Killer Nashville, shiny and bright

I always have to catch my breath after a conference, and this one is no exception. As a card-carrying introvert, being social for extended lengths of time totally zaps me. It's like I end up drawing energy from the days ahead while I'm there because I want to see and do so much.

From the moment I arrived at Killer Nashville 2015, I felt like I'd come home again. The group at registration are so sweet to let me hang out with them on Friday morning. They do all the hard work of fielding questions and being there for the entire conference. And they're all volunteers!

The hostess with the mostest: Jaden (Beth) Terrell

Conference manager Jaden  (Beth) Terrell has her fingers on the pulse of the conference at all times. Just about anytime on the conference Friday, there's a line of people waiting to talk to her about something important.

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The Killer Nashville Anthology got a lot of buzz at the conference. I am proud to have had a story in the collection. The book hit the Top 100 list on Kindle for Anthologies on the second day of it's release. Proceeds from this book benefit new and/or struggling writers. "High Noon at Dollar Central," the prelude to my ongoing Dreamwalker series, is in Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded. Check out the anthology at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I barely had time to say hello to my pals Paula Benson and Debra Goldstein, but someone did snap a pic or two of us with the anthology. I had some face time with C Hope Clark, another SEMWA board member, which was nice.

This year I found myself on three panels, two for the conference and one for the new BookCon. We had good attendance at all the panels and lots of questions about our topics of mysteries and genres.

Booklover's Bench founder, Terry Odell, posed for a quick pic with me

Thursday evening, Terry Odell and I hit "movie night" at the conference, with a short from John Gilstrap's high school days. The clip was funny, but the best part was running into friends there, both new and old. So nice to see Clay Stafford and Jacquie, Stacy and Ron Allen, and to meet some of the Atlanta SINC crew.

From left, Rae James, Terry Odell, Maggie, and Jenna Bennett

Friday, I was in session 4, "What's Your Genre?" ably moderated by Rae James, with co-panelists Jenna Bennett and Terry Odell.

Deni Dietz of Five Star and Maggie take a selfie

After a SEMWA board meeting at lunch, I filled in the afternoon giving critiques, and then capped off the day with editor Deni Dietz. A good time was had by all!

From left, Diane Kelly, Maggie, Jenna Bennett

Saturday, my first panel was session 35, "Secrets to Successful Series," led by Diane Kelly and with co-panelist Jenna Bennett.

Right after that, I headed over to the BookCon, where Jaden Terrell posed questions to  Jenna Bennett, Phyllis Goebell, and me on the topic of "Cozy Mysteries and Writing Across Genres."

Saturday afternoon I facilitated for Clay Stafford's interview of John Gilstrap.

The Southeast Mystery Writers of America reception preceded the banquet, and we had a great turnout for the SEMWA reception. The banquet was amazing, as always, with great food and live music. Next came speakers and award announcements. This year I was honored to announce the Silver Falchion Award for Best Mystery, which I won last year. And the winner was: Hunting Shadows, Charles Todd.

The conference continued for another day, but I was homeward bound. Lots of hugs and see you next year's came as I was leaving. I totally love coming to this conference and seeing my mystery writing friends.

Oddly, people kept approaching me to meet me, as if I was a big celebrity or something. I didn't know what to make of that and felt like Candid Camera might pop out from behind a column to reveal the prank. Whatever. I can pull off being a celebrity for a few days, if that's what's needed. But man oh man, am I glad to be home and comfy cozy.

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And in a marketing aside, Kindle Press has my mystery set in the future on sale for the entire month of November. If you like my writing but weren't too sure about the whole science fiction thing, I guarantee you, all the bad guys in G-1 are people! Check it out: G-1 on Kindle

Maggie Toussaint
aka Rigel Carson

My Series
Mossy Bog Series (romantic suspense)
Cleopatra Jones series (cozy mystery)
Dreamwalker series (paranormal mystery)
Guardian of Earth series (dystopian thriller)

Book Review: Crab Bait by Carrie Enge

Coming from an East coast fishing and crabbing community, I had to know how the same vocation played out on the other side of the U.S. I was pleased to see that crabbers and fishers are somewhat universal in their independent natures and love of their work.

Kindle Scout author Carrie Enge shines a fine light on small towns, on how the populace may seem fickle, on how the cops aren’t always on speaking terms with each other, and on how cases get solved. Her protagonist Dan Fields is far from the "up and coming" list on his force. Rather, he’s in the dog house, and when he gets assigned the case of the dead crabber, he gets way more oversight than he ever wanted.

In a nice twist, Dan, recently widowed, works to save his first serious girlfriend from a life in prison, when all of the town and his bosses think she’s the one who killed her brother the crabber. Though the crabber wasn’t a nice guy, Dan believes in justice for all and puts that need above his future as a law enforcement officer. Because of his passion for the truth, the case gets solved.

Another small town dynamic Enge got right was outsiders coming in and trying to make your place just like the one they left. Us small town folks like the way our towns are. Leave us to heck alone! Enge’s love for her adopted home state shines through her writing, a bright beacon of hope and respect.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Hot new anthology: Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded

Something fantastic this way comes.

A new mystery anthology hit the shelves yesterday and this is one you're not going to want to miss. Headliners Jeffrey Deaver and Anne Perry have offerings, as do Robert Dugoni, Jefferson Bass, Clay Stafford, Jaden Terrell, Mary Burton, Jonathan Stone, Paula Gail Benson, Dana Chamblee Carpenter, Stephen James, Donald Bain, Heywood Gould, and Maggie Toussaint. (and I hope I didn't leave anyone out!)

That's right! I was invited to participate in this anthology. My short story, "High Noon at Dollar Central" is the prelude to my popular Dreamwalker Mystery Series featuring amateur sleuth Baxley Powell.

Published titles in my Dreamwalker series include Gone and Done It and Bubba Done It. Doggone It is slated for June 2016, and Dadgummit will hopefully get picked up for 2017. I'm writing book 5 in this series now.

Here's the opener to High Noon at Dollar Central:

Whodunit? The question buzzed around the grocery store like a drunken hornet. I’d heard about last night’s burglary while at the hardware store and at the bank. Locals credited this string of robberies to sea monsters or aliens, neither of which had ever been sighted in Marion, Georgia.

Want more? Of course you do! Click on over to your fav bookstore and grab a copy of this anthology. Don't delay. These puppies are flying off the shelves.

Buy paperback at Amazon
Buy Kindle at Amazon
Buy paperback at B&N
Buy Nook at B&N

And while you're clicking on links, I hope you'll check my website bookshelf for all my titles. I write romantic suspense, cozy mystery, paranormal mystery, and dystopian thrillers. Something for every reading taste!

Happy Reading,

Maggie Toussaint
writing dystopian fiction as Rigel Carson

Book Review: Her Billionaire Bodyguard Bridegroom by Lisa Weaver

A chance encounter in Maine between a bodyguard and a skinny-dippying redheaded trespasser leaves Luke Reynolds wanting more. The redhead, Brianna Atwood, desperately needs a vacation and a chance to recover from the news that she’s an heiress.

A few months later Luke is tasked to be Brianna’s bodyguard and to his delight the chemistry between them is as hot as ever. But Luke can’t let down his guard. Last time he did that, his girlfriend died.

Brianna is the daughter of a housemaid and she’s seen the seamier side of life and seen how cruel men can be. Putting her heart on the line is not in her plans.

Threats on Brianna’s life bring them close and force them to rely on each other to outmaneuver her enemy.

A nice addition to Weaver’s Billionaire series. I’m always a sucker for love-at-first-sight stories.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Trumpet Fanfare! New Book from Maggie Toussaint

I have a new book out. This one is in my dystopian thriller series, and it follows my Kindle Scout winning G-1. I'm so happy to have this book available for fans of G-1.

In G-2, first contact is made with an alien race in an Earth 50 years from now. The aliens come in peace and seek to set up trade agreements. Countries round the globe wine and dine the aliens in hopes of finding favor and getting rich.

But my protagonist Dr. Zeke Landry knows a thing or two about aliens, especially this race. They are not to be trusted. He fights back using his trusty android sidekick, who's currently lovesick over being dumped by the hottest female music artist on the planet.

I'm posing an excerpt below, and I hope you'll check out this fantastic story.

ALSO, I WILL BE HAVING 3 FACEBOOK LAUNCH PARTIES. I have collected great prizes of necklaces related to the story, dolphin tattoos, dolphin pens, dolphin key rings, glow in the dark key tags, and more.

This pendant is representative of Zeke's keystone necklace he inherited from his father. This oddly shaped stone is an actual key to his secret hideout (shh, don't tell) under the lighthouse on Tama Island. I have 3 of these to give away, one at each Facebook party.

Mark your calendar so that you can make at least one of these Facebook parties, and if you want to try for a prize you missed, hit all three!

Thursday, Sept. 24 7-8 pm EDT, Book Launch Party
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 3-5 pm EDT, Bookies
Saturday, Oct. 17, 8-10 pm, Band of Dystopian Authors & Fans

EXCERPT FOR G-2

Shadows flickered in the darkness, black on black, Zeke’s mental gaze keenly attuned to the dark nuances. Frissons of dread peppered his thoughts, rattling his senses. He floated in the timeless void of space. Cold. Alone. Afraid.

Without warning, a line drive of thought energy socked him. He struggled to hold the link. The vermillion-tinged darkness reminded him of primordial ooze from which there was no escape. Was his planet destined to go the way of the dinosaurs?

Several voices spoke in uneasy unison, adding to Zeke’s disembodied sense. We have not been successful in dealing with Maleem. They take. They do not negotiate. They do not compromise.

His spirits plummeted. There had to be a way. He couldn’t give up on his planet without a fight. Someone, somewhere must have beaten the Maleem before. Earth needed to build on that success. He fired a query across the vacuum of space. Wait! What about those few stragglers on Drigil Eight? How did they survive?

BUY G-2 on Kindle

Maggie Toussaint
writing science fiction as Rigel Carson
visit my alter identity at RigelCarson.com

Book Review: Becoming Moon by Craig Hart

((Spoiler alert)) A young man who makes questionable choices becomes an imposter. In the heat of the moment he steals another author’s work. He rationalizes his actions, saying he deserved the success, but the move cost him friendships, his social life, and a chunk of his mental health. Years later, paranoid and compulsive, he has another opportunity to become "Someone," but he bolts at the first sign of trouble. In a diabolical plot twist, this character naturally flows into a second imposter role by legally assuming the rights to another’s name.

Kindle Scout winning Craig Hart’s book is deep, reminding us that we are a product of our choices. From the start, this protagonist bucked the system, choosing to go against tradition and his family’s wishes. Hart cleverly doesn’t name his protagonist, using him as an every man, a masthead for the universal screw-up inside each of us.

Coming from a fundamental Christian background, the main character has qualms about his actions, qualms that result in hallucinations and loathing of his father. The message of the book is: people lie, cheat, and steal. Some get away with it. Or do they?

Another reviewer mentioned this book as a modern classic. I second that endorsement. Hart draws you in with simple prose and a man-child driven by the need to succeed. In today’s world of "what’s in it for me?" it’s easy to see how this situation could transpire, even easier to see how morals and ethics are becoming less the fabric of our society and more like the out of date clothing shoved to the back of our closets. I predict you won’t quickly forget this excellent book.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: Peril by Ponytail by Nancy J Cohen

 

Hair stylist and amateur sleuth Marla Vail and her detective husband, Dalton, travel to a dude ranch out West for their delayed honeymoon at the invitation of Dalton’s cousins. Despite the starkly beautiful scenery and their warm welcome, something is amiss.

Troubles escalate at the dude ranch and at a neighboring cattle ranch, igniting a long-simmering feud. Tempers run hot, and there’s plenty of blame to go around. Plus, there’s something odd about the mountainside water bottling plant with armed guards.

A forest ranger is found dead, and a missing worker at a nearby ghost town also adds to the unease at the ranches and in town. Marla and Dalton are drawn into the investigation, and trouble soon finds them. The dangerous attacks make this personal. Who is behind these incidents and possible murders?

I enjoyed another delightful visit with Marla and Dalton, and after such a long and successful series, they feel like old friends. Additionally, the western setting brought back pleasant memories of a family trip years ago. Another winner from talented author Nancy J. Cohen. Saddle up and come along for a great read!

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews