Happy Halloween from Transylvania! (for real!) 🎃

Hello, friends!

Most of you celebrate Halloween tomorrow, and I can’t tell you how lucky you are. I live in Romania, and sadly, Halloween isn’t a local tradition (imagine that, in the land of Dracula!).  Although, if one wants to dress up there’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?

I’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 is Killer Score, a novel from the Irish Garda Files, which won the RONE award for Best Suspense/Mystery of 2021.

In 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.

“Halloween really is a big deal around here, too,” Evan observed while driving.

“Sure it is. Don’t you celebrate it in America?”

“We do, big time. Somehow, I’ve never gotten the spirit of it. Maybe it’s because in modern times it’s more of a commercial holiday than a true celebration of… the spirits’ world—or whatever its meaning. To be shamefully honest, I never knew exactly what this holiday was about.”

Chelsea shifted her body to make herself more comfortable. “Halloween, or All Hallows’ 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. 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.”

This explanation takes place while they drive to a Halloween party. As I wrote this scene I could almost hear Chelsea’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. Let’s see who else listens to my kind of music! 😉

The music changed and the DJ dedicated the slow version of Santana’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 couldn’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 didn’t want to want her, but his body burned to touch her, to have her, to possess her. She had a magnetic quality he’d never encountered in any other woman. Maybe because she wasn’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 next—and final teaser—should make it run cold again, because alas, the killer strikes again. And what better night than Halloween?

“Bad doings tonight, Yank. All Hollow’s Eve should be a night for bringing back lost life, not taking it. I don’t know what’s going on in this city, but you have to stop it. We can’t have any more lassies killed and discarded like rag dolls.”

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

Happy Halloween from Transylvania! (for real!) 🦇

Fondly,

Melinda

KILLER SCORE WON A RONE AWARD! 👑

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨, 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝙄𝙣𝘿’𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘻𝘻.

𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙆𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝘾𝙊𝙍𝙀 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥! 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 9𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦—𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 4 𝘢.𝘮. 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘰𝘯𝘦 (𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦: https://indtale.com/rone-eligibility-and-rules), 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤.

𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 3 𝘢.𝘮., 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦, 𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥…

𝘉𝘺 𝘵h𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 TJ MacKay 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝙄𝙣𝘿’𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚/𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯. ⏳ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯… 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝗠𝗬 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞, 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚! 𝘐 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥! 𝘏𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯!” 😲

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧—𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝙄𝙣𝘿’𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵… 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝙄𝙣𝘿’𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧𝘧!

𝘚𝘰, 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵—𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘵? 🙈—𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 (𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝙍𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚).

𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘵 InD’Tale Magazine 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. ❤️

𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥! 🤩

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 dé 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!

❤️

 

 

Yours,

Melinda

☘️ Something special for Saint Patrick’s Day! ☘️

Saint Patrick’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 Patrick’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 Patrick’s Day!

I’ve become fascinated by Irish culture through several Nora Roberts books, so much so that I’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 Ind’Tale Magazine, a distinction that is not given lightly. I’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. 😂 After many ups and down, I’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 you’d like to be notified when it’s published, make sure you follow me on Amazon and BookBub, or subscribe to my Newsletter.

If you haven’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 Patrick’s Day or not. We could all use a bit of luck right now. 😉

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 it’s time to expand my horizons. I’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 PD’s books out there – 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 Síochána, their police service, is extremely competent and well-trained. I’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 I’d like to thank the Garda Síochána 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 didn’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 you’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 it’s up to them to make sure there isn’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 Robb’s record and publish the 50th Garda book. I’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 – except I didn’t predict this moment will be in the middle of a pandemic. But you know what? I won’t let this get in the way of my celebration – not the virus, not the quarantine, not even the financial crisis that will follow.

dare-game_preview-coverThis is just a phase and we’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 “breaking news”?

To make you forget about it for a while, it’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 you’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