mystery novel

Cold Cases, Hollywood and Homicide with Kellye Garrett

09/07/2020 By Alexandra Amor 1 Comment

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This is a first for It’s a Mystery podcast!

Award-winning mystery author Kellye Garrett reads to us from a work-in-progress, which is a first for this show.

When the publisher of her first two mysteries shuttered their doors, Kellye pivoted and began working on this domestic thriller. You’ll hear her read from that book and then we discuss her two Detective By Day books and how they are still impacting readers, the #ownvoices movement, and how writing for the TV show Cold Case helped Kellye when it came to writing fiction.

This week’s mystery author

Kellye Garrett’s Hollywood Homicide, about a semi-famous, mega-broke black actress, won the Anthony, Agatha and Lefty for best first novel. It’s also one of BookBub’s “Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.” The second, Hollywood Ending, was featured on the TODAY show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019 and was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. She serves on Sisters in Crime’s national board and is a co-founder of Crime Writers of Color.

To learn more about Kellye and her books visit KellyeGarrett.com

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Mysteries in Frontier Canada with Alexandra Amor

08/24/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

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100 podcast episodes. Nearly 100 amazing mystery authors.

Mysteries in Frontier Canada with Alexandra Amor

Welcome to episode 100 of It’s a Mystery Podcast. I’m thrilled that we’ve made it to this milestone. 🙂

To celebrate, this week I’m reading from one of my own books, Horse With No Name, a historical mystery set in 1890 in British Columbia. In the intro I discuss what it is about this era that draws me to write about it and where the idea for amateur sleuth and schooleacher Julia Thom came from.

It is a thrill and an honour for me each week to host this show and I plan to continue for a long as I can. I have loved meeting all the authors who have been on the show and it is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to some books you might not have otherwise heard of.

I personally am so grateful to every author who takes the risk of putting their heart and ideas on the page and sharing those things with the world.

Here’s to another 100 episodes!

This week’s mystery author

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 all her books, visit AlexandraAmor.com

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Fly Fishing, Montana Wilderness, and Murder with Keith McCafferty

08/17/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:59 — 13.9MB) | Embed

The brand new Sean Stranahan mystery is here!

I have been a fan of Keith McCafferty’s since his first book, The Royal Wulff Murders (each mystery in the series is named after a fly fishing tie), so it is a huge thrill for me to have him on the show. We had a great chat about Montana, six-toed cats, mountain lions, book research and more.

If you haven’t read Keith’s Sean Stranahan books, you’re in for a treat! The Bangtail Ghost is book eight in the series and is released on 18 August 2020. The books are all beautifully written, with rich, compelling characters, interesting settings and mysteries.

In the interview, Keith and I mention his son Tom who is a painter and who inspired Sean Stranahan’s work as an artist. You can see Tom’s incredible paintings here on his website and also here at the Cole Gallery in Seattle.

This week’s mystery author

Keith McCafferty is the Survival and Outdoor Skills editor of Field & Stream and the author of eight novels in the Sean Stranahan mystery series, published by Viking/Penguin Books. He is the recipient of the Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award and the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Novel, among many other awards. Two of his novels were chosen as Best Reads by Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine.

Keith is a two-time National Magazine Award finalist and the recipient of the Robert Traver Award for angling literature. For years he made a living with his flyrod, writing stories for Field & Stream. A wild bird rescue volunteer, Keith lives with his wife and family, and various feathered friends, in Montana.

To learn more about Keith and all his books visit KeithMcCafferty.com

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A Sleuth in a Cassock with J.R. Mathis

07/27/2020 By Alexandra Amor Leave a Comment

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If you’re a fan of Grantchester, I think you’ll enjoy meeting Father Tom.

JR Mathis’ character, Father Tom Greer, is living with the fallout from a painful past. In The Penitent Priest, the father will be thrown back into the events that lead him to becoming a priest and with have to confront some painful truths.

In the introduction I mention that I’ve had an abundance of mystery novels to read lately, including Elly Griffiths brand new Ruth Galloway mystery, The Lantern Men, and also book four in Jo Bannister’s Best and Ash series, Other Countries.

This week’s mystery author

James Mathis writes The Father Tom Mysteries as J. R. Mathis. A fifth-generation Florida man, he has lived in Maryland for the past 21 years. He currently works for the Federal Government.

When not writing, James spends time with his wife and Alpha reader Susan and his grandchildren. He enjoys reading mysteries and books on writing, auto racing, and baking.

To learn more about JR Mathis and his books visit JRMathisMysteries.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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Cold Cases, Hollywood and Homicide with Kellye Garrett

This week’s mystery author

Mysteries in Frontier Canada with Alexandra Amor

This week’s mystery author

Fly Fishing, Montana Wilderness, and Murder with Keith McCafferty

This week’s mystery author

A Sleuth in a Cassock with J.R. Mathis

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

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