Blog Archives

Meet Short Story Mystery Author Francelia Belton

10/27/2021

Good Morning, Booklovers!

How nice to see everyone on this rainy morning! Please join me in welcoming short story writer Franceiia Belton to this week's Coffee Chat, where she'll be featuring an anthology with her latest short story cozy mystery, "The Brotherhood of Tricks and Treats." (And don't miss the giveaway at the end!)

A pleasure to meet you, Francelia. What may I get you to drink?

FB: I'm not a coffee drinker, and as I've gotten older, I have become a tea drinker. Flavored tea with honey. My husband makes me a perfect cup every time. :)

Ally: I don't have your husband here to make it for you, but I do have a magic pot that can mimic anything. While I prepare our drinks, please introduce yourself to readers.

Bio:

Francelia Belton’s love of short stories came from watching old Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents television shows in her youth. Her fiction has appeared in various publications, with a new short story coming out in the upcoming Denver Noir anthology by Akashic Books. Also, she was a finalist in the 2020-2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition and is currently a semi-finalist in the 2021 Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition for her short story, “Knife Girl.”

Something unique/unusual that isn't in my regular bio: “I am a 80's girl, so there are a couple of hard rock/hair band songs I like in addition to my R&B and hip hop. LOL.”

Author Links:

https://Francel.Be/Writing-Stories
https://www.goodreads.com/Francelia
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/Francelia-Belton
https://www.amazon.com/Francelia-Belton/e/B01LBFLQKU
https://www.facebook.com/Francelia.Stories
https://twitter.com/FranceliaBelton

INTERVIEW:

Ally: Who or what inspired your current story?

FB: I needed to write a holiday culinary cozy crime short story, and I chose Halloween. But the problem was that I didn't have a recipe for Halloween, because I don't celebrate the holiday other than passing out candy to trick-or-treaters every year. Luckily, I have a friend on Facebook who was making Halloween treats for her nieces and nephews at the time. The treat sounded so good, I asked her if I could use it for my story. And hence, the appearance of Krispie Balls in my story, "The Brotherhood Tricks and Treats." :)

Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Do you have a "day" job?

FB: I choose writing as a career because I have always loved reading and writing since I was a little girl. I was the kid who turned in a story with her vocabulary words rather than just the requisite 20 separate sentences in elementary school. My "day" job is an office manager in a commercial property management company.

Ally: What book/author had the biggest influence on your writing?

FB: As much as I love reading, I can't say it was a book or author that had the biggest influence on my writing. It was watching all those old television programs like The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and their ilk. They are the reason why I write short stories instead of novels. I'm in and out in a character's life rather than following them around for any length of time.

Ally: What are your reading habits? Current favorites?

FB: I am a huge audiobook listener. It is how I get a majority of my reading done. I have a 45-minute commute each way during the work week, and to me there's no better way to pass the time. My absolute favorite audiobook of all time is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I don't normally read zombie books, but I love this book because it's about the different perspectives of what happened before, during, and after a zombie war. I love the human stories of love, grief, loss and survival, and all the actors conveyed it beautifully in the audio version. I have to listen to it at least once a year.

Ally: What three books in your genre would you recommend to readers?

FB: Twisted by Jeffery Deaver; Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King;
Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Ally: Which questions did you select to answer from the trivia list?

FB:

Book you are currently reading: The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 by Alafair Burke and Steph Cha
An item on your bucket list: A cross country train trip across Europe.
Ebook or print? Preferred print, but I do read ebooks.
Favorite quote: "So many books, so little time."-- Frank Zappa
If you couldn't write anymore, what would you want to do? I would be an artist, a book illustrator specifically.

Ally: Thanks for visiting the blog, Francelia. Before you go, please show us your featured anthology of short stores.

Festive Mayhem 2: Seven Holiday Culinary Cozy Mysteries
Genre: Cozy Mystery (short Stories by various authors)

Seven crime writers of color have teamed up for the second year running to offer you the gift of escape this holiday season. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, Halloween to New Year's, cozy mystery fans are bound to find a favorite holiday represented in this limited-time collection of exclusive, never-before-published seasonal short stories.

What you'll find inside:

• "Nefarious New Year" by Paige Sleuth. A suspected poisoning leads Cherry Hills, Washington animal rescue maven Imogene Little to spend New Year’s Eve 1999 tracking down a would-be murderer.

• "The Brotherhood of Tricks and Treats" by Francelia Belton. A young man wants to fit in with his older brothers, but gets in over his head.

• "Cookies, Lies & Homicide" by Angela Henry. When lonely widow Mercy Davenport finds a lost dog, she has no idea searching for its owner will land her in the middle of a murder mystery, putting her in the crosshairs of a killer and on the radar of a grumpy local police detective.

• "Last Bite" by Rhoda Berlin. When Emily introduces her fiancé to her family, Thanksgiving comes to a fateful end.

• "A Praline for Pepe" by Carolyn Marie Wilkins. Carrie McFarland’s psychic powers are tested when a showboat featuring a racist revue brings a handsome stranger, a new cuisine, and a cold-blooded killer to Aaronsville, Indiana in 1921.

• "A Cup of Secrets" by Barbara Howard. Debutante Chelsea Parker's birthday celebration launched his catering business into an overnight success, but Milo is thrown into the center of a murder investigation before dawn with his business partner and love of his life as the primary suspect.

• "The Jollof Rice and Crayfish Mystery" by Stella Oni. Elizabeth Ojo senses trouble when billionaire businessman Chief Arowolo, his wives and family come to celebrate his 75th birthday in the Mews, and she is not wrong as Chief collapses on the day of his celebration.

Bonus recipes are included for each story!

Available at: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo
https://books2read.com/fm2

****In celebration of their release, the authors are hosting a multi-book giveaway. Visit the Rafflecopter Giveaway page through October 29 and enter for your chance to win. http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f0f9d74e25

Book Spotlight: At First Sight by Sharon Michalove

10/22/2021

At First Sight (Global Security Unlimited 1)
Genre: Romance

Oxford, England 1993. An awkward American grad student runs into a gorgeous English undergrad with her bicycle. She’s embarrassed. He’s intrigued. They go their separate ways, but neither forgets.

Chicago, Illinois 2013. When Cress Taylor starts receiving anonymous threats, the successful novelist feels her world crashing down. Max Grant turns up at a book signing and wants to renew their fleeting acquaintance. Is the timing coincidental or suspicious? Should she fall into his arms or run like hell? Then the plagiarism accusations start.

A former spy now working for a global security company, Max Grant has always steered clear of relationships—until now. When he sees Cress in a TV interview, his curiosity ignites. Will the spark he felt twenty years ago burst into flame? Cress is a magnet he can’t resist. As threats escalate to physical danger, Max feels driven to protect Cress. They must learn to work together if they want to stop her nemesis and find their happy ending.

Buy Links:

Universal link for ebook:
mybook.to/atfirstsightmichalove

Amazon paperback link:
https://www.amazon.com/At-First-Sight-Sharon-Michalove/dp/1736918702/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=at+first+sight+sharon+michalove&qid=1631632069&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble paperback link:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/at-first-sight-sharon-d-michalove/1140047370?ean=9781736918708

EXCERPT:

I step off the private elevator on the fortieth floor of One Financial Plaza in my new shoes. New shoes—ridiculous, bright-red, three-inch stilettos. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, Everest. Maybe the best restaurant in Chicago. One of the thirty or forty best in the U.S.
As I passed the store window, the shoes lured me in. My willpower collapsed like a condemned building. This is so not me. I’ve only had them a minute, and they’re cheese graters for feet.
A quick roll of my ankle on the slick granite floor reminds me why I don’t wear high heels. My arms splay and rotate like a windmill. The shopping bag that holds my serviceable flats and my small evening bag spins off my wrist. One shoe skids away. Crap, crap, crap.
The brown kraft-paper bag is a missile that hurtles toward a man on his way to the restaurant entrance. My mouth opens in soundless warning as it speeds toward an invisible bullseye.
Thunk. The bag bounces off his arm.
My evening clutch pops out, wide open. Damn that broken clasp. Change rings against hard wood and granite, spraying in all directions. I drop to my knees and crawl after the quarters and pennies. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him spin. A frown twists lush lips.
“You all right?” A foot in a brogue polished within an inch of its life rests a millimeter from my fingers as I reach for more coins. A shoe, a red shoe, is in his hand.
“Lost something?” He holds it out to me. His rich British accent sends a prickle down my spine. I tip my head up to give him a quick once-over.
A spark flashes through eyes that remind me of a walk on the beach in winter. A face bisected by a high-bridged aristocratic slash of a nose. My face tingles. The tips of my ears are warm. I grab the shoe, drop it on the floor, and hide my face in my hands.
“Fine. Sorry. I lost my balance and the bag escaped.” My fingers muffle the sound.
He starts to bend down. His hand brushes my ear.
Zap. I scoot backward.
He straightens up and shakes his hand. “Pins and needles.”
With effort, I wrench my focus back to the coins. My good luck charm, a Victorian black opal pendant I bought when my first book sold, slides back and forth against the sanded silk of my shabby chic little black dress. Streaks of fire reflect off the granite floor as it swings. I brush stray discs into the pile.
“Just trying to help.”
“I can manage. Thanks, though.”
A loud male voice calls out, “Hey, Max. Get in here.”
“Half a mo’.”
I wave him off. “Your friends want you.”
“But…”
“I’ve got this.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah. Go on.”
He straightens, turns, walks into the restaurant.
I stare at his back in the perfect gray suit. The color matches his eyes.
The heap of change winks at me. I slip on my shoe and pick them up so no one else falls. Little traitors.
Purse and shoe box stuffed back into the shopping bag, I stagger through the wood-framed doorway.
The tables are all full. I have a word with the maître d' before he shows me to a center table where four people give me a standing ovation. Heat burns my cheeks. The other diners stare, some annoyed but more amused. In fact, complete strangers join in, clapping.
A group of men in elegant suits, ensconced at a round table positioned to enjoy the spectacular view, whistle loudly. My nose wrinkles. Over-aged frat boys.
With my unruly curls and my almost too-thin frame, all these people may wonder if I’m some D-list celeb. I look like a starved model, but the genes tell the story. I have the appetite of a hockey player after a game.
My best friend, Micki, leads the cheers. She is a statuesque platinum blonde, all curves, killing it in a red-sequined dress. My shoes would be perfect.
She glances toward my feet. “Nice shoes. New?”
“Yeah. Big mistake.”
“About time you started to wear grown-up shoes.”
We wear the same size. I’ll wrap them up for Christmas. One pair of fancy shoes, light wear.

Bio:

Sharon Michalove grew up in suburban Chicago. She received four degrees from the University of Illinois because she didn't have the gumption to go anywhere else, and spent most of her career at the university, eventually earning a PhD, working in departmental administration, publishing and libraries. Her specialties are 15th-16th century European history, polar exploration, and food history. She may be one of the few people in America to never live outside her home state.

In graduate school, she met and married the love of her life. They shared a love of music, theater, travel and cats. He died in 2013.

Sharon also loves hockey, reading, cooking, writing, and various less elevated activities like eating cookies and sampling gins and single malts. After spending most of her life in a medium-sized university town she moved back to Chicago in 2017 so she could go to more Blackhawks games and spend quality time at Eataly. She hopes to accomplish a lifetime goal by publishing her first novel this year. Unfortunately her other lifetime goal, to be English, is likely to remain unfulfilled.

Social Links:
They are all collected at Linktree
https://linktr.ee/sdmichalove

"Cozy" Up to the Fire with Mystery Author Heather Weidner

10/20/2021

Good Morning, Booklovers!

It's a brisk fall day in the Midwest, and we’re gathered around the fireplace this morning. Won’t you join us in welcoming today's guest author, Heather Weidner, to the Coffee Chat?

So nice to have you with us, Heather. How do you take your coffee?

HW: I like iced coffee (year-round). The security guard at my day gig laughs at me when I show up in January, shivering with a cold drink.

Ally: It’s almost shivering weather this morning, but cold coffee is coming right up! While I prepare our drinks, please tell readers something about your background.

Bio:

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers is the first in her cozy mystery series, the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. She also writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series set in Virginia.

Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “One of my first jobs as a kid was to pick up the bullet casing at the police range where my dad was practicing. Being a CK (cop’s kid), I thought everyone talked of murder and mayhem at the dinner table.”

Author Contact Links:

Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner
Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003

INERVIEW:

Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book, Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers?

HW: My husband loves DIY projects, and we watch a lot of shows on TV. One summer, I came across one in California where a couple refurbished vintage trailers, and that gave me the idea for Jules’s campground. She saves classic campers from the scrap heap and gives them a new life as part of a posh, glamping (glamorous camping) experience. She and her security guard add tiny houses to the offerings in this book.

Ally: What is the hardest part of writing?

HW: I think the hardest thing about writing is staying focused. I get distracted so easily. I go to Google to look up something, and then hours later, I’m watching alpaca videos. My friend and awesome writer, Alan Orloff, told me about BICFOK (Butt in Chair and Fingers on Keyboard), and it’s a good reminder that my task is to write.

Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job?

HW: I still have a day gig. I’m an IT QA/Governance manager. I think it helps me with my writing. I get great ideas from all the people I interact with. And I always have wonderful IT resources to answer my questions about the dark web, computer security, and funny things people do with technology. It also helps me organize and plan my writing time. I need to make the most of it when my writing/book marketing time is limited.

Ally: Do you write from an outline?

HW: I do. Many moons ago, I was an IT project manager, and I’m a planner, outliner, and list maker. I do a high-level outline for the book, and then I start writing. Sometimes, the characters go off on their own paths, and I adjust. The outline helps me later when I have to write the dreaded synopsis.

Ally: What's the best writing/marketing advice you’ve been given?

HW: Writing/publishing is a business, and it’s hard work. It takes a lot of time and energy (and sticktoitiveness) to get published.

Ally: Tell us about your reading habits. Current favorites?

HW: I have been a reader since I got my first library card. (Shout out to all the fabulous librarians and teachers who helped me throughout the years and encouraged my addictive reading habit!) I read lots of genres, but my go-to is always mystery, thriller, and suspense. I read a lot of cozy mysteries to learn the craft and conventions. Plus, I absolutely love them. Right now, my favorite authors are Libby Klein, Sherry Harris, Ellen Bryon, Jennifer Chow, Diane Kelly, Bree Baker, John Grisham, Lee Child, and K.L. Murphy.

Ally: How many drafts (revision passes) do you do on a typical book before submission to your editor/publisher?

HW: I learned a long time ago, that when I think I’m “done,” I’m not. That’s just the beginning. The fabulous Mary Burton gave me great advice early on. She said to just write your first draft. Save the editing/proofreading for when you finish, and she’s right. My first book took five years to write and probably another two years to get published because I spent so much time refining a few chapters. I am much more prolific when I just write. I then spend time doing two or three (or ten) read-throughs. Then it’s ready for my critique group’s feedback. I make those changes, and then it’s ready for my agent and editor’s review and feedback.

Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?

HW: The second book in the Jules Keene Glamping series, Film Crews and Rendezvous comes out in October 2022.

Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?

HW:

Book you're currently reading: Jennifer Chow’s MIMI LEE GETS A CLUE
An author (living or dead) you'd love to take to lunch: Agatha Christie
An item on your bucket list: I would love to go to Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland.
Most beloved comic book character: Batman/Batgirl
Favorite comfort food: Pizza
If you were a color, what would it be? Red
Your pets: Jack Russell Terriers – Disney and Riley

Ally: Thanks for the delightful chat, Heather. Do come back to see us again. Before you go, please show us your new release, Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers.

Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers (Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries #1)
Genre: Cozy Mystery

There is nothing like finding a dead body, clad only in a red satin thong, on your property to jolt you from a quiet routine. Jules Keene, owner of the posh Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is thrust into the world of the Dark Web when one of her guests, Ira Perkins, is found murdered in the woods near her vintage trailers. Jules quickly discovers that the man who claimed to be on a writing retreat was not what he seemed, and someone will go to any length to find what he left at her resort. Jules, along with her Jack Russell Terrier sidekick Bijou, has to put the rest of the missing pieces of a blackmailing scheme together before her business is ruined.

Jules’s resort, set in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville in the quaint town of Fern Valley, offers guests a unique vacation in refurbished and upcycled vintage trailers. Hoping to expand her offerings, she partners with her maintenance/security guy to create a village of tiny houses, the latest home DIY craze, but a second murder of a reporter interrupts Jules’s expansion plans. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she steps up her sleuthing to find out what Ira Perkins was really up to and what he was really hiding at her resort.

Buy Link: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GGBFWT5

Author Interview & Cover Reveal for Mission Improbable: Vietnam

10/13/2021

Good Morning, Booklovers!

Join me this fine fall morning in welcoming mystery author Nancy Nau Sullivan to the Coffee Chat with her featured series The Blanche Murninghan Mysteries and a cover reveal for book three.
Nice to meet you, Nancy. How do you take your coffee?

NNS: I drink coffee black, no sugar, and strong. Preferably Peet’s or Dunkin’ Dark, and only one or two in the morning otherwise I’m stuck to the ceiling.

Ally: No problem for my magic pot. While I pour, please introduce yourself to readers.

Bio:
Nancy Nau Sullivan’s Saving Tuna Street--nominated for best mystery, 2020, at Foreword Reviews—launched the Blanche Murninghan mystery series. Second in the series, Trouble Down Mexico Way (June, 2021); third, Mission Improbable: Vietnam (June, 2022) follow up (Light Messages/Torchflame Books). Nancy’s memoir, The Last Cadillac, won two Eric Hoffer awards. Her novel, The Boys of Alpha Block (TouchPoint Press, April 2021), is based on years of teaching at a boys’ prison. A former newspaper journalist, she also taught in Mexico, Argentina, and Chicago. Nancy lives in Northwest Indiana, and often anywhere near water.

Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I love to drive long distances – alone—listening to country music and eating kettle korn until it comes out my ears.”

Social media:

www.nancynausullivan.com
Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/nancy.sullivan.9638
Twitter   @NauSullivan
Bookbub   https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nancy-nau-sullivan
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-nau-sullivan-712b2015a/

INTERVIEW:

Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book/series?

NNS: I’m hugely driven by setting, hence, the places I’ve visited and loved have lent the backdrop, and the hook, for the Blanche Murninghan mystery series. The first, Saving Tuna Street, came out of a concern for the environment on Anna Maria Island, Florida—the setting for my memoir, The Last Cadillac. Mexico City was a favorite haunt during my stint in the Peace Corps in 2013 and inspired mystery number two. I visited Vietnam, which totally captured me for the third installment, and the fourth takes place in Ireland, which I’ve visited many times.

Ally: Are you self-published or traditionally published? How did you make the decision?

NNS: I’m traditionally published, mainly because I wanted to work with professionals on my writing projects. I have an English teaching background, so I’m pretty grounded in grammar and the essentials, but I wanted that excellent eye on my work. I’ve been happy with the wonderful relationships I’ve made at three small presses for my four books.

Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job?

NNS: I’ve always been a writer since writing squiggly lines to my sister when I was six. It was frustrating then (and sometimes now), but my grandmother said, “Don’t worry. You’ll write one day.” That remark certainly planted something in my head. I was a newspaper journalist before teaching English. I began getting short stories published about ten years ago and it became the springboard to getting a publisher for my memoir, my first book.

Ally: What's the best writing/marketing advice you’ve been given?

NNS: Keep finishing the books. Promotion is great, but the writing and the publishing of more and more is what matters.

Ally: What authors have had the biggest influence on your writing?

NNS: Carl Hiaasen, James Lee Burke, Anne Tyler, Anne Lamott, Laura Lippman, Tana French

Ally: Tell us about your reading habits. Current favorites?

NNS: I read up on the country or setting for months before, and during, writing the book; right now, it’s Ireland—Carlene O’Connor, Kathleen McGurl, Tana French, Frank Delaney, Colm Toibin, Rutherford, so many.

Ally: You’re thrown into a different time period—either past or future—what book hero would you want with you? Why?

NNS: James Hall’s wonderful Thorn, or any of Carl Hiaasen’s plucky, fabulous, funny female leads. These characters stick to their truth, through all the bad stuff. It’s easier to live with yourself when you do.

Ally: What is your most frequently used source of information? Why? What are its benefits?

NNS: I buy a Frommer’s or other guide book of the year my story takes place. It’s invaluable for details about flights, food, streets, events. Even though I’ve been to these places—I lived in Mexico for a year—the guide book is a great assist to notes, blogs, and that old memory.

Ally: Do you buy ads for your books? Where? Have they been profitable?

NNS: With my first book, The Last Cadillac: A Memoir, I bought a tiny ad in a prominent writing magazine for $750. Stupidest thing I ever did. I also bought a review for the memoir from Kirkus – also pricey – and the best promo I’ve ever done. It was glowing.

Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?

NNS: Third in the Blanche Murninghan mystery series: Mission Improbable:Vietnam--is in edits and due out next June from Light Messages/Torchflame Books. Cover reveal, attached to email.

I’ve signed on for the fourth in the series, A Deathly Irish Secret, tentative publication, June 2023.

Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?

NNS:

memorable book you’ve read: Anna Karenina (in high school—it turned me on to great books)
book you're currently reading: The Searcher by Tana French
an item on your bucket list: Australia, definitely (Read Jane Harper!)
favorite quote: “If you surrender to the wind you can ride it.”~~Toni Morrison
the best thing a book fan has ever said to you: “…beautifully written…” and “…a funny page turner…”
pie or cake? What kind? Coconut cake and cherry pie
best places you’ve ever visited: Vietnam and Maui and Anna Maria Island…

Ally: Thanks so much for visiting with us, Nancy. Before we finish up for today, please show us your series and the cover reveal for book three.

Cover reveal: Mystery #three: Mission Improbable: Vietnam (June 2022, Light Messages)

Blurb for Series:

The Blanche Murninghan Mysteries
Genre: Cozy mystery

Sometime sleuth, part-time journalist, and full-time beach bum, Blanche Murninghan, gets herself in one scrape after another—in places she never expected.

The new mystery series starts off peacefully enough on sleepy Santa Maria Island, Florida (until murder and mayhem drop in). Adventure then finds Blanche in Mexico City where she uncovers a “new” mummy, and in Vietnam where she hunts down a friend’s lost mother. Saving Tuna Street and Trouble Down Mexico Way from Light Messages/Torchflame Books, available on Amazon, through the publisher, and at any bookstore. Mission Improbable: Vietnam launches June, 2022.

Covers:
Mystery #one: Saving Tuna Street (June 2020, Light Messages)
Mystery #two: Trouble Down Mexico Way (June 2021, Light Messages)

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0928LWQQR?
Also available at the publisher and other bookstores
(see more buy links on website or Bookbub listing in bio above)

Mystery/Thriller Author Matthew Cost on "Writing is Learning"

10/6/2021

Writing is Learning

Thank you Ally for inviting me to share some thoughts on writing. The thing that I enjoy most about writing is the depths to which I must dig to flesh out whatever story I’m writing. This might be due to my historical novel roots where research is such a fundamental building block of the novel.

The rule of thumb that seems to make sense to me is a hundred to one. For every single piece of authentic information I include, I must have read, noted, and understood one hundred. To write about a subject, you must become an expert—not to fill the pages but to minimize the information shared. The better one understands a topic, the more succinctly they can explain it.

The subject of Mind Trap, being released on October 6th, is cults. At the time that I began my research, I had no idea the extent of these groups in the world. There are various definitions, but most simply, a cult is the veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers.

This definition can certainly be used to encompass quite a lot. The definition if often accompanied by the concept of irrational beliefs. These are often associated with a charismatic leader that can convince their followers to act outside of conventional practices.

My mystery/thriller, Mind Trap, delves into these controversial interpretations of groups that have been labeled cults while also putting you on a thrill ride that keeps you turning the pages while also learning about the history of cults in the world.

My first book in the series, Wolfe Trap, dissected heroin trafficking and opiate abuse and the affect that fentanyl has had in this illegal and legal enterprise. The next mystery, Mouse Trap, will investigate genome engineering. And due out next September, Honey Trap, tackles the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena that has been in all the news as of late.

I have written several historical novels as well as the Mainely Mystery series. I’ve decided to combine those two loves for the project I’m currently working on, Brooklyn Eight Ballo, which will be out late next year. It is a PI mystery set in 1923 Brooklyn, and already I’ve been blown away with the wealth of fascinating people and events from back then. Throw in a little mystery, and you have the recipe for some fun learning.

Thank you for joining me for my thoughts. And as always, read on. Write on.

About the Author

Matt Cost is the highly acclaimed, award-winning author of the Mainely Mystery series. The first book, Mainely Power, was selected as the Maine Humanities Council Read ME fiction book of 2020. This was followed by Mainely Fear and Mainely Money. Mainely Angst is the fourth book of the series.
I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution was his first traditionally published novel. He had another historical released in August of 2021, Love in a Time of Hate.
Wolfe Trap was the first in the Clay Wolfe Port Essex Trap series. Mind Trap was the second, published in October of 2021, and will be followed by Mouse Trap in April of 2022.
Cost was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries.
Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. A chocolate Lab and a basset hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.

Author Links and Social Media

Email: matthew-cost@comcast.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.cost.3
Twitter: @MattCost8
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlangdoncost/

Mind Trap (Clay Wolfe/Port Essex mystery series, Book #2)
Genre: mystery

Mind Trap delves into a radical cult threatening a small coastal Maine town. When Clay Wolfe is hired to find a missing girl, the events come tumbling down in rapid fashion.

“You say your daughter is missing?” Clay Wolfe asked. The man in front of him was slightly disheveled. Red eyes. Fear creased his features.

What is the End Game?
It was as close to ecstasy as the woman had ever been in her life. It was enlightenment. She was no longer Martha Abbott. She was a warrior of Marduk engaged in a war of purity.

What is going to happen on Leap Day?
“We have allowed sin to fill our homes, and it is our divine labor to cleanse that filth from our streets.” Marduk’s voice boomed through the cavernous temple.

Something evil is lurking in the streets of Port Essex.
A missing girl. Violent attacks. It is up to Clay Wolfe, his partner Baylee Baker, and a colorful assortment of friends to get to the bottom of these odious occurrences before it is too late.

Buy Links

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Mainely-Angst-Matt-Cost/dp/1645992845/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mainely+angst&qid=1631819295&s=books&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mainely-angst-matt-cost/1140142186?ean=9781645992844