ParaMysMo 2014 - Sue Ann Jaffarian, author of the Ghost of Granny Apples Mysteries and more! - October 15, 2014

Please welcome Sue Ann Jaffarian, author of the A Ghost of Granny Apples Mysteries, the Odelia Grey series, and the Madison Rose Vampire Mysteries.  Ish Reynolds tells us what she thinks about  Halloween. Who is Ish Reynolds? She's also known as Granny Apples!

A GHOST’S TAKE ON HALLOWEEN

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

My name is Ish Reynolds but folks call me Granny Apples on account of the tasty pies I made when I was alive. Yes, I’m dead. In fact I’m a ghost who hangs around the living a fair piece. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. My family did.

When I was living and breath as you do now, I lived in Julian, California, in the late 1800’s. Julian was a gold mining town in my day, but now it’s a place where people go to have fun, relax and eat pie. It’s famous for its apples.

Since Sue Ann is working on the next book in the Ghost of Granny Apples mystery series, she asked if I’d fill in for her on this blog and tell you folks what I think about Halloween.

I love Halloween, especially seeing all the little tykes dressed up as pirates and princesses and even ghosts and goblins, although I don’t particularly like the really gory costumes. It’s not that I’m squeamish about blood, they just give me the creeps.

We didn’t really celebrate Halloween when I was alive. Usually there was a barn dance near the end of October to celebrate the end of apple season. Several of the men played instruments, including the fiddle and banjo, and people danced and the kids played. I love me a lively fiddle.

My great-great-great-granddaughter, Emma Whitecastle, is a medium. She can see, hear and speak to me as if I were alive. Her mother can hear and talk to me, but not see me. Emma’s parents, Elizabeth and Paul Miller, live in a big white house in Pasadena, which they decorate every Halloween. Emma lives there too most of the time. Mostly they decorate their front yard with scarecrows and pumpkins because, like me, Elizabeth doesn’t care for the really scary stuff. Which is funny considering she has a ghost practically living with her, so to speak.

Every Halloween the Millers dress up in coordinating costumes and if Emma’s home she joins in on the fun. Last year Paul was a pirate captain and Elizabeth was his wench. Emma and her boyfriend Phil dressed as the pirate crew. The year before they were all cartoon characters. A lot of children come to their door every year and they and their parents love seeing what the Millers are wearing as much as we enjoy seeing the kiddies’ costumes.

I wish I could dress up. I’m stuck for eternity wearing a long homespun skirt and long sleeve blouse and heavy boots. It’s what I wore when I was alive and what I was wearing when I was wrongfully hanged for killing my man Jacob. Just for one night I’d love to dress up in something fun.

This year the Millers are dressing up like they did in the old west. Paul is going to be a sheriff and Phil a gun slinger. Elizabeth and Emma are dressing as pioneer women. Emma said that this year I’ll fit right in. Big deal. I dress like that every day.

If I could, this year I’d dress like a floozy barmaid, complete with one of those skimpy red silk bustiers, black fishnet stocking, and feathers in my hair. In my day, a woman didn’t show much skin unless she was a woman of ill repute. After over a hundred years of being dignified, I’d love to give ill repute a try.

Maybe I can talk Emma into being a floozy in my place. If I start now, maybe I can wear her down.

Ghost of a Gamble
A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery 4
Berkley, April 1, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

Spiritual medium Emma Whitecastle knows a good ghost when she feels one—like her own sweet Granny Apples, long gone but still as famous for her apple pies as she is for helping her great-great-great-granddaughter get to the core of the most baffling mysteries...

When Emma gets word of a sticky spirit problem in Las Vegas, she and the ghost of Granny Apples hit the road for Sin City. The spooked one is Dolly, a former showgirl. Dolly is haunted by Lenny, a dead Vegas hood worried about an aging mobster named Nemo coming after the leggy old bombshell. Dolly’s playing dumb, but Emma’s making a blind bet that she knows more about Nemo than she admits.

When Nemo is found dead, Dolly goes missing—and lands herself on a short list of suspects. Emma, Granny, and their pals comb Las Vegas to find her, only to discover the truth behind a casino heist gone bad, a hidden stash of stolen loot, and a missing wise guy who’s not letting death come between him and setting things straight. And Emma and Granny Apples aren’t about to fold until they save Dolly’s neck and put her past to rest.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Dummy of a Ghost
A Ghost of Granny Apples Novella
Berkley, March 4, 2014
eNovella, 106 pages

“A pleasant mix of cozy and paranormal” (The Mystery Reader) this “appealing as apple pie” (Harley Jane Kozak) series “proves the vivacious Jaffarian is the literary heir apparent to Lucille Ball!” (The Book Resort) as a spiritual medium counts on family (those dead and alive) to help her get to the core of the most baffling crimes…

A party is giving Kelly Whitecastle a chance to play catch-up with old friends, and she’s especially keen on seeing Chris May again, an up-and-coming ventriloquist. But when Kelly sees his show, and Chris’s dummies, a couple named Shirley and Doug, appear to be staring straight at her, it only rattles Kelly’s nerves.

It seems that the ghosts of Chris’s grandparents inhabit those grinning heads full of sawdust and they have a warning for Kelly: Chris is in mortal danger. Now Kelly’s working the nightclub circuit to find out who—or what—wants Chris dead. And she’d better do it fast before the final curtain falls on Chris’s act.

Includes excerpts from the first three books in the series, plus a preview of the new Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery, Ghost of a Gamble

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Books-A-Million : iTunes : Kobo

The Silent Ghost
A Ghost of Granny Apples Novella
Berkley, March 5, 2013
eNovella,114 pages

A brand-new novella in the Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery series, featuring Emma Whitecastle’s daughter, Kelly—only available digitally…

Like mother, like daughter? Emma Whitecastle’s daughter Kelly just wants to live a normal life and pursue her studies at Harvard. But that’s not so easy when your mother is a famous medium who hosts a TV show on paranormal activity and when your frequent companion is a ghost named Granny Apples.

When reporter Tanisha Costello approaches her, Kelly is understandably skittish. But Tanisha isn’t after a story—she needs help. She’s being haunted. Though Kelly doesn’t want to acknowledge she has the same gift as her mother, Granny Apples steps in to get her to take the case and get the scoop on the spirit.

Includes an excerpt from the “delectable” (Publishers Weekly) first book in the Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery series—Ghost á la Mode.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Books-A-Million : iTunes : Kobo

Ghost of Granny Apples Mysteries 1 - 3 

Available from Midnight Ink and at all the usual bookstores!

Upcoming

Ghost in the Guacamole
A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery 5
Berkley, January 6, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

When two sisters feud over the family business, medium Emma Whitecastle doesn’t need a Ouija board to know it spells trouble. But with a little help from the spirited ghost of Granny Apples, she may be able to solve one murder and prevent another . . .

Sisters Lucinda and Ricarda Ricardo—better known as Lucy and Rikki—are at each other’s throats over the family business, Roble Foods. Lucy wants to sell and Rikki is against it. Rikki asks Emma to contact their deceased father, Felix, to help her convince Lucy not to sell.

But the ghost of Felix Ricardo has his own bombshell to drop—his death was not an accident, and Rikki’s life may be in danger if the girls don’t sell. Now it’s up to Emma and Granny Apples to chip away at the mystery and stop a killer from double dipping in death . . .

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

About Sue Ann

Sue Ann Jaffarian is the author of three critically acclaimed mystery series: The Odelia Grey series, the Ghost of Granny Apples series, and the Madison Rose Vampire Mysteries. In addition to mysteries, Sue Ann writes non-mystery short stories. She is also a sought-after motivational speaker and a full-time paralegal living and working in Los Angeles.

Kirkus has said of Sue Ann: Like Stuart Kaminsky, Jaffarian juggles her franchises deftly, giving each a unique voice and appeal.

You can visit Sue Ann on the web at www.sueannjaffarian.com, Twitter and Facebook, or at her blog at www.sueannjaffarian.blogspot.com.

Website  ~  Blog   ~   Facebook   ~  Twitter @SueAnnJaffarian

The Giveaway

What:  One entrant will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Ghost of a Gamble (A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery 4) by Sue Ann Jaffarian.

How:  Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59PM US Eastern Time on October 30, 2014. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter

*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change without any notice.*

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