A New Year, A New Excitement! by Paty Jager

January 8, 2018January 4, 2018 ~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Funny kids I feel like the little kid who has a secret and can barely keep from blurting it out. And I don’t really have a secret, but I do have three new Shandra Higheagle books that have me bouncing in my desk chair as I think about all the possibilities in the stories. And I will start writing the new mystery series this year. By mid-year I’ll start revealing bits and pieces about Gabriel Hawke, my new sleuth.

While I started out 2018 with a head cold given to me by my adorable grandchildren, I am beginning to pick up steam and getting more and more things accomplished in a day. That is what makes me happy and excited. The more I can accomplish, the more I can show my readers what I’ve been working on.

I know readers get excited about the next book in a series that they love, but writers, do you also get excited about revealing a new book to readers? I’m giddy thinking about the book I’m working on, Artful Murder, and the other Shandra books that will come out this year, and I’m giddy knowing I get to start a journey with a new character.

Starting a new series and getting to know the main character(s) is like dating or getting to know someone who will ultimately become your friend. First you see their physical qualities. Do they have flaws? Does that make you nervous or curious? Then you get to learn their personality. Is it flat, humorous, dark? Are they someone you think you could get along with? Do you want to spend time with them or do you want to learn more about them but keep them at a distance? How do they treat others? Animals? Do you like their voice or does it grate on you? What do they think of the subjects you are concerned about?

These are all the questions I’ll be asking my new character as I slowly build him in my mind and get ready to start his first book. But the fun part will be introducing him in book twelve of the Shandra Higheagle Mysteries. It will be interesting to see what Shandra thinks of Hawk and how they work together to solve the death of a hiker.

An FYI, you can now purchase Murderous Secrets, book 4 in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series in audio book at these audiobook outlets.

Audible – Amazon – Apple – Nook

And these:

audio book vendors

If you listen to audio books and put up reviews, leave your email in the comments section, and I’ll send you a code to download Murderous Secrets from Audible US or UK.

SH Mug Art (2)

photo source: Deposit Photos

Every Event is a Learning Experience by Paty Jager

December 11, 2017December 10, 2017 ~ patyjag ~ 6 Comments

20171203_125615 December 3rd I had the privilege of attending a 75 author signing event that had been held for 50 years at the Oregon Historical Society building in downtown Portland, Oregon.

I was hesitant to send in an application when I learned of the event but the application said they were looking for Oregon authors who had a book published in 2017 regardless of genre. I entered books 8 and 9 in my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series and the first book of an older historical Native American romance trilogy. They said you could have up to three books and as long as one was set in 2017they were good with that.

When the email came stating I had been accepted, I immediately ordered books and began to get excited for the event. It was different than most I’ve attended and was at ta place I’ve been wanting to visit for years, given the other genre I write is historical western romance. By being a signing author we received one year free use of the facility for research. That was an added bonus to me.

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They had us set out three to an 8ft table, so we were elbow to elbow and you had to be friendly with your neighbors. Almost the whole long side of one set of tables were mystery, thriller, suspense authors. One writer, say, “Welcome to Murderer’s Row,” as people walked by. The readers for this type of book were drawn in while other people made a wide circle from our tables.

I learned that attending an event such as this, you don’t take books 8 & 9 of a series. The authors whose 2017 release was the second, third, or fourth book in the series, sold the most books as readers would purchase all the books in their series. I will probably go back next year with my new historical western series and then in 2019, I can go with the first books of my new mystery series.

As a mystery reader, do you prefer starting at the beginning of a series, even if the stories can be read as a standalone?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

SH Mug Art

Guest Blogger – Wendy Tyson

November 25, 2017November 19, 2017 ~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Why I Write The Greenhouse Mystery Series

My husband and I are passionate organic gardeners. A few years ago we started our own small vegetable farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with the intention of developing it into an organic CSA (community supported agriculture). Unfortunately, things fell through with the land we were leasing and the farm never made it past its first season.

About a year later, my husband and I had driven to a solo signing at a bookstore in a small town in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. I was about a year into this whole publishing journey—my first novel, Killer Image, had been released on October 1, 2013, and the second in the series, Deadly Assets, that past July. I was still naïve enough to think, “If you have one reader, then they will come.”

Only they didn’t. My publicist and I did our best to get people there—advertised the signing on Facebook, tweeted every day leading up to the date, created an invitation, and posted the event on my website. Still, it was me, the lovely and engaging shop owner, my husband, and a plate of cookies.

I might have felt discouraged, except that a wonderful thing happened. I saw firsthand that small rural town in action. Others with shops along the quaint town center stopped in to chat with the bookstore owner. Their kids popped over after school, ate a few cookies, and then quizzed the store owner and me about the latest books. There was a buzz in the air, and despite the town’s remote location, I felt a worldly attention to life beyond its mountainous borders.

I was moved by these interactions, by the comfortable pace of life and the warmth I saw between townspeople. It dawned on me that a version of our small farm could live on—in a fictional small town in my home state of Pennsylvania. I’d been looking for a way to weave my family’s passion for organic farming and sustainable living into my novels, and here it was, served to me after a long, peaceful day in the picturesque mountains of the South.

And thereafter, Washington Acres Farm and the fiction town of Winsome, Pennsylvania were born in the form of the Greenhouse Mystery series.

I’m no stranger to small towns. I grew up outside of Philadelphia, but I spent most of my youth and young adulthood in one small town or another. Even now, I live in a small town in the Green Mountains of Vermont. But there was magic in that charming Southern small town. I wanted to share that magic.

I’m thankful for that failed book signing experience. It was a splendid reminder that sometimes we get what we need, not what we think we need.

Blurb for Seeds of Revenge

It’s time to cuddle up with a holiday whodunit. Smell the crisp pines and baking cranberries as you sip your hot apple cider. It may be the season, but the mood in Winsome is anything but jolly. Megan Sawyer is determined to farm year-round. So much so that she braves a December snowstorm to pitch her fresh greenhouse greens to Philadelphia chefs. And then she sees a stranger stranded on the side of the road.

But this woman is no stranger to Winsome. It’s Becca Fox. A love chemist (you read that right). She’s headed to her aunt’s house to sell her love potions at holiday events. Or so Becca thinks.

Her sneaky aunt only invited Becca home to reunite her with her estranged father. It sounds noble and kind-hearted, until the man ends up dead. Megan soon finds herself in the middle. She realizes Becca’s not the only one getting iced over. Megan’s own aunt, the famous mystery author, is dragged into the drama. Her novels implicate her and she’s in trouble.

Now it’s personal. Our Megan must follow a cryptic trail of literary clues, all while sifting through the victim’s sordid past. She gets closer to the truth as the murderer gets closer to her. How’s that for a ho ho ho? Don’t let your fresh apple crisp burn in the oven because you’re lost in this holiday homicide.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xTB02f

B&N: http://bit.ly/2l3jwj7

Wendy Tyson’s background in law and psychology has provided inspiration for her mysteries and thrillers. Wendy’s short fiction has appeared in literary journals, and she’s a contributing editor and columnist for The Big Thrill and The Thrill Begins, International Thriller Writers’ online magazines. She is the author of the Allison Campbell Mystery Series and the Greenhouse Mystery Series.

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/WendyTysonAuthor

http://twitter.com/wendytyson

http://instagram.com/wendy.tyson

Brainstorming another Series by Paty Jager

November 13, 2017November 12, 2017 ~ patyjag ~ 3 Comments

Besides loving thinking up ways to kill people and how to fool readers about who did it, I love coming up with a new series and characters.

That’s where I’m at now. I have three more Shandra Higheagle Mystery books to write and I’ll introduce the two main characters of my next mystery series in that third book. I’ll keep writing the Shandra books, but plan to bring out another series in 2019 that will be written this coming year.

The main character of the next series will be a male Nez Perce Fish and Game warden.

He’ll be working the area his ancestors once roamed during the summer and winter months. He’ll be a proficient tracker, asked to come help find people, and to train others. This will take him not only around the state but also to seminars, giving him an expanded area to help solve the murders.

To make this even more unique, he will spend time at a remote hunting lodge in the mountains where he works that is owned by a woman who he respects and is in love with but who he feels doesn’t deserve someone the likes of him.

She will be an independent woman who runs the hunting lodge and flies an airplane, which is one of the two ways to get to the lodge. The other is by horseback.

So far these are the only two characters I know and am still fleshing them out. There will be a superior of Hunter, that’s my name for the character right now but that could change. Still working on it. And there will be employees for the lodge.

spotted appaloosa horse in white and brown grazes on the green p — photo from depositphoto

I also need to come up with a name for Hunter’s horse. A sturdy Appaloosa/Quarter horse cross gelding. I’m also thinking about him having a dog. Perhaps part wolf or husky. Still working out these details.

I’ve been reading books by Craig Lesley. He has a male Nez Perce main character in his books. It is giving me the “feel” for how a man such as my character would think and talk. I’m enjoying the books and the getting to know my character through his characters.

As I start working on this series, I’ll keep you updated on how it’s coming along and when you can find the books.

SH Mug Art

photo of Wallowa Lake by Paty Jager

Guest Author – Carole Price

November 11, 2017September 26, 2017 ~ patyjag ~ 4 Comments

Murder never e authorphoto copy ntered my mind until I retired. I love puzzles of all kinds, but I favor a good mystery. As a teen, I listened to Inner Sanctum, Dragnet, and the Falcon on the radio. After retiring, I attended my first book signing, joined a critique group, and was on my way to thinking how I might murder someone (not literally). Opportunities come in the most unexpected ways. When our daughter moved to Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, my husband and I attended many performances. It was a life-changing experience. I fell in love with the Bard and the theater, took behind-the-scene tours, and interviewed a stage manager from the festival. Later, after I returned home, I had a phone conversation with an artistic director from the festival and thought why not bring Shakespeare to Livermore wine country, create my own theater, and add a mystery. Then I remembered Livermore does have their own Shakespeare festival of three plays over one month, yet different from my two theaters. The outdoor stage at a world-class winery is a great way to take in the works of Shakespeare.

But first, before venturing into plotting a murder I needed to understand police procedures. So I signed up and graduated from the citizens’ police academy and became a volunteer with the Livermore Police Department. I went through their daunting clearance process¾fingerprinting, drug testing, and a polygraph test¾and passed or I would have been denied access to the police station. I remain an active volunteer and have many opportunities to work with the officers and enjoy their thought-provoking encounters and learning experiences. The officers have been generous with their time to answer my questions. They even bought a few of my books.

My series takes place in Livermore, California, where I live, with scenes inside the station’s interview rooms. Because my publisher had specific rules when using the name of a real town or city, I had to get permission from the police chief and the city attorney to use one of their interview rooms in my book as long as I didn’t say anything that would portray the police department or Livermore in a negative light. Living in Livermore wine country has offered me opportunities to interview winery staff members, take winery tours, and decide where to plot a murder. I chose to create two Shakespearean theaters and vineyard on top of a hill on the outskirts of town. A private tour of one of our many wineries is how I learned where empty wine bottles were shipped from and how they are packaged. This information was useful in my newest book, Vineyard Prey, which will be released October 21, 2017.

VINEYARD PREY BLURB

front cover 2 Cait Pepper, owner of the Bening Estate, and navy SEAL Royal Tanner return to help friends who recently acquired a vineyard in Livermore, CA. Sadie, an Amish girl, and her husband Danny Lord are excited about their new adventure of owning their own vineyard until a couple agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency knock on their door with a warrant to search their property. When Danny bought the winery, he neglected to check the owners’ background.

Desperate to save her friends from danger and embarrassment, Cait is torn between where to focus her efforts to help—the Lords or the actors and her Shakespeare Festival. Cait uses her cop skills to solve the problem of finding drugs at the Lords’ vineyard while avoiding another tragedy that could put her Shakespeare Festival in peril.

About the Author

Carole Price is a Buckeye! Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, she attended The Ohio State University. She worked for a national laboratory in northern California before turning to writing mysteries. Carole fell in love with the Bard after attending plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. She graduated from the Citizens Police Academy and is an active police volunteer for the Livermore Police Department, a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She actively promotes her books at conferences, literary groups, and many other venues. Carole and her husband reside in the San Francisco Bay Area in the middle of wine country.

Amazon

https://www.theladykillers.typepad.com/caroleprice

https://www.Facebook.com/caroleprice

https://www.carolepricemysteries.com

https://www.amazon.com/author/caroleprice