May 17, 2026 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
Once again, Frank Zafiro brings his characters to life in his novella, Shades of the Job. Private Investigator Stanley Melvin overcomes his challenges and serves his client well, putting her needs ahead of his own.
By treating the dramatic principles of literature almost as characters, Zafiro illuminates Stanley’s story, which might otherwise have fallen flat in the hands of a less skilled author. These principles strengthen and carry the story, effectively building suspense.
The reader enjoys a well-written detective story while gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the many challenges of writing fiction.
I recommend Shades of the Job to readers and writers alike.
Mar 21, 2026 | Crime, Police Procedural / Crime |
M.E. Roche begins Connie Regis: A Black Widow with an Irish proverb that perfectly illustrates the story that follows. Relatives and friends do their best to portray Connie as a scheming fraud and murderer who chooses her victims carefully, ensuring their deaths. Connie presents her case in chapters throughout the story, gradually denying any evil intent. The reader will see evidence piling up, but not enough to stop her schemes. Roche has multiple protagonists but only one antagonist. What drew this reader in was the way the sociopath weaves herself into her victims and the reader. The surprise ending is a twist that this reader never saw coming — it’s masterfully executed.
Jan 16, 2025 | Mystery, Thriller |
Marie Sutro is an award-winning and bestselling crime fiction author. In addition to her Kate Barnes book series, her short stories have also been published in anthologies and periodicals. Marie serves on the national board of Bouchercon, is a member of Sisters In Crime, and has volunteered with California Library Literacy Services.
Her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all served in the San Francisco Police Department, inspiring her writing. She resides in Northern California and is the host of Twisted Passages podcast. Her new novel, Dark Reckonings, will be released later this year.
Sometimes, the thing you love leads you everywhere and back again. Such is especially true in the case of reading and writing. Many eons ago, I was a young bookworm with an insatiable appetite for stories. Eventually, I dreamed of writing books, and when that dream was realized, I didn’t think things could get any better. Surprisingly, a foray into podcasting has proven me wrong. Things can and do get better all the time.
Twisted Passages is available wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Episodes may also be viewed on YouTube.
As many do, the surprise came by taking a turn down an unlikely path. When Authors on the Air approached me about starting a podcast, my inner introvert wanted to run for the hills. Yet, that young bookworm (who still rattles around inside this much older person’s body) piped up, cautiously wanting to hear more.
Needless to say, she loved what she heard. The chance to chat with authors to discover why the characters are who they are…what inspired them…why a particular setting was chosen… Finally, answers to all those burning questions I used to wonder about every time I studied the author bio at the end of every book.
Thus, little bookworm me accepted the gig before introverted me could submarine it. Of course, there was a learning curve, some light investments (i.e., lighting and a microphone), and decisions about format.
Format turned out to be a no-brainer. I would dive deep into the dark and compelling world of psychological thrillers with the authors who write them. And what better title than Twisted Passages?
As for guests, Bookworm Me wanted the show to be where listeners can discover new talent and/or savor existing favorites. From New York Times, International, and/or USA Today bestselling authors, debut authors, and everyone in between, the show is meant for readers and writers who love good stories and conversations. The interest in diversity of voices extended in every direction because good storytellers exist in every walk of life, all across the globe.
The show just started its second season, and I’m happy to report that it’s been everything I’d hoped. Writing will always be my priority, but I’m immensely grateful for my side gig as the host of Twisted Passages. While I’ll never be Johnny Carson, Dave Letterman, or any of the scores of talented folks who have come before or after them, this little bookworm will always be humbled and thankful for the chance to chat with each new author.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Website: https://www.mariesutro.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarieSutro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marie.sutro/
Jan 9, 2025 | Action & Adventure, Cozy, Crime, Police Procedural / Crime |
Armed with a handgun and a word processor, Immigration Officer Cindy Goyette spent her time on the night shift, creating fictional friends to help her pass the lonely hours between border crossers. A portable black-and-white TV canceled the unexplained noises coming from the ancient jail cells in the creepy basement. The resulting book will stay in the closet where it belongs, but the seed was planted, and she’s been writing ever since.
Cindy spent her ensuing years as a probation officer, dealing with hardened criminals with hard-luck stories that sometimes kept her up at night. Every day was an adventure. She survived by finding humor where she could. She often joked about writing a book and then did just that.
The Probation Case Files series was born. The books follow the wild and crazy life of Probation Officer Casey Carson, who has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Book one, OBEY ALL LAWS, follows Casey as she rushes to find her missing cousin while a one-eyed, badass, angry gangster tries to stop her. In book two, EARLY TERMINATION, the gang continues to haunt her while she tries to figure out why her clients are dropping like flies, thus earning them an early termination from probation.
Tell us about your new release: In EARLY TERMINATION, there are two ways to get
off probation early. The first is to be a model citizen and complete all requirements imposed by the court. The second is to die. In Early Termination, Phoenix probation officer Casey Carson’s clients aren’t civic-minded, but they are dropping like flies.
She’s on a gang’s hit list and a detective’s suspect list and is torn while two very hot men are vying for her heart. As more clients die and a probationer accuses her of brutality, she becomes the focus of the investigation. Casey risks losing everything in her race to find the actual killer, but doing so will put the target squarely on her back. She will need to find the person responsible for lightening her workload before she’s the one terminated.
Tell us about your path to publication: It’s been a long road. I started writing about Casey in the mid-1990s. I neglected the book for years, but I occasionally revised and refined it. By 2015, I had a version much like the published story. Querying isn’t for sissies. After countless rejections, I met my first agent at a conference. She tried to sell OBEY ALL LAWS for years before she gave up and talked me into writing a cozy mystery. We amicably parted ways around then. She’d given up on the book, but I didn’t. Having given the book one final overhaul, I sent it to Level Best Books. And to my surprise, they offered me a three-book deal. I also sold them the cozy: book one, DIAMOND IN THE RUFF, A Wiggle Butt Manor Mystery, is scheduled to be released in May 2025.
In June, I signed with my current agent, who is trying to find a home for my standalone suspense. Working with her has been a dream come true, as she really believes in my story and is an editing ninja. I’ve learned so much from her.
Tell us about your writing process: I consider myself a panster, meaning I write without planning; I start writing and see where it goes. But being under contract means I have to produce two books a year. Since book one took about twenty years, I had to become more disciplined. It helps that I recently retired and can devote more time to writing, but I’ve also had to do some planning. I have somewhat of a road map, but the characters still surprise me. I’m working on book three in the probation series now and I didn’t see the ending coming until I wrote that last chapter. For me, that’s the best part of being a storyteller, telling it to myself!
Who are your favorite authors? There are so many. I was immersed in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum Series when I started writing Obey All Laws. The greatest compliment I’ve received is when people compare my book to hers. Not that I’m worthy, but it gives me a thrill each time I hear it. Jodi Picoult and Alice Hoffman don’t write in the same genre as me, but I buy and devour all of their books. Right now, I’m reading The Deadening by Kerry Peresta and looking forward to losing myself in the rest of the series.
Where do you place your settings—real or fictional locations? The probation series takes place in Phoenix, where I lived and worked as a PO for most of my career. I now live in Washington, but I visit the Valley of the Sun once a year and do my research to keep the ever-changing Maricopa County locals current. I took poetic license with the probation office where Casey works. It’s a mixture of the different buildings I have worked in. I made up the Pacific Northwest island village of Orca Cove for the cozy, but it’s loosely based on Astoria, Oregon, and Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. It was fun to create my own town.
Do you have any advice for new writers? Don’t give up. Had I known it would take me so long to be published, would I have kept writing? Absolutely. I write because I have to. The process is cathartic, even if I’m the only one reading it. These stories are inside of me, and I don’t feel good if I don’t put them down on paper. But I have to say, talking to readers and attending book clubs is the greatest high. When people talk about my characters like they know them, I know I’ve served them well.
How do our readers contact you?
Website: https://www.ccgoyette.com
X: @cindy_ccgoyette
Facebook: Cindy Goyette Author
Instagram: cindy.goyette
Bluesky: @cindygoyetteauthor.bsky.social.
Memberships:
Sisters in Crime
Public Safety Writer’s Association
Buy link:
OBEY ALL LAWS,
EARLY TERMINATION
LOST & LOADED, A Gun’s Tale,
Jan 2, 2025 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty, Anthony, Silver Falchion, and the Public Safety Writers Award. River of Lies is his most recent novel. Look for the Illusion of Truth and Sins of the Father, which are coming soon.
You can find out more at www.jamesletoile.com
Thanks, George, for letting me guest post here. I’m more than just a little giddy over the release of River of Lies this month. I know every author loves their most recent book. I’m guilty there, too, for the story and how it came to life.
River of Lies is the second book in the Detective Emily Hunter series, set in Sacramento. It’s the sequel to last year’s Face of Greed. Why Sacramento, you ask? And people do ask because, on the surface, Sacramento doesn’t have the same panache as, say, Paris, New York, or Los Angeles. But what the city has is crime, corruption, and a conspicuous homeless population.
This book dives into all three. I’ve lived in the city and the surrounding burbs for years. From the city’s claim to fame as a serial killer magnet in the 80s to politicians who will say anything to get elected. Through it all, the city’s homeless numbers grew beyond anyone’s expectations. It reached a high point just a year ago when a homeless census documented over 10,000 people living on the street. Thousands of men, women, and children exist in the shadows. More than San Francisco’s unhoused population. What is the response after millions of dollars are thrown at the problem? There are a mere 1,200 shelter beds in the entire county.
Where did the money go? Who gained from the massive spending? It doesn’t appear to have been the homeless population who still gather in encampments throughout the city.
In my prior career, I worked for nearly three decades in the prison/parole/probation environment. While serving in the parole system, I accompanied some of my parole administrators on a tour of Los Angeles’s Skid Row, the largest homeless encampment in the nation. There were dozens of high-risk parolees living in tents and cardboard condos, and supervising that population came with some unique challenges and risks.
High rates of communicable diseases, like hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis, and parasitic infections, were rampant in the community. The densely packed tents made spreading any illness the envy of a 1300s plague rat. The parolees living in the camp easily hide among the anonymous faces. Parole Agents making a field visit found their offender had moved from one street corner to another.
Charging an electronic monitor (ankle bracelet) proved problematic when the parolee has no place to plug it in to keep the battery working.
There is a structure there amid the chaos. The larger homeless camps have sentries and a leadership structure of some of the older, streetwise survivors. A loose system of self-government exists in these camps.
That’s the backdrop River of Lies is set within. Detective Emily Hunter investigates a series of deadly arson attacks in the city’s riverside homeless camps. She soon discovers even the homeless have something that somebody wants. An unexpected victim and a most unusual killer lead Emily to the place where crime, corruption, and homelessness intersect.
I hope you have a chance to check out Emily’s latest case.
Contact Information: jamesletoilebooks@gmail.com
You can find your copy of FACE OF GREED at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org, Face in a Book Book Passage
River of Lies: Amazon Barnes and Noble Bookshop.org
Frank’s one of those writers who never turns in a bad story or book. He’s got several series going and I’ve enjoyed a lot of them. I’m ordering Shades of the Job today. Good luck, Frank, and George, thanks for keeping your blog going.