Blog Archives
“A Microcosm of Eccentricity”
A Charm Without a Chain follows a teacher and his daughter as they stumble upon a gruesome murder, driving him to solve the mystery and protect his community amidst a web of suspicion and secrets. Could you share the initial idea that motivated you to write this novel?
I always wanted to write a mystery set in a high school. I attended the grammar school where my mother taught and the high school where my father taught, which was unusual for a kid, to say the least. In both cases, I was privy to all kinds of behind-the-scenes information about what was going on in the schools and also at the two respective Boards of Education. Both were excellent, wonderful schools. However, at the one where my dad taught, I used to say the faculty was like “a microcosm of eccentricity” because of all the various personalities on the staff. All of it provided inspiration for A CHARM WITHOUT A CHAIN.
The book is filled with unexpected twists and intriguing characters. Can you share your process for crafting a complex plot and maintaining suspense throughout the story?
I start writing with an initial idea and just keep on going with it. Monty is called to the school in the summertime by the principal that no one can stand, his daughter goes along because she’s about to start attending it and wants to get the lay of the land regarding where each of her classes will be held, and kaboom! They find the principal’s dead body. It takes off from there. And here’s a little secret: whenever I start to write a mystery, I have some idea of who is going to be the one “whodunit,” but don’t strictly hold to that if a better possibility comes to mind.
Monty is a unique character with an interesting background. How did you develop his character, and what made you decide to give him aspirations of becoming a detective?
Easy question! I should have become one myself! I had a grandfather who was a Federal Postal Inspector and my mind seems to work a whole lot like his did. So I created Monty as this terrific teacher, but one who had regrets about not becoming a cop, which would have been his first choice of a profession until his mother put a stop to it. He’s a good teacher and a good man, but finding this body is finally giving him his chance to do what he’s always wanted. He wants to not only solve this case but prove he can do it. I may write a sequel and give him another one to solve.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
It’s called THE HOLLYWOOD BACKLASH MOON and it’s available as of right now, January 2024. A CHARM WITHOUT A CHAIN was set in a calm lakeside community in Colorado, but THE HOLLYWOOD BACKLASH MOON takes place in Los Angeles in 1964. A nice girl from Brooklyn lives with her wacky aunt and uncle, who just happen to be television actors. It’s a murder mystery set within the culture clash of Brooklyn sensibilities – I live there, and the people are so wonderfully down to earth and blunt – and the whole Hollywood competitive “notice me” nonsense. I once worked for a motion picture company so I have a good handle on both Brooklyn and Hollywood. It was so much fun to write!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon
It’s bad enough that Monty and his daughter Jessica are the ones to find the principal’s dead body, but the next thing they hear is that a beloved teacher, Naomi Sutherland, was done in a day earlier as well. Why were two school staff members killed within two days? Who could possibly be behind this? And what is the significance of the silver rose charm that Jessica found near the murder scene?
Figuring out the solution to the two murders may initially seem impossible, but look out, Lake Covington, because Monty’s on the case!
A Charm Without a Chain
Set against the serene backdrop of a small lake town in Colorado during the year 1974, A Charm Without a Chain, by Carolyn Summer Quinn, is a compelling narrative that introduces us to Monty Farraday, an English and Theater teacher. The tranquility of the setting is disrupted when Monty and his daughter, Jessica, who is on the cusp of starting her freshman year at the local high school, stumble upon a shocking scene. They find the school principal, Reginald Brandenburg, lifelessly sprawled in his office, a victim of a gruesome shooting. This harrowing discovery sets the stage for a riveting mystery that unravels in the corridors of the school and the streets of Lake Covington.
Quinn skillfully weaves a tale that engages readers with its intricate plot and a host of characters ranging from Monty’s colleagues, who exhibit a blend of suspicious and amiable traits, to the local police, his family, and students. The small town, ordinarily unaccustomed to such scandal, becomes a hotbed of speculation and intrigue, where everyone is potentially culpable.
The narrative stands out for its clear delineation of characters and scenarios, which Quinn achieves without overwhelming the reader. The storyline is replete with unexpected twists that keep the pages turning. Quinn’s mastery in setting the scene – the picturesque town in the 70s, coupled with the relatable dynamics of Monty’s family life – enriches the reading experience. Quinn’s storytelling echoes the essence of classic mystery novels, filled with meticulously plotted possibilities, questions, and suspects.
Monty Farraday emerges as a memorable protagonist, whose past aspiration of becoming a detective adds a layer of depth to his character. His investigation into the crime hints at the potential for more stories in what could easily evolve into a series.
A Charm Without a Chain is a book that will particularly resonate with enthusiasts of thriller and mystery genres, especially those who appreciate a modern take on traditional ‘whodunit’ narratives. Quinn’s novel is not just a mystery; it’s a journey into the depths of a small community shaken by an unprecedented event, as seen through the eyes of a compelling protagonist.
Pages: 251 | ASIN: B0CM5YR8TV
I Love Vaudeville
Vanished on the Vaudeville Circuit follows a Vaudeville performer whose 7-year-old daughter goes missing one night and his search for her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I was interested in the world of vaudeville and its traveling entertainers, almost vagabonds, since I first read the book GYPSY by Gypsy Rose Lee as a child. Gypsy and her little sister grew up in vaudeville. It was intriguing to learn that there were children who had been free of going to school and spent their childhoods entertaining, and I wanted to write about a father who was on the road with his daughters. It’s the 1920s, so I made the father, Avram, who changed his name to August, the child of immigrants, with all the resilient bravado that those who came to this country brought with them. The premise for this book popped into my head one day as I was outside drinking a coffee by the rose bushes in my backyard, and I ran right inside to start the book.
Why choose this place and time for the setting of the story? What do you find so fascinating about the Roaring 1920s?
As I said, I love the whole idea of the world of vaudeville, and the 1920s always struck me as a wonderful time. It was my grandparents’ era. I grew up listening to show tunes and also the bouncy, optimistic songs of the 1920s, loved them then and love them yet. World War I had ended. The members of the armed forces who survived returned home wanting to forget it and have a good time. It’s just an amazing decade, or it was until it ended with a crash and burn in 1929, and I put the story right in the middle of it, 1925. I also had to put the story during a time when vaudeville was still alive and well. It was in 1925, but its demise was coming.
Do you think there’s a single moment in everyone’s life, maybe not as traumatic, that is life-changing?
Oh, definitely, yes! August La May kind of “wakes up” when his younger child goes missing. Up until then, he’s not naive or anything, but he’s a lot more trusting of the world around him until that happens. After that, as we say in Brooklyn, “Forget about it!” He’s older and wiser, fast.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I work on several at a time. At the moment, I’m not sure which one I’ll finish next, but there’s a bunch of them in the works. The genre I love the most is cozy mysteries like this one!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog
But four years after Violetta left, all might not be well. August is sure he sees Violetta on the theater ticket line in Chicago. Later that day, seven-year-old Florabelle goes missing on the way to the stage from her dressing room. Is this a coincidence? Has Violetta really returned for only one of her daughters, or has someone else in vaudeville taken the talented child? Who, among the many rather irregular folks in show business, might have done this? August and his other daughter, savvy little April, keep touring the theaters of America, determined to find out. Where then, in the space of the entire country, could Florabelle possibly be?
Vanished on the Vaudeville Circuit
In Carolyn Summer Quinn’s poignant novel, Vanished on the Vaudeville Circuit, we are introduced to August La May, a dedicated Vaudeville performer and loving father of two enchanting girls, Florabelle and April. The story unfolds when August thinks he sees his long-lost partner and the mother of his children, Violetta, after four years of abandonment at a Nebraska theater. August grapples with whether or not it was Violetta and, if so, what will it mean to him and his daughters.
Set in the backdrop of 1920s America, the novel follows August’s relentless quest to find his missing daughter, praying for an elusive reunion. However, the journey is fraught with challenges as August, and his family face societal prejudices against performers like them, viewed with suspicion and mistrust. The reader is left pondering, along with August, how will he ever locate them.
Quinn skillfully crafts a close-knit family dynamic between August and April La May, a father-daughter duo whose unwavering support for one another sustains their hope even in the bleakest circumstances. The resolute spirit of the La Mays united against a world seemingly against them evokes a heartfelt emotional response from any reader. Vanished on the Vaudeville Circuit succeeds in gripping its audience with a compelling plot. The narrative, primarily told through August La May’s perspective, is filled with slang from the 1920s, adding to the book’s authentic feel. The book’s central themes of family bonds, heartache, and determination remain powerful and engaging, urging readers to accompany August and April La May on their poignant journey to find the elusive Florabelle, whose disappearance has left a void in their vaudeville world.
Vanished on the Vaudeville Circuit by Carolyn Summer Quinn contains emotional depth and a captivating plot making it a worthwhile read for anyone seeking a tale of perseverance and the unbreakable ties of family.
Pages: 200 | ASIN : B0C7MLMV26
Caught Up In A Bizarre Situation
Now and Forevermore Arabella follows a pre-teenage girl in the foster care system who discovers she was kidnapped and returns to her real family. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I just got an idea one day of wondering what would happen if a car thief realized there was a toddler in the back of car that he hastily stole. That’s quite an unexpected “bonus” to receive! What the heck would he do with that child? So I created a story where the parents momentarily leave a toddler in their parked car, due to the mother having a medical emergency, and then when the dad rushes back to get the little girl, the car and the child are both gone. It takes nine years before they find her because the thief and his accomplices ultimately abandons her out of state, dumping her in a mall. She’s mislabeled as a “foundling” and put into foster care.
What were some topics that were important for you to explore in this book and share with your child and teen readers?
I myself was caught up in a bizarre situation, as a child, where a sociopathic teacher at one of the schools I attended had a personal grudge against my mother – and proceeded to harass me for two solid years to try to get back at her. That sick teacher was later also found to have been a perpetual drug abuser, and furthermore, later there was even an allegation of her, shall we say, inappropriateness with a little boy, so I’m serious when I say she was “sociopathic” – she most definitely was a one-woman walking maniacal horror story. None of that is in this book, but it is what I thought of as I wrote it. I wanted to create a story for children and teens showing that sometimes they can find themselves pawns, all caught up in situations that are the making of totally unscrupulous adults, and which are totally not their doing or their fault. There are several reprehensible adult characters involved in Arabella’s story of being stolen with a car and then “hidden” in the foster care system, and it’s entirely a situation beyond the little girl’s control, yet there she is, having to live with the consequences of it. However, most bad situations don’t last forever, and I wanted to show that to my child readers. As a matter of fact, whenever I write a story, whether it’s for children or adults, I’m always keeping one line in mind, and that’s, “What a difference a day can make!”
What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
I wanted to show how a child in such a chaotic situation feels from the inside out, when her world has been upended, again and again, in this instance by being sent to one foster home after another. Arabella tries, initially, to fly under the radar wherever she goes, and not get noticed, so that she isn’t sent away from a foster home yet again or so that nothing else upsetting will happen to her. She’s rather jaded about people already and she’s only twelve. Later on, when she’s about to be reunited with her wonderful family that have longed to find her for years, she’s still initially cautious of them, but they’re terrific. Then once she’s back in their embrace, she starts to come out of her self-imposed shell. She finds out her real name, her actual family, and best of all, her voice.
When will book 2 be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?
I have a habit of working on more than one book at a time, kind of freestyle, and the Arabella sequel is one of the ones I’m still in the process of creating at the moment. I’m not sure when it will be available yet, but probably some time later this year. Arabella has quite a past to overcome and, with her family, she has a much more pleasant present to enjoy, too. I’m putting another mystery in this book for Arabella, her friends and little sister to help solve, and bringing in a hard-to-figure-out character or two from her past, as well. She lives on an island in Florida, so I can put more of the location into this one, including a mysterious boat with a surprising cargo, since the first book was more about solving what had happened to Arabella that caused her to have such a past. Florida was more incidental in the first one but it’s going to be a big part of this one. It’s going to be so much fun to write that I’m smiling already as I think about it!
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website
Disillusioned about her dating life, Erica Wilson walks into her favorite pub and encounters Chase. An enigmatic stranger who ignites in her an unexpected passion that is all-consuming. Like-minded about relationships, they agree on a friends-with-benefits relationship.
Strong, sexy, and fun. Chase is everything Erica didn’t know she wanted in a man. Love blooms and when tragedy strikes, Chase’s life is torn apart. Erica steps up to help him, uprooting her life when they are thrust into a tumultuous and strained relationship. Neither let their walls down to see what’s right in front of them.
Now and Forevermore Arabella
A child moved from foster home to foster home since she was discovered abandoned at a young age. Twelve-year-old Amanda’s deepest wish is to have a family of her own. Suddenly, Amanda finds her situation reversed and begins to discover the truth about her origins, starting with the revelation of her actual name: Arabella. Soon, the life Arabella has always dreamed of seems to be a real possibility as she discovers more about her family. But all is not sunshine and roses, as a deadly danger from the past threatens to unravel the happiness of Arabella’s new life. Can Arabella hope to find peace and justice, or will her existence be forever shadowed by the mysterious forces that turned her young life upside-down?
Now and Forevermore Arabella by Carolyn Summer Quinn is the highly engrossing tale of a young girl’s search for answers. A story of a cruel fate reversed, Arabella’s transition from the foster system to finding her true home is a story with incredible emotional depth. Arabella struggles to discover who she truly is and to uncover the deadly mystery of her past. Her fight to recall the events of her young life draws the reader in, while the love and protection of those around her are truly beautiful to behold.
I applaud the author for bringing attention to a social injustice that is tragically all too common. This amazing story takes place in only a short period of time, less than three weeks. That the author manages to include such authentic emotions is admirable. I hope there is more to Arabella’s story to come so readers can continue to follow her journey.
This story is suitable for readers aged nine and up who like a thrilling mystery with a deeply emotional plot. This book has mild language, drug references, and heavy themes such as kidnapping and violence toward children that are handled well by the author. Now and Forevermore Arabella is a riveting tale of justice, hope, and finding the true love of family. This is a story certain to touch the hearts of readers.
Pages 168 | ASIN : B09B8TBQW3
The Bossman’s Killer
Backstabbed on Broadway takes place in a glamourous yet menacing theatrical world where a young woman must solve the murder of her tyrannical boss and navigate the cut-throat industry. What inspired you to write a mystery novel set in the world of theater?
Many years ago I actually worked in a talent agency office, and I was shocked to the core by how insanely it was run. My boss was a screaming-and-yelling megalomaniac, but there was even more strangeness going on there than just that. I was the only one working there who wasn’t some kind of an addict and I was resented for that, which of course makes no sense. I saw lots of young people who would come to New York from all over the country, trying to break into careers in the entertainment industry, and they’d be trying to impress these wacky agents, or, many times, preyed upon by a lot of unscrupulous people who only wanted to use them as cash cows. Some got ensnared by self-proclaimed “acting teachers,” basically con artists in sheep’s clothing, who claimed they’d make “stars” out of them, and the students spend years paying for “lessons” that led nowhere. Part of the reason I wanted to write this book was as a warning. As the saying goes, “All that glitters isn’t gold.”
Was there anything about Jasmine’s character that developed organically while writing that surprised you?
There were no surprises there, really. All the way through, Jasmine has a real inner strength that her boss and co-workers lack. She’s not easily intimidated or impressed, and she doesn’t make excuses for all of the craziness she sees going on around her with the rest of these assorted nuts. She arrives at work thinking of quitting, finds her lunatic boss dead on the floor, and then learns she’s inherited his agency. It turns everything upside-down. Suddenly she owns the place and is the boss of her wacky co-workers and the phony clients she had hoped to leave behind. Furthermore, any one of them could be the bossman’s killer because he was a nightmare of a man in several different directions. So Jasmine finds herself in a dilemma. She’s debating with herself all through the story as to whether she should stick with the agency that’s been handed to her or to run the heck out of there screaming.
The book takes place in a world where many people are not who they pretend to be. How did you approach writing characters with dual identities, and what did you hope to accomplish with these complex characterizations?
I had basically seen a lot of that when I worked in show business jobs, so it really wasn’t hard to write. There’s plenty of talented people who go into the theater because they want to entertain, but there’s also some who don’t like their own backgrounds and desperately want to become someone else. I figured those types were perfect to include in a mystery story because their true selves are like unknown quantities. It makes it harder to figure out whodunit, and you have to wonder what happened to push them away from themselves in the first place.
What is the next book you are working on and when will it be available?
I tend to work on several projects at one time and I have several going at the moment. I’m particularly interested in making BACKSTABBED ON BROADWAY the start of a series and have begun work on another book featuring Jasmine and many of the same characters. With any luck, it should be ready later this year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Backstabbed on Broadway
Backstabbed on Broadway by Carolyn Summer Quinn is a gripping mystery novel that involves murder, high stakes, and many suspicious characters. The novel focuses on Jasmine Flannery, a young woman working at an acting agency. She stumbles upon the body of her boss, Isidore, who is cruel and widely hated. Jasmine is shocked to find out she inherited the agency. She must take on incredible responsibility as she works to maintain her innocence and solve the crime while suspicions arise. With the help of her family and the police, Jasmine must navigate the dark and seedy world of the theatre industry to solve the case, but the constant chaos at the agency leaves her wondering if her efforts are worth the trouble.
Quinn has written an enjoyable book with a likeable main character and honest, vivid developments throughout the story. The storyline is well narrated, navigating through the protagonist’s difficulties while handling the daily business of working in theatre. As the number of suspicious people increases, the plot intensifies as it becomes difficult to find the culprit, leading the reader through a maze of mystery from beginning to end.
The characters are vibrant and exciting and fit into the story perfectly, capturing my attention from the start. The run-down theatrical space and shady acting agency added a gloomy but captivating atmosphere to the book, set in New York City, with many layers of unpredictable characters, plot twists, and developments. It’s a story that will take the reader through many possibilities, keeping you guessing non-stop and considering every possible character as a suspect, including Jasmine.
Backstabbed on Broadway by Carolyn Summer Quinn is a fun story that kept me engaged. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s a fan of murder mysteries and action stories.
ASIN B0BRL54YLF | Pages 305
