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Karen McCullough

Magic, Mystery, and More

Karen McCullough
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A Visit to Anastasia Pollack’s Blog to Talk About Trade Shows

Karen McCullough Posted on October 27, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 27, 2022

Late in posting this, but yesterday I visited Anastasia Pollack’s Killer Crafts & Crafty Killer blog to discuss what is a trade show and why it makes a great setting for Market Center Mysteries series, including the most recent release, Playing at Murder. https://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com/

Order the entire series here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077L55P5M?ref_=dbs_p_mng_rwt_ser_shvlr&storeType=ebooks

Posted in Books, Guest blog, Market Center Mysteries, Mysteries | Tagged A Gift for Murder, Playing at Murder, Trade Shows, Wired for Murder

Guest Post: Pamela Thibodeaux

Karen McCullough Posted on October 25, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 1, 2022

Today I welcome author friend Pamela Thibodeaux, who is visiting my blog with a sneak-peek look at her latest release, Kyleigh’s Cowboy.

Blurb:  She’s attempting to start a new life. He’s roamed for more than a decade. Can they let go of the past and grab hold of the future?

Seven years after the death of her husband, Kyleigh Winters turned their old vacation home into a brand new guest ranch. Not willing to join the ranks of lonely women trolling the bars or online in search of a man, Kyleigh is sure if God wishes her to have another husband, He’ll send the perfect someone in His own time. But will she be open to the possibility of new love when He does?

Searching for a place that calls to his soul, Lance Stevens has been a roaming cowboy for ten years since retiring from the Marines. He finds that sanctuary the moment he drives through the Silver Star’s gate and meeting the lovely owner speaks to more than his soul. Will he open to the healing power of love?

Get Pamela Thibodeaux’s second chance romance novella today and see how love and faith conquers all.

Excerpt:

Today though, Lance was ready for a nice, long ride. Alone. Away from people. Having only a couple of guests at the time allowed him the freedom to take a day off and do so.

He stepped out of the bunkhouse and glanced toward Kyleigh’s cabin where she sat on the porch. An easel blocked his view of her pretty face. Maybe I won’t ride alone after all. He headed in her direction.

“Morning.” He hesitated on entering her creative sphere without permission, horror stories of interrupting an artist at work running through his mind. She glanced up, smiled, and his pulse scrambled.

“Morning. How are you today?”

“Great. Just getting ready to head out for a ride. Want to tag along?”

Kyleigh grinned and shrugged with a slight shake of her head. “I’m not much of a rider.”

“What? You own a guest ranch, and you don’t ride? We’re going to have to fix that,” he declared with a chuckle.

“Maybe, but not today.”

“What’cha working on? Or am I allowed to ask?”

She laughed. “I’m not one of those crazy, eccentric artists who doesn’t want her work looked at until it’s perfected. C’mon up and tell me what you think.”

Lance ascended the steps then stopped, awestruck by the images on her canvas. Wildlife grazed on lush green tufts of grass peeking through rocks and dirt. Brightly colored birds flitted from tree to tree. Bees and butterflies feasted on the nectar of Prickly Pear Cactus and Purple Passion flowers. A waterfall fed the rapids rushing over slabs of stone then settled in a soft pool of aqua as smooth as glass. “It’s Pedernales Falls.”

The surprised pleasure on her face sent a horde of butterflies bouncing off his ribcage. “You’ve been there?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I try to visit area state parks as often as I can. Camped there a time or two in between jobs.”

“You’ve lived in the Hill Country for a while now, haven’t you?”

“A few years.”

“And you love it?”

Lance nodded again. “I’ve seen majestic mountains, rolling hills and desert sands but there’s just something intimate and cozy about the Hill Country.”

“You sound like Dennis,” Kyleigh remarked with a sigh. “He loved this area. Looked for years to buy a place and when this one came open, snatched it up.”

“Sounds like your husband was a great guy. Wish I could’ve met him.”

Pleasure lit her ebony eyes so the lighter colors within the irises shone through. “You would have loved him—everyone did, and I’m sure you two would have made great friends.”

Their gazes locked. The air pulsated between them. Desire, sharp and painful stabbed in his blood. Easy boy, he chided himself then tipped his hat. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Guess I’d better head out if I’m going to take that ride. Sure you don’t want to come along?”

“Not this time, but thanks.”

“We’ll take a rain check then.” He turned his horse and left before he did something stupid. Like drag her into his arms and kiss her senseless.

Two days later, glad to see no easel or painting in sight, he rode up with another horse saddled and in tow as Kyleigh settled into the rocking chair on her porch. “I’m calling in your rain check.”

“I told you I’m not much of a rider. I’m not comfortable enough on a horse to tackle these hills.”

Lance dismounted and looped Champ’s reins over the porch rail and held a hand out to her. “We’ll stay on flat land then.”

She blew out a breath. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

He grinned. “No, ma’am.”

Kyleigh pushed herself out of the chair with a sigh. “Let me get my boots on and grab a hat.”

Five minutes later he helped her mount and adjusted her stirrups, lingering just a bit when his hand grasped her calf to check the length. “Good?”

She nodded and he handed her the reins. Awareness sizzled from the simple brush of hands in the exchange. Sensing her hesitation and fear, he swung into his saddle, turned Champ alongside her horse and put his hand over hers. “Trust me.”

A smile broke through her tense lips, her shoulders relaxed. “I do.”

 

Ramona and Robert stared out the lodge window in total shock. “He’s got her on a horse,” Mona whispered.

Robert laughed. “Yeah. That’s a good sign. Right?”

She beamed at him. “The best.”

 

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/KyleighsCowboy

Author Bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” Sign up to receive Pam’s newsletter and get a FREE short story! http://bit.ly/psthibnewsletter

Social Media Links:

FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pamelasthibodeauxauthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/
Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Pamela-S-Thibodeaux/e/B002BM045Q/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pamela-s-thibodeaux
Instagram: https://instagram.com/pamelasthibodeauxauthor
Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1268453.Pamela_S_Thibodeaux
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelasthibodeaux/

Posted in Books, Romance | Tagged Kyleigh's Cowboy, Pamela Thibodeaux

Why the Hero Can Solve the Mystery When the Police Can’t

Karen McCullough Posted on October 19, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 14, 2022

Today is the release day for Playing at Murder!  I had some thoughts to go along with the release.

Writers of Amateur Sleuth mysteries face the question and problem all the time: why can the hero solve the mystery when the police with all their superior manpower and resources can’t.

Being the creative sorts we are, though, mystery authors have come up with a variety of answers to that issue.

Perhaps the police don’t believe a crime was committed. The death might have been made to look like an accident or suicide and only our hero truly believes it wasn’t. Or perhaps the victim has simply disappeared and no one else but the amateur sleuth suspects the person didn’t just take off on their own.

Or maybe the murder victim wasn’t all that well liked, or even was an out-and-out doofus. Even if the authorities believe he was murdered, they might not be willing to devote any extraordinary resources to get it.

Another option is to give the detective an unusual skill set or background that would make them uniquely capable of figuring things out. If the victim was in a highly specialized field like investment banking, art conservation, or jewel trading, a sleuth with similar skills might have a better chance at solving a murder resulting from a work-related issue.

In writing my Market Center Mysteries series, I went with a variation on that approach. My heroine is officially the assistant to the director, but a lot of her job duties involve trouble-shooting, settling disputes, and soothing ruffled feathers at the trades shows and business exhibitions taking place at the D.C. Commerce and Market Center.

Part of what makes her good at the job is that she’s an excellent listener. People talk to her, so she hears a lot of things the police never would. Most of it is irrelevant to solving the crime at hand, but sometimes there are nuggets of information that, put together, can yield an unexpected solution to the crime. Heather is also a very calm and logical thinker, which helps her sort out the important bits and see how they create a new picture.

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFJS9FK9

Amazon print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFTWFCXG

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playing-at-murder-karen-mccullough/1142486029

Other formats: https://books2read.com/u/bpq6Ng

The entire Market Center Mysteries Series:

Order the series Here.

Posted in Books, Market Center Mysteries, Mysteries, Writing | Tagged Mystery stories, Playing at Murder

Restless Brain Syndrome

Karen McCullough Posted on October 18, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 18, 2022

Late posting this, but a couple of days ago, I visited the Short Mystery Fiction Society blog to talk about one of my biggest writing problems: Restless Brain Syndrome (yes, I made up the term) and how it impacted my writing the book that releases tomorrow, Playing at Murder. Read the post here: https://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2022/10/guest-post-restless-brain-syndrome-or.html

Posted in Books, Market Center Mysteries, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged Market Center Mysteries, Playing at Murder

Reminder to Pre-order Playing at Murder

Karen McCullough Posted on October 17, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 14, 2022

Pre-order pricing ends Wednesday, October 19th!

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFJS9FK9

Amazon print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFTWFCXG

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playing-at-murder-karen-mccullough/1142486029

Other formats: https://books2read.com/u/bpq6Ng

Posted in Books, Market Center Mysteries, Mysteries | Tagged Playing at Murder

A Week at the Beach

Karen McCullough Posted on October 16, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 14, 2022

The beach at Edisto Island. There were very few people there the first week in October.

In the fall of most years, my husband and I, with one sister-in-law, spend a week at the beach, specifically a house right on the ocean front at Edisto Island.  It’s a wonderfully calm beach in many ways. The small town is fairly isolated, and the main attraction is the beach itself. There are no amusement parks, big shopping districts, casinos, or theaters.

It’s a good time for reading, relaxation, and writing, and I try to do a lot of all of them.  This year I had several good writing sessions, resulting in about 8,000 words on a new novel.

For a while, though, we weren’t sure we’d get to go because of Hurricane Ian, which threatened the area right before we were due to arrive. Fortunately, the storm actually made its second land fall (after screaming across Florida) farther north on the South Carolina coast, which meant the impact to the island was minimal. It hit on Friday and we were told on Saturday that the island was okay enough for us to come the next day.

The front half of the dune has been washed away.

The effects of the storm were very noticeable, however. The first indication of problems was walking out the front door of the house and over the dune to the beach. Only…the dune now ended in a five-foot-high sand cliff, where the storm surge had wiped out the entire front half of it. Getting down to the beach level now involved a risky slide down the cliff or walking a few houses down behind the dune to the spot where a groin had minimized the wash-out.

Walking up and down the beach made it clear that the storm had washed out a great bit of the beach. Several years ago the town had undertaken a major replenishment project that transferred enormous amounts of sand from an offshore sandbar back to the beach. A lot of that was now washed away again.

At least in this part of the beach, the tide levels are noticeably different from the last time we were there in May. Aside from the washed out dunes, we noted that high tides came up higher, nearly to the base of what remained of the dunes and low tides were lower, with that water barely covering the far ends of the groins at the lowest point.

Beach erosion at Edisto, plus piles of sand on top of a staked-out turtle nest.

Perhaps the saddest sight were several areas marked with stakes and tape showing turtles’ nests. Many of those were now buried in feet of new sand. It’s hard to imagine the fragile eggs survived the weight. Fortunately it’s late in what was—by reports I’ve seen—a good season for baby turtles.

But the houses seem to have survived mostly intact and the surge didn’t get to most of them.

So we got to take long walks on a lightly populated beach, enjoy the sun, surf, and sound of the waves. Have a break from the routine. Refill the bucket and also get some writing done.

I was able to get some pretty nice pictures as well:

An unusual effect I managed to capture. On a very cloudy day, a line of light at the horizon shows at the far edges of the clouds.

A shrimp boat trolling close to the shore.

 Seagulls gathered on the shore watching the shrimp boat

This is looking out over the ocean at sunset. Beautiful light effects even though the beach faces southeast.

 

Posted in Family, Travel | Tagged beach erosion, beach retreat, Edisto Island

Guilty as Framed: A True Crime/Cozy Mystery Mashup

Karen McCullough Posted on October 14, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 10, 2022

Today my friend, Lois Winston, joins me here to talk a bit about her latest mystery release, Guilty as Framed, and how it came about:

By Lois Winston 

I write a cozy mystery series featuring a reluctant amateur sleuth who works as a crafts editor at a women’s magazine. I’m also what you might call a newsaholic. As such, many of my plots are inspired by news and human-interest stories I read about in the newspaper and see on the evening news. A story that piques my interest will often become the inspiration for a plot or subplot for one of my books.

However, for Guilty as Framed, the latest book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, I’ve veered from being inspired by an actual crime to creating a plot that revolves around an actual crime. For decades, I’ve been fascinated by the burglary that occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. I followed the investigation as it unfolded and have read countless articles on this still unsolved crime. I’ve also watched several documentaries about the burglary and the efforts to find both the perpetrators and the missing artworks. Thirty-two years later, it’s still considered the largest art heist in history. To this day, not only haven’t the perpetrators been caught, but none of the artworks have ever been recovered. Hampering the ongoing investigation is the fact that many of the witnesses and persons of interest have since died, some of natural causes, and at least one of not-so-natural causes.

When I was mulling ideas for the eleventh book in my series, I wanted to incorporate the museum heist into the plot. I set myself quite a challenge. How could I tie a factual Boston cold case into the plot of a contemporary cozy mystery series that takes place in New Jersey?

That’s the beauty of writing fiction rather than true crime. I invented some new characters, changed the names of others (to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent), and wove various events from the actual crime into the plot that became Guilty as Framed.

Too bad along the way I couldn’t solve the mystery of the missing paintings. There’s still a huge outstanding reward for information leading to their recovery.

Guilty as Framed

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 11

When an elderly man shows up at the home of reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack, she’s drawn into the unsolved mystery of the greatest art heist in history.

Boston mob boss Cormac Murphy has recently been released from prison. He doesn’t believe Anastasia’s assertion that the man he’s looking for doesn’t live at her address and attempts to muscle his way into her home. His efforts are thwarted by Anastasia’s fiancé Zack Barnes.

A week later, a stolen SUV containing a dead body appears in Anastasia’s driveway. Anastasia believes Murphy is sending her a message. It’s only the first in a series of alarming incidents, including a mugging, a break-in, another murder, and the discovery of a cache of jewelry and an etching from the largest museum burglary in history.

But will Anastasia solve the mystery behind these shocking events before she falls victim to a couple of desperate thugs who will stop at nothing to get what they want?

Buy Links

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3QLEYU5
Hardcover: https://amzn.to/3Ans5s6
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3tLnT3d
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/guilty-as-framed
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/guilty-as-framed/id6442846272
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/guilty-as-framed-lois-winston/1141500980?ean=2940185728703

Bio:

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

Posted in Books, Guest Author, Guest blog, Mysteries | Tagged Guilty as Framed, Lois Winston

The Story Behind the Story – Rock ‘N’ Roll Never Forgets

Karen McCullough Posted on October 10, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 10, 2022

This week the Triangle Sisters in Crime released its third anthology, titled Rock, Roll, and Ruin.

My story in the anthology is titled “Rock ‘N’ Roll Never Forgets”. Although the Bob Seger song referenced by the title provided some initial inspiration for the story, the finished project has very little direct connection. It does draw heavily on my own experiences of playing guitar and singing with various groups over the years.

The basic idea for the story came first – a girl band on the brink of failure comes across a forgotten and enigmatic piece of music that appears to have incredible potential. When the group works on creating their own arrangement, though, they hit snag after snag. In frustration, they decide to investigate the background of the song, only to learn that the writer is in prison, having been convicted of the murder of a fellow band member. Believing that the music itself contains clues to what really happened, they decide to dig deeper into the story behind the song.

But there’s more than one version of that story and figuring out which is true may hinge on how to read the song itself.

As is my norm, I launched into the story with only the basic idea outlined in the one-sentence description a couple of paragraphs above. The rest started to gel as I continued to write and the scenes began to flow. But one of the disadvantages of being a pantser (an author who writes by the seat of their pants rather than from an outline) is that the story will twist and turn in the creation process, necessitating many revisions of what was written earlier. This one took more turns than I expected.

In fact, my process of writing the story somewhat echoed the band’s journey to understanding the song itself. I came to my own realization of what really happened as the words flowed. Earlier drafts with different solutions just didn’t work or didn’t feel right, so I tweaked and reconsidered and finally got to the solution that satisfied me.

Once I had what I thought was an acceptable draft, I let a few family members read it. They made suggestions I incorporated. Finally editor extraordinaire Karen Pullen had some great ideas to sharpen the focus and clarify the outcome. The result is a story I’m proud of.

I’m eager to read the rest of the stories in the anthology as soon as I get my copies!

Blurb:

In Rock, Roll, and Ruin, twenty-seven mystery writers serve up musically-themed crime stories around situations as unique as your inky fingerprints. There’s the bad-boy rock star, dumber than dirt, evading all attempts to keep him out of jail. Casino robbers undone by tribal flutes. A 1950’s jukebox that summons the dead and disappears the living. Jealousy drives girl band shenanigans, while a victim of botched plastic surgery seeks vengeance. Untimely deaths abound: at the prom, on a soap opera set, on a mountain-side hike. Several domestic “disagreements” are far from cliche: one wife is impatient and greedy; another wants her Stevie Nicks albums back; a third is desperate to get her husband to turn down the volume. Elvis fans will be tickled by the many mentions of the King himself, including an over-the-top fan club and a side-kick named after his dog. Whether trudging through snow in an Alaska forest, humming country music at a boatyard in Florida, playing sleuth at an assisted living facility, or stumbling backstage at the opera, irate, despairing, and deceived characters step into crime with barely a second thought.

Rock, Roll, and Ruin is a music-themed anthology of the Triangle, North Carolina chapter of Sisters in Crime. Some stories are cackling-out-loud funny, others are wickedly dark, but all are entertaining, original, un-putdownable. As Hank Phillippi Ryan writes in the Introduction, “Dip in to this concert of mystery, open to any story, and you’ll sing a chorus of approval.”

Praise for Rock, Roll, and Ruin:

“Double-crosses, divas, detectives, and divorces—all set against the soundtrack of our lives. Rock, Roll, and Ruin takes us on a rollicking musical trip down memory lane with Buddy Holly, Chuck Barry, Elvis, and a host of musical delights. Oh, and a murder or ten.” —Susan Van Kirk, President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and author of the Endurance Mysteries

“The clever theme of this delightful anthology leads to a plethora of fine short stories featuring music from rock and roll through gospel, country, ole time rock and roll, and opera. Sleuths range from teachers to physicians to waitresses to musicians. Authors are new and veteran. Rock, Roll, and Ruinindeed offers something for any mystery lover.” —Molly Weston, Mystery Writers of American Raven Award for Meritorious Mysteries

“From self-important bands through a high school sock hop to rabid fans, these 27 stories follow music-obsessed individuals as their lives descend into crime and mayhem. A fascinating look at danger in our music culture.” —KM Rockwood, author of the Jesse Damon crime novel series

“A rollicking good collection of crime stories powered by lyrics, strains, beats, and bop (on the head) malice.” —Molly MacRae, author of The Highland Bookshop Mysteries and The Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries

“When the combination of mystery and music runs amok, the result is Rock, Roll, and Ruin—a book you can’t put down!” —Debra Goldstein, author of the Sarah Blair mysteries

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Roll-Ruin-Triangle-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0BB3DV6N5/

Posted in Books, Mysteries, Writing | Tagged and Ruin, Mystery Anthology, Rock, Rock and Roll Never Forgets, Roll

Playing at Murder is Available for Pre-order

Karen McCullough Posted on October 1, 2022 by Karen McCulloughOctober 1, 2022

You can pre-order it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFJS9FK9

 

Sneak Peek:

Chapter 1

Tuesday

Armies of super-heroes stood guard to the left of me, while lions, tigers, and bears gathered on the right. They all watched with silent concern as I zigged around an arsenal of armaments fueled by hydrogen dioxide and various mixtures of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. I faced my goal, Dougal the Dragon, head-on and stalked toward him. In my arms I cradled the all-important emergency medical supplies for his injured representative at this gathering. Heaven help us all if he couldn’t be saved.

Ding dong. That was a bit of wild fantasy, but I enjoyed letting my imagination loose on this mission. The touch of whimsy provided some diversion from the noise and chaos of setting up the Games and Playthings Exhibition at the Washington D.C. Commerce and Market Center. G&P, which was due to start the next day, was one of the largest trade shows for toys and games in the industry, and it brought the usual supply of problems and conflicts inherent in large events.

I tried to avoid being on the show floor as much as possible on set-up days. The constant banging of hammers, clanging of metal on metal, buzzing of electric screwdrivers, squeaking of dolly and cartwheels, warning chirps of the forklifts, and people shouting always induced a headache if I had to spend much time there. Not to mention having to pick my way around the pallets, crates, and boxes stacked everywhere and dodging those squeaking dollies and chirping forklifts.

I still ended up spending more time on the floor than I would’ve liked. Territorial disputes and arguments over arrangements broke out with sadly human regularity, and a large part of my job involved keeping the peace. Trying to, anyway.

This assignment was different. I let go of the fantasy illusion as I got to the Donneywell Enterprises booth, identified myself, and explained my mission.

“Heather McNeil,” I said to the person behind the only table set up in the booth space. “Assistant to the director of the Market Center. I was told you needed a sewing kit to repair one of your displays.” I set the box down on the table where a young woman with long brown hair scraped back from her face and tied in a messy braid at the back looked up from collating and stapling pages.

She stared at me with a blank expression, glanced down at my badge, but said nothing. Her expression went from vacant to wary.

“Can I speak to the person in charge of the booth?” I asked when the silence stretched out too long.

A voice spoke from the back. “That would be me.”

A woman in her late forties or early fifties stepped out from behind a pyramid of boxes at least a foot taller than she was. My first, none-too-kind impression of her was “overcooked.” Her blonde hair had the straw-like texture resulting from too much chemical treatment for too long a time, and the spray-tanned skin of her face had been lifted once too often already. Tight jeans and a fashionably shoulder-slit top showed off a slim figure that seemed to vibrate with contained energy. Good bones under the tight skin and lively green eyes made her attractive.

“Lorene Donneywell,” she said, holding out a hand. “I heard you say you were with the Market Center staff.” She had a strong New York accent.

“I’m the assistant to the director,” I repeated. “I handle a lot of trouble-shooting issues for her. I’ve brought the sewing supplies you requested.”

“Great. How long do you think it will take you?”

“Take me? To do what?”

“Fix the tear in Dougal.” She pointed to the eight-foot-tall display dragon I’d used to identify their booth. The creature, which must’ve been as long as it was tall, occupied nearly a third of their allotted double space. Along the side of his back, a seam had opened and leaked stuffing. Bits of cotton fluff clung to the green, plush fabric.

I hesitated, taken aback. “You requested a sewing kit, not a seamstress. I’m afraid I don’t know the first thing about sewing. Not even sure how the thread gets through the needle.”

Lorene rolled her eyes. “Why did they send you, then?”

“Because you asked for sewing equipment in a hurry. We got it as quickly as we could. We assumed you had someone on your staff who knew how to use it.”

The woman’s penciled-in eyebrows rose. “We all know what happens when you assume things.”

I kept my smile in place, despite the irritation roiling inside. I had so much experience keeping my emotions under control, I could maintain a pleasant façade with barely a thought. “Misunderstandings happen when people aren’t specific about what they need. Give me a minute and I’ll see if I can find someone to come and make the repairs.” I pulled out my phone but before I could press the button to turn it on, the girl I’d first met piped up.

“I can do it.”

We both turned toward her, but Lorene spoke first. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

The girl frowned at both of us. “No one asked.”

I turned to hide my grin since Lorene didn’t seem to appreciate the irony.

You can pre-order it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFJS9FK9

Posted in Books, Market Center Mysteries, Mysteries | Tagged Playing at Murder

Blurb and Cover for Playing at Murder

Karen McCullough Posted on September 16, 2022 by Karen McCulloughSeptember 16, 2022

I have a cover, a blurb, and a release date for Playing at Murder. The cover needed some last minute changes when there was a problem with one of the images, which had to be replaced with something else.

Blurb:
Dolls, constructions sets, stuffed animals, craft kits, and more are the featured displays in the annual Games and Playthings Trade Show at the Washington D.C. Commerce and Market Center, where vendors seek to convince retail buyers to stock their products. Murder and destruction aren’t supposed to be on the program.

The hit-and-run death of an exhibitor overshadows what should be a fun few days of giveaways, games, and demos. A gun hidden in a bin of stuffed animals, a damaged show car, and a drone knocking over the PlayBlox displays are the opening salvos of chaos created by a clever but unhinged vandal.

Settling disputes and fielding complaints are all in a day’s work for Heather McNeil, assistant to the director of the Market Center. Sussing out murder suspects to help the police is way beyond her job description, especially while trying to corner a vandal before the damage gets worse. Keeping the show running despite the mayhem will pit her and her allies, particularly Scott Brandon, the Center’s handsome but enigmatic security officer, against someone playing a deadly game.

Releases on October 19th. Pre-order should be available in a week or so.

 

Posted in Books, Market Center Mysteries | Tagged Games and Playthings Show, Playing at Murder, Washington DC Commerce and Market Center

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