Tag Archive for: Evelyn David

There’s No Place Like Home

By Evelyn David
 

One week from tomorrow, we move. It’s exciting, it’s scary;
it’s a new adventure, it’s the end of an era. You name the cliché and I’m sure
I’m living it. I only wish I could be like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and make this move by clicking my heels together. Alas sorting, donating, packing, is hard work and not for the meek of heart. But we’re gradually working our way through this old house, room by room, closet by closet.

We moved to this house with four children. They’re now grown and
living in their own homes. We are only the second owners of this
almost-100 year old house.  It’s always
been a family home. The original owners had seven children. One of the
grandchildren works in our village and often tells me about the glorious
holiday parties, filled with family, friends, and good food that were held
here. This house is built for celebrations, both big and small. So friends and family have joined us for birthdays, holidays, bar and bat
mitzvahs, graduations, engagements, and more recently, to welcome the new generation. This old home has done well by
us. It is easier to leave it knowing that a new family with young children is
moving in.

Our new house is just one mile from this one. One town over.
It’s much smaller and much newer than this one, but there is still plenty of
room for holiday celebrations and family get-togethers. Our granddaughter
called the other day, double-checking that we were taking all the toys to the new
house. I may have jumbled up the kitchen packing, but I assured her that I knew
exactly in which box were her favorites playthings.

I know, as do you, that a house is not a home. I could live
in a pup tent, as long as I’ve got hubby with me, kids and grandkids visiting
regularly.  In the meantime, while I’m
packing, why not enjoy Lottawatah Fireworks, the new Brianna Sullivan paranormal mystery. Brianna’s fiancé surprises
her with a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no electricity, no plumbing, and
the resident ghost of a recent murder victim. Sure sounds like Home Sweet Home
to me

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Fireworks – KindleNookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Book 3 – Lottawatah Fireworks (includes the 8th, 9th, and 10th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder – stand-alone mystery

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

Lottawatah Fireworks!

 
We are proud to announce the publication of the 10th Brianna Sullivan Mystery, Lottawatah Fireworks. A novella-length story, Lottawatah
Fireworks
continues the spooky, yet funny saga of reluctant psychic Brianna
Sullivan, who planned to travel the country in her motor home looking for
adventure, but unexpectedly ended up in Lottawatah, a small town in Oklahoma.

In Lottawatah Fireworks, Brianna’s fiancé
surprises her by buying a ramshackle hunting lodge, ready to call it home. The
cabin comes complete with no plumbing, no electricity, and the ghost of a
recent murder victim. It’s up to Brianna to find the truth of who killed the
man and why. In the process, the bonds of friends and family are sorely tested.
Visit Lottawatah for mysteries, love, laughter, romance and all the ghosts you
can shake a stick at.

Excerpt from Lottawatah Fireworks:
 
“You’re gonna love it.” 
That was at least the tenth time he’d said that
and I didn’t believe him anymore than I had the first nine times. 
I wish I could have had more faith in his
reassurances, but I was too pissed at Cooper to do much more than grunt at his
enthusiastic tour guide spiel. Yesterday, while I was off in the wilds with his
mother and great aunt, Cooper had bought an adjoining plot of land where he
proposed to build our dream home. He had bought this land, forty godforsaken
acres, sight unseen by me. Bought this land despite the fact that, as my old
next door neighbor Molly Goldstein, who I think was 120, used to say, it was in
Yenavelte. Mrs. Goldstein spoke Yiddish, made the best Matzoh Ball soup in the
world, or at least in all of Chicago, and most of all, understood that nobody
wanted to live in Yenavelte, the middle of nowhere, most of all not me, her
little Brianna, who was such a Shaineh Maidel, pretty girl. 
I loved Mrs. Goldstein. Cooper Jackson, not so
much. 
He kept repeating how much I was going to love the
location (I repeat Yenavelte); enjoy the large pond full of catfish (yeah
right); delight in the acres where we could run some cattle. I actually laughed
out loud at the last one. Only thing I knew about cows is they made cow patties
and I had stepped in one on a visit to a friend of Cooper’s. The smell alone
was enough to make me a vegetarian. I’d had to throw out the shoes. 
He was still talking. “Those blackberry
bushes that my Great Aunt likes so much….” He took one hand off the
wheel and turned me sideways. “They’re just about 5 miles that way as the
crow flies.” 
“Wonderful.” It was clear he didn’t have
a clue about what I wanted. I thought we’d end up in a nice little bungalow in
Lottawatah proper, if there is such a thing as a proper Lottawatah. Or a lake
lot if we could afford it. Jack Fulsom had offered us a deal on one of the lots
in his development by Lake Eufaula. And instead, Rest in Peace Mrs. Goldstein,
I was in Yenavelte. So what if he’d spent summers with his
genetically-challenged second cousins just down the road.  
After traveling the same dirt road that I’d been
on yesterday, Cooper made a sharp right just before we got to the place Sassy
had parked the Cadillac for the berry picking expedition. He stopped and got
out of the truck, unhooking the gate of a barbed-wire fence.  
We bounced along a well-worn dirt track for about
two miles when Cooper pulled up in front of a large, rambling shack, and I’m
using that term very lightly. It did have four walls, but the front door was
hanging off the hinges, no window had any glass panes, and the piece de
resistance was the antlers hanging above the entry. Welcome Home. 
Cooper bounded out of the truck like a little kid
about to enter the Magic Kingdom. 
“Brianna, old man Barnicle…you know the guy
who owns the gunsmith shop in town?” 
“No.” I didn’t have a clue who he was
talking about. And didn’t really care. 
“Barnicle’s Gun Repair. It’s a block down
from Tiny’s. Has an old ship’s cannon by the door. Puts a stuffed pirate out
there on top of it at Halloween.” 
“No.” It dawned on me that for some
reason it was important to Cooper that I know where that damn gun shop was.
Like if he could just get me to acknowledge the store, he’d feel free to
continue his explanation of why he’d made such a foolish mistake in buying this
place. 
He stared at me in consternation. “Come on!
You must have seen it. There’s a fruit stand across the street.” 
Wonder if they sold blackberries? I couldn’t stand
any more of this conversation. This insignificant chatter that avoided the main
event; the discussion about why we were in this spot right now. 
“Oh, yeah. That gun shop.” I lied. But
better the sin of a lie than the homicide I was contemplating.  
Cooper smiled, satisfied enough to move on.
“Brianna, old man Barnicle was practically giving this property away. He
used it as a hunting lodge, but his arthritis is getting so bad, he just can’t
handle the upkeep.”  
I think a sound exited my mouth, but I’m not sure.
I couldn’t focus on anything but the fact he’d purchased this place without
talking to me first. 
“What do you think?” 
I’m sure Cooper really didn’t want to know what I
thought. I was still choosing my words when he swept me up and carried me
across the threshold, such as it were. 
And past the threshold? Not good. It wasn’t much
to look at. And what was there was hard to see in the dim light. I glanced
around the main living area. On a positive note the back part of the lodge was
better lit. The sun was peeking through the huge hole in the roof, illuminating
all the trash piled up on the floor.  
My mind slipped past his last question and went
back to his statement about poor arthritic Mr. Barnicle and his reasons for
selling. “Upkeep? What was he keeping up?” 
Cooper somewhat unceremoniously put me down. 
“Use your imagination, Brianna.” His
tone expressed his annoyance with me. “This house isn’t staying. The
land’s what’s important. We’ll knock down the house and build us a new
one.” 
Yeah. Okay. I took a breath. “A new one that
has wood flooring?” 
Cooper grinned. “Not at first.” 
I headed for the door.  
He grabbed me, pulled me close, and gave me a
quick kiss. “I’m kidding, of course, it’s going to have a floor, even
indoor plumbing. Might spring for electricity.” 
“Hey!” I pushed at his chest. “Do I
really look like a country girl to you?” 
He laughed and swung me around. I could almost
catch his enthusiasm. I might even have cracked a smile, except for the young
man sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. He wasn’t nearly as excited
as Cooper about our moving in. Of course, he was dead, and from the looks of
it, had died in that very spot, a big hunting knife sticking out of his gut. 
I could see faint stains on the floor. Blood. The
murder wasn’t that old. The ghost nodded to me and then said quite firmly,
“You’re not welcome here. Get out!” 
Oh goody. No doors, no roof, no toilets, and a
resident angry ghost. Yeah, there’s no place like home.
 
———-

For more read LOTTAWATAH FIREWORKS.

 
Evelyn David
 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Fireworks – KindleNookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Book 3 – Lottawatah Fireworks (includes the 8th, 9th, and 10th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder – stand-alone mystery

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

Green Trash Bins

The saying goes that the devil is in the details. And
sometimes the details bring out the devil in otherwise normal human beings.

The question I bring to the loyal Stiletto Gang
readers is how much truth do readers of fiction expect? How much do they
deserve?

Recently my coauthor and I received a review at
Amazon from a reader who protested that we had failed to do adequate research
for our latest mystery MURDER DOUBLES BACK. She complained that we used the
wrong color trash bins in a scene set in a particular city. In great detail she
explained that she had lived in Arlington, Virginia for many
decades and not once had “green” trash bins been used in the area.
Apparently had we chosen just about any other color, the story might have
passed muster with her as the bin color had varied over time. But never green!

Honestly, when I read the review I was hard
pressed to remember any trash bins in the mystery. I knew it wasn’t a
significant plot point.  So doing what
any mystery writer would do in this situation , I opened the Word file of
MURDER DOUBLES BACK and did a search for the word “green.”

The software program brought up a list of
sentences with “green” in them. Whiskey, the Irish wolfhound in our
Sullivan Investigations Mysteries, sleeps on a “green futon” in Mac’s
office. I think we are safe there, although I confess I did not research futons
to see if any manufacturer produced “green” futons. If we get
challenged on it, I plan to say JJ, Mac’s assistant, reupholstered the futon in
the green fabric. JJ does a lot of things besides being a computer wiz and
detective-in-training. In MURDER OFF THE BOOKS, the first mystery in the series,
she renovated the Sullivan Investigations Inc. office by painting walls,
refinishing furniture, etc. I’m sure she could recover a futon if push came to
shove.

The next time “green” came up in my
search was in relationship to vegetables – green beans, green peas, green bean casseroles.
Yes, I’m making a note that for future books we should branch out – maybe add some
yellow squash, white hominy, and orange carrots. Although we probably wouldn’t
need to describe carrots.

Finally I found the object of our reader’s ire.   

Afternoons
in late December got dark early. Mac was glad he found the group home while
there was still light. It looked like most of the others on a block of tract
homes built in the 1950s. The house numbers were hidden by a large Christmas
wreath on the front door. There was a well-used basketball hoop attached to the
garage. Three garbage cans sat at the curb waiting for trash collection the
next day. Next to them was a green plastic container marked recyclables.


Busted. We never checked the color of the
recyclables bin in Arlington, Virginia. All I can say is that we
profusely apologize for offending the citizens of Arlington. And thank heavens
we sent Mac back home to D.C. right away without further ado or more erroneous
color choices.

(Note to self – Mac was the character who saw
“green” while visiting a group home residence. Is it too late to make
Mac color-blind? According to the reviewer “blue” would have been an
acceptable trash bin color for that town. No, maybe not. Surely that handicap would
have come up before in earlier books and after all, let’s get “real”
here for a minute, the mention of the trash bins was just made in passing. The
bins, green or otherwise, were of no significance to the plot.)

Of course Mac also visited West Virginia in this
book while chasing after a kidnapper. I’ll do another Word search, but I’m
positive we didn’t involve any trash bins in those scenes. Seriously, what do
you think? Should every detail in a work of fiction be researched by the author?
What is the reader owed?
 

Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David
______________________

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder – stand-alone mystery

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

My Dad, My Hero

By Evelyn David
 
Fatherhood is
pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.

I’ve always adored that quote from Bill Cosby. Over the
years I gave my father enough soap-on-a-rope to cleanse half the city of Baltimore. And every
single year, bless him, he acted like I had given him the winning ticket to the
Florida Powerball.

It’s Father’s Day on Sunday. But of course, we don’t need a
Hallmark holiday to celebrate the Dads in our lives. Both halves of Evelyn
David have been blessed with exceptional fathers. They were men who adored us,
encouraged us, taught us, supported us, cheered for us, laughed with us, comforted
us, and made us feel like our dreams were always within reach. I married a man
like my father and feel like the best gift I ever gave my kids was to give them
the best Dad in the world.

A DNA-connection is the least of the components of being a
good parent. It’s someone willing to put in the hard, often messy, work of
raising kids to be responsible, caring, loving individuals. My Dad traveled for
his job, gone probably three weeks of every month, leaving on Monday morning,
arriving home late Friday night. Yet, I don’t remember him being gone, his
presence in my life so very strong. What I remember are the weekly trips to the
library (no surprise, he loved mysteries!); the visits to the Baltimore Zoo (a
bag of peanuts for the elephants, mostly eaten by us!); and the birthday cakes
he ordered from Silber’s Bakery each year (my mother organized the parties, he
was responsible for the cakes!). I remember his “zingers” as he
called them – fast quips that were smart, never hurtful, and made you laugh out
loud. I remember that as a product of the Depression, he never spent money on
himself, but when he came with Mom and me to pick out my wedding gown, he
insisted that I buy the one I liked, even if it was the most expensive. He made
a pact with my fiancé on my wedding day – that they were both on the same
team, loving and supporting Marian. And when a short three years later, when
unbelievably he died way too young, I knew that the love he gave me,
unstintingly and without reservation, would be with me the rest of my life – as
it has.

So to all the wonderful Dads out there – regardless of how
you are connected to the children in your lives – we salute you, we thank you. And
we know that Dads stay in our hearts forever.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

——————–

$0.99 SALE! – Ending June 16

The Ghosts of
Lottawatah
– a boxed set of E-books of the first four in the Brianna Sullivan Mysteries series

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder – stand-alone mystery

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

One Size Fits All

By Evelyn David

I’ve been thinking a lot about The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. The premise is that there is a pair of
magic jeans that all four best friends can wear, despite their being disparate
sizes and shapes. It’s a sweet tale, but mine is true.

Many (many) years ago, when I was pregnant with my first
child, my mother took me to Lord and Taylor’s (a big department store) to shop
for a layette. (I don’t even know if they call it a layette anymore.) But since
we didn’t know the gender of the baby, ultrasounds were not routine back in the
dark ages, we bought everything in pastel shades of yellow and green – and added
a little white footed onesie. Long sleeves, long pants, snaps all the
way down the middle and one leg – easy on and off.

Now Son Number One was born at the end of July. It was a
minimum of 100 degrees, but on the day we brought him home from the hospital,
he wore an undershirt, the little white long-sleeved footed onesie, and two
receiving blankets. He weighed six pounds, nine ounces and the outfit fit
perfectly.

Fast-forward three-and-a-half years and it was time to bring
home Son Number Two. This time it was New Year’s Eve, and he too wore the little
white onesie, minus the undershirt which I’d forgotten, as well as without any
receiving blankets. I’m pretty sure my husband warmed up the car. Son Number
Two weighed eight pounds, seven ounces.

And a tradition was set. When Son Number Three, born
three years later at eight pounds, two ounces, and then six years after that when
Darling Daughter arrived on the scene, six pounds, six ounces, regardless of
the weather or weight, each came home in the little white onesie.

I am a sentimental wuss, so I couldn’t bear to part with the
outfit, along with a few other cherished baby clothes, so I tucked them away in
the attic.

Fast forward even further in time, to the arrival of
adorable granddaughter (who turns three tomorrow!!). At seven pounds, two ounces,
the little white onesie fit her perfectly for the trip home from the hospital.

And then two weeks ago, delightful grandson, all 9 pounds,
3.8 ounces of him, rode home in style in the little white onesie that his Daddy
had worn all those years ago.

There is a Jewish expression, meant for more serious things,
but seems right for this tale: L’Dor V’Dor – from generation to generation.

Evelyn David, the Northern half who is also known as Grandma

 
 
 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

Murder Doubles Back by Evelyn David

 
From the New Mystery by Evelyn David

MURDER DOUBLES BACK

 
“Think we’ll be done with this case by New Year’s
Eve?”
 
Mac glanced over at the old man driving the van. “I
can’t tell from your tone what answer you’d prefer. Got a hot date you don’t
want to keep?”
 
Edgar Freed chuckled. “You’d think the
scooterchair would keep the quilting league ladies away, but I guess my natural
charm is just too powerful. I accidentally accepted three invitations for
dinner that night. A murder case is just the ‘get out of jail’ card I need.”
 
“Natural charm my–”
 
“JJ!” Mac checked his watch, then his
assistant who was on the back seat. “Please concentrate on that case file
I gave you. I need you up–to-speed fast. We don’t have the whole police file
yet, just my personal notes, newspaper clippings and some copies of witness
statements. And Edgar, until we know otherwise, this is a missing person case,
not a murder.”

“All this information needs to be converted to an
electronic file so I can read it on my laptop,” JJ complained. “Some
of the newspaper clippings are falling apart.”

“I didn’t have any trouble reading it,”
Edgar said. “Computers aren’t necessary for everything.” He cleared
his throat. “Mac, you have to admit that Norman girl has been gone a long
time. Odds are–”

“Yeah.” Mac settled back in his seat. “I
know what the odds are.”

Mac and his partner Lyle Harvey had gotten the call
around 1 p.m. on a blustery October day. They had just finished lunch, the
highlight of an uneventful first half of a twelve-hour shift. At first, they
had both believed the teenager had just gone wandering among the various
buildings comprising the Smithsonian. First-time visitors were usually unaware
that the Smithsonian wasn’t just one museum but a collection of buildings. It
wasn’t unusual for even adults to get separated from their party.

He took a deep breath as the memories flooded back.
The scene had not been secured. Evidence could have been lost. Even at the time
he’d known that the search for Amanda Norman had been bungled. Against his
protests, old Lyle, the senior detective in their partnership, had let the
busload of teens and chaperones leave before everyone had been questioned.

“The witness statements are a waste of time. Didn’t
Amanda have any friends on the trip? Most of these are from kids who claimed
not to know much about her.”

JJ’s question brought him back to the present.

“We didn’t find any,” Mac answered. “Amanda
seemed to be a loner.”

“This is a handicap spot,” JJ complained as
Edgar parked the van.

“I know it’s barely noticeable, but I fit that
description.” Edgar looked at the young woman in his rearview mirror. “That’s
the reason I can usually find a parking place in this town. Why else do you
think the boss had me drive?”

JJ grimaced. “Probably because my ride is in the
shop and all Jeff O’Herlihy has in his fleet this week is a neon green Honda with
a bad transmission.”

“Enough, you two.” Mac pulled the latest
postcard from his jacket pocket and handed it to the old man. “Edgar, your
mission is to find out everything you can about this postcard. Check out the
gift shop or wherever they’re selling this stuff.”
 

Edgar nodded. “Wild goose chase. You can probably
buy this postcard at almost any drugstore in town.”
 

“Still, we have to start somewhere. Maybe this is
a new postcard, just released for sale. This mystery started here; maybe my pen
pal wants it to end here.” Mac shook his head. He knew it was unlikely
that canvassing the museum stores would produce anything, but it had to be
done.
He turned to face JJ. “You and I are going to
walk the crime scene and see if there is anyone still working here that recalls
the incident. I’m hoping someone might dredge up something they didn’t tell the
police before. Remember being a detective ain’t glamorous. It’s 99 percent
grunt work, one percent luck.”
JJ sighed. “Right, I know. You’ve said it a
hundred times, your job is to be lucky and Edgar and I are supposed to handle
the grunt parts.”
Mac grinned. “Now you’ve got it. Let’s go.”

————-
Check out the Sullivan Investigations Mystery Series for unforgettable characters and fun whodunits!

Murder Off the Books

Kindle – http://tinyurl.com/motb3

Nook – http://tinyurl.com/MOTB3rdBN

Smashwords – http://tinyurl.com/MOTBSmash

Trade Paperback – http://www.tinyurl.com/motbprint

 

Murder Takes the Cake

Kindle – http://tinyurl.com/mttck

Nook – http://tinyurl.com/mttc3Nook

Smashwords – http://tinyurl.com/MTTCSmash

Trade Paperback – http://www.tinyurl.com/mttcprint

Murder Doubles Back

Kindle – http://tinyurl.com/mdbkindle

Nook – http://tinyurl.com/mdbnook

Smashwords – http://tinyurl.com/mdbsmash

Print – http://tinyurl.com/mdbprint

Riley Come Home

Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/RileyHome

Nookhttp://tinyurl.com/RileyNook1

Smashwordshttp://tinyurl.com/RileySmash

Moonlighting at the Mall

Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/MoonKindle

Nook
http://tinyurl.com/MoonNook

Smashwordshttp://tinyurl.com/MoonSmash

The Best and The Worst…of Reviews

By Evelyn David

Don’t tell me. I know. I shouldn’t read my reviews. Actor
Kevin Bacon has sworn that he never reads his, although don’t you think that
his agent probably does?

I know that several Stiletto Gang authors also have forsworn
reading reviews.

But you’re talking to a woman who happily reads spoilers for
her favorite TV shows – and still enjoys them. So you think I’m not going to
look to see who loves me – and, tragically, who doesn’t?

So I was thrilled when readers begin posting glowing reviews
of MURDER DOUBLES BACK. Lesa Holstine, librarian and reviewer extraordinaire,
said “When authors can manage to juggle large casts, complicated stories,
a fascinating dog, and traces of humor, they shouldn’t wait years between
books. Evelyn David’s entertaining Murder Doubles Back will make readers regret
four lost years.”

Wow! That made my week, month – year.

But then, here’s what another reader wrote,
headlined, “Where’s The Humor?” Actually the review was quite positive, saying, “The story line was
good. The characters were still appealing.” But she didn’t think we brought the funny.

But, But…she said I didn’t have a sense of humor? Me who has
considered a job as a stand-up comic? Me, who is a barrel of laughs, except
when reading reviews that are like a stiletto to the heart, so to speak.

You’re questioning my humor? Question my writing ability, sure. But question whether I can deliver a joke? The horror.

Sigh. Don’t tell me. I shouldn’t read reviews.

Maybe I’ll listen to a George Carlin riff on You Tube. Nobody
ever accused him of not having a sense of humor.

Please share your worst review or job performance
evaluation. Misery loves company.

Marian, the Northern Half of Evelyn David (the one without a
sense of humor, the Southern half is quite the cut-up)

 ———————

Click the link below to find out how to get 10 free ebooks
(including Murder Off the Books by Evelyn David)
Note: limited time offer

http://tinyurl.com/BeachReadFree10

 
 
 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

Lights, Camera, Action

By Evelyn David

Rhonda and I have been taking Hollywood
meetings since we wrote the first Sullivan Investigations mystery, Murder Off the Books. Of course, those meetings have been imaginary, but we prefer to
think of them as practice sessions for when we really do get “the
call.” Or another way to look at it, we create fictional characters and
settings for our books, what’s to stop us from creating fictional casting
sessions? In a perfect example of the mind meld of the collective Evelyn David
(as well as reflective of our ages), we both have always envisioned James
Garner, from the Rockford Files era, as Mac Sullivan.

But these fantasy casting sessions have taken on new meaning
over the last week because Evelyn David has gone Hollywood,
minus the sunglasses, plastic surgery, and actually, you know, going to California. We’ve
decided to release the three Mac Sullivan mysteries, as well as the first
Brianna Sullivan novella, as individual audio books. We’re looking for a reader
who can handle both male and female voices and capture the tone, pacing, and
humor we’ve written.

Not a job for the faint-hearted. Think about it. When Julia
Roberts played Vivan Ward, the prostitute with a heart of gold in Pretty Woman,
she didn’t also have to play Edward Lewis, handsome, tough businessman (Richard
Gere’s role), not to mention the sleazy business associate that Jason Alexander
captured perfectly. We’re asking one person to play detective, love interest,
and dog – and for the listener to instantly grasp who’s talking to whom, where,
and why.

And we love it. We’ve received several audition tapes of a
few pages of each book. Some actors nail it – and some have been instant
rejections. We think we’ve found the perfect reader for the Brianna book –
still struggling with finding the right one for the Mac/Whiskey mysteries (dogs
are so hard to cast).

Stay tuned.
 
All right Mr. DeMille, we’re ready for our close-up.

(Can you name the movie?)

Evelyn David
 
———————————-
 

 

Click the link below to find out how to get 10 free ebooks
(including Murder Off the Books by Evelyn David)
Note: limited time offer

http://tinyurl.com/BeachReadFree10

 
 
 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

Home Sweet Home

By Evelyn David

I’ve been humming that old Dionne Warwick song, “A
House Is Not a Home.”

After years of discussing it, hubby and I finally decided it
was time to downsize. The house where we’ve lived for 24 years was perfect to
raise four children. But now, it’s too big and too much to maintain, and for my
husband with bad knees, has way too many steps. 
But of course, deciding to move from the house where you’ve lived longer
than any other place on this earth, is so emotionally complicated that, at
least for me who is the poster child for never changing anything, the decision
was tough to swallow, even as I knew it was right.

Still, I put on my big girl panties, limited myself to
occasional bouts of tears, and started getting the house ready for market. The
marching orders from our realtor were simple. “Get rid of everything that
has any relationship to you and your family.” Okay, I exaggerate a little,
but the principle was that we were to move our house to Neutral Zone, USA.
No bold colors on the wall; no clever cartoons on the refrigerator door; and
for heaven’s sake, no photographs of the family anywhere. Take out most of the
coats and clothes from the closets so that now each appears large enough to
rent as efficiency apartments. Dishes, pot, pans, flatwear were to be reduced to the
bare minimum, but that’s okay because as long as the house was on the market, I
wasn’t cooking anyway.

What broke my heart? When the paint crew transformed the
sponge-painted yellow bedroom of my daughter, with her initial that had been carefully
painted over the bed, and the door of stickers and signs that said “Keep
Out,” into what essentially looked like a beige motel room. Sigh.

We gave away or stored multiple pieces of furniture and
decorative accessories. Despite being a sentimental wuss, I became ruthless, constantly
keeping the goal in mind that we wanted buyers to see the beautiful bones of
this old house. With everything cleared out, the house painted from
top to bottom in Navajo White, the closets, drawers, and basement a testament
to my husband’s organizing ability, and after countless trips to thrift stores
to donate and landfills to dump – the house was ready to sell.

And it did. It opened on a Friday morning and by Monday
night we had an accepted offer. Nice couple who are going to raise their lovely
family in this house that has been our home, our embracing shelter.

And this past week, we started a new chapter. Our bid for a
new, smaller home, a mile from our current location, was accepted. Doesn’t have
the sprawling comfort of our old house. But also doesn’t have three full
flights of stairs! And I am reminded that while our old house is
architecturally just what I like, it is the people I love who have made it a
home. And Thank God, that hasn’t changed. Family and friends can still
gather around for important and not-so-important occasions – and in the
end, that’s what makes a collection of bricks a home.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

———————–

 
 
 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

A Birth Announcement

By Evelyn David

This has got to be the longest pregnancy on record.

But finally the collective Evelyn David is proud to announce
the arrival of the newest member of the family: MURDER DOUBLES BACK. The third
book in the Sullivan Investigation Series.

And we’re just like many new parents who have very carefully
picked out a name for their little one and once he or she arrives, realize that
the name doesn’t fit. So too we had been talking about this mystery for years,
had a title that seemed perfect – but when we finally got into writing and
editing the book, just knew that the title had to change.

So for those of you who have so kindly encouraged us,
supported us, gently harangued us to finish a new Mac and Whiskey book (and we
really appreciate the small kick in the butt you administered, we needed it!) –
please enjoy MURDER DOUBLES BACK.

Synopsis

For 10 years private detective Mac Sullivan has
been haunted by the case of Amanda Norman, a teenage girl who disappeared into
thin air during a class trip. But someone is determined to stir the embers of
that cold case. Each year Mac receives a postcard that asks a simple question:
Where is Amanda Norman? 

This year, Mac decides he will answer the question
once and for all.

Join Mac Sullivan, Rachel Brenner, JJ, Edgar, and
of course, Whiskey, the adorable and adored Irish wolfhound, as they try to
uncover the mystery of a long missing girl. As Mac and his team investigate, a dark
trail of murder and deception follows. If Amanda Norman is still alive, will
Mac’s efforts inadvertently lead to her death? If Amanda Norman is dead, who
keeps sending the postcards and why?

Murder Doubles Back is the exciting third book in
the Sullivan Investigations Series.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

He’d never forgotten his failure, even without the
annual postcard reminder.

Mac Sullivan turned the card over and scanned the
message. He recognized the scratchy handwriting. Over the past 10 years he’d
received a similar card every December. They had arrived along with the holiday
cards at the police station. But this year was different; the postcard was
addressed care of Sullivan Investigations. Someone’s address book had been
updated.

The picture on the front of the card varied, seemingly
random tourist locations – around the DC and Virginia area. No pattern other
than all depicting famous visitor or vacation spots. The postmarks changed each
year but all came from Virginia.
This year’s card featured the Smithsonian.

The mystery had come full circle–back to where it had
all begun.

The message on the postcard this year was the same as
it always was. Block printing. A simple question. “Where’s Amanda Norman?”

Mac’s first thought; his mental response to the sender
was always, “Dead.” The second was a warning to himself not to ever
say that word aloud. Technically Amanda was only missing. The fourteen-year-old
went on a class trip to the Smithsonian and didn’t come home again. The foster
family didn’t believe the teen was a runaway. There was no ransom demand. No
reports of sightings. No actual body was ever found. He was the first and, as
far as he knew the last detective on the case. He hadn’t solved it.

A decade later, the Amanda Norman disappearance was a
cold case, but not a closed one. The United States Post Office and a very
persistent pen pal saw to that. It was only two months after Amanda went
missing that the postcards had started arriving.

Now that he was retired from the police force and had
his own detective agency, he was thinking that maybe it was time to warm up the
Norman case. His holiday plans had included some quality time with his…He wasn’t
sure what to call Rachel Brenner. His girlfriend? Significant other? Rachel worked
for his best friend Jeff O’Herlihy. At Thanksgiving the O’Herlihy Funeral Home
had burned to the ground. Jeff had kept Rachel busy the last month helping him
set up shop in a leased building and file mountains of insurance claims, but
even workaholic Jeff had arranged for his staff to have a couple of weeks off
from the middle of December until after the New Year. Jeff had kept a skeleton
staff to handle any funerals, but Rachel was for all intents and purposes, on
paid vacation.

Mac had already canceled two dates with Rachel during
her down time. He had a feeling that last-minute trip to visit a distant cousin
was actually her raising the dating white flag in surrender. She was a little
vague on the telephone about when she was returning.

Determined to make a real effort, Mac stepped up his
game. He made dinner reservations for New Year’s at what Jeff had assured him
was the trendiest spot in DC. Meanwhile there were several cases he needed to wrap
up and a security job at a government contractor’s office that started in a
week. His calendar was full.

The timing of the arrival of this latest postcard couldn’t
have been worse. His staff of two was on vacation. He had a payroll to meet and
bills to pay. His concentration was needed on the work in front of him and not
the mistakes of the past.

Still…he hesitated to bury the postcard in the file
with the rest. After all these years, why was this one of the Smithsonian? Was
there a special significance that this year’s card depicted the place where
Amanda had disappeared? Had something changed for the sender?

He must have asked that question aloud, since Whiskey,
his Irish wolfhound sidekick, felt free to vocalize her opinion.

Mac glanced at the dog, who’d taken over the dark green
futon in his office, then back to the postcard in his hand. “Yeah, this
time is different. It’s not just about keeping Amanda’s case active. Someone
wants to tell me something.”

Murder Doubles Back
Kindle
Nook
Smashwords
Trade Paperback
 
 
 

 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back Kindle – NookSmashwords – Trade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

 

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords