I’ve loved to tell stories and write stories for as long as I can remember. As a little girl I read Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and other books with strong female protagonists. I fantasized about being a detective, and as I got older, I was able to do investigative work in a number of my careers. I worked as a social worker, a probation officer, and a federal investigator for a total of 9 years before I started teaching at the university level. By then, I was over the idea of being a detective anymore, but I found that I still liked writing mysteries. After teaching sociology and criminal justice for 11 years, I decided to work full time as a writer. Of course everyone thought I was having a midlife crisis because who abandons their career as a tenured professor to become a self-published writer? Um, that would be me! I’ve been writing full time since 2013 and have written six books with the seventh installment in the University Mystery Series to be released this spring.

My first book, Day of the Dead, was inspired by actual events. In 2004 I was teaching at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota when a fellow professor was found shot to death outside the building where we both taught. The resulting investigation left us on campus with more questions than answers. Years later, I used this premise as the inspiration for my book. After writing Day of the Dead, I realized that I had tons of background information from my previous occupations I could use and, thus developed a series.

The University Mystery Series can best be characterized as cozy mysteries with an edge. They take place in the small, quirky, fictional town of Elmwood, South Dakota. My protagonist, Marlee McCabe, is a professor of criminology, struggling to figure out the politics of university life. At the same time, she’s balancing her love life, struggling with overeating, and has a bit of a drinking problem. While she’s muddling through her professional and personal struggles, she finds herself pulled into mysteries in the area.

In an attempt to avoid “Cabot Cove Syndrome,” my latest book, Blood Feud, is set in Delhi, India. This came about organically when I went on a trip to India with one of my best friends. Once I arrived and experienced the richness of the culture I knew I had to make it a setting for an upcoming book. As a university professor, my protagonist was coming up for sabbatical; a release from work duties on campus to complete research. I decided to have Marlee travel to India while she was on her sabbatical. Once there, she falls into similar academic pitfalls that beleaguered her back in Elmwood, SD. She also experiences the murder of a new friend and tries to uncover the details of his death while navigating the Indian culture.

I’m currently working on the seventh book in the University Mystery Series. As of yet, it’s untitled, so I’ve been referring to it as #7. Don’t worry, I’ll come up with a better name. After completing this book I’m excited to start on a new series. It will also be set in South Dakota, but will be a bit darker than my other books. It will still fall in the Mystery genre and can be categorized as Prairie Noir.  

In my work as a probation officer and social worker, I developed a strong sense of empathy for victims of crime. Fortunately, I’ve never been a victim of a serious crime, but have worked with many people who were victimized. When I began writing Day of the Dead, I decided to begin each chapter with a sentence or two in the words of the victim. The victim’s words might be foreshadowing of events to come or a reaction to something a character said or did in the book. In Blood Feud, I began each chapter with a Hindu proverb. The book is set in India and the victim often speaks in proverb form, so it seemed fitting.

Motivation is more important than inspiration, in my opinion. If I waited for inspiration, nothing would get finished. Since 2009 I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) as a way of getting the majority of a first draft completed during the month of November. At least part of all of my books have been written during Nanowrimo. I need the challenge of meeting a daily word count and writing 50,000 words in a month. I publish a book about every ten months. This is slow compared to many authors I know who crank out four or more books a year. Could I write four books in one year? It’s doubtful, but if I did they wouldn’t be fit to read. Every writer is different and for me I need the better part of a year to work on my story plus all the revising, editing, marketing, etc. that goes along with being a self-published writer.

My best advice for aspiring or new writers is to write and keep writing. If you get stuck, give it some time. Switch to a new story or do something else creative for a short time. Don’t stop and don’t throw anything away. Also, limit the amount of time you spend reading what so-called experts have to say about writing.

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​When an unexpected teaching assignment whisks Marlee McCabe off to New Delhi, India, she lands right in the middle of an ongoing family dispute and an academic firestorm. Before long, Marlee is faced with the most difficult decisions of her life, causing her to choose between her life back home and a new life in India. Without the familiarity of the Midwest, she’s dependent upon the good graces of strangers. But are these new acquaintances really who they pretend to be? Sacrificing her career and her own safety, Marlee struggles to unravel the mystery of who murdered her only friend in India. Can she unmask the killer before she becomes the next victim?

​Sandy Ward Bell grew up in upstate NY. Radio was her first love. After college, she became an announcer and promotion director. She married, had a daughter, and the art of storytelling became her new passion. She spent many years living in Augusta, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. Today, she calls Nashville home. For more information, visit sandywardbell.com.
 

Becoming a writer started as a dream, an actual dream. I pulled this weird chair off a farmhouse porch, placed it smack dab into the middle of a gravel road, and sat, waiting for something exciting to happen. A male voice announced, “This is the beginning of your novel.” I woke up and started writing. Six years later that scene became the opening of my first novel, In Zoey’s Head.

Self-publishing through CreateSpace was becoming stylish in 2010, so I took that route after several rejections from traditional agents. I’m glad I did. I was in control, picking everything from cover design to font size, and my bank account wasn’t drained to empty.

Finding an honest bi-monthly, line-by-line critique group was my next blessing. Four men and three women of different ages helped me mold my second novel in half the time as the first. In honor of Jane Austen, I wrote a modern version of Mansfield Park. My Parked at the Mansfields’ has sold well in Europe thanks to faithful Janeites. 

​I write because I must. Characters are often buzzing in my head, demanding to have their voice’s heard through my fiction. I’ll see a fancy new nightlight and imagine that is how fairies enter our world or I’ll watch a documentary about life-like dolls and I’ll want to explain that raw emotion in words. Because novels are time consuming and concentrate on only a few characters, I decided to change it up by creating a series of short stories. Boldwas born,a collection of 14 short stories about strong women. 

Self-publishing remained the best option: my daughter modeled for the cover again, I controlled pricing and eBook giveaways. Yet, that was the last time I could use CreateSpace. For my next book, I’ll be going to Kindle Direct Publishing. I don’t believe there will be much difference because they are still under the Amazon umbrella.

With my writing journey said, here is what I recommend for all future authors. 1) Find a committed critique group. The best way to learn is through mistakes. 2) Surround yourself with creative people. They will inspire you. 3) You will find time to write if you tell the world you are a writer. 4) Writer’s block does not exist. Put some words on a page and keep going. It may be crap, but you are writing. 5) Read, read, and read some more.

“Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” J.K. Rowling.

Growing up, every now and then I used to sit down and write a poem about something happening in my life. Poetry was one of the few things I liked about English classes in school, but I wasn’t a reader. What I had going for me was that I always had something to say, as far back as I can remember (Mom and Dad called me Motor-mouth when I was around 3 years old). And poetry is what got me started as a writer in my adult life.

It was 2002, and my wife and I were set to have twins. Unfortunately, following a short trip to the beach with my in-laws, we came back to bad news in my wife’s next checkup. The doctor broke tragic news to us that one of our twin boys had passed. This was a bittersweet time for our entire family; we had lost a child we so looked forward to seeing, but we still had a little boy who stood a chance. The rest of the pregnancy was high risk, and of course had strong emotional impact on both my wife and me. It had been a while, but I wrote a poem to cope with the loss on my part, and to try to give my wife some sort of closure. Thankfully, my son Jay was born to us a few months later in the summer of 2002.

Meanwhile, that poem sparked something to life in me. I began writing more poetry. I lost a collection of poetry some time ago that I shared with people here and there back then – a collection I called Daddy’s poems, showing the first couple of years of life as a father. It was during this time of sharing poetry with the guidance counselor and librarian at the school in which I worked, that it was suggested that I try to write a book. I began taking their advice… and I wrote the beginning of one story…and another… and another. But I just couldn’t seem to finish a story. It would take the words of Stephen King, something about you’ll never make it as an author until you actually sit down and write an entire story, to get me to come to my senses. It also took time, and a short run at two careers (PE Teacher/ coach, and Wellness Director/ Personal Trainer) before my job as a training officer in law enforcement, which I hold today.

Then one night, as I checked in with a security officer when I was a police officer on night shift at a hospital, that the perfect inspiration came to me for the first story. The security officer was cleaning out the knife inventory drawer near the metal detector, and he tossed a little plastic bag aside.

“Why is this in here? It’s not a weapon,” he stated as I picked up the small baggie.

I took out the contents and held it up. It was a small golden cross; a necklace charm, but bigger than most I’d seen. I studied the cross in my hand, and an idea occurred to me.

I spoke up to the security officer, Officer Pace I believe; “No – but it could be a calling card.”

I smiled at him and walked into our substation office near the metal detector. I sat down at the computer and took a plain white piece of paper from the printer. Using a pen, I scratched out an outline of main ideas; a chronological order of events surrounding a broken man who takes revenge against a religion he hates, leaving a gold cross at the scene of each assassination of important religious figures. The Jesus Assassin was born. A few months later, I sent out attachment after attachment of the original rough version of Misguided, to agents and publishers everywhere. I received several rejection letters and e-mails. Some of this upset me; some didn’t. But the fact was that I had done it; I’d written my very first novel!

And my father was one of the most supportive people in that early part of my writing career, bragging to all his friends and family that his oldest boy had written a book. After learning a little more about the publishing world and talking to a close friend, I decided to attempt self-publishing. I published on Amazon using CreateSpace, and on December 19th, 2014, I had my first book signing. My dad invited several people, and I had friends from several circles attend. I decided to make the venue a local bar where I bounced a few years prior; the folks at Chicora Alley in Greenville, SC were more than accommodating. And Dad made a toast at the end of the evening that helped me realize one of the proudest moments in my life.

So that’s how it all started for me. That was four years ago; I’ve written five more books since then. I am steadily working on number seven. I’ve started a fictional universe that keeps expanding with every exciting dynamic character I add to pages. I’ve learned so much more about self-publishing since then. I have not ruled out traditional publishing, but self-publishing is the main path for me because I am my own man, and to quote Frank Sinatra, I can always say
regarding most of my novels: “I did it myyyyyyyyyyy way!”

Why is the World Turned Upside Down?
In our nation, where once scholars roamed the halls of academia, we now have socialists, anarchists, and even avowed terrorists donning professor’s robes....Where people were once innocent until proven guilty, they are now found to be guilty, despite their innocence, by the prosecutorial mainstream media and in the court of public opinion....Where the anti-establishment of the 1960s and ‘70s have now become the establishment of the past three decades....Where once policemen and servicemen were revered and honored and criminals, thugs, and enemies were reviled and abhorred, now the reverse is true....Where we now have people who kneel during the playing of our national anthem, yet fewer and fewer people are kneeling in prayer in our houses of worship....Where once the Judeo-Christian principles on which our nation was founded were valued and protected, our principles are being demeaned and attacked. Is this not the world turned upside down?

​Aidan Dunn 

Aidan Dunn is a man driven by money and power – he just doesn’t have any. What he does have - he thinks - is charm. He’s been honing his manipulation skills as a charity collector for years, earning enough commission to rent a bedsit and keep him in lager. But it’s time for bigger and better things. He needs a break or a meal ticket.

Rich, vulnerable looking Sophie Harris could be the answer. 

The problem is, Sophie seems immune to his charms.

When she isn’t at work, she spends her time at a group which she won’t tell him about. Worse still, she won’t commit to seeing him. It’s infuriating and addictive, so when Sophie finally seems to melt and asks him to come with her to a Salvation program meeting, Aidan is putty in her hands. 

Because nobody's perfect 

At the meeting, ex-model front woman, Yvette Blake, and the program’s charismatic founder, doctor Jeffers, seem to be offering the route to money and power that Aidan seeks. All he has to do is climb the ladder and become a ‘Savior’ with the chance of securing a lucrative ‘Salvation program’ franchise.

The problem is, it costs too much. Fortunately, Sophie is willing to pay for him. She needs recruits to progress in the program, so what has Aidan got to lose? Nothing but his sanity, his freedom and his chance of true love with fellow initiate, Lizzie.

Find Kay Jay at her website, and on Facebook, and Twitter

Luskell has been dreaming about dead people.
Her parents may be the two most powerful wizards in the country, but Luskell doesn’t have any magic of her own, so she’s stuck spending a summer with her grandmother in the small town of Deep River where her father is the hometown hero. Then the dead start to visit her dreams with mysterious messages. In a secret pact with her friends Jagryn and Laki, Luskell begins to teach herself magic and discovers an apparently bottomless well of untapped power. But before she has control over this ability, her dead grandfather appears with a dire warning. With no way to send word to her parents, Luskell and her friends mount a daring rescue. Can they get to the capital in time to save the country … and her parents’ lives?

​My most recent book is the result of fan requests.  Our hero, Ears O'Fluffin, made his debut as a series of short mystery stories in the monthly free eMag, Bunnyzine.  The magazine's editor put a request to the Development Team for a regular monthly feature.  I thought back to some of my favorite authors, and remembered that Arthur Conan Doyle published the Sherlock Holmes short stories as magazine serials.  The idea was well received, I just had to figure out how to make it rabbit-related.  

At the same time, I was watching old episodes of the TV show, Castle.  One of my favorite episodes, The Blue Butterfly, features a typical trench coat wearing hard boiled PI.  I flipped through a book of rabbit breeds, looking for the least likely tough guy detective, and found the Dwarf Hotot.  Three pounds of white fluff and adorableness, I'd found my unlikely PI.

Of course he has a tiny trench coat, a fedora hat, and a bottle of carrot juice in his desk drawer.  Ears O’Fluffin is a Pet Private Investigator.  His office is a cardboard box in his human’s living room, complete with a desk, a chair, and a coat rack.  Other pets come to him to solve the mysteries in their lives, while Ears tries to maintain his tough guy persona.  

After about six months of serial shorts, I had run out of ideas for cases.  I asked the Bunnyzine fans for mysteries that Ears should solve.  I got several good ones, including an idea that deserved more than the short serial could provide.  I put the idea of an Ears O’Fluffin novel to the fans, and got overwhelming positive feedback.  

The Adventure of the Scarlet Bird is Ears’ most difficult case, to date.  The boredom of a Pet Expo is broken by a plea for help from a glamorous white cat.  A precious gem is stolen right under Ears’ nose dragging him into the seedy world of jewel thieves.  To top it all off, Ears is subjected to the sarcasm of a British hamster tasked with finding another stolen gem.  A room full of suspects, a hostile local police detective, and only two days to solve the case.  Can Ears recover the gem and preserve his reputation as the country's most successful Pet PI?

Without my rescue bunny, Peaches, I would not have been pulled into the wonderful world of house rabbits.  To give back to that community, and to help other rescued rabbits find their forever homes, I have set up a fundraiser for the Colorado House Rabbit Society.  For every signed copy of The Adventure of the Scarlet Bird ordered from me, I will donate $1 to the CHRS.  More information and purchase links can be found on my website at www.monicayoknis.com/earsofluffin.  

Follow the adventure of a dwarf rabbit detective as he solves a perplexing theft.  Appropriate for anyone ages 10 and up.
A boring weekend at a pet expo takes a dramatic turn for the mysterious when a bird made of rubies is stolen right out from under Ears’ nose.  With his reputation as the country’s greatest Pet P.I. at stake, Ears finds himself facing his most difficult case.  Is his client really a victim, or is she trying to frame Ears for the theft?  Can Ears find the jewel and apprehend the real thief before the expo closes?  Can he avoid being detained by the local police?  And can he work with a sarcastic British hamster?

Find Monica on Facebook, Twitter and her website!