MYSTERY AUTHOR HEATHER AMES ON LIFE UPSTAGING ART

 

Image by Robin Olson from Pixabay

Heather Ames writes two mystery series (one with a paranormal twist,) standalone suspense, romantic suspense, and short contemporary romances. When she’s not writing, she’s traveling the world or dreaming up new adventures. She’s lived in five countries, seven states, hitchhiked around Europe, lived in a 6^th floor walk-up in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower and worked as a bartender in Madrid. During a long career in healthcare, she has seen more dead and/or mangled bodies than the average person and carried pepper spray for safety when going to treat patients in the barrios of L.A., All these experiences enrich her novels. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

A Moment of Reflection

Serendipity is a strange and frequently bizarre journey into unknown territory. Sometimes it can be called karma. Other times, just plain annoying. But it’s always one of those sudden, out-of-the-blue experiences that makes anyone, even the most cynical among us, take a moment to wonder why and how it happened.

 

I had one of those moments this week. I’d worked on a blog post I thought was almost ready to roll when life lobbed one of those curve balls that, if written into a novel, would be dismissed as plot manipulation. 

 

More than ten years ago, the transmission on my vehicle started experiencing problems. First it was one thing, which was fixed, but only a couple of weeks later, a bigger problem developed. My car went into the service department and ended up staying there two weeks. During that time, I was put into a rental at no cost while a decision was made about whether the repair would be covered by the manufacturer. While I wondered whether an extremely expensive repair was going to make me purchase a replacement, I found I really liked the rental vehicle. I also found that particular model was out of my price range, even one that had been previously owned. Luckily, the repair was covered, and when I did trade in that car, it was for one within my budget, not my fanciful daydreaming.

 

Jump ahead to two weeks ago. The vehicle I now owned suddenly stopped talking to me. When I took it in for that issue and a routine servicing, I received bad news…the cost of replacing the part was not only prohibitive, but another big-ticket problem was also discovered. I opted to fix the major oil leak, but not the silence. I figured I could always tune into a radio station on my phone, and I was assured the lack of verbal communication from the car wasn’t a safety issue. 

 

But less than a week later, a warning message notified me that my transmission had failed. This time, there was no coverage to bail me out. With two big outstanding repairs, I realized I was going to have to find a replacement. While still in shock, I searched online, then tramped around a big used car lot with a hundred choices. But yesterday the dealership called. A newer version of the vehicle I had driven for two weeks all that time ago and really liked had just been traded in. It was within my price range, and it’s now in my driveway.

If I had written this story into a plotline, I know I’d have seen raised eyebrows, even eye rolls, and heard this was too much of a coincidence. Although all books in my Ghost Shop series have magical elements, I’m sure I’d have been told this particular subplot’s outcome could only have occurred as the result of using a spell or waving a wand. Detractors would tell me to rewrite the story, leaving serendipity by the wayside.

 

Sometimes, life not only imitates art, life upstages it. Those strange little unexpected, quirky moments that whisper to us from the ethers need to be acknowledged. This was one of those moments. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has experienced a momentary chill, or a moment of déjà vu. But writing one into a book? Maybe not.

 

Tapped by Fate

A Ghost Shop Mystery, Book 1

 

A reluctant psychic inherits a spooky metaphysical shop in Salem, Oregon and teams up with a retired detective who suspects his daughter’s drowning was no accident. Dark forces lead Sunny Kingston to rely not only on her new partner, Ash Haines, but her enigmatic, fortune-telling assistant, a gargoyle more animal than mineral, and a questionably human winery owner in search of redemption. Vincente Valderos has a hint of sulphur about him and a proposition that’s difficult for Sunny and Ash to ignore. But it comes with a bigger price tag than either of them may be willing to pay.

 

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MEET RAELY MYNOR VIDEC, THE PROTAGONIST OF GHOST TAMER BY MEREDITH R. LYONS

Jake, the inspiration for Blitz

Today we sit down for an interval chat with Raely Mynor Videc from Ghost Tamer by author Meredith R. Lyons.

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

I'll be honest, it was pretty normal. I had a job, I had a best friend, I didn't see any ghosts, I didn't even think about ghosts. I never even considered whether or not I believed in ghosts. Now I’m up to my neck in ghosts. They’re like… a regular life thing.

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

I have to say my sense of humor. I enjoy comedy, I enjoy making people laugh, and the world is a lot sometimes, and it's way better to laugh at it than cry about it.

What do you like least about yourself? 

I have a bit of a temper sometimes, and it's not a good look. 

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

I mean—and I’m sorry, I’m trying really hard not to swear—I feel like events got strange from the get-go. I was instantly involved in an elevated train crash. There hasn’t been one of those in Chicago since 1977. I guess the whole psychic finding-my-essence thing was the freakiest. I somehow lost two hours of time.

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

Casper says I argue with everyone. I just have opinions is the thing. And I’ll be real: I was not in my best place when this story started. So I was kinda resistant to everything. I didn’t want to move forward, I didn’t want to grow or learn things. I just wanted to go back. So I probably argued a lot more than I think I did.

What is your greatest fear? 

Whew. That’s a tough one. I feel like it’s already happened. I mean, my best friend died, and I couldn’t do anything. I guess if something happened to my mom or my cat, Blitz. But wait, don’t give her any ideas.

What makes you happy? 

Wine is pretty nice. And White Cheddar CheezIts. They actually pair really well with red wine from one of those big bottles. And my cat. And hanging out with my mom is always nice. My friends at the comedy club. There's one guy named Luck who's pretty cool.

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

I would not have Joe die. He was such a good person, and he was just getting started. He would have been so much better at all of this ghost stuff than I am. He was better at everything. It was a waste. A waste of a super good person.

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

Um Dylan. For sure. And I am positive that I am not alone on this.

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why? Sometimes I wanted to trade places with Joe, which I know sounds bad, but I just feel like he was doing so much more than I was. He had so much to live for and was such a great person. Other than that, I'd trade places with Blitz. Especially during a Chicago winter. What could be better than being an indoor cat all curled up in the warm all the time?

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

She's like, eeeeeeeeeverywhere. Her website is meredithraelyons.com and her blog is at the same place with /faster. She's on all the social medias @meredithrlyons. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two cats and has a lot of book events planned around that area this fall. Those are all on her website, too.

What's next for you? 

Honestly, I'd like to chill for a while? Just get used to being a ghost tamer or whatever. Learn about it from Lovonia. Get used to being on stage again. I'm still probably grieving a bit, too. Okay, I am definitely still grieving. So I should probably give myself time for that. Although she keeps talking about a sequel. I kind of hope she bothers some other people for a few months though. Honestly.

 

Ghost Tamer

Death is one thing, it's what you do afterward that matters. 

 

Aspiring comedian Raely is the sole survivor of a disastrous train wreck. While faced with the intense grief of losing her best friend, she realizes that someone is following her—and has been following her all her life. Trouble is, no one else can see him. For a ghostly tag-along, Casper’s not so bad. He might even be the partner Raely needs to fight the evil spirit hell-bent on destroying her.

 

Raely and her friend must learn why this demonic spirit is haunting Raely and how she can stop him before he destroys her life—and her soul. Which, much to her chagrin, means she needs the help of a psychic (although she’s sure they are all charlatans) and must rid herself of the pesky ghost hunter who’s interested in exploiting her new abilities.

 

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BOOKCLUB FRIDAY ON A MONDAY--MYSTERY AUTHOR E.J. COPPERMAN'S NEW SERIES

E.J. Copperman is the author of thirty mystery novels. He advises you can count them if you like, but you’d have to count the first six under another name. Among them have been the Haunted Guesthouse, Agent to the Paws, Mysterious Detective and Asperger’s Mysteries, a collaboration between both those names. Learn more about E.J. and his books at his website. Today he joins us to talk about his newest series, the Fran and Ken Stein Mysteries.

Creating Characters from Scratch

Some years ago – and by “some” I mean a lot – the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series was going strong and my publisher was interested in perhaps branching out a bit. (No, there aren’t going to be any more Guesthouse books and no, that wasn’t my idea.) Could I come up with something else that sort of touched on the paranormal without being, you know, scary?

 

Well, I wasn’t interested in frightening people so I started to think of things other than ghosts that could play into a mystery novel series. (My editor had been clear on one point: “NO ZOMBIES!” and I was more than okay with that.) Vampire detectives? It had been done. Werewolf detectives? Done. Invisible detectives? More than done. 

But one area of the Universal Pictures monster pantheon had not yet been written as a mystery series, in particular a traditional one without the horror theme, before. The idea struck me as perfect: Frankenstein, P.I.

 

Before you tune up and tell me Frankenstein was the scientist and not the creature, trust me, I know. But in this case, if the creation could be a person living in present times and in a familiar setting, there could be some fun to have with it. Suppose this was a descendant of the original creature, living generations later in New Jersey (I set everything in New Jersey in those days) and trying to solve crimes because his (the creature was male until Elsa Lanchester came along) ancestor had been so badly treated by the criminal justice system of his time. Suppose he had some mystery about his creation that he needed to solve over a series of books. Suppose I had a better idea than that.

 

I decided against the descendant thing. It was too complicated to figure out who the mother was, for one thing, because Elsa had been adamantly against such things. And I felt that over all that time, what made the creature special would have been diluted by genetics. Thawing him out from being frozen (which is closer to Mary Shelley) was a possibility but didn’t especially interest me.

 

But what if this creature was a woman? What if she was created outside the Frankenstein universe? What if…

 

Wait a minute. Frankenstein. Fran. Ken. Stein.

 

Suddenly I had a pair of siblings and that’s where it took off. Fran and Ken were (when the book opens) an adult brother-and-sister pair of investigators who had questions about how they were created, who the people were who created them (and to whom they refer as “our parents”) and why those people had abandoned them at an early age, reportedly due to concerns about the children’s security?

 

It took a while, but UKULELE OF DEATH, the first Fran and Ken Stein Mystery, was published on May 2, and it answers some, but not all, of the questions. The Steins have opened a detective agency that specializes in helping adopted people find their birth parents because Fran and Ken have some experience with growing up knowing very little of their lineage. When they stumble (or walk, more accurately) into a murder plot that seems to have something to do with their own situation, things get complicated in a hurry.

 

Years have gone by, but Fran and Ken are finally seeing the light of day. Their origin story is, let’s say, unique and their attitudes (not to mention their physical abilities) might be a little unusual as well. They know they’re different and they know why. But does that mean they’re not people?

 

It’s up to you to decide, but I’m glad you’re finally getting the chance. 

Ukulele of Death

A Fran and Ken Stein Mystery, Book 1

 

After losing their parents when they were just babies, private investigators Fran and Ken Stein now specialize in helping adoptees find their birth parents. So when a client asks them for help finding her father, with her only clue a rare ukulele, the case is a little weird, sure, but it’s nothing they can’t handle.

 

But soon Fran and her brother are plunged into a world where nothing makes sense – and not just the fact that a very short (but very cute) NYPD detective keeps trying to take eternal singleton Fran out on dates. 

 

All Fran wants to do is find the ukulele and collect their fee, but it’s hard to keep your focus when you’re stumbling over corpses and receiving messages that suggest your (dead) parents are very much alive.

 

Ukuleles aside, it’s becoming clear that someone knows something they shouldn’t – that Fran and Ken Stein weren’t so much born, as built . . .

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR AMBER FOXX TAKES US ON A TRIP TO A NEW MEXICO GHOST TOWN

Chloride, New Mexico

Amber Foxx, author of the award-winning Mae Martin Psychic Mystery Series, has worked professionally in theater, dance, fitness, yoga, and academia. She has lived in both the Southeast and the Southwest and calls New Mexico home. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

The Perfect Setting for a Mystery

My first trip to the ghost town of Chloride, New Mexico made me think: I have to set a book here. I had nothing in mind yet other than the setting, and what a setting! A late nineteenth century silver mining boom town, with nothing left but a few streets, some well-preserved buildings, and two graveyards. My books are psychic mysteries without murder, so there was a lot of potential in the place.

 

Chloride was founded because of Harry Pye, the first to discover silver in the canyon. The area went from wild open space, Apache land, to a town of three thousand in a few short years, with a bank, an armory, a Chinese laundry, saloons, and brothels—and no church. Pye didn’t live to enjoy it. While out prospecting a few months after staking his silver claim in 1879, he was killed by Apaches who fought against this encroachment on their land. Chloride thrived for only about twenty years, declining as rapidly as the price of silver did by the end of the nineteenth century.

 

The general store still stands, as do many of the old stone and adobe buildings on the main street. There’s an abandoned mine in the canyon at the far end of the town beyond one of the graveyards. The ghost town has a few residents, primarily artists and craftspeople.

How did I get my characters involved in this place? My psychic protagonist is asked to participate in a ghost hunt. I don’t write historical novels, but one of my secondary characters does. Another secondary character, a country singer, is a history buff. He buys an old house in Chloride as a refuge from celebrity and brings my protagonist’s boyfriend, a singer-songwriter, to Chloride for a creative retreat—a much needed fresh start for them both. 

 

An antagonist character I’d had lurking in the back of my mind for years fit well into the setting as another person seeking a creative retreat, and she was the perfect foil for my main characters. Inspired by some astounding art quilts in the gallery housed in a former saloon, I added a mysterious quilter as a Chloride resident. 

 

Places like Chloride in its heyday attracted men and women who wanted to disappear from their old lives and start anew, and that evolved as an important undercurrent in the story. 

 

My second trip to Chloride was a research trip. The gentleman who helped rescue Chloride and turn parts of it into a museum gave me an in-depth tour. Details he told me helped build the plot, including the lack of cell phone service in town and for ten miles outside of town. There’s nothing like getting in trouble in the middle of nowhere when you can’t call for help. 

 

Chloride Canyon

A Mae Martin Psychic Mystery, Book 8

 

Could a faked haunting in a ghost town stir up a real one? 

 

Mae Martin’s college summer session is off to a rough start. A classmate is out to make her life miserable. Her English professor is avoiding her. And the Paranormal Activities Club plans to investigate her psychic abilities. Her boyfriend, Jamie, is on a song-writing retreat in the ghost town of Chloride, New Mexico, population fourteen humans, twenty-three cats, and—supposedly—zero ghosts. He’s working with a famous friend who doesn’t want Mae, or anyone, to visit. But then Jamie’s neighbor claims her house is haunted, and Mae has to learn who’s behind the frightening events—the living, or the dead.

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - MYSTERY AUTHOR C.N. HILL SPINS A TALE WHILE SPINNING WOOL

C.N. Hill is a married mom of five living in Georgia where she get much of her inspiration for her stories. Although relatively new to mystery, she’s published science fiction romance and Regency romance under other pen names. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

Although I am a writer first and foremost, I also spend my time as a fiber artist. I take fleece from sheep or alpaca, clean and card them, then spin them on my spinning wheel to make yarn. With the yarn, I knit or crochet sweaters, hats, blankets…you name it. The process is soothing and stimulating at the same time, and I find that if I am stuck in a story, a little fiber art does wonders to help me work it out. I can’t imagine writing without spinning or knitting, and there is always something on my wheel or on my needles. It makes sense, then, that I would incorporate these skills into my books somehow. 

 

In The River House, the hero (Rob’s) mother, Helen, is also a fiber artist. She shows Jenna around her workroom and Jenna becomes enamored with it as well. In the book, Helen has gone so far as to acquire her own flock of sheep! Although not a primary character, she is important to the series and makes an appearance in all the books so far. In future books, Jenna will learn knitting and may delve deeper into fiber as the series goes along.

 

The River House begins with a murder, decades old and a haunted cabin on the edge of a river in the deep South. Jenna is a born medium who has restricted her talents to occasional ghost-hunting trips with her friend Rob and his spirit-seeking troop. When Rob’s cousin suspects a ghost in her newly acquired cabin, Rob brings Jenna on to investigate. What they find takes them on a wild ride to uncover the secrets of the River House and bring a killer to justice before they strike again.

 

The River House

A Jenna Rayne Mystery, Book

 

A reluctant medium, 

a haunted cabin, 

and a hidden killer.

 

The spirit world has always called to Jenna, despite her attempts to escape. College, career, these were the things that she had worked for…until the day an old friend asks for help. 

 

Hidden in a stilted cabin on the river is a decades old murder with a ghost. Who it is and why it is there are secrets Jenna needs to uncover. With her friends Rob and Kerrie, Jenna begins to untangle the clues that will lead to a killer’s identity. But someone doesn’t want her talking to the spirits on the river, and accidents start to dog her heels. It soon becomes clear that the more she explores her talents, the more she endangers herself and those around her. Somehow they need to find the murderer before the murderer finds them. 

 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--MYSTERY AUTHOR CAROLYN J. ROSE ON WRITING WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW

Carolyn J. Rose grew up in New York's Catskill Mountains and emerged from the University of Arizona with a degree and a tan. Following two years with Volunteers in Service to America, a series of coincidences and chance encounters led her to TV news and 25 years as a researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. Her substitute teaching experiences and her sometimes rocky relationship with dogs led to the Subbing isn’t for Sissies series and the creation of the canine character called Cheese Puff. Other than writing, her interests are reading, swimming, walking, gardening, and NOT cooking. Learn more about Carolyn and her books at her website.

Taking a Literary Leap and Writing What I Don’t Know

For many years I took the advice “write what you know” to heart. I set mysteries in the Catskill Mountains where I grew up, and on the Oregon Coast where I often vacationed. During my 20 years as a high school substitute teacher, I wrote a 13-book humorous mystery series featuring a younger, smarter, thinner, and more catastrophe-prone version of myself.

 

But last year, as winter closed in and the lockdown continued, I considered writing about what I didn’t know. The choices were almost limitless. I don’t know how to pilot a jet or perform brain surgery. I don’t know about life in Haiti or Honduras or Hungary. I don’t know much about physics or pastry or pottery. I know next to nothing about alchemy or actuarial tables or advanced algebra.

 

Now, I like to think I’m a fairly bright person. But I’m in my seventies, and brain cells seem to be departing from the interior of my skull at an alarming rate. Could I learn enough about a fresh topic or skill to write in a credible manner? Or would I be called out by readers who know far more than I do?

 

For the record, as a reader I often feel a guilty thrill of pleasure when I spot a protagonist displaying ignorance about a subject I grasp. But, as a writer, I cringe when I receive an email from a reader who caught me with my smarty-pants down.

 

To avoid that shame and embarrassment, I decided to pick a topic that would allow me to fictionalize for 400 pages without doing more than a lick of research. The topic I hit on was ghosts. The book I wrote is The Three Shades of Justice: Never Give Up the Ghost. It centers around three elderly women killed in a car crash who return as ghosts to help their friend Emma Preston oust the shady assistant administrator of their senior residence.

 

But first they have to learn how to develop their powers so they can get more than a few feet from Emma. It’s a steep learning curve and they’re easily distracted by the disposition of their worldly goods, the selection of their urns, the dog and cat now in Emma’s care, their desire to don outfits other than the ones they died in, and Emma’s growing friendship with Spencer Rutledge.

 

Although glad her friends are still with her, Emma is not so delighted when they read her thoughts and invade her privacy. She’s even less pleased when they bicker, quibble, butt in on conversations, badger her to eat their favorite foods, and persuade her to take in an orphaned parrot.

 

Writing this book let me play a months-long game of What If? and speculate wildly about ghosts, their potential powers, and whether the personalities they had in life would carry over to their afterlives. I asked myself who they might haunt, who might be able to see them, and whether their time as ghosts might be limited. And then I made up the answers.

 

But, although knowledge and accuracy weren’t issues when it came to ghosts, there were other things I wanted to get right. So I pointed and clicked my way to sites with information about meringue, night-vision goggles, funeral urns, what parrots eat, and the full names of four former First Ladies.

 

In the process I learned a lot. Will I remember it next week? Doubtful. Like I said earlier, too many brain cells are, well, giving up the ghost.

The Three Shades of Justice: Never Give Up the Ghost

Emma Preston’s best friends are dead.

 

But not departed.

 

Killed in a car crash, they return to their senior residence to take care of unfinished business—getting the goods on the malicious assistant administrator. Sadye Connor has been stealing supplies and skimming accounts; now she’s upping her crime game.

 

Stubborn and opinionated in life, Eddie, Ida, and Loren are no different in their afterlives. Instead of honing their haunting skills, they bicker about strategy, blow off training, belittle teamwork, and badger Emma about the quality of their urns and the care and feeding of their entitled pets. Worse yet, they read her thoughts, butt in on conversations, and allow her no privacy to pursue a budding romance.

 

Can Emma wrangle the wraiths in the direction of detection in time? Do the Three Shades of Justice have a ghost of a chance of stopping Shady Sadye? Or will the ectoplasm hit the fan?

 

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AUTHOR ERICA OBEY ON FAIRIES, FLOWERS, AND MYSTERY

Award-winning author Erica Obey writes  romantic mystery, historical mystery, and paranormal mystery. She’s also the author of a nonfiction book on female folklorists of the nineteenth century. Today she joins us to talk about flowers, fairies, and mysteries. Learn more about Erica and her books at her website.  

Try a Little Garden Magic

Kate Ames, the heroine of my latest historical mystery, Dazzlepaint, earns her living by illustrating Flower Fairy books. But you don’t have to believe in fairies to practice a little garden magic all your own. Here are a few of my favorite magical garden plants.

 

Snowdrops are always magical – poking their heads through the snow in the dead of winter to remind us spring will happen. According to Dr Thomas Forster’s Perennial Calendar and Companion to the Almanac,  

 

The Snowdrop in purest white arraie 
First rears her hedde on Candlemas daie; 
While the Crocus hastens to the shrine 
Of Primrose lone on St Valentine.’

 

And here it is! (photo above) Poor thing is looking like it’s having serious second thoughts, but I found this one on January 31, two days before Candlemas – or as we call it in America, Groundhog Day. Perhaps because they fight the elements so hard outdoors, it’s considered unlucky to bring snowdrops indoors, lest they ruin the cow’s milk or affect the laying hens.

 

Hellebore is another early blooming favorite in the cottage garden. It is often referred to as the Christmas rose, partly because of its blooming season, but also due to a legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ child in Bethlehem. Hellebore has a reputation as a hallucinogen, but it can also be used to cure madness. Melampus of Pylos saved the daughters of the king of Argos from a Bacchus-induced madness, and Herakles was cured from a fit of madness induced by Hera – both using hellebore. 

 

Foxglove – also known as Fairy Caps, Fairy Gloves, Fairy Thimbles, Fairy Herb, Fairy Bells, Fairy-fingers, Goblin Gloves, Fairy Petticoats, and Fairy Weed – is so closely associated with the fairies, it’s hard to know where to begin. Some stories suggest that the word ‘foxglove’ is merely a misrepresentation of ‘folk’s glove’, i.e. gloves belonging to the little people. This story is echoed in the belief that the mottled spots inside the flowers are actually fairy handprints.

 

Another says that the gloves do indeed belong to foxes and that fairies gave them to the foxes so they could sneak into the hen house without being heard. Another tale goes that the bell-shaped flowers would make a magical noise when rung and the fairies rang the bells of foxgloves to warn the foxes when a fox hunt was nearby. 

 

Yet another legend explains that because foxglove is sacred to the fairies, it has the power of recognizing them, and it bows in deference to them as they pass by. So if the foxgloves in your beds begin to sway, it is possible the fairies are paying your garden a visit. Given all these stories, it is no surprise that foxgloves symbolize riddles, conundrums, and secrets in the language of flowers.

 

Hollyhocks are so easy to grow, they are known as alley orchids. And any well-bred woman at the turn of the century knew that they were a subtle signal of where to find the outhouse. 

 

One of my first gardening memories was a great-aunt teaching me how to make hollyhock dolls. Do you remember how?

 

1. Pick a large, newly opened blossom for the skirt.

2. Remove the stamen and pistils and replace with a toothpick, with the blunt end at the bottom.

3. Select a slightly smaller blossom or flower bud for the cape/body.

4. Choose a bud for the doll’s head, and thread on the last 1/4” of the toothpick.

5. If you like, find one last flower to give your doll a proper picture hat.

 

These are only four of my favorite flowers in the spring garden. Later in the year, I look forward to the reblooming Miracle Lily and the fabulous Miracle on the Hudson rose. I live and garden in Byrdcliffe, the arts colony in Woodstock that inspired Dazzlepaint’s fictional setting, Ker-Ys. And while I haven’t encountered any of the fairies you might find in my book, the magic of the Green World is never far away in this special place. 

 

Dazzlepaint

A Romantic Mystery of the Husdson River Valley

 

Gavin Fellowes, a damaged WWI veteran turned cynical psychic investigator, arrives in Ker-Ys, a Utopian art colony in Woodstock, NY, to investigate a series of purported fairy kidnappings of Communist garment workers who have taken over the failed Overlook Mountain House above the village. He is rapidly confronted with the willful blind spots of the well-meaning artists and the burgeoning anti-Semitism of the Catskills. With the help of Kate Ames, an illustrator and dazzlepaint designer who once might have been kidnapped by the fairies herself, Gavin must dig beneath the myth and legend to uncover an all-too-real occult threat that looms over Europe in the aftermath of the Great War.

 

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AUTHOR C.A. ROWLAND EXPLORES THE GHOSTS OF SAVANNAH IN NEW MYSTERY SERIES

Olde Pink House

Author C.A. Rowland writes historical fiction, science fiction, fantasya and the Haunted City Mystery Series set in Savannah, Georgia. She comes by her interest in ghosts, myths, legends, and the paranormal from having spent hours in cemeteries with her grandmother. Learn more about C.A. and her books at her website. 

A few years ago, I flew to a work conference in Savannah, Georgia. Normally, I would have driven the eight hours since I like to stop along the way when I see something that interests me. I also love to take ghost and historical tours, so I’ll drive to different houses or sites either before or after my work obligations. 

This time, I was pressed for time. And as happens in my life from time to time, the creative world had something else in mind for me. 

Carry-on bag in hand, I deplaned and headed to the taxi stand. There I met the most energetic and engaging woman taxi driver. She reminded me of one of my friends from Texas, and inspiration struck. 

I had wanted to write a mystery series and had considered Savannah or somewhere in Texas. Still, as we drove into the historic district, I realized that my love of the architecture, history, and everything in Savannah would be perfect. And I had my protagonist, Trisha, inspired by my taxi driver. Which was just about the time Trisha’s newly dead Aunt Harriet showed up, not wanting to be left out. 

With Aunt Harriet, I had a doorway into the ghostly secrets of Savannah, which I love. In the first novel, The Meter’s Always Running, we get a small glimpse into this world. In the second novel, which will be out next year, Aunt Harriet shows us the other world existing inside a local restaurant, The Olde Pink House. 

It was originally known as the Habersham House because it was owned by James Habersham, Jr., one of Savannah’s founding family members. The building was constructed with red bricks, which were then completely covered with white plaster. No one knows whether it was the quality of the bricks or the plaster job, but the red bricks bleed through, causing the building to turn pink. After years of trying to cover it, in 1920, the owner painted it pink, and it’s remained its trademark color to date.

The building changed hands many times until it was restored by Jim Williams, the owner of the Mercer House. The Mercers and their history played a large role in The Meter’s Always Running, and as with many of my stories, history is an integral part. 

In the basement of the Olde Pink House is a wonderful tavern, where the ghosts of little children are said to play tricks on those who enter the bathrooms – locking the doors so the human guests can’t exit. Mr. Habersham is said to walk the halls, both in the dining rooms upstairs as well as the lower areas. So, if you feel a cold spot or breeze that isn’t the air conditioning, you may have just wandered near a spirit. 

And I’ve been told by Aunt Harriet that Emma Kelly, who you may recall from the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, sometimes tickles the ivories of the piano and sings for the spirits in the basement bar at times. 

It’s one of my favorite places, and I’m not surprised that Aunt Harriet found a way for me to include it in a story. Plus, for those who like trying out new restaurants, the Olde Pink House has a terrific menu of southern classics, including a BLT sandwich with fried green tomatoes and baked bacon with brown sugar. 

Crystal Beer Parlour

But that’s not the only place that provided some inspiration for the first novel. There’s a local restaurant called the Crystal Beer Palace, or The Crystal. It’s known for its juicy burgers, delicious peach cobbler, and a wide selection of unique and limited-release craft beers. It’s a fun place with Savannah memorabilia on the walls and a haunted picture near the payphone. A little girl named Sara haunts the upstairs, while Monroe and Smitty, two long time servers, are said to visit on occasion. Don’t be surprised if they show up in a short story or novel in this series. 

I’ve only begun to explore all the haunted places in Savannah, but hope you’ll stop by one of the many haunted spots if you have a chance to visit the city. Just the atmosphere of these places will give you a real sense of what the city is like both in our world and the otherworldly parts. 

The Meter’s Always Running

A Haunted City Mystery, Book 1

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, taxi driver Trisha Reede knows all the haunts and legends of the city built on the dead. After a long day of ferrying tourists, Trisha ejects a late evening out of line fare. But when he's found murdered, she questions her decision to let him out in such a seedy neighborhood. As the police investigation steers her way, she puts on the gas to solve the crime. As if she didn't already have enough baggage to deal with, newly dead Aunt Harriett shows up, helpful but cryptic, more dreamlike than real, warning of an enraged spirit searching for Trisha.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--INTERVIEW WITH COZY, MYSTERY & PARANORMAL AUTHOR RENEE GEORGE

Today we sit down for a chat with cozy, mystery, and paranormal author Renee George. Renee writes the Nora Black Midlife Psychic Mysteries. Learn more about Renee and her books at her website. 

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I think I always knew that I wanted to write books, especially books that provide an escape from everyday life and leave people with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end. I was in my thirties, working as a nurse, before I published my first book (2005) and realized it was possible to write professionally. Now I'm fifty-one and living my best life as a full-time author. 

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

Hah! I answered this in the last question. However, it was only after I went indie in 2014 that I started publishing the books I really wanted to write. 

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author? 

I am hybrid, though I've been predominantly Indie since 2014.

Where do you write? 

I am not someone who needs to be in a certain space to write. Actually, I'm the complete opposite. I will move from my office, to the dining room, to the deck, to the living room, and my bedroom (at home) when I'm on deadline because the space I'm in at any given time will start feeling like it is closing in on me. I can also write in the car, when I go on vacation (some of my most productive writing!), and really just anywhere. 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?  

I listen to classical music, white noise, or I need the space completely quiet when I'm writing. Anything with audible words will distract me (songs, tv, or people). My husband bought me noise cancelling headphones for Mother's Day last year, and now any space can be a writing space.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular? 

My latest character, Nora Black, is a lot of me, in that she is fifty-one (and has all the aches and nearsightedness that come with aging along with the feeling that she still feels vital and has a lot of life to live), recently had a hysterectomy, and has a couple of best friends she considers her tribe, but her life and the plots of the mysteries are all fiction. 

Describe your process for naming your character? 

Sometimes I just look at baby name websites and scour the names until one of them pops out and says, hey! choose me. My side and sub-characters tend to get names from my family and friends and acquaintances (though the characters themselves have nothing in common with anyone I know). 

Real settings or fictional towns? 

Fictional towns, for sure. Even if the name comes from an actual town, it's usually set somewhere else and the real town has no connection.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has? 

My heroine Nora Black has developed a psychic gift after dying on the operating table (less than 30 seconds). Now she can see memories that are related to scents. Only, it's other people's memories she's seeing, not her own. 

What’s your quirkiest quirk? 

I actually say stuff in real life like criminently, criminy, jiminy crickets, fudgy knuckles, cripes, jeez louise, crap on toast, along with more choice words that are less than cozy. 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why? 

Charlaine Harris's Dead Until Dark. It was the first paranormal mystery book that I'd ever read, and I thought the story was brilliant, and Charlaine Harris is a genius writer. After that I read all her books and series. Fun fact: I got to take Charlaine Harris to dinner before a book signing in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I fangirled so hard. After I dropped her off at the Barnes & Noble, I parked my vehicle and cried for a moment before I went inside the bookstore.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours? 

I don't have any do-overs, but there are a few books that I wish I would have taken a little more time with the ending. I won't be naming titles, though, since the readers haven't seemed to mind. 

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Chain letters (email, Messenger, or Facebook). I find "forwards" incredibly annoying.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves? 

A book, a piece of flint, and a machete.

What was the worst job you’ve ever held? 

Laundry and housekeeping in a nursing home (1987). I lasted one full week. 

What’s the best book you’ve ever read? 

I'm not sure I've ever read a "best" book. I've had best books of the moment.

Ocean or mountains? 

Ocean

City girl/guy or country girl/guy? 

Country. When I was younger, I would have said city, but the older I get, the quieter I like my life.

What’s on the horizon for you?

In August, I will be releasing War of the Noses (A Nora Black Midlife Psychic Mystery Book 3). 

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books? 

Reading has always been an escape for me, and I love books that have engaging characters I can identify with and satisfying endings that make me feel good when I've finished. That's what I try to accomplish with every book I write. I want readers to see the best of themselves in the characters, and to just feel really good when they get to the end.

Sense and Scent Ability

Nora Black Midlife Psychic Mystery, Book 1

My name is Nora Black, and I'm fifty-one-years young. At least that's what I tell myself, when I'm not having hot flashes, my knees don't hurt, and I can find my reading glasses.

I’m also the proud owner of a salon called Scents & Scentsability in the small resort town of Garden Cove, where I make a cozy living selling handmade bath and beauty products. All in all, my life's is pretty good.

Except for one little glitch...

Since my recent hysterectomy, where I died on the operating table, I’ve been experiencing what some might call paranormal activity. No, I don’t see dead people, but quite suddenly I’m triggered by scents that, in their wake, leave behind these vividly intense memories. Sometimes they’re unfocused and hazy, but there’s no doubt, they are very, very real.

Know what else? They’re not my memories. It seems I've lost a uterus and gained a psychic gift.

When my best friend Gilly’s abusive boyfriend ends up dead after a fire, and she becomes the prime suspect, I end up a babysitter to her two teenagers while she's locked up in the clink. Add to that my super sniffer’s newly acquired abilities and a rash of memories connected to the real criminal, and I find myself in a race to catch a killer before my best friend is tried for murder. 

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