Do-Over!

When I was a kid, if something went sideways, I'd call for a do-over.

Belly-flop instead of a dive? Do-over!

Burnt cookies? Do-over!

Swing and a miss? Do-over!

Well, 2020, guess what I'm calling?

Do-over!

And let's do-over right--with peace and justice for all, with health and economic security for everyone, and with expressions like "social distancing" banished from the lexicon.

And as long as we're in do-over mode, let's open the beaches and pools, drink a cool glass of lemonade on a front porch swing, and enjoy summer.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay hopeful.

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures.

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Her latest book, Killer Queen, releases June 30th.

Stayin' Alive

Aggie entered the living room carrying a silver tray covered with rumaki and a shot glass filled with toothpicks.

She presented the tray to Aunt Sis who waved her away, then Gordon who helped himself. “I’ll take two.”

Aggie turned to Jerry, and the first inklings of a problem reached my ears. Claws on hardwood, advancing at a rapid (where’s the bacon?) rate.

Pansy burst into the living room and effortlessly launched herself over Gordon and Sis’s couch, a blonde streak with a singular focus.

She cleared the sofa and slammed into Aggie.

Aggie fell forward. To her knees. With her head half-buried in Jerry’s lap.

The tray flipped, covering both Aggie and Jerry in bits of bacon-wrapped water chestnut.

Pansy used Aggie’s back as a launch pad, and joined Jerry on the chair, hindering Aggie’s attempts to remove herself from between Jerry’s splayed legs.

“Pansy! Stop! Sit! Naughty dog!”

Pansy ignored me.

As for Max, he stood in the doorway. His doggy eyes wide with we’re-in-serious-trouble.

Pansy danced on Jerry’s lap and snapped up bacon as if she’d never get another chance.

“Get off!” Jerry, now a desperate soprano, shoved the at-least-sixty-five-pound dog.

Aggie thumped onto her hiney.

Pansy fell too, but she landed on her feet and noticed Aggie’s bread bowl on the coffee table. Not bacon but toothsome. She grabbed it in her teeth.

“No!” I wailed.

She swung her head my way, and the dill dip flew in a perfect white arc.

Dip splattered Gordon, Aunt Sis, and the needed-to-be-recovered-anyway couch. Jackson Pollock with a fully loaded paintbrush couldn’t have covered them more completely.

“Ellison!” Aunt Sis sounded remarkably like Mother. Get-that-damned-dog-under-control-this-instant like Mother.

Swallowing a hysterical giggle, I waded into the fray, grabbed Pansy’s collar, and pulled her away from my guests. “Bad dog!”

Pansy ignored my scolding and swallowed the empty bread bowl. Whole.

I don't know about you, but lately, I need a laugh. Perhaps that's why Stayin' Alive is my funniest book to date.

Ellison's latest mystery released on February 25th.

Springtime. Love is in the air. So is murder.

When Ellison Russell, reluctant finder of bodies, chairs a gala in conjunction with the museum’s Chinese funerary exhibit, she expects disaster. So, she’s not remotely surprised when a body turns up.

Ellison is willing to leave the investigation to the police till an attempt is made on her life.

Now she’s juggling evading a killer, her aunt’s overly-amorous beau, her dog’s new love interest, and Mother’s displeasure.

With bodies piling up, if Ellison’s not careful, staying alive might be impossible.

Amazon
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Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures.

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Happy New Decade

We've dipped our toes in a new decade. So far, the 20s seem fine.

Decades are defined by food, fashion, politics, music, and media.

If you're familiar with my work, you know I write a series set in the 1970s. Officially fifty years ago (feel like yesterday--there's no way I can be this old).

I love writing about the 70s. It was a simpler time. No cell phones. No video games (yes, I remember Pong--but nothing blew up). Cars had actual keys (when she climbed into a car without a push-button start, my 18-year old had no clue how to turn it on). There were a limited number of television stations and everyone watched the same things (the playground wasn't a fun place to be if you missed Happy Days).

Granted, the 70s preference for polyester isn't my favorite. I get the no-iron idea but I've embraced the notion that linen is supposed to be wrinkled.

I visit the 70s most days on Facebook. Think JellO salads (what were they thinking?).

Also, questionable fashion (again, what were they thinking?) and general craziness.

I hope you'll join me in some historical silliness, and I wish you a happy new decade!

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures.

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Her newest book, Stayin' Alive, releases February 25, 2020.

If I knew then...

Someone recently asked me the one thing I wish I’d known before being published.

I thought back to 2014, the year I first signed a contract. I was beyond excited, so full of happiness my feet didn’t touch the ground for days.

I signed my name to contracts with blissful abandon.

I don’t mean to suggest I signed without reading the contract, but I was so new to publishing, I didn’t understand the myriad ramifications of my name on that signature line.

Here I am five years older, five years wiser.

I wish I’d known I’d be running a small business. My products are books. And, if I want readers to find my books, I must market them. Like most new authors, I believed my publisher should take that role (my husband still believes publishers should do that).

My first mystery, The Deep End, released in 2015.

That first release, I waited for a confetti cannon. Instead of confetti, the universe responded with a pffft. Still, my publisher was pleased and told me, “Keep writing.” The second release was worse than the first. A bigger pffft, less confetti, fewer sales. My publisher told me, “Second books seldom do as well as debuts.”

That would have been great information to have as I managed my expectations.

The releases have steadily improved since that second book. I have a theory about that.

Traditional publishing companies push their latest books—thrillers for the holidays, beach books for summer, romances for Valentine’s Day.

I push The Deep End. I believe that once readers meet Ellison Russell, revisit (or visit) the 1970s, and fall in love with her extended family, they’ll keep reading.

Recently the Country Club Murders (The Deep End is the first book in the series) surpassed 100,000 books sold.

I love spending my days spinning stories. I like editing. I love engaging with readers. All things I expected when I took the first steps down this path. Knowing more about Facebook ads and AMS than most marketing executives? Let’s call that a bonus. Or a curse. Tomato-tomahto.

Five years from now, I may be writing another I-wish-I-knew-then-what-I-know-now blog. Lord only knows what mistakes I’ll make, but at least I’ll make them doing something I love.

No Tricks, All Treats

October is a time for treats.

Even if you're not ringing doorbells with a plastic pumpkin hooked over your arm, there are still treats available. 

BOOKS!

These mysteries are the first in their series, and they are FREE on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.

First from Elise Sax, Die Noon is the first installment in the hilarious, romantic Goodnight Mysteries series. 

Let Us Prey by Jamie Lee Scott is the first in the USA TODAY bestselling Gotcha Detective Series

Armed and Fabulous by Camilla Chafer explores what happens when a boring temp job turns deadly!

From my longtime critique partner, Sally Berneathy. Lindsay, the Death by Chocolate heroine, will make you smile, and the included recipes are to-die-for.

Wanna Get Lucky by Deborah Coonts will hook you! Las Vegas, mayhem, glamor, and laugh out loud funny!

And finally, my own Poppy Fields. If you've not met Poppy, pack your bags for big fun!

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Falling for Fall

Fall is stirring. Sure, the temperature still hovers in the upper 80s, but the annuals are leggy and the odd leaf drifts to the ground.

I've always loved September and October. In Kansas City, they are months of pleasant temperatures, reduced humidity, and blue skies. There's football and boots. There are chili dinners and pumpkin spice (I'm not in love, but I appear to be alone in that). There's front-porch sitting and hot apple cider. There are long walks to take, leaves to rake, a mums to plant.

This fall will be spent writing Ellison's latest adventure. I envision curling on the chaise on the front porch with a plaid blanket wrapped around my legs and a laptop open. Of course words will flow like water.

Also, Poppy will face a new villain in London (more on that in October).

My fall calendar is full. Now, if someone would just give summer the boot...

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Action, adventure, mystery, and humor are the things Julie loves when she's reading. She loves them even more when she's writing!

Cutting ties

I've been thinking lately about relationships.

I've been married almost twenty-four years. My husband and I dated about a year and a half before we were married, so we've been together just over twenty-five years.

But my marriage is not my longest monogamous relationship. Not even close.

The same man has done my hair since I was sixteen. Sure, there were the college years. But, as soon as I moved back to Kansas City, I moved back to Dale's chair.

Dale retired.

I knew his plans, but ostrich-like I pretended his move to Florida would never come.

Until the day actually came.

Today I have a first date with a new stylist.

It won't be the same. 

And all this has me wondering, what would Ellison do? Could my favorite country club maven need a new stylist too?

I'll be taking notes...

Julie Mulhern owes her blonde to a man who's left her for warm winters and ocean breezes.

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

She is the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures.

Action, adventure, mystery, and humor are the things Julie loves when she's reading. She loves them even more when she's writing!

Below the surface

I’ve been researching a book set in London.

Turns out, there are houses in London called “iceberg homes.”

Iceberg, because most of the square footage is hidden. Underground. Some of the houses descend four and five stories. They have pools. They have media rooms. They have spas.  They have bowling alleys. They have enormous garages.

Those houses made me think about people.

We’re all icebergs. There’s the part that everyone sees. And there’s the hidden part.

Writing icebergs is hard. That iceberg, it’s called backstory. And it’s best revealed slowly.

I know writers who develop extensive notes on their characters. They know their character’s favorite color, astrological sign, and mother’s maiden name.

I don’t write that way. I’d rather discover the iceberg slowly. I’d rather discover the hidden pool after I’ve seen what’s above the surface. Maybe that's why I love mysteries...

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders and the Poppy Fields Adventures. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Action, adventure, mystery, and humor are the things Julie loves when she's reading. She loves them even more when she's writing!