It’s My Turn

If you have followed my blog over the past year, you are familiar with the Underground Authors. If you are new to my blog, welcome! A couple of years ago a group of writers from around the country and Canada banded together and wrote an anthology of short stories called Beyond The Sea. It turned out to be a ton of fun. So much so, we decided to extend our group writing process to include a series of books all written about a fictional town in the lovely area of the Texas hill country. We called it Magnolia Bluff. Pretty or not, it sure is a deadly town. With each new book, the bodies are piling up, and law enforcement is struggling to keep up with the growing body count.

The latest tale is my book Justice, book eight in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

I am especially proud of Justice. I have just learned that it very quickly proved to be an Amazon best-selling book when it launched last week. Yippee! Awards are cool!

Let me tell you about my story. Madison Jackson is a police officer with the Texas State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The title sounds pretty tame. Yes, Madison passes out tickets for no fishing or deer licenses. It was on just such a routine day that a child’s body was found in the tree line next to Burnet Reservoir.

Madison attends the child’s autopsy. The sight of that battered and bruised child on a stainless-steel slab in the morgue deeply moves her. Madison’s professional instincts are battered by memories of a lonely childhood precipitated by the death of her mother at the hands of a violent criminal. Evidence on the child indicates she was a victim of human trafficking south of the border. Madison impulsively drives to Tenancingo, Mexico hoping to locate the parents of Jane Doe lying unclaimed at Schiff’s Funeral Home in Magnolia Bluff.

Madison’s trip quickly catches the attention of the CJNG, the Jalisco New Generation cartel. Madison is kidnapped and subjected to extreme torture Will she ever make it home?

I just wanted to add a review of Justice that I am especially proud of. From Keith Mbuya of Reader’s Favorite. “If you love mystery murder thrillers laced with spicy romantic action, Kelly Marshall’s Justice is a must-read for you. Marshall had me captivated from the start. The narration focuses on love, secrets, unexpected affairs, family, sex trafficking, Mexican cartels, blackmail, espionage, thrills, and suspense. Marshall hatches an intriguing plot, featuring an amazing cast and spectacular twists. Marshall portrays the scenes vividly, capturing them with dramatic effect and a clever sense of humor. She develops the characters boldly, describing their traits and emotions, which made it easy for me to connect with them. Madison is an intelligent and tough woman, but with a big heart. Justice is the eighth installment in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles and a stand-alone book.”

Here’s the Amazon link:https://www.amazon.com/JUSTICE-Magnolia-Bluff-Crime-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0BKYDL3ZH

DYNAMIC DUO

Charles Breakfield and Roxanne Burkey have co-authored white papers and fiction for many years. As professionals in the Internet technology field, many might consider them to be straight-laced “nerds”. Nothing could be further from the truth. After a day of pounding out technical documents and putting out complex IT fires, the two slip out of their Clark Kent personas and step into the world of high-tech thrillers. They found their passion for fiction about ten years ago, and have amassed an impressive list of successful books including their well-known Enigma series. To date, they have written twelve Enigma Series novels and one prequel to the series called Out of Poland. They’ve penned a script and are shopping the screenplay to interested parties. Who knows? Breakfield and Burkey might become part of the Hollywood screenwriter’s set!

The two have a unique collaboration process. They call it Literary Badminton. Charles says, “Rox will write something then bat it over to me. I’ll chew on it, make changes and then return it. It works in both directions as we work through a story. This process allows us to smooth the characters and the story into a single voice. We typically trace out a few chapters at a time. We get together in person or via conference to discuss the progress of the project and our next steps. It works well for us.”

Their most recent project includes a novella called The Flower Enigma, book five of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles. This is a unique collaboration of nine authors from around the country and Canada writing about Magnolia Bluff, a small town in the picturesque Texas hill country. The town folk has to be frightened because murder and mayhem are exploding everywhere.

I just finished reading The Flower Enigma, Let me share my thoughts with you.

Globe-trotting lovers JJ and Jo find themselves in the sleepy, southern town of Magnolia Bluff, Texas. The two just want to be left alone to explore each other and enjoy a respite from their busy, glamorous work lives. Well, that was the plan anyway. But when a group of women in the small town is stymied from doing a podcast about a pressing local issue, the couple is drawn into their drama. Someone with malicious intentions is sabotaging the podcast and threatening the ladies. But it’s not just the podcast. Under the surface lurks a darker, more evil secret. The Flower Enigma is engaging, charming and a terrific read. If you’d like a copy, here’s where to find it.

https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Enigma-Charles-Breakfield-ebook/dp/B0B6QK4FGK

A WOMAN OF MANY TALENTS

Like many authors, Sandy Nachlinger has spent years honing her craft. She took numerous college classes, has attended writer’s conferences, and has spent many lonely hours with fingers flying over the keyboard trying to fashion the perfect story.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Sandra has been writing  stories since childhood. She told me she wrote her first romantic tale in elementary school, in pencil on lined paper. And just like the novels she’d later write as an adult, the heroine got a kiss at the happy ending. Sandy still has diaries from her school days, one of which inspired I.O.U. SEX, her first book co-written with her childhood friend, Sandra Allen. Her second book is BLUEBONNETS FOR ELLY. Lately, Sandy has been creating shorter pieces while future novels still simmer in her imagination. Her focus is on contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and personal essays featuring mature women.

Sandy and I met when she first moved to the Pacific Northwest, almost fifteen years ago. We reconnected again at a creative writing class at Pierce County Community College. Once the course ended, several students formed a separate writing group for inspiration and feedback on our stories. That’s when we really got to know each other. The mix of five different women, each writing in a different genre, has been beneficial to us all—and it’s lots of fun.

Sandy is a gifted editor as well. She poo-poos the idea of hanging out a shingle and charging a fee. I’ve encouraged her to do just that though. I never send out any piece of significance without running it by Sandy first. She has an eye like an eagle and can spot a missing comma from miles high. Beyond that she has an uncommon intuitive sense that knows when a story line works and when it doesn’t. I trust her implicitly. I told her she’s going to have to live until she’s one hundred because I plan on writing that long.

It simply isn’t true that writers are introverts who seldom see sunlight and spend most of their waking hours either reading other authors’ novels or penning another tome. When not writing, Sandy likes to hike, make quilts, garden, take photos, lunch with friends, travel, and spend as much time as possible with her granddaughter, Corinna. Here’s Sandy enjoying lunch in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Sandy is also written a number of magazine articles about her various pursuits and adventures.  Rollin’ On The River: http://sasee.com/2018/07/01/rollin-on-the-river/

Happy When I’m Hiking: http://sasee.com/2018/04/01/happy-when-im-hiking/

Sandy’s novels are available on Amazon in ebook and Paperback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I.0.U. SEX: http://www.amazon.com/I-O-U-Sex-ebook/dp/B004CFAPA4/

BLUEBONNETS FOR ELLY: https://www.amazon.com/Bluebonnets-Elly-Sandra-Nachlinger-ebook/dp/B01C7KMBN

 

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

There are many gifts of Christmas including a gracious, giving attitude by many people. Individuals dig deep into their pockets to buy toys for disadvantaged children. Others drop coins into the Salvation Army red kettle. Still others donate turkeys and canned goods to area food banks. Don’t you wish we could keep this warm, caring attitude for the whole year?

We also take special care to find just the perfect gift for our loved ones. If you have a book lover in your life and are looking for just the right book, I’d like to share the books I have authored with you. Hopefully, you’ll find one that sparks your interest.
Seattle homicide detectives, Nick Winston and Pat Strom, search out crime in the underbelly of the Emerald City. This time, a serial killer is murdering lesbians in the Northwest’s most gay-friendly city. Winston and Strom are called to the apartment of University of Washington student, Kylee Harris. The provocative young woman is slaughtered in her bed, and the killer leaves behind a grisly clue that shocks even the most cynical detectives. https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Girls-Make-Them-Die-ebook/dp/B06XBR46LV/ref

LIFE INTRUDES

Wow! I had to look back in the archives to find out how long it’s been since I wrote a blog post. Almost three months! That’s forever in the land of blogs. I once read that if you don’t communicate weekly, you’ll lose your audience and they won’t come back. I hope not. I raise my finger in protest and sputter, “But I had to get my grandson ready for the new school year! And then there was the house appraisal!” The prep work to spruce up my home for the appraisal was a heavy lift. I ended up painting most of my house’s interior and increasing my Home Depot credit card balance as high as the national debt.

                                                 Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rolande.

Whew! Now that it’s done and my leg muscles have recovered from running up and down a ladder, I’m ready for life to return to normal. Which means, talking with you, reading, and writing on my new book, Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned. 

No More “Happy Ever After”

How many times have you heard people say, “I’m going to write a book one day?” I muttered that phrase to myself many times. I’d sit down with a legal pad in hand and start writing about love gone wrong because as a teenager that’s usually the case. Later in my thirties when I  was a bit more serious about actually finishing a project, I took a seminar sponsored by Harlequin Books and wrote copious notes about “the formula.” All romance books have guidelines about when the lovers meet, how quickly they fall in love, what obstacles they face in their relationship, and how the book should end. I tried. I really did. 

My Favorite Things

My favorite things are books. When I glance at the new Oprah Magazine, I see a lot of wonderful gifts that could become my favorite things, but I always come back to books. When I’m stuck in a TSA line at the airport I just whip out my small version of the Kindle and start reading. I’m pacified until they ask for my boarding pass and ID. If the plane is late, no worries, my trusty Kindle will keep me occupied.

I have favorite books that I cherish more than gems in my jewelry box. I go back to them years later and delight in them once more. Now that I’m older and an author, I read them with a deeper understanding of the writing process and I savor the rich words and imagery. I’d like to share a couple of those that I cherish.

I am a super fan of author Ann Rice. I once stood five hours IN HEELS just to meet her and have her autograph a book. My feet were swollen to the point of bursting through my shoes.

No matter. I met the Queen of the Damned and was thrilled. Rice was gracious to her readers and sat in that chair for hours scribbling her autograph.

Here’s a passage from Rice’s  Interview With A Vampire: “They were all dressed in black, which was their at-home custom, and in the dark the black shapes of their dresses, massed together with their raven hair, so that in the glow of the candles their faces appeared as five soft shimmering apparitions, each uniquely sad, each uniquely courageous.”

One more paragraph from Interview with a Vampire: “She gasped as I broke the flesh, the warm current coming into me, her breasts crushed against me, her body arching up, helpless, from the couch. And I could see her eyes, even as I shut my own, see that taunting, provocative mouth. I was drawing on her, hard, lifting her,and I could feel her weakening, her hands dropping limp at her sides. ‘Tight, tight,’ I whispered over the hot stream of her blood, her heart thundering in my ears, her blood swelling my satiated veins.” Oh, my! Give me more of that.

Another classic book imprinted indelibly in my brain is The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough. The scandalous book is about a life-long love between Father Ralph de Bricassart and Meggie Cleary. Here’s a sample. “The priest smiled wryly and clasped his thin, very beautiful hands together so they made a pointed church roof. ‘I’ve known Meggie since she was ten years old, only days off the boat from New Zealand. You might in all truth say that I’ve known Meggie through flood and fire and emotional famine, and through death, and life. All that we have to bear. Meggie is the mirror in which I’m forced to view my mortality.'” Poor Meggie. She’d fallen for a truly unavailable man. I can only imagine what Dr. Phil would say to her!

Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward from the TV miniseries The Thornbirds.

These are two of my favorite books. What are yours? Are there books you go back to again and again over the years and relish them just as much as you did the first time? I’d be interested in hearing about your faves. Add your comments below.

I had a wonderful time at the Enumclaw Wine Walk on 11/12/16. It’s always a treat to meet readers. A number of them bought my books and I want to say a big thank you. Congratulations to Maria Wilke of Lake Tapps WA who won a copy of  Black Phoenix.

 

I was recently notified I am a finalist in the AUTHORSHOW.COM contest 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading. Earlier, I had asked you to vote for me to get me to the finals. Now, I am asking for you to vote for me to win the grand prize. It includes some very nice things like a marketing package. I’d be ever so grateful if you voted just one more time for me. Here’s the link:http://www.questionpro.com/a/TakeSurvey?id=5429436. I appreciate your help.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

 Publishing is a carnivorous business. The competition is keen and it’s a struggle to get your material noticed among the hundreds of thousands of books published yearly. One thing has become crystal clear since I became an author-I’ve learned that I need help and lots of it. I rely on my friends to give me feedback and yes, to help promote my book when it’s done. The Beatles said it so well, “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends.”

One of my best friends is Sandra Nachlinger, a talented writer and terrific editor. She is the first person I turn to when my book is complete. She has an awesome editing eye and catches many mistakes in my raw manuscript.

It’s her other gift that I wanted to share with you today. Sandy has penned two romance novels and I asked her how her journey to successful author began. “I wrote my first love story in elementary school. It takes place on Halloween, and the heroine receives a kiss as the happy ending. I’ve written short stories and articles for magazines for many years. My first book (I.O.U. Sex) was co-written with my best friend Sandra Allen in 2010.”

I.O.U. Sex is such an intriguing title. I had to know how the two Sandras came up with that title. Sandy chuckled when she explained, “The idea for my first book came from my high school diary. I’ve known my I.O.U.Sex co-author since 8th grade, and we nearly died laughing when we read my high school diary. Reminiscing about our high school boyfriends and speculating about their current whereabouts led to the book’s premise.”

I was curious and asked Sandy if she had ever considered contacting her high school boyfriend. I found mine in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her eyes sparkled and she gave me a big grin. “You wouldn’t believe how many people have asked if I.O.U. Sex is based in reality! No, my co-author and I did not track down our high school boyfriends, and we certainly didn’t hook up with them. But we had a lot of fun imagining what would happen if our characters did that.” Pour a glass of wine and settle in for a charming, funny, bittersweet saga.

https://www.amazon.com/I-O-U-Sex-Sandra-Nachlinger-ebook/dp/B004CFAPA4/

Sandy followed her initial novel with Bluebonnets for Elly. “My second book is a more traditional sweet romance with a younger hero and heroine. It was picked up and released by Sweet Cravings Publishing (an imprint of Secret Cravings Publishing). Unfortunately, like many smaller presses recently, they went out of business. I then re-released it as a self-published novel. Although bits and pieces of people I’ve known appear in Bluebonnets for Elly, the plot and characters are purely imaginative. However, I spent many summers at Lake Texoma (the book’s setting) and the nearby small town of Pottsboro, Texas. They definitely inspired my depiction of the area where Elly and her grandmother live.”

https://www.amazon.com/Bluebonnets-Elly-Sandra-Nachlinger-ebook/dp/B01C7KMBN4

Sandy stays busy with a blog of her own called Writing With a Texas Twang and writes articles about a variety of subjects. She often introduces her followers to books that she has recently read and recommends. If you’d like to take a look, here’s the link: https://SandraNachlinger.blogspot.com