Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

AWAKE: A GOOD TWIN, BAD TWIN THRILLER IS FINALLY RELEASED!



I got sidetracked writing many other books, then found AWAKE which I started quite a long time ago. It took a while to modernize it, then took even longer to edit and re-edit, send it to betas, and do more editing!




I first set my goal to get the book released by the end of 2017, but computer problems caused a delay. My next goal was by the end of January, 2018, which I barely met.

My fascination with twins, as well as my love of romance compelled me to write 
AWAKE: A Good Twin, Bad Twin Thriller.

You can download it on Amazon at: http://a.co/6FFskXD

I hope you enjoy it!

                                      Morgan Mandel





Tuesday, December 05, 2017

AWAKE - A GOOD TWIN, BAD TWIN THRILLER COMING VERY SOON!!!





Right now, Awake - A Good Twin Bad Twin Thriller is with 4 beta readers. I'm hoping to finally have it released before the end of the year.

Stay tuned!

Monday, January 16, 2017

Time to Wake Up and Work on Awake!

Finishing my dog book, Our Fur Babies, along with the holiday hustle and bustle, distracted me from working on my good twin/bad twin thriller, Awake.

Time to get back on the bandwagon and finish that book! For inspiration, I'm putting up the cover again here.




I made the bad twin's pic on the right a little darker. I wonder if those looking at the cover will figure that out.

And their mutual love interest is all by herself on the bottom of the cover.


Morgan Mandel


Thursday, July 31, 2014

Do No Harm

I believe part of the Hippocratic oath is to do no harm. I also believe that's a good motto for an author to follow when writing.


Without giving anything away, I'll just say my new release, A PERFECT ANGEL, which is the sequel to HER HANDYMAN, rights a necessary wrong done to a character in the first book. 

Although each book is independent of the other and can be read separately, for best enjoyment, I recommend reading HER HANDYMAN first, and then A PERFECT ANGEL.

After you've read them both, you'll see what I mean about Do No Harm.


Find all of Morgan Mandel's romances, mysteries & thrillers at 
her Amazon Author's Page:

For excerpts from all of her books see the Morgan's Book Links Blog:

Twitter: @MorganMandel


Sunday, September 16, 2012

Marilyn Meredith Shares Excerpt from Raging Water


 About Marilyn Meredith: Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel us No Bells, the forth from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Marilyn Says: I know there are some people who like to read a series in order, but let me reassure you that every book is complete. Though the characters grow through each book, the crime is always solved. Here is the order of the books for anyone who wants to know: Deadly Trail, Deadly Omen, Unequally Yoked, Intervention, Wing Beat, Calling the Dead, Judgment Fire, Kindred Spirits, Dispel the Mist, Invisible Path, Bears With Us, Raging Water.


What Raging Water Is About:  Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.

EXCERPT from Raging Water by Marilyn Meredith


Miqui Sherwood woke from a sound sleep. A floor board creaked. She raised her head and listened. No, she wasn’t imagining things. There it was again. Someone was in her house. Neither Cleopatra nor Blondie stirred from their comfy spot tucked beside the bend in her knees. No wonder, her two darling pets were both old and hard of hearing.
Maybe it was that raccoon again who had sneaked in through the doggie door. No. It took more weight than that to make a floor-board creak.
Someone was in the house. She’d heard from several of her friends, that they’d been burglarized but didn’t know when it happened. Well, she knew, because it was happening to her right now. Crap.
She eased out of bed as quietly as possible. What should she do? She didn’t own a gun, didn’t know how to use one, and wasn’t sure she would if she did have one. She scooped up her dogs and plucked her cell phone off the nightstand.
With her heart thumping madly, she tiptoed across to the other side of her large master bedroom and opened the door to the walk-in closet. Besides her clothes, this was one of the places she stored many of her holiday decorations, and since she still had her Christmas decorations out, the back was fairly empty.
Her Christmas decorations. She prayed the intruder didn’t share a fondness for any of her collectibles handed down to her from her mother and grandmother, priceless and irreplaceable. She adored each and every one.
Cleopatra and Blondie squirmed in her arms, letting her know they wanted down.
Miqui yanked a blanket off a shelf and put it on the floor. Carefully, she set the dogs down. Within minutes they both emitted soft snores, already back to sleep. So much for being any kind of protection.
Her bedroom was at the end of a long hall. She thought she heard the door to one of the spare bedrooms open. Good heavens, why was she waiting to make a phone call? She punched in the home phone number for Deputy Crabtree, the resident deputy of the mountain community of Bear Creek. Calling 9-1-1 would take longer, and someone else might be sent. She knew the deputy lived close by. It seemed as though it took forever for the phone to start ringing.
Two rings later, a sleepy sounding female voice answered. “Crabtree.”
“This is Miqui Sherwood,” she whispered. “I think there’s someone in my house.”
“Where are you now?”
“My dogs and I are hiding in my bedroom closet.”
“Give me your address. I’m sure I know where you live, but just in case.”
She rattled off the number. “Hurry.”
“I’m coming right now.”
It couldn’t be soon enough to suit Miqui. Since she’d awakened the deputy, she’d have to dress first and then it was at least eight to ten minutes driving time from the deputy’s place to Miqui’s home tucked into the mountainside overlooking the town of Bear Creek.
She’d never been so scared in her life. Maybe she should find something to hit whoever it was if he came into her bedroom and opened the closet door.
To do that, she’d have to leave the safety of the closet and she might go back in the room the same time the burglar came in. No, she’d just stay right where she was and hope Deputy Crabtree arrived at her house before the intruder made his way into the bedroom.
Though she’d given up watching scary movies a long time ago, deciding that wasn’t a good idea since she lived alone, this was far worse than any scary movie could possibly be. It wasn’t often she wished she had a man in her life. She’d given up on that scenario though she still had a spark of hope the right guy might come along. Now was the time a strong, muscular man would’ve come in handy. There’d been a few fellows she’d dated and even considered marrying, but for one reason or another, it had never happened. In most cases, she knew her love of independence got in the way. She’d yet to meet the man who could accept her level of self-sufficiency.
She’d worked long and hard as a partner in a medical insurance group that gave her an excellent retirement, and she’d made wise investments over the years, so she didn’t need a man to support her. Nor did she want one to support. Yes, she was lonely at times, but she belonged to many local organizations, did volunteer work associated with each of them, and had many female and male friends.
Right now, cowering in the closet, she wished she’d not been quite so choosy about the males in her life.
Oh, dear God, the hinges on her bedroom door squeaked open. Whoever was there would see she wasn’t in bed.
Cleo, the black-and-white mixed terrier lifted her head. Her ears stood straight up. Blondie, a long-haired Doxie mix, stood, emitting a low growl.
Before Miqui could shush them, the closet door creaked open and gloved fingers appeared on the edge. She screamed. The two small dogs raced past her, barking.
The intruder turned and darted off, the little dogs barking and nipping at his ankles. “Ow. Stop that. Quit it.” His protests faded as he ran through the house.
Whoever it was wore black from head to toe except for white spots on his running shoes. He quickly disappeared from view.
Now afraid for her pets, neither of them young, Miqui ran after the man and the dogs. “Cleo, Blondie, come back.”
All she could see of the burglar was his back and those white spots moving quickly as he dashed through the living room and past the kitchen. He disappeared into the laundry room. Her dogs galloped right behind him.

Contest: The person who leaves comments on the most blogs will have his/her name used for a character in my next book—can choose if you want it in a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery or a Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel.

Visit Marilyn at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Please leave a comment to welcome Marilyn Meredith to Double M.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

My Interview Is Up at Mysterious People

Hi Gang,
Feel like going on a short trip? Please hop on over to http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/ and check out my interview by Jean Henry Mead and let me know what you think.

Before you go, please let me know you're going over, since I'd hate to have no comments here today.

Thanks a bunch,

Morgan Mandel

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

PLEASE WELCOME MY GUEST,CYNDIA DEPRE





Eccentric Olivia Chatham has found her life's calling. Crime buster.


Tucker Monroe, the small Wisconsin town's mysterious new resident, discovers he, too, has a mission...Keeping up with her.

http://www.cyndiadepre.com/

Cyndia Depre was born in Iowa, and has lived in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Minnesota. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, with a second major in Finance, from Northern Illinois University. After running her own business for ten years, she closed the doors and began writing full-time. She now lives in a suburb of the Twin Cities with her husband and their miniature Schnauzer. They keep an old, but much loved, boat at a marina on Lake Minnetonka, and use it as often as possible. Cyndia is currently working on her third novel.

Here's her post on some of her pet peeves. Do you share any of them?

I’m pretty sure we all have a book peeve or two. Here are some of mine. I’d love to hear yours!

Coincidence-Coincidence happens in life. But to paraphrase what someone, I think Mark Twain, said, “The difference between life and fiction is that fiction has to make sense.” How true. If something happens in a book, there better be a reason for it. Two egregious examples of far too much leap to mind. In one a medical examiner was consulting in a distant city. Not the next county, but thousands of miles from her home. While there a body turned up, which just happened to be someone from her town. Someone she knew. That was a bit much, but I kept reading. The coincidences kept piling up. Instead of taking the novel seriously, I finished it wondering when the next unbelievable event would occur, and laughing when it did. That was the last book I read by that author.

Another had a medical examiner (they do seem to pop up often, don’t they?) happen to drive by a river where police and rescue people happened to have discovered a body. It was December, in a cold climate, but the ME happened to have scuba gear in the trunk and naturally was able to save the day and help with the body. Then she went home and made lasagna, clear down to preparing her own mozzarella. I couldn’t finish that book, and never bought another by the author. Both these writers are wildly popular, so I’m sure it’s a ‘me’ thing. But I gave up on them.

Editing-Once an author is popular, they sometimes get more free rein from editors. This can badly. One recent novel read more as a travelogue than fiction. The writer had been to Italy, and clearly loved it. Readers were going to get the detailed tour whether they wanted it or not. I didn’t. Just because your books sell doesn’t mean everything you write is a pearl. Listen to editors. Please.

Loose Ends-Several recent novels just ended. Like the authors were in a contest and the buzzer went off. What about Aunt Sue? Did they ever find Jim’s missing money? Did Lulu get her operation? If you throw something out there, something to add to the tension, resolve it. Loose ends make me nuts.

Repetition-I read a book with a hero and heroine falling in love. However, their families had been feuding for years. That was repeated over and over and over and over….Readers aren’t dumb. Don’t talk down to us by repeating something we know. It irritates us.

Dialect-Another recent book had young people in London speaking in dialect to the point it was hard to understand. I’d rather the author establish their way of talking, then go back to ‘normal’ dialog. I hear the accent once I know it’s part of the character. And I don’t waste time and get pulled out of the story by strange phrases. The same is true with a Southern accent. It’s lovely to hear. I adore Paula Deen’s ‘Y’all’. But I just can’t read it in every line. I hear it anyway, so leave it out. Again, this is all just my taste.

Ignored Pets-If you have a character with a pet, don’t forget the poor animal. Feed it. Hug it. Exercise it. Don’t stick it in the kitchen with a bowl of water and another of kibble. Once I see an animal in a story, I worry about it. Same with kids. If they’re in the novel, make sure they’re taken care of.

That’s my list. How about you?

Sunday, August 24, 2008

GETTING A BOOK READY IS LIKE GETTING READY FOR VACATION By Morgan Mandel

Big Arbor Vitae Lake, WI


I hate packing. I'm supposed to leave for vacation Wednesday morning. Tomorrow night I have a Chicago-North RWA meeting and Tuesday night is loading-the-car night, since we want to leave at the crack of dawn of Wednesday. That means today I need to perform a miracle. I have to find the necessary items that are scattered around the house and organize them neatly so they're ready to go.

Some of the basics I usually haul with are my camera and film, walkie talkies with battery chargers (essential when the DH is out fishing on the lake so I can reach him if the cell phone won't connect), dog food and treats, people snacks, pills, sunglasses, books,magazines to read when I'm not at the casino or writing, cash, credit cards, more clothes than I usually need.

Then we have the long drive up to the cottage near Minocqua, which could take 6-7 hours, depending on traffic. Once we finally get there, it will all be worth it. I'll see my good friend, Jeanne. I'll go on long walks with Rascal. I'll have fun eating at great restaurants, going shopping, and playing slots at Lake of the Torches Casino. The weather even sounds like it will cooperate.

It's the getting ready that's hard. Kind of like getting a book done. I usually start with an idea and know how the book will end.

It's the rest that's a challenge. I need to round out my character, both physically and mentally. Are there inconsistencies in thinking? Have I provided the correct amount of backstory without administering an overdose? Is my character sympathetic at the beginning, or at least by the end of the book? Are the goals realistic? Have I created enough obstacles and conflict?

What about descriptions? When I wrote my romantic comedy, Girl of My Dreams, I did a lot of online research about Hollywood, Las Vegas, Venice and Paris, so I could depict them accurately. Some people love research. I hate it. I know it's necessary, but it slows me down.

There's lots of details to attend to when I'm getting ready for vacation, also in getting a book ready. Still, the rewards are worth it.

Morgan Mandel
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com
www.morganmandel.com
Anyway, you kind of get the picture. There's more to writing a book than just having and idea.