Mysterical-E

Author Snapshot

Mysteries of Many Colors

It's time again to load up the Nook, iPad and Kindle, or grab a regular book and find a comfortable place to enjoy a great new read.

This time, I'm featuring a short Q&A with Reagan Hill, author of an intriguing new urban fantasy series, HAIGHT-ASHBURY, which launches in January. www.reaganhill.net/

Actually, the series, which begins with the first book, SPECTRE OF JUSTICE, crosses several genres. The series is set in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district where "some say true magic is thickest . . . gargoyles, ghouls, vampires, and more walk the streets." The "Other-Than-Humans" or “OTs.” are malevolent, heroic, misunderstood, and mostly, discriminated against. They are represented by the crusading legal team of Thomas Brock and Evelyn Love, who specialize in OT law.

Talking with author Reagan Hill:
Q: Why did you decide to do this project?
A: I’d been toying around with various urban fantasy plots and settings before stumbling across material on Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s. Interested in the hippie culture, I initially decided to build my fictional world around that. In the end, however, I thought present-day Haight-Ashbury might interest more readers. So the only element from the 1960s is the ghost of a hippie who died on the corner—Valentino Trinadad. He’s one of the supporting characters.
Q: What's the best - and worst - thing about writing this series?
A: It takes research . . . into San Francisco’s past, into what’s going on in the city now. It’s consulting bus schedules and trolley routes, looking up restaurants and churches in the Haight-Ashbury district, and delving into housing costs and crime statistics. It’s staying true to the city, while giving it an urban fantasy bent. It’s also involved researching mythology about undead and various other-worldly denizens. The best part, however, is using all of that as a springboard for stories.
The length is also challenging. The serialized novels range from 25,000 to 30,000 words, about one-third the size of a traditional paperback, and yet about five times the length of an average short story. So it takes some thought into telling a good, solid story in that space, with twists and turns, a satisfying resolution, and leaving a few threads dangling to be picked up in a later work.
Q: Why did you decide to self-publish?
A: I’ve never tried to self-publish before, so this is a grand and mysterious endeavor for me. But I’ve done my research. Ebooks are popular, are selling well to people with iPads, Kindles, Nooks, and the like, and this length of fiction is gaining appeal. Authors are no longer limited to working with traditional publishers, and they can venture out on their own without waiting months or years to learn of a manuscript’s rejection or acceptance. I think the trick is to make sure you have a good project, have it edited (by the award-winning team of Mel Odom and Jean Rabe), and offer an eye-catching cover. I was fortunate to attract science fiction artist Kevin Ward (www.alienartworld.com) to the Love-Haight project. Kevin has illustrated magazine and book covers, and has brought an amazing flavor to this series. Now is the perfect time to do this . . . just because life is short. Why wait to try something new and different?

Excerpt from Spectre of Justice:
"Your client is dead."
"That does not preclude him from seeking joint custody of his two children, Your Honor." Thomas Brock eased back from the table and prayed his nerves did not show. He'd tried cases in the Civic Center Courthouse before, but this was his first time in family court, and he'd never been before the Honorable Vernon Vaughan. The judge's imposing bulldog like appearance unsettled him. "My client-Emanuel Holder-has lucrative employment, lives in a newly-purchased home in the city's prestigious Sea Cliff neighborhood, and is entitled to see his children. In fact, he considered seeking sole custody, but decided this arrangement would be better for all concerned."

Other Interesting New Reads:

BEELINE TO TROUBLE - Hannah Reed (Deb Baker) - www.queenbeemystery.com/ It’s a real buzz-kill when beekeeper Story Fischer gets a visit from her frantic sister. Now she has to help host a combative trio of professional food flavorists. Then, days after Story's hunky boyfriend moves in, a guest is found dead and Story is the prime suspect.
QUOTE: "It took me and Hunter Wallace a long time to nail down the specifics of 'living in sin' (as my mother is sure to call it the minute she finds out). I was most surprised by my own cold feet, since at thirty-four I've also been experiencing that hormonal ticking clock thing, and Hunter is one fine man."

FACE OF THE ENEMY - Beverle Graves Myers www.beverlegravesmyers.com/ and Joanne Dobson - www.joannedobson.com/
The first novel in the New York in Wartime mystery series, FACE OF THE ENEMY focuses on a seasoned homicide detective and two young women, a nurse and a reporter. As war unfolds and transforms the city, the three New Yorkers encounter the best and worst the uneasy home front has to offer. The best includes sacrifice and true patriotism, while the worst brings racial paranoia, political intrigue, sabotage, profiteering and, of course, murder.
December, 1941. With New Yorkers painfully aware of their vulnerability after the Pearl Harbor attack, the FBI prowls the city snatching up Japanese residents. Troubles multiply for a sensitive Japanese artist when she’s accused of murder as well as espionage. Is Masako Fumi guilty? Or a victim of racial paranoia?
QUOTE: Papa narrowed his eyes. He looked dangerous. He looked, Howie realized with a sinking heart, like a real Nazi.

THREAD ON ARRIVAL: An Embroidery Mystery - Amanda Lee (Gayle Trent) www.gayletrent.com/
Embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer gets hung up on a tapestry that may lead to sunken treasure and be the motive for murder....
When Marcy’s friend Reggie, Tallulah Falls’ local librarian, asks her to teach an embroidery class as therapy for domestic abuse victims, she gladly agrees. One of the women wants to flee from her abusive husband but is afraid to leave her elderly father-in-law behind. And she thinks Marcy can help. He shows her a tapestry his grandmother made, which he believes reveals the location of pirate treasure off the Oregon coast. He agrees to move, provided Marcy keeps the tapestry safe. But when the police arrive the next day to escort him out, they find the old man murdered and the house ransacked. Does someone want that treasured tapestry desperately enough to kill for it?
QUOTE: I blinked back tears and sniffled. "I'm going to take another look at that tapestry, too. If there's any way it IS a treasure map, I'll help him find that treasure."