charter member,
The League of Literary Ladies

Gotcha, didn’t I?

I said “island life” and you immediately pictured what a day in my island life is all about: tropical breezes, lazy hours in the hammock, drinks festooned with tiny umbrellas.

Umm . . . I’ve got new for you, South Bass Island isn’t that kind of island.

Oh sure, in the summer, the island hops with tourists and there are plenty of drinks (some with umbrellas and some not) to go around. In fact, South Bass is known as the Key West of the Great Lakes.

The important part of that sentence? Great Lakes!

South Bass island, just four miles long and a mile-and-a-half wide, sits in Lake Erie, three miles north of the Ohio mainland, and as you can imagine, there’s nothing tropical about our climate, especially at this time of the year. We’re just waking up from a long, quiet winter. The ferry stops running at the end of December and from then until now, there are about 450 hardy residents who brave the icy winds off the lake from Canada and stay put, including all four of us in the League of Literary Ladies: myself, Chandra Morrisey (island crystal and tarot reader), Kate Wilder (winery owner) and Luella Zak (captain of a fishing charter). What do we do once the lake freezes over and the only way to the mainland is by plane?

A couple restaurants stay open, and they’re great places to relax and socialize and catch up with neighbors. Our one grocery store is open, too, as are our hardware store, the coffee shop, our one gas station and, of course, our two churches. The bank is open for a few hours one day a week and chances are if you stop in, you’re bound to see just about everyone you know.

The nighttime silence can seem a little unearthly, but still, there’s plenty to keep us busy from ice fishing to ATV rides, wine tastings to reading groups.

Speaking of which . . . the League of Literary Ladies has just finished reading “Gone with the Wind.” Aside from the fact that it sent Chandra into a fugue state that had her saying “y’all” a whole lot, it ignited some interesting goings-on here on the island, most of it involved with Tara, the newest B&B on the island and not incidentally, one that’s competing with my own wonderful inn. To make matters worse, Tara is owned by the Champion twins, the ultra-famous duo who are the children of a Hollywood star and who were once kidnapped and then made a miraculous escape that put their pictures front and center in every news story in the world.

If the competition isn’t enough to complicate my life, there’s my confusing relationship with island hunk, Levi Kozlov, and the antique highboy I was supposed to be buying that’s suddenly gone missing, and . . .

And the murder, of course.

Bad enough that I’m the one who found the body of real estate agent Vivien Frisk. Worse, because what I found out as I investigated is that no one who ever met Vivien liked her. That means instead of too few suspects, I’ve got too many and one of them is a member of the League!

Everything going on in “Gone with the Twins” makes me anxious for winter to set in again. Ah, peace, quiet–and murder free!

You can read more about Bea in Gone with the Twins, the fifth book in the “League of Literary Ladies” mystery series.

The national bestselling author of And Then There Were Nuns takes readers back to South Bass Island on Lake Erie, where a pair of ambitious twins are causing double trouble for the League of Literary Ladies.

The League of Literary Ladies is currently enjoying Margaret Mitchell’s saga of the South, Gone with the Wind. But there’s one situation on South Bass Island that they wish would simply blow over.

Kidnapped as teenagers, the children of a famous movie star are now media darlings after a miraculous escape. What’s next for the celebrity twins? They’re opening an over-the-top B and B called Tara on South Bass Island, and frankly, they don’t give a damn about the competition—including Bea Cartwright’s own beloved inn.

The other members of the League—Chandra, Kate, and Luella—are turning scarlet. But when local realtor Vivian Frisk is found murdered, and the suspects include Chandra, who lost her beau to the frisky Vivian, the Ladies rally to her defense. They may have to skim a few chapters of the Civil War soap opera and focus on bringing justice to the island they call home. . .

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About the author
Kylie Logan is the bestselling author of the League of Literary Ladies series and the Ethnic Eats mysteries. The fifth League book is “Gone with the Twins,” and book #2 of Ethnic Eats, “French Fried” will be published in June. As Casey Daniels, she also writes the Pepper Martin mysteries, the newest of which is “Graveyard Shift.” Under the same name, she’ll have her first historical mystery published this fall. She loves to explore historic cemeteries, enjoys poking around old buildings, and is always ready to watch the Cleveland Indians play ball! You can find Kylie at www.kylielogan.com.

All comments are welcomed.

Gone with the Twins is available at retail and online booksellers or you can ask your local library to get it for you.