Anacacho
Cover Teaser, Back Cover, Flap Text
The Story: Louise Gaylord was a first-time mystery writer (though she had written other things before) who sought out Ellen Reid to help her get her manuscript into a book. Ellen called me in and I found that Louise had a real flair for the mystery genre. I loved her characters and the plot twists and turns she seemed to instinctively build into the story. I was actually disappointed to get to the end of the story because I wanted to spend more time in that world, with her characters.
An interesting challenge was that the title, though intriguing, didn’t reveal much. So we wanted to communicate what Anacacho was and also indicate that this was a murder mystery. We did it with the cover teaser, which became a prototype for all of Louise’s mysteries.
Other than the title, we did all the cover writing. And under Ellen’s guidance, the book became an award-winner.
Cover Teaser: Things are rough on Anacacho Ranch. In fact, they’re murder
Back Cover:
Nothing's Sure but Death in Texas
The woman found murdered in Texas' Anacacho Mountains, her beauty queen looks ruined by carrion birds, is Allie Armington's ex-best friend. The prime suspect, the victim's handsome, mega-rich husband, just happened to have once been the love of Allie's life. Though she hadn't seen the couple for eight year's, Allie's suddenly found herself thigh deep in a Tex/Mex conspiracy involving cattle, oil and drugs… and a handsome sheriff who makes her knees weak whenever he's around. But there's something about him…
Anacacho smiles at you, gently beckons, then sucks you in. It's so subtle you don't even realize you're hooked until you try and put it down. It has terrific characters but the problem is, you never know which ones you can trust.
It's a good thing this is the first in a series of Allie Armington mysteries because once you meet her, you're going to want more.
-----------------------------------------------------
Flap Text:
Allie Armington is a bright, successful and self-reliant young Texas attorney coming up to the top of her game. But that independent streak just might be the death of her. Of course she doesn't admit it until she's about thigh deep in a conspiracy involving cattle, oil and drugs.
Allie knew her ex-best friend, Reena Carpenter, was duplicitous. But when Reena called in deep distress after a seven year absence, Allie had to try and help. Suddenly Reena is murdered and the prime suspect is her husband, Paul Carpenter—the man Allie once thought she was going to marry until Reena connived him away from her.
Then there's Bill Cotton, the ruggedly handsome Texas sheriff who's handling the case. Allie goes weak in the knees every time she sees him. But is he a good guy or bad?
Get ready for a wild ride!
Click here to return to samples page
