© 2019 Lois Winston
Definitely Dead
An Empty Nest Mystery, Book 1
"Definitely Dead, the first in award-winning author Lois Winston’s Empty Nest series, is a real hoot with likeable characters and imaginative plotting that’s sure to resonate with people of a certain age." – Suspense Magazine
When her career is outsourced to Asia, fledgling romance author and empty-nester Gracie Elliott wants a job that will allow her time to write. So she opens Relatively Speaking, becoming a wing woman to the senior set. Since her clients need several hours each morning to find their teeth, lube their creaky joints, and deal with lower GI necessities, and they always turn in after the early bird specials, she has plenty of time to pen her future bestsellers.
Gracie deliberately avoids mentioning her new business venture to husband Blake until after she signs her first client. Blake joins the company as a not-so-silent partner, tagging along to make sure Gracie doesn’t cause a septuagenarian uprising. When Client #13 is found murdered in the parking lot behind the Moose Lodge, Gracie knows, no matter how much Blake protests otherwise, she can’t wait around for the police to find the killer if she wants to save her livelihood.
Literally Dead
An Empty Nest Mystery, Book 2
“Literally Dead is a well-crafted mystery that will delight and entertain cozy fans, as well as give a backstage look at what can happen at a high-powered publishing conference. ” – Suspense Magazine
Budding romance writer Gracie Elliott has spent the past year crafting her first novel. Her hard work and determination pay off when her manuscript wins the Cream of the Crop award, a contest for unpublished writers, sponsored by the Society of American Romance Authors. First place entitles her to attend the organization’s annual conference.
With husband Blake in tow, a starry-eyed Gracie experiences the ultimate fan-girl moment upon entering the hotel. Her favorite authors are everywhere. However, within minutes she learns Lovinia Darling, the Queen of Romance, is hardly the embodiment of the sweet heroines she creates. Gracie realizes she’s stepped into a romance vipers’ den of backstabbing, deceit, and plagiarism, but she finds a friend and mentor in bestselling author Paisley Prentiss.
Hours later, when Gracie discovers Lovinia’s body in the hotel stairwell, a victim of an apparent fall, she's is not convinced the death was an accident. Too many authors had reason to want Lovinia dead. Ignoring Blake’s advice to “let the police handle it,” Gracie and Paisley begins investigating. Romance has never been so deadly.