• Giveaways

    Enter to Win One of 5 Paperback Editions of ‘Cupid Shot Me’ Mystery Anthology (Ends March 1)

    Enter to win one of 5 paperback editions of the just-released ‘Cupid Shot Me: Valentine Tales of Love, Mystery & Suspense (A Queer Mystery Anthology Book 1).’ The anthology includes my own ‘Paper Hearts: A Marshall James Thriller.’ Winners will be selected and notified March 1! Only ships within the U.S.

    About ‘Paper Hearts’

    It’s now or never, as Marshall decides to search for the love of his life thirty years after he’d been told they were finished forever. Mac McElroy was an LAPD homicide detective back when Marshall lived in Hollywood and trouble came calling for him once, twice, three times over. The third time was not the charm: it nearly got Marshall killed, and it put their love on ice for the next three decades. Will he find Mac? Is Mac even still alive? And exactly what happened that Valentine’s Day, 1992, when it all came crashing down? Find out in ‘Paper Hearts.’

  • Mark McNease Mysteries,  Podcasts

    Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast #35: 6 Chapter Sample of ‘Black Cat White Paws: A Maggie Dahl Mystery,’ Narrated by Holly Palance

     

    Welcome to the first Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast of 2022! I’m finishing up the second mystery in the Maggie Dahl series, ‘Open Secrets,’ and should have that out by the spring. In the meantime, enjoy a 6 chapter audiobook sample of the first book. ‘Black Cat White Paws‘ was narrated by the fabulous Holly Palance, and if I decide to do an audiobook of the new one, she’s the only choice for it. You can hear my interview with Holly on the One Thing or Another podcast HERE.

    About Black Cat White Paws

    In Black Cat White Paws, recently widowed Maggie Dahl finds herself faced with challenges on all fronts: life alone in a new town, running a business she and her husband had dreamed of and started together, and now pursuing a killer. Her sister, Gerri, moves from Philadelphia to Lambertville, New Jersey, to support her sister and start a new life of her own. Together, the women search for a murderer, helped in critical ways by their neighbor’s cat. A black cat with white paws. A cat whose independence sets it all in motion and sees it through to the end.

  • New,  The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #183: Pence Pulls the Pin, Active Shooter Highlights, Super Bowl Funday, and the Week in Headlines

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we give props to former VP Pence, weigh in on the new workplace norm (look! it’s an active shooter!), dish up the Super Bowl, and scan the headlines. Twist Top picks and our listicles, too!

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com

  • The Weekly Readlines

    The Weekly Readlines Februrary 9

    The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) offers news you can use every Wednesday morning.  Browse the archives here. And coming this spring: an audio edition of the Readlines! 

      BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES 

    First the good news: Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 70 years on the throne!

    Mike Pence said Trump was wrong to claim the VP can overturn an election (cue vicious attacks). And the national Republican Party declared beating Capitol police with flag poles and smearing excrement on the Senate walls is ‘legitimate political discourse.’ What a world!

  • LGBTSR,  Restaurant Reviews

    Restaurant Review: 5 Unbeatable Yums at Ferry + Main (New Hope, PA)

    By Mark McNease

    Shared from LGBTSr.com. Restaurant reviews are based on a 5 Yum scale, 5 meaning put it on your must list, 1 meaning eat at your peril.

    Ferry + Main
    10 W. Ferry Street
    New Hope, PA 18939
    Website: www.loganinn.com/
    Tel: (215) 862-2300
    Spend Meter: $$$$
    Yums: 5+ (food and service)

    This slideshow requires JavaScript.

    Some food is so good it’s criminal, and that’s what you’ll be treated to at Ferry + Main, the restaurant inside New Hope’s renovated Logan Inn. The Inn was undergoing upgrades for several years as it was transformed from a well-known local inn to a luxury establishment where everything is meant to impress, and does. The decor, the staff, the atmosphere, and, yes, the prices: the Logan Inn is one of those places where you get what you pay for, in the best ways.

    The restaurant is all wood and brick, with arched ceilings and a large working fireplace in one of the two main seating areas. The first time we went there, for Thanksgiving, the place was packed and we were seated in a raised area away from the thick of things. That was better for us, since the acoustics in this restaurant amplify the noise. There’s nothing to absorb sound, so if you’re seated near the kitchen and fireplace, be prepared for the echo of voices bouncing off the ceiling and walls. There’s also a popular bar in the space, which adds to the volume as well as to the ambience. Is that a criticism? Not really. Having lived in New York City for twenty-five years, I’m familiar with loud restaurants. But if they’re offering tables away from the main activity, take one.

  • The Weekly Readlines

    The Weekly Readlines February 2

    The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) offers news you can use every Wednesday morning.  Browse the archives here.  

      BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES 

    First the good news: Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement. President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to nominating the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, while conservatives began their smear campaign and accusations of quota-filling (having apparently never heard of Thurgood Marshall’s replacement).

    Texas indulged its inner fire starter and began pulling LGBTQ and race-related book titles from school shelves in record numbers. Florida, neck-and-neck in the race to erase, readied a bill to prohibit schools and private corporations from telling White snowflakes that they may not be the most special people ever. So discomforting!

  • New

    Release Day Has Arrived! Love is a Mystery 11 Times Over in New Anthology, ‘Cupid Shot Me: Valentine Tales of Love, Mystery & Suspense’

    Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like murder! Prepare for a bloody Valentine’s Day with a heart stopping new collection of LGBTQ mysteries, thrillers and suspense short stories – mine included! With an introduction by iconic gay mystery author Michael Nava, and including eleven top-notch short stories from some of the best writers in the genre, ‘Cupid Shot Me: Valentine Tales of Love, Mystery & Suspense’ will keep you on the edge of your seat with each journey into love and homicide. NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON and at select locations listed below.

  • Dreamshaping

    On Dreamshaping: An Inside Job

    Mark McNease

    It’s not the thing the emotion attaches to, it’s the emotion.
    It’s not the person or event the anger attaches to, it’s the anger.
    It’s not the thoughts around which the confusion swirls, it’s the confusion itself.

    When I’m consumed by an emotion, even something as simple as anger aimed at another driver on the road, it’s the emotion that generates my state of mind, not the other driver. So many people have a need be angry, or even enraged, without ever comprehending that the object of their rage is not the issue: it is the rage, and the need for it, that lies at the heart of the experience.

  • Podcasts,  The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #182: Florida Goes Dark, Subreddit Foot Longs, M is for Malaise, and the Week in Headlines


    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we consider Florida’s MAGA remake, hang out with the Reddit trolls, express the general malaise settling across the land, and offer up our weekly Twist Tops, headlines and listicles.

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com

  • New

    Love is a Mystery 11 Times Over in New Anthology, ‘Cupid Shot Me: Valentine Tales of Love, Mystery & Suspense’

    What better way to start the new year than with a thrilling new collection of LGBTQ mysteries, thrillers and suspense short stories – mine included! With an introduction by iconic gay mystery author Michael Nava, and including eleven top-notch short stories from some of the best writers in the genre, ‘Cupid Shot Me: Valentine Tales of Love, Mystery & Suspense’ will keep you on the edge of your seat with each journey into love and murder. NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER.

  • The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #181: Facials Recognition, the Kindness of Strangers, Best New Laws of 2022, and More!

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we stay positive in the new year. Suggested remedies for our national malaise include facials and guy-pampering, seeing the good in evil people, celebrating the best new laws of the land, and expensive vacations no one we know can afford.

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com

  • The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #180: Party Like It’s 2022! Headlines, Shoutouts, Sound Effects and More!

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose for our first show of the new year, also known as The Year Of Our Pandemic 2022. Will it ever end? How much do we care? Find out as we talk about the best, the worst, and our Big Boo picks for the Boo Year! But seriously, life is short. Join us while we have a blast off into January and beyond.

    Have your own Twist Top recommendation to share? Email us at Tops @ TheTwistPodcast.com and we’ll include it on the show!

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com

  • New

    A Subscriber Starts My Year Off Right!

    I don’t often get responses to my subscriber emails, unless you consider unsubscribing a response, so this one made my day:

    “Just want to say that your newsletters are among the most entertaining things in my inbox. Thanks for helping me (and others) get through these very challenging times.
     
    Cheers,
    DC
    An expat in Flanders, Belgium”