WIN eBook 'Gift Baskets' + Get YOUR Name in My Latest Mystery!

2 x "Gift Baskets" of ALL ebooks

12 x individual prizes of one ebook or paperback

For those who like a little romance with their mystery suspense, I've signed up this week with a great group of authors to give away books in the Romantic/Suspense genre.

To win, all you have to do is sign up at AuthorsXP between November 19-25 and you will automatically be in the running. Just click here and you could be a winner! The giveaway includes my latest mystery: After The Ferry (see more on that below).

I'm looking for killer names!

I'm always on the look out for new and interesting names for my fictional characters and it's not always easy. Writers tend to choose names they're already familiar with, whether they realise it or not. 

I try to shake this up from time to time by glancing through magazines, newspapers and phone books, noting down names I see on telly, and asking my readers to get involved. 

This is where you come in...

Would you like to see your name in print? Would you be interested in loaning me your name—or the name of someone you love (or loathe!)? I'm looking for two names: one will be used for a "goodie" and one for a "baddie".

For the next two weeks I'm auditioning names! If you think your name (or the name of someone else*) is worth using, get in touch. Just sign up for my fortnightly newsletter here and then email me back with the name—first, last or both—and I'll choose the two best to feature in my next Ghostwriter Mystery, the seventh book in the series. Or just pop your name in the comments box below!

The winning names will be announced in an upcoming newsletter but I won't reveal whether the name is being used for a good character or bad—as I don't want to give away the plot!  

The winner will not only get boasting rights, they'll also receive a FREE copy of the book when it comes out. 

After The Ferry 

It's the 1990s, pre-mobile phones, and a young traveller must make a terrifying choice: Will she jump ship with a seductive stranger? Or stay cocooned on the Greek ferry with friends and miss what could be the love of her life?

From the best-selling author comes a cracking, stand-alone romantic suspense with twists and turns that will make you question every decision you ever made, and everyone you ever trusted. 

This is a story of choices, and how one bad decision could end up being the best decision of your life.

Here's how to get your copy


Does that sound intriguing? There's two ways to grab your copy. Over the next week, sign up to the giveaway, above, and see if you can score yourself a FREE ecopy or, if you can't wait, just download your $3.99 eBook at Amazon now.

Thanks, and happy (romantic) reading, everyone.

xo Christina

Funny ha-ahhh!! Win 12+ Humorous Mysteries (including mine)

Love a good laugh while immersed in a mystery? Here's another chance to win FREE eBooks & paperbacks! 

I don't know about you, but I find some mystery novels a little, er, droll. I mean, sure, tension has to be built, somebody's gotta die, but that doesn't mean we can't have a bit of fun along the way, right? (It IS fiction, after all!) That's why I always try to inject some humour in my crime novels, especially my Ghostwriter Mysteries which feature a cast of cheeky, wise-cracking characters who love a baffling whodunnit.

It's also why I've teamed up with the lovely Amy at AuthorsXP to give you all another chance to win eBooks and bonus paperbacks, including my second Ghostwriter, A Plot to Die For, which, like all the books in the giveaway, includes a good, healthy dose of humour.

Want to tickle your funny bone? Read on…

Win up to 12+ Humor eBooks + Bonus Paperbacks!

(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks!
(12+) Winners of Individual eBooks (randomly selected titles)

So, how do you win?

No, you don't have to send in your funniest jokes. All you have to do is click on the image above or at AuthorsXP.com and then follow the prompts. For more on A Plot to Die For and my latest mystery After the Ferry, read on, otherwise good luck and happy (funny!) reading, everyone.

xo Christina

Pack your Gucci sunglasses for another fun whodunnit…

When Roxy accepts the exotic ghostwriting gig she expects little more than a good story and a touch of sunstroke. What she gets is her hotelier client buried in the sand, her head protruding ghoulishly for the crabs to devour, and an ensemble cast of cocktail-sipping characters who are all hiding something behind their Gucci sunglasses. In this modern homage to a Christie classic, Roxy must solve the mystery of her client's murder while stuck on an island with the prime suspects. Along the way, the amateur sleuth encounters machete-wielding locals, shifty fellow guests, and an island paradise where the ghosts of past mistakes still linger behind every coconut.  With a cracking pace and plenty of humour, this baffling mystery will have you scratching your head until the final, Hercule Poirot-style conclusion. If the 'Big Reveal' doesn't leave you gasping into your gin and tonic, it just might make you reconsider your next island holiday. Funnier and more contemporary than your typical 'cozy', A PLOT TO DIE FOR is the second, stand-alone mystery for ghostwriter Roxy Parker. WIN IT HERE

One woman, two parallel lives, a murderer in waiting…

It's the 1990s, pre-mobile phones, and a young backpacker must make an exhilarating, terrifying choice—will she jump ship with an intriguing stranger? Or stay cocooned on the ferry with her friends and miss what could be the greatest love of her life? One choice leads to true love. One choice leads to murder. Which way does she go? In this fast-paced, psychological thriller, we follow Millie Malone across two parallel lives. In one life she remains onboard with her mates—two Sydney lads with shaky motives, and an old school friend with a crush of her own—and in the other she jumps. One life sees Millie married in the country, the other sees her married to her career, but both 'Millies' are harbouring a secret that could blow their worlds apart. THIRTEEN YEARS AFTER THE FERRY… and Millie's two lives are colliding. Both women have vanished from their respective worlds—one is back in Greece, facing her demons; the other has been murdered. But which one is which? From the best-selling author comes a cracking, stand-alone romantic suspense. BUY IT HERE

Ghosts, True Love & the KGB—Your Best Travel Stories

To celebrate my new travel mystery After the Ferry, I asked you to share your own gripping travel stories. Here are the four best entries who've just won a copy of the book!

 Turkish Delight by JLV

"At 42, recently divorced, I met and fell in love with a man from Turkey. He went back to Turkey without saying goodbye. Having never left the USA, I bought a one way ticket to Istanbul, applied for a short-term teaching job, said goodbye to my family and left. I did not tell my lover my plans. After doing my teaching gig, which was a wonderful experience, I tracked down my lover and, two weeks later, we were married. We have been married 10 years now. I was so scared not knowing what to expect in a foreign country and not knowing my lover's feelings. I have never regretted my decision."

 Spy Kids by Mike B.

Three friends and I were, unbeknownst to our parents, traveling through Germany and Austria—in 1967, at the height of the Cold War. We were 16 and 17 years old—riding rented Vespa scooters during the day and camping in remote areas at night. On the 4th night, we were arrested (by non-German-speaking military men; I couldn't understand them). The charge was 'suspicion of espionage.' We found out soon that we had ventured into Communist controlled Czechoslovakia at an unmarked rural border crossing. We were in the custody of the Soviet KGB. . . "

A Near Miss by Nancy Marte

"I travelled to Jamaica by myself after my friend cancelled at the last minute. Met a guy that worked at the resort I was staying at and he invited me to a party with some of his friends. I had the funny weird stomach butterfly feeling so I told him yes as I did not want him to be suspicious of me, then changed rooms at the resort and stayed away from the area he was working. This was in the 1980s. Never regretted this decision." 

Spirited Away by Sammi K

"Went on a Ghost tour on the QEII Long Beach, California with my daughter and granddaughter. When we got to the swimming pool area, they turned off the lights and boy was it really dark.  While we listened to the story, something grabbed me but I couldn't see what. When the lights came back on I didn't see anything. I left the area rather quickly and won't be going back."

Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in their travel stories. I loved hearing your tales of shady travellers, feisty friends, unexpected soul mates and seriously close shaves. I'm sorry I can't give you ALL a lovely prize, but I have chosen FOUR winners instead of three, as promised. So, it's a big CONGRATULATIONS to the subscribers, above, whose stories all captured my imagination. 

You have all just won yourselves a FREE copy of my latest eBook AFTER THE FERRY. I'll be in touch soon with details on how to claim your prize.

Everyone else can grab their own copy by clicking here.

Happy reading, everybody!

xo Christina

How I Went From Christie to Creepy + Win up to 25 eBooks

Okay, I might stand out like a sore thumb, right (pick my book, anyone?) but when it comes to mystery writing, it turns out I fit right into a whole new category — the paranormal mystery genre. Who knew?

Have you ever read a paranormal mystery? I stumbled into the genre by accident, and am so glad I did!

It was a warm and sunny day, two years ago (well, I’m guessing it was warm and sunny; this is Australia, folks, it’s almost always warm and sunny). I was sitting at my desk and conjuring up a new crime novel, and I wanted it to be different to anything I’d done before. I kept thinking: what do I love best about murder mysteries? It’s not the murder, not really. I’m not a macabre kind of person (as we’ve discussed before). And it’s certainly not the sinister build up to the murder. Sometimes, while reading, I find myself thinking, “Come on, just stick the bloody knife in and let’s get on with it!”

No, it’s all about the CLUES.

I love ’em. Each and every one of them. And I especially love when they’re camouflaged with stinky red herrings—the kind that send you barrelling down the wrong alleyway and lead you further away from the truth.

So why not write a story with the murder already over and done with, and the victim presenting the clues like a narrator from above? Seemed like such a fun, fabulous way to write a book. So I did it.

The first, Do Not Go Gentle, was such a lark, I wrote a second one: my very latest: Do Not Go Alone, which brings us here, folks.

Today, I’m proud to announce that I’ve teamed up with 25 other paranormal authors—authors who’ve been writing this genre for years—to offer you the chance to winup to 25+ paranormal mystery eBooks AND gain access to free and 99c bookswhile you’re at it!

Just click on the image above, or here, and explore a new genre with me. It might be a little spookier than you’re used to, but gee it’s a lot of fun.

Happy (creepy) reading everyone!

xo Christina

DO NOT GO ALONE: A POSTHUMOUS MYSTERY 2

Now on sale for just 99c!

“There’s a bullet in my head and it’s really messing with my hairstyle…” So begins the second in the new Posthumous Mystery series. This time the victim is 27-year-old party girl Maisie who really shouldn’t be dead. Her party’s still pumping she’s missing all the fun. As she hovers overhead watching her loved ones splash about, Maisie begins to wonder: who hated her just enough to slaughter her in the middle of her own soiree then return to the pool as if nothing has happened? Can you help uncover a killer before the creepy dead people convince Maisie to cross?

It's Launch Day And 3 Subscribers Get My Book For Free (woohoo)

"There's a bullet in my head and it's really messing with my hairstyle…" 

So begins the second in my Posthumous Mystery series. This time the victim is 20-something party girl Maisie May who really shouldn't be dead. There's a pool party going on and she's missing all the fun.

As Maisie hovers overhead watching her loved ones splash about, she begins to wonder: who hated her just enough to shoot her then return to the pool as if nothing has happened?

Can you help Maisie uncover a killer before the creepy dead people lurking by the tunnel convince her to cross?

This is a fun, light-hearted whodunnit with lots of dark humour and a heart-wrenching twist. It's a stand-alone mystery, the follow-up to my first Amazon best-selling Posthumous Mystery Do Not Go Gentle and is now available (see more links below).

But First—Did YOU Win a Free Copy?

Last newsletter I casually mentioned that I'd love to hear your feedback on the cover and there might even be a prize in it for you. A few of you emailed me back with some lovely thoughts—"awesome", "cute" and "DEathLICIOUS" were my favourite responses—so I'd like to thank the following subscribers with a free e-copy of my new book: Linda M, Jackie T and Vicki & Q. I'll be in touch soon.

In the meantime, here's how ALL my beloved subscribers can get their own copy of the book. Just click on a retailer below:
@Amazon
@iBooks
@nook
@kobo
@smashwords and elsewhere

Thanks, once again, for all your support. I do hope you love it, I hope you find time to review it, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me back or subscribe to my newsletter for news, views, discounts and prizes: calarmer.com

Happy reading everyone.
xo Christina

Win Up to 30+ eBOOKS and Gain Access to Deals & Steals

• 2 x Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks! 

• 30 x Winners of Individual eBooks 

I may rave about my love of cozy mysteries, but I also pen another crime series that's a little less cozy and a lot more cutting edge. The Ghostwriter Mystery Series stars feisty amateur sleuth Roxy Parker, a ghostwriter with a penchant for Merlot, a taste for murder, and an uncanny knack for being in the wrong place at the right time!

And this week, you can jump aboard with her in the 5th—and best-rated—Ghostwriter adventure of them all: Words Can Kill, for just 99c. Or, better yet, sign up with my mates at Authors Cross Promotion to be in the running to score a FREE copy of that ebook, plus 29 others. Yep, that's 30 ebooks, if you're lucky! Just click on the link, below:

AuthorsXP.com/giveaway

The offer lasts as long as the sale: from July 17-23, so don't hesitate. For more on Roxy and her fifth adventure, read on…

WORDS CAN KILL: A Ghostwriter Mystery 

Pack your designer luggage, we're heading to Europe for the fifth, fast-paced adventure in the popular Ghostwriter Mystery Series…

This time we're on a missing person's case, and it ain't no holiday. Hunky photographer Max Farrell has vanished into thin air, last seen in the arms of a blonde floozy at a Swiss mountain resort, and his best mate, Roxy Parker, is trying to play it cool. But when Max's flatmate shows up murdered, followed soon after by the floozy, Roxy realises Max’s life is hanging in the balance, and she is his only hope.

In the latest Ghostwriter Mystery (each one a stand-alone story in itself), Roxy heads to Europe with Max's hilariously self-absorbed sister. Together, they follow a series of clues that take them from the heights of Mt Pilatus in Switzerland to the azure Mediterranean Sea, encountering brash German police, secretive Swiss soldiers, and an Italian Lothario with evil in his heart.

Download your 99c copy at:

• Amazon

• Apple iBooks

• B&N nook

• kobo

• Smashwords & elsewhere: 

Why I Started My Ghostwriter Series (& How You Can Win One + 44 More!)

I love Sue Grafton and her Alphabet crime series, really I do, but by D is for Deadbeat, I began to realise they were becoming dead boring!


If I read about private detective Kinsey Millhone pulling on her 'turtleneck sweater' or 'wrinkle-resistant black dress' one more time, or stopping to grab a McDonald's cheeseburger, or hanging out with her elderly landlord, I was going to hit somebody with the book.

I know that they're murder mysteries and I know that this may all sound a little vacuous to you, but I kept wondering why Kinsey was so, well, stuck.

Are there no shopping malls in Kinsey's suburb? Does she not tire of the same old meal?* And does she not want to move out of Henry's converted garage and buy a new place of her own?

Just because you create a wonderful character—and Kinsey really is the cream of the crop—does not mean your character shouldn't change and develop and grow. 

She's human. That's what we do!

Let me repeat: I love Sue Grafton. I can only dream of her worldwide success. I acknowledge that she's a master storyteller and I am just a piddling wannabe, but as a lifetime reader I just longed to see Kinsey blossom or deteriorate or get a limp or something! It may seem trivial to you but it just didn't ring true. By the time I got to S is For Silence I could hold my tongue no longer.

Nobody wears the same outfit. Every. Single. Day. Zzzzzz. Nobody eats the same takeaway, or lives in the same tiny rental. At least, nobody I want to spend that much quality time with.

I desperately wanted to see my favourite PI become a little more interesting and a lot more independent.

Are smart detectives really that dull, I wondered?

I don't think so. That's why I created a crime-solving sleuth of my own. 

Roxy Parker is a smart-talking, Sydney-based ghostwriter with a love of fashion and an interest in decent food, who just happens to stumble upon mysteries of her own. 

Now, I was always going to write crime fiction, I can't credit Grafton with that. But I did use my disappointment with Kinsey to develop my own protagonist. I wanted my sleuth to be a little cool, a little classy but, most of all, to be constantly surprising. And to be interesting in EVERY facet of her life, not just inside her brain. It's not just that she changes her outfit occasionally (who knew?), she's constantly growing, developing her sense of self, making new friends, even changing homes in one book—and keeping my readers on the edge of their toes. Or at least, that's the idea.

Six books later, and I hope my Roxy has evolved as I intended her to, but you can be the judge of that. I'm giving away the first in the Ghostwriter Mystery Series, and, for the next week or so, offering readers the chance to discover a whole new series of their own.

Thanks to Amy at Authors Cross Promotion, I've teamed up with 44 other series writers to make our books available to you. Here's your chance to celebrate series creators and maybe find the perfect match for you.

Win up to 45+ Series eBooks!

(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks!
(45+) Winners of Individual eBooks (randomly selected titles)

Just get in quick! The competition ends in under a week.

Happy (series) reading everyone!

xo Christina

*I know Kinsey does experiment with Rosie's mad Hungarian cooking and I thank goodness for that. It's one of the reasons I keep coming back.

What's YOUR Favourite Agatha Christie Novel?

I recently ran a competition offering participants a chance to win one of my cozy mysteries in exchange for telling me the name of their favourite Agatha Christie novel, and why. Boy, did I strike gold!

I've never had such an extraordinary response to a competition before and, believe me, that's saying something—I've run a lot of competitions in my time.

Within seconds of posting the competition I had answers streaming in, as revealing as they were engaging, and I'd love to share a little of what I have learned.

But first…

I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who took part. I was overwhelmed by your enthusiastic and heartfelt replies. Some of you put a lot of thought into your choices and really brought the books back to life for me. Sadly, I could only reward the first 12 respondents, and all of them have now been notified. I have also endeavoured to get back to each and every person who participated, whether you won or not, but if for some reason you haven't heard from me, huge apologies. I really did appreciate your feedback but the competition is now officially closed.

So which books struck a chord?

Having gone through all the entries, I thought you might want to know which of Dame Christie's books were the most popular and why. So, envelope, please, and drum roll…

• MOST POPULAR BOOK: Murder on the Orient Express This was, hands down, the most highly rated mystery amongst all the participants, receiving almost every second vote. And I'm not surprised. I love this one, too, and for all the reasons you gave. Most of you indicated that you loved the train setting, the wonderful characters, and the surprising twist at the end, and I couldn't agree more. In the words of one participant, it's a classic!  
• SECOND MOST POPULAR: And then There Were None. Now this one took me by surprise! It's been a long time since I read the story of ten 'strangers' brought together at a secluded mansion, and I had forgotten just how gripping the plot is until you reminded me. One participant echoed the thoughts of many when she wrote, "The plot was interesting and (it was) suspenseful trying to keep up with who would die next!" What more can you ask from a mystery novel?

• RUNNERS UP: Death on the Nile was also a regular favourite, and the Egyptian setting much beloved, while others, like Evil Under the Sun, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hallowe'en Party and The Mystery of the Blue Train were each mentioned time and again, and there I'm not surprised. Each and every one of them is a delight.

So a hearty THANKS everyone for embracing this competition and making it so informative for me, and such good fun. I loved reading all of your replies and promise to do another competition as soon as possible. Until then, I'm off to hunt down an old copy of Then There Were None. I have a mysterious dinner party to attend…

Happy reading, everyone.

xo Christina

Love Women Sleuths? You'll Love This Whopping Giveaway!

There's something especially cool and dynamic about female sleuths. Not only are they generally fast-talking, ass-kicking, take-no-prisoner types (and you NEED to be when you're butting heads with beefy criminals and cocky male cops) but they're almost always unashamedly womanly, often using their feminine wiles or witty one-liners to trick, coerce and outsmart the blokes. 

And sometimes they just use good old-fashioned hard work, like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone and my very own Roxy Parker, a ghostwriter with a flair for finding the dark and devious truth.

That's why I'm excited to be part of a fantastic giveaway this week, featuring 26+ mysteries starring women sleuths, and ONLY women sleuths!

Wanna win? 

Of course you do! And it's uber easy. Just sign up at Authors Cross Promotion, and you'll be in the running! Here's what's up for grabs:

(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks! 

(26+) Winners of Individual eBooks (randomly selected titles)

This package includes my third Ghostwriter Mystery—Last Writes—in which someone is killing best-selling authors, and a ghostwriter is next on the hit-list! Valued at $3.15 for the e-book, you'll get it for FREE!

But get in NOW. Just click here! Offer ends August 26.

Good luck and happy (womanly) reading everyone.

xo Christina

Last Chance to Win

Looking for a decent read as the holidays approach? How about a freebie? Don't forget I've teamed up with a dynamic group of cozy mystery writers to offer you one of 17 prizes, including free, signed paperback copies of books by the likes of Dianne Harman, Larissa Reinhart, Cee Cee James, Julie Moffett, Carolyn Haines, Ritter Ames, Kathi Daley and Tonya Kappes (to name just a few).

You also have a chance to score FREE e-books just for entering. To do that, click on the following link: Cozy Mystery Book Giveaway

Good luck, guys, and keep an eye out for my latest mystery which is due out after Christmas.

Happy reading (and winning) everyone!

xo Christina

Mega Cozy Mystery Giveaway

Regular readers will know I've been busily tapping away at my latest novel and may even be happy to hear it is finished and goes to my editor this week (hurrah!). Look out for upcoming tidbits on the book, cover reveal and so forth.

Until then....

I'm rewarding your patience with another wonderful giveaway. This time I've teamed up with an extraordinary collection of best-selling cozy mystery authors to give you the chance to win one of 17 prizes, including free, signed paperback copies of books by the likes of Dianne Harman, Larissa Reinhart, Cee Cee James, Julie Moffett, Carolyn Haines, Ritter Ames, Kathi Daley and Tonya Kappes (to name just a few).

You also have a chance to score FREE e-books just for entering. To do that, click on the following link: Cozy Mystery Book Giveaway

Good luck, guys, and don't forget to pop back in to find out more about my latest mystery which is due out after Christmas.

Happy reading (and winning) everyone!

xo Christina

New Ghostwriter Mystery - you get the prizes!

With the launch of my 6th Ghostwriter Mystery, A NOTE BEFORE DYING I'm giving readers two chances to win a FREE copy of a current or past Ghostwriter mystery. I'm also discounting past Ghostwriter Mystery books so you can catch up on the story or simply immerse yourself in a fun, fast-paced adventure.

Win free copies

It's super simple; all you need to do is:

• GO TO TWITTER: tell me @CALarmer what makes a great murder mystery and you get a copy of my latest mystery A NOTE BEFORE DYING - just use my handle @CALarmer and the hashtag #GhostwriterMystery

• LOG ONTO AMAZON: be the first to review A NOTE BEFORE DYING on my Amazon website and you get your choice of any of my past mystery ebooks for free

Get discounted ebooks

• GO TO AMAZON: download a copy of Killer Twist (Book 1), Dying Words (Book 4) and Words Can Kill (Book 5) for just 99c each!

• GO TO SMASHWORDS: download a copy of Killer Twist (Book1), Dying Words (Book 4) and Words Can Kill (Book 5) for just 99c each!

Then sit back, read, and enjoy!

xo Christina