A GOLD SATIN MURDER A Casey Holland Mystery Novella by Debra Purdy Kong

I am very pleased to feature Debra Purdy Kong, a wonderful writer, and her new novella!

A Gold Satin Murder

How does this story differ from earlier Casey Holland mysteries?

The topic of crime and criminal behavior has always interested me. I studied the subject in college and graduated with a diploma in criminology years ago. After writing six full-length mysteries in my Casey Holland series, however, I began to feel mired in the darker side of human nature. So, I decided to write a fun, uncomplicated whodunit where the characters weren’t quite as sinister and twisted as in earlier novels, except perhaps for the killer. I also wanted to try a novella because I really enjoy writing and reading stories in the 15,000 to 40,000 words range.

I’ve read plenty of funny cozy mysteries but writing a shorter book with humorous elements proved to be challenging. Just when I thought I had the story down, a plot glitch would come up. The primary suspect is Eduardo, a male escort and stripper, and aspiring artist. I didn’t want to portray him as a complete flake or opportunist, so it was important to show deeper aspects of his character.

Beta reader feedback helped resolve a couple of key issues and achieve a balance that is light in tone yet still a whodunit. I want readers to try and figure out the killer’s identity along with my protagonist Casey. But there are other differences that separate this book from the previous novels.

Since this is a novella, the story has only one other subplot involving the bus driver, Lily. Unlike the previous books, Casey has no extra complicated personal turmoil in this story. She’s been happily married to Lou for just over a year, and her fifteen-year-old ward, Summer, is in a good frame of mind, for a change. Will it stay this way? Not likely. But how things will change remains to be seen.

The Blurb:

Transit cop Casey Holland has never met a bus passenger like the charming artist and exotic dancer, Eduardo. The bus driver Lily has certainly befriended him. But when Eduardo’s charged with murder, Lily’s caught in the middle of his legal trouble. Afraid of losing her job and custody of her son, she begs Casey for help in proving Eduardo’s innocence.

Casey’s search for answers takes her and her best friend Kendal to a troupe of strippers known as Man Cave. While the men are busy peeling off their clothes, Casey’s peeling back layers of secrets and betrayal. Nuttier than her usual adventures, the risk is just as deadly in this seventh installment of the Casey Holland transit mysteries.

Debra’s Bio:

Debra Purdy Kong’s volunteer experiences, criminology diploma, and various jobs inspired her to write mysteries set in BC’s Lower Mainland. Her employment as a campus security patrol and communications officer provided the background for her Casey Holland transit security novels.

Debra has published short stories in a variety of genres as well as personal essays, and articles for publications such as Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul, B.C. Parent Magazine, and The Vancouver Sun. She is a facilitator for the Creative Writing Program through Port Moody Recreation and a long-time member of Crime Writers of Canada. She lives in British Columbia, Canada.

Order at:

Amazon: https://mybook.to/AGoldSatinMurder

Kobo Canada: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/a-gold-satin-murder

Kobo U.S. https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-gold-satin-murder

Apple books: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/id6443255297

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-gold-satin-murder-debra-purdy-kong/1141951058?ean=2940166433930

Connect with Debra:

Blog: https://debrapurdykong.wordpress.com/

Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/debrapurdykong

Website: www.debrapurdykong.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebraPurdyKong

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebraPurdyKongAuthor

Email: dpurdykong@gmail.com

DPK

Book Banning Quotations

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“I hate it that Americans are taught to fear some books and some ideas as though they were diseases.”

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.”

Judy Blume

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control, about who is snapping the whip, who is saying no, and who is saying go. Censorship’s bottom line is this: if the novel Christine offends me, I don’t want just to make sure it’s kept from my kid; I want to make sure it’s kept from your kid, as well, and all the kids. This bit of intellectual arrogance, undemocratic and as old as time, is best expressed this way: “If it’s bad for me and my family, it’s bad for everyone’s family.”

Yet when books are run out of school classrooms and even out of school libraries as a result of this idea, I’m never much disturbed not as a citizen, not as a writer, not even as a schoolteacher . . . which I used to be. What I tell kids is, Don’t get mad, get even. Don’t spend time waving signs or carrying petitions around the neighborhood. Instead, run, don’t walk, to the nearest nonschool library or to the local bookstore and get whatever it was that they banned. Read whatever they’re trying to keep out of your eyes and your brain, because that’s exactly what you need to know.”

Stephen King

001

“Reading what you wish and maintaining the right to choose what to read is a fundamental requirement for democracy and freedom. Censorship must always be opposed, and books need to be read by those who wish to read them.” Charles F French

Banned Books Week 2022

BBW-logo_07252021

This week, from September 18 through September 24of 2022 is National Banned Books Week. Book banning and censorship is a crucial issue that should unite readers and writers. Throughout the world and humanity’s history, governments, churches, and other institutions have banned or attempted to ban and censor books.

Most of us are familiar with the images from Nazi Germany in which thousands of books were burned by the Fascists. All banning, however, is not so explicit. Sometimes in the United States of America, books are challenged, especially in the context of not being allowed to be taught in the classroom.

I oppose all such censorship. As a writer, it is an obscenity; as a teacher, it is an imposition of chosen ignorance; as a reader, it is an intolerable abomination. We must unite and oppose book banning, in all of its forms.

Fight for your freedom to choose what to read.

Here are several important links about this issue:

Banned Books Week

American Library Association

I will later, this week, in honor of this important cause put out another call for readers to become part of my unofficial group that opposes censorship–The Underground Library Society, The U. L. S.