New Release: "Unbelievable"

 

The Cassie Baxter Mysteries: Small sleuth, tiny town, unfailing fun.

Welcome to Lake Elizabeth, Vermont, where the water is blue, the mountains are green, and Cassie Baxter is going nuts. Who wouldn’t go nuts in a town this size? What possessed Cassie to move in with her father? And why do they have to live next door to a mad scientist? A sexy mad scientist. Does such a thing even exist? And speaking of existing, what happened to the dead redhead? You know, the one Cassie found, and then lost? What’s up with that? Cassie Baxter intends to find out. Read Unbelievable and you will, too.

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Unbelievable-Humorous-Romantic-Cassie-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00OJXBUEE/ 

 

Cindy Blackburn is living the dream! She spends her days sitting around in her pajamas, thinking up unlikely plot twists and ironing out the quirks and kinks of lovable characters. In other words, Cindy's a writer. A cozy mystery author to be exact. So far Cindy has written four Cue Ball Mysteries and one Cassie Baxter Mystery, and she has big plans for more books in both series.  

When she's not typing on her laptop or feeding her fat cat Betty, Cindy enjoys taking long walks with her cute hubby John. A native Vermonter who hates snow, Cindy divides her time between the south and the north. Most of the year you'll find her in South Carolina. But come summer she'll be on the porch of her lakeside shack in Vermont. Yep, it's a place very similar to Lake Elizabeth.

Cindy's favorite travel destinations are all in Europe, her favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory, her favorite movie is Moonstruck, and her favorite color is orange. Cindy dislikes vacuuming, traffic, and lima beans.

Cindy is giving away a Kindle copy of "Unbelievable" to one lucky person who leaves a comment.

Blog Tour Stop: River Spirits

While filming a movie on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, the film crew trespasses on sacred ground, threats are made against the female stars, a missing woman is found by the Hairy Man, an actor is murdered and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has no idea who is guilty. Once again, the elusive and legendary Hairy Man plays an important role in this newest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

 How Tempe Crabtree got her Name

When I realized that I wanted a character who was part Indian, I wanted a name that sounded Indian, but unique.

Years ago, my sister did our family genealogy and when I read about my great-grandmother on my father's side and all that she went through, I was amazed by her strength and independence. Of course I'd heard about her from my father, but I never met her.

Her parents named her Temperance and she was called Tempe from the time she was a little girl. She met and married Newt Crabtree in what was called Globe at the time--now Springville where I live. She gave birth to several children who died soon after birth. When a girl was born she called her Hope because she hoped she’d live. (She did, and several more children were born after that, including my grandmother.) Just living back in that time period was tough. She was a true pioneer. When her husband died, she lived on her own for many years.

The resident deputy that I had pictured in my mind had many of the same attributes and personality traits that I'd learned about my great-grandmother. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Tempe Crabtree was the perfect name for my heroine.

Marilyn Meredith

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest River Spirits from Mundania Press. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.

He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

You can find me tomorrow visiting with my good friend Lorna Collins who wanted to know where I get my inspiration after writing so many books. http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/

From the publisher, all formats:

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=River+Spirits

For Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/River-Spirits-Tempe-Crabtree-Book-ebook/dp/B00O3R83TQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412345856&sr=1-1&keywords=River+Spirits+by+Marilyn+Meredith

Amazon paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/River-Spirits-Marilyn-Meredith/dp/1606594117/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412900595&sr=1-1&keywords=river+spirits+by+marilyn+meredith

For Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/river-spirits-marilyn-meredith/1120425385?ean=2940150347090

Mystery Author of the Month: Deborah Garner

Deborah Garner is an accomplished travel writer with a passion for back roads and secret hideaways. Born and raised in California, she studied in France before returning to the U.S. to attend UCLA. 

After stints in graduate school and teaching, she attempted to clone herself for decades by founding and running a dance and performing arts center, designing and manufacturing clothing and accessories, and tackling both spreadsheets and display racks for corporate retail management. 

Her passions include photography, hiking and animal rescue. She speaks five languages, some substantially better than others. She now divides her time between California and Wyoming, dragging one human and two canines along whenever possible.

You can find Deborah Garner at:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/deborahgarnerauthor

Twitter

https://www.twitter.com/paigeandjake

Website

http://www.deborahgarner.com

Amazon

http://amzn.to/1i2c6hE

Goodreads

 http://bit.ly/1migsJQ

Book Purchase Links

Above the Bridge  – Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/UlmNzE (also available in paperback at Amazon and Barnes & Noble)

The Moonglow Café - Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/1iiokZn (also available in paperback at Amazon and Barnes & Noble)

Cranberry Bluff - Release 11/21 - Link available soon for eBook and paperback

 

 

Leave a comment for a chance to win a paper copy of one of Deborah's books, winner's choice.

When Real Life and Fiction Collide

Cincinnati Skyline

In 1965-1966, my main interests were boys, learning how to drive and school, pretty much in that order. So I paid little attention to the news, never realizing how what was going on then in my city would mirror the novel I would write many years later.

You see, after my first Malone mystery was published, I learned something that actually gave me chills. From October 1965 to December 1966, a man attacked, raped and murdered seven Cincinnati women. He strangled them, using either an article of their own clothing or something that was readily available to him. With one exception, the women were attacked in their homes. The media dubbed him “The Cincinnati Strangler.”

The Cincinnati Police apprehended Posteal Laskey, a cab driver, after the last attack. He was arrested and convicted of the seventh murder. He never confessed to having committed any of the crimes but the attacks stopped when he was taken into custody. He died in prison in 2007.

If you’ve read Mixed Messages, much about The Cincinnati Strangler will sound familiar to you. Although I didn’t know about the real life case when I wrote my novel, there are so many similarities between what I wrote and what actually happened. Hence, the chills!

In the book, The Westwood Strangler attacks women in their homes and he uses whatever is at hand to strangle them – just like The Cincinnati Strangler. The Westwood Strangler is on the loose in a neighborhood on the west side of Cincinnati. All of The Cincinnati Strangler's victims were attacked within a few miles of Westwood. Without giving away my plot for those of you who haven’t read Unfinished Business, the sequel to Mixed Messages, I’ll let you in on a secret: the total number of victims for The Cincinnati Strangler and The Westwood Strangler is exactly the same!

Was it merely a coincidence that what I wrote all those years later so strongly paralleled what really happened? Or, even though I didn’t consciously remember the news stories, did my subconscious retain bits and pieces for all those years? I guess we’ll never know. 
Leave a comment for a chance to win paper copies of my first two Malone mysteries, "Mixed Messages" and "Unfinished Business."
Jean Henry Mead is the winner! Jean, your books are in the mail. I hope you enjoy them! 

Happy Halloween!