Tag: mysteries

Missing! and Feared Dead…a Review

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing  5 out of 5 quills    The COUNTERFEIT HEIRESS
by Tasha Alexander

A fourth of the way through this intricately crafted story I wondered to myself if it was based on a true story.   And whad’ya know? Truth is stranger than fiction. It’s based very loosely on an American Heiress who recreated the physical environment of her own captivity after she was rescued.  And that’s all I’m going to say about the that!  It’s a treat!Count.Heiress.Scan

It’s early 19th century, England, and our two favorite sleuths, Emily and Colin are called upon to find a missing heiress….missing for over twenty years; most likely dead.  Tasha Alexander takes us (chapter by chapter) from their clever detective work to  the room where the heiress is being kept.  At no point in the story is the reader certain whether she is alive or dead. How can a woman survive in a coffin-like room? Continue reading “Missing! and Feared Dead…a Review”

Interview with author, Mike Wells (part 2)

Mike.hat.-Q. How long after that were you published?

A. If you mean traditionally published, I was never published that way. I had four different NYC and London agents over the years, and had the opportunity several times, but at the end of the day I am too much of a control freak. I can’t stand the idea of letting other people title my books, write my blurbs, jacket copy, design my covers, and generally market and distribute the book. To me, a book is one entity, and all those things are part of it. Different facets of the final product. As soon as I start writing a new book I start thinking about the title, the cover image, the blurb, the synopsis, and I often stop and work on these things in the middle of the book. This helps me focus. This is the reason I self-published and probably will always self-publish. It’s impossible to have any control over those things in traditional publishing.

Q. What makes a writer great?

A. Lots of readers who think so. Full stop. Writing (fiction writing) is art, and all art is subjective. There is no absolute standard to judge it by. Plenty of experts even think Shakespeare was a “bad” writer.

Mike.Toga_n
A Greek God? Beach in Cyprus.

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

A. It’s quite a mess, honestly. Continue reading “Interview with author, Mike Wells (part 2)”

Interview with successful self-published Author, Mike Wells

Mike. HeadshotAn Interview with Mike Wells *** ‘Unputdownable Thrillers’

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. I like to write outside if the weather is warm enough, which is one reason I live most of the year in Cyprus. I usually write on our veranda, or at an outdoor cafe by the beach. I like to move around to different places, keeps things stirred up.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. No. Those kinds of things (IMO) can turn into excuses not to write, I broke myself of anything like that a long time ago. I’m generally a very flexible and adaptable person, don’t get dependent much on physical elements like that.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

A. I can’t throw up. Continue reading “Interview with successful self-published Author, Mike Wells”

It Shouldn’t Work….A Review “Suspicion at Seven”

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing Rating: 5 out of 5 quills     “Suspicion at Seven” by Ann Purser

 

These plots shouldn’t work……but they do in the most charming and understated way.    The owner of New Brooms, Lois Meade is an amateur sleuth and has a team of ‘cleaners’ (merry maids) that keep their ears to the ground when foul play occurs.  Cunningly simple and a delight for readers.

The setting is a small village in rural England where Lois has lived most of her life.  She has raised threeSusp.7.Purser.Scan children and now lives with her husband, Derek, and her mother, Gran, who rules the house with an ungloved hand. (no velvet gloves here!)

Village life and all the characters that make up a community are artfully woven into each mystery. Continue reading “It Shouldn’t Work….A Review “Suspicion at Seven””

‘Art of Murder’, Book 1 has a NEW Look!

Book 1 in the World of Murder Series has a NEW Look and NEW chapters.  Available now here in my store and at www.amazon.com

New dynamic cover, new title, and new love interest woven through the true crime mystery.

When I wrote this less than a year ago, I thought, ‘just a murder mystery, something fun to try, a different genre,’ and then I’d move on.  Little did I know at the time that it would become a popular series and Book 5 has just been published.

So I thought the other day that I should revisit Book 1 and see what I thought about it now, 1+ years later.  And this is especially aimed at my fellow writers. Don’t ever be shy about revisiting something you’ve written; maybe you can make it better.  Low and behold I discovered that I had not given my readers enough about O’Roarke’s and Garcia’s personal lives and I had neglected to tie up some loose ends.

What I discovered with a critical look at my own work, was that there was more to write! I ended up with 6,000 additional words and  new chapters.  AND a better story!

If you liked this story don’t miss:

Book 2 ‘Dance of Murder’
Book 3 ‘ Act of Murder’
Book 4 ‘ Angel of Murder’
Book 5 ‘ Taste of Murder’
Book 6 ‘(Beneath the) Bridge of Murder’
Book 7  Video of Murder
Book 8  Shadow of Murder
Book 9 Triad of Murder (Soon to be Released) 

Available  on  e-books and Audio books.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!    

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“The Taste of Murder” Now Available!

Frnt.COVER.tasteofmurder_11OCT  Book 5 in The World of Murder series is now available. 

In Book 5 in the series, Detectives O’Roarke and Garcia have a cold case dumped on their desk. Despite their objections that they ‘don’t do cold cases’ their Commander tells them that they do now since the new Mayor has asked for them. Three years earlier the mayor’s brother-in-law was murdered and the case was never solved. The cold case plunges our murder cops into the world of television and competitive cooking shows and their pick of suspects three years cold.

 

 

REVIEW: ‘The Taste of Murder is Book 5 in Sugarek’s ‘The World of Murder’ series (previously acclaimed by this reviewer as a tight, compelling series that builds powerful scenarios and believable protagonists) and is especially recommended for prior fans of the books who want a continuation of the same successful devices employed in the previous titles: emotion-driven protagonists and a whodunit scenario that puzzles readers as much as the characters doing the investigating. Continue reading ““The Taste of Murder” Now Available!”

Everything but the Kitchen Sink~~(new series) Diary of a Mad Writer!

So many of you have asked how I can be so prolific in my fiction, how I maintain a blog twice a week and interview otwriting, process, writers, styleher authors too.   So maybe it would be fun for you if I wrote once in awhile about what I’m doing…..I’m calling it Everything but the KITCHEN SINK because I’m throwing everything into the pot ……..no rhyme or reason.

This week I have the great pleasure to review Peter May’s latest book “The Lewis Man” during his book tour in the US.Saturday my blog will begin my interview with him and he has been so generous with his time and writing processes.

One of my favorite posts coming is how the (; ) smiley face was created back in 1982.  After some research I found the original email that first featured these emoticons.

Don’t know if you remember or not, but a few years ago I spent 10 days in Argentina at the invitation of two young professors and their university, National University of Villa María .  They teach English (through action) there. The families of Mariana, Marta, and Fiorella hosted me in their homes with dinners, lunches, and Continue reading “Everything but the Kitchen Sink~~(new series) Diary of a Mad Writer!”

A Review…The Forsaken by Ace Atkins

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing  Five out of five quills!  REVIEW    ‘The Forsaken’ by Ace AtkinsAce.index

This author and I have much in common; we both have a collection of original paperbacks by John McDonald (Travis McGee) and we both love Robert Parker (Spenser). Where we differ is Ace has achieved perfection in prose writing which I aspire to….someday.

I strongly recommend to my readers that if you are going to read stories about Ace’s main character, Quinn Colson, that you do so in order.  There is a strong story thread throughout the series and you will enjoy these books so much more.

The Forsaken doesn’t disappoint. It’s my favorite to date.  As in his other books Ace gives his readers a strong sense of the old south, Mississippi to be exact.  How do I know this?  I lived there for four years in the 70’s and since then have moved in and out of the south;  New Orleans and currently Savannah, Georgia.  Without it ever seeming like a travel log, before you are many pages into the book, you can smell the dust of the back roads, the earthy slightly rotten smell of the bayous sticks in the back of your throat.  You may have never met the ‘good old boys’ but you know them and the women who follow along.  Continue reading “A Review…The Forsaken by Ace Atkins”

Keep Those Creative Doors Unlocked!

So I’m currently working on Book 5 in the series, The World of Murder.  The Taste of Murder takes place in and around the Food ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Network and cooking shows.

My two detectives, O’Roarke and Garcia are waiting for the elevator to take them down to the lobby at the Food Network studios. And who walks off the elevator but Arnold Miller, Broadway star… and one of my characters from The Act of Murder.

I stared at my screen for a second and, even though I was alone in my studio, asked aloud, ‘Arnold, what are you doing in this book?’  I got no answer of course so decided to see where Arnold would lead me.  My readers  know by now that I am a staunch  believer that at some point the story takes over and the writer goes along for the ride….we become the typist.  So why was I surprised when Arnold rushed out of an elevator and almost mowed down my two murder cops?  Well, it turns out that Arnold knew my victim and his lover. He really filled our ear with all the latest gossip!

Continue reading “Keep Those Creative Doors Unlocked!”

Writers Must be Multi-Taskers!

Like so many other prolific writers (that I’ve interviewed) we are multi-taskers. And if we aren’t naturally, we learn pretty quick that we Cover.Angel - Copyshould be. As I finished writing the last few pages of ‘The Angel of Murder’, the story line for the next book was rattling around in my head. I edited book 4 one last time and published it. I then immediately sent it to my narrator/producer to begin the audio-book. This also requires my time as I listen to and edit each chapter.

‘Sugarek had barely released her newest book in the World of Murder series entitled ‘The Angel of Murder’ when she was already deeply into the plot of her next one. A famous chef-judge on a successful cooking show has been murdered. Detectives O’Roarke and Garcia have a cold case dumped on them in spite of O’Roarke’s vehement insistence, “We don’t do cold cases!”

Follow the two murder cops behind the scenes and onto the TV set of a wildly popular cooking competition where the suspects are plentiful and the case is three years cold.’
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!   

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!