And the winner is...

Six Pack of Murder winners are...


Jake
Mary Preston
Dana Wilkerson Spille





Dark Descent winners are...

Rosalee Richland
JQ Rose
Marja McGraw


Congratulations and I hope you enjoy.  If you don't hear from me soon, please get in contact with me.

MWW Tour Stops

In case you missed any stops along the tour, here they are in order. 

Day One  The Romance of Mystery
Day Two   Mysterious Writers
Day Three   Marilyn Musings
Day Four  Rionna Morgan's Chanting of Muses
Day Five  The ExPat Returneth
Day Six  Earl Stagg's Blog
Day Seven  Anne K. Albert's Blog
Day Eight   Feeling the Fiction
Day Nine  Evelyn Cullet's Blog
Day Ten  Rest Stop
Day Eleven   W. S. Gager on Writing
Day Twelve   Patricia Gligor's Writers Forum
Day Thirteen  M. M. Gormell's Blog
Day Fourteen  Madison Johns' Blog
Day Fifteen   Modern Confessional

Mystery We Write Blog Tour - Parking The Bus

"I'm so glad we had this time together, Just to have a laugh, or sing a song. Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say, "So long". *

That's right, it's time to park the tour bus until next our next trip. I want to thank all those who shared their work on the blog. Wow, talk about some great reading. My TBR pile really grew these past weeks. I can hardly wait to dive in. 

I also want to thank each reader who stopped by. You are the reason we do what we do, well at least one reason. I  know many more stopped by than left a comment and I'm so glad you stopped by. For those of you who left comments...thanks so much.

Each author will be announcing their winners on their blog in the next few days and I'll be announcing my winners on the 12th. 

* Special prize for the first person to leave the origin of the opening paragraph in the comments.*

I'll be doing more excerpts, author interviews and miscellaneous mischief in the coming days and new year so stay tuned. 

Mystery We Write Blog Tour - Earl Staggs

Mystery author Earl Staggs recently received his second Derringer Award for Best Short Story of the Year. His novel MEMORY OF A MURDER earned a long list of Five Star reviews. SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS, a collection of 16 Mystery tales, is available in print and ebook. He served as Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Magazine and as President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. He’s a contributing blog member of Murderous Musings and Make Mine Mystery and a frequent speaker at conferences.

Thank you, Jean, for hosting this stop on the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. While the tour bus is being cleaned and fueled, I thought I’d offer up an excerpt from my new novel called TALL CHAMBERS: JUSTIFIED ACTION. Tall Chambers is an operative with a secretive agency which tracks terrorists worldwide.  If the agency determines a terrorist group is an imminent threat to innocent lives, the agency puts them out of business by whatever means necessary.

In this scene, Tall has captured the worst of the lot - Anatole Remski, an Iranian with a Russian father – and has him in an interrogation room at an Army base near Kabul, Afghanistan.

There are at least two sides to everything, even if one is completely wrong.  In this scene, I wanted to let Remski give his side of the story and reveal why he is devoted to killing American soldiers.

* * * * *

Remski’s appearance up close surprised Tall. He’d seen a five-year-old picture of him taken when he was a high school teacher.  At that time, with his smooth features and short, combed blond hair, he looked more like a mild-mannered accountant than a ruthless terrorist. The man he’d captured looked twenty years older. His hair was darker, longer, and hung like strings. His face looked drawn and weathered like a man who’d been through hell.

Tall smiled when he entered the room and sat across the table from him. “My name is Chambers, Mr. Remski. I have some questions for you. If you give me the answers I need, I’ll see that they go easier on you in court.”

Remski grinned, but didn’t speak. He held the grin and his eyes narrowed. He seemed to be studying Tall, sizing him up. “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Chambers,” he said in a soft voice with a distinct Arab accent, “but I’ll do fine without your assistance. I advise you not to waste your time or mine.”

“I’m not wasting my time. I need the names of your associates. You’re responsible for bombings which killed many American soldiers. The authorities will make you pay for that. If you cooperate, I’ll do what I can to help you.”

Remski’s grin faded, and he turned his head away. He sighed, almost as if bored. “All they have is hearsay with regard to my participation in those events, Mr. Chambers. As to actual proof, they have nothing. Besides, the killing of American soldiers in this country is not considered a crime by many people here. Weigh that against the many thousands you have slaughtered, and it amounts to very little.”

“You’re wrong,” Tall said. “Regardless of how you feel about our presence here, those who judge you will be bound by international law to sentence you in accordance with the crimes you’ve committed. As for the casualties we’re responsible for, no one regrets them more than I do, but they’re the unfortunate consequence of war. That’s very different from what you do.”

Remski turned back to him “Is it, Mr. Chambers? Why is it different?” His voice was strong and harsh now. His blue eyes had taken on a hardness that wasn’t there before. “Is it because you shout words like freedom and democracy while you murder innocent people? You Americans think you have a right to invade other countries and force them to change. Where is it written that your way is the way for all people? How do you rationalize killing innocent people to force other countries to do everything the American way?”

“That’s not what we do. Our goal is to help people gain their freedom and govern themselves.”

Remski smirked. “You think you’re qualified to tell others how to govern a country? Your country is bankrupt financially and morally, Mr. Chambers. Take your soldiers home. Take care of your own problems and let us take care of ours. Stop waving your red, white and blue flag while you slaughter our citizens in the name of freedom.”

“We don’t slaughter people. We’re only here to help.”

With fierce anger burning in his eyes, Remski shouted, “Do this for me, Mr. Chambers. Go to my village in Abuzak. Stand over the graves of my parents, my wife and my son. Tell them how you marched into their village to help them by lining them up and shooting them. Tell them they were killed for their freedom.”

Tall was caught off guard. He knew of the massacre at Abuzak. A squad of American soldiers marched into the small village looking for subversives and killed every man, woman and child they found. “I’m sorry about what happened to your family. That was a terrible tragedy and never should have happened. The soldiers who went into that village were wrong. They were tried and punished for what they did.”

Remski leaned over the table. He lowered his voice, but not his vehement anger. “Tried and punished? The soldiers who slaughtered my family, my entire village, were discharged and sent home to their own families. Their leader was sentenced to ten years in prison and was released after three years. Do you consider that adequate punishment for what they did?”

“No, in all honesty, I do not. Is that why you kill Americans? Because a small group of them went out of control and committed a horrible act? Nothing can compensate you for your loss, but what you’re doing is just as wrong. Seventeen of your associates were killed tonight. Give me the names of the others in your group. They don’t have to die.”

Remski hung his head and wagged it. When he spoke, he seemed more in control of himself. “No, Mr. Chambers, I will give you no names. The people you murdered tonight are in the arms of Allah and will be rewarded for their sacrifice. Those who remain will continue our war against you as long as you invade our country and slaughter our families. If they give their lives, they, too, will be rewarded. You cannot stop them from doing what they were born to do.” He looked squarely into Tall’s eyes with more hatred and defiance than Tall had ever seen. “And you can’t stop me.”

“Look around,” Tall said. “We have stopped you.”

Remski leaned back in his chair and sneered. “We’ll see about that, Mr. Chambers.”

Ben Goldman opened the door and stuck his head in. “They’re here for him.”

Tall stood and watched two burly policemen place Remski in chains and lead him from the room.

As he passed by Tall, he stopped. “We’ll meet again someday, Mr. Chambers, and when that day comes, I assure you, you will die.”

            “We’ll see about that, Mr. Remski.”

* * * * *

And that’s how Remski justifies what he does, the other side of the coin, so to speak. I’d love to know if anyone who reads this has ever used this technique in a book.

Shortly after the above scene, Remski escapes to continue his crusade against Americans. Everything changes for Tall when someone dear to him is killed, and he takes on a crusade of his own to find who was responsible and set things right.

TALL CHAMBERS – JUSTIFIED ACTION will soon be available in print and ebook form. Watch for announcements on my website: http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com

Thanks also for everyone who came by. You’re invited to visit my website now where you can:

. . .read Chapter One of my Mystery novel, MEMORY OF A MURDER.

. . .read a short story called “The Day I Almost Became a Great Writer.” Some say it’s the funniest story I’ve ever written.

. . .read “White Hats and Happy Trails,” a story about the day I spent with my boyhood idol, Roy Rogers.  There’s even a picture of my wife and me with Roy to prove it’s all true.

. . .check out SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS, a collection of 16 of my published tales of mystery, ranging from hardboiled to humorous. Available in Print and ebook form.

But don’t go yet. Please leave a comment while you’re here and you may win a free book.

At the end of the tour, I’ll draw two names from those who left comments.  The first name drawn will receive a signed print copy of MEMORY OF A MURDER, a mystery novel with a long list of Five Star Reviews.  The second name drawn will receive their choice of a signed print copy or an ebook of SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS, a collection of 16 tales of mystery from hardboiled to humorous.

Now you can go on to the next stop on the tour with my appreciation for stopping by.

And thank you again, Jean, for your hospitality.

Earl Staggs

Email: earlstaggs@sbcglobal.net

Website: http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com

 

Mystery We Write Blog Tour - Anne K. Albert

My guest today is Anne K. Albert. Anne’s award winning mystery and romantic suspense stories chill the spine, warm the heart and soothe the soul…all with a delightful touch of humor. When not at the keyboard she loves to travel, walk on a beach, visit friends and family, and of course, read using ‘Threegio’ her beloved and much cherished Kindle 3G. She can be found online at Facebook, Twitter, Google+,  LinkedIn, Goodreads, Pinterest,  Amazon and her blog. 

The story of Frank, Incense and Muriel takes place the week before Christmas when the stress of the holidays is enough to frazzle anyone’s nerves. Tensions increase when a friend begs Muriel to team up with a sexy private investigator to find a missing woman. Forced to deal with an embezzler, kidnapper, and femme fatale is bad enough, but add Muriel’s zany yet loveable family to the mix and their desire to win the coveted D-DAY (Death Defying Act of the Year) Award, and the situation can only get worse.

Here's an excerpt:

My cell phone blared from the confines of my purse. I dug to retrieve it, and then picked up. “Hello?”

“Muriel,” Aunt Val said. “Come home. Quick. I think I accidentally killed someone." 

“What do you mean ‘accidentally’?” Frankie accelerated, steering the Envoy into the outside lane of highway 290 and zooming past everything in sight. Including a police cruiser.

“How should I know?” I said. “Val hung up before I could ask for specifics.”

“She’s at your house?”

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

I checked the rearview mirror for flashing lights. “Slow down. You’ll get a ticket." 

“You’re more worried about a traffic violation than the fact you’re aunt just killed somebody?”

“She thinks she killed someone. Big difference. 

“Right.”

Ten minutes later, we arrived in my driveway. The Christmas lights I’d put up that morning stretched the full length of the front of the house and twinkled on the snow-covered shrubbery with wild abandon. I might have been impressed with my handiwork if not for Val and Big Boy standing guard beside the garage. In the shadows, I saw a body at their feet.

I climbed out of the Envoy and dashed to their assistance. Problem was I had no idea what to do. Dead bodies were new to me. As were missing persons, kidnappers and ransom demands. But I was learning. Fast.

“Are you okay?” I asked, as Frankie joined me.

“I’m fine.” Reigning Big Boy in by his collar, Val toed the body that lay face down in the snow. 

“Don’t know about him, though.”

“What happened?”

“I took Big Boy out for his evening constitutional. Got as far as your driveway, noticed you’d put up some lights and stopped to admire them. Then, I spotted someone crouching by the side of the garage. I figured he was a burglar, so I let Big Boy loose and, well, one thing led to another.”

“Such as?” Frankie knelt down to examine the body.

“Big Boy lunged at him. I thought he’d tear the guy to pieces. Turns out all he wanted to do was sniff his crotch. You know how dogs are.”

Yeah. We knew.

“Anyway, this guy wasn’t all that obliging. He tried to push Big Boy away. Big Boy pushed back. Then the guy fell backwards into that drift and I think he hit his head on Muriel’s gnome. See?” She pointed to a mound of snow. “It’s right there. You can see the top of its head. It’s the ugliest gnome I’ve ever seen.”

Frankie looked up at me. “You’ve got a gnome?”

“Gargoyle. And it’s supposed to be ugly. To ward off evil spirits.”

“Doesn’t ward off thieves or burglars,” Val pointed out.

Frankie placed his middle finger on the man’s throat. “He’s alive.”
***

Thanks for featuring me today, Jean. I’d like to encourage readers to enter my giveaway contest. Up for grabs is an e-copy of FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL. Leave a comment and you're automatically entered. The winner will be selected at random and announced on my blog on December 12, 2012. Good luck!

Catch Up Day

Today the tour bus is at the rest station so take the time to catch up on all the great novel excerpts that's been posted this week.

See you back on the tour bus tomorrow morning!

Mystery We Write Blog Tour - W.S. Gager

Award winning mystery author W.S. Gager has lived in Michigan for most of her life except when she was interviewing race car drivers or professional woman's golfers. She enjoyed the fast-paced life of a newspaper reporter until deciding to settle down and realized babies didn't adapt well to running down story details on deadline. Since then she honed her skills on other forms of writing before deciding to do what she always wanted with her life and that was to write mystery novels. Her main character is Mitch Malone who is an edgy crime-beat reporter always on the hunt for the next Pulitzer and won't let anyone stop him. Her third book, A CASE OF HOMETOWN BLUES, was a finalist in the 2012 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. A CASE OF VOLATILE DEEDS, her fourth in the Mitch series will be out this February.

A Case of Volatile Deeds

Chapter 1

The police scanner next to my computer screen squawked tones that dispatched the Grand River Fire Department. Late Friday afternoon wasn’t the usual time for me to be at my desk but I was trying to write some sappy features for the weekend edition. I wanted the evening off for a hot date. In the newspaper business these days, the mantra is do more with less. While feature writing didn’t galvanize my creativity, I could string some adjectives together that wasn’t half bad, if I do say so myself. The newspaper business was changing and I needed to appear to toe the line and be more versatile in the tough economic times or I would be next good reporter collecting unemployment like several of my former colleagues.

When the tones continued calling a second station and then a third, I reached for my jacket. Fluffy features were fine but I was a crime beat reporter and fires were big news. My adrenaline kicked in as I snagged the long-thin notebook and shoved a pen in its spine across the top. The tools of my trade slipped into the back pocket of my jeans. I paused and waited for the dispatcher to announce more information to tell me where this monster fire was, if it needed three stations. Instead another set of tones sounded. The honking sounds didn’t finish until five stations had been called--a record in my years at the Grand River Journal.

My nerves tingled and I felt in my pocket for other essentials. Cell phone, check. Camera, got it. I grabbed another empty notebook and put it inside my leather jacket.

“Explosion. Fifth and Division. Unknown casualties.” The nasal sound clipped out its sharp message telling me this was no ordinary dispatch but was akin to a nuclear disaster.

“Shit.” The excitement of a major story momentarily made me forget the reason I was stuck in the office on a Friday afternoon struggling to find the right flowery language. My date.

“Is the building stable, is it safe?” Agitation clear in the voice that responded to the missive.

“Unknown.” The dispatcher’s voice stressed.

The noise sent shivers up my spine as I realized my ear was next to the speaker.  I couldn’t delay. Shades of the World Trade Towers video flashed through my mind. In Grand River? The second largest city in Michigan?  I sprinted to the bank of windows to join a weekend reporter, copy editor and night editor. Most other reporters had hit the road for their weekend off. A huge plume of smoke filled the sky.

My dinner date forgotten. I had to move. The story of the century was unfolding if this was terrorism in Grand River. Even if it was accidental, this was a national news story and needed to carry the Mitch Malone byline.

I snapped a quick photo out the window. I would love to give the photo department a heads up but knew the story was evolving without me and I didn’t have time. The editors would send someone when they quit gawking. The location was about twelve blocks due south and a vehicle wouldn’t do me any good.

“Malone, we need to coordinate coverage.” I heard the editor yell but I never slowed down. I didn’t work with anyone.

I flew down the escalator barely hitting the moving steps and out onto the sidewalk in front of the two-story building that commanded respect on one of the busiest corners in the city. I jogged the twelve blocks, arriving out of breath cursing my diet of doughnuts but getting a good handle on the chaos from the visage on the way in. Glass littered the street below the building as people rushed from the scene fleeing in terror. After 9-11, no one trusted a building to stay standing anymore. Fire trucks established a ring around the building at the end of each block. The fire fighters had learned too. I looked up. Smoke and small pieces of debris still rained down but the dense cloud from New York’s disaster wasn’t apparent. Then again it took several minutes for those buildings to come down.

Police officers and firefighters helped people exit but not a single emergency professional looked in a rush to tackle the building. Each wondered if it would be the last they would enter. I felt no such hesitation. While the professionals plotted their attack, assisted people leaving, and probed the building for stability, no one paid attention to me. All efforts focused on evacuation, not a reporter sneaking in. I thought about my own mortality. Only my date would miss my presence.

W.S. Gager will be giving away a single copy of each of the first three books in the Mitch Malone Mystery series: A CASE OF INFATUATION, A CASE OF ACCIDENTAL INTERSECTION, and A CASE OF HOMETOWN BLUES from comments made on her blog: http://wsgager.blogspot.com or on her guest blogs from the Murder We Write Mystery Tour.

A CASE OF VOLATILE DEEDS Book Blurb: (Coming out in February)

Mitch finally scores a weekend dinner with a cute receptionist, but true to his reporter instincts an explosion in a high rise office building makes him stand up his date as he runs for an exclusive.  When he investigates, he learns his date is the only casualty in a botched robbery at a real estate office. When femme fatale Patrenka Petersen returns, Mitch learns that much of what he knows about his date and her work aren’t what they seem. His world continues to twist when the police captain asks for his help and a city hall informant is found floating in the river. Mitch must keep his head down or a cute dog with a knack for finding dead bodies will be sniffing out his corpse. 

Book Blurb:

“A Case of Hometown Blues” Synopsis

When Pulitzer-winning reporter Mitch Malone's editor presses him for a favor, Malone breaks his vow to never return to his hometown. It seemed simple enough--lead a seminar for Flatville, MI's newspaper, keep a low profile and get back to the city post haste. But memories of his parents' death swarm him, and, to avoid solitude, he stops for a beer. In the crowded bar, Mitch is dismayed to see many of his former classmates--including the still-lovely Homecoming Queen, Trudy. Once the object of his teenage crush, Trudy joins Mitch. He quickly realizes she is upset and inebriated. Always the gentleman, Mitch sees her safely home, and returns to his B&B, still trying to shake memories of his parents' sad demise. The next day, he is stunned to learn Trudy was murdered and he is the prime suspect. The locals treat the murder charge as a slam dunk, and Mitch realizes he must track down the real killer to keep his butt out of jail. As he investigates, facts he thought he knew about his family unravel, and danger ratchets up. Can Mitch discover the truth that will allow his parents to rest in peace, or will he be resting with them? 

W.S. Gager
Author of Humorous Whodunits
A Case of Infatuation, A Case of Accidental Intersection, A Case of Hometown Blues-Now Available
A Case of Volatile Deeds - Coming Fall 2012
http://wsgager.blogspot.com/

A Case of Hometown Blues buy link: 

A Case of Infatuation buy link:
A Case of Accidental Intersection:buy link

Website: http://wsgager.com

Blog: http://wsgager.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wsgager
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wsgager

Mystery We Writer Blog Tour - Patricia Gligor

Today's guest is Patricia Gligor!  

Patricia is a Cincinnati native. She enjoys reading mystery/suspense novels, touring and photographing old houses and traveling, especially to the ocean. Mixed Messages, the first novel in her Malone Mystery Series, was published in April 2012 by Post Mortem Press. Unfinished Business is the second novel in the series.

Prologue from Unfinished Business

I pace the floor, my mind going a mile a minute, while the rest of the world sleeps. There is no rest for me because I am not like the others. I have a responsibility. So much to do. So little time. It is all up to me.

I light a candle and the flames make dancing shadows on the walls, in sync with Mozart’s Requiem. Pure, beautiful music: the way life should be. Not like the mindless trash I hear thumping from car stereos these days, screaming words of profanity. Quality has virtually disappeared and in its place? Quantity.

People want more and they want it now. They insist on instant gratification. Fast food. Faster everything. They drive their cars like lunatics, virtually riding the bumper of the car in front of them, urging the driver to go faster or get out of their way. They risk other people’s lives so they can get home two minutes earlier. And for what? To sit in front of the television set staring mindlessly at nothing, nothing of any value. It is sinful!

The world is a terrible place. God should be first! No one puts God first anymore. If they would turn their lives over to Him, they would be saved. But some refuse to be saved. Instead,

they go about their pathetic lives, thinking only of themselves. What do I want and what do I have to do to get it? They use sex to manipulate others. Women haunt bars and flaunt their scantily clad bodies to get what they want. They have no family values, no morals. Adultery, abortion: atrocities against God.

Some people don’t deserve to live. They do not even care that their immoral acts, their lack of common decency, their selfishness, harms everyone around them. That has to stop. I have to stop it. It is all up to me. God has spoken to me. He has chosen me to carry out His work and He has shown me The Way. I know what needs to be done and, to honor Him, I will do His will. People have to pay for their sins. I will make them pay.

Actually, the deed itself is almost always so easy. People are creatures of habit. They leave their doors unlocked when they walk out to get the morning paper or take out the garbage, never thinking that someone might be watching them, waiting for an opportunity. They assume that “it” will never happen to them. But, for some, it will. I will see to it.

I must be the strong one. In the time I have left here, I must do my part to save at least this little corner of the world. And I must be careful. I must plan everything in advance, down to the smallest detail. Timing is of the utmost importance. I must be patient. It all comes down to control: self-control. I must suppress the rage inside me.

I need to play my role perfectly. I must continue to do all the things that are expected of me. Never show anyone the way I feel. I must say all the right words. Do all the right things. It is all up to me. No one must suspect me. No one must ever know. I cannot afford to make any mistakes. That would ruin everything. They would never understand and they would try to stop me. Then, there would be no one to carry out God’s work. It is sad enough that, when I’m gone, there will be no one left to rid this neighborhood of the human garbage.

I blow out the candle, extinguishing its life and pray for a few hours of sleep before dawn. I

will not have to wait much longer. I can feel it.

It is almost time again.

 *

Here's a link to Patricia's Blog and Amazon Page.

Giveaway:

At the end of the blog tour, I will be giving away one copy of Unfinished Business, the second novel in my Malone mystery series. Leave a comment and you’re automatically entered to win. Please include your email address with your comment so that, if your name is selected, I may contact you to get your mailing address. The winner will be announced on my blog: http://pat-writersforum.blogspot.com/ on December 11. Best of luck!