Happy Halloween from Transylvania! (for real!) ๐ŸŽƒ

Hello, friends!

Most of you celebrate Halloween tomorrow, and I canโ€™t tell you how lucky you are. I live in Romania, and sadly, Halloween isnโ€™t a local tradition (imagine that, in the land of Dracula!).ย  Although, if one wants to dress up thereโ€™s always a club or party where, for one night a year, we can be whoever we want to be.

One of my favorite characters is the classy, timeless Morticia Addams, because, like her, I have a strong dose of cynicism and a macabre sense of humor at times. And I even found a man who appreciates this stuff. What more can one wish for?

Iโ€™ve always been fascinated by Halloween as a holiday, which is why I am already writing my second book that takes place around this time of year. The first one isย Killer Score, a novel from theย Irish Garda Files, which won theย RONE awardย for Best Suspense/Mystery of 2021.

Inย Killer Score, psychologist Chelsea Campbell explains the meaning of Halloween to Evan Gallagher, an ex-FBI agent recently transferred to work as a detective for the Irish police.

โ€œHalloween really is a big deal around here, too,โ€ Evan observed while driving.

โ€œSure it is. Donโ€™t you celebrate it in America?โ€

โ€œWe do, big time. Somehow, Iโ€™ve never gotten the spirit of it. Maybe itโ€™s because in modern times itโ€™s more of a commercial holiday than a true celebration ofโ€ฆ the spiritsโ€™ worldโ€”or whatever its meaning. To be shamefully honest, I never knew exactly what this holiday was about.โ€

Chelsea shifted her body to make herself more comfortable. โ€œHalloween, or All Hallowsโ€™ Eve, is a Celtic holiday that marked Samhain, the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celts thought this was the darkest time of the year, when the boundaries between this world and the otherworld thinned, and the spirits or fairies could come into this world more easily.ย The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them. The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased has ancient origins and is present in many cultures throughout the world. This is what Halloween is really about.โ€

This explanation takes place while they drive to a Halloween party. As I wrote this scene I could almost hear Chelseaโ€™s voice and Irish accent, that seems to enhance a good storytelling on a cold October night.

And because my books mirror life as much as possible, we also have a romantic scene at the club. Letโ€™s see who else listens to my kind of music!ย ๐Ÿ˜‰

The music changed and the DJ dedicated the slow version of Santanaโ€™s Black Magic Woman to all the ladies in the place. As the exotic guitar filled the air with magic, Chelsea smiled, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back. Evan couldnโ€™t resist. Unthinkingly, he drew her into his arms, moving his body in tune with hers. Their shoulders glided together, their hips undulated close together. The music was like a drug. His hands tightened on her hips, traveled up her back, enjoying the exquisite caress of her hair. Her fingers sunk in the muscles of his chest, clutching handfuls of his shirt. As the music grew more intense, so did their dance, the friction, the heat, the closeness. Evan buried his face in her hair, hoping for solace, finding none. The fresh, spicy scent of her was maddening, promising things beyond his imagination. He didnโ€™t want to want her, but his body burned to touch her, to have her, to possess her. She had a magnetic quality heโ€™d never encountered in any other woman. Maybe because she wasnโ€™t just a babe with a stunning body. She also had a powerful and intriguing mind. She constantly challenged him, and he never backed down from a challenge.

If that got your blood warm, this nextโ€”and final teaserโ€”should make it run cold again, because alas, the killer strikes again. And what better night than Halloween?

โ€œBad doings tonight, Yank. All Hollowโ€™s Eve should be a night for bringing back lost life, not taking it. I donโ€™t know whatโ€™s going on in this city, but you have to stop it. We canโ€™t have any more lassies killed and discarded like rag dolls.โ€

ย Well, you tell me guys: was this a trick or a treat?

Happy Halloween from Transylvania! (for real!)ย ๐Ÿฆ‡

Fondly,

Melinda

KILLER SCORE WON A RONE AWARD! ๐Ÿ‘‘

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐™๐™Š๐™‰๐™€ ๐™–๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ง๐™™๐™จ, ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜บย ๐™„๐™ฃ๐˜ฟโ€™๐™๐™–๐™ก๐™š ๐™ˆ๐™–๐™œ๐™–๐™ฏ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š. ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ป.

๐˜ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฟ๐˜ผ๐™๐™€ ๐™‚๐˜ผ๐™ˆ๐™€ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™†๐™„๐™‡๐™‡๐™€๐™ ๐™Ž๐˜พ๐™Š๐™๐™€ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ! ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด, ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ. ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆย ๐™†๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™˜๐™ค๐™ง๐™š. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ ๐˜–๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ 9๐˜ต๐˜ฉ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆโ€”๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ค.

๐˜๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด 4 ๐˜ข.๐˜ฎ. ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ. ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜น ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ (๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ:ย https://indtale.com/rone-eligibility-and-rules), ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค.

๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ข๐˜ต 3 ๐˜ข.๐˜ฎ., ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅโ€ฆ

๐˜‰๐˜บ ๐˜ตh๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ TJ MacKay ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐™„๐™ฃ๐˜ฟโ€™๐™๐™–๐™ก๐™š ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ. ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐™Ž๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™จ๐™š/๐™๐™๐™ง๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ง ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ด, ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ป๐˜บ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ.ย โณย ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏโ€ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ. ๐— ๐—ฌ ๐—•๐—ข๐—ข๐—ž, ๐™†๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™˜๐™ค๐™ง๐™š! ๐˜ ๐˜ด๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ, ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ! ๐˜๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, โ€œ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ต, ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ!โ€ย ๐Ÿ˜ฒ

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ, ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜งโ€”๐˜ ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐™„๐™ฃ๐˜ฟโ€™๐™๐™–๐™ก๐™š, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ตโ€ฆ ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถโ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐™„๐™ฃ๐˜ฟโ€™๐™๐™–๐™ก๐™š ๐™ˆ๐™–๐™œ๐™–๐™ฏ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š. ๐˜™๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง!

๐˜š๐˜ฐ, ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ตโ€”๐˜ข ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต, ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต?ย ๐Ÿ™ˆโ€”๐˜ ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ-๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐™†๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™˜๐™ค๐™ง๐™š ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜™๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐™๐™Š๐™‰๐™€ ๐™–๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ง๐™™ (๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐™๐™š๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ง๐™™ ๐™ค๐™› ๐™‰๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š๐™ก ๐™€๐™ญ๐™˜๐™š๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™š).

๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ต InDโ€™Tale Magazine ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ด! ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ.ย โค๏ธ

๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐๐‘๐„๐‚๐ˆ๐Ž๐”๐’ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜บ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ! ๐Ÿคฉ

In order to receive the firsthand news and a FREE book as a welcome gift, subscribe to my newsletter at https://melindacolt.com/

In the meantime, I have another wonderful piece of news, and a favor to ask of you: the cover for Silent Strike has been selected to compete in the Creme dรฉ la Cover contest at InD’tale Magazine! In order to make it to the next round, it needs YOUR votes. It’s quite easy to vote, but you must be a subscriber and logged into your account. If you don’t have one, it takes only a few seconds to create it, and then you’ll be subscribed to the most awesome indie literary publication, and you’ll be able to vote for this baby here: https://indtale.com/polls/creme-de-la-cover-contest

I really could use your help, so thank you in advance for your time and effort!

โค๏ธ

 

 

Yours,

Melinda

โ˜˜๏ธ Something special for Saint Patrick’s Day! โ˜˜๏ธ

Saint Patrickโ€™s Day is by far the most famous Irish holiday, and it has come to be celebrated all over the world. Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary whose name marks the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Today, he is the foremost patron saint of Ireland. On March 17 many people across the globe celebrate Saint Patrickโ€™s Day with parades and festivals, Irish traditional music sessions, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. At the end of the celebrations, a shamrock is put into the bottom of a cup, which is then filled with whiskey, beer, or cider. It is then drunk as a toast to Saint Patrick, Ireland, or those present. The shamrock would either be swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck.

As fun as this sounds, no wonder so much of the world celebrates Saint Patrickโ€™s Day!

Iโ€™ve become fascinated by Irish culture through several Nora Roberts books, so much so that Iโ€™ve decided to create my own series that takes place in Dublin. The Irish Garda Squad is a series of detective mysteries/police procedural books with a touch of romance. Each book features exciting new characters and follows the journeys of the Irish Police detectives, the complicated cases they solve, and the challenges these cops face in their personal lives.

All the stories can be read as stand-alone novels, in any order.

The first two books, Dare Game and Killer Score, have both received Crowned Heart Reviews of Excellence from Indโ€™Tale Magazine, a distinction that is not given lightly. Iโ€™m particularly proud to have gotten two such reviews for two books in a row, and I hope the third Garda book will live up to the standards.

To be honest, I planned to release Silent Strike, the next Garda book, today on March 17, but I weaved such a twisted plot I got tangled in it myself. ๐Ÿ˜‚ After many ups and down, Iโ€™m finally working on the last chapters, and with a bit of luck from Saint Patrick himself, I will be releasing the book in April. If youโ€™d like to be notified when itโ€™s published, make sure you follow me on Amazon and BookBub, or subscribe to my Newsletter.

If you havenโ€™t checked out the published books yet, you can find them on Amazon and read them for free in Kindle Unlimited.

I hope you have a wonderful day, whether you celebrate Saint Patrickโ€™s Day or not. We could all use a bit of luck right now. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Stay safe and read books!

 

Hugs,

A Colt is born

Colt

Or simply a new pen name, a new identity, a new beginning.

Many of you know me as Melinda De Ross, writer of quirky romantic comedy and tension-filled romantic suspense. But like many of my favorite authors and role models, including Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Loreth Ann White, and others, I feel itโ€™s time to expand my horizons. Iโ€™ve always wanted to write crime thrillers and mysteries, but only after being a professional writer for seven years did I feel I was ready. And this is how my new pen name, Melinda Colt, is born.

garda seriesMy first dive into the crime thriller genre is a series of detective mysteries with a twist of romance called The Irish Garda Files.

Why Irish? Well, I felt there are enough FBI, NYPD, LAPD, and other PDโ€™s books out there โ€“ some of them true masterpieces I could never surpass, written by talented members of this very group. So I wanted to write something new, something different. Ireland is a country with a low crime rate, but An Garda Sรญochรกna, their police service, is extremely competent and well-trained. Iโ€™d imagined how the fictional Garda detectives I have created would solve complicated, challenging cases, and this is how the first three Garda Books came to be: Dare Game, Killer Score, and Foul Play. I hope the flesh-and-blood Garda members will never have to confront such twisted killers in real life, but I know they deserve to be the heroes in my books.

Researching this series was a huge operation and Iโ€™d like to thank the Garda Sรญochรกna themselves for being so helpful and patient when I reached out and asked for their cooperation. I was pleasantly surprised by their promptitude as they answered my questions and explained police procedures I didnโ€™t know about. My books are fictional, but as crime thrillers go I wanted to offer you, my readers, the most authentic experience I could create. I hope youโ€™ll be there with my detectives, both male and female, go over the clues, inspect murder scenes and cyber data, feel the tension that builds up when they know a serial killer will strike at any moment and itโ€™s up to them to make sure there isnโ€™t another victim.

The first three books in The Irish Garda Files are up for pre-order, and I hope one day I will reach JD Robbโ€™s record and publish the 50th Garda book. Iโ€™m just getting started and writing these books is incredibly fun and rewarding.

While I worked on them last year and prepared my launch, I outlined every detail, calculated the timing, worked very hard to make the moment when I present my new pen name perfect. I thought I had everything figured out โ€“ except I didnโ€™t predict this moment will be in the middle of a pandemic. But you know what? I wonโ€™t let this get in the way of my celebration โ€“ not the virus, not the quarantine, not even the financial crisis that will follow.

dare-game_preview-coverThis is just a phase and weโ€™ll get through this together. What better way to practice social distancing than to escape in captivating stories that tear us away from every alarming piece of โ€œbreaking newsโ€?

To make you forget about it for a while, itโ€™s my pleasure to offer you an exclusive preview into DARE GAME, the first Garda book, which you can download by subscribing to my newsletter HERE.

I would love to have you in my VIP club and share my journey with you! My author friends and I will offer you free books as often as possible to get through these difficult times. My social media accounts are just taking off and I very much hope youโ€™ll join me there.

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And because I always like to save the best for last, I have a special Easter present for you: for a limited time I have decided to put DARE GAME, the first book in The Irish Garda Files, at the introductory price of 99 cents. Click on the image below to grab your copy today!

Stay safe and escape into books!

Melinda Colt signature