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Mysteries in Small Town Texas with Terry Shames

06/01/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:55 — 13.6MB) | Embed

Welcome to a small Texas town with no shortage of big characters.

Mysteries in Small town Texas with Terry Shames

I loved the performative quality of Terry’s reading in this episode. I can hear the Texas characters coming through her voice loud and clear, which made listening to her read very enjoyable.

In the interview we discuss the personal inspiration for Samuel Craddock’s character, as well as how the Covid-19 periods of isolation and social distancing have affected Terry’s writing.

This episode of It’s a Mystery Podcast is sponsored by the brand new mystery novel Lark Underground.

If you like your mystery novels with twists and turns and characters who spring to life you’ll love this latest book from award-winning author Alexandra Amor.

Reviewer Sandee said, “This story is an emotional heart-engaging roller-coaster. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I can hardly wait for the next one.”

Click here to get your copy of Lark Underground today at Amazon. Available in ebook and paperback.

This week’s mystery author

Terry Shames writes the popular Samuel Craddock series, set in small town Texas. She won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, and the RT Reviews award for Best Contemporary Mystery, 2016.

The eighth in the series, A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary came out in 2019. MysteryPeople has twice named Terry one of the top five Texas mystery authors.

Her latest short story, “Inheritance” will appear in Jewish Noir II, in September. Terry lives in Berkeley, CA and is a member of Sisters in Crime and on the board of Mystery Writers of America.

To learn more about Terry and all her books visit TerryShames.com

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Suspense, Skiing, and Murder with Kristina Stanley

05/25/2020 By Alexandra Amor 2 Comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:37 — 15.0MB) | Embed

Murder on the slopes in British Columbia!

Suspense, Skiing and Murder with Kristina Stanley

My guest today is Arthur Ellis Unhanged award nominee Kristina Stanley. Kristina has a trilogy of mystery novels set at a fictional ski resort and you’ll hear Kristina share how she was inspired to write this series.

The excerpt from Descent that Kristina reads led me to ask about the ‘confidence gap’ women often encounter when applying for jobs. And we also talk about Kristina’s writing process and her business that helps other writers improve their work.

This week’s mystery author

Kristina Stanley is the creator of Fictionary, a story editor, and best-selling author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series, the stand-alone mystery Look the Other Way, and the non-fiction titles The Author’s Guide to Selling Books to Non-Bookstores and Your Story Editing Journey.

She is a Story Editing Advisor for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).

She’s published by Imajin Books and Luzifer-Verlag (Germany). Her short stories are published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Voices from the Valleys anthology.

Crime Writers of Canada nominated Descent for the Unhanged Arthur award.

To learn more about Kristina and all her books visit KristinaStanley.com

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Mysteries in the Mountains with Paty Jager

05/18/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:04 — 18.8MB) | Embed

Mystery author Paty Jager lives and writes about life close to nature.

Mysteries in the Mountains with Paty Jager

Paty Jager started out writing romance novels, but then shifted to her true love – writing mysteries. In this episode we discuss her Gabriel Hawke series, featuring a Fish and Wildlife trooper who is an expert tracker. Paty also shares that in an upcoming book, Gabriel travels to Iceland and solves a murder there. (Remember when we could travel?)

In the introduction I mention the successful launch of Lark Underground. The book reached #46 on the Amateur Sleuth list in Canada, which was very exciting! Thank you to everyone who has read or is reading the book. Your support means the world to me.

My next big push is to get honest reviews for the book, so if you have a moment to leave a review I’d appreciate it. Reviews provide social proof so new readers can feel confident about their purchase. And they help me to advertise the book so that I can find new readers who might enjoy it.

Such a good mystery. This story is an emotional heart-engaging roller-coaster. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I can hardly wait for the next one.
Sandee L

This week’s mystery author

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 44 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters.

Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

You can learn more about Paty and all her books at PatyJager.net

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Amateur Sleuth as Everyday Hero with Alexandra Amor

05/11/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:12 — 20.8MB) | Embed

Please help me celebrate the release of my new mystery novel, Lark Underground!

If you’ve read Lark Lost, the free prequel novella in the Freddie Lark mystery series, then you know that Freddie doesn’t think of herself as an amateur sleuth. In the new full-length novel, Lark Underground, that becomes even clearer.

In this podcast episode author Alexandra Amor reads from the first three chapters of Lark Underground as Freddie’s friend and tenant Ellie tries to persuade Freddie to help with the case of a friend’s missing child. Freddie is empathetic, but also knows she’s not equipped to take on such a task.

Or is she?

Lark Underground is a brand new release available now in ebook and paperback from award-winning author Alexandra Amor.
Click here to get your copy.

Alexandra Amor writes mystery novels about love, friendship and the search for truth.

At the moment, she is working on the next book in her Freddie Lark mystery series.

Alexandra began her writing career with an Amazon best-selling, award-winning memoir about ten years she spent in a cult in the 1990s. She has written four animal adventures for middle-grade readers, set on a fictional island in the Salish Sea, several historical mysteries set in 1890 in frontier British Columbia, and a cozy romantic mystery.

To learn more about Alexandra and her books visit AlexandraAmor.com

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Mysteries in Hillerman Country with R. Lawson Gamble

05/04/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:47 — 15.1MB) | Embed

Mysteries tied to history and setting.

As author R. (Rich) Lawson Gamble and I discuss in this interview, the scene that he reads to us from his book The Dark Road is reminiscent of a right-of-passage ritual. Tolliver is just out of the FBI Academy and as you’ll hear, somewhat out of his depth in the unforgiving Arizona landscape.

Rich’s Zack Tolliver series has seven books, with an eighth to be released very shortly. The Dark Road takes us back to Tolliver’s origins and we meet the man who will become his law enforcement partner and friend. In the interview you’ll hear Rich explain the very personal reason why each book in the series focuses on a new location.

This week’s mystery author

R Lawson Gamble, known as Rich, was born and raised in New Jersey just west of the last commuter train station to New York. Born to a family of readers and musicians, he took his degree in music and sang professionally in the Boston and Providence, R.I. area performing oratorio and opera. He later accepted the position of Music Chairperson at a private school near Boston, where he worked in various capacities, from soccer coach to Dean of Students for the next 34 years. Rich moved to California in 2009 to begin his career as a writer. He has published eleven books to date, ten works of fiction, seven of which constitute his Zack Tolliver, FBI mystery series, a children’s story starring Australian animals, and a history of Los Alamos Valley, his new home, for Arcadia Press.

To learn more about R. Lawson Gamble and his books visit RLawsonGamble.com

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Obituary Writer as Amateur Sleuth with Clare Chase

04/27/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 12.7MB) | Embed

Who better to be investigating death in a small village than the woman who writes the obituaries?

Clare Chase has written two cozy mystery series, as well as several other books. Today we’re talking about her Eve Mallow series featuring the transplanted American writer. Clare and I discuss the inspiration for this unique character and why we think mystery novels appeal to readers.

In the introduction, I mention that It’s a Mystery podcast was named one of the Top 10 Crime Fiction podcasts to follow in 2020. Very exciting!

This week’s mystery author

Clare Chase writes traditional mysteries; her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations. Her debut novel made the shortlist for Novelicious’s Undiscovered Award, and Murder on the Marshes (the first in her Tara Thorpe series) was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award.

Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as a local Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books!

To learn more about Clare Chase and her books visit ClareChase.com

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Mysteries in Small Town Texas with Terry Shames

This week’s mystery author

Suspense, Skiing, and Murder with Kristina Stanley

This week’s mystery author

Mysteries in the Mountains with Paty Jager

This week’s mystery author

Amateur Sleuth as Everyday Hero with Alexandra Amor

Lark Underground is a brand new release available now in ebook and paperback from award-winning author Alexandra Amor.
Click here to get your copy.

Mysteries in Hillerman Country with R. Lawson Gamble

This week’s mystery author

Obituary Writer as Amateur Sleuth with Clare Chase

This week’s mystery author

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Lark Underground is a brand new release available now in ebook and paperback from award-winning author Alexandra Amor. Click here to get your copy.

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This week’s mystery author

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Looking for something?

Got enough to read?

Listen to the podcast made just for mystery readers

Lark Underground is a brand new release available now in ebook and paperback from award-winning author Alexandra Amor.
Click here to get your copy.