A GOOD READ FOR ANYONE WHO LOVE NOVELS
                                     WHICH BECOME MYSTERIES.
As editor of an internet newspaper, many interesting things come to you via e-mail,
word-of- mouth, and even the US Mail. 

Just before Thanksgiving a package arrived with three books which appeared to be novels of sorts, and all by the same author.   A letter and press kit came along with the books to encourage me to provide a review.  Hopefully more will come because I do take interest in other writers as well as myself.

Intently interested in wanting to know who Louise Gaylord, the author was, I ‘googled’ her and found her pop up on the first hit.  Amazing what SEO can do.

Noting that Cedar Vista has just rolled out as a new imprinteur for the more familiar Little Moose Press of Beverly Hills, California, Louise's books are great additions.

Looking more closely at the author, you may want to understand why such a wonderful lady would write mystery novels.  I learned from first look that a line of work existed for the returning character of Allie Armington, who was penned by Gaylord. You’ll get to know her real name as you read.

Her three offerings for review where the newly published “Julia Fairchild”, “X’s” an  Allie Armington Mystery” and “Anacacho”, similarly an Allie Armington story.   Armington, a sharp and successful Texas attorney gets frequent flyer miles in Gaylord’s novels.

“Anacacho” attracted my eye first because of the cover art and where the story was based. Gaylord’s writing style is fast paced, not wordy, and the constant dialogue has you believing you are seeing a movie instead of reading a book.  Characters are quickly introduced through dialogue and you get the details of their character as you read.

Anacacho, first released in hard cover, won the National Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Mystery/ Suspense.   This should tell you something about any book written by Gaylord.

Anyone who wants something refreshing must pick up a Louise Gaylord novel.

”X’s” takes you to the heart of the east coast, New York City.  Capturing the mood, method of speaking, the smells, the pace and highlights of one of America’s most dynamic city really proves Gaylord’s ability to write in a style other than her earthy western one and take us into a story that could be one of the millions within that naked city.  Being from the east coast, I wanted to look at this story with the critical eye of finding some detail that was incorrect.  I could not. Louise’s use of multiple characters to weave a story is commendable.   Continuity is invaluable with authors as much as it is with film directors.  Gaylord keeps you apprised of each main character as they come in and out of the story.   X’s with it’s cover art direct from Central Park will lure you into the story that truly mixes the rough side with an even rougher side of life in the Big Apple.

“Julia Fairchild” mixes that bustle of New York with the 180° opposite reality of a small New Mexico town.  Again with Gaylord being from Texas, she masterfully mixes worlds and takes you as quickly and smoothly to each as if you flew first class from La Guardia to Albuquerque. 

I don’t want to tell you any details of the stories because you need to discover them for yourself.  I will say this author will gain a more national niche as book sellers buy and distribute these novels.  The cover art alone on all three entices you pick up a copy and start reading.  Very well produced and crafted, these books would make a special gift for anyone whom you know that loves novels, murder mysteries, or just a good read.

There is a picture of Louise that comes with the press kit. It depicts how I first saw and became acquainted with the author and it is how I feel everyone should see Louise Gaylord.    Below is that picture and links to her book’s promotional websites.  Happy and worthwhile reading awaits you with either of these there books.

“Anacahco”  - Cover Art           “Anacahco” – Web Site

                                                 “Julia Fairchild “       X’s

Author Biography  Louise Gaylord

LOUISE GAYLORD is a natural storyteller, whose life, like her mystery stories, has been full of surprises. She discovered her love of storytelling during her days at Saint Mary's Hall, an Episcopal girls' boarding school in San Antonio, Texas. Classmates gathered round as she read her stories and ended up in tears by, "...and they lived happily (or not so happily) ever after." But it was painting, not writing, that her teachers encouraged, so her writing was put on hold.

Louise studied art history and sociology at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and later at The University of Houston where she met and married Ted Gaylord, a promising entrepreneur from Upstate New York.

Though her grandfather was one of the founding members of the Houston Symphony, opera was Louise's real passion. After designing several covers for Opera Cues, the Houston Grand Opera Guild's magazine, she took over the editorship, eventually becoming President of the Guild and later President of Opera Guilds International.

Louise was invited to join the Writers Consortium founded by Guida Jackson and Ida Luttrell. The group includes other published authors: Jackie Pelham, Patsy Ward Burk, Julia Gomez-Rivas, and Karen Stuyck, and has helped shape the writing career of Vanessa Leggett and other new talents.

With the nurturing guidance of the group, Louise's short story repertoire rapidly grew: "It was like a door opened and, once I walked through, it was a new world."

Louise has penned over 30 short stories, some of which have appeared in the Suddenly series. She has written several one act plays and one full-length play, "The Season," which was produced by the Backdoor Theatre in Wichita Falls and later performed in Houston. Anacacho, Louise's first Allie Armington Mystery, won the 2003 National Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Publisher's Marketing Association in Los Angeles.

Louise's three months of service on a Harris County, Texas, grand jury panel sparked the idea for the Allie Armington mystery series and, as they say, the rest is history.
 

ADDENDUM: 
Anacacho, an Allie Armington mystery, won the National Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Publisher’s Marketing Association in Los Angeles and is being published in 2007 by Cedar Vista Books as a trade paperback.

Xs is the second in a series of Allie Armington Mysteries and is also being published in 2007 by Cedar Vista Books as a trade paperback.

Julia Fairchild was a finalist in the Fiction & Literature category of the USA Book News awards and is being published in hardcover by Little Moose Books in 2007.