Autumn is Here

This is my favorite season of the year.  It's a time when I long for fall leaves in Lake Placid, white, steepled churches in Vermont, and covered bridges in New England. So many images come to mind: pumpkin people on the porches of old-fashioned general stores, maple syrup, caramel apples on a stick, cinnamon scented candles from Bath and Body Works, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and cozying up to the fire with a good book.

When it comes to autumn, this California girl lives on the wrong coast.  The temperatures here are still in the 80s and some days, even the 90s.  It's our season of fires and Santa Ana winds.  I'll never forget the time my husband and I planned a Halloween party that was supposed to take place in our back yard, but had to be moved indoors because ashes from a nearby fire were raining down on us and our decorations.  Forget about small paper lanterns lining the patio; we didn't want to burn our house down.

Autumn also reminds me of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" which my husband and I have religiously listened to for over thirty years. The Fall is the time when the sun is getting low enough for us to light our candles and turn on our space heater that looks like an old-fashioned coal fireplace.  We lose ourselves in the stories that Garrison Keillor's low, mesmerizing voice weaves.  I love his world of bachelor farmers, Pastor Liz, Dorothy's caramel rolls, The Sidetrack Tap, and the Chatterbox Cafe.  Maybe there really are some places like the Chatterbox Café? Wouldn’t it be fun to go find out?

So after all the years of talking about this town where "the women and strong, the men are good looking, and the children are always above-average," my husband and I finally went to Minnesota on a pilgrimage to find the real Lake Wobegon.  This book is the result. I hope you will enjoy this story about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking her to Minnesota on just such a quest. Her father  wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while there, but she has other plans when a "bachelor farmer" (who was last seen at the "Chatterbox Cafe") goes missing and they join the search party. Part travelogue, this book also contains pictures.  It's only $1.99 and available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords, and Scribd.  Also available in paperback at Amazon.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer:

A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Books about Great Dads

I was blessed with a wonderful Dad and several of my books are about the special relationship between fathers and daughters, especially those in my Nancy Keene Mysteries. Teenage sleuth Nancy has a father who is every girl's dream of an ideal Dad.  He gives her a tremendous amount of freedom: he is often away on business trips, which leaves her with plenty of unsupervised time to investigate her cases.  It seems like all she has to do all day is to drive around in her vintage blue roadster and solve mysteries.  She has no pestering Mom telling her to clean up her room.    Because her father is a successful attorney, he has plenty of money to treat Nancy and her friends to wonderful vacations, including ones to New Orleans and London.  She can wrap him around her little finger, and almost always gets her way.  How lucky can a girl be?!

In the first Nancy Keene Mystery I wrote, "The Buried Treasure on Route 66", her Dad is having trouble accepting the fact that his precious Nancy has just turned 18, has a boyfriend, and is going away to college.  How will he handle the empty nest?  And what lessons will he learn when he joins Nancy and her boyfriend on a road trip?  This book is rated PG and only costs $1.99.

I love New Orleans and have been there many times, so I have Nancy going there on vacation with her Dad and her friends. When a docent at Oak Alley Plantation is found dead, Nancy will not rest until she figures out whodunit. She has to leave New Orleans before the murder is solved, but Nancy twists her over-indulgent Dad around her little finger and he allows her to return to the Crescent City to stay with her fun and funky Aunt Audrey in "The Ghost in the Plantation".  This book is rated PG and costs $2.99.

My most recent Nancy Keene Mystery finds Nancy, her Dad, and her girlfriend going to London. Nancy has her first serious crush at 16 when she sees that Daniel Craig is staying at the same hotel as they are.  She's a big fan of James Bond and even goes to Harrods to try a find an outfit like one of the Bond Girls to impress him.  When someone steals his BAFTA award out of his hotel room, Nancy is hot on the trail trying to figure out who stole it and why.  This book is called "The Stolen Mask" and is rated PG and costs only $1.99.

Nancy and her Dad are big fans of "A Prairie Home Companion" and she talks him into going on a pilgrimage with her in search of the towns that inspired Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon.  Her Dad wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while they are in Minnesota, but Nancy has other plans when a bachelor farmer goes missing.  This book is called, "The Missing Bachelor Farmer" and it is rated G.  It only costs $1.99.

All of these eBooks are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.  Three of them are also available in paperback at Amazon.com.

A Prairie Home Companion

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

My husband and I have been listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" since the mid-1980s. What did you think of last night's show?  I am going to miss Garrison Keillor when he resigns from the radio show in the summer.  I'll miss Pastor Liz, the bachelor farmers, Ruth Harrison: Reference Librarian, and the skits for the Professional Organization of English Majors.  A few years ago, my husband and I made a pilgrimage to "Lake Wobegon" in search of the fictional world that Garrison Keillor created.  It was a great trip, as we traced his steps.  We had read that he owns "Common Good Books" in St. Paul, so we thought, let's just stop in the store and "soak up the vibe."  As we were pulling into the parking lot, I saw a tall, elderly man walking towards his car with a couple of books tucked under his arm.  I said to my husband, "Oh, my God!  That's Garrison Keillor!"  My husband called out, "Mr. Keillor."  Garrison kindly approached our car and shook my husband's hand.  We had a little conversation, too.  What a dream come true to meet our generation's Mark Twain.

I wrote about the whole experience in my book, "The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery."  It's about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking them on a pilgrimage to Lake Wobegon and they join the search party when a bachelor farmer goes missing.  It is available for $1.99 at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.  To purchase, please click on one of the links below:

Buy at Amazon

Buy at iTunes

Buy at Barnes and Noble

Buy at Google Play

Buy at Kobo Books

Buy at Smashwords

A Prairie Home Companion

Have you heard that Garrison Keillor is retiring this year from his popular radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion?"  My husband and I have been faithful listeners every Saturday night for over 30 years.  The first time I ever heard it was on a Saturday night when my husband and I were bathing in the afterglow and he turned on the radio before we got up and out of bed.  Garrison's monologue came on and we've been groupies ever since.  We've seen live broadcasts of the show in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.  For years, we'd talked about making a pilgrimage to Minnesota in search of the towns and locales that inspired Garrison's fictional world of Lake Wobegon.  We wanted to see the restaurants that spawned The Chatterbox Cafe and The Sidetrack Tap, and the Catholic Church that Garrison dubbed "Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility."  We finally made the trip a few years ago and I wrote this novel/travelogue about our pilgrimage.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

only $1.99

My book is about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking her to Minnesota on a quest to see the towns that Garrison had in mind when he created Lake Wobegon. Her father wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while there, but she has other plans after a "bachelor farmer" (who was last seen at the "Chatterbox Cafe") goes missing and they join the search party. 

My book only costs $1.99 and contains pictures from the my trip to "Lake Wobegon".  It's available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Smashwords and Scribd.

First Day of Autumn!

Happy First Day of Autumn.  This is my favorite season of the year.  It's a time when I long for fall leaves in Lake Placid, white, steepled churches in Vermont, and covered bridges in New England. So many images come to mind: pumpkin people on the porches of old-fashioned general stores, maple syrup, caramel apples on a stick, cinnamon scented candles from Bath and Body Works, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and cozying up to the fire with a good book.

When it comes to autumn, this California girl lives on the wrong coast.  The temperatures here are still in the 80s and some days, even the 90s.  It's our season of fires and Santa Ana winds.  I'll never forget the time my husband and I planned a Halloween party that was supposed to take place in our back yard, but had to be moved indoors because ashes from a nearby fire were raining down on us and our decorations.  Forget about small paper lanterns lining the patio; we didn't want to burn our house down.

Autumn also reminds me of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" which my husband and I have religiously listened to for over thirty years. The Fall is the time when the sun is getting low enough for us to light our candles and turn on our space heater that looks like an old-fashioned coal fireplace.  We lose ourselves in the stories that Garrison Keillor's low, mesmerizing voice weaves.  I love his world of bachelor farmers, Pastor Liz, Dorothy's caramel rolls, The Sidetrack Tap, and the Chatterbox Cafe.  Maybe there really are some places like the Chatterbox Café? Wouldn’t it be fun to go find out?

So after all the years of talking about this town where "the women and strong, the men are good looking, and the children are always above-average," my husband and I finally went to Minnesota on a pilgrimage to find the real Lake Wobegon.  This book is the result. I hope you will enjoy this story about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking her to Minnesota on just such a quest. Her father  wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while there, but she has other plans when a "bachelor farmer" (who was last seen at the "Chatterbox Cafe") goes missing and they join the search party. Part travelogue, this book also contains pictures.  It's only $1.99 and available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords, and Scribd.  Also available in paperback at Amazon.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer:

A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Travel Tips

Summer is just around the corner and it's time to start thinking about where to go on vacation.  I wrote a free travelogue called "Planning A Vacation?  Why not Chicago?" that is available at iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

 
I also wrote "England in the Footsteps of Its Literary Giants," about my pilgrimage to the birthplaces and environs of some of my favorite British authors.  It is only 99 cents and is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Many of my novels take place in my favorite travel destinations, so you may also like: Honeymoon in Savannah, Honeymoon in New Orleans, The Ghost in the Plantation, The Buried Treasure on Route 66, The Stolen Mask (takes place in London), and The Missing Bachelor Farmer (takes place in Lake Wobegon).  They are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd, and Oyster.

Happy traveling and I hope my books inspire you to go to many of my favorite places.

85th Anniversary of the Nancy Drew Mysteries

It's hard to imagine, but it's the 85th Anniversary of the first Nancy Drew Mystery.

I was inspired to write my own stories about a teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene. These stories are PG-rated and geered towards women baby-boomers like myself, who grew up reading and loving the series. My Nancy is precocious, filled with esoteric knowledge, kind of nerdy, and has a sense of humor.  She has a close relationship with her father, who is often conveniently away on a business trip, leaving her free to search for clues.  She loves to travel (and so do I) so the adventures I've written take place in some of my favorite vacation destinations. 

Here are my Nancy Keene stories; all are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and Smashwords:

The Buried Treasure on Route 66

(Takes place in Arizona & New Mexico)

Ghost in the Plantation 

(Takes Place in New Orleans & Louisiana)

The Stolen Mask

(Takes place in London)

The Missing Bachelor Farmer

(Takes Place in Lake Wobegon)

Garrison Keillor and News From Lake Wobegon

I wonder when Garrison Keillor will retire from the show he created, A Prairie Home Companion? When I discovered that he wasn't on last night's broadcast, and that a Minneapolis storyteller would be a guest instead, I started to think about what it would be like without this great American humorist.  He is my generation's equivalent to Mark Twain.  My husband and I have listened to the A Prairie Home Companion almost every Saturday night since 1986. There were so many times that we would say to each other, "One of these days, we have to go to Minnesota and look up all the places where he's based his fictional town of Lake Wobegon upon."

Two years ago, my husband and I left sunny Southern California for the frozen tundra of the North and went in search of Lake Wobegon.  When we went to the bookstore Garrison Keillor owns in St. Paul, we were amazed when we saw him walking across the parking lot by himself with a couple of books tucked underneath his arm.  We had a little chat with him outside our car window and my husband shook hands with him.  There was a car in back of us, so we had to move along; but my husband and I were amazed that we were lucky enough to have this chance meeting with one of our heros.

On the plane home, I wrote this story about a precocious teenage sleuth named Nancy Keene who travels to Minnesota with her father in search of the real life places mentioned in Keillor's stories. I've included some pictures we took on our pilgrimage.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

By Louise Hathaway 
It's only $1.99 and is available at most online bookstores.

Also available in paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com and Createspace.

Purchase at iTunes
Purchase at Barnes and Noble
Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at Kobo
Purchase at Smashwords
Purchase at Google Play

Travel to England, New Orleans, Savannah, and on Route 66 with our books

If you are anything like my cowriter and I, now is the time of year when we think about where we want to go on our next trip.  We've been lucky enough to travel and see some amazing places in Europe and America. Many of our books take place in some of our favorite vacation destinations.

Here are our books that are part-travelogues.  They are all available at your favorite online bookstores such as Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Smashwords, and Kobo:

Have you ever wanted to go to England and trace the footsteps of its literary giants?  Then, you might want to take along this ebook (includes pictures) which is available for just 99 cents:

England in the Footsteps of its Literary Giants

Another book we've written that takes place in England is The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery.  It is about a teenage sleuth, (very similar to Nancy Drew) who goes to England with her father and finds out that James Bond (AKA Daniel Craig) is staying at the same hotel they are.  When his acting award is stolen from his room, Nancy is hot on the trail to help find it.

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook available for $1.99

My husband and I love New Orleans and we have visited there more times than we can count.  We wrote two books that take place in the Crescent City:

The Ghost in the Plantation: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook Available for $2.99

Also in Paperback

Honeymoon in New Orleans

eBook available for $1.99

After we read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, we wanted to make a pilgrimage to Savannah, Georgia to visit all the places mentioned in the best seller. Honeymoon in Savannah: A  Detective Santy Mystery takes you on a guided tour through this city where a famous chef has been murdered! This has turned out to be our most popular book.

Honeymoon in Savannah: A Detective Santy Mystery

eBook available for $2.99

Also available in paperback

Every Saturday night, my husband and I listen to A Prarie Home Companion.  Two years ago, we made a pilgrimage to check out some of the places Garrison Keillor bases his News for Lake Wobegon stories upon.  We even got to meet him!  When we were there, I wrote this book, which includes pictures. Anyone who has listened to Keillor's radio show shouldn't miss this tale of missing bachelor farmer!

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook available for $1.99

Also available in paperback at Amazon.com

Are you still with me, dear reader?  If so, you might like to take a trip on Route 66 with our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene. This time, she finds herself on the Mother Road discovering romance, intrigue and coming to the aide of a little old lady in distress. 

The Buried Treasure on Route 66: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook available for $1.99

Also available in paperback at Amazon.com

Traveling to Lake Wobegon

I wrote this fictional story last year about my trip to Minnesota in search of Lake Wobegon and fall leaves. Now is the time of year when I wish I wasn't from sunny Southern California.  I want sweater weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and rainy days indoors reading a good book.  The opening chapter of my book has teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, preparing for a Halloween party by painting headstone epitaphs in her backyard while ashes from a nearby brush fire are raining down on her. This really happened one year when my husband and I prepared for a party.  This book has Nancy and her father listening to "A Prairie Home Companion", like they do every Saturday night.  My husband and I have been listening to the radio show for thirty years.  On our pilgrimage to Lake Wobegon last year, my husband and I met Garrison Keillor while we were there: he was walking out of a bookstore and I saw him in the parking lot.  He wasn't there doing promotions; he was just buying some books to read during his flight to New Orleans, he told us.  He was very gracious and totally in character.  My husband got to shake his hand.  It was definitely the high point of our trip. I write about all these fun times in this book, which also includes pictures of some of the fictional places upon which Keillor bases his Lake Wobegon stories.

eBook available for 1.99. 

Also available in paperback at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords

Kobo Google

Who loves A Prairie Home Companion?

Just in time for Father's Day, here's a book I wrote about a precocious fifteen-year-old who talks her father into taking her on a pilgrimage to the mythical town of "Lake Wobegon," a city brought to life on the radio every Saturday night by humorist, Garrison Keillor.  My husband and I actually made this pilgrimage ourselves and we've included our photos of the real places that inspired Garrison Keillor's make-believe town.  We even got a chance to meet him when he was coming out of a bookstore!!

This book is told from the point of view of our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene.  In the story, a bachelor farmer from Lake Wobegon goes missing and Nancy and her Dad are hot on the trail.

It's available in both paperback and eBook formats.



Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords

Our books are part fiction/part travelogues.

If you're anything like me, now is the time of year when I start thinking about where I'd like to go on vacation in the upcoming year.  My husband and I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of traveling over the years.  Many of our favorite places show up in our books.  Our favorite U.S. city is New Orleans and we've been there many, many times.  Our mystery, "The Ghost in the Plantation" takes place there and we've tried incorporating as many of the locales of the Crescent City and Louisiana as possible.
We love the lore of Route 66, and after we went to Disney's California Adventure and saw the movie "Cars", we decided to write a story about the famous highway in "The Buried Treasure on Route 66".  We've just come back from a pilgrimage to Minnesota where we searched for the fictional Lake Wobegon, and wrote a book called "The Missing Bachelor Farmer".  Last, but not least, our book "England in the Footsteps of Literary Giants" is pure travelogue, showing pictures and descriptions of the hometowns of our favorite British writers.  Check out our books at your favorite bookstores and we'll take you on a wonderful journey.