Jackaby a supernatural Sherlock Holmes

What do you get when you cross the supernatural with a Victorian private investigator? Jackaby written by William Ritter.

Jackaby is a YA supernatural mystery that will keep you turning the pages, filled with fun and wonders. In the beginning, you’ll meet the lovely Abigail Rook, newly arrived in the seaside town of New Fiddleham. The young woman is determined to make her way and find adventure in this new country.

As she sips the pint offered by the kindly barkeep and thinks about the journey she’s had up to this point a strange fellow enters the tavern. Here’s where we meet R.F. Jackaby for the first time and are absolutely hooked into the book.

Jackaby is a cross between whimsy and serious. From the moment he began deducting Miss Rook being a new arrival, where she had disembarked and described the two fairies that had taken up residence in her hat and coat you knew you were on your way to adventure.

I couldn’t help envision Johnny Depp as Jackaby, he would be perfect to play this quirky detective with his overfull pockets and insight into the parts of the world not all of us can see.

Abigail becomes Jacaby’s assistant as the series of murders begin. The pair must discover the supernatural killer before he strikes again. As Abigail is introduced to the Otherside by Jackaby she meets some interesting folk… a ghost, a woman who fishes to feed a bridge troll and a duck named Doug.

The pages will keep turning as you’re drawn in and even laugh out loud at times. The book jacket describes Jackaby as Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes. I would have to agree, it holds the same whimsy and suspense with a dash of Victorian flair. Loved it and would recommend you pick up a copy at your bookstore or library this week! A great supernatural adventure for Halloween week! 

Flash Fiction: The Mission

A glance at the tower clock said it was almost time. Fingers drummed nervously on the café table. Stop, he admonished himself mentally. He couldn’t afford to draw attention to himself. Not now.

The mission was about to take place, delivery was crucial. Crucial to national security, maybe even global from the impressions he got during briefing.

After one last sip of the pungent tea, he pulled a few dollars from his wallet and tossed them on the bill. Standing, the young man glanced again at the clock in the square. It was time.

Knowing the importance of this meeting made it difficult to keep a strolling pace to the park. He wanted to hurry and be a hero to his country. An unknown hero, since he was one of the “men in black”.

Focus man, focus. To keep his concentration on the task at hand he began to sing the instructions in his head.

Near a tree by a river, there’s a hole in the ground. Where an old man of Aran goes around and around.

It had taken him a bit to decipher the cryptic message. It all snapped into place once he found the tree. Behind it a river gently flowed with children on the bank skipping rocks along the water’s surface.

An old man with a thick Irish accent called out to them in the shade of that great oak. The table in font of him filled with all sorts of whirly gigs to catch the wind and spin around.

The young man took a deep breath. This was it, the moment he’d been training for.  Hand around a small pistol in his pocket, he approached the table of wares. “Good afternoon.”

The old man gave him a slight nod. “Afternoon. See anything you like there?”

He picked up a bird shaped pinwheel. “This one I think. Reminds me of something.” He gave a pause and made eye contact with the old man. “The blackbird sings on bluebird hill.”

The old man nodded and took the offered money for the trinket and doled out the spy’s change. “Thanks to the calling of the wild. You must be a wise man’s child.”

His heart sped, this was it. The old man knew the code phrase. The hand in his pocket moved away from the gun to a key ring. “Indeed, thank you.”

Blood thumped in his ears as he pulled the ring from his pocket slowly.  Without breaking his pace as he walked away, dropped the keys into the hole by the great oak tree.

It was hard to keep the grin off his face until he’d exited the park. Success, he’d done it.

The old man pulled the keys from the hole and sighed. Why did H.Q. insist on testing the rookies like this? The wig came off, revealing jet black hair. This was the last time he’d forget his keys in the office.

The Banshee

It was nearly dusk and he was completely turned around on the forest trails. He hoped he was going in the

direction of the cabin. After a few more minutes walk, he could hear the soft swoosh of water rushing over rocks.

His lungs took a calming breath and let it go slowly. There wasn’t a creek anywhere near the cabin. He was lost. The canteen was almost empty. He should fill it while he had the chance.

With the sky turning a pinkish gold overhead, he made his way off the trail toward the soft splashing sounds. As he moved closer a soft voice humming blended into the sounds of the creek. Maybe another hiker and he wasn’t as lost as he thought.

He stepped through the brush toward the song to the rocky edge of the creek. His hand gripped a hanging tree limb to keep his footing on the moss slickened stones as he picked his way along the edge. He kneeled on a flat rock and watched bubbles float upward as he held the canteen below the water line.

The bubbles calmed as the last of the air was replaced with refreshing cool liquid. He capped the canteen and cupped his hands to scoop up a drink and bathe his face and neck. As his hands dipped under a face appeared in the water not his own.

With an unmanly yip he jumped back and looked behind him. No one was there. He sighed and shook his head. “I’ve been out in the sun too long today.”

As he stood the humming became louder clearer. He turned and saw a young redheaded woman. She sat on the rocks at the creek edge with a washboard.

He blinked, was she there before? Maybe he was just too tired from the long walk to notice. He watched her pick up a large bar of soap and rub it up and down the board as she continued her song, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

She had to live near by. “Excuse me…. Miss?”

She picked up a shirt from her basket and started to scrub up and down over the washboard. He stepped forward and lost traction on the damp stones. He hit the ground hard enough to see stars. His eyes watered with the ache in his head as he sat up.

The woman had stopped her song and now looked at him as she turned the shirt and continued to scrub. She turned back to her work as she spoke. “Does it hurt?”

He rubbed the back of his head. “Not really, I think I just showed how much of a city boy I am.” His lips curled in a soft grin. “I’m completely turned around on these trails. Do you live near the campground?”

She glanced up for a moment, then rinsed the shirt in the creek and examined it carefully. In the dying light, he could see the white shirt was still stained. She sighed and began to scrub it up and down the board again. “I live in the wood.”

He raised a brow at the short answer. Maybe she was one of those Rainbow People he was always being told to be cautious of. They traveled to different areas, sometimes camping out in the forest like a wild hippy commune. Maybe she, her family was a bunch of cannibal axe murderers on the run or weird apocalypse get back to nature groupies.

If he was lucky she had a phone and he could call for help before she went all Blair Witch on him. “It must be nice to live out here in the quiet. Could I use your land line to call someone to pick me up? My cell is useless out here and I am totally lost on these trails.”

She continued to push and pull the cloth over the board. “There is no phone.”

His spine tingled as he moved closer to her, more carefully over the rocks this time. He made a silent promise to pay more attention to signs and maps next time if hiked. “There’s no phone? Could you give me a ride back to camp? I’ll be glad to pay you for the gas and trouble. I’m sure you get a lot of lost hikers up here.”

She held up the shirt, in the dying light, the dark stain glistened. He thought it looked larger than it had before. The woman seemed satisfied as if it should be worse not better.

“You’re not lost, Thomas.” She began to sing a little louder this time as she worked the cloth once more.

He swallowed, how did she know his name. He rubbed his arms as gooseflesh covered them and chill filled him to the bone. “I really need to get out of the woods. My friends are going to wonder where I am. Is there someone that can give me a ride to camp or town?”

The woman’s lips curled ever so slightly. “Soon, he will come for you, Thomas.”

She stood her hair flowing around her as she turned and pointed. “Don’t worry so, you’re not lost.”

Thomas felt a knot of fear in his throat as he gazed down the line of her finger. His knees felt weak as he walked back to where he had slipped. He looked down at his own face, eyes open, blankly staring at the rising moon. Blood still glistening covered the rock beneath his head. “No… this… isn’t real.”

She put a dainty blood speckled hand on his shoulder. “Some fairy tales are very real, Thomas.”

His chest rose and fell rapidly, his pulse beating in his ears. She said… “Who is coming for me?”

She turned and picked up her basket with its bounty of stained clothing from those she had called for today. Silently she stepped back into the wood disappearing from sight.

He looked up and down the rocky bank as hoof beats began to fill the empty night air. Thomas stood frozen at the sight of the black coach drawn by a demon horse with red eyes. As the coach drew near he could hear the woman singing again. Only now the soft, sweet song had turned into a wail. 

Don't Touch Sneak Peek

This week I'm taking part in Sneak Peek Sunday Hosted by Sara Walter Ellwood. The following excerpt is a sneak peek of six paragraphs from the psychic thriller Don't Touch. 

Dr Ryan Reign has unlocked a gift she calls a curse. Detective ackson Prince and his partner need her help to stop a serial killer before he murders again.

One problem Dr. Reign can't touch or be touched. She's become a recluse never leaving her home for fear of what she might'see'. Jackson knows he has to help her accept her gift or there will be more deaths.

It takes a woman's touch to catch a killer.

Excerpt: 

             As they cleaned up dinner Ryan’s eyes kept going to the folders on the coffee table. Jackson tugged her shirt sleeve. “Why don’t we give it a rest tonight?”

            Moving to stand looking down at the crime scene photo of Tina, Ryan shook her head. “That’s the problem, Jack. I’ve given it a rest for too long.”

             Pointing to a photo on the end table of Ryan and another woman at Disney posing with Tigger.  “That’s my sister, Amber. I’ve lost her; I’ve lost all of who I was. I gave up.”

            Jackson came over and stood next to her. “So what are you going to do about it?”

            Looking at the photos again she took a deep breath feeling like she was jumping out of a plane without a parachute. “I’m going to get a life back. It can’t be the same one but I can’t live in these four walls for the next sixty or so years. Do me a favor, if for some reason I can’t let go take the picture from me.”

            Before he had a chance to protest she picked up the picture of the murder weapon and touched the two dimensional knife. There was a blink of the photographer; he was tired, pulling a double shift. The next was a glimpse of a gloved hand setting the knife beside the victim. Heavy duty work gloves, not latex. The knife was set down with care so the blade was pointing at the victim’s feet. Then she was just looking at the picture again. She opened her fingers and let it fall to the table.

            Her hands were trembling as she processed the visions and what they were. “I did it. I saw him or her. I saw someone.”

Buy Don't Touch on:

Smashwords

Amazon

Lulu 

For more Sneak Peek Sunday excerpts click the banner below and follow the linky list to the next blog. 

A Luring Murder of Author Stacy Verdick Case

No no, Stacy is  just fine, the murder is in the next Catherine O'Brien book. Stacy is here with us in the Ludis today to chat about her latest release A Luring Murder. Grab your favorite coffee treat and enjoy the chat. Don't forget to leave some comment love! 

Tell us three little known things about Stacy Verdick Case.

I collect gemstones, I eat salsa from the jar with a spoon, and I went to school to be a sound engineer in a recording studio.

We’re talking about A Luring Murder today. Can you tell us a bit about it?

I wrote A Luring Murder at the request of fans. Initially I had written a different book 2 for the series, but at the end of A Grand Murder the main character Catherine O’Brien is going on vacation with her husband. I kept getting emails and reviews that said I can’t wait to find out what happens on this vacation. The only problem was the next book took place several months later. After a friend of mine insisted that she had to know what happened on vacation I decided to write A Luring Murder. So this one is for the fans of the first book because they asked for it.

A Luring Murder is the second in a series. The first being A Grand Murder. What inspired this series?

I love series mysteries but there wasn’t a series for someone like me. I’m too old now to appreciate a 20-something bimbo running around with a gun who stumbles on dead bodies, while trying to find love, but I’m too young for the granny sleuth mysteries. Catherine is in between the two.

What are the challenges in writing a series verses a one off book?

Continuity is a huge problem. I end up having to re-read my books to double check eye color and back story details. I think the problem is I write by the seat of my pants and I’m not organized at all.  If I were more organized I would write these details down, but I never do.

The main character of your series is Catherine O’Brien, tell us a bit about her. Was she inspired by something in yourself or someone you know?

Catherine is irreverent. She has a tendency to say what’s on her mind without much in the way of tact. My sister swears Catherine is me, so I guess I need to work on the filter from my brain to my mouth (LOL). There are certain aspects to her personality that are like me, but I pull things from other people as well.

Why this genre?

When I started writing novel length fiction I started out in romance. Then an editor told me I had the highest body count she’d ever seen in a romance novel. She told me my romance fell down but suggested I focus on guy the mystery. It was handy information to have and I am very grateful to her for her suggestion.

In the books, we find out about Catherine’s coffee addiction what is your favorite coffee treat?

Quad shot, venti, caramel macchiato from Starbucks. I’m a complete addict.

What do you find most difficult and most rewarding in being a writer?

For me the most difficult thing is the social networking explosion. People expect you to be online and accessible. I’m a recluse. I love my privacy so I really struggle with the social promotion explosion. The most rewarding part is hearing people tell me they laughed out loud in public when they read my book. All I want to do is entertain people, so to have someone tell me they found an escape in my books is awesome.

Most writers are voracious readers. What are you reading right now?

I have 3 books going right now. On audio in my car is Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen, on my Kindle is Decision Points by George W. Bush, and on my night stand is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

Do you have any projects or WIP that you can tell us about?

I’m working on what will now be the 4^th book in the series.  I don’t want to tell too much about it because it’s still rough draft so there will likely be major changes before this one hits the shelf. Then I have an idea for a book that is not part of the series, so I might take a short break from Catherine and Louise.

Where can we find Stacy Verdick Case and Catherine O’Brien?

http://www.StacyVerdickCase.com

http://sostacythought.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/StacyVerdickCase

https://twitter.com/SVerdickCase

A Luring Murder Excerpt 

CHAPTER ONE

When I went to bed last night, I was spooned against my husband on my first vacation in ten years. Never mind that the vacation, fishing at a Minnesota resort, is at the top of my personal list of hells.

By morning I was damp, shivering and alone under the covers. My husband, and two other men I’d never seen before stood next to the bed and stared at me like I was the prize winning pig at a State Fair.

Gavin, my loving husband, leaned into my ear and whispered, “There’s been a murder, Catherine.”

If there’s one word in the English language that could take you from zero to awake in less than a second the word is murder. I was on my feet and out the door in seconds.

Now I stood sentinel – playing gatekeeper to the crime scene and oracle to the sheriff and deputy of this podunk little town.

Thankfully, my duty would end as soon as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension arrived. Then I could get back to my God forsaken vacation.

“Detective O’Brien.”

I turned on my heels to face the middle-aged man puffing his way up the hill toward me.

“You can call me Catherine you know, Sheriff. I’m not here in an official capacity. I’m a tourist in this town. Remember?”

His lips twisted up into a blushing, no-I-don’t-think-I-could-do-that, grin. At least he’d stopped calling me ma’am – the moniker he’d been using since my early morning verbal ice bath.

Sheriff Anderson held his baseball cap, with the local Sheriff’s department logo ironed on the front like a cheap truckers hat, in both hands and twisted the bill in a reflexive gesture. Anderson stared at me as if he’d forgotten why he’d come to see me.

“Have you come to release me from my guard duties?”  I said.

“Ah, sorry but no.”

I doubted very much if he were sorry. While I played goalie to the fiendish gawkers who just wanted a peek at the body, he campaigned for his next run at sheriff. Every local who approached with concern, and a smidge of morbid curiosity, left with the assurance that the case was well in hand and a suspect would soon be in custody.

Apparently, (since we hadn’t yet found any evidence that would help us track down a killer) the truth had no place in Sheriff Anderson’s reelection campaign. Anderson seemed to make up the details as he went along. He doled out lies to the locals as easy as a traveling carnival barker who claimed their midway games weren’t fixed.

“I was wondering,” he said. “If you know how much longer before the BCA arrives?  The resort owners are upset about us locking up their fish house.”

The fish house was situated near the beach surrounded by trees on all sides, and Mrs. Peterman had haunted the trees since early morning. Not wanting me to see her, Mrs. Peterman wove through the trees like a timber wolf hunting prey.

“Mr. and Mrs. Peterman will just have to get over it,” I said. “Even when the BCA arrives the fish house will be locked up for as long as it takes to gather all the evidence.”

Anderson screwed his hat onto his head then stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans like a pouty child.

“Well, maybe I’ll just have Mrs. Peterman come talk to you about the fish house then.”

A cowardly answer, though not completely unexpected.

“You do that, Sheriff,” I said. “Was there anything else you needed?”

I hadn’t had coffee yet today, because my host for the next two weeks believes that tea is the preferred way to open your eyes in the morning. To me, it was what you drank when you had diarrhea.

My level of patience was directly tied to the amount of coffee coursing through my veins. My tank was dangerously low, and I was in no mood for Mrs. Peterman.

Did you enjoy the chat and excerpt? Have you read A Grand Murder? Let us know what you think Gladiators love comments :) 

Don't Touch the Author in the Park

Don’t Touch is in its final stretch on it’s journey being revamped for re-release. At the time of this books original release I was still new to this publishing world. Now that I’ve got a few notches in my belt of knowledge I decided to go back and give my beloved stories a fresh polish and new life.

It’s given me a chance to fall in love with the story and characters all over again. Don’t Touch will relaunch the first week of March! So keep an eye out for the big release announcement. Here’s a the blurb and revamped cover!

Blurb:

Detective Jackson Prince has to find a serial killer before he strikes again. Reclusive ex- forensic pathologist Ryan Reign is the only one who can help him. One problem, she can’t touch without experiencing sometimes frightening visions. Can Jackson find a way to touch her heart so they can stop the killer? 

You’ll be able to find both Don’t Touch and myself at the Authors In the Park event on March 30^th in Mt. Dora, Florida from 2:30pm until 8pm selling and signing books. I’ll be joined by 11 other Lake County authors. There will be free appetizers of wine and cheese from One Flight Up Café, live entertainment and a gallery walk of local artists.

It’s going to be a fantastic day so mark your calendar to come and join us!

Now for my ROW80 goals.With the preparation for this event and working to get Don’t Touch I’m making a few revisions to the goal list. I have to say ROW80 has been an awesome and encouraging experience to share and see other's posting about their own goals and progress. Okay here we go new goals for this week...

Goals for week 5:
Edit like mad
Work on getting promo and table items for event

Start putting together flash collection number one! That’s right keep your eyes peeled for two upcoming collections of flash stories on Smashwords and Amazon!

For more about Authors in the Park and the other authors attending with me check out their FB page: Authors in the Park on Twitter you can look for #AIP and #DontTouch for release news.  

Whew, I’m worn out from just thinking of all that. Are you making progress on your goals? 

Book Club Bash Day 2 Lenore Skomal asks Can those in a coma hear us?

Welcome back to day 2 of the Book Club Bash sponsorned by Novel Publicity. Today Gladiator's Pen is hosting BLUFF author, Lenore Skomal. She's asking an interesting question to readers today. Don't forget to enter the contest below for a chance to win some great prizes and leave a lil comment love. Now welcome Lenore Skomal to the ludis.... 

Can those in a coma hear us? By Lenore Skomal

It’s the pivotal question that launched BLUFF. Not a revolutionary or new question, but one that persists and is debated in the medical community, for one, and the world at large.

In doing the research for BLUFF, I spoke to many physicians and caregivers, and my straw poll indicates the group was evenly divided. While most doctors acquiesce that they don’t rightly know, their druthers list toward the “no, not likely.”

While my mother wasn’t in a coma, technically, she was in a deep, morphine sleep toward the end of her life, thanks to a losing battle with bone cancer. She drifted in and out of long periods of consciousness, and it had me wondering, perhaps obsessively so, about what exactly she was aware of. Her primary care doctors were sensitive about not talking about her condition in front of her, even when she was snoring. I appreciate this more than they will ever know. There was a level of respect that I bow to.

After I wrote BLUFF, an in-law of mine was admitted to the hospital and kept in a medical coma for a month. When I asked him about it later, he wasn’t comfortable discussing it, other than to say, “I don’t remember a thing.”

Others who have come out of comas have had similar responses. But they are not the norm. Actually, there are those documented cases of coma patients who do remember, and can even recall the offhand words of a careless doctor or insensitive nurse telling loved ones that they’ll never come out of it. Those cases are what keep the right to life movement fueled, especially in desperate cases where there is no hope. Oddly, however, there are no numbers to prove the case either way.

By creating this dilemma for my protagonist, I wanted to push the envelope and explore not just the idea that a comatose patient could hear, but much more. I wanted to know what it might be like to be trapped in one’s body, with no visible means of communication. And not just be trapped, but forced to face the decisions you’ve made and live with those outcomes while not being able to defend or explain yourself. My protagonist, Jude Black, finds herself in that position. And as she lies there, immobile, some strange things happen. One of them is that she actually finds herself communicating and developing a friendship with someone she loathed in her waking life.

As with most of my writing, this unusual outcome underscores something much larger and pervasive—a human frailty—basically, our tendency to judge one another. When everything is stripped away—social setting, class-consciousness, petty differences, toxic gossip—sometimes that’s enough to truly see someone. And find a commonality that can create a relationship, a bond. I played with this theme in the book, and I think you will agree that the unlikely friendship that transpires between Jude and Mary Shannon is not just poignant; it’s heartfelt and true.

To be certain, the question about just what someone in a coma can experience won’t be answered definitively by BLUFF or by me, that is unless I find myself in a hospital bed one day in a persistent vegetative state. And if that happens my friends, you can rest assured—I will get back to you about it.

About BLUFF

 To the medical world, I was a host body, surviving only to bring a new life into the world. And while I wanted to die more than anything in the world, I never wanted this. No, I never wanted to cease to exist. This was the worst death of all.

Jude Black lives in that in-between, twilight place teetering on death but clinging to life in order to bring her baby into this world. Only she knows the circumstances surrounding her mysterious fall off the bluff that landed her in the hospital being kept alive by medical intervention. Only she knows who the father of her baby is. In this poignantly crafted literary novel, the mystery unfolds and the suspense builds as the consequences of Jude’s decisions 

About the Author 

Lenore Skomal is the author of the recently released novel Bluff. As an author, Lenore wants you to eat her books. She wants you to chew them in your teeth, savor them on your tongue, breathe them in, and feel her words in your skin. Her passionate desire is to touch your heart, inspire you, and luxuriate in the world of the written word. Winner of multiple awards for blogging, literature, biography and humor, Lenore Skomal’s catalogue spans many genres. With 30 years of writing experience, over 17 books published and a daily blog, the consistent themes in her work are the big issues the human experience and adding depth and voice to the intricacies involved in living a multi-dimensional existence. www.LenoreSkomal.com

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Author Chat with Shelly Frome

We welcome author Shelly Frome to the Ludis today. Kirkus Reviews had this to say about Twilight of the Drifter, “Author Shelly Frome churns out a laudable crime thriller. A novel with impeccable Southern flair as soothing and cool as the notes from the protagonist’s bluesharp.” So pour a cuppa and enjoy our chat. 

A bit about our guest: 
Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor, a writer of mysteries, books on theater and film, and articles on the performing arts appearing in a number of periodicals in the U.S. and the U.K.. He is also a film critic and frequent contributor to writers’ blogs. His fiction includes Tinseltown Riff, Lilac Moon, Sun Dance for Andy Horn and the trans-Atlantic cozy The Twinning Murders.  Among his works of non-fiction are the acclaimed The Actors Studio and texts on the art and craft of screenwriting and writing for the stage. His latest novel is Twilight of the Drifter, a  southern gothic crime-and-blues odyssey. He lives in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Tell us about your latest book Twilight of the Drifter.

 Twilight of the Drifter is a crime story with southern gothic overtones. It centers on thirty-something Josh Devlin, a failed journalist who, after a year of wandering, winds up in a Kentucky homeless shelter on a wintry December.  

Soon after the opening setup, the crosscurrents go into motion as Josh comes upon a runaway named Alice holed up in an abandoned boxcar. Taken with her plight and dejected over his own squandered life, he spirits her back to Memphis and his uncle’s Blues Hall Café.  From there he tries to get back on his feet while seeking a solution to Alice’s troubles. As the story unfolds, a Delta bluesman’s checkered past comes into play and, inevitably, Josh finds himself on a collision course with a backwoods tracker fixated on the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and the bluesman. By extension, Josh is also unwittingly up against the machinations of the governor-elect of Mississippi.

In a sense, this tale hinges on the vagaries of chance and human nature. At the same time, some underlying force seems to be seeking closure and long overdue redemption.

Was there a part of this story you found difficult to write?

The only thing that was difficult was allowing the story to unfold while, at the same time, incorporating all the threads. For instance, Roy, the backwoods tracker, often harkens back to the tactics of his Confederate ancestor and his own escapades during the Civil Rights days in Oxford, Mississippi while attempting to make sure that long hidden secrets never see the light of day. At the same time, Alice, the runaway, is suffering from temporary amnesia as she goes through her own story arc. And then there is AdaMae, Alice’s visionary aunt, who worries that Alice may be in league with the devil. As things progress, Josh becomes involved with LuAnn, a luncheonette manager who is also concerned about Alice’s plight when Alice takes off again. Not to mention the growing tension between Josh and Dewey the bluesman who becomes increasingly under the gun.  And on and on, it goes.  

What inspired the idea for Twilight of the Drifter?

It all started when a friend of ours invited us down to the hill country of Mississippi who’d inherited a backwoods cabin and was in the process of fixing it up. At one point, he suggested that he and I take an exploratory walk. Following a narrow overgrown path, soon we became entangled in briars, edged past some barbed wire as the terrain sloped down and eventually came across waterlogged limbs sticking out like menacing pitchforks. At that moment, I turned to him and said, “Bob, do you have any idea where we are?”

He gave me a half-wary half-mischievous look and said, “Shelly, I believe this here is Wolf Creek.”

 Then and there something began to percolate. That selfsame feeling there were buried secrets here that would never see the light of day.

What drew you to write in the genre crime/mystery novels?

 Perhaps the best way to explain it stems from something the renown actress Julie Harris once told me. “In one way or another, the given circumstances have to be a matter of life and death. Otherwise, why go to all the trouble?” Put another way, the journey has to be worth the candle. In the case of the Drifter, we’re talking about a mysterious calling to right a great wrong.

As a writer who is also a film buff, a movie critic, a professor of film as well as theater, and the author of a book on screenwriting, there’s another major factor. As the movie camera takes you anywhere and everywhere, so does the central character. And the places you go have a distinct character of their own affecting everything that happens. And that’s at least one reason that writing within the parameters of this genre results in passages my readers find so engrossing and vivid.    

Does your experience as an actor bringing characters to life help you to do the same with the characters in your novels?

  Absolutely. Every character who appears has a through-line and a stake in the action. Everyone is coming from somewhere, motivated and changes because of who they are and the ongoing give-and-take. It’s all a process of becoming. In a wonderful, mysterious way there can be no manipulation on my part because everything would stop until I backed off and allowed people to be true to themselves. In a sense, there’s always the question, Who am I? What do I want? What stands in my way? What now, given the way things are going, in view of what I need and what I’m capable of?

And, needless to say, I play every character.

What do you feel are the key elements for a good mystery?

I think there has to be a fascinating dilemma involving three-dimensional characters, intelligent protagonists and antagonists and a provocative setting. Some unfolding journey far beyond the puzzle solving musings of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot and the one-dimensional stock characters and stick figures they encounter.

What is your favorite crime/mystery television show or movie?

 I don’t have any favorites. But I’m sure the same guidelines apply to crime shows and movies I’m drawn to like the Inspector Morse series on BBC, old classic movies like The Maltese Falcon and recent films like The Talented Mr. Ripley and Michael Clayton.

What is your writing ritual?  Do you write daily, have a word count/page goal, have a certain time of day you write better than others or a certain place that helps you focus?

 In one way or another, I seem to be always writing. Once a noted playwright told me that every time he’d ask another noted playwright how his latest was going, the answer would always be, “It’s coming along. I’m still working on it.” Eventually the answer would be, “Ah, it’s finally finished. Now all I have to do is write it down.”  I simply follow the energy. Perhaps it’s polishing a scene and that usually takes place later in the day tapping away on the computer. Research consists of going places, interviewing people and/or experts in their field, looking things up, etc. But given the fact that I’m an incurable storyteller, a lot of daydreaming goes on morning, noon or night.  

Do you have any projects you’re working on?

 I've just started a new project based on a character who looks a lot like James Dean who unwittingly keeps getting in trouble and is now a person of interest in an untimely death.

What would you like to say to readers and fellow writers?

 There seems to be a flood nowadays of self-published e-books and print on demand. Writers and would-be writers who seem to think it’s all about cranking stuff out and then spending a great deal of energy on promotion tactics on the Internet. There is a huge difference when the work is the result of a slow simmering process, editorial oversight and more before the novel is ready to be distributed. In other words, there’s a question here: How much heart and soul, art and craft went into this final product? There’s a question here for both readers and fellow writers to ponder.

Where can we find Shelly Frome and Twilight of the Drifter?

 Amazon (paperback and Kindle)

Barnes and Noble (paperback and Nook)

Sunbury Press

Facebook

@shellyFrome (Twitter)  

Author Chat with Joan P Lane

Gladiator's Pen welcomes author Joan P Lane to the Ludis for an author chat today. She's here to tell us about her debut novel intrigue, The Tangled Web. Pull up a comfy chair and pour a cool glass of ice tea and let's get to know Joan P Lane. 

Joan P Lane, Author 

Tangled Web is your first novel, tell us about it.

The Tangled Web, speaks about a problem that’s endemic to Latin America and the Caribbean – drug trafficking on a major scale. Anyone familiar with the drug violence that has plagued that region in the past few decades will immediately recognize the ugly truths woven through what appears on the surface to be a light, entertaining read.

The accounts of the cocaine industry in the book were pulled from research and much of what I wrote is true. This is the revised edition that was just published. Interestingly, just weeks before the original edition was published, all hell broke loose in Jamaica over a U.S. State Department request for extradition of one of the world’s most dangerous drug kingpins.

As it turned out, the Jamaican government had ties to this man’s organization, touted as being one of the most violent drug gangs in the world, with tentacles stretching throughout North America and into Europe. The irony is I knew nothing of this when I wrote The Tangled Web and although I used Jamaica as the visual backdrop to the story, the island in the book was intended to be anonymous.

What inspired this story?

The truth is writing a novel was the very last thing on my mind. You could say I was muscled into it by an old boss who thought I had it in me. It was with great reservation that I opened up that new Word document that became The Tangled Web. And this story wasn’t my original idea.

 I’d thought the invasion of Grenada would make a good story, but Logan Armstrong, one of the two protagonists, would have none of that. Before I knew what was happening, he was flying into the island on his private jet in the dead of night, walking through the airport and getting into his chauffeur driven Range Rover. And that was the end of Grenada.

You are more than a fiction author, you have written for Florida Design Magazine and the Miami Herald. How has your journalistic experience played apart in your fictional writing?

Well, first of all, I wasn’t a journalist, though I did contribute the occasional piece to several leading South Florida publications. But, I’m a veteran writer and by that, I mean I’ve done the full spectrum of writing, from TV and radio commercials to billboards, articles, and even speeches.

I was a member of The Miami Herald’s marketing team for many years and, in that capacity, was as familiar with the newsroom as a journalist. How did my advertising and marketing experience play a part in my fictional writing? I suppose after you’ve written copy for a few billboards, you know how to pack a lot into few words. Plus, when you’re always on a tight deadline, you have to be extremely disciplined. There’s no such thing as writer’s block in that world – and egos don’t do too well either.

Are you a plotter or a panster? Why?

I’m a panster. Even if I have a loose plot, my characters end up telling the story. For example, in a chapter of the new book I’m writing, two of the characters are riding on horseback through a jungle. They’re talking and as the conversation continues, I discover one of them is not a nice person. In fact, he’s capable of some pretty bad things. He’s, in fact, capable of something so awful it can change the entire way the story unfolds.

Do you have a favorite resource or tool that you use when writing or researching?

I’m addicted to Google, though there are some things it doesn’t provide. Sometimes I have to go to books for information. But Google Earth is the best thing since sliced bread.

Is there a writer past or present that has influenced or encouraged you? How have they done so?

That’s a tough one because it forces me to ask how many authors have I read and thought, wow, I’d love to be able to write like that when I grow up? Colette is one. Her prose is exquisite and completely uninhibited. A contemporary who has influenced me a lot is Wilbur Smith.

But I’m very into poetry and I think, in a way, poetry influences my writing. Dylan Thomas is one of my favorite poets. I see his influence in these lines from The Tangled Web: “Almost with reverence they watched the blazing ball slip slowly below the horizon leaving behind a mere hint of indigo as a reminder it had been there. Now with no competition to outshine her brilliance, Venus took her rightful place in the early evening sky as the sea gradually submerged into darkness beneath her.”

What did you enjoy most about writing Tangled Web?

I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a lot of fun. But perhaps that was because I wasn’t taking it too seriously – at the time.

What did you find the most difficult part to write and why?

Love scenes, violence and the really suspenseful parts. All really stretch me as a writer, because they require a certain level of emotion that has to be fabricated.

This is your first novel, how does it feel to see your words in print and your name on the cover?

I didn’t feel any way in particular – just a sense of completion.

Can you tell us what you’re working on now?

I’m very excited to tell you what I’m working on now because I’m very excited about it. I’m a history buff, so it’s right up my alley. Seeing my characters may change the story line any time they choose, it’s a bit premature to go into details, but what I can say is it’s basically a paranormal historical romance set in the late 18^th and early 19^th century.

What would you like to say to fellow readers and authors?

To my fellow authors I’d like to say it’s an honor to be walking this road with you and I aspire to be like many of you one day. To readers - a work of fiction is a marriage between an author and a reader. We write the story that you will take on your own flight of fancy, creating images we may never dreamed of while we were writing. So in a sense, you are our partners in the creation of our books.

Where can we find  Joan P Lane and  The Tangled Web?

The Tangled Web: an international web of intrigue, murder and romance is available in Kindle.

 http://www.amazon.com/The-Tangled-Web-international-ebook/dp/B007Z5Y3ZQ/ref=cm_rdp_product

Website: JPLane.com

Facebook: Author JPLane

Twitter:  jpLANEauthor

Blog: JP Writes

One Word/Sixty Seconds: Emptying

OneWord.com is a website for getting the muse warmed up. Each day you get one word and sixty seconds in which to write what it inspires.This is my entry for today's One Word. What's yours? 

The detective sighs watching the water slosh out onto the grass from the pump. It's made a horrible racket for the neighbors all night. He walks over and peers over the edge of the pool. The murky water was still emptying, the body at the bottom yet to be revealed.

Plan A. Plan Be. Plan See. by guest Jon Jefferson

Plan A. Plan Be. Plan See.

  

Guest blog by Jon Jefferson – the “Jefferson” half of the crime-fiction duo Jefferson Bass. Working in collaboration with Dr. Bill Bass, the forensic anthropologist who founded the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee, Jon writes the bestselling series of Body Farm novels. The latest—The Inquisitor’s Key—comes out May 8.

I have writer friends whose workspaces are immaculate. I have friends who write every day, including one who gets up at 5:30 a.m. and writes for two hours before heading to his day job as a lawyer. I have friends who make detailed outlines. I have friends who start at the beginning and write their way forward, in perfect linearity, to the end. That is to say, I have friends who are neater, more disciplined, better organized, and generally much smarter than I am! But a beautiful thing about being a writer is that there are a zillion different paths up the mountain. Doesn’t matter which path you take, long as you’re climbing.

Three tricks to keep climbing: Change course. Be your inner TV writer. And see what’s in your headlights.

Change course: When I was a kid, I had one of those windup toy cars that, when it ran into a wall or a chairleg or the dog’s dish, would back up an inch or so, change directions slightly, and tear off again. Not, perhaps, the most efficient way to go from Point A to Point Z, but I couldn’t help but admire the little car’s persistence and energy. In practice, what that looks like for me (messy, nonlinear writer that I am) is jumping to a different place in the story when I’m stuck, and writing a scene that comes more easily than the one that brought me to a screeching halt. I end up doing a fair amount of joinery eventually, fitting all those pieces together, but I’ll take joinery over a blank screen any day of the week.

Be your inner TV writer: Back in my twenties, I had vague aspirations to write a novel—actually, the embarrassing truth is, I had vague aspirations to “be a writer”—but nothing came of them, because (a) I didn’t have a story I was burning to tell, and (b) I was too damned intimidated by my inner critic (my straight-A English-major critic) to write stuff I knew would be far inferior to Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dickens, and a legion of other great writers. Then I spent half a dozen years making cable-television documentaries, and I got over myself. Writing for television taught me to write fast and to write “good enough.” The liberating thing about it was that nobody cared if a script was Faulknerian or Hemingwayesque; what counted was that it got done, and that it was good enough. Since then, I’ve written nine books. My inner critic still winces at some of what I write … but at least I’m writing.

See what’s in the headlights: Somewhere, taped to one of my computer screens or walls (underneath a few other strata of index cards offering words of wisdom), I have this wonderfully reassuring line from novelist E.L. Doctorow: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Another analogy, which I offer from my experience as a pilot of small airplanes in the humid summers of the South: When you’re a mile or two up, on a hazy August afternoon, it’s often impossible to see the ground more than a couple miles ahead. The world seems to coalesce, to materialize, just ahead of the plane, just in time to fly above it. Sometimes when I’m writing, the world of the novel materializes one paragraph, or even one sentence, ahead of me. What a relief, and what a privilege, to see—to catalyze—that world’s creation!

For more on Jefferson Bass, LIKE them on Facebook, find them at their blog, and follow along on Twitter.

Pre-order The Inquisitor’s Key:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

Books-A-Million

A Grand Murder Giveaway and Author Chat with Stacy Verdick Case

The Ludis welcomes author, Stacy Verdick Case to the arena for a chat about her latest release A Grand Murder, and to give away a signed print copy to one lucky reader! To enter just comment below for your name to be placed into the hat. The winner will be chosen  and announced on Saturday, January 21st.
Now it's time to lean back in your chair with a nice hot cuppa and enjoy our chat with Stacy.

Tell us a bit about your book A Grand Murder.

A Grand Murder is the first book to follow Catherine O’Brien a St. Paul, Minnesota homicide detective with a monstrous coffee habit, frequent bad hair days, and in irreverent outlook on life. It’s a fun, fast paced mystery, so if want to read something hardboiled you’ll have to keep looking. 

Did you learn something new about yourself or the writing process while working on A Grand Murder?

Yes, I learned I was homicidal.  Prior to this, I was writing romance. I thought I was a lover not a fighter.

You have both fiction and non-fiction works published. How is writing one different than the other?

Non-fiction is about writing with clarity, and a singular topic in mind. For instance when I write articles on creating a hook at the end of your chapter or scene to keep readers turning pages I don’t go off on a self-editing tangent.

With fiction you get to be a little bit looser with focus. You have your main plot of course which carries through the whole thing but you can also throw in several subplots or vignettes throughout.

The language is different too. Writing non-fiction for me takes on a more formal tone, unless it’s a blog post, where with fiction I get to have a little fun with my word choices.

Non-fiction is faster for me to write, because I don’t have to invent the wheel. It’s all facts. In fiction you have to create time and place, which is a much slower process.

Where did you get the inspiration for A Grand Murder?

I wanted to kill my former boss.  See, I told you that I learned I was homicidal! He absconded with a large sum of my money, and it was the first time I believed that I was actually capable of killing another human being, so I did, on paper. I think that’s healthier than actually killing someone.

I felt a lot better about that instinct after a former detective told me that, for women, the number one reason they commit murder is money. I would have thought love but no. Apparently, steal my man and I’ll bounce back, but steal my money and may God have mercy on your soul.

The whole process was very cathartic for me. I no longer wish to harm that person.

Do you have a daily writing routine or process?

Yes, I write for a half an hour every morning before I leave for work. I also carry my notebook with me everywhere so I can sneak in writing time whenever I have a chance. Doctors who are running late, oil changes, long bank lines, are all a blessing to me. I got a whole chapter written during a really boring meeting once. I probably shouldn’t have said that.

Tell us three little known things about Stacy Verdick Case

1)      I don’t think anyone outside my family knows that I’m extremely sentimental. I have every card my husband’s ever given me.

2)      I cry at the drop of the hat. My family’s nickname for me is the weeping willow.

3)      I’m afraid to fly but I once flew a plane for the experience of it.

If you could spend the day in your book would you? And what would you do?

Yes, I would love to be an observer in my book. Maybe an office worker at the precinct, so I could watch the interactions of Catherine and Louise the two main characters. I think that would be fun.

Do you have a favorite part of A Grand Murder? If so please share it with us and why it’s your favorite.

I love all the interactions between Catherine and her husband Gavin. I think it gives a different perspective on the character and shows her softer side. Of course, there’s also a scene where Louise accidently knocks a man unconscious that I think is funny, and Catherine get’s a lot of mileage out of it in the book.

Most writers are also avid readers, what are you reading now?

I always have one print and one audio going at the same time (my commute would be miserable without audio books). The print book is Web Thinking: Connecting, Not Competing, For Success by Dr. Linda Seger. All of Linda’s books are like gold to me, and I’ve read this one before but it’s worth reading over again. The audio of the moment is The Taker by Alma Katsu.

The age old question…… Coke or Pepsi?

Coke!

Any news to share for upcoming events, new projects, or releases?

Yes, A Grand Murder has an audio book release, which I’m really excited about. My Mom has macular degeneration, so I lobbied hard for an audio book.

What would you like to say to your readers and fellow writers?

To my readers, THANK YOU for choosing A Grand Murder, I feel so blessed that you would take time to read my book. An extra special thank you to those who have reviewed it, clicked a like button, or clicked on a star rating on various sites, doing so has given my little book legs. I am so thankful and humbled.

To my fellow writers I wish I could hug all of you. I know how hard it is to juggle everything in your life. If you are compelled to do this then you must keep writing.

Thank you Stacy for joining us in the Ludis and sharing a bit of your book and life. 

You can find Stacey Verdick Case at www.stacyverdickcase.com and Before the Fall Publishing 

A Grand Murder is available in paperback, audio, and for the Nook at Barnes&Noble 

Don't forget to leave a comment for Stacy or Gladiator's Pen to be entered in the drawing for a chance to win a signed print copy of A Grand Murder.  The winner will be drawn and announced on Saturday January 21st. Good luck and thanks for stopping by.