Showing results by author "Patricia McLinn" in All Categories

Elizabeth and Tom's wedding is nearly here. Family, friends, and festivities are all around in Sherman, Wyoming... But so is murder. And Elizabeth and her KWMT-TV cohorts past and present are soon drawn into finding answers to more questions than "Will you take this man...?"

Sheila Mackey’s dislike for cemeteries can’t fend off her friend Clara’s determination. Amid eerie legends, including a tailgating hearse, the accidental investigator is lured into sorting through deadly questions a century old, revolving around an unidentified victim known as ZigZag Jane.

Santa Claus is coming to town, but guess who’s coming first – Great Aunt Kit. And if Sheila and her fellow sleuth Clara want to give her author relative what she most wants, they’ll wrap up a murder. But not too fast, because Kit wants to be involved first-hand in solving this puzzle. Kit also has ideas on how to solve Sheila’s romantic relationship with detective-once-more Teague O’Donnell, starting with revealing on her dangerous secrets.

The dreaded words: “We have to talk.” Sleuth-with-a-big-secret Sheila Mackey says that to Teague O’Donnell just before this book starts. Will she spill her hidden background to the guy she’s dating? It’s even more complicated since he’s working for the local sheriff’s department as an investigator. And what about her sleuthing partner, Clara? Is it time to let her in on all of Sheila’s secrets? But what if Clara says anything at their favorite hangout spot – the dog park. The dogs will hold their tongues, but not the humans. One slip there and it’s all over North Bend County.

Matty's up to something - Dave knows that much. Just as he knows that Matty needs help, so of course he'll provide it. Doing what's best for Matty is second nature. Even when it comes to marrying her in name only. Although he can't resist one hot-blooded kiss after the "I dos" - a kiss as fiery as the flame-red Indian Paintbrush that's always reminded him of Matty.

TV journalist Elizabeth “E.M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins: She didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive - her ex. She used to break national news. Now, her top story as the "Helping Out!" reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman, Wyoming, is getting a defective toaster repaired.

When fire ravages Wyoming land, fireweed is among the first plants to return, brightening a blighted area with the joy of its blooms. Small-town lawyer Taylor Anne Larsen faces the challenge of doing the same for the pain-ravaged heart and disbelieving soul of ranch foreman Cal Ruskoff. Armed with the same grace and grit as the wildflower fireweed, Taylor also has allies - a matchmaking friend, the Wyoming winter, high-octane mutual attraction, and a rescued puppy who slips past Cal's defenses.

Sheila agrees to soothe Clara’s nervousness, by accompanying her friend to the 20-year class reunion for North Bend County High. Nostalgia, good memories, old friendships - this should be fun, right? Ah, but grudges, old rivalries, and long-buried secrets also arise. And before the festivities wrap up, there’s one old classmate dead, another being questioned, and enough suspicion to cover several more. Sheila and Clara have their hands full, especially with Sheila wondering about her relationship with ex-policeman Teague O'Donnell.

Elizabeth "E.M." Danniher, until recently a top-flight national TV journalist, is regaining her footing after a dizzying demotion to tiny - and entirely foreign to her - Sherman, Wyoming. But her equilibrium faces a major challenge. The apparently accidental death - under the hooves of bucking bulls - of a rodeo producer preparing for Sherman’s annual Fourth of July Rodeo catches the attention of Elizabeth and her KWMT-TV colleague Mike Paycik. Not only is it a major story about the region’s biggest event, but it’s being outrageously mishandled by the station.

Ed Currick's and Donna Roberts' worlds couldn't have been any more different - a rancher from Wyoming and an up-and-coming Broadway musical actress on a national tour. What could have been a momentary encounter sparks desire - and more. But can there be anything but heartbreak ahead when they have only days before their dreams pull them apart?

Elizabeth and friends prepare to celebrate Christmas, with all its joys and complications. Not to mention short-staffing at the local TV station with changes to come. But that’s not all Elizabeth has on her plate for the holidays. Someone’s put a wish on the Christmas Wishing Tree set up at KWMT-TV that has her name on it...and it’s a weird one.

A young woman comes to Elizabeth at KWMT to solve a kind of theft Elizabeth has never encountered before. That’s challenge enough, with the TV station for sale and the top candidate to buy it known for eliminating news departments. But Elizabeth also senses there something more bothering Hailey Newhall.

Far from the publishing world that once defined her, Sheila Mackey's plan to escape to a quiet life in small-town Kentucky keeps hitting bumps in the road—and some of those bumps are dead bodies. Sheila and her friend Clara take on investigating a death that's colder than a cold case, because few in Haines Tavern, Kentucky, think it was a murder in the first place. Suicide? Accident? Murder? And Sheila is finding it harder and harder to protect her secret past, especially from Teague O'Donnell, who's shifting from a fellow dog lover to possibly much more.

The executive who’s responsible for widely hated changes at the biggest grocery store in Haines Tavern, Kentucky, arrives for a tour...and doesn’t leave alive. Sheila and Clara are on the scene - buying dog treats, of course - and on the case. Can they pick out the ingredients for the right solution?

Sheila’s settling into life in Haines Tavern, Kentucky. Sure, she has secrets to keep, but things are rolling along nicely. Trips to the dog park with her rescue collie Gracie, meeting her friend Clara and Gracie’s friend LuLu. Preparing for more work on her house by another dog park acquaintance, former cop Teague O’Donnell. And regular, relaxing yoga classes at the Beguiling Way studio...until Sheila and Clara encounter a new twist when someone murders their instructor.

Authors Love Readers, hosted by USAToday bestselling author Patricia McLinn, is a conversation between authors about how and why they create stories. With questions contributed by readers. Quite a few podcasts are out there for aspiring and established writers, both on the craft and the business. This podcast, though, is for readers. The goal is to have authors on the show who write in all sorts of fiction genres. As a reader, it doesn't matter which path to publication an author takes – independent, traditional, hybrid and other combinations. That's not going to matter on Authors Love ...

That’s right, Thurston Fine, the egotistical anchor at KWMT-TV is the first person deputies want to talk to when his self-described biggest fan is found dead. What’s Elizabeth Margaret Danniher to do? The station’s in an uproar, heading for a train wreck, and desperately needs her experience and leadership. At the same time, here’s an intriguing puzzle right in front of her…which might free or condemn her greatest enemy. In TV news, cross talk between the anchor and reporter is supposed to elicit new and interesting information.

In the television production world, a body brace is used to shift the weight of the camera to the operator's shoulder. This allows for smoother shots than might be obtainable by handheld operation. Braces also reduce stress on the arms, which reduces tiredness and muscle cramps during filming. And, at the small-town Wyoming TV station KWMT, cameras are older and bulkier than those used in network news-gathering.

Far from the publishing world that once defined her, Sheila Mackey has found a new life, a new home, and a new love. The love has four legs, a plumey tail, and a lot of fur. Meet Gracie the rescue collie. Too smart for her own good - certainly too smart for Sheila's good, when Gracie discovers a dead body during a dog park gambol. Especially since Sheila delves into mysteries surrounding this dead body...only to discover the new guy at the Torrid Avenue dog park is a barely retired cop. Not good for an amateur sleuth with a big secret of her own that she intends to keep.

Sheila Mackey has a secret. To the world, she’s author of a blockbuster book. Her wily great-aunt, the actual author, orchestrated this mutually beneficial masquerade. Now the aunt’s retiring and Sheila must draft Act Two of her own life. This cruise is supposed to be the perfect time to do that. Crossing the Atlantic on the Diversion, Sheila finds a dead body on deck. She realizes she knows a whole lot more about the interactions of the victim and suspects than the ship’s officials do.