Hippie Haven Homicide - A Spotlight

I'm happy to provide an excerpt from Sally Carpenter's latest Psychedelic Spy Mystery. Hippie Haven Homicide is the second book in the series.

Excerpt:

(Noelle takes her cat, Ceebee, to the secret headquarters of SIAMESE so he can be fitted with a collar equipped with a microphone for eavesdropping)

The room they entered was lined with shelves stocked with boxes, jars, scientific reference books and notebooks full of experiment notes. The tables stuffed into the small space were covered with microscopes, Bunsen burners, tubes, beakers, jars of chemicals and various electrical and mechanical devices. A man in a white lab coat and dark trousers waited for them beside the large center island. His white hair stuck up comically, as if he were amused to see them. His wrinkled face belied his age. His thick bifocals made his blue eyes look even larger. Around his neck hung the security badge—with black and white diagonal stripes—of the internal support staff, those who remained inside headquarters to equip the outside field agents.

“You must be Noelle. I’m Dr. Albedo. We’re glad to have you working with us.” Unlike Hanover, his voice was warm and friendly, and contained a tinge of an east European accent. But Noelle couldn’t see his lips move beneath his bushy white moustache.

“This is one of our veteran scientists at SIAMESE,” Dash said.

“Please put your animal on the counter.” Dr. Albedo patted the metal-lined top of the island.

Noelle placed the cat on the spot. “You wouldn’t happen to have any cat food, would you? Ceebee is starving.”

“It’s good that the cat hasn’t eaten. It’s best for animals to fast before surgery.”

“Surgery!” Noelle scooped up Ceebee. “No way are you cutting into my pet!”

“We need to implant an earpiece for the animal. Otherwise, you can’t use the radio to give him commands.”

“What’s wrong with putting a gizmo in his ear?”

“A small device can fall out. And the people standing around would hear you talking.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“We’ll place it just under the skin,” said Dr. Albedo. “Your cat won’t feel a thing. We’ll remove it as soon as possible.”

“If this is unacceptable, you may leave, Miss McNabb,” said Hanover. “But we’ll have to scrub the mission. We have no back-up animals. We would not have asked you unless we felt confident in your ability to help us and your country. We have reports that you have trained your cat to follow your directions––not something most cats do.”

Noelle gazed into the anxious cat eyes staring back at her. She was as patriotic as any other American, but she loved her pet. “If you promise you won’t hurt Ceebee. You won’t give him a lobotomy or anything.”

“We will treat your cat as gently as we treat our agents,” said Hanover.

Destiny stifled a laugh.

“All right then.” Noelle set her cat on the island. “But be careful.”

“I’ll leave you in the doctor’s capable hands.” Hanover turned to Destiny. “Let me know if any problems arise.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied.

Noelle was indignant. “Ceebee will do his job just fine!”

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Hippie Haven Homicide (Psychedelic Spy Mystery) by Sally Carpenter

About Hippie Haven Homicide

 Hippie Haven Homicide (Psychedelic Spy Mystery)  

Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series  

Publisher: Cozy Cat Press (May 21, 2020)  

Paperback: 229 pages 

Get ready to flip your wig over another groovy 1967 retro-cozy with actress and amateur spy Noelle McNabb. Spy agency SIAMESE (Special Intelligence Apparatus for Midwest Enemy Espionage and Surveillance) turns Noelle’s pet, Ceebee, into an “acoustic kitty” to listen in on an agent known only as Old Scratch. Meanwhile, a counterculture religious sect led by the Wise One infiltrates the staid town of Yuletide, Indiana. When one of the sect members makes a premature departure to the Spirit in the Sky, Noelle investigates, but finds herself in deep water—literally. With her undercover disguiser, Noelle really knows how to sock it to ‘em. However, she still can’t solve the secrets of a certain family member. Don’t miss this fab story of saints, sinners and spies!

About Sally Carpenter

Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier living in Moorpark, Calif.

She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University. While in school, her plays “Star Collector” and “Common Ground” were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act Playwrighting Competition. “Common Ground” also earned a college creative writing award. “Star Collector” was produced in New York City and served as the inspiration for her first mystery series.

Sally also has a Master of Divinity and a black belt in tae kwon do.

She’s worked as an actress, college writing instructor, jail chaplain and tour guide/page for Paramount Pictures.

The books in her Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series are: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper (2012 Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel), The Sinister Sitcom Caper, The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper and The Quirky Quiz Show Caper, all with Cozy Cat Press.

Flower Power Fatality is the first book in the Psychedelic Spy series.

She has short stories in three anthologies: Last Exit to Murder, Plan B: Omnibus and Cozy Cat Shorts. She penned chapter three of the CCP group mystery Chasing the Codex.

Author Links:  

Webpage: sandyfairfaxauthor.com 

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sally.carpenter.54  

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54118019-hippie-haven-homicide?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=tN4w7Vg3qi&rank=1  

Purchase Links - Digital - Paperback

A Fond Farewell to a Favorite Beatle

 A fond farewell to a favorite Beatle

By Sally Carpenter

For my guest post I want to share some photos and thoughts on the passing of George Harrison on November 29, 2001. While I love all the Beatles, George was my favorite and the one I turned to for “comfort music” when I needed a boost.

At the time of George’s death I was living in Los Angles (the San Fernando Valley) and I heard that fans had turned the Beatles star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame into a memorial site. I wanted to pay my respects so that weekend I took the subway to Hollywood (traffic in Hollywood is often congested and parking is hard to find and expensive). I didn’t know the star’s location so I started at one end of the Walk of Fame and kept going.

The walk, consisting of the stars embedded in the sidewalk, stretched for many blocks along Hollywood Boulevard and also onto the side streets. The Beatles star is at the western end of the walk at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue (each Fab also has an individual star at 1725 Vine Street, north of Hollywood Boulevard, but that spot probable didn’t have enough room for fans to gather). The stars for The Beatles and Elvis Presley are both on a grassy island in the middle of the street! Those are the only two stars in this location, a place of honor for the kings of rock.

I used the marked crosswalk to reach the star. The entire island was buried beneath a mountain of mementos left by fans—candles, photos, flowers, messages, a copy of the LA Times announcing George’s death and even a guitar. Only a portion of the star was visible. The items partially covered Elvis’ star (I’m sure he didn’t mind).

A number of people were standing vigil on the island. One man was seated and singing and playing a guitar. I took photos and then left a note, a guitar pic and stick of burning incense.

The first photo shows only a small amount of the fan tokens. The second picture is of some posters with heartfelt messages left at the site.

Then I headed east to the other end of Hollywood Boulevard (a long walk!) where one can see the Capital Records Building (in case you don’t know, the building was designed to resemble a stack of records). Capital, of course, was the company that released The Beatles’ music in America. As you can see in the third photo, the American flag atop the roof flew at half-mast in mourning and the top of the building was draped with black bunting. What a nice gesture from the folks at Capital.

On Sunday afternoon a public memorial service was held at the Greek Theatre. I meant to attend but for various reasons did not go. The day was overcast with light rain, a change from LA’s usual sunshine. But I was glad all over that I managed to get to Hollywood and joined dozens of other Beatles lovers in showing my affection for a musical giant.

Sinister Sitcom - An Interview with Sally Carpenter

I'd like to welcome Sally Carpenter to the blog today. Sally writes the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mystery series.

Kathy: Sandy Fairfax is a former teen idol. Did you have a favorite teen idol when you were young? Was Sandy based on him?

SC: Sandy was inspired by The Monkees, specifically the Monkees TV show. I had watched the show in its initial run when I was a kid but didn’t fall for the guys until the late 1990s when Nickelodeon ran the episodes every night. Then I became a die-hard fan and started going to concerts. I read everything I could about The Monkees. I was intrigued by the whole teen idol mystique. When I started writing my series, I read up on other teen idols of the era—David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman and Donny Osmond. Sandy is a composite of all these guys.

Kathy: Sandy has some interesting sidekicks. Can you tell us about them? Is there any particular reason you chose an animal and a little person?

SC: I wanted to get away from every character being a healthy, average type of person. We live in such a diverse society but in cozies everyone tends to look alike. Joseph Graves is an actor who’s also a dwarf. Joseph is cocky and hard-nosed guy but that’s his defense against a hostile world. The character was inspired by two dwarf actors: Michael Dunn, who played Dr. Loveless on “The Wild Wild West,” and David Rappaport, who portrayed a lawyer on “LA Law.” Because of their size they stood out (pun intended) amid the other actors. Dunn stole every scene he was in.

Scruffy is an animal actor who plays the family pet on the sitcom “Off-Kelter,” the show on which Sandy is a guest star. Scuffy’s a terrier mix and he’s handled by his owner and trainer, Frances Fontenay. When I worked at Paramount Pictures we had two animals actors on the lot: Moose, who played Eddie on “Frasier,” and Salem, the cat on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Salem had his own dressing trailer. Two or three black cats were used in the scenes in which Salem moved and the animals were kept in the trailer when they were not in use.

I had the privilege of meeting Moose’s trainer, Mathilde DeCagny. I’d see her walking Moose around the lot. She was friendly and nice. I used her as the starting point for the character of Frances.

A few times I saw other animals on the lot, usually in trucks or a trailer outside the soundstage waiting to start work. A number of companies in Los Angeles handle animal actors (that’s the term). Providing animals for pictures is a big business.

Kathy: You've had a variety of interesting careers. Do you have a favorite job?

SC: Certain aspects in all of my jobs were enjoyable. Each job had its “season.” Some of the jobs would be too physically taxing for me now. My current job at a newspaper is probably the best fit for my temperament at this time. I learned about good writing techniques from the editors and copy editors. I write headlines and photo captions which sharpens my skills. Of course, I’ve always loved writing fiction. My life seems “settled” for now and I can focus on writing books without having to look for another job or think about moving.

Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

SC: I never knew cozies existed until a few years ago. My hometown library didn’t stock many cozies, only the gory, graphic crime novels that I don’t find entertaining. I like cozies because they won’t offend me and sometimes they make me laugh. I write cozies because I don’t want to spend my time with gritty, coarse characters.   

Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

SC: I started out writing science fiction but couldn’t crack into the genre. I’ve also written plays for churches. In college I wrote two plays that were award finalists. But playwrighting is a tough field as most theaters won’t produce new plays. Producers are particular about how many and what type of characters they want in a play (so they can cast the show from their company), how much the setting will cost and if people will pay to see the show. I ended up in the mystery field because that’s where I found the most support and success.

Kathy: Tell us about your series.

SC: I have one series, the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series. Sandy’s a former ‘70s teen idol and TV star that discovers that making a comeback can be murder. When he performs at various venues he keeps stumbling over dead bodies, sometimes literally.

Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

SC: I assume someone other than my own series character! My favorite fictional detectives are Sherlock Holmes (naturally), Lt. Columbo and Trixie Beldon. I like Columbo because he’s funny and down to earth but he’s brilliant. I love how the clues unravel on the show and how the characters interact. My parents gave me two Trixie books for Christmas and that started me reading that series. Trixie was much like me as a kid.

Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

SC: Besides The Monkees TV show, the whole genre of ‘70s detective shows, including “The Hardy Boys,” with the “personality cop.” Those shows were short on accurate police reality but were family friend and highly entertaining. I liked the idea of a guy who played a kid cop on TV in the ‘70s and is now solving crimes, somewhat reluctantly, in real life.

Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

SC: I always write with an eye toward publication. I have a worthwhile message that I want to share with others. And I feel good when someone says they enjoyed my book. In my mind, providing wholesome entertainment to others is a worthy service.

Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, whom would you invite?

SC: Rod Serling, William Link and Robert Levinson (do writing partners count as one or two?), Mildred Wirt Benson (she wrote the original Nancy Drews) and E.A. Poe because he needed a friend.

Kathy: What are you currently reading?

SC: I’m finishing up “Schlock Homes: The Complete Bagel Street Sage” by Robert L. Fish and “A Deadly Justice” by Kate Bennet. Next up are “Burying Ben” by Ellen Kirschman and “The Accused Architect” by Christian Belz. Hope to squeeze in a re-reading of “The Parables of Peanuts” by Robert Short. I like to mix in religious reading when I can.

Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

SC: Years ago I earned a black belt in tae kwon do which was hard work but great fun. I took part in a number of tournaments and brought home trophies. I plan to use martial arts in one of my books. I used to act in plays which I don’t do now because it would take time away from writing. I have black cats. I’m a lector (scripture reader) at my parish and involved in a Bible study. When I crash at the end of the day I like watching my favorite TV shows or old movies or listing to music from my record and CD collection.

Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

SC: Milk, Hansens Diet Cherry Vanilla soft drink, Dark Chocolate Dreams (peanut butter with chocolate) and cheese slices for making grilled cheese sandwiches.

Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

SC: The first Sandy Fairfax book, “The Baffled Beatlemanic Caper” is out of print but I will be re-releasing and self-publishing the ebook version on Kindle. I’m looking for an early 2015 release for the third Sandy mystery, “The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper.” He’ll be performing on a cruise ship with his estranged sister. I have ideas for other series but my writing time is limited. Maybe after a few more Sandy books I’ll try to work in another series.  

Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

SC: Playing god (not The God of course) in that I can create a world, populate it how I wish, make everything work out in the end and bring the bad guy to justice. As Michael Nesmith would say, I have “total control.”