Life is funny that way, don't you think? Sometimes it throws you lemons, but other times it gifts you miracles! I'm going for the miracles. You may have noticed I haven't posted in a while, well, that's because I've been busy. Busy falling in love with Mexico all over again...
It was NanoWriMo 2023, and I was madly cranking out the rough draft of my latest WIP (work in progress) to "win" the 50,000-words-in-November contest (I won). The book, Kickback, wasn't coming easily; I had a lot of research to do on Mexican politics, Mexico City, and Mexican culture on the cusp of COVID. I hadn't visited in years, and after publishing Saints and Skeletons in June, I'd started letting go of memories. The memoir had helped me forgive all the difficult events and relive the wonderful adventure; I'd let the skeletons out of my closet. But I'd come across a good story, and I needed to write it, even if I was forgetting the smell of the air, the taste of street tacos, or the love I'd held for this magical country in all its virtues and errors.
And that's when the miracle manifested. Mexico wasn't letting ME go! First, I received an email from my old boyfriend, Fernando (read all about him in Saints and Skeletons). Thirty years later! And he wanted to make amends for everything that happened. How often does that happen?
We started talking: hashing out the memories, the joy—and the pain—catching up on a lifetime. (Still all in Spanish—another miracle, I'm learning it.) He'd googled me, discovered Saints and Skeletons, and reached out because he has written a book and wants to write more—supenso, thrillers. But he isn't a novelist by his own admission. Three months later, we're working on outlines for three thrillers, with a new idea brewing. Over WhatsApp we talk and brainstorm—just what we did so well through all those hours of traveling the back roads of Mexico in the 90s. We'll outline together. He'll research; I'll write. Suddenly I'm re-emmersed in Mexico—and it feels like coming home.
We don't know exactly how this will turn out, but I'm excited to have a new writing partner. If you like Mexico and crime, look for the first book sometime next year. In the meantime, don't miss the latest JadeAnne Stone Mexico Adventure Book 5, Backlash Venom and Vengeance from 'Nam. It was short-listed for the Chanticleer CIBA 2023 Clue Award and won Gold Book from Literary Titan.
Your past will always find you. And it’s going to take everything you love away. Including your life.
Jackman Quint spent years in prison for his crimes during his tour in Vietnam. He’s made a new life: reunited with his daughter JadeAnne, expanded his investigations, and dipped his toe into the dating pool. Life is going his way until Nader shows up in Mexico City. Now, when he has someone to lose, his past finds him. And Nader is out for blood.
You can learn more on March 9th. Join us at Barns and Noble, El Cerrito Plaza from 2:00-4:00. It'll be a crime if you miss it!
"Ana Manwaring does an outstanding job of crafting a story that both stands alone on its psychological and thriller components. Prior readers will appreciate the plot while newcomers won't need an introduction to past relationships to appreciate the characters and actions that represent international relationships and survival efforts.
The tension is nicely built, premises are logical and embedded into the story's action-packed scenarios, and readers receive a high-octane action work well steeped in Mexican affairs.
Libraries and readers seeking thrillers that center around attacks that challenge individual and national interests will find Backlash: Venom and Vengeance from 'Nam seamless in its action and characters and hard to put down." Diane Donovan, Editor, California Bookwatch; Donovan's Literary Recommended Reading
Don't miss Smashwords Read an eBook Week, March 3-9. All my books are Free!
And if you want to get started now the Kindle version of Book 1, Set Up, is currently on discount at Amazon.
Backlash Book 5 Published on November 15th, 2023
Here's a little something to sip while you catch up with JadeAnne and Pepper
XOCOLATL
1 cup milk, soy milk, almond milk, or water
1 package/disc Taza Chocolate Discs (any flavor)
Salt to taste
TO PREPARE:
1. Roughly chop or grate one disc of any flavor and set aside.
2. Heat one cup of milk or water in a small saucepan over medium heat to just below a simmer.
3. Remove the milk from heat and add a pinch of salt.
4. Slowly mix in the chocolate, stirring frequently until dissolved.
5. When the chocolate is dissolved, return the mixture to the stove and re-warm over low heat.
6. While the chocolate is warming, use a whisk or molinillo to froth the chocolate.
7. When the chocolate is hot and frothy, remove from heat and serve.
Thanks for reading! Find me and my books through https://linktr.ee/anamanwaring and my website, www.anamanwaring.com
Your past will always find you. And it’s going to take everything you love away. Including your life.
“I graduated from college in 1971 with degrees in engineering and computer science. I was young; I believed in my country. The government.” Jackman Quint grimaced. “I believed in democracy and freedom—that the government had the citizens’ backs. It was my duty to preserve these ideals. I joined the ROTC. When I graduated I enlisted in the Army knowing I’d be deployed to Vietnam; I was going to be a hero.”
But everything changed when NSA spook, Chuck Nader got hold of him.
“I did some shitty things during that war. The whole thing was a lie. Vietnam was hell. I let Nader blackmail me into drugs and moving Vietcong opium through his network to the States. Got caught. Did time. But there was more. Secrets. I can’t say how or what, but my gut is telling me they’re connected.”
Now, thirty-two years later, just as Quint has reunited with his daughter JadeAnne, lost to him in the evacuation of Saigon, and found a woman he can love, Chuck Nader has shown up in Mexico City, and he's out for blood.
Grab your copy in Kindle, e-pub and paperback at your favorite on-line retailer.
Please leave a review wherever you buy the book. And reach out to me—I love to hear from readers!
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Early on the morning of September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla summoned the largely Indian and mestizo congregation of his small Dolores parish church and urged them to take up arms and fight for Mexico’s independence from Spain. His El Grito de Dolores, or Cry of Dolores, which was spoken—not written—is commemorated on September 16 as Mexican Independence Day. Join JadeAnne Stone and Dylan Porras at Plaza Hidalgo in Coyoacán for El Grito.
A man in a grey suit stepped onto the stage. Fancy-looking men and women trailed him to the chairs set up behind the podium. One of them looked familiar, Mayor Fallas. A younger man in a white-collared shirt with sleeves rolled up joined the luminaries, shaking hands and greeting some of the women with air kisses. He bustled to the podium and stepped behind the lectern, tapping the mic to test it. Live. He looked out into the audience and grinned. “¡Buenos noches, Mexico!” The crowd roared. “I’m Alonso Maldonaldo Trejo, the head of our independence day committee here to welcome you to the fiesta!” The clapping sounded like thunder. Alonso patted his hands down until the audience quieted. “You all know why we’re here—to celebrate almost two hundred years of independence from the tyranny of the Spanish Crown.”
More cheering, whistles, shouts of, “¡Viva!”
The crowd went wild as the church bells pealed in honor of the occasion.
When the old bells stopped reverberating, Alonso continued, “Tonight to lead us in El Grito de Dolores, we have our distinguished Alcalde Fallas, mayor of the greatest city in our nation! Let’s give him a big hand,” he said and turned to lead the mayor and his wife up to the mic, clapping over his head and grinning like a fool before backing away and sitting down. I wondered who the rest of the delegation were.
Dylan whispered his interpretation of the speech in my ear, keeping me in stitches until the smarmy egoist and his wife encircled each other’s waists and waved to the crowd. It was the clichéd photo op every politician delivered. And it was 11:59. A projectile sailed across the heads of the audience and splatted onto the stage. Alonzo scuttled out and grabbed another mic. “Countdown time! Everybody. 12-11-10-...” We shouted with the emcee, “siete...seis...cinco...”
Fallas counted down on his fingers and we all shouted with him, “... dos... uno. Viva Mexico! Viva Mexico! Viva Mexico!”
The plaza felt like it would lift off. Everywhere faces radiated joy and pride. The bells rang again, an allegro for fireworks blasting overhead and Mexico’s National anthem blasting out of the banks of speakers, “Mexicans at the cry of war, make ready the steel and the bridle...”
I apparently was the only person in the audience who didn’t know the words. Everybody sang.
And the fiesta got under way.
The dignitaries left the stage as the band members slung guitar straps over their shoulders. The drummer tapped out a military drumroll and the lead strummed an electric chord. Firecrackers popped crazily, and where they went off the crowd parted. The plaza thinned out and again the faces of revelers shifted. The crowd looked younger. And pretty wasted. I smelled mota, pot, on the air.
The band kicked into their first song.
“Let’s dance,” he shouted back and handed me down.
“I’ll need another margarita to dance to this. Punk? Really Dyl?”
He laughed and towed me to the margarita line. I wished I had earplugs. I hadn’t appreciated punk rock when it was popular, except for the Cars and the Police, which might not technically be punk, but I didn’t really know. We hit the front of the line and got double shots again. I swilled mine and let the driving beat move my feet. The lyrics were in English.
Dylan twirled me into the roistering mass gyrating to the driving beat. It was loud. The tenor of the evening shifted once again to something frenetic and sinister. Too many aggressive gang tats and tarted-up teens. I observed the people around me and began to feel like I’d fallen into a 21st century version of West Side Story. Call it South Side Story—and the relentless rhythm was firing up a rumble. I grabbed Dylan and jerked my head toward the pavement. Glass, broken booze bottles, trash being ground into paste under the people’s feet. We were in the middle of the mosh pit and the frenzy was a swarming hive of angry yellowjackets. I noticed the gang mudras, hand signals to friends, chin pointing, tensions rising. We had to leave, now.
I pulled Dylan’s arm and he folded me into his chest and rocked me wildly to the beat. I squirmed away. He didn’t see the danger and grasped my hand, twirling me back in. From the corner of my eye I caught movement, not dancing. A pod of prison tats sharking through the crowd, pushing dancers out of their way, opening a path toward another school near the bandstand jigging, cheering, passing flasks and bottles between them and their girls. I caught sight of several Zs. Fear gripped me.
I swung into Dylan and yelled, “Trouble ahead!”
He hooted and yelled, “You know it, baby!”
From Coyote~ Terror and Pursuit Across the Border, A JadeAnne Stone Mexico Adventure #4
Celebrate Mexican Independence with a traditional dish. According to Patricia Quintana, Mexico's foremost expert in la cocina mexicana, Chiles en Nogada was created in the city of Puebla to commemorate Independence Day, August 21, 1821 in honor of General Augustine de Itúrbidr's defeat of the French. Its colors celebrate the colors of the Mexican flag: green, white and red. Although this dish was created to celebrate independence from France, it's one of the traditional dishes enjoyed on September 16th to commemorate Mexico's independence from Spain.
Chiles en Nogada
serves 8
Recipe Ingredients for Stuffing
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled, plus 10 cloves garlic minced
1 large white onions, grated
1/2 lb ground pork
1 lb ground veal
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground ham
1/2 cup raisins or currants
1 1/4 cups prunes, pitted and finely chopped
3/4 cup candied citron, finely chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
3 large pears, finely chopped
3 peaches, finely chopped
2 apples, finely chopped
1 cups pineapple, finely chopped
1/2 plantain, finely chopped
3 large tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
5 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs marjoram
3/4 tbs freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt to taste
Recipe Ingredients for the Chiles
16 medium chiles poblanos (green fresh ancho peppers), roasted, seeded, deveined and soaked in salted water and vinegar for 6 hrs.
1 cup flour
Recipe Ingredients for the Batter
10 eggs, separated
1 tbs salt
3 tbs flour
2 quarts vegetable oil for deep frying
Recipe Ingredients for the Sauce
2 cups walnuts
3/4 cup skinned almonds
7 oz cream cheese
3.5 oz goat cheese
1.5 oz fresh cheese, such as feta
1/2 slice bread trimmed and soaked in milk
1 cups heavy cream or 1 cup heavy cream mixed with 1 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tbs grated white onion
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 cup dry sherry
Salt to taste
Recipe Ingredients for the Garnish
Seeds from 3 pomegranates
1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
Recipe Instructions
Prepare the stuffing: Heat butter and oil in a saucepan. Brown 12 garlic cloves and discard. Brown minced garlic with onion. Add ground meats and saute until no longer red. Stir in raisins, prunes, citron, apricots, pears, peaches, apples, pineapple, plantain and tomatoes. cook until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 minutes.
Add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, pepper, sherry and white wine. SALT to taste. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool
Fill prepared chiles with cooled stuffing. Put flour on a piece of waxed paper. Roll chiles in flour and place on a tray. Cover and refrigerate.
Prepare the batter: Make batter in 3 batches, as needed or it will not remain fluffy. Beat 1/3 of egg whites with a little salt until stiff. Lightly beat 1/3 of egg yolks and 2 tbs flour to whites, folding in carefully.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip flour coated chiles in batter, one at a time and fry over medium heat. Do not crowed pan. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Prepare the sauce: boil walnuts in water to cover for 5 minutes. Remove from water. Peel skins. Boil almonds in water to cover for 25 minutes and soak in cold water. Peel skins. Grind walnuts and almonds in a blender or food processor, adding cream cheese, goat cheese, feta cheese, bread, cream, milk onion, sugar, cinnamon, sherry and salt. the mixture will be very thick. Refrigerate.
If you are using packaged nuts, wash walnuts and almonds and follow the procedure for fresh nuts.
To serve: Place cold fried chiles on a platter. Ladle walnut sauce on top. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and garnish with parsley. (Chiles Rellenos en Nogada)
Viva Mexico!
Sneak Preview
Blacklash Venom and Vendetta from 'Nam
Jackman Quint spent four years in prison paying his debt to society for his crimes. Now, when he has someone to lose, his past finds him.
And it’s out for blood.
A JadeAnne Stone Mexico Adventure #5—Quint's Story
Jackman Quint’s former CO, Chuck Nader, has a vendetta to settle. For Quint, the Vietnam war ended thirty-two years ago with a dishonorable discharge, a prison term, and his daughter JadeAnne lost to him. Shouldn’t Quint be the one with the grudge? He’s made a new life for himself, reunited with his daughter, expanded his investigations, and dipped his toe into the dating pool. Finally, life is going his way when Nader shows up in Mexico City on a top secret mission through the U.S. Embassy. Coincidence? But it’s soon clear, Nader is out for blood. And he won’t settle for killing Quint—he’s after everyone Quint loves. He’s already killed one of the team. If Quint can’t unravel why Nader is bent on his destruction, he’ll never be able to protect the team, his woman, or most importantly, JadeAnne. She flies home to Mexico City in less than a week. The days are counting down.
Backlash on sale November 15th. Watch for preorders and in-person appearances.
Join me at Sisters in Crime Norcal's Fall Showcase from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, November 12 at Books Inc 317 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA. I'll be presenting along with ten of my SincNorCal siblings. It's free and FUN!
For more information and social connections: www.anamanwaring.com linktr.ee/anamanwaring
Mexico~A mosaic of mystery, mayhem, and magic.
Fantasy Island in time for summer! Or is it? From the first paragraph through the relentless twists and turns to the last—I couldn't put Salt Island down.
"Imagine hearing nothing but seagulls and rolling surf for hours at a time. No talking, dogs barking, TVs, cars,empty enough to hold a thought in your head, idle enough to inspire daydreams. And when the shudder of fear shakes you back to earth, you’re still in your proverbial hammock, drinking in the countenance of paradise with the same hungry, cynical eyes. Could it be real, this place? Was it actually as safe as it seemed? Yes but for the ephemeral shadow in my heart, warning me that nothing was as it seemed, asking what the hell I was doing here."
I was lucky enough to attend Lisa Towles's book launch at a local B & N recently and hear her talk about writing the E & A Investigations series. Previously Towles wrote standalone thrillers, but these characters, Mari Ellwyn and Derek Abernathy had more to investigate. Mari is a fine arts gallery owner and moonlights as an investigator. Derek is a former investigator and police detective who she asks for help in book 1. It's not perfect to start, but the characters develop pitch perfect chemistry, "I liked the feel of his weight nudging the right side of my body right now, as some kind of tacit assurance that the strands of my life, one of them anyway, was still at least partially intact", as they come to trust and rely on each other to get the job done. “We share a deep love of the same two things. Puzzles and justice.”
They are close, but not every secret is revealed. Mari, especially, carries a dark secret, something she's compelled to uncover. Their investigation into corporate espionage and eco terrorism twists seamlessly through Mari's personal investigation into her past. And throughout both, the surprises and suspense will keep you reading into the wee hours—or a sunburn at the beach! Wear your dark glasses and use plenty of SPF 50+—you're in for a hot, exhilarating ride.
Author Lisa Towles at B & N
Book Synopsis:
Having established their new official partnership, the private investigation team of Mari Ellwyn and Derek Abernathy are tested to the extreme with two new cases involving high-stakes corporate espionage and eco-terrorism. Someone is trying to sabotage billionaire CEO Jack Darcy’s IPO deal and reputation, and now his glamorous wife – media darling and entrepreneur, has gone missing. Thryve, Darcy’s high-profile environmental startup, is lauded by investors as one of the best innovators of the decade. But a journalist has learned Darcy’s dirty little secret and is hell-bent on exposing it to investors and the world at large.
Pulled from their Southern California headquarters, Derek heads to the Central Valley to investigate two suspicious deaths from an explosion on a local farm. The deeper he digs, the more questions emerge about what the murdered farm workers may have witnessed – toxic chemical dumping linked to an oil and gas company. A shadow witness is gathering evidence but disappears before Derek can get to her. As Mari considers her next move in a much broader conspiracy of corporate corruption and environmental abuse, her partner’s gone undercover to find the missing witness, and now he’s off-grid.
Mari must reckon with powerful ghosts from her past – her missing father and the truth about his double identity and secret agenda. She embarks on her own investigation to the British Virgin Islands, one of her father’s secret haunts during his time as an active CIA operative, and uncovers details too painful to bear – about her father, herself, and her future.
Secrets can’t say buried forever, but now Mari is alone, exposed, and time is running out.
The follow up to Towles’s Hot House is already receiving a plethora of accolades. Check out what the reviewers are saying:
The Reviews Are In!
“Towles is a master when it comes to parallel story lines. Readers will love the quick pace and snappy dialogue of this thriller, and Mari is a character who jumps off the page and into your heart.”Literary Titan
“Likeable, interesting characters and a confident narrative keep the pages turning of this crime thriller, in a series that harkens Evanovich, Grafton, and Millhone.”RECOMMENDED, The US Review of Books
If you haven't read any of Lisa Towles's thrillers before, try one! I've read them all. Read my review of Hot House and an interview with author Lisa Towles here.
Meet the author:
No spoiler, but keep on the lookout for Towles' November standalone release—Terror Bay. It's going to be another hit!
This action-packed memoir/travelogue formed the real-life backdrop to what later became the successful JadeAnne Stone thriller series. Starting in the summer of 1991, Saints and Skeletons takes you through the back roads of Mexico, Belize, and the Peten region of northern Guatemala, where author, teacher and former journalist Manwaring camped out in ruins, sampled exotic foods, smoked loco weed atop pyramids, drank mescal out of the still, skinny dipped in Zipolite, found lost cities, and learned to make a killer margarita. In the process, she also experienced love, betrayal and loneliness. As doors opened and walls crumbled in her heart, skeletons tumbled out and, occasionally, saints appeared just when Manwaring needed them most.
It's raining! It's raining so much, it's flooding—the perfect time to stay inside and get cozy with a cup of hot chocolate and an exciting book. Here are my winter thriller picks:
Re-releasing on January 18th by award-winning crime writer, Lisa Towles, Choke won A Big NYC Book Award in 2018 and has been cited as a"compelling story" and "a smoking' good read". I totally agree. It’s a IUPH reprint that was originally published by Rebel Publishers in 2017. I loved it then and again! In typical Towles-style, this fast-paced psychological thriller is a puzzle for the reader to piece together. Through snappy dialog, characters' on-going internal anguish and tightly crafted and complicated plotting, Choke is a thrilling ride guaranteed to keep you awake way too late. I highly recommend Choke—and all of Lisa Towles's thrillers. See the trailer here.
Kerry Stine's life is destroyed when she's blamed for the death of a hospital patient. Not only is she fired, but she's wanted by the police. On top of this, a squatter in her apartment thinks she's hiding a priceless historical treasure—and wants it. Elsewhere, Dr. Adrian Calhoun is a target and a liability to the pharmaceutical industry for the controversial cancer cure he's developed. Kerry's search for the truth about her squatter leads her to a different truth – about a part of her past she’s not ready to face and a precious jewel that can’t possibly be hers. Adrian must protect not only himself but his secret formula and his vulnerable control group, before Pharma gets to them first. The destinies of Adrian and Kerry collide to piecing together stunning revelations that change their lives forever.
Published in 2021, Blood's Echo is the first of three Veranda Cruz police procedurals set in Phoenix, Arizona. Veranda is determined to take down the heir to a ruthless Mexican cartel, but is she willing to lose everything, including her life, to see justice? Not only is Bartolo Villalobos unstable and vicious, but foes on the force stand in her way. Her new homicide team and an arsonist ally are drawn into the danger as the investigation heats up. When Veranda learns information held secret for years, she has no choice but to protect her family . . . and stop Villalobos.
Blood's Echo deservedly won the Mariposa Award for the best First Novel. It's a fast-paced, thrilling procedural dealing with some of the most dangerous police work: fighting the drug cartels. Hank Phillippi Ryan describes it as, "Taut, tense, and relentlessly authentic. Isabella Maldonado-with her unique personal knowledge of the danger, conflict and emotional toll of law enforcement is an important new voice in crime fiction." I picked up my copy before getting on a plane and only put it down when I disembarked three hours later. Everything about Blood's Echo kept me reading. Veranda is smart and strong, but she's also a loving family member. I loved being a fly on the wall observing her big Latin immigrant family. I will read the rest of this series and the touted Nina Guerrera series too. Don't miss this high tension, adrenaline producing thriller by Isabella Maldonado.
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”
- Mortimer J. Adler
All Her Little Secrets is one of the best books I've read. Wanda M. Morris is an accomplished writer; her sentences are beautiful, her language is intelligent, and her ability to drop into various voices is smooth. The book is an edgy, hard look at racism, secrets, the legal system, and family. Morris doesn't mince words. Character Ellice Littlejohn's descriptions of being a powerless poor Black child in Georgia and an invisible Black professional woman in Atlanta are heart wrenching. Ellice's secrets might have held her back, but her strength and determination to protect her family keep her going where a lesser person would give up. What a debut! All Her Little Secrets won the 2022 Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel. Congratulations Wanda! I look forward to more of Wanda M. Morris's books.
Ellice Littlejohn has an Ivy League Law degree, a great corporate job in Atlanta and a long-time lover—who is white and her boss. When she finds him on his office floor shot through the head, she walks away. But why? She's afraid her past, her jailbird brother, her impoverished upbringing, must remain secret. The following day she's promoted to her boss's position, but why didn't the top executives go to the funeral? Ellice, the only Black employee, starts to uncover the rot at the core of the corporation. As she gets closer to the company secrets, her own secrets are exposed. It's a moral and ethical nightmare, and a heart-pounding ride!
Okay! Pick a book or three and make the perfect hot chocolate. Here's how:
1 cup milk, soy milk, almond milk, or water
1 package/disc Taza Chocolate Discs (any flavor)
Salt to taste
TO PREPARE:
1. Roughly chop or grate one disc of any flavor and set aside.
2. Heat one cup of milk or water in a small saucepan over medium heat to just below a simmer.
3. Remove the milk from heat and add a pinch of salt.
4. Slowly mix in the chocolate, stirring frequently until dissolved.
5. When the chocolate is dissolved, return the mixture to the stove and re-warm over low heat.
6. While the chocolate is warming, use a whisk or molinillo to froth the chocolate.
7. When the chocolate is hot and frothy, remove from heat and serve.
Greg Randall and I were were going to be on a panel together when the 2020 Left Coast Crime convention was shut down for COVID. To prepare, I read the first of Randall's Alex Polonia Thrillers, Venice Black and loved it. Imagine how excited I was to bump into him this year in Albuquerque and be gifted a copy of Toulouse For Death, #3 of the Sharon O’Mara series. This is what I love about LCC—you meet someone one year and in another year they’re giving you books they think you’ll like, based on a conversation the year before. Greg and I must have talked about art, travel, and strong female protagonists, because Toulouse For Death has all that. Although the book was first published in 2011, the plot is a twist on a classic theme: good vs. evil and is as relevant in 2022 as it has been since biblical times.
Facilitator Sharon O'Mara is hired by a client who wishes to remain anonymous. She is to facilitate the return of five stolen impressionist paintings, one of them by Toulouse-Lautrec, to the rightful owners. The family doesn’t know the paintings exist—they had been originally stolen by the Nazis in 1938. Of course, a find like this makes the news and, in South America, a Nazi survivor sees the report and starts making plans. This could be the link to the lost Nazi treasure—the greatest treasure trove from World War II lost since the allies took Germany. And the treasure is the key to fulfilling a dream of resurrecting the Reich by a clandestine group of New Nazis.
Sharon makes contact with the family per instructions, but before she can deliver the paintings, they are robbed at gunpoint from the delivery van by 4 leather-clad motorcyclists in the hotel garage. Sharon puts two and two together, realizing there is more to her client's secret treasure than a few paintings. Sharon and helper Kevin Bryan, fly to Paris to meet with the client’s associate for answers, but again, they are attacked. The chase is on: from Paris to the fertile vineyards of the Napa Valley. Something is going down, and Sharon and her team are going to stop it. “After seventy years an American GI and a Nazi SS soldier are again pitted against each other.”
Sharon O’Mara is an ex-military police officer, Iraq vet and now an insurance investigator and “facilitator” for hire. She’s tough, smart, and can be counted on to get the job done. A fiery red-head, she’s bold, brassy—a risk taker, as well as confident, honest and valorous. She’s who you’d want leading your team—because she’s not afraid to act. And if you are an action fan, Toulouse For Death is action packed, fast paced and plenty suspense filled to send your heart racing. This book has been compared to Monuments Men. It’s an oblique comparison, but the book’s premise doesn’t feel so far-fetched after all the shenanigans in U.S. politics in the last few years. One reviewer says of the missing treasure, “Makes one want to grab a metal detector and fly off to Germany.” It makes me say, “the world isn’t safe from megalomaniacs who want to take over.” In this novel, good triumphs. I’m looking forward to more of Sharon O’Mara. She’ll vanquish the baddies and leave me feeling like the world has been made a little safer. At least until the evening news.
Michigan born and Chicago raised, Randall has made the San Francisco Bay Area his home with his wife for the last 45 years. The Randalls operate an independent publishing company, Windsor Hill Publishing. He is a cover designer and artist as well as an author. His books often look at how the past impacts the present, and he’s authored over 20 books. His young adult novel, Elk River, won awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and Northern California Book Publishers Association (BAIPA).
A blackmailed Court of Appeals judge from the 9th Circuit, a French art exchange student with something to sell, and Mari E, investigator with an agenda of her own, sets another Towles jigsaw puzzle of characters, clues, motivations, and surprises in motion.
Mari E is Marissa Ellwyn, wealthy owner of the prestigious Marissa Ellwyn Gallery, but when a former detective, her soon-to-be partner knocks, it’s on the door of her work-trailer in a seedy section of L.A.’s Fashion District. They’ve both got things to hide, but she needs back up and he has the skills. Mari is being followed by a dark grey van and has received threatening messages—obviously someone objects to her investigation, but for Mari, “The fate of my family and my heart depended on it.”
Abernathy is investigating a college student who has died suspiciously along with the disappearances and deaths of two reporters following the case and the trail that leads to the judge. The cases are linked and as they investigate, threats come from all sides, even from Mari’s former handlers at the CIA.
Hot House moves at break-neck speed from its seemingly straightforward investigation into a shadowy mystery. Although the story is infused with humor and delightful touches like Trevor, Mari’s “Human Resources Director,” a German mastiff, the motivations of characters make for a dark and layered plot. Mari and Derek are professional and determined, mostly sticking to legal investigating techniques. Both have secret histories with the LAPD Chief of Detectives, and both think the PD did a poor job of the initial search, but it’s not until the dead coed’s secrets come to light that some of the puzzle pieces form a picture. And it isn’t pretty.
I found Hot House thought provoking and suspenseful. I shouted “Ah Ha!” at the end of Chapter Fifteen when a clue fell into place for me, and I realized how much fun I was having trying to solve the case. Besides the charming banter between Mari and Derek, the book challenged me. I jotted thoughts and reactions while reading: oh, crap, this goes deep, uh-oh, hmmm-so why surveillance? What? What? And finally the shocking end—I just plain: didn’t see it coming!
Mari E and Derek Abernathy (and Trevor) make a great investigative team in this first of the E & A Investigations Series. The next book can’t get into my hands fast enough! Hot House may have surpassed The Unseen as my favorite Towles novel. All I can say is, the books just keep getting better and better! (Don’t miss The Ridders coming this fall.)
am: Where did the inspiration for Hot House come from?
LT: My husband gave me a character name he thought of one day (he does that sometimes) - Derek Abernathy. I told him to write the name down and put it on the top shelf of an open file on my desk (so I'd see it every day). 18 months later (LOL!) I started writing Hot House. Why that amount of time, how did my husband know that Derek Abernathy was going to be an important part of my future? That's part of the mystery and magic of fiction writing...and marriage 🙂
am: Like many of your protagonists, Mari Ellwyn is complicated and has something to prove and something to heal. What draws you to this type of character?
LT: I love this intriguing assessment - prove and heal. You're right! And when you say it in those terms, I think every good protagonist has these elements. Like real people, fictional characters can have an external face that they show the world (how they want to be seen) and a more personal side of how they authentically feel. For Mari, I think she's trying to prove that she's healed from her shot-in-the-line-of-duty trauma and she's ready for prime time with a new partner. But what I think she's still working on, in this book, is being able to trust other people, which will be an issue for her as she starts this new relationship with Derek.
am: What defines Hot House as a Psychological thriller?
LT: Hot House could be thought of as a psychological thriller because the story has a psychological component in it as it relates to central victim of the story: Sophie Michaud. The narrative and backstory of Sophie's mental illness played an integral role in why she was targeted by her killer and ultimately why she died.
am: I find your work to be like jigsaw puzzles. Bits of information need to be identified then tried in different directions to find where they fit. Eventually it all comes together.
LT: I've always loved puzzles, and for people who love puzzles, they typically don't mind the not-knowing and temporary state of confusion when it comes to crime investigation. We look for obvious clues that are visible on the surface. And whether those pan out or not, there are always underlying layers of truth that have been established to conceal a crime and its perpetrators.
am: Do you think your background in IT has you wired to think in non-linear ways?
LT: Such an interesting question. Software engineering, I suppose, is a good metaphor for crime investigation. You write code to develop a new application (writing parallel: a theory), but there's a significant amount of testing and verification in many different contexts and scenarios to ensure that it actually works (proving the theory, evidence, etc). And on the less linear side, there's an important component of "debugging", which is a problem-solving investigation to fix any defects and things that don't work correctly. And I think this is where the creativity and thinking-out-of-box comes in. Why doesn't something work as expected? What are the variables that could be playing a role? When it comes to real and fictional criminal investigations, details arise that might not readily fit into a framework you've created for a suspect. But often investigators feel or sense a connection that might not be visible by others (a hunch). THIS is the nonlinear part. Not sure if working in IT or just reading mysteries since I was a little girl made be interested in this. I just know the investigations are fascinating and great fun.
am: What draws you to the thriller genre? Do you write in more than one subgenre of thriller?
LT: I think the pace, stakes, and vibe of thrillers draws me in as a reader, and that's what I'm pulled to write as well. My second book, Blackwater Tango, was also a psychological thriller, about a psychologist/profiler investigating a serial killer. I've heard from my readers (body in a lobster trap) that this was my creepiest book of all - LOL! The Ghost of Mary Prairie (2007) was very different - what I called a heartland suspense, about a 15 year old boy in rural Oklahoma investigating a ghost he encounters, which leads back to his family's tangled past. BooksRadar is a great site that shows all of my books, with descriptions, in the order they were published: https://www.booksradar.com/towles-lisa/towles.html
am: You have a full time IT job, how do you manage to publish two books a year?
LT: Honestly it's a constant struggle. Luckily I'm a night owl and I do most of my writing after 9pm and on weekends when I'm more relaxed and have time to think and reflect about my work in progress. I've learned that the Pomodoro Method (writing in 25 minute blasts) works well for me. But it's a hard negotiation to consistently juggle my day job, writing new work, editing my work, and marketing/promotion.
am: What kind of publishing team do you use?
LT: I've had a wonderful experience working with Indies United Publishing House for my last two books and I'm really excited to keep going. And I'm so grateful to have an Editor who I completely trust, some smart beta readers (like you, Ana!), loving friends and family who support me, and a growing community of engaged readers who kindly provide feedback to let me know what I'm doing right, what needs refining, and what's most important to them. After all, nothing is more important than our readers! 🙂
am: What was your first book?
LT: My first book (published under Lisa Polisar) was published in 2003, a suspense novel called Knee Deep about a body discovered in a mineral mine in rural New Mexico (where I lived for many years).
am: What’s coming next?
LT: My next publication is one of my favorite books, a political thriller called The Ridders, due for release on November 30, 2022.
am: When will the next E &A Investigations book come out?
LT: Book 2 in the E&A series, called Salt Island, will be released by Indies United on June 14, 2023
AVAILABLE: Amazon, B & N, Indies United Publishing House
It’s no mistake I happened upon Bharat Krishnan’s Privilege, Book 1 of the WP Trilogy, during this time of social and political change (do I dare say upheval?) in our country and around the world. Power and politics go hand-in-hand, imbuing every aspect of society from the nabobs to the powerless masses. Privilege, an #ownvoices political thriller, takes a hard look at privilege and power in the U.S.— who holds it, how one can achieve it, and who is barred from it. Krishnan claims politics seep into every aspect of society and believes we can’t understand each other without a firm, constant knowledge of how politics affect us.
The story is told by several characters, foremost, Rakshan Baliga, an Indian-American working for a profitable hedge fund in New York City. His boss, Aditya Shetty, has risen into the ranks of the rich and powerful, including acquiring the sought after WP, a drug with magical-like properties, causing consumers to be stronger, smarter, and more prosperous than mere mortals.
WP by law is forbidden to non-whites. But Rakshan wants his share. He also wants to marry Sadiya and have a family. Rakshan has an engagement ring made containing WP and proposes. Once on her finger, she realizes he is not what she wants and breaks up with him. He is determined to win her back and comes up with a plan to steal Aditya's WP and take over the hedge fund with the help of his best friends. With the WP he can spin a tale the world will believe and avoid arrest. His dreams will come true. That is, if he isn’t killed in the process.
Meanwhile, Sadiya has fallen for her best friend from childhood, Maadhini, and they travel back to India to tell her parents they are going to get married. Although Sadiya drags her feet on the revelation, the tension eases as the story's themes shift to family and values.
Even though he’s got his WP, things have not gone well for Rakshan, who alienates his friends in his drugged quest. He becomes involved with a congressional hearing to consider legalization of WP for all Americans and aligns with the mother of a boy murdered by the police to give testimony. The current president opposes legalization. The country is in the balance—and the story tension and pacing ratchet up. This story might have been ripped from today’s headlines.
The peek behind closed congressional doors was realistic and chilling. Privilege makes me wonder how any real change can be made and equity for all citizens be achieved with the madness of "privilege" addling our brains. I don’t come from an immigrant experience and have had many advantages in my life. Seeing our country through the “other’s” eyes has given me new understanding and fresh resolve to help with the solution. It’s time to unify our society under an inclusive and equitable system where we all can live healthy, productive and secure lives. How many more massacres at schools can we live with? Privilege is telling us to choose.
Choose wisely.
am: What presidential campaigns did you work on and when?
BK: I started my career with the Obama campaign way back in June 2007. Over the next decade, I traveled the country not just on his campaign but also managing local campaigns across the country, from school board and city council to state legislature. I've worked in just about every geographic region of the country, from Los Angeles to Louisiana to Virginia to New Hampshire.
am: What kind of educational background prepares you for this work?
BK: I have my BA in political science, with a certificate in political campaign management which is something my alma matter, American University, specialized in. I later got my MBA at Louisiana State University. Going there and working in places like Wichita, Kansas, I found how much state schools like LSU and Wichita State relied on foreign students who also worked at the schools as grad assistants.
am: How has your education and experience influenced this trilogy?
BK: My knowledge of politics seeped into every aspect of the trilogy, from how presidential campaigns really work on a practical level (i.e., what staffers do) to some legal stuff (i.e., book three has a super PAC in it).
am: Did you have a foursome of friends from school and childhood like Rakshan?
BK: Rakshan and his buddies are based on me and my three childhood friends. I put aspects of me and my life into each one of the five characters: Rakshan, Abhinav, Krish, Ash, and Ravi.
am: When did your family come to the US? How are the characters' experiences like yours or your family's?
BK: I really wanted to highlight the first-generation Indian-American experience, and also call out the differences and similarities. Most of Rakshan's friends grew up here, but you still have Krish who came to the US only later in life. There's no homogenous experience and I wanted to show that. For myself, my family came to the U.S. when I was about two years old.
am: What are your views on immigration?
BK: We need to do more to encourage immigration. Especially since Trump's election, people are now afraid to come here and it's a damn shame we've nurtured that type of environment. There's a long history of immigrants coming here for their education and staying, and to the extent we can encourage that with a more relaxed visa policy, the better.
am: Will we find out what happens to Rakshan, Sandiya and Maadhini?
BK: All three of these characters get an ending that makes sense for them! Everything will be clear by the end of the trilogy.
am: What do you hope readers will take away from Privilege?
BK: I use a story telling device I created myself called STOP. It stands for Story, Theme, Origin, and Plot. I try to sum up all my novels' stories in one or two sentences, and for the trilogy I'd say it's this: Power and Happiness are two separate things, and you have to choose which one you want.
am: Where are we going in the next two books? Will there be any happiness?
BK: Book one was just about New York, but in Book two we go to D.C. and India, and in Book three you'll go to Belize and Guatemala as well! And yes! There is happiness, but it takes big, bold choices and it doesn't always look the way we expect.
am: What else would you like to say to readers?
BK: I try to make the through-line in my novels radical emotional honesty, with politics always sprinkled in, because everything is political in my opinion. I'm very proud of Privilege for winning "Best Adult Fiction" in Ohio last year, and I hope you have a chance to check it out and my other stuff at www.bharatkrishnan.com.
Bharat calls himself a professional storyteller and amateur cook. After 10 years of working in politics, he's tried to explain how the country went from Barack Obama to Donald Trump by writing Confessions of a Campaign Manager. Then he wrote Oasis, a desert-fantasy novel that examined what makes a family and how refugees should be treated. Now the WP Trilogy. Looks like he's on a roll with themes of immigration, equity and power! If you enjoyed reading House of Cards, you'll enjoy Privilege.
- Reeshi Ray, Author of One Nation Under Gods
AS MANY OF MY READERS KNOW, I never miss DV Berkom's Leine Basso adventures. Leine, a former dark ops CIA assassin has become a kick-ass champion of trafficked people over her series, but this book is a departure from her work with the NGO. Leine is asked to train a group of ex-military for a joint CIA op to recover a deadly substance. Created by a Russian lab, the vials of virus are now in the hands of a jihadist. As the chase across Africa ensues, it's clear that there are more players than the terrorist Samir and Leine's team. A Plague of Traitors is a heart-pounding, horrifying, page turner—especially after what we know about pandemics since COVID. The story kept me awake after I was finally able to put the book down.
Another hit in the series!
The Leine Basso Thriller Series:
A Killing Truth
Serial Date
Bad Traffick
The Body Market
Cargo
The Last Deception
Dark Return
Absolution
Dakota Burn
Shadow of the Jaguar
A Plague of Traitors (August 2021)
DV Berkom is the USA Today bestselling author of action-packed, riveting adventure and crime thrillers. Known for creating resilient, kick-ass female characters and page-turning plots, her love of the genre stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, action/adventure stories, and thrillers.
A restless soul and adventurer at heart, she spent years moving around the US and traveling to exotic locales before she wrote her first novel and was hooked. More than a dozen books later, she now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Mark, and several imaginary characters who like to tell her what to do. Her most recent books include the Claire Whitcomb Western Series: Retribution, Gunslinger, and Legend, and the latest in the Leine Basso thriller series: A Plague of Traitors, Shadow of the Jaguar, Dakota Burn, and Absolution. DV's currently hard at work on her next thriller.
For more information, visit her website at www.dvberkom.com. To be the first to hear about new releases and subscriber-only offers, go to: bit.ly/DVB_RL
In 1991 I drove to Mexico to research a novel. I bought a 1969 VW pop-top camper and tricked it out with everything I thought I'd need for a six-month stay: no-see-um netting, a generator to run my desk lamp and a pre-laptop portable Toshiba computer and printer, solar fans to suck the heat out of the cabin and air shocks to smooth out the bumpy, pot-holed back roads of Mexico. My eleven-year-old German shepherd, Parsley, co-piloted from her red leather seat salvaged from a Cadillac, the twin to mine.
California had taken an economic nose dive around the same time we bombed Iraq and I'd gone from a thriving bookkeeping and tax preparation business with little in my savings, to a bulging portfolio and clients who couldn't pay me anymore. The universe pointed south. It had been my dream to learn Spanish and delve into the mesoamerican cultures while exploring Mexico, and overnight, the dream became reality. I made a plan, custom-built my bus's interior, packed my bags and headed out.
Three years later I hadn't written the planned book, but I'd lived an amazing array of experiences, starting with being threatened by armed narco-thugs on a lonely stretch of the Pan American Highway in the State of Michoacán—just like JadeAnne Stone, the heroine of the books I did write. It may have been a long time coming, but it was a Set Up from the start!
Now available Amazon B & N Kobo
If you enjoy the book, please take a moment to go to your retailer and leave an honest review. It won't take long, and it will enable me to write more of JadeAnne's adventures for you.
Thanks for being part of the journey.
~Ana
