In the last month or so, I've had on average one person a day email me to ask if there is going to be a third Manziuk and Ryan mystery. 

First, thanks for the encouragement. Knowing someone is waiting to read my books really encourages me to keep writing them. 

Secondly, the answer is yes. There will be a third book. And hopefully a fourth…

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the next book isn't written yet.

But the other good news is that it is in the process of being written.

Book 3 has a title – "Opaque Rays."

And it has a setting, characters, and an overall plot. (Yes, I even know whodunit!)

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I saw the upcoming topic for Mystery Reader -  “Scandinavian Mysteries” – and thought, “Nothing to do with me.” A few days later, I got an email about it and deleted it. Several weeks passed. Then, one day while my husband and I were babysitting our grandson, Leif, we got talking, for some reason, about Christmas and about some of the traditional foods we eat, like julekake and potato lefse. All of a sudden, I slapped myself upside the head and shouted, “Scandinavian Mysteries!”

My husband, naturally, was confused.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve lived for 35 years in a house where everyone else is Scandinavian!” I said. “And for all we know, my Scottish ancestors owed more than a few of their genes to the Vikings.”

He continued to look confused.
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They all said I needed an advertising gimmick of some sort to give out at mystery conventions. Some people give out poker chips, wedding rings, rubber bands, tea bags, peanut butter cups, lollipops – you name it, it's been used.

So – what could I use for Shaded Light ? I thought of a light bulb – nope, too easy to break! I thought of sunglasses – way too expensive. I thought of – a lot of different things. But none of them worked. And then it occurred to me – tiny parasols (or if you prefer, umbrellas)!

My top 10 reasons for using parasols to promote Shaded Light

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I suppose every writer likes to talk about how he or she wrote the "first one."

Shaded Light wasn't my first published book, but it was my first mystery. And it took a lot of sweat, and a lot of time.

I believe I've loved mysteries for as long as I can remember. When I was young, one of my very favorite games was, "How many marbles are in my hand?" On Sunday afternoons when my parents and I visited with my Grandmother and my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Albert. Uncle Albert and I played Chinese Checkers. After he got tired of letting me win, he would take a bunch of marbles, arrange some of them in his hands, and shake his hands. I would have to guess how many marbles he had. Of course he would try to trick me by keeping all the marbles from hitting the others or going fast so a few sounded like more. I loved trying to guess the right number. Read more »