K is for Killer and ...

K is for Killer and…In most modern mysteries that is true. 

There is a tote bag picture floating around the internet with the phrase, "Don't annoy the author. She will put you in a book and kill you…" What an absolute good idea. 

To dispense with what annoys you whether it's a sibling, boss or company. The solution has potential for monetary value without criminal charges.

Got an editor who drives you to drink or thoughts of putting up your pen for good? Perhaps it' s time to write a new novel. An insurance company or agent pushes you to seek recourse? Reach for the pen instead of the sword. Skull Music takes insurance companies to task, as Arnold Beeblebox, former agent of an insurance company rebels against their harsh treatment but did he carry it too far? 

Do you see big business stomping the little guy? Read Ghost Music of Vaudeville or My Brother's Keeper for non-violent solutions, well the book may off a few people…but figuratively speaking you are off the hook, no malice or mayhem on your record.

K is for killer and Knapsack Secrets has its share, a modern mystery that shares the stage with homelessness, corporate greed and jealous rivalries in competition.

A good read is better than a small cell any day. So do the write instead of the murder.

P.S. Go to Amazon Kindle to get your hands on three deeply discounted

Kindle editions of Adrift ( a treasure trove of flash fiction) One Woman's 

Garden (organic gardening tips and tricks) or Mystery A-Z all three are only 

99 cents for a limited time. 

Don't Touch That Critter

Critters Are Off Limits When it Comes to Murder.

Today I was reading another newsletter from some very good mystery writers. To my surprise, this revelation hit me square on. “Unless you want to feel the wrath of your fans, do not kill off the critters in your novel.” Whether they are winged, four footed, or slithering—apparently fans will not appreciate you ending the precious pet lives. One mystery writer accidentally included a cat to help solve a problem – and then the cat had to become a part of her series – her plot needed to include reasons for the cat to be — and thus put a new twist in her series.

I wish I had known that before I wrote Skull Music. Oliver Beeblebox leaves a trail of bodies, mostly human, accidentally a cat is left hurting as someone else breaks in and causes havoc in our sleuth’s home. Oliver loves cats, he would never harm one. Oliver loves Charlie Wolfe. Charlie Wolfe loves cats and graciously accepts Midnight from Oliver, before she knew the very fragile thread that connected this man to sanity.

There are also Dolphins in this book – Xenotransplant Labs are experimenting with sounds, brain wave patterns to be exact. They do not harm the dolphins in these experiments – but they have more sinister plans than what appears on the surface.

Charlie Wolfe keeps her cats, Marblesque and Midnight, but nearly loses her life. I will remember never to let her precious cats disappear.

In the next story in this series Marblesque helps a young boy deal with his mother’s deployment to Iraq when he stays at Charlie’s home in his mother’s absence. Ghost Music of Vaudeville is really Tommy’s Story, but his friendship with the cat Marblesque, who seems to sense exactly what a person needs, continues in the place of the feline mystique in this mystery/suspense.

I will never again let an animal come to harm in any of my books. Rather like the disclaimer at the end of the movies nowadays—‘no animal was harmed in the filming of this movie’ – no critter was harmed in the writing of my books, anymore ever--at least not fatally, I’m reminded of Hooch here. He was wounded, but Tom Hanks saved his life by getting him medical attention quickly.

Spare the animal, save the fan!