A Blog by Helene Mitchell
I have been Gail Cushman for about 55 years and am used to it. Before that, I was Gail Decker or Gail Helene, as my brothers called me. They had other names for me too, but we won’t go into them.
I wrote my Wrinkly Bits series under my given name. They are all romantic comedies about people of a certain age, doing interesting and sometimes naughty things during their senior years. They were fun to write, that’s for sure. Cowboy calls them “beach books,” you know lying in the lounge chair by the beach, under an umbrella, drinking foo-foo drinks, and reading a fun book. I like writing my beach books and will add another sometime soon.
But now, I’ve added a new genre, the Maggie Monroe Mystery Series, and am writing these under a different name, Helene Mitchell. In the writing world, pen names are sometimes used to distinguish genre, so I am using Helene Mitchell to differentiate my beach books from my more serious works. How cool is it to don my bikini and write beach books, then suddenly donning a Fedora and raincoat in the guise of Columbo. It makes me laugh. Of course, my new pen name includes the last name of my betrothed, soon to be married (in Paris!). Another change is our joint venture called Green Sweater Girl Publishing which I will talk about next time, so many things happening! But, first, let’s talk about these mysteries.
About twenty years ago I started a murder series about a young woman sheriff in the rural west. Some of these books were set in Nevada, and my latest is in Montana. I call the series the Maggie Monroe Mystery Series. The first of the series is Murder in the Parsonage.
When Maggie Monroe graduates from UNLV with a degree in criminal justice, little does she realize that when she lands the job of sheriff in her hometown of tiny Barrier, Nevada, she will be charged with the task of unraveling the brutal murder of a beloved priest.
The local brothel’s kickbacks, Catholic Church coverup, secret tunnels, and the discovery of pure evil test the new sheriff, while she works to discover the truth hindered by community support of this popular priest. Alongside a handsome outsider, former LA detective Brick O’Neill, she works to unlock the mysteries and motive in this twisted tale of the high desert Intermountain West.
I’m proud of it. A lot of people have read the manuscript (it is still just typed, not printed), and they liked it, but I couldn’t bring myself to publish it. It is the story of evil in a church, depravity at its worst, not at all like my silly wrinkles. It takes place in Nevada and then, I added three more mysteries with the same characters. So, I have four completed mysteries, with another in process, which takes place in Montana.
The first book in this series, Murder in the Parsonage, will be available on Amazon in November. I plan to have a book signing in the Boise area with a roll-out for this new mystery and look forward to seeing all of you. This is very exciting for me. This mystery series has lain dormant for twenty years and is finally ready for my devoted readers. I think it is some of my best writing.
If you enjoy Gail Helene’s blogs, you can find all of them on her website, gailcushman.com.
Electronic versions of her books are available on Amazon.
Share! Share! Share!
