Discover two new cozy series in 2019

Book 1 of the Paper Crafts Club Mysteries

Katie is busy enough as a single mom with a series of dead-end jobs. She barely has time for her passion-paper crafting.

But when one of her housecleaning clients turns up dead, stabbed with a paper crafting tool, Katie is in trouble.

She has her own ideas about who the real murderer is, but the lead inspector won’t listen.

Can she dig up evidence before another victim drops dead? Or will she take the fall for a crime she didn’t commit? 

#1 Amazon bestseller in Ghost Mysteries

Sometimes “skeletons in the closet” is more than just a figure of speech.

Meet Stella O’Neil. She’s got a lot on her plate, as a new real estate agent. Now throw in a dead body found in what used to be the town’s “royalty” family manor, and she’s neck deep in a mystery.

As Stella’s curiosity leads her from one town resident to the next, a dramatic tale of family secrets starts to appear. She’s so close… but someone… maybe more than one person… will do anything to stop her.


Looking to discover a new cozy mystery series? Filigrees, Fortunes, & Foul Play and Mind your Manors are both first in series, and both 99 cents for the month of January. Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

How Harry Houdini Might Have Pulled Off His Most Daring Trick

If being buried alive is your biggest fear, you might want to stop reading now. 

Still with me?

In 1915, Harry Houdini performed a trick in Santa Ana, California, that saw him buried beneath six feet of earth. It didn’t exactly go off without a hitch, however: He clawed his way out—but it nearly killed him.

Stunt expert Steve Wolf considers the buried alive illusion Houdini’s most daring trick. Wolf is one of the stars of the new Science Channel show Houdini’s Last Secrets, alongside Houdini’s grand-nephew George Hardeen and magician Lee Terbosic. In each episode, the trio explores how the notoriously secretive Houdini may have performed his most famous tricks, as well as some of the many mysteries of his life—including whether the magician may have served as a spy, and whether his sad death on Halloween in 1926 was truly an accident.

Read the rest on Mental Floss 


Read more about Harry Houdini

 

 

 

The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way by Frances Metzman

Would you move a dead body for the sake of your best friend? Ask cha-cha babe Celia Ewing, a sixty-five-year-old widow who has just settled into Boca Pelicano Palms, the Florida retirement community of her dreams. When Celia’s best friend Marcy calls her and their friend Deb for help in the middle of the night, they find a naked Marcy trapped under the body of her beau, the community’s board president, Melvin.
And he’s dead. 

The three friends secretly move Melvin back to his apartment setting off a chain of events that will threaten to tear their community apart and send them to jail. Melvin is one of a number of residents who are dying under suspicious circumstances; and soon Celia becomes an amateur sleuth in an attempt to identify what she suspects is a serial murderer.
A thoroughly entertaining,lighthearted murder mystery. –Kirkus Review

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About the Author


Frances Metzman is a graduate of Moore College of Art and has a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  In 2009 she was nominated for the Dzanc Books award, “Best of the Web.” In addition to publishing numerous short stories in literary journals, she has published The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way and Ugly Cookies. She has taught creative and memoir writing at various institutions including Rosemont College and Temple University.

Gown with the Wind: A Wedding Planner Mystery by Stephanie Blackmoore

Professional wedding planner Mallory Shepard knows her job is challenging under any circumstances. But when the groom is your ex and someone invites murder, there may never be another tomorrow . . .

Mallory’s fine—really—handling the wedding arrangements for her ex, Keith. But his fiancée, Becca, has at the last minute decided to switch from a Japanese-cherry-blossom theme to a Gone with the Wind theme. She wants to honor her ailing grandmother, who owns an impressive collection of GWTW memorabilia—and who is fiercely at odds with the groom’s mother over the nuptial plans.

But among other complications, Becca gets into a fight with an old childhood rival over a replica Scarlett O’Hara wedding gown. She wins the dress—but soon becomes a murder suspect when the other woman is found dead in Becca’s swimming pool. And it’s up to Mallory to solve the mystery behind this unhappy occasion, before a different kind of civil war breaks out . . .

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About the Author

A native Pittsburgher, Stephanie Blackmoore now lives in Missouri, with her husband, son and two-spirited cats. She was an attorney in Pittsburgh and a librarian in Florida before becoming a writer.
Stephanie is a fan of everything black-and-yellow.
 

A friendly black-and-yellow bee
“Hello!”

She is hard at work on her next Wedding Planner mystery. Connect with Stephanie at the links below.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play

Teaching, Research, Murder.

My Academic Mysteries page is up to 19 authors.

I’ve made some additions, both classic and modern, but it’s possible I still don’t have them all. Any great campus crime authors who should be on this list?

The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller: A new Haunted Bookshop Mystery by Cleo Coyle

Get ready for a thrilling new installment in the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, where a big bestseller leads to small town trouble.
Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure didn’t believe in ghosts, until she was haunted by the hard-boiled spirit of 1940s private investigator Jack Shepard. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful…
GHOST-AND-THE-BOGUS-BEST-SELLER

A new Cora Crafts mystery with giveaway: Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan

All of Cora Chevalier’s dreams are coming true. Since moving to Indigo Gap, North Carolina, the busy crafting maven has been blessed with a great boyfriend, a lovely home, and a booming craft retreat business. But on the eve of her first Crafty Mom’s Escape Weekend, tragedy strikes again in Indigo Gap. This time, it’s curtains for Stan Herald, the disagreeable director of the local theater group, who’s murdered on the opening night of their new production. Worse, Cora’s friend Zee is accused of the crime.

Continue reading “A new Cora Crafts mystery with giveaway: Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan”

Glitter Bomb (A Scrapbooking Mystery) by Laura Childs with Terrie Farley Moran

An exploding Mardi Gras float has got to be the strangest murder weapon scrappy sleuth Carmela Bertrand has ever encountered in this latest Scrapbooking Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author.

It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans and scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand is excited to be attending the Pluvius Parade along with her best friend Ava. Carmela’s ex-husband Shamus rides by the duo on his float at the head of the parade, when suddenly the revelry turns to disaster. Shamus’ float crashes and explodes, and although Shamus escapes unhurt, a member of his krewe is killed.

Carmela and Ava plunge into an investigation of the krewe-member’s death, but as they dig deeper it starts to look less like an accident and more like a murder….and Shamus seems less like a victim, and more like a suspect.
Scrapbooking tips and recipes included! 


Interview with Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author

Laura, welcome back to Island Confidential! Can you tell us a little about the protagonist of Glitter Bomb? 
Carmela Bertrand is smart, entrepreneurial, and owns a small scrapbook shop in the French Quarter. She’s loyal to a fault and quick to help a friend in trouble. Of course, this puts Carmela in incredibly dangerous situations. For example, in Glitter Bomb Carmela’s ex-husband begs her to help clear him as a suspect when a Mardi Gras float explodes and kills a hedge fund bigwig. With multiple (and dangerous) suspects, Carmela has to muster up her amateur sleuthing skills and run her own shadow investigation.
How would you feel about Carmela if you met her in real life?
I’d love to hang out with Carmela – especially at Mardi Gras. I mean, what’s better than a week of parades, parties, beignets, and beads! And the food in New Orleans is to die for. We’re talking beignets, po-boys, crawfish etouffee, gumbo, pralines, and crazy drinks like hurricanes and frozen daiquiris. Let the good times roll and thank you, Carmela, for all those recipes you included in the book!
Do your characters change and evolve throughout consecutive books in the series?
Let’s just say they progress. They get a little bit funnier, smarter, saltier, and outrageous as the books go on. Glitter Bomb is the 15th book in my New Orleans Scrapbook Mystery series, so the main characters, Carmela and Ava, are pretty much over the top by now. And, yes, it’s called a Scrapbook Mystery, but the scrapbook shop just serves as home base for a rip-roaring mystery that includes haunted cemeteries, a fashion show, sports car rally, party at the zoo, and hungry alligators.
Have you ever thought of killing someone that you know in real life – on the pages of a murder mystery, I mean?
Not exactly, but people who have been unkind to me in the past often find their names used for disreputable and annoying characters in my books.
Excellent idea! So how realistic is your setting? Do you take liberties, or are you true to life?
My New Orleans setting is extremely realistic. I try very hard to capture the raucousness of the French Quarter, spookiness of the above ground cemeteries, and primordial beauty of the bayous. Also, through friends who live in New Orleans, I’ve had the great fortune to visit the dens where the Mardi Gras floats are constructed, attend the Rex ball, and even march in a Mardi Gras parade.
As someone whose day job is teaching, I’m well aware of the pitfalls and horrors of group assignments. Yet you and your coauthor, Terrie Farley Moran, seem to have a very productive partnership. Can you tell us a little about her?
Terrie is a consummate pro. She’s smart, witty, and immensely talented. Sometimes we work on a chapter together, sometimes we work independently and alternate chapters. Whatever the method, our words and ideas always mesh!
What’s the worst and best advice you’ve heard or received as an author?
Worst advice would be to “write what you know.” If authors seriously did that there’d be no Harry Potter, Middle Earth, Star Trek, or Hunger Games. The best advice I’ve heard is to write every day – and work straight through. Don’t go back and revise a single chapter until your manuscript is completely finished. Chances are, when it’s done, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Okay, THEN you go back and punch up your work like crazy – really ratchet up the action and human drama, make your characters even more lovable or despicable.


About the Authors

Gerry Schmitt, who writes under the pen name Laura Childs is now adding two more series that are harder-edged Wednesday February 26, 2014 in Plymouth. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31



terrie-farley-moran
Short-listed twice for The Best American Mystery Stories, Terrie Farley Moran is delighted to introduce mystery fans to the Read ’Em and Eat café and bookstore, which debuted with Well Read, Then Dead. followed by Caught Read-Handed and Read to Death released in July of this year.  The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is playing games and reading stories with any or all of her grandchildren.

Terrie’s Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrie.moran.9
Blog:  www.womenofmystery.net
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23186092-terrie-moran

Purchase Links:

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