New Book | CW Hawes

Only the Good Die Young

Cindy Davis is back with more adventures of Bliss in that bucolic Texas Hill Country town, Magnolia Bluff.

Today is launch day for

Book 12 in the multi-author Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

Bliss

Quite frankly, Bliss is one of my favorite characters in the world of Magnolia Bluff, Texas.

She’s a snarky and fun-loving person who will die for pizza and swoons over peanut butter. But most of all, she especially loves being free and independent. A rolling stone with no responsibilities.

Only the Good Die Young

In Only the Good Die Young, Bliss is once again back in Magnolia Bluff. Only this time she’s in town willingly — houseboat-sitting for her friend, Olivia, and helping the Doyle family celebrate Easter.

And what a celebration it is: piles of good food, and great music from the popular local band Loco-Motion.

Everything is going along just great until the lead singer picks up her favorite guitar, touches the strings, and turns into a living — and soon dead — fireworks display.

Now that Nina Warren is dead, and the logical suspect pool is Bliss’s favorite family, the Doyles, she wants to be involved in the investigation.

Of course Chief of Police Tommy Jager doesn’t want Bliss’s help.

And of course, Bliss and her friends ignore Tommy and begin poking around in the life of the late singer.

I don’t want to give away the storyline. That would spoil the mystery.

Cindy Davis’s Best

Instead, let me say that with Bliss and her adventures, Cindy Davis has hit the ball out of the park.

These are fabulously entertaining cozy mysteries. Just plain old good clean fun. With a healthy dollop of the paranormal thrown in that really spices things up.

Ms. Davis has a knack for making the paranormal seem so very normal. And she does so with a deft hand. The Bliss books are clearly Cindy Davis at her best.

You will definitely want to get in on the action, the laughs, the fun, the pizza, and especially the noggin-scratchin’ puzzler of a mystery.

Who wanted Nina Warren dead, and why? Count on Bliss to find out and end up dying for her efforts. Well, almost. Maybe.

I love the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series. Eleven writers producing some of the best mysteries and thrillers for your entertainment.

And I especially love Bliss. I think you will too.

Only the Good Die Young by Cindy Davis. On sale right now — on Amazon.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

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When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles keep rolling along.

This month, on March 18th, as a matter of fact, Book 11 launches

When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

And you can pick the book up on pre-order now.

Cindy Davis gives us another fun cozy mystery, filled with great humor, plenty of suspense, and a touch of the paranormal. After all, who doesn’t like ghosts? And the pizza shop owner knowing what kind of pizza you want?

Bliss seems to be the recipient of bad mojo. Here she is camping under the stars, minding her own business, when Chief Jager hauls her back to town on a charge of murder.

Murder of her boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend.

Why?

Because a body, presumed to be Bliss’s ex-boyfriend, was found in the ashes of the Annual Celtic Faire bonfire.

Of course, Bliss was miles away when he died. But not so, according to a witness, someone Bliss considered a friend.

The witness claims she saw Bliss in town the day of the bonfire. And no one can prove otherwise.

Chief Jager is getting pressure from all sides to solve the murder. And to catch the petty thief who’s been all over town breaking and entering and stealing cash.

With the help of her ability to see people’s auras, get clues from Tom Chapin songs that pop into her head, and the clues her toucan Diablo drops on her, Bliss thinks the murder and the thefts are related.

Chief Jager, though, doesn’t buy it. Well, not until it’s discovered that the body in the bonfire wasn’t Bliss’s ex-boyfriend after all.

So who was he? And why was he killed? And why have the thefts suddenly stopped?

Bliss, with charges dropped, is on a mission to find out.

It’s not every day that a mystery is filled with suspense and thrills, and is great fun. But that’s what Cindy Davis delivers in this latest installment of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

So if you’re looking to have a good time while taking a break from spring cleaning, or relaxing in the comfy coziness of your favorite chair or sofa on a lazy afternoon, or while sitting in bed before you hit the hay — then pick up a copy of

When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

You won’t regret it!

And if you’re new to the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, you can start your adventure with

Death Wears a Crimson Hat

And you can find all of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

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The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma Review

Esther Williams is missing. Has been for months. Now her dog is stolen right in front of Caroline McCluskey, Esther’s friend and neighbor.

Caroline decides she has to do something. The police aren’t getting anywhere, and somebody needs to find Esther.

So begins The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma by Linda Pirtle. The 10th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

This year 10 authors continue to tell us about the mayhem, the shenanigans, the murders, and the excitement of small-town living.

Join us for the ride! The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles at Amazon.

So what does Caroline, our friendly librarian, do to find her friend? She calls together the Friends of the Round Table: her buddies Magnolia Nadine and Daphne.

The trio start gathering clues and paying attention to gossip. And then things start happening. Heads get whacked. Bullets are flying. And bodies are falling.

Will the Friends of the Round Table be able to solve the problem of their missing friend? Or will they end up as numbers in the body count?

The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma is an uncozy, cozy mystery. It’s not all tea and crumpets, or coffee and doughnuts in this installment of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

While keeping the feel of a cozy mystery, Linda Pirtle has infused plenty of thriller elements into her book. The result is an intriguing and exciting hybrid of thrills and spills, along with warmth and love, and plenty of sleuthing.

The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma, Book 10 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, brought to you by The Underground Authors. Available at Amazon.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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Christmas with the Wrights

Even hard-nosed detective Justinia Wright can get into the Christmas spirit.

Three cases. Three chances to spread some Christmas cheer.

There’s Cordell Oscar Hellman, the conservative political pundit, who’s recreational morphine use has come to the attention of a vicious blackmailer.

Mrs. Solberg’s dope of a husband is being hoodwinked by the office minx and Mrs. S doesn’t like it.

Then there’s Emil Papenfuss, who’s homeless and a millionaire. Only he doesn’t know he’s a millionaire.

Three cases. Three chances to do a good deed. And with the inducement of three big fat fees and Harry’s help, Tina delivers the goods. But not without difficulty.

Christmas with the Wrights. Not like any Christmas you’ve ever experienced. Get in on the action and fun today!

You can get a copy on Amazon for only 99¢.

I love writing the Justinia Wright mysteries. For me, Tina and Harry’s world is a place I want to be. And I’ve written and published more stories about them than I have any of my other characters.

The 2 novelettes and 1 short story that make up Christmas with the Wrights were originally written for my mailing list. My Christmas present to my fans and followers. After several years of sitting in the desk drawer, I decided to make them available to a wider audience.

A couple years back, internationally bestselling authors Caleb and Linda Pirtle named me one of the top 25 mystery writers you should be reading. That was quite an honor, and quite a testimony for the Wrights.

The Pirtle’s are featuring Christmas with the Wrights as their Book of the Moment. Read about it on their blog.

Spending Christmas with the Wrights just might be the best Christmas you ever had. Like being a kid again.

Get it on Amazon!

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

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The Boat

It’s been a number of years since I’ve visited the world of Bill Arthur and The Rocheport Saga.

Recently, though, I paid Bill a visit and the result was “The Boat”, a prequel story to The Rocheport Saga.

In “The Boat” we learn a bit about Bill in the days after the apocalypse and before the story in The Morning Star.

So if you’re a fan of The Rocheport Saga, you can find “The Boat” in Beyond the Sea: Stories from the Underground, which officially debuts this Friday, May 7th.

And to celebrate the book launch, the Underground Authors are throwing a launch party!

The party starts at 5:30 pm CDT on Friday, May 7th. There will be prizes and you’ll get to meet the authors.

Here’s the link to get in on the fun:

PARTY TIME!

Hope to see you there!

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The Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations

Four years ago, back in 2017, I started writing the Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations series. The first book, Nightmare in Agate Bay, was published in January 2018.

I’d been watching the first season of The X-Files, and thought how cool it would be to mash-up the Cthulhu Mythos with The X-Files. And just like that, Pierce Mostyn and the Office of Unidentified Phenomena was born.

The Pierce Mostyn series was an immediate hit, and it’s been my annual top seller since its introduction.

What is it about Pierce Mostyn and his cohorts that readers like?

I’m not big on surveys, questionnaires, and the like. To tell the truth, I’m just not big into data. But to answer the question, I took a look at what readers put in the reviews.

Here are some of the things that stuck out:

“entertaining and action packed”

“a charming, easy to read, creep-fest”

“contemporary and action-packed”

“keeps the reader on the edge”

“fun and exciting”

“non-stop action”

“tautly paced and elegantly plotted”

“The character development is detailed”

“fast-paced and the tension is great”

“all kinds of scary fun”

From those snippets, what stands out is the action, the suspense, and the fun factor. Those are what make Pierce Mostyn a top seller.

The fun factor kind of surprised me, but then I asked, Why?

The books are doggone fun to write. Apparently, my having all that fun writing comes right through the page and grabs the reader. Which is what we writers and readers want, isn’t it?

Well, the eighth Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigation is live — and only 99¢ through the end of March. Now it’s your turn to get in on the fun, if you haven’t already.

In the Shadow of the Mountains of Madness
Only 99¢ on Amazon!

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Pierce Mostyn and Antarctica

I’ve been in love with Antarctica since I was a kid. It all started when I got a National Geographic map of the ice-covered continent.

Shackleton’s failed 1914 Antarctic expedition is one of the most thrilling tales of endurance and heroism ever.

Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antarctica is one of my favorite symphonies.

I even collect pictures of the place!

Why I didn’t pursue getting a job at McMurdo Station when I was young is beyond me. Now I’m too old.

So is it any wonder that Pierce Mostyn finds himself on the icy continent in his latest investigation? Maybe some vicarious experience going on.

HP Lovecraft’s short novel, At the Mountains of Madness, takes place in Antarctica. At the time HPL wrote the story in 1931, not much was known about the continent. Much of it hadn’t even been explored. That was certainly the case with the interior.

So it is very surprising that Lovecraft was so accurate in his description of the place. Of course, a lot was made up. That is what writers do: make things up. But much of what HPL described is quite accurate.

The location he chose for the Mountains of Madness is almost identical to that of the sub-glacial Gamburtsev Mountains. Coincidence?

And the lake HPL describes? Well, Lake Vostok is also close by. Another coincidence?

I’ve read and written enough mysteries to know that coincidences don’t happen all that often. So how did Lovecraft know all this stuff? Did he have special access to information that others didn’t?

I have my own theory as to how he knew what things were like, and you can read all about it in the latest Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigation: In the Shadow of the Mountains of Madness. Which goes on sale Thursday, March 25th.

Until then, if you have any theories as to how HPL was so spot on, drop them in the comments. And until next time, happy reading!

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In the Shadow of the Mountains of Madness

Pierce Mostyn is back in an all new adventure! A creature feature extraordinaire: In the Shadow of the Mountains of Madness.

I’ve been sharing snippets with the folk on my mailing list. If you want to get in on sneak peeks and exclusive never-before-published content, sign up for my VIP Horror Readers Club. Plus, you’ll get the exclusive novella, “The Feeder” — which is not available in stores.

And if you haven’t yet discovered Pierce Mostyn, take a look at the books and pick your monster!

This time around, Mostyn and his team are sent to Antarctica to investigate why a Russian base has suddenly gone silent. Once they find out why, Dr Rafe Bardon, the director of the Office of Unidentified Phenomena, sends them off to the subglacial Gamburtsev Mountains, also known as The Ghost Mountains. Because Dr Bardon thinks they fit the coordinates of the infamous Mountains of Madness.

Those familiar with the stories of HP Lovecraft will immediately recognize where the inspiration came for my story.

Lovecraft welcomed other writers to write in his Cthulhu Mythos universe. And many took him up on the invite, and many more continue to do so today.

I enjoy working in the Mythos. It’s a walk in a world where we are not at the top of the food chain. It’s a world where there are forces at work much bigger than we are. Beings to whom we are not unlike the ants on a sidewalk. Blithely stepped on without a second thought.

The universe of the Cthulhu Mythos puts humans in a place where we are not only not equal with nature, we are less than nature. It’s a universe that makes me stop and think about all of our petty squabbles. It makes me realize how, in the big picture, our troubles and problems are truly insignificant.

I’m looking at the 25th of March as the launch date of In the Shadow of the Mountains of Madness. Stay tuned!

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

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To Right A Wrong — Is Live!

The latest Justinia Wright mystery, To Right A Wrong, is live!

Get it on Amazon!

And here’s a snippet to whet your appetite.

Gavin, maintaining his innocence, said the only conclusion was that someone had shot his uncle.

The jury agreed. They also agreed with the prosecutor that the someone was Gavin Gamble.

I set the papers on my desk. It all seemed to be there: motive, means, and opportunity. I picked up the copy of the anonymous letter Molly Gamble received. The penmanship was elegant, but the hand that had written the note was not a steady one. The message was simple:

Your husband is innocent. One of the witnesses is lying.

The message was signed, A Friend.

A friend. Ha! If the person was truly a friend, why didn’t he or she say something at the trial? Why wait until now? Indeed, why now? Why send Molly Gamble this note at this particular point in time?

It seemed to me we had more people, a lot more people we needed to talk to before Tina could decide if the note sender was a liar or not.

And how did the note sender know Gavin Gamble was innocent in the first place? Now that was a question I’d like an answer to.

Tina walked into the office and sat at her desk.

“So did Chopin confess? He did it, with the revolver, in the study.”

My sister poured herself a glass of Sercial madeira, the cheap fifty dollar a bottle stuff. “What are you talking about?”

“Apparently he didn’t confess, because you’re still a crabby puss.”

“I am not.” She took a sip of wine. “Did you read the transcripts?”

“I did.”

“Thoughts?”

“In spite of his claim to innocence, the evidence is pretty damning.”

“As I recall from the news coverage, the case was more or less open and shut.”

“So how are you going to spring our jail bird out of the slammer?”

“I don’t know. Who else had a motive for killing James Bowen?”

“Beats me. Gavin Gamble admitted he felt hurt and betrayed because his uncle decided to give him the boot. It could be he also felt angry and decided to get even. That was the prosecution’s line of reasoning, and the jury bought it.”

“Yes, they did. The question is whether or not they bought a snow job. The question we must answer is simple: who else had motive to kill James Bowen, because if Mr Gamble is innocent then someone else not only had motive but acted on it — and then framed Mr Gamble.”

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To Right A Wrong

The newest Justinia Wright mystery, To Right A Wrong, number 8 in the series, is formatted and waiting on Amazon’s approval, and, barring any problems, will be available to the public on Cyber Monday.

This traditional whodunit murder mystery sees Tina (Justinia) and Harry trying to gather the necessary evidence to overturn a wrongful conviction, and put the right person behind bars.

To Right A Wrong is about justice. About justice having been sacrificed to get a conviction, and about justice restored so that crime does not pay.

Tina’s lawyer, Harold Feingold, wants to reopen a case even though the evidence is very slim that indicates there was a miscarriage of justice. He comes to Tina seeking her help, and Tina accepts the challenge.

A murdered uncle. Four nephews vying for the inheritance. One fingered by the others for the murder. But what about the servants? Could it be that, in this case, the butler really did do it?

This is a murder mystery that will have you scratching your head with Harry, or arranging puzzle pieces with Tina.

Along the way, there is wise-cracking humor, sibling rivalry, good food and wine, enough action to keep things interesting, and plenty of exercise for those little gray cells.

Stay tuned, so you can experience a little goodwill towards people this holiday season.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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