Those Who Walk in Darkness

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Annette Drake

Authors Joyce and Jim Lavene are revisiting my blog today to talk about their newest release, Those Who Walk in Darkness. Welcome back!

Why do you write cozy mysteries?
I like to write about criminals getting their comeuppance and not thinking about all the gore that goes into other type of mysteries.

Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
My daughters worked at Pinkerton and brought home a video of how the company began. Then Joyce and I thought what if and it took off from there.

Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I guess any author would like a reader to enjoy what they write and want to read all of their books.

Please describe your writing routine.
I start out at six writing for an hour. Eat breakfast then take the grandkids to school. When I get back I make a latte, then write until noon. After that it’s basically revision time and promo work.

What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
Know what you want to write and be persistent about it. Never give up on your dream. If you want it bad enough, you will achieve it.

More about Those Who Walk in Darkness:
Three years ago, Julia Jackson was a well to do young woman from Boston whose fiancé, Jonathon, was killed right before her eyes. Obsessed with finding the killer, a man whose face she saw only in a flash as he walked up and shot Jonathon, she leaves her family and her life behind. She starts a new life as ‘Jacks’ Jackson—a cigar smoking, dead eye, female Pinkerton agent…pretending to be a man.
Now Allan Pinkerton needs Jacks to find the man who kidnapped the wife and son of a railroad official, David Boyd. Their only clues are the severed finger from the man’s wife, complete with wedding ring, and a map of the Qualla boundary, the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina.
Jacks doesn’t like the way the whole thing sounds from the beginning. David Boyd isn’t important enough to target for a kidnapping. And why travel so far with two hostages?
But Pinkerton tells her that he believes the man responsible for the kidnapping worked with Jonathon’s murderer in a train robbery five years ago. Jacks agrees to go after the kidnapper with hopes of catching him before he can reach his home grounds.
Pinkerton insists that Jacks bring three men with her—Boyd, her new partner, and a Cherokee guide named Running Wolf, who’s always watching her, like he’s trying to figure it out.
Can Jacks catch the kidnapper with her secret — and her life — intact?

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

Webpage – http://www.joyceandjimlavene.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene

Amazon – http://amazon.com/author/jlavene

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene

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Plateful of Murder

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Annette Drake

Welcome author Carole Fowkes!

Why do you write fiction?
I write fiction because I adore letting my imagination run wild. It’s the one time I don’t have to be a responsible adult.

Please tell us about your newest release. What ideas or images inspired this story?
My latest release, Plateful of Murder, is the first book in the Terrified Detective series. It’s about a young woman, Claire DeNardo, who is afraid of many things but becomes a private investigator because she can’t find a decent job in her field of mass communications. In spite of being fearful, she finds herself drawn into solving murders. The idea for the series came about when a friend and I were discussing careers. My friend asked me how I’d feel about being a private investigator and my response was, “I’d be terrified.” Thus the series was created.

Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I hope my books appeal to a broad range of readers. If I had to describe an ideal reader, though, that reader would have a good sense of humor and appreciate irony. This reader would also love food, especially chocolate, because it’s what keeps Claire going.

Please describe your writing routine.
I usually start writing early in the morning and go until my stomach growls, which it does around 7 a.m. After breakfast I continue writing until late morning. By then, other aspects of my life need attention. During this time away from writing, I allow my words from the morning to “stew.” After dinner I pick up where I left off on my project and write for another couple hours. Also, I don’t plot ahead, preferring to “ad lib.”

What advice do you give to authors just starting their journey?
My advice is to keep at it. The more you write, the better you’ll get. Also, if at all possible, join a writers’ group. I’m part of one and attend every week. The advice and encouragement of other authors is of immense value and can push you through a tough scene or a rejection. That brings me to my last bit of advice. Rejections are part of the game and everyone receives them. If writing is your dream, don’t let one or 100 rejections cause you to give that dream up.

More about Plateful of Murder:
Private Detective Claire DeNardo is afraid of everything. Simple things like balloons, roller coasters, and hairpieces make her knees knock loud enough to be a band’s rhythm section. Unfortunately, the only job Claire can find is working for her Uncle Gino in his seedy detective agency. Until now, her cases have all been middle-aged men with trophy wives who needed watching. But Claire gets swept up in a murder case despite being afraid of conflict, bodily harm, and hurting anyone’s feelings. She enlists a jaded security guard, Ed, to help her. But when Ed is attacked and left comatose, Claire must stumble along by herself. Both the client who hired her and the handsome police detective want her off the case. When the wrong person is charged, it’s up to the terrified detective, to summon all the courage she can to find the true killer.

How to connect with Carole:

http://www.carolefowkes.com

https://www.facebook.com/carolefowkes

Tweets by CaroleFowkes

https://www.goodreads.com/carolefowkes

Grab your copy of Plateful of Murder here:
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City of Gold

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Annette Drake

Today, author Carolyn Arnold talks about her mystery novel, City of Gold.

What inspired you to write City of Gold?
A while back, I was searching for an action-adventure book to read, and I quickly noticed that most stories in the genre start off at a point long ago in history with people who never enter the story again after an initial prologue. But I wanted to read something more in the vein of Indiana Jones, that started in the present day, with action right from the start that just keeps going. Who doesn’t remember the boulder scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy is running for his life? Now, that’s what I’m going for!

You are primarily a mystery author. Why did you decide to write an action adventure?
I’m not sure whether I actually decided or was simply inspired. It is such a mysterious place, and people can’t seem to decide whether the city is fact or legend. The child in all of us wants to believe that a place like the City of Gold exists, but the grown-up in us tends to squash that curiosity. So when mine was piqued, I wanted to try my hand at going on an adventure along with my characters.

What were some challenges you faced while writing the book?
As a mystery author who specializes in police procedurals, I found it hard to let myself go. With my regular genre, there are procedures that I need to follow. I need to know how real-life detectives and FBI agents would handle an investigation, how the forensics work, et cetera. So when it came to writing about what is, at this point, a fictional city, it was hard to open my creative mind. It almost felt like I had to literally discover the city in order to write about it. But with all the research and resources on Paititi — and some of it conflicting — I had to decide for myself what bits to incorporate into my story. I had to remind myself that I’m a storyteller, not a professor.

Tell us about the characters.
Twenty-nine-year-old Matthew Connor is the son of Toronto’s mayor, and while he’s educated in archeology, you won’t find him on excavations. His passion is hunting down treasure and legends the world has all but forgotten. While he feels the need to hide his true occupation from his father, this secret affects more than only him. Matthew’s two closest friends, Robyn and Cal, travel the globe with him and put their lives at risk to secure priceless artifacts.

What can readers expect from this book? This series?
City of Gold is not your everyday action adventure. In fact, it’s been designed for the mystery lover. For example, in City of Gold, there is a kidnapping, a ransom, and a police investigation, as well as lots of action-packed adventure and exploration itself.

More about City of Gold:
Archaeologist Matthew Connor and his friends Cal and Robyn are finally home after a dangerous retrieval expedition in India. While they succeeded in obtaining the priceless Pandu artifact they sought, it almost cost them their lives. Still, Matthew is ready for the next adventure. Yet when new intel surfaces indicating the possible location of the legendary City of Gold, Matthew is hesitant to embark on the quest.
Not only is the evidence questionable but it means looking for the lost city of Paititi far away from where other explorers have concentrated their efforts. As appealing as making the discovery would be, it’s just too risky. But when Cal’s girlfriend, Sophie, is abducted by Matthew’s old nemesis who is dead-set on acquiring the Pandu statue, Matthew may be forced into action. Saving Sophie’s life means either breaking into the Royal Ontario Museum to steal the relic or offering up something no one in his or her right mind can refuse–the City of Gold.
Now Matthew and his two closest friends must find a city and a treasure that have been lost for centuries. And they only have seven days to do it. As they race against the clock, they quickly discover that the streets they seek aren’t actually paved with gold, but with blood.

How to connect with Carolyn:
Website Twitter Facebook

And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.

Purchase Links

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Happy Homicides 2: A collection of cozy mysteries

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Annette Drake

Love can be deadly. As proven by these traditional mysteries, cunningly crafted by thirteen bestselling and award-winning authors. Nearly 500-pages of heart-warming, brain puzzling, and character-driven reads. Your purchase includes a free gift, a file with recipes and craft ideas sure to put you in a romantic mood any time of the year!

Author Teresa Trent answers the question:
Does It Take a Police Detective to Solve a Mystery?
Absolutely Not.
I have had the great pleasure to collaborate with eleven other authors in Happy Homicides 2: Crimes of the Heart. What amazes me is the variety of characters and stories we all bring to the table. I was fascinated with some of the jobs the various sleuths in our series do. Between all of us, we have hundreds of books published, so I couldn’t get every occupation, but here are just some of the professions our sleuths work at in our individual series.

Helpful Hints Writer
My main character, Betsy Livingston Fitzpatrick is a helpful hints writer for a local newspaper. She can solve the crime while using cold water on that nasty blood stain in the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series.

Beach Décor Store Owner
Joanna Campbell Slan writes about Cara Mia Delgatto, the owner of a store filled with recycled beach-themed decor, The Treasure Chest. I love the name Cara Mia and now I know what to do with all those old seashells!

Adjunct English Professor
Neil Plackcy writes about an adjunct English professor Steve Levitan aided by his golden retriever, Rochester. This is really a buddy series because yes, dogs can solve crimes.

Mystery Shopper
Elaine Viets comes up with a clever idea for a series that centers on mystery shopper, Josie Marcus. Haven’t you always wanted to do that? Shopping and mysteries! Two of my greatest weaknesses.

Physicist
Quick, try to remember your periodic table! It’s a mystery, right? Camille Minichino writes a series about retired physicist Gloria Lamerino who lives in an apartment above a funeral home. She must have received a pretty good deal on the rent.

Flowershop Owner
Annie Adam’s Quincy McKay has them pushing up daisies all around her! Quincy owns a flower shop and finds herself deep in the compost pile in three different mysteries.

Gardening Columnist
Nancy Jill Thames writes a series about Jillian Bradley and her cute little dog Teddy. So you would think she would spend all of her time in the garden, but this lady leads an incredibly exciting life going everywhere solving mysteries. I hope she has a timer on the sprinkler.

Tea Shop Owner
Linda Gordon Hengerer gives us a mystery in a tea shop. Do you take milk with your tea or arsenic?

Teacher/Coach
Kathi Daley creates the character of TJ Jensen, a high school teacher and coach in the alpine town of Serenity, Nevada. I love the idea of a coach solving mysteries. So why does the locker room smell that way?

Southern Belle
I’m from Texas and can tell you that, yes, this is an actual occupation around here. (Pronounced ‘round hare). Carolyn Haines writes the Sarah Booth Delaney series where her belle finds herself not only with a murder mystery to solve but living in a haunted house.

Private Eye
Randy Rawles writes about Ace Edwards, a private eye he dreamed up while on a bike ride outside of Dallas. Actually, the character’s name is Arthur Conan Edwards. Which is yet another great thing about him! Ace solves mysteries in Texas, a hotbed of crime for us mystery writers.

Lawyer
Anna Celeste Burke writes Jessica Huntington, a woman who took a beating in her marriage and dusted off the old law degree. I just love a woman who knows the judicial system and can take revenge on a cheatin’ man anytime she wants.

A Landscaper With Big Dreams
Maggie Toussant writes about a psychic landscaper Baxley Powell who gets insights through dreamwalking. One of my favorite titles of Maggie’s is “Bubba Done It”. Why have we not picked up this phrase around my house? Who left that mess in the living room? Bubba done it.

Visit Amazon.com to buy your copy. The collection is on sale for $2.99.

Gone By Midnight by Joyce and Jim Lavene

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Annette Drake

Today, I welcome Joyce and Jim Lavene to talk about their collection of mystery short stories, Gone by Midnight. Take it away, Jim!
Why do you write fiction?
I wrote for a local newspaper, that was a format that was “Just the facts.” I’m an avid reader of fiction of many genres. The idea of just writing non-fiction was kind of boring. I wanted to write something like my favorite authors: Carole Nelson Douglas and others like her.

Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this book?
This book is a collection of short stories that my wife Joyce and I wrote over the years. Most of them are in the fantasy genre. I guess the inspiration would be some of the fantasy books we read by various authors.

Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I think every author has an image of an ideal reader. It would be someone who loves to read all genres like we write and can’t wait to read the next one.

Please describe your writing routine.
First thing I do when I get up is review what I’ve written the day before, adding to it to stay focused for the day. Then I take the grandkids to school. I come back and make a latte then start writing again until lunch. After lunch I edit and do promo work. That pretty much sums it up.

What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
Write what you really care about and don’t let anyone tell you that it can’t be written like you want to do it. The next thing is persistence. Keep after your goal.

More about Gone by Midnight:

Fans of Joyce and Jim Lavene will thrill at this collection of thirteen short stories. Many are set in the worlds of their national bestselling mystery series, including the Missing Pieces Mysteries, the Renaissance Faire Mysteries, the Retired Witches Mysteries, and an upcoming mystery novel!
These stories contain the elements of mystery and fantasy the Lavenes are famous for, as well as some new things their readers have never seen. Several stories feature characters interacting with ghosts, magic, and the supernatural—the healing woman in “Courtship;” the Civil War widow in “One with the Darkness;” the city girl who summons a wizard from the past in “The Magician and the Sorceress/Accountant;” and the young introvert in “Aunt Edna” who finds her calling with help from a ghostly visitor.
Poignant, charming, and captivating, Joyce and Jim Lavene bring their characteristic wit and heart to these stories and introduce each one with a passage about its origin or how it ties into the universe they’ve created. Gone by Midnight is a treasury of tales that will delight the mind and touch the heart from one of the most prolific writing duos of our time.

How to contact them:
http://www.joyceandjimlavene.com

http://www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene

http://amazon.com/author/jlavene

Tweets by AuthorJLavene

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Midnight-Joyce-Lavene-ebook/dp/B019AJC1XU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452110667&sr=8-1&keywords=GONE+BY+MIDNIGHT

Janice Peacock talks about her new cozy mystery, A Bead in the Hand

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Annette Drake

Today, I welcome author Janice Peacock to talk about her cozy mystery, A Bead in the Hand.

Without further ado, here’s Janice!

Can we talk about romance?
Many readers have asked me if the main character in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, Jax O’Connell, is much like me. I must admit, we have a lot in common. We’re both glass beadmakers and jewelry designers, love cats, and live on the northwest coast of the United States—Jax is in Seattle and I live near San Francisco—oh, and we both adore espresso drinks. One way that we’re not alike is our love lives. Since it’s so close to Valentine’s Day I thought I’d write about that today.
Let’s start with me. I’ve been happily married for some twenty-odd years, and believe me when I say that some of them have been pretty odd! But, I digress. My days of juggling boyfriends are long past—that never really happened much. Okay, not really at all, I must admit.
Jax, on the other hand, having reached her mid-forties, is still unattached. This doesn’t seem to bother her, nor should it. She had been in a long term relationship with a man named Jerry who ignored her, except when she was too slow to order take-out food for dinner—that is, if he even turned up for dinner. After Jax inherited her great-aunt’s bungalow, she left Jerry and moved to Seattle. That was a challenge for her, giving up not only her partner, but her home and her livelihood, so she could live a life of creative passion with people she loved.
In Seattle, she hadn’t found anyone she wanted to date until she met a newspaper reporter named Allen Sinclair. Handsome and a bit preppy, he seemed genuinely interested in Jax. That is, until her cat, Gumdrop, launched himself into Allen’s cocktail, leaving him and everything else a sticky, sopping-wet mess. You’ll have to read High Strung, A Glass Bead Mystery, to find out what happens with Jax and Allen, and Gumdrop’s high dive. Here’s a hint posted by a reader in a 5-star Amazon review: “I… doubt I will ever look at a mojito the same again!”
In A Bead in the Hand, the second book in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, Jax is back with a new set of challenges. Other than finding a dead body, which is certainly a difficult experience, she also has a pleasant surprise. A handsome security guard named Ryan Shaw wants to protect her from harm as she tries to find a murderer in the Red Rose Hotel in Portland. But what he’d really like to do is get his hands on her and show her a really good time! Jax is attracted to this hunky guy, but also has no idea how deal with someone who is in hot pursuit of her. Adding to the complexity of the situation, a stern detective who Jax met in Seattle during a murder investigation a few months before likes to stop by Jax’s house unannounced. Jax has discovered that this serious and stiff man transforms from Clark Kent to Superman any time he removes his glasses, much to her delight.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Jax is left wondering: Ryan or Zachary? You can find out the answer (at least for now!) in Be Still My Beading Heart, A Glass Bead Mini-Mystery. The short story, released just in time for the most romantic holiday of the year, is available free on Amazon at tinyurl.com/BeStillMyBeadingHeart

About The Author
Janice Peacock decided to write her first mystery novel after working in a glass studio full of colorful artists who didn’t always get along. They reminded her of the odd, and often humorous, characters in the murder mystery books she loved to read. Inspired by that experience, she combined her two passions and wrote High Strung: A Glass Bead Mystery, the first book in a new cozy mystery series featuring glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell.
When Janice Peacock isn’t writing about glass artists who are amateur detectives, she makes glass beads using a torch, designs one-of-a-kind jewelry, and makes sculptures using hot glass. An award-winning artist, her work has been exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of several museums. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three cats, and seven chickens. She has a studio full of beads…lots and lots of beads.

How to contact Janice:
Website: http://www.janicepeacock.com/
Blog: http://blog.janicepeacock.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanicePeacockAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/janpeac (@janpeac)
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/janpeac
Instagram: https://instagram.com/janpeac
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8389583.Janice_Peacock

More about A Bead in the Hand:
A bead bazaar turns bizarre when jewelry designer and glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell discovers a dead body beneath her sales table. Suspected of murder, Jax and her friend Tessa scramble to find the killer among the fanatic shoppers and eccentric vendors. They have their hands full dealing with a scumbag show promoter, hipsters in love, and a security guard who wants to do more than protect Jax from harm. Adding to the chaos, Jax’s quirky neighbor Val arrives unexpectedly with trouble in tow. Can Jax untangle the clues before she’s arrested for murder?

***

High Strung, the first book in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, will be 99 cents from Feb 7th through 11th and $1.99 from Feb 12th through 15th.
Be Still My Beading Heart, A Glass Bead Mini-Mystery short story is free on Amazon and iTunes. A Bead in the Hand is available for the discounted price of $2.99 through February 15th.

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Bead-Hand-Glass-Mystery/dp/151370561X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1451926147&sr=8-2

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-bead-in-the-hand-janice-peacock/1123025263?ean=9781513705613

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