Books and Lyrics by JoAnne

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog. This is my first time with Paranormal Love Wednesdays, so this is kinda hit and miss. I write mystery, paranormal, fantasy, true crime and poetry, and the proud author of 7 published book by 3 publishing houses. Please browse my blog and comment before going on. I will be awarding 2 lucky people who comment a free paperback or PDF of their choice. Thank you.

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BLOOD TIES-After the mysterious disappearance of twenty-six year old wife and mother Lisa Smalley, her twin, Audra Roper, begins having dark and disturbing visions of Lisa’s disappearance. Trying to survive while looking for Lisa, Audra’s life becomes a roller coaster of risks, heartbreak, and intrigue.

THE HAUNTING OF BARB MARIE-Even as a child, Barb Marie saw dead people. This took an unhealthy toil on her throughout her childhood and young adulthood.

SUMMER WIND-When twenty-nine year old Ginger discovers the old mansion Summer Wind, she is mysteriously drawn to it. Immediately, the haunting’s have a negative and profound effect on the family.

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LIES-laying the Norfolk ghost to rest-Solving the brutal murder of American born Ruthie Geil becomes a gauntlet of attacks and more murders for Federal Police Inspector Ian Christian. Between the victims family, ex-lovers, and ghostly occurrences on Norfolk Island, the killer is closer than anyone realizes.

THE LEGEND OF LAKE MANOR-For the young psychic Cassandra Lopez, coming to the infamous and haunted mansion Lake Manor, was more like a mission.

THE APARTMENT-When young newlyweds Bill and Gayle move into their new apartment, their lives are plagued with sightings of evil ghosts that threaten their marriage and lives.

DARK VISIONS- When Carrie Reynold’s starts having nightmares on her twenty-sixth birthday, she believes her “dark visions” can solve the twenty year disappearance of her father.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” said a cheerful Kyle Roper to his snoring sister

“Is it morning already?” she asked, releasing a Wild Turkey and Coca Cola

his face. “I’m glad you’re on vacation so you can sleep late. What time did you

“One hour after closing,” she said rolling onto her back and pushing her

long chocolate-colored hair from her mascara-streaked face. “I feel like crap.”

“Eight a.m. is too early to be getting a perm. What’s wrong with that sweet

“She’s an early bird, unlike a pair of twins I know,” he said pulling back

the covers to reveal his sister’s Asian inspired silk pajamas. “I gotta go. I’ll call

her brother just before he reached the front door. He raced to her side and found

her kneeling on the floor, holding her stomach with both hands. “Audra, what’s

wrong?” He lifted her petite body onto the bed. “Do you need an ambulance?”

realization his other sister needed help. He grabbed the nearby telephone from

On the third ring, his brother-in-law Doug Smalley answered. “Hello,” he

“Your stomach feeling better? How’s your head?” he asked, sitting down

older brother obliged. He returned shortly with the tablets and a glass of water.

Audra swallowed the pills and liquid then said, “Something has happened. I can

JoAnne Myers is from Ohio. She is a published author of 7 books, and canvas paints. JoAnne enjoys spending time with relatives, and volunteering her time within the community. JoAnne is a member of several writing groups. She believes in family values and following your dreams.

Hello everyone, I am so happy right now. Paranormal Romance Guild gave my crime/mystery anthology "Flagitious" 5 Stars in January 2015.

This is a four story anthology and I will give a short review of each story.

Steven Moore is in the Air Force and has taken a leave to attend his mother's funeral. His mother was murdered by a killer who has been around town for years and has been called "The Hatchet Man." Steven is determined to find his mother's killer and is not willing to trust the Sheriff's office to get the job done. In spite of the fact his mother was a prostitute and used drugs and alcohol, Steven only remembers a loving woman who always had time for her son. His memories of her are filled with happy times. While investigating her death, Steven meets Vivien Stone a girl he knew in high school who helps him in more ways than one. Steven discovers many secrets about his mother and also exposes a town full of lies and deceit. Why was his mother killed? Can he find the killer before the killer comes after him? Is there a future for Vivien and Steven? I loved this story, mystery, romance, lies, secrets, and betrayals.

When Katherine Sims discovered her brother, Jessie, killed her nephew, Charlie, she did what she thought was right and reported him. Her determination to protect her other nieces and nephews prompted her to come forward, only she had no idea what her decision would cost her. Her brother and his wife were immediately arrested. Soon after, the bones of her nephew, in addition to other human bones, were found. Not only was Jessie's abuse of his children unimaginable so was the lack of action from the people empowered to protect them. The people who should have protected these children turned their backs on them, allowing a monster to force his children into unthinkable acts. In addition to being an abuser, he also was a Satan worshipper. The description of the abuse suffered by these children and their living conditions was mind blowing. In the midst of all this insanity, Katherine finds love. Will she and her boyfriend live long enough to marry? A story full of lies, torture, rape, incest, and once again a system that seriously fails the very children they are hired to protect.

When thirty-year old Charlotte and thirty-one year old Jeff married they promised themselves they would have seven children, only life doesn't always give you what you want. Soon after they married, they had their son Richard, and two years later Chad. When their third son, Allen, was born prematurely the doctor told them her pregnancies would be difficult from then on, and they were. For ten years Jeff and Charlotte had artificial insemination and each pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. They finally had their daughter Amelia. Not willing to stop, they are determined to try for one more child, only this time the pregnancy would affect not only their lives but another couple's. After giving birth to another boy, the child is stolen from the hospital. Who stole the child? Will the child be found? Why is there another couple involved? A very heartwarming story.

Nick Difozzio is a cop searching for the killer who has taken one life after another. Women are dead and found bitten and tarot cards are found on their bodies. Geraldine Hodges, a voodoo high priestess and Nick's surrogate mother, is also found dead. Nick is determined to do whatever he has to bring the killer to justice. There are the rumors of people practicing Lycanthropy and blood being sold on the streets. In spite of Nick's boss begging him to stop investigating the killings, he refuses, a refusal that will make Nick's nightmares a reality. Are there really people practicing Lycanthropy? If there is who is the leader? Can Nick find the guilty parties and bring them to justice? This is a story of lies, betrayals, and evil.

Hello and welcome to my Books and Paintings by JoAnne Blog. This week it is my pleasure to introduce you to my author guest, David E. Shaolian. He is here to showcase his suspence filled book "Happy Campers" . David loves hearing from readers, so please do comment. Now here's David.

Imagine being secluded in the wilderness, in an unfamiliar environment, with individuals half your age, whose core values and lifestyle are diametrically opposed to your own. How is one to react if a deluge of inappropriate behaviour, creating a highly perilous environment, rages, uncontrolled, due to ineffective leadership? What if your concerns about said conduct go unheard? And what if some are outwardly antagonistic to anyone threatening the perpetuation of the hedonistic status quo?

These are the issues faced by Simon Green, a high school English teacher and photography enthusiast, who enters this environment as the new photographer for Camp Black Pines, an overnight camp attended by campers from mostly wealthy families in one of the most prestigious cottage areas in Canada. Following a thorny period in his life, Simon accepts the position, attempting to escape his woes by immersing himself in his passion for photography. However, the natural beauty of this locale masks weighty issues: a prevalence of an ‘anything goes’ attitude concerning widespread drinking, illicit drug consumption, and promiscuous sexual activity among staff, eclipsing concern for the safety and well-being of the children attending the camp. It's a volatile recipe for disaster, where anything can happen at any moment.

How long will this situation persist before everything boils over and disaster strikes? Will Simon, an innate procrastinator with a commitment phobia, act altruistically, or will his reluctant nature prove an impediment? And how would such a situation impact on him and others?

Originally from Ottawa, Canada, David E. Shaolian is an experienced high school English teacher and an alumnus of Tel Aviv University (Overseas Student Program), Carleton University, and the University of Windsor. Happy Campers, his debut novel, was inspired by his experience as camp photographer at one camp, issues of alcohol and drug abuse at overnight camps generally, and classic works of literature. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.

Whether you have never been camping, or have your own camping experiences, this is a thriller for you. Author Shaolian is a true wordsmith. He knows how to create that hook that wants the reader to stay involved in his delightful narrative. He sees more as a photographer than meets the eye. So will you. The title of his work hides the reality of his happy campers. Great book.

http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers-David-E-Shaolian/dp/1939383528/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420653274&sr=1-1&keywords=happy+campers+david

Hello, and welcome to the 5th day of this wonderful blog hop. This is my Books and Paintings by JoAnne Blog, and the favorite of my four blogs. I am an author of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry and true crime. Please stay and browse my website. You might find that my books are write up your alley. I will also be awarding two people who comment their choice of one of my books. The choices are, Murder Most Foul, Wicked Intentions, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Flagitious, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, or Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between. Its your choice. Thank you.

When two dismembered torsos wash up on the banks of the local river in the small industrial town of Pleasant Valley, residents are horrified. Between contradicting statements, police ineptitude, lust, lies, manipulation, incest, the motorcycle gang The Devil’s Disciples, crooked cops, and a botched crime scene, everyone becomes a suspect.

The young beautiful Jackie Reeves, a registered nurse, believes the killer is a man from her past. She contacts the dangerously handsome FBI Agent Walker Harmon. An arrest is made, but Harmon and Jackie believe an innocent man is being railroaded by local cops. Determined to find the truth, before anymore killings, Agent Harmon and Jackie are forced to run a gauntlet of deep trouble and turmoil, which marks them for death.

“Around 4:45, you were seen exiting the Gallagher Bar and Grill with a muscular black man,” he said. “Did you see your brother and Lorena in the area?”

“Yeah, they were walk’n toward the bar,” she admitted. “But I didn't tell ‘cause I'm on probation. I ain't allowed around alcohol. I hated Lorena, but not enough to kill her.” She continued to glare.

“He strutted around like a prized rooster wear’n cowboy boots, a suede vest, a big ole' cowboy hat, and a skinnin' knife.” The reformed alcoholic cackled.

Realizing the ebony-skinned woman was eaten up with hatred, Harmon felt anything would ignite her, and went for it. “What stores did you see Vernon James in? The shops in which you were arrested for shoplifting?”

“You bastard! You can't talk to me like that,” she snapped. Having the mouth and temper of a sailor, Simone, fired up, was ready to go a round with the gutsy agent. “I got a respectable job now. After what happened to my baby brother, I cleaned up my act.”

“I'm just offering you a taste of some of the questions you'll be asked if this case goes to trial,” he explained, crossing his arms across his chest. “I know your history. Who introduced Lorena and Shaun to cocaine, you or Terry Jenkins?”

Pushing back her hair with her long, artificial nails, she said, “The prosecutor knows my past and still wants my testimony.”

“All Winfield cares about is a conviction,” he replied. “Now, isn't it time you stopped this pretense? You don't even know Vernon James, do you? You know his style of dress only from reading about him in the newspapers?”

Hello, and welcome to the 4th day of this wonderful blog hop. This is my Books and Paintings by JoAnne Blog, and the favorite of my four blogs. I am an author of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry and true crime. Please stay and browse my website. You might find that my books are write up your alley. I will also be awarding two people who comment their choice of one of my books. The choices are, Murder Most Foul, Wicked Intentions, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Flagitious, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, or Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between. Its your choice. Thank you.

Author's Note: Twisted Love-12 cases of love gone bad is a true account of well known homicide cases from Ohio and surrounding states.

Where’s Christopher?-When four year old Christopher Ellis goes missing, numerous excuses and an odd odor emanating from the backyard in 1991, raises eyebrows.

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing-In 2011, 53 year old Russell Strothers, and his teenage accomplice find their victims through Craigslist and strike with calculating and deadly force.

Mail Order Murder-The last thing the beautiful Russian mail order bride Anna dreamed of in 2001, was being murdered by her controlling and older American husband.

With a population of 35,313 people, Lancaster, Ohio, the proud birthplace of many notable actors, authors, sports stars, and cartoonist was founded in 1800, and the famous merchant, trailblazer, pioneer and soldier, Ebenezer Zane incorporated it as a town in 1831. Like all cities, however, it was not immune to murder. In fact, Lancaster was the location of the worst murder of a child in the county’s history.

According to twenty-eight-year-old Christina Sims, she hesitated many times before turning in her older brother John Engle for the murder of his four-year-old son Christopher. Torn between her love for John, and Christopher, and doing what was right, the soft-spoken, slender blonde with dark-eyes, said she looked to Christ for guidance. After speaking with her minister, she made the devastating choice of walking into the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department on July 9, 1991.

Christina recalled that while trailing the short, young dispatcher down the dark hall, she recalled her first meeting with one-year-old Christopher, who was not yet able to stand on his own. It did not take the stay-at-home mom long to realize why the love-starved toddler was behind in his learning.

She described Christopher as her favorite nephew, and said, “All Christopher wanted was to be held and loved.” Christina explained that she occasionally visited her brother and sister-in- law, Edna Mae, and their growing brood. She described Christopher as "pitiful” and told how his siblings were mean to him, and hit him regularly. "He was such a loving child," she said. When she visited the family in the summer of 1989, she asked where Christopher was. Christina claimed, her brother said the child had gone to live with his maternal grandmother in Columbus, but then he started to cry. He said Christopher was in a better place.

Hoping to land a farm job and move close to his family, Jay Davis, then forty-seven, met his interviewer and walked with him through the autumn-colored woodlands of southeastern Ohio on November 6, 2011, at around 7:30 pm.

Everything went fine, said Davis, until he heard a curse word from the man who he knew as “Buck,” and then the click of a gun. He whirled around to find a pistol stuck in his face. He shielded the blow by knocking the firearm from its shooters hand, before running for his life.

Stumbling several times, while being fired upon, Davis raced through the thicket and hid in a creed bed under a tree for several hours; until he felt it safe enough to go for help. He feared bleeding to death he later told police.

This bizarre story was uncovered when a Noble County couple heard a knock on their farmhouse door. They were shocked to discover the terrified and bleeding South Carolina man pleading for help.

Immediately the victim was aided by the farm owners, and the authorities notified. Paramedics arrived, and the man was transported to the area hospital with a bullet wound to the right elbow. After interviewing the man in his hospital room, officials with the Noble County Sheriff’s Office, discovered that he had recently responded to an ad on Craigslist for a job on an Ohio cattle farm.

According to the victim, he had earlier that day met up with an older man who introduced himself as “Buck”, and a much younger male, who he was told was Buck’s nephew. The three ate breakfast in Marietta, paid for by “Buck”, before driving to the alleged cattle farm. Once there and according to Jay Davis, “Buck” told him the road to the cattle farm was closed due to a landslide and they needed to walk to the property through a heavily wooded area. A walk that nearly ended with murder.

Few women find themselves in such a bizarre relationship, as did eighteen-year-old Anna Tonkov, a Russian native. Speaking minimal and badly broken English, the family expressed high expectations for their tall, voluptuous raven-haired daughter. Anna was the only child of senior and ailing parents, and her mother said she and her husband only wanted the best for her.

In a country where the average yearly income was three hundred dollars per person, Mr. and Mrs. Tonkov, believed that Anna’s future happiness lay with the United States.

Mrs. Tonkov recalled how Anna did not want to leave. It was the parents’ idea for her to be a mail-order bride. According to Mrs. Tonkov, Anna said, “‘what if I don’t find a husband? What if you and papa waste your money?’”

Mr. Tonkov recalled telling her daughter, that she was never a waste of their money. She was everything to them, and they wanted her to have everything America offered.

Mr. and Mrs. Tonkov then took Anna‘s photograph in a dress she had made, not like many of the other women posing for the magazine-loose women, half naked. “No good man wants them,” they said.

Anna was a lady, explained Mr. Tonkov-a good Christian girl. Hardworking and responsible. She was raised the right way, they both said.

In the spring of 2007, Anna became number M245 in a Russian mail-order catalog with a circulation of over twenty million viewers. The magazine was bursting with dozens of glossy, full-color photographs of young hopeful women, all looking for husbands to rescue them from their poverty, stricken and unhappy lives.

It was not long before Anna had her first letter from a perspective admirer. She returned to her small four-room home from her part-time job at a nearby bakery, and her glowing parents greeted her just inside the front door.

Mrs. Tonkov recalled how surprised Anna was when she saw her and her husband smiling. She then handed her daughter the pink envelope with trembling hands.

At first, Anna was afraid to open the letter, said Mr. Tonkov, but he told her it was from an American man. He said he and his wife watched as Anna read each word silently; her large dark eyes wide with anticipation. They said she was hesitant to respond to the sender. Maybe friendship would bloom. “If not you brush up on language skills,” said Mrs. Tonkov.

That made Anna laugh, recalled Mr. Tonkov. He still remembers her pretty laugh, “as if (she were) a small child without cares.”

Hello, and welcome to the third day of this wonderful blog hop. This is my Books and Paintings by JoAnne Blog, and the favorite of my four blogs. I am an author of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry and true crime. Please stay and browse my website. You might find that my books are write up your alley. I will also be awarding two people who comment their choice of one of my books. The choices are, Murder Most Foul, Wicked Intentions, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Flagitious, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, or Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between. Its your choice. Thank you.

Horrible Sin-When 42 year old Fortune Teller Sally Vu and her 21-year-old daughter Veronica are discovered murdered and physically desecrated, in 2001, evidence points to revenge and a spell gone wrong.

All For the Family-In 2003, as a way to erase her 22-year-old husbands criminal past, 19 year old Molly Abbott devises a ghoulish and desperate strategy.

Thicker Than Water?-When 52 year old Kim Michaels is found dismembered inside her burned out home in 1996, officers find the crime more confusing than a jig saw puzzle.

If nineteen-year-old Molly had listened to her mother, perhaps the slender, freckle-faced felon and her now-divorced felon husband Ernie would not be sitting in a Texas prison. The way the auburn-haired Molly chose to make a new life for herself and Ernie shocked the town and became forever known as the cruelest and dumbest action one could take when one wants to do “all for the family.”

Candy will say she tried to talk her daughter out of marrying the lazy, drinking, sandy-haired, blue-eyed Ernie. But Molly was “starry-eyed head over heels in love,” or so she thought.

Molly insisted she knew the seldom-employed Ernie well enough to be his wife and allow him to be the only father her four-year-old son Mathew knew. Even though Mathew was conceived from an earlier relationship, Molly insisted that the uncouth and chain-smoking Ernie treated him respectfully. “He loves me and Mathew,” Molly would say.

After a two-month courtship, Molly married twenty-two-year-old Ernie Abbott. According to Candy, she hated Ernie and wanted everyone including Molly to know it. She told Molly she was making a drastic mistake by marrying Ernie, but her eldest daughter, insisted the two were soul mates. “He’s the one,” Molly said.

In a simple backyard ceremony with the theme of Harley Davidson motorcycles, the pair exchanged wedding vows. As if straight from the pages of American Rider, the bride wore jeans and a sleeveless Harley shirt. The groom donned black leather chaps and a vest emblazon with the famous cycle logo.

Friends and relatives surrounded the glowing couple and, happily toasted them with keg beer. A reception followed, with grilled hotdogs and burgers as the main course. They received numerous wedding gifts and money, to help them on their way to a long and happy life together…or so the giddy couple thought.

Candy was not the only one who disapproved of the courtship. Baby-sister Janie was as different from Molly as igloos are from tropical huts. Janie was known as the “pretty” sister and Molly the “plain Jane”. Janie thought Ernie was a loser, as did most of Molly’s family. She believed her big sister thought she was in love, because, according to Janie, Ernie was the first man to pay attention to Molly in a long time.

According to Janie, Molly called her jealous. Afterward, Janie thought it best to let Molly find out for herself what a “bad apple,” Ernie was. She gave the marriage two years, “Good things come to those who wait,” she said.

The next move for the newlyweds was buying the dream home Molly wanted so much. According to Molly, when she saw the two-story ranch-style house in a quiet and family-oriented neighborhood, with an adjoining playground and dog park, she knew, “This is the one for us.”

She said Ernie picked her up and swung her around, telling her the house would be theirs. They called the realtor, and three weeks later they moved in-but as renters, not owners.

According to the loan officer, both had inadequate credit. The loan officer informed the couple that with neither earning more then minimum wage, and Ernie’s upcoming legal matters, he did not see a home in their near future.

Molly was devastated, recalled Candy. Besides being a mother, Molly wanted so much to be a homeowner, she said.

Another person who had doubts about the couple getting the home was Rita, Ernie’s mother. Tall and skinny, with waist-length red hair, Rita dressed and partied like a teenager. When she learned of her son attempting to purchase a home, she told relatives, “With Ernie’s credit and legal matters, he couldn’t get a loan for a candy bar.”

According to fifty-eight-year-old Fire Chief Reginald Whitehall, a phone call came into the station around 9 pm, on August 18, 2010, sending the short, plump, salt-and-pepper-haired man and other personnel rushing to the scene. When they arrived, it appeared a Molotov cocktail, had been thrown through a living room window-a homemade device considered a simple and cheap form of arson. Minute’s later, area police arrived.

The caller identified herself as being fifty-two-year-old Kimberly Michaels, owner of the bombed house. The tall round woman with gray hair and brown-eyes, made it safely outside and waited on the sidewalk. She was being comforted by her neighbor, thirty-six-year-old Bonny-Jean, a petite red-head with blue-eyes, when fire trucks arrived.

The first thing forty-four-year-old veteran Detective Erick Bowers said he noticed was that the glass from the alcohol bottle was mostly on the outside of the window, lying on the ground. That alone screamed “inexperienced arsonist,” such as a young person, said the sandy-haired and green-eyed bachelor. That area was known as a drug-infested high-crime neighborhood.

According to the Fire Chief, the home was insured. There was minimal damage to the burned area. He knew of Kimberly’s neighborhood watch, and within that area, she was considered a hero. He said it took guts to stand up to drug dealers and gang members, but she did it.

Kimberly kept tabs on the officers assigned to her home arson case, recalled her older sister Rachel. According to Rachel, Kimberly said she wanted the crime solved. She wanted the bastard responsible for setting her beloved home on fire to pay. She was a determined woman, and she was not letting up.

According to Det. Bowers, he had his officers out in full force. Officers canvassed the entire area for five city blocks, looking for any witnesses, who might have seen or heard something peculiar around the time of the bombing. Reportedly, they found nothing useful to explain the bombing, or who might be the bomber.

Unfortunately, before the minor damage was repaired, the home was bombed again. This time two bombs came through the master bedroom of the home, Kimberly’s bedroom.

The Fire Chief was not the only one involved with the initial investigation who thought it strange for the same house to be bombed twice within two weeks. He said he wondered whether maybe the Good Samaritan had video taped the wrong crime, and her good luck had run out.

Talking with Rachel, police discovered Kimberly was a very caring daughter to their ailing parents. The father had built the couple’s house in 1940, when he and his wife first married. Kimberly grew up in that house and kept it immaculate. She never married or had children. She worked hard throughout her life and saved her money.

With the fires happening so close in time to one another, the Fire Chief theorized they might be retaliation bombings. Kimberly Michaels, was known for video taping the streets outside her house for drug activity. She then turned the tapes over to police, which had resulted in the arrests of several drug dealers.

It would have been a nice day in California except for two things; the vicious and bizarre murders of two Asian women and the whereabouts of the killer.

According to veteran Detective Marcus Brown, when he and partner Jonas Nutter, entered the mansion-like home, they discovered what looked to be a robbery gone wrong.

Det. Nutter described each room inside the home as having been ransacked as if the killer or killers were searching for something. However, nothing at the time seemed to be missing.

The home contained expensive furnishings and electronics, as was money and jewelry lying around. The detectives' believed that if a robbery had occurred, the missing items must have much more value than material objects.

According to Det. Nutter, in one rear bedroom, officers discovered several cages containing snakes, and birds, of different species and sizes. The officers found it baffling that one family would have such a large number of birds and reptiles, but in police business, no two cases are alike.

Hello, and welcome to one of my 4 blogs. I am an author of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry and true crime. Please stay and browse my website. You might find that my books are write up your alley. I will also be awarding two people who comment their choice of one of my books. The choices are, Murder Most Foul, Wicked Intentions, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Flagitious, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, or Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between. Its your choice. Thank you.

DAY 2: Here are three other blurbs and excerpts from my true crime anthology, "Twisted Love-12 cases of love gone bad"

A Senseless Killing-This 2010 case uncovers how a 40 year old likable barmaid was lured to her death after she rejects her young admirers sexual advances.

The Death of Innocence-This 2011 murder case involved 4 year old Marcie Willis, and her evil stepmother 25 year old Cheryl, from the small bedroom community of The Plains, Ohio.

The Girl Not Forgotten-This cold case took 26 years to solve, but brought justice for 13-year-old Holly Buford, and put serial rapist, 40-year-old Stanley Snead, behind bars.

It was a grand Thanksgiving evening for all at The Lakeway Lounge on November 25, 2010. The country band kept everyone on the dance floor. The occasional smacking of pool balls was heard above the laughter, and the crowd's favorite barmaid, June McSween, was serving them. She had asked a co-worker to allow her to work the night shift, to earn a little extra cash. It was a choice she would not live to regret.

“Better times are coming,” said the bubbly blonde, who had only begun working for the small neighborhood pub four months earlier. According to patrons, June was looking forward to moving into her own apartment next to the pub in just a few days. Her forty-ninth birthday was only hours away.

Little did the joyful crowd realize, that that cool autumn evening would be the last time anyone saw June, except for her killer.

According to June’s timecard, she punched out at 3 am. Her last duties were washing glasses and ashtrays. Black Friday was on the horizon. Her birthday party would consist of her daughter and son, and a few close friends. Everything was planned-everything except what actually happened to the tall slender grandmother.

According to the bar owner, fifty-four-year-old Pablo Corteza, he returned to the bar at 8 a.m. the next morning and noticed June’s car with flattened tires in the parking lot, along with two other vehicles with flat tires.

The short, heavy Albanian immigrant said he called police, who did a quick search of the perimeter and canvassed the street, from inside their cruiser, but found nothing and soon left.

Shortly afterward, thirty-eight-year-old James Wager, a boat mechanic, noticed Pablo, and told him he had notified police because two boats at his business, located near the bar, were vandalized. According to the tall, slender man with sand-colored hair, as he walked around surveying the damaged boats, he discovered a woman’s shoe and underwear. He told Pablo, “This doesn’t look good.”

Home to Ohio University and Hocking College, Athens County, Ohio, was formed in 1805 and held a population of 64,753. Nestled deep in the Appalachian foothills of Southeast Ohio, its lively arts and music scene entertained locals and visitors alike all year round. It owed its eclectic shopping and dining scene to the presence of a large university as well as its rich Appalachian heritage. Hunting, kayaking, bouldering, hiking, cycling, and mountain biking are just some of the county's most popular outdoor activities.

Boasting more activities then ticks on a dog, the rare action the county was not proudly known for was cold-blooded murder. Monday, May 23, 2011, changed all of that, when the Athens County Emergency Medical Service received a call.

When a frantic thirty-six-year-old Jake Buford drove to the police station to report his thirteen-year-old daughter missing, little did the father of three realize she was already dead and buried.

The brown-haired man with a thick mustache, built like a lumberjack, recalled how the middle-aged and pleasantly plump dispatcher had looked up at him blankly and quietly said. “Has your daughter been missing for at least twenty-four hours?”

He told her “no,” and she nonchalantly told him the girl was probably hanging out with friends and would return home shortly. She then returned to her snack. When Jake told her, he and his older daughter and ex-wife, had contacted everyone the young girl knew, the dispatcher shrugged her shoulders while washing her sandwich down with a soda.

Jake said he felt his fear for his missing daughter, turning to anger at this arrogant, non-caring person who took his dilemma with a grain of salt. He again asked her to allow him to make an official report. She said “no exceptions,” then closed the window. The desperate father turned and left.

Hello, and welcome to one of my 4 blogs. I am an author of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry and true crime. Please stay and browse my website. You might find that my books are write up your alley. I will also be awarding two people who comment their choice of one of my books. The choices are, Murder Most Foul, Wicked Intentions, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Flagitious, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, or Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between. Its your choice. Thank you.

Author Note: It’s a chilling reality that homicide investigators know all too well: the last face most murder victims see is not that of a stranger, but of someone familiar.

The End of Autumn-To keep from paying child support for his three children, Rodney Williams, plots with his parents to kidnap his estranged wife, 25-year old Autumn, in broad daylight. This 2011 crime shocked the small community of Logan, Ohio.

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing-In 2011, 53 year old Russell Strothers, and his teenage accomplice find their victims through Craigslist and strike with calculating and deadly force.

A Senseless Killing-This 2010 case uncovers how a 40 year old likable barmaid was lured to her death after she rejects her young admirers sexual advances.

The Death of Innocence-This 2011 murder case involved 4 year old Marcie Willis, and her evil stepmother 25 year old Cheryl, from the small bedroom community of The Plains, Ohio.

The Girl Not Forgotten-This cold case took 26 years to solve, but brought justice for 13-year-old Holly Buford, and put serial rapist, 40-year-old Stanley Snead, behind bars.

The Possession-When 29-year-old Valerie Harris severs the penis of her sexually abusive father, it makes national news in 2007.

Home Town Hero-When deaf students are murdered in the prestigious Rose Brick College of the Deaf in 2008, everyone is shocked when discovering the killer is one of their own.

All For the Family-In 2003, as a way to erase her 22-year-old husbands criminal past, 19 year old Molly Abbott devises a ghoulish and desperate strategy.

Thicker Than Water?-When 52 year old Kim Michaels is found dismembered inside her burned out home in 1996, officers find the crime more confusing than a jig saw puzzle.

Mail Order Murder-The last thing the beautiful Russian mail order bride Anna dreamed of in 2001, was being murdered by her controlling and older American husband.

Where’s Christopher?-When four year old Christopher Ellis goes missing, numerous excuses and an odd odor emanating from the backyard in 1991, raises eyebrows.

March 22, 2011, could have been just an ordinary Tuesday evening for the small industrial town of Logan, Ohio, population 7,152, if it were not for the glass-shattering screams of a female, emanating from the alley next to the Bancroft National Bank in downtown Logan.

The first witness was a twenty-one-year-old named Richard. He told police he was walking in the area of the bank when he saw a girl curled in a ball on the ground, with two grown men standing above her, Tasing her. When he got approximately one foot away from the woman and the men, a woman driver yelled to the men that someone was behind them. Richard was then pepper-sprayed by one of two male attackers when he tried to intervene. He raced off to an adjoining fitness center.

A woman named Rachel, who was outside the fitness center, called 911 to report that a man was pepper-sprayed while attempting to help a woman who had been attacked. According to Rachel, Richard was in severe pain when he ran up to her while holding his eyes and yelling for help.

Richard gave descriptions of the attackers as being two large dark-haired men, with the driver of the white Buick or Crown Victoria being an older female, with “bleached blonde,” hair.

Bob, an architect working in his upstairs office in the adjoining building next to the alley relayed that he had heard the commotion and told the persons to “ keep the noise down.”

At the same time, two female joggers witnessed a young woman being shoved into a white Crown Victoria. Reportedly, they were near the same bank as was Richard, when they heard a girl scream and heard a Taser go off. They proceeded to cross the alley, beside the bank, noting that as they neared the commotion, the woman being Tasered, seemed to be in a violent struggle with her attackers.

The joggers, too, described the young woman as screaming while two men stood over her with a Taser. The men were dressed in black and had ski masks covering their faces. The woman on the ground wore her hair in a ponytail, which they described as being a dirty-blond color. Then a woman’s voice from the driver’s seat yelled, “ ‘Get the hell in the car.’”

From there, the joggers witnessed the victim tossed into the back seat of the vehicle, which then frantically sped away. The woman driving the vehicle was “frenzied” and “the blinkers and turn signals” were being used erratically.

After talking with Richard, officers located the area of the attack. The victim was no where in sight, but what was found was one car in the bank parking lot, the back of a phone, a box of Tic-Tacs, a used container of Mace, a Mountain Dew bottle, a ball cap and a set of keys on the asphalt. Found in soft soil behind a hedge, said one officer, were what appeared to be foot and knee prints as “if someone lay in wait.” After checking with the bank, officers found it unlocked and entered. Inside the bank, all they found was an iPod lying on a counter.

Not until 11 o’clock that night did police identify the kidnapped victim as twenty-five-year-old Autumn Renee Williams. The green-eyed Culinary Arts student, who stood five-foot-four, was reported missing by her mother and stepfather, Candice and Mark Stevens, when she failed to return home around 9:30 that evening after her cleaning position at the Bancroft National Bank.

Shortly after arriving at the bank, seeing no sign of Autumn, the Stevens’ contacted the Logan Police Department. Two different officers then responded. From Mrs. Stevens, authorities learned that Autumn was a mother of three, and involved with a tumultuous pending divorce with her estranged husband of six-years, twenty-six-year-old Rodney Williams.

The center of the couple’s disagreements was custody of their three children, all under the age of five. According to Candace, Rodney did not want to pay child support for three kids.

When a frantic 9-1-1 call came into the police station at 8:30 p.m. on July 7, 2009, a sobbing twenty-nine-year-old Valerie Harris told the dispatcher she wanted desperately to save the life of her bleeding father, Harry Ridge.

She gave the operator her apartment address. She would later tell authorities that she did not want to kill her sexually abusive father, but only to disable his weapon of abuse-his penis.

She informed the operator she was walking in the direction of the police station, and then hung up. She recalled walking to the nearby Hudson River, and tossing the penis into the ocean. She never arrived at the police station.

Instead, she called her big sister Carleen, and confessed to her of what she had just done to their Liberian-born father. Carleen recalled being in total shock at her baby sisters gruesome confession. She begged Valerie not to discard the appendage, saying, doctors had the medical technology to reattach such things.

Valerie, her hair adorned with cornrows cried into the telephone. “It was the evil in our father. Now the evil is gone. He can hurt no more!”

Carleen advised Valerie to come to her home, and called an ambulance when her sister arrived. After seeing Valerie, her face stained with tears and splattered with blood, with the scalpel in hand and in a “zombie-like state of mind,” the ambulance crew, decided to check her into the Richmond University Medical Center psychiatric ward.

Meanwhile, back at Valerie’s apartment, two responding beat cops arrived. What the officers found, they said, they never forgot, and neither did the two million five hundred thousand other citizens.

Initially, the officers thought the man lying in a pool of blood had been shot or stabbed to death. Not until they turned him over onto his back did they realize the sadistic nature of his wounds.

I have been a long-time resident of southeastern Ohio, and worked in the blue-collar industry most of my life. Besides having several novels under my belt, I canvas paint.

When not busy with hobbies or working outside the home, I spend time with relatives, my dogs Jasmine and Scooter, and volunteer my time within the community. I am a member of the International Women’s Writing Guild, Savvy Authors, Coffee Time Romance, Paranormal Romance Guild, True Romance Studios, National Writers Association, the Hocking Hill's Arts and Craftsmen Association, The Hocking County Historical Society and Museum, and the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center. I believe in family values and following your dreams. My original canvas paintings, can be found at: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com

Please check out my writing post and book blurbs/excerpt on the blog of author Gale Stanley this week. I am discussing my crime/mystery antholgy, "Flagitious" I will also be awarding two people who comment their choice of one of my books. The choices are, Murder Most Foul, Wicked Intentions, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Flagitious, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, or Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between. Its your choice.

Also, and I bet you thought it was all over with, right, no you are wrong. I have something else in store more special than a hick book spotlight. I have a original book tour schedule. Arent you surprised?

Please stop off at one of these stops and leave a comment for your chance to win a free paperback of PDF of your choice.

Blurb: When two dismembered torsos wash up on the banks of the local river in the small industrial town of Pleasant Valley, residents are horrified. Between contradicting statements, police ineptitude, lust, lies, manipulation, incest, themotorcycle gang The Devil’s Disciples, crooked cops, and a botched crime scene, everyone becomes a suspect.

The young beautiful Jackie Reeves, a registered nurse, believes the killer is a man from her past. She contacts the dangerously handsome FBI Agent Walker Harmon. An arrest is made, but Harmon and Jackie believe an innocent man is being railroaded by local cops. How far will these lover’s go to solve this heinous crime before anymore killings. Determined to find the truth, Agent Harmon and Jackie are forced to run a gauntlet of deep trouble and turmoil, which marks them for death.

Excerpt: Undaunted and short on patience, the agent stared at the fat jerk sitting before him gleefully puffing on a cigar, most likely homegrown in Detroit, Michigan, not Cuba. “I attend the Kingdom Hall on occasion,” he said.

“Well most of us like Malloy. He's helped rid this town of criminals. He was a volunteer firefighter, and his wife cooks for the annual policeman's ball. Hell, Malloy even coached volleyball for the kids when he wuz younger. Now a person who does that ain't all bad,” the chief declared.

Barstow's sudden burst of energy to safeguard his fishy friend, picqued Harmon's interest. What had Malloy done? He decided he wasn't leaving until he had the full, sordid story.

“So you and Malloy are pals, and he did something he couldn't get out of, and you tried to salvage his job, but the big shots said, ‘No!' Is that how it went?” Harmon asked.

“The rumors of Malloy allowin' his friends and family members to snoop through the cornfield, and photograph the area after the victims were removed, was true. Everyone is curious about this crime. Nothin' this big ever happened in this town before, and the pictures were for souvenirs, you know. Then after the limbs were removed, he brought in a back hoe, and tore up the whole damned crime scene, involving Thomas.” The chief growled in disgust.

“Yeah, that was stupid,” Harmon said. “So Malloy's unethical conduct was the reason the disciplinary board was in session?”

“Yep, they made their decision this mornin',” the chief said. “He's out. There was nothin' I could do for him.”

“You'd think a cop with over twenty years’ experience would demonstrate better reasoning then destroy evidence. Unless he's covering his own tracks,” Harmon said realizing what he was implying. “Do you believe Malloy committed the murders?”

“Now, I didn't say that. A lot of officers were on this case, so a lot of mistakes happened. We never dealt with this type crime before. Many might have made the same mistakes Malloy did.”

Dismissing the chief's excuses for Malloy's incompetence, Harmon demanded an answer. He was tired of being duped by the local cops and wanted the truth, and wanted it now. Standing and placing both palms on the chief's shiny desk, the agent looked the chief square in his squinty brown eyes and said, “Cough it up, Chief! There's more to it then that. If there were numerous mistakes made by officers other then Malloy, why was he the only one kicked off the force? Now spit it out! What the hell did Malloy do?”

“All right, all right!” the chief whined, “Malloy screwed the dead girl three weeks before she was killed–and got caught!”

The Agent was speechless. Walking to the window overlooking Main Street, he stared vacantly. Hadn't one of our witnesses suggested something like that? But–with the crisp wind howling, the citizens dining in the local cafés, others window shopping for Christmas or starting their shift at the town's businesses–this seems unreal. How can such a seemingly sweet country town be so full of bad apples, savage murders, police misconduct and corruption, evidence tampering? This town is certainly no Mayberry, thought Harmon.

I have been a long-time resident of southeastern Ohio, and worked in the blue-collar industry most of my life. Besides having several novels under my belt, I canvas paint.

When not busy with hobbies or working outside the home, I spend time with relatives, my dog Jasmine, and volunteer my time within the community. I am a member of the International Women’s Writing Guild, Savvy Authors, Coffee Time Romance, Paranormal Romance Guild, True Romance Studios, National Writers Association, the Hocking Hill's Arts and Craftsmen Association, The Hocking County Historical Society and Museum, and the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center. I believe in family values and following your dreams. My original canvas paintings, can be found at: booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com

Hello, I would like to introduce as my guest author this week, Steven Nedelton. His novel The Last Omen, is a paranormal horror tale.

This occult suspense story is about a possessed woman, a journalist/author trapped by her demon and a soldier of fortune hunting untouchables. The journalist/author, C. Adams, inherits a fortune from his uncle. He is pursuing a successful business woman when he discovers that she is possessed by a demon. She warns him, but the demon turns vicious and the journalist is exposed to blood-freezing occult encounters. In a parallel narrative, a foreign soldier, married to a New York City nurse, and desperately looking for employment in the New York City, turns to bounty hunting the most dangerous untouchables. At one point, the paths of the two men cross. Detective Richter is trying to unscramble the puzzle, but cannot control the events. What happens next, when demons possess the naïve—is up to the reader to discover.
The partly true-life thriller tale contains horror settings, unrelenting action and true demon encounters. If you never believed in the paranormal, you will after reading this entertaining book.

Author Bio: Steven Nedelton writes novels with crime, mystery, paranormal and noir. His published titles are: Dangerous Trade, The Raven Affair, Fear!, A Suitcase Mystery, Nemesis and Coma Sins/The Madness of Ben Bluman. Presently, he is working on DEmon/The Last Omen. Three of his novels were evaluated by the Midwest Book Review, The US Review of Books and Apex Reviews. Fear! received a special five year recognition from the MBR Journal. The novels are available in Kindle, Nook and paperback and can be ordered from his web site, www.snedelton.com. Suspense, action and mystery are his favorite genres.

Great AUDIOBOOKS & TEXT, THRILLER BOOKS, Horror, Top Narrators, snedelton.com #ASMSG #AllBook

“Hello and welcome to my blog. I not only write mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry, and true crime, I canvas paint. I will be awarding two lucky people who comment a print copy or PDF of their choice of 7 books. The choices are: Murder Most Foul, Flagitious, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, Wicked Intentions, and Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between.”

Blurb: This 2010 case uncovers how a 40 year old likable barmaid was lured to her death after she rejects her young admirers sexual advances.

Excerpt: It was a grand Thanksgiving evening for all at The Lakeway Lounge on November 25, 2010. The country band kept everyone on the dance floor. The occasional smacking of pool balls was heard above the laughter, and the crowd's favorite barmaid, June McSween, was serving them. She had asked a co-worker to allow her to work the night shift, to earn a little extra cash. It was a choice she would not live to regret.

Little did the joyful crowd realize, that that cool autumn evening would be the last time anyone saw June, except for her killer.

The short, heavy Albanian immigrant said he called police, who did a quick search of the perimeter and canvassed the street, from inside their cruiser, but found nothing and soon left.

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Blurb: As a way to erase her 22-year-old husbands criminal past, 19 year old Molly Abbott devises a ghoulish and desperate strategy.

Excerpt: If nineteen-year-old Molly had listened to her mother, perhaps the slender, freckle-faced felon and her now-divorced felon husband Ernie would not be sitting in a Texas prison. The way the auburn-haired Molly chose to make a new life for herself and Ernie shocked the town and became forever known as the cruelest and dumbest action one could take when one wants to do “all for the family.”

Candy will say she tried to talk her daughter out of marrying the lazy, drinking, sandy-haired, blue-eyed Ernie. But Molly was “starry-eyed head over heels in love,” or so she thought.

She said Ernie picked her up and swung her around, telling her the house would be theirs. They called the realtor, and three weeks later they moved in-but as renters, not owners.

Molly was devastated, recalled Candy. Besides being a mother, Molly wanted so much to be a homeowner, she said.

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Blurb: The Possession-When 29-year-old Valerie Harris severs the penis of her sexually abusive father, it makes national news in 2007.

Excerpt: When a frantic 9-1-1 call came into the police station at 8:30 p.m. on July 7, 2009, a sobbing twenty-nine-year-old Valerie Harris told the dispatcher she wanted desperately to save the life of her bleeding father, Harry Ridge.

She gave the operator her apartment address. She would later tell authorities that she did not want to kill her sexually abusive father, but only to disable his weapon of abuse-his penis.

Valerie, her hair adorned with cornrows cried into the telephone. “It was the evil in our father. Now the evil is gone. He can hurt no more!”

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Blurb: The last thing the beautiful Russian mail order bride Anna dreamed of in 2001, was being murdered by her controlling and older American husband.

Excerpt: Few women find themselves in such a bizarre relationship, as did eighteen-year-old Anna Tonkov, a Russian native. Speaking minimal and badly broken English, the family expressed high expectations for their tall, voluptuous raven-haired daughter. Anna was the only child of senior and ailing parents, and her mother said she and her husband only wanted the best for her.

In a country where the average yearly income was three hundred dollars per person, Mr. and Mrs. Tonkov, believed that Anna’s future happiness lay with the United States.

Mr. Tonkov recalled telling her daughter, that she was never a waste of their money. She was everything to them, and they wanted her to have everything America offered.

Anna was a lady, explained Mr. Tonkov-a good Christian girl. Hardworking and responsible. She was raised the right way, they both said.

Mrs. Tonkov recalled how surprised Anna was when she saw her and her husband smiling. She then handed her daughter the pink envelope with trembling hands.

That made Anna laugh, recalled Mr. Tonkov. He still remembers her pretty laugh, “as if (she were) a small child without cares.”

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Blurb: This 2011 murder case involved 4 year old Marcie Willis, and her evil stepmother 25 year old Cheryl, from the small bedroom community of The Plains, Ohio.

Excerpt: Home to Ohio University and Hocking College, Athens County, Ohio, was formed in 1805 and held a population of 64,753. Nestled deep in the Appalachian foothills of Southeast Ohio, its lively arts and music scene entertained locals and visitors alike all year round. It owed its eclectic shopping and dining scene to the presence of a large university as well as its rich Appalachian heritage. Hunting, kayaking, bouldering, hiking, cycling, and mountain biking are just some of the county's most popular outdoor activities.

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Blurb: This 2011 murder case involved 4 year old Marcie Willis, and her evil stepmother 25 year old Cheryl, from the small bedroom community of The Plains, Ohio.

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"Twisted Love” 12 true stories of love gone bad taken from the headlines of the most heinous cases

Blurb: The Girl Not Forgotten-This cold case took 26 years to solve, but brought justice for 13-year-old Holly Buford, and put serial rapist, 40-year-old Stanley Snead, behind bars.

Excerpt: When a frantic thirty-six-year-old Jake Buford drove to the police station to report his thirteen-year-old daughter missing, little did the father of three realize she was already dead and buried.

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Blurb: To keep from paying child support for his three children, Rodney Williams, plots with his parents to kidnap his estranged wife, 25-year old Autumn, in broad daylight. This 2011 crime shocked the small community of Logan, Ohio.

Richard gave descriptions of the attackers as being two large dark-haired men, with the driver of the white Buick or Crown Victoria being an older female, with “bleached blonde,” hair.

Bob, an architect working in his upstairs office in the adjoining building next to the alley relayed that he had heard the commotion and told the persons to “ keep the noise down.”

The center of the couple’s disagreements was custody of their three children, all under the age of five. According to Candace, Rodney did not want to pay child support for three kids.

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“Hello and welcome to my blog. I write mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry, and true crime. I will be awarding two lucky people who comment a print copy of their choice of 7 books. The choices are: Murder Most Foul, Flagitious, Twisted Love, The Crime of the Century, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, Wicked Intentions, and Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between.”

Married badly, blamed myself.
Got out fast, and never looked back.
I covered myself in chaos.

Nothing left but sorrow, despair and good-byes.
Feeling helpless, lost and alone,

My only failures were the ones I created.
My bad choices were thorns all around.

It took years to find happiness and evolve.
My will to succeed is my solid ground.

In this bleak life of mine,
I walk the dark alleys of broken dreams.
A darkened corridor of lost tomorrows,
within a collage of unraveled seams.
My life simmered like a bad stew.
Hidden within a clutter of tear stained cheeks.
Living in darkness, an unbridled soul.
Torn between life and death, my future seemed bleak.
Despair cowered behind my eyes.
Once beautiful, I was left aged and alone.
Reflections in my sea of tears,
reminded me I was forgotten and solitary.
Stumbling over common life hurdles,
like a babe learning to crawl.
Losing everything to my lustful addictions,
of fear, failure, and shame.
Lost control of what was mine.

That poison controlled me for a while.
It felt bad and made me cry.
As emotional pain went on for miles.
I found courage with family and friends.
No more shadows, cold or rain.
The venom that once ruled my life,
is a faded memory I achieved through strife.

“Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between” is a poetry collection that provides a glimpse into the heart, mind and soul, of its author. It is a heartwarming read, written with love and respect for others. Some poems were written in times of sorrow, other poems were written in times of joyous celebration. Life if like that.

Website: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com
Blog: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com/page2
http://www.facebook.com/joanne.myers.927
http://amazon.com/author/joannemyers

“Hello and welcome to my blog. I write mystery, paranormal, fantasy, poetry, and true crime. I am happy to announce my new release of “Flagitious” a four crime/mystery anthology published by Melange Books. I will be awarding two lucky people who comment a print copy of their choice of four books. The choices are: Murder Most Foul, Loves, Myths, and Monsters, Wicked Intentions, and Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between.”

When it comes to fiction writing, almost anything goes. That is why I love writing paranormal stories. The author can go completely over the edge and make something unbelievable seem believable. When it comes to ghost stories, I get a lot of my inspiration from real life experiences. Not necessarily my own either. I watch television programs that partake of the supernatural and paranormal flare. Programs from ordinary people who claim they experienced either an afterlife experience, or a haunting.

Some of the stories from my paranormal anthology, “Wicked Intentions” are based on actual hauntings. In The Legend of Lake Manor, I placed my young psychic, Cassandra Lopez, in a haunted mansion I fashioned on my knowledge of a three-story mansion in my hometown and information from television about a restaurant/bar in Ohio, supposedly ruled by demons so violent that the local police are constantly closing it down.

A television documentary about a young mother plagued by ghost sightings since childhood, inspired The Haunting of Barb Marie and her gift/curse.

And The Apartment, in which my newlyweds, Bill and Gayle, are plagued by sightings of evil ghosts that threaten their marriage and theirs lives, originated from a real apartment haunted by the ghosts of two homosexual lovers who died violently. The legend says no tenant is able to stay there until the spirits are chased off by a paranormal investigation team.

On the Discovery Channel, I got the idea for Summer Wind. I learned of the colonial explorer Jonathon Carver who lived during the 1700s and whose ghost is believed to be haunting the Summerwind estate, built in the early 20th century. Carver’s ghost is, supposedly, searching the house’s foundations for deeds to a vast tract of land (10,000 square miles) given to him by Sioux Indian chiefs as a reward for the peace treaty he created between two warring tribes. In my Summer Wind, 29 year-old Ginger is mysteriously drawn to the old mansion, and like the many owners of the real mansion, the haunting had a negative and profound effect on Ginger and her family.

Another investigative program concerned one sister’s psychic premonitions about her twin’s murder. This led to my story, Blood Ties, and my heroine, Audra Roper’s dark, disturbing visions of her sister’s disappearance and the roller coaster of risks, heartbreak, and intrigue that followed.

Dark Visions came from reading a newspaper story while sitting in a diner. A young woman began having visions of her father's disappearance that was actually his murder from years earlier. So, my Carrie Reynolds starts having nightmares on her twenty-sixth birthday and believes these ‘dark visions’ can solve the twenty year disappearance of her father.

I set my murder mystery, The Truth Behind the Lies, on Norfolk Island after following a three year long murder investigation on that island from 2003. In my story, Federal Police Inspector Ian Christian faces attacks, more murders and ghostly occurrences, and the killer is closer than anyone realizes.

So, the next time you get Writer’s Block, or need a new idea, try switching on the television, open a newspaper, delve into history or simply look and listen. You will find something to stimulate your muse.

Twenty-three year old Cassandra Lopez, embarking on a long-standing
family quest, traveled by bus to Lancaster, Ohio, arriving late in the afternoon
of March 9. Opposite the depot, directly across from the parking coach, she saw
a taxi line running along the street. As soon as traffic permitted, she scurried
over, grasped the door handle of the first Yellow Cab and climbed into the rear
compartment.

“Lake Manor, please,” she informed the pair of dark eyes peering at her
via the rearview mirror. Eyes that widened in shock at her destination.

Leaning forward, Cassandra politely told the middle-aged ebony driver,
“So do I, but take me there anyway.”

The man reluctantly removed his cigar. “If the lady wishes.” He then
kissed the rosary around his sweaty neck.

Cassandra nodded at the gesture. “I’ve never needed religion, but I’m sure
it’s calming to many.”

“For one not to need faith, one must have many guardian angels or be an
atheist.”

She smiled at his comment. She then removed her heavy hobo bag from
around her shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief. Her two-hundred mile
journey was finally over.

The taxi driver shifted into Drive and pulled away from the curb, heading
toward Route 22 East. “The only people who dare stay at Lake Manor are
fugitives or strangers who don’t know ‘bout its history. Which are you?”

“Ahhh, even worse.” He added a hearty laugh as he turned onto the
winding Lake Road.

From the corner of the road, with the corn still low, she clearly saw the
brick and mortar mansion. The three-story building, built into a hill, was an
impressive yet daunting sight. Her first glimpse made the hair rise on the nape
of her neck.

I have been a long-time resident of southeastern Ohio, and worked in the blue-collar industry most of my life. Besides having several novels under my belt, I canvas paint.
When not busy with hobbies or working outside the home, I spend time with relatives, my dog Jasmine, and volunteer my time within the community. I am a member of the International Women’s Writing Guild, Savvy Authors, Coffee Time Romance, Paranormal Romance Guild, True Romance Studios, National Writers Association, the Hocking Hill's Arts and Craftsmen Association, The Hocking County Historical Society and Museum, and the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center. I believe in family values and following your dreams. My books and original canvas paintings, can be found at: booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com

"TWISTED LOVE," a true-crime anthology
"MURDER MOST FOUL" a detective/mystery anthology
"LOVES', MYTHS' AND MONSTERS'," a fantasy anthology
"THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY," a biography true-crime
“POEMS ABOUT LIFE, LOVE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN”
“FLAGITIOUS,” a crime/mystery anthology

Paperback:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=wicked+intentions&categoryId=100501

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Intentions-JoAnne-Myers-ebook/dp/B00GNRUF40/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384531716&sr=1-1&keywords=wicked+intentions+myers

Website: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com
Blog: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com/page2
http://www.facebook.com/joanne.myers.927
http://amazon.com/author/joannemyers

The residents of Rolling Hills, a hamlet in southeastern Ohio, were horrified when the dismembered bodies of two missing teens were pulled from the local river. Multiply suspects surfaced, but only one was railroaded, Richard Allan Lloyd, a known nudist and hothead.

What began as an evening stroll turned into what found only in horror films, and dubbed ‘the crime of the century’. 18 year old Babette, a voluptuous beauty contestant and horsewoman, and her 19 year old boyfriend Shane Shoemaker, a jealous and possessive unemployed printer, were last seen crossing a trestle bridge. Within fourteen days, their mutilated torsos and severed heads and limbs were unearthed, suggesting satanic cult activity.

With an investigation smeared with contradicting statements, and a botched crime scene, investigators built a flimsy case against Richard Lloyd. The three-week trial was based on police corruption and ineptitude, fairytale theories, and forensic mishandling.

This heinous crime shattered the sense of security for Rolling Hills, destroyed two families, and forever scarred the town. This story is a detailed account of finding justice for Babette and Shane, and of one man’s perseverance to gain his freedom from death row.

On September 29, 1983, months of investigative work, combined with the public’s doubts, fears, and beliefs that Richard Lloyd was a killer, paid off. What most in the county hoped for, finally came true.

Jethro said Richard was unaware of the conversations between him and the authorities. Through conversations, he believed Richard would “pin” the murders on him, to escape arrest. He wanted the killer caught and “put out” of society, even if that person were a loved one. Still he was not totally convinced of Richard’s guilt, but that “gut feeling,” was still there.

Police said what came next as no surprise. It happened on a cool autumn afternoon, as citizens busied themselves with the upcoming fall and winter festivities. While leaf-covered streets overflowed with gleeful residents and out-of-towners, two silent cruisers, lights out, descended upon the Lloyd farm.

The Newsome County Grand Jury, after two days of testimony, and 56 witnesses, handed down an indictment against Richard Allen Lloyd. The stepfather was now a murder suspect, for two counts of aggravated murder with mitigating circumstances.

What the grand jury heard was all the evidence that pointed to Richard Lloyd being the killer. They did not hear the information that conflicted with the investigators theory of accounts. According to some witnesses, the state went to great lengths to ensure only the evidence against the accused was heard.

Detective Eli, with the eager assistance of Sheriff Reynolds, finally arrested Richard for the murder of the teenagers. However, that would prove not to be the end of the story . . . only the beginning.

I have been a long-time resident of southeastern Ohio, and worked in the blue-collar industry most of my life. Besides having several novels under my belt, I canvas paint.

Blurbs for "Loves, Myths and Monsters" 11 famtasy tales entwined within the human world

Welcome To Anna
Little does 17 year old Zoe, realize, but the Chupracabra followed her to Ohio from South America. What happens next is a series of chilling mysteries, and unsuspecting friendships and love.

The Hunter's Bride
When all game warden Daren Abram, had to worry about was which lucky lady to woo, he comes to the realization that his town is being stalked by the reincarnation of the town's legend.

Moon People
For teenage mermaid Constance, coming to the quaint seaside town of Willowick, is heavenly, until she falls for mortal boy Drake. For the town to survive, Constance is forced to choose between her kind and the boy and town she loves.

The Pack
When young Lycan Sonny Red Blanket, a Shawnee Indian falls for mortal girl Drenda Way, he must save her from his fellow Lycan's and stop a werewolf uprising.

The Bidding
Apiologist 34-year-old Duncan McPherson goes to Circleville, Ohio, to investigate a series of mysterious bee attacks. What is uncovered proves to be more dark and sinister then anyone imaged.

The Agreement
Incarcerated in the abandoned Roseville jail, is the last thing rich college student and speeder Brice Conrad, needs. With an "agreement" between the town and a permanent demonic "guest", only the unfortunate ones know the truth, but do not live to tell.

For The Love Of Ginnie
Handsome bachelor and Scientist Alex Anderson from the thirtieth century, returns to the Civil War with time serum to save his beloved Ginnie Wade from a snipers bullet, while finding a roller coaster ride of joy and perils.

Is It Only A Myth?
When 32-year-old Vinton County Sheriff, James "Jim" Connors, discovers he has a Mothman hunting in his county, he stops at nothing to save his citizens.

The Proposition
The rough and ready cowboy John Queenie gets the shock of his life, when the ad to break a "wild filly" turns out to be a fiery Quaker girl named Tess. This is a story proving love conquers all.

The House On Shady Lane
A seemingly loving family turns out to be serial killers in 1873.

Love's Curse
When an Egypt love curse scroll is stolen from a Dean's office, persons begin dying in bizarre and grisly ways, with the college's mascot a Viking King statue jokingly blamed for it.

I don’t know why I wanted to save the life of a person I never met. Maybe it was because I was tired of bachelorhood. Maybe it was because I was a chemist and the unusual, and unexplained, fascinated me. Or, maybe, it was because I was obsessed with this twenty-year-old, dark-haired beauty named Mary Virginia “Ginnie” Wade I had read about.

These questions filtered through my mind as I drove to the bar to meet my best friend Will.

Will’s favorite hangout was “The Bling,” originally an old truck stop on State Route 93, in Nelsonville, Ohio. The place became a restaurant/lounge/dance hall and brothel when semis no longer became a necessity for long distance hauling. The invention of the transporter also replaced many other primitive jobs such as mail delivery and travel. “The Bling” was best known for the large flashing lights suggesting scantily clad women in seductive positions above the front entrance, and its “bulldogs,” monster-sized bouncers in Armani suits who patrolled its two-block perimeter, inside and out.

“The Bling,” just another joint with a sleazy atmosphere, like all alcohol-serving establishments, differed only in that it catered exclusively to class “A” clientele. Politely—or maybe not so politely—everyone called it the “Whorehouse for the rich and bored.” Its reputation grew. Its income grew even faster.

I pulled up in front and exited my vintage DeLorian, tossing the keys to the baby-faced valet, by-passed the doorman with no questions asked. Just an exchange of large smiles between us. Will was also part-owner.

As I entered the twenty-four carat gold, electronic doors, Will immediately spotted me and motioned me toward the bar with his diamond embellished hand.

I loved sitting at the bar. It was the perfect place to see the shows. “Two double scotches and water,” Will said, as we shook hands, and I slid into my seat beside him, just as the tall, leggy waitress produced the drinks in an instant.

I immediately recognized the “girl” as one of the latest “do-everything-like-a-wife” robotics. Robot manufacturing had become a booming business since the last war destroyed the immune and reproductive systems in most humans, especially females.

“I don’t know why you waste your time flirting with non-humans,” I said, cautiously sipping my drink. The immense emptiness of not being able to acquire a wife and soul mate, I felt at this age in my life, almost drove me to alcoholism, but my boss and mentor, Doctor Obar Gabry, intervened, saving my life and promising career.

“Because, dear friend,” Will began, “beggars can’t be choosey, and ladies are in scarce supply. Beside, these ‘girls’ are all pink inside.”

“Ugh!” I said, gulping down a large swallow of alcohol as if it could wash away my friend’s vile mental picture from my mind.

“Come on, Alex, loosen up. Live a little.” Will motioned to the waitress for another round of drinks. “You’re alive, so act like it. Don’t let your beautiful mind go to waste. This world needs people like you. People started treating me like a god once I became an entrepreneur, and I love it.”

I had to laugh. Maybe my self-pity stage had outlived its use. Only I can find a wife for myself. I certainly won’t ask Will to hook me up. His sense of values are as artificial as the women he beds.

The pain and loneliness I felt at times from yearning for a life-long partner and family wasn’t easy to accomplish. Scientific and Medical technology still could not reverse the sterilization effects on the female species.

Sure there were some human women to date. But most were either sterile, too old, too young, or there was just no chemistry between the two of us. I wanted that spark that unites between two people madly in love...like my parents. I never met any couple happier with one another then my beloved parents. That’s the kind of love I want…never ending.

The emptiness and frustration of not finding companionship at times made me want to die. But that was the loneliness talking. I know that now. I love life. I want to live, and I know who I want for a wife. It’s just that meeting her would be a little tricky.

“Are you serious?” Will asked. “Scientists have tried to conquer time travel for hundreds of years, and failed.”

“We discovered something today in the lab,” I said, giving him an arrogant smile. “We believe this is the answer.”

JoAnne lives in Ohio, and works at a local nursing home. The author of 7 books, JoAnne also canvas paints. JoAnne enjoys time with relatives, her dog Jasmine, and volunteers her time within the community. JoAnne believes in family values and following your dreams. Her original canvas paintings, can be found at: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com

After his Air Force career was interrupted by his mother’s untimely murder, Steven Moore, returned home. Met with a cold reception of lies, secrets, and threats, he is determined too find Wanda’s killer, even at the cost of his own life. Was Wanda a victim of the legendary Hatchet Man? Was this loving and devoted mother killed because of her shady past, or for her inheritance? Between finding the truth and falling in love, Steven stops at nothing, too solve his mother’s murder.

Charlotte had it all. A loving and devoted husband. Supportive family and friends, and a house full of beautiful children. Everything was perfect for this Super Mom, until a medical procedure turns her life upside down, and spirals into a child abduction case. Time is running out. Will police arrive in time to save Charlotte and the other couple’s child?

Katherine Sims, a young widow working for a brokerage firm in a small southeastern town, is tired of the excuses concerning Charlie’s absence. She knows something terrible must have happened to her favorite nephew with the sad blue-eyes. After exposing the killer, Katherine’s life is turned upside down and she finds herself fighting for her life. Filled with maniacal suspects, a Satanic Cult, and danger around each corner, this story depicts one woman’s courage too avenge a child’s murder, while finding unexpected love.

New Detective, and ex-navel man, twenty-six-year-old Nick Difozzio, returns to his small county determined too abolish crime. Not until death knocked on his door, did he know the face of evil. Will the decorated veteran destroy the Lycanthropes, or will he succumb to their murderess desires and become one of them? He took an oath too protect, honor, and uphold the law, but can he defy the lust, riches, and power offered, or are the ‘dark forces’ stronger than his will?

The Scene: Detective Nick Difozzio has been called to another bizarre murder scene, located in the abandoned industrial section of town.

An abrupt silence you could cut with a knife filled the room. “Shape-shifters?” said one from the group. “You mean like a Yeti turns into a deer to avoid those who track it. Or the Lock Ness monster turns into a log.”

After Ted and the others poked fun at his fantastic idea, Nick laid it out, “Not exactly. But certain creatures are believed to have shape-shifting powers of one sort or another, and what other possibility is there to explain these bizarre murders?”

“Well, we could have a psychopath lurkin’ around. Or a nutty drifter or escaped convict,” Ted said. “But it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that, if shape-shifters do exit, they would be very elusive creatures, nearly impossible to detect and capture. What does take a lot of imagination, is believing in shape-shifters.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll see ya tomorrow,” Nick said. Once outside, he noticed the full moon, and wondered, who will die tonight? On reaching his vehicle, he discovered a surprise in his passenger seat.

With teeth white as snow, she said, “Well, sugar, I was thinkin’ about the last time you were at my house. You remember, when you cabbaged my safe contents so foolishly?”

With a chuckle, he nodded. “Honey, the only foolish thing I did that night was fail to realize the money in the safe was counterfeit. But I bet it’s all gone now.”

“And I bet you’re right,” she smiled. Just then, Denise’ partner in crime, twenty-two-year-old Wendy Goss zapped the lawman with a stun gun from behind, dropping him like a hot potato.

Jumping from the vehicle, Denise removed Nick’s gun and cell phone, placing them under the seat. Afterward, both women placed him in the backseat. Getting behind the steering wheel of Nick’s car, Denise drove his Mustang, while Wendy followed in her Firebird.

Halfway to the destination spot, Nick regained consciousness. With his gun gone, he played dead, hoping to find the gang’s hangout. Soon both vehicles stopped. Denise exited the Ford then helped Wendy search the Firebird’s trunk, for items needed for Nick’s demise.

“Don’t worry, that pig’s out cold,” Denise said, finding rope. Peering out the back window, Nick realized he was on an abandoned farm. Searching for landmarks, he memorized a foreclosure sign reading Stonewall Realty.

Uncertain if the girls were armed, Nick made the decision to strike now or never. Disabling his car’s dome light, he cautiously retreated from the backseat. As quiet as a mouse, he snuck up on the chattering women foraging for items to gag and bind him.

As soon as the murdering beauties were finished gathering their supplies, Denise slammed the trunk shut. Immediately Nick punched her between her baby blues, knocking her to the ground before turning on Wendy.

Struggling with the yellow-haired lady, who, like her partner, was trained in Judo, Nick swapped blows with the tall slender gal and encountered a high degree of skill. Then, recovering, Denise attacked him from behind with a blow to his ribs, bringing him to his knees. Both women struck like tigers from all sides.

Doing his best to avoid their most deadly kicks, Nick used every device not nailed down as a weapon against the feisty felines. First, his leather belt with the sterling silver buckle, then, a stray piece of firewood left behind by the homeowners. Across the parking area, the trio fought. Nick matched his street skills against the trained martial artists as each one fought for their own reasons.

The gallant cop battled for his life and self-respect, while the women fought for control over the detective representing the authority they loathed. Or perhaps, Denise and Wendy’s desire for domination extended to include the entire county, not just the town, thought Nick. Whatever the reason, they’re formidable.

Bruised and bleeding, the women fought until Nick broke Wendy’s arm. Seizing the opportunity to get away, she escaped in her vehicle leaving her comrade helpless and easily overpowered.

“Get off me, you bastard!” Denise screamed as Nick slammed her to the ground, cuffing her.

“You’re under arrest.” Wiping the blood from his lip, he threw her into his vehicle then drove to the local hospital. On the way there, Nick phoned headquarters, “I got one of the blood members. We’re on our way to the ER.”

JoAnne has been a long-time resident of southeastern Ohio, and worked in the blue-collar industry most of her life. Besides having seven novels under her belt, JoAnne canvas paints. When not busy with hobbies or working outside the home, JoAnne spends time with relatives, her dog Jasmine, and volunteers her time within the community.

JoAnne is a member of the International Women’s Writing Guild, Savvy Authors, Coffee Time Romance, Paranormal Romance Guild, True Romance Studios, National Writers Association, the Hocking Hill's Arts and Craftsmen Association, The Hocking County Historical Society and Museum, and the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center.

JoAnne believes in family values and following your dreams. Her original canvas paintings, can be found at: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com