginia mystery authors and several met with them, either in person or via Zoom.
• Read historical mysteries set in a certain century or decade. Anne Perry sets her various series in the Victorian, World War I, and Interwar periods, giving you lots of choices.
• Pick titles from book award lists (Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, Macavity, etc.)
• Read all women writers or all men writers.
• Pick a different prolific author each month and have each member choose a title from their bibliography.
• Read mysteries with fictional characters as sleuths, such as Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen series.
• Read authors of the Golden Age: Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Dorothy L. Sayers, Josephine Tey, to name a few.
• Consider scientific occupations: Alan Bradley (aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce); Randy Wayne White (marine biologist Doc Ford).
• Choose from a list of African-American authors: Frankie Y. Bailey, Kellye Garrett, and V.M. Burns will get you started.
• Celebrate holidays around the year with books that take place during a particular holiday (this could be a tough one for certain holidays, but this is where your creativity kicks in)
• Read books about books: Kate Carlisle, Carolyn G. Hart, and Walter Mosley focus on this theme.

 

Selected resources for finding themes

Stop, You’re Killing Me! (http://www.stopyourekillingme.com): This online database includes indexes for locations, jobs, diversity, and historical periods

Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com): the social media cataloging site for readers has its own theme group. They also have a list of suggested themes. I love their idea of reading books with blue covers!

By a Woman’s Hand: A Guide to Mystery Fiction by Women by Jean Swanson and Dean James: this is a favorite resource of mine. It hasn’t been updated since its publication in 1996 but many of the authors listed are still writing.

Go the traditional route: ask your local librarian!

Ready to try a theme group? Let me know what you think of the format. Happy reading!

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Maggie King is the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries. Her short stories appear in various anthologies, including the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, Murder by the Glass, and Death by Cupcake.

She is a member of James River Writers, International Thriller Writers, Short Mystery Fiction Society, and is a founding member of Sisters in Crime Central Virginia, where she manages the chapter’s Instagram account.

Maggie graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Business Administration and has worked as a software developer and a retail sales manager. She has called New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California home. These days she lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and two indulged cats. When Maggie isn’t writing she enjoys reading, walking, cooking, traveling, movies, British TV shows, and the theatre.

 

Website/Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram

 

 

 

 

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Daunting Darkness (Paige Papillon Paranormal Mysteries) 
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Partners in Crime Book Services (January 7, 2022)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Following your dreams can become a nightmare.

Paige Papillon has always loved mysteries. So much so, she enlists in the Police Academy to one day become a detective.

But when she washes out of training, her Sergeant inspires her to go another route: become a private investigator.

After a few boring cases, she receives an envelope full of cash and mysterious clues that lead to the discovery of a cover up of paranormal proportions.

Worse, the Sergeant’s wife is at the center of it. Can Paige solve the mystery and stay alive, or will she become a midnight snack for a monster?

 

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Freaky Familiars (Paige Papillon Paranormal Mysteries)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Partners in Crime Book Services (January 7, 2022)
Print Length ~140 Pages

 

Synopsis

 

No time for a catnap for this paranormal detective!

Now aware that things that go bump in the night exist, private investigator Paige Papillon has expanded her business to include clients of all species.

Assisted by a former detective and his mystery writer wife with a checkered past, she begins to settle into her new job as Chicago’s premier paranormal PI.

But when her best friend’s cat goes missing, Paige realizes how much she still doesn’t know about the supernatural world. It’s a race against the clock to save a shapeshifter and prevent a witch’s familiar from being sold to the highest bidder.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Perfect endings? With the exception of fairy tales, they don’t exist. Perfect endings are not real, and with today’s market, they should not be. Once upon a time–pun intended–they were perfect, but the stories everyone really remembers, the stories that make you feel, do not have perfect, happy endings. Take Shakespeare. Take, if we are going modern, Stephen King. Their works could have about five different outcomes each, and no two fans can 100% agree on what the ‘perfect ending’ can be. Even today’s romance novels with the promise of ‘HEA’ do not have perfect endings, because the readers cannot all be satisfied. It just isn’t possible.

I think a perfect example of an unsatisfying ending is Harry Potter, with their ‘all was well’. How was all well? George lost his other half, Teddy Lupin was left orphaned, children were massacred, and a war hero was wrongfully murdered before anyone could recognize his greatness and his lifelong sacrifice. I’d say about half of the fanbase is satisfied with that ending, but the other half is torn in multiple directions over what would have been a better ending. I am part of that latter half, personally.

This is why HP has so much fanfiction written about it.

When it comes to my own stories, I am never satisfied with what I write. While there is no such thing as a perfect ending, there is such a thing as a perfect cliffhanger.

Which I could not do when writing the Paige Papillon Paranormal Mysteries. They needed an ending, and they needed to be PERFECT. Cozy mystery readers will accept nothing less, and I don’t blame them. No one wants a mystery to not be solved at the end. I’d probably throw the book at a wall if that happened.

But because Paige is a cozy mystery series, the journey to GET to the ending is as important as the ending itself. We require red herrings, missed clues, foreshadowing, and a great plot twist. Most of all, we need to entrance the reader for about 35k words until we begin to show them the conclusion. It’s not easy, and then we have that ending hanging over our heads like a guillotine.

With Daunting Darkness and Freaky Familiars, both their red herrings came easily. Their endings, however, did not. I had to wonder, if I was the reader, what would I want to happen at the end? How can I remove cliches? How can I make the reader shut the book and say, “That was perfect!”

I can’t.

Nothing can be truly perfect. But it can be satisfying, and that’s just as good if not better than perfection.

After all these years, readers want endings wrapped up in a neat little bow, and so do we. We want to know our characters are either happy, or resting peacefully. However, that is not always the case, in fact, it is rarely the case.

I was just rewatching a TV show the other day and a character said a very simple phrase: endings are hard. He’s right. Endings are hard. Because even if you manage to please yourself, you can’t ever please every single reader. It’s impossible: we might be creators, but we are not God. We have to write what feels best to us, and hope that others enjoy it. Even if they don’t prefer it as an ending, if they are entertained, that’s what really matters.

I hope everyone who takes a chance on Paige’s stories enjoy them half as much as I enjoyed writing them.

 

 

About the Author

 

Lily Luchesi is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of the Paranormal Detectives Series.

Her young adult Coven Series has successfully topped Amazon’s Hot New Releases list consecutively.

She is also the co-owner of Partners in Crime Book Services, where she offers a myriad of services alongside her business partner Annie Smith, including editing.

She was born in Chicago, Illinois, where many of her stories are set. Ever since she was a toddler, her mother noticed her tendency for being interested in all things “dark”. At two she became infatuated with vampires and ghosts, and that infatuation turned into a lifestyle. She is also an out member of the LGBT+ community. When she’s not writing, she’s going to rock concerts, getting tattooed, watching the CW, or reading comics. And drinking copious amounts of coffee.

She also writes contemporary books for adults as Samantha Calcott.

You can also keep up with Lily via her newsletter … and receive a free e-book as well!

 

Website * Newsletter * Instagram * Twitter

 

Facebook * Amazon * BookBub

 

 

 

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Enter a Wizard, Stage Left (A Zodiac Mystery)
Traditional Mystery
Prequel Novella
Suspense Publishing (October 26, 2021)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 111 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Julia Bonatti wasn’t always a crime-solving San Francisco astrologer. She was a young woman, engaged to the love of her life, preparing for a teaching career when tragedy struck. Her fiancé was killed in a hit and run accident. As Julia struggles with her loss and attempts to find meaning in her life again, she takes refuge with her grandmother Gloria. But there’s little time for grief or rest because Gloria, a retired seamstress, needs Julia’s help. Gloria’s been hired to create costumes for a production of Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death at the newly opened Theatre Mars in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.

Theatre Mars is a stunning jewel, the cast is supremely talented and the script is brilliant. What could go wrong? Julia gets the first hint of trouble when her new friend, the owner of The Mystic Eye bookshop, warns that all might not go well. Opening night will take place during the dark of the moon, the last three days before the new moon, a time that bodes disaster for any new project. The dire prediction comes true when the lead actress is murdered before the final curtain, echoing the play itself. Julia discovers a vital clue to the murder, but a clue that puts Gloria’s life in grave danger. Can Julia rescue her grandmother before it’s too late? And will a black cat play a leading role?

 

 

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Review

 

I have read a few books in this series and love the mystical aspect of the stories. The zodiac intrigues me and someday I might want to learn more about it myself.

I really enjoyed getting to know Julie and how she fell into astrology and this prequel definitely answers all of those questions. Plus there is a murder to solve along the way.

The premise of the book is a play being put on by a local theater featuring an Agatha Christie story. I don’t think I had heard of this one, so I loved reading along and learning more about one of her infamous characters, Hercules Poirot.  Julie ends up at the theater with her grandmother helping with costumes and that is the perfect place to be to discover the clues and uncover the killer. I don’t think she expected to do that and I felt like I was right there with her figuring it all out. I’m not sure I suspected the killer but it made sense once all of the clues were revealed.

I enjoyed meeting Gale and discovering how she decided to set up a mystic shop. I find that whole world very fascinating.

If you haven’t read any of this series, or even if you have, definitely check out this prequel to learn a bit more about Julie; Gale; Julie’s grandmother, Gloria; and Kuan, her grandmother’s tenant.

We give this 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Post

 

Today we have a few words from the character, Gale Hymson. She is quite an intriguing character and I love her shop!

 

Gale Hymson

 

What an exciting evening I had last night!

It all started when I met a very interesting woman two days ago.  I was in the back parking lot of my shop breaking down boxes for the recycle bin.  You see, I’m Gale Hymson and I’m the owner of the newly-opened Mystic Eye, an occult bookshop in San Francisco.  That’s when I spotted a woman in the next-door parking lot of another building.

Her name is Julia Bonatti.  We said hello and Julia told me she was helping her grandmother with costumes for a production of Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death.  I was intrigued because I’d seen workmen coming and going and I was really happy we’d have a small theater in our neighborhood.  I invited her over to visit my shop.  I told her my shop is well-stocked with books, jewelry, Tarot decks and lots of other interesting things a customer might not find anywhere else.

Long story short, Julia invited me to the opening night of Appointment with Death.  I thought it would be a quiet, enjoyable evening.  No such luck.  I couldn’t leave until the police had interviewed each and every one of us.  Why you ask?  Well, because of the murder!  The lead actress was murdered on stage in front of a live audience!  Talk about a riveting evening!

I do hope it’s not the last time I see Julia.  I think she’d be very interested in my shop and some of the astrology books we carry.  I’d love it if she became a regular customer!

 

 

About the Author

 

With the Zodiac Mysteries, featuring Julia Bonatti, a crime-solving San Francisco astrologer, Connie di Marco has combined her fascination with astrology and her love of writing mysteries.  Writing as Connie Archer, she’s the national bestselling author of the Soup Lover’s Mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime.  You can find her excerpts and recipes in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.  She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.  She lives in Los Angeles but dreams constantly of the San Francisco fog.

 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Goodreads * Amazon

 

 

 

 

Giveaway

 

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Cold Brew Corpse: A Coffee Lover’s Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Florida
Crooked Lane Books (December 7, 2021)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Espresso bar owner Lana Lewis returns in Tara Lush’s second Coffee Lover’s mystery, a stimulating read that fans of Cleo Coyle and Laura Childs will savor to the last drop.

 

It’s a steamy September, and business is brisk at Perkatory, the hottest coffee shop in Devil’s Beach, FL. Much of the clientele pours in from Dante’s Inferno, the hot yoga studio next door. But the bright, sunny Gulf Coast days turn decidedly dark-roast when the body of the studio’s owner turns up in a nearby swamp.

Between running Perkatory and training Stanley, her golden Shih Tzu puppy, reporter-turned-barista Lana Lewis is too busy to go sleuthing. But when the editor of the local paper asks her to write about the murder, Lana’s dreams of getting back into journalism start to percolate.

Lana discovers that the yogi has a nefarious past and her share of mug shots, so grinding her way through the suspect list is a large task. She learns that the victim was fatally beaned by an SUV before she was dumped in the swamp. But was the killer one of her students? An envious yoga teacher? Or a local photographer who seems to know too much?

But no one tells Lana Lewis what to do. Hunting the caf-fiend who killed the yogi puts Lana and Chief Noah’s relationship–and Lana’s life–in very hot coffee.

 

 

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Penguin Random House

 

 

 

Guest Post

 

Today we welcome Tara to StoreyBook Reviews and her insights into writing her dad into her book. I love her outlook on why she included a father figure versus a mother figure.

 

 

Writing My Dad into A Book

 

By Tara Lush

 

In reading the reviews of my debut cozy mystery Grounds for Murder, one character stands out as most readers’ favorite: Peter Lewis, the father of Lana Lewis, the book’s heroine-sleuth. Peter is in his late sixties, a widower, and the biggest gossip on Devil’s Beach, the fictional Florida island where my series is located.

Perhaps it’s his enthusiasm for life, or maybe it’s his love for his daughter—readers seem to adore him. Some have written me and asked for a book focused on him, while others want him to team up with his daughter to solve more murders in upcoming installments of the Coffee Lover’s Mystery series.

Some comments on Goodreads:

“I love her dad – he has a nice hippie vibe.”

“Lana’s dad is a laid back hippie kind of dude that does seem fazed my much but supports his daughter 100%.”

“A sweet and funny man, a hippie that loves his daughter immensely and always tries to make the best of a bad situation.⁠”

 

Here’s a secret: that character was based on my own father! My dad is from California, and quite quirky in a very 1960s-counterculture kind of way.

I didn’t set out to write him into a book. In 2019, when I started plotting the first in the Coffee Lover’s Mystery Series, I initially wrote the character as Lana’s mother. Of the cozies I’d read with a parent sidekick, most involved moms.

Then something awful happened while I was working on the first few chapters of the book: doctors found something suspicious on one of my dad’s medical tests.

Suddenly everything seemed to come into sharp focus. One doctor said it was likely my father had cancer.  He was scheduled for tests, and the results seemed to take forever.

Meanwhile, I was thousands of miles away in Florida. I kept on writing and decided to make a casting change in my sidekick character. I named the parent character after my dad and drew from some of my father’s quirkiest traits while writing.

It brought me so much joy and laughter as I wrote, thinking about my dad and trying to capture him on the page.

Happily, he didn’t have cancer. He was given the all-clear at the end of 2019, and he’s doing incredibly well.

I recently went to visit for his 75^th birthday, and for a solid week, we laughed, took walks, and chatted about random things. Like space (he reads a lot about other planets and aliens). Or terrible reality TV (he’s an avid 90 Day Fiance viewer). Or cat food (he loves his two cats and has become something of an expert on feline food).

He’s considered moving to be close to me in Florida, and my favorite quote of his came when we were discussing such a move.

“If I lived in Florida, I’d never have to wear pants again!”

Now, I’ll definitely be using that quote in my next mystery.

 

Here’s a short excerpt of Peter Lewis in COLD BREW CORPSE:

 

The door to the café opened and in walked Dad.

“Munchkin!” He strode toward me.

I could tell by the gleam in his eye he was harboring a juicy piece of gossip. I moved around the counter to greet him, and he gave me a half hug. Dad was tall, at least a foot taller than me, and his limbs were long and athletic, even for his age.

“What’s new?”

“Over there.” He motioned with his head to an empty table near the window. He had a serious look on his face, as if he were about to reveal a dark, explosive secret that would take down a global leader. We sat facing each other.

“Why the secrecy?” I folded my hands in front of me, trying not to laugh.

“I went to yoga this morning at The Wolfman’s.” His tone was pure drama.

“Oh yeah?”

“We shared a kombucha afterward and got to talking.”

My nose scrunched involuntarily. Dad loved that fermented tea, but I thought it tasted like feet dipped in vinegar. “And?”

He leaned in and lowered his voice so much that I couldn’t hear him at first.

“Dad, you can speak up. There are only three tables in here, and they’re at least fifteen feet away. I think your state secret’s safe if you talk in a normal tone.”

“Okay, listen. Raina’s had a stalker for some time now. Well, people described him as a stalker. He was a student. Followed Raina around like a puppy. Word on the street is the guy was a real creeper while they were all on the retreat in Costa Rica.”

“How does The Wolfman know this?” I narrowed my eyes. Maybe Dad’s gossip connections weren’t all that great. After all, we were talking about a sixty-five-year-old man who looked like a skinny Jerry Garcia and wore rainbow sweatbands.

“Wolfie knows everyone in the yoga community here on the beach.” Dad sniffed.

 

 

About the Author

 

Tara Lush is a Florida-based author and journalist. She’s an RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow, and the winner of the George C. Polk award for environmental journalism.

She was a reporter with The Associated Press in Florida, covering crime, alligators, natural disasters, and politics. She also writes contemporary romance set in tropical locations under the name Tamara Lush.

Tara is a fan of vintage pulp fiction book covers, Sinatra-era jazz, 1980s fashion, tropical chill, kombucha, gin, tonic, seashells, iPhones, Art Deco, telenovelas, street art, coconut anything, strong coffee, and newspapers. She lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband and two dogs.

 

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