Tag: Marilyn Levinson

Posted in Blog Tour, Interview

Interview of Marilyn Levinson aka Allison Brook and Blog Tour for Booked on Murder, the final Haunted Library Mystery

Posted on by Debbie

It’s my pleasure to speak with Marilyn Levinson from Holbrook, New York, who writes the Haunted Library series as Allison Brook.

Hi, Marilyn. How long have you been published? What titles and/or series have you published and with which publisher? Have you self-published any titles? Please give details.

I have been published since 1985 when And Don’t Bring Jeremy, my first children’s book, came out with Holt.

My Haunted Library series (8 books) is published by Crooked Lane Books

Murder a la Christie and Murder the Tey Way, the two books in the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series– were both republished by Rowan Prose Publishing in 2024.

A Murderer Among Us and Murder In the Air in my Twin Lakes series and  Giving Up the Ghost, and Dangerous Relations –will be republished by Rowan Prose Publishing in 2025

Sounds like you’ve had a wonderful career.

Tell us a little bit about your books — if you write a series, any upcoming releases or your current work-in-progress. If you have an upcoming release, please specify the release date.

Come Home to Death, a novel of suspense, came out with Rowan Prose Publishing this year. When Erica Parker returns home to Long Island to raise money for her gambling husband, she discovers she’s about to become very wealthy if she manages to live till her twenty-fifth birthday.

Booked on Murder, the eighth and final book in my Haunted Library series, came out August 6, 2024. My sleuth Carrie Singleton is about to marry her fiancé, when she and Dylan discover a body on the lawn of their wedding venue. Two more murders follow, all of which are connected to a bank robbery that took place seven years earlier. Carrie and Dylan dodge crooks and capture killers hours before their nuptials are to take place.

This year, 2024, eight books, five of which are being republished, and a short story are being released.

I am currently writing the first of a new series–Death on Dickens Island and the third in my middle grade Rufus and Magic Run Amok series–Rufus and the Dark Side of Magic.

Wonderful! Congratulations!

Describe your goals as a writer. What do you hope to achieve in the next few years? What are you planning to do to reach these goals?

I plan to write more books in the Dickens Island series, the new mystery series I’ve started, and to write the fourth and final book in my middle grade Rufus and Magic Run Amok series.

Great goals.

What type of reader are you hoping to attract?  Who do you believe would be most interested in reading your books?

For my mysteries: readers who are interested in stories with depth and character development.

Nice.

What advice would you give other authors or those still trying to get published?

My advice is: continue writing as you search for an agent or a publisher; join writing organizations and become active in one or two of them; join a helpful, caring critique group.

Excellent advice.

What particular challenges and struggles did you face before first becoming published?

Getting published and then continue to be published.

Those are most writers’ challenges.

Do you belong to any writing groups? Which ones?

I belong to Sisters in Crime and the subgroup the Guppies as well as Mystery Writers of America. I also am part of a small group of seven cozy mystery authors.

I’m also a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppies. They’re great groups.

What are your hobbies and interests besides writing?

reading, yoga, traveling, crossword and Sudoku puzzles, knitting.

Interesting pasttimes.

What do you like most and least about being an author? What is your toughest challenge?

I like the actual writing process, though my toughest challenge is sitting down to it every day. What I like least are all the guest blogs and essays I need to write to promote my books.

I feel the same.

What do you like about writing cozy mysteries?

I love writing cozy mysteries because my characters live on in several books, giving me the opportunity to show their growth and maturity over time. Writing cozies gives me the freedom to  include side issues I consider important. And I love writing about my characters’ relationships with one another. I enjoy delving into their old secrets and how they impact current situations.

That’s the fun part of cozy mystery writing.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about you or your books?

I love to be in touch with readers on Facebook and my newsletter. (links below)

Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uuPRDZ
PRH: https://bit.ly/PRHBookedonMurder

website: http://www.marilynlevinson.com where you can sign up for my newsletter
social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson
X: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marilyn-levinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marilynlevinsonauthor/

I blog with Writers Who Kill the third Thursday of every month: https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com

Thanks for the interview, and best wishes on your blog tour. I’m sharing it below.


Booked on Murder (A Haunted Library Mystery)
by Allison Brook

About Booked on Murder


Booked on Murder (A Haunted Library Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting – Connecticut
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (August 6, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639108459
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639108459
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLKZ83SX

Librarian Carrie Singleton must catch a killer before she can say “I do” in the 8th delightful installment in Agatha Award-nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library mystery series.

Carrie Singleton is ready to kiss the single life goodbye. Her wedding to Dylan Avery is just a few weeks away, and a happy ending is about to be hers. But when a body is found on the lawn of their wedding venue, happily-ever-after is looking deadlier than ever.

The victim turns out to be Billy Carpenter, a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a bank robbery. The stolen money he’d buried is gone and Carrie and the police suspect Billy’s two alleged co-conspirators, his friends Luke Rizzo and Tino Valdez. But then Luke is murdered and Tino is nowhere to be found.

With no leads and only a week to go before her big day, Carrie is on the hunt for clues. She hopes to wrap up this investigation with a neat bow before she and Dylan tie the knot. Carrie has something old, something new, and something borrowed ready for her walk down the aisle. Now she needs to find the killer without becoming the ‘something blue.’

About Allison Brook

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook, she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series, the Twin Lakes series, and Giving Up the Ghost. Her romantic suspense, Come Home to Death, was released on April 30, 2024, and her romantic suspense, Dangerous Relations, will be republished in 2025.

Marilyn’s juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice and recently appeared in a new edition. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, came out in a new edition in January 2024.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids, and playing with her kittens, Romeo and Juliet.

Author Links
Website: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson ; https://twitter.com/AllisonBrookML
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marilyn-levinson; https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allison-brook
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marilynlevinsonauthor/

Buy links:
Amazon Penguin Random House B&N BAM Bookshop.org Hudson Booksellers Powell’s Target Walmart

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

August 6 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

August 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 7 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 7 – Angel’s Book Nook – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 7 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

August 8 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

August 8 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 8 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 9 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

August 9 – ebook Addicts – REVIEW

August 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 10 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

August 10 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW

August 10 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 11 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

August 11 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

August 12 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 13 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 13 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

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Posted in Reviews

Shepherd.com: A Unique New Book Recommendation Site

Posted on by Debbie

Have you discovered Shepherd.com? If you enjoy reading books and are looking for some great recommendations or are an author who would like to find another way to promote your work, check out this site created by entrepreneur Ben Fox as an alternative to Amazon and Goodreads.

Fox explains his vision for the website. “I want Shepherd to be a place that makes book discovery fun online. I want it to evoke the same feeling that you get when you wander around your local bookstore, but in vastly different ways given the limitless nature of the internet. And, while doing this, I want to help authors bump into new readers who are the most likely to be interested in their book. It is a hard world for authors and I want to make it easier for them to connect with readers in some cool ways.”

Shepherd.com launched in April 2021. In January 2022, Fox and his team launched a new front page, search, and topic sections called bookshelves. Bookshelves help visitors browse through books with subjects such as World War 2, dragons, grief, and many other topics. Fox says that “The next step is to bring in genres so that on the bookshelves you can filter to see only historical fiction, history, or other genre types. And then we will also add genre pages where you can filter by topic. So you can be on a science fiction page and filter to see only books about cyborgs or artificial intelligence or other fun ways to discover amazing books. Once we have that base in place, I have a lot of plans to create more new and unique ways to find books. Slowly but surely, we will make book browsing online less like buying toothpaste :).”The way Shepherd.com works is that an author can submit short recommendations of five book titles on a particular subject. For instance, I have a cozy mystery series, The Cobble Cove mysteries, that feature a librarian as the main character. I recommended five other first books of cozy mystery series that also include libraries and librarians. Here’s the link to my page on Shepherd.com: https://shepherd.com/best-books/mystery-series-featuring-libraries-and-librarians

Here is a list of a few other book recommendations featured on Shepherd.com:

https://shepherd.com/best-books/historical-mysteries-to-enlighten-your-imagination

https://shepherd.com/best-books/mysteries-set-in-space

https://shepherd.com/best-books/mystery-when-you-really-want-to-hug-the-detect

Shepherd.com isn’t only for mysteries or fiction. Here are some other lists:

https://shepherd.com/best-books/on-space-exploration

https://shepherd.com/best-books/the-history-of-paris

https://shepherd.com/best-books/changing-how-you-see-history

Shepherd.com had 67,000+ unique visitors last month. Fox works with a team that helps with different aspects of the site. Learn more about the Shepherd team here: https://forauthors.shepherd.com/team, and check out the exciting plans for Shepherd.com as outlined in its 2022 Roadmap: https://forauthors.shepherd.com/roadmap

Posted in Cozy Mysteries, holidays

Happy Cozy Mystery Day!

Posted on by Debbie

We celebrate International Cozy Mystery day on September 15, the birthday of Agatha Christie. For those who don’t know what a cozy mystery is, it’s the type of writing that Ms. Christie was famous for. It involves murder of the less gory kind and an absence of explicit sex and violence. It usually takes place in a small town. There can be recipes or pets as central themes in the mystery along with an off-scene murder to solve and a cast of quirky characters with interesting professions.

I write a cozy mystery series called. Cobble Cove mysteries, for the name of the fictional town in which they are set. It includes a librarian and a library cat. A reviewer of the first book of the series, A Stone’s Throw, termed the story, “Agatha Christie meets a small town librarian.”


My recent standalone mystery, Sea Scope, was reviewed as “Imagine Agatha Christie Writing a Psychological Thriller.”

People enjoy reading cozy mysteries because they become familiar with the characters and like the settings. Some of my favorite cozies feature cats, as do mine. I’ve enjoyed fellow Cat Writer’s Association members books such as Carole Nelson Douglas‘ Midnight Louis series, Shirley Rousseau’s Joe Grey tales, and, Mollie Hunt’s Crazy Cat Lady series. For food-related mysteries, I like Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swenson mysteries. Mary Feliz, who provided some of the graphics included in this post, is a fellow Sisters-in-Crime member, and also a cozy mystery author who writes the Maggie McDonald series that features a Golden Retriever. Another SINC member, Marilyn Levinson who writes as Allison Brook writes a cozy that features a librarian and a ghost. Her latest in the Haunted Library series, Buried in the Stacks, was just released. A fellow author from Next Chapter, James J. Cudney IV, writes mysteries taking place on college campuses. The fifth book in his Braxton Campus mysteries, Haunted House Ghost, was also just released.

Do you have a favorite cozy mystery author or series, or haven’t you read a cozy mystery yet? Have you read any of mine? I’d love to hear your comments.

 

Posted in Author Spotlight, Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery

Author Spotlight of Marilyn Levinson aka Allison Brook, Author of Read and Gone, a Haunted Library Mystery

Posted on by Debbie

I’m pleased to have Marilyn Levinson (aka Allison Brook), fellow Long Island and cozy mystery author from Holbrook, NY here to speak about her writing and new release, Read and Gone, that is on blog tour with Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book.

Welcome, Marilyn. Please tell us how long you’ve been published and what titles and/or series you write.

My first published book was AND DON’T BRING JEREMY, a novel for kids, in 1985 (Holt) and was a nominee for 6 state awards. Other books for kids written around that time: NO BOYS ALLOWED, THE FOURTH-GRADE FOUR, A PLACE TO START and RUFUS AND MAGIC RUN AMOK.

About seven or eight years ago I started publishing mysteries and romantic suspense: A MURDERER AMONG US and MURDER IN THE AIR –my Twin Lakes mysteries; DANGEROUS RELATIONS, GIVING UP THE GHOST, MURDER A LA CHRISTIE and MURDER THE TEY WAY – my Golden Age of Mystery Book Club mysteries; DEATH OVERDUE and READ AND GONE – my Haunted Library mystery series written as Allison Brook

More novels for kids: GETTING BACK TO NORMAL and THE DEVIL’S PAWN

You are quite a prolific and versatile writer. I also like to write other genres in addition to my cozy mystery series.

Tell us a little bit about your books — if you write a series, any upcoming releases or your current work-in-progress. If you have an upcoming release, please specify the release date.

READ AND GONE, the second book in my Haunted Library series, is just out with Crooked Lane Books. My sleuth, Carrie Singleton, works in the Clover Ridge Library in Clover Ridge, CT as head of programs and events. She can see and communicate with the ghost of a former library assistant who sometimes helps her solve mysteries and lives with Smoky Joe, the library cat. I am currently writing the third book in the series.

I read your first and really enjoyed it. I hope to read the new one soon. As you know, as a librarian, I’m a bit partial to librarian sleuths and library cats, as I feature them in my books, too.

Describe your goals as a writer. What do you hope to achieve in the next few years? What are you planning to do to reach these goals?

I plan to keep on writing mysteries. I’d like to write another series and to add a few books to the series I’ve already begun.  I also want to write the third and final Rufus book in my Rufus trilogy for readers ten to twelve.

I’m publishing the fourth book in my series soon and have an unpublished first of a cozy series I’m currently querying to agents. I’d like to continue the Cobble Cove books and am already planning the 5th.

What type of reader are you hoping to attract?  Who do you believe would be most interested in reading your books?

I’m hoping to attract readers that like mysteries, unraveling secrets, and reading about my characters’ relationships with one another. I think readers who like a library setting, novels that include animals, and paranormal elements in their mysteries would love reading my books.

I hope to attract the same readers as you. Besides the paranormal theme in your books, mine feature all the others that you do. I have a standalone paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, that just came out and is on blog tour with a giveaway right now.

What advice would you give other authors or those still trying to get published?

Keep on writing; belong to a critique group to give and receive input from other writers; join writers’ organizations; attend a few conferences if you can; be active in social media but don’t let it overtake the time you should be writing.

Keeping social media time down is tough especially when one works full time. Critique groups can be helpful as well as writer organizations. I’ve attendedf a few conferences and hope to attend more, but many times they are given when I’m working.

What particular challenges and struggles did you face before first becoming published?

I received many rejections.

I think all authors do, but they need not take them personally but use them as motivation to keep trying.

Do you belong to any writing groups? Which ones?

I belong to Sisters in Crime and the Guppies.

Me, too. They’re great.

What are your hobbies and interests besides writing?

I read, knit, do crossword puzzles and Sudoku. I enjoy traveling and dining out.

I used to crochet. I like logic puzzles but have never tried Sudoku. I also like to travel when I have the time and money, but I’m eating out less to keep to my diet.

What do you like most and least about being an author? What is your toughest challenge?

I enjoy hearing from readers, especially when they tell me they’ve loved reading my books and look forward to the next in the series.

Least, I suppose, are the things I can’t control. Like the rare, unfair negative review.

My toughest challenge is finding the necessary time to write. I wish I wrote faster.

I agree that time is one of the biggest challenges for authors and the more you publish, the more time you need to promote your books. I also enjoy hearing from readers and fans of my series. It gives me a reason to keep writing.

What do you like about writing cozy mysteries?

I love writing about characters that appear in a series—their lives in a small town, their concerns, and their relationships with one another. I enjoy the way my sleuths have to figure out clues and gather information to solve the mystery without the use of a forensic lab at their disposal.

Yes, characters are most important in mysteries especially cozies.

Please list your social media links, website, blog, etc. and include some book cover graphics and author photos if possible.

website: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Levinson/e/B001KHVLUU/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1521576336&sr=1-2-ent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/

To join Marilyn’s rafflecopter for her blog tour, follow the link here. http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792759/?

Thank you so much for the interview, Marilyn, and continued success with your series, new release, and blog tour. I hope you drop by the library again, so we can chat or maybe do lunch. I may also see you at another LI event.