A Recipe for Laughter: Snow and Sangria

Yesterday evening, the young local rookie weatherman was stationed in our town, known as Stone City to my readers, for the first significant snowfall of the season. His first comment was, "Oh, gosh, it's so cold out here and it's been snowing all day." He went on to measure the snow on the sidewalk and said that it was one inch. I laughed so hard. Then I rewound the video and laughed some more. I did it another time. Sorry, but maybe life in a small town doesn't have much enjoyment or maybe I just had a little too much Sangria with my pizza. To those of us who have lived in places where it has snowed at least two feet and where the wind chill factors were fifty below, it was funny. To be honest to the younger people who live in the south where snow is rare, maybe it was a big deal.

The eastern part of our state received more inches than the western part, some breaking records, one of 1/2 inch of snow. I would prefer to have twelve inches of snow versus ice of 1/2 inch. The loss of power without a generator in below freezing temperatures is not a welcome thing.

On another note, thanks to all of you who bought my books in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series while on promo. You pushed Murder Among Friends into the top 100 mystery books, if only for a few days. I raise my glass on this cold day to all of you. Happy reading!

First Editorial Review of New Book

First Editorial Review of New Book

Today, I received the first editorial comments for the seventh book in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series. Now comes the hard part of re-writing to give the work a more polished presentation. However, this is only the initial phase and it will be the first re-write. I will have more editorial comments and re-writes after this, I'm sure. Writing the book is a hard feat in itself, with the days and nights (yes, sleepless nights) thinking about the plot and letting all the nuances solidify into a believable story with several subplots that work well together. However, I feel that having to do the re-writes is even more difficult.

In writing the book, I only had to worry about getting the ideas on the page. With re-writing, I have to make sure each sentence has all the words it needs and only the words it needs. Each paragraph has to have all the sentences it needs and only the sentences it needs. Pages and chapters are the same. Anything not necessary to the plot or description is weeded out. Descriptions are difficult for me because I want to include enough to give the reader the feeling of being there, but not enough to get boring. Too many books spend too much time describing what we already know. As they say, ''A rose is a rose is a rose." No need to go into great detail or describe the scent. Everyone knows those things.

I have always hated re-work, even as a project engineer. To do the job first, with no revisions, is only a dream I can wish. With writing, I want my characters to be distinct and to be worth reading about. Above all, they have to say and do things that are consistent with the personna that has been created for them. Having a series with the same characters means going back and re-reading the previous novels to be sure that the present novel and characters follow along the lines that the readers expect. It is also important to  give the characters growth. They should all change because of their experiences. My characters see a lot of action and they should change accordingly.

The Next Book

The Next Book

The first draft of the seventh book in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series has been completed, finally. It was difficult for me to write because it dealt with a group of characters I felt emotionally attached to, from the suave and sophisticated playboy to the normally cold and hard sheriff. They all showed their soft insides and I had to feel sorry for them all. Normally, rational Rachel lost her cool more than once and faced more dangers than she had before.

Now, the book is with the editor, but thankfully it is being reviewed as I write this blog. Also, the book cover is in the initial stages of being designed. Hopefully, the novel will be released sometime next month. Of course, that depends on how many rewrites I will have to do.

Distractions and Knowledge

Distractions and Knowledge

The seventh book in my Rachel Christie murder mystery series is moving along slowly. I am two-thirds through writing the book and then, of course, editing follows. This year I am enrolled in a criminal justice class. Although I am learning valuable information and meeting a lot of law enforcement, my writing is moving along at a snail's pace because of it. Some information I have learned will be used in my latest book.

I have found the discussions in our class informative and enlightening. The viewing public of forensic shows, such as CSI and NCIS, have been informed of DNA evidence that can be used to solve crimes. However, in these shows, DNA evidence is secured in a manner of hours to days. In real life, it may take months or a year to get such DNA evidence. The homicide clearance rates in larger cities have declined sharply because of gang-related crimes and the unwillingness of witnesses to testify. That's one thing the shows have right and that's that the witnesses are scared of being killed themselves by the very murderers they are testifying against.

Small towns are cliquish and, if the FBI who are strangers, came and started asking questions, the locals would remain quiet. A better chance of finding the criminals would lie with the local authorities, who know all the suspects and have a better rapport with the local town people. It's not surprising that the homicide clearance rate is higher in small communities than in large urban cities.

Rachel Christie lives in a small town, but she also has to go to the larger cities at times to help her solve her cases. Hopefully, I can integrate the knowledge I learn into my novels and make situations within them appear more believable.

Free eBook - Murder One Too Many

Free eBook - Murder One Too Many

"Murder One Too Many," a standalone novel and the 5th in the Rachel Christie murder mystery series, will be available for free on Friday, 3/1/13, and Saturday, 3/2/13.


The CEO of a hospital dies and her body is found in a shallow grave. Her husband kills himself from an apparent suicide. Or was it? Rachel Christie was in a room fifty feet away and heard no shot. Yet she heard a woman scream. Rachel's investigation gets her too close to the answers and a dismissed employee attempts to kill her.

What secret does the hospital hold? Is someone killing hospital executives and relatives out of revenge? Rachel must unlock the answers before anyone else dies.

Reality or Fiction?

Reality or Fiction?

My writing has slowed a little this month in favor of my Investigative Principles course. However, I am learning procedures the police use in their investigations that will help in the writing of my Rachel Christie series.

The fine points of collecting evidence and the procedures to get that evidence is a lot stricter than one is led to believe when watching television or reading novels themselves. A lot of it is just downright boring and time consuming. I guess that figures since most jobs have their boring elements.

In conjunction with my course, I read a true crime account of a falsely accused man who spent eleven years in jail until DNA evidence freed him. It was an emotional account and gave the viewpoints of both the wrongly convicted man and the victim. Eyewitness is not always reliable. Our memories do not work like cameras. We cannot recall all the subtle details a month or, as in this book I read, three years from the crime.

Although I wish to get back to writing, I feel that the application of the principles learned in this class will make my books more believable to the reader. Since I haven't taken a course in a while, maybe after a few weeks things will settle down and my writing will once again take center stage. I'm glad I finished "Murder Along the Blue Ridge" before the semester began.

Missed Snow

Missed Snow

For several days, our local weather forecasters had predicting snow. How many times have we wished we never listened to those forecasters? Most of the time they tell us it will be sunny and it turns out to rain cats and dogs. Sometimes the weather people tell us it will only rain a few inches. Not like the 7 inches we received in the last few days.

Up until last night, our area was forecast to get 4 inches of snow. Lo and behold, we got 0. That's right. Zero. That didn't bother me. I have dealt with snow since the time I learned to drive. My mother never liked to drive in the snow and we lived over a mountain. If we were on the road and it started to snow, she pulled the car over and had me to drive. However, after driving in snow all these years, I am now glad when the snow passes me by.

Last night, the counties to the east of us had 3-4 inches of snow. The counties to the west got the same amount. However, our area was in a finger that extends from the south to the north and we had no snow at all. They called off school. It wasn't a wait and see. It was let's do it now. They relied too much on the weather forecasters.

I have to say, though, the snow is beautiful, as long as it stays on the mountains like in the picture above. It makes for a wonderful day of reading or writing the seventh novel in the Rachel Christie mystery series.

Free Book Giveaway on Goodreads

Free Book Giveaway on Goodreads

I am giving away five (5) paperback copies of my latest Rachel Christie murder mystery, "Murder Along the Blue Ridge." Although this is number six in the series, it is a stand-alone mystery. If you wish to win a copy, please enter at Goodreads. The giveaway ends on February 12, 2013.

Follow the link below to enter and good luck.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Murder Along the Blue Ridge

by Sabena Stone

Giveaway ends February 12, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Writer's Block or Distraction?

Writer's Block or Distraction?

When I started the sixth novel in the Rachel Christie mystery series, "Murder Along the Blue Ridge," I had a good idea already formulated in my mind and an outline started. The writing was easy and progressed rapidly. However, with the seventh novel, it took longer to actually sit down and begin writing. I knew what I wanted the book to be about, but transitioning from the sixth to the seventh novel was difficult.

Some people might call it writer's block, but I don't think that's what it was. With the holidays and all the festivities around that time made it impossible to concentrate on my writing. This week, I finally put the outline on the computer and my mind has been working overtime with different scenarios concerning the events in the book. I have come up with lots of possibilities and have finally chosen several subplots.

The seventh book will find a conflict of what Deputy Ron Hartwell wants and what private investigator Rachel Christie wants. Whether there will be enough conflict to separate the two remains to be seen and will unfold as the novel progresses. Whatever happens, I hope the readers will not be disappointed.

The last novel, "Murder Along the Blue Ridge," is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and as a physical book on Create Space.

First Day of Class

First Day of Class

Today was the first day of my "Investigative Principles" class at the local community college. The only other class I took at a community college was called "Wines of the World." Now that was a good class -- sampling different wines and commenting about them. My latest course, I hope, will be useful in writing my Rachel Christie mystery series in that it will help keep the facts about police procedural more accurate.

The instructor for this class is the retired chief investigator of the small city in which I live. It's a small town of just over 10,000 people, but that's all right. Rachel Christie lives in a town of about 10,000 people. Also, the instructor's husband is a retired police chief from this city. I hope to pick their brains for some good information on cases and police procedures as applied to small towns.

We had to introduce ourselves today.  Most of the people watch CSI and other such shows and believe that they are true to life. I go into this class with no preconceived ideas on what police work actually is. I have an idea that it is probably a little boring at times like most professions. I think, however, that the class will be interesting and informative.

Sixth Novel in Series Published on Barnes and Noble

Sixth Novel in Series Published on Barnes and Noble

Yesterday, the sixth novel in the Rachel Christie Mystery Series, "Murder Along the Blue Ridge," was published on Barnes and Noble and on Create Space and has already sold several copies. Making all the icon covers for the different media and making the cover for Create Space are always a challenge. Deciding on what to put on a cover is the hardest and takes a lot of hours of planning and producing.

"Murder Along the Blue Ridge" is an emotion-packed murder mystery that has roots in something that happened fifteen years ago. Rachel Christie, the private investigator, must deal with Deputy Skyler, for whom she has no respect. She doesn't want the case, but finally the deputy's daughter asks Rachel and Rachel cannot say no.

I try to make all of my mysteries stand-alone novels. A minimum of background information from previous novels is only included if the present mystery warrants it. That way the reader is not sitting and wondering why something is happening the way it is.

The novel is also available on Amazon and will be available from Create Space as a physical book in a couple of weeks.

I want to thank my fans for their continued readership and wish them a prosperous, healthy and happy new year.

Murder Along the Blue Ridge Published on Amazon

Murder Along the Blue Ridge Published on Amazon

I have published my sixth book in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series on Amazon. Murder Along the Blue Ridge finds Rachel Christie torn between her dislike for Deputy Skyler and believing he is innocent of killing people. Her dislike prompts her to say no to his asking her for help in clearing him. Several pleas from Skyler and her friend Ron cannot sway her. However, the plea from Skyler's eleven-year-old daughter does the trick.

Rachel has grown from her novice days into a relentless hardboiled private investigator who will stop at nothing and reveal the truth at all costs. In this book, she finds out things about her lover Ron that happened years before they met. It doesn't sway her in her search for the truth.

An excerpt from Murder Along the Blue Ridge follows:

We switched off our lights and hustled down the stairs as quickly as we could. I felt for my PPK, making sure it was ready, then we ran to the last place we had seen the men. Smart. Probably not. I was operating on pure adrenalin. The outside door opened again. I rushed out and was grabbed by a strong arm and slammed up against the outside wall. My reflexes didn't wait for me to think what had happened. I immediately grabbed the hand with both hands and bent the thumb back until it snapped. I stomped the man's foot as hard as I could, bringing down all my weight. He screamed and released his grip. I whirled around and planted my knee in his crotch. Another scream. I retracted my leg and then kicked his shin with all the force I could muster. He fell screaming to the ground when another man jumped me. I kicked him in the stomach and he fell backward. Lights flooded the area. Headlights from several cars.

"Who are you?" came a gruff voice.

I didn't say a word and thought about going for my gun, but decided against it. I had no idea who this was. I hoped Cody would keep quiet as he came out of the door. The first man I had laid out on the ground grabbed my ankle and pulled. I fell to the ground and he shoved me face down into the cold concrete. Next, I felt his heavy weight on my buttocks as he twisted my arm behind my back. I shouldn't have hesitated. I should have gone for my gun.

My head throbbed where I had hit the building hard. I tasted the iron from my own blood as it hit the corner of my mouth. Smelling the dirt from the ground, I tried to wiggle free, but a set of boots appeared near me. One boot lifted and I felt another pain in the small of my back. I was squashed into the concrete as if I were nothing more than a bug. A strong hand twisted my other arm behind my back. Cuffs snapped around my wrists. It was the police. I had suspected that when the headlights came on, but they had not identified themselves as such.

Christmas Sale: Price Reduction

Christmas Sale: Price Reduction

The first book in my Rachel Christie murder mystery series, "Murder by the Clock," will be on sale for the holiday season for the low price of $0.99 at Amazon.com.

"Murder by the Clock" is a mystery in the Sam Spade tradition. Rachel Christie is an engineer turned investigator and is trying to begin a new life by saving an innocent man from a grisly murder charge. Rachel survives threats from the Sheriff, anonymous threats on her life and an attempt to kill her before facing the murderer's gun.

Rachel Christie is a woman in a man's world, a private detective with a gun strapped to her leg and more than enough baggage to fill the trunk of her old Mercedes 280SL.

She moved from Houston to the small town of Stone City to escape her troubled past and rid herself of the nickname 'Jinxy.'

After six months of struggling and running out of money, she finally gets a case. A case that no one wants solved, but a case that she must solve or return to her former life.

A stand-alone mystery, this is number 1 in the series.

Fifth in Rachel Christie Mystery Series Published

Fifth in Rachel Christie Mystery Series Published

Today, the fifth Rachel Christie murder mystery novel, “Murder One Too Many,” was published on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as an eBook. Amazon is live with the book and Barnes and Noble will take a few days. Within the next week or two, paperbacks will be available from Amazon and CreateSpace.

This book took many long hours to write. It was, not only a novel to me, but it was personal. The book delves into the murder/suicide of a man suffering from a rare affliction, Huntington’s disease. He is accused of killing his wife and, then, killing himself. I had close personal friends who died from this dreaded disease, so it was hard to write.

In the book, Private Investigator Rachel Christie knows it wasn't suicide. She was in a room no more than fifty feet away and heard no shot. The gun had no silencer. Yet, she heard a young woman scream.

As she delves into the murder/suicide, she unearths the vile and contemptible side of humanity. Greed abounds and she questions her own humanity as those around her are tortured and murdered. She commits acts that are outside the limits she has set for herself. She cannot believe that someone would kill four people for three million dollars, but soon discovers that people would maim and kill for less.

An excerpt from the book "Murder One Too Many" follows:

“The solitude and loneliness of the road and privacy of the house was much like what I had in Stone City. I had open sky and sun, whereas the Bains had had darkness and shadows. It allotted them complete solitude, totally opposite to the fast-paced life that Sharon Bain pursued at the hospital. This was their fortress of solitude, their shield against the outside world, much like the home I rented. I could empathize with these people.

I thought about Huntington's disease and of Sharon Bain. I couldn't imagine the choice of having or not having children. I had no choice. But, it must have eaten away at them since his disease forced their hand and decided for them. They didn't want to pass on such a condition and force their children to go through the same worries they must have had. He had no control over what had happened to him, the same as I had no choice what life had thrown at me. Possibly, my empathy was getting the best of me. I began to feel I was working for the Bains rather than Kate. Maybe I was. It would be the Bain's money that paid my fee. A real life example of people coming back from the grave to extract justice.”

The four other books in the series are: “Murder by the Clock,” “Murder in Emerald Hills,” “Murder by Lion” and “Murder of the Innocent.” Each are stand-alone mysteries.

What About a New Desk?

What About a New Desk?

Yesterday, my new desk was delivered. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve needed a new desk. The old one was a flat pack I bought from JC Penney back in--I don’t even remember when. After researching desks, I finally decided on this one.

My old desk was cluttered with papers, several keyboards and, at one time, two monitors. This old desk was the concern of my heroine Rachel Christie in my Rachel Christie murder mysteries because I feel like I’m overwhelmed with clutter. Therefore, Rachel Christie is not a neat person and her office and home is cluttered. She just gives up and throws things anywhere. That’s how I felt with my old computer/desk setup.

My new desk is a Riverside Cantata L shaped. The small addition to our house was large enough to accommodate width of this desk. As far as I am concerned, it is perfect. I have a place to store my printers and computers and space to keep the cords bundled and out of the way. Whether I’ll be any more organized is yet to be seen.

New Book Published - Murder of the Innocent

New Book Published - Murder of the Innocent

My new book “Murder of the Innocent” has now been published on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as an eBook for $2.99 and as a paperback on Create Space for $9.99. It is the fourth in the series, but is a standalone mystery as well as are all the others in the series.

In the book, a seven-year-old girl, drowned in salt water, is found hundreds of miles from the ocean. A Hispanic male, father of three, is drowned in salt water and his body is discovered in a landfill.

Private detective Rachel Christie must discover the connection. She finds evidence incriminating her partner Cody and pulls out all stops to find the killer before her partner is indicted as a sexual predator, and worse, a murderer. Rachel is shot at, thrown in jail, stabbed and trampled by a horse. Ron says she’ll get herself killed. Sunbeam says Rachel’s harmless to everyone but herself.

Illegal gambling thrives nearby. A registered sex offender is jailed for sending nasty emails to the dead girl. The political race for sheriff adds two more suspects. Would someone kill two people to win an election?

Too many questions. Too many clues. Too many lies. Too many suspects. Too little time.

The beginning is as is as follows:

The clouds were dark on top of dark, threatening. Not gray, but black ominous giants of wrath, poised to spew torrents of rain and a million volts of death-dealing lightning all around us. The wind's fury blew as if I were in a wind tunnel. With two steps trudged along the rushing water's mucky edge, another step was lost to the wind. The river was a murky muddy brown. No way a body could be spotted in water this dark. It would be difficult to see a body on land.

Cody, my partner, called at five and awakened me with an urgency in his voice that I couldn't ignore. Cody was normally the definition of calm. Always cool and collected. Not this morning. He called me from my living room. Maybe he thought that was the best way to wake me up. Better than his bursting in. Maybe he was afraid I might have someone with me. I must be getting a reputation in this small town. He had used the spare house key I had given him to get through the front door. I would have to rethink the option of his keeping the key.

Why Do Men Write Books About Women Sleuths?

Why Do Men Write Books About Women Sleuths?

I not only write books about a female sleuth, but I also read them. I buy new eBooks and I  trade eBooks with my friends. Frequently, I find myself asking, "What idiot wrote this?" The usual reason is that the book was written by a man. I find this amazing, strange and odd. How could a man believe that he could write as a woman? We're different, other than biologically, in the way we do things, in the way we approach problems, in the way we think, in too many ways to list. Ladies, you know what I mean. Guys, if you don't, you'd better learn.


I read a review on Goodreads that said that women characters were two-dimensional in a male author’s work and are stock characters. Could this be because men do not know how to portray the complexities that dwell within the female physche? I ask this question because I have read some good books by males who seem to portray women as this one-dimensional dimensional human being. Do men actually see women as one-dimensional? I can’t believe this is true, but the books I have read tend to support this.


As I see it, the answer could be two different things. First, the man could be 'a woman in a man's body,' if you know what I mean. But, even so, in a man's body, there are many differences. Strength. The perception of people around. Not the same. Not at all. Second, is the arrogance of the uninformed. If the man is a teen, then uninformed is the right word. If the man is thirty or more, he's old enough to know better. Women don't look at things the way men do just as men don't see things as women do. Before age thirty, this becomes obvious for all but the thickest heads.

Some men who write about women sleuths partner with women. A wise move. I have no problem with these partnerships. In fact, I have a writer friend who edits my books and frequently recommends changes based on his knowledge of the male psyche. As a married woman who has spent half a lifetime in a "man's" job, I believe I know men as well as any woman. But, I don't believe I could write for a man and have it be convincing. At least not to men.

The greatest advice I've seen about writing is to 'write about what you know.' I hope that more male authors will shed their arrogance and a bit of their false testosterone and admit some ignorance about the females of the species.  Come on guys. Give it up. It's way past time.

Murder by Lion on CreateSpace

Murder by Lion on CreateSpace

I approved "Murder by Lion" on CreateSpace on Sunday. Then I ordered ten copies. Today, around noon, the books showed up by UPS.

I can't believe the service that CreateSpace provides. In only two days, including a Sunday, they printed my book, shipped it and it was delivered. These guys are really on the ball.

Want to Read a New Murder Mystery?

Want to Read a New Murder Mystery?

After months of hard work, my third mystery novel is finished. This book is third episode in The Rachel Christie Mystery Series. The first two are "Murder by the Clock" and "Murder in Emerald Hills." All of these books take place in small northwestern North Carolina towns. All three books are available in eBook kindle format on Amazon or paperback at CreateSpace.

In this novel, "Murder by Lion," Rachel Christie becomes entangled in the gruesome murder of an heiress and philanthropist when she takes a pro bono case from her homeless friend Joe. She gets beaten and drugged by crazed addicts in solving a murder caused by a coverup that has been simmering for the past ten years.

It is a case that plunges her into physical and emotional bankruptcy and it nearly destroys her agency. Her associate Cody is forced to choose between his family and the agency and Rachel must commit to her close friend Ron or to her life as a private investigator.

* * *

The crowd hushed. The air was thick. Not from smoke, but from tension. Then, fingers pointed. People whispered. The old bum staggered across the restaurant floor. He fell to the floor, knocking over a potted plant, but rose again before anyone could move. Two waiters ran toward him, but not before he made it to the far corner of the room. As the crowd watched, homeless Joe and I caught a glimpse of each other at the same time.

I could see things weren't right. Joe was staggering. Joe would never let me see him drunk, so something bad must have happened. Why was he here? Obviously to see me. I jumped up so fast that my chair went crashing to the floor behind me.

My wine glass fell over onto the white, neatly pressed linen tablecloth. As I rushed toward him, he collapsed and fell at my feet, dropping the cell phone from his hand. Before he passed out, he said, in a barely audible voice, "Find her killer, Miss Christie. You can do it, if anybody can."

Draft of Next Book

Draft of Next Book

Today I finished the first draft of my next book in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery Series. Once I had written the outline, the writing was easy. I had several characters in my book who could be the guilty party and I hope my fans have fun trying to figure out who actually committed the murder.

However, the first draft is only the initial phase. Many more passes and edits will be required before the book will be ready for publication. Just running it through the spell checker will not do it. I have to double check that everything flows and that the evidence is consistent. The same was true with my first book "Murder by the Clock" and my second book "Murder in Emerald Hills."

I would like to thank my fans for their encouraging words and reviews of my two previous books.