August’s guest at Literary Ashland Radio was our friend Tod Davies. She’s the author of the Arcadia Series, now up to book four with her recently released Report to Megalopolis. The previous volume include Snotty saves the Day, Lily the Silent, and The Lizard Princess. Tod also is the editor/publisher of Exterminating Angel Press and the author two books on cooking, Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking With What You’ve Got, and Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered.
Blog Tour: River of Secrets by Roger Johns
What’s it about?
Herbert Marioneaux, a Louisiana state legislator with a reputation for changing his mind on sensitive issues, has been murdered. DNA evidence points directly at Eddie Pitkin, a social justice activist who’s had well documents run-ins with Marioneaux before. Many in the court of public opinion are quick to call for Pitkin’s conviction.
Wallace Hartman, the homicide detective assigned to the investigation, is also the childhood best friend of Pitkin’s half-brother so, in the eyes of some, her objectivity is in question from the beginning. Wallace discovers an iffy alibi witness and evidence of a troubled relationship between Marioneaux and his son. Questions about the source of the DNA evidence surface. What began as an open and shut case becomes murky and politicized, sparking waves of violence across Baton Rouge. Wallace is forced to dig deep into the dark heart of the political establishment to untangle a web of old, disturbing secrets. Continue reading “Blog Tour: River of Secrets by Roger Johns”
Blog Tour: Blessed Be The Wicked by D. A. Bartley
What’s it about?
Detective Abish Taylor left Utah for a reason. But with her husband’s passing, it’s time to come home. Reconnecting with her family means dealing with her past: the father she abandoned and the community she left behind. Her one escape is serving as the sole police detective in the small town of Pleasant View. But when the quiet Mormon suburb in the Wasatch Mountains is shaken by a macabre death—with the hallmarks of a sacred ritual dating back to the days of Brigham Young— Abbie is called into action.
As she uncovers the dark side of the picturesque neighborhood—infidelity, corruption, and the greed of a global religion—Abbie discovers just how far some powerful leaders of the Church will go to bury their secrets. Especially as the brutal murder unearths a sinister tradition lurking in the religion’s not-so-distant past: the ultimate sacrifice for unforgivable sins. With the chief pressuring her to close the case and the community that once sheltered her watching her everything move, Abbie must find justice for the dead—before she’s silenced for good. Continue reading “Blog Tour: Blessed Be The Wicked by D. A. Bartley”
Blog Tour: Scream and Scream Again, R. L. Stine (ed.)
What’s it about?
A harrowing array of scary stories that all have one thing in common: each either begins or ends with a scream! R.L. Stine—the godfather of Goosebumps—and some of the most popular authors today bring an unrivaled mastery of all things fearsome, frightening, and fantabulous to this terrifying anthology of all-new scary short stories.
Scream and Scream Again! is full of twists and turns, dark corners, and devilish revenge. Collected in conjunction with the Mystery Writers of America, this set includes works from New York Times bestselling authors telling tales of wicked ice-cream trucks, time-travelling heroes, witches and warlocks, and of course, haunted houses.
Make sure to check out the story “Kamikaze Iguanas” written by my friend Alison McMahan Continue reading “Blog Tour: Scream and Scream Again, R. L. Stine (ed.)”
Literary Ashland with Carole Beers
Our guest for July was Carole T. Beers, author of the Pepper Kane Mysteries. Carole is a native Oregonian, born in Portland, and a resident of the Rogue Valley. After completing a degree in journalism at the University of Washington, she wrote for magazines before becoming a reporter and dance critic for the Seattle Times. Along the way, she interviewed celebrities such as Katharine Hepburn, John Wayne, B.B. King, Rudolph Nureyev, and even covered the Queen! Along the way she competed on a women’s shooting team, earned a sharpshooter rating, flew planes, designed clothing and dabbled in PR.
Her Pepper Kane series stars an ex-reporter who loves horses, solves crimes and frets about her relationships. The most recent in the series, Ghost Ranch was published in May 2018.
