Hello! I am the award-winning author of two cozy mystery series for The Wild Rose Press: the Dinner Club Mysteries featuring Jane Marsh, an empty nester who hosts a gourmet dinner club, and the Tow Truck Mysteries starring Delaney Morran, a super feminine shoe-a-holic who drives a tow truck. Both are about strong friendships and family ties set in Colorado. The first series features Jane Marsh, an empty nester who hosts a gourmet dinner club. She finds a dead body in her basement on the night of her first event…and it goes on from there through seven books. The second series stars Delaney Morran, a super feminine shoe-a-holic who drives a tow truck and stumbles across bodies in the cars she tows. The fifth in that series, Stiletto to the Pedal, is due to come out May 15.
In real life I’ve been in dinner clubs, but I’ve never driven a tow truck. So, how did I come up with the idea for a tow truck driver as my amateur sleuth? The law firm where I worked for many years represented tow truck companies. These car haulers are an under-appreciated, crazy breed, with interesting stories to tell, and the characters I met were bigger than life, people I will never forget. That all of the tow truck drivers I met were men made me think…women in the industry would need to be tough to compete. But what if the tow truck driver was a woman? What if the woman was young and inexperienced? What if she wore high heels to set herself apart? Oooh, sounds fun, amiright? And that's where the idea came from.
Ever since moving to Colorado in the 1980s I’ve believed myself to be a westerner, a lover of big skies, mountains, hiking and camping. When my husband and I relocated to Coastal Carolina in 2022, I was homesick for the Rocky Mountains for almost a year. But the ocean and the warm weather started to sink down into my being and I came to feel at home in Sunset Beach. So, I wrote Murder at Sea Oats Beach (a mythical town loosely based on Sunset) which I am indie publishing.
Sometimes following one’s dreams can be a painful experience, like homesickness. When I decided to indie publish I had to learn the process, which was not as easy as I was led to believe! Kudos to all the indie authors out there who release polished and professional novels without the aid of a publisher. Navigating Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP was challenging because I questioned and researched every option (what is drm? why would an author chose 35% royalties when a 70% rate is also available?). But I got through it—and Murder at Sea Oats Beach is scheduled for release on June 20.
So, follow your dreams even it means you have a grueling climb to get to the top of the mountain…or a cross country move to experience the salty life. It’s worth it.
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Title: Stiletto to the Pedal
Author: Karen C. Whalen
Genre: Cozy murder mystery
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
Discovering a killer. Dodging a tax collector. Speeding toward disaster.
When the IRS claims Delaney Morran, the high-heeled tow truck driver and amateur sleuth, owes back taxes, she hires an accountant to fight Uncle Sam. Before Delaney can resolve the issue, a tax collector shows up in Spruce Ridge, Colorado demanding an amount Delaney can’t afford. It gets worse when Delaney’s accountant becomes the town’s next murder victim and Delaney’s tax records are locked inside the crime scene. The quickest way to get the Internal Revenue off her case is to catch the killer and get her files back, so she speeds around town questioning suspects while keeping one step ahead of the tax man. Will Delaney be able to solve yet another murder and secure her records before the IRS shuts her down?
Excerpt
I planted myself behind Axle to keep a lookout. Axle squinted one eye as he worked the narrow ribbon of metal between the door and the wood frame. No one was around, so after a few minutes I crouched at his side to watch. He slid the flat strip of metal around so slowly sweat popped out on my forehead. I looked left and right but we were alone. Encouraging him to be quick, I made a speed-it-up gesture.
The lock clicked and Axle’s hand hovered near the doorknob.
A mischievous smile crossed his face, then he nodded once, pleased, and I nodded back.
“You did it, Ax,” I whispered. “Hail to the superhero. That’s you, Axle.”
“Jeez, you haven’t got a—”
“Shhh!” I hissed.
Sudden sounds came from the other side of the door and we both froze. My pulse took off like a race car at the starting gate.
The handle turned and the door began to open from within.
Grayson Thomas threw open the door and stumble-halted in front of us, his eyebrows practically catapulting off his head. Axle and I shot up to a stand and Axle thrust his hands behind his back. Axle’s eyes got really big, and I’m sure mine did too.
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Author Biography:
Karen C. Whalen is the author of two mystery series for The Wild Rose Press: the Dinner Club Mysteries featuring Jane Marsh, an empty nester who hosts a gourmet dinner club, and the Tow Truck Mysteries starring Delaney Morran, a super feminine shoe-a-holic who drives a tow truck. Both are cozy mysteries about strong friendships and family ties set in Colorado. The first book in the Dinner Club series tied for First Place in the Suspense Novel category of the 2017 IDA Contest sponsored by Oklahoma Romance Writers of America. In the Tow Truck series, Eyes on the Road was a Second Place winner of the 2023 Firebird Book Awards in the Cozy Mystery category. Whalen worked for many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado and was a columnist and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine. Whalen loves to host dinner parties, entertain friends, ride bicycles, hike in the mountains, walk on the beach, and read cozy murder mysteries. Murder at Sea Oats Beach is her first book published as an indie author.
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Title: Murder at Sea Oats Beach
Author: Karen C. Whalen
Genre: Cozy mystery, Beach read
Book Blurb:
Breanna Hart is volunteering at the animal shelter and living her best life in a North Carolina beach town, but that changes when the police chief is found dead under mysterious circumstances inside the cage of her favorite dog. Everyone has the dog tagged as the murderer, even the handsome police officer in charge of the investigation, and the pooch is put on the euthanasia list. In spite of being new in town and dealing with both a social phobia and a secret, will Breanna be able to solve the crime and prove the dog’s innocence? Will she be able to find his forever home so she can embrace the salty seaside life and find a forever home for herself?
Excerpt
“Hello, Officer Whitaker.” I gave him an eager smile, realized it was inappropriate, you know, under the circumstances, and wiped the smile off my face. I took a step forward, my heel landed on a dog toy, blasting out a long sque-e-e-ak! My foot rolled forward and I smacked my elbow on the edge of Claire’s desk with a reverberating thwack!
Both of their faces pointed at me.
I straightened up. “Who died?”
The handsome officer answered, “The police chief.” He said to Claire, “I’ll come back later.”
“I’ll work on the list.” She gave him a solemn nod before he took off down the hall.
I rubbed my throbbing funny bone. “The police chief died?”
“Derek Stanley.”
“What happened? Heart attack? Aneurism?”
Claire’s face crumpled and she leaned down into her hands. She said with a sob, “He was covered in bite marks. From Samson. It was awful.”
“Samson bit him?” My jaw dropped.
“Yes.”
“And he died?”
“That’s what happened.” She nodded from behind her hands, her face still hidden.
The man’s death could not have been caused by Samson. I mean, how? A vicious attack, a ripped throat? No way! It wasn’t possible the animal was a killer.
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