The Swamp Whisperer – Sidra Smart Mystery #4

The Swamp Whisperer
(Sidra Smart Mystery #4)
by Sylvia Dickey Smith

ABOUT THE BOOK
In this latest Sidra Smart mystery, Sid takes a bumpy road trip with her Aunt Annie. In the meantime, Boo Murphy – a cranky old swamp-rat who prefers to spend time in her pirogue, hunting and fishing, to spending time with people – is pulled into a strange world when she discovers a deserted brush-hut deep in the bayou. The discovery leads Boo deeper and deeper into a clandestine effort to resurrect a cultural site for the Atakapa-Ishak natives. But are the leaders legit, or do they have other self-serving passions?

In The Swamp Whisperer, Boo has to rely on her wits and swamp wisdom, as she and her cousin Sasha are pulled into an maelstrom of backwater mayhem. The story takes place in the bayou borderlands where Texas and Louisiana meet, a region filled with colorful characters, good food, and dark secrets.

“If you’ve never read a Sylvia Dickey Smith novel before . . . Her love of Southeast Texas comes through in her descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of the swamp. Crammed with plot twists, lush atmosphere, and memorable characters, Smith’s talent shines in this rollicking mystery. We don’t get many protagonists like Boo in crime fiction . . . but we should!” – Chick Lit Café

Order The Swamp Whisperer from Amazon (softcover)
Order The Swamp Whisperer from Amazon (Kindle eBook)

Order The Swamp Whisperer from Barnes & Noble online (softcover)
Order The Swamp Whisperer from Barnes & Noble online (Nook eBook)

Crispin Books (August 2012)
228 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″
Mystery / Thriller / Women Detectives / Regional Southwest (Texas and Louisiana)
Softcover • $16.95 • ISBN 978-1-883953-49-2
eBook • $6.99 • ISBN 978-1-883953-50-8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sylvia Dickey Smith is the author of the Sidra Smart mystery series and an award-winning historical novel, A War of Her Own, set on the homefront in World War II in Orange, Texas. She lives in Georgetown, Texas.

Dead Wreckoning – Sidra Smart Mystery #3

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Dead Wreckoning
(Sidra Smart Mystery #3)
by Sylvia Dickey Smith

ABOUT THE BOOK
Sidra Smart’s search for an elusive pirate schooner stirs up a bayou bonanza of treasure hunters, smugglers, and the spirits of the infamous Jean Lafitte and his pirate queen, Mary Anne Radcliff.

New P.I. Sid Smart, ex-preacher’s wife, is back for another puzzling case, as she tackles the strange tale of Boo Murphy, who has just been accused of murder. When Boo tells a tale of stumbling on the Hotspur, Lafitte’s privateering schooner, half-buried in a Texas swamp, most everyone is convinced she’s not telling the whole truth.

As Sidra searches for both the schooner and evidence to clear her client, she begins to suspect that her trusted mentor and friend George Léger is involved in something fishy as well.

What would she do without the help of companions Aunt Annie and Slider, her faithful mongrel pooch, as the dangerous investigation takes Sidra from the small town of Orange, Texas, out into the nearby bayous? Interwoven families and feuding neighbors muddy the clues, swirling from past to present, as elusive as a spectral schooner.

THEMES
Regional Mystery Series • Southwest (Texas and Louisiana) • Bayou Country • Women Detectives

Click here to order Dead Wreckoning from Amazon.

Click here to order Dead Wreckoning from Barnes & Noble online.

Crispin Books (July 2012)
Mystery / Thriller / Regional Southwest
$16.95 • ISBN 978-1-883953-47-8
248 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sylvia Dickey Smith is the author of the Sidra Smart mystery series and an award-winning World War II homefront novel, A War of Her Own.

She lives in Georgetown, Texas.

Deadly Sins, Deadly Secrets – Sidra Smart Mystery #2

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Deadly Sins, Deadly Secrets
(Sidra Smart Mystery #2)
by Sylvia Dickey Smith

ABOUT THE BOOK
Rookie P.I. Sidra Smart thinks she knows where she’s headed.

But when Sid’s second case requires that she clear the name of a dead man, she finds herself confounded by clues that lead no-where.

She will have to face a baffling series of crimes, a burned-out office, the disappearance of a local preacher’s wife, and the recurring suspicion that answers lurk in the alligator-infested bayous and murky swamps of the Texas/Louisiana border region.

To boot, Sid moves into a ghost-active house and discovers that the past, with tales going back to the Civil War and a spectral hotel-keeper’s journal, might hold the key to the lives of those trapped in an unholy web of deception that spans decades.

In this exciting mystery, Sid finds herself crawling through more than one window, fighting off paramours, and generally establishing herself as a feisty, stubborn female P.I. willing to try ‘most any- thing to fight injustice in and around the colorful town of Orange.

“With a little help from a ghostly sidekick, a floppy-eared hound, a meddlesome aunt, and a trusty Cajun-tongued detective, Sidra combs through a lurid web of secrets, lies, and deceit that spans more than half a century.”
– Chick Lit Café

THEMES
Regional Mystery Series • Southwest (Texas and Louisiana) • Bayou Country • Women Detectives

Click here to order Deadly Sins, Deadly Secrets from Amazon.

Click here to order Deadly Sins, Deadly Secrets from Barnes & Noble online.

Crispin Books (April 2012)
Mystery / Thriller / Regional Southwest
$16.95 • ISBN 978-1-883953-46-1
262 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sylvia Dickey Smith is the author of the Sidra Smart mystery series and an award-winning World War II homefront novel, A War of Her Own.

She lives in Georgetown, Texas.

Shadow Island – A Spooky Tale of Lake Superior

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Shadow Island (eBook)
(A Spooky Tale of Lake Superior)
by Raymond Bial

ABOUT THE BOOK
Welcome to the humorous adventures of three girls who find themselves trapped on Shadow Island . . . a strange tiny island near a sleepy resort . . . somewhere on Lake Superior.

To have any chance to get away, 12-year-old Amanda, her kid sister Sally, and her best friend Roxanne will have to explore the mysterious and long-abandoned Stardust Hotel.

But the old Victorian building is not quite as deserted as everyone thought!

To escape the spooky island, the girls will need to unravel a tangle of plots, old and new, that have their grip on the haunted hotel.

As they dash from one comical encounter to the next, the youngsters are sure to encounter a host of ghosts

In the process, they learn a lot about themselves – and about the importance of friends, family, and doing the right thing.

THEMES
Humorous ghost story, Lake Superior, spooky tale, chapter book, books for middle-grade readers

To order Shadow Island from Amazon (Kindle)
To order from Barnes & Noble (Nook)
To order from Sony
To order from Apple Store

Sneak Preview (Chapter One)

eBook Edition
Crispin Books (Oct. 2011)
Juvenile Fiction / Ghost Stories (Humorous, for ages 8–12 and up)
$6.99 • ISBN 978-1-883953-41-6
approx. 176 pages

Praise for Ray Bial’s Spooky Stories
“A host of ghosts. . . . [My] kids found the stories ‘awesome.’ ” – Illinois Times

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raymond is the acclaimed author of more than 100 books for children and adults, including Amish Home, The Underground Railroad, Where Lincoln Walked, Nauvoo, Ellis Island, and others.

His other popular books of humorous ghost stories for young readers include The Fresh Grave, The Ghost of Honeymoon Creek, and Dripping Blood Cave. He lives in Urbana, Illinois.

More Praise for Ray Bial’s Spooky Stories
“This page-turner [The Ghost of Honeymoon Creek] will keep readers looking forward to the further exploits of these two ghost sleuths.”
– School Library Journal

“Readers will find the suspense satisfying and the main character a sympathetic hero.”
– ALA Booklist

“A worthy purchase.” – School Library Journal (for The Fresh Grave)

“Lively, entertaining, and highly recommended.”
– Midwest Book Review

Dance on His Grave – Sidra Smart Mystery #1

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Dance on His Grave
(Sidra Smart Mystery #1)
by Sylvia Dickey Smith

ABOUT THE BOOK
Sidra Smart, fifty years old, is not your ordinary P.I.

A recently divorced preacher’s wife, Sid knows next to nothing about running the private-detective business she’s inherited from her brother. But her first client bursts in with vague flashbacks of a grisly thirty-year-old murder.

In Dance on His Grave, Sid plunges into a surreal world of passion, deception, and murder.

The story takes place in and around Orange, Texas, in the borderlands where Texas and Louisiana meet, a region filled with colorful characters, good food, and dark secrets.

“. . . a strong start to the Sidra Smart mystery series. . . . This well-written page-turner will keep the reader entertained throughout.”
– Christy Tillery French

“Move over Stephanie Plum and Annie Darling . . . there’s a new sassy sleuth on the scene! With atmospheric descriptions of rural East Texas and character-driven plots, [Smith] has a real knack for crafting a quality thriller.”
– Chick Lit Café

THEMES
Regional Mystery Series • Southwest (Texas and Louisiana) • Bayou Country • Women Detectives

Click here to order Dance on His Grave from Amazon.

Click here to order Dance on His Grave from Barnes & Noble online.

Crispin Books (March 2012)
Mystery / Thriller / Regional Southwest
$16.95 • ISBN 978-1-883953-45-4
252 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sylvia Dickey Smith is the author of the Sidra Smart mystery series and an award-winning World War II homefront novel, A War of Her Own.

She lives in Georgetown, Texas.

Mista – Teaching English at an Alternative Urban High School

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Mista:
A Year of Teaching English
at an Alternative Urban High School
by John J. Kaminski

ABOUT THE BOOK
In this honest and deeply insightful book, teacher John Kaminski tells the story of a year in the life of an inner-city English teacher at an alternative high school.

It is, as one reviewer wrote, “funny, frank, and familiar to anyone who has worked in an urban school . . . and instructive to anyone who hasn’t.”

The book chronicles Kaminski’s experiences teaching in a non-traditional program for students in Jersey City, New Jersey, titled the Twilight Program (dubbed “The Twilight Zone” by many).

It details day-to-day interactions with students, teachers, staff, and parents, and delves into the range of problems and issues that beginning teachers can never adequately prepare for.

While teaching, Kaminski started a series of e-mail messages to friends, relaying his experiences with students and staff. ”It started off to be lighthearted, but I found myself actually in the middle of what I felt was a compelling story,” he said.

As another reader wrote, ”I love the realness of Mista. Kaminski doesn’t just tell what it’s like to teach last-chance students in the inner city, he shows it. . . . What makes Mista different is Mr. K’s voice in the book – the dialogue is laugh-out-loud hilarious as he dishes it right back to the ludicrous and sometimes insanely insolent students. I couldn’t put this book down and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an authentic perspective on teaching in inner city schools.”

THEMES
Multicultural Education • Teaching in the Inner City • Alternative Educational Programs • Daily Life for New Teachers in the Classroom

Click here to order Mista from Amazon.

Click here to order Mista from Barnes & Noble online.

Preview (Chapter One) – link to come

Crispin Books (Dec. 2011)
Education / Essays / Multicultural Classroom
$19.95 • ISBN 978-1-883953-42-3
388 pages

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Kaminski is a native of New Jersey and the author of Mista, a book (originally self-published) about his experiences as an English teacher in an alternative urban high school in Jersey City.

Kaminski began his teaching career in the Bronx, then taught in Jersey City in 2002 and 2003 in the “Twilight Program,” an evening school for students having difficulty with regular classes. He later moved to River Dell High School in Oradell, NJ, and now teaches at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, NJ, a highly ranked school in the state with 97% of graduates going on to college.

New Crispin Books Website in Progress

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Greetings! We’ve got a design revision of our Crispin Books website underway.

All titles & features should be in place by the end of February.

The goal of this revision: more author information and links to bonus material (interviews, book club discussion guide, and extra content). Also, we wanted to offer more direct Buy buttons, linking the titles to the easiest places to buy the books online.

Crispin Books is an indie book publisher based in Milwaukee. We offer an eclectic range of quality genre fiction (mysteries, etc.), professional handbooks, and books for middle-grade readers (in print and eBook editions).

And we have some great new titles in the works for 2013. Stay tuned for more news!