Advance reviews of Paula LaRocque's mystery, Chalk Line

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 2, 2011 --

"My own career, business, and livelihood ---like Paula LaRocque's---have to do with the language and using it with expertise. So I was curious when I heard she had written a novel. I've known her for decades, as a friend, a writing coach, and author of books about writing. She's one of the funniest people I know...but could she write a good murder mystery, one that would keep me interested, even put me on the edge of my seat? "Boy, could she ever! Chalk Line's cast members are not your typical murder mystery characters (though a couple are breathtakingly scary). They're delightfully quirky and complex, and thier vivid dialogue and Paula's deft descriptions kept the "movie" running in my imagination. The short, tight chapters flit from scene to scene, sweeping readers around the book's hairpin plot turns. "For most of her career, Paula has mentored writers on how to write well. With Chalk Line, her debut novel, she shows that she knows exactly what she's talking about." --Jenny Meadows, Austin, Texas, MyCopyEditor.com

"Make way for big new talent in mystery fiction. Paula LaRocque writes like a dream, and her story's twists and turns will keep you up at night, turning pages. When Ben Gallagher is on the case, readers are in for a great treat." --Doug J. Swanson, author of the Jack Flippo mystery series and of an upcoming biography of Texas-born casino owner and mobster Benny Binion

"Chalk Line is a smart, snappy, knot-tight novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat and of Paula LaRocque's limber imagination. Nietzsche-quoting detectives, Texas-sized oddballs, delicious family secrets, the hot trail of a killer (and an icy cold one from crimes long ago) - all of these are spun into a chilling (and comical) yarn of murder and mayhem. Chalk Line is guarenteed to startle, to entertain, and to challenge your beliefs about the true nature of justice." --Stuart Wilk, producer of the award-winning "Yank!" and former managing editor of The Dallas Morning News

"Chalk Line is at once a spellbinding mystery and a serious work of fiction--one that plumbs the meaning of family and explores the wavering line between justice and the law. A stunning debut from a writer who is going places." --Bruce DeSilva, Edgar Award-winning author of Rogue Island

About the Author

Paula LaRocque is the author of The Book on Writing; Championship Writing; and On Words. She has served as a writing consultant for the Associated Press and is a columnist for the Society of Professional Journalists' Quill magazine. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, DFW Writers Workshop, and Houston Writers Guild. She lives in Arlington, Texas.

Bruce DeSilva     Doug J. Swanson     fiction     Marion Street Press     mystery     novel     Paula Larocque     Stuart Wilk