Mysteries of Holt House - A Mystery (34 page)

At the end of January, Mike took me to
Aspen, the belated second part of my Christmas gift. He mentioned what a nice
place Aspen would be for a honeymoon, and we were married while there.

Sharon and David were married in February,
as planned, with Sharon limping to the altar. They stayed on at Holt House,
buying in as partners. We had plans to enlarge the operation.

Lucy and Josh took things very slowly in
their relationship. They were perfectly content to keep things the way they
were, without any changes.

Boarders came and boarders went, but
Marion Webster became a permanent fixture around Holt House. She stayed with
us, a part of our little family.

Mike and his crew did more construction on
the house and grounds, adding some cabins, and we deal almost exclusively with
vacationers now. Holt House has become a resort of sorts, and we have to live
up to a nationwide reputation. We have more employees, and Lucy is the head of
the staff. We are well-known for our cuisine, our service, the activities we
offer – we even added a stable and horses – but most of all we built up a
reputation for our personalized service. Returning vacationers said they felt
like they were special guests when they visited Holt House.

My parents came for a vacation not long
after Mike and I were married, and stayed for a month. They never tried to talk
us into moving to Florida again. They knew real happiness when they saw it.

Mike sealed up the secret passageways.

And life goes on.

Biography

Marja McGraw worked in both criminal and civil law enforcement
for several years, and after relocating to Northern Nevada from Los Angeles,
California, she worked for the Nevada Department of Transportation.  Marja
also did a stint in Oregon where she worked for the Jackson County Sheriff’s
Office and owned her own business, a Tea Room/Antique Store. Her next stop was
Wasilla, Alaska. The draw to Northern Nevada was strong, and she eventually
returned.

Marja wrote a weekly column for
a small newspaper in No. Nevada and she was the editor for the Sisters in Crime
Internet Newsletter for a year and a half. 

Marja has appeared on the morning
news in Reno, Nevada, and on The Morning Show on KLBC-TV in Laughlin, Nevada.
She’s also been a guest on several radio and Internet radio shows.

She has a website at
www.marjamcgraw.com
and a blog at http://blog.marjamcgraw.com/.

Starting with
Secrets of Holt House (rereleased as
Mysteries of Holt House), A Mystery,
Marja followed up with
A Well-Kept
Family Secret - A Sandi Webster Mystery
and the beginning of the Sandi
Webster series
. Bubba’s Ghost, Prudy’s Back!
,
The Bogey Man
and
Old
Murders Never Die
followed.
Bogey Nights – A Bogey Man Mystery
, the
first book in a second series was released in March, 2011, and was followed by
Bogey’s
Ace in the Hole
and
They Call Me Ace
. She says that each of her
mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and a little murder, and
that her books concentrate on the characters and solving the crime rather than
the crime itself.