Where Does the Time Go?

Hi, Sandra Orchard here. Can you believe that we’re a third of the way through May already?!

Time seems to be flying these days. Well, unless you’re one of the readers who is impatiently waiting for the release of the final book in my Port Aster Secrets mystery series.

It’s surreal to look back now and reflect on how long in the making the series has been. I completed the first draft of what was then called Murder by Marigolds—still love that title (My pitch was: guaranteed to change the way you look at flowers)—way back in early 2008.

At that point, I’d written five novels and editors were showing interest. After the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers’ conference in Colorado, at which I received several invitations from editors to submit, their enthusiasm buoyed by my recent Daphne DuMaurier contest win, I joined a small group of writers for an immersion class in the Colorado foothills.

While there, we ate at a tea shop, similar to the shop in my story, and the ever-optimistic Angie Breidenbach suggested taking photos for the promo, since she was confident a publisher would snap it up. 

The next year, I signed my first contract with Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense and shelved the mystery series, since publishers weren’t showing much interest in mysteries and I was now living my dream! 

So…it was quite a shock to get a call from my agent in the fall of 2011 saying Revell was interested in the series and wanted blurbs for the rest of the books.

Oops!

I’d written Murder by Marigolds (aka Deadly Devotion) THREE years earlier and could scarcely remember what it was about, let alone what the two “unwritten” ones would be about!!

Thankfully, I managed to whip up a couple of believable blurbs and updated my proposal to include the fact I was now a published author, and off it went to the pub board.

A few months later, the three-book contract arrived!

Now, six years since that first hopeful “tea” photo shoot, and one son-in-law and 2 ½ grandbabies and... 

seven LIS babies later,

 the series is finally complete!

Okay, okay.... readers still have to wait a couple of more weeks for Desperate Measures to release, but if you haven't read any books in the series yet, the Good News is…

You can try Deadly Devotion for 

For the next couple of months, it will be available as a free download from all the major online retailers.

Of course, I hope it’ll hook you into reading the rest. <grin>

I highly recommend reading them in order, because there are spoilers in subsequent books. If you enjoy fast-paced mysteries with a touch of romance and small town quirky characters or herbal teas or wonder sometimes about pharmaceutical company practices, you’ll enjoy this series.

Subscribe to my newsletter for more free reads. 

Your Turn: Do you enjoy reading mysteries?

Impatient guy image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
"Free" Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wow, What you can Learn when Researching a Book!

Hi Everyone, Sandra Orchard here.
[Click CTRL and shift and + keys for easier reading.]

While writing my newest book, Blind Trust, book 2 in my Port Aster Secrets mystery series, I researched everything from how to track a cell phone to how to make money--the old-fashioned way...by counterfeiting it. ~wink~

So...I thought I'd share a few fun factoids that I discovered.

For example, did you know how easy it is for anyone to track you with your GPS-enabled cell phone?

Give a person a few minutes alone with your phone to install a handy-dandy app and they've got you on their radar, even if the phone is turned off. It can be turned into a listening device too! Most people suspect as much, given movies these days. But, hey, verifying it was another reason for me to be glad I don't own one.

Yup, you read that right. I don't own one, smart phone or otherwise. Because wow, I wouldn't want any of these bad guys I write about to be able to track me down before my hero takes them out!

And...if the guys are really resourceful, not having a GPS in your phone won't stop them.

I also have an elderly neighbor in the story whose son is trying to get her to sign a power of attorney.

 Wow, let me tell you, talking to a lawyer about things like this is enough to make you paranoid! If all your property is held jointly with your spouse or whoever, you'd better trust them, because they can up and disappear with the whole shebang--legally!

And even if you trust them, the bad guys could still coerce them to do it with that gun to their head. Well, okay, maybe the gun at the head would be a tip off to the bank manager. ~wink~

At the other end of the spectrum, my detective also needed to interrogate a young suspect, so I had a little chat with a real-life detective. Wow, that was an eye-opener.

There's a long list of rights a young offender needs to waive before an officer can ask him anything without a parent or lawyer present. In fact, the detective urged me to have my fictional detective offer to bring in a pastor or an uncle, when the kid declined to consult his parents, because they really don't want to later be accused of coercing him to waive his rights without understanding them.

Lastly, did you know that in the U.S. most new photocopiers and printers are designed to lock up if you try to copy currency? Yup, even had a blog reader confirm it's true--happened to her. ~grin~

Luckily, my story takes place in Niagara, Canada, where...a few years ago, a young man duped his classmates with photocopies of the then-new five dollar bills. It was partly the newness that made his classmates easy targets.Of course, our newest bills (which came out after I wrote the story) are plastic, so it's no longer easy to pull off that stunt.

If I've whet your appetite to check out Blind Trust, pop over to Trish Perry's blog this week to enter a giveaway. And...

For those with Ereaders, the first book in the series, Deadly Devotion is only $2.99 this week at most Ebook retailers (I highly recommend starting with book one, since although each book is a standalone mystery, the romance and an underlying suspense plot arcs the series). Blind Trust will also have a special price in E format for the first month of release at most retailers. (Find links to the most common ones here.)

Here's the book's back cover blurb:

Kate Adams had no idea she was carrying counterfeit money, and she can’t believe that it came from her sweet neighbor. Or that it lands her in the middle of another one of Detective Tom Parker’s investigations. Determined to prove her neighbor’s innocence, Kate stumbles into a pit of intrigue that is far deeper than a two-bit counterfeit operation–and strikes too close to home for comfort. As family secrets come to light, her world–and her budding romance with Tom–begin to crumble. To Kate, it’s clear that she won’t be safe until she uncovers all of Port Aster’s secrets. But is it too late for her and Tom?

BookList raves:
“Orchard infuses romance with suspense and keeps the excitement coming page after page.  Readers will love the ever-deepening mystery as Kate extends her investigation and finds herself and her long-dead father tangled up in an international corporate conspiracy.”

Your Turn: What's the most interesting factoid you've picked up in your reading or research for a book?

Sandra Orchard is an award-winning author of inspirational romantic suspense with Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense imprint, and Revell Publishing. A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and now writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren.  You can learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

Money image courtesy of the Bank of Canada website.
Justice image courtesy of nirots / FreeDigitalPhotos.net