BOOKS:
(Short Stories below)
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The Charity is the first book in a series about a young woman caught in the mechanisms of terrorism. The sequel, The Troubles, was published May 2015. The Wake completes The Jessica Trilogy. These books contain a powerful message of self reliance and strength that resonate with Young Adult readers but contain potent scenes not appropriate for all ages.
The Wake - NEW AND ALREADY
AN AWARD WINNER!
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Paperback Edition
ISBN-13-978-0-9991154-0-4
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E-Book:
ASIN: B073NQ1HK5
ISBN: 978-0-9991154-1-1
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World-class equestrian, Jessica Wyeth, is thrust into the middle of a game of geopolitical warfare. Reeling from revelations of her connection to the violent struggles to expunge Britain from Northern Ireland, she’s blocked by unseen forces from returning to the United States.
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The facts of Jessica’s birth become her deepest secret. Her late mother was considered by Northern Ireland to be a terrorist and her father is a key negotiator between violent Irish Republican Army (IRA) factions in Belfast and the British Government.
Jessica vows to keep her father’s identity hidden at all costs.
Only one man knows Jessica’s truth. Michael Connaught, heir to an international crime family who profits from political uprisings, struggles with his own legacy. He is torn between protecting the woman he loves or using her secrets as a catalyst for inciting global unrest.
When a terrorist bomb rips through the crowd at the Atlanta-based Summer Olympic Games, Jessica is forced to fight for her life in ways she never dreamed.
The Troubles -
Paperback Edition
ISBN-13-978-0692417928
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E-Book
ASIN: B00VYV8X08
ISBN: 978-1310494765
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The Troubles
The Troubles continues the story of The Charity.
Jessica Wyeth refuses to be a fugitive hiding under assumed identities. Through sheer grit, she struggles to reclaim her life only to discover what she wants is an illusion. She is not the child of the picture-perfect New England family, but an unwanted castaway. Her frail and reclusive aunt died without exposing the secret that she was Jessica’s mother. Jessica travels to Ireland—her mother’s home—to learn why.
When Jessica rides in a world-class steeplechase, she is unwittingly used as an accomplice in a devastating bombing in an English shopping mall. The group behind the bombing is the Charity, a generations old support network of the IRA. Michael Conant, reluctant heir to the Charity, must choose his allegiance to his violent family legacy or the woman he loves. Meanwhile, Jessica’s fight for her life leads her to uncover her mother’s secrets and the divided soul of the Irelands.
The Troubles is a high-concept suspense novel that views the conflict in Northern Ireland through the prism of American involvement. This sweeping, multi-generational tale gives witness to the delicate and dangerous layers inside an ever-unfolding world.
The Charity - eBook
ASIN: B009E7TUYM
ISBN-13-978-1452427614
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In trying to clear her name of murder and regain her family's reputation, Jessica Wyeth's actions unwittingly threaten to expose the business behind the money of a U.S. based terrorist cell.
Jessica was born with traits she just could not hide – beauty, cunning, and innate skills to survive. She is blocked from taking her rightful position in the lucrative family business of high stakes horse racing by her farm’s manager and top trainer, Gus Adams. When Gus is found brutally murdered, all evidence points to Jessica. Terrified, she runs and becomes a master at hiding in plain view.
The process of building a new life around an assumed identity is derailed when she is recognized by the organization that destroyed her family. This time, instead of running away, she heads back to Boston, racing against time to find answers. Her search for the truth uncovers the cold reality that the Charity will stop at nothing to succeed in its mission.
Set in the rolling hills of Kentucky and the streets of Boston, The Charity exposes that Jessica is not the only one hidden in the daylight.
SHORT STORIES
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**WINNER OF THE 2023 ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST ANTHOLOGY!**
The newest anthology from Mystery Writers of America explores the theme of home and the crimes that endanger it, with stories by Ellen Hart, Naomi Hirahara, Walter Mosley, Sara Paretsky and more.
Edited by S. J. Rozen: SJ Rozan is the author of 16 novels and 75+ short stories. Her work has won the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, Nero, and Macavity Arads and the Japanese Maltese Falcon Award. In 2016 she was given the Private Eye Writers of America Life Achievement Award. She has served on the National Boards of MWA and Sisters in Crime and as President of PWA. She edited BRONX NOIR, an NAIBA Notable Book of the Year, and co-edited Dark End of the Street.
Everyone comes from some place. Everyone has somewhere they feel safe. Some people have found their homes and are content where they are. Others feel trapped and yearn to go somewhere else. Many are somewhere else and yearn to go back. But even in these safest of places, sometimes…crime hits home. What happens then?
In this volume, MWA brings together some of today’s biggest crime writers—and some of our most exciting new talents—to consider this question. Each writer has defined home as they see fit: a place, a group, a feeling. The crime can come from without or within. What happens when crime hits home?
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Publishers Weekly just said:
"[A] superior anthology... This is one of the better Mystery Writers of America anthologies."
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Read the full review here.
Wolfsbane: Best New England Crime Stories 2023 once again brings together many of the best writers in the genre in our region. These 21 stories cover the full range of crime fiction, from the traditional amateur sleuth to the cop in the world of self-driving cars and AI bots running your home. The award-winning authors take us to the streets of Boston where drug dealers congregate, and yet show us the true character of some of those on the mean streets. A decent man goes undercover and learns a few lessons the hard way, and a lawyer faces his own hard reality. Every story brings new insight and fresh perspective to the world of crime, the criminals, and the victims caught among them.
Read the work of these award-winning writers: Jason Allison, Christine Bagley, Brenda Buchanan, Christine H. Chen, Bruce Robert Coffin, Michael Ditchfield, Judith Green, Connie Johnson Hambley, Sean Harding, Eleanor Ingbretson, Zakariah Johnson, Paula Messina, Susan Oleksiw, Robin Hazard Ray, Ray Salemi, Lauren Sheridan, Bonnie Spring, Gabriela Stiteler, Frances Stratford, Leslie Wheeler, Carolyn Marie Wilkins
RELEASE DATE: JULY 15, 2020
My short story, "The Soul Changer's Confession" was nominated for the Pushcart Prize!
This amazing collection of short stories was gathered from authors throughout the world. The publisher, Running Wild Press, describes the stories they chose this way:
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"Running Wild Press is for readers who want stories outside the lines.
Too often we can see the end of a story hundreds of pages in advance.
But the best stories catch you by surprise. They whip you around corners you didn’t see. They lead you through countries, down roads, across fields you didn’t know could be discovered. They connect you with new friends, and reveal old friends in new light.
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We know authors who write these amazing stories and don’t follow genre rules. Running Wild Press finds writing that illuminates our collective imagination, polishes it to a tight shine, and then shares it with our friends – you, dear readers.
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Grab your glasses, relax in a cozy chair, and let your relentless imagination join us and run free."
And for this anthology:
"Our editor scoured the planet to find the most engaging, fun, varied stories to entertain you. Then he worked night and day with the authors to shine these little bits of narrative to make sure that the results were great stories, great writing that don't fit neatly in a box."
My short story, "Black Ice," is included in Level Best Books Snowbound anthology. And, who knew? The story even has a wine as a name sake!
Their website describes this collection the best:
"Level Best Books publishes an annual anthology of Crime Stories set in New England each November. Well-regarded by readers and reviewers, stories published by Level Best have won the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, Derringer and Robert L. Fish (Award for Best First Short Story presented at the Edgar® banquet) Awards and have been recognized as “Distinguished Mystery Stories,” by the editors of the Best American Mystery Stories series. Level Best also publishes the winning story from the Al Blanchard contest every year.
If you're not an anthology reader, you should try one...like this one! Think of an anthology as a chocolate sampler. Small nibbles may lead to a new love. In a few pages, you will find a new favorite author.
My short story, "Giving Voice," is included in Level Best Books Windward anthology.
Their website describes this collection the best:
"Level Best Books publishes an annual anthology of Crime Stories set in New England each November. Well-regarded by readers and reviewers, stories published by Level Best have won the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, Derringer and Robert L. Fish (Award for Best First Short Story presented at the Edgar® banquet) Awards and have been recognized as “Distinguished Mystery Stories,” by the editors of the Best American Mystery Stories series. Level Best also publishes the winning story from the Al Blanchard contest every year.
Founded by Skye Alexander, Kate Flora and Susan Oleksiw, Level Best’s goal is to publish the highest quality short fiction produced by crime writers either from or with stories set in the six New England states. From the beginning, the anthology has contained tales from established as well as previously unpublished authors."
This is the first year the publishers opened submissions to authors outside of New England.
Connie Johnson Hambley
- Author of tense twisting thrillers and timely true stuff-