by Misty Simon

Happy Almost Halloween! It’s my favorite month and time of the year! For the last almost (gulp) 25 years I’ve been writing mysteries of some sort, from light fluffy ones set in small towns across the USA to Ren Faires run by misfit paranormals and a junkyard full of very badly behaved ghosts. I’ve even thrown in ghosts that are more like the famed Casper but look like the Golden Girls (they call themselves the Silver Bettys since that first title was taken). And I wrote for a short time about a dark anti-hero who is doing everything in his extensive power to redeem himself from a past he did not choose. All of them have things that I absolutely adore but I am so in love with this new series that for the very first time in my life I co-wrote with another author.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go as I’m a pretty independent author and have sometimes brainstormed ideas (on dark and stormy nights!) with other authors. But the story itself and the direction of that story has always been mine and mine alone. However, my friend Rachel Rawlings had this idea about a witch and funeral biscuits and I told her that if she didn’t write it I just might. We giggled and then maybe stirred the big cauldron between us to agree that we’d write it together by alternating chapters. It was a little like trick-or-treating at first in that I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I stuck my hand in the bowl but I really hoped it was a full-sized candy bar instead of a tiny bag of goldfish crackers.

And she didn’t disappoint. I’m pretty sure I didn’t either but I won’t jinx it. About halfway through the book we started sending each other pictures of gauntlets and challenging each other with phrases like “HA! See what you can do with that, my lovely!” and then she or I would come back with something that just ramped the story to the next level.

We didn’t have a specific date we were going to release the book, only the thought that when it was done we’d know. But then it was September, and we realized how close it was to our favorite holiday and that a Steampunk Paranormal Mystery with a slow burn romance definitely must come out as close to Halloween as possible. We kicked things into high gear and soared right into the end like we’d revved up our favorite brooms and took them for a joy ride right up to the moon. Rachel made the delightfully dark cover and I made the chapter headings and the skull with roses page breaks. Our formatter brought the whole thing together in its glory, and I was beyond delighted (I might have cackled in glee…) to hold that beauty in my hands. It’s a little witchy, a little steampunky, a little romancey and all mystery as Cory and her cousin stir up some serious trouble in a community that not only doesn’t like witches, they burn them. Yet Coriander Whitlock cannot hide from the spirits who are calling for her to seek justice again. But to find a killer, she must put her faith in the hands of a brooding, infuriating man with the power to upend her life and expose her secrets…

Grab your pointy hat, the full-sized candy bar, and maybe a mug of apple cider to join us in far off England in an alternate time to celebrate Halloween in style as you dive into the story of one woman who will risk everything to not let a killer get away with murder. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so why not spend this Halloween diving into the murder and mystery surrounding an amateur sleuth who might just tickle your spooky bone?

And if you hear a ghost howling, well, duck, because you do not want that kind of vibe, even if it is Halloween…

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Misty Simon always wanted to be a storyteller…preferably behind a Muppet. Animal was number one, followed closely by Sherlock Hemlock… Since that dream didn’t come true, she began writing stories to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time. You can learn more on her website mistysimon.com.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.