Friday, July 5, 2019

*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Sydney St. John Mysteries by Car Osborne-GUEST POST


Oklahoma Winds
The Sydney St. John Mysteries Book 1
by Cary Osborne
Genre: Mystery

In Oklahoma, spring brings storms raging across the American prairie, too often spawning tornadoes that lash the land. But this spring Sydney St. John finds herself fighting for her life against another danger, one from the past. When her intern's body is discovered in the archives processing room, everyone wants to believe the girl's death was an accident or a horrible mistake. But Sydney sets out to discover whether the cruel murder of today resulted from another crime committed nearly seventy years earlier, searching for clues as only an archivist can. Her search leads her to another danger, different, in the person of Ben Bartlett, grandson of the creator of the very collection at the center of the mystery. Is he to be her lover? Or her murderer?


OKLAHOMA WINDS is an engrossing thriller that reveals the inexorable links present-day events (and crimes) always have to the past. We are forever connected to the history that brought us to where we are now, and unraveling the tangled truths of that history can shed a brilliant light on who we have become. Yes, OKLAHOMA WINDS is a murder mystery, and a fascinating one. But it's also a testament to the power of the past over our lives. Having had some experience with research librarians and archivists, I've always known they were some of the most brilliant (yet unsung) detectives among us . . . and the protagonist of OKLAHOMA WINDS is long-overdue proof of that. Sydney St. John does for archivists what Indiana Jones did for archaeologists -- and I can't wait to see what mysteries she'll tackle next!
--Brad Denton, author of Blackburn and Sergeant Chip





Oklohoma Winter: Black Ice
The Sydney St. John Mysteries Book 2

Oklahoma, the state that ranks second as most dangerous in the U.S. when it comes to weather. Too often, the wind comes sweeping down the plain, with a vengeance. In winter, black ice glides onto the roads, barely seen, and when the wheels of a vehicle run onto it, a driver had best beware.


It’s winter in Oklahoma, and Sydney St. John finds murder among the papers of the Filmore County Historical Archives. The collection is that of Carl Blair, rancher, politician, father, and husband, who ruled his land and his family without the need for compassion, or love. Although gone these many years, his grandchildren and Lawrence, his only surviving son, still suffer from his cruelty and heavy hand. It's Sydney who must untangle the web that begins with racism and murder. Ben Bartlett her lover, still living in California, is helpless to save her from natural disasters and festering family hatred.





Saving Souls
The Sydney St. John Mysteries Book 3

Sydney St. John, still living and working in Gansel, Oklahoma, hopes to never be involved in a murder investigation again. She plans on being content with organizing the historical documents in the Filmore County Historical Archives. But when Patrick O’Kelley, preaching to no one on the corner opposite the archives in twenty-degree weather, is found murdered, her curiosity once again gets the better of her.


The facts she discovers lead her to hidden gold, oil rights, and Edward Capeheart O’Kelley, the man who shot Bob Ford, Jesse James’s killer. What does the murder in the late 1800s have to do with Patrick O’Kelley’s death in the 21st century?





Cary Osborne has been writing for more than two decades, delving into many genres including science fiction, fantasy, mystery, horror, and romance. Having once been told that there aren't enough generalists in the world, and having an interest in many worldly aspects, makes it difficult to settle into a single mold. Ancient history, being one of those interests, she uses her studies in the subjects and backgrounds for her stories, both long and short.



GUEST POST
What inspired you to write this series?
For several years, I worked as an archivist. That’s someone sort of like a librarian – most people in the field have degrees in library science – but an archivist processes collections of papers and memorabilia created by people, companies, families, educational entities, etc. I loved the work. I’m an organizer by nature and working on a collection of papers so that researchers can access them is perfect for me. It’s amazing what one finds in such collections.

And that’s what Sydney St. John does. She finds information that is dangerous, something that the descendants or others involved in the story want to keep hidden. They’ll do anything to keep even her from reading it, much less the authorities.

What did you enjoy most about writing these books?
One of the fun things was, and still is, doing the research necessary for the novels. Since the story actually begins in the past, and I want an historical flavor to each story, I need to read Oklahoma history, where the characters and stories occur. Each novel has some basis in actual history. Then the story moves into the present where past events present problems for descendants.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Sydney St. John mysteries?
Like me, Sydney has lived in a lot of different places. She isn’t an army brat; her father worked for a large, unspecified, international company, like G.E. or IBM. She was married once; her husband died. They were very much in love. She’s been a widow for twelve years. Yes, she’s middle aged, the sort of woman character not much seen in fiction. She’s driven by curiosity, the need to know, and a strong sense of justice.

The man she falls in love with, Ben Bartlett, is a tax accountant living in the Los Angeles area. They met in the first book, Oklahoma Winds, when she was working on his grandfather’s papers. Sydney is satisfied with a long-distance romance, but Ben wants them to live together, mostly in L.A. She, however, loves her job and doesn’t want to leave the archives. The situation may be resolved in the fourth book, but I haven’t decided how that will happen.

Have you written any other books that are not published?
Oh, yes. There’s Cross Over the River, a Civil War alternate history. Remember, a modern-day romance with a touch of magic realism. A science fiction romance, titled The Blue Man. Checkout, a suspense, trapped-in-the-shopping-mall novel. And several fits and starts.


Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?
Although I do talk with him every so often, one author whose work and attitude I admire is Joe Lansdale. He is a prolific writer with the most vivid prose. His stories come alive in a way I can only envy. He writes all sorts of fiction, from young adult to gory horror. His Hap and Leonard series has been made into a TV series.

Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?-type tidbits about the book or the writing process of the book.
When I was trying to decide where to place the archive and Sydney’s story, I wanted a town name that wasn’t known. You know, the names of streets, the directions they go in, etc., can’t be wrong since they don’t actually exist. The history of the town I can make up. I looked through a book of ghost towns and pulled up maps on the computer. I came across a single mention of a town named Gansel. I managed to zero in on north-central Oklahoma on Google Maps. There was nothing there. I even got my husband to drive out there one Saturday. It was a railroad crossing with a few houses to one side. Nothing else. It was perfect. A name that once existed, that no one had ever heard of, at least anyone I told about it. I could populate it, give it a history, design the buildings and streets. It was mine. Well, it was Sydney’s.



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