I’m so glad to have Ann Simas join me again on my blog! Ann is an accomplished and prolific author who knows how to spin a tale of out-of-this-world romance and intrigue. Read on!
The Grace
Gabbiano Mysteries: How They Began and Where They Are Now
I was taking a Forensics class
at the local community college a few years back when the idea for the Grace
Gabbiano Mysteries hit me. The class was being taught by the director of the
Oregon State Patrol Forensics Laboratory, located in nearby Springfield. I
subsequently took a Criminal Investigation class, taught over the 12-week
course by different law enforcement officials, one of whom was a former
detective with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, and (at that time) the police
chief of Coburg Police Department.
Both Lt. Mike Hurley and Chief
Denny Ross were kind enough to let me pick their brains outside of class. These
two intelligent men had spent their lives in law enforcement and had a wealth
of information to share with me. As it turned out, how I was going to create
the series turned out differently than I had originally planned, but I retained
part of the original premise and it crops up periodically in the series.
The Grace Books, as I call them,
feature Sgt. Grace Gabbiano, Police Chief Aidan Cruz, Grace’s entire Italian
family, and a full contingent of CPD staff, officers, and reservists. Other characters
make appearances throughout the books, but each story also has a new “cast,” so
to speak. In Dressed to Die, Grace is
faced with two murders, both men who are dressed in formal evening wear, wigs,
and high-heeled sandals. Not your conventional deaths. In Sliced to Die, Chief Cruz signs Grace up to go undercover as a
prostitute to help track down a serial kidney thief. Buried to Die introduces the reader to the body farm located in the
middle of a large hazelnut orchard in Coburg. Grace discovers more than
research is going on there when her former teacher turns up amid the corpses
being studied. In Quilted to Die, the
first body found is rolled up in the fund-raising quilt at the annual quilt
show (which actually does occur in Coburg). In that book, I introduced the crop
circles.
That takes me to Taken to Die, a July 31 release. I’m an
avid stargazer and I’ve seen things in the night skies that are inexplicable. I
watch Ancient Aliens and numerous
other programs about UFOs and alien sightings. I’ve read The Day After Roswell and watched the Project Blue Book series. I’m not sure why I put those crop circles
in Quilted to Die, but I knew I’d
have fun with them in Taken. And,
boy, did I!
I love research, and there is no
shortage of information to be had about UFOs, crop circles, alien abductions,
animal mutilations, Areas 51 and 52…I could go on. Typically, with the
Internet, I research as I go and I never use anything that can’t be verified
from at least three different sources. However, this time I reversed order and
read Roswell first. I was constantly
astounded by the facts presented by Major Phillip Corso, who was actually
involved in the 1947 incident and the subsequent events connected to it.
When I contacted MUFON (Mutual
UFO Network), I was told that some of what Corso wrote has been challenged. Regardless,
I’m keeping an open mind. Our government is known to have withheld information
on UFOs, as is the military. Only recently have armed forces’ pilots,
commercial pilots, astronauts, and law enforcement officers been vocal about
what they’ve witnessed from a vantage point most of us will never have. In
essence, since they’ve spoken up, many with actual video footage, it’s forced
the government and the military to be more open about what’s going on, not only
in space, but on (and around) Earth.
I know there are people who pooh-pooh
the idea of UFOs and aliens, and that’s fine, but for me, they exist. I’ve
included some of the unusual things I’ve seen in the night skies in Taken. I knew when I wrote the last word
in the book that the story couldn’t end there. I grew up in Colorado at a time
when animal mutilations were rampant. Neither those nor the crop circles have
ever been resolved, and I maybe they never will be. But there’s more to Taken to
Die than crop circles and mutilations, and since I’m not giving any
spoilers, you’ll have to read it to find out more.
What do I learn when dig into
all this research I love to do? Two things: (1) You’re never too old to learn
and (2) you never know what you’re going to learn that’s going to amaze the
heck out of you!
Here’s a
short blurb:
Mysterious crop circles,
unexplained bright lights in the sky, UFOs, animal mutilations—what in the
galaxy is going on in Coburg? Grace Gabbiano is determined to find out. Is it
an alien invasion, or something more sinister and closer to home?
Available worldwide on Amazon
Free read on Kindle Unlimited
Ann Simas Bio
Ann Simas lives in Eugene,
Oregon, but she is a Colorado girl at heart, having grown up in the Rocky
Mountains. An avid word-lover since childhood, she penned her first fiction “book”
in high school. The author of 27 novels, one novella, and seven short stories,
she particularly likes to write a mix of mystery/thriller/suspense, with a love
story and paranormal or supernatural elements.
In addition to being a
three-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Finalist, Ann is also an
award-winning watercolorist and budding photographer who enjoys needlework and
gardening in her spare time. She is her family’s “genealogist” and has been
blessed with the opportunity to conduct first-hand research in Italy for both
her writing and her family tree. The genealogy research from century’s-old
documents, written in Italian, has been a supreme but gratifying and exciting
challenge for her.
Books by Ann Simas
Afterstories
Chloe’s SpiritH
Chloe’s Spirit Afterstories
First StarH
First Star Afterstories
Stand-Alones
Blessed Are the EaglesH
Loose Ends
Heaven Sent
Black Moon Rising
Here and Gone
Grace Gabbiano Mysteries
Dressed to Die
Sliced to Die
Buried to Die
Quilted to Die
Taken to Die
Praying to Die (coming July 2020)
Andi Comstock Supernatural
Mysteries
Holy Smoke
Penitence
Angel Babies
Hellfire
The Wrong Wicca (coming Fall 2020)
Christmas Valley Romances
Santa’s Helper
Candy Cane Lane
Let It Snow
Fruitycakes
Sleigh Bride
Angels on the Rooftop
Deck the Gnomes
Back-Door Santa
Jingle Bell Clock (coming November 2019)
Reindeer Blitz (coming November 2019)
Short Story Collection
All’s Well
RWA Golden Heart Finalists
Contact Info for Ann Simas: Writing books people love to read. Learn more!
Facebook: Ann Simas, Author
email: ann@annsimas.com
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