Category: Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger ~ Deni Starr

~ patyjag

My interest in mysteries may stem from my sister’s attempt on my life when I was young, re-enacted in this photo by my father some time later. Knowing my father, he probably did ten takes of this before he got one he was satisfied with.

            I have a series put out by Silverleaf Publishing which has co-protagonists Sean O’Conner a retired boxer and his friend- then business partner then wife, Cindy Matasar, FBI trained private investigator. By book five, “Down for the Count” they are engaged and running their own private investigative service, Sean providing the money and muscle, Cindy the expertise.

            The plot for “Down for the Count” originated because I was watching a documentary, “Spotlight” about how the Boston Globe exposed child abuse by local Catholic priests and I thought this subject would be a good back story for a mystery, so I did an intensive amount of research on the history of the problem and the legal proceedings in America. I was surprised to learn that celibacy has nothing to do with it. That had been my original assumption.

            In my book, I tried to very hard to be fair, and being a former public defender who believes in presumption of innocence, the priest in my book (spoiler alert) proves to not be guilty of abusing a boy. I tried to balance that out with real victims so as to not give the impression that its common for children to lie about having been victimized, and include both unfair prejudices against priests and some documented bigotry on the part of priests, hoping to cover all the angles. Several of the books I read were by priests who want the church to fix this problem, as well as one book by a woman who was abused as a child, became a nun, and now leads a SNAP (victims of priests) support group. I also added current events since during the time that I wrote this book, there were a number of articles about a formal Seattle archbishop being accused, and a meeting of the American Bishops on this subject and some of the changes they made to address it. There was also a spate of articles regarding a dispute between a cardinal and Pope Francis because the cardinal in question felt the problem would be solved if Pope Francis would kick out all the gay priests, and there were claims that suspected offenders were being moved around so claims against them could be ignored. It was a change for me to see current newspaper articles on my subject since my former subjects have been World War I, World War II, and Victorian England. I did the research of World War II for book four of the series, “Saved by the Bell” because the villain (and I have no idea why I did this) belonged to the Arrow Cross after the Nazi’s invaded Hungary, so I checked out that history and learned about the Gold Train- a train loaded with loot stolen from Jewish Hungarians that the SS tried to sneak out of Hungary when it looked like the Russians were going to win. That train was captured by Allies and the goods redistributed, but there is also believed to have been a similar attempt made in Poland with the “Ghost Train” which so far, no one has found, which I’m thinking of using as a subject for another book.

DOWN FOR THE COUNT

Very reluctantly, retired boxer Sean O’Conner and former public defender investigator Cindy Matasar now running their own investigation firm, agree to look into charges of sexual abuse on behalf of a priest accused of molesting a little boy. Sean hates the idea, but his brother, Father John, knows Father Damien and is confident there is something wrong with the allegations. Sean has his fingers crossed that it’s a simple case of mistaken identity. No such luck

            Sean and Cindy set about interviewing men who had been in the Catholic Youth Boxing Program as boys, and other priests who coached in the program, or who will vouch for Father Damien. Just when they think they’ve locked in evidence to exonerate the ninety-year-old defendant, they receive a mysteries missive that heads them in the other direction and just when they think they got that sorted out, Father Damien is found dead in what Sean thinks a clear-cut case of suicide, an admission of guilt, but which the Church insists was an accident.

            Dogging their footsteps and filing professional complaints against them, are the investigators who are in-house with the law firm hired by the Church’s insurance company who are investigating the rest of the allegations against all the other named priests. They are supposed to be on the same team, but professional jealous is causing more than just friction. When Sean figures out that Father Damien’s death was neither suicide nor accident but murder, his rivals take credit for the discovery, leading to yet more complications and additional deaths.

            Now Sean and Cindy are in a race against time to find out who is responsible before the killer discovers that they are the one’s finding all the clues, and gets to them first.  

Buy link:

https://a.co/d/gS0tum3

Deni Starr, a native Portlander and fourth generation Oregonian, a fact she intends to mention prominently should she ever run for office, started devoting her time to writing novels after out-growing the practice of law. She has five novels published by Silverleaf Publishing featuring her ex-professional boxer, Sean O’Conner and his professional investigator friend, Cindy Matasar who investigate boxing themed mysteries set in contemporary Portland. They are “Below the Belt” “Sucker-Punched”, “Throwing in the Towel.”, “Saved by the Bell”, and “Down for the The Count”. She also has “Murder by the Sea” by Launchpoint Press

            The author attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and graduated with Honors and Special Distinction majoring in English with an emphasis on creative writing and journalism. The Author then attended Willamette Law School in Salem, Oregon, and practiced law while also obtaining her black belt in Wu Ying Tao karate. Her law practice emphasized representing women victims of gender crimes, appellate law, and indigent criminal defense. She also has a background in private investigation.

            She lives in Portland with her two dogs, Ekaterina Vitalia Dementiava, and Alexandretta Elena Dementiava, and her two cats, Mad Max and Mocha.

Denistarrmysteries.com

Deni Starr Author- FB

Guest Blogger ~ Karen Randau

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Where Ideas Are Born

People often ask where I get the ideas for my books. Like most authors, I get flashes of genius from a variety of sources: news stories, dreams, walking down the street, people watching, or just standing in the shower. The idea for the Peach Blossom Romantic Suspense series struck when my sister and I visited the small town of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which is where the Cherokee Nation is headquartered.

Family lore says we descend from Cherokee ancestors, and that trip to Tahlequah started an effort to find those ancestors, especially after we saw the statue of an ancient Cherokee chief with the same last name as some of our relatives. We found our Cherokee ancestors, but we were disappointed to discover we can’t be members of the Cherokee Nation.

The reason is that in the 1800s, Native Americans who could live as white people, did. That’s what our ancestors did. They aren’t listed on what’s called the Final Dawes Roll, which is a registry of Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes in the east and resettled to what is now Oklahoma and parts of the neighboring states. That area was called Indian Country. You may recognize that name from old western movies.

But back to Tahlequah and where I got the idea for the Peach Blossom Romantic Suspense series.

Tahlequah’s prominent sidewalk documents the history of the Cherokee Nation. Walking that sidewalk made me want to write a book set in the area.

My fictional town of Peach Blossom is near Tahlequah. Each novel in the Peach Blossom Romantic Suspense series can be read as a standalone book, but you’ll get more backstory on the town and the characters by reading them in order.

The first book, Into the Fog (available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook), contains references to the Cherokee Nation culture and art. The most recent book, From Chaos, features the victim in book 1, Kelsey White. Her love interest, Gregorio Moreno, is the best friend of the co-protagonist in book 1.

Kelsey fled her ex-husband’s family in Boston with too many dangerous secrets to risk sharing. Gregorio shields his broken heart with an adrenaline-filled lifestyle and one-night stands. For the eight months of their platonic friendship, Gregorio’s reputation has caused Kelsey to keep him at arm’s length. She’ll only see him in groups.

He finally talks her into a solo date without all their friends to chaperone, and, wouldn’t you know it, they witness an execution-style murder. The killers see them, and they’re now on the run. To survive, they must face their fears, flaws, secrets, and the lies they tell themselves.

The idea for From Chaos hit me when I was writing Into the Fog and wanted to tell Kelsey’s full story and not let her remain a victim.

Stay tuned for the third book in the series, Deadly Christmas Secret, which should be released, you guessed it, around Christmas time. The idea for that story happened when I saw a news report about a car crashing into someone’s house.

I just learned Into the Fog  made the finals in the Selah 2023 awards under romantic suspense. And the audiobook is now available. https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Into-the-Fog/dp/B0BXML32RJ/r

From Chaos

Book 2 in the Peach Blossom Romantic Suspense Series

After Kelsey White is forced to flee from her ex-husband’s family with soul-crushing secrets she can’t risk revealing, she hides in the small farming community of Peach Blossom, Oklahoma, but she finds herself in a situation more dangerous than ever before. Gregorio Moreno uses extreme sports and shallow relationships to shield his heart from the pain of his wife disappearing with no explanation. His only contact with her in two years are the divorce papers he received shortly after she left. The second Greg meets Kelsey, he knows she’s the blonde of his dreams.

But for eight months of a platonic friendship, the mysterious Kelsey only agrees to see Greg in groups. He finally convinces to join him for a solo dinner date, and their lives are turned upside down by witnessing a murder. The killers are now stalking them, seeming to anticipating Kelsey and Greg’s every move. With no one else to turn to, Kelsey and Greg must outwit their pursuers or risk becoming victims themselves.

Follow the riveting story of two friends with very different backgrounds whose traumas convince them they aren’t good enough for a second chance at love. But will the murderers let them have their happily ever after they crave?

Get From Chaos today to discover if Kelsey and Greg escape their chaos!

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTK977YS

Karen Randau is an award-winning and chart-topping author of fast-paced, clean mystery and suspense books, all with at least a dash of romance. After a childhood of moving too many times for her to pinpoint where she grew up, she planted roots in the mountains of Arizona, where constant exposure to nature means creative ideas abound.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/karenrandauauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klrandau

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/klrandau

Website: https://www.karenrandau.com

Guest Blogger ~ June Trop

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Ancient Roman Forensics

As the author of the Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series set in first-century CE Roman-occupied Alexandria, I regularly research the investigative techniques used in Roman times. In writing my latest book, The Deadliest Deceptions, a collection of short mysteries ranging from cozy to noir, I found myself focusing on Roman forensics. No, the Romans didn’t know about fingerprints and DNA, but in time, their courts accepted evidence based on blood spatters, dental characteristics, and pattern recognition.

Perhaps the most famous case based on blood spatters was “The Wall of Handprints”, in which a blind son was accused of killing his father for his inheritance. The prosecution argued that the father was asleep with his wife, his son’s stepmother, when his son stabbed him to death. Furthermore, the father died instantly without having awakened his wife, and the son left a trail of intermittent handprints and blood spatters on the wall from their room back to his own.

On the other hand, the defense attorney claimed that it was the stepmother who killed her husband. Upset that she would lose the inheritance, she framed her stepson. The lawyer successfully argued that the son, being blind, would not have left intermittent prints. Rather he would have dragged his hand along the wall. So, despite their lack of knowledge about the components of blood, the Romans used its prints and spatters to reconstruct the crime.

Julia Agrippina, a.k.a. Agrippina the Younger, used dental characteristics to confirm that Lollia Paulina was dead. Having ordered Paulina’s suicide, Agrippina confirmed her rival’s death by asking for Paulina’s head and inspecting the teeth herself. She must have been satisfied because she did not have anyone else killed for five more years.

Pattern recognition marks convinced the Roman emperor Tiberius that his praetor’s wife died by murder rather than suicide. He saw drag marks and other signs of a struggle to contradict the husband’s claim that his wife had jumped out the window while he was sound asleep. Tiberius referred the matter to the Senate, but alas, the praetor opened his veins instead.

        Roman forensics may date back two thousand years, but even modern evidence from blood spatters, dental characteristics, and pattern recognition can be wrongfully interpreted. Just not in my stories. You can depend on Miriam bat Isaac and her assistants to look at wounds, loss of body heat, skeletal proportions, blood spatters, foot prints, and disturbed foliage to assess a crime correctly.

THE DEADLIEST DECEPTIONS

Enter the world of first-century CE Roman Alexandria and participate in the perilous adventures of Miriam bat Isaac, budding alchemist and sleuth extraordinaire. Join her and her deputy Phoebe as they struggle to solve nine of their most baffling cases beginning with the locked-room murder of a sailor in which Miriam is baffled by not just who killed the sailor but how he could have died and how the killer could have entered and escaped from the room.

But be careful as you accompany them into the city’s malignant underbelly. Whether or not you can help them solve the crimes, your blood will flow faster as you escape to that world of adventure we all long for.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon for Kindle    https://www.amazon.com/Deadliest-Deceptions-Collection-Miriam-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BT3W7V1B

Amazon for Paperback   https://www.amazon.com/Deadliest-Deceptions-Collection-Mysteries-Mystery/dp/1685122752

June Trop and her twin sister Gail wrote their first story, “The Steam Shavel [sic],” when they were six years old growing up in rural New Jersey. They sold it to their brother Everett for two cents.

“I don’t remember how I spent my share,” June says. “You could buy a fistful of candy for a penny in those days, but ever since then, I wanted to be a writer.”

As an award-winning middle school science teacher, June used storytelling to capture her students’ imagination and interest in scientific concepts. Years later as a professor of teacher education, she focused her research on the practical knowledge teachers construct and communicate through storytelling. Her first book, From Lesson Plans to Power Struggles (Corwin Press, 2009), is based on the stories new teachers told about their first classroom experiences.

Now associate professor emerita at the State University of New York, she devotes her time to writing The Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series. Her heroine is based on the personage of Maria Hebrea, the legendary founder of Western alchemy, who developed the concepts and apparatus alchemists and chemists would use for 1500 years.

As an award-winning middle school science teacher, June Trop used storytelling to capture her students’ imagination and interest in scientific concepts. Years later as a professor of teacher education, she focused her research on the practical knowledge teachers construct and communicate through storytelling. Her first book, From Lesson Plans to Power Struggles (Corwin Press, 2009), is based on the stories new teachers told about their first classroom experiences.

Now associate professor emerita at the State University of New York, she devotes her time to writing The Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series. Her heroine is based on the personage of Maria Hebrea, the legendary founder of Western alchemy, who developed the concepts and apparatus alchemists and chemists would use for 1500 years.

June, an active member of the Mystery Writers of America, lives with her husband Paul Zuckerman, where she is breathlessly recording her plucky heroine’s next life-or-death exploit.

Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044318365389

Website       https://www.junetrop.com/

Guest Blogger ~ Patricia Crandall

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

RABBITS, BUNNIES, WHISKERS AND HOP!

Why do I write? The answer lies in the fact I enjoy reading. It all began with Uncle Wiggley Longears, the rabbit gentleman stories by Howard Garis. At bedtime at our house in the nineteen forties, my father would entertain me and my siblings with his own version of an ‘Uncle Wiggley Adventure.’ After an ending, “And if the turnips do not fall into the cabbage patch traps and get eaten by the turtle tribe, tomorrow I will tell you about Uncle Wiggley’s narrow escape from the falling tree near ‘Henry’, the covered bridge.” (In Vermont, covered bridges are named). With an eager readiness at the next bedtime, three children sat in anticipation as my father struggled to fabricate a new Uncle Wiggley adventure.

            I learned early that children’s authors captivate a child’s and an adult’s imagination in a magical, mind-stretching manner that no other writer can do. The children/young adult authors who are repeatedly read in our home and are impressive masters to follow are: Howard Garis, Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, Laura

Inglis Wilder, J.K. Rowlings, Carolyn Keene, Franklin Dixon, E.B. White and Lewis Carroll.

            Children’s authors often pen a story for a particular child as Clement Moore did when he wrote the renowned poem, ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ to satisfy his children’s need for a Christmas story. A child has an imagination filled with wonder and welcomes all types of zany and horrific tales. Put it all together and zap – Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

            I have written a story entitled, ‘The Polka Dot Mystery,’ with my three grandchildren. It began on a rainy day when the children complained there was nothing to do. I pulled out pencils and paper. We sat around the kitchen table and began with the oldest child creating a sentence first. Then the second child added her sentence, followed by a grandson’s wacky sentence. My sentence came next and balanced his morbid one. We continued to do this until we had completed a story, ‘The Polka Dot Mystery.’ To our surprise, it was published in a children’s magazine.

            The next time you browse through a bookstore, check out the children’s section. And watch out for rabbits – they have multiplied in the story market. Hop to it!

Ten-year-old Wyatt and eleven-year-old Hannah uncover the dark world of illegal dog fights when they trespass at a Vermont farm and peep through a barn window. And when crotchety old Lester Cranshaw’s dog, Paddy, turns up missing, there is no holding him back from investigating the situation and the kids join in. In the dead of night, after the trio are captured and held hostage at the Inglis farm, Wyatt will need all of his wits and courage to escape in order to save the lives of his friends. The Dog Men draws the reader into a tempest of animal abuse, lawlessness, and kidnapping within the confines of small-town happenings. A chilling plot and a peerless relationship between kids, adults and pets.

Buy links:

https://shoptbmbooks.com/The_Dog_Men.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1614684669

Patricia Crandall has published nine books as well as numerous articles and short stories in various magazines and newspapers.  Books to date include: Melrose, Then and Now, a historical volume, I Passed This Way, a poetry collection, The Dog Men, a thriller, Tales of an Upstate New York Bottle Miner, non-fiction, Pat’s Collectibles, a collection of short stories, Living to One Hundred Plus, a collection of interviews of women living past one hundred and a y/a thriller about child sex trafficking titled The Red Gondola and the Cova. A Reunion of Death is a Christmas mystery in the method of Agatha Christie. Patricia is also working on a unique book of short story mysteries to be published in 2023. A member of Sisters in Crime (Mavens) and National Association of Independent Writer & Editors she lives with her husband, Art, and a rescue cat, Bette, at Babcock Lake in the Grafton Mountains near Petersburgh, New York. She has two children and three grandchildren who live nearby.

Patricia’s blog

Patricia’s website

Guest Blogger ~ Suzanne Baginskie

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

How Entering a Contest Advanced My Goal to Authorship

Readers and writers are always interested in how I started writing my first romantic suspense book and developed it into a series. After nineteen years of submitting and selling short mystery and romance fiction, I entered a Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel contest in 2018. Their guidelines asked for a blurb and a synopsis. I literally had to devise a fictional story plot! Challenged, I sat at my desk and created Dangerous Charade in less than two weeks. I submitted my idea and waited for the results.

When the email for round one arrived, fifty novel premises were accepted and one of them was mine. I’d made it in. Now the next request required three written chapters. Time of the essence, I thought of nothing else. I fleshed-out the characters, added the crime and suspense, and weaved in romantic affairs of the heart. I worked hard, rewrote, and polished them again, and when the due date arrived, I hit send.

Three weeks later I heard the news, my entry made it in along with twenty-four other writers. Their last instructions asked for the full novel. Competition was stiff. We had a month, but time flew by fast as life got in the way. It wasn’t easy, but I applied myself and soon wrote: The End. I submitted my manuscript and hoped for the best.

In the meantime, I started another book and patiently waited. The day that final emailed response appeared in my inbox, I held my breath and clicked it opened. The message brought both good and bad news, I’d made it into the last ten entries but only one novel could win, and it wasn’t mine. Rejection hurt, but I had completed my first novel.

When COVID-19 reared its ugly head for the second year in 2021, I saw a call out for romance novels from a traditional publisher, Magnolia Blossom Publishing. I immediately revised and submitted Dangerous Charade. A couple of weeks later, I was offered a contract through a Zoom video call. When they asked me for a series name book two was half finished. It had a different set of characters and crime, but I used the same FBI agents premise. The terrible danger these partners faced together trying to catch criminals and stay alive allowed an emotional relationship to blossom between them. So, I chose FBI and the second word Affairs for the title. It hinted at the hazards of working undercover and affairs of their hearts. Thus, the FBI Affairs Series was born.

I continued the theme and completed Dangerous Revenge-Book two, and Dangerous Innocence-Book three. Each of my novels introduce you to new FBI protagonists who are involved in bizarre criminal situations. They can be read in or out of order, as each novel is a standalone.

Entering that contest in 2018 advanced my goal for authorship. Thankfully, it pointed me in the direction of writing characters who thrived on dangerous ventures, took ultimate risks, and in the end fell in love along the way. Check out my FBI Affairs Series.

Suzanne Baginskie

Dangerous Charade

Book one of the FBI Affairs Series

When an undercover sting in a Las Vegas Casino goes wrong, FBI Agent Noelle Farrell’s cover is blown, and someone wants revenge. Noelle’s sent to Florida under the Witness Protection Program where she runs into her old partner, Agent Kyle Rivers. A man she worked closely with and admired. Kyle’s mourning his father. He failed to keep him safe from a deadly stalker. Deep in hiding, someone targets Noelle. She fears for her safety. Noelle leans into her faith and struggles to keep her independence. Kyle vows to protect Noelle, unaware she has a secret—one her assailants already know. 

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JPCX2CX

Suzanne Baginskie and her husband, Al, left New Jersey and relocated to the west central coast of Florida. She’s been writing ever since her mother gifted her a five year diary for her eighth birthday. Unknowingly, her mother’s inspirational nudge helped the writer inside her emerge. She recently retired from a law firm as a paralegal-office manager. Now she writes daily spinning tales of romantic suspense that pair tantalizing mystery with compelling romance. She starts each day with a four mile walk and meditates on her current writing project. A voracious reader, she supports her local library association as a friend. She loves traveling, especially on cruise ships. Most sea days on board, you’ll find her plotting stories outside on the deck gazing at the ocean. Currently, she is working on her fourth book in the series.

Website: http://www.suzannebaginskie.com