Missing Artifacts and Cursed Relics

If you like Christmas in July, you might like Chanukah in June! Look for DREIDELS AND DEAD ENDS, being released on June 23. This early release date allows you time to add this book to your summer reading list and to buy extra print copies for holiday gifts.

Everyone wants to know where a writer gets her ideas. I’d wanted to do more mysteries focused on the various national holidays. I had already published stories set at Easter (Easter Hair Hunt), July 4th (Star Tangled Murder), and Halloween (Haunted Hair Nights). It would be nice to focus on the December holidays next.

Stymied for inspiration, I asked my friend Chatty (aka ChatGPT) for help. “Give me some ideas for holiday novellas centered around my Bad Hair Day Mysteries,” I wrote. Chatty complied with a whole list of holidays and story ideas. Some might work; others were either too far out, or close to stories I’d already done. Here’s the one for Hanukkah:

“Marla Vail stumbles into a web of deception when a priceless diamond heirloom hairbrush, once owned by a renowned historical figure and displayed in a prestigious museum, goes missing. The hairbrush was believed to have mystical properties that brought prosperity to its owners, and its theft shocks the entire town.”

I liked the idea of a diamond-studded hairbrush being stolen from the local history museum, but the rest of the story took a different direction in my mind. Instead of a renowned historical figure who’d owned the hairbrush, I changed it to the CEO of a Florida sugar conglomerate. The heirloom belonged to his family and comes with an alleged curse.

A gala opening for the new exhibit is planned, but the keynote speaker cancels last-minute, leaving Becky Forest, the museum curator, stuck with finding a last-minute replacement. Naturally, she asks her friend, salon owner Marla Vail, to pitch in. Marla has enough on her plate between getting ready for the holidays, taking care of her husband and toddler son, and preparing to welcome her next child. But she can’t refuse a friend in need.

On the night of the gala, she’s just finishing her speech when disaster ensues. A security guard is injured, and the priceless heirloom is stolen. Rumors of a curse arise, and soon bad luck is sweeping through the town. Marla hunts for the missing relic in the midst of shopping for holiday gifts and taking care of her pets and family.

Among the suspects are museum staff members, guests from the gala, and a mysterious collector of mystical artifacts. Is the curse real or merely a means to gain publicity? And does the thief plan to sell the diamonds, or was there another reason for the theft? As the eight nights of Hanukkah count down, Marla realizes she might need a holiday miracle to reveal the culprit and save the museum.

From the germ of an idea launched by ChatGPT to the finished book, this illustrates how a single seed can grow into a full-blown flower even though the wind’s direction might change along the way.

Purchase Links:

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/DreidelsandDeadEnds
Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GWQMWF7Y
Amazon Print: https://www.amazon.com/Dreidels-Dead-Ends-Nancy-Cohen/dp/1952886392/
Apple: http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6762002485
BN Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreidels-and-dead-ends-nancy-j-cohen/1149880713?ean=2940184997292
BN Print: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreidels-and-dead-ends-nancy-j-cohen/1149880713?ean=9781952886393
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=tKDPEQAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dreidels-and-dead-ends
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/2008414
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/dreidels-and-dead-ends-the-bad-hair-day-mysteries-19-nancy-j-cohen/09df551e05a771a0?ean=9781952886409
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250876619-dreidels-and-dead-ends
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/dreidels-and-dead-ends-bad-hair-day-mysteries-book-19-by-nancy-j-cohen

Meet the Author

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day mystery series and the Keri Armstrong cozy mysteries. Her titles have won numerous awards including her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook. Active in the writing community, Nancy is a past president of Mystery Writers of America Florida Chapter. When not busy writing, she enjoys reading, fine dining, cruising, and visiting Disney World.

Where You Can Find Nancy