Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author
October 21, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as An Element of Mystery, Bethlehem Writers Group LLC, Featured Author of the Month, Iced, Marianne H. Donley
Featuring Marianne H. Donley
Marianne H. Donley makes her home in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and a very very active dog. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, The Charmed Connection, Sisters in Crime, The Guppies and Capital Crimes. When Marianne isn’t working on A Slice of Orange, she might be writing short stories, funny romances, or quirky murder mysteries, but this could be a rumor. She also could be knitting.
Marianne’s short story “Iced” features Eleanor Reed, a police detective, who receives “help” solving crimes from a snarky ghost.
About An Element of Mystery
Dare you read our latest
Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Anthology?
The Bethlehem Writers Group is pleased to present this collection of tales of mystery and intrigue—the latest in its award-winning series of Sweet, Funny, and Strange® anthologies. From classic whodunnits to tales of the unexplained, each of the twenty-three stories contained herein have an element of mystery that will keep you guessing and wanting to read just one more story.
We’re thrilled to have old friends, but new members of BWG, join us this year. Award-winning author Debra H. Goldstein favors us with a mystery set among volunteers at a synagogue entitled “Death in the Hand of the Tongue,” while “Sense Memory,” by the multi-talented Paula Gail Benson, brings a delightful mix of mystery and the paranormal that helps a young couple find their way to each other.
In addition, we are happy to bring you the winning stories from two of our annual Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award competitions: “Good Cop/Bad Cop” by Trey Dowell (2021 winner) and “The Tabac Man” by Eleanor Ingbretson (2022 winner).
You’ll also find stories from your favorite BWG authors, including Courtney Annicchiarico, Jeff Baird, Peter J Barbour, A. E. Decker, Marianne H. Donley, Ralph Hieb, DT Krippene, Jerry McFadden, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wadsworth, Paul Weidknecht, and Carol L. Wright.
So get ready to be mystified . . . or intrigued!
An Element of Mystery finaled in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award.
Other Anthologies with Marianne’s stories.
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Moonlight Madness: A Bluestocking Belle Collection
October 20, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Book Reviews tagged as Alina K. Field, Bluestocking Belles, ghosts, Holiday Stories, Moonlight Madness, new release
Moonlight Madness:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Publisher : Bluestocking Belles
Publication dates:
Paperback: October 6, 2026
eBook:October 15, 2026
ISBN-13 : 978-1965509098
Paperback: $19.99
eBook: $5.99
My Review
This years Bluestocking Belles Collections features All Hallows Eve rather than their usual Christmas stories. The results are great, featuring ghosts and ghouls and other creatures real or just in the characters imagination. I enjoyed all of them, but I did have a few favorites.
Jude Knight’s Moonlight Becomes You has a very inventive take on ghosts. I really liked that moonlight made the ghost more visible. I also like that the other characters in the story didn’t dismiss main character’s claims that she saw a ghost.
Alina K. Field has another strong story in The Duke, the Diamond and the Ghastly Ghoul. The story has just about everything a ghost story should, a dark and stormy night, a haunted abbey complete with the ghost of a monk, a long missing diamond, a ghost-hunting heroine, a match-making Godmother, and a Duke that doesn’t believe in ghosts or particularly wish to be matched.
The Haunted Hoyden by Barbara Monajem had the two friendly and helpful ghosts, a scheming guardian, a lecherous minister, a disgraced and wounded hero, and a clever heroine who has the misfortune of having a fortune and parents who are not amused by her antics. The nicknames of the towns the hero and heroine travel to make me laugh.
The rest of the stories are engaging, and they all have different takes on All Hallows Eve and ghosts. Moonlight Madness is a lovely addition to the Bluestocking Belles collections. If you enjoy historical romance, a few ghosts and a lot of hijinks, please buy the book. You won’t be sorry.
You can read Alina K. Field’s post about Moonlight Madness Here.
About the book:
When the year grows colder and the veil between worlds grows thin—or so they say—comes the time for stories to make you shiver. The Bluestocking Belles bring ghosts, and ghoulies, and spirits of all kinds, each leading to love, the greatest madness of all.
Jude Knight – Moonlight Becomes You in which a lady sees, but cannot hear, a ghost who attempts to warn her about a man who will die if she doesn’t find him soon.
Alina K. Field – The Duke, the Diamond, and the Ghastly Ghoul in which a house party at a haunted abbey brings together a duke, a ghost-hunting lady, and two ghosts determined to right old wrongs.
Aileen Fish – Mad about the Marquess in which a lady known for communing with the dead is forced to bring unwanted messages to the marquess next door from his dead father.
Rue Allyn – True Love’s Kiss in which a hunter seeking his kidnapped son in the forest stumbles upon a fairy with a similar mission. Together they may succeed if they stop squabbling.
Caroline Warfield – Not Again, Harry in which a lady takes shelter in a creepy old house only to find haunting, prowlers, strange artifacts, and a man from her past. A wish-granting mouse complicates it all.
Sherry Ewing – Finding My Way To You in which a ghost meets a determined lady who leaps at a chance to alter his past in spite of his efforts to convince her to leave the past where it belongs.
Barbara Monajem – The Haunted Hoyden in which two friendly ghosts help a lady to rescue a handsome, wounded man—who proves to be just what she needs to escape a dastardly plot.
Elizabeth Donne – Always With You in which a man pressed-ganged into service in the Royal Navy promises his wife he will come back to her. Whether it’s in this life or the next remains to be seen.
More Books by the Bluestocking Bells
Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author
October 14, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Bethlehem Writers Group LLC, Celebrating, Featured Author of the Month, Marianne H. Donley, Tomato Blight
Featuring Marianne H. Donley
Marianne H. Donley makes her home in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and a very very active dog. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, The Charmed Connection, Sisters in Crime, and The Guppies. When Marianne isn’t working on A Slice of Orange or Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, she might be writing short stories, funny romances, or quirky murder mysteries, but this could be a rumor. She also could be knitting.
“Tomato Blight,” Marianne’s short story in Celebrating, introduces detective Eleanor Reed as she solves a murder despite being haunted by the victim’s ghost.
About Celebrating
In May, 2006, what would become the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, met for the first time in Bethlehem, PA, with four people in attendance. In the twenty years since, the group has grown from a fledgling critique group to a robust community of writers and publishers, offering not just a quarterly online literary journal (Bethlehem Writers Roundtable found at https://bwgwritersroundtable.com), an annual writing contest (Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award), but also several award-winning anthologies, among our many publications.
To celebrate our twentieth anniversary, we bring you highlights from each of our eight “Sweet, Funny, and Strange®” anthologies of short stories from our varied, award-winning authors.Starting with holiday stories from our debut anthology, A Christmas Sampler (2009), we are happy to present touching, hilarious, and thought-provoking tales. From a second anthology, Once Around the Sun (2013), are tales for all seasons, followed by, food-related stories from A Readable Feast (2015). You will find children’s stories from Once Upon a Time (2017), then tales of the paranormal from Untethered (2018), animal tales from Fur, Feathers, and Scales (2020), mysteries from An Element of Mystery (2022), and more holiday stories from Season’s Readings (2024).
So, come celebrate with us as you peruse these pages that are sure to bring you a smile, perhaps a tear or two, and a whole lot of fun, with best wishes to you from the authors of the Bethlehem Writers Group.
Other Anthologies with Marianne’s stories.
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Featuring Marianne H. Donley
October 2, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, Illusive Worlds, Marianne H. Donley, new release, The Confession of George Mullins
Featuring Marianne H. Donley
Marianne H. Donley makes her home in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and a very very active dog. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, The Charmed Connection, Sisters in Crime, The Guppies and Capital Crimes. When Marianne isn’t working on A Slice of Orange, she might be writing short stories, funny romances, or quirky murder mysteries, but this could be a rumor. She also could be knitting.
Illusive Worlds, Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC’s 9th anthology in the series Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Tales is available for preorder—both the print version and the ebook. The ebook is on sale for only 99¢ and will revert to the regular price of $3.99 on pub day—October 16, 2026.
Marianne’s short story, “The Confession of George Mullins,” deals with a nasty old man who has decided murdering his wife of sixty years is a great way to get “the state” to put him in jail and cater to his every wish—starting with his breakfast order of two eggs over easy, crisp bacon, hash browns and toast with tons of butter. Unfortunately for George, Detective Eleanor Reed and the ghosts of Mrs. Virtue and Uncle Walt are on the case, so he may learn to be careful for what he wishes.
About Illusive Worlds
Enter our worlds of imagination!
In this ninth “Sweet, Funny, and Strange”® anthology from the multiple award-winning authors of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, we explore everything from faraway galaxies to the vagaries of the human mind.
Our stories include ventures into the supernatural, meeting aliens and witches, experimenting in time travel, and encountering technology that is sometimes benign but at other times menacing. The blurred lines between human and machine, life and death, or illusion and reality have provided our authors more than sufficient inspiration to create myriad visions of science fiction and fantasy to pique your curiosity, spark your sense of humor, sometimes horrify you a bit, and occasionally bring delight.
In addition to tales from BWG’s inventive minds, we are excited to bring you six prize-winning stories from our 2025 and 2026 Short Story Award competitions. We know these authors will become some of your favorites—just as they have for us.
So please join us in our illusive worlds. We’re very happy to have you along for the ride.
Anthologies with more of Marianne’s Stories
**Free Book Alert** Totally Folked is Totally Free
October 1, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Book Sale, free, Friends to Lovers, Penny Reid, romantic comedy, Totally Folked
TOTALLY FOLKED is a standalone, contemporary romantic comedy novel and book #1 in the Good Folk: Modern Folktales series.
★★Grab your copy TODAY!★★
💙 Free eBook Alert! 💙
Totally Folked by New York Times Bestseller Penny Reid is F R E E for a limited time only! If you’re looking for your next cozy, small-town romantic comedy for Fall, this is it! 🍂
★★Grab your copy TODAY!★★
★★Blurb★★
Jackson James follows the rules. He has to. He’s a sheriff’s deputy in a super small town with a super big personality. However, strict adherence to the law during the day has been enjoyably balanced by rakish rules at night. Jackson, typically happy to protect and serve (and serve, and serve), starts questioning the value of wayward evenings when getting laid starts to feel more like being waylaid. Could it be that Green Valley’s most eligible—and notorious—bachelor longs for something (and someone) real?
Mega movie star Raquel Ezra follows only one rule: always leave them wanting more. Studio execs, reporters, audiences, fans, lovers—no one can get enough of the smart, savvy, and sexy bombshell. But when “generous offers” begin to feel more like excessive demands, years of always leaving has the elusive starlet longing for something (and perhaps someone) lasting.
When Raquel abruptly returns to the quirky Tennessee hamlet, her path crosses with the delectable deputy with whom she spent one unforgettable night. Unfortunately, scandal and intrigue soon follow. Raquel and Jackson must decide which is more important: following their rules? Or, at long last, finding something real.
‘Totally Folked’ is the first book in the Good Folk series and is a full-length, small-town, contemporary romantic comedy novel.
