by Joanna Campbell Slan, Linda Gordon Hengerer, Carole W. Price, Lesley A. Diehl, Nancy Jill Thames, Teresa Trent, Maggie Toussaint, Anna Celeste Burke, Randy Rawls, Nancy J. Cohen, Terry Ambrose, and Deborah Sharp
Joanna Campbell Slan / Vendetta: A Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery – The House of Refuge on Gilbert’s Bar is known for its 150-year history as a way station for shipwrecked sailors. But when Cara Mia visits, the museum becomes the scene of a crime.
Linda Gordon Hengerer / Dying for School Tea: A Beach Tea Shop Novella – Chelsea Powell and her sisters are providing treats for Citrus Beach High School’s freshman orientation. Can they solve the murder of the beloved softball coach before someone else dies?
Carole W. Price / The Glass Birdhouse – Glass artist Bella hopes to find clues about her student’s death in the woman’s unfinished glass birdhouse.
Lesley A. Diehl / Bobbing for Murder – A visit from Darcie’s family is always chaotic, and this time the relatives bamboozle Darcie into having a Halloween party. It’s a decision that definitely comes back to haunt her.
Nancy Jill Thames / Raven House – When a reporter is murdered after a fundraiser at the historic Raven House, the police call on Jillian and her Yorkie Teddy to help them investigate.
Teresa Trent / Falling for Murder – Helpful hints columnist Betsy Livingston is an expert at household organization but her skills are put to the test when she’s called upon to conduct an efficiency review for a haunted house.
Maggie Toussaint / Dead Men Tell Tales – In this third installment of the Lindsey & Ike romantic mystery novella series, things don’t add up after a suspicious hunting accident. The more Sheriff Ike Harper and newspaper editor Lindsey McKay dig, the more questions they find.
Anna Celeste Burke / All Hallow’s Eve Heist – Date night for Georgie Shaw and handsome detective Jack Wheeler goes terribly wrong. A botched heist at Marvelous Marley World has everyone scrambling as trigger-happy bad guys head for the Halloween celebration in Arcadia Park.
Randy Rawls / Accident, Suicide, or Murder – Retired policeman Jonathan Boykin’s primary interest is improving his golf, but a grieving father’s request to investigate his son’s suspicious death is an entirely different ballgame.
Nancy J. Cohen / Haunted Hair Nights – As a new stepmother, hairstylist Marla Vail hopes to win brownie points by helping her daughter with a school haunted house project. Marla has her work cut out for her when she stumbles over a corpse on the spooky estate grounds.
Terry Ambrose / Spirit in the Rock – An invitation to a museum’s grand opening turns into a showdown with the spirit world for amateur sleuth Wilson McKenna.
Deborah Sharp / Haunting in Himmarshee – When a ghost comes to call, Mace must sort out the haunted from the homicidal in Himmarshee, Florida.
Guest Post:
Haunted House by Nancy J. Cohen
“Haunted Hair Nights” is my Bad Hair Day mystery novella in Happy Homicides 4: Fall into Crime. This story finds hairstylist Marla Vail escorting her stepdaughter to a wooded estate for a school fundraiser project. It’s a haunted house for Halloween, and Marla has volunteered to help create the decorations. The ghosts wish to add another spirit to the historic property, however, and they succeed when the school teacher who owns the house turns up dead on the grounds.
I’ve never explored a real haunted house, although I have stayed at a legendary hotel where guests write notes in a ledger about their paranormal experiences. It was creepy to stay overnight at this place that used to be a hospital for a copper mining camp. My closest encounter with a private residence came in my youth when I was a Nancy Drew fan. Purporting myself to be an amateur sleuth, I approached an abandoned house along with a friend. Entry was easy, so we must not have been the first ones to breach the place. I don’t remember much about the interior. I do recall how my heart pounded and my pulse raced as we explored room-to-room. I was more scared that someone would discover our presence than I was afraid of ghosts. We were trespassing on private property, after all. Plus, hazards abounded so we had to watch our steps or risk injury.
I remember creeping up the stairs to an attic. Scattered across the entire floor were letters and other opened envelopes. I collected a batch and read them, fascinated by the lives of the people they represented. Who had lived here, and what had happened to them? But then I felt guilty, intruding on someone’s privacy that way. It wasn’t right. And that’s when I decided to leave.
I listened for any unusual sounds as I made my way down the creaky staircase to the main floor. I was more nervous about encountering other humans than ethereal beings, although I would have jumped out of my skin had someone … or something … popped out at me. Back on the ground floor, I noted the entrance to the basement. No way would I go down there. That was too terrifying, even for me. I might admire Nancy Drew, but I wasn’t that brave, or that stupid either.
I breathed a sigh of relief when we escaped unharmed and undetected. Later, I learned that the house had burned down. A sense of horror swept over me. What if we had been in that attic when the fire started? We could have been trapped. Had anyone else been there during the conflagration? Had the fire been an accident, or had it been deliberately set? With all those papers in the attic, it wouldn’t have taken much to set things aflame. I hoped a homeless person hadn’t been inside when the place went up in smoke. So went my memories of this experience. I’d put this entire incident from my mind until now.
Have you ever done anything both wicked and exciting at the same time? Leave a comment below, and I’ll pick a winner for an ebook copy of Permed to Death, book 1 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries.
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Find out about the authors on their webpages below.
http://joannacampbellslan.com/
http://lindagordonhengerer.com/
Carol W. Price
Lesley A. Diehl
Nancy Jill Thames
Teresa Trent
Maggie Toussaint
Anna Celeste Burke
Randy Rawls
Nancy J. Cohen
Terry Ambrose
and Deborah Sharp
Have a great day and Happy Early Fall!
Spooky story! Made me feel like I was right with you. Thanks for sharing, Nancy - it adds to the season.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nancy Jill. These days, I wouldn't be brave (or foolish) enough to explore a deserted house like I did in my youth!
DeleteThanks so much for hosting me here. It is a thrill to be included in this anthology with so many other esteemed authors.
ReplyDeleteScary story, Nancy. I never visited a house that was supposed to be haunted or was abandoned. I think I was always too chicken.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely too chicken now!
DeleteGreat post--love the idea of a spooky old house but I'm with Lesley when it comes to leaving it alone. Around here, there's a canyon that's supposedly haunted by Tahquitz, an evil soul-stealing spirit. The hike had us a little worried about hanging onto our souls but that was more about the July heat than the presence of an evil spirit. Some of the stories our guide shared were a spooky. Perfect time of the year for a spooky story, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat post--love the idea of a spooky old house but I'm with Lesley when it comes to leaving it alone. Around here, there's a canyon that's supposedly haunted by Tahquitz, an evil soul-stealing spirit. The hike had us a little worried about hanging onto our souls but that was more about the July heat than the presence of an evil spirit. Some of the stories our guide shared were a spooky. Perfect time of the year for a spooky story, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteOoh, an evil soul-stealing spirit. Sounds like a demon from my paranormal Drift Lords series. Maybe you can work this myth into one of your stories.
DeleteThis looks like a great anthology, great stories from a group of great authors. Can't wait to read.
ReplyDeleteThey're great to read while waiting in a doctor's office or for a hair appointment.
DeleteDianne, you've won an ebook copy of Permed to Death. Please contact me with your email address.
DeleteThanks for having us, Shelley!
ReplyDeleteNancy, you're so right that these short stories are great for doctor's visits or hair appointments. Nail appointments...not so much!
ReplyDeleteNope, not the nails. But waiting for a touch-up to process, it's perfect.
DeleteNancy, my heart was pounding with you - great story! Shelley, thank you for hosting us :)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be so brave today!
DeleteDianne Casey wins an ebook copy of Permed to Death. Please contact me with your email address.
ReplyDeleteChiming in late ... was in New Orleans yesterday, and never stopped to get onto my computer. Just wanted to add my thanks to Shelley for hosting us here, and to give a shout-out to my fellow anthologist (is that a word?) in Happy Homicides 4. Love ya, Nancy (the hardest working woman in mysteries!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Deborah. Hope you had some good dinners in New Orleans.
DeleteI'm coming in a day late, too. Wild and crazy day yesterday! Thanks for hosting us here! And Nancy, great story. Ah, the things we did in our youth!
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up here now that my Urban Shield (you may have heard of this) work is over. Great story, Nancy. I get a little embarrassed when I think of the crazy things I did as a kid.
ReplyDelete