Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

- Franz Kafka

People Who Are Rich by Saralyn Richard

The Write Way Café welcomes Saralyn Richard, who explores grief and murder among the wealthiest in her book Murder in the One Percent.

“There are people who have money and people who are rich.” 

–Coco Chanel

How much money does it take to be in the wealthiest one percent? Globally, because of worldwide income inequality, one needs a net worth of $871,320 (Credit Suisse, 2018). In the United States, that figure jumps to a net worth of $10,374,030.10 (DQYDJ). Whatever your definition of “wealthy” is, you probably should include the word, “relative” into the concept. 

Like most people, I’ve always had a certain fascination with the rich and famous. Not all of the rich and famous. Just the ultra-rich and ultra-famous. When I was younger and more naive, I lumped all people with money into a single group, like people of a certain race, religion, or philosophical bent.
 
Later I realized all people with money didn’t necessarily consider themselves rich, and they also didn’t necessarily consider themselves happy. How much money did it take to be rich, to be happy? And what about the source of the money? Was it better to inherit it, marry into it, earn it, or acquire it by nefarious means, as long as one wasn’t caught?
 
Some years ago I attended a birthday party that was a weekend retreat at a country mansion in horse country. As I partook of the elaborate meals, the rich music, the refined atmosphere, I imagined what might happen if one of the party guests turned up dead. How would everyone behave, and which ones might be suspects?
 
How far would privilege and power go to protect a person from being investigated for murder? How would greed play with grief during a murder investigation?
 
I decided there was an intriguing story there, and that became the basis for Murder in the One Percent. The mystery pulls back the curtain on how the wealthy live, love, and treat one another.
 
Clothes, furs, jewelry, furnishings, artwork, horses, cars, private airplanes, and other material possessions serve as important details of the setting, as well as constant
reminders of just how far outside the norm these characters are.

It would take a perceptive detective to brush the dazzle from his eyes enough to investigate and solve a murder in this milieu. Especially when the suspects appear to close ranks on him, and even more especially when the former President of the United States applies pressure.
 
What happens when a billionaire dies? Is his funeral any grander? Are his mourners any louder? Is his absence felt any more because of his great wealth?
 
Whether you’re in, whether you aspire to, or whether you’re just plain curious about the top one percent, you’ll gain insights from Murder in the One Percent. I know I did.


Someone comes to the party with murder in his heart and poison in his pocket.

"When old friends gather for a weekend retreat at a country mansion, no one anticipates how their lives will be changed—or that one of them will turn up dead. Remote and serene, the Campbells’ horse farm is the perfect setting for a lavish party. The guests, members of the country’s elite wealthiest one percent, several of them politically connected as well, indulge in delights befitting their station—gourmet food, fine wines, Cuban cigars—but greed, lust, and jealousy insinuate themselves into the party.

Playboy and former Secretary of the Treasury, Preston Phillips, brings his new trophy wife to the party, unaware that his first love, the woman he jilted at the altar years ago, will be there, enchanting him once more with her timeless beauty. A snowstorm, an accident, and an illicit rendezvous later, the dynamics crackle with tension.

When Detective Oliver Parrott is charged with solving the untimely killing of one of America’s leading financial wizards, he realizes this will be the case to make—or break—his career.

Murder in the One Percent offers relatable characters, memorable moments, surprising twists, and humorous insights. Dive into the world of the one percent, and you’ll come up intrigued and thoroughly entertained.

Amazon ebook        Barnes & Noble print book

Black Opal print book (autographed)


Mystery and children’s book author, Saralyn Richard, is a writer who teaches on the side. Some of her poems and essays have won awards and contests from the time she was in high school. Her children’s picture book, Naughty Nana, has reached thousands of children worldwide.

Murder in the One Percent, ©2018 Black Opal Books, pulls back the curtain on the privileged and powerful rich. Set on a gentleman’s farm in Pennsylvania and in the tony areas of New York, the book shows what happens when someone comes to a party with murder in his heart and poison in his pocket.
 
A member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Saralyn has written the sequel to Murder in the One Percent. Entitled, A Palette for Love and Murder, it is due to be released early in 2020. Her website is www.saralynrichard.com. 

Tuesday Special: Rainbow Vintner

GEZA TETRALLYAY
www.gezatatrallyay.com

Morgan Kenworthy-a Berkeley student studying abroad and a guest of the de Carduzacs, family friends who have a chateau in St. Emilion in France-uncovers a coup against the government of France. Soon after she arrives, a bombing at the Brassault Aviation plant kills several ministers. The investigation, led by General Tolbert, the head of French in­telligence and friend of Joseph de Carduzac, points to jihad­ists. However, clues Morgan unearths about Joseph's past suggest that the two blew up the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in 1985 and committed other nefarious acts while serving President Mitterand. After another explosion, killing most of the cabinet, Tolbert announces that he is in charge. As General Tolbert suspects she knows about the plots, Morgan's life and the life of her lover, Alex, Joseph's stepson, are in danger. Morgan tries to leave Europe for the US but is thwarted, and Alex is captured by the general's thugs. Now the two must rely on their wits, and their friends, for survival until they can convince the French Government who the real criminals are...

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Born in Budapest, Hungary, Geza escaped with his family in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution, immigrating to Canada the same year. He grew up in Toronto, attending the University of Toronto Schools, where he was School Captain. He graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Human Ecology in 1972 (after taking a break in his studies to work as a host in the Ontario Pavilion at Expo70 in Osaka, Japan). Geza was a Rhodes Scholar attending Oxford University and graduating with a BA/MA in Human Sciences in 1974; he completed his studies with a MSc in Economics from London School of Economics and Politics in 1975. Geza represented Canada as an epée fencer in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. He has twelve books published to date -- five thrillers, three memoirs, three poetry collections and one children's picture storybook. His poetry and articles have been published in journals in Canada and the USA.

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Monday Morsels: The Light at the Tunnel's End

THE LIGHT AT THE TUNNEL'S END

by Patricia Antone

Pushing himself, he does one more set of repetitions. The weights are set light for strengthening rather than muscle building. Upon finishing, he shifts to sit up on the bench. Tired from another sleepless night, he sighs.

The taunting memories wake him coated in a terror laced sweat. In the haze of his dreams, he hears the shouts of warning too late.

He stares frozen with nowhere to go when the swinging girder comes for him three stories off the ground. All he remembers is the pain when it collides with him. His clipboard and hat falling in time with his echoing cry of pain.

Men’s screams drift to him. The grip of the first man to reach him where he dangles precariously is painful in his desperation to keep Jan from falling to his death. 

~ ~ ~

“I got you. I got you,” Will tells him while shouting, “Hurry the hell up! I won’t let go.” It is a promise he hopes he can keep. “I got you,” Will repeats trying to keep Jan conscious by talking to him.

The second man joining them, a new hire Will barely knows, helps to drag him more on the girder, then tries to control the bleeding. Shifting to a more stable position, he removes his belt to use as a tourniquet.

“It’s gonna hurt,” he apologizes. “I gotta do it.”

Will tightens his grip. “Do it. He’s going to bleed to death.”

“Here, tie him down.” He removes his safety harness. “If he passes out, we could all fall.”

Will keeps one hand gripping Jan, as the other guy helps him to wrap the harness around and tie it off.

“Done. Hurry up.”

Jan remembers the feel of the leather biting into his thigh, the pain nearly making him pass out. His eyes roll back as the darkness closes in to escape it.

“No, Jan!” Will shouts. “Look at me. Don’t let go.”

“Hang on,” the other voice says seeming far away. “I can see flashing lights. Help is almost here. Hang on.”

It seems forever before a hook and ladder truck from fire rescue tears in to get him down, so they can race him to a hospital. 

~ ~ ~

Jan shakes away the memories. Bits and pieces of the whole accident still flash in and out in a haze of pain and panic. Many details are still not clear. No issue, he remembers more than enough, thanks.

Leaning to put his elbow on his right knee in habit, he nearly topples off the bench. A rude reminder that the accident cost him most of his right leg.

After nearly a month in the hospital, he is recovered enough to begin physical therapy. Once he rebuilds some lost strength and his stump heals, he will be fitted with a prosthetic leg. He refers to it as his newly acquired ‘peg leg’.

Maybe it was watching those Pirates of The Caribbean movies while recovering, but it helps him to deal with it. Not that he has a choice in the matter.

Looking around absently he sees his physical therapist (PT) guy, Kenneth, talking to a girl sitting on a bench. Recognizing her as one of Kenneth’s regulars, today he notices she hasn’t cried.

“That’s new,” he comments to himself.

An older woman usually bringing her, a loud fight usually starting up when the younger one tries to assert herself. The older one leaves mad as all hell after insulting the younger one. Instead of PT, she sits in an office Kenneth takes her to calm down. Once there she sits and cries for the entire slot she is scheduled.

Jan also knows, Kenneth drives her home sometimes. That happens on the days she shows up by cab. The cab driver who escorts her scolding her the whole way. Then he insists Kenneth call and ask dispatch for him if she needs a ride home.

He finds it odd Kenneth is real protective of her. He seems to be trying to be her friend. Then again, it looks as if she doesn’t have any. It is hard enough to ask for help. But to need it and have no choice in the matter? It is extremely shattering to one’s self-esteem.

“Time to make the donuts,” Jan mutters laying down and getting back to his exercises. Getting that new leg ASAP is his number one goal.

Unbeknown to him, Kenneth is giving the girl on the bench, who is one of his most concerning patients, the riot act.

“If you do not make it look like you are trying they will put you in a facility,” he snaps testily. “Don’t you care?”

“Blind people live on their own every day. I want to be left alone,” she answers.

Kenneth has a newsflash. “Your mother is convinced you are a danger to yourself. I get copies of your doctor’s reports. FYI, I read them, so I can help you.”

When she doesn’t answer that he takes another shot.

“I can’t help you if you don’t help yourself. You’re being labeled as an emotional grenade. That is an issue if you want to live independently.”

The feel of his hand closing around hers is a surprise, yet she doesn’t move.

“I want you safe, Lucy. Even if it is a facility of your family’s choosing. The question of whether you want it or not will not matter,” he warns.

“They can’t put me where I don’t want to be,” she argues, hoping she sounds convincing.

“Let’s hope,” Kenneth says to that. He keeps going even though he is batting a big fat zero. “Did you eat today? You’re still too thin,” he remarks. “Make sure you are eating. At least one meal a day?”

When she doesn’t answer, he sighs in frustration, giving up for now.

“If you need me call.” With the release of her hand, she listens to his footsteps fade.

She sighs. As she has no appetite, she barely she chokes down what food she does eat. The lecturing has it seem like he cares. Maybe it is not good for his references to include patients he failed?

###

Waking up was just the beginning ....... 

The moment of the cars colliding throws Lucy Cuse screaming into darkness. Now she just wants to be left alone. The accident took everything from her. 

It took her job and her sight., but most of all, it took her independence. A move to an ‘assisted living’ facility for ‘her safety’ is out of the question. Lucy is not going anywhere she doesn’t want to. No one is making her! 

Multiple times per week she goes to physical therapy sessions. She hates it but if she goes and does ‘just enough’, it keeps the well-meaning at bay. 

Jan, who is recovering from his own horrifying accident three stories up, has been watching Lucy for weeks. She tugs at him, and he can’t explain why. When he is asked to “lend a hand” to motivate her, he reluctantly agrees. The blind leading the cripple? There is joke in there he is sure. 

Lucy is struck dumb by Jan’s offering of friendship. He lets her cry and scream, while he doesn’t tell her she is wrong to feel the way she does. In a way, he has walked a mile in her shoes. Even if it is on crutches. 


Lucy takes his offer of friendship and slowly discovers she is still a woman. Jan in turn finds himself falling for the beautiful, yet stubborn woman who truly believes she will get her sight back. 

When hearts get involved the rules change. Each want what they want, but is the light at the tunnel’s end that train each of them has already encountered? Or will they find their way out of the tunnel and into the light that awaits them, together?

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📚  Find Patricia Antone here:      Facebook          Authorsite

And what, you ask, does writing teach us?

First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right.

- Ray Bradbury

Putting the Facts in Fiction

The Write Way Café welcomes Tracy Solheim, an intrepid researcher who appreciates the value of in-person research.

People seem to think the best thing about being an author is that we writers get to sit around in our pajamas all day as we create. While definitely a perk of the profession, most of us do get dressed every day. In my case, mainly because I’d fall asleep at my desk if I didn’t!

What’s really the best part of being a writer in my opinion? The research. Okay, I hear some authors and even readers groaning out there, but nothing makes fiction more authentic than getting the facts right. And that means not only surfing the web but getting your hands dirty, too. Kicking a few tires and walking in a character’s shoes. I call it the “Walter Mitty Component” of the job. Definitely more fun than wrestling a plot into submission.

Whether it’s interviewing an NFL placekicker or trailing a wedding photographer around for a weekend, I try to invest the time it takes to get down to the nitty-gritty of my characters’ actions and motivations. My Second Chances series is based in a historic B and B on the coast of North Carolina. The fictional inn is a compilation of several inns I’ve stayed in up and down the East Coast, right down to the tigerwood molding from a B and B in Asheville.

But when it came down to writing my current romantic suspense novels, I really had to up my research game. The series centers around an unbreakable bond of brotherhood binding together three West Point classmates who, after serving in the Army, now work for the U. S. Secret Service. The trio of special agents, dubbed the Heartthrob, the Brain, and the Enforcer, are devoted to their demanding jobs, thriving on the daily pressure and adrenaline. They work hard and play even harder in the Capitol Hill townhouse they share. All three vow to remain bachelors, knowing long-term relationships are not conducive to a career in the Secret Service. Or so they think!

Having lived and worked in Washington, D.C. for many years, I was familiar with the monuments, the Metro, and the restaurants my characters visit. I’ve also been inside the White House a time or two—just not the residence or the pastry kitchen tucked away on a mezzanine floor. Fortunately for all of us, the lovely folks at the White House Museum host an amazing interactive website. And yes, I used my author powers to make my heroine a pastry chef because I wanted to spend two weeks hanging out in the pastry kitchen of my local country club. My baked goods weren’t as pretty as the chef’s—not even close—but I can say I did my part taste-testing for quality.

The action scenes necessary to make the series suspenseful were a different story altogether. I’d never handled a gun much less fired one. My heroine needed to kill one of her assailants to protect a Secret Service agent—a bit of a role reversal plot twist, I know. To get a feel of what it would be like to shoot a gun for the first time, I toddled off to Writer’s Police Academy, a conference offering an interactive, hands-on experience for writers to learn all aspects of homicide investigation and forensics. There, law enforcement professionals instructed other attendees and me in the proper handling of a Glock. The experience was invaluable when trying to describe how my character would feel the first time firing a gun.

One of the other characters in the series is a zoologist who works with elephants. Of course, that meant I had to get up close and personal with pachyderms, too. Thanks to the wonderful Friends of the National Zoo, not only was I able to make sure I had the layout for the elephant trails exhibit correct, I was able to handle the elephant poop. Yeah, they weren’t letting me get THAT close to the elephants, but it was a day I’ll always remember, that’s for sure!

Tell me authors, what fun/crazy things have you done to research your books?

Here's a peek at SHOT IN THE DARK (Tule Publishing), book 2 in the series:

If there’s anything zoologist Josslyn Adams abhors more than guns, its poachers. She’s made it her life’s mission to eliminate the animal thieves from existence. But when an African “fact-finding” mission with a wildlife conservationist group results in one of their members being shot, the entire team must escape for their lives through the jungle. In order to obtain sanctuary from the local government, Josslyn calls in a favor from her older half-sister, the First Lady of the United States.

After suffering a serious concussion in the line of duty, Adam Lockett, commander of the Secret Service’s elite team of snipers, is forced to work on a boring protective detail. Making matters worse, he’s assigned to guard the First Lady’s wild-child younger sister, a woman hell bent on ditching her detail every opportunity she gets. Still, Adam is determined to bide his time until he is cleared by the doctors to return to the job he’s best at, even if the tree-hugging pacifist with the smoky eyes makes his job difficult.

Josslyn is back in Washington D.C. hot on the trail of a major importer of illegal animal products. The last thing she needs is a gun-toting, tower of testosterone dogging her every move. But when the poachers discover who is on to them, it’s suddenly Josslyn’s skin that needs saving. As the chase heats up, so does the passion between the two. Can these two opposites find happiness? Or is it just a shot in the dark?

Grab your copy at any of these fine retailers:

Amazon        Amazon CA        Amazon UK        Amazon AU

B&N        Google        iBooks        Kobo

About Tracy: After years of writing reports and testimony for Congress, Tracy Solheim decided to put her creative talents to better use. She’s the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary sports romance, romantic suspense, and small-town women’s fiction. When she’s not writing, she’s practicing her curling—bottles of wine, that is. She’s been known to cook dinner, but no more than two nights in a row. Most days, she’d rather be reading, which to her is just necessary research. She lives in the suburb of Atlanta with her husband and a neurotic Labrador retriever. Her two adult children visit, but not often enough. (See the note above about cooking.) Check out what she’s up to next at www.tracysolheim.com. Connect with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TracySolheimBooks/ or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TracyKSolheim. Follow her on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tracy-solheim.

Never Give Up? by @lcrandallwriter

In the heart of an author there are words.

These words string together to make sentences, then paragraphs. These words find homes in poetry, songs, scripts, short stories, and books. Writers long for their words to go into the world for others to read and think about, and maybe be changed by the words.

Recently I’ve heard a lot about writers struggling to find an audience or even minimal attention for their writing, and it’s discouraging. Writers are talking about giving up. It makes me sad, but I understand. Things have changed in publishing and it can feel like it’s just an up-hill battle stacked against us to see our writing flourish commercially.

I have danced the dance of giving up or not giving up writing many times. I posted a graphic on Instagram not very long ago stating I was done with asking myself that question. I concluded, I write, no more questioning. But still, like many writers these days, I looked at my writing career

recently and questioned if I should continue or let it go. So it was delightful to see what Facebook offered me yesterday. It was a Memory post of four years ago. It’s the graphic at the top of this page. It was delightful because it was from a moment when I vowed I would not give up on my writing or my life and settle. For me, writing has been a tool of self discovery. They have gone hand in hand. So I have taken satisfaction in that pairing to grow and thrive in life. Four years ago my books were being released regularly and I still questioned things: were they good enough; did I have what it took to promo successfully; and could I keep writing with self-doubt hounding me? As I then vowed to persevere and never give up, I favored sayings that bolstered my determination. A real writer can’t quit. Follow your heart. Believe in yourself and make your dreams come true, essentially themes on "Never give up."

Now days, I see changes in the publishing world and notice the numbers of authors fearing they have no choice but to quit. It’s expensive to support an indie publishing career and it can be exhausting. I respect those who decide to stop because it’s not working out as they dreamed. Why not put energy and heart into something new? It’s a choice with no shame or regret if it’s made consciously, I feel. And what I believe about my writing choices isn’t a statement about any other writers’ decision.

For me, it’s not at all easy to ignore a passion for words. So though contemplation of quitting happens, it’s not a serious thought. I have decided to refocus, but not to change fields, just to open up to changes and use them to adapt. Writing is a passion but it’s also a business. I have decided that instead of insisting my outcomes must be the things I have always wanted with writing, I am looking at new ways that make me relevant. I’m asking questions with an open mind about how I can promote work when sales are low and I don’t want to go in debt, and considering newer platforms I have ignored because of my insistence on having what I’ve always wanted. I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, but I do know I’m not done with writing.

I don’t believe in giving up writing. No, I am going to write, knowing that at a point in the future I’ll cut back or stop. But it will be because the timing is right and I’ll make that choice with no regrets or books left unwritten in my heart.

Are you a writer struggling with your writing career? What are you doing to achieve your goals or make a decision that is best for you. Share?