I'm excited about my first mystery, Sweet Man Is Gone, from Five Star. It's a funny, funky look at the inner workings of a blues band, and it features amateur detective Maxx Maxwell (real name: Elizabeth), a sexy blonde blues singer and bandleader. Kirkus said, "Maxx's debut has a real feel for the bar-music scene and a gutsy, believeable sleuth." Click on the book cover to learn more about Sweet Man Is Gone. If you'd like a cool salmon-pink Sweet Man Is Gone guitar pick, use "Contact" to email me your name and address. Postage is on me.
And click here for "My Life As a Rock Star." It describes how a mild-mannered English professor (me) bought an electric guitar - a red Stratocaster - in mid-life, signed up for guitar lessons, and formed the band that inspired Sweet Man Is Gone.
Librarians like Five Star books too. If you'd like to read Sweet Man Is Gone, but don't want to buy it, please ask your library to order it--and be sure to mention the Kirkus review.
Pies! My sleuth, Maxx Maxwell, is too busy with her blues band to think about cooking, but cooking is one of my great pleasures. I find it hard to stay out of the kitchen, no matter how pressed for time I am. What's blues without soul food, and what's soul food without fresh-baked pies? Click on Pies for the Pie of the Month and archived pies from previous months, complete with recipes and photos.
Some of my friends invited me to guest on their blogs, starting at the end of July and running through August. Here's the schedule--just click on the blog title for the link: July 26--Cozy Chicks, August 2--Writers Plot, August 10--Another Writer's Life, August 13--Jungle Red, August 15--Stiletto Gang, August 23--Poe's Deadly Daughters, August 27--Cats & Crime & Rock & Roll.
And speaking of being a guest, I'd love to speak to your group. Just click on Contact for more information.
Wanted: Blues CD's to showcase on this site. If you're a band with a new CD, use the contact feature to email me and I'll give you the details.