AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR PRIS MASTERS' AMATEUR SLEUTH HANNAH HUTCHINSON

Today we sit down for a chat with amateur sleuth Hannah Hutchinson from What Happened at School Today?by mystery author Pris Masters. 

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?  

It was a lot more peaceful. I teach in a middle school and I serve kids with multiple disabilities. My days are always full of surprises and challenges. It keeps me on my toes. I have a nice group of friends, a lovely old apartment, a loving dog and, well, not much romance in my life. But I was perfectly happy. There were certainly no dead bodies lying around for me to stumble across. My life was full enough, rewarding, and notscary or dangerous.

 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?  

I try to be fair to everyone. Now I have to confess, that doesn’t mean I’m always nice to everybody. Sometimes I might just give others a little taste of their own medicine. But I truly believe that all people have things to contribute and should be respected.

 

What do you like least about yourself?  

I’m pretty clumsy and uncoordinated. No one would ever call me graceful, and that can be downright embarrassing at times.  I’m also a pretty bad procrastinator, especially where paperwork is concerned. It routinely piles up around me. 

 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?  She made me learn to use a gun. I don’t kill anything. I don’t even stomp on bugs, so it goes against my nature to even think about shooting a gun. But she threw a couple of logical-sounding reasons at me, and I caved. Also, I told her that I have terrible aim, but she just wouldn’t listen. Another thing she made me do was to get in the trunk of my own car while a maniac was at the wheel. That was both scary and dangerous.

 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?  

Yes, I’m afraid we do argue. We argued about the gun training, but I lost that one. I warned her that it would go badly! We’ve argued repeatedly about my diet. She has me eating a terrible diet throughout the book. I think she did that because that’s the way she would like to eat. My love life was also a point of contention between the two of us. The question was; to get serious or stay casual. I won’t tell you who sided where on that issue, but I will tell you that is one argument I won.

 

What is your greatest fear?  

That’s a tough one. I like to think I’m not afraid of much. I guess my greatest fear is that I will have a student that I just can’t reach, can’t help learn, can’t foster more independence in. I would hate to think that any child is just marking time in my classroom when the kids I work with have so many needs.

 

What makes you happy?  

Chocolate, seeing the light bulb go on over the head of one of my students, the unconditional love of a dog, and a good mystery where it’s hard to figure out who the murderer is.

 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?  

I would rewrite my lying to the cops. That did not go well for me. It gave me so much anxiety, ended up causing embarrassment, and probably helped put me in the path of danger. I would probably also rewrite my relationship with my mom. It’s not great, and I wish it were better. We’re not very close.  But we would have to go way back in time to do that, long before the book begins. 

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?  

There is a student named Will who bullies some of the kids in my class. I can’t and won’t tolerate bullying. I just don’t think there’s ever a good enough excuse to treat other people that way, even if there are reasons in your life that might make you prone to do that.

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?  

I might like to trade places with Tom Kennedy, one of the detectives I got to know during the murder investigation. I found myself enjoying digging through clues and nosing around. I think it would be interesting to do that with a badge, so all that delving would be legal. The relationship that the two detectives had was also very intriguing and entertaining to me. I would like to live inside Kennedy’s head so I could know what he was thinking.

 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog? 

Pris taught students with multiple disabilities for thirty years. She loved her career and always told people that she never had a boring day at work. All the kids in my class are based on students she had in her classroom or combine traits of any number of students she had over the years. She has lived in Cincinnati all her adult life and loves the city. That’s why she has me living there, going to real parks in Cincinnati and eating foods that are particular to the city. Pris gardens excessively and also has a love/hate relationship with acrylic painting. You can read more about her at her website.

 

What's next for you?  

I’ll be getting involved in solving another murder that takes place in the school where I teach. At least this time I won’t be the prime suspect, but I ask you, how can one school building be so unlucky as to have two murders committed within its walls?

 

 

What Happened at School Today?

Hannah Hutchinson never dreams of becoming an amateur sleuth, but when she makes the gruesome discovery of a murder victim in her school, she feels forced into the role. She becomes the prime suspect in the resulting murder investigation when a connection is found between her and the victim. Seeing the evidence against her unfold, she is compelled to investigate on her own. Juggling the everyday ups and downs as a teacher of children with disabilities, Hannah now finds her every spare moment devoted to her determined search for the truth. As the mystery unravels, she finds that instead of crossing suspects off her list she is continually adding names - and as her search deepens, she begins to suspect even those who she thought she could trust. She sees motives for murder all around her and finds herself taking bigger risks as she follows the trail. Just as she begins to see progress in her investigation, Hannah discovers a clue that no one else is aware of. Hiding this from the detectives on the case and knowing that it will implicate her even further makes her feel that she may be arrested at any moment. She stumbles along one step ahead of the police and when she finally figures out who the killer is, she comes to the frightening realization that the murderer won’t hesitate to kill again.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH NICK HOFFMAN FROM AUTHOR LEV RAPHAEL'S NICK HOFFMAN MYSTERIES

Today we sit down for a chat with Nick Hoffman from author Lev Raphael’s Nick Hoffman Mysteries. 

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

I was happy teaching my classes at the State University of Murder (SUM) and minding my own business before he decided to involve me in murders. Why me? I'm a native New Yorker who was never even mugged and suddenly I began stumbling over corpses. I may have been a fan of crime novels, but I never expected to be caught up in any.

 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I'm a Taurus and I'm stubborn. That kept me working on my bibliography of Edith Wharton for five long years and it's also helped me do criminal investigations I never thought would become habitual. I guess research is research.

 

What do you like least about yourself?

I can be impatient, which also sometimes makes me quip happy and I'll offer a jibe to the wrong person at the wrong time—like a campus police detective at SUM. These guys don't have a sense of humor. They despise us faculty to begin with, almost as much as they disrespect students, so mouthing off to them does not go over well.

 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

I'm not a gun person but he sent me off to a gun shop in Burning Down the House when someone close to me was threatened. And the shop wasn't remotely what I expected, though, because the owner was a former nurse and it felt like a boutique. The owner even made me tea!

 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

His favorite Humphrey Bogart movie is The Maltese Falcon and mine is Casablanca. 

 

What is your greatest fear?

I thought it was fear of dying, but I survived a mass shooting on campus in Assault With a Deadly Lie, so I feel weirdly freer than before.

 

What makes you happy?

I'm glad my author tells the story of my adventures in crime solving so that each book can stand alone. People can read them in sequence if they like, but it's not essential. Oh, and cooking—the kitchen is my favorite room! Pasta is my favorite comfort food and I just made Spaghetti Carbonara the other night. 

 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

I wish I hadn't been stalked and almost killed, but I think it's made me more reflective as well as easing my fear of death: I'm thinking of writing a memoir. 

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Dean Bullerschmidt is the typical contemptuous, overbearing, and overpaid administrator who bullies everyone around him from behind a way-too-expensive desk. He thinks he's a king and everyone in the College of Arts and Letters is a churl.

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

Juno Droomgoole, the professor of Canadian Studies, is foul-mouthed and over-the-top in every way and I admire her brass. And her fashion sense. I was going to say she gets away with murder, but that's probably not the best way to put it. . .

 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find his website/blog?

Lev Raphael has published more than me: 27 books, one of which has sold 300,000 copies and been translated into over a dozen languages. I'm proud to say I take up a lot of space at his website in the section on mysteries. He loves teaching as much as I do, and he left academia to mentor, coach, and edit writers at writewithoutborders.com.

 

What's next for you?

I've been wondering about following my author's path and leaving the academic world which is crazier than outsiders can imagine. Short term, given my new job and how stressful it is, I need a very long vacation with some great books to read while I'm gone. What can you recommend?

 

Department of Death

A Nick Hoffman Mystery, Book 10

 

In Department of Death, English professor Nick Hoffman has been unexpectedly installed by his dean as chairman of the English department, a position he never wanted. He can't seem to make anyone happy and can't get a handle on his new responsibilities as an administrator. Then a troubled student seeking his help is murdered and Nick becomes a prime suspect. Hounded by campus police, the local press and social media, Nick wonders if this could finally be the end of his career—and how he can manage to stay out of prison.

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR LEV RAPHAEL ON HOW RESEARCH CAN BE MURDER

Lev Raphael is the author of 27 books ranging from mystery to memoir. He edits manuscripts, teaches writing workshops, and coaches writers at Write Without Borders. Learn more about Lev and his books at his website.  

Research Can Be Murder

In Department of Death, the latest Nick Hoffman mystery set in the wilds of academia, Nick has become chair of his university's English Department--but nobody reading the series could have predicted that would ever happen. It's definitely not something that Nick ever wanted. 

 

I introduced Nick to mystery readers in Let's Get Criminal as an English professor who wasn't respected in his Midwestern department for way too many reasons. To start with, he was a spousal hire, which meant he got his position only because the university wanted to hire his partner. Giving him a job, too, sweetened the deal.

 

Spousal hires at a university can arouse a lot of animosity in their new colleagues even when they're well-qualified, because they're basically just part of a package deal. In most cases, they would never have been hired on their own at that point in time. Other professors will feel they're intruders, unworthy of joining the rarified club whose membership they guard so zealously. And let's face it, it doesn't take much to anger highly combustible professors anyway in an environment where grudges flourish like feral hogs, walking catfish, Burmese pythons, and other invasive species that are ruining the Everglades.  

 

Nick was also looked down upon because he enjoyed teaching the most basic course the department offered: composition. His peers would do anything to avoid being stuck with it. That kind of course put him at the level of graduate assistants and adjuncts, and liking the hard work involved in helping students strengthen their writing skills created suspicion and even contempt: who was he trying to kid?

 

And then there was his scholarship: Nick is a bibliographer. A bibliographer of Edith Wharton. That means that he's not only read every single book, story, review, and essay that Wharton wrote, he's read everything that's ever been written about her. In every language. The project took him four solid years. He's annotated each item and created multiple indexes for the bibliography which is a splendid guide for anyone doing research about the American author who was the first women to win a Pulitzer for Literature.

 

That might sound significant, but to his new colleagues, it's grunt work, uninspiring--and worse than that, his book is useful. Unlike their own books which are written in abstruse critical jargon that only appeals to miniscule audiences.  

 

I chose this focus for Nick's scholarship because my college writing mentor was a Wharton bibliographer and I wanted to honor her years of research. And it appalled me how that book did not get her promoted to full professor when she should have been.

 

Nick has had a different path, pockmarked by murders of course. He did get promoted to full professor; a visiting authors' fellowship was established in his name by a grateful student who struck it rich; and through a bizarre twist of fate in the 10^th book of the series, he's heading up a department filled with people who loathe him more now than ever.

 

He regrets having agreed to become chair before the first week in his new position is over. What happens? Nick is unexpectedly privy to a bribery scandal that threatens to blacken the name of the university. Nick himself is the object of intense administrative harassment and spying. And of course, he becomes involved in yet another murder. 

 

Can his research skills and his love of crime fiction help him out of this tangle of problems? They always have, no matter how little respect they've earned him from his colleagues.

 

In classic mystery form, the murderer and motive are revealed at the very end of the book amid a scene of crazy academic chaos unlike anything Nick has ever witnessed or dealt with before. 

 

Department of Death

A Nick Hoffman Mystery, Book 10

 

Nick Hoffman has been unexpectedly installed by his dean as chairman of his English department. It's a wildly unpopular choice and Nick is now the focus of more animosity from his colleagues than ever before. He can't seem to make anyone happy and can't get a handle on his myriad new responsibilities as an administrator, a position he never wanted. Tragedy strikes when someone seeking his help is murdered, and Nick becomes a prime suspect. Hounded by campus police, the local press, and social media, Nick wonders if this could finally be the end of his career—and if he can manage to stay out of prison. Department of Death is Lev Raphael's most blistering satire yet of the perversities of academic life.

 

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR LEV RAPHAEL COOKS UP ONE OF HIS SLEUTH'S FAVORITE DISHES

Lev Raphael is the prize-winning author of twenty-seven books in genres from memoir to mystery, and his work has been translated into more than fifteen languages.  In recognition of his stature as an American author, Michigan State University's Library has purchased his literary papers for its Special Archives and updates that collection yearly. Learn more about Lev and his books at his author website and at Write Without Borders. 

Nick Hoffman at the State University of Michigan loves to cook and loves to eat. Focusing on food helps keep him centered despite the perpetual chaos in an English department filled with academic jackals snapping and snarling at each other over things as trivial as sharing an office.  And then there are the murders....

 

Cooking and enjoying a good meal give Nick and his spouse a perfect time-out to reflect and strategize. It makes their well-pointed kitchen an island in a storm of raging egos and all kinds of bad news. Nick is a bibliographer and loves teaching, so the last thing he expected on his bucolic midwestern university campus was a persistent crime problem with himself not only often involved, but worse than that, a suspect. Homicide is something that was only a news item when he was growing up in New York or subject matter for a TV series.

 

In Department of Death, Nick's life has changed dramatically once again because he's ascended to a position he never wanted: he's now chair of the department, peremptorily installed there by the dean who despises him. Does the malicious administrator have some hidden agenda? Of course. On the way to figuring that out and dealing with the latest suspicious death on campus in a climate of paranoia and authoritarianism, Nick and his spouse eat one of my favorite meals, sausages with grapes and onions. It sounded improbable when I first encountered the recipe, but it's terrific.

 

My version below is adapted from Melissa Clark's food column in the New York Times. Clark does a lot of roasting; I simplified everything by a switch to stove top prep. This serves four people and goes well with a sparkling wine.

 

On book tours for the Nick Hoffman series, I've often been asked if I eat as well as my hero. The answer is not all the time, because I don't get to the gym as regularly as he does (and not at all right now. But if Nick prepares or reheats an interesting meal in the series, I've tried it and liked it enough to share it with my audience, which is why Nick enjoys it in Department of Death.

 

Sausages with Sautéed Grapes and Onions

 

Ingredients:

1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 cups seedless red grapes, halved 

1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

1 pound sliced chicken sausages

2 tablespoons chopped or snipped chives

2 tablespoons  sherry vinegar

 

Toss together onion slices, 2 tablespoons oil, salt and pepper and sauté in a large pan until translucent.

 

Add grapes, fennel seeds, and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and cook until the grapes soften.

 

Add sliced sausages to heat through, and stir well.

 

Transfer sausages, grapes, and onions to plates.

 

Add vinegar and chives to pan and scrape up anything left in the pan, then drizzle the juices over each plate.

Department of Death

A Nick Hoffman Mystery

 

Years ago, Nick Hoffman was given a position in the English Department at the State University of Michigan because SUM wanted to hire his partner as writer-in-residence, but now he's been unexpectedly installed by his dean as chairman of that department. It's a wildly unpopular choice, and he's suddenly the focus of more animosity from his colleagues than he's ever dealt with before. He can't seem to make anyone happy and can't get a handle on his myriad new responsibilities as an administrator, a position he never wanted. Then tragedy strikes again way too close to home: Someone seeking his help is murdered, and under the shadow of another recent murder, Nick is a prime suspect. Hounded by campus police, the local press, and social media, Nick wonders if this could finally be the end of his career. That is, if he manages to stay out of prison.

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR CAROLYN J. ROSE SAYS A FOND FAREWELL TO A SERIES AND ITS CHARACTERS

Author Carolyn J. Rose credits her experiences as a substitute teacher and her sometimes rocky relationship with the dogs in her life to the creation of her Subbing Isn’t for Sissies Mystery Series and the canine character of Cheese Puff. Other than writing, her interests are reading, swimming, walking, gardening, and NOT cooking. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

I Love You, But Please Don’t Bug Me

 

Recently I published the thirteenth book in the Subbing isn’t for Sissies series. When I started the series, I didn’t intend to end it on thirteen. It just turned out that way. Twined stories seemed to come to more-or-less logical conclusions, and I found it more and more difficult—given early organizational failures compounded over time—to keep track of tiny character details. That’s important because many readers are far more alert than I am and are quick to spot unexplained changes in hair color or style preferences.

 

Thirteen has a reputation of being an unlucky number, so I spent some time wondering if I could dredge up a plot for a fourteenth book without scraping too far into the bottom of my mental barrel. I’m not overly superstitious—although I don’t walk under ladders and I’ve been known to toss a little spilled salt over my shoulder—but I also spent time wondering whether readers would decline to buy the thirteenth installment of the adventures of substitute teacher Barbara Reed, her entitled mutt Cheese Puff, and all her pals. I decided to go with the Doris Day approach and sang “what will be, will be” as I typed. I also reminded myself that not every book or series is for every reader.

 

And I spent a whole lot of time wondering about whether the characters will feel they can buzz off and let me sleep through the night without appearing in my dreams. Characters, especially those with whom a writer has a long relationship, often do that. They enter the dreamscape to offer suggestions for plotting and even act out scenes. But now that the final scene has been written, I’d prefer either dreamless sleep or—dare I hope?—appearances by a fresh crop of characters with exciting ideas for their adventures.

 

But I don’t say this out loud because the primary characters in the Subbing series have been good friends for a decade now, and I don’t want to hurt their feelings. And the other thing is—and you’ll know this if you’ve read any of the books in the series—some of them can be a little, well, pushy. Others occasionally go beyond pushy to aggressive or overbearing. And a few have been known to cross the line into obnoxious.

 

So each night, after checking to make sure my husband is asleep and won’t think I’ve gone completely around the bend, I have a little chat with them. I remind Barb about issues resolved in the final book and the happy future I wrote for her. I tell Mrs. Ballantine her wealth is fictional, and I can’t be bought and paid to write another book for her. I tell Dave I’m the one who pinned on his badge and therefore I can’t be arrested on trumped up charges of dereliction of duty as an author. I inform Dario that I’m not intimidated by the bear-like physique I gave him. I remind Big Chill and Tremaine Scott that they’re in charge of an imaginary high school and taking me off the sub list won’t force me to tap dance on street corners for change. I tell Iz and Allison the fictional kitchen is closed, and they should find another place to snack. I inform Bernina that I made up the condo complex she manages in such a slipshod manner and she’d better find another job.

 

Then I assure them they’ve all made remarkable contributions to the books in the series. I remind them they kept me entertained and amused for almost a decade—including recent months of quarantine. I swear I’ll never forget them. And then I turn out the light.

 

No Substitute for Matrimony

A Subbing isn’t for Sissies Mystery, Book 13

 

When substitute teacher Barbara Reed turned wedding planning over to her wealthy neighbor Muriel Ballantine, she knew the event wouldn’t be what she and Dave asked for—small, simple, and sane. What she didn’t know was that murder would block her path to the altar.

 

As Dave races the clock to find a killer and free a friend from suspicion, Barb struggles to free herself from makeup artists intent on changing her casual appearance. Meanwhile, her overbearing sister offers unwanted advice about men and matrimony, and an ardent admirer hopes she’ll ditch the groom before she reaches the end of the aisle.

 

With time running out, Mrs. B offers a mammoth reward. Will the cash bring a witness out of hiding and solve the case? Or will delivering the dough dump Barb in deep danger?

 

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR KATIE GRAYKOWSKI TAKES US ON A BAKING JOURNEY

Bestselling author Katie Graykowski has published more than twenty novels. She likes sassy heroines, Mexican food, glitter nail polish, and red velvet cake—even if she fails at baking them. Today she joins us to share a successful cake recipe. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

When Mustang Ridges, my heroine, needs comfort food, she turns to cupcakes. As long as they aren’t vegan, any flavor will do. But her favorite is red velvet. 

 

Just like my heroine, I love red velvet cupcakes. So why, do you ask, is the recipe below for strawberry cupcakes? 

 

The truth is … I make the worst red velvet cake in the world. As an amateur baker, I’ve tried dozens of red velvet cake recipes, and they all end up dry, flavorless, and dense. 

 

My husband’s grandmother, Nell Deplantis, made the best red velvet cake ever. We lost her a few years ago, and she took her red velvet cake recipe with her to heaven. I did get her potato salad recipe, so there’s that.

 

In my ever-ending quest for the perfect red velvet, I combined several different recipes. Normally, this yields fantastic desserts like double cheesecake brownies, chocolate rum tres leches cake, and chocolate covered strawberry custard parfaits. 

 

So armed with my Frankenstein-ed red velvet cake recipe, I committed one entire Sunday to the creation of red velvet perfection. 

 

Just look at the fantastic cake above.

 

I even made extra frosting.

 

And then I cut a piece. Not only was it dry enough to suck the spit out of my mouth, but it tasted like vinegar and salt. Here’s what happened to that cake.

 

To add insult to injury, I managed to get red food coloring on the bottom of my shoes so my kitchen floor looked like a murder scene. Did I mention I have concrete floors? Anyway, red velvet is permanently off my baking list.

 

Moving right along … strawberry cupcakes. This is what I make for myself on my birthday.

 

Strawberry Cupcakes

 

Ingredients:

I cup frozen strawberries*

2-1/2 cups flour

1-1/4 cups sugar

3 oz. box strawberry Jello

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

12 tbsp. butter (softened to room temperature)

3/4 cup juice from frozen berries

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

 

Frosting ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

10 oz. frozen strawberries, drained

2 lbs. powdered sugar

 

* NOTE: Defrost strawberries ahead of time and allow to warm to room temperature. Drain berry water but retain for recipe.

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 8-inch pans.

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, Jello, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add softened butter to the dry ingredients. Mix until butter is incorporated and soft crumbs form. It will look like sand. Add water from frozen strawberries, buttermilk, and vanilla to the crumbly mixture and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. DO NOT OVERMIX.

 

Divide evenly between the 3 pans. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Or if you're making cupcakes, line the cupcake tins with cupcake wrappers and remember to grease those too. After baking, for layer cakes, remove from pans, cool and then frost. It's okay to leave the cupcakes in the pans to cool.

 

To make frosting, dump everything in a bowl and mix well. Spread on cooled cakes.

So what if my birthday is next month. Birthday candles are always a good idea.

PTO Murder Club Boxed Set

 

Rest In Pieces

Mustang Ridges isn’t a town, a stripper, or some old western movie. She’s a feisty, single mom living in the small town of Lakeside, Texas where money does buy happiness and keeping up appearances is much more important than the truth. Six months ago on her thirtieth birthday, her husband decided that married life, fatherhood, and his job as the Lakeside Chief of Police weren’t as exciting as a permanent vacation to Grand Cayman with his mistress and a million dollars in diamonds he stole from the police evidence lockup.

 

This makes Mustang a pariah in a Lakeside full of piranha. But she refuses to leave. If she can’t join them, then she’ll beat them at their own game. With a little luck, some intimidation, and the help of her good friends Monica and Haley, Mustang presides over her own little slice of Lakeside, the Bee Creek Elementary Parent Teacher Organization.

 

All is quiet in Lakeside until Molly Miars, the kindergarten teacher, is found dead. According to the new police chief, she overdosed on heroin. That doesn’t explain why her head was the only body part to make it to her funeral.

 

Vowing to do right by Molly, the PTO decides to investigate.

 

What do money laundering, a castor oil plant, gold coins, and a kindergarten teacher have in common? Mustang must figure it out before the killer finds her.

 

Blown To Pieces

After restauranteur, Big Tommy Prather, is blown to pieces in his front yard, Mustang Ridges and her two best friends are on the case. While the local police have ruled the death an accident, Mustang and the girls suspect murder. They can prove it…sort of.

 

As the small community of Lakeside, Texas mourns the loss of one of its most beloved citizens, Mustang, Haley, and Monica do their level best to find someone who might want Big Tommy dead. Only…every single person they interview, loves Big Tommy.

 

What do missing people, a chili parlor, and audio cassette tapes have in common? Mustand must figure it out before her best friend is blown to pieces.

 

Just One Piece

When Mustang Ridges receives a severed penis in the mail, she knows it's going to be a bad day. She's sure there's a body to go along with the penis, but she can't find it.

 

While on the hunt for the owner of the penis, she stumbles across a dead body. It's Jane Dough, a substitute teacher at Lakeside Elementary. The Lakeside Elementary PTO is on the case. It appears that Jane might have been a prostitute who supplemented her income with a little substitute teaching on the side. After vowing to vet substitute teachers more carefully, Mustang goes head-to-head with the brothel’s madam.

 

What do a severed penis, a dead body, and a brothel have in common? Mustang must figure it out before the killer sends her another body part.

 

Bits And Pieces

When Mustang Ridge’s son goes off to middle school, all she wants to do is drown her anxiety with a gallon of coffee and a dozen red velvet cupcakes. Unfortunately, someone has bought all of the cupcakes at Lakeside Cupcakes except for the nasty vegan ones. She may be desperate, but she’s not that desperate. As she walks back to her car, something large falls from the sky and crashes onto the roof of her car. 

 

It’s a body.

 

It seems like she’s always stumbling over bodies, but now they’re falling from the sky?

 

The body currently acting as her new hood ornament turns out to be Marty Smith, the man everyone hates … especially, Jill, the owner of Lakeside Cupcakes. After she’s arrested for his murder, she offers Mustang a lifetime supply of free cupcakes if she finds out who really killed Marty.

 

Mustang and the girls are on the case. They start questioning suspects and have a hard to finding anyone who doesn’t want Marty dead. 

 

What do a Voodoo Priestess, a possible serial killer with a Barbie fetish, and the island of Bonaire have in common? Mustang must figure it out before Marty’s killer finds her.

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR CAROLYN J. ROSE ON SAYING GOODBYE TO A SERIES

Carolyn J. Rose emerged from the University of Arizona with a degree and a tan and stayed on for graduate school. Thanks to boredom and a public service announcement on late-night TV, she abandoned literary studies for two years with Volunteers in Service to America. From there she entered the land of TV news, spending twenty-five years as a researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor She’s now a high school substitute teacher, which led to her Subbing isn’t for Sissies mystery series. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

In Search of a Soft Farewell

Many readers have been left longing for more when a writer (Sue Grafton, for example) dies and a series comes to a sudden stop. Many TV viewers have been devastated when a series is cancelled by a network or a production company and ends without resolution or, worse yet, ends with a cliffhanger. You may have wondered, as I have, if writers had crafted more of the abandoned story. You may also have thought about trying to find those writers and slipping them a few bucks in exchange for summaries of those “missing” episodes. 

With that in mind, as I labor through revisions of No Substitute for Matrimony, my task is to figure out how to let readers down gently. It’s the final book in the Subbing isn’t for Sissies series, so I need to tie up the loose ends of storylines and character arcs so nothing is left hanging. My goal is to leave characters poised to walk toward the horizon and the adventures they might have next.

It’s not easy.

But neither is getting a series—even an “accidental” series like mine—underway.

Crafting the “right” words to begin a story can be a torturous process. Unless an amazing first line has flashed into my mind, I take care of that pesky starting-off problem by writing “Something incredibly brilliant goes here,” drawing a line, and then launching my new project with the second sentence or paragraph. When the first draft is complete, I know more about plot and character and theme. I know how the story unfolds, and I know the “seeds” I should plant in the first few lines to engage readers.

The ending is a product of what I plant. It’s the ripe fruit at the end of the vine. It should be satisfying, and its taste should linger. But it should also leave a reader wanting more.

But what if there won’t be more?

That’s the question I’m asking myself as I complete the final adventures of substitute teacher Barbara Reed, her scruffy and entitled mutt Cheese Puff, her wealthy neighbor Muriel Ballantine, her fiancé Detective Dave Martin, and a host of others.

I’ve enjoyed writing the books in this series and I could probably write more. I’m in decent health (so far, but with COVID19 out there, who know?) and the characters have plenty of ideas about what could happen in a fourteenth book. I know this because they “speak” to me—mostly in the middle of the night. And no, I’m not worried about my mental health because I’ve talked with many other writers who experience the same thing. We can’t all be crazy, can we?

I’m ending the series for several reasons. First, the characters seem to be at good places in their lives, so I don’t feel guilty about leaving them.

Second, keeping track of all the tiny details of character and setting has become a chore. I confess! I created some of this hardship myself by neglecting to keep careful notes. (If you look up “slipshod” in the dictionary, you might find a picture of me.) My (self) defense is that when I wrote the first book, No Substitute for Murder, I had no idea I’d hear from so many readers who felt it should anchor a series.

Third, I think there’s a limit to how many murders and other crimes I can inflict on the fictional town of Reckless River, Washington. I don’t want readers to accuse me of having Cabot Cove Syndrome.

And fourth, I have ideas for other stories involving other characters.

I hope I’ll succeed in crafting a soft farewell at the conclusion of No Substitute for Matrimony. I hope I’ll be able to end the series by opening doors for characters instead of slamming doors on readers. Perhaps, when the book comes out in the fall, a few of you will let me know how I did. 

No Substitute for Mimes

Subbing Isn’t for Sissies Mystery, Book 12

Suddenly, mimes seem to be everywhere in Reckless River, Washington. Their antics amuse residents at first. Then street theater gives way to street crime. Fast, organized, and armed with cream pies, mimes avoid capture. And they baffle police by delivering stolen items to the cop shop.

Barbara Reed suspects the thefts are designed to frustrate and misdirect authorities, increasing the success of a major heist. Crime reporter Stan Stewart agrees, but his investigation gets nowhere. Mimes aren’t talking.

Barb would like to help track facts, but she has a bad cold and a new assistant principal is making her subbing life miserable. On top of that, Mrs. Ballantine is pushing her to set a wedding date, and she’s been guilt-tripped into helping at an outdoor holiday market.

When mimes set their big plan in motion, Barb and her tiny mutt Cheese Puff are in exactly the wrong place. Or are they?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR C.T. COLLIER'S AMATEUR SLEUTH LYSSA PENNINGTON

Today we wit down for a chat with Lyssa Pennington from author C.T. Collier’s The Penningtons Investigate Series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

When C.T. Collier came into my life, Kyle and I were splitting up, and I desperately missed my sister Manda Cushman. Moving from London to a little town called Tompkins Falls in the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York looked like the perfect solution. Manda lived there with her hunky husband, and the lakes were absolutely gorgeous. So I accepted the job at Tompkins College and quickly discovered it has possibly the highest murder rate of any college in America. In fact, at the start of Kyle’s and my newest mystery, Vamoosed, my faculty friend, handsome bad-boy professor Rand Cunningham, is shot and left for dead. And it looks like I’m next on the shooter’s list.

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I can find the bright side in any situation and make you laugh when you’re at your lowest.

What do you like least about yourself?

Panic attacks. 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

It has to be the scene with the ghost. I’m serious. I had a soul-wrenching conversation with the ghost of the fabulously wealthy and beautiful grandmother of my sister’s hubby, Bridey Tompkins Cushman. Bridey really set me straight about myself and my taste in men, and at the end of our little chat, she showed me the emerald ring that would become my engagement ring. Of course, she didn’t tell me which man would propose with that ring. 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

Oh, good grief, I get so annoyed with Collier about when Kyle and I can start our family. She’s forever throwing up obstacles.

What is your greatest fear? 

That Kyle and I will never have the six kids we want!

What makes you happy? 

Every unexpected and beautiful thing, most especially children’s laughter.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

I’m tempted to say I’d never have gotten on that plane from London to Tompkins Falls, but really, all that has happened since has made me stronger. Maybe even better.

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Hands down my college president, Justin Cushman. He makes me totally crazy with his special assignments “for the good of the college” and enticements “for the good of your career, Lyssa.”

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

That is a double-edged sword, because I greatly admire my AA sponsor, Gianessa. I’d love to have her serenity and power of gentle persuasion, but the rest of her life? Never! She’s married to Justin Cushman.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Like me, C. T. Collier was a tech savvy professor, but lately she spends her time writing The Penningtons Investigate. You can find teasers about all our adventures at her blog. And, of course, she lives in the Finger Lakes.

What's next for you?

Now that would be a spoiler, wouldn’t it!

Vamoosed

The Penningtons Investigate Series, Book 4

Professor Rand Cunningham is shot and left for dead on the Penningtons’ front lawn, and Lyssa Pennington could be next. Who’s behind the drive-by hit?

The husband of one of Rand’s conquests? 

The lawyer-brother of the student whose sexy video went viral on the Internet? 

The father of the actress passed over for a part in the movie of Rand’s bestseller? 

While Rand fights for his life, Detective Shaughnessy hunts for the badass truck seen speeding away from the scene. 

Lyssa and Kyle follow a lead to Norway, where villains, trolls, and other bombshells will change their lives forever.

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