Have you been to my little town of Hidden Springs where Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane tries to keep the peace? It’s a sleepy little town that might remind you of other small towns you’ve known. The kind of place where everybody knows everybody and people sit around on front porches and share stories. Sometimes about themselves or their families and sometimes about you or yours!
Maybe you’ve had one of those kind of conversations. You know where somebody brings up a name, say Ann Gabhart. And then the other person can’t quite remember exactly who that is. First person might say, “Well, she’s about your age. You probably went to school with her.” The second person says, “I can’t place her. Who were her parents?” Pretty soon the whole life story of Ann will be in the air between them, or at least as much as they know. With me, they’d probably say, “You know, she’s the one who writes the books.” I get asked that a lot here in my hometown. “Are you the one who writes the books?” Trouble is, my two sisters get to field that question sometimes too. People know one of us is the one who writes the books.
You get the idea. In a small town, people know you. They know where you lived when you were a kid and can probably name all your siblings. They know if you’re married and how many kids you have. And heaven forbid, if you ever did anything not so good, that will definitely stick in the small town memory. Good things do too. Like being the quarterback for that football team years ago that actually won a district championship or getting a University of Kentucky basketball scholarship. Being mayor or some other elected job is definitely something that will keep you in the small town memory. But mostly it’s just common everyday things. Where you went to school. Your job. Maybe that house you built with different looking windows. All those bits and pieces of our lives weave together to make up the special atmosphere of a small town.
I tried to capture that in my Hidden Springs mysteries, Murder at the Courthouse, Murder Comes by Mail, and now coming in March, Murder Is No Accident. The cover of the new Hidden Springs mystery has been up online for a while now and the book is available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, Kobo, or other online sellers. A few people have even ordered a copy or two. But I haven’t introduced the book here on One Writer’s Journal.
So tonight is my official cover reveal for the New Year. What do you think? Each of my Hidden Springs mystery covers have featured a cat. A different cat each time. Two Bits looking out the barbershop window in Murder at the Courthouse. Grimalkin with those beautiful blue eyes in Murder Comes by Mail. Now Miss Marble, the calico, makes her debut in Murder Is No Accident.
So to celebrate this new cover and just in case some of you haven’t had a chance to visit Hidden Springs yet or know a friend who might like a small town mystery, I’m giving away a few copies of the first two Hidden Springs books. I’ll pick a winner each week until the end of January. All you have to do is leave a comment here on this post or on Wednesday’s post to have your name tossed in my drawing hat for either a copy of Murder at the Courthouse or Murder Comes by Mail. You do have to be 18 to enter. I’ll draw the first winner next Sunday and then two more winners on January 22nd and 29th. Each comment on a new post gets you a new entry in the drawing and if you don’t win the first Sunday, your name stays in the drawing hat until I draw the last winner on the 29th. Open internationally wherever such giveaways are not prohibited. If you’ve already read my Hidden Springs stories, you can still enter and perhaps win a book for a friend.
For fun this week, you can tell me which Hidden Springs cover you like best or if you’ve ever lived in a small town.
As always, thanks for reading. I might share a little about the new mystery Wednesday.
Comments 52
I thought I had posted this week. I lived in a small college town when my husband went to college. Even so we were the test market for some grocery items. Guess they wanted to know what small town America wanted. I love Victorian houses and town squares with band shells, old courthouse and post office.Sounds like Hidden Springs is my kind of town. We retired from St. Louis to a much smaller town but the main drag still has loads of fast food restaurants. I grew up in a cobblestone house built in 1836 that is on the National register. My mother was an antique collector/ dealer. I guess I come by it naturally! I really love small towns like Hidden Springs. I already have Murder Comes by Mail. I like that cover the best because of the cat and the house. I would like the other two books! Thanks, Ann
Looking forward to reading your books!
I signed up for your blog and newsletter, too. Looking forward to reading your books!
Author
Great, Donamae. Hope you’ll join the conversation here often and enjoy my occasional newsletters. I’ll probably send one out at Valentine’s time. Then I’ll be doing a bigger giveaway to celebrate my Hidden Springs mystery in March and the newsletter people always get that news first.
My foster home was in a small town and then we were bused to a school on Hwy 1 in a town called Half Moon Bay which Nancy Jill Thames wrote a little about when she stayed there . I love being in a small town that is why we live in a rural area of a big town so much better to see the wildlife on a regular basis. I am so looking forward to reading your new book I think in your mysteries i am one behind but hubby is laid off till April so can’t get anything till after that . I sure can read all of your posts and look forward to this new one coming out, Sure don’t know when you have the time as you are a wonderful grandma mom and friend. Oscar being your main one. Take care and god bless.
Author
Great to hear from you, Peggy, and maybe you’ll be lucky and be the winner of one of these books. I do appreciate you reading my posts and joining the conversation on Facebook at times. I like the name of that town, Half Moon Bay. No wonder she wrote about it. It calls for a story. I don’t get to see my grandkids as often as I’d like, but I do enjoy them when they are able to come visit. Of course, Oscar needs his walks every day. He is a good walking buddy and is sleeping right now behind my chair. I’m like you. I like country living where you can see the animals and be close to nature. As long as Oscar doesn’t get too close to a skunk. So far that hasn’t happened, but I used to have a cockerspaniel who got skunked on a regular basis. He loved being a farm dog and never knew why I was always wanting to give him a bath or scoot him outside after those skunk encounters. LOL.
I loved your book Murder comes by mail. Keep writing your page turner bookstore. They always are a pleasure to read. Remember to Be thankful in All Things.
I grew up in a small town of 1200 people and live in a town with 16,000 now which most people would also consider small. I can’t imagine living in a city.
I have always lived in the city. I enjoy the country life or going to small quaint towns…I have a friend that lives in a small town and she is always talking about everyone knowing many things about everyone. I would enjoy reading the First mystery.. Murder Comes by Mail. All your covers are so very different but the new cover is very intriguing with the staircase and someone’s body being discovered at the body..poses many questions…thanks so much for the fun of winning..good luck on your new book.
I like all the covers, but I like “Murder at the Courthouse’s” cover the best. I live in a big city so I don’t have that small town experience, but it’s nice to travel to that small town atmosphere in books 🙂
I lived between to small towns growing up. Love the country.My husband does
ancestry for my side of family.He laughs and says I am related to most of people that come from this area. Someday like to go back and live there. I visit my brother who still lives in the area. I laugh and say don’t shut your eyes and you’ll miss it. Life seemed so much slower in these times.
Can’t wait to visit Hidden Springs!
Thank you for the chance to win!
Author
Lana – It’s fun having you ready to visit Hidden Springs again. I’m sure you recognize some of the Main Street highlights. 🙂
Pam K – The slower pace of your little town sounds great. My little town has grown a lot since I was a kid and isn’t quite so slow paced anymore. But there’s still that Main Steet and lately it’s beginning to come back to life after many of the stores moved out to the By-Pass. So even though we’ve grown, the Main Street still has a small town feel.
Lucy – Your description of your small town made me smile. You must live near a trout fishing stream. That sounds good and you can always get your butter and eggs. We went vacationing at a lake this summer where there was only a store something like you describe. They had butter and eggs and milk, but the milk was a week over date and the eggs were double price. They must have stayed in business with those fishing lures. Hope you get a chance to read some of my mysteries.
Donamae – Your town does sound kind of small. Murder Comes by Mail is a very eye-catching cover.
Donna H – Fun to think about somebody who works at a Sheriff’s Department in a small town reading my book. Hope I got some of the office feel right. But I doubt if you have a Betty Jean Atkins in your office. 🙂
I love the new cover. The house reminds me of small town living, love the front porch. I grew up in a small Arkansas town, moved away during my college years and early years of marriage and moved back in 2007. I work for the Sheriff’s Dept here, so these books are right up my alley!
Murder comes by mail is an awesome cover! I live in a town of 3,500 people, kind of small!
I haven’t read your mystery books, but would love to. My town is so small that the only thing we have is a fly market, where they sell tied flies for trout fishing, butter, eggs, and junk. Haha Thank you!
My favorite cover is Murder Comes By Mail (I like the house), which is the only one I’ve read so far. I really liked it so am wanting to read the others. I grew up on a farm outside of a really tiny town. After a lot of moving around, I’m living in a small town of about 3,000, which is a perfect size for this time of my life. I like the slower pace and lack of traffic. Your new book looks great. Thanks for having the book giveaways.
Can’t wait to meet new folk in this new adventure.
Author
Emily – great to hear from you. Fun to find out that you’ve enjoyed visiting Hidden Springs. I do hope your mother never had the bad fortune of finding a body on the courthouse steps! I’m a dog person myself too, but cats fit into the stories nicely. And I do like cats just not like I do dogs. It would definitely be sad news if I ever found out I was allergic to dogs. I might have to keep sneezing or whatever. There are a few dog breeds that shed less dander. Maybe you can find one of those.
Edith – I know what you mean about the busy holiday season. I have a hard time carving out work time when there’s everything to get ready for Christmas. But I think it would be fun to settle down with a good book now. I’m not above suggesting my mysteries. Hope if you do get a chance to read them, you’ll like the stories. Oh, and thanks for “going” walking with Oscar and me on Sunday mornings. Always glad to have company. 🙂
Author
Connie – I guess the cat is giving a “better not reach for the mail” look because it might be dangerous. Always fun to see your comments here. Good luck in the giveaway.
Jamie – I hope you do get a chance to give one of my stories a try. Winning a book would be a good way to start, wouldn’t it?
Phyllis – The cats on the covers all started with the first one on Murder at the Courthouse, but it’s been fun figuring out a way to let a cat have some scenes in the mysteries. Those cats on the covers prove that the stories are cozy mysteries. LOL. Hope you’ll enjoy reading about Miss Marble, Phyllis.
Nancy – I do hope you’ll decide to take a trip to Hidden Springs and meet up with those mysteries. Winning a book would be a good way to make the trip, wouldn’t it?
I am from a small town , and so enjoy mysteries. But haven’t read for awhile with the busy holidays. Especially the ones you have written. Thanks for posting the early morning walks with your dog. Keep using your talents in writing such great stories.
I haven’t gotten to read the two mysteries books of yours as yet ,with the busy holiday season. But I think it’s time to snuggle up with copies of these murder mysteries. I so enjoy your post about early morning walks with your dog. I am sure they will be my favorites.