Introducing Gary McGugan's new release A Slippery Shadow

 

Welcome back to my good friend and inspiration, Gary McGugan!

I've always liked to read and tell stories but was also a captive of the corporate world for more than forty years. Anyone who has lived life at the senior levels of large companies knows there's little time for a writing career, and it took retirement from that world to launch a new pursuit. My first book was a work of non-fiction – NEEDS Selling Solutions – co-authored with my friend Jeff Allen. From that positive experience, I learned that writing a book is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one!

So I set out to use my travel and life experiences as a foundation for entertaining suspense thrillers, using the backdrop of a large corporation for my tales of intrigue. Since my 2016 debut story, Three Weeks Less a Day, I've released a new novel each year. My sixth, A Slippery Shadow, hits the bookshelves April 1, 2022.

 

Currently, I’m completing a 2-year term as Co-Chair the Writers' Community of York Region - a vibrant collection of writers from all genres supporting one another and improving our craft. We number almost 100 members and welcome membership from our area and beyond. Many events we hold are virtual, making it easy to become a member and benefit from the collegiality of the group and knowledge of our expert presenters. Check us out here: https://wcyork.ca/

 

Experts say we should write about things we know best. In my case, those subjects are business, travel, and people. As an author, my goal is to share some experiences, insight, and views as I create suspense stories designed to entertain people worldwide -- one reader at a time.

 

Here are links to my website and social media pages:

Gary D. McGugan Website: www.garydmcguganbooks.com

Subscribe to Gary’s VIP Readers List: https://www.subscribepage.com/garydmcgugan

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/gary.d.mcgugan.books

Twitter:  @GaryDMcGugan  

Instagram: Authorgarydmcgugan

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/rmbhfzer

How many hours a day do you write?

I use my three most productive hours to write—from nine ‘til noon every day.

What is your favorite childhood book?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. I think reading the tale of his escapades along the Mississippi River instilled a passion for exploring the unknown that stimulates my love of travel to this day.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

One year ago, I would have told you I found editing the most challenging aspect of writing. I no longer feel that way as I made a conscious decision to treat editing as an opportunity rather than a task, and now love the process of making my stories better. The most difficult remaining challenge? I’m still a two-finger typist on the keyboard. You can imagine the challenges that creates!

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Five years is a very short window when you reach my age! With luck, there will be more stories. How many is difficult to predict.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

None. When I start a novel, I focus on that work exclusively and finish it completely before starting another.

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

For many years, my wife Linda, maintained that writing would be a good outlet for my creative imagination. She’s still one of my best critics and ardent supporters.

 

A SLIPPERY SHADOW

 

Snatched from her private jet, crime-boss Fidelia Morales barely escapes with her life. Now she wants revenge. But her gang of criminals is thrown into chaos as dozens of key operatives suddenly disappear.

 

Howard Knight - Fidelia's former lover and accomplice in her latest heist - walks free from the same plane only to flee in a desperate quest to escape The Organization. He too is hounded by menacing encounters.

 

Both become entangled with massive Multima Corporation led by Suzanne Simpson. Amid a global pandemic, this powerful CEO scrambles to fill crucial executive roles while dealing with bizarre threats and mysterious interferences on three continents. All seem connected and threaten her empire.

 

With breath-taking reach and bewildering influence, is it possible an unseen and elusive Shadow can pull strings to manipulate people, companies, criminal organizations and governments?

 

https://www.garydmcguganbooks.com/store/p16/A_Slippery_Shadow.html

 

 

THREE WEEKS LESS A DAY

 

JOHN GEORGE MORTIMER IS AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME.

 

As CEO of Multima Corporation, he must find a successor quickly.

Launching a competition among his most senior executives to find

the one who shines—one his board of directors will approve—

seems like a good idea. It should be an uneventful exercise.

But the plan unravels almost immediately.

 

Threats from organized crime, sexual misadventures and personal

tragedy complicate his efforts. Instead of overseeing a predictable

60-day exercise in skillful leadership, John George finds himself

embroiled in a chaotic series of events that unfold dramatically

in Three Weeks Less a Day.

 

How quickly things can change at the highest levels! And how easily lives can crumple in pursuit of power and control.

 

This fast-paced and suspenseful novel of corporate intrigue takes you inside the lives of high-powered executives and the lengths they will go to achieve results.

 

https://www.garydmcguganbooks.com/store/p5/Three_Weeks_Less_a_Day_-_Paperback.html

 

Nancy Lynn Jarvis reveals The Corpse's Secret Life, a new PIP Inc. Mystery

 

Welcome to fellow Sister in Crime, Nancy Lynn Jarvis!

Nancy Lynn Jarvis left the real estate profession after she started having so much fun writing the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series that she let her license lapse. But after seven books, she was ready for a new adventure and is currently working on the fourth book in her PIP Inc. series which features not-quite-licensed private investigator, downsized law librarian Pat Pirard. She has also edited crowd pleasers Cozy Food: 128 Cozy Mystery Writers Share Their Favorite Recipes and Santa Cruz Weird.

The last year-and-half have been difficult, not only because of Covid 19, but because Nancy spent eight-and-a-half months out of her damaged home following the CZU Fire. She’s happy to be home again, writing, redecorating, and enjoying being a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Santa Cruz Women of Mystery. 

My website is www.nancylynnjarvis.com

Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/nancylynnjarvis

Goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard?ref=nav_profile_authordash

To buy any of my books please go to my author page https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nancy+lynn+jarvis&i=stripbooks&sprefix=Nancy+Lynn+Jarvis%2Caps%2C450&ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_17

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

I love Agatha Christie because, if you are paying attention, you can solve the mystery right along with her protagonist. I try to do the same for my readers. In one of my Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries, I even wanted readers to figure out who the murderer was a chapter before Regan did so they would be yelling, “Regan, no, be careful. That person is a killer and you’ll be next!” I thought it would be fun to give them a jump on her in solving the crime.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

I’m the most undisciplined writer you can imagine. I know my characters like they are old friends and I only write when they have something to say or some adventure they are eager to follow. If they aren’t working with me, I stop writing for a few days. The Corpse’s Secret Life was difficult because I was displaced for eight-and-a-half months following the CZU wildfire in California and, when I was finally able to go home, it was to a construction zone full of air compressors and workmen constantly distracting me. Like me, my characters were overwhelmed during that time, so I didn’t write.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Hopefully still having fun writing. The more I do this, the more I enjoy the writing and the less I enjoy the necessary marketing. In five years I’d like to have someone like a personal assistant who does that for me. I also hope to have some audio books recorded.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Do whatever it takes to finish writing your first book. Allow yourself to declare your book done knowing that your first book probably won’t be your best work, but that you’ll get better with practice. Then get good editors, not well meaning friends or family, and take most of their advice, especially your copy editor’s advice.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

I once had a woman tell me she was reading one of my books to a dying friend. The woman told the reader she would try to hang on until the book ended because she was enjoying it so much and wanted to know what happened. I consider that effort a remarkable compliment.

What are you working on now?

I’m just starting to outline the forth book in the PIP. Inc. Mysteries series. So far I know many of the characters and who did it, although a few red herring murderers still aren’t clear. The book, which begins immediately following The Corpse’s Secret Life, will go into the Christmas season. The working title is Murder of a Christmas Groom. I’m not yet sure about that title, so if any of your readers have suggestions, I’d love to hear them. The best title will get an acknowledgement in the book and, of course, a free copy when the book comes out.

 THE CORPSE’S SECRET LIFE

Pat's fledgling private investigation company, PIP Inc., has a promising new case. Pat is still wearing a wrist cast after breaking her arm in a confrontation with a killer, so when she's hired by the City of Watsonville to unearth the identity of an older woman who died in her bed, she's delighted that her next job promises to be a simple computer-based research project.

Why is it that things are never as simple as she thinks they will be? Pat soon discovers nothing is as it seems, beginning with a corpse who had secret identities, murder, and a post-death ritual thought to have last been performed decades ago.

“I love this series, and this particular mystery is very entertaining.”
        Janice J. Richardson author of The Spencer Funeral Home series

“Captivating from the start! The Corpse’s Secret Life transports you into a realm of page-turning mystery… a must read”
          Maryanne Porter, author of Haunted Santa Cruz, California.

Winona Kent introduces her tenth book Ticket to Ride, a mystery that follows Figgis Green’s 50th Anniversary Tour of England!

 

 Popular Canadian mystery writer Winona Kent introduces her tenth book with the publication of Ticket to Ride, a mystery that follows folky-pop band Figgis Green’s 50th Anniversary Tour of England.

About Winona:

Winona Kent was born in London, England but grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and a Diploma in Writing for Film and TV from Vancouver Film School. She’s the current BC/YT/NWT Representative for the Crime Writers of Canada, and is also an active member of Sisters in Crime. She lives in New Westminster, BC.

http://www.winonakent.com

http://www.bluedevilbooks.com 

Tell us about your life outside of writing.

I've been writing since the mid-1970s and back in those days, it was virtually impossible to make a living in Canada as a writer unless you were Leonard Cohen or Margaret Atwood. So I decided a very long time ago that if I had to work full-time, I would never have a job that actually involved creative writing. I wanted to save my imagination for my own fiction. So I was a temporary secretary and a travel agent. I took a little break for three years while I got my MFA in Creative Writing at UBC, and then after that I went to work for Telus for about 18 years--I was in Word Processing, and then in their Learning Services area. Roundabout 2003 Telus decided to downsize and they offered me a massive amount of money to leave--so I took them up on their offer and went to Vancouver Film School so I could learn how to write screenplays. Then I went back to work--this time at my old alma mater, UBC--and I landed a job in their Department of Health Care and Epidemiology (later the School of Population and Public Health)-- where I was a program assistant looking after MSc and PhD students. I stayed there until October 2019, when I officially retired--and now I'm actually (and finally) a full time writer!

Along the way I've also indulged in some of my more imaginative passions. In 1995 I started a semi-official website for the British actor Sean Bean. It was active until 2012, when I archived it. But one of my legacies was the creation of the original "Death by Cow" list--which detailed all of the films that Sean died in. The title came from the movie The Field, where Sean's run over the edge of a cliff by a herd of cows. I was also granted a ground-breaking interview with Sean when he was in Toronto filming Don't Say a Word.

I have a few interesting hobbies. One of them is family tree research. I have a very mysterious great-grandfather whose birth record I can't find and whose parentage is quite murky. I've done the DNA test and plunged into genealogy head-first. The hero of my amateur sleuth novels, Jason Davey, shares that interest with me. My other passionate interest is the London Underground--and more specifically, abandoned Underground stations. A few of my novels and short stories have included current and abandoned stations in their plots.

Do you have a work in progress?

I’m just starting to research and outline my next Jason Davey mystery, Bad Boy It has a rather startling opening, involving The Shard in London. In fact, I’ve just got back from England. The original purpose of the trip was to scatter my mum’s ashes in her birthplace (she died in May 2021) but while I was there I took the opportunity to conduct a lot of first-hand research—which included going up The Shard and taking part in a 4 ½ hour walking tour of Soho’s Musical Venues—Soho being where Jason works, in the Blue Devil jazz club. I got some amazing ideas for the book, which will feature the return of one of my favourite all-time baddies, Arthur Braskey (from Notes on a Missing G-String).

What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult?

Hands down, Ticket to Ride, my current book. It battled me every step of the way, from the outline through all six drafts. All the time I was working on the story, my mum (aged 95) was encountering health problems, which were actually to be expected in such a very ancient lady. She lived with my sister, but I was sharing care-giver duties, and twice a week I would drive from New Westminster (where I live) to North Vancouver (where they lived) to help out, to take mum for a ride in the car, to basically spend the day with her. Without wanting to sound selfish, all those journeys did have an impact on my concentration and my ability to maintain some kind of continuity with the story. As my mum’s health declined, the problem only got worse. I resorted to all kinds of outlining software to try and keep the story straight in my mind (I’m definitely a plotter, not a pantser), until, in the end, my lovely mother had to go to the hospital and, ultimately a hospice, where she died, peacefully and with nothing left unsaid. Following that, I had to help my sister with her grief, and go through a process of sorting through mum’s belongings and papers and photos, and help my sister find somewhere new to live…so it wasn’t surprising that Ticket to Ride ended up having to be put on temporary hiatus. Finally, with mum’s affairs settled and my sister in her new flat, I found I had time for myself again. It was as if a curtain had opened. The way became clear, and I was able to finish the book. I hadn’t been aware of all the things I was dealing with at the time, but my publisher, Brian Richmond (from Blue Devil Books) very kindly pointed out that my attention had been very much distracted over the previous year and a half, so it was all completely understandable.

What sort of research do you do for your work?

I'm extremely meticulous when it comes to research. I always base my stories and novels on kernels of things that I've experienced myself, but that's usually just the starting point. I love to let my imagination run wild but, because I may not have first-hand experience with what comes next, I have to resort to research. I love doing research and I am so grateful for the existence of the internet. I remember the bad old days when I'd spend days, weeks, months, in different libraries, hunting through card catalogues and microfiche and dusty old stacks of books, writing letters, making phonecalls...the internet opened up the world for me and what used to take three months now takes about 10 minutes. But I'm always conscious that there might be a reader out there who’s an expert and they’ll take issue with what I've written and say, "No! That's not right at all!" So, as a result, I will research something until there is no room for error. One of the greatest accolades I've received recently came from a couple of my writing colleagues who were both absolutely convinced, on the basis of my Jason Davey Mysteries, that I have a background in music, and that I'd either managed a rock band or toured with one. I did take formal piano lessons and music theory for four years... but as for the rest...

Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author who inspires you?

My favourite authors are Monica Dickens (who was Charles Dickens' great-grand-daughter), John Galsworthy (who wrote The Forsyte Saga) and John Le Carre (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and every other spy novel he's ever written). More recently I've been spending time with English singer Tommy Steele's autobiography, all three Call the Midwife books by Jennifer Worth (upon which the British tv series was based), Roadie: My Life On The Road With Coldplay by Matt McGinn (fascinating and extremely informative) and, believe it or not, The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit. I've seen the film a few times--it's one of my all-time favourites--but I don't remember ever reading the book, which was written for children. It's absolutely charming.

I'd have to say that Monica Dickens is the author who inspired me from a very early age. She was like me--she worked for a living, but she managed to create fiction from all of her work-life experiences. The novel that made the biggest impression on me was The Listeners, which was about the early days of The Samaritans, the original telephone help line for people in emotional distress.

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

There were a few, actually. One was a high school Lit teacher, Sam Robinson. He recognized that I wanted to be a writer when I was 14 or 15 and actively encouraged me. This was back in the days when writers tended to succeed in spite of what we were taught in school, rather than because of it. There was very little creative in the curriculum back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I was lucky that I went to a very progressive high school. Another was my Grade 12 Lit teacher, Mr. Williamson--I never did know his first name!--who actually let me write a novel for my major class project--and gave me an A+ for it when I handed it in.

Later on, when I was at university working on my BA in English, one of my instructors was Canadian writer Ken Mitchell. He taught me the basics of fiction and I'm still using a lot of his early wisdom. I also remember his favourite pet peeve: "There is no such word as gotten!"

 

TICKET TO RIDE

Figgis Green is on tour! But when a fortune-teller warns of impending danger, the band is suddenly plagued by a series of seemingly-unrelated mishaps. After Jason is nearly killed in Cambridge and a fire alarm results in a very personal theft from Mandy's hotel room, it becomes clear they're being targeted by someone with a serious grudge. And when they play a gig at a private estate in Tunbridge Wells, that person finally makes their deadly intentions known. Jason must rely on his instincts, his Instagram "guardian angel," and a wartime ghost who might possibly share his DNA, in order to survive.

Visit the Figgis Green website to read more about Jason and the band as they tour England.

http://www.figgisgreen.co.uk

MORE JASON DAVEY Mysteries 

Book 1 in the prolific author’s Jason Davey Mystery series was the novella Disturbing the Peace, in which Jason’s extracurricular activities found him tracking down a missing musician in northern Alberta.

Then, in Book 2, Notes on a Missing G-String, Jason was asked by an old friend to help investigate the theft of £10,000 from a dancer’s locker at a gentlemen’s club in London’s Soho.

And in Book 3, Lost Time, while Jason rehearsed for Figgis Green’s upcoming tour, he was asked to investigate the disappearance of a teenager from 1974.

Now, in Book 4 of the series, Ticket to Ride, Figgis Green is on the road. But when a fortune-teller in Sheffield warns them of impending danger, the band is suddenly plagued by a series of seemingly unrelated mishaps. After Jason is attacked and nearly killed in Cambridge, and a fire alarm results in a very personal theft from Mandy's hotel room, it becomes clear they're being targeted by someone with a serious grudge. And when Figgis Green plays a gig at a private estate in Tunbridge Wells, that person finally makes their deadly intentions known. Jason must rely on his instincts, his Instagram "guardian angel," and a wartime ghost who might possibly share his DNA, in order to survive.

REVIEWS

“If you haven’t discovered Jason Davey yet, you’re in for a treat. Rock star, private eye, and the target of a deadly and malevolent force seemingly attached to his band’s anniversary tour like a demonic limpet. Delightful and compulsive reading!” ~ Iona Whishaw, award-winning author of the Globe and Mail bestselling Lane Winslow Mystery series.

“Ticket to Ride is a captivating and original mystery with a cast of quirky characters and a likable protagonist who entertains a belief in ghosts and guardian angels. Jason Davey proves a clever sleuth with a wicked sense of humour and a tenacity that never wavers even when confronted with increasingly life-threatening situations. Winona Kent writes with a deft hand, melding suspense and comedy in a thoroughly entertaining mix that will keep readers entranced until the very last page.” ~ Brenda Chapman, author of the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series, the Anna Sweet mystery novellas, and the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for middle grade.

“It’s time to tune up the band as guitarist and amateur sleuth Jason Davey returns for another deadly ballad! Fans of music and mysteries won’t want to miss out.” A.J. Devlin, author of the award-winning “Hammerhead” Jed ex-pro wrestler turned PI mystery-comedy series.

“What a perfect character: popular jazz musician/private eye…everybody’s perfect job, right? Well, yes! Until someone with a big grudge tries to kill you! That’s when this whodunnit gets very interesting... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?? Perfect for a tv series, because Winona Kent does what a good crime writer must do; she puts you in the room next to the characters! Write on Ms. Kent !!!” ~ Willy Ward, songwriter, vocalist and broadcaster.

“Ticket to Ride crackles and sparkles, pulling the reader along with a heady mix of mystery, mysticism, murder and music.” M.N.Grenside, author of thriller Fall Out and award-winning TV producer

Ticket to Ride is published by Winona Kent and Blue Devil Books. It’s available in e-book and paperback formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Kobo.

Release date: March 26, 2022

For a review copy, a high-resolution image of the cover, interviews or further information, please contact Winona Kent.

Winona Kent Website: http://www.winonakent.com

Blue Devil Books Website: http://www.bluedevilbooks.com