How One Book Became a Series

Today I'm happy to host my dear friend and fellow mystery writer, Pat Gligor. Pat has written a mystery series whose characters deal with serious issues. Her latest, Marnie Malone, will be out March 14th, just in time for a St. Paddy's Day read.

When I wrote Mixed Messages, I intended it to be a standalone mystery/suspense novel. I had no idea the book would end up being the first in a five book series. But, somewhere along the line, I realized that, in order to tell “the rest of the story,” I would need to write a second book. Unfinished Business is that book. An appropriate title, I think, and like Mixed Messages, it has a double meaning.

By the time I finished writing Unfinished Business, I had become so fond of my characters and so wrapped up in their lives that they were almost real to me. I had to find out what would happen to them next.
So I went on to write the next three books: Desperate Deeds, Mistaken Identity and my new release, Marnie Malone, which will be available on March 14th. The first three books take place on the west side of Cincinnati (my hometown) and the last two are set in different locations in South Carolina, a state I’ve visited many times.

While each book may be read as a standalone, the series is the saga of the Malone family and the struggles they face. With each new book, the characters change and grow as they deal with a multitude of problems and are involved in several dangerous, sometimes life-threatening, situations. But through it all, the underlining message in each book is one of Hope.

With St. Patrick’s Day only three days after the release, the timing of Marnie Malone couldn’t be more perfect. Because the Malones are Irish and something very important takes place in the book on the holiday. But no spoilers here. ☺

Here’s a glimpse into Marnie Malone:

It’s Marnie’s last week at the law firm of Cliburn & Reeves and she feels like she’s riding an emotional roller coaster. Up when she wins the divorce and custody battle for Callie Jackson against her abusive husband, Jed. And plummeting down when one witness after another decides not to testify against Mark Hall, an attorney at another Charleston firm and an “alleged” serial rapist.
Marnie receives one threat after another and she constantly feels the need to look over her shoulder, convinced that someone is stalking her. With Sam out of town on business, she’s alone in the big, old farmhouse and strange things are happening. Noises in the attic, creaking floorboards and someone watching her from the woods.

As she tries to determine the identity of the stalker, the list of men who have grudges against her grows longer each day. In her line of work she’s made enemies. Is the stalker someone from the past or one of the men on her list? And, how far will he go?

To pre-order the Kindle version of Marnie Malone:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WP28GGF

The link to my Amazon page:
http://tinyurl.com/8sd2cz4

The link to my blog:
http://pat-writersforum.blogspot.com/

Please Welcome W. (Wendy) Soliman, Author of The Hunter Files Series

W. Soliman was brought up on the Isle of Wight in Southern England but now divides her time between Andorra and West Florida. She lives with her husband Andre and a rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree.

THE HUNTER FILES 
When my husband got tired of trying to kill himself in racing cars, light aircraft, helicopters and all the other stuff men turn to in a futile attempt to offset the inevitable mid-life crisis, he suggested that we try boating. We were at home in Andorra, up to our ears in snow and the heating was on the blink, so pretty pictures of sleek motor cruisers cutting through the calm, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean seemed rather appealing.

And safe.

We fell for the hype and before we knew it, we were the owners of an ancient boat in need of a considerable amount of tlc. For Andre, that was the start of an on-going love affair with the sea and all things nautical. For me it was more a hate-love-hate thing. When the sea is actually as calm as they make it out to be in those glossy ads then boating is a dream. But those days are few and far between. Most of the time you’re tossed about like a loose coin in a washing machine, feeling sick and wondering what the hell you think you’re doing.

Still, never waste an experience, that’s my motto, and one good thing to come out of hours of staring at endless expanses of sea was The Hunter Files, my series of marine crime mysteries, published as ebooks by Carina Press and also by Audible. The first two, Unfinished Business and Risky Business, written under my other persona, W. Soliman, are already avilable. Lethal Business joins them next March.

Charlie Hunter is, like me, a Brit. He shares my husband’s passion for boating and, at forty, having taken early retirement from the police, plans to live aboard his trawler yacht in Brighton marina and spend his days restoring it to its former glory.

Charlie’s dream life doesn’t get off to a good start when a woman involved in one of his first cases as a detective accosts him, trying to persuade him to look for her missing sister. Charlie, a soft touch when a pretty woman turns on the tears, reluctantly agrees. Mind you, if he’d known his investigation would lead to a gang of ruthless Russians, leaving him and Kara fighting for their lives, he probably would have stuck to boating!

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Writing this book was a departure for me, since it’s in the first person, obviously from a male perspective. Andre came in useful here, both with technical boating issues and likely male reactions in given situations. Can’t say more than that!

Here’s how Carina describe the books.

                                                             

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Charlie Hunter has retired early from the police, looking for an alternative lifestyle aboard his trawler yacht. But his past won’t leave him alone and he finds himself being dragged back into an unsolved case when Kara Webb persuades him to look for her sister who’d gone missing fifteen years previously. The search leads them to Weymouth, where Jasmine Webb is living, married to a Russian Mafia boss.

Charlie and Kara discover that Jasmine’s husband is involved in cyber crime on a massive scale and try to extricate her and her children, only to discover that Jasmine’s involved as well. A deadly fight ensues, and Charlie and Kara are now in fear of their lives because they know they can’t be allowed to walk away…

RISKY BUSINESS

Charlie always doubted that Mike Kendall killed bookie Jeff Spelling. Persuaded by Mike’s daughter to reinvestigate, Charlie is drawn into the murky world of race fixing. When the solicitor acting for powerful gaming club magnet Peter Garnet is also murdered, Charlie is forced to confront dormant family issues when his estranged step-brother appeals to him for help.

His old nemesis, Inspector Gillian Slater, is out for Charlie’s blood. Charlie was one of the last people to see the solicitor alive so she’s convinced he knows more about his death then he’s prepared to admit and is determined to pin the crime on him.

Charlie and Kara, suspecting a drug connection, are caught in a life and death situation, fighting against the odds to uncover the truth…

Stop by my website if you get a moment. It’s at http://www.wsoliman.com. You can read the entire first chapters of both books there. They are available from Carina Press or Amazon.com http://amzn.to/PAjHKE

Thanks for having me here.

Wendy

Please welcome Wendy Soliman to Make Mine Mystery by leaving a comment.