Jenn McKinlay: How lucky am I have to have both of my plot group buddies releasing books this month? Today, we're celebrating Kate Carlisle's fabulous addition to her Fixer Upper Mystery Series, the one that the Hallmark Mystery channel made into a TV series! PREMEDITATED MORTAR came out on Dec 1st and it is FANTASTIC! But before I spoil it, here's Kate to tell you more about it.
Have you ever discovered something about an old friend that was so surprising that it changed your perception of them? I don’t mean anything sinister, like they poisoned their first-grade teacher. I’m talking about things such as you found out that your strait-laced, twinset-wearing, PTA president friend used to ride Harleys. Or your friend who eschews makeup and all things girlie was once queened Miss Rutabaga. Or your crotchety next-door neighbor was once a child actor in a popular TV show.
Maybe that only happens in California.
One of the reasons I love reading—and writing—long-running mystery series is because we get to know more and more about the characters as the series goes on. We discover new facets of characters, which makes them all the more real to us.
For writers, it’s tricky, because we have to stay true to the characters. We can’t reveal something about a character that contradicts something readers already know to be true. Not without a plausible explanation of the discrepancy that doesn’t invalidate the events and motivations of earlier books. That makes readers feel betrayed.
The way around this is to withhold details of a character’s past unless it’s relevant to the story. That gives writers more freedom in books to come.
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| AVAILABLE NOW! |
In Premeditated Mortar, readers will learn something new about Shannon Hammer’s best friend Jane. (If you haven’t read the Fixer-Upper Mysteries yet, not to worry. You can jump in with Premeditated Mortar without feeling lost. The mystery is self-contained.) All the way back in book two, This Old Homicide, Jane’s last living relative was killed. But I didn’t go into a lot of detail about why she was raised by her beloved uncle Jesse or what happened to her parents. Now, in Premeditated Mortar, readers will discover Jane has a very personal and poignant connection to the abandoned asylum outside of Lighthouse Cove. And a very special reason why she’s determined, with Shannon’s help, to bring joy back to the rundown building by turning it into the premiere luxury hotel in Lighthouse Cove.
With loads of humor throughout.
Here’s a little sneak peek from Premeditated Mortar to show you the kind of friendship Shannon and Jane enjoy. Shannon’s boyfriend Mac has just discovered her behind a half-demolished wall, where she was pushed by unseen hands.
“Is she here?” a woman cried out.
I groaned out loud. That was Jane. She was going to kill me.
“Tell her I’m not here,” I muttered.
Mac laughed. “Sorry, babe. You’ll have to tell her that yourself.”
“Damn it,” I grumbled.
“Shannon! Oh my God, she’s not moving.” She sobbed. “Is she alive?”
“Of course I’m alive, I groused.
“Good,” Jane said. “Because I’m going to kill you.”
I sighed. “I know.”
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| AVAILABLE NOW! |
Where can you get your hands on Premeditated Mortar? At any bookstore or ebook retailer. To make it easy for you, here are a few links:
Amazon - https://amzn.to/39pZqUC
Apple Books - https://apple.co/2PKCKGW
Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/32kjsxE
Google - http://bit.ly/2wsdDlC
Indiebound - http://bit.ly/3cFMk82
Kobo - http://bit.ly/38m4RCP
Murder by the Book - https://bit.ly/33yFQE2
Mysterious Galaxy - https://bit.ly/32zlbjO
Poisoned Pen - https://bit.ly/2FBAtMf
Share an interesting fact about yourself that might surprise people who don’t know you well. I’ll start—for years, I worked in television production. Okay, your turn! I’ll choose five random commenters to receive a Fixer-Upper Mystery measuring tape!!!
