Happy Release Day: BOOKING FOR TROUBLE!

 

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JENN McKINLAY: BOOKING FOR TROUBLE, my 16th and final (maybe, probably, idk, we'll see) Library Lover's Mystery is out on Tuesday, the 24th! I didn't want to interrupt What We're Writing Week, so I'm sharing my celebratory release day post a couple of days early.

First, I have to acknowledge how gorgeous this cover is! Julia Green has been the artist for this series since book one and I have loved every single cover she has created for this series. I feel truly blessed by the cover gods to have been lucky enough to have her illustrate my world. Thank you, Julia!

Sixteen books ago I introduced librarian Lindsey Norris with a knack for finding bodies and a talent for solving murders in BOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING and somehow that mystery turned into the Library Lover’s series. Sixteen books. Which feels a little like saying I raised a child to driving age and now someone has handed her car keys.

Let’s be honest: series fatigue is real. There comes a moment when you look at your beloved fictional town and think, “What fresh havoc can I possibly wreak upon you?” I’ve hunted for treasure, hosted book sales, planned weddings, solved cold cases, and, yes, discovered more bodies than any self-respecting small town should statistically allow. 

And yet.

Leaving this world feels less like typing “The End” and more like packing up a house to leave a town you’ve lived in for years. I know which floorboards creak. I know which of my neighbors is a busy body. I know exactly how the light falls through the windows in autumn. Walking away is practical. It’s smart. It’s probably overdue.

It's also heartbreaking.

These characters have been my daily companions. They’ve surprised me, comforted me, and occasionally refused to cooperate (looking at you, character who refused to be murdered). Saying goodbye feels like moving away from home—necessary for growth, but oh, the ache.

Still, every good series deserves a final chapter. And if I’ve learned anything from my years as a librarian, it’s this: when one story ends, another is waiting on the shelf.

Thank you, Readers, for joining me on this journey. I've loved every second of it. And who knows, maybe there'll be another...I never say never.

Reds and Readers, how do you feel when a beloved series ends? 

SUSAN SHEA AT A CROSSROADS.

 RHYS BOWEN:  I've just released book Twenty in my Molly Murphy series and I've found myself wondering when it might be time to walk away. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying her, and Lady Georgie, but there must come a time when a series comes to a logical end, mustn't there?

Anyway, this is what my guest today is pondering at the moment. Susan Shea is a dear friend and neighbor, allowing me to share plenty of cups of coffee or fish and chips while we mull over books and the publishing world. So I'll let you tell her about it...

SUSAN SHEA: Hi Reds, It’s such a treat to be back visiting some of my absolute favorite authors! My newest book, MURDER AND THE MISSING DOG, has just launched. It’s the fourth one set in the rural towns of the Yonne region of Burgundy, largely off the tourist path, but brimming with small pleasures, great food – and mysteries, of course!

 

I’m right now deciding if I’ll continue to write about my cast of ex-pats and their neighbors or veer in a new direction. I already had to say goodbye to Dani O’Rourke, the smart professional woman at the heart of that three-book series, and it made me sad. Now, it could be au revoir to Ariel Shepard and her friends as well as their quirky French hosts. It’s a big decision.

 Some of the Reds write stand-alones. Others write series. Have you ever contemplated giving your series characters a grand send-off, or letting them drift into the fog? And if you’re a wizard with stand-alones, do you ever think that staying with your characters as they move past one crisis might be intriguing? What do readers want?

 Info about the book:

 MURDER AND THE MISSING DOG is the second book in a series set in and around a modest, dilapidated château in Burgundy. American Ariel Shepard inherited it from her romantic husband, who secretly bought it after they visited the grounds on their honeymoon. He died suddenly before he could have it restored. She has moved to the rural town and taken on the challenge, making friends and finding a collection of off-beat local workers. She’s also found trouble, in this case the body of an eccentric old woman from the town crumpled on the doorstep of her friend Katherine’s little shop. The gendarmes are on the scene almost immediately and she and her two friends, who became entangled in a former homicide investigation, are warned not to get involved. But the police aren’t interested in the missing dog, which was Madame Toussaint’s constant companion. Ariel, Katherine, and their young English friend Pippa see no harm in looking for the dog, but of course that leads them right into the heart of the bigger mystery.

 Bio:

 Susan says she’s been writing since she was old enough to read. She left a career in non-profits to write crime fiction because it looked like more fun. She’s written three highly praised murder mystery series all of which are available in one or more formats: The Dani O’Rourke Mysteries; two Burgundy novels; and the French Château series that takes place in the same neighborhood as the first Burgundy novels. The newest château novel was published March 5. They’re all traditional-cozy style, laced with humor. Susan is past president of the Norcal Sisters in Crime chapter, and served five years on the SinC national board. She lives with two cats, blogs with some dynamite authors at 7CriminalMinds, and has an author page on Facebook. www.susancshea.com .

RHYS: Who could resist a book with a dog on the cover AND lovely French houses AND sunshine!

Susan will be giving away a signed copy to one of today's commenters!

What If? a guest post by Sherry Harris

LUCY BURDETTE: We love having old friends visit and we love watching their careers blossom. Today Sherry Harris asks a question that is dear to my heart--how in the world can a writer keep a long-running series fresh? I can't wait to hear her ideas...Welcome Sherry!

SHERRY HARRIS: Thanks, Reds for having me back to celebrate the release of Absence of Alice the ninth Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery. I still have to pinch myself and ask if this writing/publishing adventure is real. I met Lucy, Hallie, and Hank through the New England chapter of Sisters in Crime back when being published was just a glimmer in my eye and a hope in my heart. I’ve been lucky enough to meet the other Reds along the way and all of you are such amazing supporters of other writers. Thank you for all you do for the writing community. 

As any series author will tell you one priority is keeping things fresh. The series starts out with Sarah reeling and wounded from a recent devastating divorce. Her relationship ebbs and flows with her ex. Also for the first few books (I know some of you hate love triangles) she’s also involved on various levels with the county district attorney. She’s also living in a small town without a lot of friends, but builds relationships through the books. 

That brought me to book nine. How could I change things up in this book? In the first book in the series Sarah is at odds with the police. They don’t trust her and she doesn’t trust them. But since that book she has developed a good relationship with the police. It grew slowly over the series until the police eventually ask for her help in the murder of a young Air Force spouse in the eighth book, Sell Low, Sweet Harriet. They know Sarah can go places and hear things that they can’t. 

Sarah has developed deep friendships with not only a couple of police officers, but with the people of the town of Ellington. She has a deepening relationship with the county district attorney, Seth. She’s also turned to Mike the “Big Cheese” Titone, a mobster who also has a good side, for help. So at this point in Sarah’s life, she’s in a good place. 

That’s when I asked myself “what if?” It’s how many writers start a story. We see or hear something that makes us ask ourself what if. What if that woman jogging through the woods is really running for her life? What if that woman sitting in her car crying just killed her husband? What if that man yelling at the store clerk just lost his job and is desperate? 

My big what if for Absence of Alice was “what if Sarah couldn’t rely on all the people she’s come to rely on over the series?” As soon as that thought hit me, I was itching to write the story. When Sarah’s landlady and friend is kidnapped, the kidnapper calls her and gives her three rules to follow if she ever wants to see her landlady again. The first one is that she can’t contact the police, Seth, or Mike the “Big Cheese” Titone. He will know if she does.

Sarah tests the rule soon after to devastating consequences. The next questions I asked myself were “what will happen to Sarah when and if the police, Mike, and her boyfriend find out she’s been lying to them. Will they ever trust her again? Can she repair the damage that’s been done? Sarah ponders these things even as she races to find her landlady. 

Do you ask yourself “what if” when you go about your day? 

Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery series set in the panhandle of Florida. She is a past president of Sisters in Crime and a member of Mystery Writers of America. Sherry loves books, beaches, bars, garage sales, and Westies — not necessarily in that order. Sherry is also a patent holding inventor. Sherry, her husband, and guard dog Lily are living in northern Virginia until they figure out where they want to move to next. 

Blog: Wickedcozyauthors.com

Twitter: @SHarrisAuthor

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

Instagram: SherryHarrisAuthor 

Sherry Harris on Creating a New Series #giveaway

LUCY BURDETTE: We love Sherry Harris and her writing and are delighted to help her introduce a new mystery series! And I'm a little embarrassed...you'll see why...welcome and congrats Sherry! (Her alternate title could be: What Lucy Burdette Had To Do With My New Series Without Even Knowing It) 

SHERRY HARRIS: Thanks, Lucy and the Reds for having me back to talk about From Beer to Eternity the first book in my new Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery series. Lucy had something to do with this series even though she didn’t know it. 

My editor at Kensington and I had been tossing ideas around for a second series for a while, never settling on something we both loved. In February 2018 he wrote suggesting a series in a beach bar in Key West. 

My first, second, and third thoughts when I saw his message were: Lucy writes the wonderful Key West series and I don’t know anything about Key West. When I read one of Lucy’s books I feel like I’m there. I don’t think I can do that. (In an interesting twist of fate my husband and I were going to visit Key West for the first time a few days after he wrote. We were staying with Barbara Ross and her husband and were getting together with Lucy and her husband too. What a strange coincidence!)

So I wrote him back: Interestingly enough my husband and I are going on our first trip to Key West on February 8th. However a friend of mine, Lucy Burdette, writes a food critic mystery series set in Key West and I feel like she's covered almost everything you've mentioned. Her series is up to seven books and I think there are more coming. (Her tenth book in the series, Key Lime Crime comes out on August 11, 2020!!!) 

And then I added: But I have a suggestion. My mom lives in a resort town in the panhandle of Florida -- Destin. It's a spit of land between the gulf and a huge bay. It's also called the Emerald Coast, the Redneck Riviera, and LA -- lower Alabama. We were stationed there for almost three years. It has three distinct seasons -- snowbirds, spring breakers, and summer people. There's a pirate festival -- Billy Bowlegs. There's a place called Crab Island which is really a shallow area of the bay. Boaters gather there all of the time. There's a couple of floating restaurants. The last time I was there the local government was trying to pass a law to have more control over Crab Island and the restaurants. There's snooty rich locals. There's kids brought over from Europe in the summer to work at all the resorts and water parks. There's suspect land deals and overbuilding.

A friend and I were at a restaurant/bar in Grayton Beach a several years ago. The tables were about an inch apart from each other so we were more or less sitting with seven Harley riding doctors and having a good time. A man with a big belly wearing a Speedo walks in and the place almost goes silent until one of the doctors pipes up. "Guess he's not from around these parts."

At my daughter's elementary school she had to say "yes ma'am or no sir" to all of her teachers. We started picking up drawls in the time we lived there. 

He wrote back: Till then, Key West is out, Destin is in. (Been there actually). So, knock me out a page or two with the overall premise and a paragraph or two on the first three in the series. Just so I have something in hand. 

And thus, the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon series was born—in part thanks to Lucy! 

Reds, Do you follow authors to a new series? Also I'd be happy to give away a copy of From Beer to Eternity to one commenter. Thanks again for having me!

Here’s a bit about the book: 

A whip smart librarian’s fresh start comes with a tart twist in this perfect cocktail of murder and mystery—with a romance chaser.

MURDER ON TAP

With Chicago winters in the rearview mirror, Chloe Jackson is making good on a promise: help her late friend’s grandmother run the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle. To Chloe’s surprise, feisty Vivi Slidell isn’t the frail retiree Chloe expects. Nor is Emerald Cove. It’s less a sleepy fishing village than a panhandle hotspot overrun with land developers and tourists. But it’s a Sea Glass regular who’s mysteriously crossed the cranky Vivi. When their bitter argument comes to a head and he’s found dead behind the bar, guess who’s the number one suspect?

In trying to clear Vivi’s name, Chloe discovers the old woman isn’t the only one in Emerald Cove with secrets. Under the laidback attitude, sparkling white beaches, and small town ways something terrible is brewing. And the sure way a killer can keep those secrets bottled up is to finish off one murder with a double shot: aimed at Chloe and Vivi.

Bio: Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery series set in the panhandle of Florida. She is the immediate past president of Sisters in Crime and a member of Mystery Writers of America. Sherry loves books, beaches, bars, and Westies — not necessarily in that order. In her spare time Sherry loves reading and is a patent holding inventor. Sherry, her husband, and guard dog Lily are living in northern Virginia until they figure out where they want to move to next. 

The Mystery Series

LUCY BURDETTE:  I am very excited to have been invited to give one of the Friends of the Key West Library lectures next month. I think I've decided to talk about the pros and cons of mystery series, both from the perspective of a writer and a reader. But there are so many directions I could go. What do I love about writing them and reading them? What are the pitfalls? How long should a series go on?

I have always read series and also always written them. Why? I think this might be connected to how attached I get to the characters. If a book is great, I don’t want that to be the last word on those characters. I want to know what happens next in their lives.

So help me out here. Which do you enjoy most, writing series or standalones? What problems have you faced? 

HALLIE EPHRON: I've written both series and standalones, and right now my heart belongs to standalones. It's definitely more work having to create a whole new set of characters and a setup each time out. But I feel like I put my characters through so much in a single book, it would be cruel and unusual punishment to make them go another round. They need to get on with their lives.  Having said that, my new novel is the first standalone I've written which really could be the first of a series. Not sure how my publisher would feel about that... I'm thinking about it. 

RHYS BOWEN: I've also written both. I love writing a series because it feels like visiting old friends. The setting is familiar, the secondary characters recur, so in many ways it's easier. Fans come to love a series and talk about the characters as if they are real. They come to think of them as friends. On the other hand I am now writing my fourth stand alone and relish the freedom that gives me to explore such different times and situations. But I do get letters asking me when there will be a sequel, so I think there is a need to revisit favorite characters.

JENN McKINLAY: I'm a series junkie. If I really enjoy the characters, I want to know more and more and more about their lives. The middle ground that I love is the continuity book/series. This is where you have protagonists in one book and then their friends or siblings or partners in crime or what have you, are featured in the next book. You see this a lot in romance but Tana French has mastered it, too. It keeps you in the world but it's not the same character's eccentricities driving the plot. I have yet to write a standalone but perhaps 2019 will be my year!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Interesting discussion, because i just had a conversation with a writer friend of mine who is in talks with a potential new agent. The agent requested the uncompleted ms for Book 2 in a prospective series; she came back with much praise for my friend's writing, but passed on repping the book. The agent said new series have become a hard sell right now, because publishers are looking for stand-alone psychological thrillers and domestic suspense, a la WHAT SHE KNEW, INTO THE WATER or THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10. My friend is considering changing up the unfinished manuscript, bringing the backstory forward and focusing the story on the dysfunctional family and unreliable characters, turning it into a stand-alone.

Of course, that's not to say if any stand-alone is a huge success, the publisher wouldn't immediately try to turn it into the first in a series...

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, my gosh, I'm in love with standalones. When I started writing TRUST ME, I had no idea how different it would be --completely overwhelmingly different. In a series, (which I still love writing and will continue to do so) the ultimate suspense cannot come from the possibility that the main character will actually die. I mean---Jane Ryland's gotta come back for book 5. Right? So it's a challenging juggle to deal with that--the reader knows Jane will survive, and so the focus comes on creating page-turning suspense in the lives and futures of others.

But in a standalone--whoa. Anyone could die. When I realized that--and now it seems so obvious--I actually gasped. And anyone could be lying, and anyone could be guilty, and anyone could turn out to be good or bad. There are no reader expectations whatsoever. The freedom is astonishing. Plus, it is absolutely ALL on the table--and all the loose ends must be tied up. In  THE MURDER LIST, I really went for it. 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm a series junkie, too, always have been. Although I do make exceptions for standalones, Rhys and Hallie and Hank and Jenn! And Roberta with your WIP! But I've always loved getting to know continuing characters and settings, that sense of being able to dip into the lives of old friends. Nor have I had any real desire to write a standalone. I have so much fun with my big cast of characters that I haven't felt a great need to stretch beyond them, and every book has a new set of characters as well.


Not that  I would say no if a terrific standalone idea suddenly took hold in my brain, but it would NOT be the sort of book that Julia has been told editors are looking for--so maybe I should just stick to what I'm doing...

LUCY: that wouldn't be me either Debs--too scary to keep something like that in my head for a year! Now your turn Red readers, what do you like/not like about mystery series? How long can one reasonably go on? If you were in the audience, what would you want to know about the nuts and bolts of the process?

Another Tantalizing Question

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am laughing too hard. I love Nancy Cole Silverman, she's a true soulmate. But after reading this, I am even more convinced. And yeah. My answer to her question--as benighted and misguided the answer--is yes.

Confessions of an Obsessive Compulsive Wordsmith

By Nancy Cole Silverman

I fear vacations. Oh, it’s not that I’m afraid of flying or strange places or meeting new people. I love all that.  No. My fear is based on something much more mundane. It’s the fear of closing my computer, leaving behind my work-in-progress and detaching from social media. Allow me to explain.

I recently completed Reason For Doubt, the fifth book in the Carol Childs Mysteries that debuted this week, November 6th.  While this is good news, those of us who write know that once we’ve kissed our final draft goodbye, it’s time to start and maybe even complete another project. In my case, I had started a new manuscript, pulling Misty Dawn, one of the reoccurring characters from the Carol Childs Mysteries, and – fingers crossed – submitted it for review to my publisher.

Caught between the marketing for the release for Reason For Doubt, and hoping to hear back from my publisher about the new prospective series, I was, I think, understandably anxious about being out of touch for an extended period of time.

However, my vacation beckoned. A Baltic Cruise. The trip of a lifetime. A much-needed escape for my husband and me, whose schedule is as crazy as mine, and who needed this vacation perhaps more than I did. Ordinarily I’m pretty good at balancing things, and with today’s modern internet connections, travel’s not usually too much of a problem. But, when it comes to cruising, internet connections at best can be iffy. Nevertheless, I determined to soldier on.

Which meant, I’d be doing a tap dance of sorts.  In the back of my obsessive/compulsive mind, I was plotting yet another murder mystery, while in person I was Nancy-tourist, shooting photos and chatting away with strangers about the various ports where our ship had docked.  I flittered from photo shoot to wine tastings and back to tour groups, all the while feeling guilty I wasn’t meeting my daily writing quota or able to maintain my author profile on my social pages or interacting with potential readers.  But, the longer we were away, the more I relaxed I became with the idea that time off might be a good thing.

Soon I found I was checking my email less and less, and my notepad that had been scribbled with notes to myself for some future project I was planning became full of notes about Viking ships, castles, and ports of entry. Ideas for future stories.

Including one about the people of Tallinn, a former part of the Soviet Union, where our ship had docked for the day. 

Tallinn

 Our tour guide explained that on August 20, 1991, the people of Estonia declared their independence from Russia with a bloodless coup.  While Soviet Tanks rolled through the countryside and surrounded the lone TV tower in Tallinn, volunteers from the city gathered beneath the tower and began to sing.  In what came to be known as the Singing Revolution, the country was ultimately granted its independence, and today its citizens maintain they sang their way out of the Soviet Union.  

And then there was a large rock in Denmark, a pink colored

boulder our tour guide pointed out to us.  The rock commemorated the Danes and a turn-coat Nazi who saved the Danish Jews from certain death.

It was these stories and more that I filled my notepad with, and at night after we returned shipboard, that I tapped into my Ipad, exercising my anxious fingers, while I lulled my creative spirit back into its happy place.  I don’t write historical fiction, and may not use any of what I saw or learned exactly as it happened.  But the theme for them will show up somewhere in a future work when I hope to show the power of the human spirit.

Curiously enough, just as we were about to board our flight from Amsterdam back to the US, I checked my email. Good news.  My publisher Henery Press loved my Misty Dawn manuscript.  And...surprise, surprise, I even had an email from Shawn Simmons regarding Malice Domestic's 14th Anthology, Mystery Most Edible.  My short story, “The Gourmand,” was selected to be included. Hmmm… Maybe instead of fearing travel, I should go away more often?

How about you? Are you an obsessive/compulsive wordsmith as well? Have you ever been hesitant to leave your computer, worried that if you looked away or allowed your attention to be diverted, you might return and find the magic had disappeared? 

 HANK: Right? No matter what we do--are we afraid to stop? Reds and readers, what do you think about this? (And readers, um, do you even notice when your favorite authors are on vacation?

Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five in Los Angeles Talk Radio, beginning her career on the talent side as one for the first female voices on the air, to the business side, where she retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second largest radio market. 

After a successful career in the radio industry, Silverman turned to writing fiction. Her crime-focused novels and short stories have attracted readers throughout America. Her Carol Childs Mysteries series (Henery Press) features a single-mom whose "day job" as a reporter at a busy Los Angeles radio station often leads to long nights as a crime-solver. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.

Golf? Or Not?

HANK:  Little known fact? Years ago, YEARS, before I knew anything about any of you, I tried to write a mystery—which I titled Greenskeeper. It was about—golf.  The setting was a golf course, and the main character Jane MacAnnally (!) was the first female golf pro in Boston.

What a great idea, right? Wrong. It was hideous, mainly because I had no idea about golf. (Or, as I see now about point of view.) But that’s another story. 

The first time Judy Penz Sheluk joined us was August 2016, when we celebrated the release of SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC, the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series.  Today, Judy (in the white visor) shows she’s nailed the golf world. Her new HOLE IN ONE, the second book in her Glass Dolphin Mystery series, is about to hit the shelves.

Yay, Judy! Tell us a bit about A HOLE IN ONE and the inspiration behind it.

JPS: The title is a play on words. Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland, the co-owners of the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, decide to sponsor a hole in one contest at a local charity golf tournament. Unfortunately, the positive press they hoped to gain quickly goes south when Arabella’s errant tee shot lands in the woods – next to a corpse with a gunshot wound in his chest.

JRW: Ha. A hole in one. (Ouch.) So do you actually play golf?

JPS: I’ve been golfing for the better part of fifteen years, might even be twenty by now. While I’ve never had a hole in one (hope springs eternal), I’m always dreaming up new plotlines…even when I’m golfing. One day my ball landed in the woods, and while I was rooting around for it with my putter (fearing poison ivy), I thought, “What if there was a dead body in here?” What can I say? My husband tells me he’s taken to sleeping with his eyes open!

JRW: So--who do you play with?

JPS: I belong to two ladies golf leagues, one of which is called the Lady Duffers, an apt description, I assure you. The thing is, the Duffers put their names in a random draw, so each week you play with different people. One week, I’m playing with three ladies I’ve never met before, and there are homes all around the perimeter of the golf course, and the roofs are being re-done. There’s this pop-pop-pop of a pneumatic nailer and I turn to these ladies and say, ‘You know, you could shoot someone and everyone would just think it was the roofers nailing.” Let’s just say they wondered about me…

JEW: Seems like there’s a theme here. How did you end up writing two different mystery series? This and the Marketville mysteries?

JPS:  Ha! Here’s the truth: I was shopping around for a publisher for THE HANGED MAN’S NOOSE, the first book in my Glass Dolphin Mystery series, and facing the usual rejection. Everyone told me I should write book 2 in the series, but I couldn’t bring myself to write the second book in a series no one seemed to want. Writing SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC was such a different experience from writing NOOSE. It was told in first person, vs. alternating third person, and it’s more of a slow burn suspense than a traditional amateur sleuth mystery. Happily, I sold the Glass Dolphin series too, and NOOSE was released in July 2015.

JRW: The really scary thing about a new book—you have to ask your fellow authors for blurbs.  It’s incredibly nerve-twisting. You send a request, and then..you wait. It’s such a big dealt to ask-it takes a chunk of time to read a book. And it’s their name on the cover!

JPS: Yes, I’m still pinching myself.

I first met Ellen Byron at Bouchercon Raleigh when we were both debut authors, and of course, I’m a huge fan of her award-winning Cajun County Mystery series. I met Jane K. Cleland at Malice Domestic in 2016. During the banquet, I sat at her table, and she won the Agatha for Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot. It was such an honor to be there while she celebrated with her husband, and of course, I’ve been reading her Josie Prescott series forever. So imagine my surprise when she turned to me and said, “Send me your book when it’s ready. If I like it, I’ll blurb it.” Talk about a generosity of spirit.

 I’ve loved Lea Wait forever, too, but I’ve never met her. I decided to take a flyer and emailed her, asking if she’d read my book. Honestly, I didn’t expect a yes, but nothing ventured and all of that. To my surprise, she replied within hours with a “love to.” It seems she reads New England Antiques Journal (I’ve been the Senior Editor for NEAJ since 2007). The mystery community is so wonderfully inclusive.

JRW: Oh, so true. If you had one piece of advice for aspiring authors, what would it be?

JPS: I love this quote from the legendary Arnold Palmer: “The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.”

JRW:  So we know about Lucy/Roberta, who wrote about golf out of love and passion. And who actually played! Then, as you know there’s gold-baffled me. Then—Judy! Another aficionado.

How about you, Reds and readers?  Tell us what you think about golf—and Judy’s here to answer your questions about the mysteries of slices and hooks. And mystery!

Find Judy on her website/blog at http://www.judypenzsheluk.com, where she interviews and showcases the works of other authors and blogs about the writing life.

An Amazon International Bestselling Author, Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose, the first in the Glass Dolphin Mystery series, was published in July 2015. The sequel, A Hole In One, is scheduled for Spring 2018.

Skeletons in the Attic, Judy’s second novel, and the first in her Marketville Mystery series, was first published in August 2016 and re-released in December 2017. Past & Present, the sequel, is scheduled for early 2019.

Judy’s short crime and literary fiction appears in several collections.

In her less mysterious pursuits, Judy works as a freelance writer and editor; her articles have appeared regularly in dozens of U.S. and Canadian consumer and trade publications.

A HOLE IN ONE is available for pre-order at all the usual suspects, including the publisher, https://barkingrainpress.org/a-hole-in-one/ - 1473022241950-de2dbbf6-9e98, and will be released on March 6^th in trade paperback and all eBook formats.