Rhys Bowen – Clare Broyles and the Molly Murphy Mysteries are featured at the HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

Molly Murphy Mysteries - Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles





Wild Irish Rose

Molly Murphy Mysteries Book 18

Author: Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles

AVAILABLE at Amazon
Audible


New York, 1907: Now that she’s no longer a private detective—at least not officially—Molly Murphy Sullivan is looking forward to a time of settled tranquility with friends and family. Back in New York, where her own story began, Molly decides to accompany some friends to Ellis Island to help distribute clothing to those in need. This journey quickly stirs up memories for Molly. When you’re far from home and see people from your country, every face looks like a family member.

That evening Molly’s policeman husband, Daniel, is late returning home. He comes with a tale to tell: there was a murder on Ellis Island that day, and the main suspect is the spitting image of Molly. The circumstances are eerily similar to when Molly herself arrived on Ellis Island, and she can’t help but feel a sense of fate. Molly was meant to be there that day so that she can clear this woman’s name.





All That Is Hidden

Molly Murphy Mysteries Book 19

Author: Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles

Pre-Order at Amazon


"Retired" detective and police captain's wife Molly Murphy Sullivan tangles with Tammany Hall in the next in Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles's New York Times bestselling historical mystery series.

New York, Autumn, 1907: Former private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is happy with her place in the world. She and her policeman husband, Daniel, have built quite a life for themselves in Greenwich Village, in their modest-yet-beautiful-home in Patchin Place, filled with family, friends, and laughter. Molly and Daniel have a good marriage, a true partnership where they value each other’s opinions in all things.

So when he tells her they’re moving to a fancy home on Fifth Avenue—and that he’s running for the sheriff of New York—Molly is left reeling. Daniel begs Molly to trust him, but why would he run for sheriff on the Tammany ticket? A party known more for kickbacks and quid pro quo than anything else, it used to be everything Daniel despised. So what’s changed? And why didn’t he discuss it with her beforehand? Molly can’t help but wonder what Daniel’s got himself tangled up in… and whether he needs her help to get out.

In this next installment in this beloved series, All That Is Hidden, the incomparable Molly is drawn into the dangerous world of politics, forced to navigate through the webs of lies and deceit which are hidden behind a veil of vast wealth and grandeur.

Author: Rhys Bowen
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Mystery

Website: Rhys Bowen
Twitter: @RhysBowen
E-Mail: authorrhysbowen@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight

For complete list of Rhys' books:
Amazon Author Profile and Book List


Author Description:
Rhys Bowen is the New York Times bestselling author of two historical mystery series as well as the #1Kindle bestseller In Farleigh Field, the international bestseller The Tuscan Child. and three other historical novels--including the newly released THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK. This story takes a young woman to Venice to discover her great aunt's secret life.

In Farleigh Field was nominated for the Edgar Award, won the Agatha award for best historical mystery as well as the MacAvity and Bruce Alexander Memorial Awards.

Rhys was born in Bath, England and educated at London University but now divides her time between California and Arizona. Her books have been nominated for every major mystery award and she has won twenty of them to date, including four Agathas.

She currently writes two historical mystery series, each very different in tone. The Molly Murphy mysteries feature an Irish immigrant woman in turn-of-the-century New York City. These books are multi-layered, complex stories with a strong sense of time and place and have won many awards including Agatha and Anthony. There are 17 books so far in this series plus three Kindle stories, The Amersham Rubies, Through the Window and The Face in the Mirror--a great way to introduce new readers to Molly's spunky personality.

Then there is Lady Georgie, Rhys's latest,and very popular, heroine. She's 35th in line to the throne of England, but she's flat broke and struggling to survive in the Great Depression. These books are lighter and funnier than Molly's adventures. They poke gentle fun at the British class system--about which Rhys knows a lot, having married into an upper class family rather like Georgie's, with cousins with silly nicknames, family ghosts and stately homes. The thirteenth book in the series, Love and Death Among the Cheetahs, was published August 2019. Two books in the series have won the Agatha award for best historical mystery.

The series received the Readers Choice Award for favorite mystery series and Rhys was nominated for career achievement. It was also voted one of Goodreads top 10 cozy mysteries. The books have been translated into many languages and brought Rhys fans from around the world.

Her most recent achievement has been the big World War 2 stand-alone novels, In Farleigh Field and The Tuscan Child as well as The Victory Garden, a novel of WWi and Above the Bay of Angels--a young woman becomes a chef for Queen Victoria. They have enjoyed impressive sales world-wide and brought Rhys many new readers.

As a child Rhys spent time with relatives in Wales. Those childhood experiences colored her first mystery series, about Constable Evans in the mountains of Snowdonia. 10 books including the Edgar nominee Evan's Gate. She has lived in Austria, Germany and Australia, but has called California her home for many years. She now escapes to her home in Arizona during those cold California winters. When she's not writing she loves to travel, sing, hike, paint and play the Celtic harp--and hear from her readers!

Author: Clare Broyles
Author Genre: Cozy Mysteries

Website: Clare Broyles
Twitter: @ClareBroyles
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Amazon Author Profile and Book List


Author Description:
Clare Broyles, who is Rhys Bowen's daughter, is a teacher and a musician. She has worked as a composer and arranger in the theater for both Arizona Theater Company and Childsplay and was nominated for an Arizone 'Zoni' theater award. Clare is married to a teacher, and they have three children.


Some links may be connected to Associate sites.
Post Created by: James Moushon
Mystery writer, book industry blogger, and the sponsor of the following blogs
James Moushon's Website
HBS Author's Spotlight
eBook Author’s Corner
HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle
HBS Virtual Bookshelf

James Moushon Social Contact Information
Twitter
Facebook
Email Account: james.moushon@gmail.com
Amazon Profile
Goodreads Account

Ellen Mansoor Collier – Deco Dames, Demon Rum and Death is featured at the HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

The Showcase is a special feature of the Author's Spotlight. It is designed to highlight Spotlight author's NEW releases and their soon to be released novels.

The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES Ellen Mansoor Collier's Book: Deco Dames, Demon Rum and Death plus the Jazz Age Mystery series.

Ellen is the author of a Jazz Age mystery series set in 1920s Galveston. She is a Houston-based freelance writer and editor.

Deco Dames, Demon Rum and Death

A Jazz Age Mystery #5

Author: Ellen Mansoor Collier


AVAILABLE
Amazon


When young Galveston Gazette society reporter Jazz Cross hears rumors of grave robbers at the Broadway Cemetery, she and photographer Nathan Blaine investigate, hoping to land a scoop. The newshawks witness meetings held by clandestine gangs and enlist the help of her beau, Prohibition Agent James Burton, who attempts to catch the elusive culprits red-handed.

Meanwhile, the supernatural craze takes Galveston by storm, and Jazz is assigned to profile the society set’s favorite fortune teller, Madame Farushka. Sightings of a ghost bride haunting the Hotel Galvez intrigue Jazz, who sets up a Ouija board reading and séance with the spiritualist. Did the bride-to-be drown herself—or was she murdered?

Luckily, Sammy Cook, her black-sheep half-brother, has escaped the Downtown Gang and now acts as the maître d’ for the Hollywood Dinner Club, owned by rival Beach Gang leaders. During a booze bust, the Downtown Gang's mob boss, Johnny Jack Nounes, is caught and Jazz worries: will Sammy be forced to testify against his former boss? Worse, when a mystery man turns up dead, Sammy is framed for murder and Jazz must solve both murders and help clear Sammy's name.

As the turf war between rival gangs rages on, Jazz relies on her wits and moxie to rescue her brother and her friends before the Downtown Gang exacts its revenge.

Author: Ellen Mansoor Collier

Author Genre: Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime

E-Mail: decodame@flash.net
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight

Amazon Author Profile and Book List



Author Description:
Ellen Mansoor Collier is a Houston-based freelance writer and editor whose articles and essays have been published in several national magazines. She's interviewed Suze Orman, Nancy Brinker and many unsung heroines and heroes for various publications including: FAMILY CIRCLE, BIOGRAPHY, MODERN BRIDE, FIRST, GLAMOUR, COSMOPOLITAN, COUNTRY ACCENTS, NATION'S BUSINESS, PLAYGIRL, etc. Several of her short stories, both mystery and romance, have appeared in WOMAN'S WORLD. Set during Prohibition in 1920s Galveston, her Jazz Age mystery series was inspired by real-life rival gangs and historic events, but the plot and details were changed to protect the guilty as well as the author.

Formerly Collier has worked as a magazine editor, a substitute teacher, a community newspaper reporter and in advertising/marketing as well as public relations. During college, she once worked as the world's worst cocktail waitress, providing background for her speakeasy scenes. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Magazine Journalism, and served as president of WICI (Women in Communications, Inc.) and as an editor on UTmost, the UT Magazine, her senior year. FLAPPERS, FLASKS AND FOUL PLAY is the first novel in her Jazz Age mystery series, followed by BATHING BEAUTIES, BOOZE AND BULLETS, GOLD DIGGERS, GAMBLERS AND GUNS, VAMPS, VILLAINS AND VAUDEVILLE and DECO DAMES, DEMON RUM AND DEATH.

"When you grow up in Houston, Galveston becomes like a second home. I had no idea this sleepy beach town had such a wild and colorful past, and became fascinated by the legends and stories of the 1920s."




Author's Book List




Vamps, Villains and Vaudeville - A Jazz Age Mystery #4
America's Got Talent meets Lois Lane in this soft-boiled flapper caper. Young and ambitious society reporter Jazz Cross is in for a surprise when she attends a travelling vaudeville show with her beau, Prohibition Agent James Burton, and discovers that an old flame acts in the production. When an actor in the troupe disappears and later turns up dead behind her half-brother Sammy’s bar, he falls under suspicion and Jazz must prove his innocence.

Meanwhile jewel thieves are turning up all over town, stealing precious jewelry from the society set, baffling local police. Is the mob involved? After a rival actor is found strangled, cops blame her ex, Derek. While trying to clear his name—to Burton’s dismay—Jazz discovers the secrets behind the scenes. Worse, Sammy’s old nemesis wants payback and forces him into yet another illegal scheme. Can Jazz help solve the murders and locate the missing gems—so Sammy can escape the Downtown Gang for good?


Order the Book From:
Amazon






Gold-Diggers, Gamblers and Guns - A Jazz Age Mystery #3
Young society reporter Jasmine (Jazz) Cross longs to cover hard news in 1920s Galveston, but she's stuck between two clashing cultures: the world of gossip and glamour vs. gangsters and gamblers. During Prohibition, the Island was called the "Free State of Galveston" due to its lax laws and laissez faire attitude toward gambling, girls and bootlegging.

After Downtown Gang leader Johnny Jack Nounes is released from jail, all hell breaks loose: Prohibition Agent James Burton’s life is threatened and he must go into hiding for his own safety. But when he’s framed for murder, he and Jazz must work together to prove his innocence. Johnny Jack blames Jasmine’s half-brother Sammy Cook, owner of the Oasis speakeasy, for his arrest and forces him to work overtime in a variety of dangerous mob jobs as punishment.

When a bookie is murdered, Jazz looks for clues linking the two murders and delves deeper into the underworld of gambling: poker games, slot machines and horse-racing. Meanwhile, Jazz tries to keep both Burton and her brother safe, and alive, while they face off against a common enemy.


Order the Book From:
Amazon






BATHING BEAUTIES, BOOZE AND BULLETS - A Jazz Age Mystery #2
It’s 1927 in Galveston, Texas—the “Sin City of the Southwest.” Jasmine (“Jazz”) Cross is an ambitious 21-year-old society reporter for the Galveston Gazette who tries to be taken seriously by the good-old-boy staff, but the editors only assign her fluffy puff pieces, like writing profiles of bathing beauties. The last thing Jazz wants to do is compare make-up tips with ditzy dames competing in the Miss Universe contest, known as the “International Pageant of Pulchritude and Bathing Girl Revue.”

She’d rather help solve the murders of young prostitutes who turn up all over town, but city officials insist on burying the stories during Splash Day festivities. After Jazz gets to know the bathing beauties, she realizes there’s a lot more to them than just pretty faces and figures. Jazz becomes suspicious when she finds out the contest is also sponsored by the Maceos, aspiring Beach Gang leaders and co-owners of the Hollywood Dinner Club, where the girls will perform before the parade and pageant.

Worse, her half-brother Sammy Cook, owner of the Oasis, a speakeasy on a rival gang’s turf, asks her to call in a favor from handsome Prohibition Agent James Burton—an impossible request that could compromise both of their jobs and budding romance. While Agent Burton gives her the cold shoulder, she fends off advances from Colin Ferris, an attractive but dangerous gangster who threatens Sammy as well as Burton. In the end, she must risk it all to save her friends from a violent killer hell-bent on revenge. Inspired by actual events.


Order the Book From:
Amazon






Flappers, Flasks and Foul Play - A Jazz Age Mystery #1
"Boardwalk Empire" meets "Midnight in Paris" in this soft-boiled historical mystery, inspired by actual events. Rival gangs fight over booze and bars during Prohibition in 1920s Galveston: the "Sin City of the Southwest."

Jasmine Cross, a 21-year-old society reporter, feels caught between two clashing cultures: the seedy speakeasy underworld and the snooty social circles she covers in the Galveston Gazette. During a night out with her best friend, Jazz witnesses a bar fight at the Oasis--a speakeasy secretly owned by her black-sheep half-brother, Sammy Cook. But when a big-shot banker with a hidden past collapses there and later dies, she suspects foul play. Was it an accident or a mob hit?

Soon handsome young Prohibition Agent James Burton raids the Oasis, threatening to shut it down if Sammy doesn't talk. Suspicious, he pursues Jazz, but despite her mixed feelings she refuses to rat on Sammy. As turf wars escalate between two real-life rival gangs, Sammy is accused of murder. To find the killer, Jazz must risk her life and career, exposing the dark side of Galveston's glittering society.


Order the Book From:
Amazon


Post Created by: James Moushon
Mystery Author, Industry blogger and Author Advocate
James is the author of the following blogs:
HBS Author’s Spotlight
Indie Author's Corner
Reader's News Flash

Judith Starkston - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Judith Starkston. She writes Fantasy, Historical Fiction and Mystery novels. Judith is a member of the Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter.

Author: Judith Starkston

Author Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery

Website: Judith Starkston
Author's Blog: Judith Starkston Weekly Posts
Judith Starkston Newsletter
Twitter: @JudithStarkston
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Amazon Author Profile



Author Description:
Judith Starkston has spent too much time reading about and exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Early on she went so far as to get two degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories. This has gradually gotten more and more out of hand. Her solution: to write fantasy set in the exotic worlds of the past. Fantasy and Magic in a Bronze Age World. Hand of Fire was a semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennett's Award for Historical Fiction. Priestess of Ishana won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award.

Judith has two grown children and lives in Arizona with her husband. Because writing is best done with community, Judith belongs to her local Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime, the Society of Southwestern Authors and the Arizona chapter of the Historical Novel Society. Judith is represented by Richard Curtis.

For a free short story set in her Bronze Age fantasy world and a free cookbook of recipes inspired by the ancient Mediterranean foods in her novels, subscribe to Judith's newsletter on her website. The newsletter goes out occasionally with updates about new releases, special offers and useful information about recommended books and the background of her Bronze Age world.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Congratulations on your book: Priestess of Ishana. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Next on the drawing board is the second book in the Tesha series (Priestess is the first), with the working title of Sorcery in Alpara. Probable release this summer. Tease: Tesha expands her magical repertoire and there will be fantastical beasts

You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?

I wouldn't say I started before social media. Twitter, FB etc. are useful for reaching out to new readers. I try to build community by offering what readers of my historical fantasy would likely enjoy, brief insights into recent archaeological discoveries and oddities.

You do book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances. When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I'm speaking with two other authors on author marketing this Saturday at the Poisoned Pen to the Arizona Historical Novel Society (spoiler alert: I'm the founder of this chapter). Best place to keep up with me online is via my newsletter.

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

I give some basic info to my cover designer to start the process but primarily I trust her incredible talent. We go back and forth all through the process so the design stays in harmony with my sense of what feels right. I could never produce the art, but I can respond to her work and suggest what's feeling off if anything is. We chop off heads and add new ones, change the body positions, clothing, the background elements, etc.

I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of an Anthology from Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter called SoWest: Desert Justice and others. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other authors? How did you put something like that together?

I had no other books out when I was included in the SinC Desert Sleuths anthology. For me it was a great first step into publishing. They did all the work of putting it together. I can't claim that. Bundling is a great author strategy that I'd love to do more of.

Besides the Sisters in Crime/ Desert Sleuths what other writer support groups do you belong too? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I also belong to Historical Novel Society (and founded our local chapter of it) and Southwest Writers. All three organizations have excellent speakers on all aspects of the writing life from craft to marketing and publishing.

What is your primary genre? What has been your best marketing approach to this group?

Historical fantasy. Genre specific newsletters such as Book Barbarian and interacting on r/fantasy. Historical fiction blogs and reviewing sites.

Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?

I have the luxury of writing full time, so I sit down first thing in the morning and I keep at it until the end of the day, just like any other job. Sometimes life interrupts that schedule with doctor's appointments or something fun like lunch with friends or travels, but that's the basic plan. When my brain is done writing fiction, I attend to the marketing and other less creative sides of the job.

You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed and marketing your books. What is your primary goal? And where in the world do you find the time to create great novels, take care of the social media and maintain your blog?

You might have noticed that my blog posts are primarily made up of snippets about interesting discoveries in archaeology and history. I come across them over the week, put them up on my social media and then also compile them as part of my blog. So I get double mileage out of my efforts. My primary goal with all of this is to build a community of people who enjoy reading about some of the more exotic corners of the ancient world--whether in my blog, social media, newsletter--or best of all, my books.

The Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter 2019 - Mesa Public Library - Red Mountain Branch was a special event. A library is a unique selling situation. How did you prepare for the event? Did it meet your goals? If you had to do something different, what would that be?



Library events are always fun. People go to libraries to find new books to read so they're great places to connect with readers. People don't go to libraries to buy books, so I would have focused the event more on our panels and visiting with readers and less on having tables set up to sell from. Might as well provide what people are looking for.



Author's Book List
Priestess of Ishana - Tesha Series Book 1
A curse, a conspiracy and the clash of kingdoms. A defiant priestess confronts her foes, armed only with ingenuity and forbidden magic.

A malignant curse from the Underworld threatens Tesha's city with fiery devastation. The young priestess of Ishana, goddess of love and war, must overcome this demonic darkness. Charred remains of an enemy of the Hitolian Empire reveal both treason and evil magic. Into this crisis, King Hattu, the younger brother of the Great King, arrives to make offerings to the goddess Ishana, but he conceals his true mission in the city. As a connection sparks between King Hattu and Tesha, the Grand Votary accuses Hattu of murderous sorcery and jails him under penalty of death. Isolated in prison, Hattu's only hope lies in Tesha to uncover the conspiracy against him. Unfortunately, the Grand Votary is Tesha's father, a rash, unyielding man, and now her worst enemy. To help Hattu, she must risk destroying her own father.

Step into this exotic world of historical fantasy, with its richly imagined details of the Bronze Age, evocative of the Near East. In a whirlpool of magic, politics, family crisis and love, Tesha pursues justice over the dark forces arrayed against her.


Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO Store


Hand of Fire - Trojan Threads Book 1
A legendary war, an invincible warrior, a woman forced to defend her family and realm--and her independent spirit. Will she become the captive or the captor?

Briseis struggles to protect her city, an ally of Troy, from marauding Greeks and her husband's arrogant violence. She finds strength in visions of a handsome warrior god until he appears before her in flesh and blood. When Briseis raises a sword against the mighty Achilles, she ignites a passion that threatens to betray everyone she holds dear.

Hand of Fire, set against the backdrop of the Trojan War, blends history and myth in Briseis's untold story of adventure, hope and resilience. Immerse yourself in this richly depicted Bronze Age world where Greek gods walk the earth, epic heroes fight with sword and heart, and a woman dares to determine her own destiny.


Order the Book From:
Amazon


Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
Indie Author’s Corner and HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle