May snuck up like a stalker...

May snuck up like a stalker and when I say that, I know what I’m talking about. I’ve had two. Both in the distant past in a land far, far away.

Where the heck has time gone? It seems like I was packing up the Christmas decorations just a few weeks ago, but here we are. Spring has sprung and I have a deadline pushing me to write so I don’t disappoint anyone by missing my self-imposed October 31st release. Can you think of a better time to release Book 4? I sure can’t. Mystery, mayhem, things that go bump in the night are seasonally appropriate for Marnie Reilly and the crew in Creekwood.

You will find a Book 4 update below, as well as an interview I gave to fellow mystery thriller author M.C. Fox. You can check out her book, Countdown America, here https://mcfoxauthor.com/ A huge THANKS goes out to her for publishing the interview in her April newsletter.

Did you know that May is National Mystery Month? If you haven’t read a mystery in a while, it’s the month to visit your nearest library or bookstore to stock up. Of course, Amazon has a wonderful selection on Kindle Unlimited—which is one the only place you’ll find e-books of Divine Guidance, Torn Veil, and Fatal Vow. The paperbacks are there too, and in other booksellers.

How about an update on Book 4?👇

Marnie Reilly Mysteries Update

Marnie Reilly Mysteries Book 4 is coming along in spite of disruptions of the canine sort. The good news is, my characters are all speaking to me. And even though they are keeping me awake at night, they are providing great inspiration for my current work in progress, but also Book 5—and Book 6!

Without giving away too much, what I can tell you about Book 4 is this:

The story opens on a breezy October day.
Marnie’s past is threatening her future—again!
Danny has a new partner no one likes. But to be fair, Randolph Stuyvesant is a pain in the ass.
There’s a hay maze under construction for Halloween celebrations.
Nosy news reporter Carrie Sutherland has returned to Creekwood to dig up dirt on the Reilly family. You might remember Ms. Sutherland from Divine Guidance.
Tater, Dickens, and Gus are still chasing ghost cats and the geese are harassing Danny.
Kate Parish isn’t enjoying life at Pine Ridge Sanitarium.
The treasure is locked away—though not forgotten. Marnie just can’t bring herself to open it without…
The coffee klatch is still spinning yarns from idle gossip they pick up at Drake’s Drugstore.
Sam’s whereabouts are unknown.
The old gamekeeper’s cottage is all fixed up and Teddy has settled in nicely.
Spirit activity is on the rise at Wild Creek Ranch. Marnie is having a tough time keeping up with visitors. And while they are dearly or otherwise departed, some are not peaceful!

And do remember all those Easter eggs I dropped in Divine Guidance, Torn Veil, and Fatal Vow? Don’t worry! I have a list and the veil will be lifted on a few in Book 4. What’s that? When am I going to share the title? Hmm … closer to release. But you can be sure there is a “V” somewhere in the title, though. Because don’t they all?

Interview

And speaking of indie authors supporting one another … A huge THANKS to author MC Fox, who recently interviewed me for her newsletter. The link and full interview are below.

https://preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webview/773252/119493839256815117

I hope you are warming up nicely where you are. I have an interview with author Shari T. Mitchell for you this month. She is writing a mystery series; The Marnie Reilly Mysteries series and she talks a bit about it with us. Spoiler alert, I am really loving it.

Question: Tell us what Divine Guidance—the first book of your Marnie Reilly series is all about.

Shari T. Mitchell:

Divine Guidance is the first book in the Marnie Reilly Mysteries series of paranormal mystery thrillers, and it’s difficult to talk about one, without mentioning Torn Veil, Fatal Vow, and book four. Although, I won’t mention the title of MRM 4 because it may lead people to assume something related to Fatal Vow’s cliffhanger.

But back to Divine Guidance …

Psychic psychologist Marnie Reilly battles inner demons every day. But when the “demon” is flesh and blood, will the final analysis be murder?

Marnie Reilly is a hot-headed counselor with a tumultuous past. Haunted by the loss of her family and having survived a violent relationship, she is tough, no-nonsense, and sassy to a fault.

She has just publicly admonished The Collective, a group of psychics and charlatans who sell hope to troubled people—and they’re out for revenge. Their hoodoo voodoo threats haven’t worried her—until now.

The morbid discovery of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s bloody corpse in her shed thrusts Marnie into the midst of a murder investigation. As suspicions regarding her involvement in the murder intensify, she becomes convinced The Collective has framed her.

Marnie, her Border Collie, a childhood friend, and a cranky detective battle thunder, rain, ice, and blizzards to end a rash of murders threatening the sleepy town of Creekwood.

Will the ghosts of Marnie’s past help, too?

Q: What inspired you to write this novel?

Mitchell: Divine Guidance is a story I wrote for myself—a healing exercise, if you will. But when my good friend Nik broke her leg, I gave her early chapters to entertain her while she convalesced. She kept asking me for new chapters, so I obliged. Suddenly, I had 100,000 words. And with a not-so gentle shove from her, I self-published. I joke that it’s the book that was never meant to be published because it is flawed. My storytelling is great, but my writing was atrocious.

If I had only known in 2013 what I know today, it would have been a lot easier—and better. I scold myself often about typos, layout, and repetitiveness, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And now that I do, I am working on a second edition. I had hoped it would be ready by now, but Fatal Vow and Book 4 have taken priority. That’s one difficulty of being a self-published author. There are never enough hours in the day to write, market books, build a brand, and work full time. But I wouldn’t trade my life for another’s. It is what it is for now.

Q: Why do you write in this genre?

Mitchell Puzzles have always intrigued me; and the mystery genre provides me an opportunity to create complex storylines with mysteries for readers to solve. The genre has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents and grandparents read mystery books and magazines. I remember them talking about mystery programs on the radio. But I cut my teeth on Trixie Belden. As the youngest of three, my sisters passed their books along to me and they got me hooked on Sleepyside on the Hudson. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were in my bookstack too and many of my parents’ paperbacks. Agatha Christie; Mary Higgins Clark; Ruth Rendell; Raymond Chandler; Mary Stewart; Dashiell Hammett; Ellery Queen magazines … name a mystery author, and they were sure to be on our bookshelves.

Figuring out the mystery before the middle of the book is a challenge I set for myself, and it’s why I write complex stories—typically with more than one mystery to solve.

Q: Beyond being entertained, what do you hope readers take away from reading your series?

Mitchell: Not everything is as it seems. When people read Divine Guidance and other titles in my series, they will feel or think one way about a specific character or situation. But has their full story been told? Or is there more to this person or a circumstance? I hope to encourage my readers to question everything—whether immersed in fiction or real-life endeavors.

Q: If your book were made into a movie, which actors would play your characters?

Mitchell: No, thank you! No one would ever do Marnie Reilly (or my other characters) justice.

Shari T. Mitchell is the author of the Marnie Reilly Mysteries thriller series, which includes Divine Guidance, Torn Veil, and Fatal Vow. Book four is scheduled for an October 2024 release.

Raised in Northern New York State, Shari’s hometown and surrounds are the inspiration for her series’ fictional town of Creekwood, New York—which is located somewhere in the Adirondack Mountains.

While Shari loves developing multidimensional characters with whom her readers can relate, her passion is plotting the twists and turns of a mystery. It feeds her analytical and creative mind.

She lives in North Carolina and shares her home with her partner in crime, Harper, and their crazy rescue dogs, Dougal, Callee, Midget, and Mags.

A thirty-plus year marketer, Shari loves spending time with her family, cooking, hiking, traveling, gardening, and reading. She is often heard chatting with her characters because they natter at her constantly!

For more information and to connect with Shari on socials, please visit the links below.
http://www.sharitmitchell.com

Instagram: @sharitmitchell

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/sharitmitchell

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShariTMitchellAuthor

You can find Shari’s series here at the following links

Available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle Unlimited

Divine Guidance https://a.co/d/hT2GcYy

Torn Veil https://a.co/d/aCwSIj7

Fatal Vow https://a.co/d/9c5wEN5