Marilyn's Musings

Feisty, eccentric old ladies have always intrigued me. It’s long been my goal to become one, although I’m in no hurry to get there. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise—but it did—when a 96-year-old lady nearly ran away with my latest mystery, The Case of the Surly Surrogate. Every character in my Safe Harbor Medical Mysteries leaps off the page for me. Primarily, though, I live through my hero, Dr. Eric Darcy, a young physician who cares deeply about his patients and assists his private investigator sister-in-law in solving murders that affect them. In the new mystery , the father of a baby about to be born via surrogate is murdered. Eric’s patients include not only the surrogate and the widow (the intended mother of the baby), but also the widow’s great-grandmother. Lenore Bryerly, diagnosed with mild dementia, has a tantalizing habit of dropping hints to Eric about her family’s troubled history, hints that point in a different direction than police are pur...

by Jacqueline Diamond In writing a long series, challenges include keeping track of the characters, varying the storylines and making each book fresh. Given all those issues, why would an author (me) who’s written a successful 17-book romance series want to spin off a mystery series? Hold on while I backtrack a little. My career began 100 books ago. Lady in Disguise, a Regency romance, came out in 1983. Since then, I’ve sold Regencies, medical romances, romantic comedies, fantasy and  paranormal novels, and mysteries including Danger Music and The Eyes of a Stranger. I love the tension and puzzle aspect of mysteries but, despite excellent reviews, was never able to connect with a consistent publisher for them. I was luckier with my romances, which found a home at Harlequin. An area of interest for me and readers has been the medical field. I wrote a five-book series called Downhome Doctors, inspired by my father, who was for many years the only doctor i...