June 2010

Greetings from “sunny” California where, on last Saturday night, we experienced a six-hour thunder-and-lightening storm, the likes of which I haven’t seen since ten years ago in Minneapolis. Our power went out and, as I crept through the house making sure the cats were in, I felt like a character in a Gothic novel.

October 15th is the publication date of Sharon McCone’s next adventure, LOCKED IN. Actually, it’s not much of an adventure for her -- she’s trapped in a locked in state, having been shot in the head and confined to a hospital bed. Her cohorts at McCone Investigations are determined to find the person who put her there, and Sharon, who can’t move or speak but is in full possession of her detecting skills, guides them, and eventually identifies her own shooter.

Not to worry, McCone recovers. In next year’s novel, COMING BACK -- just finished last week -- she copes with physical rehab, as well as the emotional issues of someone whose friends and family still regard her as not quite the woman she used to be. And, in spite of their reservations, she proves herself to have come all the way back.

I hope you’ll enjoy LOCKED IN and the opportunity to spend time with ongoing series characters -- Hy Ripinsky, Rae Kelleher, Mick Savage, Craig Morland, and Julia Rafael.

Back to you soon,

Marcia

Intrepid P.I. Sharon McCone returns -- as you’ve never seen her before -- in a spellbinding new novel set in California’s high-desert country.

Traumatized by a recent life-or-death investigation, Sharon McCone flees to her ranch in California’s high desert country to contemplate her future. Deep depression shadows her days and nights, and a chance encounter with a troubled, highly secretive Native American woman begins to haunt her dreams. Even though she is determined not to investigate anything during her stay -- and perhaps not ever again -- McCone is drawn into the plight of the young woman and her dysfunctional family. A murder and traces of violence at a deserted resort lead her across the desert and into Nevada, and finally to a remote and isolated ranch, where danger lies closer than she expects -- and where her future and life itself may hang in the balance.

Buy the book here.

As a subscriber to Marcia's newsletter you already are entered in a random drawing. Three winners will receive a paperback copy of BURN OUT.

Please note that subscribers who sign up for Marcia Muller's newsletter by November 1, 2009 are also eligible. May we suggest that you forward this newsletter to a friend who is a Marcia Muller fan?

December 2008

We were there for Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Week, when my husband, Bill Pronzini, was given MWA's Grand Master award. We had a great time seeing old friends, agents, and publishing people, and we managed to get the award--a ceramic head of Edgar Allan Poe--through airport security after being x-rayed only three times. I kept thinking of that film about heads in a dufflebag....

So now we have two of those heads in the household, making us the only living married couple to have been graced with this honor (the other being Margaret Millar and Ross Macdonald, whose work we both admired). It's a wonderful experience, but also a humbling one to be on a list with so many writers whose work inspired us.

Back to reality. Doing the laundry, cleaning the cat box, running errands.

I'm at work on my next Sharon McCone novel, THE LOCKED-IN SYNDROME, which will be published a year from October. BURN OUT, McCone's most recent adventure, will be published by Grand Central Books (formerly Warner) this October. Look out for some big changes in both.

For those of you in Arizona and Oregon, both Bill and will be at the Poison Pen in Scottsdale and the Salem Public Library in June. Please check the "Tour Dates" page under "About Marcia" for details.

Hoping you all have a lovely summer. Back to you in the fall.

Marcia

Traumatized by a recent life-or-death investigation, Sharon McCone flees to her ranch in California's high desert country to contemplate her future. Deep depression shadows her days and nights, and a chance encounter with a troubled, highly secretive Native American woman begins to haunt her dreams. Even though she is determined not to investigate anything during her stay--and perhaps not ever again--McCone is drawn into the plight of the young woman and her dysfunctional family. A murder and traces of violence at a deserted resort lead her across the desert and into Nevada, and finally to a remote and isolated ranch, where danger lies closer than she expects--and where her future and life itself may hang in the balance.

Sharon McCone is hired by her husband's security firm to track down "the ever-running man," a shadowy figure who has been leaving explosive devices at their various offices. She doesn't have to search for long. When McCone narrowly escapes an explosion at the security firm's San Francisco offices, she catches a glimpse of his retreating figure. The ever-running man is dangerously close -- and anyone connected to the firm seems to be within his deadly range. To complicate matters, McCone is forced to question her intensely private husband, Hy, about his involvement in some of the firm's dark secrets. The history of corruption may jeopardize their marriage, but uncovering the secrets of the firm may be the only way she can save her husband's life, and her own.

Read an excerpt here.
Pre-order the book here.

Subscribe to my newsletter by September 30, 2008 and you'll be entered in a contest to win a paperback of VANISHING POINT.

This month sees the publication by Five Star of Bill’s and my collection, CRUCIFIXION RIVER. Although it’s billed as a western, the stories are also tales of crime and detection. Five have been previously published, but there are three new ones: a novella by the two of us, a John Quincannon story by Bill, and a Sabina Carpenter story by me. None have been collected in the same volume before, and we’re very excited about it.

November, of course, is the beginning of the holidays. Special gatherings with friends and family, leading up to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. This year is a bittersweet one for me: in May I lost a beloved brother, but the gains have been great, too. My closest sister and her husband (to say nothing of their 28-pound cat) moved from Michigan to live five minutes away from us, and dear friends from the Sacramento area, who have stood by us through thick and thin, bought a home here. The key word for this year’s holidays is change, but they will be good ones.

Similarly, Sharon McCone has been going through changes in BURN OUT, to be published by Grand Central Books (formerly Warner Books) next October.  In it, you’ll see a McCone you’ve never glimpsed before: doubting her desire to go on with her profession and deeply mired in depression. But, as with her creator, doubts are resolved, depression lifts and, as the holidays descend upon her, her life takes a new and satisfying direction.

I hope you all have very happy holidays.  Back to you in the spring!

Sharon McCone is hired by her husband's security firm to track down "the ever-running man," a shadowy figure who has been leaving explosive devices at their various offices. She doesn't have to search for long. When McCone narrowly escapes an explosion at the security firm's San Francisco offices, she catches a glimpse of his retreating figure. The ever-running man is dangerously close -- and anyone connected to the firm seems to be within his deadly range. To complicate matters, McCone is forced to question her intensely private husband, Hy, about his involvement in some of the firm's dark secrets. The history of corruption may jeopardize their marriage, but uncovering the secrets of the firm may be the only way she can save her husband's life, and her own.

Read an excerpt here.

Subscribers who sign up for Marcia Muller's newsletter by December 31, 2007 will be entered in a contest to win a paperback of VANISHING POINT. 

Sharon McCone is hired by her husband's security firm to track down "the ever-running man," a shadowy figure who has been leaving explosive devices at their various offices. She doesn't have to search for long. When McCone narrowly escapes an explosion at the security firm's San Francisco offices, she catches a glimpse of his retreating figure. The ever-running man is dangerously close -- and anyone connected to the firm seems to be within his deadly range. To complicate matters, McCone is forced to question her intensely private husband, Hy, about his involvement in some of the firm's dark secrets. The history of corruption may jeopardize their marriage, but uncovering the secrets of the firm may be the only way she can save her husband's life, and her own.

Read an excerpt here.

VANISHING POINT, McCone's 24th adventure, begins just after she and her longtime lover Hy Ripinsky have finally tied the knot. But there isn't much time for celebration. At a family reception she agrees to investigate the disappearance, 22 years before, of Laurel Greenwood, an artist and housewife who inexplicably vanished leaving behind two young daughters and a husband. New evidence suggests that the woman may have led a strange double life. But before McCone can penetrate that tangled web she must first solve a second disappearance that of her client --- Laurel Greenwood's grown daughter. From the central California coast, to the gold-mining area, to the lush hills of south central Oregon, Sharon follows the chilling evidence. It is one of her most complex cases, bringing her up against two truly dysfunctional marriages --- just as she embarks on her own.

Marcia Muller, bestselling author of the acclaimed series starring San Francisco P.I. Sharon McCone, returns to the remote northern California coast of Point Deception and Cyanide Wells with an exciting new novel. A riveting mystery full of atmosphere and suspense, this tale explores the dark heart of a small town where passion --- and murder --- runs as deep as the river that flows through it... CAPE PERDIDO.

Amid ancient redwoods and sun-dappled reeds, the Perdido River runs clear and cold from the mountains of Soledad County to the blue Pacific. A wildlife refuge and a pristine recreational area, the river brings tourists to the old lumber town of Cape Perdido...and flows through the memories and hearts of the rugged people who have settled there since the Gold Rush days.

Now that is about to change. An out-of-state corporation wants to pump the river nearly dry and float the water to southern California's thirsty cities in huge rubber rafts. With lobbyists, lawyers, and dirty tricks, the company intends to get what it wants --- any way it can.

Against this corporate Goliath, a community protest group and four unusual individuals are drawing a line in the sand. Flying in from New York City, ecologist Jessie Domingo hopes to grab headlines for her cause. Environmentalist Joseph Openshaw has come back to the home, and the secrets, he left behind decades ago. His former lover, local restaurateur Steph Pace, fears both the emotions and the ghosts arriving to haunt her. And old man Timothy McNear, owner of the defunct mill that once employed most of the town, silently broods about the sins he has hidden for too long.

But no one envisions what will happen when the crack of a sniper's bullet sets off a chain of desperate acts. As the peace of this small town is shattered, murder stains Cape Perdido, and one by one, those who stand tall for a cause may be swept away by the current of a town's ugly truths --- and a killer's revenge.

-Click here to read an excerpt from CAPE PERDIDO.

VANISHING POINT, McCone's 24th adventure, begins just after she and her longtime lover Hy Ripinsky have finally tied the knot. But there isn't much time for celebration. At a family reception she agrees to investigate the disappearance, 22 years before, of Laurel Greenwood, an artist and housewife who inexplicably vanished leaving behind two young daughters and a husband. New evidence suggests that the woman may have led a strange double life. But before McCone can penetrate that tangled web she must first solve a second disappearance that of her client --- Laurel Greenwood's grown daughter. From the central California coast, to the gold-mining area, to the lush hills of south central Oregon, Sharon follows the chilling evidence. It is one of her most complex cases, bringing her up against two truly dysfunctional marriages --- just as she embarks on her own.

Marcia Muller, bestselling author of the acclaimed series starring San Francisco P.I. Sharon McCone, returns to the remote northern California coast of Point Deception and Cyanide Wells with an exciting new novel. A riveting mystery full of atmosphere and suspense, this tale explores the dark heart of a small town where passion --- and murder --- runs as deep as the river that flows through it... CAPE PERDIDO.

Amid ancient redwoods and sun-dappled reeds, the Perdido River runs clear and cold from the mountains of Soledad County to the blue Pacific. A wildlife refuge and a pristine recreational area, the river brings tourists to the old lumber town of Cape Perdido...and flows through the memories and hearts of the rugged people who have settled there since the Gold Rush days.

Now that is about to change. An out-of-state corporation wants to pump the river nearly dry and float the water to southern California's thirsty cities in huge rubber rafts. With lobbyists, lawyers, and dirty tricks, the company intends to get what it wants --- any way it can.

Against this corporate Goliath, a community protest group and four unusual individuals are drawing a line in the sand. Flying in from New York City, ecologist Jessie Domingo hopes to grab headlines for her cause. Environmentalist Joseph Openshaw has come back to the home, and the secrets, he left behind decades ago. His former lover, local restaurateur Steph Pace, fears both the emotions and the ghosts arriving to haunt her. And old man Timothy McNear, owner of the defunct mill that once employed most of the town, silently broods about the sins he has hidden for too long.

But no one envisions what will happen when the crack of a sniper's bullet sets off a chain of desperate acts. As the peace of this small town is shattered, murder stains Cape Perdido, and one by one, those who stand tall for a cause may be swept away by the current of a town's ugly truths --- and a killer's revenge.

-Click here to read an excerpt from CAPE PERDIDO.

VANISHING POINT, McCone's 24th adventure, begins just after she and her longtime lover Hy Ripinsky have finally tied the knot. But there isn't much time for celebration. At a family reception she agrees to investigate the disappearance, 22 years before, of Laurel Greenwood, an artist and housewife who inexplicably vanished leaving behind two young daughters and a husband. New evidence suggests that the woman may have led a strange double life. But before McCone can penetrate that tangled web she must first solve a second disappearance that of her client-Laurel Greenwood's grown daughter. From the central California coast, to the gold-mining area, to the lush hills of south central Oregon, Sharon follows the chilling evidence. It is one of her most complex cases, bringing her up against two truly dysfunctional marriages-just as she embarks on her own.

Marcia Muller, bestselling author of the acclaimed series starring San Francisco P.I. Sharon McCone, returns to the remote northern California coast of Point Deception and Cyanide Wells with an exciting new novel. A riveting mystery full of atmosphere and suspense, this tale explores the dark heart of a small town where passion-and murder-runs as deep as the river that flows through it... CAPE PERDIDO

Amid ancient redwoods and sun-dappled reeds, the Perdido River runs clear and cold from the mountains of Soledad County to the blue Pacific. A wildlife refuge and a pristine recreational area, the river brings tourists to the old lumber town of Cape Perdido...and flows through the memories and hearts of the rugged people who have settled there since the Gold Rush days.

Now that is about to change. An out-of-state corporation wants to pump the river nearly dry and float the water to southern California's thirsty cities in huge rubber rafts. With lobbyists, lawyers, and dirty tricks, the company intends to get what it wants-any way it can.

Against this corporate Goliath, a community protest group and four unusual individuals are drawing a line in the sand. Flying in from New York City, ecologist Jessie Domingo hopes to grab headlines for her cause. Environmentalist Joseph Openshaw has come back to the home, and the secrets, he left behind decades ago. His former lover, local restaurateur Steph Pace, fears both the emotions and the ghosts arriving to haunt her. And old man Timothy McNear, owner of the defunct mill that once employed most of the town, silently broods about the sins he has hidden for too long.

But no one envisions what will happen when the crack of a sniper's bullet sets off a chain of desperate acts. As the peace of this small town is shattered, murder stains Cape Perdido, and one by one, those who stand tall for a cause may be swept away by the current of a town's ugly truths-and a killer's revenge.

-Click here to read an excerpt from CAPE PERDIDO.

June 2005

THE DANGEROUS HOUR --- In Stores Now

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THE DANGEROUS HOUR --- In Stores Now

Greetings, and happy summer reading. I hope one of the books you'll be taking on vacation will be the new Sharon McCone, THE DANGEROUS HOUR, due in stores any day now. This time out, Sharon's in trouble both professionally and personally -- trying to keep her agency alive as well as to sort out a major change in her relationship with Hy Ripinsky.

THE DANGEROUS HOUR is an example of how people like you contribute to the series. In October of 2001 I received a letter from Melissa Meith, a reader in the Sacramento area, which, in part, said this:

"If it would ever be useful to you to have insights into how state government works, give me a call. When I'm not reading books, I am the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, where the Bureau of Investigative Services brings its cases
against private investigators. So, if Sharon is ever cited, I would be glad to fill you in on the process, and I'm sure she'll clear her name."

I was intrigued by the idea, and replied to Melissa that I'd be in touch when I was ready to start the next McCone. And thirteen months later I was in Sacramento at a luncheon she'd arranged with several of her colleagues from the Department of
Consumer Affairs, tape recorder and notepad in hand. I laid out for them the scenario I'd created, and one said, "That won't work, but how about this?" A lively idea session ensued, and, believe me, those people really got into concocting crimes!
Their insights proved invaluable, and Melissa continued to assist me throughout the writing process. (In fact, a conversation between Sharon and her attorney on pages 75-77 of the book is a collaborative effort!)

While THE DANGEROUS HOUR is the novel on which I've received the most input, other readers have contributed to the McCone series over the years, in ways such as this:

"When is she going to cut her hair in a grownup style? She looks like a hippie." Well, yeah, she did. And, besides, she needed to disguise herself for one of her cases.

"Why are you letting her go out with that George?" Damned if I knew. And he was getting tedious. Exit George.

"Isn't her MG falling apart by now?" It sure was. It received a new engine and extensive body work, and now is a classic car. For surveillances, the company van is more inconspicuous.

As you can see, fresh input is always welcome. And since THE DANGEROUS HOUR ends with Sharon making an important personal decision, I'll be looking forward to whatever comments you'd care to offer.

Have a great summer.

Marcia Muller (Marcia@MarciaMuller.com)

Visit the website here.

More About THE DANGEROUS HOUR

Here's a quick blurb about THE DANGEROUS HOUR with the plot:

The future's looking bright for Sharon McCone and the staff of McCone Investigations -- until one of the firm's operatives, Julia Rafael, is arrested for major credit card fraud. A former juvenile delinquent, Julia was a risky hire, but by all accounts had been turning her life around. Banking on her innocence, Sharon goes to work looking for the real thief -- only to discover a cache of illegal merchandise stashed in Julia's apartment. Is it the damning evidence that will seal her employee's fate, or the key to a larger conspiracy? Sharon must find out the truth...or lose her firm and reputation in the process.

This is a very personal case for Sharon -- in more ways than one -- and there is a major surprise for readers at its conclusion.

Click here to order your copy of THE DANGEROUS HOUR.

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