It’s my favorite time of year, when ghosts and black cats roam the land. I’m participating it two fabulous deep-discount promotions this month with dozens of fellow authors at Book Funnel. Just click on the links below and browse to your heart’s horror … er, content. You’ll find lots of books to choose from at killer prices.

My two books, both reduced to .99 cents for this promo, are Black Cat White Paws: A Maggie Dahl Mystery, and my supernatural chiller, A House in the Woods.

Books with a Halloween Twist CLICK HERE

Paranormal Round-Up CLICK HERE

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm

“My Own Words” by Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams
c.2016, Simon & Schuster
$30.00 / $39.99 Canada 374 pages

Please and Thank You.

Those were The Magic Words you learned at your mother’s knee, the ones that opened doors and gained favors. That was also when you learned something important, as you’ll see in “My Own Words” by Ruth Bader Ginsburg (with Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams): letters, when properly collected, can move mountains. 

Born in working-class Brooklyn in 1933, Joan Ruth Bader was her parents’ second daughter; sadly, their eldest died of meningitis just fourteen months later.

Theirs was a close-knit neighborhood, and the family had many of the luxuries of the day. Bader attended public school a block from her home; there, because of other girls in her class who shared her first name, she started using her middle name “for more official purposes.” She was raised to be independent and was an avid reader, a notably talented storyteller, and she loved gymnastics but “was not… especially fond of math.” And since she grew up in the shadow of World War II and was Jewish, she was fully aware of anti-Semitism.

Fasten your headphones! The audiobook edition of Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller is now available. Narrated by the terrific Sean Rhead, Beautiful Corpse is the second book in the Marshall James series, to be concluded in 2021 with a final installment. It’s 1984. Marshall survived the perils of Murder at the Paisley Parrot and believes he’s living happily ever after with his detective boyfriend, Mac McElroy. Life seems perfect, until everything goes wrong …

About Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller

It’s been over a year since Marshall James first became intimately familiar with murder. He’s six months sober now and happily living with the love of his life, LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. Despite the coming storm of AIDS and its devastating toll on the world Marshall knows, his dark days seem to be behind him. Then one night he says the wrong thing, storms out in anger, and walks straight into a nightmare. Someone is setting him up to take the fall for a beautiful corpse. But who would do something so evil, and so planned? Within hours he finds himself running from the police and the mob, and running toward a killer he must apprehend before the only chance left is no chance at all.

Listen to a sample here:

Are you listening? I have a limited number of complimentary audiobook codes available for all of my audiobooks, including the brand new Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller, narrated by Sean Rhead! Just click the image or HERE to email your request for a code. Please specify the title(s), and a US or UK code. You can read about them all at my Audible author’s page. So enjoy … and fasten your headphones!

Available Titles:

Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller
A House in the Woods
Black Cat White Paws: A Maggie Dahl Thriller
Murder at the Paisley Parrot: A Marshall James Thriller
Last Room at the Cliff’s Edge
Death by Pride: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
Pride and Perilous: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
Murder at Pride Lodge: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
Stop the Car: A Kindle Single
Strange Company: Nature Essays by Jean Ryan

Along with my semi-regular Kindle eBook giveaways (August winners were just announced the morning) I’m offering free Kindle downloads of both Marshall James Thrillers. The audiobook for Beautiful Corpse, narrated by Sean Rhead, is coming out any day now. I’ll be offering free download codes to subscribers, so look for an email on that soon. In the meantime, click on over to Amazon and enjoy these two book for free for the next 5 days!  And remember, reviews are a writer’s best friend! Please consider leaving one.

Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller (Book 2)

“It was 1984. Prince ruled the airwaves. The Los Angeles Olympics had come and gone, taking with it a spotlight that had shone harshly on the city’s night crawlers and left them thankful for the the shadows. AIDS was spreading its dark, black, wings over us all, and I was a happy guy. At least I thought I was, until things took a sudden turn for the deadly.” – Marshall James

It’s been over a year since Marshall James first became intimately familiar with murder. He’s six months sober now and happily living with the love of his life, LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. Despite the coming storm of AIDS and its devastating toll on the world Marshall knows, his dark days seem to be behind him. Then one night he says the wrong thing, storms out in anger, and walks straight into a nightmare. Someone is setting him up to take the fall for a beautiful corpse. But who would do something so evil, and so planned? Within hours he finds himself running from the police and the mob, and running toward a killer he must apprehend before the only chance left is no chance at all.

Another month, another great giveaway. Congratulations to Marie, Georgie, Lorna, Jackie and Linda. Each of them has won a Kindle edition of my book Black Cat White Paws: A Maggie Dahl Mystery for the month of August.

My next giveaway will be something special in October. It’s my birthday month, and my favorite holiday – Halloween! Look for details of something fabulous, with even more winners. Until then, settle back in your custom seat on the mystery train and enjoy any of my books. I’ll soon be finishing up the new Kyle Callahan Mystery after four years of waiting to hear from this fan favorite. Kyle and his husband Danny have left New York City for a life in Lambertville, New Jersey. They open a bed and breakfast, unaware that death has checked in with the rest of the guests. A true whudunit, Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery will keep you guessing till the shocking finale.

Mark

 

 

Very excited to sign off on this audiobook edition of ‘Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller,’ narrated by Sean Rhead. It will be out soon, and I’ll have complimentary download codes available. Here’s a sample …

About Beautiful Corpse

“It was 1984. Prince ruled the airwaves. The Los Angeles Olympics had come and gone, taking with it a spotlight that had shone harshly on the city’s night crawlers and left them thankful for the the shadows. AIDS was spreading its dark, black, wings over us all, and I was a happy guy. At least I thought I was, until things took a sudden turn for the deadly.” – Marshall James

It’s been over a year since Marshall James first became intimately familiar with murder. He’s six months sober now and happily living with the love of his life, LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. Despite the coming storm of AIDS and its devastating toll on the world Marshall knows, his dark days seem to be behind him. Then one night he says the wrong thing, storms out in anger, and walks straight into a nightmare. Someone is setting him up to take the fall for a beautiful corpse. But who would do something so evil, and so planned? Within hours he finds himself running from the police and the mob, and running toward a killer he must apprehend before the only chance left is no chance at all.

Congratulations to Julia, David, Eric, Yvonne and Melanie, the five lucky winners of July’s giveaway!.. Each of them received a complimentary Kindle edition of my supernatural chiller, ‘A House in the Woods.’

We’re into August now, and that means … another fabulous giveaway! Just enter the RafflePress giveaway with your email, and I’ll draw 5 lucky winners at random on August 31. Be sure to click the confirmation link you receive! Check your spam folder so you don’t miss it.

About ‘Black Cat White Paws: A Maggie Dahl Mystery’

“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.

Black Cat White Paws finds Maggie moving from New York City to Lambertville, an idyllic river town with artists, restaurants, incredible landscapes, and enough local characters to populate a murder mystery. Join Maggie, Gerri, Checks the cat, and a cast of colorful small town natives just as eager—and as shocked—to find a killer in their midst.”

Prefer to listen? Check out the audiobook edition of Black Cat White Paws, narrated by the wonderful Holly Palance.

Another excellent hit job from The Lincoln Project, this one taking aim at Trump’s and his consigliere Bill Barr’s Storm Trooper tactics. With his American Brownshirts, Trump is testing to see how easy it would be to take over the cities and the nation. We can’t let them.

Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we take a look at today’s hot headlines, masks as chin guards, food trends, and a save-the-date for The Twist’s 5th anniversary!

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

Copyright 2020 MadeMark Publishing

I was browsing the Independent Book Publishers Association website (I’m a member) and I came across an interview with Liz Frances, founder of Street Noise Books. This is one to take note of for those of dedicated to inclusivity in publishing and writing. From the intro:

“One of IBPA’s core values is inclusivity, working towards a publishing industry where everyone can tell their story and find themselves in the content they read. Accordingly, from the moment we learned about the new independent publishing company Street Noise Books last year, we wanted to showcase their work. Not only is their mission to give a voice to marginalized communities but they also actively seek talent in untraditional ways.”

Read the interview to find why the mission of inclusivity, queerness, feminism and intersectionality are core values for Street Noise Books, and encounter the dedication and erudition of its founder. A fabulous read!

Among their titles:

Stupid Black Girls: Essays from an African American
By Aisha Redux (Author), Brianna McCarthy (Illustrator)

A provocative collection of narrative essays with a unique point of view.

In this book a first generation American New Yorker uses her bold voice to share life experiences through the lens of race, culture, and spirituality. Exploring topics ranging from night terrors, to schizophrenia, to gentrification, to the author’s personal September 11th story. Illustrated with stunning artwork created in response to the essays, this book is a unique collection.

Congratulations to: Bill, Arthur, Jan, Carolyn, and Greg! Their Kindle editions of ‘Death by Pride: A Kyle Callahan Mystery‘ have been sent. I also sent out a thank you to the non-winners, with an offer of free audiobook codes to all, ’cause that’s they kind of guy I am.

Watch for July’s giveaway, 5 Kindle editions of ‘A House in the Woods.’ Join my email list and be the first to know about author updates and freebies, never spam, never annoying. Happy Pride everyone! – Mark

NEXT UP FOR A JULY GIVEAWAY:

A House in the Woods
Country Living is Hell

Laurel and Jeremy Calloway have longed for a new life away from the chaos and confusion of New York City. Driving along a country road in New Jersey with a young real estate agent in the back seat, they almost miss it: a small house in the woods for sale. Laurel immediately thinks this could be the house for them, the house of their dreams, where a simpler life awaits. Laurel can finish her debut novel. Jeremy can look for a job in Philadelphia just an hour away. Stopping to take a look at the property, they meet the house’s caretaker, Eileen, and within a few weeks they find themselves the very lucky owners of their ideal home. But who are the mysterious old couple who’d put the house up for sale, having moved out months ago? Is Eileen more than a friendly neighbor? Who are the townspeople they meet, who all seem aware of the young couple now living in the house in the woods? And is it the house of their dreams, or of their nightmares?