Category: Writing

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In Memoriam – Tim Wohlforth (1933-2019)

I first met Tim around 7pm on Friday, June 20, 2008, at the Bookwagon bookstore on Ashland Street. I can pinpoint the moment so precisely because Maureen Flannigan Batistella and the Ashland Mystery Reading group organized author readings there and the guest author that day was John Straley, one of my favorite mystery authors at the time.

After the author reading and Q&A were done, and I got to meet John Straley, I asked Maureen about the mystery writing group about which I’d heard rumors. She introduced me to Tim. I asked him if there was a possibility of joining the group. He said, “What have you written?”

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Blog Tour: Dead of Winter by Sherry Knowlton

What’s it about?

A lighthearted trip to test a new drone turns deadly for attorney Alexa Williams
 and two friends when they find a stranger’s bullet-riddled body in a remote field in 
rural Pennsylvania. Next to the dead man is a note that declares: Allahu Akbar.

When a second man is executed near Harpers Ferry, Alexa’s old flame, Reese, becomes a suspect, leading her to question just how much he changed while working in Africa. Fear of Islamic terrorism spreads like wildfire through Alexa’s small town after a third murder. The police arrest the oldest son of her Syrian refugee clients. The family becomes the focus of mounting anti-Muslim rage, and a dangerous militia group turns its sights on Alexa.

One dark night in the dead of winter, Alexa discovers who is behind the murders and must race to stop an attack that could kill hundreds. If she fails, she could lose everyone she loves.

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Blog Tour: Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza

What’s it about?

When a young woman linked to a list of missing Fire-Sky tribal members commits suicide, Pueblo Police Sergeant Nicky Matthews is assigned to the case. As the investigation unfolds, she uncovers a threat that strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Fire-Sky Native: victims chosen and murdered because of their genetic makeup.

But these deaths are not just about a life taken. In a vengeful twist, the killer ensures the spirits of those targeted will wander forever, lost to their family, their People, and their ancestors. When those closest to Nicky are put in jeopardy, she must be willing to sacrifice everything—her career, her life, even her soul—to save the people she is sworn to protect.

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Blog Tour: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

What’s it about?

In eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities. Fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice.

When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelain manufacture, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the color blue…

The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage.

She also learns much about love.

With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the color blue?

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Guest Blog: Sharon Dean – Leaving Freedom

When I transitioned from teaching and writing scholarly books to writing mysteries, I had no idea about the way the genre is sub-categorized. Hardboiled, noir, thriller, historical, PI novels, police procedurals. Where did mine fit? Cozies, maybe. Violence and sex off-stage. Profanity kept to a minimum. Cozies are set in confined spaces, not always locked rooms but not the teeming streets of a major city.

Mine sort of fit. Tour de Trace covers the four hundred miles of Mississippi’s Natchez Trace as its protagonist, English professor Susan Warner, celebrates her retirement on a bicycle trip with her daughter. Susan fits another characteristic of cozies–she’s a highly educated amateur sleuth.

 

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