[Samantha Church Mystery 01] • Friday Edition, The

Snow isn't all that's falling in Denver, Colorado on Christmas Eve. A beautiful, young district attorney tumbles from her balcony to her death. Police suspect suicide, but the DA’s sister, newspaper reporter Samantha Church, isn’t buying it. Samantha discovers evidence linking her sister to a drug smuggling case and quickly learns she has stumbled onto a major news story. She must summon the courage to not only face a cartel of criminals, but her own fears and shortcomings when she is confronted by the inescapable specter of a far greater enemy—her addiction to alcohol. Samantha’s dependency has not only cost her job at a major metropolitan daily, but, worse, custody of her daughter, April. Samantha pursues her sister’s killers, maneuvering through a minefield of intrigue deliberately set out to divert her from the truth. Despite being betrayed, physically beaten and facing the possibility of sharing her sister’s fate, Samantha refuses to stop her investigation. However, when the killers threaten to harm April, Samantha realizes that, for her daughter’s sake, she can no longer continue the investigation on her own. She knows she must swallow her pride and turn to her ex-husband and police detective, Jonathan Church, for help. Can Samantha ultimately prevail—find her sister’s killer, write the story of her career, confront her drinking problem, and finally begin to change her life, or will she and April become the killer’s next victims?

About the AuthorI was born in Trinidad, Colorado and grew up in Denver. I am a graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver with a degree in communications and a minor in journalism. I have been lucky enough to work in my field all my professional life. I have been an award-winning journalist since 1989, working at newspapers in Denver, Seattle and Albuquerque.I began my journalism career in 1989 working for The Raton Range, a small newspaper in northern New Mexico. During my three-year stay, I earned more than a dozen writing awards, including the Guy Radar Award, which then recognized best medical reporting in the state. I won the award for chronicling a man's battle with breast cancer.I returned to Denver in 1992, to work for a group of community weekly newspapers covering the west side. I worked in the Mile High City until 1997, when I landed a job with a newspaper in Washington State. I moved to Bainbridge Island, where I lived and worked for two newspapers until 2004. I returned to the Southwest in 2004 as managing editor for the Rio Rancho Observer, covering Rio Rancho, the third largest city in New Mexico. I worked for The Observer and lived in Albuquerque through September 2007. I earned more than a dozen writing award while leading the editorial team at The Observer, including a "Public Service" award from the New Mexico Press Association. The series of articles highlighted the poor post office situation in Rio Rancho. The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) also recognized me in 2005 and 2006 for excellence in editorial writing.I returned to Denver in 2007 to work for the same community weekly newspapers covering Denver's west side--this time as editor. I left those papers in 2008. In addition to being a Kindle Author, I currently write for the OP EDGE magazine, a niche healthcare publication in Northglenn, Colorado.