Cyndaverse: November 2017

Someone took a swipe at my writing and ended up introducing me to a great new author. The negative comment was that I was a cut-rate Julia Spencer-Flemming I wasn't familiar with the author, which is surprising. I'm not one of those writers who doesn't read her own genre. I love mysteries. Most especially mystery series.

I'm not sure how I missed the fantastic Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries. It's about a female Episcopal priest and army veteran who moves to a small town and meets a fellow vet who serves as the chief of police. Sparks fly, bodies pile up, and an intriguing world of fascinating characters comes to life. I spent a hundred bucks on mysteries in one weekend. This series tackles real-world issues head-on and there are no easy answers. I highly suggest trying out this series starting with the first book, In The Bleak Midwinter (all of the titles come from hymns).

Click here to start this great series.

I am very flattered to be considered even a cut-rate Julia Spencer Flemming. It's kind of true since my books do sell for about 1/3 of the price of her series.

I discovered another great series thanks to a positive review of my book Killer Clowns From Out Of State.

A reader compared it to J.D. Robb. J.D. Robb is a name that Nora Roberts writes a the In Death series under. These books are sexy thrillers with a little bit of a Sci-Fi twist. Again, I'm not sure how I managed to never read any of the 40 plus books the 20-year-old series. I read the first book, Naked In Death. I thought the sci-fi futuristic angle wasn't handled that well. But I kept reading, mostly because I admire the way Nora/J.D. handles writing banter and fairly explicit sex. I think she walks a great line between romantic and too much information. I initially said that the series was okay.

A lot of the sci-fi element consists of saying, I used my future phone to call a future cab. The main characters are a standard tortured tough-cop and a handsome billionaire who can basically make you roll on the floor in ecstasy by unbuttoning your top blouse button. But I absolutely could not stop reading them. It's as if Fifty Shades of Gray had an actual plot. (Don't worry, so spanking involved) I actually think my Martha Garrett Mysteries have more similarities to this series.

I didn't spend $450 buying all of them, but I have used my OverDrive app to a lot of them from my library. I'm just a little addicted. I'm also reading them out of order. That's a little confusing.