Category: paranormal mystery

Guest Blogger ~ Jacqueline Diamond

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

I never thought of myself as a rule-breaker but…

One “rule” prescribed for novelists is to establish your “brand” and stick to it. Romantic comedies? Write a zillion! Medical-themed romances? Stick with that! Mysteries with a medical twist? Make that your one-and-only.

Although I have a good imagination, I can’t picture spending more than forty years writing basically the same type of book over and over. Or maybe it’s because I have a good imagination.

Since I sold my first romance (Lady in Disguise) in the early 1980s, I’ve published more than one hundred novels. They include mainstream mysteries and paranormal suspense, romantic comedies and contemporary romances.

Isn’t that enough for any writer? Well, no.

About ten years ago, after completing my Safe Harbor Medical romance series for Harlequin, I felt an urge to use that small-town hospital setting for mysteries. Since that type of novel didn’t align with Harlequin’s needs, I decided to venture into self-publishing.

I’d already begun reissuing some of my earlier books, including the mystery Danger Music, so I had a sense of the technical requirements. This turned out to be a rewarding creative decision that resulted in my Safe Harbor Medical mysteries, starting with The Case of the Questionable Quadruplet.

The four books in the series feature a young widowed doctor who solves murders in conjunction with his cranky, private investigator sister-in-law. Much as I enjoyed writing them, though, that series eventually reached what felt like a natural conclusion.

In the meantime, I’d become intrigued by cozy mysteries with talking cats, magical villages and mystical libraries. What I needed was a fresh, original take on the genre.

Coincidentally (or so I thought), with the end of the Covid lockdown, my husband and I seized the opportunity to travel to a place I’d always been intrigued by: Prague, in the Czech Republic. This turned out to be an inspired, and inspiring, choice.

Prague is a gorgeous city with an impressive literary history. We stayed at the Art Nouveau Palace Hotel, whose café was once a meeting place for artists and writers including Franz Kafka.

I’d heard tales of a golden age in Prague when Jewish intellectual life flourished. Since that’s my ancestry, I especially loved the stories of a magical rabbi who created an artificial man of clay, called a Golem, that acted as a protector for Jews.

Unfortunately, they needed one. The Austro-Hungarian empress Maria Theresa, a religious bigot (and mother of Marie Antoinette), expelled the Jews from Prague in December, 1744.

Don’t you wish you could right the wrongs of the past? Maybe I could… in fiction.

What emerged from my offbeat mind was a reimagined, alternate version of Prague, ruled by wizards. When an evil queen tried to seize their city, they pooled their powers and accomplished the near-impossible, shifting their land halfway around the world.

The disruption shook loose and redistributed their town’s intrinsic magick, with surprising results. One of these was to imbue humanlike speech into a breed of cats. Yes, talking cats!

In a realm isolated from their surroundings (the West Coast of what became the United States), their culture developed in a unique way. Nearly three hundred years later, a young woman, an orphan who has no idea she’s from this enchanted city, is “summoned” there to discover that she’s inherited the town’s ancient library from her grandmother, who’s been murdered.

To solve the mystery and bring justice for her grandmother, she has to awaken her hidden powers. Along the way, she finds a touch of a romance and realizes her longtime companion cat, Kafka, has the power of speech.

The writing process was fun and challenging, splashed with humor and danger as my heroine, Chess, and I explored this new world. The climax proved even more exciting than I’d hoped, with a dash of bravery by Kafka and his pals.

My favorite review came from National Book Award winner Neal Shusterman, who wrote, “Master storyteller Jacqueline Diamond draws you in to this magical feline mystery, enchanting you page after page. You’ll fall in love with Chess Vevoda, and the wild world she’s stumbled into!”

A Cat’s Garden of Secrets launches my Forgotten Village Magical Mystery series. It’s complete in itself—no cliffhanger endings in my novels.

Now, I’m happily writing the next book, A Cat’s Nose for Murder, with a storyline that gives Chess and her cat a new mystery to solve and a little more romance (for both of them).

A Cat’s Garden of Secrets is my 109th book. But in a sense, I feel like I’m just getting started!

A Cat’s Garden of Secrets

Awakening magical powers? Yes! Solving a murder, sure. But turning into a cat? Who, me?

On the weirdest day of my life, my cat starts talking, my car kidnaps me to a charming hidden village, and I inherit a mystical library. Plus, I discover I have superpowers!

As an orphan who grew up in foster care, I had no idea I came from an enchanted land full of furry shapeshifters, including—surprise!—me. Or that I had a gifted grandmother, who’s been murdered. Now it’s up to me, with the help of a handsome, otherworldly detective and my know-it-all cat, to uncover the truth… if someone doesn’t kill me first.

Enjoy cozy mysteries with talking animals? Love tales of awakening supernatural abilities and small-town bookstores and libraries? Discover why National Book Award winner Neal Shusterman wrote, “Master storyteller Jacqueline Diamond draws you in to this magical feline mystery, enchanting you page after page.”

Buy links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR4KYCM9

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-cats-garden-of-secrets-jacqueline-diamond/1144921034?ean=2940185636138

GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Kcn9EAAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-cat-s-garden-of-secrets

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1542627

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-cats-garden-of-secrets/id6480234897

Audio https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR5PBK9Y

USA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond has sold more than 100 novels in popular genres from fantasy to mystery to medical romance to Regency. A former Associated Press reporter, Jackie has traveled widely, and currently lives in California. Among her honors are a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and a Thomas Watson Foundation fellowship. A Cat’s Garden of Secrets launches her Forgotten Village Magical Mystery series. You’re welcome to learn more about her and her books on her website, Jacquelinediamond.net.

Guest Blogger ~ J.T. Kelly

~ patyjag ~ 4 Comments

I began my writing career after retiring at the age of 70. At the end of my first novel, protagonists Jack and Sara McCabe are thrilled to learn they’re going to have a baby. Fast forward four years later to my seventh novel. That child has grown to be twenty-year-old Amos, who has just graduated from college with a degree in anthropology and archeology.

Amos survived and even thrived in the sixth book, Missing Memories. So I wanted to explore an opportunity for him to spread his wings in another thrilling adventure.

 During research for book seven, I learned that archeologists actually found the bones of nine Neanderthals in a cave south of Rome, Italy. They also uncovered the remains of prehistoric predators, including the giant hyenas. Scientists decided the hyenas killed the Neanderthals and brought them to the cave for a feast.

Having lived in the area for a year, I decided this would be a fascinating opportunity for young McCabe. In the story, he’s invited to be part of the cave dig site.

Needing to find out as much as I could about the Neanderthals, I spent days poring over research about their lives 50,000 years ago. They faced a variety of challenges from nature, including freezing temperatures and volcanic eruptions. And from fierce beasts and humans. While humans interbred with Neanderthals, they also took them for their slaves.

The Neanderthals were skilled as hunters, both on land and in the sea, and were adept at making fire, carving wood and stone, making jewelry and weapons. But they were no match for the humans.

What would it be like for a modern day human to inexplicably enter the bizarre world of the Neanderthals? What could he teach them to help them improve their lives? Or would the experience be too threatening to even survive? That’s why I decided to write Ominous Odyssey. The story evolved during the writing process. It was an emotional experience for me but I was thrilled with the result.

Here’s part of a recap on the back cover of the novel:

Ominous Odyssey is a thriller and a love story. It takes place four years after teenager Amos McCabe escaped from kidnappers. Now, with a degree in archeology and anthropology, he receives an invitation to work at a dig site in Italy south of Rome. Archeologists discovered the bones of nine Neanderthals. The young man can’t wait to learn more of the secrets of these prehistoric people.

The lead archeologist informs Amos there are tunnels they hadn’t yet explored. His curiosity gets the better of him. The adventurer brings his headlamp and investigates before anyone arrives for work. When the young man reaches the end of a tunnel, something terrifying happens.

He discovers he’s been transported to an alternate universe of 50,000 years ago. The explorer soon realizes there’s no way to escape. What will become of McCabe? Has his exuberance gotten the better of him? Join Amos for an adventure of a lifetime.

buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYGD3XZT.

I was thrilled to see this book review in Amazon Italy: “What’s unique about this international thriller is its ability to explore the unknown. The story is intense and full of suspense, with an ending that is incredible. Ominous Odyssey is not just an adventure novel, it’s an intriguing journey that provokes reflection on what it means to be human, and how we can influence the world around us.”

My works include Fair Ways and Foul Plays, Deadly Defiance, Suite Suspicion, Formula for a Felony, Diamond Destiny, Missing Memories, and Ominous Odyssey. Prior to my writing efforts, I honed my creative skills as an advertising and communications professional.

Readers find that I reference Lake Maxinkuckee near Culver, Indiana, liberally in my novels. It was a summer vacation place that holds many fond memories from as far back as I can remember. The action or crime begins in this small community and explodes in a variety of European locales.

An avid reader, I’ve enjoyed numerous authors in the mystery, thriller, and suspense categories. As a result, I hope you’ll experience the degree of fast-paced excitement that rivals many of the most popular in these genres.

To learn more about me and to send a message, visit my website at www.kellyfairways.us. There are reviews and recaps of each book along with links to purchase them on Amazon and to provide 5-star reviews. The website also provides links to social media pages.

Guest Blogger ~ Skye Alexander

~ patyjag ~ 3 Comments

Mystery Stories and Mystery Schools

What comes to mind when you hear the word “occult”? Evil cults that worship the devil? Weird rituals where animals are sacrificed? Wizards with nefarious aims wielding power behind the scenes? If so, you probably got those impressions from Hollywood or from fear-based religious groups. Let’s pull back the dark curtain that shrouds the occult arts to discover how supernatural elements can contribute to a mystery novel’s plot.

What Does “Occult” Mean?

First of all, the word “occult” simply means hidden, as in hidden knowledge. For centuries, people who practiced the occult arts had to hide what they knew and practiced in order to avoid imprisonment, torture, and murder at the hands of misguided authorities. They formed secret societies sometimes known as Mystery Schools, passed down wisdom through symbols and oral tradition, and wrote in secret code.

Yet occult ideas and practices––witchcraft, divination, spellcasting, incantations, and magic potions––continue to fascinate us to this day. Perhaps the most famous scene in literature comes from Shakespeare’s MacBeth where three witches stir a mysterious brew while they prophesy “toil and trouble” for the Scottish king. The Bard’s plays MacBeth and Hamlet also feature ghosts, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream involves faery spells and shapeshifting. More recently, J.K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter stories have captured the imaginations of millions of young people worldwide and introduced them to some of the tenets of magic work––and its possibilities.

Using the Occult in Plotting a Story

Occult practices involve working with forces beyond the mundane, tapping into reservoirs of hidden power, and sometimes interacting with supernatural beings. Therefore, they let writers and readers step outside the ordinary limitations of a storyline. Ghosts and spirits can also expand readers’ knowledge into realms beyond the physical. In Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, for example, a murdered girl shares a perspective of the crime from her vantage point on the other side.

Oracles such as the tarot, astrology, or runes can give veiled glimpses into the future. Is someone destined to die when the Death card turns up in a tarot reading? In my mystery novels What the Walls Know and The Goddess of Shipwrecked Sailors, a tarot card reader sees trouble lurking ahead for the protagonist Lizzie Crane, which adds to the stories’ suspense.

Authors can incorporate metaphysical ideas into their novels in various ways. For example:

  • Is a character a seasoned witch or wizard, or a novice dabbling with forces she doesn’t understand, like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice?
  • Does a character pursue a metaphysical path that leads him to a discovery or danger? How does he grow from this experience?
  • If this is a historical novel, what local customs, religious beliefs, and laws affected occultists at that time? Are historical events, such as the Salem Witch Trials of the early 1690s, worthwhile additions to the book?
  • Do nonphysical entities influence a character’s decisions, aid her in solving a problem, or guide her into a realm beyond the physical one?
  • Does a character conjure a spell that works––or goes wrong––and takes the story in an intriguing direction?

Oh, and by the way, writing is a powerful form of magic. When casting a spell, you envision an outcome you want to create. Then you infuse it with color, action, emotion, intention, and passion. You experience it as if you’re living it right now. In your mind’s eye, you see the result as if it already exists––and you’re the Creator who makes it happen. Sounds like writing a novel, doesn’t it?

The Goddess of Shipwrecked Sailors

Salem, Massachusetts, Christmas 1925: When the heir to a shipping fortune hires New York jazz singer Lizzie Crane and her band to perform during the Christmas holidays, she has high hopes that the prestigious event will bring them riches and recognition. But the evening the musicians arrive, police discover a body near a tavern owned by Lizzie’s cousin––a cousin she didn’t even know she had. Soon Lizzie becomes a pawn in a deadly game between her cousin and her employer over a mysterious lady with a dangerous past.


Buy links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Shipwrecked-Sailors-Lizzie-Mystery/dp/1685124348

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-goddess-of-shipwrecked-sailors-skye-alexander/1144045510?ean=9781685124342

Author Bio:

Skye Alexander’s historical mystery novels What the Walls Know and The Goddess of Shipwrecked Sailors, the second and third books in her Lizzie Crane mystery series, use tarot cards and other occult ideas to provide clues. Skye is also a recognized authority in the field of metaphysics and the author of fifteen bestselling nonfiction books on the occult arts including The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot, and Magickal Astrology.

Facebook link

https://www.facebook.com/skye.alexander.92

Goodreads link

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198671880-the-goddess-of-shipwrecked-sailors

Video trailer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IjHJjQYpVe35nvBkMD4sMn-o2zt0skA2/view (if you can’t access it here, it’s also on the first page of my website and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgCT41caKrs

Guest Blogger ~ DL Morton

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Hiding in plain sight.

I would imagine, like many of you, my intention of becoming a writer, author, or even working in a profession where writing took a front seat could not have been further from my imagination. Although, life sometimes has other ideas that don’t require personal input. Thus, my journey to becoming a writer began, and my clues were hiding in plain sight.

It started in college. Having trouble understanding the intricate workings of the English language, a creative writing professor took pity on me and folded me under her wing, because she loved my stories. She didn’t mind my misspellings, poor placements of commas, or whether I capitalized in the right places. Teaching me the art of creative writing helped me through all my necessary credits to finish my degree. That should have been my first clue.

 After that, over the next three decades, I did anything but write stories. Until my five-year-old grandson asked me to tell him a new story. So, I made one up on the spot. It turned into his favorite. Later, he asked me to write it down, so his mom could read it to him because, “she never gets it right.” That should have been my second clue.

Thirty-three children’s books later, I wrote a novel. It’s a woman’s literary fiction about love and secrets. After years of writing stories of roughly one thousand words, from start to finish, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven with the new-found freedom of expanded word count.

What I realized later, squeezing in surprises for children’s stories, developed a knack for hiding clues in plain sight. However, not satisfied with that manuscript, I stored it for five years, unpublished. Since then, I’ve changed genres and moved on.

Last year, I pulled that story from the mothballs, and did a rewrite. My editor has since gone through it, and dubbed me a master at hiding clues. Since I’ve changed my genre to paranormal cozy mysteries, this remark was just what I needed to hear, and timely, too.

Not too long ago, I released my first book in a trilogy, called Pirate Dreams, under my pen name, DL Morton. I’ve also received several wonderful reviews and received a golden award. Not bad for someone who couldn’t, wouldn’t, and thought she shouldn’t be a writer, much less a published author.

I find my stories seem to write themselves. I only provide the physical task of typing. That was the clue that tapped me on my shoulder. Telling me to open my eyes and see the clues hidden in plain sight.

No matter what your genre, hiding clues is something most everyone will find they need to do, and when writing mysteries, they are essential. You can slip a discrete clue into the most obvious of places, and before you know it, a good mystery emerges.

The moral to this story is two-fold. One, be sure to spot your own clues. They may give you a hint as to where you should be looking.

Two, be sure to look for them in all your walks of life. You might find an opportunity or interest pop up that you never knew or realized would tickle your fancy.

Happy hiding everyone.

Pirate Dreams

A Pirate Days Festival sets off a set of circumstances that could change Ginny McCarthy’s life forever. As a reclusive insomniac, stitching together pieces of a fragmented dream about an ancient pirate legend proves more difficult than she imagined. Determined to find the truth, Ginny’s forced to seek help through unlikely and untrusted sources. Calling on her best friend for support, they navigate through unusual and dangerous situations. Together, they face suspicions and risks as they try to understand the meaning of her dreams.

https://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Dreams-Ginny-McCs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0C2JW6TN7

An established author of children’s books, DL Morton is branching out to adult fiction. She’s now working on a mystery series starring Ginny McC and a stand alone women’s literary fiction novel. She lives in an author’s paradise in the mountains of Northern California.

Website:
http://dlmortonbooks.com

A Holiday Mystery Anthology

~ patyjag

Last January, my author co-op, Windtree Press, had a quarterly meeting and it was decided we’d put out a mystery anthology, since we had 8 authors in the group who wrote mystery/suspense/thriller books. We chose to make it have a holiday theme and every story had to have or mention a dead body. That and the length were the guidelines.

We set dates by when the short stories had to be sent to the person editing (me) and when I had to have all the stories ready for the person formatting, and when they had to have it ready to publish. It was fun reading each authors stories and helping them where they needed to beef up the mystery or flesh out a character. Once the author and I were happy with the story, I then sent it on to another author in the group to proofread.

In the end we have 10 completely different, yet entertaining mystery stories.

CRIME NEVER TAKES A HOLIDAY

A cornucopia of ten cozy mystery stories that are perpetrated during holidays from New Years to Christmas. This collection explores unexplained disturbances, college pranks gone wrong, and almost always one or more murders around a holiday. Solve these spooky crimes that lurk beneath celebratory parties and help search for the murderers. Kick off your shoes, grab a warm drink and snuggle into a blanket before you get lured onto the sparkling snow for the next crime spree.

A Body on the 13th Floor by Paty Jager
Dead Ladies Don’t Dance by Robin Weaver
Took Nothing Left Nothing by Pamela Cowan
Busted for Bones by Dari LaRoche
Yuletide Firebug by Kathy Coatney
Starry Night Murder by Mary Vine
The Twelfth Night Murder by Ann Chaney
Blue Christmas by Melissa Yi
Two Turtle Doves by Maggie Lynch
Five Golden Rings by Kimila Kay

https://books2read.com/u/b6zYgp

A Body on the 13th Floor by Paty Jager

Dela Alvaro, head of security for the Spotted Pony Casino, has a dead body in an elevator on New Year’s Eve. The unfortunate soul was stuck between the 12th and 14th floors when he met his demise.

This short story pulls together a good number of the cast from my Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries series. I had a fun time coming up with the plot and making it as interesting as I could in a short amount of time. I think all writers should not only write novel length stories but also write short stories to help hone their skills and learn to tell a story in few words but ones that can make an impact.

If you grab a copy, I hope you enjoy the mysteries!