Archive for the ‘Kaye Eliot Mysteries’ Category
drear November: Project #4 – writing and finishing a mystery story
As you may know, I have finished the final draft of my Kaye Eliot Mystery, Pareidolia. It is now available on Amazon.ca — just click here.
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Pareidolia began as a search for an unusual way people from the past could communicate with people of the present. Each of the Kaye Eliot Mysteries has looked at one of these cross-time communication methods:
| How Her Garden Grew | letters |
| Something the Sundial Said | diary |
| Land Between the Furrows | postcards |
| Stained Glass | stained glass |
| Pareidolia | ? |
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Every day I stare at the tiles in my kitchen and wonder at the images I see. One tile fascinated me in particular. I could see faces, and also horses and dogs, depending on the angle I considered. This made me think that a story or puzzle could be built into the tiles of a building and the idea for Pareidolia was born.
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Have a look at the tile above. Do you see a Siamese fighting fish? a horse’s head viewed from above, a dog, a scary skull with teeth? What do you see in the circle, bottom left? …..
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When I published the book, I wanted some of these tile-images to appear in the book. So as the Eliot family searches for the story in the clues, I show some drawings of some of the images I have seen.
As I say in the Acknowledgements for the book, ‘
‘…the strange little drawings I use to illustrate this book are of the creatures and faces I have seen in those tiles. Please do not think of them as poorly rendered drawings, but as the miraculous drawings of geological processes.’
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Have a look at tiles you see and find a few images of your own. A great activity as you wait for an elevator!
All my best!
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
a new cosy mystery
The next book in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series is out! In Pareidolia, Kaye Eliot and her family find another mystery to solve, in the form of messages from the past. A famous 19th century artist has hidden a mystery in the marble tiles of his home. With a single clue beginning ‘Once upon a time,’ the artist has hidden a valuable statue in the house.
- Pareidolia is the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. For example – the man in the moon.
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When Kaye and her friend Clara are searching for a venue for Clara’s upcoming wedding, they stumble on a century-old mystery. If Kaye can find all the clues and solve the mystery in a single week, Clara’s wedding reception will be free of charge! A powerful motivation for Kaye and her friends.
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As always, I include maps to use to follow along as the mystery unfolds.
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The book is now available from Amazon here. I will have books available at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto at the Fair on December 2, 2023.
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On these cold days, I know you would enjoy this mystery!
All my best,
Jane (a..k.a.Alexandra)
new Kaye Eliot Mystery, coming soon
I have spent the last week doing the final edits on my next Kaye Eliot Mystery. The name of this one will be ‘Pareidolia,’ meaning the tendency of people to see specific, meaningful images in random visual arrangements. Those who see a ‘man in the moon’ will know what I mean.
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In this book, the Eliot family will tackle another rural mystery, this time in a huge old house and its marble floors – marble floors with images embedded for those who look closely … a story told in ‘pareidolia.’
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The book and the mystery occur around the planning for Clara and Daniel’s upcoming wedding. Clara and Daniel, the stonemason, are Kaye’s friends and will be known to readers of the Kaye Eliot series.
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The image for the cover of the book is completed, an acrylic painting that shows some of the scenes within the old house – a house being used as a venue for weddings and anniversaries. The marble tiles are also featured in the cover image. Only a rectangular area of the painting will be featured on the book cover.
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The book will be available in late November 2023. This is the fifth book in the series. Come roam with Kaye and her family in rural Nova Scotia and enjoy the antics of the Eliot kids and their friends.
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The other books in the series are:
How Her Garden Grew
Something the Sundial Said
Land Between the Furrows
Stained Glass
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Looking forward to sharing this mystery story with you!
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
I’m Buying a New Brunswick Book
In spite of the weather forecast, I plan to be at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto on Saturday, September 16, 2023, to chat about my books and see a few other NB authors. It’s Buy a Book by a New Brunswick Author Day!!!!
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I’ll be focusing on my Kaye Eliot Mystery Series and I’ll have some props! I’ll bring a ‘grinning tun’ from How Her Garden Grew …
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a ‘sundial’ from Something the Sundial Said …
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a piece of granite to represent a grinding stone from Land Between Furrows (no way I’ll lift a real grinding stone although we have one on our front doorstep)…
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and a bit of my own stained glass work to represent the stained glass in Stained Glass…
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I’ll also bring a cover painting or two so I can talk about creating a cover….
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Hope to see you there from 11:00 to 2:30 at Dog Eared Books (281 Restigouche Road in Oromocto). I also hope to see other local authors, including Chuck Bowie and Jordan Trethewey!
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All my best,
Jane
a Kaye Eliot Mystery — number 5 in the series
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The Kaye Eliot Mysteries are cozy, family-based and set in a small fictional community in Nova Scotia. So far, there are four in the series.
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In November, the fifth volume in the series will be released. Pareidolia continues the story of a family who loves solving mysteries together. ‘Pareidolia’ is the tendency to perceive a specific, meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. Think of ‘the man in the moon.’ In this cozy mystery, Kaye and her family search for images in the marble floor tiles of a century-old country house, now used as a wedding venue.
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The floor tiles are clues to the location of a valuable hidden sculpture. Each tile reveals the next line in a story, told in the black and white patterns in the marble of the tile. If Kaye can find the sculpture, a beautiful wedding venue will be available for Kaye’s friend Clara, free of charge.
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You will love the various rooms in Marshall’s Elegant Weddings, the quirky folks who live in the community of Stone Ridge, and the members of the Eliot family, especially five-year-old Matthew. You may not love Kaye’s plan for her family to spend the entire week of March Break staring at black and white tiles. You may never again look at the floor in the same way.
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This week, I am working on the book cover painting for Pareidolia. It will show Clara and her husband-to-be, the stone-mason Daniel, sitting in the hall of Marshall’s Elegant Weddings, dreaming of their future together. All around them are the marble floor tiles, some showing clues to the mystery.
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All my best,
Jane
(a.k.a. Alexandra)
Stained Glass – new cozy mystery
It’s all ready for ordering! Stained Glass, my new Kaye Eliot Mystery is live on Amazon, in both paperback and ebook. Stained Glass takes place in Nova Scotia and will take you on another adventure of the Eliot family… Kaye, Michael, Katie and very funny, very lovable, Matthew.
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When Kaye discovers the body of a suicide in his living room, she is unsettled to hear he has made a special request in the event of his death. Spread across the countryside are seven stained glass windows, telling the story of four friends in the 1950s. One of the four has disappeared, never to be seen again. But what happened to her and who was responsible for her disappearance? Only the stained glass windows will tell the story.
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Join Kaye’s family as they drive the countryside to find the windows. Some of the owners will be happy to see her, some will not be welcoming at all. The book will also take you back to the 1950s, to meet the four friends and to see what they were doing to pass the time, all those years ago.
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To order the book from Amazon, click here. If you would like to get the book directly from me, or from Westminster Books in Fredericton, I will have copies by April 20, 2022.
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All my best,
And happy reading.
Jane
A Kaye Eliot Mystery: number four in the series
Next week, the fourth volume in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series will be released. Stained Glass continues the story of a family who loves solving mysteries together. Set in Nova Scotia, the cozy mystery sends Kaye and her family on the search for seven stained glass windows. The windows will tell the story of four friends in the 1950s. They will also show what happened to one of the friends, Rita Carn, a beautiful woman whose vanity and jealousy result in her destruction.
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Four friends go on a picnic and only three return.
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To date, there are three previous titles in the series, all available by clicking here.
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Stained Glass will be available at Amazon on March 31, 2022. I will have copies by April 20.
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All my best
Jane
stained glass
Of all the media I have tried, working with glass has been the most satisfying, the most dangerous, the most fun, and the most dangerous. Did I say I think this medium is dangerous?
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In 1995, I took a course in making stained glass. I had visions of completing a box light for above our bar. Something with parrots fluttering among broad Monstera leaves. In those days I was in full decorating mode and the home bar was to be called ‘le parroquet.’ It had a large artificial tree, vines from the ceiling, a three-panel diorama of African plain, a life-long collection of Tarzan books, and dozens of parrot bric-a-brac: parrot-shaped mugs, stir sticks and cushions. Some of this still exists, but the only part of the bar light completed was a lone parrot, unfettered by vines and leaves.
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As I worked with the glass, I dreaded my sessions more and more. First I worried about being cut by the glass. Part of the process means scoring and breaking the glass into needed shapes. I actually never cut myself, but I worried that I would.
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For ten years of my professional career, I worked in the field of air quality, so I was sensitive to issues of inhalation of particulates and gasses. As I honed the edges of the pieces of glass, I was aware that the process sent a fine glass powder into the air. I wore a mask, but felt lingering glass particles might be a result of the process. Next, the process involved laying down of lead solder between the bits of glass: use of flux and solder added to my air quality concerns.
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In the end, I worked with stained glass less and less, and today, I have only a few pieces to represent my foray into making of stained glass. I know there are many stained glass artisans who work safely with beautiful results. But the medium was not for me.
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Nevertheless, I can continue to ‘work’ with stained glass in my writing life. The next Kaye Eliot Mystery will be titled Stained Glass and will feature a stained glass artist who uses his medium to tell the story of a mystery four decades old. Working with stained glass may be dangerous, but hanging around with this particular stained glass artist might be dangerous too!
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Stained Glass is now in the proof and beta-reading stage, so it will be published by March, 2022. For those who have enjoyed the previous Kaye Eliot Mysteries, this will be an enjoyable read. If you haven’t followed the mystery-loving family before, have a look at How Her Garden Grew here.
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All my best,
and no cut fingers!
Jane
next Kaye Eliot Mystery: Stained Glass
Set in Nova Scotia, the Kaye Eliot Mysteries feature a woman and her young family as they set out to solve local mysteries. You will love the kids, especially Matthew who adds his own naive curiosity to the mystery.
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When I started writing the mysteries, I wanted each one to include a communication from the past. The mystery in How Her Garden Grew is sparked by a dusty bundle of letters found in a crawlspace. In Something the Sundial Said, Kate finds an old diary that leaves clues to a century-old murder. In Land Between the Furrows the family finds a stack of post cards and solves the mystery of a valuable stone.
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Stained Glass presents a new mystery to the Eliot family. This mystery is also a communication from the past, from an artisan in the community. He has created a series of stained glass windows in houses along the Bay of Fundy shore. The stained glass artist asks Kaye to solve the mystery by finding the windows and discovering a secret he has kept for forty years.
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Stained glass has always been my favourite art form. The interplay of colour and light creates a magical medium for telling stories and expressing emotion. In this mystery, Kaye will also make use of her botanical skills, interpreting the meanings of various plants and flowers included in the stained glass windows she finds.
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Stained Glass will be published by the end of March 2022.
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Here is a short excerpt from the story:
I looked into the room where the cat had gone. Not a room, but a long hallway, with a stairway at the end. I shrugged and followed the hall. At the foot of the stairs, I hesitated. Wandering around the main floor of an empty house was one thing. Climbing those stairs would be brazen, even for me.
The stairs led to a landing where a huge stained glass window let in a marquee of coloured light. I was very like the glass panel decorating the landing of our house. Even the picture was similar. Two women and two men. A grape vine gone crazy. One of the women, the one with the wings and a crane of stars, was looking out to sea, precariously near the edge. One of the men held on to her elbow. If I had to name the piece, I would have called it ‘teetering on the edge.’
I turned to face the room opposite the stairs and screamed.
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Happy New Year and happy reading everyone!
Jane
Book Launch
If you live in the Fredericton area, I will be at Westminster Books tomorrow, Saturday, from 1 to 4 to launch the next in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series, Land Between the Furrows. I will be there with friend Chuck Bowie who is launching two books: Her Irish Boyfriend (in the Donovan, Thief for Hire Series) and, writing as Alexa Bowie, Death Between the Tables (in the Old Manse Mystery Series).
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In these worrisome times, we will be wearing masks and keeping our distance. And no cake will be served.
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Looking forward to talking about mystery writing and local books!
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My best to you!
Jane
nichepoetryandprose 