Free and Bargain Reads by New York Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling Authors!3/31/2017
More great series by Brandt Legg...
 USA Today bestselling author Brandt Legg is a former child prodigy who turned a hobby into a multi-million dollar empire. At eight, Legg's father died suddenly, plunging his family into poverty. Two years later, while suffering from crippling migraines, he started in business. National media dubbed him the "Teen Tycoon," but by the time he reached his twenties, the high-flying Legg became ensnarled in the financial whirlwind of the junk bond eighties, lost his entire fortune . . . and ended up serving time in federal prison for financial improprieties. Legg emerged, chastened and wiser, one year later and began anew in retail and real estate. In the more than two decades since, his life adventures have led him through magazine publishing, a newspaper column, photography, FM radio, CD production, and concert promotion. His books have excited hundreds of thousands of readers around the world. Learn more about Brandt Legg and his books on his website.
 Eight Bestselling Reads by New York Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling Authors!3/24/2017
  Meet Anna Celeste Burke, an interesting woman with a very adventurous start in life and the award-winning author of the Georgie Shaw cozy mystery series... Starting out in life as a runaway to join the rock musician / high school drop-out she had married in Tijuana, Anna and her new husband ended up training to be chefs at Walt Disney World University. Afterwards the couple opted for many more years of education, earning Ph.D.s from the University of Michigan. Years later, Anna retired from her role as a professor in social work and behavioral science, and picked up her long-time interest in writing fiction. So what on earth does a research scientist have in common with a mystery writer? As avid fans of the mystery genre will tell you at the core of any good mystery is a passionate search for the truth. Discovering the truth involves finding and assembling pieces of complex puzzles in order to solve seemingly intractable problems—scientist and sleuth are cut from the same cloth! Still married to the same sweet guy she ran off with, she and her husband live near Palm Springs. In addition to reading and writing mysteries, Anna enjoys painting, hiking, hanging out with her husband, and tending to her Siamese kitties. As her heroine Jessica Huntington will tell you, the Sonoran Desert is an exquisite setting in which to ponder life’s mysteries and be inspired by the surrounding mountains and the bountiful delights of the desert resort communities. See Anna's full line up of award-winning and bestselling novels on her Amazon Author page.
 Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and all the other International Bestselling Novels recently made into movies that have a mystery at the heart of the story, all have one thing in common: They offer a scavenger hunt, a game the reader plays on the journey to guess the ending. And women LOVE piecing together clues and snippets of information to solve a mystery. I’m not sure where the information is to prove this, but men love Thrillers (customarily…where the killer is revealed early) and women love mysteries (guessing the ending.) The prize at the end can be as simple as why did the couple divorce or how will she get out of this conundrum, or a theme as dark as who is killing women and leaving them in fields. The game is always the same… You begin the book with information about the playing pieces--the characters, and as the story line deepens, a good writer will offer clues hidden inside the story and dialogue for the reader to file as part of the big picture that will eventually include the solved mystery. The reader will start guessing early-on based on the clues given. As more clues are added and red herrings are detected, the readers' guess can change several times before the big reveal. As an author of suspense, I used to be disappointed when reviewers would write that they guessed the ending back in chapter three, but lately I've learned to take their bragging as a compliment. It shows they were playing the game and were tickled they won the game early. When that happens, it's exciting, even if you won't know you're correct until the verification at the end. Guessing early might be the fault of the author to not fool absolutely everyone all the time, or it could simply be a lucky guess. But I can't fault a few people for coming to an early conclusion. Especially if they continue reading to see if they are right! I love reviews that state “I did NOT see that coming!” That’s like getting a large tip, for a writer. Women enjoy this brain-teasing process, this mental game of elimination and puzzle-solving. And whether they are surprised by the ending or guess it early on, the journey along the way must be satisfying enough to keep the reader engaged to turn pages until the end. Writing a mystery adds an extra layer to a story, an additional process of planning that isn't needed for other types of fiction. A mystery needs more plotting, careful leakage of clues, deeper character reveals, and much more thought given to the final product to prevent the reader from being dissatisfied with the ending. Of course, the ending is everything in a mystery and all loose ends must be tied up sufficiently to give the reader a sense of supreme satisfaction, even if a part of that satisfaction is guessing the ending. Women have always been fascinated by this guessing game. I think it's because as a gender, we are problem-solvers, wired to sort out the trouble and make sense of it all. While the men go out hunting to bring home dinner, we do all the mental-sorting and planning and organization. And that involves being a good guesser. As a reader and a writer, I love the game and am thrilled to see that the trend toward this Mystery/Thriller Whodunits and Suspense/Mysteries are on a steep curve upward. And that these novels with women protagonists are getting movie deals. Long live the Mystery Novel! Kim Hornsby Wanna see how Kim ties together the mystery, suspense, and romance in her novels? Please check out her line-up of books on Amazon.com or wherever you find great books! We suggest the first book in Kim's bestselling Dream Jumper series!
|
GET POSTS LIKE THESE
SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX More Great Deals!
Categories
All
Archives
December 2024
|
