I'm honored and excited that my screenplay, Homecoming to Murder has been included in The Maximum Z Winter '24 Script Showcase, http://maximumz.blog/2024/12/06/the-maximum-z-winter-24-script-showcase/ This is a very exciting time in my screenwriting career.
Carol
On December 18, 2024, I'll be a guest on The Star Chamber Show held on the PodBean app at 9 P.M. ET. I'll be discussing my Nathan Perry Mystery Series, screenwriting, a new series that will be released next year, and anything else that might come up. If you can't make it to listen to the live broadcast, it's usually available the next day on various audio networks. Check back afterward and I'll post the links.
Carol
On Saturday, December 7, 2024, I'll be signing my books in Lagrange, Kentucky at the From the Ground Up Books. I'll be there from noon until 4 p.m. That day is also Light Up Lagrange from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will be a fantastic day.
From the Ground Up Books is located at 205 Main Street, Lagrange, Kentucky.
Pick up some great books and gifts that day in Lagrange. I hope to see you there.
Carol
I'll be selling my mystery novels on Saturday, November 9, 2025 at the Purrs in the City Craft Fair. The event benefits the Animal Protection Association in Jeffersonville, Indiana. This is the second time I've participated in this event and really enjoy it.
Carol
I, along with 18 other authors, will be at the Jeffersonville, Indiana Library on October 18, 2024 for their Fall into Books event. I'll have all of my Nathan Perry Mysteries available for signing.
Carol
I'll have a table at the Greater Clark County (Indiana) Holiday Craft Fair on September 21 selling my books. I hope to see you there.
Carol
These are my appearances for the rest of 2024. If you're looking to get a signed copy of any of my mysteries, I'll have them at these locations. Don't forget, Christmas will be here before you know it and books make great gifts, especially if signed by the author.
September 21 - Greater Clark County Schools Angel Tree Craft Fair, River Valley Middle School, 2220 Veteran's Pkwy, Jeffersonville ,Indiana. 9 am - 2 pm.
October 18 - Jeffersonville Township Library, 211 E. Court St, Jeffersonville, Indiana. 10 am - 1 pm.
November 9 - Purrs in the City, First Christian Church of Jeffersonville, 3209 Middle Rd, Jeffersonville, Indiana. 11 am - 4 pm.
December 7 - From the Ground Up Books, 205 E. Main Street, Lagrange Kentucky. noon - 4 pm.
Check back often for any updates.
Carol
This past weekend, the Imaginarium Convention for creatives was held. Hundreds of authors, filmmakers, gamers, and artists attended. I, along with my Sisters-in-Crime chapter, the Derby Rotten Scoundrels (above) also attended.
My fellow sisters and I had a wonderful, if not exhausting time. Yesterday was the first day afterward that I felt human again. Conventions are like that, exhilarating, exhausting, but fun. I saw a lot of online friends that I only get to see in person at this convention each year. I met some new people that I'm sure will be friends soon. Oh, and I sold some books. 📚
The best thing to happen to me was that I won first place with my screenplay, Summer Darkness in the Short Format category at the Awards Banquet on Saturday night. 🏆
It was a wonderful weekend and I look forward to going again next year.
Carol
Washington Irving's short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has always been one of my favorite reads. Apparently, I'm not alone in that because if you check the IMDB.com page, you'll find a seemingly endless list of various movies, television shows, and even animation devoted to the story. My favorite movie is Sleepy Hollow, starting Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. However, I think my all-time favorite version is the television show, Sleepy Hollow (2013-1017). This series starred Tom Mison as Icabod Crane. He does a wonderful job portraying a Revolutionary era time traveler. If you have not listened to the audio book of Tom Mison reading Washington Irving's story, you are missing out on a great listen. It's so good.
As you can see, I'm a fan. So much so, that I decided to write the fourth book in my Nathan Perry Mystery series loosely based on it. I'm excited to announce that today is the release day for Murder in Mystic Hollow.
Murder in Mystic Hollow is a modern-day retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. If you read closely, you can see elements of Washington Irving's original short story. You'll find it has all the characters you loved from the first three Nathan Perry books. You'll also meet newly hired librarian, Isaac Caine, who comes to Mystic for a new start and ends up falling for the lovely Katina Van Allen. When Isaac finds a dead body at the bottom of his staircase, his world is turned upside down, and Detective Nathan Perry is called upon to find the killer.
So many people are on the list of suspects that Nathan becomes frustrated at not being able to sort it all out. Throw in a thirty-five-year-old bank robbery cold case, not to mention the mysterious motorcycle rider that keeps taunting Isaac, and the officers from the Mystic Police Department have their hands full. It all comes down to Nathan figuring out, “who done it.”
You can find Murder in Mystic Hollow in Kindle and print formats at Amazon, https://amzn.to/4cw9QSW More buy links for online stores will be added later.
I hope you enjoy the book. It was so much fun to write. Thank you.
Carol
I'm excited to announce that the fourth book in my Nathan Perry Mystery Series, Murder in Mystic Hollow will be released on June 24, 2024 in both print and e-book. Check back here on Monday for more information and buy links.
Carol
It was also a very long day. We had meet & greet tickets and that was happening before his performance. The email said to be there by 4:00 pm. The show didn't start until 8 PM. The heat was blistering, but we were one of the first in line, and fortunately in the shade. Believe me, it was still hot. Finally, a little after 4:30, they opened the doors. I didn't have anything for him to sign so I went to the merchandise table and purchased his book, which I'd had bookmarked on Amazon for a while. I wish I had bought it there because the merch table price was almost double that of Amazon.
Then, was the next wait. At least we were inside in the air conditioning. I was the first in line.
(I'm very proud. That's never happened before.) Because I had been having knee pain, I was using a cane. However, I was still leaning against the wall. Believe me, a cane can be a golden ticket, as my son-in-law said later. One of the guys working at The Palace saw the cane and me leaning, and brought a chair so I could sit while waiting. What a nice guy! I wish I had gotten his name. So, the wait after that was only about fifteen minutes. We were then ushered into the theater auditorium. I still didn't see Josh Gates, but as we walked toward the stage area, I saw a black curtain had been erected and the shadow of a man behind it. You couldn't miss that silhouette. It was him.
Carol
I'm so excited to announce that my horror/thriller screenplay, Summer Darkness has been nominated as a finalist for Best Short Screenplay in the Imaginarium Independent Film Festival. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet at the Imaginarium Writing Convention on July 20, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the second nomination this screenplay has received.
Carol
If you're ever in the LaGrange area, make sure you stop by. They're at the end of Main Street and will be moving to a new location next door to the current location soon. They also are opening a new store in Shepardsville, Kentucky soon. You can find out more information about them at https://www.fromthegroundupbooks.com/
We hope to visit again soon to your new locations.
Carol
Save the date - On March 30, at From the Ground Up Books, Main Street, LeGrange, Kentucky, I, along with two of my sisters from the Derby Rotten Scoundrels, Elaine Munsch and Jeanette Pope will be signing our books. Spend the day in beautiful LaGrange, walk the town, visit the shops, have some lunch, and get some great books.
We hope to see you there.
Carol
What inspired you to create Dash Hammond?
Years ago, our Sisters in Crime chapter had a roundtable critique format where anyone could submit almost anything and solicit comments from the other readers/writers. While working in my garden I tripped and fell into my humongous rose bush. As I was slowly and painfully picking the thorns out of my body and clothes, I wondered how a writer would write this scene, anything to stop thinking of each thorn. After I finished, I went inside and sat down at the laptop. I had the picture of a woman trapped in a rosebush, but unlike me, she has a gentleman who comes to her aid. Dash Hammond was born. He is a combination of Magnum, PI, Rockford and my dearly departed husband.
What genre do you write and for what publisher(s)?
In the mystery section of the bookstore is where you would find my books. Some might call them cozies but generally the books don’t fit that description.
Mystery and Horror, LLC have published my last two books in the Dash Hammond series. The first five were self-published through Amazon, now called Kindle Direct.
When you begin your stories, do you go with the flow, or go with an outline?
As you might suspect from the first answer, I just ‘go with the flow.’ I generally get a scene in my mind and start with that. Sometimes I have a big picture, but most often, I’m connecting scenes, going back and rewriting. Occasionally I will make notes, not enough to call them an outline. My slap-dash method requires a lot of re-writing but generally I have fun along the way.
What favorite authors do you enjoy reading?
I have to start with Rex Stout who authored the Nero Wolfe series. I like to call his books the ‘Archie Goodwin’ series. I fell in love with Archie decades ago. His wit, his charm and his dancing shoes, what’s not to love. He has a sharp tongue that often gets him into trouble, like my man Dash.
Lawrence Block, grand master of the genre, also writes a protagonist who is witty and charming and a bookseller to boot, that is when he’s not being a burglar.
Since I’m a bookseller I have a whole store of authors to choose. In the last decade or so I’ve read Robert Crais and Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy series. I make it a point to buy their books.
A newish author who can spin a good tale is Trace Conger, an Ohioan with a wicked side.
Can you tell us a little about the path to publishing your first book?
My books have been classified as ‘comedic mysteries’ by a fellow writer. I haven’t tried to make them funny but there are times when the characters say or do something that makes me (and others) laugh. I began writing as a lark, with no real goal in mind. I was nearing my 70th birthday and decided a book would be a good present for myself. A fellow bookseller had self-published with Amazon and she volunteered to help me set that up. Having been a bookseller all my life and having had many conversations with authors about their path to publication, I felt that I didn’t have the time to pursue an agent, etc. etc.
Part of my job in the Sisters in Crime has been to help with several anthologies we published over the years. The latest one had to do with bourbon. When it came time to publish it, we asked two of our former chapter members who had moved to Florida to care for elderly relatives, and had set up their own small publishing firm, Mystery and Horror LLC, if they would consider the bourbon anthology. They did and it was a great success. I then asked if they would consider my, at the time, latest book which turned out to be A HAUNTING AT MARIANWOOD. It’s a Dash Hammond book set in Kentucky (the others are set in Ohio on Lake Erie) and deals with a ghost.
They were kind enough to also publish OLD SINS the seventh in the series.
Would you tell us a little about your writing process and what your work area looks like?
As the nuns would say, a messy desk speaks to a messy mind. And that picture is worth a thousand words. I wish I could report a daily disciplined routine but alas, that’s not me. If I’m working on a piece, I generally try to write first thing in the morning for as long as I can. Once I take a break, sometimes I get interrupted by life. All night long I have scenes and dialogue running through my mind. Sometimes I will get up and write just to get the thoughts down so I can get back to sleep.
My desk looks like a bomb went off. I am very disorganized, always losing bits and pieces. My daughter cringes every time she looks at it. And my files on my laptop make some of my friends cry when they see the scattered bits and pieces.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
I read, but not as much as I did before I started writing. I belong to a mystery reading group at my Barnes & Noble which gives me a wide range of authors to read. And I find myself scrolling through the internet looking for authors and books. When I have the money, I try to attend book-related conferences. As you might expect, I love meeting authors and talking about books.
What are you working on right now? What’s next?
The story I am writing now is a non-Dash book. It’s about my old neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1958. I had the opening prologue appear to me while sleeping. I jotted it down: “The streets I haunted as a child now haunt me in my dreams.” It’s taking quite a bit of time and I have no idea how it will end. I’ve three different endings in mind but pretty sure only one can be in the book.
After I finish that, I might jump back into the Dash series. I have several ideas but need to put fingers to the keyboard before I can definitely say what will be next.
Anything else you’d like to add? Where can we find you online? Where are your books sold?
Just thank you for inviting me to your blog. I’m hopeless when it comes to talking about my own books. Right now, I don’t have a website but you can check out the Derby Rotten Scoundrels website. That’s the Sisters in Crime website for our local chapter.
The last two Dash books are (or will be) on the shelves at the Louisville Barnes & Noble. But can also be ordered through Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
If you'd like to meet the author and pick up a signed book, she'll be at the Barnes & Noble on Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, March 24 from one until three. She'll also be at From the Ground Up Books & Resources on Main Street, Lagrange, Kentucky on Saturday, March 30 starting at noon.
Again, thank you, Elaine for joining me today. Let me say, I’ve read all of Elaine’s Dash Hammond books and they’re fantastic. You can find Elaine’s books, writing as E.M. Munsch, on the sites below.
Old Sins - Relatives - you can't choose them and you can't lose them... unless they die. And that's what Cousin Maud did.
The distant cousin of his Irish mother was never a big factor in Dash Hammond's life. As a child, he remembers her pinching his cheeks. As an adult, he rarely saw her as he traveled the world serving in the United States Army.
But Maud remembered him. "A good man, a reliable man....a seeker of truth and a finder of lost things." She leaves everything to Dash counting on his sense of duty and honor to do the right thing and make amends for her mistakes. If Dash finds Maud's abandoned daughter, how many lives will this impact?
As he drives back and forth from Clover Pointe, Ohio, to Cleveland, Dash curses her under his breath but refuses to back away from a challenge.
Dash learns that old sins do indeed cast long shadows.
I had such a wonderful time on The Star Chamber Show last night with Stephen Zimmer and Holly Marie Phillippe . Thank you to them for havin...
