Bullwhacked - Kathy Cohen

Bullwhacked

by Kathy Cohen

Retired bullrider Cooper Lydell is finally happy. After years of living in his truck, and eating more cheeseballs than he cares to count, meals are coming regularly. Sheets and pillowcases are the norm, too, and he’s got his eye on some property in Montana…all thanks to his very successful bullrider son Tommy.

And then, suddenly, Cooper is BULLWHACKED.

Son Tommy is gone . . . with a sexy blonde in a red Thunderbird. No more meal ticket, no more hotel rooms, no more RETIREMENT.

Cooper begins a grim search for Tommy, aided by a herd of his friends. Soon someone is following him. Then there’s a murder.

BIOGRAPHY

Kathy Cohen has lived in northern Virginia, Germany, Omaha, and the Washington D.C. area. She currently resides in Minneapolis. With a degree in English literature and some non-fiction credits, she has recently completed her first novel, Bullwhacked.

WEBSITE
Author - https://sites.google.com/site/kathykcohen/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KathyKloppCohen

PURCHASE
Amazon

ADDITIONAL INFO

Why I picked the rodeo circuit for my setting: I wanted to use something that was distinctive, but something I knew at least a little about. I grew up showing quarter horses in the Midwest, and my stepfather is a very good horse trainer. We went to rodeos for entertainment and marveled at how really dangerous the sport is. My stepfather once lent a pair of chaps to a contestant who was then killed in the arena. He felt too awkward to try to get the chaps back, under the circumstances.  

I thought it would be interesting to use such a dangerous sport and yet find some humor in it. Bull riders are pretty macho guys, so I thought I’d try to show something less stereotypical to readers.  I’d like to add that training and showing horses isn’t like lounging in a recliner and watching the television either. My stepfather suffered a fractured pelvis, brain trauma, and many lesser injuries over the years, and I had one side of my face kicked in by a horse. Thank heavens for plastic surgeons!

Fallout - Colin Nelson

Fallout

by Colin Nelson

He’s your average, ordinary neighbor, but he’s going to kill you.  He’s the homegrown fanatic next door with a plan and a group of true believers prepared to do the unthinkable—mass murder—to bring about a new world of peace and justice.  A county prosecutor, attempting to convict a murder suspect, stumbles upon the conspiracy.  Sounding the alarm to the authorities, no one believes her.  She risks everything—even her life—to expose the plot.  Will she be able to prevent annihilation?

BIOGRAPHY

Colin T. Nelson has been a criminal defense lawyer for over thirty years.  He’s married, has two adult children, and plays saxophone in a jazz group called, Blue Mood.

WEBSITE
http://www.colintnelson.com/

PURCHASE
Amazon
Barnes and Noble


OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS

Reprisal (Thriller)

PUBLISHER
North Star Press

Niobe's Tears - Tynan A Stone

Niobe's Tears

by Tynan A. Stone

In the throes of another dreary, cold Minnesota winter, a young prostitute is ritually murdered in a room of one of Saint Paul’s most prestigious hotels. One word is scrawled on the victim’s back, “NIOBE.” Saint Paul detectives Kelly Abner and Alan Matthews, former lovers, are struggling with the recent breakup of their romance while being confronted with one of the most bizarre murder scenes in Saint Paul history.

The murder hits a little too close to home when Detective Abner discovers her own personal connection the victim. Her partner must find the killer without her and decipher a mystery created by a serial killer bent on revenge. The contemporary myth of Niobe is played out on Saint Paul’s frozen streets, and the detectives must find the killer before one of their own is killed. Sympathy for the devil? Hardly, but the killer may just have a point.  
BIOGRAPHY

Tynan A. Stone is the pen name for Troy A. Stein. Troy Stein graduated with a BA in Human Services Administration from Metropolitan State University and currently works as a software developer with the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Originally from North Dakota, he has fallen in love with his “new” home state of Minnesota. When he’s not writing, you may find him geocaching or hiking in one of the many Minnesota State Parks. Niobe’s Tears is his first book. Whipfinish, a sequel to Niobe’s Tears is due out in June 2012.

WEBSITE

Author page: http://www.tynanastone.com
Book page:  https://www.facebook.com/NiobesTearsByTynanA.Stone

PURCHASE
Amazon

KILLING KATE - Julie Kramer

KILLING KATE
by Julie Kramer
Not all angels are divine...

As TV reporter Riley Spartz discovers a serial killer drawing angel-shaped chalk outlines around the bodies of his victims, she unearths an eerie legend dating back nearly a century. Tracking the story to an Iowa cemetery, Riley finds an infamous Black Angel monument that may be connected to the string of homicides throughout the Midwest. Now she is up against a delusional young man who believes the statue is urging him to kill.

"With her newest book, Julie Kramer's reputation and following ought to soar. This wonderfully sardonic look at murder through the eyes of TV journalist Riley Spartz is not only surprisingly poignant, but is a flat-out tour de force of harrowing twists and turns." —NYT bestselling author William Kent Krueger

"A snappy repartee, tauntingly written, drum tight in its execution. Just good ole' fashioned, gimmick-free storytelling that catches the reader with line one and commands you to finish." —NYT bestselling author Steve Berry

"Julie Kramer has one of the best new series in crime fiction....You'll be turning the pages all night." —NYT bestselling author Lisa Scottoline

"Julie Kramer's Killing Kate offers everything a novel should—a most engaging protagonist, page-turning thrills, plot twists, and a host of characters that jump off the page. I loved it!" —NYT bestselling author Heather Graham

BIOGRAPHY
Investigative television journalist Julie Kramer writes a series of thrillers: STAKING SUSAN, MISSING MARK, SILENCING SAM and KILLING KATE—set in the desperate world of TV news. Julie won the Minnesota Book Award and the RT Reviews Choice Award for Best First Mystery. Her novels have also been nominated for the Anthony, Barry, Shamus, Mary Higgins Clark, and Daphne du Maurier Awards. She formerly ran the I TEAM for WCCO-TV before becoming a freelance network news producer for NBC and CBS. She grew up on a family farm along the Minnesota-Iowa State line and now lives in White Bear Lake, MN.

WEBSITE
www.juliekramerbooks.com

Dorie LaValle - by Mary Desjarlais

Dorie LaValle

by Mary Desjarlais

A Minnesota story of moonshine and murder.

Survival takes many forms...but never the one you expect. Born on the first day of 1900, Dorie finds herself at odds with the world and out of options. When she married Louie LaValle, a local man with an inherited farm, but not the talent or stamina to run it, Dorie is anchored in poverty, childless and tied to someone she doesn't love.

Prohibition and desperation inspire Dorie to make and sell moonshine to the men in town; soon she makes more money than she ever dreamt possible. To expand production, she enlists freewheeling Victor, who builds a secret distillery in the woods. When Victor appears at her door with a gunshot wound, describing an ambush at the still, it's up to Dorie to protect her future -and Victor- against angry neighbors, a zealous sheriff and the Chicago mob.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary graduated from the College of St. Catherine in 1981. She lives in St. Paul and works for the MN AFL-CIO promoting diversity in the construction trades through teenage and adult training programs. She was a recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant and recently published her first novel, Dorie LaValle through North Star Press, Inc. of St. Cloud. Mary has enjoyed classes at the Loft and the University of Iowa’s Summer Writing Program and belongs to the Blue Moon Writing Group. When she is not working on her next novel, she is reading, gardening, or doing a variety of art projects.

WEBSITE
www.marydesjarlais.com

PURCHASE
Amazon.com

PUBLISHER
North Star Press, Inc.
info@northstarpress.com
http://ourbooks.myshopify.com

Why Did Santa Leave A Body - Brian Landon

Why Did Santa Leave A Body

by Brian Landon

Yuletide Tales of Murder and Mayhem from eleven of Minnesota's established and upcoming mystery writers. From holly jolly capers to ho-ho-homicides, this selection of stories is sure to please even the Scrooge-iest of readers. So put on your fuzzy slippers, wrap up in a cozy blanket, lock the front door, and keep your Smith & Wesson by your side. After all, this isn't just Christmas. This is Christmas in Minnesota -- the land of 10,000 mystery writers.


BIOGRAPHY
Brian Landon is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, a member of the Loft Literary Center and the Midwest Heartless Murderers, a group of mystery writers formed under the guidance of mystery author Ellen Hart. His humorous essays have appeared in several regional publications including the Minnesota Daily, the Wake, and the Wayfarer. His first Doyle Malloy mystery, "A Grand Ol’ Murder," was nominated for the Minnesota Book Award and the Midwest Book Award. The follow-up, "The Case of the Unnecessary Sequel," was released in Spring, 2010. He lives with his wife Jaclyn in Blaine, Minnesota. Visit Brian at www.BrianLandon.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, Dec. 2nd Once Upon a Crime, Minneapolis 7:00 PM

Saturday, Dec. 4th Barnes and Noble, Blaine 1:00 PM

Saturday, Dec. 11th Barnes and Noble, Apple Valley 1:00PM

Tuesday, Dec. 14th Common Good Books, St. Paul 7:30PM

BOOKS BY BRIAN LANDON






For more information on the anthology and upcoming events, go to www.BrianLandon.com

For more information on North Star Press, go to www.ourbooks.myshopify.com

Robert Siqveland - The Wilderness of Time

The Wilderness of Time

by Bob Siqveland

ISBN: 978-0-9741109-1-2

That ambiguous chasm that separates justice from the law affects our lives constantly, more so than we are probably willing to admit.

There are fundamental and universal truths that one faces every day, emanating from classic conflicts between justice and the law, conscience and the law, the subtlety of innocence versus the law, and innocence versus evil. In the end, they are mostly interpretive, and each of us ultimately must own our interpretations and the behaviors they spawn.

Why do most people cheer vigilante justice when it’s illegal? Lines and boundaries. Individual and societal. Subjective and objective. Or, how about when who we are conflicts with who we think we are, or who others think we are, or even who we think others think we are?
Sean O’Dell, a decorated 63-year-old cop, plants evidence in order to protect his friend of 50 years from a murder conviction. He knows that his friend is the real victim and chooses to risk his oath, reputation, and even freedom to prove it. Does the end justify the means, and what price must he pay for a justice that may be veiled in a lifelong untruth?

Cops, lawyers, judges, and society will have different answers, but where those answers conflict with conscience, regardless of law, can there be a winner? You make the call.

BIOGRAPHY
Bob Siqveland graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1967. He enjoys many art endeavors and has recorded his music. He commanded an artillery battery while serving in the Army before spending 23 years as a venture capitalist. He is currently involved in the gaming industry and lives in Northern Minnesota.

WEBSITE
www.robertsiqveland.com