Knights in Manhattan: Series Book 2

 

Knights in Manhattan: A Reen and Joanie Detective Agency Novel 

(The Reen & Joanie Detective Agency Series Book 2)

            

WHO NEEDS ARMOR? TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS IN SNEAKERS TAKE ON THE BIG APPLE...

A gang of tricky thieves in on the loose in Manhattan, but no need to worry. The Reen & Joanie Detective Agency is on the case. The two pint-sized detectives track the crooks through some of the most famous landmarks in New York, but can the girls decode the strange clues and stop the criminals before they get away?

Hamsters, secret passageways, and a seven-year-old genius named Miles all contribute to this fun, action-packed romp through the streets and buildings of Manhattan.

Kay DiBianca is an award-winning author who loves to create literary puzzles in the mystery genre for thoughtful readers to solve.

Her characters come to life as they struggle to solve murders and create relationships amidst the ongoing themes of faith and family.

An avid runner, Kay can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. You can usually find one of her characters training or racing through her stories.

Kay's background in software development fuels her fascination with mysteries, and her dedication to running helps supply the endurance and energy to write them.

Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee.

You can connect with Kay through her website at https://kaydibianca.com.

            

Kay DiBianca Tells Us About Corporal Charlie Henderson

Kay DiBianca

A couple of years ago, I was invited to participate in the creation of an anthology dedicated to honoring U.S. military veterans who had served during wartime. I accepted that invitation and agreed to write the story of a 98-year-old WWII veteran, Charlie Henderson,(Corporal).

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Charlie said he wasn’t thrilled when he was drafted into the army in 1942. He came from a close family in Mississippi, and he hated to leave, but he answered the call and spent most of his service in Europe. They assigned him to the 449th Gasoline Supply Company, a dangerous situation since the Germans wanted to destroy all gasoline supply depots. Charlie talked openly about the fear he felt when he and his fellow soldiers heard the sound of buzz bombs overhead, but he was proud of the part he played in delivering gasoline to the Allied front lines during the Battle of the Bulge.


After we completed our interviews, I sent Charlie and his nephew, John, the first draft of my article. They made suggestions and corrections and we repeated the process until we were all satisfied with the results. I sent the final copy to them and to the editors of the Forever Young Veterans Anthology. Charlie’s nephew called me about a year ago to tell me Charlie had passed away at 99. John wanted me to know how grateful Charlie was to me for having written his story. He had even asked John to hand out copies of the article at his funeral. I was humbled that Charlie was grateful to me while it is I who owe so much to him. After all, I had only written a story. He had fought a war.

Kay DiBianca, author of The Watch on the Fencepost, (won an Illumination Award for General Fiction and an Eric Hoffer Award for Mystery), and Dead Man’s Watch. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Collierville Christian Writers Group. She has also been published in several anthologies. Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee. https://kaydibianca.com.

TIME AFTER TYME - ADDING SPICE WITH SECONDARY CHARACTERS

Kay DiBianca

I had always intended that each book in my cozy mystery Watch series would stand out with an originality of its own. I had thrown some pretty serious issues at the main characters, Kathryn Frasier and Cece Goldman, in the first two books, and I wondered how I could keep things fresh.

So, in the third book, I decided to create new secondary characters to add spice to the story. At the same time, I had decided to dedicate the book to my cousin Joan, my best friend from childhood. While I was mulling over these two lines of thought, it dawned on me to combine them. Thus, ten-year-old Reen Penterson and her nine-year-old cousin, Joanie Finelson, were born. And, oh goodness, did they add spice to the novel.

The story takes place on the campus of fictional Bellevue University, and the plot revolves around mysterious codes left in the prayer box in the university chapel. Suspecting the codes might contain a clue to the recent death of Mr. Tyme, the university librarian, the chapel minister enlists the help of Kathryn and Cece to try to decipher the codes.

But when Reen overhears a conversation that convinces her the university librarian was murdered, she recruits Joanie, and they dive into their own “investigation,” with occasional hilarious results. Their all-out, no-holds-barred curiosity had me laughing out loud.

Contrasting the two teams of female sleuths added depth to the story. The adults, Kathryn and Cece, were analytical and responsible in trying to understand the meaning of the codes and how they related to the death of Mr. Tyme. On the other hand, Reen and Joanie turned the campus upside down with their “interrogations” of people. In the end, both teams contributed to solving the mystery and finding a killer.

Now that the book is published, I look back and realize that writing the story had taken me back to an era of innocence and childhood that I had almost forgotten. The antics, occasional disagreements, but unabridged trust between best friends in childhood is a special bond that lasts forever. And this is one of the reasons I find novel-writing to be so fulfilling. We as authors are renewed and edified by our own writing. Old experiences combine with new thoughts to lift us up to a new understanding of ourselves and others.

I may have to write Reen and Joanie into their own series as main characters. If they bring as much joy to others as they have to me, they would be a gift to the world.

Kay DiBianca is a former software developer and IT manager who retired to become an award-winning author of cozy mysteries. She loves to create literary puzzles for her readers to solve, and her characters come to life as they struggle to solve murders and create relationships amidst the ongoing themes of faith and family.

Kay is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and the Collierville Christian Writers Group. She is also a regular contributor to the Kill Zone Blog. An avid runner, she can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. Her background in software development fuels her fascination with puzzles and mysteries, and her dedication to running helps supply the endurance and energy she needs to write about them!

Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee.

You can connect with Kay through her website at https://kaydibianca.com.

 

 

A Book of Hope

 Kay DiBianca

“A book of hope in troubled times.” That was the last sentence of a lovely endorsement for my second novel, Dead Man’s Watch, by fellow author Debbie Burke. Debbie is an accomplished writer and a woman with a considerable amount of common sense, so I was deeply touched by her comments.

The theme of the book, “Saving one life is like saving the whole world,” is a paraphrase of a statement from the Jerusalem Talmud. I came up with the idea after a particularly meaningful Torah study where we discussed the Genesis account of the life of Joseph.

History of a Novel

 Kay DiBianca

When the doorbell rang, I jumped up and ran into the hall, almost knocking over my husband, Frank, who was rushing out of his office. We knew what the delivery was, and we grinned at each other as we headed to the front door. The large boxes that had been deposited on the porch were just about the right size to hold two hundred paperback books, the exact number my publisher had informed me he was sending.

We lugged the boxes into the house and placed them on the floor in my office. When I got out the scissors to cut open the first lid, Frank said, “Wait. Let me take a picture.” We were like climbers who had reached the top of the mountain and wanted to record the moment.

For sure, it had been a long journey, starting over three years earlier when I sat down to write a cozy mystery novel. My background in computer science was not exactly the ideal preparation for creative writing, but I had always loved to read and had been encouraged to write by several teachers in my youth. Newly retired, I considered this the perfect time for a fresh adventure.

Short on knowledge of the craft, but long on motivation, I jumped into the literary world. 44,000 words later, I thought I had a finished product, but a few agents gently informed me that my work was not ready for publication. What I had assumed would be a sprint turned out to be a marathon, and it was time to get serious.

I bought a copy of The Christian Writers Market Guide, and it provided a wealth of information on editors, agents, publishers, and more. Through that book, I found my freelance editor and other professionals who helped me understand how to take a raw story and turn it into a well-crafted novel. Part of that learning experience was digesting great craft books like Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell and Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. Two years later, my editor and I had revised the story into a 60,000-word manuscript that she felt was ready for the world to see.

When Frank and I attended the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference in 2018, I timidly approached several editors and agents with the first chapters of my manuscript, and I was thrilled with their enthusiastic responses. In the weeks that followed, I sent book proposals to several publishers, and multiple offers to publish followed. We chose Crosslink Christian Publishers to release The Watch on the Fencepost.

Crosslink made the journey to publication easy and enjoyable. We mutually decided on the front cover design and the back cover copy, and they had their own editor review the manuscript. They formatted the print and ebooks beautifully. My author copies arrived in those boxes on the front porch a couple of weeks before Christmas 2018, and Frank took the picture you above.

Sitting on the floor of the living room and holding the book in my hands was a fulfilling experience. But more than a sense of accomplishment, I had a deep satisfaction that this was the story I had wanted to tell.

The protagonist, a young woman whose parents had recently died in an automobile accident, discovers a dark family secret and the possibility that there was foul play involved in her parents’ deaths. Then she stumbles onto the first of a series of cryptic clues. Each time she finds one, she doesn’t understand it, but something eventually happens that opens her eyes and moves her forward to the next clue. Finally, she solves the mystery and encounters the truth.

This is a metaphor for our lives. We don’t always understand our circumstances. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, “For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.” We may not always comprehend the meaning of the events in our lives, but one day we will have our eyes opened fully, and we will know the truth.

And so I continue to write, looking for that next challenge for me and my main characters. The second book in my Watch series, Dead Man’s Watch, was released in September 2020 with the theme “Saving one life is like saving the whole world.” I’m working on the third book in the series now, and I’m determined to provide my readers with an entertaining mystery wrapped in fundamental truth. 

I’m not sure I’ll ever experience that sense of awe again like I did when I held my first published book in my hands, but I am confident I will be grateful every day for the opportunity to create another story. 

Kay DiBianca is a bestselling author who loves to create literary puzzles for her readers to solve. Her characters come to life as they struggle to solve mysteries and create relationships amidst the ongoing themes of faith and family. Her first novel, The Watch on the Fencepost, won an Illumination Award for General Fiction and an Eric Hoffer Award for Mystery. The second book in the Watch series, Dead Man’s Watch, was released in September 2020.

Kay is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime. An avid runner, she can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. Her background in software development fuels her fascination with puzzles and mysteries, and her dedication to running helps supply the endurance and energy she needs to write about them!

Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee.

You can connect with Kay through her website at https://kaydibianca.com.

TIME AFTER TIME

Kay DiBianca

People occasionally ask me why I chose a watch as the theme of my cozy mystery series. It wasn’t intentional. Perhaps it bubbled up from my subconscious since I’m fascinated with the concept of time, that peculiar dimension that can be a cruel, though always equitable, task master.

Time is a valuable asset that we all own. We can exchange it wisely for a job well done, or we can waste it on foolish endeavors, but we can’t put it in the bank and withdraw it later when we’re ready for more. And despite what our science-fiction-writing friends tell us, time only moves in one direction.

I remember exactly where I was when I decided to write my first novel, The Watch on the Fencepost. I was running in a park while listening to an audiobook in my favorite genre, mystery. I had been listening to the book over several outings, and I came to the conclusion that I could write a story as interesting as the enjoyable one I was hearing through my earbuds.

As I passed by a long fence bordering a pasture, I developed the basic outline for my story. The main character would be a young woman, a runner of course, who would be training for a marathon as a way to cope with the sorrow of her parents’ recent deaths in an automobile accident. During her outing, she would find something left on a fencepost that would pique her curiosity and propel her into a quest to find the truth behind her parents’ untimely deaths.

I don’t recall exactly why I decided a watch would be the artifact she would find on the fencepost, but the idea fit into the mystery. As she gazes at the watch, the main character muses over a quote from one of her English professors who was fond of saying, “With time all things are revealed.” A good premonition for a murder mystery.

As I fleshed out that first novel, I decided the use of a timepiece was a worthy theme, and my husband came up with the title The Watch on the Fencepost. The book includes a series of clues that were left for one purpose, but ended up serving another. The first of these cryptic clues has to do with light, and that was the secondary theme in the book. Of course, mysteries are by definition shrouded in darkness, so the idea of light shining through to reveal the truth intrigued me.

As we neared publication in 2019, I began to work on the plot for a second book in the series entitled Dead Man’s Watch. A watch plays an important part in that story as well. Time is of the essence as the two main characters, Kathryn and Cece, try to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder by finding the real killer. The secondary theme of this book is “determination,” a theme most novel writers are familiar with. Dead Man’s Watch was released in September 2020.

I’m working on the third book in the series now. I’m thinking of doing a little experimentation with the characters in this one, but It will certainly have a timepiece as an important element in the story.

Now it’s your turn. Do you have a theme for your book or series? What made you decide on your theme?

Kay DiBianca is a bestselling author who loves to create literary puzzles for her readers to solve. Her characters come to life as they struggle to solve mysteries and create relationships amidst the ongoing themes of faith and family. Her first novel, The Watch on the Fencepost, won an Illumination Award for General Fiction and an Eric Hoffer Award for Mystery. The second book in the Watch series, Dead Man’s Watch, was released in September 2020.

Kay is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime. An avid runner, she can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. Her background in software development fuels her fascination with puzzles and mysteries, and her dedication to running helps supply the endurance and energy she needs to write about them!

Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee.

You can connect with Kay through her website at https://kaydibianca.com.

 

Pilot-In-Command

Kay DiBianca   @Kdibianca

Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance

Would you like to learn to fly? Great. Come on over to the airport. I have a nice little Cessna you can use. Keys are in the ignition. Just hop in and take ‘er up!

Would you do it? Of course not. Flying is a difficult endeavor even if you’re an accomplished pilot. Trying to fly without instruction would be a guaranteed crash-and-burn. In order to learn to fly, you need to hire a flight instructor, spend hours on the ground learning the basics of flight, and then more hours in the air practicing the skills of navigation and flight control.

But when it comes to writing, we often feel we can open the laptop and pour eighty thousand words of first-rate prose into the keyboard without any instruction. After all, we made A’s in English composition. And Aunt Edith always said she loved the stories we made up. How hard can it be?

TIKKUN OLAM

By Kay DiBianca

Most of us would probably agree that our world is broken and needs repair. But how can we as writers do our part?

When I decided to write a novel, I had two goals in mind: 1) to write a cozy mystery that would stand on its own as a mystery novel without consideration of religious content; and 2) to include part of my Christian worldview in the book, particularly an emphasis on the Jewish roots of my faith.

In my novel, The Watch on the Fencepost, a central chapter deals with the main character, Kathryn. She attends a Shabbat dinner hosted by the Goldmans. a kind Jewish family. Kathryn’s parents had died in a horrific automobile accident several months earlier, and she recently learned there may have been foul play involved in their deaths. The day before the Shabbat dinner, Kathryn had stumbled onto a cryptic note she thinks may be relevant to the truth behind the accident, but she doesn’t understand the meaning of the note.

During the dinner, Kathryn discovers her Jewish hosts suffered terrible loss as a result of the Holocaust, and she expresses surprise that they don’t harbor bitterness and resentment over past injustices done to their families. But the father, Harry Goldman, explains their concept of Tikkun Olam in these words: “Tikkun Olam literally means ‘repairing the world.’ It holds that by helping others, we will improve society and show honor to God. There is evil in the world, to be sure, and sometimes it has to be fought with armies and weapons. But it also has to be fought every day with acts of kindness toward our friends and even our enemies. … It’s our way of bringing light into the world to overcome the darkness.”

Harry relates goodness to light, and he reads from Genesis where we “hear” God’s first words in scripture spoken: “Let there be light.”

The result of this conversation is not just an inspiring discussion of the creation of the world and our roles as God’s children, but the conversation gives Kathryn insight into the note she found. Light has been focused on it, and she is one step closer to solving the mystery behind the accident.

I intended the Shabbat dinner chapter to be a metaphor about our relationship with God. One act of kindness or one discussion about His Word can not only illuminate a life and bring healing and repair to brokenness, but it can lead us one step closer to His ultimate truth.

How do you use your writing to enlighten a dark world?

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Kay DiBianca holds an MS degree in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has worked in the IT departments of several major corporations, including IBM, International Paper, and FedEx. An avid runner, Kay can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. She's completed four marathons, fifteen or so half-marathons, and an unknown number of shorter races. Kay and her husband, Frank, are retired and live in Memphis, Tennessee. They are US representatives of Bridges for Peace, an international Christian organization, whose mission is to serve the people of Israel. You can connect with Kay through her website at https://kaydibianca.com.