Monday, October 31, 2016

HBS Author’s Spotlight – Class of October 2016

This month we have a group of interesting writers with worlds of knowledge and expertise. The author interviews are a MUST read.

Be sure to check out what they have coming next for their readers. I try to pick authors who are interesting studies and ask them unique questions for our Q/A section.

Check out the Showcase feature of the HBS Author's Spotlight. I have included those authors in this class. Also, we have added the Author Bundles we have posted this month.

Thanks to the following outstanding authors for a great month. Here is a summary of our October 2016 crew.


Rosemary McCracken


Author Genre: Mystery

Author's Blog: Moving Target
Website: Rosemary McCracken
Twitter: @RCMcCracken
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Rosemary McCracken writes the Pat Tierney mysteries. Safe Harbor, the first mystery in the series, was a finalist for Britain's Debut Dagger. It was published by Imajin Books in 2012, followed by Black Water in 2013 and Raven Lake earlier this year. “The Sweetheart Scamster,” a Pat Tierney story in the anthology, Thirteen, was a Derringer finalist in 2014. Jack Batten, The Toronto Star’s crime fiction reviewer, calls Pat “a hugely attractive sleuth figure.”

Rosemary lives in Toronto, Canada, and teaches novel writing at George Brown College.



Interview Excerpt

Next: I’m currently working on my fourth Pat Tierney mystery, which I hope to see released in the spring of 2018. It takes me about 18 months to write an novel and get it ready for submission.

Social media: Social media is a major part of my marketing strategy. I do a fair amount of speaking and holding workshops within easy travelling distance.

I make personal appearances whenever the opportunity arises. The Mesdames of Mayhem, the writers’ collective I mentioned, is instrumental in arranging appearances in libraries. Another case of authors helping authors. The Mesdames banded together for exactly this purpose, and the group has a website to promote members’ books and appearances:

https://mesdamesofmayhem.com/


Short stories: The Mesdames of Mayhem’s short story collections are intended to be calling cards for the authors, giving readers a sample of their writing and information about where they can find their other work. I’m not sure how much impact they’ve actually had on sale of my novels, but I figure everything is grist to the mill.

Free Books: Imajin Books, the publisher of my three novels ... Organizes promos for it authors’ books several times a year. Selected books are listed at 99 cents or for Free on Amazon for a five-day period… Sometimes we make a make a fair bit of money on the promo; others are not as successful, and we really don’t know why.

Blog: Moving Target—so named because a writer’s target is constantly moving from finishing the novel, to getting it published, to marketing it—is a tracking my big book adventure. My diary that I can refer to later.

Toronto’s Harborfront Centre Book festival: I enjoy a good book festival. You just attended Word on the Street at Toronto’s Harborfront Centre. A Book festival is a unique selling situation. How did you prepare for the festival? Did it meet your goals? If you had to do something different next year, what would that be?

Word on the Street is a magical event, a gathering of writers, readers and books on the shore of Lake Ontario when the weather is generally still warm in Toronto before we go into our deep freeze until April. It’s a chance to reach readers in person who come to the city for the festival, people I wouldn’t meet at library events…


Author's Book List
Raven Lake
Black Water
Safe Harbor


For the rest of the story...View Rosemary McCracken - HBS Author's Spotlight

Alexander McNabb


Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Romance

Author's Blog: Alexander McNabb
Twitter: @AlexanderMcNabb
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Alexander McNabb has been working in, living in and travelling around the Middle East for some 30 years. Formerly a journalist, editor and magazine publisher, today he is a consultant on media, publishing and digital communications.

Alexander's first serious novel was the critically acclaimed 'Olives - A Violent Romance', a work that explores the attitudes, perceptions and conflicts of the Middle East, exposing a European sensibility to the strange and multi-layered world of life on the borders of Palestine. Self-published in 2011, the book found a receptive audience and triggered wide controversy.

This was followed by testosterone-soaked international spy thriller 'Beirut - An Explosive Thriller', which was published in 2012. His third Middle East-based novel, 'Shemlan - A Deadly Tragedy', a thriller about a man dying of cancer unearthing his even more deadly past, was published in 2013. Together, the three novels form the 'Levant Cycle'.

Alexander's next novel, 'A Decent Bomber' is set in Ireland and published in 2015. It tells the story of a retired IRA bomb-maker forced to resume his old trade and pitches 'old terror' against 'new terror' in a battle of wits between an Irish farmer with a past and Somali extortionists with a questionable future.

Alexander's latest novel, 'Birdkill', published in March 2016. A psychological thriller based around a teacher who has lost her recent past to 'The Void', a terrible incident she can't recall and nobody seems to be in a hurry to tell her about. Her friend Mariam embarks on a race to uncover the truth before Robyn is driven over the edge into insanity.

Alexander's website www.alexandermcnabb.com
contains buy links, info, FAQs and a contact form as well as other stuff.



Interview Excerpt

Next: The next book took a little time to sort of bob up to the top of the ideas pile. Like Birdkill before it, the core idea had been around for ages until the time to write it just seemed, well, right . It’s called The Dead Sea Hotel and it’s about an old Armenian gentleman who runs a clapped out hotel in Amman, Jordan, who tries to keep things on an even keel despite his wayward daughter and a changing world around him he doesn’t much like.

Social media: I’d say it has been fundamental to the way things have panned out. I worked out the other day I’ve written more words on Twitter than I have in my books, which is something of a worry! As far as actually selling books goes, social media is rubbish. I’ve tracked the results very carefully (because, as you know, with Amazon et al you can) and tweeting book promotional messages don’t cut the mustard at all. There are few things worse than the plaintive wailing of authors whining ‘buy my book’ repeatedly and few sights more tragic than authors trying to sell to groups of other authors.

Great covers: Mind, don’t even get me started on the mistakes I’ve made, because you’ll be here all day. My first serious novel, Olives – A Violent Romance, was a WIP for something like six years before I decided to self-publish it. The book had always been called Olives and I just couldn’t change it, try as I might… I asked an artist friend to design my cover and she duly did and I loved it, truly loved it. Readers here in the Middle East like it, too – I guess because it has a very Arab aesthetic to it. But it’s not a strong commercial cover…

Time management: I’m married to a teacher, so Sarah spends an inordinate amount of time out of school working. We sit happily in our study, back to back: she planning, marking and making worksheets and me writing or dreaming up PR stunts. Or wasting time on Twitter.

I think about my books on the drive to work, about an hour, and have another hour before the office wakes up which I use to write. And I’ll usually get a quick session in the evening. Fridays, the first day of the weekend here in the UAE, I’ll generally spend mostly on book stuff. If I’m doing 1,000 words a day…


Free books: Free has been my most successful marketing tactic of all, without doubt. Amazon’s five day quarterly giveaway windows aren’t as effective as you’d think, at least they haven’t been for me, while putting a title on permanent giveaway has really livened things up.

Reader list: Yes, I do, but I’m not nearly as active or creative with it as I should be. To tell you the truth, I have become a little weary with the relentless, Sisyphean task of marketing. And I’m a little uncomfortable with formulaically ‘using’ people as a book marketing tactic. Oddly, I’ve found more good stuff has happened to me since I stopped ‘working on my platform’. I’m not suggesting people give up marketing or building a following by any means. It’s just that it hasn’t dovetailed with me personally.

Great blog: The blog’s a little neglected of late, to be honest. I used to post pretty much daily, but these days it can be weeks between posts. I started it in 2007 and still don’t understand it. I’ll post a witless half-thought and get a bazillion views and then put up a considered, thought-through piece of inspired clarity and sit by myself watching the tumbleweed.

Dubai creates a unique selling and marketing situation: It can get pretty frustrating. My original strategy was to create a fuss here and try and move it over to the UK, but there’s a sort of glass wall between the two. Amazon doesn’t support the UAE (or anywhere in the Middle East), so I can’t even get reviews from my sizeable reader base here, because Amazon only lets you post a review if you have an account. And my readers here are mostly buying print books because Kindles aren’t really sold here.

Reviews: I’ve got a mailing list of blogs but that’s a big job in itself. I’ve lost count of the book blogs I’ve seen starting with a breathless, “I love books, so…” and then just grind into the ground and die two years later. Book bloggers generally have a very long TBR list, anything up to six months and more. I find asking nicely goes a long way and once I’ve got a review from a blogger they’re keen to look at the next title. The problem is each time you make a convert, their blog does the grinding into the ground thing!

Important information to authors: I don’t offer services to authors as such, but am always happy to lend a hand where I can, so please don’t hesitate to shout. I run workshops on writing, editing and publishing here in the UAE, particularly in conjunction with the Emirates Literature Foundation and Emirates Airline Festival of Literature both of whom have been wonderfully supportive of both me and my books. If you do need anything, you can easily catch me at @alexandermcnabb or alexandermcnabb.com where there’s a contact form.

Author's Book List
Birdkill
A Decent Bomber
Shemlan
Beirut
Olives
Space


For the rest of the story...View Alexander McNabb - HBS Author's Spotlight

Jon Mills


Author Genre: Thriller, Literature& Fiction, Young Adult

Website: Jon Mills
Twitter: @Jon_Mills
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Jon is from England but resides in Canada.

Jon is currently writing two series. The Debt Collector series and Black Raven which is a CIA thriller.

Among the many books he writes under pen names, he has also written:

The UNDISCLOSED TRILOGY which is a young adult thriller about the origins of mankind, conspiracy theories, the choices we make, and the secrets that are kept from us. Filled with suspense, adventure and a slew of characters that you will love, the books deliver an incredible thrill ride and an unforgettable original story.

The DEBT COLLECTOR series is thriller about a hitman turned vigilante. Loved by people and hated by criminals he now lives to help others. Jack Winchester was a notorious hitman for a ruthless New Jersey crime family until a job went wrong, and he wound up serving time. Four years later, Jack is free and he wants out of the game, but his boss won't let him go. Forced to take on one last job to make amends for what landed him in prison, he travels to the small town of Rockland Cove, Maine. There, he not only discovers that the target and money have disappeared; he finds himself falling for a damaged woman, and befriending an unruly son left behind.

He also wrote The Promise which is about an A list actor who is forced into go to rehab and falls for his counselor. Romantically challenged and still reeling from her mother's death. Hailey Welland, an addiction counselor in a small town in New York, struggles to keep her parents' once flourishing treatment center from closing. When faced with a proposition of help she can't refuse, sparks fly as Hailey discovers it all hinges on helping the one Hollywood actor that no other center will touch.With only two weeks to make it work, will Hailey be able to step up to the challenge?



Interview Excerpt

Next: The next book out will be called, Prey. This will be the sixth book in the Debt Collector series. It will be released in early November 2016.

Social media is a strange beast. I treat it like any other part of the book business. It’s another cog in the wheel. Some use it. Some don’t. I don’t give it much weight as I can count on one hand how many people I keep tabs on via social media. The rest is just noise.

Great covers: I have someone who does all my book covers. I might get feedback on covers that have been made but I don’t rely on that feedback. I usually give my designer a rough idea of what the book is about, and give him a few ideas and then he does the rest.

Short stories: Short stories can be very profitable. I write under many pen names, most that I don’t reveal and I have good success with them. True Connection hasn’t had that much impact on the sales of my other books because it’s in a different genre. Most of mine are thrillers. That one is a drama/love story.

Bundles: I use bundling to reach the audience that won’t buy one book in a series, they prefer to buy three in one go and save a few bucks.

Free books: I believe 100% in giving away a book for free. It can have a big impact on a series that isn’t moving. It has worked very well with The Debt Collector series. Now, having said that I wouldn’t do it with every series. It depends on how competitive the genre is. I have some books that do fine without the first one free. I also use giveaways via Goodreads mainly for getting the word out there when a new book has been released.

I have a readers list. I email twice a month. I collect emails by giving away a free book on my website and by placing a link in the back of my books to sign up for special subscriber only discounts.

Reviews: I have a blurb in the back of my book that asks people to leave a review if they liked it. That seems to do the trick. You really only need about 5 or 10 good reviews. There are a lot of authors out there using questionable ways to get reviews. I don’t agree with most of them but each to their own. At the end of the day, if your book cover is good, if your blurb is good and your story is good it will get good reviews. I do think an author should ask, but only ask those who have read your book.

Author's Book List
Angel of Death - Debt Collector
Hard to Kill - Debt Collector
Reborn - Debt Collector
Vengeance - Debt Collector
The Debt Collector
Clandestine
Retribution
Undisclosed
The Promise: A Novel


For the rest of the story...View Jon Mills - HBS Author's Spotlight

HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

Arleen Alleman
Featured Book: Currents of Sin


Homeless teens are disappearing off the streets in Las Vegas. Investigative reporter Darcy Farthing travels to Sin City to find a missing girl, Pammie Fleetfoot. Working with her friend and former LA cop, Tom Smythe, she soon learns the tragic reality of street teens caught up in human trafficking for prostitution controlled by Asian gangs. Darcy and Tom form a bond with two frightened teen prostitutes, but soon after they confront their young pimp, he is brutally murdered. Darcy blames herself and fears for the girls’ safety. They refuse her offer of help and will not leave the streets because a self-styled neighborhood preacher has a mysterious hold on them. Meanwhile, violence is escalating on the streets.

While in Vegas, Darcy is staying with her best friend, Sid, who is threatened by an anonymous caller. Darcy fears that her meddling with traffickers is endangering Sid. In a shocking twist, a horrific car accident changes everything for Darcy and Sid. Darcy is convinced it was deliberately orchestrated. Despite being injured, she won’t leave Vegas until she determines who is responsible and what has happened to Pammie. Darcy’s husband, Mick, a government investigator who’s been fighting depression, rushes to join her. With his help, she discovers a startling connection between the human traffickers, the accident, and an old enemy intent on more revenge. When the police and FBI finally raid the traffickers’ prostitution ring, Darcy is caught between two vicious criminal networks.



Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Author's Blog: Arleen Alleman
Website: Author Arleen Alleman
Twitter: @aallemanwrites
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Arleen Alleman is a former analyst with the Government Accountabililty Office, where she wrote extensively on many topics ranging from satellite systems to endangered species. She has also worked as a fashion model, insurance adjuster, jewelry designer, and owner of a home decor shop. Her interests include health and fitness, world religions, travel, and she is an avid reader. The Darcy Farthing Adventures: Six exciting, contemporary, suspense-filled mysteries--Download to your Kindle now or buy a book to discover this unique thought-provoking series for yourself.

Arleen says that traveling is not only fun, but the various world locations supply backdrops and narration for her fictional stories. Born in England and raised in New Hampshire and Nevada, she lived in Colorado for many years. She and her husband, Tim, recently moved to Southwest Florida. For more information about the author, visit her website at http://www.arleenalleman.com

The series is unique in that it addresses contemporary social issues along with the murder-mystery elements of the stories. Themes addressed in the series include, humanism, crime, family issues and adoption, PTSD, alternative lifestyles, government corruption, and cruise ship safety.

"Currents of Sin" is the sixth and final book in the series. It explores the very real problem of human trafficking for prostitution among homeless teens in Las Vegas, while wrapping up the characters lives.

The fifth Darcy Farthing adventure, "A Current Deception", explores themes of computer hacking, identity theft, and long-held grudges and revenge played out on a cruise ship sailing around Australia. Murder-mystery with the added plots of a yellow crazy ant infestation as well as food-borne pathogens.

The fourth Darcy Farthing adventure "Alternate Currents" was a finalist in Foreword Reviews Magazine's 2013 Indie Book of the Year Awards. This is a timely topical story of mystery, child abduction, and murder set in Seattle, WA. Darcy rushes to the aid of good friend, Don Freeburg, when his partner, Charlie Scott, disappears. She is soon immersed in a murder investigation and the shocking abduction of Penelope, Don and Charlie's daughter by surrogacy.

The first two novels in the series are based on crime and mystery aboard cruise ships. The third in series "Current Assets" is set in South Florida and involves local corruption, terrorism, and the U.S. Marshals asset forfeiture program.

Author's Book List
Currents of Sin
A Current Deception
Alternate Currents
Current Assets
Currents of Vengeance
Currents Deep and Deadly


For the rest of the story...View Arleen Alleman - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

Catherine Bybee
Featured Book: Married by Monday


Carter Billings: Sandy blond hair and Hollywood good looks, Carter Billings could have any woman he wants. However, when he makes his bid for the Governor's seat in the state of California, he needs to settle down and become a family man. Eliza, the woman he secretly adores, embodies the perfect amount of spice and passion to suit his marital needs, but she’s not interested in becoming Mrs. Billings. She can't even stand to be in the same room with him. Eliza Havens: It’s much easier to drive Carter away than to give into desire. Matching couples is how she earns a living, but getting married isn’t an option. The secrets she carries are too dangerous to entangle anyone else. When her hidden identity and past threaten her future, she’s left with little choice. Carter is quick to offer solutions to both their problems, but saying yes could mean endangering the man she’s growing to love. Author of New York Times Bestseller, Wife by Wednesday presents, Book Two in the Weekday Bride Series



Author Genre: Romance

Author's Blog: Romance by Catherine
Website: Catherine Bybee
Twitter: @catherinebybee
E-Mail: catherinebybee@yahoo.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
New York Times Bestselling Author
USA Today Bestselling Author
Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
#1 Amazon Bestselling Author
#1 Indie Reader Bestselling Author

New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating from high school, she moved to Southern California with hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite series, the MacCoinnich Time Travel series as well as the Weekday Brides series.

Author's Book List
Not Quite Perfect
Seduced by Sunday
Not Quite Forever
Highland Protector
Not Quite Enough
Fiance by Friday
Married by Monday
Wife by Wednesday
Not Quite Mine
Not Quite Dating
Embracing the Wolf
Highland Shifter
Redeeming Vows
Silent Vows
Binding Vows
Soul Mate
Not Quite Series


For the rest of the story...View Catherine Bybee - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

Bill Cronin
Featured Book: Joe and the Governor


Joe is homeless living behind Billie St. John’s restaurant in Key West, Florida. He’s running from something he can’t face. For four years, he’s lived in anonymity, avoiding any contact that might expose him to the people searching for him. Joe has a chance meeting with the governor of Florida. The encounter changes the course of his life and gives him the courage to face his enemies.



Author Genre: Mystery, Contemporary, Fiction

Website: Bill Cronin
Twitter: @billcroninwrite
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
After a 30 year career in the telecommunications industry, Bill sold a telecommunications and business management consultancy in 2000 to pursue a writing career. Bill wrote for the Orlando Sentinel briefly following military service during the Vietnam War and during his career as a consultant, Bill wrote frequently for the NTCA Rural Telecommunications Magazine. In 1995 Bill wrote a non-fiction book on the opportunities for local telephone companies to resell long distance service.

In 1994, Bill began work on his first novel, “Dial Tone” which he published as an e-book on Amazon/Kindle in July 2012. Since, Bill has written and published four other novels including “The Song of the Mockingbird” 2013, “Ruby’s Story 2014,” and “The Tainted Lady” 2014 and “Letting Go,” 2015.

Bill and his wife Linda live on the East Coast of Central Florida

Author's Book List
Joe and the Governor
Letting Go
The Tainted Lady
Ruby's Story
The Song of the Mockingbird
Dial Tone


For the rest of the story...View Bill Cronin - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

Dianne Harman
Featured Book: Murder at the Clinic


Kat Denham, a popular author of steamy romance novels, has decided to write a book in a different genre. She has a friend who's a doctor of acupuncture, has just lost over one hundred pounds, is getting married in mid-life for the first time to a doctor, and seems like the perfect role model for the protagonist in Kat's soon-to-be-written book. But fate intervenes when Kat happens to be at the acupuncture clinic when a patient, Sandy Hendrick, mysteriously dies. Suddenly Kat is involved in a murder mystery she has to solve to save her reputation and that of her friend, Mitzi.

Who was the murderer? Was it Mitzi, Kat's acupuncturist? Or was it a doctor from the clinic who desperately wants Mitzi discredited, so he'll be named the Assistant Dean of Acupuncture? Then there's Sandy's philandering husband, Matt, and Mitzi's fiancee's ex-girlfriend. Or was it the clinic's receptionist, Rochelle? Will the sting Kat devises to help catch the murderer work? And what part does Kat's guard dog, Rudy, play?



Author Genre: Romance and Literary Fiction

Author's Blog: Dianne Harman Author
Website: Dianne Harman Author
Twitter: @DianneDHarman
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Dianne Harman draws her stories and characters from a diverse business and personal background. She owned a national antique and art appraisal business for many years, left that industry, and opened two yoga centers where she taught yoga and certified yoga instructors. She's traveled extensively throughout the world and loves nothing more than cooking and playing with her new puppy, Kelly.

Being a dog lover and having attended numerous cooking schools, she couldn't resist writing about food and dogs. She is the author of three cozy mystery series: Cedar Bay, Liz Lucas, and her newest, High Desert. Each of these books contains recipes from her travels. She is also the author of the award-winning suspenseful Coyote Series.

A number of books in her cozy mystery series have been designated by Amazon as All-Stars because of their sales, and Dianne has been named by Amazon seven times as one of their most popular authors.

She invites you to visit her web site at: www.dianneharman.com and sign up for her newletters. You'll receive a free book and have a weekly chance to win an autographed boxed set of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series.

Author's Book List
Murder at the Polo Club
Murder at the Clinic
Murder on the East Coast
Murder at the Big T Lodge
Murdered by Country Music
Murdered by Words
Trouble at the Kennel
The Blue Butterfly
Murder in Cuba
Murder At The Bed & Breakfast
Murder & The Monkey Band
Murder at the Cooking School
The Death Card
Murder in Calico Gold
Murder and Brandy Boy
Murder in the Pearl District
Murder in Cottage #6
Marriage and Murder
White Cloud Retreat
Murder at Jade Cove
Kelly's Koffee Shop
COYOTE SERIES
CORNERED COYOTE
Coyote in Provence
Blue Coyote Motel


For the rest of the story...View Dianne Harman - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase

HBS Bundles and Co-Authored Showcase


Featured Set: The Detective Kendall Halsrud Series



Marla Madison
Promise of Malice - Book 3 When Kendall becomes a date rape victim, the incident triggers a series of events that send her life into a dangerous freefall.

Iced Malice - Book 2 In the midst of the worst winter in Eau Claire, Wisconsin since 1890, Detective Kendall Halsrud is investigating a case involving two murdered teenagers.

Relative Malice - Book 1 When four family members are found dead after a home invasion, Detective Kendall Halsrud takes charge of the case.


Author: Marla Madison



Author Genre: Suspense, Mystery & Thrillers

Author's Blog: Marla Madison
Twitter: @MarlaAMadison
E-Mail: mam887@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Marla Madison is the author of two suspense series. She's Not There is her debut suspense novel and is the first book of the TJ Peacock and Lisa Rayburn series.TRESPASS, is the second and Marla's next novel will be the third of that series.

Relative Malice, her second book begins the Detective Kendall Halsrud series. Iced Malice, is the second book of that series.

Marla is a retired Federal Mediator who works as an Arbitrator. She lives on Prairie Lake in Northwestern Wisconsin with her significant other, Terry, a beloved shelter dog, Skygge, and Poncho, an opinionated feline from the same shelter.

Also an avid reader of suspense, some of Marla's favorite authors are Tana French, Lisa Gardner, Jeffrey Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, Tess Gerritson, and Tami Hoag.

When not reading or writing, Marla enjoys hanging out with other area authors, playing duplicate bridge, golfing, and going on long walks with her dog.

Title: Promise of Malice

Author: Marla Madison


When Kendall becomes a date rape victim, the incident triggers a series of events that send her life into a dangerous freefall. Still struggling with the remains of her relationship with ex-lover Adam Nashlund, Kendall is temporarily suspended from her job, and she joins Nash, who has been hired to locate a man’s missing wife.

A rape-homicide in the area leads Kendall to investigate the case of a rapist who leaves his victims tattooed with a strange symbol. Kendall’s neighbor, Brynn Zellman, card reader and reformed computer hacker, identifies the tattoo as a Reiki symbol and helps Kendall unearth the truth as both cases become intertwined.

Available at Amazon

Title: Iced Malice

Author: Marla Madison


Detective Kendall Halsrud returns in Iced Malice, another stay-up-all-night thriller by the author of Relative Malice.

In the midst of the worst winter in Eau Claire, Wisconsin since 1890, Detective Kendall Halsrud is investigating a case involving two murdered teenagers. Kendall and her partner soon realize the teens’ murders appear eerily similar to the Fiancé Murder case from twelve years ago when three couples disappeared from the area. Their bodies were never found, and the case remains unsolved.

Kendall asks herself if the faceless killer has returned, or does someone else have his own reason for killing couples?

With her personal life also in chaos, Kendall immerses herself in her work. When another woman disappears, Kendall has more questions than answers. Does the killer have an accomplice? And can she find them before they target the next young couple?

Available at Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Title: Relative Malice

Author: Marla Madison


When four family members are found dead after a home invasion, Detective Kendall Halsrud takes charge of the case. In the murder house, she discovers an empty crib with blood drops next to it on the wood floor. The family: a father, mother, teenage daughter, and young son have been fatally shot . . . but where is baby Philly?

The desperate search to find the child derails when a man is arrested for murdering the family and claims to have killed the baby. Suspecting he had an accomplice, Kendall isn’t convinced. Refusing to give up on finding the child, Kendall persists in unearthing the family’s secrets. With the help of a hacker turned spurious fortune-teller and a former cop hired by the missing baby’s uncle, she discovers a furtive pedophile ring is planning on buying and sharing a baby. Can she stop them while there's time to save Philly?

Available at Amazon
Barnes and Noble

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