The Hanged Man’s Noose | Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Canadian author Judy Penz Sheluk. Today, Judy shares interesting facts about the Glass Dolphin Mystery Series and her new release Where There’s a Will (Book 3).

Here’s Judy!

1. The Glass Dolphin is the name of an antiques shop where, according to owner Arabella Carpenter, “authenticity matters.” In early drafts of the novel, it was called the Blue Dolphin, until Judy discovered there was a Blue Dolphin Antiques in Maine (there’s also one in Oregon, and there are probably others, too). It just seemed easier to change the name.

2. The Glass Dolphin got its name from Arabella’s first antique “find,” a pair of cobalt blue dolphin candlestick holders, made by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Mass. Production of dolphin candlesticks began about 1840 and continued for 35 to 40 years. They were produced in clear or opaque milk glass, as well as in colored glass, including green, canary yellow, and cobalt blue. Blue is generally the most sought after color.

3. The Glass Dolphin is located on historic Main Street in Lount’s Landing, a small town about ninety minutes north of Toronto, Canada. The town of Lount’s Landing (on the Dutch River), is loosely based on Holland Landing (on the Holland River), where Judy lived for 25 years.

4. The fictional Lount’s Landing was named after Samuel Lount, a blacksmith, farmer, and politician who lived in the village of Holland Landing in the nineteenth century. He was hanged for treason on April 12, 1838. There is a historic plaque dedicated to Samuel Lount in front of the Holland Landing Library and Community Centre.

5. Lount’s last words as he headed to his death were, “We die in a good cause; Canada will yet be free.” These words play a pivotal part in The Hanged Man’s Noose, book 1 in the series.

6. The Hanged Man’s Noose is the name of a local pub, owned and operated by Betsy Ehrlich, a history buff and a good friend of Arabella’s. Her signature drink is the Treasontini, a blueberry vodka martini. [Download the recipe here: http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-to-Make-a-Treasontini.pdf%5D

7. The Hanged Man’s Noose also offers a good selection of pub food, including Arabella’s favorite: Full Noose Nachos. [Download the recipe here: http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/FULL-NOOSE-NACHOS.pdf%5D

8. Arabella’s sleuthing partner is Emily Garland, a former freelance journalist and local magazine editor, and now a partner in the Glass Dolphin. A bacon eating “vegetarian,” Emily’s name comes from Emily in Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery and Judy’s namesake, Judy Garland.

9. Arabella’s ex-husband, Levon Larroquette, is an antiques picker (think American Pickers). He is also a major character in each book. In Judy’s head, Levon looks like a young Kris Kristofferson (think A Star is Born, 1976). Levon’s name is a combination of the Elton John song, Levon, and the last name of actor John Larroquette.

10. All factual information in each book has been carefully researched; Judy was the Senior Editor at New England Antiques Journal from 2008 through 2018, and prior to that, the Editor for Antiques & Collectibles Showcase. And like Emily Garland, she was also a freelance journalist for many years.

About the Glass Dolphin Mystery Series

A cozy mystery series without the cats, crafts, or cookie recipes, the Glass Dolphin mysteries follow the investigations of amateur sleuths Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland. The books include: The Hanged Man’s Noose (#1), A Hole in One (#2), and Where There’s A Will (#3). While it is always preferable to read a series in order, any one of the titles can be read as a standalone.

About Where There’s A Will

Emily Garland is getting married and looking for the perfect forever home. When the old, and some say haunted, Hadley house comes up for sale, she’s convinced it’s “the one.” The house is also perfect for reality TV star Miles Pemberton and his new series, House Haunters. Emily will fight for her dream home, but Pemberton’s pockets are deeper than Emily’s, and he’ll stretch the rules to get what he wants.

While Pemberton racks up enemies all around Lount’s Landing, Arabella Carpenter, Emily’s partner at the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, has been hired to appraise the contents of the estate, along with her ex-husband, Levon. Could the feuding beneficiaries decide there’s a conflict of interest? Could Pemberton?

Things get even more complicated when Arabella and Levon discover another will hidden inside the house, and with it, a decades-old secret. Can the property stay on the market? And if so, who will make the winning offer: Emily or Miles Pemberton?

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple

About the Author

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and the Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including The Best Laid Plans and Heartbreaks & Half-truths, which she also edited.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves as Chair on the Board of Directors. Find her at http://www.judypenzsheluk.com.

Samuel Lount photo courtesy of Ontarioplaques.com

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Canadian author Judy Penz Sheluk sharing insights from her multi-act life and introducing her debut novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose.

Here’s Judy!

Act One: Childhood Dreams

I can remember reading Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery when I was about eight. It’s the story of Emily Starr of New Moon, Prince Edward Island, and her quest to become a writer/journalist. I remember thinking, “That’s what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a writer.”

It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility. I was an avid reader from an early age (my main fare was Nancy Drew; in high school I graduated to Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and John D. MacDonald. I had good marks in English. I had a plan. Even better, I had a dream.

Act Two: Credit and Collections

The plan changed. Instead of going to school to study journalism, I went to work in the credit department of a major insurance company and took college night classes in business administration and accounting. I worked my way up the corporate ladder, becoming the youngest Division Credit Manager in the company’s history. I still thought about writing, emphasis on thought. I didn’t actually do any writing—unless you count composing collection letters as writing.

I didn’t stay with that insurance company (I wanted to move back to Toronto), but I did stay in the Credit and Collections field, going from company to company as the recession hit and middle management jobs were “right-sized.” I eventually landed at a company two miles from my house. The commute was great. The job was mind-numbingly boring. I started thinking about writing again.

Act Three: Creative Writing Courses

My husband, Mike, bought me a PC and enrolled me in an online Creative Writing school. I whizzed through the 20 course units. Entered and won first prize in a writing contest for beginning writers. Sold a magazine feature article for the princely sum of $75.

That’s when fate intervened. The day I received the check for $75 I received the news that my mind-numbingly boring job was being made redundant. I thought about the job-hopping over the past ten years and I knew I just couldn’t do it any longer.

Mike encouraged me to try freelance writing for a year. If I could earn something—not what I had been earning but at least enough to put food on the table—we’d look at year two.

That was May 2003. I’ve never looked back.

Act Four: Finding Fiction

My freelance writing career took off in leaps and bounds. Before long I was writing regularly for AntiqueWeek, Antique Trader, New England Antiques Journal, Antiques and Collectibles Showcase Canada. Worried I’d be pigeon-holed into writing only for the antiques market, I attended a home building conference in Toronto and landed a few freelance assignments for a handful of home building associations, including Ontario Home Builder and Home Builder Canada. I specialized in “green” building and energy efficiency. Those led to some features in other trade publications. Before long I was writing about farming innovations (I grew up in Toronto, Canada), travel in Manitoba (have never been there) and a host of other things.

In 2007, I was offered the position of Senior Editor for New England Antiques Journal (www.antiquesjournal.com), a job I still have and love. In 2009, I was offered the position of Editor for Home Builder Canada (www.homebuildercanada.com). That took some thought. It would mean giving up some of the freelance work. Then again, it was a sure thing. I accepted the job and continue with it to this day. The bonus of both these gigs is that I work from home and can work my own hours. As long as the work gets done, no one cares WHEN it gets done.

Along the way, I kept taking creative writing courses, both online and in workshop format. I wrote a few short stories, mostly bad, managed to get a couple published. But there was nothing of consequence. And then on Christmas Eve, 2012, I had an ah-ha moment. If I didn’t start writing my novel, it would never get written.

Act Five

With time off between Christmas and New Year’s from all my jobs, the time was right. I started writing The Hanged Man’s Noose on Christmas Eve 2012 and wrote seven days a week until I finished the first draft a few months later. I used to joke that if I was a plumber in my day job it might have been easier. After all, at the end of the day, a plumber (or whatever the job is) looks upon writing as an escape. I went from writing to writing. And yet, The Hanged Man’s Noose was an escape. The world and the characters I created became real to me, and I couldn’t wait to revisit them.

It took the help of a developmental editor and a copyeditor, along with two beta readers to get The Hanged Man’s Noose to the point where it was worthy of sending out for publication. Yes, the editors cost me, but I looked upon the expense as another creative writing course, and the investment was worth every penny. Not only did I polish up the manuscript, I learned what to do (and not do) for the future.

It wasn’t easy, but I landed a contract with Barking Rain Press in July 2014. More editing (this time paid for by the publisher) and in July 2015, The Hanged Man’s Noose was released to the world. You can read all about my publishing journey on my blog. Simply click on the archives, select One Writer’s Journey, and the subhead My Publishing Journey. Start at the beginning, if you dare. It’s all there, the hopes, the dreams, the cheers, the tears…

Blurb

Small-town secrets and subterfuge lead to murder in this fast-moving, deftly written tale of high-stakes real estate wrangling gone amok.

Journalist Emily Garland lands a plum assignment as the editor of a niche magazine based in Lount’s Landing, a small town named after a colorful 19th century Canadian traitor. As she interviews the local business owners for the magazine, Emily quickly learns that many people are unhappy with real estate mogul Garrett Stonehaven’s plans to convert an old schoolhouse into a mega-box store. At the top of that list is Arabella Carpenter, the outspoken owner of an antiques shop, who will do just about anything to preserve the integrity of the town’s historic Main Street.

But Arabella is not alone in her opposition. Before long, a vocal dissenter at a town hall meeting about the proposed project dies. A few days later, another body is discovered, and although both deaths are ruled accidental, Emily’s journalistic suspicions are aroused.

Putting her reporting skills to the ultimate test, Emily teams up with Arabella to discover the truth behind Stonehaven’s latest scheme before the murderer strikes again.

The Hanged Man’s Noose is available at all the usual suspects, including Amazon.

You can also read the first four chapters free here.

Connect with Judy

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Joanne here!

Wow! I’m in awe of your diverse talents and inspiring journey. Best of luck with all your literary endeavors.