New Release: Failure is Fatal

Someone at Professor Laura Murphy’s college appears to be playing a joke on her by planting sexually explicit stories in her research results, but the joke turns deadly when one story details the recent stabbing murder of a coed. Laura’s close friend, Detective Derrick Pasquis from the local police, asks for her help in interviewing the prickly suspects who resist intervention from outside the campus community. Eager to search out clues, Laura ignores warning signs that playing amateur sleuth may jeopardize her newly developing romance with Guy. And of course her usual intrusive manner puts her at odds with everyone on campus—colleagues, the college administration, the head of campus security and fraternity members.  Is there no one Laura can’t offend in her eagerness to find the truth? The closer she gets to solving the crime, the more it appears that the past—the coed’s, that of a prominent faculty member and Laura’s own—is the key to the murder. Caught in an early winter blizzard, Laura must choose between wandering the mountains and freezing to death or taking her chances with a killer clever enough to make murder look like the work of an innocent student.

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Failure-Fatal-Laura-Murphy-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01AYNXO64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454344827&sr=8-1&keywords=Failure+Is+Fatal

Lesley retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York.  In the winter she migrates to old Florida—cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post office, and gators make golf a contact sport.  Back north, the shy ghost inhabiting the cottage serves as her literary muse.  When not writing, she gardens, cooks and renovates the 1874 cottage with the help of her husband, two cats and, of course, Fred the ghost, who gives artistic direction to their work.

She is the author of a number of mystery series (Microbrewing Series, Big Lake Mystery Series, Eve Appel Mystery Series and the Laura Murphy Mysteries), a standalone mystery (Angel Sleuth) and numerous short stories.        

Visit her on her website:  www.lesleyadiehl.com

 

Getting back on the horse

When I was eighteen, some friends and I were going out to a local bar for the evening and I was the designated driver. Back then, it was legal to drink 3.2 beer at that age. It was a weekend in winter and I couldn’t wait to go out to have some fun. It was chilly out and raining and my mother, having heard the weather forecast, urged me to stay home. But I didn't listen to her.

Windshield wipers slappin’ time, to quote Janis Joplin, I picked up my friends and we headed up Colerain Avenue. In a matter of minutes, the rain turned to sleet and, before I knew it, the road became a skating rink. I slowed down but I couldn’t control my car. It slammed into the rear end of one of the cars whose driver had the foresight to pull over to the side of the road and park.

I was shaking as I jumped out, worried that the driver of that car was injured. Thankfully, she was fine and there was, miraculously, no damage to her car. I turned around and discovered that wasn’t the case with mine. There was a huge dent in the front bumper.

I immediately called my father and he got there quickly. After checking to make sure everyone was okay and that my car was safe to drive, he told me to get back in my car and follow him home. I refused. No way was I going to drive! But Dad didn’t take “No” for an answer and I was forced to do as he said. I was scared and nervous but I did it. I got back on the horse, so to speak.

We all have times in our lives when bad things happen. Often much worse than the example I gave. Serious medical issues, the death of someone we love. We may feel like climbing into bed and pulling the covers up over our heads and, sometimes, that's exactly what we need to do - temporarily. But, eventually, we need to accept what happened – and move on. If we do, we’ll become stronger, more compassionate people. If we don’t, we’ll become bitter and resentful.

The same principle applies to writing fiction. If we want our characters to be realistic, we have to put them through some “stuff.” As in real life, how they deal with the problems we give them will reveal their true “character.”

Famous One Liners

Movies, many of which are based on novels, contain a lot of dialogue but why is it that some lines become so popular that they’re instantly recognizable by just about everyone? What is it about them that makes them stand out and stand the test of time?

“My mama always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.’” Tom Hanks played Forrest Gump in the movie, “Forrest Gump,” based on the novel by Winston Groom.

 “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again,” Scarlet O’Hara said in “Gone With the Wind.” The book was written by Margaret Mitchell and, in the movie, Vivien Leigh played the part of the southern belle.

Or, how about this one? “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Mario Puzo wrote this novel entirely from the research he’d done; he had no experience whatsoever with the Mafia. Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone in the movie, “The Godfather.”

Who remembers this? “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Ryan O’Neal played Oliver Barrett IV and Ali MacGraw played Jennifer Cavilleri in “Love Story,” based on the novel by Erich Segal.

“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!” “There’s no place like home.” “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” L. Frank Baum was the author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and Judy Garland played Dorothy Gale in the movie, “The Wizard of Oz.”

 “May the Force be with you.” This is an interesting example because the movie, created by George Lucas, actually came out before the book. Harrison Ford played Han Solo in “Star Wars.”

Can you think of other examples? Is there a line in a book you've read that became popular and/or made a lasting impression on you?