SoWest: Love Kills AnthologySoWest: Love Kills on September 6, 2021
Genres: Mystery
Format: eBook
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Betrayal. Deception. Greed. Love Gone Wrong. Brothers and sisters. Lovers and liars. Fathers and daughters. Mothers and sons. From the wilds of Arizona’s Rim country to its dusty lowland deserts, you’ll find it all within the pages of So West: Love Kills. Bonds forged and broken. Covenants kept and cast aside. Love nurtured and left to rot. Not everything is as it seems. Not everyone can be trusted. But one thing is for certain—love hurts. Sometimes it even kills!

Contributing authors: Shannon Baker, Mysti Berry, Meredith Blevins, Patricia Bonn, Lauren Buckingham, Susan Budavari, William Butler, Patricia Curren, Meg E. Dobson, Beverly Forsyth, Denise Ganley, Roberta Gibson, Katherine Atwell Herbert, Tom Leveen, Susan Cummins Miller, Charlotte Morganti, Julie Morrison, Claire A. Murray, Kris Neri, Karen Odden, R K Olson, D.R. Ransdell, Kim Rivery, Elena E. Smith. Lead Editor: Maegan Beaumont. Co-Editors: Deborah J Ledford, Susan Budavari, R K Olson, Shannon Baker, Meg Dobson. Cover Designer: Maegan Beaumont.

The Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths have done it again! This anthology of mysteries is coming in hot!

Please give a warn welcome to one of the Sisters in Crime, Denise Ganley. Her contribution is called Double Or Nothing and focuses on sibling detectives. Here to give us a little insight to her story, is Denise Ganley.

Find Denise here:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Amazon 

Sibling relationships are complicated. We love them, sometimes we hate them. They know our secrets, our baggage, how to get under our skin, and will call us out on our shenanigans. But they’re also there when we need an ear, a hug, or backup.

Gwen and Dylan, the main characters in my debut short story, are loosely inspired by those lovable bickering brother detectives, Rick and AJ Simon, from the 80s TV show Simon & Simon. Dialogue is my favorite thing to write, and banter is my favorite thing to read. So, two bantering siblings who are opposites in many ways, but who are ride or die, is totally my jam.

I thought it might be fun to talk about favorite siblings in literature. I’ll share some of mine, and then I hope you’ll share some of yours.

Peter, Paige, and Jason Fox (Foxtrot by Bill Amend) [Comic Strips]

I adore this comic strip, my all time fave. Nerd humor and good-natured sibling/family humor at its finest. Always a guaranteed laugh.

Jane and Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) [Classic, Literary, Romance]

I love watching the two older Miss Bennets deal with their foolish younger sisters. Controversial take: Lydia gets a bad rap. But also, bonus, Darcy and Georgiana are super sweet sibs.

Sookie and Jason Stackhouse (The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris) [Urban Fantasy]

My favorite fangbanger mind-reader and her adorable himbo brother surrounded by vampires, shifters, and fairies. I love vampire stories.

Frank and Joe Hardy (The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon) [YA Mystery]

Rick and AJ Simon were probably conceived of as a grown-up 80s version of the Hardy Boys. As a kid, I read a lot of Hardy Boys Mysteries when I could not get my hands on Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden. And I watched a lot of Simon & Simon because it took another 15+ years for Veronica Mars to show up.

Ada, Bianca, and Catarina von Hasenberg (The Consortium Rebellion Series by Jessie Mihalik) [SciFi Romance]

I love these very different sisters who each have space adventures and fall in love in their own books. They have four interesting brothers too, but Ada, Bianca, and Catarina kick way more butt.

Oh, but I have to have some twins on here, right?

Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield (The Sweet Valley High Series by Francine Pascal) [YA 80s-90s Contemporary]

I lived and breathed these books in middle grade and high school. I knew I was Elizabeth, or maybe Enid (Elizabeth’s best friend), but I really wanted to be Jessica.

Fred And George Weasley (The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling) [Middlegrade/Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy]

Such fun loving, memorable twins that brought in some important humor and heart to

Harry Potter. They unashamedly embraced their creative prankster nature and made a living out of it. Respect.

Cersei and Jaime Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin) [Epic Dark Fantasy]

This one is a little bit of a cheat since I only watched the series and did not pick up the books but how can I not mention these two fascinating incestuous twins? They wreck a lot of havoc in Westeros but are definitely ‘ride or die’.

Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa (Star Wars created by George Lucas, and written by so many others, including The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn) [Space Opera, SciFi]

Probably my favorite set of separated-at-birth twins, although He-Man and She-Ra are tough competition. They originated in a movie, but there is a ton of literature featuring them both. Along with Leia and Han’s no-longer-canon twins, Jacen and Jaina Solo. The force is strong with them all.

Tia and Tony (Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key) [SciFi]

Another cheat. I never read the book. But I loved the Disney movies as a kid and the first one was faithfully adapted from a book. Tia and Tony had all the alien powers I wanted, telepathy and telekinesis. I REALLY wanted these powers!

What about you? Who are your favorite siblings or twins in literature?

My short story, DOUBLE OR NOTHING, is featured in the new anthology, SOWEST: LOVE KILLS.

Gwen and Dylan are fraternal twins, so different they cannot help but give each other shit. They’re still ride or die. Gwen’s trying to return to a calm civilian life, spending her days flipping veggie burgers, while avoiding anything to do with her brother’s new private investigation business. But Dylan’s impulsiveness and ability to attract trouble from a stalker do not bode well for Gwen’s anxiety levels.

Denise Ganley writes crime, the fantastical, and relationships steeped in witty banter. She lives in the Sonoran desert with her high maintenance kitties and her fat tire bike (which she needs to start riding to warrant its purchase.)

Wanna keep in touch? Visit DeniseGanley.com and sign up for her mailing list. She’ll never spam you because she takes her karma seriously.


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