3 Things a Reader Can Do ... Okay, 4!

So, you've finished an amazing book and your heart just glows with justice served, redemption completed, problems resolved, and the hero enthusiastic about the future ... ahhh! What a wonderful feeling when all becomes right in the world of fiction.

And how grateful you are to the author for sending you no this 8-hour vacation from reality. How can you thank the wonderful person who brought you such blissful satisfaction?

Okay, maybe I'm laying it on a little thick, but seriously, there are some special things you can do to thank the authors of the books you love!

1. Tell them! Most have contact pages or information on their Facebook page or website. Google their name and book title to make sure you have the right person, then drop them a line! (And if your favorite happens to be one of the Suspense Sisters or our Mister, you can find links to their pages in the right column.)
2. Leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. These don't have to be articles. Give your favorite authors twenty-five of your best words and 5 stars! It's the nicest thing you can do for an author!
3. Share! Spread the word about this book. Share the buy link from Amazon on your Facebook profile. You don't have to say much more than, "I LOVED this book!"

That's it; 3 things that can mean so much to any author. I'm telling you, they notice, and they recognize those readers who encourage and support them. 

Oh, wait! There's one more thing: READ! (Like anyone has to urge you to do that, right?) 

And if you need a good suspense all decked out with romance and mystery, leave a comment and you might win a copy of my newest, COUNTER POINT. Here's the short version: 

Someone is determined to finish a murdered hit man's final assignment.

Her father's gone. Her diner's closing. Her car's in the lake. Cat McPherson has nothing left to lose. Except her life. And a madman's bent on taking that away. 

Her former boyfriend, Ray Alexander, returns as a hero from his foreign mission, bringing back souvenirs in the form of death-threats. When several attempts are made on Cat’s life, she must find a way to trust Ray, the man who broke her heart. 

Keeping Cat safe from a fallen cartel leader might prove impossible for Ray, but after seeing his mission destroyed and several godly people killed, he knows better than to ignore the man’s threats. Cat’s resistance to his protection and the stirring of his long-denied feelings for her complicate his intentions, placing them both in a fight for their lives.

Can she survive when ultimate power wants her dead?

When you comment, leave your email and also tell me what you most like to read - suspense or mystery. Random drawing will be held on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.

The most important rule in mystery writing....

In my humble opinion, the most important rule to follow in mystery/suspense writing is to give the reader a sporting chance! I've written plenty of novels, and the most successful ones have been those where the reader had a few plausible guesses about "who done it!" Personally, I rarely guess the ending of a mystery/suspense novel and if I do, I’m kind of disappointed. I want that author to stump me with a clue I didn’t notice or a twist I couldn’t see the significance of at the time. It’s a game I don’t want to win, but I do want the author to play by the rules and that means, sprinkling in those clues along the way. Bury them in backstory, dribble them in dialogue, subvert them in setting, but readers need to have the chance to solve the mystery themselves. The key is to sprinkle, not dump! The great Agatha Christie said she was “always wary of putting too many false clues into the plot, because with so many things to unravel the book would be not only difficult to solve but also difficult to read.” And there must be herrings, red ones! Just as the fish could be dragged across the trail to confuse the hounds, a red herring is a false clue dropped into the story to confuse the reader and perhaps the protagonist as well.

Do you usually solve the mystery before the end of the book? Does that leave you satisfied or disappointed?