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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

Free book!

Last November, CKN Christian Publishing launched Sniffing Out Murder, book one in a clean, cozy mystery series written by Leanne Baker. Now you can own the Kindle version for free from August 16th through August 20th. Click on this link for the free eBook!

When a baker is found murdered, her cousin must rise to the occasion… Sarah Murray is moving back to her high desert hometown of Bishop, California after the end of her marriage. On the highway south of town, she finds a dog on the side of the road. Unable to leave the poor animal, she pulls over—and finds it guarding an unconscious woman lying in the sand. Realizing that the woman in peril is her cousin, Melody Charters, Sarah calls for help.

Unfortunately, she’s too late, and Melody dies before she can identify her attacker. To make matters worse, the county sheriff deems Melody’s husband prime suspect number one. Knowing that he isn’t capable of such violence, Sarah sets off on a mission to get to the bottom of her cousin’s untimely demise.

Along the way, she meets Melody’s brother-in-law, Jake, and Libby, the troubled young girl Melody hired on a few months prior. As they—along with Melody’s guard dog, Fido—follow a deadly trail of crumbs around town, Sarah must trust her instincts like never before…if she’s to ever sniff out the true murderer.

Books two and three in the Layers of Mystery series—Sniffing Out Trouble and Sniffing Out Scandal—are available to purchase on Amazon. Book stores can purchase though Ingram or by emailing orders@wolfpackpublishing.com.

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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

First place!

Without Due Caution, the latest Meredith Ryan Mystery, was awarded first prize in the unpublished fiction (longform or novel) category on July 16th, 2023 in Las Vegas at the Public Safety Writers Conference Writing Contest. The novel was entered in the unpublished category as it had not yet been published. The closing date for contest entry was April 1st but the pub date was June 27, 2023. This book was the final in a five-book deal with Rough Edges Press (REP) an imprint of Wolfpack Publishing. My thanks to Jake Bray, Patience Bramlett, Rachel Santino, and the whole team at REP.

Without Due Caution

When Deputy Sheriff Meredith Ryan’s nemesis calls in an old debt, she undertakes a mission to find a missing thirteen-year-old girl—uncovering a dark world of human trafficking along the way.

With time running out and the missing girl’s life on the line, Meredith enlists the help of a trusted colleague, Deb Lang, to help her navigate the treacherous terrain of the criminal underworld. But as they pursue the truth, they encounter numerous obstacles—including a manipulative mother intent on using her daughter’s disappearance for her own gain and a fledgling crime boss who sees Meredith as a threat.

Danger lurking at every turn, Meredith and Deb must push themselves to the limit to find the missing girl, uncover a murderer, and bring a dangerous criminal to justice.
 

Where to find Without Due Caution: Amazon eBook free on Kindle Unlimited or $3.49   Or Amazon paperback $14.99

James L'Etoile, winner of the Marilyn Meredith Award for Fiction, Longform
James L’Etoile, winner of the Marilyn
Meredith Award for Fiction, longform
and me, first place longform
unpublished fiction
John Bluck and Thonie Hevron
John Bluck, author of Mayhem at Sea,
second place unpublished fiction,
longform and me–both Rough Edges
Press authors.
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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

It’s here!

Without Due Caution, the latest (and fifth) adventure from Meredith Ryan Mysteries has arrived!

Without Due Caution is a suspense police procedural thriller about a brave, young deputy who identifies and faces her enemies—both within herself and the real world.

When Deputy Sheriff Meredith Ryan’s nemesis calls in an old debt, she undertakes a mission to find a missing thirteen-year-old girl—uncovering a dark world of human trafficking along the way.

With time running out and the missing girl’s life on the line, Meredith enlists the help of a trusted colleague, Deb Lang, to help her navigate the treacherous terrain of the criminal underworld. But as they pursue the truth, they encounter numerous obstacles—including a manipulative mother intent on using her daughter’s disappearance for her own gain and a fledgling crime boss who sees Meredith as a threat.

Danger lurking at every turn, Meredith and Deb must push themselves to the limit to find the missing girl, uncover a murderer, and bring a dangerous criminal to justice.

eBook available on Kindle for $3.49

Paperback available on Amazon for $14.99

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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

By Force or Fear for $0.99

By Force or Fear

I’m happy to announce that Rough Edges Press is running a $0.99 Kindle Countdown Deal for By Force or Fear!

The promotion will run from 6/14/23 to 6/20/23, so if you’ve been interested but not gotten around to purchasing, now’s the time to buy!

Buy below:

By Force or Fear

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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

Felony Murder Rule

Now available!

Today is publishing day.

Felony Murder Rule, Book 4 in the Meredith Ryan Mysteries promises mystery, adventure, and twists and turns as you follow Meredith Ryan while she chases down a killer from the past.


After Deputy Sheriff Meredith Ryan is unable to apprehend an intruder leaning over her baby’s crib one horrifying night, she launches an investigation to protect her family.

When she uncovers her father’s hidden involvement in a robbery and homicide years ago, she begins to put the pieces of a long-thought-dead puzzle back together. But vicious criminals are desperate to find the infamous hidden loot, and they are eager to use Meredith and her family as bargaining chips.

With just 24 hours before the criminals close in again, Meredith and Nick must find a way to safeguard their family—before it’s too late.


Felony Murder Rule is a police procedural thriller about a brave, young deputy who identifies and faces her enemies—both within herself and the real world.

Felony Murder Rule eBook for $3.49

Felony Murder Rule paperback for $14.99

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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

Article of Interest

Last week, I sent out what I thought was a newsletter from my publisher, Rough Edges Press. It featured my article about why writing With Malice Aforethought was so creepy. However, the link didn’t actually go to the site. The correct link is below. If you click on it, you’ll see the three releases from last Tuesday (this includes two other authors’ works) and links to my first book, By Force or Fear. My article is below the three featured new releases in the Author’s Corner section.

https://preview.mailerlite.com/r2p4e0c8r6

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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

News from Rough Edges Press

By Thonie Hevron

I feel fortunate to have landed such a pro-active publisher. Jake Bray at Rough Edges Press makes all the years of “backyard publishers” worth it. I thought I’d share the promotional email they sent out for With Malice Aforethought (published 5/16/2023) that includes an author article from me about how creepy it was to write this novel. Be sure to scroll down the newsleter for the two other just published Rough Edges Press mysteries as well as blurbs about my first two books. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter and/or sign up to be an advance reader and read new books free!

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Writer's Notes

With Malice Aforethought Now Available

Rough Edges Press has re-published the third Meredith Ryan Mystery with a snappy new cover. Today is the release date meaning it is available on Amazon in eBook format or print copy. $3.49 on Kindle and $14.99 for paperback.

With Malice Aforethought follows Meredith Ryan and her partner Nick Reyes into the remote Sonoma County Hill to investigate a homicide. While on scene, they discover a nefarious militia intent on creating havoc. Join them in their quest to stop the disaster and neutralize the evil army.

Remember to leave an Amazon review after the last exciting page.

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Writer's Notes

Felony Murder Rule news!

Following its timely release schedule, Rough Edges Press has announced that pre-ordering is available through Amazon. The novel, book 4 in the Meredith Ryan Mystery series, will be re-published on June 6th, 2023.

Here are the links and release schedules for the last three novels:

May 16, 2023 With Malice Aforethought

June 6, 2023 Felony Murder Rule

June 27, 2023 Without Due Caution (link will be posted when available)

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Writer's Notes

5 Things to Know About Publishing Your Book

5 Things to Know about Publishing Your Book: True or False?

By G.P. Gottlieb

One: After writing and rewriting your manuscript thirty-seven times, you submit your final draft to 150 agents and/or publishers. You finally got a publishing contract, congrats! Now you can relax, scroll the internet looking for new boots, and read a juicy mystery set in Door County. True or false? False. Don’t be ridiculous – now you must start a list of followers, begin sending out a monthly newsletter, make sure your blog is up to date, and come up with a marketing plan!

Two: You start engaging with other authors, reaching out to bloggers about writing a guest post, seeking book groups and bookstores interested in a presentation, attending conferences, and sending out requests to be on podcasts and radio shows. You spend a couple weeks doing all that and scheduled 15 events, so you’re done! Now you can lie in bed after dinner and read a delicious historical mystery set in 1870’s England. True or false? False. It’ll take you two or three months, not just two weeks to reach out to at least thirty blogs and podcasts, and then you might have to wait weeks for responses.

Three: You’ve arranged to write 17 guest blogs and do 4 interviews on other writers’ blogs, so you list your characters and write about 500 words about what kind of pet each one has, how they like their coffee, and what their favorite kind of cookie is. Then you answer the interview questions for each blog, trying to sound cute and fun to be with. And that’s it. Now you can sit outside on the first warm day of spring, reading about a clever maid who solves mysteries in New York City. True or false? False. What makes you think that every one of those blogs gets thousands of viewers or that those viewers will whip out their credit cards to buy your book just because you wrote a cute blog post about how much your cats enjoy hearing you read out loud?

Four: You’re invited to participate in a panel discussion about music and literature because your latest book is about a psychopath who murders anyone who sings under-pitch. You can’t tell when the singing isn’t perfect, but your best friend takes it seriously and criticizes nearly every performance she’s ever attended. She loved all three of your books and has no idea that the murderer is based on her because you cleverly turned her into a man. When interviewers ask for the origin of your story, you tell them all about your friend and how her constant patter about “poor intonation,” and “scooping” inspired you to write the series. True or false? False. Absolutely not. Take that secret to your grave. Make up something about how your mom always said certain performers should be dragged through the mud, and you extrapolated from that.

Five: Your cousin introduces you to her author friend who self-published eight books in a cozy mystery series set in Skokie. You agree to read each other’s latest books, and hers turns out to be about a jittery Brittany Spaniel who solves murders in and around Oakton Park. Still, you agreed, so you write a brief review about how fun it was to walk down memory lane and give it 3 stars on Amazon even though it wasn’t worth more than 1. She gives you 3 stars even though your novel is complex, nuanced, and on a completely different level than hers, but at least it’s another review. True or false? True, but don’t worry about it, because Amazon will remove both reviews – they hate author swaps.


G. P. Gottlieb
Author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series
Host, New Books in Literature, New Books Network
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