Twice the Fun at the Twin Cities Book Festival

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Minneapolis, MN—Twin Cities Book Festival—Mystery readers are invited to meet Beth Solheim as she signs copies of At Witt’s End, a humorous mystery that delights readers with a boat-load of laughs and a wacky cast of colorful characters who frequent the Witt’s End Resort. The event featuring many talented authors will take place on Saturday, October 16, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College, 1501 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403.

“Not since Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, have so many quirky characters inhabited one book. A definite enjoyable read!”—Jean Henry Mead, author of Diary of Murder

At Witt’s End:

Mayhem is on the rise at the Witt’s End Resort, especially Cabin 14 where no guest ever leaves alive. To make matters worse, Sadie Witt must untangle a murderous web while struggling to prevent an unscrupulous sheriff’s deputy from shutting down her lakeside resort. 

When guests arrive at Cabin 14, they’re stunned to learn Sadie is their conduit to the hereafter. Clad in outlandish outfits, (clothing typically reserved for those without sagging body parts) and sporting hairdos that make bystanders want to look away but can’t, Sadie realizes one of the guests has been murdered and works against the clock to prevent further mayhem. 

The Author:

Like the main character in her Sadie Witt Mystery Series, Beth Solheim was born with a healthy dose of imagination and a hankering to solve a puzzle. She learned her reverence for reading from her mother, who was never without a book in her hand. 

By day, Beth works in Human Resources. By night she morphs into a writer who frequents lake resorts and mortuaries and hosts a ghost or two in her humorous paranormal mysteries. Beth is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Midwest Fiction Writers. The second book in the Sadie Witt mystery series will be released in January 2011. 

“A fresh new twist on the paranormal mystery and a senior sleuth with moxie!”—Krista Davis, author of The Diva Takes The Cake 

“Characters come alive on the page and that includes the dead ones.”—Sheila Connolly, author of Rotten to the Core 

Beth Solheim is available for book signing, workshop, and speaking events. Please contact the author directly at bjsolh@paulbunyan.net.

Eel’s Reverence by Marian Allen

When elderly priest of Micah, “Aunt” Libby, goes on a Final Wandering, she’s accosted and then befriended by an amphibious mugger. The area known as The Eel is infested with worse than minor criminals–it’s under the thumbs of a coalition of greedy, brutal priests. Aunt Libby is a frail barrier to stand between peace and violence, and the worst violence may not come from her enemies…but from her friends.

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Marian Allen was born in Louisville, Kentucky and now lives in rural Indiana. For as long as she can remember, she’s loved telling and being told stories. When, at the age of about six, she was informed that somebody got paid for writing all those books and movies and television shows, she abandoned her previous ambition (beachcomber), and became a writer. 

She’s worked as a high school teacher, an executive secretary, a soda jerk, a bank clerk, an accountant, and in Red Cross Youth Services. 

She likes connecting and reconnecting with people, meeting new friends and keeping in touch with the friends she already has. 

Her writing reflects her love of network. She tries to remember, in her books and stories, that no one exists in total isolation, but in a web of connections to family, friends, colleagues, self at former stages of maturity, perceptions, and self-images. Most of her work is fantasy, science fiction and/or mystery, though she writes horror, humor, romance, mainstream, or anything else that suits the story and characters. 

Professionally, she’s a member of Southern Indiana Writers, Writing and Promotion (WRaP), and Green River Writers.

Boat-load of Laughs from MN Mystery Writer

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Pequot Lakes, MN—Pequot Lakes Community Library—Mystery readers are invited to meet Beth Solheim as she presents a reading from At Witt’s End. This humorous mystery delights readers with a boat-load of laughs and a wacky cast of colorful characters who frequent the Witt’s End Resort. The event will take place on Saturday, September 25, at 11:00 am at the Pequot Lakes Community Library, 31069 Co. Road 112, Pequot Lakes, MN 56472, (218) 568-6181. 

“Not since Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, have so many quirky characters inhabited one book. A definite enjoyable read!”—Jean Henry Mead, author of Diary of Murder 

At Witt’s End:

Mayhem is on the rise at the Witt’s End Resort, especially Cabin 14 where no guest ever leaves alive. To make matters worse, Sadie Witt must untangle a murderous web while struggling to prevent an unscrupulous sheriff’s deputy from shutting down her lakeside resort. 

When guests arrive at Cabin 14, they’re stunned to learn Sadie is their conduit to the hereafter. Clad in outlandish outfits, (clothing typically reserved for those without sagging body parts) and sporting hairdos that make bystanders want to look away but can’t, Sadie realizes one of the guests has been murdered and works against the clock to prevent further mayhem. 

The Author:

Like the main character in her Sadie Witt Mystery Series, Beth Solheim was born with a healthy dose of imagination and a hankering to solve a puzzle. She learned her reverence for reading from her mother, who was never without a book in her hand. 

By day, Beth works in Human Resources. By night she morphs into a writer who frequents lake resorts and mortuaries and hosts a ghost or two in her humorous paranormal mysteries. Beth is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Midwest Fiction Writers. The second book in the Sadie Witt mystery series will be released in January 2011. 

“A fresh new twist on the paranormal mystery and a senior sleuth with moxie!”—Krista Davis, author of The Diva Takes The Cake 

“Characters come alive on the page and that includes the dead ones.”—Sheila Connolly, author of Rotten to the Core 

Beth Solheim is available for book signing, workshop, and speaking events. Please contact the author directly at bjsolh@paulbunyan.net.

A Dirty Way to Die comes alive for Echelon author Judy Douglas Knauer

Attention authors and readers!

A Dirty Way to Die was released earlier this month as an e-book from Echelon Press.   The cover Karen created is both classy and sexy.  You can give the novel a try for a mere $2.99.   Below is the jacket blurb. The author says, “She had fun writing this novel and hopes you enjoy the read and the little bit of education on the reality of mud wrestling.”

Follow her on Facebook: Judy Douglas Knauer

Twitter: @Crypticone2

Visit her website: www.suspenseiskillingme.net

Or email her at: jdouglas@maxwire.net

Yes, there are more Manny Shepherd P.I. novels in the works.

You think you’ve got problems?

Doc Goold calls it cognizant premonition triggered by causal
hypersensitivity, but Manny Shepherd and his Vietnam vet buddy Steve
Mallinotti call it Shepherd’s Luck, that time-proven knack to sense bad shit
lurks just around the corner.  Manny felt the premonition slump into his gut
minutes before he witnesses Steve’s girlfriend Rita Hayward get slammed in
the mud to her death by a well-stacked gal dubbing herself Screaming Eagle.

Mired in shock, guilt and a drunken haze, Steve coerces Manny, who has
little on his Private Investigator’s plate, to figure out why Rita died like
that with them and a SRO crowd watching and cheering at Peoria’s Heart of
Illinois fair.  After all, back in earlier days at Neelys Landing, Missouri,
Rita reigned as a star gymnast.  So how could a simple Judo throw have
killed her?

No way will Manny jeopardize his tenuous yet sensual relationship with
Tazewell County’s District Attorney, Lisa Shelton, to hang around
half-naked, oiled-bodied beauties with names like Virgin Witch, Passion
Queen, Midnight Fire, and Holy Terror, just to expose the obvious – Princess
Lay-ya aka Rita Hayward just took a bad…okay, seriously bad header.

Steve’s heart-tugging story of Rita’s journey to professional mud wrestler
fame, and haunted by Rita’s single staring dead eye watching him, Manny
takes the leap onto the St. Louis Slingers on-tour bus.  Shepherd’s Luck
bites hard amidst boobs and bullets as Manny is targeted while he hunts down
a scheming, sadistic killer.

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER HERE

Purchase at OMNILIT

The Key by Lois Carroll

Can opposites really be attracted? 

Kari is an underpaid American social worker on vacation in England.

Jeffreys, the owner of a manor house,  has lived the life of a recluse since the disappearance of his wife and young daughter. 

When a spirit pushes Kari into a muddy stream in Jeffreys’ garden, his life of solitude is irrevocably interrupted, but was it Kari’s imagination or is there a dark secret concerning his family to be discovered? 

More importantly, can she take the chance of hurting Jeffreys by acting against his wishes and following the clues left by the spirit?

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Lois Carroll has been writing since her childhood when she received a daily diary as a gift.  With a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a master’s in Theater, she began her professional writing and editing career working at a publishing company.  Now a wife, mother, and grandmother, she writes full time. To date she has published three hard cover books, two paperbacks, over a dozen e-books, plus short stories and non-fiction articles in national magazines. She has this and two other novels, a hard cover and a paperback, coming out in 2010. You can read about her available books and email her through her web site at: http://home.roadrunner.com/~topromances/lois_carroll/

Sassy Senior Sleuths

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Champlin, MN—The Champlin Public Library Mystery Book Club features Minnesota author, Beth Solheim, as she discusses SASSY SENIOR SLEUTHS – CAPERS, CHARACTERS AND CRIMES. Beth is the author of At Witt’s End. This humorous mystery delights readers with a boat-load of laughs and a wacky cast of colorful characters who frequent the Witt’s End Resort. The event will take place on Tuesday, September 21, at 7:00 pm at the Champlin Public Library, 12154 Ensign Avenue North, Champlin, MN 55316, (952) 847-5350. 

“Not since Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, have so many quirky characters inhabited one book. A definite enjoyable read!”—Jean Henry Mead, author of Diary of Murder 

At Witt’s End:

Mayhem is on the rise at the Witt’s End Resort, especially Cabin 14 where no guest ever leaves alive. To make matters worse, Sadie Witt must untangle a murderous web while struggling to prevent an unscrupulous sheriff’s deputy from shutting down her lakeside resort. 

When guests arrive at Cabin 14, they’re stunned to learn Sadie is their conduit to the hereafter. Clad in outlandish outfits, (clothing typically reserved for those without sagging body parts) and sporting hairdos that make bystanders want to look away but can’t, Sadie realizes one of the guests has been murdered and works against the clock to prevent further mayhem. 

The Author:                                                                                         

Like the main character in her Sadie Witt Mystery Series, Beth Solheim was born with a healthy dose of imagination and a hankering to solve a puzzle. She learned her reverence for reading from her mother, who was never without a book in her hand. 

By day, Beth works in Human Resources. By night she morphs into a writer who frequents lake resorts and mortuaries and hosts a ghost or two in her humorous paranormal mysteries. Beth is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Midwest Fiction Writers. The second book in the Sadie Witt mystery series will be released in January 2011. 

“A fresh new twist on the paranormal mystery and a senior sleuth with moxie!”—Krista Davis, author of The Diva Takes The Cake 

“Characters come alive on the page and that includes the dead ones.”—Sheila Connolly, author of Rotten to the Core 

Beth Solheim is available for book signing, workshop, and speaking events. Please contact  the author directly at bjsolh@paulbunyan.net.

 

 

And The Nominee Is…

Reader’s Favorite: Book Reviews and Awards has chosen The Secret of Bailey’s Chase, written by Marlis Day as a finalist for their upcoming awards.  The contest covers 40 genres of writing and The Secret of Bailey’s Chase is up against four other finalists in the Young Adult category.

All finalists were notified on August 1st to allow nominees to make travel plans to be at the awards ceremony to be held on September 1st in Las Vegas.  There will be a luncheon held in honor of the finalists and winners in Las Vegas on November 6th.  This luncheon and awards ceremony will coincide with the Vegas Valley Book Festival.

The Secret of Bailey’s Chase was released by Echelon Press in October of 2008.

Reel in an Enormous Catch of Humor, Mystery and Mayhem

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Hackensack, MN—Northwoods Art Festival and Book Fair—

Mystery readers are invited to meet Beth Solheim as she signs copies of At Witt’s End, a humorous mystery that delights readers with a boat-load of laughs and a wacky cast of colorful characters who frequent the Witt’s End Resort. The event featuring many talented authors and artists will take place on Saturday, August 28 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in downtown Hackensack, Minnesota.  

“Not since Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, have so many quirky characters inhabited one book. A definite enjoyable read!”—Jean Henry Mead, author of Diary of Murder 

At Witt’s End:

Mayhem is on the rise at the Witt’s End Resort, especially Cabin 14 where no guest ever leaves alive. To make matters worse, Sadie Witt must untangle a murderous web while struggling to prevent an unscrupulous sheriff’s deputy from shutting down her lakeside resort. 

When guests arrive at Cabin 14, they’re stunned to learn Sadie is their conduit to the hereafter. Clad in outlandish outfits, (clothing typically reserved for those without sagging body parts) and sporting hairdos that make bystanders want to look away but can’t, Sadie realizes one of the guests has been murdered and works against the clock to prevent further mayhem. 

The Author:

Like the main character in her Sadie Witt Mystery Series, Beth Solheim was born with a healthy dose of imagination and a hankering to solve a puzzle. She learned her reverence for reading from her mother, who was never without a book in her hand. 

By day, Beth works in Human Resources. By night she morphs into a writer who frequents lake resorts and mortuaries and hosts a ghost or two in her humorous paranormal mysteries. Beth is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Midwest Fiction Writers. The second book in the Sadie Witt mystery series will be released in January 2011. 

“A fresh new twist on the paranormal mystery and a senior sleuth with moxie!”—Krista Davis, author of The Diva Takes The Cake 

“Characters come alive on the page and that includes the dead ones.”—Sheila Connolly, author of Rotten to the Core

 Beth Solheim is available for book signing, workshop, and speaking events. Please contact the author directly at bjsolh@paulbunyan.net.

A Dirty Way to Die

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You think you’ve got problems? 

Sherman “Manny” Shepherd, P.I. has always been plagued by Shepherd’s Luck, an ability to sense when bad shit is about to happen. His most recent bout hits just before he sits down with his Vietnam vet buddy, Marty, and watches as Marty’s girlfriend Rita Hayward gets slammed to death in the mud by a well-stacked gal calling herself Screaming Eagle. 

Mired in shock, guilt, and a drunken haze, Marty coerces Manny, a local private eye with little on his plate, to figure out why Rita died in front of an SRO crowd watching and cheering at Peoria’s Heart of Illinois fair. After all, back in earlier days at Neelys Landing, Missouri, Rita was a star gymnast. So how could a simple Judo throw have killed her? 

No way is Manny going to jeopardize his tenuous, yet sensual relationship, with Tazewell County’s District Attorney, Lisa Shelton, to hang around half-naked, oiled-bodied beauties with names like Virgin Witch, Passion Queen, Midnight Fire, and Holy Terror, just to find out the obvious–Princess Lay-ya aka Rita Hayward just took a bad…okay, seriously bad header. 

But after hearing Marty’s heart-wrenching story of Rita’s journey to professional mud wrestler fame, and the haunting image of Rita’s single staring dead eye watching him, Manny decides to take the leap onto the St. Louis Slingers on-tour bus. Shepherd’s Luck bites him again, this time amidst boobs and bullets while he hunts down a scheming, sadistic killer.

To read an excerpt and to buy the eBook

Click Here

J. Douglas Knauer got her first critical review for a poem about her Peoria, IL Brownie Troupe. Multiple years later her first novel, Ecstasy Reclaimed by Brandy LaRue sold to Berkley/Jove, then came eight Illinois Press Association awards during a seven-year journalism stint. She has sold to several magazines, including Over My Dead Body. Her novel Bad Catholics, a Novel of Dark Suspense can be purchased directly from her. In 2010, Echelon Press will electronic publish A Dirty Way to Die, a Manny Shepherd P.I. novel.