BOOK CLUB FRIDAY – GUEST MYSTERY AND SHORT STORY AUTHOR WINONA KENT

Today we have a visit from award-winning Canadian mystery author Winona Kent, who has recently published her eleventh book. Ten Stories That Worried My Mother is an anthology of short stories spanning her four decades of creative writing. The Foreword is provided by well-known British Columbian author A.J. Devlin. Learn more about Winona and her books at her website.

Ten Stories That Worried My Mother begins with my first published short story, “Tower of Power”—about one night in the life of a rock and roll radio newsman—which won first prize in Flare Magazine’s fiction competition in 1982. The journey finishes with two mysteries starring my professional musician/amateur sleuth, Jason Davey: “Salty Dog Blues” and “Blue Devil Blues,” the former being shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada's Awards of Excellence for Best Crime Novella in 2021.

Between these two milestones are seven more pieces of short fiction featuring an unhinged Saskatchewan farmer; a bored secretary in England taking on an opinionated tea lady named Mrs. Thatcher; a shy high school kid with a crush on his soon-to-be-married social studies teacher; a creative writing instructor whose main claim to fame is one episode of the 1960s tv spy series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; a subversive temp working at a Canadian government office responsible for administering grants for cows; and two adventures featuring my time-travelling romantic heroes Charlie Duran and Shaun Deeley.

The collection includes four prize-winners, three mysteries, two previously unpublished works and one where the hero manages to spare-change John Lennon at the premiere of A Hard Day's Night in 1964. 

And yes, these stories really did worry my mother…

Ten Stories That Worried My Mother

“Tower of Power” - One night in the life of a rock and roll radio newsman. The author’s first published story, winner of the Flare Fiction Competition, originally published in Flare magazine in September 1982.

 

“Dietrich's Ash” - Inspired by an unfortunate situation that arose from a disputed property line between the author’s house and her neighbour’s house when she was growing up in Saskatchewan. Okanagan Short Fiction Award winner. Originally published in Canadian Author & Bookman. Winter 1985 and anthologized in Pure Fiction: The Okanagan Short Story Award Winners. (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) 1986. Also broadcast on CBC Radio, Ambience. 1982

 

“True Confessions” - A temp with nothing much to do, a tea lady named Mrs. Thatcher, and a rooftop garden overlooking a builder's yard. Originally published in Green's Magazine, a small Canadian literary journal, Volume XII, Number 4, Summer 1984.

 

“Creatures from Greek Mythology” - A student with a crush on his Social Studies teacher. A high school dance. A fine arts student who paints rainbows around her eyes. (Second Prize Winner, WQ Editors Prize). Originally published in Cross-Canada Writers Quarterly. Vol 6, No. 1, 1984. 

 

“The Man in the Grey Eldorado” - The first draft of this was written roundabout 1977 or 1978, after the author had spent a glorious few weeks at the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts at Fort San (a former TB sanitorium). Inspired by The Man from UNCLE, this is one of only two previously unpublished stories in the collection.

 

“Herd Maintenance” - Written in 1981 while the author was working as a temp at a federal government office on the Canadian prairies. This is the second unpublished story in the collection, although it did enjoy a brief life as a short, unproduced film script while the author was at Vancouver Film School in 2003-4. The typewritten letters in the story are real. The names have been removed to protect the innocent.

 

“Perhaps an Angel” - An adventure involving the two main characters from the author’s time travel romances, Charlie Duran and Shaun Deeley. Originally published in Carnival, a collection of short stories by Fable Press authors, in 2013.

 

“Easy When You Know How” - Another Charlie Duran/Shaun Deeley short story, in which Mr. Deeley manages to spare change John Lennon at the premiere of A Hard Day’s Night, and snag one of his plectrums. The story is also included at the end of the athor’s time travel romance novel, In Loving Memory.

 

“Salty Dog Blues” - Jason Davey, the author’s professional musician / amateur sleuth, was originally featured in a standalone novel, Cold Play (2012), working as an entertainer on board an Alaska-bound cruise ship. In “Salty Dog Blues,” the author takes him back to that nautical setting and gives him a very tongue-in-cheek mystery to solve. “Salty Dog Blues” was specifically written for and originally appeared in the short story anthology Crime Wave, published by Sisters in Crime-Canada West in November 2020. The story was a finalist in the Crime Writers of Canada's 2021 Awards of Excellence for Best Crime Novella.

 

“Blue Devil Blues” - This is a short story that was originally written for the anthology Last Shot: Four Tales of Murder, Mystery and Suspense, published in June 2021 with stories by Alice Bienia, Dwayne Clayden, Peter Kingsmill and the author. It tells the tale of how Jason got his permanent gig at the Blue Devil jazz club in London's Soho, and also manages to include the author’s obsession with the London Underground.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM THE SHEEPDOG FROM AUTHOR ELLE HARTFORD'S ALCHEMICAL TALES

Today we sit down for a chat with William from cozy mystery author Elle Hartford’s The Alchemical Tales. 

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

Well, it was a little frustrating, if I’m honest (don’t tell her that, though.) I’m a magical familiar; a sorcerer made me with a spell. But even though I can talk and reason and do protection spells just as well as anyone else—or even better!—people insisted on just treating me like a big black sheepdog. Talk about judging a fairy tale book by its cover!

 

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

I’ve got a clear head. Take my friend Red, for example—she’s an alchemist, and normally she’s very clever. But sometimes she gets all mixed up and tries to make friends with a bad guy, and that’s where I come in. I always have perspective on things. Me and Red traveled a lot together before we got to Belville, and I always keep her safe.

 

What do you like least about yourself?

I’m too fluffy. Everyone keeps calling me a “dog.”

 

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

The whole carousel horse thing was pretty weird (you can read all about it in The Carousel Capers, so I won’t bore you with the details here.) And so was standing outside in the rain running a booth at a fair—but that was mostly Officer Thorn’s fault.

 

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

Of course! I’ll argue with anyone who’s trying to boss me around.

 

What is your greatest fear?

Losing Red. She’s the one who gave me a chance at having a real home.

 

What makes you happy?

Walking under the stars at night, sharing gossip with a gnome named Dusty, and, okay, I’ll admit it—looking after Red.

 

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

I spent way too much time with that boring sorcerer, waiting to figure out what I wanted for myself. I should have gone out traveling much earlier. Then I would have met Red sooner.

 

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

Officer Thorn. She may be a good friend to Red, but she’s too bossy. Since when does being a police officer in a fairy tale town mean you know better than everyone else?

 

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

I wouldn’t trade place with anyone—I’m perfect as me!

 

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

Elle adores cozy mysteries, horses of all stripes, and above all, learning new things. As a historian and educator, she believes in the value of stories as a mirror for complicated realities. She currently lives in New Jersey with a grumpy tortoise and a three-legged cat. 

 

Apparently, she’s been putting up stories about our holidays on her website. She also blogs way too much, if you ask me. Isn’t she supposed to be writing sequels for us?

 

What's next for you?

I have a starring role—of course!—in the upcoming novel Beauty in the Alchemist. You all can read it starting August 12. Then you’ll see how I solved an ancient mystery, and how Red would be plant food at a haunted castle if it wasn’t for me!

 

The Carousel Capers

The Alchemical Tales, Book 1

 

Life is no fairy tale in the magical small town of Belville. When Red buys her dream storefront in the quaint Market Square, she knows she’ll be putting in hard work to make it a success.

 

But what Red doesn’t expect is a tiny antique carousel horse statue turning up in her mail. And she isn’t at all prepared for the slew of criminals and friends, greed and mystery that follow in its wake! It turns out that the carousel horse has a deep, dark secret. If she wants to head off doom, Red and her friends will have to brave ghostly forests, watery depths, wild mine cart rides, and even a fancy party or two.

 

In this series of short stories, each chapter focuses on a new carousel statuette–and a new mythical horse!

 

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GUEST AUTHOR SALLY CARPENTER ON COZY SHORTS AND KILLER PUPPETS

Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier now living in Moorpark, Calif. She’s written four books in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series. She plans to launch a new cozy series soon. Learn more about Sally and her books at her website. 

Cozy “shorts” for Winter Reading

Anthologies are like buffets, you can sample new-to-you foods before committing to a full entrée.

Patricia Rockwell, my publisher, was looking for a way that readers could “try out” her authors. She’s is the founder of Cozy Cat Press, a small press with over 40 authors and 100 books.

She’s also the editor of Cozy Cat Shorts, a new anthology of short stories from 25 CCP authors hailing from across the U.S. and Canada. Some wrote a new story featuring the protagonists from their series books. Others used new characters and settings. All the tales are suitable for cozy fans, no graphic language, violence or sex.

My contribution is “The Puzzling Puppet Show Caper.” The past months I’ve been working on a new series, so returning to my old series hero was a hoot. He’s such a colorful character that I had no trouble jumping back into “his” world and finding a new mystery for him to solve.

Sandy Fairfax is a thirty-eight-year-old former teen idol making a comeback and each new gig somehow includes a body. Like the TV character he played in his teens, Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth, Sandy starts poking around where he shouldn’t and nearly gets killed before naming the murderer.

The story idea came when I was watching DVDs of The Muppet Show and thought, “Sandy would have made a great guest star on the show!” So I put Sandy on a kids’ TV show with some rather unstable puppeteers.

Also, my high school had a TV studio and the seniors produced puppet shows on closed circuit TV for the local elementary schools. I learned about how to operate a hand puppet. In fact, my first published piece of writing was a puppet script!

While writing the “death trap” scene in the story, I had Sandy in a pickle. How would he escape? The solution made me laugh out loud for several minutes. I don’t know if other readers will find this moment hilarious, but it was one of the joys that makes writing so enjoyable.

The other stories are fun reads too. Here are the authors and their story titles,

Amy Beth Arkawy, “Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit”

Allen B. Boyer, “Apology for a Mystery”

C.F. Carter, “Dead as the Dickens”

Linda Crowder, “Paw and Claws”

Glen Ebisch, “The Return of Bigfoot”

Bart J. Gilbertson, “The Leopold Test”

Helen Grochmal, “Merridy’s Happy Family”

Lorrie Holmgren, “The Locked Room”

Bret Jones, “Modus Operandi”

Mary Koppel, “Mr. Wednesday”

Elizabeth Lanham, “The Hygienist”

Owen Magruder, “The Man in Tan”

Jane O’Brien, “Murder at Pepperberry Lake”

Joyce Oroz, “Bored to Death”

David Pauwels, “Cisco Maloney and the Case of the Missing Keys”

Emma Pivator, “A Lesson for the Teacher”

Joe and Pam Reese, “The Worst Sin”

Megan Rivers, “Story Stones”

Patricia Rockwell, “Walkers”

Rita Gard Seedorf, “Hope Against Hope”

Rae Sanders and Annie Irvin, “Idle Hands”

Lane Stone, “Foreign Affairs”

Margaret Verhoef, “Missing Digits”

Carmen Will, “And the Answer Is  . . . “Murder””

Cozy Cat Shorts: “The Puzzling Puppet Show Caper”

The latest gig for former TV star Sandy Fairfax is a guest appearance on the long-running children’s TV series, “Uncle Albert’s Farmhouse,” a tired show declining in the ratings and budget. When one of the puppeteers dies during taping, Sandy suspects the unscripted death scene was not accidental. But his sleuthing lands him in the crushing arms of a huge, murderous puppet.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR JOAN LEOTTA

Joan Leotta has been playing with words since childhood. She is a poet, essayist, journalist, playwright, and author of several books, both fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She is also a performer and gives one-woman shows on historic figures and spoken word folklore shows and teaches writing and storytelling. Today she stops by to tell us about her short story collection. Her latest work is a collection of poems. Learn more about Joan and her books at her website. 

Simply a Smile is the title story of my short story collection. I'm proud of this romantic tale inspired by an Atlanta, GA exhibition of the Chinese Terra Cotta soldiers. I stayed up all night to try to resolve in my own mind why one of the soldiers was smiling. The High Museum's careful explanations told us that real men ready to die for their Emperor had posed for these life-sized creations. Most were grim-faced, ready for battle. Even the horses looked fierce. Yet, one of the men was smiling. I could not let go of why and that night I crafted (then revised and revised) a tale of star-crossed lovers who are re-united at the place where the images of the soldiers were made.

The story won first prize in an Australian short story contest. I was thrilled. Over several years of writing, submitting, and being rejected I managed to put together a collection of tales that had resonated with others, either by being published in a national magazine or winning a contest. What brings together my tales, however, is not genre. My stories are a motley crew of women's fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, and even a western. The unifying feature is that each tale was inspired by an object. In one case the object was a recipe, in another, a thunderbolt, in the case of Simply a Smile, a statue.

Why don’t I stick to one genre? I think I am incapable of sticking to just one genre. I read widely and so I write widely as well. Objects have continued to inspire me, including art objects. I continue to enjoy writing all types of tales. At present, I am working on a mystery, and my backlog of "things to revise" includes several mystery/romances. Will I ever put all one genre in a collection? Maybe.

Finding a publisher for such an eclectic book was not easy. Many people advised me to self-publish. However, I finally convinced one of my publishers that the collection was worth bringing to life. Unfortunately, they subsequently went out of business! In an act of faith in my work, they sent my files to another publisher who loved the collection and added photos between the sections. I signed another contract. The book was published a second time. Then that publisher also went out of business. Eventually, I will self-publish the collection. However, I do have some copies available, and if you’d like one, contact me through my website.

Languid Lusciousness with Lemon

“Everyone hears / when called to the table,” Joan Leotta writes in her latest collection, Languid Lusciousness with Lemon. The title itself is a call to the table of lush language and insight that melds family and food. In this chapbook, Leotta serves up a feast of poems that explore our deep connections—to each other, to the food we carefully choose and prepare, to what nourishes and sustains us. Life’s sweetness stands out, / oft best preserved / when accented with tart, she writes in the title poem. You’ll find both the sweet and the tart along with a myriad of other more subtle flavors, so, come to the table, have a poem; have another, and fill yourself. These poems will leave you sated.

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GUEST AUTHOR BARB GOFFMAN ON RETIREMENT

Barb Goffman has won the Agatha, Macavity, and Silver Falchion awards for her short stories, and she’s been a finalist for national crime-writing awards nineteen times, including for the Anthony and Derringer awards. Her book, Don’t Get Mad, Get Even, won the Silver Falchion for the best short-story collection of 2013. When not writing, Barb runs a freelance editing and proofreading service. Learn more about Barb and her stories at her website and the Sleuth Sayers blog. Today we’re turning the blog over to one of her protagonists. 

Heading for Retirement—or the Slammer?

By Myra Wilkinson

It can be hard to say good-bye, even when you’ve been looking forward to leaving. I knew that was true for family (love to visit; love coming home more). But I’ve found it also applies to my job.

When this week ends, I’ll be retiring from the large Washington, DC, law firm that I’ve called home for the past forty-five years. For most of them, I’ve worked as the secretary to Douglas McPherson, who now runs the litigation department. Douglas was fresh out of law school when I was assigned to him during the Carter administration. We’ve been quite the team all these years. Leaving him will be hard.

Some of you might think I’m a little loony. Who’d miss typing up timesheets and arranging couriers? But it’s not the minutiae of my job that’s leaving me melancholy. Rather, it’s the bigger picture. Taking care of these tasks makes me feel important.  I play a key part of a team doing vital work. I doubt I’ll get the same feeling of satisfaction playing shuffleboard as I cruise the Caribbean.

And I’ll miss Douglas. Sure, he’s my boss, but after forty years he’s also my friend. No, scratch that. He’s more like family. Like my little brother. Sure he tries to order me around sometimes, but he also cares about me. And I him.

Of course family can sometimes annoy you, and Douglas is no different. I’m focusing on that as this week wears on. Looking at Douglas with a jaundiced eye will hopefully make it easier for me to leave on Friday for the final time. And to my surprise, Douglas is making it especially easy this week.

He’s hired this twenty-something bimbo named Jessica to take over for me after I leave. I’m supposed to train her this week, but it’s painfully obvious Jessica isn’t interested in learning the ins and outs of the job. All she cares about is landing a rich husband. I’ve tried to tell Douglas he’s made a mistake with this hire, but he won’t listen to me on this point.

It’s aggravating beyond belief that Douglas thinks a job so important, a job I’ve devoted my life to, can be done by this self-centered airhead.

But Jessica isn’t my only grievance. On Thursday night I’m going to learn something—I’m not saying what; I don’t want to spoil your surprise—that’s going to make it painfully clear that Douglas has been taking me for granted. At a time when I’ve been mourning the loss of seeing him most every day and being part of his team, it appears he hasn’t been giving me a second thought. That hurts. It makes me angry. And it leaves me wanting to teach Douglas a lesson before I retire—about the importance of caring for other people as much as you do yourself, about the pitfalls of vanity, and about the dangers of getting so wrapped up in work that you forget what’s really important in life.

When I planned my retirement, I hoped I’d leave with my stamp on the firm. But I hadn’t expected what’s coming. Anger and melancholy can be a dangerous mix. The question now is, have I gone too far? Will Douglas survive? And will my retirement be spent seeing the world or the inside of a prison?

~*~

To find out what happens to Myra and Douglas, read “Whose Wine Is It Anyway?” in Fifty Shades of Cabernet.

Fifty Shades of Caberet: A Mysterious Anthology

In vino mysterium is the theme for this anthology of short stories, each blending a baffling mystery and a glass (or more) of cabernet. 

When eighteen mystery writers combine their talents, the result is the perfect “flight” of stories that range from light-bodied puzzles to sparkling cozies to darker, heavier tales of deceit and murder. While cabernet is the featured wine, this anthology will appeal to connoisseurs of all varietals—in both wine preference and mystery style.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR LIESE SHERWOOD-FABRE

Awarding-winning author Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD she joined the federal government and had the opportunity to work and live internationally for more than fifteen years—in Africa, Latin America, and Russia. She's the author of The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes. Learn more about Liese and her books at her website.

Big Persian Slippers to Fill

When I came across a call for submissions of alternate universe Sherlock Holmes tales for an upcoming anthology, I found the challenge intriguing, but knew it required extra attention. Taking on the task of including an iconic fictional character in a new work involves special care. The stakes are even higher when he is quite well known and a good many people believe he truly lived.

A recent survey in Britain found 20% of respondents identified Sherlock Holmes as an actual, historical figure. And had they been asked, in all likelihood, they would have described him as a rather stuffy, humorless middle-aged man who wore a deerstalker hat and had an even older, pot-bellied friend—far from the detective who appeared in the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, or even the more recent manifestations of the man as a “high-functioning sociopath.”

When he first appeared in A Study in Scarlet, he might have been eccentric (who keeps tobacco in the toe of a Persian slipper?), but was only in his twenties and wore a top hat and frock coat. The man’s ability to apply logic and science in solving mysteries, however, lay at the heart of his popularity.

Moving forward with this project, then, meant keeping true to the spirit of the original Holmes, but in a very different sort of world. For the alternate universe, I fell back on a particular fascination of mine: vampires. This would not be my first venture into this world (you can find a free download of my short story “Debate with a Vampire” on my website), but the first involving a known literary figure. Immediately, I saw this world as suiting Sherlock. I’ve never viewed the vampire lifestyle as necessarily evil, but certainly melancholy. A life without sunshine would depress me—and I figured it would intensify Sherlock’s own despondency. In this universe, then, Sherlock might be a vampire, but not a happy one.

The one thing guaranteed to pull him out of a gloomy attitude was a puzzle or mystery to solve. Never interested in the commonplace problem, he was attracted to the case that stumped others. Given vampires’ immortality and powers of rejuvenation, the murder of one would provide the out-of-the-ordinary crime that would appeal to him.

Finally, I added some variations on well-known Sherlockian traits, but with a twist. Vampire Sherlock keeps rats instead of bees.

The resulting short story “The Case of the Tainted Blood” in the anthology Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures provides the twists needed to create the alternate universe, but still provides a recognizable detective ready to solve the improbable, but nevertheless possible, murder of a vampire.

Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures

Welcome back to Baker Street! Holmes and Watson are here to greet you once more spinning amazing tales of murder, mayhem, and mystery with a supernatural twist. This time the great detective and his stalwart companion will venture into alternate universes, histories, and futures to solve puzzling cases of the paranormal far beyond the bounds of imagination.

An Old West town plagued by a legendary beast, a dystopian future where black snow falls on Baker Street, a cyborg Holmes engaged in a psychological game with an ancient enemy, a world-weary Holmes and Watson who must choose between vampiric immortality and oblivion, and a classic noir with dames to kill for are just a few of the strange adventures that await you in Curious Incidents.

Grab your deerstalker and hold on tight! The game is afoot!

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GET IN THE MOOD FOR #VALENTINE'S DAY

Taking a break from crafts today to remind all of you that Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away. Get in the mood with Love, Valentine Style, a very special holiday anthology of novellas by six bestselling and award-winning authors. Whether you’re sharing the day with someone special or still in search of that special someone, lose yourself for a few hours in Love, Valentine Style. You won’t be disappointed.

Stories include:

Finding Mr. Right by Lois Winston

In this mini-sequel to the award-winning Hooking Mr. Right by Lois Winston (writing as Emma Carlyle,) editor Grace Wainwright, has taken over the role of bestselling author and romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy. Thea Chandler, the original Trulee, is now married to her Mr. Right and is a successful cookbook author. She and Grace host the top-rated Love Recipes cooking show. When producer Becket Delaney announces the first two shows in February will have a Valentine’s Day theme, Grace freaks out. The worst day of her life occurred on Valentine’s Day ten years ago, and she wants no reminders of it.

Beck has his own reasons for hating the holiday, but the show must go on, and he absolutely refuses to deal with an uncooperative prima donna. When a citywide blackout traps him and Grace in his thirty-fourth floor office, their adversarial relationship really begins to heat up.

Be My Other Valentine by Jasmine Haynes

Grace is a baker and Sugar & Spice Bakery is her life. Five years ago she was given a sacred duty to perform by a mother dying of cancer: Every Valentine's Day, Grace must deliver one of her beautiful cake creations to a little girl named Valentine, and it must be addressed from the girl's mother up in heaven. But this Valentine's Day, Grace's delivery truck might finally give up the ghost before she drops off her precious cargo.

Brian lost his wife five years ago, and their little girl Valentine is all he has left of her. But what Brian has forgotten is that very special gift Valentine receives every year on Valentine's Day, and he's moved his daughter to a new house with no way to contact the mysterious baker who has followed his wife's wishes all these years.

In their quest to fulfill a dying woman's last request, can Grace and Brian find their own Valentine?

Hotel Amore by Pamela Fryer

After being jilted at the altar by her fiancé, Virginia Montgomery quit her job and moved a thousand miles away to manage Hotel Amore on Little West Cay, hoping she’d never see that no-good coward Thomas Bennet again. But Fate and Mother Nature conspire together and whip up a little Valentine’s Day magic to bring Virginia and Thomas back together.

You know what they say; Fate doesn’t take no for an answer, and it isn’t nice to mess with Mother Nature.

Civil War Valentine by Haley Whitehall

Recently divorced museum curator Charlie Bristol comes to Seattle to set up a display at the Fine Art museum chronicling the history of Valentine’s Day. The director of the museum surprises her with a package of Civil War valentines from an anonymous donor. She reads the heartfelt messages and is touched by his words. Does such powerful love still exist?

During a nap she dreams she’s alive during the Civil War and meets Elliot Lowery, the author of the valentines who mistakes her for his fiancée Charlotte. She and Elliot negotiate the murky waters of wartime romance. When she wakes she’s still under the dream's spell and Valentine’s Day love is in the air, but Charlotte has no reason to celebrate. The man she loves died 150 years ago. Unless love works some miracle even time and death cannot overcome.

Forever My Valentine by Raine English

She left him... He loves her... A snowy Valentine's gives them a second chance.

Returning home after a disastrous job relocation, Miranda is determined to avoid the man she left behind—and whose heart she broke. Until she finds a hidden treasure in a music box. An engagement ring engraved with a decades’ old date. And the only man who can help reunite the precious ring with its owner is the last man she wanted to see.

When Ian sees Miranda walk into his antique shop, his defenses go up. She walked away from him once without a backward glance. Since then he’s given up on love. But when their eyes meet and sparks fly, he wonders if maybe there’s a Valentine’s Day miracle in store for them.

A snowy night’s journey to bring the ring to its elderly owner turns into a second chance at romance for Miranda and Ian. But as the frost melts from around their hearts, it exposes old hurts and deceptions. This Valentine’s Day could be the start of something wonderful. Or the proof that their love was never meant to be.

Valentine Rules by Mel Curtis

What started out as an innocent assignment for work –accompanying a popular actress fresh out of rehab on shopping trips – has gained Gemma Kent regular makeovers by said actress and a sidebar photo on People magazine’s cover!  All the attention would be flattering, except she’s become famous as a mystery woman with the Twitter handle: GlitterfrostGem.  Everyone, even the local gossip column, is speculating about her identity.  In real life, Gemma wears combat boots, poindexter glasses, and a prickly attitude.  Now Randy Farrell, the man she can’t get out of her head, wants a date with Glitterfrost Gem!  Which would be great if he realized that invisible Gemma Kent and Glitterfrost Gem were one and the same.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR EARL STAGGS

Today we’re joined by Earl Staggs, a two-time Derringer Award winner for Best Short Story of the Year. Earl previously worked as managing editor of Futures Mystery Magazine and is a past-president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Learn more about him and his books at his blog. earlstaggs@sbcglobal.net

Fact, Fiction and Legend

I love history, particularly when it’s about how people lived, loved, and died and what they did to earn a place in the archives of life. The facts are there, documented in stories handed down through generations or recorded by historians and writers.

But sometimes facts and truths foster legends and, once born, legends develop an enduring life of their own. Was there really a King Arthur or was he only a compilation of various myths and legends? Did George Washington really chop down that cherry tree, or is that only a legend created to teach children the importance of telling the truth?

How do we separate legend from truth? Fortunately, as a writer, I don’t have to. My job as a writer is to write an interesting and entertaining story even if I have to mix fact, fiction, and legend together.

As an example, I came across an interesting legend about Billy the Kid. According to the local lore in Hico, Texas, Billy wasn’t shot dead at the age of twenty-one by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico as claimed in history books. The story in Hico is that Billy lived out his final years there and died in 1950, a month after his ninetieth birthday. I visited the museum devoted to him and stood on the exact spot where they say he dropped dead of a heart attack. 

I took their legend, added a few facts, blended in a large amount of fiction, and produced a short story titled “Where Billy Died.” 

Now, I don’t write westerns or historicals. I write contemporary mysteries. In this story, a modern day bounty hunter named Jack goes to Texas to bring back a young bail jumper named Billy Joe Raynor. Jack has no idea he's been tailed by the chief enforcer for a major mobster. Is it because Jack roughed up the mobster's brother, or because of something Billy Joe did before he skipped town? In trying to stay alive and do his job, Jack also has no idea he'll get tangled up in a legend of the Old West about another young outlaw named Billy which will save his life and fix his marriage problems back home. 

I’m proud of how “Where Billy Died” turned out and even prouder that it brought home a Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society as Best Story of the Year. It’s a long short story (9200 words) available as a 99 cent ebook.

Something strange happened as I wrote that story. The research I did for “Where Billy Died” sparked an interest in me. It occurred to me there were other stories from the past in which fact didn’t match legend and I began digging into them. That led me to write a series of articles called “History’s Rich With Mysteries.” For these articles, I put fiction aside and concentrated on separating fact from legend. Kevin Tipple was kind enough to invite me to post them on his blog site. 

The first article, "The Mystery of Billy the Kid", had to do with Billy the Kid and further research led me to uncover several truths which had been twisted into legends. For instance, I’d always thought Billy the Kid was left-handed. Not true, I found out. I discovered a few other things in the legend surrounding his life that were not true. 

Next, I wrote "Who Was Etta Place,", the girl who traveled with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  Etta Place was not her real name and her entire life before and after she hooked up with Butch and Sundance is veiled in mystery.

After Etta, I took on Albert DeSalvo in, the man who confessed to being The Boston Strangler in “Albert DeSalvo – Was He Really the Boston Strangler?” Was he really the man who killed thirteen women in the Boston area? There are a number of reasons to believe he was not.

The next in turn was Frank James, Jesse’s brother, in "Frank--the Other James." A lot has been documented about Jesse but very little about Frank. He had a very interesting life.

In the most recent article, “She Cried For Help and No One Came,” I took a look at the horrific murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964. Legend and urban myth have always told us thirty-eight people watched her get stabbed to death and did nothing. That’s not the way it happened. 

More articles are planned for the future. 

Our world overflows with legends, and they’re often more provocative and interesting than what really happened. One legend, for example, offers that Butch Cassidy escaped his storied death in Bolivia and lived to a ripe old age back in the US. Another one proposes that John Wilkes Booth lived in Texas many years after that night at Ford’s Theater. 

Whether these and other legends are true or fanciful leaps from the facts, as a writer, I find them irresistible. To me, they’re tempting nuggets in the gold mine of history begging to be explored. I hope I live long enough to dig out the truth in many more of them. 

Where Billy Died

When Jack, a Philadelphia bounty hunter, goes to Texas to bring back a young bail jumper named Billy, he has no idea he's being trailed by the chief enforcer for a major mobster. Is it because Jack roughed up the mobster's brother, or is it because of what Billy did before he skipped town? In trying to stay alive and do his job, Jack also has no idea he'll get tangled up in a legend of the Old West that turns everything he knows on its ear.

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