Mystery of the Month, Counsel of Ravens

In the dark of night, murder strikes on Route 66, and once again Hubert James Champion III finds himself having to face realities he’d rather run from. Indeed, within two days, Hugh finds himself embroiled in murder on a national scale, seeking justice for petty crimes of a local nature—and very close to home, reviving his skills as a psychologist to help people who have become friends. Indeed, his friends need him.

In addition, there are troubling mysteries of the personal kind still tucked away in the recesses of Hugh’s subconscious. He may be still “hiding out” in the desert, but East Coast ties continue to haunt and thwart his building hopes for the future.

Fortunately, he has his ravens to counsel him, and through it all—the Mojave winds continue to blow…

Buy link Amazon:  http://tinyurl.com/lebhpm2  Buy link B&N: http://tinyurl.com/lxncehp

Madeline (M.M.) Gornell has five published mystery novels—including PSWA awarding winners Uncle Si’s Secret and Lies of Convenience (also a Hollywood Book Festival honorable Mention), Death of a Perfect Man, and Reticence of Ravens (a finalist for the Eric Hoffer 2011 fiction Prize, the da Vinci Eye for cover art, and the Montaigne Medal for most thought provoking book). And her latest is Counsel of Ravens (June release date)—her first sequel and a continuation of Hubert Champion’s Mojave saga. She continues to be inspired by historic Route 66, and expects to release in early 2014 her first mystery thriller—Rhodes.

Madeline is a lifetime lover of mysteries, and besides reading and writing, she is also a potter with a fondness for stoneware and reduction firing. She lives with her husband and assorted canines in the Mojave High Desert near the internationally revered Route 66 (Newberry Springs).

Madeline is giving away a paper copy of "Counsel of Ravens" to one lucky person who leaves a comment.
Madeline has chosen not one, but two, winners! The winners are Mary Lowery and Eileen Obser. I've sent Eileen's email address to Madeline but, Mary, I'm sorry but I don't have yours. Please email Madeline at mmgornell@earthlink.net with your mailing address. Congratulations, ladies!

 

Unbelievable Characters

Truth is stranger than fiction and there's a good reason for that. While life doesn't always make sense and people do some strange things, often for no apparent reason, whatever they did is a fact and we have no choice but to accept it. Because it's true.

It doesn't work that way in fiction. In fiction, things need to make sense and characters need to behave in ways that are in keeping with their personality, abilities and history. We readers expect the characters in the novels we read to be believable. We need to know them well enough to understand and accept their actions as being something they could or would do given who they are and the circumstances they’re in. Even if their actions are bizarre. Especially if their actions are bizarre.

What happens when I'm reading a novel and one of the characters does something totally “out of character,” something that doesn't ring true given what I know about him or her? What that tells me is that the author hasn’t fully developed the character and/or the author hasn't given me enough background information. When that happens, I stop caring about the character. And, I stop trusting the author. From that point on, if I bother to finish reading the book, I've lost interest because the character isn't believable.

Have you ever lost interest in a book because one of the characters was unbelievable? (Please don't mention specific titles.)

Mystery Author of the Month, C.L. Swinney

            

Patricia: Chris, I'm pleased to have you with us this week. Tell us, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer?

Chris: I grew up in Lakeside and Santee, California (even though I tell everyone I grew up in San Diego).  I was an only child and pretty spoiled.  I’d say my childhood contributed to my writing since I had a strong sense of adventure and always questioned everyone and everything.  This lead me to be an investigator and I landed in narcotics.

Patricia: Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels?

Chris: I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I haven’t used the area specifically in a book or story, but I use some of it in the poetry I write.  I’m leaning toward using the Bay Area in the third book of a series, but I’ll have to wait and see if the location works.

Patricia: What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

Chris: I love the outdoors, fly fishing, and investigating large-scale narcotics trafficking.  While flying into the Bahamas for a fly fishing trip, I was blown away by what I saw and learned from the locals.  A concept for my first novel, Gray Ghost, sat in my mind for fourteen years.  I wanted something special and unique; apparently it took me fourteen years to find it.

Patricia: When did you “know” that you wanted to be a writer?

Chris: I wrote a featured article for Fly Fisherman Magazine while in college.  Seeing that story in print really boosted my confidence.  I knew then I’d always write.

Patricia: Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery/suspense genre. What makes them your favorites?

Chris: Tony Hillerman- The man was a brilliant story teller.

Daniel Silva- Paints a picture with his words that is unmatched.

Tami Hoag-Suspenseful plot and beautifully crafted dialogue.

C. L. (Chris) Swinney is a narcotics investigator in the San Francisco Bay area. He has investigated hundreds of narcotics, homicide, gang, and Mexico cartel cases along the west coast of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Swinney has been invited to speak at law enforcement conferences throughout the United States and is recognized as an expert in narcotics, homicides, and cell phone forensics. He developed the concept for the first book in his Bill Dix series, Gray Ghost, while fly fishing in the Bahamas. His passion for the outdoors and law enforcement is intertwined throughout his writing. The world of narcotics is dark and mysterious. C. L. Swinney pulls the reader into this fascinating world in his debut novel.

 

Blurb:

While on a fly fishing vacation to Andros Island in the Bahamas, narcotics detectives Dix and Peterson discover their fishing guides were killed when a sudden blast of gunfire fractured their speedboat, Gray Ghost. Local gossip has it that Gray Ghost went to the ocean floor with a hundred million dollars worth of cocaine in the hull. Dix and Peterson are drawn into helping their island friends, and chase down leads in Miami as well as the Bahamas until they identify the diabolical plot of the man known only as The Caller…and then the trouble really starts. 

"When two Miami narcotic officers take a fishing trip to the Bahamas, they can't leave the drug world behind...Deftly told by the author, detective and avid fly fisher Chris Swinney, this book will hook any reader of mystery fiction." —Sunny Frazier, author of the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Ghost-C-L-Swinney/dp/1610091078

Mystery of the Month, "Hunter's Moon"

The wealthiest family in the Canaan Valley has several problems, which its members handle using discretion—or maybe secrecy is a better word.  But when one of their members is murdered, their secrets are revealed as sisters Andrea and Kathleen help Sheriff Ward Sterling investigate the murder.

The sisters feel it’s especially important to figure out who the murderer is, since their friend, Deputy Willard Hill, is the prime suspect. They know Willard couldn’t possibly be guilty, but finding out who is turns out to be difficult. Several people will profit from the death, and there are a few more who had reasons to dislike the deceased.

In spite of a serious threat from the murderer, Andrea and Kathleen persist, hunting for hidden diaries, reviewing security camera records, and interviewing members of the family.  Their friend Willard is scheduled to marry one of the daughters of this wealthy family, but the wedding has been postponed until the murder is solved. The sisters want Willard to be cleared so the wedding can proceed as planned. More important, they must solve the case before the killer silences them.

http://amzn.com/B00CQMF6B8 

Helen Haught Fanick’s short stories have appeared in Women’s Household, Midnight Zoo, Vermont Ink, and in various anthologies and online publications. Her articles and photos have been published in Texas Observer, Stepping Stones, and other periodicals. Her poem, Leaf Fall, was published in Nature’s Gifts, an anthology to benefit The Nature Conservancy.  She has won several local and state awards, and two national awards in the Writer’s Digest Competition.

Helen’s novel, Moon Signs, Book I of the Moon Mystery Series, was a quarter-finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards and is available on Amazon. The second and third novels in the Moon Mystery Series, Moonlight Mayhem and Hunter’s Moon, and a collection of three short stories, Bad Moon Rising, have now been published. Saving Susie, a suspense novel, reached the second level of the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards and was published in March 2012. Helen’s other works, Spring Decision, Assignment Prague, and City Life, are can also be found on Amazon. All are available for Kindle and in paperback, and Moon Signs is now an audiobook.

Helen is a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio with a degree in English and lives in San Antonio with her husband.