Some fun historic trivia:

The butlers pantry in the white house originated during President Andrew Jackson’s time as a locked “vault” to protect the new collection of expensive silver. The new chef did not sleep in the pantry as previous ones did.

SKELETON’S KEY Delta Crossroads #2
10.28.13

“Dani?” Cage materialized out of nowhere. He thundered up the steps and then knelt in front of her. He wrapped one big hand around her forearm and gently tilted her chin up with the other. She rested her head against his shoulder.

“What happened? Is it the heat again? I’ll get you some water.”

“No.” Dani choked. “It’s…I can’t go back in there right now.”

He searched her face, his own twisted into an expression of confusion and concern. The wrinkles across his forehead smoothed out, and his eyes widened. “The butler’s pantry. You opened it.”

Dani nodded.

“Does Gina think that’s that where he killed them?” Cage spoke softly, reminding her of the way she’d heard mothers deal with small children.

Tin God’s release date is April 8th, and I’m excited to give you the exclusive cover reveal by Night Owl Reviews.

The inspiration for Tin God’s cover

Tin God is set in the fictional town of Roselea, Mississippi, modeled after Natchez. It’s loaded with historic antebellum homes, and the first big event in the book takes place inside the town’s showpiece, Evaline Hall.

My first real introduction to the Old South and Civil War history came in 1985. I was eight years old, and ABC aired a miniseries called North and South. I fell in love with everything the show represented, including Mont Royal Plantation.

Boone Hall outside of Charleston, South Carolina was used for the Mont Royal exterior shots, and when I created Evaline, that house was all I could see. Click here to see Boone Hall.

Now, I couldn’t use stock photography unless I wanted to deal with copyright issues, and I wanted the cover for TIN GOD to be all original. So I contracted artist Kimberlee Ketterman Edgar to paint what would be come the wraparound for the book.

In my head, I saw a blazing sunset representing the Mississippi heat, with Evaline standing proud on the hill and flanked by live oaks. But we needed to add the suspense, so I suggested Kimberlee highlight the bloody planter found by the main character, Jaymee, in the books first few pages. And then there was the religious aspect of the book, as well as the heartbreaking journey Jaymee goes on as a mother in search of her child.

The result was a gorgeous painting of the vision I had for TIN GOD. The cover represents every key element in the novel, and I could not be more grateful to Kimberlee for sharing her amazing talent with me.

So do you want to see the cover? Head on over to Night Owl Reviews!

To read the first two chapters of TIN GOD for free and be notified of early bird pricing, sign up for my mailing list. You will only be notified when I have exclusive offers.

]]> https://stacygreenauthor.com/archives/2399/feed 24 2399 https://stacygreenauthor.com/archives/2390 https://stacygreenauthor.com/archives/2390#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:30:22 +0000 https://stacygreenauthor.com/?p=2390 Read the rest →]]> Today’s Thriller Thursday is about history-one of my favorite topics. March is a month full of interesting criminal history, and here are a few of the events that stand out to me.

On a side note, today is Einstein’s birthday. Happy 134th!

This Month in Criminal History

March 1, 1932: Charles Lindbergh’s son is kidnapped from his home in Hopewell, New Jersey. A $50,000 ransom is paid, but the boy’s body is found on May 12. Cause of death is believed to be an accidental fall as his kidnapper, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, carried him down a ladder at the Lindbergh’s private estate. It’s likely the child died instantly.

March 1, 1974: Watergate scandal is revealed. Nixon’s former chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, aide John Erlichman, and former attorney general John Mitchell are indicted with four other high ranking officials.

March 3, 1913: 5,000 women participating in a suffrage march in Washington D.C. were attacked by onlookers while police stood by. Many were spat on and struck, and soldiers were called in to restore order. Remember what our predecessors fought for, ladies.

March 5, 1770: The Boston Massacre. A group of Americans harassed the British soldiers who then opened fire. Five men were killed. British Captain Thomas Preston and eight of his men were charged with murder. The Captain and six of his men were acquitted, while two were found guilty of manslaughter, branded, and then released.

March 6, 1836: Remember the Alamo. Fort Alamo fell to General Santa Anna. Beginning on February 23th, Santa Anna and his soldiers attacked. The Texans and their reinforcements held the fort until March 6. Davy Crockett is believed to have been killed in the battle, with some stating he was surrounded by no less than 16 dead Mexican officers, but others say he surrendered.

March 13, 1943: A plot by German Army officers to kill Hitler failed.

March 15, 44 B.C.: Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and other conspirators.

March 16, 1968: In what’s known as the My Lai Massacre, American soldiers of Charlie Company murdered 504 Vietnamese men, women, and children. They were charged but later pardoned by President Richard Nixon.

March 20, 1995: A Japanese religious cult unleashes a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system during rush hour. 12 were killed and 5,000 injured. Members of the cult were eventually arrested.

March 30, 1981: President Reagan is shot in the chest in Washington, D.C. After surgery to remove the .22 caliber bullet from his lung, Reagan joked, “I should have ducked.” Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady, was shot in the forehead but survived. He is permanently disabled and a supporter of gun control.

SOURCE

Did you know some of these events occurred in March? What is your favorite time in history?

Read the first TWO chapters of TIN GOD (April 2013) for free!

A mystery set in the heart of the deep South, TIN GOD is getting amazing early reviews.

The book’s official release is April 8th, and I’m doing something special for mailing list subscribers: sign up to read the first two chapters for free. Subscribers will also be exclusively notified with the book’s early release and special 24 hour discounted price.

Sign up to read the first two chapters HERE!

If you’d like to know what the early reviewers are saying, check out TIN GOD on Goodreads (cover reveal is March 28th.)

This Thing Called Writing

A couple of weeks ago the 3^rd book of the Alvarez Murder Mystery Series, Death Runs in the Family, hit the eWaves. I’m beyond relieved. Not just because it’s out there, but because I don’t have to rewrite it again and again.

I mean, you start a novel. You’re excited, filled with energy, hope, and love of the craft. You can’t wait to start the process, do the research, meet the characters, and create a spiffy plot, all that good stuff. If you’re a mystery writer like me, you pretty much know what the ending is going to be, but the ‘how’ of getting there! It’s elixir for the soul.

In the beginning, you’re open to all sorts of possibilities that spur you on during the countless, never-ending months. Writing a novel–at least at the start of it–is a wonderful adventure. Just you, your ideas, a computer, and buckets of strong coffee.

But at the end of this wretched, back-breaking process you want to run screaming into the night. There are eighty-four thousand words of what I suspect is pure, unadulterated drivel. This drivel is dripping with my blood and sweat–virtual, of course–but very real and bad clichés. True, that suspicion comes only in my more insecure moments. Much of the time, I believe it to be my best work. Healthy ego, don’tcha know.

Nonetheless, it’s been the same words and chapters over and over again, months on end. Reading, rereading, working, reworking, adding scenes, taking out scenes, and visiting my chiropractor when I could pry my creaking body out of the chair. Then it goes to the Editors.

Enough already. I’m sick of this book. I’m sick of finding out I’ve used the same stupid phrase or adjective multiple times in one chapter, which means I have to haul out the thesaurus to find something else that means the same thing. I’m sick of reading a sentence with the sinking feeling it needs to be clarified if anybody else besides me is going to get it. I’m sick of dashing over to a site called Popular Baby Names because I discovered, rather late in the game, too many of the characters’ names began with the letter ‘N.’

And what’s with one of the characters taking off for Ipanema like that in the middle of my story, anyway? I don’t know anything about Ipanema. This poor slob of a writer had to do all kinds of fast research on the fancy schmancy, Brazilian vacation spot. I had to study dozens of photographs, maps, articles, learn the monetary exchange, how they say hello, goodbye, etc. in Portuguese, which is a foreign language, fer cryin’ out loud! Honestly, characters have a way of getting a life of their own when you least expect it and then dictating to you what they are going to do. It sucks.

But I am currently free of Death Runs in the Family until I start the process all over again. I have this great idea for the 4^th book of the Alvarez Family Mystery Series and I can’t wait to start it!  Then it’s more of the above, because as every writer knows, writing is rewriting. It’s not so much talent as sheer stamina.

Heather Haven is the acclaimed award winning writer of The Alvarez Family Murder Mystery Series, Murder is a Family Business; A Wedding to Die For; and the newest release Death Runs in the Family.

EXCERPT from Death Runs in the Family

Chapter Seven

I Don’t Know Who’s the Bigger Idiot

Without much conversation, we jostled Nick out of the room and down the stairs. As a precaution, we used the back exit, Flint flinging boxes of DVDs every which way so fast, the clerk only managed one “hey” before we were out the door. The exit led to a narrow back alley filled with garbage, trash, and more small scurrying animals that should be calling the SPCA to complain about the conditions under which they’re forced to live.

While Flint went to bring the car to the side of the alley, I waited in the shadows next to Nick and pulled out the Glock. The irony of the situation hit me like a double charge on a credit card bill for shoes not only too tight to wear but last year’s style.

On the left, a disgusting dumpster; on the right, an even more disgusting ex-husband. And me stuck in the middle as usual—a reluctant PI if ever there was one.

Rather than inhaling the stench of fly-ridden garbage, I’d really rather be sniffing out dastardly doings of computer sabotage or thievery, in particular, long after said dastardly deeds have gone down. It’s my idea of a good job, especially when I get to zip off whenever I want and have a great lunch.

The part I like best—besides the food—is sitting at a highly polished, recently vacated mahogany desk in an air-conditioned office, sifting through the rubble of high-tech deceit and betrayal. I like gathering enough evidence to point a manicured fingernail at the culprit and shout j‘accuse! Backlit by enough briefs, memos, emails, and other telltale papers, the culprit is mine. That is a real high.

This was a real low. But I had to think about Stephen. My cousin was dead, and Nick knew something about it. Hell, maybe he even had something to do with it. And, of course, there were the cats. If Nick was in any way responsible, I might do him in myself and save whatever goons there may be the trouble.

All these things were flitting through my mind when Nick—the stupid idiot—made a lunge for my gun, muttering he could take better care of himself than I could. Sometimes an ex-marine, like an ex-husband, needs to get over himself.

One of the first lessons you learn as a PI is to not to carry a gun if you’re going to let anybody take it away from you. All the years I’ve been carrying, ten to be exact, people have taken all sorts of things from me—including my virtue—but never my gun.

So when Nick came at me, my knee went up fast, strong, and accurate. Ex dropped to the ground in a fetal position. God only knows what else was lying there with him, but I left him on the dirt, anyway. He was busy moaning while I cocked the Glock and gave a 360-degree spin, prepared to do whatever was necessary to keep the jerk safe. At least, for the moment.

Fortunately, no one showed up except a passing rat or two, excluding the one I stood over. After what felt like a lifetime, I saw Flint’s headlights, although I’m sure it didn’t take him more than three minutes to get there. I helped Nick up. He limped to the car, and Flint, bless him, raised an eyebrow over Nick’s condition but didn’t say a word. What a guy.

Death Runs In The Family

Lee Alvarez’ ex-husband, Nick — a man she divorced with joy in her heart and a gun in her hand – sprints back in her life only to disappear again. She’d love to leave it at that, but could he be responsible for the recent death of her cousin, who keeled over at the finish line of a half-marathon in front of hundreds of spectators? As PI for the family run business, Discretionary Inquiries, Lee follows the clues to Vegas, where she joins forces with Shoshone PI, Flint Tall Trees.  Together they uncover a multi-million dollar betting syndicate, a tacky lounge lizard act, and a list of past but very dead runners, plus future ones to off. At the top of the ‘future’ list is the love of her life, Gurn Hanson. Hoping to force the culprits out in the open, Gurn and Lee’s brother, Richard, vow to run San Francisco’s famous Palace to Palace footrace in only a few days. Can Lee keep the two men she loves from hitting the finish line as dead as her cousin? With more at stake than she ever dreamed possible, Lee is in a battle against time to stop the Alvarez Family’s 12K race with death.

Positive reviews for Heather’s books:

‘A fresh voice in a crowed genre. We will be hearing more from this talented newcomer.’

‘The writing was clever and I couldn’t stop laughing. This is the perfect beach book.’

‘Wonderful! Charming! Fun.’

‘This is an exceptionally fun read for those who love strong female characters, a bit of mystery, and a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor.’

Death Runs in the Family book trailer 

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