Evelyn Cullet, Guest Author

This week my guest author is Evelyn Cullet and she has a new book out, just waiting for you. I thoroughly enjoyed her first series, and now she's stepping out and introducing us to some new characters with a few quirks, and hopefully a new series. Fun book! Welcome, Evelyn! 

Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Marja. You Bet Your Life was a fun book to write. The words came easily, because I loved what I was writing, and whom I was writing about. I thoroughly enjoyed repeating the words and phrases that my aunt often said and used. Looking back, I had to wonder where she got some of her ideas. And it always amazed me how she could squeeze her size 8 feet into 7 1/2 inch high heeled shoes, even though she had bunions, and then manage to walk to church and back in the snow without falling. She always used safety pins to mend rips in her clothes instead of sewing them. She had a safety pin holding up some portion of just about every outfit she owned. But I guess those are the quirks that make people memorable.

 

You Bet Your Life, Blurb

“Sometimes, you have to take a chance.”

As a marketing executive, Heather Stanton is used to spinning anything negative that comes her way into gold, but now both her personal and professional lives have hit a glitch, so she cuts her losses and boards the first train out of town, leaving it all behind.

Heather never expects to run into her independent, free-wheeling Aunt Julia in a speck on the map called Willows Bend. Nor does she expect the turn her life takes when her aunt is suspected of murder.

Putting her own problems aside, Heather teams up with a handsome ex-private investigator to clear her aunt’s name. But will Julia’s innocence be questioned when the odds turn against her in a race to find the killer?

Your Bet Your Life is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Bet-Your-Life-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07B5C2PSK/

Bio

Evelyn Cullet has been an author since high school when she enjoyed writing short stories. She began her first novel while attending college later in life, and while working in the offices of a major soft drink company. After taking early retirement, she finally has the chance to write full time. As a life-long mystery buff, she's a former member of the Agatha Christie Society, and is a current member of the National Chapter of Sisters in Crime. When she's not reading mysteries, reviewing them or writing them, she enjoys playing the piano, is an amateur Lapidary, and an organic gardener. She host's authors and their novels on her writer's blog: http://evelyncullet.com/blog/

Website and Blog: http://evelyncullet.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EvculletsAuthorPage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EvelynCullet

Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3425303.Evelyn_Cullet

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ecullet/

Google + : https://plus.google.com/117043118551450778691

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery is now available. Death in the 1930s? Can an old murder be resolved today? 

J.R. Lindermuth, Guest Author

J.R. Lindermuth

 J.R. Lindermuth is my guest author this week. He has some interesting things to say about strong women and his new book, The Bartered Body. I just started reading it and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Welcome, John!

  

In two previous novels, Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman's ultimate goal has been to marry Lydia Longlow. Crime, and Lydia's refusal, prevented his achieving his desire.

 

Lydia hasn't rejected his many proposals because she doesn't love him. Her resistance has been based on her independence. The woman is busy. In addition to caring for her elderly parents and running the family general store, she's also postmistress, head of the Women's Temperance League, a Sunday school teacher and sings in the Methodist church choir, among other activities.

Some might question the existence of such an independent woman in the 19th century when male dominance restricted many to the home and childbirth, denying them the right to own property, vote and participate in many areas. Truth is, there were many more such women in the period than you might suspect. Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (better known as Nellie Bly), for example, was only one of numerous women journalists. They were derisively known as 'stunt reporters,' because men didn't think they should be taken seriously.

There were entrepreneurs like Lydia Pinkham. Inventors like Tabitha Babbitt, who invented the circular saw. One might mention Elizabeth Blackwell, who blazed the path for women in the medical profession. Others founded religions. Some even served as soldiers or spies in time of war. And, of course, there were numerous women novelists.

So, Lydia Longlow is not an exception, but an example of the intelligent, energetic women of the period. Syl's persistence to win her hand continues in The Bartered Body, though he's beset with even more obstacles this time around. 

Here's the blurb:

The Bartered Body

Why would thieves steal the body of a dead woman?

That’s the most challenging question yet to be faced by Sylvester Tilghman, the third of his family to serve as sheriff of Arahpot, Jordan County, Pennsylvania, in the waning days of the 19^th century.

And it’s not just any body but that of Mrs. Arbuckle, Nathan Zimmerman’s late mother-in-law. Zimmerman is burgess of Arahpot and Tilghman’s boss, which puts more than a little pressure on the sheriff to solve the crime in a hurry.

Syl’s investigation is complicated by the arrival in town of a former flame who threatens his relationship with his sweetheart Lydia Longlow; clashes with his old enemy, former burgess McLean Ruppenthal; a string of armed robberies, and a record snowstorm that shuts down train traffic, cuts off telegraph service and freezes cattle in the fields.

It will take all of Syl’s skills and the help of his deputy and friends to untangle the various threads and bring the criminals to justice.

Buy links:

https://www.sunburypressstore.com/The-Bartered-Body-9781620067567.htm 

https://www.amazon.com/Bartered-Body-J-R-Lindermuth-ebook/dp/B07C96SBBT/ref=la_B002BLJIQ8_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523362877&sr=1-1

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bartered-body-john-lindermuth/1128291698?ean=9781620067567

Blog: https://jrlindermuth.blogspot.com/

~~~

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Just Released - Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery. Hope you'll give it a try.

A New Book for Your Entertainment

Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery is now available on Amazon.com.

Sandi and Pete have earned a reputation for solving old cases, and they’re approached by a woman who’d like a 1930s crime solved. A man was brutally murdered and his brother immediately disappeared. The authorities believed the brother was their best suspect, but they weren’t able to track him down.

Case closed – or was it? A lone police officer didn’t like the results and spent the rest of his life searching for answers.

Their client’s father had tried to clear the name of Harley Glosser, the dead man’s brother, but his efforts were futile. His interest in the case? Horace and Harley Glosser were his cousins.

With the discovery of a private room in the house where the crime was committed, Sandi and Pete must change their thought processes and start running down other suspects and looking at other locations, including an old speakeasy. The potential suspects are people in their nineties, so they also have to hope they’re still living.

Why would someone in the current day try to put a halt to the investigation? After all, the murder took place in the 1930s.

Circumstances are often not as they seem, and this case is no exception.  

a little humor, a little romance, A Little Murder!

I hope you’ll give the book a try, and thank you!

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com 

A New Book (Coming Soon) - A New Cover

I’ve read that titles initially draw the attention of readers, and covers often come in second. If the books are facing outward, generally the cover will grab my eye first. If not facing outward, I scan the titles.

The title of Sandi Webster’s latest adventure will be, Gin Mill Grill – A Sandi Webster Mystery. It’s not quite finished yet, but the gist of the story is that someone wants Sandi to solve a murder from the early 1930s which indirectly involves an old speakeasy from the Prohibition era.

A few huge surprises await Sandi when she begins looking into the cold case. As often happens, things aren’t always as they appear. Additionally, why would someone from a younger generation be taking an interest in the old crime? Yes, Sandi’s in trouble again.

In the 1930s, a man was murdered and his brother disappeared. The police are pretty sure they know who committed the murder, but how did the brother disappear so completely and without a trace? Did he really take his brother’s life? Why?

There’s more to Horace and Harley Glosser’s story than anyone might suspect.

Like I said, that’s the gist of the story. However, there’s more to a book than just the story itself. A book cover would be nice. This is a “friend of a friend” situation. Dori Pendergrass is a friend of a friend, and now my friend. She’s also an artist, and she agreed to paint the cover for this latest book. Here’s a preview:

 

Yes, that’s a mummy sitting in a chair with a small Chiweenie on his lap. (Dogs do the darnedest things.) I’d explain, but you’ll want to read the book when it comes out to understand the dynamics.

The exciting part to me is that I have the original painting hanging over my fireplace.

I normally create my own book covers. I’m certainly no expert, but I sure have fun putting them together. Once in a while, I’m able to use photos I’ve taken myself, like the black butterfly, which visited in my own backyard. These are my personal three favorites:

And now I have a Dori Pendergrass painting to add to my list of favorites.

I’ve also created a few Book Trailers that can be found on my website on The Books Page. Those were a lot of fun to put together, too.

But then there’s the dreaded marketing and promoting. Some authors love this part of the process. I’m not one of them. To me, those are the most difficult parts of getting a book “out there.” Wouldn’t most of us just love to write a book, have it placed on a shelf, and move on to the next story? It doesn’t work that way, and I’ve been quite lax about the process for the past couple of years.

I kept writing, but life got in the way of the process. Well, life goes on, and so do I. It’s time to start thinking up some new promotional ideas. Maybe I should go back and read some of my old blogs. I offered advice to others but failed to follow my own advice.

Anyway, now you know a little about the story and you’ve seen the cover. Other than writing the book, what part of the process do you find to be the most fun or most fulfilling? The curious want to know.

Until next time, do something book-related this week and enjoy yourself. Read a new book, write a new book, browse at the bookstore or online. (I still enjoy a brick and mortar bookstore, but that’s just me.)

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website (I will update it soon.)

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com