Mystery of the Month: Moonflowers

Cora Taylor disappeared 54 years ago, and no trace of her was ever found. Now her sister has enlisted the help of Andrea Flynn and Kathleen Williamson in finding out what happened to Cora. The two are known for their ability to solve cases that are puzzling the police, and Mary Taylor is confident they can uncover Cora’s fate.

Andrea and Kathleen are doubtful they can find the answer Mary is looking for, but they decide to try. They start researching, and the case becomes more complicated when someone who was close to Cora, a likely suspect in her disappearance, is murdered.

The more the sister sleuths investigate, the more complex the situation becomes. How did expensive jewelry end up in Cora’s possession? Who knew moonflowers were poisonous and stole them from Andrea’s deck? Was the Mafia involved somehow, and what about the accusations against a jealous wife? And when a second suspect is murdered, are the sisters and Mary in danger, too?

To purchase: http://amzn.com/B00S5FNZIQ

 Helen Haught Fanick

Helen Haught Fanick grew up in West Virginia and now lives in Texas, and both states provide settings for her novels. Her work includes cozy mysteries, suspense novels, a World War II espionage novel, and short stories, all available through Amazon for Kindle. The novels are also available in paperback.

A short story impressed Helen’s fifth grade teacher, and she’s been writing ever since. She’s won several local and state awards and two national awards in the Writer’s Digest Competition. Moon Signs was a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Helen is a graduate of UTSA and lives in Antonio with her husband.

 

What's Next?

A couple of weeks ago, I finished writing Mistaken Identity, the fourth book in my Malone mystery series, and I did the dance of joy! I was so excited that I even announced it on Facebook. What a great feeling it was to type “The End.” 

Months and months of writing, researching and rewriting had come to an end. I put the book aside and focused on getting some other things done, things I’d neglected while I was finishing the book. Then, it was time to go back in to read the book all the way through and to do my final editing. A couple of days ago, I sent the manuscript and the synopsis to my publisher. And, once again, I did my happy dance.

So, what’s next? Well, my editor will read the book and we’ll set up an appointment to get together to go over her suggested edits. (I’m very fortunate to have a local publisher and editor.) After that, I’ll make any necessary changes, send the completed manuscript to my publisher and we’ll work on putting together the cover. Once all of that is completed, I’ll wait until he gives me a publication date, sometime late Spring or early Summer, so that I can set up a book launch event, etc.

I know it sounds like I’ll have some time off while I wait but I won’t. Because writers are always writing even when they're not sitting at their computers. Before long, it will be time to start working on my fifth book. (I'm already starting to come up with ideas.) That’s one of the things I love about writing a series. I’m always eager to see what will happen to my characters next.

My Most Memorable Valentine's Day

I originally posted this in February 2012. But, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'm reposting it. Happy Valentine's Day!

The other day, I overheard someone say, “I hate Valentine’s Day! It’s just another Hallmark holiday.” I hope that person reads this post because, well, no, it’s not!

There are many legends surrounding the origin of Valentine’s Day and the identity of St. Valentine, but the fact remains that valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages and written valentines began to appear after 1400. The oldest known valentine, still in existence today, is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife, while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London after his capture at the battle of Agincourt. I could be wrong but I don’t think Hallmark was in business back then!

I love Valentine’s Day! In fact, it's my favorite holiday. There’s something so special about it. You can almost feel the romance in the air whether you’re romantically involved on that day or not. I’ve had some wonderful, memorable Valentine’s Days. Through the years, there were candlelit dinners and gifts of candy, flowers and jewelry. But, as much as I enjoyed and appreciated those celebrations, they pale in comparison to the Valentine’s Day when I was six years old.

My first Valentine’s Day party! Our first grade classroom was decorated with hearts, which we’d cut out of red and pink construction paper and pasted on lacy, white backings. We ate pink and white frosted cupcakes and heart shaped cookies. Then, we passed out our Valentine’s Day cards with images of kittens, puppies and cupids. I can still remember how excited I was when I opened the cards, especially the one from Stevie Thompson. I had such a crush on him!

At the end of the day, as we walked down the front steps of our elementary school to head home, Stevie called out my name. I stopped and turned around. And then, he walked up to me, kissed me on the cheek and took off running down the steps. I think I floated all the way home. Happy Valentine’s Day, Stevie, wherever you are!

What was your most memorable Valentine’s Day?

Breaking the Rules

"From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put." 
Winston Churchill

I love that quote because it pokes fun at one of the rules of writing that we were taught early on, "Never end a sentence with a preposition." And, as in the quote, there are times when it doesn't make sense to follow that rule. I guess it's true what they say: some rules were made to be broken.

Most rules became rules for a reason but sometimes we need to break a rule. However, it's one thing to violate the rules of grammar and punctuation because we don't know any better and it's quite another thing to break them because we make a deliberate choice to do so. You should know the rules before you decide to break them. 

Another rule that writers were taught: Never begin a sentence with a conjunction. As you read the next paragraph, you'll see I definitely choose to ignore that rule from time to time because, in my opinion,  beginning a sentence with "and" or "but" can be very effective.

Another example: Avoid clichés. And, while I think it's important to come up with creative ways of expressing our thoughts rather than mimicking someone else's, I happen to love clichés. In a few words, they can get an important point across. They're universal; everyone knows what they mean. That's why and how they became clichés. I know to avoid using them in prose but, sometimes, I choose to use them anyway, especially in dialogue. 

So, as writers, we need to learn to trust our instincts, to ask ourselves whether or not breaking a rule will improve our writing. And, if we believe it will, I say, "Go for it!"