Hello Everyone,
I want to tell you a little about why I decided to write The Odyssey Mysteries trilogy.
The Sahara was trying to get a riverboat casino in our small town along the Missouri River. It caused quite a commotion. People were against it or for it. We were allowed to vote if we wanted them coming into our community or not. There were a lot of pros and cons, but I won’t go into that here.
Jerry Lewis, the comedian, wrote a letter to every individual in town telling them what a reputable company the Sahara and how much good they would do for our town. Even with that they were voted down and another riverboat casino franchise managed to secure the neighboring town next to us.
I started getting ideas for a story about the riverboat, and I decided the best way to do research was by working for one of the casinos. I worked at a local riverboat casino for nine months. It made it possible for me to make many of the scenes in my stories authentic. Also, I learned some of the inner workings of the company from the internet.
My first story, The Catalyst, helped spawn two other stories, Addiction and The Deceived. I had fun writing these stories, and I hope my readers enjoy them.
Blurb for The Catalyst
Dark revelations and secret love lead to personal resurrection.
Carolyn Madison didn’t kill her husband but didn’t mourn him either. The rapist deserved to die, or at least she thought so. Beneath a myriad of family secrets, Carolyn drags the skeletons out of the closet and in the arms of her true love, learns to love again.
Walt Tollhouse has pined for Carolyn since she was a shy seventeen-year-old. Little did he know Robert Dubois would steal her away, and then destroy the beautiful spirit he still loved. Beneath the guise of clean-up man, the martial arts instructor never pushes his battered love but gives her silent support she deserves.
Blurb for Addiction
Two men are after the same woman but for very different reasons.
Dark-haired beauty, Jolene Dubois has a serious problem, and it’s not just battling alcoholism. Late at night, she receives whispered calls. “Jolene, I want you. I’m coming for you.” Shivers climb up her spine and ice flows in her veins. What does he want? Who is it? She must figure it out before she trusts the wrong person.
Jake Farrell, the handsome rogue is an operator with women, but is he hiding something dark and sinister under his cheery facade. The detective, Andy Martin, who investigated her father’s murder, continues to ask her out. Les Voodré, an alcoholic she met at AA follows her everywhere, and Ron Keisler, her AA sponsor is always there when she needs him. Could her caller be one of these men?
To further complicate her life, she fights a host of addictions, alcoholism, smoking, gambling and sex. Jolene is determined to beat the alcohol and to stay out of the clutches of the fiend who phones her.
Blurb for The Deceived
The games they play can lead them to love or ruin.
Melanie Dubois detests her family’s casino business. The way this addiction destroys people has her on a tear of magnificent proportions. Then again, this young lady has been put through a train wreck of her own design. She distrusts everybody except for the people who are determined to use Melanie as a poster-child for zealots.
Mike Mercer has spent nearly a year in a deep cover mission for the FBI. The one fly in the ointment of completing his objective to take down a group of dangerous anti-gambling zealots is a fiery-tempered, blonde-haired woman named Melanie DuBois. Worse than that, she’s got a passion brewing just beneath the surface that’s an even deadlier attraction.
Fighting for your life is never easy when the odds are stacked against you.
For those of you who wish to read excerpts from these stories go to my website and click on my bookcovers.
http://www.skaymarshall.com
- About the Author
- Posts in the Past
I grew up in the mid-west in a small farming community where I belonged to 4-H. When I was 13 my family moved to Lawrence, KS, the town where the University of Kansas thrived. After high school, I traveled to California to live with a friend and to find a job. My favorite uncle died, and I became homesick returning home soon after his death.
I worked for a major airline for 36 years traveling extensively during that time. I loved working for the airline, but in 1999 I retired to write full-time.
In 2008, my first book was published, and then the second one in 2009. My publisher closed, and I was fortunate to find another publisher. I’m still with Eirelander Publishing, and three novels and a novella are published with them. I’m working on another book that is set in the airline industry.
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get my bookcovers in the right places.
congratulations and I wish you much success. Are you self-published or traditional?
Sandy, awesome books. They sound like great stories. Unique and original. Can’t wait to read them.
Thank you, Jill. I’ll be dying to hear how you like them.
Veronika, I’m with an e-publisher/small press, which is traditional these days. Smile.
That’s cool that you went to work for a casino just for your books. Very cool! I always wonder what type of research authors do for their books.
Oh, we do a lot, Amy S. It was quiet an experience. I used a lot of what I saw and learned in my books.