Murder at Serengeti Plains
by Pat Duggan
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
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BLURB:
Murder at
Serengeti Plains is
the third mystery novel in the series, featuring amateur sleuths Hazel Davies
and Anna Kohl. The earlier novels are Murder at Eagles Nest and Could They Be Twins?
The
book is set in a new residential subdivision, Serengeti Plains, built by the
renowned local builder, Zebra Homes. It
is located in the peaceful, historic town of Centerville, Ohio. However, peace is shattered when the new
residents are awakened one morning by the sound of police sirens. The procession of police cars, come to rest
in their own neighborhood. A body has
been discovered! Was it an accident or
was it murder?
Hazel
Davies and Anna Kohl have recently moved into this new subdivision. They have previously helped the police to
solve murders in both Florida and Ohio, but they did not expect to find one on
their own doorstep. When the police
begin to look at their friend as the perpetrator, they find themselves drawn
into yet another murder investigation.
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Excerpt:
The National News on television led off with a headline
about house prices and the shortage of homes for sale throughout the
country. In Centerville, Ohio there was
a growing, new sub-division, Serengeti Plains, being built by Zebra Homes.
The builder named the development after a district in Africa where
zebras roam wild. His company was well
respected and recognized for building beautiful single-family homes, laid out
to form desirable neighborhoods and the Serengeti Community was fast becoming a
gem amongst their many projects in the area.
The construction site was a hive of activity, with multiple
homes in various stages of completion as demand for new homes pressured the
builder to construct his properties as quickly as possible. There were contractors of various disciplines
swarming all over the building site, working feverishly to complete each unit while
maintaining the builder’s required quality and standards.
All of this activity invariably led to disagreements and
friction amongst the workers. One man in
particular, Larry Cox, who worked for the excavation company and held an
inflated opinion of himself always seemed to be at the center of much of the
unrest. He liked to ‘throw his weight
around,’ and talked down to the other workers on the site. He continually bragged about his thirty
years’ experience and seemed to think this cemented his superiority over anyone
and everyone on the building site, including buyers who frequently visited the
site to watch the progress of their ‘soon to be’ new home.
From The Author:
GUEST POST – GIMME
THE SCOOP
May 25th
2022
The Challenges of Publishing Your Book
About twenty years ago, I first wrote a book and thought
about getting it published. However, at
that time the challenges, at least for me, were insurmountable. One option was to find a publisher willing to
take on a new, novice writer. I attended
conferences and scheduled interviews with publishers. This led to submitting several one page
synopses and subsequently receiving brief rejection letters. It became clear to me that in order to
attract a publisher, one needed to have a successful book, but having a
successful book seemed to require a publisher, a ‘no-win’ situation.
Option two was to publish the book myself. At that time, there were companies who would
produce the book for you. Unfortunately,
the cost was based on the number of copies of the book you required. I quickly realized it would involve a considerable
outlay of money and would result in me holding a large inventory of books with
few outlets for sales. Finally, I
abandoned the whole idea.
Fast forward to 2015 when we started traveling and I
wrote Finding God in an RV. When I
researched self-publishing this time, I discovered Kindle Direct
Publishing. First of all, they are
affiliated to Amazon, which automatically provides a built-in outlet for book
sales. Also, they utilized a completely
different concept for publishing the books.
Instead of producing multiple books and holding them for sale in a
warehouse, they print one book at a time as needed. Their service allows the writer to submit
his/her manuscript in their required format, together with the cover, at no
cost. Alternatively, the writer can hire
the service to complete different portions of the book, like cover design, as
needed. In my case, the only cost I
incurred was about $20 for a proof copy, sent to me by express mail as I was
too impatient to accept slow mail and pay less.
Publishing through Kindle Direct Publishing has proved
very effective for me. Of course, I
still have all the marketing challenges, but my books are available everywhere,
not just in my garage!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Originally
from Manchester, England, Pat Duggan moved to the U.S. in 1985. After a career in finance, which included
running her own book-keeping and tax business, in the Cincinnati area, Pat and
her partner retired and moved to Oregon.
Years later, they embarked on a five-year journey, traveling across the
country in a motorhome.
Writing
was a whole new direction for Pat, which began with two non-fiction books – The Power Within and Finding God in an RV. Then she branched into
writing fiction as she turned to her love for solving murder mysteries and the
challenge to figure out ‘whodunit!’
Sadly, their traveling days are over, but
settling down has brought its own reward as it inspired this latest novel.
https://www.facebook.com/writesstoriesrealandimagined/
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Pat-Duggan/e/B0845YGGV3/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3153509.Pat_Duggan
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Serengeti-Plains-Pat-Duggan/dp/B09MYYWS71/
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Pat
Duggan will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter
during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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