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Patricia Simpson | Author

Out of This World Suspense

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A Mystery Novel with a New Twist

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Book cover of Dead Man's Wine by Parker French.

A week before the fabulous Flight of Fancy Charity Auction in Sonoma, California, someone kills a counterfeiter concocting fakes of very expensive wine. Wine expert Sarah McKee is called in to help identify the victim—if she can. Whoever killed him took his wallet, car, and computer—as well as his face.

Awards and Kudos for Dead Man’s Wine

Dead Man’s Wine was a semifinalist in the highly competitive ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition 2023, coming in at the top 3% out of thousands of entries. It’s getting good reviews, too!

Praise from Readers

“Dead Man’s Wine was a great, quick read! I love a good murder mystery with a glass of wine and this book had them both!”

“This book had a great twist on the usual murder mystery.”

“A very engaging story with lots of character development that I hope means a continuation of the series.”

“This was a really good cozy mystery, with a likeable main character, and a plot that moved along at a good pace.”

“I loved this book. It was well written and I read it in a day.” 
Buy It!

Lord of the Nile has been Reissued

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Cover of Lord of the Nile by Patricia Simpson.

In this lush paranormal set on the shores of the Nile, an elegant stranger persuades a sculptress to join in the search for a lost Egyptian temple. During the search, Karissa uncovers the truth about her father and the reason why she is obsessed with big, black cats.

If you haven’t read anything by Patricia Simpson, try this bestseller novella from one of the premier writers of paranormal romance. New in audio, too! It’s short, erotic and just 99 cents!

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A lost tomb and an everlasting love.

AI’s Top Ten Paranormal Romance Novels

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Paranormal romance is a sub-genre of romance that involves elements of the supernatural, such as vampires, werewolves, witches, and other paranormal beings. Here are ten popular paranormal romance books/series. How many have you read?

  1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer – A vampire romance between a human, Bella Swan, and a vampire, Edward Cullen.
  2. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness – The story follows a witch named Diana Bishop, who falls in love with a vampire named Matthew Clairmont.
  3. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward – The first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, the story follows a vampire named Wrath and his love interest, Beth Randall.
  4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – This book is the first in The Mortal Instruments series, which features a teenage girl named Clary Fray who discovers she is a Shadowhunter, a human-angel hybrid.
  5. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning – The book follows a woman named MacKayla Lane who discovers she has the ability to see faeries, and falls in love with a man named Jericho Barrons.
  6. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris – The first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, which follows a telepathic waitress named Sookie who falls in love with a vampire named Bill.
  7. The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning – This series follows a woman named MacKayla Lane as she becomes involved with a group of Fae and falls in love with a man named Jericho Barrons.
  8. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward – This series follows a group of vampire warriors and their romantic relationships with various women.
  9. The Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole – This series follows various supernatural beings and their romantic relationships.
  10. The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs – The series follows a shapeshifter named Mercy Thompson and her romantic relationships with werewolves and other supernatural beings.

Maybe I’ll ask AI what the Top Ten Paranormal Novels are (not specifically romance novels), and one of my books, such as SPELLBOUND or RAVEN IN AMBER, might make the list!

Top Ten Mystery Novels

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mysterious woman portrait
Photo by Merili Magi on Pexels.com

Here are ten classic mystery novels that are recognized as some of the best in the genre. How many have you read? Would you consider #5 a classic?

  1. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett – A hard-boiled detective novel featuring Sam Spade and the search for a valuable statue.
  2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of a wealthy American on a train traveling through Europe.
  3. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler – Private detective Philip Marlowe gets caught up in a complex case involving blackmail, murder, and corruption.
  4. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes investigates the legend of a ghostly hound that terrorizes a wealthy family in the English countryside.
  5. In the Woods by Tana French – A murder investigation in a small Irish town uncovers a dark past and personal demons for the lead detective.
  6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – A psychological thriller featuring an unnamed narrator who becomes embroiled in the mysterious past of her new husband’s first wife.
  7. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco – A historical mystery set in a medieval monastery, featuring a Franciscan friar investigating a series of murders.
  8. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – A thriller that follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he uncovers a conspiracy involving the Catholic Church and the search for the Holy Grail.
  9. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle – A collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. John Watson.
  10. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – Ten strangers are lured to a remote island where they are systematically killed off one by one, in this classic locked-room mystery.

Being a writer myself, I sometimes read reviews of older novels to see what modern readers think of them. Rebecca, one of my favorites, is not standing up well with readers these days. Modern readers often overlay their modern day thinking on less modern characters and criticize them for their behavior—which isn’t really fair to the author or the character. But what can you do? I still think du Maurier was brilliant.

Agatha Christie’s type of mystery, however, never goes out of style. Case in point, Onion, the series starring Daniel Craig.

New Mystery/Sister Fiction!

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Cover of novel Not My Sister by P.K. Simpson.

It’s a family drama fraught with suspense. It’s a Christmas book. It’s got a twist you won’t see coming…

Be the first to read my latest novel, coming January 13, 2023! You can preorder at Amazon. Or you can read it now at Smashwords!

Her sister is dead…isn’t she?

When struggling actress Jessica French thinks she sees her dead sister Olivia on Dutch television posing as the up-and-coming Masked Artist, she flies to Amsterdam to confirm the artist’s identity. But the reclusive artist refuses to be unmasked by anyone, including a violent ex-boyfriend.

What begins as a simple reconnaissance mission for a heartbroken, dysfunctional American family turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Can Jessica get to the artist before the stalker? And if the artist really is Olivia, why did she put her family through two years of hell? To get answers, Jessica must risk everything—including her life.

PREORDER READ NOW!

Interview: How The Londo Chronicles was Born and Other Writing Insanity

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When a writer meets another writer for the first time (or any time), boy, can they ever go down a rabbit hole…

That’s what happened in this interview. What started out as Q&A about APOTHECARY, the first book in The Londo Chronicles, morphed into a discussion about why writers do what they do and the perils and joys of the writing life.

This video is long. I won’t lie. And as the sun sinks in the west, I gradually lose my eyebrows as well as the thread, LOL! Enjoy.

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