​Welcome to Matter of Inquiry!
 
This week on the mystery blog, I’m talking with suspense writer Lis Angus and taking a look at her featured book, Not Your Child. Before we get started, Lis, please tell readers a little about yourself.

Bio:
I grew up in the western Canada province of Alberta. After high school I spent two years in Germany, then finished university in Ottawa, where I met my husband. We raised our two daughters in Toronto, and now live in a small town south of Ottawa.
I’ve been writing all my life, from childhood on, but abandoned fiction writing after my teen years. My early career was spent working with children and families in crisis, then later I was a telecommunications consultant and policy advisor, conference organizer, business writer and editor. I had always wanted to write a novel; after I retired I decided it was time, and plunged into writing a first draft. Meanwhile I took writing classes and joined a local writing group. I also joined the Sisters in Crime “Guppy” chapter, where I learned a lot from other writers.
My debut novel, NOT YOUR CHILD, was published in April 2022 by The Wild Rose Press, so this month is its one-year anniversary. I’m excited to celebrate this milestone—and meanwhile I am working on a second book, another standalone suspense novel.
 
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “Somehow, I’ve managed to take boat rides on several of the world’s great rivers: the Nile, the Amazon, the Danube, the Rhine, the Yangtze, the Thames. And I also toured the countries they’re in, of course. My usual travel companion is my husband, but the trip to China was with my two sisters. My older sister had dreamed of visiting China since she was a child, and we finally made it happen, and even visited sites in Tibet.”

Author links:
Website: https://lisangus.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisangusauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisangus1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisangus459/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59436824-not-your-child

INTERVIEW:
 
JLB:  What is the hardest part of writing for you?
LA:  I’m still developing my craft as a fiction writer, so every stage takes effort. Getting the first draft down is a big milestone: as someone said, “you can’t edit a blank page.” Once I have something on the page—or on the screen—I can start to work on it. I revise scene by scene, and section by section: first working on big issues like character, plot, and structure, then refining to improve the flow. If I make a significant change, like eliminating a story line, I call that a new draft, though within a draft I might rewrite every scene a few times. At one point with NOT YOUR CHILD, I threw out the final 25% of the book and changed the ending completely.
 
JLB:  Do you use critique groups or beta readers? Do you find them valuable?
LA:  I definitely use beta readers. I have several that I rely on to help me identify places in my draft that are unclear or need revision. However, it’s important to let them know what kind of feedback I’m looking for: if I want to know if a plot twist works or a character is believable,  I’m less interested in finding out about spelling mistakes.
 
JLB:  How many books do you read in a month? Which genre(s)? Favorite authors?
LA:  I always have a book on the go, and I generally average two or three novels a week. I regularly update my library request lists. I mainly read within the crime fiction spectrum —from domestic suspense to thrillers to police procedurals. I like atmospheric novels that go beyond plot to delve into the relationships between characters. I admire many authors: a few that come to mind (in no particular order) are Jane Harper, Adrian McKinty, Tana French, Lisa Unger, Ruth Ware, Chris Pavone, Karin Slaughter, Michael Koryta, Nicci French.
 
JLB:  Do you read reviews of your own books? Do you respond to them? Are you affected by them?
LA:  I do read my reviews, both by professional reviewers and by readers.  I’ve been lucky that they’ve mostly been positive, so that encourages me. I love to know that my work is resonating with readers, and I try to thank them for the feedback. Occasionally there’s a review from someone who hasn’t  enjoyed the book, but I figure I can’t please everyone, and I certainly don’t try to change their mind.
 
JLB:  What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
LA:  I’m currently working on my second novel, another standalone suspense. I’m hoping to have a draft to submit by the end of the year. Optimistically, I’d hope for a release sometime in 2024.
 
JLB:  Which of the trivia questions did you choose?
LA:

• ebook or print?  I prefer the feel of a print book, but sometimes an ebook is just more convenient, especially when travelling.
• most beloved comic book character:  Hobbes (from Calvin and Hobbes) —he breaks me up!
• have you written a book during NaNo? NOT YOUR CHILD started as a 2017 NaNo project, though it took four years and numerous drafts before it found a publisher.  And the book I’m currently writing started as a NaNo project too.
• How long does it take you to write a book? Too long! I’m not a fast writer, and I’m also something of a perfectionist.
• Favorite childhood book. I adored Trixie Belden. But another series I loved is one you may not have heard of: Freddy the Pig, who solved mysteries on Mr. Bean’s farm in Centerboro.

JLB:  Good luck with your writing, Lis. Thanks for visiting with those of us who love a good crime story. Now, let's take a look at your featured book.

Not Your Child
Genre: suspense
 
When Ottawa psychologist and single mother Susan Koss discovers that a strange man has been following her twelve-year-old daughter Maddy, she fears he’s a predator. But it’s worse than that. The man, Daniel Kazan, believes Maddy is his granddaughter, abducted as a baby—and he’s obsessed with getting her back.

Susan insists on a DNA test to disprove Daniel’s claim, but the result is one she can’t understand or explain: it says she’s not Maddy’s mother.

Then Maddy vanishes. Susan’s convinced Daniel has taken her, but he has an alibi, and two searches of his house turn up nothing. The hunt is on—police are on full mobilization, and Susan fears the worst.

 
​Buy links:
Note: There’ll be a special ebook 99¢ sale on NOT YOUR CHILD from April 12-26, to mark the book’s one-year anniversary.
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Your-Child-Lis-Angus-ebook/dp/B09QRST379?maas=maas_adg_8A6B91EC58EC3F0283D1E75DECA38D55_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas
Universal book link: https://books2read.com/notyourchild

Welcome to the blog!

Please join me in visiting with DK Coutant regarding her experiences in writing, her reading habits, and her first cozy mystery, EVIL ALICE AND THE BORZOI.

Good morning, Dawna. Before we begin the interview, please tell us something about your background.

​Bio:
 
DK Coutant graduated from Davidson College with a Psychology degree, and applied her behavioral training at Sea World, training dolphins and whales. Realizing that scrubbing fish buckets might get old, she went back to school and earned a Ph.D. in Psychology. Her academic career began at the University of Southern Maine before DK made the jump to the University of Hawaii at Hilo rising to Department Chair of the Psychology Department. After many happy years in Hawaii, DK made the move out of academics to become a professional geopolitical forecaster for GJP, Inc ( https://goodjudgment.com/Inc ) and INFER  ( https://www.infer-pub.com/). Evil Alice and the Borzoi is her first work of fiction published by The Wild Rose Press.
 
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “That’s a tough one. I threw everything but the kitchen sink into my bio. But okay, here’s one... We have an Old English Sheepdog puppy. She is seven months old and named Beasley. Most people guess she was named after the talking doll from the 1960s, but that is not the case. My husband and I are big fans of David Beasley, the Executive Director of the UN World Food Program. One night after seeing him being interviewed on PBS we added Beasley to the top of our puppy name list. When I met the puppy in person, Beasley was the only name she responded to, and she has been Beasley ever since.”
 
Author Contacts:
Website:  https://www.dkcoutant.com/
Twitter: @dkCoutant
Instagram: @DKCandDog

INTERVIEW:
 
JLB: Are you self-published or traditionally published? How did you make the decision?
 
DKC: I am traditionally published with Wild Rose Press. I had queried more than 150 agents, with some full requests but no success. I then started on publishers that would accept queries directly from authors. My full-request ratio was much higher with the small publishers than with agents. But just as I was exploring the self-publishing option, I got my contract offer. Because this was my first work of fiction, I wanted some professionals with more experience than me to guide me through the process. I lost some control, but I believe ultimately the final product is better than it would have been if I had put it together on my own.
 
JLB:  Do you use critique groups or beta readers? Do you find them valuable?
 
DKC:  I’ve tried both. I have a local critique group that I enjoy. Most of them write memoir, but they are people who love writing and we learn a lot from each other. I also love a good beta reader though for specific help and guidance on my 2nd or 3rd draft manuscripts. I have several that have been generous with their time and keen insights on what I’ve gotten wrong.  I don’t know what I’d do without them.
 
JLB:  How important do you think writing and reading are in today’s world?
 
DKC: Critical. Reading allows us to experience other cultures and life experiences. There was some research that it can help build empathy in kids. (I’ll find the citation if you want) When I taught Cross Cultural Psychology one requirement of the course was to find a book from a culture other than their own and read it, then report on the how that culture was different than their own.  I loved reading those reports and I think my students enjoyed writing them. That’s why I am excited the publishing industry is opening up to new voices from new backgrounds.
 
JLB:  How many books do you read in a month? Which genre(s)? Favorite authors?
 
DKC:  Gosh. It depends on the month but probably 7-8. I usually have 2 novels going at a time, One I read on my ipad, so I can read at night and not wake up my husband. Those are also great for travel because my TBR list are already downloaded on it. But I miss the smell of a real book, so I also have a hard copy (usually paperback) that I read during road trips in the car or if I have any free time during the day to curl up with a book for an hour.
I read pretty widely, including select non-fiction, but my go-to genres are mysteries, paranormal, and fantasy. I just finished The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty and that trilogy was amazing. And I’m currently in the middle of the latest Inspector Bruno mystery by Martin Walker. And starting Julie Mulhern’s latest Poppy Fields mystery. I also love Michael Chabon and Amor Towles.
 
JLB:  What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
 
DKC:  Cleo Cooper has another adventure in front of her. Instead of the beaches of Hawaii, she will be hitting the ski slopes near Santa Fe and solving a murder, of course.  I’m heavy into editing now but hope to submit the manuscript to publishers by late spring.
 
JLB:  Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?
 
DKC: 

• Memorable book you’ve read:  A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles. Somehow I bought it thinking it was a mystery which it isn’t. But it is absolutely delightful, and there is even a wonderful scene with a couple of Borzois!
• Favorite quote: The Cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea -Isak Denisen
• Your pets:  We are down to one dog. We travel a lot and it is doable with one dog, more than that is too stressful for me. At the moment we have a 7-month-old, Old English Sheepdog, named Beasley. You will find a bevy of pictures of her on my Instagram account.
• Favorite sport:  Snow skiing! Down hill.
• Beach lover or a snow skier? Both!
• Beer at the bar or a book on the deck? A book on the deck… with a glass of wineJ

 
JLB: Thank you for visiting the blog, Dawna. Before we finish, please show us your featured book.

EVIL ALICE AND THE BOIZOI (A Cleo Cooper Mystery)
Genre: cozy mystery
 
Paradise is shaken when the body of a young woman is dragged onto a university research vessel during a class outing in Hilo Bay. Cleo Cooper is shaken when she finds her favorite student is on the hook for the murder.
Danger lurks on land and sea as Cleo and her friends are enticed to search for the true killer. In between paddling, swimming, and arguing with her boyfriend, Cleo discovers all is not what it seems on the Big Island of Hawaii. But will she figure out the truth before she becomes the next victim?
 
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Alice-Borzoi-Cooper-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BS4JKGKS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1676220929&sr=8-1
 
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/evil-alice-and-the-borzoi-dk-coutant/1142929587?ean=2940186721369

The Brooklyn North Murder
Genre: Mystery
Rating: PG-13

A hi-flying investor determined to make sleepy Morgansburg NY a tech hub, vanishes from the middle of a lake during a triathlon. Mary Watson, a university librarian and computer genius, has to solve the mystery with the help of her Artificial Intelligence program “Doyle.”

Buy Links:
The Cloak and Dagger: 
​https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-brooklyn-north-murder-erica-obey/18583571?ean=9781940442457
 
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Brooklyn-North-Murders-Novel/dp/1940442451
 
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-brooklyn-north-murder-erica-obey/1142642951?ean=9781940442457
​
​Excerpt:

Custody of the eyes. Up until now, it had been an abstract concept I had associated with the medieval and theology sections of the library where I worked. Now, it was a practical challenge. Who knew how hard it could be not to look at the tiny red Speedo being worn by the man who had pulled me close for our Triathlon Team Photo?
​
Only a year ago, this triathlon had been the Morgansburg Annual Fun Run that had consisted of a single lap of Battlefield Bluff. Now it was the Billings Sprint Challenge Series, and had apparently attracted the combined populations of Brooklyn and Poughkeepsie via a social media campaign that had pronounced it one of the ten summer events in the Hudson Valley not to be missed. The transformation – excuse me, rebranding ­– was also the reason why I was shivering by the edge of an icy lake at the ungodly hour of eight in the morning, trying not to examine the all too evident assets that a hedge fund manager named Cam Billings was scarcely hiding beneath an entirely indecent red Speedo.

I was not wearing a swimsuit – or even a wetsuit, as the other competitors were. I had managed to weasel my way out of the swim by claiming a rotator cuff injury, and so was wearing running tights and a reasonably warm wind shirt. It’s not that I can’t swim – a summer camp instructor who fancied herself a Navy SEAL had made sure of that. But that statement only holds true if you consider the dog paddle a recognized stroke of the U.S.A. Swimming Association. I’m not particularly good with bicycles either. But as the hot tech star destined to transform Morgansburg, N.Y. into the next Silicon Valley, I was expected to represent De Sales College, and so I was taking on the last leg of the College Relay Team. All that was required of me was the same brisk shuffle around Battlefield Bluff as last year’s Fun Run.

Paul Morgan flanked me as we locked arms for the camera. He was wearing a pair of bicycling shorts that did little more to disguise his assets than Cam’s had. But I didn’t have to imagine what lay beneath that thin, Lycra barrier. Paul and I had dated during our first year at Yale, back in the days when having sex seemed to be the done thing.  Victorian brides were taught to lie back and think of England on their wedding. I lay back and rehearsed conjugations and declensions in my head in order to pass the time. Our relationship fizzled out somewhere around the Greek Middle Voice.

That didn’t stop him from grabbing me in a bear hug as he said, “Look, after the swim, I need to be ready to tag in at the changing area. So can you go ahead and get some video of Cam when he comes out of the water for our real time followers?”

“Real time followers?” I grumbled to Doyle. “Who would really sit down and watch this in real time on their phone? My mother?”

“I regret to inform you that Helen Watson is not among the 12,467 subscribers to the Sprint Series webcast,” Doyle informed me.

“It was a rhetorical question.” My mother was not what you’d call a doting parent. When I presented her with a copy of my published dissertation, she had asked, “What do you want me to do with this?”
The response I squelched was unprintable.

Okay, so I was complaining to my phone. Pretty weird, I suppose – at least if you’ve been living off the grid for the past five years. Some people talk to Siri. Some talk to Alexa. Hell, my ninety-year-old grand-mother binge drinks Cosmopolitans with them while they cheat at online bridge. So, sue me if I talk to Doyle.

Granted, Doyle was different from those virtual assistants he dismissed as “the Code Girls.” For one thing, the Girls simply crawled the web and retrieved information. Doyle didn’t crawl. He extrapolated. Or as Doyle would put it, the Code Girls were artificial intelligence; he was the real thing. I’m not quite so sure. For one thing, I’m the one that programmed Doyle. I know where the bodies are buried – or to put it in programmer-speak, I am aware of a few significant glitches that need working out. Primary among them is the fact that Doyle is a complete and utter ass. 

​About the Author:
 
Erica Obey is the author of The Brooklyn North Murder, the first full-length Watson & Doyle mystery, as well as five other novels set in the Hudson Valley, including the award-winning The Curse of the Braddock Brides. Erica is the Past President of the MWA-NY chapter, and a frequent reviewer and judge. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and published academic work on female folklorists before she decided she’d rather be writing the stories herself.
 
Something unusual/unique that isn’t in your regular bio: "I can show you how to make Christmas ornaments out of egg cartons and old copies of the Reader’s Digest. (Okay, I didn’t grow up in Lake Woebegon, but it was close.)"
 
Author Contacts:

Website: www.ericaobey.com 
FB/IG: @Erica Obey (personal), @EricaObeyAuthor (page) 
Twitter: @EricaObey

​Up Close And Pawsonal 
Genre: Cozy Mystery
 
A casual evening of listening to music by a local cover band turns into a murder investigation when a drive-by shooting destroys the tranquility of the night and critically injures two of the band members. Lily Dreyfus stressed and unsettled from having been at the concert, realizes one of the dead band members is the nephew of her coworker at the Forever Friends Animal Shelter. Lily will leash together a set of seemingly unrelated events to seek the perpetrator and make them heel.
Buy link
https://www.amazon.com/Up-Close-Pawsonal-Dreyfus-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BTC4GM4Q/

Author Bio:
Darlene is a member of Sisters in Crime National and several regional SinC groups. She combined her passion for the written word and animals into the Lily Dreyfus series. Darlene volunteers at the Animal Welfare Association, a New Jersey animal shelter, where she chats with the dogs while completing her assignments. She has a 30-year career in Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and is an avid reader, gardener, and traveler. Darlene lives in New Jersey with her four-legged best friend, Billie.
 
social media
www.ReadDarlene.com
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Darlene-Dziomba/author
@ReadDarlene1
facebook.com/read.darlene.7
[email protected]

The Dead Cannot Hide (Viscount Ware Mystery #2)
Genre: historical mystery/Regency

England, summer of 1812. Lucien, Viscount Ware, a secret spy for the Crown, is asked by his grandmother to use his skills in locating a missing country girl. She had taken a governess’s position near London almost a year ago and not been heard from for months. With the Prince Regent safely in Bath and Whitehall’s attention on the war with Ameria, Lucien has the time and agrees to make a few inquiries.

The girl’s employers tell him Lucy vanished one night ten months ago with all her belongings. Convinced there is more to the story, he obtains an invitation—through his friend Lady Anne Ashburn—to a houseparty in the neighborhood in order to continue his inquiries.

With the help of Lady Anne, the houseparty hosts, and others around the village of Blinkers Marsh, Lucien and his friend/fellow agent Sherbourne learn of a second missing girl, make a grisly discovery in a pond, and hear whispers of a deadly plot to unleash terror and disruption upon London.

They soon realize they are all in danger, along with hundreds or thousands of London citizens, perhaps the Crown itself—and a wild race begins to unmasks the culprits and cut off the deadly plots before time runs out.

Pre-order/buy Links at regular online bookstores, including:
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Dead-Cannot-Hide-J-Buck-ebook/dp/B0B6M4WK1R

Character bio:

​Robbie Jordan is the owner and chief chef of Pans ’N Pancakes, a country store breakfast-and-lunch restaurant in southern Indiana. She’s a native mid-coast Californian but loves living in the Midwest – until murder hits. She recently married her boyfriend of several years and combined households with him and his son in their town of South Lick in Brown County.

INTERVIEW:

JLB:  Tell us, Robbie, are you happy with your name or would you have picked something else?

RJ_  When I was growing up, I didn’t much like the name Roberta, but I always went by Robbie, so that was fine. I discovered only after my single mom died – suddenly and too soon in her fifties – that my father is a professor in Italy named Roberto. Now I love my given name, although only he and my mom’s sister Adele address me as that.

JLB:  Did your author give you any hobbies or pets? 

RJ:  I guess my hobby is the same as my exercise practice – long, hard bicycle rides. I also do crossword puzzles.
I have a darling adopted tuxedo cat named Birdy. Since I’ve been married to Abe and become step-mom to his teen son Sean, we also have Sean’s chocolate Lab, Cocoa, in the house, plus a sweet black cat named Macedo. Luckily they all get along.

JLB:  Do you like the profession your author chose? Is there a career that would have been better?

RJ:  I love it. I’d wanted to be a chef from way back, and owning my own restaurant is even better. I’m good at carpentry, but that was my mom’s profession, not mine.

JLB: Are you hoping the series will continue?

RJ:  Gosh. Four Leaf Cleaver is book #11 in the series and my author said we’re going through at least #13. Hey, it’s my life. I want the series to go on forever!

JLB:  Were you satisfied with the ending  of your featured book?

RJ:  I was delighted to tie up the murder as well as something in my personal life. It’s all good.

JLB:  Who was your favorite supporting character?

RJ:  I’d have to say my seventy-something Aunt Adele. She’s a tough lady and a tender one, too. As my only relative on this continent, I feel so lucky to have her. She seems to feel the same way, although once in a while she gets in over her head in an investigation and takes it places I wish she wouldn’t. Still, as a sheep farmer she knows how to shoot and owns more than one weapon. She can take care of herself.
 
JLB:  Name three of your favorite things (whether mentioned in the book or not).

RJ:  

• I really like Four Roses bourbon.
• I love my hometown of Santa Barbara, the “California Riviera.” It’s sunny and beautiful and has both ocean and real mountains. Plus, I grew up there.
• My favorite things to do are hard crossword puzzles. Something in my brain clicks on and the words flow out. I even do them in pen.

 JLB:  Did your author put you in danger? Did he or she warn you first?

RJ:  Heck, she never warns me about anything. Yes, this book involved me being in danger, but I rescued myself. I don’t warn my author, either, and she’s the one following me around and writing down what I do. Sometimes she’s definitely surprised by what happens.
​
JLB: I think our time is up for today, Robbie. Thank you for coming. Before you go, please show us your featured book, the latest Country Store Mystery.

FOUR LEAF CLEAVER (A Country Story Mystery)
Genre: Cozy mystery

There’s no mistaking Saint Patrick’s Day at Pans ’N Pancakes, where  the shelves of vintage cookware in her southern Indiana store are draped with Kelly-green garlands and her restaurant is serving shepherd’s pie and Guinness Beer brownies. The big event, however, is a televised Irish cooking competition to be filmed on site.
Unfortunately, someone’s luck has run out. Before the cameras start rolling, tough-as-nails producer Tara O’Hara Moore is found upstairs in her B&B room, a heavy cleaver left by her side.
Now, not only does Robbie have a store full of festive decorations, she’s got a restaurant full of suspects . . .

Amazon Buy Link:
Four Leaf Cleaver

​
Note: Check out the excerpt with the Book Spotlight on my Ally Shield' blog:  allyshields.com/blog/book-spotlight-on-four-leaf-cleaver-by-maddie-day

About the Author:

Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the new Cece Barton Mysteries. As Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell, she writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-nominated short crime fiction. Day/Maxwell lives with her beau and cat Martin north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook.

Find her at EdithMaxwell.com, Wicked Authors, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, and on social media: BookBub,Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

​This  week we're welcoming historical mystery author A.D. Price to the blog for a guest article on writing mysteries in an ever-changing world and a peek at her debut mystery novel, AFTER THE BLUE, BLUE RAIN.

The blog is all yours AD!

​Before setting pen to page, or fingers to keyboard, mystery writers have likely settled on a few basics of their story: When the story takes place – contemporary or a particular historical period – and where it takes place. Once the choice between city and country, real place and imaginary, has been made, the writer starts to build the physical world of the mystery, its milieu. And for better or worse, within that physical world, technology is a key element.

Technology – defined vaguely as the ways by which people provide themselves with material objects – is a big part of everyday life but it's rarely the stuff of great art. For the mystery reader, descriptions of technology can be soporific. (I recently read a mystery in which the author felt compelled to explain, in detail, how to send and print an email attachment. Ooof!) And for the writer, deciding when and how to describe gadgets and gizmos can be challenging. Fiction is expected to be technologically accurate, but always presented in a "user friendly" way.

I chose to write a historical mystery in part because I wanted to avoid the burden of these Information Age details. I knew I'd never be comfortable describing how TikTok works or how Facetune came to be. Forget Crypto or NFTs. And most important, I worried that even if I could master these details, by the time my book came out, they'd already be dated.

Fast-moving research and development and the far reach of social media have, I think, altered the landscape of evergreen writing. Not that long ago, a piece of fiction could be evergreen for 50 years as long as the writer avoided specific dates and events. Except for science fiction writers, I suspect few authors back then gave much thought to changing technology, mainly because everyday technology changed very little. Telephones had receivers and cords, letters were delivered by postal workers, kids played with toys, money was kept in pockets and wallets, and books had spines.

Nowadays, however, the form and function of our basic tools change almost daily. Not long ago, home security systems with cameras and live video feed were gadgets of the rich. Today, they are ubiquitous in most of America. Come tomorrow, however, they're likely to be taken over by drones and robots. A writer wouldn't need to mention the year or a current event to lose the timelessness of their mystery. Just by including a certain common tool or a popular website, they could be dating their story to a particular year. 
 
Does it matter if a contemporary mystery is evergreen? It depends. Some successful authors, like Michael Connelly, embrace the temporal. They literally date their stories, trying to capture in real time society's goings-on. Most contemporary mysteries, however, exist in a vague present, only hinting at current events. The intention, I think, is to be evergreen, but technology sometimes undermines the effort. Even slightly outdated tech references can take the reader out of the story and make them wonder, when was this book written or, worse, how old is this writer?

 Writers of historical mysteries, of course, don't have that problem. Period technology has the advantage of being knowable and finite. A mystery can be built around its limitations, without worry that a more powerful, smarter device is waiting in the wings, ready to make the impossible, suddenly and uncomfortably possible.

Of course, working within the period’s limitations can also be a creative challenge for a writer. What happens when the hero can't pick up their cellphone and text their partner? Or shoot an urgent email request for INTERPOL documents? Or get a DNA profile from a licked stamp? Whether they’re writing about monks in medieval Rome or flappers in 1920s New York, historical mystery writers still have to get their characters from point A to point B, no matter how low-tech the machinery may be.

        On the other hand, when it comes to climatic suspense sequences, going low-tech is often easier for the writer and more effective for the reader than high-tech options. The more technologically deprived and vulnerable a character is, the harder they have to work to figure out the clues and perhaps save themselves. Dramatic tension builds naturally when hero and villain are reduced to their own wits and bodies for defense. The sophistication of the technology hardly matters. For all its bells and whistles, modern technology rarely, if ever, adds to the drama. 
  
In fact, in many contemporary mysteries, suspense-building depends on the characters being deprived of technology: A storm knocks out the electricity, and with it, the Internet; a chase leads to a remote area where cellphone coverage doesn't exist; the GPS tracking device, designed to reveal the bad guy's location, is discovered and removed. Even in spy tales where state-of-the-art technology allows for dazzling espionage, there often comes a point in the plot where the gadgets fail or the villain discovers the dead spots in the satellite feed.
​
The truth is, the power of mysteries usually comes down to the primitive and the instinctive, the will to survive and the innate skills to defeat the odds. In the end, raw brain power and raw brawn, not technology, always win the day.

About the Author:

A native of Washington, D. C., A. D. Price lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs. After the Blue, Blue Rain is her first novel, and if there's truth to the old saw about writing being a journey not a destination, then she’s been a happy wanderer for decades. ​Over the years, she’s worked as both a freelance and staff writer (under her real name, Amy Dunkleberger) penning everything from biographies and historical pieces to publicity material and study guides. She’s also the author of the Emmy-winning screenplay Other Mothers. She looks forward to finishing the next installment in her Comfort & Company detective series. Please visit her website to sign up for her newsletter “Price Writes Monthly.”

Website: http://adpricebooks.com
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AFTER THE BLUE, BLUE RAIN
Genre: historical mystery
 
L.A. 1946. The client is desperate, the target has disappeared into thin air. And what began as a routine missing person case is about to take a dangerous turn for P.I. Kit Comfort and partner Henry Richman, the LAPD's most infamous ex-cop. While on the hunt for a veteran who's gone missing from an L.A.-bound train, detectives Kit and Henry come face-to-face with an underground network of enemy sympathizers. The duo's discovery sets off alarms with the U.S. Army, and soon, the pair are in a race against the clock, battling both a deadly cabal and dodgy government agents. The wounds of war come full circle in this devastating conspiracy between "good and evil."
 
https://www.amazon.com/After-Blue-Rain-D-Price/dp/B0BDBB9GKX


Coming to Audible in March, the audiobook version of After the Blue, Blue Rain, narrated by Elizabeth Schmidt. Book Two in the Comfort & Company series, The Birthday of Eternity, arriving fall 2023.

Ballroom Blitz
Genre: romantic suspense/ cozy mystery
PG-13
 
In the glamorous world of ballroom, love and dancing do not always mix.

Professional dancer Anita Goodman has learned that lesson the hard way. With her studio and her reputation on the line, she has to take a chance on the last person she ever wanted to partner with: her best friend.

Patrick O’Leary has loved Anita since high school, but he has languished in the Friend Zone for long enough. He will take this last chance to prove to her that love is greater than winning.

Neither of them realize that conquering their rising attraction won’t be their biggest obstacle. Someone does not want them to be together, and will stop at nothing to get their way.

Love, dance, and danger. It’s a Ballroom Blitz.
 
Buy Links:
books2read.com/u/3yV6r6

About the Author:

Natalie Cross writes romances and cozy mysteries featuring main characters who accept each other as they are, and love deeply.
She lives in Los Angeles, where writing is an acceptable way to avoid sunburn. Natalie is mom to two lovely young munchkins who despise brushing their hair and eat way too much cake. She is unapologetically terrible at taking selfies.
 
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I love musical theater. I can sing/recall a sizeable portion of the Sondheim musical catalog, as well as most musicals released in the late 90s/early 2000s. My aunt and I once saw the original Scarlet Pimpernel musical three times in one weekend…”
 
Author Contact Links:
Website: www.nataliecrosswrites.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nataliecrosswrites
Instagram: www.instagram.com/nataliecrosswrites
Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/nataliecrosswrites