New Mystery Series

by June Shaw

I am so excited to announce that Kensington's Lyrical Press has just published A FATAL ROMANCE, the first book in my new Twin Sisters Mysteries!

This series is set in a place I live in and love--South Louisiana's bayou country. The second book, DEAD ON THE BAYOU, is scheduled to come out in August--and I'm writing like crazy on the third, SAVING MOM. (The twins' mother lives in a retirement home.)

Writing these books is fun and difficult and so rewarding once they're done. Here's the opening of A FATAL ROMANCE:
I stood in a rear pew as a petite woman in red stepped into the church carrying an urn and stumbled. She fell forward. Her urn bounced. Its top popped open, and ashes flew. A man’s remains were escaping.

“Oh no!” people cried.

“Jingle bells,” I hummed and tried to control my disorder but could not. Words from the song spewed from my mouth.

“Not now,” my twin Eve said at my ear while ashes sprinkled around us like falling gray snow. She pointed to my jacket’s sleeve and open pocket. “Uh-oh. Parts of him fell in there.”

I saw a few drops like dust on the sleeve and jerked my pocket wider open. Powdery bits lay across the tissue I’d blotted my beige lipstick with right before coming inside St. Gertrude’s. “I think that’s tissue residue,” I said, wanting to convince myself. I grabbed the pocket to turn it inside out.

“Don’t dump that.” Eve shoved on my pocket. “It might be his leg. Or bits of his private parts.”

“Here Comes Santa Claus,” I sang.

She slapped a hand over my mouth. “Hush, Sunny.” 

The dead man’s wife shoved up from her stomach to her knees, head spinning toward me like whiplash.

“Sorry,” Eve told her. “My sister can’t help it.”

Beyond the wife, a sixtyish priest and younger one and other people appeared squeamish scooping coarse ashes off seats of the rough-hewn pews. An older version of the wife used a broom and dustpan to sweep ash from the floor. People dumped their findings back into the urn. Other mourners scooted from the church through side doors. A boiled crayfish scent teased my nostrils. Someone must have peeled a few crustaceans for a breakfast omelet and didn’t soap her hands well enough.

Ashes scattered along the worn green carpet like a seed trail to entice birds.

“Look, there’s more of him. I’ll go find a vacuum,” I said.

The widow faced me. “No! Get out.”

“But she’s my sister,” my twin said.

“As if I can’t tell. You leave with her. Go away.” The petite woman wobbled on shiny stilettos, aiming a finger toward the front door.

I sympathized with her before this minute. Now she was ticking me off. I’d been kicked out of places before but never a funeral. “I didn’t really know your husband, but Eve did. I stopped to see if she wanted to go out for lunch, and she asked me to come here first. She said y’all were nice people.” 

“We are!” The roots of the wife’s pecan-brown hair were black, I saw, standing toe to toe with her, although my toes were much bigger inside my size ten pumps. I was five eight and a half. She was barely five feet. Five feisty feet. “But you’re not going to suck up parts of my husband’s body in a vacuum bag.” She whipped her pointed finger toward me like a weapon. “And you need to stop singing.”

I wanted to stop but imagined parts of the man that might be sucked into a vacuum cleaner and ripped out a loud chorus, my face burning. Nearby mourners appeared shocked. Mouths dropped open.

“You don’t know my sister,” Eve told the little woman who’d just lost a spouse. Actually, lost him twice. “Sunny can’t help singing when she’s afraid. And that includes anything dealing with sex, courtesy of her ex-husband.”

“What does sex have to do with Zane?” The wife’s cheeks flamed.

Should I tell her about his privates possibly being in my pocket? Second thoughts said not to. “Who knows? But you don’t need to worry. I certainly wasn’t having an affair with your husband,” I said, quieting my song to a hum.

“Just the thought of sex makes her sing,” my sister explained. “Maybe it’s a good thing she doesn’t think of it often.”.

The widow shook her finger. “Zane was always faithful to me.”

“I’m sure he was,” I said, working to get my singing instincts under control. Nodding toward the carpet, I spoke without a hint of a tune. “I’d really like to help you get those pieces of him out of the rug. If we can just find an empty vacuum bag, I’ll—”.

“Go! Get away!”

www.juneshaw.com        http://amzn.to/2k1GBys

RED SKIES

   By June Shaw

My newest book that's just out is special to me. It's mainstream, set down here in sultry south Louisiana. I sure hope you'll come on down through my work:

Red skies in the morning, sailor, take warning. Red skies at night, sailors delight.

Outdoorsman Sam Halson's life has little meaning ever since his wife died and their estranged son left south Louisiana and moved her overseas.

Discovering his son fathered a boy, Sam gains new purpose-to see the only grandchild he'll ever have. But his uncompromising son thwarts every attempt.

To keep in touch with the growing child, Sam and the boy exchange letters that Sam and his daughter-in-law write.

While Sam makes every effort to see the boy, exciting newcomer Grace Owens forces him to deal with the pleasures and guilt of new love. She and the boy's mother become the strong women who strive to get their men to overcome past hurts through the child that could bind them all together-before it's too late.

http://www.juneshaw.com

Do You Like to Figure Out the Killer?

by June Shaw

When you're reading a mystery, do you want to figure out who the killer is? Are you disappointed if you figure out that person before the end of the story? Or do you really care about whether you determine the killer at all?

I know lots of readers really care -- I mean REALLY care about determining the antagonist long before the sleuth does. Many readers say they will toss a mystery if they figure out "who done it."

I won't. Whenever I'm reading a mystery, I need to stay invested in its characters--the people who bring it alive. Once I am, then I don't normally care whether I can determine the bad guy or not.

But I seem to be in the minority.

Okay, so I am a big fan of Janet Evanovitch books (some have compared my books to hers, and I'm thriled.) By the time she's letting us know the bad guy, I really don't care who it is. I'm just having fun with her stories.

Of the three books in my humorous mystery series, I have never had anyone say they determined the killer before my main character. No one does. I kind of planned it that way, although actually what I wanted to do was write books kind of similar to Janet E.'s, but with a more mature heroine.

People tell me my books are fun. That's what I was going for.

If you are a mystery reader and can determine the bad guy or gal before my sleuth does, please let me know. I'll tell people, "Your name ... is the only reader of my books that I know of who's ever figured out who the killer was long before my amateur sleuth does." And who knows -- maybe I'll send you a ribbon or something.

So how about you? Do you always like to figure out who the killer is, or do you even care?

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks

by June Shaw

During this time, I am thankful for my faith, family, and friends. And for all readers who care about the work I love to do.

I remember and give thanks for my mom, who moved on to celebrate with others in heaven two years ago. She danced till the end. And I am fortunate enough to have written a book about her that just came out called NORA 102 1/2: A Lesson on Aging Well. While not a mystery in the usual sense, the way she lived her life, mainly during her senior years, had almost everyone who met her say, "You're my mentor. I want to be just like you."

An ordinary woman in most ways, Mom lived to be over 102--and never had a headache. Ever. She didn't have pains and started dating after she was seventy. Her mother waited up for her to come in the house and wouldn't give her a house key.

Mom took one pill a day. When she was in her mid-nineties, a man asked what it was for. She said, "Birth control."

So I was extremely lucky. I was the daughter. In the book about her, I tried to unravel clues as to how she became such a vibrant woman.

I hope you and yours have cause to celebrate and also give thanks this season.

JURY DUTY

By June Shaw
Have you ever served on a jury?

How do you feel about jury duty? Would you want to serve, or dread it as much as having three wisdom teeth yanked out without deadening?

I always told people I would never want to serve on a jury. I was adamant. And this was even before we were watching so many trials go one for weeks and hearing about all that on TV. Some jurors were locked up for days with little or no contact with the outside world—their families or jobs. They had to make major decisions that could not be taken back. And now, especially, we see so many cases in which we believe the jurors made poor decisions.

Why in the world would I want to serve?

And then I was called.

Goodness, I received a notice that I would have to show up at the courthouse in town, and I’d possibly be called on to become a juror.

I dreaded it. There was no way that I would decide to convict anyone of a crime. If I did, suppose I made a mistake that could affect the rest of that person’s life?

Thank goodness the first time I made a last-minute call and discovered the case was settled out of court. I didn’t have to go. Yay!

A few months later I was again summoned. This time attorneys on both sides questioned me. They told me the case concerned someone with drugs and wanted to know whether I had strong feelings about drug use.

Wow, how easy for me to respond. My middle son had been hooked on marijuana, making our lives miserable for years. Finally, thank God, he’d quit. It took us having to do an intervention – one of the hardest and best things I’d ever done in my life. He was so proud of the years he spent without using pot; we were all proud of him, too. I HATED illegal drugs.

After I said this, the prosecuting attorney wanted me in the jury. The defense attorney said, “Absolutely not.” I went home. The experience hadn’t been too bad.

A year or so after this I was called again. This time I was chosen. I had mixed feelings.
Right away the judge told us the trial concerned a young man charged with armed robbery. The defendant had robbed a drugstore and taken money and drugs. They caught him with the goods soon after he left the store. He did not have a weapon—but he had his finger in his jacket pocket and pointed it, telling everyone in the store that he had a gun.
Even if he did not, he had committed armed robbery, we were told.

Okay, so if they knew all of that, what were we there for?

The judge said we were having the trial because the thief pled not guilty because of temporary insanity: He was high on drugs when he robbed the drugstore.

I couldn’t believe it! I also couldn’t believe that the entire jury didn’t come up with a quick decision after we heard all of the evidence. Gosh, if someone could rob a store and be excused because he was high, then anyone could do anything—rob and kill—and say, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I was high.”

Just think of the robberies and murders in this country. Most of them are caused by drug use. I knew that if I were the last juror standing with my feelings, I would not see the accused go free.

We didn’t. The trial was interesting, and the judge made us feel important. I knew I was doing the right thing. The only thing that disappointed me was that once we turned in the Guilty verdict, the judge thanked us and excused us. I was sorry at first that we wouldn’t know what happened to the defendant. But thinking about it afterward, I decided that probably was for the best.

And the only thing that disappointed me for quite awhile afterward was that I didn’t get called again. Surely it will happen. The next time I’ll go with no hesitation.

How about you? What are your feelings about serving on a jury?

WHY DO WE LIKE MYSTERIES?

June Shaw

Did you ever stop to wonder why you enjoy reading mysteries?

I've heard many mystery authors explain it this way: We read mysteries because we know that the offender will be punished, and good will overcome.

Yes, that's true. But isn't it also true of most romances? Or women's fiction? How about Westerns? I haven't read one in years, but I imagine the cowboys still shoot the bad guys.

Lots of men, especially, seem to enjoy hard-boiled mysteries for their blood and gore.

Many of us, however, like cozies just as well. We like some humor and romance and--oh, yes, there's a dead body or three or four, and we do want to know who the bad guy or gal is and how they're put away.

I think maybe we grab on to characters we like to spend time with, and those characters often people mystery series. We know they'll do the right thing (more than not), and we will continue to cheer them on. They might be fun (like readers describe mine--excuse the BSP, but it's true:) Our heroes might be deadly and carrying lots of flaws. That makes some people like them even more.

Why do YOU read mysteries?

CHARACTERS' AGES

June Shaw

When you’re reading (or writing) a book, what age characters do you prefer?
As I’m getting older (see picture), I realize I search for more mature characters than I did when I was in my twenties. And thirties. And….

Okay, so maybe I can relate better to older characters—although I really love Janet Evanovitch’s books. Oh, but maybe that’s because of Grandma Mazur. Actually, I do adore Grandma, but the younger, sexier characters are fun, too.

I liked Murder She Wrote long before I was near the protagonist’s age. I was young and enjoyed all of the women on Golden Girls. One of my all-time favorite stage plays is Arsenic and Old Lace.

The nice thing is I don’t believe I am alone in my taste for characters. The popularity of those television programs and the play attest to that fact.
What I see as different now is that I can relate more to those characters. At present, I am reading and enjoying Susan Santangelo’s Retirement Can Be Murder. Possibly a few years ago I would not have been able to sympathize with her protagonist as well. Now I definitely understand.

Janet Evanovitch’s books made me decide to write a humorous mystery series because her books are so enjoyable. I chose to make my main character somewhat older and wiser than hers. Mine may not sell as well (whose do?), but writing them is really fun. Readers and reviewers say they love my protagonist, too.

And all of my readers and reviewers can’t possibly all be baby boomers or older—can they?

Earl Staggs and June Shaw Have Joined Our Blog Team

by Jean Henry Mead

Earl Staggs and June Shaw are among our latest blog team members. Earl's a Kentucky native who's semi-retired in Fort Worth and June is a Louisiana grandmother who lives in Cajun country. So we have a diverse group of bloggers who will be appearing here twice a month.

In addition to Earl's mystery novel, Memory of a Murder, his short stories have been published in a variety of mystery magazines, one of which earned him a coveted "Derringer Award." His novel grew out of a short story he'd written featuring the same protagonist and required more than two years of writing and revising. It was published in 2005, but "after a promising start, the small press which published it went under, leaving me stranded." he said. "I then happened upon my second publisher, who has been in business for more than seventy years and who was looking for mystery novels set in the Chesapeake Bay area. Mine fit perfectly, and I’m extremely happy with Tidewater Publishing, who brought out the second edition of Memory of a Murder in 2008. I’m also happy that my book has earned nine reviews on Amazon and three on B&N, all of which are Five Star, their top rating."

Earl has always liked mysteries. "I suppose it’s because I enjoy the challenge of a puzzle so I love a good solid whodunit that keeps me guessing all the way to the end. I also love seeing the bad guys get what’s coming to them, something we don’t always see in real life. I think most people are the same, which explains the popularity of mystery and crime books, movies and TV shows. I’ve also written a few short stories I consider humorous or just for fun without a mystery or crime involved. I’ve not yet tried other genres such as fantasy, science fiction and such, but I have a few good years left, so who knows?"

The worst part of writing for Earl is "when I know where the story needs to go, but I can’t figure out how to get there. It’s that tear-your-hair-out, why-did-I-become-a-writer-anyway, this-story-sucks phase that can come anywhere between the first chapter and the last. Call it sagging middle syndrome, writer’s block, or some of the phrases I’ve used to describe it which cannot be printed in a public forum, but for me, it’s the worst part of writing. Even worse than a rejection or a bad review.

"The best part of writing for me is when I don’t have to worry about the worst part. The story takes off on its own and all I have to do is type it as it happens in my head. The characters know where they’re going and what they’re going to do and I happily go along for the ride, barely able to type fast enough to keep up. I love the best part of writing. I only wish it happened more often."

When asked which writers most influenced his own writing, he said, "That goes back to my earliest reading days when I was impressed by Hemingway and O’Henry. Hemingway for his strong, sparse writing style and O’Henry for his magical ability to weave a completely rounded story into the format of a short story. I’m not at all surprised when I see elements I learned from those two gentlemen in my own writing."

Writing is one thing. Promoting books is another. Earl does a great deal of networking online in various writing groups and does as many speaking and signing events as he can. "I love talking about writing with other writers, so my favorite event is speaking before a writers group. Recently, I’ve given talks on the difference between writing novels and short stories and how to incorporate backstory without boring the reader. I also enjoy very much meeting with readers groups since, after all, that’s who we’re writing for."

His advice to fledgling mystery/suspense writers is "to never stop striving to be a better writer. There are a lot of good writers out there and competition is tough. Being good is not good enough. You have to be better than good, and that requires constant work. To sum it up, I like to say, “Always make sure the next thing you write is better than the last thing you wrote.”

Earl will be blogging here on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month.

June Shaw's debut novel, Relative Danger, received her publisher's "David Award" for Best Mystery of the Year. The novel also received glowing reviews from Publishers Weekly and Romantic Times, which described her protagonist as "a granny with attitude." Her third novel, Killer Cousins, has been reviewed as "a bowl of spicy gumbo."

June has always lived in Cajun country. Her mother's family spoke French, and she incorporates elements of her background in her novels. Her main character, owner of a successful copy editing agency, travels a lot. June says "The widow thinks she wants to avoid her hunky ex-lover so she can rediscover herself, but he opens Cajun restaurants in all the places she travels, and she is so bad at avoiding tempting dishes and men. So many scenes take place in his restaurant with terrific food and Cajun recipes and even really popular Cajun jokes."

Her protagonist, Cealie Gunther, a feisty grandmother, is a very independent gal. "Cealie is who I want to be. She will do and say anything without considering the consequences or worrying about what anyone thinks. Lots of readers tell me they want to be Cealie."

Killer Cousin has been described by a bestselling author as “The ‘a la mode of Agatha Christie, Miss Marple and onward" . . . "One of today’s major authors that I love is Janet Evanovich. I’ve been thrilled to have some compare my books to hers."

June has also written plays that were produced “off-off Broadway” as well as a script that aired on a local station. She describes them as "dramas, major tools along the way in my learning to write novels. I was pleased to have my scripts acknowledged so well and produced, but a producer for major plays told me I should get involved in theatre if I want to keep writing stage plays. Some producers in L.A. loved my screenplays and told me to look them up once I moved there. I only wanted to write. I have five children and wasn’t about to move away. A female screenwriter suggested I try novels. She said they weren’t easy to sell but could be written and sold from anywhere. I stayed here in south Louisiana and went after learning to write novels."

June's family has always been most important to her,including her 102-year-old mother who lived with her. "Two of my little granddaughters (I have 8) love to make up stories, so many they’ll become the next writers in the family. None of my family members are sounding boards. I just ask them for information I need for research. My mom moved in with me five years ago because macular degeneration made her almost blind. But she was still coming to line-dance classes with me in December and was a major inspiration for my main character. Even though Cealie is nowhere near Mom’s age, she has her spunk.

"Mom lived and danced until the end. She died January 31 [2009] at age 102 1/2. We had such lively music and humorous eulogy that our mayor, who spoke on a radio station the next day, told everyone he’d been to the most fun funeral he’d ever attended and then talked a lot about Mom. I have great memories. A picture of her dancing the Macarena for her 100th birthday is on my website, www.juneshaw.com."

June loves creativity and "I especially love my characters. Quirky and unique, they are people I want to spend much time with and want readers to do the same. What annoys me about writing is not having enough time to write as much as I’d like to. Actually, I’m retired from teaching and have all of the free time I want, but I do have a large family. Spending quality time with them is most important, as is time with my squeeze Bob and my friends. I also love to dance. So I’m really not often annoyed with writing or not finding time. I normally do whatever I want with my time and love it!"

Her advice for novice writers is "read read read, and write write write. If you want to be a writer, then write. Read often. That’s work, too, helping you see what you like or dislike. Study books on writing. Join groups, attend conferences.

"When I was in ninth grade, I decided that one day I would be a writer. My life was always full, and I had no writing classes. I married young, had five children in six years and then my husband died. I taught school for twenty years, played with my eight grandchildren—and then sold a novel! Earlier, I didn’t have time to read novels, much less try to write them. But that desire stayed. I sold the second novel in the series and began the third. It’s a whole new life and terrific fun! If you want to be a writer, then be one."

June will be blogging every 2nd and 4th Saturday.