Murder at the Million Dollar Pier (Three Snowbirds)
Historical Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Mystery and Horror, LLC (September 26, 2019)
Paperback: 260 pages

Synopsis

“Never waste good rum on a bad night.” – Teddy Lawless, February 1926.

There are many bad nights ahead for Teddy. Shortly after she arrives at the newly opened Vinoy Hotel in Saint Petersburg, she comes face to face with her ex-fiancé, Ansel Stevens, in the dining room. Cue the slap that was thirty years in the making. Unfortunately, her ex-fiancé dies during a yacht race shortly thereafter. Conclusion of the authorities: poison. His family closes ranks, leaving Teddy as the prime suspect. Worse, Teddy’s hair comb is found on the deck of Ansel’s boat, leading to her swift arrest.

Can Cornelia Pettijohn and Uncle Percival save fun-loving Teddy before she goes from the grand hotel to the big house?

Guest Post

Today we welcome Percival Pettijohn who gives us some insight into this new series and his role in the books.  Take it away!

Greetings; Professor Percival Pettijohn at your service. This morning my writers asked me to step in and tell readers a little about myself and how I ended up in the Three Snowbirds series. I will do my best, but it’s complicated. I didn’t expect to live this long, let alone participate in a second book series. Quite honestly, I didn’t expect to participate in the first.

My first writer, Gwen Mayo, introduced me to her readers in Concealed in Ash.  My young assistant, Jacob, was framed for murder. The officer in charge of investigating the case was once a romantic rival of mine.  I was concerned that his animosity toward me would have adverse consequences for young Jacob. That young man was like a son to me. It was my moral obligation to step in and help Jacob.

That was the beginning of my crime-fighting interest. I was in the prime of my life then, and able to provide invaluable assistance to Jacob. At the time, I was a respected professor of mechanical engineering at the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College in Lexington, Kentucky. My inventions were improving farming practices around the country and providing me with a handsome income.

I continued to teach for another thirty years before retiring to my farm in Midway. I thought I had retired from investigating criminals, too. Then Sarah Glenn and Gwen Mayo wrote a short story featuring my niece, Cornelia, and her friend, Teddy Lawless. I wasn’t in the first story, but Sarah insisted on including me in the second one. I’m glad she did. That one got published right away.

There were a few more short stories, then this series started when I got accused of murder. We were in New Homosassa, Florida and the rotter who died was no friend of mine. In Murder on the Mullet Express, Cornelia showed remarkable character.  I was so proud of her.

I have to admit, my retirement is infinitely more fun traveling with the ladies. My niece is a bit stuffy. Reminds me a lot of her father. Her friend Teddy is a delight. She finds the best parties and the best booze everywhere we go. Cornelia didn’t think it was much fun when Teddy got arrested in our last adventure. Murder at the Million Dollar Pier started out innocently enough. I was having a grand time documenting the construction, and filming it as an educational piece that I planned to donate to the engineering school back home.

If I had known that Teddy’s former beau was going to end up murdered, I would have reconsidered my plans. It all turned out well though, and I haven’t had so much fun since leaving my post at Kentucky A&M.

Oh, you haven’t heard of Kentucky A&M. The school is still there, but the state expanded the curriculum and renamed it the University of Kentucky. I am quite pleased that they also started allowing women to attend. Both my writers graduated from UK. Overall, I think they are a credit to the university, but I am relieved that I retired before either of them arrived. They have an annoying tendency to arrive late. I tried to teach them the importance of punctuality. To date, I’ve seen no improvement.

Please forgive me for that digression. Tardiness is a character flaw that shows amazing disrespect for others.

Excuse me … I have to go now; a pair of thugs just kidnapped my niece.

“You there, unhand her this instant!”

About the Authors

Gwen Mayo is passionate about blending the colorful history of her native Kentucky with her love for mystery fiction. She currently lives and writes in Safety Harbor, Florida, but grew up in a large Irish family in the hills of Eastern Kentucky.

​Her stories have appeared in anthologies, at online short fiction sites, and in micro-fiction collections. She belongs to Sisters in Crime, SinC Guppies, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Gwen attended the University of Kentucky on a poetry scholarship but has an associate degree in business and a bachelor’s degree in political science. Interesting side note: Gwen was a brakeman and railroad engineer from 1983 – 1987.

Blog * Website

Sarah E. Glenn loves mystery and horror stories, often with a sidecar of humor. Several have appeared in mystery and paranormal anthologies, including G.W. Thomas’ Ghostbreakers series, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, and Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology. She belongs to Sisters in Crime, SinC Guppies, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Her great-great aunt served as a nurse in WWI, and was injured by poison gas during the fighting. After being mustered out, she traveled widely. A hundred years later, ‘Aunt Dess’ would inspire Sarah to write stories she would likely not have approved of.

Website * Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Collision of Lies

(Detective Amara Alvarez, Book One)

by

Tom Threadgill

Genre: Contemporary Christian Suspense

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: February 4, 2020

Number of Pages: 400

Scroll down for the giveaway!

Three years ago, a collision between a fast-moving freight train and a school bus full of kids led to devastation and grief on an unimaginable scale. But a fresh clue leads San Antonio police detective Amara Alvarez to the unlikely conclusion that one of the children may still be alive. If she’s correct, everything law enforcement believes about the accident is a lie.

With time running out, Amara must convince others–and herself–that despite all evidence to the contrary, the boy lives. And she will do everything in her power to bring him home.

A fresh voice in suspense, Tom Threadgill will have you questioning everything as you fly through the pages of this enthralling story.

Praise

“Threadgill plunges a detective from the San Antonio Property Crimes Division into a deep-laid plot involving murder, kidnapping, and myriad other crimes above her pay grade.” — Kirkus Review

“I have a new favorite author. Tom Threadgill kept me reading for hours. I didn’t want to put this book down . . . couldn’t put it down. I absolutely adore Amara Alvarez and her relationships with her coworkers, friends, and her iguana! Now I want one. She was a heroine who made me laugh and one I could really relate to. I can think of a few words to describe this book: amazing, incredible, intriguing, mesmerizing, unputdownable. . . I could go on, but I need to stop so I can go buy up the entire backlist of my new favorite author.”  — Lynette Eason, award-winning, bestselling author of the Blue Justice Series

Baker Book House  ⬫  Amazon  ⬫  B&N

ChristianBook.com  ⬫ iBooks  ⬫  Kobo

Other Retailers

Of Reptiles and Women

By Tom Threadgill

Author of Collision of Lies

Collision of Lies, my latest novel, was my favorite to write so far. As I look back on the process, I think that’s because the characters were fresher to me. I’d just finished a series of three novels and was ready to move on to something different. Not to say I won’t go back to Jeremy Winter and his cohorts, but I left them in a good spot. They can manage without me for a while.

When I write, I have only the thinnest of ideas about the story. I’m very much a pantser—though I prefer the term “organic writer” since it doesn’t sound as, I don’t know, weird?—and do as little plotting as possible. I wanted Collision to have a female protagonist but needed more than the tired “divorced cop with a chip on her shoulder” routine. Amara Alvarez, the main character, had to be real. Someone readers can relate to even though they might not be a cop or divorced (or a woman).

When I first met Amara (yeah, I know how strange that sounds), she was in her early thirties, single for the last decade or so, and working as a detective in the San Antonio Property Crimes Division. Good job, one she enjoyed, but more of a stepping-stone into Homicide. She’s a wee bit on the short side, which doesn’t bother her too much, and likes to work out, especially doing kickboxing.

Oh, and she has a pet lizard.

Not just any lizard though. Larry is a three-foot-long iguana who lives in the second bedroom of her apartment. He’s got his own hangout, complete with heaters, branches, and everything else a lizard could want. He can also be a bit moody at times.

You need to understand that I knew nothing about lizards. I’m not a fan of reptiles. So why not give Amara a dog or cat or ferret or potbellied pig? Simple. I couldn’t. She already had the iguana when I met her.

That might not make a lot of sense if you’re not a writer, but characters must be free to make their own decisions. Live their own lives. When I first met Amara (and when you first meet her), she’d already made plenty of choices, some good, some bad. One of those choices was Larry. Why? Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t asked her yet. Maybe in the sequel. Could I insist she have a different pet, or even none at all? Sure, but then she wouldn’t be Amara. Any author will tell you that if you don’t listen to your characters, your book isn’t going to be as good as it could be.

So I had to research iguanas. What they eat. How to take care of them. The pros and cons of having them as a pet. Did you know they can grow to be up to six feet long? That if you pet them and they close their eyes, it’s not a sign of enjoyment? They’re stressed and blocking you out. If they open one or both eyes while you pet them, they trust you, even though they still don’t particularly enjoy it. And did we talk about salmonella? No? Well, be sure and wash your hands after touching Larry.

I know more about lizards now than I ever wanted to. I’ll never have one for a pet. And Larry doesn’t even show up much in the book. He’s more of a behind-the-scenes guy, though he does make an appearance or two.

But if Larry is important to Amara, I need to know everything I can about him whether I use it in the novel or not. It keeps her real in my mind. Lets me peak inside her head just a little so I can understand what decisions she will make as I go through the writing process. Larry and a slew of other traits go into building her character. Each is important in its own way.

The result is that I’m able to tag along as she moves through my novel. I don’t have to tell her what to do. She does it on her own. And if I write a scene that’s not true to her nature, she doesn’t hesitate to let me know. Nothing worse than a character acting out of character. (Can I use the same word twice in a sentence?)

Anyway, I hope you’ll pick up Collision of Lies and let me know how you like it. Amara and I put a lot of work into it and, to be honest, I’m just grateful she didn’t choose a snake (shudder) instead of Larry. Not sure I could’ve left her in the story.

Tom Threadgill is a full-time author and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). He is currently on the suspense/thriller publishing board for LPC Books, a division of Iron Stream Media. He lives with his wife in rural Tennessee.

Website ⬥ Facebook ⬥ Twitter ⬥ BookBub

Goodreads ⬥ Amazon Author Page

————————————

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

GRAND PRIZE: Copy of Collision of Lies + $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card 

SECOND PRIZE: Copy of Collision of Lies + Composition Notebook Pouch

THIRD PRIZE: Copy of Collision of Lies

February 6-16, 2020

(U.S. Only)

Check out the other blogs on this tour

blog tour services provided by

Through the Nethergate
Supernatural Fantasy
1st in Series
TSL Publications (September 3, 2019)
Paperback: 214 pages

Synopsis

Margaret, a girl born with second sight, has the unique ability to bring ghosts trapped between Heaven and Hell back to life. When her parents die suddenly, she goes to live with her beloved grandfather, but the cellar of her grandfather’s ancient inn is haunted by an evil spirit of its own.

In the town of Bungay, a black dog wanders the streets, enslaving the ghosts of those who have died unnatural deaths. When Margaret arrives, these phantoms congregate at the inn, hoping she can free them from the clutches of Hugh Bigod, the 12th century ghost who has drawn them away from Heaven’s White Light in his canine guise.

With the help of her grandfather and the spirits she has befriended, Margaret sets out to defeat Hugh Bigod, only to discover he wants to use her for his own ends – to take over Hell itself.

Amazon * TSL Publications * Lulu

Guest Post

Margaret’s Hell

One of the recent reviews for Through the Nethergate states the following:

“This is actually a tale about religion and politics (in a good way), the penultimate battle in the garden of good versus evil. Who will win?” – Amazon review

This comment is spot on when it comes to the nature of this story, it is a retelling of the battle for human allegiance and souls between Heaven and Hell in a modern setting. Both deities have access to modern technology to aid their causes, but it is the beautiful Lucifer, who reigns over Hell, who has twisted the concept of the modern global trading platforms which control the wealth of the world to expand his growing empire.

Due to her conservative Catholic upbringing, when Margaret arrives in Hell, she is anticipating a burning inferno along the lines of the nine concentric circles of torment located within the bowels of the earth as depicted in Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic poem entitled Divine Comedy. Her concept of the devil is equally old-fashioned, and she imagines Lucifer to be a giant and terrifying beast trapped waist-deep in ice from which he cannot escape. She visualizes him with three faces, each a different colour: the one on the right being a pale yellow, the one in the middle being red and the one on the left being black.

The reality she greets in Through the Nethergate, could not be further from this idea. A depiction of Hell from the book is as follows:

“The entrance to the building was imposing; a high archway built from steel girdles that joined in a sharp point at the peak. Atop the point was a large glass globe that revolved slowly on its axis.

 What is this place? Is this Hugh Bigod’s building? There are no guards?

 The dog moved boldly through the arch. The globe changed colour, from clear to a deep maroon. Margaret was shoved after him, propelled forward by the henchman. She hesitated on the threshold, gazing at the interior of the huge hall. Her stomach twisted and writhed in shock. It was packed with row after row of cubicles. The walls were high enough to prevent any distracting exchanges or conversations between the occupants of the cubicles. The intense lighting gave the scene a clinical and sterile look, but the cubicles reminded Margaret of the multitude of six-sided cells that make up a honeycomb.

There was no relief from the heat inside the building although it was not moist and oppressive.

 What is this place?

Each cubicle had a nametag stating the name of its occupant in black capital letters. They were all equipped with a keyboard, computer, second screen and mouse. The glass walls of the hall were dominated by enormous screens. Each screen showed an outline map and row after row of words and figures moved up the sides of the maps.”

Lucifer is a gorgeous man, the best-looking man Margaret has ever seen. In Through the Nethergate, she describes him as follows:

“He reminded her of the actor Thomas Beaudoin, with his piercing blue eyes, dark hair and strong, stubble covered jaw. There was a darkness about his beauty that scared her. It overlaid and detracted from his good looks. He was human, but yet somehow inhuman. Any kindness or decency in this man had long ago turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty.”

This depiction of Lucifer is intended to introduce to the reader, the idea that evil can take many shapes and forms and is not necessarily found in the most unkempt, ugly and obviously neglected people in our world. Ideas and decisions that negatively impact on humanity are frequently generated in the board rooms of the most wealthy and successful enterprises on this planet, by beautiful and successful people. Evil is spawned by greed and a love of money and power over everything else, including the health and well being of populations.

Hell’s depiction as a building, along the lines of the London Shard, was deliberate in order to uphold this theory of wealth creation at all costs being responsible for many of the ailments that trouble our modern world.

Lucifer is a stockbroker, with an enormous work force of the most horrifically cruel and callous people in history, who are all seeking to expand their power and dominance through their dealing in human souls. The Devil has adapted to technology and uses the dark net and other technological inventions to further his own goals and power.

This is not intended to denounce technology, but rather to illustrate how every advancement by mankind can be used for both good and bad, in equal proportions, depending on the intentions of the user. Readers are made aware of the potential hidden dangers in technology and the ease with which it can be manipulated for negative purposes.

About the Author

‘I am an author who has recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my young adult and adult writing, these will be published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. My first young adult supernatural novel, Through the Nethergate, has recently been published.

I have two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award-winning author, Dan Alatorre as well as three short stories published in Death Among Us, a collection of murder mystery short stories by 10 different authors and edited by Stephen Bentley. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.

Twitter * Facebook * Blog * Goodreads * Website

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dead in Dublin (The Dublin Driver Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Kensington (December 31, 2019)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

Synopsis

In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, murder occurs at the feet of sweet Molly Malone . . .

Ferrying tourists around Dublin for the Leprechaun Limo Service makes quite a change after years in the military. Still, Megan Malone is enjoying her life in Ireland. She likes the scenery, the easy pace, the quirky, quick-witted locals. Everything—except having one of her clients drop dead at the statue of fabled fishmonger, Molly Malone.

Most restaurant critics notch up their share of enemies. Elizabeth Darr, however, was a well-loved international star. She and her husband, Simon, had just had dinner when Elizabeth collapsed, and spoiled seafood is the first suspect. The restaurant’s owner, worried her business is doomed, begs Megan to look into it. Between her irate boss and a handsome Garda who’s both amused and annoyed by her persistence, Megan has her hands full even before she’s cajoled into taking care of two adorable Jack Russell puppies (which she is almost definitely not keeping). But if cockles and mussels aren’t to blame, can Megan find the real culprit . . .before another fishy death occurs?

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Kensington

Guest Post

Today, Megan from the series joins us and shares some insights into her life and whatnot!  Quite an amusing tale.

Hi, I’m Megan Malone and I Do Not Blog, or tweet, or…whatever Facebook posting is called…so you’ll have to let me know if I’m doing this wrong. Or better yet, you can let me know I’m doing it right!

Anyway, Megan Malone, an American living in Ireland. I moved here thanks to my dual citizenship after retiring from military service in the States, and I’ve been driving for Leprechaun Limos—a car-hire service—for a couple of years now. I swear I didn’t used to drive myself into trouble and back out again. Not, technically, that I’ve driven myself into trouble—it’s not like I’m running people over with the car—but you get what I mean. I hope.

At any rate, there haven’t been any murders lately, so I’m currently skating by on the good graces of my boss, Orla Keegan, she of the wicked tongue and yet also somehow she of the gilded charm—you should see how she plays up the Irish when it’s tourists she’s talking to. (It’s pronounced “OR-la”.) She thinks I’m a danger to myself and, more importantly, to the business’s good name, although I haven’t noticed any drop-off in the early morning clientele. That’s usually my window to work in: I like sunrises and long walks on the bea—wait, this isn’t that kind of blog, is it…

No murders lately has been easier on my friend(?) Detective Bourke, too. (It’s pronounced “Burk”.) I’d have never met Paul if poor Elizabeth Darr hadn’t died, so in a way I wish I hadn’t met him, but that said, I’m glad I know him, even if I make his life difficult. I tell you, employers and police detectives start getting really weird if you happen upon a body or two in the course of business.

Fortunately, I’ve got some steadfast friends who have my back when perfectly normal things like finding bodies start happening. Niamh, who is vastly more fabulous than I am, knows everybody and everything in Dublin, and is the best source of gossip around. (It’s pronounced “Neev”.) Fionnuala feeds me when I’m desperate, and even when I’m not. Of course, the puppies are her fault, but…well, I won’t hold that against her. (It’s pronounced “FinnOOla”.) And my friend Brian, who I swear takes care of the puppies at least as much as I do…well, he takes care of the puppies at least as much as I do. (It’s pronounced “BRY-an”. ;))

I tell you, though, the thing I was looking forward to most about my Irish life was the chance to live in another country, to go around seeing things I’d never see without the clients who need a driver, and hanging out with my friends. Basically the stereotypical Quiet Life. And of course, that worked for a couple of years, but I don’t know how somebody looking for the Quiet Life ended up involved in a murder investigation.

On the other hand, it’s certainly made phone calls back to the States more fun. For some value of the word ‘fun’, anyway. My mom worries about me even though I’m forty years old, and if this keeps up, my best friend Rafe and his wife Sarah are going to start preparing popcorn for when I call to say hi and tell them about my crazy life.

And of course, if it was just once, that would be one thing. It’s the ongoing investigations that are getting me looked at askance, but you’re going to have to wait to hear those details…!

In the meantime, welcome to the life and times of the Dublin Driver mysteries. Long may they live!

About the Author

Catie Murphy, who has written numerous award-winning fantasy and Sci-fi books under the pseudonym C. E. Murphy, began writing around age six, when she submitted three poems to a school publication. The teacher producing the magazine selected (inevitably) the one she thought was by far the worst, but also told her—a six-year-old kid—to keep writing, which she has. She has also held the usual grab-bag of jobs often seen in an authorial biography, including public library volunteer (at ages 9 and 10; it’s clear she was doomed to a career involving books), archival assistant, cannery worker, and web designer. Writing books is better. She was born and raised in Alaska, and now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland.

Website

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Mysterious Mix Up (An Allie Cobb Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Press (January 7, 2020)
Paperback: 190 pages

Synopsis

Murder hits the stacks when literary agent Allie Cobb investigates a fatality in the local library . . .

Allie Cobb returns home from a book conference armed with hugs for her cat and her boyfriend, and dreams of a long, hot bath. She’s also getting ready to take the plunge by hiring an intern for her expanding literary agency. But it’s one for the books when Allie finds the town’s librarian—and her longtime role model—seconds away from death on the library floor.

Who would want to poison Vicky Napier—one of Rushing Creek’s most beloved citizens—on the eve of her retirement? But it seems there were toxic people in her life, like the handyman with an obsessive crush, and a wood carver with a hair-trigger temper. The list of suspects includes Allie’s boyfriend, Brent, who’s in the running to take over as town librarian. Avenging her friend’s murder could be a trap as she goes up against a killer determined to write Allie’s epitaph . . .

Amazon   – B&N  – Kobo

Guest Post

New Year, New Decade, New Hopes

Hi, friends and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. As I write this, I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that we’ve entered a new decade.

As I look back on the previous ten years, I’m blown away with the changes we’ve all seen and experienced. The growth of social media. The ubiquity of smartphones. The meteoric rise of ebooks. The interconnectedness that technology has brought about sure has made the world a smaller place, hasn’t it?

If you’re like me, you’ve gone through a lot of personal changes, too. Some were good, like both of my kids graduating from high school. Some were not so good, like the development of my oldest kiddo’s chronic health problems.

The past decade was also when I became a writer. In August 2011, I began writing my first novel. Since then, I’ve written almost a million words and published ten books and one short story.

Not too shabby, I like to think.

I consider my first decade as an author a smashing success. But that begs an important question.

What next?

For starters, I have three more books in The Allie Cobb Mysteries I’m contracted to write. I hope more readers get a chance to spend time with Allie and the Rushing Creek gang. I have a bunch more story ideas in my head, so hopefully, I’ll be able to report in a decade from now that I’ve published another ten books. Or maybe even more!

I have other hopes, too. Ones that, in the grand scheme of things, are much more important than my writing career. I hope Shea gets their health issues under control for good, finds a career that is as enjoyable as it is fulfilling. I hope Aidan graduates from college and gets a job in his major. I hope ten years from now, Nancy and I will be celebrating forty years since our first date.

Anything more than that and I run the risk of sounding greedy.

As we embark on a new decade, I’m filled with hope. I hope we’re all happy and healthy. I hope we’re all safe, that maybe the challenges our world faces won’t seem so tough to solve. I hope that, in January 2030, we’ll all be able to look back on the 2020s and say that was a pretty good decade.

For all of us.

How about you, Reader Friend? Do you have any hopes, goals, or dreams for the next decade? Tell me about them. Maybe we can compare notes.

About the Author

J.C. Kenney grew up in a household filled with books by legends Agatha Christie and Lilian Jackson Braun, among many others, so it was no surprise when he found himself writing mystery stories. When he’s not writing, you can find him following IndyCar racing or listening to music. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, two sons, and a cat who is the inspiration for Ursula in the Allie Cobb Mysteries.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Instagram

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband: A Delanie Fitzgerald Mystery
Traditional Mystery/Female Sleuth/Humorous Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Sandpiper Productions (November 19, 2019)
Paperback: 240 pages

Synopsis

Private investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald, and her computer hacker partner, Duncan Reynolds, are back for more sleuthing in Glitter, Glam and Contraband. In this fast-paced mystery, the Falcon Investigations team is hired to find out who is stealing from the talent at a local drag show. Delanie gets more than she bargains for and a few makeup tips in the process. Meanwhile, a mysterious sound in the ceiling of her office vexes Delanie. She uses her sleuthing skills to track down the source and uncover a creepy contraband operation.

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband features a strong female sleuth with a knack for getting herself in and out of humorous situations like helping sleezy strip club owner, Chaz Smith on his quest to become Richmond’s next mayor, tracking down missing reptiles, and uncovering hidden valuables from a 100-year-old crime with a Poe connection.

Amazon  – Apple Books –  B&N

BookBub  –  Kobo –  Scribd

Guest Post

20 Things about my Sleuth – Delanie Fitzgerald of Falcon Investigations

Thank you so much for letting me visit your blog today. I write mystery novels and short stories. Glitter, Glam, and Contraband is the third in the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series. She is a private investigator who lives in Central Virginia. And I’m often asked about what my protagonist is really like. Here’s my list of twenty Delanie facts.

1. Delanie is a redhead like 1-2% of the human population. She has grit, determination, and a spunky spirit.
2. She drives a Mustang, and she calls it “Black Beauty.”
3. She used her share of the money from her father’s estate to open Falcon Investigations.
4. Delanie chose the name for her company in honor of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.
5. My private investigator graduated from VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) with a degree in business.
6. Though she prefers the comfort of jeans and T-shirts, Delanie has a wardrobe full of outfits and shoes to create just the right look when she’s sleuthing.
7. Her partner is computer guru (and hacker), Duncan Reynolds.
8. She lives in a Sears catalog home from 1939. Back then, people ordered kits from the catalog, and all of the pieces arrived by rail, ready to assemble. Hers is the Yates model. Many of the boards in her bungalow still have the Sears catalog number stamped on them.
9. She shares her office space with Duncan and his English bulldog Margaret (Margaret, the Wonder Dog).
10. One of Delanie’s guilty pleasures is her junk food habit. She also orders a lot of take-out from the nearby restaurants.
11. When she’s not sleuthing or trailing a suspect, she likes to stay home in her comfy jammies and watch reality TV.
12. Delanie has two older brothers. Steve is a Chesterfield County police lieutenant, and Robbie is a bouncer at a club in downtown Richmond.
13. Her client, Chaz Wellington Smith, owns a strip club in the downtown area near where Edgar Allan Poe worked at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond.
14. Delanie spent most of her summer in Secret Lives and Private Eyes trying to clear Chaz’s name after he was accused of murdering the mayor. In The Tulip Shirt Murders, Chaz is back, and he drops the bombshell that he wants to run for mayor. He also wants Delanie and Duncan to do some opposition research for him.
15. In Glitter, Glam, and Contraband, Delanie discovers the thief who is stealing from the talent at a drag show. She also picks up some good makeup tips during that investigation.
16. Her favorite drink is iced coffee, and her go-to treat is always chocolate.
17. Delanie and Duncan usually investigate cheating spouses. In Secret Lives and Private Eyes, she is thrilled when she lands an assignment from tell-all author, Tish Taylor, to track down leads on rocker Johnny Velvet, who purportedly died in a fiery car crash in the ‘80s.
18. While the story is fiction, many of the locales that Delanie visits are real. Some of these include: Bon Air, Brandermill, Carytown, Farmville, Maymont, Monroe Park, The Poe Museum, The Richmond Folk Festival, and VCU. Readers who have been to Central Virginia will recognize some of the street and place names.
19. Delanie and her best friend, Paisley Ford, host a “Friends-giving” in Glitter, Glam, and Contraband. Much to the relief of the rest of her friends, Delanie (who is a disaster in the kitchen) has the event catered.
20. Music is an important part of my life, and it usually finds its way into my stories and novels. In Secret Lives and Private Eyes, Delanie gets to investigate an 80s rock star who purportedly faked his death. And in The Tulip Shirt Murders, she lands a case from a music producer who thinks his catalog is being bootlegged.

Heather – thank you for sharing these tidbits about Delanie.  I’m looking forward to reading this series.

About the Author

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband is Heather Weidner’s third novel in the Delanie Fitzgerald series. Her short stories appear in Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm. Her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Heather earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan University and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager.

Website & Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

Goodreads * Amazon Author Page * Pinterest * LinkedIn

BookBub * AllAuthor * YouTube

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Synopsis

The Shared Death Experience (SDE). Most people know of the Near Death Experience (NDE), but very few have heard of the SDE. The SDE is similar to the NDE except that it occurs not to the person who is dying, but to a loved one who is physically well. That person could be sitting right next to their loved one, sitting across the room, or even across the globe unaware of the impending death of someone they love. Location or activity level is of no consequence to the SDE. That person is “invited along” to witness the aftermath of physical death. The invitation extended has no RSVP–the person accompanying the dying individual can neither accept nor refuse–they are just “taken” or “given” the experience by powers outside of their control.

Becoming Starlight is one of those stories. Deeply embedded in Starlight is an ongoing war with death, faith and hope– and with God–a war most of us have experienced or will experience in our lifetimes.

Becoming Starlight is a story that has been written, in one way or another, since the beginning of time. The war between life and death–who lives and who dies is at the heart of this deeply personal experience. It’s a life-and-death struggle with spiritual darkness and loss of faith. It is a story not unlike the stories of anyone who has loved and lost, grieved and sorrowed, felt anguish and rage, fallen from Grace and questioned the very existence of God. The specifics are different, but the humanity splattered on every page is the stuff of life. Some find redemption more easily than I. It took a complete fall from grace for me to awaken from the darkness that had found its way into my life, and an unexpected encounter – a SDE — to bring me into the very arms of a compassionate God. “Becoming Starlight” is the “Lifting of the Veil” that led to a peek into foreverness.

Praise

“Becoming Starlight is truly sensational; everybody who is seriously interested in the question of life after death should read it.” — Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D., author of Life After Life, Reunions, and Glimpses of Eternity

“In Becoming Starlight, Dr. Sharon Prentice describes the deeply human losses and hurts that gave birth to a vision of our true identity and place in this universe. Her life-changing—and life-giving—encounter with the divine simply had to be shared. This book is a gift.” —Seth J. Gillihan, Ph.D., author of A Mindful Year and The CBT Deck, and Psychology Today contributor

“Dr. Sharon Prentice, in her book Becoming Starlight, assists all of humanity by transmuting our collective fear of death into love when she journeys to that mysterious place we call Heaven and returns to share her experiences with us. This messenger is worth listening to.” — Tim Miejan, editor of The Edge Magazine

“In Becoming Starlight, the author teaches us the most important lesson of all—that love is the eternal fiber connecting all existence, living and beyond. Her extraordinary true story provides faith and ease to all who wonder what happens when our loved ones or we die.”  —Randi Fine, Author of Close Encounters of the Worst Kind, Podcast Host of A Fine Time for Healing

“A magnificent reckoning with love, death, God, and the unexplainable universe that surrounds us all. From living through devastating heartbreak to cracking wide open with indescribable awe, Becoming Starlight is a deeply personal story on where we can find peace, solace, and stillness in the world of grief.”  —Shelby Forsythia, Intuitive Grief Guide and Podcast Host of Coming Back: Conversations on Life After Loss

“Sharon’s experience is probably the most extensive and beautiful shared-death experience I’ve come across. And the struggles she experienced in her life demonstrate that no matter how hopeless life seems, all of us are loved by God, infinitely. Becoming Starlight is more than just the missing link in near-death literature (which it is), and more than just powerful evidence of the afterlife (which it also is), it’s a testament to the power, potential, and infinite worth of the human soul.”  — Chas Hathaway, Host of the Near-Death Experience Podcast

Guest Post

The Myth of Closure After Loss

by Sharon Prentice,

Author of Becoming Starlight: Surviving Grief and Mending the Wounds of Loss

“This wasn’t supposed to happen! Tell me why this has happened!” These are the spoken words of countless bereaved parents throughout countless years in countless languages. A never ending and always present wound in the Souls of those who have buried their children.

Parental grief is forever boundless; an ever present, deep-seated wound that has no name. There’s a reason no label has been ascribed to those who have lost a child — it is too foreign a concept, a much too chaotic form of brain freeze, an enormously frightening emotion for any language in the world to even consider naming.

Within that foreign concept lies the heart of the matter — losing a child is the most frightening, unspeakable, unresolvable and ultimately the most devastating deprivation of a lifetime. It is disorienting, unimaginable and is the most unacknowledged universal trauma of them all.

It is the very nature of this grief that makes the concept of “closure” almost laughable. Psychology tells us to look to “closure” as a way to live within this boundless grief. Finding the “certainty” we need to make things whole again is supposed to exist within this concept so easily spoken of by well-meaning friends and therapists. The need for cognitive closure (NFCC) is supposed to provide us with an ending to all ambiguity and bring us certainty. Within that certainty, we should find freedom from all the questions that live and breed in our lives as to “why” our child had to die. Problem is — most parents see their child’s death as multi-factional. It wasn’t just the child that was lost, it was the parent as well. The parents lose their way in the world and the entire premise of how the universe operates is shaken to its core. There is a natural order in life, a death order, if you will. First, it’s the grandparents, then the parents. All should pass from this world in the natural order of life events. At least, that’s what we think. But it doesn’t happen that way in “real” life.  Children die and the overwhelming loss that becomes the new way of living in the world is never one for which “closure” exists. The feeling of having “lost a limb” becomes a life wound, a Soul wound that never heals.

There truly is no definition for exactly what this form of grief “feels” like. It is a wrenching sadness and a despair from which recovery cannot be found in any form of what we call “closure” except that which can, somehow, reach deep within the recesses of what we know as Spirit and start a healing process that acknowledges the fact that life isn’t fair, that we never really “get over” this kind of loss, that we keep on breathing and that children do die. Trying to accept our, and our children’s mortality, trying to accept all that has been or will be or can never be again, deciding how we will honor our child and keep them “alive” within our family, and trying to accept the fact that death is part and parcel of all life may be the key to survival for those parents who suffer endlessly with questions for which there are no answers. But there is never certainty, never total acceptance and never closure in our collective human condition that keeps us from fully accepting all these things. And, perhaps, an even larger impediment to consider can be found within the parents need to “keep and maintain” the relationship with the lost child. Holding onto the grief, many times becomes a staple in the need to maintain that relationship. As if letting go of the grief means letting go of the relationship and losing their child all over again. Maintaining the relationship within the grief experienced at the time of death can become all important to a bereaved parent. Those final moments may be all that can be “felt” because anything else — memories of the good, the bad, and everything-in-between can become tangled up with unanswerable questions and lead to the could of’s, should of’s and if only’s of having no future with the lost child. Losing a future together can be and, often is just as devastating as is the actual physical death of that child. Even thinking of closure as a possibility then becomes some foreign notion that will never be considered because it is seen as a complete loss of all relationship, past and future.

Healing from the death of a child is a lifetime journey. If there is any healing at all!  And looking for “closure” does one thing and one thing only — it simply grounds you in the very thing that you are trying to heal within your very damaged and wounded Soul. I mean, life is hard stuff. It presents itself in the light of day and the dark of night in varying shades of joy and despair-all in the same day. Life is amazing. Then it’s not. It’s mundane. Then it’s horrific. You can’t out-run it any more than you can defeat it. You can’t change it without changing yourself, your environment and your very Spirit. You can deny it and try to hide from the realities of it for a while until it catches up to you, which it always does! Life can be messy and painful and joyful and filled with grief and laughter all at the same time! Don’t try to plot it on a straight path, you will lose every time!

All you can do is look within and try to accept the mortality of all things. Then decide how you will be “in this world’ and how you will honor those you love while trying to figure out how to honor yourself again. Forgetting isn’t an option. No drug, no mind-bending herb, no (as the song says) “wishing and hoping and thinking and dreaming” will take you back into that “before time.” That moment in time is forever gone. There is now only the “after time” to be dealt with and incorporated into what is remaining…and what that “remaining” stuff is, well, that’s up to the survivors to decide for themselves.

About the Author

Dr. Sharon Prentice is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor whose work focuses on helping patients process the grief of losing a loved one. Becoming Starlight is her memoir of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. She experienced a unique spiritual experience, known as a Shared Death Experience (SDE) which gave her a peek into foreverness and a sense of peace that was otherworldly.

Website* Facebook * Twitter

Synopsis

Lornamarie in this twisty thriller, gripping, giddy style skilfully narrated the life of a man who practised his profession excellently well until his private life interfered with his success in all its ramifications.

It is the story of a bright and gifted boy, Segun, that will grip you as you read about how he grew up to become a doctor. It tells of his hard work with not so much to show for it as he struggled and battled his addiction to gambling with adverse consequences leaving a vacuum in his life. The author keeps you in suspense as the intriguing story unfolds.

Segun lived his life like a Candle in the Wind with his struggle and fought back from the edge of death, his recovery and then back to the inevitable end. Doctors are human, and so are we all.

You are glued to the book from the beginning right to the end as it exposes not only addiction to alcohol, drugs and gambling but also challenges that couples face in a marriage like childlessness and the consequences in various societies, infertility in marriages and treatment through in vitro fertilization.

Lornamarie used the humanitarian story to plead for a change to current American gun law with a hope that unfortunate stories similar to the storyline could be prevented to make the world a better place to live. The book touched on real-life issues such as miscarriage of justice, reckless endangerment with a firearm, dealing with grief, corruption, racism, counselling and rehabilitation — the use of alibi, insanity, depression and poor mental state as a defence during the criminal trial.

It is a well-known fact that the greatest dramas occur not on screens or stages, but rather in some courtrooms scenes, Lornamarie, in The Plea on Oath, brings these dramas alive.

Guest Post

Your checklist while writing suspense and great mystery novels

It was an interesting but tedious task plotting my new mystery and suspense novel The Plea on Oath, I have been inspired by great works of James Patterson, Lee Child, Laura Shapiro and Ayobami Adebayo.

James Patterson knew how to hold his audience in suspense, you will keep on guessing where he is heading, you just keep on turning pages.  I once took one of his book Alert from the bedroom to the bathroom, then to the living room and then back to the bedroom.   Just kept on reading till I finished.

Things to remember when writing a crime fiction thriller is that you make sure that the suspense drives the narrative and that it keeps your readers interested.  Something has happened and how, where and who is responsible for what had happened.  Getting all of that to your audience in a pleasurable and entertaining manner.

Making your readers laugh out loud is the way to go.  Imagine you are the reader, put yourself in the position of a reader and see whether you find your book entertaining or not. I think every crime fiction writer should have a dint of comedy, horror and humour to a reasonable extent, otherwise readers will find the book a chore to read.   You should create something to be anxious about.

Humour helps to balance the tension created by the crime scene and investigation.

Start your fiction thriller with a ‘bang’ I mean something serious has happened, make sure the incident is like a Tornado, cyclone, twister or whirlwind.  The tension rises with controlled speed but balance things with reality of life, things that would make a normal day look real.  Like a family sitting on the dining for a meal or your characters going out for a meal.  Do your research on location so that there are no conflicts.  I started The Plea on Oath with a tragic incident that occurred on a normal day, but in the middle of the night when most people have gone to sleep, no one saw it coming not even the writer knew where it was all heading!.  That is the way to go, paint the picture with all the colours you need because the beginning will determine whether your reader continues or puts the book down.  Segun was struck by a stray bullet in the middle of the night, the bullet pierced through the toilet window, you will initially think this is a direct attack to have him killed, it is believable isn’t it?  What I wanted to make clear is that it is time for the American gun law to be revisited and changed for the good of all.  How can Segun be gunned down in the comfort of his home by a stray bullet that came in through the window.  The incident looked like a premeditated attack but that was arguable.  Put the readers in a position of debate.  Let them start guessing what the answer is.  You should just continue to ‘show’ but not ‘tell’

Ensure that there are twists and turns in your thriller.  That is the whole idea.  Make sure to keep your story line flowing, by this I mean don’t stay on one location for too long, in an ideal world we move around, we travel, we go to work, we fly on the aeroplane, make it real with things happening around while you are creating your plots and scenes at the same time.

Don’t give away clues, be in control to hold your audience in suspense, something like ‘nobody knows’ not even you.  Keep your audience on their guard.

If you can create speeches, then by all means do so, readers like hearing a good speech.  When Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar, the speeches made the drama interesting.  I could never ever forget Anthony’s speech.

One of the reviewers of The Plea on Oath said, ‘The press interviews were intriguing’.  People can deduce a lot of information from the questions that journalist ask. Press interviews is also a good review of what has happened during a court trial in my book.  Journalist in most cases confirm what the readers are thinking.

Be sure to be clear with your knowledge of the time, any place or country you’ve chosen for your story, for example you will find me using United States as the country where the crime occurred (crime scene) because I wanted to appeal for a change to gun laws in America by narrating a story, one of the reasons why I wrote the book in the first place.  I then created some scenes in the United Kingdom because I know professionals travel to England to study medicine and they end up going back to settle down in America to practice their profession.  I also had to locate the place for funerals in Nigeria because Segun’s parents lived in Nigeria, he also got married in Nigeria, The Plea on Oath is full of twists and turns.

You should consider creating a suspense, don’t make the mystery too easy to solve, but sure that at the end, reveal the motive of the crime and be sure that the ending is clear on who committed the crime and why and how it was solved.  Try to make your story the best it can be. Remember to describe your characters, having your characters developed to the fullest is an essential part of writing a good story and to making the characters believable, you can see in my story how I brought in Ben who was Segun’s best friend from childhood, how he got married to Yvonne.  Ben’s parents lived in Nigeria and Ben even though a white boy grew up in Nigeria.  He went to the same school as Segun.  Both characters were developed in my story.

When you have gone through your story over and over again, cut out unnecessary fillers as you can.

Your work is ready!  Good luck.

I hope you’ll find this checklist useful while writing your mystery novel.

Lorna Adekaiyaoja

About the Author

LornaMarie was born in Islington, London, she attended Marywood Grammar School and Methodist Girls High School, Lagos. In 1986 she bagged an award for emerging as the overall best student in her A-level examination result. Consequently, she gained admission to study Law at the prestigious University of Lagos, popularly known as Unilag. She obtained her LL.B (Hons) degree with honours at the University of Lagos in 1989. In 1990 Lorna attended the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos, and after completing the bar final examinations was called to bar as barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Lorna is a Chartered Librarian and member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professional in the United Kingdom. She is a member of CILIP Leaders Network in the United Kingdom. The author is a member of the Authors Alliance, headquartered in the United States. She is also a member of the British and Irish Association of Law Librarian (BIALL). Lorna adores preserving the memory of humanity, reviewing books and managing knowledge covering a wide range of subjects wherever possible.

LornaMarie is the writer of: The Judges and Lawyers Companion, How to write a good dissertation, a guide for university undergraduate student and The Power of words to the human spirit, soul, body and mind: a compendium of great speeches by world leaders and some landmark court judgement. She has inspired the young generation of writers at ‘meet the author’ events in schools, colleges and libraries. Lorna has a deep sense of humour. She is married with children.

Secrets and Lies: A Claire Callahan Mystery
Private Investigator Mystery
2nd in Series
Summit Peak Publishing (September 23, 2019)
Paperback: 270 pages

Synopsis

Shot to death in his home, Morgan Tutwiler leaves behind a multimillion-dollar business and a daughter who hasn’t spoken to him in years. And she isn’t alone in wanting him dead. Plenty of people wanted the most hated man in Denver dead in P. H. Turner’s latest novel in the Claire Callahan series.

Reminiscent of the finest gumshoe storytelling, Secrets and Lies, would not be complete without Turner’s signature quirky characters and inventive plot.

Guest Post

It’s my first Christmas with Hooch, and I spent the better part of an hour trying to get him to sit still for this picture.

I’ll probably have to work right up to Christmas Eve. I’m the private investigator for the Marsh & Whitley law firm in Denver. I was thrilled to get the job. I had less than two years of experience as a PI for the Davis firm.

I think what helped me ace the interview was remembering what Grandma Callie always told me, “Claire Callahan, you listen to your grandma. Get an education, and you can do anything you set your mind to.”

Grandma Callie raised me because my parents dumped me on her doorstep when I was six. I couldn’t see it at the time, but it was the best thing for me. I love my grandmother to pieces, and even though she’s passed, she’s always in my thoughts.

Now, if I can just crack the case and find out who killed Morgan Tutwiler before the holidays…

Hooch and I wish you the happiest of holidays,

Claire Callahan

About the Author

P.H. Turner writes mystery and suspense novels set in the mountains and canyons of the West where she grew up and spent most of her working life. Pat worked in broadcast journalism on both coasts, the Midwest, and the Rocky Mountains. With roots to a Texas farm homesteaded in the 1850s, she’s returned to live within miles of the old farm.

Pat is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Amazon

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No Way to Die: A Ming Dynasty Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Drum Tower Press, LLC (April 18, 2019)
Paperback: 210 pages

Synopsis

Through mystery and intrigue, No Way To Die transports the reader into the complex and engaging world of early Ming China.

When a peddler finds a partially mutilated body of a stranger, the unlikely duo of a young scholar and a local women’s doctor once more join forces to discover who killed him and why. In probing the highly gendered world of early Ming China, unanticipated questions surface, complicating their investigation.

As their case rapidly transitions into the unexpected, they find all roads leading away from the victim, forcing them to consider alternate routes. Was the death the result of inexorable bad karma and beyond their purview, or merely the result of mortal foul play? Was the murdered man the intended victim? If not, who was and why? The investigation leads to a growing list of potential suspects: a lustful herbalist, an unscrupulous neighbor, a vengeful farmer, a jealous husband, a scorned wife, and a band of thieves. Who is innocent and who is the culprit? To solve the murder and bring peace to the victim’s spirit, the duo must untangle the truth and do it before the murderer strikes again.

Guest Post

My readers have asked why Shu-chang in the A Ming Dynasty Mystery series seems to be so concerned with taking the third national examination. After all, as a young man, he seems to be doing alright. He’s teaching at a small school and is respected by the people in the town. Isn’t that enough?

Here’s why Shu-chang isn’t satisfied:  No Way to Die, A Ming Dynasty Mystery, the second in the series, is a historical novel set in late 14^th century Imperial China. For hundreds of years before that and even through to the modern period, China was what we call a meritocracy. That is, in spite of being ruled by an emperor, men achieved power and wealth through their own abilities, not through birth. In order to get the best and brightest to work for the government, the emperors set up a three-tiered examination system. Whoever passed each examination level received recognition and special privileges from the emperor. Everyone who passed the third level received the most significant privileges. For example, they were relieved of paying taxes on their family farms and other properties. They also had special status and protections where the law, even criminal law, was concerned. Anyone who passed the examinations was automatically considered among the local elite and treated as local leaders. Finally, the gold ring was reserved for those who passed within the top 5 to 10 percent or so of the third national examination. These men were automatically placed into government positions, such as magistrates of local districts. Their fortunes were all but guaranteed.

This examination system meant that even the poorest of men, if they were hard-working and bright, could become powerful and gain great wealth. In A Ming Dynasty Mystery series, Shu-chang is a young man of a poor, peasant family. His father and uncle sacrificed everything so he could study. He wasn’t expected to do any work on the farm. His father’s dream was for Shu-chang to pass the third examination and achieve fame for the family. In Deadly Relations, the first book in the series, Shu-chang had just taken the second examination when he found out that his father and uncle were murdered by a criminal gang who had attacked their small village. Destitute and with no support, he takes a job teaching in a small clan school in a nearby town. There he joins his maternal cousin, the local women’s doctor, in solving crimes plaguing the town. His crime fighting continues into No Way to Die.

While successfully assisting the community in achieving justice, Shu-chang is plagued by the thought of not being a filial son. Of not accomplishing the two things necessary for him to honor, respect, and achieve justice for his father and uncle: to hunt down their murderers and to achieve his father’s dream of his raising the family out of poverty by passing the third national examination. No matter how successful he is at helping his community and achieving justice for others, without succeeding in these two goals for his own family, he is a failure.

About the Author

P.A. De Voe is an anthropologist with a PhD in Asian studies and a specialty in China. She has authored several stories featuring the early Ming Dynasty: The Mei-hua Trilogy: Hidden, Warned, and Trapped; the A Ming Dynasty Mystery series with Deadly Relations and No Way to Die; Lotus Shoes, a Mei-hua short story; and a collection of short stories: Judge Lu’s Case Files, stories of Crime & Mystery in Imperial China. Warned won a Silver Falchion Award for Best International Mystery; Trapped was a finalist for an Agatha Award and for a Silver Falchion Award. Her short story, The Immortality Mushroom, (a Judge Lu story) was in the Anthony Award-winning anthology Murder Under the Oaks edited by Art Taylor.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * GoodReads

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway