BOOK: July Fireworks Sky, A Cat Collier Mystery by Carol Ann Kauffman

 

In July Fireworks Sky, the seventh book in the Cat Collier Mystery Short Story series, private investigator Mary Catherine Collier, known as Cat, finds herself in a disturbing, life-altering situation related to her brother’s trial. 

The outcome will have far reaching effects for not only herself, but Carter, Spencer, and others.

The location for this cozy mystery bounces back and forth from her quiet, sleepy hometown of Heaton Valley, Ohio to New York City, where Cat has another branch of her detective agency and a wonderful, new love. 

Will Cat finally find the honesty she’s looking for?

Available in kindle format and paperback on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/July-Fireworks-Collier-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07TCD63G5

Excerpt:

 

M

eanwhile across town at a Manhattan coffeeshop, Erick Carter Larson sipped a large black coffee while waiting for his cab to the airport. His flight to Heaton Valley, Ohio, departed at two o’clock. His father, Detrick Bittmor, called him back to Ohio to aid in the defense of Dane Collier, Cat’s brother, in a murder trial.

In walked Granddad Larsen. He took a seat near the window, looking out into the busy street and crowded sidewalk of New York City. 

Carter was surprised because Granddad isn’t fond of Manhattan and usually avoids it. As Carter gathered up his things to join his grandfather, Yvette entered the coffeeshop. She hugged Granddad Larsen and sat down.

Carter ducked behind the wall. To his knowledge, Yvette and Granddad didn’t even know each other.

Carter looked around and spied a young man wearing an old  black hoodie with a college insignia on the back.

“Psst! Hey! I’ll give you $50 for your hoodie.”

“You nuts, man? Do you think I got this beauty at Goodwill?”

“$100 then,” said Carter.

“I don’t know. I really like this hoodie. It’s broke in just right. It’s my fave.”

“$150.”

“Mmmm.”

“Are you in a hurry?”

“No.”

“Okay, $150 to rent your favorite hoodie. I’ll give it back as soon as I’m done. See that pair by the window?”

“The hot babe and the old guy?”

“Yes. Hot babe is my girlfriend. And I want to sneak up close behind them to overhear their conversation. And I need your hoodie to do it.”

“Hot babe’s cheating on you with the old guy?”

“Maybe.”

“Ahh, that’s sick, man. Sure. Here. I’ll wait over there,” Hoodie Guy said. He gave Carter his hoodie. Carter slipped him cash.

Carter pulled the hoodie up and walked quietly to the front of the coffeeshop with his head down. He slid into a chair facing the back of the shop, but close enough to his grandfather to eavesdrop.

 

“Yes, Yvette, I realize he’s still angry at the world. But he’ll settle down soon.”

“But he’s so miserably unhappy.”

“I know it seems that way right now. But it’ll pass.”

“I hate to see him so sad.”

“Yvette, Erick changed for the worst when he moved to Heaton Valley with Mary Catherine Collier and chummed around with that immoral degenerate Detrick Bittmor.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“He became so giddy and giggly. Those are not good traits in a New York City lawyer, or any man, really. Didn’t you see it?”

“No. He was never giddy or giggly around me. He was… quiet.” 

“Well, it was annoying at best. He’d go on and on about the beautiful shade of blue of the sky and the pretty clouds. He’d rave about how delicious the food tasted that he bought on the corner from a street vendor. He dressed like a hippie-beatnik-flower child. Pink shirts!”

Erick Carter Larsen looked down. He pulled the hoodie tight across his chest to cover his Ralph Lauren Classic pink dress shirt.

“And he was always smiling. No, over-smiling. All the time. It was like he joined a cult or something. Damn it, my brilliant, serious-minded lawyer only grandson turned into a silly pre-teen girl. Aren’t you glad he’s back in town?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you two spend time together?”

“Well, yeah. We go out to dinner or see a show. He escorts me to all my work-related functions.”

“That’s good.”

“He’s not in the least bit affectionate toward me.”

“Was he ever? Erick was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But he pulls away from me whenever I try to… touch him.”

“We had to step in and do something. We had to do something to get him back on track before he wasted his whole life skipping through the park, marveling at the pretty clouds and butterflies, and holding hands with Little Red Riding Hood."

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TV TIME: Rebel Moon, Part 1 + 2 (Netflix)

I know many true Star Wars fans were not thrilled with Rebel Moon, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The space visuals were fantastic. 

The casting in this one was right on the money. Sofia Boutella as Kora, the warrior turned farmer turned back into warrior on the peaceful planet Veldt, was outstanding, as was the supporting cast.

  

I hope "they" give Zack Snyder the go-ahead for more Rebel Moon.

                                  Continue reading this article on Wikipedia, Rebel Moon 

                                                                    

 

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INTERVIEW: Modern Gothic Author Bonnie Randall

 

Bonnie Randall 

Alberta, Canada

 

 

Good morning, Bonnie, and welcome to Vision and Verse. What have you written?

I have three full length titles—Divinity & The Python, Within TheSummit’s Shadow, and my latest title, which reviewers have referred to as my ‘breakout novel’: The Shadow Collector. This book is the first in my Shadow Valley series, and introduces you to Natalya, a retrocognitive who can see everyone’s past but her own—so she is shocked when she glimpses the future; a murder going down in a sinister house she can almostremember…a place cop Owen Brophy will never forget…

This novel is, unquestionably, my ‘favorite baby’. It has a big, robust cast who pursue the underpinning question: “Where did all the children go?”—and I am having the time of my life answering that query within what will be three additional titles to this series. The next, Shadow Valley Book II, The Soulmate’s Shadow, will hopefully be released around Christmas 2024. 

 

What is your favorite genre to write?

A lifelong fascination with haunted houses, spirits, and psychics has culminated into a love of crafting paranormal romantic thrillers that lean heavily into a ‘modern gothic’ / ‘romantasy’ vibe. There’s nothing quite like a good ghost story!

 

Favorite food: 

Every Christmas, I get a tin of Quality Street chocolates—and every day after I savor one piece (except the blue-wrapped coconut ones. Bah!) until they’re gone. In other words, chocolate is my kryptonite…except the coconut ones. 

 

“Chocolate is My Kryptonite” That’s a good title for a book! Tea or coffee?

I’m a coffee black-enough-and-strong-enough-to-show-up-on-a- drug-test kinda gal, but nothing beats a fragrant mug of herbal tea on a cold, dreary afternoon. 

 

Pizza or ice cream? 

You could wake me in the dead of night whispering, “Bonnie, I have pizza,” and I’d follow you down the darkened stairs and climb into a white kidnap van, so long as a slice of pepperoni & mushroom was waiting there for me. 

 

Beer? Wine? Soda? Sauerkraut juice? What?

As Billy Joel once said so well: “A bottle of red. A bottle of white. Whatever kind of mood you’re in tonight.”  

 

Where would you like to visit?

I travel a LOT in my day job; I am at the airport as much as I am at home - yet I have not had a bona fide vacation in an appallingly long time. So, while there are many places I want to visit, right now I am down for anywhere I could put my “toes in the water and a**in the sand”, as the Zac Brown Band song goes. 

 

Favorite musical artist: 

Buffy St. Marie once said, “Music has been my playmate, my lover, and my crying towel,” and I feel that quote in my bones. Music is everything to me, and my playlists are so eclectic, it likely looks like three or four people comprised them. Right now, though, the soundtrack for my current work in progress, Shadow Valley Book II, The Soulmate’s Shadow, is my “favorite”; my leading man and lady grew up in the ’80’s, and a lot of their current secrets are still buried there. The music from their era inspires much of the mood and atmosphere of their mystery, and the playlist for this novel is my longest to date—clocking in at a whopping 4 hours, 29 minutes. Might be because it’s the music from my childhood too.

 

Do you listen to music when you write? 

Sort of; while I am at my computer, I need silence. But when I am out running or walking, I tune into whichever playlist I’ve built for my current project, letting the music awaken exchanges of dialogue or sometimes even whole scenes—which I then peck out frantically on my notes app.  

 

What makes you laugh?

Oh, Lord—life in general. The everyday absurdities and bizarre ironies. My daughters and their wry take on the world around them.  Also (don’t judge!) the belly-laughs I get when I scroll through the comments beneath controversial posts on X or Facebook. Years of social work practice has honed a sharp appreciation for gallows humor, and people can beinappropriate, sure, but also extremely dry and extraordinarily witty. Proof positive that everyone, in their own way, is a writer.

 

Favorite work of art or sculpture. 

Naturalist Carl Brenders’ photorealism paintings take my breath away. His work has heavily inspired two of the artists within my own works of fiction: ingenue painter Kyle King in Within TheSummit’s Shadow, and Jessalyn Chandler-Haslom, who first appears in The Shadow Collector, and will be the leading lady in Shadow Valley Book III, The Shadow’s Son.

 

How old were you when you started writing?

I barely remember not writing. My first true efforts at creating stories for my own enjoyment was around Grade Three—so I would have been about 8. I remember lying on the floor of my bedroom writing in my scribbler for hours, happy within a world of my own making.

 

Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?

Ummm…a little bit of both? I’m the Post-it QUEEN. When lines of dialogue or internalizations strike me, I quickly determine which character the line suits best, then tack it up on the windowsill in front of my computer. As for plotting…? Eh. I’m getting better at the whole ‘detailed outline’ thing, but I’m a pantser at heart. I often begin writing the middle of the story and work my way forward and back till I’m done.

 

Describe Author Bonnie Randall’s perfect evening.

The soundtrack to a perfect evening is conversation with no pretense, coupled with good food, great wine, and the percussion of a LOT of laughter. Oh, and music. There must be music. 

 

Where do you get your inspiration?

Where do I not get inspiration? Atmosphere itself inspires me greatly; anywhere or anything that’s resonant with eerie or uneasy energy will light my imagination. Beyond that, music remains my most reliable muse. Like I said, I always build a playlist for my novels…but sometimes the playlist builds the novel. 

 

What do you do when you get a writer's block?

I begin crafting the scene I want to write instead of the scene I should write and, like I mentioned, this often results in my manuscript looking like the literary equivalent of a patchwork quilt; the end and the middle completed before the beginninghas even been rough-drafted. I don’t fret though; every scene can be transitioned together by and by. The important part is to keep the faucet flowing, so to speak. 

 

Who is your favorite author?

I have a few: Shari Lapena and Lucy Foley are pacing GODDESSES. Sarah Addison Allen and Heather Webber craft gorgeous magical realism (I’d love to write magical realism, but every time I try, it ends up too spooky and creepy. Drat!). Karen McManus is my go-to for YA mysteries (another absolute rock star!) and, when I want to tap into some creepy conspiracies to really jump-start the darkest cellars of my imagination, the late, legendary, indie journalist David McGowan’s work tosses me down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. 

 

Best book you ever read.

An impossible question! I am so fickle that way—I have read so many amazing stories in my lifetime. But, if my feet were put to fire, I’d have to say The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. With its rich, complex characters, and even richer setting, it has spoken to me the loudest and for the longest…and has richly inspired my own imagination. 

 

Last book you read.

A true crime memoir titled You Have a Very Soft Voice, Susan by Susan Fensten - a fascinating (and deeply disturbing) examination of a term many have become familiar with since the advent of social media: “Gaslighting”.

 

What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?

I am a clinical social worker by trade, and I travel across the country, teaching human service professionals what to expect from individuals, organizations, and entire communities after a traumatic event has occurred—and how to foster healing and resiliency after those tragic experiences. It is intensely satisfying work which comes with the added bonus of informing myfiction; understanding the impact of trauma allows me to craft authentic reactions and relationships from and for my characters. So, if I could create a dream job given that mash-up? I’d offer workshops to writers who want to broaden or fine-tune their skills in writing about trauma and tragedy with realistic emotions and expectations. 

 

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?

I had the privilege of being taught by not just one influential English teacher in high school but two: Mr. Kjearsgaard and Mr. Hawco. These extraordinary men imparted upon me the joy of reading, encouraging me to explore a wide berth of genres and voices. They also saw, in my own writing, what they determined was talent, and as such they said “Yes you can, and yes youshould” to this little prairie gal who had doubts that someone from middle-of-nowhere Alberta had anything worthwhile to say as an author. 

 

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?

So many choices, but in keeping with the notion of ‘trauma-informed writing’, I’d like to choose JK Rowling’s Severus Snape, and our conversation would be me engaging him as a therapist, not as a peer. I’d love to give Snape the opportunity to share how he internally marshalled the great pain of loss and unrequited love, transitioning it into courage, loyalty, and self-sacrifice. I would want to give this extraordinary character the opportunity to be emotionally healed…instead of having to forever be the rescuer. In other words, I’d love to provide Snape an audience to his hurt.

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?

I would implore them to never ignore their desire to write. Start anywhere: journaling, building mood boards, short stories, poems, anecdotes—doesn’t matter. Just put pen to paper and let the words guide you. There is no greater gift than the combination of imagination and vocabulary. So…find your voice. Let it speak.

 

We’d love to have some social media links to follow you. 

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bonnie-Randall/author/B00IZ06KQA?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

 

I would love more followers on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063601869120

 

Buy link: 

I am so excited to introduce The Shadow Collector to more readers! 

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Collector-Natalya-Owen-ebook/dp/B0C4G7XGXN/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=TAM0b&content-id=amzn1.sym.c3314f77-20fc-4bcf-a8e9-f0c47346c9da%3Aamzn1.symc.50e00d6c-ec8b-42ef-bb15-298531ab4497&pf_rd_p=c3314f77-20fc-4bcf-a8e9-f0c47346c9da&pf_rd_r=BBFQXHQA9ETPBQ46YA4N&pd_rd_wg=VQWwQ&pd_rd_r=fd720cc8-086b-45fb-bd71-dfced509923c&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

 

And folks are welcome to also cruise my website

www.bonnierandallstories.com

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