GUEST POST BY AVERY DANIELS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Julienne has her ideal job as an event planner at a prestigious resort. During a luncheon event she coordinated, a renowned celebrity pastor is killed next to the buffet. All eyes turn to her as the suspect. If she wants to stay out of jail or even keep her job, Julienne needs all the help she can get to solve the crime.

She has her work cut out for her with a vengeful high school rival now reporter, the public demanding she be fired, plus family who knows what’s best for her, and a boyfriend who doesn’t understand her. She turns to friends and a new ally to uncover who wanted to put the pastor on ice.

Julienne goes undercover and investigates a local swingers group as she follows the trail of clues before they go cold. Can she gather enough suspects and motives to convince the police to widen their investigation? Can she do it before the killer sets his murderous sights on her? Will her personal life ever be as simple as unveiling a murderer?

GUEST POST BY AVERY DANIELS

The Vicarious Thrill of Mysteries

Mysteries and romance are perennial best sellers.  Everybody enjoys a story were love wins the day, but mysteries take a bit more digging to understand. 

One of the great aspects of mystery stories that I suspect sustains the genre’s popularity is flirting with danger – safely. It is a vicarious thrill. The reader is behind locked doors snuggled up with a cat by the fire sipping tea while following a murderer. For several hours you are on the heels of a killer, becoming the main character you feel the adrenaline rush of peril yourself. It’s that delicious excitement where you like to scare yourself just a little bit, get the blood pumping and the heart racing. 

Even a cozy mystery can have a tense and thrilling killer reveal. For a few hours you are the brave and adventurous hero(ine) with a burning curiosity that can’t be sidetracked. You are that guy or gal that has picked up the magnifying glass and dares to match wits with a murderer, to seek the truth. It gives you a new lease on life when you come through the crucible. 

For so very many of us life is largely about routine, responsibility and yes, financial burdens. Thus mysteries let us be just a smidge reckless, a dab brave and daring, even a touch . . . shady.  We cast off the responsibilities and cares of life to walk on the wild side.  Life is a little sweeter after our sleuthing adventure.

Other aspects of mystery story I suspect sustains the genre’s popularity are how one person can and does make a difference, the main character typically is strong – no victims,  the puzzle aspect, and how it lends itself to a series with quirky friends.

In my newly published book, ICED, I feel I delivered a fun mystery for you to flex your own sleuthing muscles. I also believe I’ve delivered a bit of vicarious thrills to get your palms sweaty. As an extra bit of delicious fun I threw in a little bit of romance and a few quirky neighbors and family.   

And there you have it, my musings on why mysteries remain so popular. They provide us much more than mere escapism. Readers probably don’t consciously consider these elements when reading. I just know these elements are part of why I like mysteries – when I stop and consider it. How about you, why do you think mysteries are so popular and enduring?  What is your favorite aspect?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Avery Daniels was born and raised in Colorado, graduated from college with a degree in business administration and has worked in fortune 500 companies and Department of Defense her entire life. Her most eventful job was apartment management for 352 units (plenty of fodder for stories there!). She still resides in Colorado with two brother black cats as her loving companions.  She volunteers for a cat shelter, enjoys scrapbooking and card making, photography, and painting in watercolor and acrylic. She inherited a love for reading from her mother and grandmother and grew up talking about books and history at the dinner table. Her first try at writing a fully developed story was as a teen was a tale of a girl trying to nurse a fawn back to health and then release it into the wild again. She is plotting her next Resort to Murder novel and struggling over which Colorado resort should be her setting.

Connect with Avery:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  IndieBound   
Audio book is due shortly through Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.

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