April 2016
On Sale: April 1, 2016
Featuring: Nicki Price; Danny Andre
352 pages ISBN: 0736961712 EAN: 9780736961714 Kindle: B016NFXS4K Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Although every female booklover can’t wait to read about the hero, whether a
handsome cowboy with a soft spot for orphans, a rakish marquis who needs an
heir, or a sophisticated jewel thief who donates his loot to charity, it’s the
heroines that stick with readers. Here are the 5 characteristics for heroines
that readers will sometimes love/sometimes hate, but will always remember long
after they give the book to their mother-in-law.
Heroines must be flawed. No one liked the girl in high
school with perfect hair/clothes/teeth/car/parents…fill in the blank. Unless she
happened to be us, that girl was annoying. Make sure heroines have plenty of
nice attributes, but there also must be things for her to work on. My heroine in
WHAT HAPPENED ON
BEALE STREET hates people in her “personal space.” Beth Kirby often
balks or runs in the opposite direction if people get too close.
Heroines recognize their flaws and strive to overcome
them. Just like we don’t like perfection, we also don’t like women
who keep making the same mistake over and over. Consider the famous anti-heroine
Scarlett O’Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND. Although
Margaret Mitchel gave us plenty of reasons to hate her, no one can deny that
Scarlett made big strides in self-improvement by the end of the book.
Heroines have integrity. Let’s face it. No one likes a
woman who takes candy from a baby, rips off a humanitarian aid society, or
advances herself at the expense of others. If the heroine must kill
somebody, he had better be a bad-guy. I remember a cat burglar who stopped to
refill a dog’s water bowl while stealing a famous painting. Then at the end, the
burglar returned the painting to the rightful pre-World War II owner. Now that’s
integrity!
Heroines never give up. No matter whether they’re
stranded on Spider Island, trapped on a sinking ocean liner, or framed for a
crime they didn’t commit, heroines don’t sit in the corner, feeling sorry for
themselves. No one will forget the character played by Kate Winslet in
The Titanic. How could anyone hang onto a railing that
long?
Heroines recognize the important things in life. No
matter how career-driven a woman is, she must come to terms with the things that
matter, like faith, family, and of course love. We’re here on earth a short
time, so the heroine must learn to see the big picture. Who can ever forget
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz? She underwent quite an
ordeal before realizing everything she wanted was back home in Kansas.
Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish
community and several historical romances set during the 6War. Her latest,
What Happened on Beale Street, is second of a new mystery series,
Secrets of the South, from Harvest House Publishers. Before
"retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for
Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. Maryenjoys
traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her
husband, dog and cat. She can be found on the web at: http://www.maryellis.net/
or Facebook
WHAT HAPPENED ON BEALE STREET is an exciting addition to the Secrets
of the South Mysteries from bestselling author Mary Ellis. These standalone,
complex crime dramas follow a private investigator’s quest to make the world a
better place solving one case at a time.
A cryptic plea for help from a
childhood friend sends cousins Nate and Nicki Price from New Orleans to Memphis,
the home of scrumptious barbecue and soulful blues music. When they arrive at
Danny Andre’s last known address, they discover signs of a struggle and a
lifestyle not in keeping with the former choirboy they fondly
remember.
Danny’s sister, Isabelle, reluctantly accepts their help. She
and Nate aren’t on the best of terms due to a complicated past, yet they will
have to get beyond that if they want to save Danny.
On top of Danny’s
alarming disappearance and his troubled relationship with Isabelle, Nate also
has to rein in his favorite cousin’s overzealousness as a new and eager PI.
Confronted with a possible murder, mystery, and mayhem in the land of the Delta
blues, Nate must rely on his faith and investigative experience to keep one or
more of them from getting killed.