Why Readers Love Books in a series ~ Win a copy of Hiding in Plain Sight

If you’re a voracious reader you’ve probably noticed books are either written to stand-alone or to be part of a series. Series have grown more popular over the years and are preferred by authors and readers alike. There are several reasons why mysteries and suspense are usually part of a series. Readers develop a fondness for favorite characters and don’t want to leave them behind after a single book. Authors love the fact they can jump right into the story without starting from scratch creating memorable people out of strangers. Sometimes readers fall in love with a particular town or setting. Who could forget Jessica Fletcher as she solved crimes in Cabot Cove, ME or Debbie Macomber’s charming Cedar Cove, Washington? Many of us started out with either The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew as children and then graduated to R. L. Stine mysteries. I’ve since enjoyed Agatha’s Christie’s famous private investigator, Hercule Poirot, as he brought criminals to justice in exotic locations around the world. Lately I picked up the first of a seventeen-book series by Louise Penny in which Chief Inspector Armand Gamache solves crimes in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, outside of Montreal. I only discovered Louise Penny in the last few years, so it was fun to see how she began her series with Still Life.

Here’s a little bit about the story, Still Life. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

Look for Still Life at your local library or you can buy it from Amazon HERE

You don’t have to look far to find great series from my fellow suspense sisters. Each of them has a new series available now. In my own four-book series, Secrets of the South Mysteries, investigators in the Price Agency track down criminals—while falling in love—in charming southern cities.

All four of the Secrets of the South Mysteries: Midnight on the Mississippi, What Happened on Beale Street, Magnolia Moonlight and Sunset in Old Savannah are available in e-book at Christianbook for $9.99 HERE




Leave me a comment, readers, as to your favorite series over the years for a chance to win Hiding in Plain Sight, first in Marked for Retribution mysteries. You must leave an email address and US readers only.

Happy Reading! ~ Mary Ellis 

What I Won't Do for Research ~ Win a copy of Island of Last Resorts by Mary Ellis

Happy Wednesday, readers!  I got a big surprise last week....my next installment of Marked for Redemption Mysteries, Island of Last Resorts, (which I thought was coming in late October) released in early September. Island of Last Resorts is set on the fictional island of Elysian, but is loosely based on two real-life islands, namely Sapelo and Cumberland. Both of those islands are partially privately-owned and partially publicly-owned by the US Park Service. Don't you think a remote island off the coast of Georgia would make a great setting for a murder mystery? I thought so too. Many of my characters from Secrets of the South Mysteries return for a company retreat that could have fatal consequences. 

Join me for a background research...Sapelo Island contains the community of Hog Hammock, which is the last known Gullah community in America. Many of the full-time inhabitants (estimated at 47) of the Hog Hammock Community are African Americans known as Gullah-Geechees, descendants of enslaved West African people brought to the island in the 1700s and 1800s to work on island plantations. Hog Hammock contains homes, a general store, bar, public library, and a few small businesses including vacation rentals, along with two active churches: St. Luke Baptist Church, founded in 1885, and First African Baptist Church, established in 1866. The residents must bring all supplies from the mainland or purchase them at the one small store. The children of Hog Hammock take the ferry to the mainland and then a bus to school, since the island school closed in 1978. Hog Hammock is also home to the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, Inc. (SICARS), a non-profit organization to increase awareness of Sapelo’s two-hundred-year-old African community. I was lucky during my trip to Sapelo Island to have Yvonne Grovner as my tour guide, whose husband is a direct descendant of the Gullah-Geechees.

Here's a bit about the story: Kate Weller’s boss, Nate Price, has some exciting news: Julian Frazier, a friend of one of his PI agency’s wealthy clients, has invited the Nate Price Investigations team and their partners on a trip of a lifetime to his home on Elysian Island, an exclusive retreat off the Georgian coast. But there’s a catch. Frazier has written his own murder mystery script, and the PIs must work out whodunnit. As they’re about to discover, though, the murder Frazier wants them to solve is a real cold case, and there's a killer twist that isn't in the script . . . Unable to reach the island and her coworkers, Kate is sure that someone wants her to stay away. Can she reach Elysian Island and stop a savage killer before a deadly game reaches its conclusion?

Island of Last Resorts is available in Kindle or Hardback editions. Get it here!

Please leave me a comment about the most bizarre place you ever visited for an e-book copy of Island of Last Resorts. 

Have a great  week, readers!   Mary Ellis 

My first book-signing in the era of independent brick-and-mortar bookstores by Mary Ellis

I often think back fondly of my very first book-signing. I had just published a romantic suspense geared to the library market. So the binding and packaging were top-notch—it would truly hold up to heavy wear-and-tear. And the cover photo was embedded in the hardback cover, beneath the paper jacket. The only problem was the list price of $27.00 for an absolute “nobody” of a writer. I was so tickled with getting published that I scheduled a signing at my local independent bookstore. (Borders and Barnes and Noble kept asking: Who did you say you were?) This was an adorable shop in a valley surrounded by ski slopes and quaint art galleries. Unfortunately, it is now out-of-business. I send out dozens of publicity postcards to my family, friends, neighbors and business acquaintances. I paid for ads in my local newspapers and tried every avenue of free publicity I could find.

The day of the event I wore my new dress and took extra time with hair and make-up. I brought a tray of cookies and fruit tarts from the nearby bakery. The store owner had a fire lit with a comfy armchair for me to greet my “fans.” And in they came—my neighbors, cousins, and coworkers at my day job. It was like a cocktail party minus the cocktails. Everyone mingled and had a great time, including me. One hapless tourist wandered in and noticed the commotion. I spent fifteen minutes weaving an intriguing synopsis of my mystery. He kept thumbing through the book and nodding his head enthusiastically. Then suddenly he said: “Your book sounds good, but I’ll just check it out at the library.” And he disappeared out the door. In the end, I didn’t sell a single copy to anyone who wasn’t related to me or knew me personally, but I did sell almost thirty books. When we were leaving with our empty dessert tray, my husband said: “This obligates us to very nice wedding/shower/baby/graduation or whatever gifts to everyone for the rest of our lives.” But you know what? It was all worth it because for one special afternoon I felt like an author instead of just a writer.

Mary Ellis has written twenty-one novels. Her latest, Sunset in Old Savannah, is fourth of a mystery series, Secrets of the South, from Harvest House Publishers. Before "retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. She enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog, and cat. She can be found at: www.maryellis.net or www.facebook.com/Mary-Ellis/Author

Something Very Wicked, my very first book and referred to above, was re-released last year by Harlequin World Wide Mysteries under the name Mary Zelinsky. Please leave me a comment for a chance to win a copy of Something Very Wicked. Winner will be drawn in one week. US and Canadian entries only, please. 

Do You Have a Special Recipe You Make For Special Friends?

Today Suspense Sister, Mary Ellis, Shares a Recipe from Her Latest Mystery

Ever notice that when women get together food is almost always involved? From a cup of coffee with a few cookies to a full-blown extravaganza of culinary delights, Americans love to eat. And why not? We live in a land of plenty so we should be grateful and willing to share! Today I’m willing to share my favorite pie recipe—Key Lime Pie, a true Southern favorite. In my latest book from Harvest House, Sunset in Old Savannah, a special friendship develops between a twenty-something private investigator, Beth Kirby, and her 70ish client, Evelyn Doyle. As first Beth cannot understand why Evelyn doesn't divorce her husband when he breaks his vows and strays from their marriage. Evelyn is willing to take him back, providing he's sorry and agrees to counseling sessions with their minister. Throughout the story, Beth learns much from Evelyn about Christian forgiveness. She also learns that women share many of the same challenges, no matter what their age. In my favorite scene in my latest mystery, Sunset in Old Savannah, Evelyn serves her young friend Key Lime Pie. Now you can enjoy some too!

Ingredients for Key Lime Pie

1 ½ cups finely crushed graham crackers (20 squares)

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted 

3 tablespoons sugar 

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

½ cup Key lime juice

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Steps

11.   Heat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press in bottom and up the side of 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown; cool. 

22. In a large bowl, beat milk and lime juice with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and thickened. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into cooled pie crust.

33.   Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until set. Store in refrigerator.

For a chance to win your choice of Mary Ellis’s last 3 mysteries, please leave a comment about what you like to serve special friends.

Lessons Learned from Walks on the Beach by Mary Ellis

Do you remember the age-old story about the starfish? As told to me as a child, a young girl was walking along the beach with her grandfather when they happened upon thousands of starfish left behind with the tide. When Grandpa picked up one to fling back into the waves, the girl did the same. One by one another they returned the creatures to the sea before the scorching summer sun killed them. After a while the child peered up and wailed, “This is hopeless! There’re only two of us and thousands of them. What difference can we make?”

The sage grandfather pulled another starfish from the sand, its glistening surface almost completely dry, and flung it as far as he could into the surf. “You’re right. We can’t save them all, but I’m sure we made a difference to that one.”

That story has stayed with me my entire life, the concept returning in various applications: I recycle my water bottle instead of adding to a receptacle overflowing with plastic. I attempt to purchase green cleaning supplies and recycled paper products despite the plethora on the shelves. Americans are continually challenged to do the right thing ecologically…or as Christians. In the modern world it’s tough to walk the narrow path with every thought, word, and deed. How about the Bible’s command to introduce the saving power of Christ to non-believers? With the world’s population only thirty-three percent Christian, how can a humble fiction writer from Ohio have any impact whatsoever? But perhaps like the starfish dying in the sand, it might make all the difference in the world to the few I do reach. Each journey must begin with a single step, whether we’re reducing waste, helping the sick, or introducing a reader to the positive influence of Christian fiction.

Mary Ellis has written twenty-one novels. Her debut book, A Widow’s Hope, was nominated for a 2010 Carol Award. Living in Harmony, won the 2012 Lime Award for Excellence in Amish Fiction while Love Comes to Paradise won the 2013 Lime Award. She is currently writing Secrets of the South Mysteries. Book one, Midnight on the Mississippi, was a finalist for the RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Award, and finalist for Daphne Du Maurier for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Book two, What Happened on Beale Street, won the Judge a Book by its Cover for Inspirational Romance. Her current book is Sunset in Old Savannah.  www.maryellis.net or www.facebook.com/Mary-Ellis/Author

Please leave Mary a comment along with your email address for a chance to win a signed copy of Sunset in Old Savannah. US and Canada only.

Creative Minds and the Need for Sleep by Mary Ellis

Read any author interview or listen in on any conversation between writers and you will hear one universal theme: There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. Between day-jobs, spouses, kids, houses that need to be cleaned, and meals to get on the table—how does a writer find enough time to write? Once you’re published, you must factor in time for editing your last book, publicity for the current release, research for the next one to be written, and coming up with ideas for an outstanding proposal. Wait a minute. What about email, keeping up with your blog, and that social media Goliath lurking in the corner, ready to devour an hour—or day—or two? So little time, so much to do. Writers are ingenious when it comes to squeezing more into their workdays. We become masters at multi-tasking, but sleep is often what gets short-changed.

Instead of slipping on our jammies, dimming the lights, turning off communication devices, and slipping under Grandma’s quilt at a decent hour, we network into the wee hours. Then we face the next writing day sleep deprived. Besides packable bags beneath our eyes and crabby temperaments, there is another downside few authors consider. Sleep-time is also dream-time, and there is no better way to recharge your creative batteries than to dream. Especially during REM sleep, our dreams are often vivid enough to practically jump into and direct the outcome. The more we dream, the more we revitalize the right side of our brains. I’m not a dream therapist, nor do I play one on TV. But for years I’ve noticed my work after a good, dream-filled night’s sleep. Creativity thrives on rest, not extra caffeine. So the next time you find the middle of your story sagging, your characters suddenly have nothing interesting to say, or your next turning point is as predictable as January snow in Minnesota, don’t reach for another cup of coffee. Instead brew a cup of chamomile tea, dim the lights, turn off your phone and go catch some zzzz’s. Your writing will thank me in the morning.

Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances. Her latest, Magnolia Moonlight, is part of a new mystery series, Secrets of the South, from Harvest House Publishers. Before "retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. She enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. Sunset in Old Savannah will release in early 2017. She can be found on the web at: www.maryellis.net or www.facebook.com/Mary-Ellis/Author

Please leave Mary a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Magnolia Moonlight. US residents only please.