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

Only the Good Die Young

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

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.

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.

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!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

Interview with Harry Thurgood

 

Today, I have the honor to be talking with Harry Thurgood, Magnolia Bluff's Man of Mystery. He’s the owner of the Really Good Wood-Fired Coffee Shop, in beautiful Magnolia Bluff, Texas.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

CW: Welcome, Harry. Glad you can be with me here today on the blog.

HT: My pleasure, CW. Thanks for having me. Everyone likes free advertising.

CW: That they do. To start, just what, exactly, is wood-fired coffee?

HT: (chuckles) It’s how coffee used to be roasted, back in the 1800s. Before the invention of the gas-fired roaster.

CW: That’s it?

HT: That’s it. Of course, the type of wood used, how hot you get the fire, length of roasting time — all that has a part in the finished product.

CW: Thanks for clarifying that.

HT: I thought you would have known, being the creator—

CW: (I hold up my hand to cut him off.) No. I’m not the creator. I’m simply the amanuensis recording what happens. You, Ember, Reece, Scarlett, Mary Lou, and all the others, you all are telling the story.

HT: Amanuensis, eh? (Shrugs) Okay. Thanks for letting me know.

CW: You guys are the storytellers.

HT: (laughs) Okay.

CW: There are nine books chronicling the lives of the people in Magnolia Bluff, along with some unfortunate murders that take place. You show up in most of these books, so I’d like to find out more about you.

HT: Okay. Go ahead and ask. I’m not an open book. Man of Mystery, you know. But the covers open far enough so you can riffle the pages.

CW: All right, then. You want to keep your past in the past. (Harry nods.) Can you tell me why you decided to move to Magnolia Bluff?

HT: I was looking for a place far away from where I was, that was relatively quiet, and where I could just blend in.

CW: It doesn’t seem like you quite succeeded in doing that.

HT: Not quite. But I don’t regret moving to the town. That is where I met the love of my life.

CW: You’re referring to the Reverend Ember Cole.

HT: I am.

CW: How did you two meet?

HT: We both moved to Magnolia Bluff about the same time. I, to start my new life. She, to pastor the Methodist Church. One day, not long after I opened the coffee shop, in she walks. I thought the silent film star Louise Brooks had come back to life. And to my mind, Louise was the perfect It Girl.

CW: Swept you off your feet, in other words.

HT: She did. And just like Louise, she has “It”. But she also has so much more. She’s warm and caring, so very giving, funny.

CW: She’s the one.

HT: That she is.

CW: So now that you’ve found the love of your life, what’s next?

HT: I’d love for her to marry me. Are you sure you’re just the amanuensis?

CW: Very sure.

HT: Well, I’d love to marry Ember and just settle down to a very comfortable and quiet existence. But our town seems to be plagued with murders and that disrupts the tranquility. Makes life more complex than it needs to be.

CW: Reece Sovern and Mary Lou Fight, especially Mary Lou, seem to thrive on the excitement.

HT: Mary Lou definitely. Reece is just doing his job. I think he’d rather have nothing but boring days until he retires. Mary Lou, though, I think really needs to get a life.

CW: She probably thinks she has one.

HT: Probably does at that.

CW: Do you have any hobbies? Or things you are especially passionate about?

HT: I’m not an artist, but I appreciate fine art. It has the capacity to transport the soul to a better place than the here and now. And even though I’m not a musician, I enjoy fine music. Because it too has the ability to enrich the soul. As for hobbies, I’m not a sportsman. Although I do enjoy target shooting and the game of chess. Just the other night, I battled Capablanca. Lost, of course.

CW: I take it that was in a book.

HT: (smiling) Yes, his match with Lasker for World Champion. Although, with computers nowadays, you can play the greats.

CW: Very true. We’ll have to play a game or two sometime. 

HT: The internet is a wonderful invention.

CW: That it is. Do you have a favorite artist or composer?

HT: I love the paintings of Albert Bierstadt and Grant Wood. And I think the music of Arthur Foote and Sir Granville Bantock is just divine.

CW: I like those artists and composers as well. Such beauty.

HT: You sure you’re just the amanuensis?

CW: Yep. Aside from Ember, do you have any friends in Magnolia Bluff?

HT: I wouldn’t say I have any close friends in town. I do like Scarlett Hayden. She has an “I don’t care” attitude that I like. And I think she’s a very caring person at heart. And if it wasn’t for Ember, I think she and I might have eventually gotten together. I also like Graham Huston. He’s well read, pensive, and, like me, is trying to leave his past in the past. Elder Smythe and his wife are very nice people. I admire their simple lifestyle. And quite honestly, I like Reece Sovern. He’s a good man. Honorable.

CW: What’s the one thing you like most about living in Magnolia Bluff?

HT: It is a pretty little town in the middle of a gorgeous part of Texas. And I love the fact that it is quiet and peaceful. At least most days.

CW: Sounds like a great place to live.

HT: It is. Just keep looking behind you. (Gives me a questioning look.) Amanuensis, you say?

CW: I do. Thanks for talking with me today, Harry.

HT: My pleasure, CW.

And you can get in on all the Magnolia Bluff action by visiting the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series page on Amazon. Nine books for your reading pleasure, and Book 10 comes out next week.

Comments are always welcome! And if you have a question for Harry Thurgood, drop it below in the comments section. 

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!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

A Dewey Decimal Dilemma

 

Linda Pirtle began writing mystery novels on a dare. And it’s a good thing for mystery readers that she took that dare.

And it’s a good thing she’s part of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

A Dewey Decimal Dilemma is Book 7 in the series — and it’s another winner. It’s on pre-order at Amazon.

I don’t know what it is about this series, but each of the authors has given us a book that is at the top of his or her game.

Don’t get me wrong: all of the writers in the series are top drawer. But there is something about the dynamic in this project that has brought out the best of the best. The synergy of working together has produced stellar results.

And A Dewey Decimal Dilemma is no exception.

I’m putting this down on the table: I don’t care overly much for the current-day cozy mystery. Generally speaking, there’s too much ChickLit in the books for my liking. And I find the world of ChickLit about as inviting as being stranded at the South Pole without boots or parka.

But in A Dewey Decimal Dilemma Linda Pirtle has given us a cozy mystery that is contemporary, yet harkens back to the Golden Age of the murder mystery.

To my mind, Mrs. Pirtle has given us an amateur sleuth mystery that is as enjoyable for men as it is for women, even though the sleuth is female — and that is quite an accomplishment.

The main character, our sleuth, is Caroline McCluskey. A widow, she’s the head librarian of Magnolia Bluff’s library. There’s a bit of romance in the story, but it isn’t cloying. Nor is there an unnecessary preoccupation with her job.

Instead, we see Caroline as a person who gets tangled up in a murder investigation. She is someone not unlike ourselves.

The storyline focuses on the murder and it does so in classic fashion. Giving us a twisting, turning viper of a story.

The writing itself is taut. Nothing frilly, flowery, or extraneous; yet, we also get a picture of Magnolia Bluff and the people who live there that is both colorful and that reveals new dimensions about some of them. What I like to call value-added writing.

A Dewey Decimal Dilemma sits squarely in the tradition of the mystery genre’s Golden Age. Yet, it is a contemporary story with a modern woman as the sleuth. And all the while Mrs. Pirtle avoids the billowing methane vapors of ChickLit, so a guy can enjoy the story.

A Dewey Decimal Dilemma launches October 20th. Don’t miss this one. It’s a winner. And you can pre-order it 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

The High Sheriff of Magnolia Bluff

There are always people who stand out in a crowd. Or a small town for that matter.

And in Magnolia Bluff, we have quite a few who stand out. One of them is Sheriff Buck Blanton, who we first meet in Eulogy in Black and White.

Once again, I’ve borrowed Caleb Pirtle’s excellent post (with his permission, of course). You can find the original here.

Buck has one facial expression. He grins when he sees you. He grins if he is about to hit you with the hickory club that hangs from his belt.

Every small town has a law officer who’s tough, who takes no nonsense off of anybody.

But he has a good heart.

Probably not a pure soul.

But a good heart.

He’ll go out of his way to help you.

But only God can help you if you break the law.

In the Texas Hill Country town of Magnolia Bluff, that lawman is the high sheriff, Buck Blanton. Here is the scene when you meet him for the first time in Eulogy in Black and White.

*

Buck Blanton makes a sudden U-turn, its headlights splintered by the rain. I pull my denim jacket collar tighter around my throat and watch him ease slowly to the curb beside me and stop. The only sounds Magnolia Bluff can manage at four minutes past eight on a soggy morning are distant rumbles of thunder and Buck’s windshield wipers slapping back and forth in a lackadaisical effort to shove the spatter of raindrops aside.

The sheriff rolls down his window and pushes his blue-tinted Shady Rays sunglasses up above his thickening gray eyebrows. Buck fits the job description of a country sheriff perfectly. Sunglasses, rain or shine. A thick neck. Broad shoulders. Barrel chest. Sagging jowls. Broad nose, probably broken more than once. Hands big enough to grab a grown man by the throat, jerk him off the floor, and shake him into submission. A gray felt Stetson hat lies in the seat beside him. I can’t see his feet, but I know he’s wearing his full quill Justin cowboy boots as black as his skin. Wouldn’t be caught dead without them. Says he was born in them. Says he will die in them. I don’t doubt it for a minute.

“On your way up to see Freddy?” He asks, glancing at the flowers in my hand. The rain has beaten them up pretty good. His voice is deep and mellow, a full octave lower than the thunder.

I nod.

Buck has one facial expression. He grins when he sees you. He grins if he is about to hit you with the hickory club that hangs from his belt. He grins if he’s praying over your lost soul at the First Baptist Church. He’s grinning when he throws you in jail. He’s grinning if he has to shoot you first. I suspect he grins in his sleep.

“Need a lift?”

I shake my head.

“It’s a bad day for walking,” he says. “You still got a mile or so to go before you reach Freddy.”

I shrug. “It’s fine,” I say. “I’m already wet.”

Buck opens the car door. “Get in before I arrest your sorry ass,” he says.

I look closely.

His grin has reached his eyes.

I climb into the front passenger seat. “Hate to mess up your upholstery,” I tell him.

“Don’t matter.” The sheriff wheels back down an empty street. “I’ll have a couple of drunks in here before the day’s out, and they’ll be a damn sight wetter than you are.” He leans forward and studies the rolling black clouds closing in from the west end of Burnet Reservoir. “That’s the trouble with the weather,” Buck says. “It rains on the just and the unjust alike.”

“Sound like a preacher,” I say.

“Tried it once.” Buck shrugs. “Didn’t like it. Found it’s easier to drag the bad guys to jail than drag them to the altar.”

You can find Eulogy in Black and White on Amazon. And you’ll be glad you did.

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

The Great Peanut Butter Conspiracy

 

On a hot and sunny day in June, Bliss finds herself with a broken down motorcycle on the outskirts of Magnolia Bluff, Texas.

Lucky for her, Ciara Doyle and her repair shop are right there, mere feet away from where the cycle gasped its last breath. And Ciara is more than willing to fix the motorbike. Only it won’t be today.

Which means Bliss is stuck in Magnolia Bluff. Is that so bad? Small Texas town. Persimmon Festival in progress. Pizza for life, just for being a good Samaritan. Friendly people. Of course not. It should be a very pleasant few days and then Bliss can be on her way to wherever.

Well, it isn’t so bad until Bliss involves herself in a hunt for a murderer — at the request of a ghost.

From that point on, Magnolia Bluff ain’t such a quaint town. Not when someone resents Bliss’s poking around. 

Will Bliss survive the attempts on her life and trap a killer?

Find out next week. The Great Peanut Butter Conspiracy by Cindy Davis (Book 3 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles) is on pre-order. For only 99¢ you can reserve your copy on Amazon. And the book goes on general sale, June 20th.

Let me tell you, it is one heck of a super read.

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