Chessen Parker's Blog - Posts Tagged "female-sleuth"
The Next Two Books in the Series
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for following my adventures as an author, and Clara Dare and Tara's adventures as sleuths!
I've been working on finalizing Cargo to Kill For and Duck and Cover. I have had a lot of fun with both books! Now that Clara Dare is settled-in back home and anxious to use her investigatory skills, I've been able to have a lot of fun with the characters.
Blackbeard's Curse contained a lot of loss for both of the sleuths - loss that they will support each other in growing from and living with as the years go by. I've enjoyed their progress and I hope y'all do, too.
Both Duck and Cover and Cargo to Kill For will be released this summer. Ladies, y'all are just going to L-O-V-E Juan Menendez in Cargo! Grrrrr! (In Cargo to Kill For, we also gain some insight into why Clara Dare Ivankova is so good at sleuthing with her detective chum, Tara.)
Teasers....
Duck and Cover - The second murder mystery in the Crystal Coast Mysteries
Clara Dare and her friends have happily settled into their ocean front, rental cottage in Duck, when they attend a tea party and benefit in the Elizabethan Gardens for the wild, banker island ponies. But their much anticipated, carefree, girls’ beach week takes a different turn when Clara Dare, Macy, and Patti find the lifeless body of a partner in the new eco-friendly resort and retail center under an azalea bush in a secluded garden -- much to the vacationing homicide detective, Tara Thompson’s, dismay.
Cargo to Kill For - The third murder mystery in the Crystal Coast Mysteries
John and Diane Tate disappear, and as the days pass, presumptions and theories about their untimely demise begin to be whispered on the docks of the Blue Fin Yacht Club. But Clara Dare’s hope that her friends are still alive grows when she becomes convinced that the Tates needed to disappear. At the somewhat unusually inspired request of her childhood friend, Detective Tara Thompson, Clara Dare sets out to discover from who, or what, the Tates were running. In a dangerous, and highly unorthodox, game of cat and mouse, Clara Dare and Tara rush against time, and a growing body count, to find out what happened to John and Diane.
Stay tuned... more updates coming.
And check the back of your copy of Blackbeard's Curse for the prologue to Cargo to Kill For. (Bonus!)
Happy Sleuthing,
Chessen
I've been working on finalizing Cargo to Kill For and Duck and Cover. I have had a lot of fun with both books! Now that Clara Dare is settled-in back home and anxious to use her investigatory skills, I've been able to have a lot of fun with the characters.
Blackbeard's Curse contained a lot of loss for both of the sleuths - loss that they will support each other in growing from and living with as the years go by. I've enjoyed their progress and I hope y'all do, too.
Both Duck and Cover and Cargo to Kill For will be released this summer. Ladies, y'all are just going to L-O-V-E Juan Menendez in Cargo! Grrrrr! (In Cargo to Kill For, we also gain some insight into why Clara Dare Ivankova is so good at sleuthing with her detective chum, Tara.)
Teasers....
Duck and Cover - The second murder mystery in the Crystal Coast Mysteries
Clara Dare and her friends have happily settled into their ocean front, rental cottage in Duck, when they attend a tea party and benefit in the Elizabethan Gardens for the wild, banker island ponies. But their much anticipated, carefree, girls’ beach week takes a different turn when Clara Dare, Macy, and Patti find the lifeless body of a partner in the new eco-friendly resort and retail center under an azalea bush in a secluded garden -- much to the vacationing homicide detective, Tara Thompson’s, dismay.
Cargo to Kill For - The third murder mystery in the Crystal Coast Mysteries
John and Diane Tate disappear, and as the days pass, presumptions and theories about their untimely demise begin to be whispered on the docks of the Blue Fin Yacht Club. But Clara Dare’s hope that her friends are still alive grows when she becomes convinced that the Tates needed to disappear. At the somewhat unusually inspired request of her childhood friend, Detective Tara Thompson, Clara Dare sets out to discover from who, or what, the Tates were running. In a dangerous, and highly unorthodox, game of cat and mouse, Clara Dare and Tara rush against time, and a growing body count, to find out what happened to John and Diane.
Stay tuned... more updates coming.
And check the back of your copy of Blackbeard's Curse for the prologue to Cargo to Kill For. (Bonus!)
Happy Sleuthing,
Chessen
New Release: Cargo to Kill For, a Crystal Coast Mystery by Chessen Parker
John and Diane Tate disappear, and as the days pass, presumptions and theories about their untimely demise begin to be whispered on the docks of the Blue Fin Yacht Club. But Clara Dare's hope that her friends are still alive grows when she becomes convinced that the Tates needed to disappear. At the somewhat unusually inspired request of her childhood friend, Detective Tara Thompson, Clara Dare sets out to discover from who, or what, the Tates were running. In a dangerous, and highly unorthodox, game of cat and mouse, Clara Dare and Tara rush against time, and a growing body count, to find out what happened to John and Diane.
My goal in developing the series was to recreate the elegance and wit of Agatha Christie, in a modern, coastal village setting. The series features strong, independent, witty and intelligent women; promotes volunteerism; and allows readers to experience the often humorous, aristocratic flavor of a small Southern town (steeped in tradition) from the inside.
It is not necessary to read the series in order -- each book is a self-contained, exciting mystery. The first book in the series, Blackbeard's Curse, featuring a deadly archeological race, is available in Kindle Edition and paperback.
I invite you to join Clara Dare Ivankova and her friends as they comb the North Carolina coast for clues to uncover the who, why and how of the clever, and often desperate, murders that hit close to home. Experience beautiful beaches, remote island villages, cozy harbors, and coastal living at its finest with the sleuths in the Crystal Coast Mysteries.
Visit www.chessenparker.com for more about the books, the Crystal Coast, local artists, free writing competitions, and links to Crystal Coast travel.
My goal in developing the series was to recreate the elegance and wit of Agatha Christie, in a modern, coastal village setting. The series features strong, independent, witty and intelligent women; promotes volunteerism; and allows readers to experience the often humorous, aristocratic flavor of a small Southern town (steeped in tradition) from the inside.
It is not necessary to read the series in order -- each book is a self-contained, exciting mystery. The first book in the series, Blackbeard's Curse, featuring a deadly archeological race, is available in Kindle Edition and paperback.
I invite you to join Clara Dare Ivankova and her friends as they comb the North Carolina coast for clues to uncover the who, why and how of the clever, and often desperate, murders that hit close to home. Experience beautiful beaches, remote island villages, cozy harbors, and coastal living at its finest with the sleuths in the Crystal Coast Mysteries.
Visit www.chessenparker.com for more about the books, the Crystal Coast, local artists, free writing competitions, and links to Crystal Coast travel.
Musings on New Release - Cargo to Kill For
Hello Readers and Beach Lovers!
I really, really enjoyed writing Cargo to Kill For! I don’t think I can say that with enough emphasis. I think it shows in the novel, as well.
Clara Dare has settled into her new life on the North Carolina Coast. Readers of Blackbeard’s Curse will, I think, appreciate the developments in Clara Dare and Tara, as both characters and friends, as the series progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the cast for this installment of the Crystal Coast Mysteries!
Developing the story line was a challenge. My initial premise was simple...so I thought.
You see, I also enjoy the group of authors and books in the intersection of sub-genres covering espionage, suspense, and thrillers. I have found that, inevitably, in many of these books, there is that one little snag in the plot where the local fuzz’s involvement can’t be avoided, and the hero’s or heroine’s success depends on whether or not the locals boggle it.
My premise for “Cargo to Kill For” started with the idea that I would tell the “cozy mystery” that happens behind the scenes during such a snag. A novel in a novel! Maybe more like, “Behind the Music” by the time Clara Dare and Tara are done. LOL!
Trying to capture the gravity of the overarching plot within the confines of the Queen of Crime’s “malice domestic” was a very rewarding balancing act for me, as a writer.
For those readers who may have struggled with my attempt at capturing the unique brogue of the outer and inner banks that derives from the Queen's English spoken by the original European settlers of the area (The Lost Colony), you will be relived that I've dialed it back. I hope my readers still feel the "time-and-reality suspension" that many vacationers feel when they visit the Crystal Coast - however, it is more subtle. Non-native Carolinian readers of both Blackbeard's Curse and Cargo to Kill For, have told me that this book is easier to read if you aren't a frequent visitor to the area. Those readers that had moved away still found nostalgia in the pages, so I felt a sense of mission accomplished!
I really hope that my readers enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed the process!
Happy Sleuthing,
Chessen
I really, really enjoyed writing Cargo to Kill For! I don’t think I can say that with enough emphasis. I think it shows in the novel, as well.
Clara Dare has settled into her new life on the North Carolina Coast. Readers of Blackbeard’s Curse will, I think, appreciate the developments in Clara Dare and Tara, as both characters and friends, as the series progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the cast for this installment of the Crystal Coast Mysteries!
Developing the story line was a challenge. My initial premise was simple...so I thought.
You see, I also enjoy the group of authors and books in the intersection of sub-genres covering espionage, suspense, and thrillers. I have found that, inevitably, in many of these books, there is that one little snag in the plot where the local fuzz’s involvement can’t be avoided, and the hero’s or heroine’s success depends on whether or not the locals boggle it.
My premise for “Cargo to Kill For” started with the idea that I would tell the “cozy mystery” that happens behind the scenes during such a snag. A novel in a novel! Maybe more like, “Behind the Music” by the time Clara Dare and Tara are done. LOL!
Trying to capture the gravity of the overarching plot within the confines of the Queen of Crime’s “malice domestic” was a very rewarding balancing act for me, as a writer.
For those readers who may have struggled with my attempt at capturing the unique brogue of the outer and inner banks that derives from the Queen's English spoken by the original European settlers of the area (The Lost Colony), you will be relived that I've dialed it back. I hope my readers still feel the "time-and-reality suspension" that many vacationers feel when they visit the Crystal Coast - however, it is more subtle. Non-native Carolinian readers of both Blackbeard's Curse and Cargo to Kill For, have told me that this book is easier to read if you aren't a frequent visitor to the area. Those readers that had moved away still found nostalgia in the pages, so I felt a sense of mission accomplished!
I really hope that my readers enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed the process!
Happy Sleuthing,
Chessen
