#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--KEEPING KIDS BUSY WHILE STUCK AT HOME

Life has certainly thrown us a curveball. Most of the country is stuck at home, and we have no idea how long our isolation will last. We know it’s for the greater good, but if you have children, you’re probably at your wit’s end right about now and giving in to way too much screen time.

As for me, I’ve had to pause Anastasia’s latest adventure midway through writing it to help care for grandchildren while their parents work from home. Luckily, I have a LOT of crafts supplies. We’ve spent one afternoon making bead bracelets and necklaces and another playing with pompoms. Sure, you can glue pompoms together to make pompom animals, but there’s nothing like a pompom fight!

We’ve also gone old-school with things like bubbles.

Recently Beth Schmelzer sent me some links that I wanted to share with all my readers to help you cope with the restrictions of Covid-19, especially if you have children. For those of you with grandchildren, you might want to pass this post along to your children. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Beth says she finds inspirations in these sites. I hope you’ll find them helpful.

Penguin Random House sponsors the readbrightly.com site where you can find books and activities for different age groups. They sometimes include giveaways. There are also videos where books are read aloud.

WhatDoWeDoAllDay? is a blog by a mom of two boys. The site includes books, crafts, games, and other activities to keep children of all ages and interest levels "unplugged."

The Imagination Soup website is organized by age, grade and topic, listing books, games and toys. The theme of the blog is Raising Kids Who Love To Read.  

For those times when you don’t mind your kids having a bit of screen time, check out these free kids’ movies being offered by Amazon. And Audible is allowing kids to listen to a selection of audio books for free. 

If you know of any other sites with fun things to do while we’re all stuck at home, please share by posting a comment.

Finally, a little musical interlude…if like me, you’ve always loved “Sweet Caroline,” check out this new Covid-19 version by Neil Diamond. 

CELEBRATE NATIONAL PET DAY WITH AUTHOR TERESA INGE & MUTT MYSTERIES

Teresa Inge grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Combining her love of reading mysteries and writing professional articles led to writing short fiction and novellas. Today, she juggles assisting two busy executives and is the president of the Sisters in Crime, Mystery by the Sea chapter. Teresa is the author of the Virginia is for Mysteries Series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Mutt Mysteries Series. Learn more about her and her books at her website/blog.  

National Pet Day

With National Pet Day approaching on April 11, now is a great time to recognize and show appreciation for the happiness pets have brought to our lives by pampering them! Since pampering our pets has become an essential part of being a great pet parent, when we return unconditional love back to our pets, we create a happy and loving family for them. Check out the various ways below to take care of and pamper your pets.

Pampering 101

Give your pet a treat

Just like humans, animals love treats. One reason is because they taste different, but it also shows our affection and gratitude to them. But don’t over-do-it since it will no longer seem special and pets could gain weight.

Show some love

Get down on the floor and give them a belly rub. Or sit on the couch or outside patio to give them a good brushing. Pets love our attention and interaction more than we realize.

Buy or make a special gift for pets

Because gifts are fun to receive, pets love getting them from their family. Giving toys to our pets can help build skills, fight boredom, and prevent destructive behavior. They also keep good company for our pets while we’re away.

Walk the dog

Benefits of walking a dog will give your pet mental stimulation, exercise, training, elimination, socialization, and bonding for you both.

Nutrition

Since nutrition is the foundation of health and fuel for our pet’s maintenance and energy, giving them proper nutrients will build bones, joints, and muscles and help with the aging process for a longer life.

To Fetch a Scoundrel

Mutt Mysteries, Book 2

The mystery-solving mutts are back! To Fetch a Scoundrel, the second in the Mutt Mysteries collection, features four tail-wagging novellas. Each story puts pups’ noses to the ground, as scandals are unleashed and killers are collared. Once you’ve finished reading these tall “tails,” you’ll no longer wonder “Who let the dogs out?” You’ll just be glad somebody did! Stories include:

“The Fast and the Furriest” by Heather Weidner

Isn’t there enough action under the lights at the Amelia Race Track without the drama of a love triangle? An altercation leads to murder, and owner Cassidy Green and her Rottweiler Oliver have to uncover clues and find the killer before the bad publicity destroys her business.

“Pawsitively Scandalous” by Jayne Ormerod

What’s with the crime wave in the Grant’s Garden neighborhood? First a respectable member is arrested for crimes unknown, and then another neighbor dies under mysterious circumstances. Pilar Pruitt and her black lab/mix Natti are on the case, and the secrets they uncover are paws-itively scandalous!

“Ruff Goodbye” by Rosemary Shomaker

Does everyone bar owner Len Hayes knows have a secret? Yes, and secrets unravel after a funeral home visitation for Len’s late friend Curt. Miniature poodle Cloud signals danger. A certain black Lab may safeguard the truth. Will canine intervention ensure no one pays the ultimate price?

“A Doggone Scandal” by Teresa Inge

Catt Ramsey, owner of the Woof-Pack Dog Walkers, is back on the case when she receives a mysterious note in her pet supply order. Convinced the sender’s motive is scandalous, Catt packs up her SUV and heads to the Outer Banks with her sister Em, family friend Jonathan Ray, and pups Cagney and Lacey to solve the mystery.

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AUTHOR ROSEMARY SHOMAKER ON GIVING BACK THROUGH CONTRIBUTING TO THE MUTT MYSTERIES ANTHOLOGIES

Mystery, women’s fiction, and paranormal short story author Rosemary Shomaker writes about the unexpected in everyday life and collects story ideas from the grocery store, estate sales, vacant lots, and well, everywhere. Stay tuned as she takes her first steps toward longer fiction. Learn more about Rosemary and her writing at the Mutt Mysteries website and on Goodreads. 

Fortunate Bedfellows with Like-Minded Animal Lovers

Mutt Mysteries authors are dog lovers who connect with animal welfare partners and donate a portion of profits to pet charities. Lacy Kuller, executive director of the Chesapeake Humane Society, wrote the foreword to the first Mutt Mysteries book, To Fetch a Thief. The Mutt Mysteries authors continue the trend, spotlighting animal welfare, with the surprise providers of To Fetch a Scoundrel’s foreword.

Verlander. That name, recognizable to baseball fans, is not usually associated with mystery fiction. Curious to know the link? The Mutt Mysteries authors reveal the celebrity partners who supplied the foreword to To Fetch a Scoundrel: Kathy and Richard Verlander, parents of Major League Baseball players Justin and Ben Verlander.  

Here’s a bit first on the fine athletes with one hundred kilowatt smiles, before you hear the rest of the story. Ben Verlander played for the Detroit Tigers farm system. Two-time Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander began his career in Major League Baseball in Detroit and now pitches for the Houston Astros. Kathy and Richard raised their sons in Central Virginia, home to Mutt Mysteries authors Rosemary Shomaker and Heather Weidner.

When another local author shared a school appearance with Kathy and Richard Verlander and circulated the event on social media, Rosemary took note. She learned that Kathy and Richard are authors in their own right. Their Rocks Across the Pond (2012) details their family’s baseball journey, and their family usually included more than one canine member! 

Kathy and Richard’s The Shelter Gang and Their Secret Adventure (2018) is a delightful children’s book about rescued pets that sneak away from the shelter to play baseball as they await adoption by their forever families. The shelter “gang” includes quite a cast of canine characters. The book’s messages of the value of teamwork and respect for individual differences are true to the Verlander family ethos.

The Mutt Mysteries authors approached the Verlanders and asked them to write the foreword to the new book. Kathy and Richard agreed, and a new partnership was forged. Kathy and Richard share that when children learning about their Shelter Gang book ask if dogs and cats can really play baseball, they reply, “In our imagination they can.” In the foreword to the Mutt Mysteries collection, Kathy and Richard write, “We have now learned from To Fetch a Scoundrel, it seems they are also pretty darn good detectives!”

Goochland Pet Lovers benefits from the Verlander’s efforts, as both Kathy and Richard serve on its Board of Directors. Goochland’s new animal shelter, a public/private partnership between Goochland Pet Lovers and Goochland County, will open in 2020.

For the Mutt Mysteries authors and their partners, all animals matter. Sure, the novellas highlight dogs, but cats, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and horses have also touched their lives, and upcoming stories and blog posts may expand on those connections. 

This post mentions specifically the Chesapeake Humane Society and Goochland Pet Lovers, but many worthy animal welfare charities abound. Animal rescue and adoption groups, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, animal leagues, and governmental animal control offices, involve good-hearted employees and volunteers. 

Investigate opportunities to volunteer with animal welfare organizations in your local area. Make donations and support community outreach events from pet adoptions and fostering, to dog 5K fun runs and pet parades. Readers can join with like-minded pet lovers and ally with fortunate bedfellows to improve the lives of our animal friends.

To Fetch a Scoundrel

Mutt Mysteries, Book 2

The mystery-solving mutts are back! To Fetch a Scoundrel, the second in the Mutt Mysteries collection, features four tail-wagging novellas. Each story puts pups’ noses to the ground, as scandals are unleashed and killers are collared. Once you’ve finished reading these tall “tails,” you’ll no longer wonder “Who let the dogs out?” You’ll just be glad somebody did! Stories include:

“The Fast and the Furriest” by Heather Weidner

Isn’t there enough action under the lights at the Amelia Race Track without the drama of a love triangle? An altercation leads to murder, and owner Cassidy Green and her Rottweiler Oliver have to uncover clues and find the killer before the bad publicity destroys her business.

“Pawsitively Scandalous” by Jayne Ormerod

What’s with the crime wave in the Grant’s Garden neighborhood? First a respectable member is arrested for crimes unknown, and then another neighbor dies under mysterious circumstances. Pilar Pruitt and her black lab/mix Natti are on the case, and the secrets they uncover are paws-itively scandalous!

“Ruff Goodbye” by Rosemary Shomaker

Does everyone bar owner Len Hayes knows have a secret? Yes, and secrets unravel after a funeral home visitation for Len’s late friend Curt. Miniature poodle Cloud signals danger. A certain black Lab may safeguard the truth. Will canine intervention ensure no one pays the ultimate price?

“A Doggone Scandal” by Teresa Inge

Catt Ramsey, owner of the Woof-Pack Dog Walkers, is back on the case when she receives a mysterious note in her pet supply order. Convinced the sender’s motive is scandalous, Catt packs up her SUV and heads to the Outer Banks with her sister Em, family friend Jonathan Ray, and pups Cagney and Lacey to solve the mystery.

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LATIN DANCE INSPIRES AUTHOR MARIPOSA CRUZ'S RYTHM & ROMANCE SERIES

Mariposa Cruz balances writing with working as a fulltime corporate paralegal. She works, writes and dances Salsa in Reno, Nevada. Learn more about her and her books at her blog. Today she joins us to talk about the dance that plays a role in the first book in her Rhythm & Romance series. 

A Taste of Salsa

Besides being an excellent workout, burning an average of 420 calories per hour, the wonderful thing about Latin dances is that there’s a flavor for every taste. If you’re longing for hot and spicy, try Salsa with its fast pace and brassy tones. While Bachata’s smooth rhythms and haunting melodies will resonate with those yearning for more of a chill vibe.

This diversity of flavors is due to these dances having been steeped in a wide variety of cultural influences including African drum rhythms, Spanish guitars and American jazz. The history of Latin dances is as varied as its sound and rhythms. Like many origin stories, the lines between fact and myth have become blurred over time.

In the wild days of Old Havana, the casinos had the money to draw the best musicians and the dancers quickly followed. American musicians escaping Prohibition infused jazz into the mix. When revolution struck, the casinos closed, but casino-style dancing continued to flourish in Cuba’s community halls, while Cuban music spread throughout American cities. Today in addition to Cuban-style Salsa, there are several distinct regional styles including Columbian/ Cali style, Miami-Style Casino, New York and L.A. Salsa.

While the translation of Bachata literally means “party”, many of its songs are of trouble and heartbreak. Under the Trujillo regime in the 1960’s, Merengue was hailed as the national dance while Bachata was spurned as low class, confined to the seedy bars and brothels of the Dominican Republic. Even once Trujillo’s reign ended, it took a long time for Bachata, with its heavy guitar rhythms and poignant melodies, to emerge from the shadows. Now Bachata’s sultry rhythms are heard in clubs throughout the world.

While it may be impossible to separate fact from legend, a single truth resonates throughout the evolution of Latin dance. The power of an artistic expression, whether it is a type of music or a dance style, can draw people together, transcending cultural differences, economic upheaval, or political strife.

Package Deal

A Rhythm & Romance Novel, Book 1

Widowed attorney Liz Grant buries her grief in a deluge of paperwork. On whim she takes a free dance lesson at the club Eclipse where the mojitos are cold and the Salsa is hot. She falls for Salsa’s spicy rhythms and Patrick Cavanaugh’s sexy grin. But can Liz handle the dramatic change of tempo in her well-ordered life?

Patrick has all the right moves, but struggles to keep his balance as his adult daughter spins out of control. Will their love survive off the dance floor?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--ROMANCE AUTHORS MIA LONDON AND SUSAN SHEEHEY TEAM UP FOR A NEW SERIES

Mia London is a huge fan of romance, highly optimistic, and wildly faithful to the HEA (happily ever after). Her goal is to create a fantasy you will enjoy with characters you could love. Today she joins us to talk about her newest project with writing partner Susan Sheehey. Susan writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and women's fiction. Water plays a crucial element in all of her novels, and she's a strong advocate for Autism Awareness. Learn more about Mia and her books at her website and Susan and her books at her website. 

Writing can be a solitary business, so when we get the opportunity to write with a fellow-author, it amps up the fun in our work. For Susan Sheehey and myself, this will be the second time we’ve collaborated on a project.

Our newest series, a romantic suspense duet, is called Cascade Mountain Manhunt. It’s on pre-order now for a special price and goes live May 19^th.

But that’s not really what I wanted to share. As some of you know, Susie and I wrote a trilogy together in 2018, the Sweet Escape series, a romantic comedy series we came up with while on a road trip together. We started this fun girls’ vacation storyline in 2017, and then life happened. In October of 2017, Susie lost her dad unexpectedly, and in March of 2018, I broke my leg (really badly) on a ski trip. Our worlds were thrust into scary and uncertain times.

But somehow we managed to keep each other motivated, relying on each other to get through those really hard moments, and we churned out 3 award-winning books.

The world certainly seems to be off its axis lately, and not that we planned it, but here we are again. Writing, laughing, crying, and supporting each other in a way women do.

We hope you enjoy these stories!

Hugs!

Mia and Susie

P.S. Keep an eye out on our newsletters or social media. We will have a huge giveaway to launch this new romantic suspense duet!

Runaway

Cascade Mountain Manhunt, Book 1

As a federal agent, spending a year running for his life felt like a nightmare from which Reed Monroe couldn’t wake. But with the notorious cartel on his tail for stealing their money as a DEA cybersecurity specialist, and his bosses believing he killed his partner to cover up his role as a mole, he didn’t have a choice. Running was the only option, at least until he proved he was innocent. Someone was willing to do anything to stop him from digging up the truth. And that someone worked for the DEA. He just had to live long enough to prove it.

Skye Winters had buried her nose in mystery novels most her life, desperate to escape the monotony of sleepy Cascade Creek, Washington. Her most exciting time of day is imagining the adventurous backstories of customers that sit in her station at the Rock Road Diner. Including one handsome stranger looking for a job as a short-order cook. Every adventurous story he regales her with is as unlikely as the next. Until one fateful and shocking day involving the arrival of cartel assassins reveals his stories aren’t at all fictional. The adventure she craves stares her in the face, far more vivid and dangerous than she imagined. For the first time ever, her fictional novels can’t possibly live up to reality. But is it more than she’s willing to handle?

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Renegade

Cascade Mountain Manhunt, Book 2

Cascade Creek is the perfect home for Lynée Clark—the mountains, her friends, a cozy home, her dream job at the library. Life simply couldn’t be any more perfect. When a scruffy, tattooed man rides into town on his metallic stallion to arrest her best friend’s boyfriend, her perfect world is upturned into chaos. Everything goes wrong, her best friend is forced into hiding from a cartel assassin, and her predictable days are thrust into upheaval. But the only way to bring home her friend and return her turbulent life back to normal is to help the DEA Special Agent on his case to uncover the truth. Which means spending a lot of time up close and personal with this bearded troublemaker in leather with zero manners and an addiction to cursing.

Jace Ivy has one mission: capture a rogue DEA agent that all others have failed to seize. After three months of tracking, Jace claims victory on his most difficult trace yet. Only to realize Reed Monroe might not be the double-agent his bosses claim. Thanks to a bloodthirsty cartel hitman, bumps in the road grow into massive roadblocks. Ones he can’t break down without the help of an unexpected research assistant, a local librarian who volunteers to help him so her best friend can return home. Lynée accomplishes much more than deciphering the mountains of evidence in his case, but also batters down his defensive walls and beastly façade. How can he resist turning Miss Prim-and-Proper into a seductive temptress with an equally dirty mouth?

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MEET MINISTER AND CHRISTIAN ROMANCE AUTHOR CYNTHIA MIDDLEBROOKS HARRIS

Cynthia Middlebrooks Harris is both an ordained minister and an author African-American Christian romance. Today she joins us to discuss the challenges she faces combining these two parts of her life. Learn more about Cynthia and her books at her website and blog.  

Doing What Feels Right

Christian authors are sometimes challenged with our choice of genre or content. Isn’t it amazing how others have the uncanny ability to pinpoint your strengths as a writer, and often strongly suggest the type of material they’re prophetically sure you should produce? We find ourselves, at times, yielding to the demand of others.

When I felt the urging from God to write fiction, moreover, Christian Romance Fiction, I instantly resisted. It wasn’t because I disagreed with the command from the Almighty. I cringed at the thought of the backlash I was destined to receive from my fellow ministers, and receive it, I did! “Why are you wasting your God-given talent on fiction? … With all your knowledge of the Bible, you chose fiction. And romance at that! … And just how do you suppose writing fiction will advance the kingdom of God? … You’ve grossly missed what God would have you to do… I can’t believe you are going to write that garbage… You’ll lose credibility as a minister of the gospel.”

Yet, I knew my imagination was a gift from God, early in my childhood. I spent the majority of my pre-teen years living inside of an imaginary world. No matter where I was or what I found myself doing, words were forever in my head. Soon, after many trials, tribulations, failures, and successes, Christianity and my imagination collided, and I emerged as a Christian Romance author. Christian or not, most everyone loves a good romance or drama novel.

Have you ever sat in church on Sunday morning, only to leave disappointed because you had no idea how to apply to your life what you just heard? Most often, the message is delivered as a prime cut of filet mignon, when instead, all you were capable of digesting at the time, was a hamburger. Inside, you scream, “Will someone please give me a simple answer to this Christian walk of life!”

I trusted God and followed his omniscient lead. Moreover, it just plain felt right! Through fiction writing, I dared to believe that marriages would be mended. I had a hope that young girls straddling the fence would choose to remain virtuous until their wedding nights. I prayed they would get the understanding that the jewels of the treasure box they have on lockdown should be opened only by the one who possesses the master key. 

It was also my desire that men would be challenged to rise to the occasion of the divine mandate of “mighty men of valor.” They will begin to become the heads of their homes and lead their wives and children after the manner laid out by God’s original design. They will begin to minister to their wives instead of choosing to throw caution and vows to the wind, going outside of the marriage bed at the first sign that the grass in their lawn has been overgrown with a few brown spots. They will begin to understand how devastated and lost their wives felt when they chose another over them.

I chose to dance to the beat of the drum that resonated deep within my spirit. The rhythm of my heart is exposed in this series. I could have chosen to fall in line with the instruction to use my “gift” to write nonfiction. If so, I would have missed a vast majority of the people who would never have chosen to pick up or open a bible. Some Christian authors fail in the task of writing a book that non-Christians will ever desire to read. I could have chosen, and written along the lines of the vast “Christian way of living” novels currently in print. The ones that often list seven ways to spirit living, five principles of the spirit-led man or battling the demons within. (These are not real titles. At least not to my knowledge. They are merely titles suggested as subjects for imagery, to drive home the point). And, the point is; if they have the word “Christian,” or “spirit living.” Some people will never open the cover even to view the first page. The reason, of course, they feel defeated, out-cast and substandard, in the title alone.

The Other Side of Through 

All Things Work Together, Book 1

Tragedy has struck Talinda Travis’ perfect world. A harsh reality has overshadowed the one thing she waited not so patiently on for a lifetime. The man of prophecy, handpicked by God just for her, lay dying in her arms at the hands of a mad man. How could this possibly be the right division of God’s word that says, ‘All things work together for the good?’  Talinda would come to understand her husband’s favorite quote that “Ministry is Always Required.” She finds herself in a place she thought she would never be at such a young age… a grieving widow. The woman she’d kept at arm’s length for most of her life would prove to be her most valuable asset as she fights to stay afloat emotionally.

Meanwhile, Nevette Naythia Goodfellow appears to be living the dream life with her newlywed husband, Derrick Justice Goodfellow II. She’s in total bliss and awe of God as she indulges in His most powerful gift on earth... love!  While Nevette is living inside her fairy tale, her closest friend Lindsay has perfected the art of masking a devastating secret. One that, if it were exposed, would threaten the spiritual stability of the small town where she spent most of her childhood. 

Every God-given emotion you have within will surface as you journey into Talinda and Nevette’s world in this riveting series. You will sigh with dreamy eyes…laugh out loud…cry and want to explode with revenge as you travel to The Other Side of Through with Talinda and Nevette!

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MYSTERY AUTHOR SHARON DAYNARD ON ROCKS, MINERALS & MURDER

Sharon Daynard’s writing runs the gamut from light and quirky to downright dark and troubling. Her debut novel, Murder Points North, puts a humorous spin on murder in a small town. Her short stories include “The Boss of Butler Square” which received Honorable Mention for the Al Blanchard Award and “Widows Peak” which was short-listed for a Derringer Award. She’s been offered the services of a professional hitman, crossed paths with a serial killer, testified before grand juries, and taken lie detector tests. Learn more about Sharon and her various works on Facebook. 

Rock Paper Murder

Looking back, I’d have to say my rock and mineral collection started when I was on a 2nd grade field trip to the Museum of Science in Boston. The only souvenir the gift shop offered in my price range was four very small samples glued to an index card—a piece of granite, a piece of quartz, a piece of obsidian and a piece of sandstone. The next day during show-and-tell, no one, including me, was very impressed with it. The index card was unceremoniously retired to the junk drawer in my parent’s kitchen.

It was another ten years before I gave my “collection” another thought. I needed to pick a major for college. I wanted to study Environmental Sciences, but the college of my choice only offered a B.S. in Environmental Geology. Thinking maybe it was kismet all those years ago when I bought those four rock and mineral samples, I went with my gut and picked it. Worst-case scenario, I’d change majors at the end of my first semester. As it turned out I loved geology. My favorite subject was mineralogy and rock and mineral identification being my favorite lab. 

That rock and mineral collection on an index card has grown into boxes and crates stuffed with rock and mineral field samples neatly wrapped in newspaper and bubble wrap. My favorite rocks and minerals adorn my bookshelves and credenzas. About the only place you won’t find them is in a jewelry box. I think of it along the lines of a veterinarian wearing leather pants and a fur coat—it just doesn’t feel right. 

Fast forward a few years and degrees later and I decided I wanted to write a novel—a mystery novel. As the adage goes, “write what you know.” For me, that meant geology. I knocked around the idea of a female geology professor happening upon crimes and solving murders. I thought it was a great idea, I just didn’t know what geology had to do with murder, let alone playing into solving one until I was teaching a hands-on rock and mineral session to a group of Cubs Scouts. While I was passing around a field sample of my favorite mineral, galena, one of the boys commented that it was small but “super heavy.” I agreed and added, he had to be extra careful with it because even though it was heavy it was fragile. All of a sudden, I had an idea for a mystery novel. I knew who my protagonist was, who the killer was, what the murder weapon was and how the murder would be solved.

When writing Murder Points North, the similarity of IDing a rock or mineral and solving a murder wasn’t lost on me. With a rock or mineral, you start with one sample and a long list of possibilities. You narrow that list down based on hardness, luster, color, streak, specific gravity and cleavage to determine what your sample is. With a murder a detective/amateur sleuth has a long list of suspects and based on motive, means, and opportunity, they systematically narrow that list down to one person—the killer. 

If it wasn’t for that index card with four tiny samples of rocks and mineral in my parent’s junk drawer, I might never have majored in geology, and I certainly never would have written Murder Points North. The next time you come across an interesting rock or mineral while you’re walking along the beach, hiking through the woods, or even planting a flower, take a closer look at and imagine the stories it could tell you…

Murder Points North

With one week until Christmas, picturesque Points North, New Hampshire, hasn’t seen as much as a token flurry and the temperatures are almost as high as local tempers. The lack of snow, however, is the least of Liesl Alan’s worries.

Liesl teaches geology, collects rocks, minerals and ex-husbands—three at last count. On the brink of turning forty, she finds herself living amongst a group of eccentric “innmates” at the Muddled Moose, an inn her family has owned for generations. Hardly in the Christmas spirit, the last thing Liesl’s looking forward to is a night of wearing a too tight, too ruffled, too plaid gown for the village’s annual Home for the Holidays open house celebration.

When the event ends in a fiasco and someone from the Muddled Moose is found murdered, Liesl becomes the prime suspect of everyone from the lead homicide detective to her own mother. Fellow residents at the inn are even offering fashion tips for her inevitable perp walk and mug shot.

Determined to prove her innocence and find the real killer, Liesl teams up with a private eye wannabe. With a list of suspects that might as well include all of Points North, she has her work cut out for her, especially when each new clue points her in a different direction.

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