#Launch News from #Joan Livingston

Welcome to Wednesday!

Today, I've got a very welcome visitor in Joan Livingston, my Crooked Cat author friend, who has returned to this blog to share information about the latest novel in her Isabel Long series. I confess I'm a bit behind in my reading of the series because a) I can't seem to get through my kindle pile quickly and b) I just don't have enough time in a day! Excuses, I know, but the fact that this is the third novel about this interesting journalist-turned-detective - Isobel Long -  means I'm not writing hard enough either.

Since I'm currently (honestly) reading Book 1 - Chasing the Case I feel I'm already familiar with Isabel, her hometown situation, and her chatty style of delivery. Today, Joan has sent along lots of lovely information to give us an idea of Book 3, so I'd best get cracking and get on with my reading of Bks 1 & 2!

Welcome, Joan. Spill the beans about Checking the Traps...

Meet the Big Shot Poet

By Joan Livingston

His name is Cyrus Nilsson. But Isabel Long, the protagonist in my mystery series, calls him the Big Shot Poet. And he is a suspect in the third book, Checking the Traps, and an unusual suspect, I would say.

Let me back up here. For her third case, Isabel, a longtime journalist turned amateur P.I., is hired to look into the death of a man. The officials say Cary Moore jumped from a bridge known for suicides. His half-brother, Gary Beaumont, says he was pushed. So, he’s paying Isabel to get to the truth.

The Big Shot Poet turns out to be a suspect. Why? Cary Moore was a highway worker who also wrote poetry. They were neighbors initially, and Cary got good enough that the Big Shot Poet put his name on several of his poems. They appeared in what turned out to be an award-winning book.

What’s Cyrus’s backstory? He grew up poor, went to an Ivy League college, and became a sensation in the poetry world when he made the right connections. His manners and style belie his humble upbringing.

So, naturally Isabel, being such a smart ass, came up with that nickname.

I’ve known many poets, and, no, none of them inspired the character. But as I wrote about Cyrus, I imagined someone who has worked hard to overcome his humble beginning. He likes being famous, but not the interference on his personal life, which includes fans who show up at his house or bother him in public.

He did take Cary Moore under his wing, reading his work and encouraging him to write more. As Cyrus tells Isabel, it’s the first and last time he would ever do that.

Among other scenes, I show Cyrus in action at a poetry reading — as well as his adoring fans. Isabel and her ‘Watson” — her 93-year-old mother — go there to coerce the man into an interview. Here’s an excerpt from Checking the Traps.

As I’ve said before, I’ve seen Cyrus in action although that time at the Penfield Town Hall, the atmosphere was different. Most of the folks who came were curious locals. He was decent not talking down to them, so he came off more like an understanding schoolteacher than a famous poet. That had to be twenty-five years ago. But for this reading, he is definitely the Big Shot Poet. I figured rightly his audience tonight would be filled with educated poetry fans, well, except for Ma and me. We’re only pretending. I even bought his new book for him to sign. It’s a ploy to meet him. Plus, I figure it’ll be a tax write-off.

Cyrus reads from his memoir and a few of the poems it contains. In between, he banters about the poet’s life. He finds inspiration wherever he goes. Yeah, right.

“At this stage in my life, I can’t help it,” he says.

Many in the audience go “ah” and laugh along with Cyrus’s knowing chuckles.

Good grief.

The man has aged well. I will give him that. He’s kept most of his hair, which is now white, and his face has the right amount of lines to make him look distinguished and smart. His white shirt is open a few buttons. His legs are spread apart in a rather manly pose, a thrill, I’m certain, for his middle-aged groupies.

“That poem practically wrote itself,” he says after reading one called “The Crossing.” “It came to me as I was standing on the bow of the ferry taking me to Nantucket. I stepped to the side and recorded it on my phone. What you heard tonight is pretty much what I got down that day.”

A woman in the second row moans. Actually, she moans whenever she thinks she hears anything profound, which seems to be about every third line that comes from the Big Shot Poet’s mouth. Her response is a cross between a moan and a gasp. It’s her way of saying she is moved big time, I suppose. Honestly, I find it annoying. So does my mother, who cranes her neck to see who’s making all that noise.

My mother mouths, “Do you think she’s in pain?”

I stifle a laugh.

The reading is over after Cyrus fields a few questions and agrees to sign copies of his book. He takes his place behind a table. Fans, clutching his latest, form a long line. I expected that. So instead, I sit and wait beside Ma.

CHECKING THE TRAPS SYNOPSIS

Isabel Long is a bit banged up from her last case with a broken collarbone and her arm in a sling. But that doesn’t stop her from pouring beer at the Rooster Bar or taking her third case with Gary Beaumont, a local drug dealer who once terrorized her. Gary is convinced his brother didn’t jump off a bridge known for suicides. Somebody pushed him.

Gary’s brother was a boozer who drove for a highway crew. But what interests Isabel and her ‘Watson’ — her 93-year-old mother who lives with her — is that the man wrote poetry.

The chief suspects are one of Gary’s business associates and a famous poet who plagiarized his brother’s poetry for an award-winning book. Yes, he was that good.

As a journalist, Isabel did regular meetups with her sources for stories. She called it checking the traps. She does the same as a private investigator, and this time, she’ll make sure she doesn’t get caught in one.

Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Checking the Traps, published by Crooked Cat Books, is the third in the mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. The first two are Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge.

An award-winning journalist, she started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure. Recently, she was named editor of the Greenfield Recorder.

After living eleven years in New Mexico, she has returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series.

 Find Joan here on SOCIAL MEDIA

Chasing the Case: http://mybook.to/chasingthecase

Redneck’s Revenge: http://mybook/rednecksrevenge

Checking the Traps: http://mybook/checkingthetraps

Website: www.joanlivingston.net. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoanLivingstonAuthor/

Twitter: @JoanLivingston

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JoanLivingston_Author

Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/Joan_Livingston

Fabulous! Thank you for visiting today, Joan. Best wishes with this latest launch and with future writing. I'll be posting a review when I get my current read finished, which is presently around 65% read on my kindle! 

Slainthe!