OCTOBER 2023

JUSTICE BE DONE
A Caleb Knowles Mystery
Book 4

Author: Carla Damron

Social worker Caleb Knowles finds himself in the heart of a firestorm of racial tensions and violence in downtown Columbia, SC. When he interviews young Laquan Harwell, the truth behind Laquan's crime becomes clear—it was born from years of racial mistreatment. However, Laquan's assault on a white storekeeper lights the match that sets the town on fire: a hate crime sparks protests. Protests erupt into riots.

Downtown becomes a war zone.

The murder of a racist police officer further fuels the violence, and soon Caleb is entangled in a desperate search for justice. As the riots escalate, Caleb's brother Sam is injured, leading Caleb to take rash actions that put his career on the line.

As he uncovers the truth about the police officer's death, Caleb's efforts to save a client thrust him into the eye of the storm and endanger his life. Will justice prevail, or will the hate-spawned violence take more lives?

THE SECRET OF
FBI FILE 100-3-116
Author: Mark de Castrlque
First Edition
Trade Paperback
Retail: $17.95US; 228pp
ISBN 978-1-62268-173-0 print
ISBN 978-1-62268-174-7 ebook

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APRIL 2023

THE SECRET OF
FBI FILE 100-3-116
Blackman Agency Investigations
Book 9

Author: Mark de Castrique

The summer of 2020. COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire. Racial reckoning and Confederate monuments fuel nationwide protests. And Asheville, North Carolina, is not immune.

When Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson see an elderly man knocked to the pavement by a Confederate sympathizer, they rush to his aid. The assailant runs away and the fatally injured man struggles to say, "I'm so sorry, Nakayla. Can you forgive me?" Nakayla has never seen him before. Why does he want her forgiveness?

Nakayla learns the man, Henry Nelson, was a retired homicide detective who had investigated her father's death fifteen years earlier. He'd closed the case as a suicide. But when Nelson's widow brings Nakayla the case files her husband stole from police records, she and Sam realize the old man had been reviewing the investigation, evidently questioning his earlier conclusions.

But then the detective's widow is murdered and Sam and Nakayla find themselves confronting a killer who will stop at nothing to keep a crime from the past buried in the past. Their only clue, a declassified FBI file that J. Edgar Hoover kept on Martin Luther King, Jr. A file that detailed threats against the civil rights leader during his trips to Asheville. A file found on the desk of Nakayla's father the night he died. A file that holds the key to the secret. The Secret of FBI File 100-3-116.

AGNES HOPPER TACKLES
MAYHEM at the MANOR
Author: Carol Guthrie Heilman
First Edition
Trade Paperback
Retail: $15.95US; 206pp
ISBN 978-1-62268-169-3 print
ISBN 978-1-62268-170-9 ebook

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AGNES HOPPER
TACKLES MAYHEM
AT THE MANOR

The Adventures of Agnes Hopper Series
Book 3

Author: Carol Guthrie Heilman

After Agnes Hopper purchased Sweetbriar Manor, the retirement home where she resides, she anticipated a tranquil lifestyle as soothing as sharing a cup of tea with her friend and love interest, Smiley.

Instead, when she suspects Mr. Lively, the administrator, of embezzling manor funds, life gets complicated. More distractions arise when an edgy ex-convict, Zelda Dee, appears from the local halfway house and pressures Agnes to hire her as a manicurist.

Mayhem mounts with kleptomania to confront, a horrific fire to overcome, and a storm of the century bearing down upon the community.

How will Agnes tackle all the harrowing issues before her? Will her suspicions about Mr. Lively be confirmed? Is Zelda Dee innocent of her crimes, as she claims?

Will Agnes' resilient spirit help her, once more, to overcome the many thorny situations that arise at Sweetbriar Manor?

NO WORD FOR GOODBYE
Author: Mignon F. Ballard
First Edition
Trade Paperback
Retail: $11.95US; 174pp
ISBN 978-1-62268-165-5 print
ISBN 978-1-62268-166-2 ebook

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no WORD for
GOODBYE

Author: Mignon F. Ballard

"... I was sure to be scalped and chopped into little pieces with a tomahawk.
Well, it would serve them right if I was.
     "Although I'd rather not."

* * *

In the autumn of 1831, feeling as though her heart and stomach had switched places, eleven year old Nell Webb travels from her home in the small village of Athens, Georgia, to the Cherokee capital of new Echota in the northern end of the state.
     Because of family circumstances, it has become necessary for her to live for a time with her uncle, a printer there, and his Cherokee wife, and to attend school with the local children.
     Instead of the expected teepees and mud huts, Nell is surprised to find a wide main street leading through a town square bordered by neat frame buildings, not unlike those in her hometown.
     Homesick and resentful, Nell's friendship and adventures with her classmate, Callie, and the kindness of her uncle, aunt, and others lead her not only to a growing understanding, but respect and affection for the people she once considered primitive. As the grim threat of removal looms closer, she shares the sadness and alarm at the injustice that her friends might be forced to leave the land they love.

TRIPLE TRAGEDY IN ALCOLU
Author: Kendall Bell
First Edition
True Crime
Trade Paperback
Retail: $16.95US; 292pp
ISBN 978-1-62268-151-8 print
ISBN 978-1-62268-152-5 ebook

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TRIPLE TRAGEDY
in ALCOLU
The execution of 14-year-old George Stinney, Jr., accused of the
murders of Betty June Binnicker and Mary Emma Thames.
Author: Kendall Bell

On June 16, 1944, the State of South Carolina executed 14-year-old George Stinney Jr., found guilty of killing 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker in the Clarendon County town of Alcolu.

Betty June Binnicker and her 7-year-old companion, Mary Emma Thames, went missing on March 23, 1944. Searchers discovered their bodies early the next morning. Binnicker's bicycle, and its detached front wheel, had been placed on top of them.

Deputies charged George Stinney Jr. with killing both girls. However, for reasons unknown, Stinney was tried only for the murder of Binnicker.

83 days after the deaths, with no appeals, George Stinney Jr. was electrocuted by the State of South Carolina.

Rumors about Stinney's innocence or guilt began the day of his arrest. Since the original trial, a fictional book, movie, and several video productions loosely based on the George Stinney Jr. story added to those rumors, and some eventually came to be touted as fact.

In December 2014, a judge vacated George Stinney Jr.'s conviction, ruling he did not receive a fair trial in 1944. Although the judge's ruling did not exonerate Stinney, it fed rumors that the girls may have been killed by someone else. This book is an attempt to separate fact from fiction, and an effort to give readers available information pertaining to the case.

Guilty or innocent, George Stinney Jr. will forever be the youngest person executed in the United States during the Twentieth Century.

Author News . . .

THE LAST BLUE NOON IN MAY wins Killer Nashville's 2018 Silver Falchion Award, and author Joseph L.S. Terrell is the recipient of the 2018 Mystery Writers of America's Magnolia Award.

THE LAST BLUE NOON IN MAY
—A Harrison Weaver Mystery
Book 6

Author: Joseph L.S. Terrell

Outer Banks crime writer Harrison Weaver tackles a really cold case—disappearance of the nine-year-old sister of Chief Deputy Odell Wright. The young girl vanished twenty-two years earlier, and there seem to be no leads at all as to what happened to her. But when the "Bear Woman," who had befriended the black bears on the mainland near North Carolina's Outer Banks, is found dead in what appears to be a bear attack, Harrison and his friends SBI Agent Ballsford Twiddy and Deputy Odell Wright, unearth a connection that could shed light on the girl's fate. Now they must deal with the death of the Bear Woman, and the questions that nag them: Was she really killed by bears? Or was she killed by someone who feared she might be ready to uncover a brutal crime of decades earlier?

Author News . . .

Best Suspense Novel, Beverly Hills International Book Awards
Finalist in the Killer Nashville's 2014 Silver Falchion Award
Short-list Finalist, William Faulkner Pirates Alley competition
Best First Novel, Carrie McCray Literary Award.

THE SPECTRUM CONSPIRACY
Author: Craig Faris
Trade Paperback Original

"Wow, what a book! It's a wild, white-knuckle ride, pedal to the metal right from page one, never letting up. A very impressive novel in ambition and scope, with intricate plotting, relentless pacing, action-filled, with technical and procedural details that bring authenticity to the story. Bravo for writing this outstanding thriller!"
—Ted Tally, Academy Award Winning screenwriter of
The Silence of the Lambs

The Spectrum Conspiracy is a complex political thriller that has the ticking clock intrigue of Angels and Demons and the fast-paced thrills of A Clear and Present Danger.

Devrin Crosby, is a suspended, but brilliant FBI agent, and a former alcoholic. He has a partner he can't stand, who is dating the only woman he's interested in, and a boss who is giving him one more chance. Crosby starts looking into irregularities in the "official" investigation of the President's assassination. Everyone is convinced that the culprit is dead, but Crosby begins to uncover clues of a far more sinister plot.

A powerful government entity is using a covert operation called, Project Spectrum, to build a highly unstable thermonuclear weapon to sell on the black market as a Trojan Horse. Unaware of the weapon's instability, their terrorist clients would store it at their most secure facility; possibility the same location where other weapons of mass destruction are kept. But the scheme backfires when the weapon is stolen and hidden in Washington, DC.

Crosby and his partners are thrown into a race to save our nation's capitol from not only the thieves, but also government thugs, who are bent on protecting their ultimate anti-terrorist weapon, and the fact that they assassinated the President to keep him from exposing their ultimate anti-terrorist scheme.

The clock is ticking, no one is listening, and in order to save thousands of lives, Crosby will have to lose his best friend.

Editor:
Edmund R. Schubert
Contributors:
David B. Coe, A.J. Hartley, Faith Hunter, Stuart Jaffe, Misty Massey, C.E. Murphy

"This is the best idea for a writing book that I've ever seen. It's like sitting in a room full of professional writers, and after each one delivers a riff on one aspect of writing, the others weigh in to buttress, amplify, refine, or add to what was said. It's an extended conversation with writers who know what they're talking about—and what matters in writing fiction that really communicates with readers."
—Orson Scott Card

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First Edition
8"x 10" Trade Paperback
Retail: $18.95US
ISBN 978-1-933523-95-8
LCCN 2010935827

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LARRY PHILLIPS: NASCAR's Only Five-Time Winston Racing Series Champion —Master Of The Short Track
Authors: Kendall Bell and David Zeszutek

NASCAR fans take pride in knowing all about its drivers — both past and present. However, unless Larry Phillips is a part of that history, it's not complete.
    Throughout the Midwest, Larry was known as the "master of the short track." He seemed unbeatable and won an unprecedented five NASCAR Winston Racing Series Titles!

"He taught me how important it was to know your car.
He taught me a lot about racing."
—Rusty Wallace, NASCAR driver

"I was only six or seven years old ... I thought Larry was a god.
He was so good they'd put a bounty on him."
—Kenny Wallace, NASCAR driver and Speed TV commentator

"Larry Phillips is the only driver I'd pay to watch race."
—Mark Martin, NASCAR driver

Don't Sabotage Your Submission
Chris Roerden
312 pp TP, annotated, indexed
ISBN 978-933523-31-6
$17.95

Booking and promotional info:
Pat Meller, 336-209-0628
patmeller@aol.com

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Workshops for Writers

Winner of the Florida Writers Association's Royal Palm Literary Award.

"Chock full of practical advice for the novice writer.
Even seasoned writers could use a copy as a refresher course."
—Charlaine Harris, New York Times best-selling author of 29 books in multiple genres; Sookie Stackhouse series is HBO hit True Blood

"Best book of its kind by far. Required for my college level students. Recommended for all aspiring writers."
—Reed Farrel Coleman, two-time Edgar nominee;
Shamus, Barry, and Anthony winner

Author News . . .

DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION
by Chris Roerden
wins Benjamin Franklin Award

Bella Rosa Books (Rock Hill, SC) won the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of Literary Criticism for its trade paperback DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION: Insider Information from a Career Editor to Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A.

The national Benjamin Franklin Awards[TM] are sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) to celebrate excellence in editorial and design. Judges come from all areas of the industry: major newspaper and trade media reviewers, bookstore and library buyers and reviewers, non-competing publishers, and artists and writers who serve the industry.

DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION is the expanded edition, for writers in all genres, of the Agatha Award winner DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques to Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A., also published (2006) by Bella Rosa Books. Each award-winning book reveals why 90 percent of the manuscripts submitted to literary agencies and publishing houses are rejected by page one, and what authors can do to boost their odds of having their writing actually read.

Author Chris Roerden is a full-time book editor working in publishing more than 40 years. She's edited writers published by St. Martin's Press, Berkley Prime Crime, Harlequin, Intrigue, Midnight Ink, Rodale, Viking, Oceanview Publishing, Walker & Co., and many others. Roerden is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern Maine with a Master's degree in English, past president of a trade association of Midwest university presses and independent publishers, and a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Mensa. She also teaches writing and has led over 300 workshops in 3 countries.

"Invaluable to fiction writers of all genres"
—Midwest Book Review

A career editor demonstrates why most fiction manuscripts are rapidly rejected. Loaded with positive examples from 140 mystery authors, this well-researched volume shows numerous ways that ALL writers can dramatically improve their craft and put forth the fresh new voice publishers demand.
     Even multi-published pros Margaret Maron, P.J. Parrish, Phil Hardwick, and Kathryn Wall admit to learning new techniques from Don't Murder Your Mystery.

"Offers a wealth of good advice, supported by excellent examples."
—Mystery Scene

Author: Chris Roerden
Original Title from Bella Rosa Books

ISBN 1-933523-13-1      author and book info   Workshops for Writers

Reviewers Choice Award Finalist for Best Young Adult Mystery:

DEATH ON A SOUTHERN BREEZE
by Mark de Castrique

A LOCKED-ROOM WHODUNIT
IN THE CLASSIC TRADITION OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

JUNE 1860 — A new locomotive christened A Southern Breeze steams across the Carolina countryside carrying seventeen-year-old Jeb Bennett and his twin sister Rachel Leigh to the exhilarating promise of a summer in Charleston.

While storm clouds gather over the landscape, fiercer storms rage inside the passenger cars. The tensions between North and South rapidly escalate until one traveler's journey abruptly and brutally ends. Who was the murderer? Was the victim the real target? Amid swirling suspicions and deceptive intrigue, Jeb and Rachel Leigh join Pinkerton Detective Jonathan Ward in a race to unmask a killer.

But murder isn't the only evil Jeb must confront. As motives and suspects abound, Jeb learns what it means to place a price on a human life, not only as a victim of murder, but also as property to be traded and sold.

The final showdown means hard choices, a test of loyalties, and a face-to-face encounter with Death On A Southern Breeze.

Fact: Doing chores improves your child's chances for a happy marriage and a good job.

In Children Who Do Too Little, Sprinkle shows why and how parents should teach their children household skills and gives suggestions for making teaching easier. Read More >>>

Author: Patricia Sprinkle
Third Edition
5.5"x8.5" Trade Paperback
Retail: $12.95US

ISBN 978-1-933523-23-1      author and book info