Month: February 2014

Book Brief: Moon Signs

Moon Signs
by Helen Haught Fanick
Genre of this Book: Cozy Mystery
Word count: 60,000

Retirement is a time for knitting, gardening, and an occasional quiet lunch with friends, according to Kathleen Williamson. Her sister Andrea has an altogether different point of view. When the sisters go to the Canaan Valley to search for paintings mentioned in a document found in an old hotel once owned by their grandparents—paintings that might be Monets—Andrea immediately becomes involved in tracking down a murderer. Kathleen would much rather be looking for the paintings, but she goes along with Andrea, since the victim was their hotel-keeper, murdered just down the hall from their room. The question is: Does the murder have something to do with the elusive paintings?

There are many clues and many suspects, including hotel staff, valley residents, and the mysterious foreigners who come from the Eastern Seaboard for skiing. There are also many types of danger—icy roads, sub-zero temperatures, and a killer who doesn’t care how many people die in the attempt to make sure the right ones do.

This book is available from Amazon and Amazon UK. Continue reading “Book Brief: Moon Signs”

Are Author Interviews Worthwhile?

Interview ShowWhen we first started Indies Unlimited, one of the regular features here was the author interview. Authors love to be interviewed. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of people love to read author interviews. We like to do stuff that moves the needle, so to speak. Once we realized the interview features were not getting a lot of views and did not seem to be moving books for authors, we discontinued the feature.

Not to say interviews don’t work at all or ever, but the return on investment is often quite small for both the interviewer and the subject of the interview. Continue reading “Are Author Interviews Worthwhile?”

Storytellers, All

theatre facesOver Christmas, my husband and I were indulging in one of our more recent traditions, which is watching the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s DVD The Ghosts of Christmas Eve. If you’re not familiar with TSO, they’re a bit of a brain-stretcher. Their music is essentially heavy metal, but they are backed by a full symphonic orchestra. They are not the kind of band I would normally gravitate toward, but their DVD production was an instant hit with both of us.

In any event, one of their guest singers was singing a song (not your traditional Christmas carol) and I was listening to the words and following the story of the song and began to think about how we—all of us humans—are storytellers. As a writer, of course, I can easily say I am a storyteller. My husband is an actor, and I’ve realized that he, too, is a storyteller, albeit in a different way. No one can deny the popularity of books, TV and film, and all of those things tell stories. Our music and songs do as well, as do pictures, jokes, anecdotes, even normal conversation. When you think about it, is there any medium we use to communicate that does not tell stories? Continue reading “Storytellers, All”

Featured Book: The Spark

The SparkThe Spark
by John Kenny
Book Genre: Action Adventure/Thriller
Available from Amazon.

Searching for the truth is the most dangerous thing firefighter Donny Robertson will ever do. Everyone believes the blaze that killed Donny’s Captain, was just a tragic accident. Everyone but Donny that is. And the people who will do anything to keep the truth hidden.

Excerpt:

He was thinking too much. He was trying to plan the whole fire and they hadn’t even arrived yet. He was scared. Scared was good, up to a point. Donny didn’t trust anyone who wasn’t a little scared going into a fire. That wasn’t courage, it was stupidity, and it would get you hurt or killed. Beyond sensible caution, however, fear was just as dangerous: it led to panic, and panic was deadly. They could see the flames boiling out of the second-story window as they turned onto Pembroke Street. A crowd of people stood gawking and pointing, and a man on the front lawn was screaming about a lady trapped on the third floor. Donny took a deep breath. Trust your instincts, he told himself.

What others say: 

“The Spark” by John Kenny combines all the elements of a good crime novel: intrigue, conflict, suspense, action, and a touch of romance… Highly recommended. – Richard Blake, Reader Views