A TASTE OF FRANK SCULLY
Excerpt from Resurrection Garden:
The Sheriff joined me in my contemplation of the body. It wasn’t pretty. Thor had never been handsome, and the ravages of being frozen under the snow for the winter and having birds and other animals picking away at the skin as the snow thawed and exposed the body made what was left of him downright disgusting.

                One thing was evident though. He didn’t die easy. Freezing to death is relatively painless. Wander out in the cold, get lost, fall asleep, and don’t wake up. That wasn’t what happened to Thor.

                “What do you think? Shotgun, maybe?” the sheriff asked.

                “At least,” I answered. The hole in his chest was big enough to put a fist through. “But why? He musta been dead already when he was shot.”

                “Yeah, first someone beat him to a bloody pulp then gutted him and slashed his throat. And then shot him. Ain’t that what you said, Doc.”

BUY

                “Looks that way to me,” Doc answered. “Can’t tell you much more until he thaws out all the way.”

                “Somebody wanted him deader than dead.” The sheriff shook his head.

                “Takes some hate to do all that,” Doc commented. “Got any suspects?”

                Doc and the Sheriff both turned to face me.

                I let out a deep sigh. “I suppose you want me to find out what happened to him.”

                “Seems as how you should. After all, you found him, and you’re my deputy up there,” the Sheriff answered.

                I stared at Thor and wondered when I would be able to sit down.

                Doc came up behind us and commented, “Jake, you might ought to get some new britches or something. You’re hanging out your back end. Probably scare the ladies and kids if you went out in public like that.”

                I reached around and felt bare skin crisscrossed with stitches. “Damn, just got these new this Christmas.”

                “I’m sure one of the widow ladies you’ve been helping out will be happy to lend you some spare pants.” Doc grinned. “And I’m sure these new scars will get you lots of sympathy and special care.”

                “Speaking of widows,” the Sheriff interjected. “You’ll need to tell Mrs. Thorsgaard we found her husband.”

                And that’s when the real pain started.

Great hook!

 AND HERE'S A SELECTION OF REVIEW QUOTES:

As most good mysteries do, this one begins with a dead body. The big difference is this tale is set in 1904 and starts in North Central North Dakota, making it an historical western mystery. Before I tell much more, I have to say I loved everything about this story. Deputy Jake Turner is a reluctant hero, a single man who knows something is missing in his life despite his faithful horse, dog and cat. Marilyn's Musings Review -  READ FULL REVIEW

I found myself enthralled with this tale. The mystery was well developed and had a very satisfying resolution...Mr. Scully's writing style was spare and perfectly suited the tale and time in which it was set. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed getting to know them. Broken Teepee Reviews...READ FULL REVIEW

We find tales and lives woven together in the small town and it is all written beautifully.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel down to the last sentence... The One Hundred Romances Project 4 Stars...READ FULL REVIEW

Written in a style somewhat reminiscent of Zane Grey, RESURRECTION GARDEN gathers momentum like an old steam train, until you reach a point where you can’t put it down without finishing it. Pat Dale - Multi-published author Highly Recommended - READ FULL REVIEW
Frank's Website:  www.frankjscully.com     Blog:  http://frankjscully.com/blog/ 

Look out for more books in the Decade Mystery Series over the next few months at:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/

Thanks, Frank. Good to meet you and I wish you great success with
The Decade Mystery Series

FRANK SCULLY, MYSTERY WRITER
REVEALS...

From where do you get inspiration and what inspired you to write THE DECADE MYSTERY SERIES?

Two things really intrigue me - History and Mystery.  The history doesn’t have to be ancient, it can be just yesterday or last year.  The mystery, of course, has to be full of dire consequences and danger.

 When I started writing, I had so many ideas for stories floating around in my head I had to somehow sort them out and decide which I would work on first.  It turned out to be a mystery set in 1957 in the Midwest.  The second was set in 1995 in California.  The third was in 2004 in Europe.  And then out of a snowstorm and idea came to me, and I wrote Resurrection Garden set in 1904 in North Dakota.  I began to see a pattern here.  Murder mysteries set in different decades and locations. And thus was born my Decade Mystery Series.

Resurrection Garden is not a western, nor is it a Victorian mystery. The North Dakota prairie was almost the last frontier for homesteading. Immigrants were arriving daily looking for their chance at the American Dream. Land of their own to farm, to prosper and raise a family. It was hard, rough work in a harsh environment and many failed, even died, in the effort.  Communities were new, yet people relied on one another and on the law.

In writing Resurrection Garden, I wove into the story many snippets I culled from my research.  Stories straight out the newspaper of the time became part of the backdrop to the mystery and to life as depicted in the novel.  Since my own grandparents were settlers in North Dakota in the 1880’s, I also had personal history to draw on for background.

Who controls the story – you or your characters?

My characters control the story. I begin with an idea around which I want to create a story.  From that my characters begin to take shape.  Before I start writing I develop my main characters complete with back story and then put them in motion.  From there they take off and control the story.  Once I am writing it is like a movie is playing in my head or I am actually watching the real scenes take place and my job is to get it down on paper.  The characters often go in directions I did not consciously plan but I can see that it is the right thing for them to do to remain true to the character and the story.  I have learned to get out of the way of my characters once I turn them loose in the story.

What do you hope your readers come away with after reading the books?

I want my readers to come away satisfied.  I am asking them to take some time from their life to read my book and I want them to enjoy the story and the characters, to learn something, and to feel that the time was well spent.  And also, of course, I want the reader to look forward to the next book.

What do you like best and least about writing?

The best part of writing is the discovery, the aha moments that happen when writing and you find your characters truly taking on life and taking over the story.  It’s not just the good characters either.  So much can be learned from the antagonists in their actions, motivations and complexities.  It can be fun spending a few hours writing scenes exploring the characters as they move through the story.  I may start out a story with a general idea of what the ending should be only to find that the characters and the story take a different direction and the ending is what they dictate, not me.

The least favorite part of writing is the constant re-writing and editing.  Like a garden, a story need constant attention to pull out the weeds in order to let the flowers grow and blossom.

What is the best writing advice you have ever received?

The best advice I ever got was simply this – persevere.  Don’t give up, keep writing and polishing your writing.  Write because it is what you have to do, not because you want to make a lot of money.  Some very good writers will never make it through the maze to get published but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be writing.

What can we look forward to from you in the near future?

As I said my next book, Dead Man’s Gambit, is out in June.  Following that in a few months is Empty Time.  Two more in the Decade Mystery Series will follow in 2012.  I hope everyone will enjoy them all.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I like to read - mysteries of course, travel, garden, play poker and keep up with current events.  There never is enough “free” time for all that I would like to do.  Maybe someday, after I have retired from my regular professional career.

Finally, which flower would best describe you and why?

If I had to pick a flower that would describe me it would probably be the North American wild prairie rose.  I’m not showy, I’m hardy and need my freedom in order to grow.

More books in the Decade Mystery Series will be released in the next few months.
All Frank's books are available from the publisher at

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/

Website:  www.frankjscully.com

Blog:  http://frankjscully.com/blog/

COME BACK TOMORROW TO READ A GREAT EXCERPT!

 A WARM WELCOME TO FRANK SCULLY
MYSTERY WRITER -  author Resurrection Garden and Dead Man’s Gambit

FIRSTLY,  FRANK SHARES A JAUNTY BIOI was born and raised in a small town in North Dakota.  Without giving away my birth date, I will say that I remember when radio was the primary source of entertainment. Jack Benny, Amos and Andy, and The Shadow. Then Eisenhower became president and black and white TV came along.  Jack Benny made the transition. The Ed Sullivan show ruled Sunday night.  The Cold War was real and scary.  We practiced hiding under our desk in the event of a nuclear attack. Not that it would have done us any good but it made the teachers feel better. In the 60’s I went to college during the Age of Aquarius. After I got my law degree I went off to Vietnam as a U.S. Army Officer. There ducking for cover did come in handy. After I got out of the service in the 70’s I got an MBA and started a career.  I’ve worked as an executive for large aerospace companies and owned my own small business.  I’ve been well off and broke and learned how to survive both.  I am married to a wonderful and understanding wife who gave me twin sons, both of whom have gone on to become lawyers and businessmen.
I recall getting a black and white TV as being quite an event, too, Frank!
THE DECADE MYSTERY SERIES
I am writing what I call the Decade Mystery Series.  My intention is to write a series of stand alone mystery/suspense/adventure novels, at least one for each decade of the 20^th and 21^st century, set in different locales with both continuing and new characters in each one.  There is something unique in each decade that marks it as separate from what went before or what follows.  I shall explore aspects of what is unique as it is expressed in the locale chosen and how it affects the culture, characters and the tenor of the times and yet also see the common humanity that never changes. 

Resurrection Garden, my first book which was released in January, is set against the backdrop of the settling of the North Dakota prairie at the beginning of the 20^th century.  Railroads and the telegraph were changing transportation and communication.  The pace of life was speeding up. The land was filling up with settlers.  Opportunity grew out of the newly plowed ground.  Deputy Sheriff Jake Turner, a man with a past he would like to leave behind, discovers the body of a murdered man in a thawing snowdrift.  While investigating the roots of the crime, Jake uncovers threads leading toward his best friend, who is the brother of the woman he is falling love with.  Jake is almost killed and an orphaned boy who has attached himself to Jake is kidnapped and almost killed.  Jake is convinced the people behind the murder will kill again to cover their tracks but solving the crime might destroy his dreams.  The characters and story are true to their time and place.  Interwoven into the fictional are aspects of real life culled from newspapers and letters from the era.

Dead Man’s Gambit will be released in June, 2011.
It's a game of real life Monopoly between bitter rivals becomes deadly as one side ups the ante and plays for keeps, but even death can’t stop the game.  Detective-turned-Assistant DA, Mike Johnson finds himself living in a comfortable rut. That is, until Warren Rogga, a friend he helped convict is murdered in prison, leaving only a last request: Protect his family.

Mike owes Warren more than he can repay but is about to find out what it will cost him.  It had been an ugly case and is going to get uglier as it draws Mike back into its tangled web of sex, politics, greed, big money and cold hearted killers.

The evidence against Warren, a rich and powerful man, was overwhelming.  His mistress and illegitimate child were murdered.  He was there that night.  They had argued.  The murder weapon was found hidden on his property.  An open and shut case.  Mike couldn’t ignore the evidence he had collected and Warren went to prison.

When he starts to look into the case again, the justice system turns on him.  Forced out of his job as a DA, investigated by the police, hounded by the media, and manipulated by powerful people, Mike and his family and friends find their lives in danger as Mike becomes a player in the elaborate game of real life Monopoly played by a masquerade ball coterie of rich men, political power brokers, and an assortment of other crooks and criminals.  There is only one rule in the game.  Winner lives, loser dies.

More books in the Decade Mystery Series will be released in the next few months.

All Frank's books are available from the publisher at: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/

or at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, Omnilit and many other online booksellers.

Read more about Frank at his website: www.frankjscully.com and blog: http://frankjscully.com/blog/
AND DON'T MISS HIS INTERVIEW HERE TOMORROW!

A Taste of Romance Author

ROSEANNE DOWELL

Here's a preview from Roseanne's upcoming novel
Double the Trouble:

A shadow passed over the doorway, and Kate realized she wasn’t alone. She looked up.

Adam stood in the doorway, the same cocky grin on his face. “Now that’s settled, how are you, Kate?”

Kate couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t he take a hint? “What do you want, Adam?” She didn’t care if she sounded angry. He deserved angry.

Adam came into the work room and stood in front of her. “You look great.”

Kate looked away. So did he, but darned if she’d tell him. He looked too damn good. What was the saying? Fool her once, shame on him, fool her twice, shame on her. Nope, she didn’t need him or anyone like him.

 “So what do you want? I gave you all the information on Emma. Shouldn’t you be out investigating?” She picked up a flower and set it in a vase. Her heart beat so hard, it surprised her that he didn’t hear it.

“Look, I know you’re still upset about the wedding, but give me a chance to make it up to you. How about dinner tonight?”

“I’m busy.” Still upset? The man has no idea. Like we should pick up where we left off? He’s got to be kidding.

“Tomorrow then?”

“I’m busy tomorrow, too. Look, Adam, just go, okay. I don’t want to have dinner with you. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever.”

“Come on, babe, don’t be like that.” Adam moved a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t blame you for being angry. But damn, it’s been five years.” He ran his finger along her cheek. “The least you could do is give me a chance to explain. Not that I’m sure I could. I’m not sure, even now, why I took off. Cold feet, I guess.”

Kate trembled at his touch. A spark of something familiar tumbled in her stomach. She pushed his hand away. Try as she might, her anger shattered.

“How dare you walk in here like nothing happened? Like we’re going to pick up where we left off?” Kate spoke through clenched teeth. What she really wanted to do was lash out and hurt him the way he hurt her, but a customer might come in and screaming wasn’t going to help anyway.

Adam stared at her, a look of confusion in his dark eyes. He just didn’t get it. He really didn’t see anything wrong with what he did. Took the coward’s way out and left her to deal with canceling all the wedding plans. What a jerk. “Look, just go.” She turned back to her work and picked up a vase to fill her next order.

Adam ran his hand through his dark, wavy hair. Hair she used to love to run her fingers through. She could almost feel the soft, silkiness of even now.

“Give me a break, Kate. Let me make it up to you.”

Part of her wanted to give in, and part of her wanted to throw something at him. Stay strong, get rid of him. No way was she picking up where they left off.

The bell rang again, and before she had a chance to react, Mark stormed in. Kate’s stomach did a flip at the sight of him. What was wrong with her, reacting to these men this way? For five years men had no affect on her.

Now in the course of an hour, the two of them managed to get under her skin, causing feelings deep within she hadn’t experienced in years. Feelings she didn’t want to feel.

Mark stared at them for a second. “I don’t know what the two of you have going, but why aren’t you out looking for my sister?”

Kate shuddered at the angry tone of Mark’s voice. “There’s nothing going on between us, Mr. Westfield. I just suggested the very same thing to Detective Shaffer,” she said just as angry. “Now if the two of you will continue this outside, I have work to do.”

“I’ll call you later, Kate.” Adam acted as if everything between them was settled.

Par for the course. Wasn’t that always how it was? She got mad, spoke her mind, and that was it. Over and done with.

Nothing changed.

Adam went on doing the same things he always did. Didn’t matter if it upset her. Poker every Friday night with his friends, no matter how angry she got.

How they had managed to plan the wedding was beyond her.  Not that he did any of the planning. Adam didn’t even want to see the hall or listen to the band.

 No wonder he didn’t have any qualms about canceling the wedding. He didn’t do any of the work for it. Obviously, he wasn’t ready to get married. So why had he asked her? Asked her, heck, he had insisted. Even when she suggested they wait a year or so. He at least owed her an explanation. But did she really want to hear it?

          Great hook!
BUY Double the Trouble at MuseItUp Publishing 
Visit Roseanne at her website: www.roseannedowell.com or her blog http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com/

 Thank you for sharing with us Roseanne. It's been a pleasure getting to know you

email Roseanne at rodow62 at yahoo dot com
with the word 'contest' in the subject line, to have a chance to win a free copy

Romance Author ROSEANNE DOWELL
Reveals...

BUY

1. From where do you get inspiration and what inspired you to write Double the Trouble?
Inspirations come from everywhere. It might be something so simple as a headline in the newspaper or a picture in a magazine. for Double the Trouble, it came from a cemetry. I have a thing for cemetries and when we visited this particular one, which was tucked back off the road in the center of twinsburg, an idea hit as I walked around. On the drive home, it started to take shape and by the tiem i got home, it developed enough to start jotting down ideas.

2. Who controls the story - you or your characters?
My characters always control the story right down to their names.

3. What do you enjoy about writing romance?
I'm a romantic and love happy endings.

4. What do you like best and least about writing?
I love making up worlds and characters and then listening to them. I love the way the story takes shape and surprises even me.
I dislike having to promote books. It takes so much time away from my writing.

5. Do you have a writing routine?
Not really. I write when the muse hits me, often late into the night. I hate when we're visiting or doing something I can't stop and the muse hits. I learned a long time ago to jot it down or I'd forget. I've lost whole conversations betwen characters because I didn't feel like getting out of bed. Now, I know better and no matter how tired, I get up.

6. What can we look forward to from you in the hear future?
I have several more books coming out with MuseItUp Publishing: link
A Second Chance - June, May I Have This Dance - July,   Connections of the Minds - September, And We All Fall Down - December,  then Elusive Mission and Geriatric Rebel .

7. How do you like to spend your free time?
Did someone say free time? LOL Actually, besides spending time with my family, I love quilting and embroidering, especially combining the two. I made baby quilts for each of my grandchildren's first child. So far, I've given one of them. Since the youngest grandchild is only 6 months old, it'll be a while before he gets his.

8. What was your favourite book as a child/teen/adult? Are you currently reading anything?
I love Nora Roberts, Mary Higgins Clark, Lisa Scottoline and a slew of others. I'm currently reading Nora Robert's wedding series.
Snap! I'm currently reading Happy Ever After

Read more about Roseanne at her website www.roseannedowell.com and her blog http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com

And come back tomorrow for a preview of Double the Trouble
 email Roseanne at rodow62 at yahoo dot com with the word 'contest' in the subject line, to have a chance to win a free copy

A warm welcome to 
Romance Author ROSEANNE DOWELL

First, a little of Roseanne's life:

Roseanne Dowell is an avid reader and writes various types of romance - paranormal, contemporary, and mystery. She has several books published as well as over 40 articles and short stories published in magazines such as Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer and several online publications. Besides teaching writing courses for Long Story School of Writing www.lsswritingschool.com , she also taught two writing courses for the Encore Program at Cuyahoga Community College.

Apart from being a prolific writer, she's a great family person too

Roseanne lives in Northeast Ohio where she enjoys life as a wife, mother of six, grandmother of fourteen and great grandmother of one. Besides writing, Roseanne enjoys embroidery and quilting, especially combining the two.

How wonderful to be a great grandmother...

See the range of Roseanne's published romances on her website at www.roseannedowell.com 
And here's the Blurb to her upcoming release Double the Trouble
 Kate Wesley left Twinsburg, Ohio five years ago after her fiancé jilted her. Now she’s back, happy and content with her single life. She doesn’t need men to fulfill her dreams, she has her florist shop.

Widower, Mark Westfield wasn’t interested in women. He had twin five year olds to raise, and they took all his time and energy. But Kate sparked something in him he hadn’t expected to feel again.



Available soon from MuseItUp Publishing link

Adam Shaffer left Kate two days before their wedding. Left a note and took off to Las Vegas. Biggest mistake of his life. But now they were both back, and he aimed to win Kate back.

Visit Roseanne at her website www.roseannedowell.com
or her blog http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com/

Roseanne currently has  Stranger On The Shore out with MuseItUp Publishing and several more to follow soon - A Second Chance –  May I Have This Dance -  Connections of the Minds –  And We All Fall Down –  Elusive Mission – Geriatric Rebel.

Make  a date to come back tomorrow for Roseanne's interview

email Roseanne at rodow62 at yahoo dot com
with the word 'contest' in the subject line, to have a chance to win a free copy