San Juan Mystery Series
by Bethany Maines
I am currently working on book three
of the San Juan Island Murder Mystery series – An Unfamiliar Sea. In the
San Juan series, Seattle native, Tish Yearly found herself fired from her day
job and evicted from her apartment all in one day. Desperate, the 26-year-old
ex-actress, heads for the one place she knows she’ll be welcome – the house of
her cantankerous, ex-CIA agent, grandfather, Tobias Yearly, in the San Juan
Islands of Washington state. And of
course, upon her arrival on Orcas Island in An
Unseen Current, Tish is thrown head-long into a mystery that pits her
against handsome but straight-laced Sheriff’s Deputy Emmett Nash, a group of
eccentric and clannish local residents, and a killer who knows the island far
better than she does. Tish and Tobias
band together to solve the mystery and Tish settles into what she thinks is a
temporary stay on Orcas. But in Against the Undertow, Tish is
considering making her stay permanent, while she and Tobias are facing down Nash’s
angry ex-wife, his psychotic ex-girlfriend and a strangely venomous group of
hippies as they try to solve the mystery of who killed Nash’s ex-wife’s
boyfriend. And finally, I’ve arrived at An Unfamiliar Sea and Tish is trying to
build a business, a relationship and solve the mystery of who killed a local
waitress.
of the San Juan Island Murder Mystery series – An Unfamiliar Sea. In the
San Juan series, Seattle native, Tish Yearly found herself fired from her day
job and evicted from her apartment all in one day. Desperate, the 26-year-old
ex-actress, heads for the one place she knows she’ll be welcome – the house of
her cantankerous, ex-CIA agent, grandfather, Tobias Yearly, in the San Juan
Islands of Washington state. And of
course, upon her arrival on Orcas Island in An
Unseen Current, Tish is thrown head-long into a mystery that pits her
against handsome but straight-laced Sheriff’s Deputy Emmett Nash, a group of
eccentric and clannish local residents, and a killer who knows the island far
better than she does. Tish and Tobias
band together to solve the mystery and Tish settles into what she thinks is a
temporary stay on Orcas. But in Against the Undertow, Tish is
considering making her stay permanent, while she and Tobias are facing down Nash’s
angry ex-wife, his psychotic ex-girlfriend and a strangely venomous group of
hippies as they try to solve the mystery of who killed Nash’s ex-wife’s
boyfriend. And finally, I’ve arrived at An Unfamiliar Sea and Tish is trying to
build a business, a relationship and solve the mystery of who killed a local
waitress.
Writing a series is fun,
but there is a lot of organization that has to be done to make sure that storylines
and characters stay consistent across the series. I use a spreadsheet that
tracks not just character names, but ages, descriptions, and affiliations, as
well as what book they were mentioned in. While this tool is invaluable, I have
found multiple instances where I did NOT make notes on a character and then
have to go back and look them up! If I could go back and kick my past self in
the shin, I would! Past Self is very spotty about note taking and could really
use a little more diligence. Fortunately,
I have been graced with a Beta Reader who has read the entire series and will
hopefully pick up a little of Past Self’s slack. Please send thoughts and
prayers to my saintly Beta Reader as she cracks open An Unfamiliar Sea.
but there is a lot of organization that has to be done to make sure that storylines
and characters stay consistent across the series. I use a spreadsheet that
tracks not just character names, but ages, descriptions, and affiliations, as
well as what book they were mentioned in. While this tool is invaluable, I have
found multiple instances where I did NOT make notes on a character and then
have to go back and look them up! If I could go back and kick my past self in
the shin, I would! Past Self is very spotty about note taking and could really
use a little more diligence. Fortunately,
I have been graced with a Beta Reader who has read the entire series and will
hopefully pick up a little of Past Self’s slack. Please send thoughts and
prayers to my saintly Beta Reader as she cracks open An Unfamiliar Sea.
An Unseen Current – .99 cents
– Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • iTunes
– Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • iTunes
gainst
the Undertow – $3.99 – Amazon • Kindle Unlimited
the Undertow – $3.99 – Amazon • Kindle Unlimited
AND COMING SOON – AN UNFAMILIAR SEA
**
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her fifth degree black belt in karate, she can be found
chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.
