Paula Brackston: The Return of the Witch Monday, Mar 14 2016 

Continued series winner and great read and historical saga , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:18 am

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Readers, I’m in cahoots with St. Martin’s to offer you THREE giveaway copies of Paula Brackston’s sequel to last year’s debut novel The Witch’s Daughter. This was the little book that could–with a captivating story, remarkable heroine, and eye-catching package, it has now netted over 200,000 copies in all formats.

Now Paula returns with its sequel The Return of the Witch, another bewitching tale of love and magic, featuring her signature blend of gorgeous writing, a fabulous and intriguing historical backdrop, and a headstrong and relatable heroine readers will cheer for.

After five years in the Summerlands, Gideon has gained his freedom. Elizabeth knows he will go straight for Tegan, and that she must protect the girl she had come to regard as her own daughter. In the time since the dramatic night in Batchcombe woods, Tegan has traveled the world learning from all manner of witches, and she is no longer the awkward teenager and novice spellcaster she once was.

However, her skills are no match for Gideon’s dark, vengeful power, and he succeeds in capturing her. Will Elizabeth be able to find her? Will they be able to defeat their nemesis once and for all?

In a breathless journey that takes them through history to the 17th and 19th centuries, witch pursues warlock. Three people steeped in magic weave a new story, but not all will survive until the end. Crime of a different kind here, with suspense and action.

In case you missed The Witch’s Daughter, this is its synopsis:

My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. If you will listen, I will tell you a tale of witches. A tale of magic and love and loss. A story of how simple ignorance breeds fear, and how deadly that fear can be. Let me tell you what it means to be a witch.

In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate: the Warlock Gideon Masters.

Secluded at his cottage, Gideon instructs Bess, awakening formidable powers she didn’t know she had. She couldn’t have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.

In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life. She has spent the centuries in solitude, moving from place to place, surviving plagues, wars, and the heartbreak that comes with immortality. Her loneliness comes to an abrupt end when she is befriended by a teenage girl called Tegan.

Against her better judgment, Elizabeth opens her heart to Tegan and begins teaching her the ways of the Hedge Witch. But will she be able to stand against Gideon—who will stop at nothing to reclaim her soul—in order to protect the girl who has become the daughter she never had?

THREE lucky winners who leave a comment will be sent copies of the sequel directly from the publisher. To enter the drawing, leave a comment and we’ll use an impartial draw to find the lucky winners. Good luck!!

 

Cheri Crystal: Across the Pond Sunday, Mar 13 2016 

great read Auntie M Writes Crime 12:40 am

Auntie M first met Cheri Crystal through a mutual writing friend and did some editing for her. Things have changed dramatically for Cheri, who now lives in Devon, England, right in the heart of Agatha Christie country~

CHERI CRYSTAL, ACROSS THE POND

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Born and raised in New York, I never imagined I’d leave America to live in England.

But the game plan changed when I fell madly in love with a British woman. Unable to live without her, I married her in New York when same-sex marriage became legal; left my conventional life and native land and moved across the pond.

I’ve been settled in Devon for four years now and still have to pinch myself to believe I’m really here.

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While I miss America and visit as often as I can, the southwest of England is a lovely part of the world and it’s a pleasure to live here. I’m fortunate to have ample opportunity to travel and explore, and I love that I get to work in a foreign country. It’s been quite the adventure.

After writing short lesbian fiction for many years, including a 2010 GCLS winner for lesbian erotica, Attractions of the Heart, I’m proud to announce that Across the Pond, my first novel published by Ylva, is finally here.

While the story may be loosely based on my experiences, I promise the characters and plot are purely fictitious. I’ve even taken some liberties with the setting.

Fingle Bridge, Devon fingle-bridge-inn

It’s not easy leaving family, country, and everything you’ve ever known, but had I not ventured and questioned the status quo, had I not allowed myself the freedom to be me, then I’d have missed out on what was clearly meant to be.

Let the adventure continue . . . Thanks for reading!

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You can buy Cheri’s book Across the Pond here…

http://ylva-publishing.co.uk/product/across-the-pond-by-cheri-crystal/

 

Thom Satterlee: The Stages Wednesday, Mar 9 2016 

Award winning novelist and debut and mystery to die for , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:05 am

The Stages

One of Auntie M’s favorite books in past years was Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. So when she was offered a chance to read Thom Satterlees’ The Stages, she knew she would enjoy the chance to follow an adult character with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Daniel Peters is an American translator living in Copenhagen and working at the Soren Kierkegaard Research Center. He’s become known as one of the philosopher’s best translators, and frequently lapses into interior monologues with the reader about what Kierkegaard has to say on a particular subject. His mentor and friend, and former love, Metta Rasmussen, is also his supervisor, who has diagnosed correctly, helped him learn techniques to handle living in a world where he doesn’t ‘get’ social clues, facial tics or body language. There’s a defined rhythm to his days and habits, including a propensity for eating danishes, and where better to find them?

Then the unthinkable happens: Mette is found murdered, and a new manuscript he’d been translating has been taken. Daniel was the last person to see her alive, but although he comes under suspicion, he thinks he’s able to persuade a female detective that he’s innocent. But it means she needs him to help with her investigation, if only to help him clear his name. And as he does that, he needs to learn how to express his grief for the friend he’s loved and lost.

Stepping outside his comfort zone is a mild way of describing how Daniel must act and react in this compelling mystery set inside a totally different world to most readers. It’s a satisfying read and one that brings Copenhagen alive on the pages.

Satterlee speaks Danish, and lived with a family in Denmark for his junior year in high school. The informs the novel with a vast sense of reality. Reading and understanding Kierkegaard is an entirely different matter, yet it’s obvious Satterlee has more than a grasp of the iconic philosopher’s life and work. Who would have thought an author could create a mystery surrounding Soren Kierkegaard and make it compelling and highly entertaining at the same time–Thom Satterlee did, and it’s a worthy accomplishment.

 

Kate Parker: Deadly Scandal Sunday, Mar 6 2016 

great read and historical saga and mystery to die for and new series and Series not to be missed , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:25 am

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Please welcome author Kate Parker and her new historical mystery, set in 1930’s London, Deadly Scandal. Kate will describe how she came to create her protagonist, Olivia Denis.

Murder and Fashion Sense –

When I was a girl, there was a comic strip in the newspaper called Brenda Starr, star reporter. She was a tall, slender, leggy redhead who worked for a metropolitan daily and went after the hard news, the big stories. She got the exclusives. She never took no for an answer. She was tough and sexy and bright and lucky. I wanted to be her when I grew up.

In the spirit of truth in journalism, I have to admit the only resemblance was in my reddish hair. I might pass as a reporter; no one would ever mistake me for Brenda Starr.

I saved this icon from my childhood, and when it came time to write a mystery about an unprepared woman who lands a job on a metropolitan daily newspaper in 1930s London, I knew what she looked like. She’s a tall, slender, leggy redhead. She’s bright and sexy and lucky.

And that’s where I stopped the similarities.

I gave Olivia Denis a love and flair for fashion. I gave her a talent for sketching dresses, hats, and shoes as well as a fabulous wardrobe. And I gave her a love of shopping that she couldn’t indulge once she was widowed at twenty-five.

But since she had Brenda Starr’s luck, she has a good friend whose father published one of the biggest daily newspapers in London. And so she landed a job as a society reporter, where the publisher thought she couldn’t do much damage.

However, Olivia Denis doesn’t have Brenda Starr’s street savvy. When offered a much higher salary than she expected, along with a requirement to carry out certain unspecified clandestine assignments that she is not to mention – ever – she says yes. She knew no one else would pay her that much. She doesn’t ask about the nature of these assignments. She doesn’t stop and consider. She just thinks about the money and says yes.

So here you have Olivia Denis, young widow, who is going to hunt for her husband’s killer. She owes her livelihood to the father of a school friend who needs her to carry out clandestine assignments under the guise of society page reporting.

Olivia is young and pretty like Brenda Starr. And while she’s a novice, she has something else Brenda Starr had: Determination.

Find out how it all works out in Deadly Scandal by Kate Parker.

Learn more about Kate and her books at http://www.KateParkerbooks.com

Order now at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AU0KC8E
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deadly-scandal-kate-parker/1123286621
Apple: https:geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/deadly-scandal/id1076628067?ls=1&mt=11

 

Katherine Ashe: The Rogue, Devil’s Duke #1 Tuesday, Mar 1 2016 

great read and historical saga and new series and Series not to be missed , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:30 am

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Author Katherine Ashe delights readers with her historical romances that have mystery and action all rolled into one. A professor of European History at Duke University, it’s only fitting that her new series is called Devil’s Duke.

The first one in the series, The Rogue, will captivate readers who like a hint of sensuality with their swordplay.

Throw in a secret society practicing dark arts, and of course, a rogue with a heart of gold who will anything for the woman he loves, and you have all the ingredients for a fantastic read.

What sets this one apart is the appearance of TWO rogues and ravishing heroine in the form of a duke’s daughter, Lady Constance Read. The lovely but very independent woman needs a husband, despite her penchant for riding astride a horse instead of the usual side-saddle of ladies. She’s also a great shot with both pistols and bows, a match for any man wishing to share her life.

Here’s Katherine’s recent Q/A that will shed light on her new series~

1. Q: Your new Devil’s Duke series kicks off with a bang in The Rogue; there’s plenty of intrigue, action, and some cameos from Falcon Club members of your previous novels. Yet you’re also telling a very deep love story that touches on many issues, including second chances, abuse, and honesty. As a writer—and as a reader!—what appeals to you about mixing “spy stuff” and adventure with the kind of intensely emotional narrative going on in The Rogue?

A: Truth? I want to be completely swept away. I love getting so immersed in a story that I can’t put it down. I am totally addicted to intense, deep, powerful romance. When I read and write, I want to experience every emotion: I want to laugh, weep, shout, feel my heart racing, and go a little insane-in-love right along with the hero and heroine. If they’re opponents or allies in exciting intrigue—Saint and Constance are both in The Rogue—I get completely caught up in the excitement. It’s romance, so I know they’ll be together by the end. But the more intense the journey to falling in love is, the more I adore it.

2. Q: You write historical romance novels—but you’re also a professor of history! How much does your academic work as a professor overlap with your writing?

A: Now that I teach popular fiction — both romance fiction and other fiction based on medieval history — I can pour my experience with researching, writing and publishing novels into my teaching. And it goes the other way too; teaching nourishes me. I learn from my students all the time. Also, oftentimes I’ll read something to use in class and it will inspire a character or scene or even an entire plot of a novel.

3. Q: The title of the novel, The Rogue, refers to Saint, our roguish hero. But he’s not the only one known to break the rules every now and again: Constance is an extremely independent woman. At every turn, she refuses to let society make her dependent on someone else, and she continually rises against every challenge she is faced with. What inspired you to write such a strong, forward-thinking heroine?

A: Constance is incredibly strong and independent, but she’s also damaged and vulnerable. In a world dominated by men who want to use or control her, she’s come to a place where she’s simply refusing that. She wants to make her own decisions, and she wants to be her own hero (it’s why she asks Saint to teach her how to fight with a sword and dagger). But she wants—and needs—love too. I think this is the struggle of modern women: to be independent and take care of themselves, as well as others who need them, but also to allow themselves to be loved by a good man—a man who won’t try to control them, but will love them for the entire woman that they are.

4. Q: You often speak at conferences and give interviews regarding your views on the romance genre. We’ve seen romance get more time in the mainstream media spotlight this year than ever before—do you think that’s an indicator of things to come? Where do you see the genre going from here?

A: The good press is wonderful! It’s a good sign for the future. We’ve a long way to go, though. I think the new openness to romance fiction in the mainstream media has as much to do with the fabulous novels authors are writing now, featuring independent heroines with real agency, as it has to do with our society very, very slowly shifting toward an honest recognition of the latent misogyny and anti-feminist biases in our culture. These biases are so deeply rooted (they’re thousands of years old!) that it’s going to take more than few decades for real equality. When the romance genre is treated the same way that the mystery or sci-fi or thriller genres are treated, that’ll be a good indicator we’ve come to true equality between the sexes.

5. Q: Tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects!

A: The Earl is next! Through several books my readers have been following the heated banter of Peregrine, the secretary of the Falcon Club, and popular London pamphleteer Lady Justice. She has skewered him again and again in the public press for being an idle elitist, but now she needs his help. They’re thrown together in an unexpected (and dangerous) adventure across the Scottish Highlands. It’s a super intense, funny and exciting love story, and I cried and laughed and gasped and sighed and loved loved loved writing it.

After that, the duke everybody’s calling The Devil gets his story!

 

The Narrow Bed: Sophie Hannah Sunday, Feb 28 2016 

Award winning novelist and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for and Series not to be missed , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:27 am

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The multi-faceted Sophie Hannah does it all: compelling stand-alones, resurrecting Hercule Poirot for Agatha Christie’s estate, and her Culver Valley police procedural series. But she doesn’t stop there–the hallmark of this series is that the protagonist of each book is a character involved in the action, not the detectives, centered on Simon Waterhouse and his wife, Charlie Zailer.

We learn of the continuing saga of the married duo as a secondary plot, insinuating itself into the main plot of the newest in the series, The Narrow Bed. And a strong feminist will muddy the waters by insisting the killer being sought is a misogynist pig, as three of the four victims are women. Could she be right?

There’s more than a bit of sly humor when your protagonist is a professional stand-up comedian. Kim Tribbeck has received a little white book, mostly blank, with a few lines of poetry inside. She’s tossed it away, but she does remember receiving it.

The importance of this becomes clear when a murderer takes to killing pairs of best friends, four in all over the last four months. In each case he’s given the victim one of these same hand-made books before killing them. Each contains a line of poetry. Each poet was a woman whose name started with an E. So where does that lead them?

Dubbed “Billy Dead Mates” by the police, the detectives have exhausted ways to link the victims. It becomes clear the case revolves around books, but in what way? And if these are truly killings of best friends, why was Kim Tribbeck given a copy and left to live? Could it be that the fact she hasn’t had a best friend in years has saved her life?

At once convoluted yet sharply intelligent, the plot wraps around itself until the mind of Simon Waterhouse is the one who can see beyond the obvious and pull the case together. There’s an almost gothic feel to the book, as the story unfolds by way of excerpts from a book Kim writes after the case is over, added to by conventional chapters of interviews and the thoughts of the various detectives on the team searching for this killer.

The characters are true to themselves, with distinctly-drawn personalities that show Hannah’s expertise at describing the psychology of different people with that wry edge that smacks of verisimilitude until they seem to leap off the page. The Independent has compared Hannah to Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendall with good reason.

 

Jerrye Sumrall: The Bayshore Mysteries Saturday, Feb 27 2016 

Continued series winner , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:21 am

Something different for readers today: Children’s author Jerrye Sumrall, author of The Bayshore Mysteries, will explain how her middle-school series began and how she gets her ideas. With five in this series, they’re certain to be winners for young readers.

Intruders

How The Bayshore Mysteries began: Although my idea of doing a children’s mystery series didn’t come to me until later in life, the framework started when I was a child. I grew up in a small southern town with lots of freedom to play and explore my surroundings. As with all childhoods, there were ups and downs, but these experiences along with a vivid imagination and fascination with the unknown served as a springboard for my writing. In my adult years, my experience as a teacher and counselor further developed the writing framework that later grew into a unique children’s series, The Bayshore Mysteries.
SecretGraveyard

Why I chose to write for the middle grade audience and how I got my ideas: I decided to write for the middle-grade audience because I’ve had the most experience with that group of children, and it was the age I remember so fondly as a child. I think my ideas came naturally from my fascination with mystery, adventure and the unknown, even into adulthood.

WraggSwamp

I have always been intrigued with horror flicks, mystery books, and any entertainment venue with a mysterious setting and plot. I have also been fascinated with local historical settings that could easily be transformed into a mystery plot. That is actually how all of my books began. I would pick the historical location, choose the characters, and devise a mystery plot that would fit the characters and setting.

MoundIsland

What are the historical settings for my books: The historical settings in my books are ones that I could easily research and visit. I am fortunate to live in an area that is full of history and suspense, wrapped up in unique settings. The Eastern Shore region of Mobile Bay, an area rich in Civil War history and small town culture, serves as a springboard for my first book, Intruders on Battleship Island. The Beatrice and Monroeville, AL, setting found in The Secret Graveyard brings to life new mysteries and secrets from that area. Mobile, Al, with its festive Mardi Gras celebration and spooky swamp setting serves as the backdrop for The Mystery of Wragg Swamp. Mound Island, located deep in the delta region of Baldwin county, AL, serves as the setting for the fourth book in the series, Mystery on Mound Island. Historic Blakeley State park in Spanish Fort, Al, the site of the old town of Blakeley, Fort Blakeley, and the last Civil War battle, serves as the setting for the fifth book in the series, The Ghost of Blakeley Past.

GhostBlakelyPast

My emphasis on relationships and understanding others: For the character relationship aspect of the stories, I wanted to emphasize getting along and understanding others. In addition to the main characters that appear in each of my books, I have also included at least one new character who was either annoying, disliked, or very misunderstood. Through the course of each story, the characters all learned important lessons in friendship, courage, and determination. That idea came from my own childhood and from my experience as a teacher and counselor.

In each one of my books, I’ve tried to incorporate mystery, action and adventure, local history, and enduring characters who learn lessons in friendship, courage, and self-awareness. I feel that my choice of unusual settings, my use of historical fact, my presentation of age-appropriate mystery, and my focus on lessons in self-reliance and respect for others has made The Bayshore Mysteries a unique middle grade series.

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Jerrye Sumrall lives in Spanish Fort, Alabama with her husband. Formerly an elementary schoolteacher and counselor, she is now a full-time writer, homemaker, amateur photographer and office manager for the couple’s business. She is the author of five middle grade books: Intruders on Battleship Island, The Secret Graveyard, The Mystery of Wragg Swamp, Mystery on Mound Island, and The Ghost of Blakeley Past, all part of a mystery series called, The Bayshore Mysteries.

*For more information about Jerrye Sumrall, visit her websites at http://jerrye35.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/jerryewrites?fref=ts https://twitter.com/JerryeSumrall and https://www.pinterest.com/jerryesumrall/all-things-reading-writing-teaching-and-homeschool/

*All five books in The Bayshore Mysteries can be purchased in print and e-book format at Amazon.com http://amzn.to/1ji9HE9

 

Nina Mansfield: Swimming Alone Monday, Feb 22 2016 

great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:47 am

Please welcome author Nina Mansfield, who will talk about YA crimes, real and imagined:

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The Thrill of Sneaking Out
By Nina Mansfield

It was 1987, maybe 1988, a muggy night in the middle of summer. We were camped out in the garage outside my friends’ summer home on a lake in the Adirondacks. The boys from next door had joined us. We were twelve, maybe thirteen years old, so we were doing the kind of silly stuff that kids that age used to do.

This was in an age before the internet, before cell phones, so we had to find creative ways to entertain ourselves. Someone put on a scuba suit. Someone may have suggested a game of spin the bottle. We probably spent a good deal of time playing truth or dare.

I am not sure who suggested sneaking out and walking around the lake. It would take us hours, at least five. All of the adults had long since gone to sleep. Still, we waited until past midnight. And then, amidst giggles and shushes, we started our trek.

After hiking through the forest and past sleepy lakeside cottages, we made it to the roadway. Someone seemed to know where we were going, because I certainly didn’t. I just followed. Whenever cars passed by, we would jump into a ditch on the side of the road. Sure, it was the blissfully unsupervised 1980s, but a group of pre-teens out at that time of the night would still have aroused suspicions. Not that we were doing anything illegal. And not that anyone had actually told us we couldn’t walk around the lake in the middle of the night. But we knew we were breaking all sorts of unspoken rules.

No actual crimes were committed . . . at least none that I’ll admit to. And I don’t really remember all the specifics. What I do remember is that it was one of the most thrilling nights of my life.

Any moment, we could’ve have been caught. Any moment, someone’s headlights might have spotted us. Any moment, some unseen terror in the night could have devoured us.

Maybe that’s why I included a “sneaking out” scene in SWIMMING ALONE. Because anything can happen in the wee hours of the dark. Especially if there is a serial killer on the loose.

But fifteen-year-old Cathy Banks is willing to take that risk. After all, her friend is missing.

We had no greater calling that night in the Adirondacks. We were just killing time. Luckily, there was no serial killer out there, at least none that we knew of. I’m not sure we would have been so brave if there had been. But I am glad we did it. Because 25+ years later, it is still inspiring my fiction.

SWIMMING ALONE, by Nina Mansfield
The Sea Side Strangler is on the loose in Beach Point, where fifteen-year-old Cathy Banks is spending what she thinks will be a wretched summer. Just when she begins to make friends, and even finds a crush to drool over, her new friend Lauren vanishes. When a body surfaces in Beach Point Bay, Cathy is forced to face the question: has the Sea Side Strangler struck again?

NinaMansfield2016 Nina Mansfield is a Connecticut-based writer. Her debut novel, SWIMMING ALONE, a YA mystery, was published by Fire & Ice YA in 2015. Nina has written numerous plays, which have been published and produced throughout United States and internationally. Her graphic novel FAKE ID: BEYOND RECOGNITION, illustrated by Leyla Akdogan, will be out with Plume Snake in 2016. Nina’s short mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Mysterical-E. She is a member of ITW, MWA, SinC, SCBWI, The Short Mystery Fiction Society and the Dramatists Guild.

You can read more about Nina at: http://www.ninamansfield.com; blog: http://www.ninamansfield.com/blog1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinaMansfieldWriter; Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaJMansfield
Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/ninamwriter/
Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4279557.Nina_Mansfield

SWIMMING ALONE Buy Links Print: $10.95, Ebook $4.99
• Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013Y4WE48
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/569442
• Fire & Ice: http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/ninamansfield/swimmingalone.html

 

Frederick Wysocki: On careers, lessons and sagas Sunday, Feb 21 2016 

Continued series winner and Series not to be missed , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:44 am

Please welcome thriller writer Frederick Wysocki, who will explain to Auntie M’s readers how he changed careers, the lessons he’s learned, and how he gets his inspiration for new books~

Startup
A NEW CAREER
My wife has always called me a storyteller, as if it were a bad thing. However, I never thought I could muster the patience to write a hundred-thousand word novel. Now I have written five within in just over two years and I’m currently working on number 6. (My imaginary friends keep telling me more of their secrets.)

In my first career, I was in high technology having started my first company in 1975. It involved constantly flying somewhere. During those trips, I always packed a thriller or two to read.

I retired early and was finally inspired to start my second career of writing while sharing a golf cart with a movie producer. It turned out he was playing slow because he was finalizing the writing of a novel. We talked. I told him some stories about the tech industry and he told me they were fascinating and to write them down.

I decided to try it and started to learn the craft by going to writer’s groups I found on meetup.com. I am now a Mister with the Sisters in Crime and DesertSleuths.
I still find I’m drawn to writing crime fiction novels inspired by real events.

LESSONS
The most important lessons I’ve come to learn are:
• That one should only write something you truly enjoy, as you will have to reread the darn thing a hundred times before it’s ready.
• That readers love obstacles, suspense and twists.

INSPIRATION
I find myself inspired daily by what I hear on the news and read about in technology blogs. I start by doing research then writing out a rough plot. Then I layer in subplots and decide how my characters will change. I avoid lengthy descriptions. I tend to write short chapters that are heavy on dialogue.

THE START-UP for example, started with a news headline about a still ongoing FBI investigation.
I was curious. How does someone (Anthony Rizzo) start a computer software company and sell it months later for billions of dollars? Then the buyer finds out that it was all a scam and calls in the FBI. With a diverse Board of Directors and countless lawyers and investment bankers, how does a large tech company get duped? How does the FBI deal with it? And yes, it is still in the news today. That was the plot behind THE START-UP.

BloodRivals

Against that backdrop I layered in a ‘Hero’s Quest’ character arc of a young man (Frank) facing increasingly ruthless tasks in order to make his share and how it changed him and his girlfriend.
Upon publishing, I discovered eighty percent of my readers of THE START-UP were women and they wanted to know what happened to Frank. The answer came in the form of books 3 & 4. (More on them in a minute.)

TimelyRevenge
Reader feedback also gets my creative juices flowing. Two examples of reader feedback:
• A former FBI agent told me that his first undercover job with the Bureau was similar to my plot for A Timely Revenge. He told me I got the era, events and motives of the crooks just right.
• A relative of a mob family told me she recommended my books to her family as they were the best portrayal of modern Mafia white collar crime she had ever read.

It seems every reader that meets me thinks they know each books’ inspiration and are asking me things like: is Anthony Rizzo (insert name of major CEO)?

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What happened to Frank and his girlfriend? That was the question I explored in BLOOD RIVALS and NO TIME FOR FOOLS.
The inspiration behind BLOOD RIVALS came from an interview I did with Fiona Quinn of ThrillWriting.com. I told her about a case where the FBI had mistakenly focused on the wrong suspect from an inconclusive fingerprint.

Naomi Dolphin was introduced in BLOOD RIVALS as a young female bodyguard who Frank hires.
My next novel – THE ARABIAN CLIENT – should be out in a few months and is a prequel of how Naomi went from being a maid and nanny on the island of Anguilla to becoming the bodyguard for a Saudi princess in Saudi Arabia. She struggles to overcome the Islamic culture and terrorists, as well as her clients.

THE ARABIAN CLIENT is very different for me since it’s a psychological thriller and is written from a female point of view. It goes behind the headlines and answers the questions about what is really happening in the Middle East. I’ve had Middle Eastern Muslim women review it for accuracy.

A critical part of my process is reaching out to friends who seem to know unique ways to kill someone.
For example in NO TIME FOR FOOLS:
• A doctor from Florida gave me three methods of killing someone with a cigar lighter.
• The former helicopter pilot for a USA President explained the best way to crash a jet plane without using a bomb.

FROM STAND ALONE, TO SERIES, TO SAGA
I did not start out to write more than one book, nor did I want to do a series. Now with prequels and sequels, I find myself in the midst of writing a saga.

At first, I thought I was writing a single novel, THE START-UP. Readers were all asking me what happens next for the main characters. I had already started on a prequel of Anthony Rizzo – the family crook. That became A TIMELY REVENGE.
Readers were unanimous in asking me what happened to Anthony’s nephew – Frank Moretti. Thus were born BLOOD RIVALS and NO TIME FOR FOOLS. Both those books feature a female bodyguard – Naomi – for Frank.
Readers asked me how she became a bodyguard and that is why I am currently finishing THE ARABIAN CLIENT. It chronicles Naomi, her time in Israel and her first assignment in Saudi Arabia.

Book 6 (takes place in Russia) will pick up where NO TIME FOR FOOLS left off.
As long as my real world readers keep asking me about my imaginary friends, I’ll keep writing.

Thanks very much for hosting me!

RickWysocki

My novels are available on Amazon in print and ebook.
THE START-UP – http://amzn.com/0991375602
A TIMELY REVENGE – http://amzn.com/B00OQH20U6
BLOOD RIVALS – http://amzn.com/B00SOZYCW0
NO TIME FOR FOOLS – http://amzn.com/B014E9FFAW

Website Links:
Website: http://www.frederickwysocki.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrederickWysocki
Twitter: @FredWysocki

 

Alison Bruce: The Promise, DC Gary Goodhew #6 Wednesday, Feb 17 2016 

Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for and Series not to be missed , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:55 am

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Auntie M is a huge fan of Alison Bruce’s DC Gary Goodhew series. She’s back with the sixth in the series, The Promise, and found it as compelling a read as the others in this series with the unusual protagonist, still recovering from injuries suffered in the sad and dramatic ending of The Backs, which has left him and several colleagues still reeling.

Whether Gary is up to returning yet is somewhat beside the point when the body of a homeless man who knew is found on Market Hill. The unusual signature of the murderer has the team scouring local haunts and reviewing CCTV tapes for witnesses, but as usual Gary has his own unique way of working a case.

Kyle Davidson, undoubtedly suffering from PTSD from the Afghan War, has a wife he barely tolerates and a baby boy he adores. The marriage is over, but an action by his wife sends him spiraling into a desperate scramble to protect his son, his sister and his mother. Does he tell what he knows and hope to save them all, or will that put him squarely into the bulls eye of a merciless killer?

The the investigation twists with a rented garage is found to have only one thing inside: a freezer containing the body of a murdered young woman, bearing the same signature as the homeless man. Suddenly the hunt is on for a serial killer and no one, it seems will be safe.

In Gary’s personal life, his grandmother and his police mentor have both been keeping a secret from Gary, one that happened when he was a small boy, and one that threatens now to destroy him unless they can tell him before he founds out from someone else. Although there were good reasons for keeping this secret at the time, it’s unclear how Gary will feel once he finds out he’s been lied to all these years by the very people he thought he could trust most.

Bruce’s menacing plot keep increasing as the tensions rises, all against the backdrop of Cambridge and the very different mind of a young man with incredible instincts who runs against the pack. Steve Mosby calls Bruce: “A superb writer,” and Auntie M heartily agrees.

 

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