Mysterious

Episode 25: What Happened to the Christmas Tree Ship? The ship known as the Christmas Tree Ship, the Rouse Simmons, sank in November of 1912 between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, Wisconsin, during a winter storm on Lake Michigan. The ship left Thompson Pier, Michigan, reportedly needing repair, and overloaded with Christmas trees for its annual journey to the expanding Christmas market in Chicago. The story surrounding the mystery of the sinking and the legend that followed cannot be told without first sharing the story of the schooners and their masters in the late 19th century.   Sources: Neuschel, Fred.Lives and Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships. The University of Michigan Press. 2007 Christmas Tree Ship, the Rouse Simmons, sank on Lake Michigan 109 years ago. Wisconsin Maritime Museum will honor its legacy Saturday. https://www.htrnews.com/story/entertainment/2021/12/01/lake-michigan-christmas-tree-ship-rouse-simmons-sank-1912/8778837002/ A ship carrying thousands of Christmas trees sank in Lake Michigan 107 years ago. https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/history/christmas-tree-ship-sinking/69-06a7fa47-2e80-4ab0-b592-6b62bcc8e078   _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Valerie Winans, your host for Episode 25 Valerie Winans is a graduate of Northwestern Michigan College, a retired state government manager, and a former campground host in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Valerie is the author of three books: Alaska’s Savage River: Inside Denali National Park and Preserve, Road Trip with Remington Beagle: Michigan to Alaska and Back, and A Hero’s Journey: Life Lessons From A Dog And His Friends. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her books are written to inform and entertain readers of all ages. She currently resides with her husband in Traverse City, Michigan. More information can be found at www.valeriewinans.com.  

Why do so many people disappear in Alaska? Who buried Sister Mary Janina in the basement of the church? How did a pig manage to calm the animals at an Arabian horse ranch? Are there stories about Bigfoot in Alaska? Was the sinking of the Clara Nevada an accident or mass murder? Can it rain blood? Where did the saying, “Another one bites the dust,” originate? What happened to the Grand Duchess Anastasia? Join us on the podcast Mysterious and explore the mysteries in the world around us, including unsolved murders, mysteries found in nature, intriguing historical events, paranormal experiences, and baffling enigmas of space. The author hosting each episode investigates a true mystery related to their genre. We invite you to listen to Mysterious and take a journey into the unknown.

Episode 24: A Terrible Christmas Tragedy — Or Was It Murder?   The Jon Benet Ramsey case pops into most of our minds when we are asked to relay the most terrible Christmas story we know, but seventy-eight years ago in 1945 in Fayetteville, West Virginia, the Sodder family lost five of their ten children in a house fire on Christmas Eve. Was it a tragedy, a murder, or a kidnapping? Until their deaths, George and Jennie Sodder believed their five children survived the fire, but if so, where did they go? Photo Resembling Louis Sources: Abbott, Karen. “The children who went up in smoke.” December 25, 2012. Smithsonian Magazine. History’s Greatest Mysteries. Season 3, episode 9. “The Sodder children disappearance.” Horn, Stacy. “Mystery of missing children haunts W.Va. Town. All Things Considered. NPR. Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. 2009. New York, NY: Checkmark Books. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Want more MYSTERIOUS? Be sure to subscribe! _________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Robin Barefield, your host for Episode 24: Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has written two nonfiction books, Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska and check out her podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Read more about Robin’s books at Author Masterminds. Now Available: 29 True Stories about Murder and Mystery in Alaska  

Episode 23: The Mystery of The Way to Go, Nassau, Buster Brown This is the story of a gorgeous Thoroughbred horse. If he could talk, it would be interesting to listen to him talk about the many miles he put on American roads and highways. We know he crossed the entire continent twice and went halfway one additional time.           _________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Want more MYSTERIOUS? Be sure to subscribe! __________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Victoria Hardesty, your host for Episode 23: Victoria Hardesty has owned, bred and shown Arabian Horses for more than 30 years. She and her husband operated their own training facility serving many young people that loved and showed their own horses. She is the author of numerous articles in horse magazines, was the editor of two Arabian Horse Club newsletters, one of which was given the Communications Award of the Year by the Arabian Horse Association at their national convention. An avid reader from childhood, she read every horse story she could get her hands on. Victoria and her writing partner, Nancy Perez have written seven novels about Arabian horses. Check out their website at http://www.wonderhorsebooks.com/author-bio and see their books at Victoria Hardesty and Nancy Perez | Bookshelf (authormasterminds.com).

Episode 22: The Mothman of Point Pleasant Welcome to a journey through one of America’s most haunting enigmas—the Mothman of Point Pleasant. Plus — The Phantom Dogsled.           __________________________________________________________________________________________________ New Release by Mary Ann Poll __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Want more MYSTERIOUS? Be sure to subscribe! __________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Mary Ann Poll, your host for Episode 22: The Mothman of Point Pleasant Mary Ann Poll is the author of five Supernatural Thriller novels, Ravens Cove, Ingress, Gorgon, Dullahan, and Andalusia Forest. Sign up to subscribe for free information about upcoming events at www.maryannpoll.com and check out her podcast Real Ghost Chatter. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Phantom Dog Sled was written and performed by Steve Levi. Check out his books at Author Masterminds.    

Episode 21: What Happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald? The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they called Gitchee Gumee The lake it is said never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy Gordon Lightfoot’s lyrics memorialize the tragedy of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, but the mystery remains – what sunk the great ship? Sources: Stonehouse, Frederick. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Avery Color Studios, Inc. Gwinn, Michigan. 1977. Charles River Editors. The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald: The Loss of the Largest Ship on the Great Lakes. Kindle Schumacher, Michael. The Trial of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Eyewitness Accounts from the U.S. Coast Guard Hearings. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN. 2019. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Want more MYSTERIOUS? Be sure to subscribe! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Valerie Winans, your host for Episode 21: What Happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald? Valerie Winans is a graduate of Northwestern Michigan College, a retired state government manager, and a former campground host in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Valerie is the author of three books: Alaska’s Savage River: Inside Denali National Park and Preserve, Road Trip with Remington Beagle: Michigan to Alaska and Back, and A Hero’s Journey: Life Lessons From A Dog And His Friends. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her books are written to inform and entertain readers of all ages. She currently resides with her husband in Traverse City, Michigan. More information can be found at www.valeriewinans.com.

Episode 20: The Most Lovable Conman of the Alaska Gold Rush One of the most scandalous persons to be associated with Nome was Wilson Mizner, a loveable scoundrel. Mizner was involved with gambling and prize fighting in Nome, and it was said he was probably the only man with the reputation of being able to “borrow money from a lamppost and is said to be the only man who ever hired the Nome brass band on credit.” In addition to these northern distinctions, in the course of Mizner’s life, he was also a mining engineer, actor, playwright, Fifth Avenue art dealer, husband of the “second richest woman in the world,” proprietor of the legendary Brown Derby in Los Angeles and, with his brother Addison, a founder and promoter of Boca Raton, Florida. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Steve Levi, your host for Episode 20: The Most Lovable Conman of the Alaska Gold Rush Steve Levi is a 70-something writer in Alaska. He specializes in the impossible crime and the Alaska Gold Rush. An impossible crime is one in which the detective must figure out HOW the crime was committed before he can go after the perpetrators. As an example, in THE MATTER OF THE VANISHING GREYHOUND, the detective must figure out how a Greyhound bus with four bank robbers, a dozen hostages, and $10 million can vanish off the Golden Gate Bridge. Steve’s books can be seen at www.authormasterminds.com/steve-levi and www.steverlevibooks.com. He also does two historical uploads a week. Send Steve your email, and he will include it in the mailings. Now Available: The historical key to understanding the Alaska Railroad is that it started as a Socialist dream. It was a profit-making instrument owned by the government. By the time the railroad finished, the dream of socialism as a governmental form had died. The Russian Revolution showed how flawed socialism by a national government was, the hard-core socialist, anarchist, and syndicalist radicals had been deported on the BUFORD, and the end of World War I flooded American stores with consumer goods. The Roaring Twenties had started, and everyone was making money, and there was no longer a need to have a ‘socialist’ government.  

Episode 19: Mysterious Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was born into the most elite segment of Russian society on June 18, 1901 as the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. Anastasia was the younger sister of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, and was the elder sister of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. During WWI, Anastasia–like her sisters–volunteered as a nurse right in the royal palace at Tsarskoye Selo. Many of its rooms had been turned into hospital wards. In 1917, the February Revolution in Russia forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. After the Revolution of 1917 and Nicholas’s abdication, Nicholas and his family (including Anastasia) were taken as prisoners to Tobolsk, then to Yekaterinburg, where on June 18, 1918, Anastasia celebrated her last birthday. Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their four girls and one son, were held at Czarskoye Selo palace and then taken to Ekaterinburg in the Urals after the Bolsheviks seized power in the October Revolution. Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children—including 14-year-old Anastasia–were shot and bayoneted to death by Bolshevik revolutionaries under Yakov Yurovsky on the orders of the Ural Regional Soviet in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 16-17, 1918. Also murdered that night were members of the imperial entourage who had accompanied them: court physician Eugene Botkin; lady-in-waiting Anna Demidova; footman Alexei Trupp; and head cook Ivan Kharitonov. The executioners then took the bodies to the Four Brothers mine [an abandoned mine shaft some 14 miles from Ekaterinburg, in the Koptyaki forest], Anna Anderson where they were stripped, buried, burned in a gasoline-fueled bonfire, and the bones doused with sulfuric acid to disguise the remains further and mutilated with grenades to prevent identification. Finally, what was left was thrown into the mine pit, which was covered with dirt. After 300 years of imperial rule, the Romanov empire ended in a chaos of gunfire and bayonets. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Carl Douglas, your host for Episode 19: Mysterious Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia   My pseudonym as an author is Carl Douglass, adopted as a means of telling stories with gripping realism—the truth of which would not bring trouble to my door. My writing of gripping, realistic fiction began after I was obligated to retire from the private practice of neurosurgery due to sudden blindness in my left eye from a retinal detachment which caused loss of stereoscopic vision. I carried with me decades-long knowledge of doctors, hospitals, and institutions of higher learning, including some less than laudatory information. My military experience during the years of the recent unpleasantness in Viet Nam also gave me considerable insight. Both of those lengthy experiences provided true grist for the mill of my writing, but neither of them need to connect the stories to the lives of the real people and places where the stories took place. In that sense, I know too much and have no wish to incriminate or to bring harm or embarrassment to real individuals or institutions. My rich and varied life has provided even more fodder to feed my mind and contribute realism to my written work. In my time, I have had to work due to lacking a sugar daddy. I have been a grease monkey, a lumber mill and forest worker, a lifeguard, a slaughterhouse worker, a diener in a morgue, a lab rat, an academic writer, a medical officer in a mental hospital, a naval officer and surgeon, a brig doctor, and a deep diving officer. I have been the husband of one fine wife, the father of four children—one deceased—eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. All of them have enriched the depth and breadth of my storytelling.

Episode 18: The Investor Murders What happened on a foggy September day in 1982 in the small fishing village of Craig, Alaska? Many believe they know who killed the crew and passengers of the Investor, but only the killer knows why the massacre occurred.   Sources Bovsun, Mara. “Murder on a fishing boat—and there was never a conviction.” March 31, 2019. New York Daily News. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-justice-story-investor-boat-killings-20190331-y333ejn4qjd5vnhf33wzxg4jiy-story.html Dodd, Johnny, and Adam Carlson. “The mystery of who murdered 8, including a family, on a fishing boat in Alaska.” December 11, 2017. People. https://people.com/crime/people-explains-investor-fishing-boat-murders-alaska/ Hale, Leland E. What Happened in Craig: Alaska’s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder. 2018. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. Kahn, Dean. “8 killed in 1982 Investor murders remembered in exhibit.” April 30, 2016. Washington Times. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/30/8-killed-in-1982-investor-murders-remembered-in-ex/ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 18: The Investor Murders Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has written two nonfiction books, Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska and check out her podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Read more about Robin’s books at Author Masterminds. Now Available: 29 True Stories about Murder and Mystery in Alaska  

Episode 17: Where is Baby Shannon? Some of the facts in this true story have been established, but some things are still unknown. Sources: https://wbckfm.com/cold-case-cedar-springs-the-disappearance-of-baby-shannon/ Cold Case Cedar Springs: The Disappearance of Baby Shannon https://charleyproject.org/case/shannon-dale-verhage The Charley Project https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/michigan/2022/06/03/michigan-girl-still-missing-25-years-after-mother-murdered-found-dead-in-lake-killer-on-death-row/ https://www.woodtv.com/news/michigan/convicted-killer-from-mi-up-for-execution/ Citation: Timmerman, L.C. and John H. The Color of Night: A Young Mother, a Missing Child and a Cold-Blooded Killer, New Horizon Press. Far Hills, NJ 2011 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 17: Where is Baby Shannon? Valerie Winans is a graduate of Northwestern Michigan College, a retired state government manager, and a former campground host in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Valerie is the author of three books: Alaska’s Savage River: Inside Denali National Park and Preserve, Road Trip with Remington Beagle: Michigan to Alaska and Back, and A Hero’s Journey: Life Lessons From A Dog And His Friends. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her books are written to inform and entertain readers of all ages. She currently resides with her husband in Traverse City, Michigan. More information can be found at www.valeriewinans.com. Valerie is a writer for readers of all ages and dogs’ best friend.    

Episode 16: Alaskan Ghosts In May of 1973, the chief mate and two sailors on the Alaska State ferry Malaspina saw a sight about which they are undoubtedly still telling their grandchildren. On a clear Sunday morning near Twin Island in the Revillagigedo Channel north of Ketchikan, a huge vessel suddenly ap­peared dead ahead. Lying broadside to the path of the ferry, it was about eight miles away and was an “exact, natural, and real” ship. The three men, in two different locations on the ferry, reported the same sighting. With binoculars, they scanned the strange vessel and saw sailors working on deck. The ferry crew watched the strange ship for ten minutes, and then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished into thin air. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 16: Alaskan Ghosts Steve Levi is a 70-something writer in Alaska. He specializes in the impossible crime and the Alaska Gold Rush. An impossible crime is one in which the detective must figure out HOW the crime was committed before he can go after the perpetrators. As an example, in THE MATTER OF THE VANISHING GREYHOUND, the detective must figure out how a Greyhound bus with four bank robbers, a dozen hostages, and $10 million can vanish off the Golden Gate Bridge. Steve’s books can be seen at www.authormasterminds.com/steve-levi and www.steverlevibooks.com. He also does two historical uploads a week. Send Steve your email, and he will include it in the mailings.   Now Available: The historical key to understanding the Alaska Railroad is that it started as a Socialist dream. It was a profit-making instrument owned by the government. By the time the railroad finished, the dream of socialism as a governmental form had died. The Russian Revolution showed how flawed socialism by a national government was, the hard-core socialist, anarchist, and syndicalist radicals had been deported on the BUFORD, and the end of World War I flooded American stores with consumer goods. The Roaring Twenties had started, and everyone was making money, and there was no longer a need to have a ‘socialist’ government. A RAT’S NEST OF RAIL    

Episode 15: Bigfoot in Alaska Alaska, known for its vast wilderness and diverse wildlife, has captured the imagination of many when it comes to the legendary creature known as Bigfoot. While the state is renowned for its hulking wildlife like bears, moose, caribou, and sea lions, sightings of Bigfoot in Alaska have been relatively scarce compared to other regions believed to be its natural habitat. In Bigfoot stories, the creature is often described as elusive, hiding behind trees, and partially or entirely obscured. It provides just enough evidence for believers to support its existence and skeptics to cast doubt. So, the question remains: Is there a Bigfoot in Alaska? The answer, as always, is up to you to decide. Two outstanding first-person encounter Bigfoot books written by Dr. Matthew Johnson:                     ______________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 15: Bigfoot in Alaska Evan Swensen, book publisher, editor, author, and Author Masterminds charter member along with his wife, Lois, publishes books by authors worldwide. He has been the publisher and editor of Alaska Outdoors magazine and producer of Alaska Outdoors television show and outdoor videos, and host of Alaska Outdoor Radio Magazine. He has been an Alaska resident since 1957. As a pilot, he has logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time in Alaska, in both wheel and float planes. He is a serious recreation hunter and fisherman, equally comfortable casting a flyrod or using bait, or lures. Evan has been published in many national magazines and is the author of five books and publisher of more than 1,000 books by other authors. Evan claims to have the best job in the world; he gets up in the morning, puts on his fishing vest, picks up his fly rod, kisses his wife goodbye, tells her he’s going to work—and she believes him. Author Masterminds: https://authormasterminds.com/evan-swensen Author Masterminds One Last Cast book: https://authormasterminds.com/details/XLxrX One Last Cast on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3H0OzTo One Last Cast short video: https://youtu.be/2wzwWmim-2g Alaska Outdoors https://alaskaoutdoorsmagazine.com. Alaska Outdoors Blog: https://alaskaoutdoorsmagazine.com/blog/ Alaska Outdoors Videos: https://bit.ly/37xjUzl  

Episode 14: What Happened to Joseph Mengle? This is a mystery that spanned forty years before being solved and put to rest. Investigators from numerous countries, including the United States, West Germany, Israel, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, all of which made confused and futile searches for the man or hard evidence of his having died. His name was Josef Rudolf Mengele.       _______________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 14: What Happened to Joseph Mengle?   My pseudonym as an author is Carl Douglass, adopted as a means of telling stories with gripping realism—the truth of which would not bring trouble to my door. My writing of gripping, realistic fiction began after I was obligated to retire from the private practice of neurosurgery due to sudden blindness in my left eye from a retinal detachment which caused loss of stereoscopic vision. I carried with me decades-long knowledge of doctors, hospitals, and institutions of higher learning, including some less than laudatory information. My military experience during the years of the recent unpleasantness in Viet Nam also gave me considerable insight. Both of those lengthy experiences provided true grist for the mill of my writing, but neither of them need to connect the stories to the lives of the real people and places where the stories took place. In that sense, I know too much and have no wish to incriminate or to bring harm or embarrassment to real individuals or institutions. My rich and varied life has provided even more fodder to feed my mind and contribute realism to my written work. In my time, I have had to work due to lacking a sugar daddy. I have been a grease monkey, a lumber mill and forest worker, a lifeguard, a slaughterhouse worker, a diener in a morgue, a lab rat, an academic writer, a medical officer in a mental hospital, a naval officer and surgeon, a brig doctor, and a deep diving officer. I have been the husband of one fine wife, the father of four children—one deceased—eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. All of them have enriched the depth and breadth of my storytelling.

Episode 13: Mysterious Idioms I find Idioms interesting; their origins are a mystery. First of all, some of them sound idiotic, nonsensical, for example ‘saved by the skin of your teeth?’ What in the world does that mean? But the word “idiom” is not related to idiocy, rather ‘idiom’ comes from the Greek word “idioma,” meaning peculiar phrasing. That perfectly describes an idiom. An idiom is a widely used saying or expression containing a figurative meaning that differs from the phrase’s literal meaning. Idioms often reflect a commonly held cultural experience, even if that experience is antiquated. For example, you might say that someone should “bite the bullet” when they need to quit procrastinating and do something they don’t want to do. Originally the phrase referred to wounded soldiers literally biting down on a bullet to avoid screaming during a wartime operation. Thus, from the past a phrase we still use today though it literally does not apply. MUSIC Marvin Gaye https://bit.ly/37Rhsha California Raisins https://bit.ly/2TgXA1s This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 13: Rebecca J Wetzler, originally a California girl, has lived in Alaska since she was eight years old. From early in life, she has been an avid reader, and hoped to write her own books someday. From her earliest memories she has been a believer. Shortly after moving to Alaska, she asked Jesus into her heart during Sunday School. As her life progressed, Rebecca realized her faith gives her steady spiritual regrounding to weather the drama of real life. She challenges the untruths forecast by the world’s darkness by believing the Light of God’s Word, and she wants to share the spiritual truths with others. Bread Box for the Broken is her first book. www.rebeccawetzler.net https://authormasterminds.com/rebecca-j-wetzler https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-j-wetzler-7b763a49/ https://www.facebook.com/authorrebeccajwetzler https://www.facebook.com/holyspiritdove

Episode 12: The Haunted Lemp Mansion   The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri, is said to be one of the ten most haunted places in America. The mansion continues to play host to the tragic Lemp family after death. The once stately home to millionaires became office space, then decayed into a run-down boarding house. Finally restored, the Lemp Mansion is presently a fine dinner theatre, restaurant, and bed and breakfast. Sources: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/mo-lempmansion/ https://www.neatorama.com/2014/10/30/Lemp-Mansion-Tales-of-a-Cursed-Family-and-Their-Haunted-House/ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 12: The Haunted Lemp Mansion Mary Ann Poll is the author of four Supernatural Thriller novels, Ravens Cove, Ingress, Gorgon, and Dullahan. Sign up to subscribe for free information about upcoming events at www.maryannpoll.com and check out her podcast Real Ghost Chatter.

Blood Rain Episode 11: More Than Just Rain Falls From the Sky When we see precipitation forming into storm clouds, we know that rain is on the way. But this clean, life-sustaining liquid is not the only thing that falls from the sky. Can it actually rain blood? That might sound like a biblical disaster straight out of the book of Exodus, but that’s just what happened in India. Also, what is a Star Jelly, and does it come from the sky? Star Jelly         _____________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 11: My name is Adam Freestone. Apart from being an author, I have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I am confined to a wheelchair, and my condition requires me to use a ventilator and other medical equipment. Because of this, I am not a person most people are accustomed to seeing. My disability makes my day-to-day routine challenging, and it takes a lot of determination and patience to get anything done. Oddly enough, trying to show what I go through is what initially gave me the idea for the main character of my Sentinel Flame books, Hyroc. Hyroc is not disabled, but he is different than everyone else, and this causes him problems. I wanted to present how I live with my disability in an interesting way readers would find intriguing. Though Hyroc’s story occurs in a medieval fantasy world, what he has to deal with is very similar to what I experience in my everyday life. I tried to reflect through the character that though my situation seems dark and depressing, there is light in my life, and that’s what keeps me going.

Episode 10: Grand Island Murders After the body of Edward Morrison was found in the bottom of the U.S. lighthouse boat on the shore of Lake Superior, stories began to flourish about what had happened and who was responsible — even before the facts were established. To this day, people still have strong opinions about an event that occurred more than one hundred years ago. Sources: Graham, Loren. Death At The Lighthouse: A Grand Island Riddle. Arbutus Press, Traverse City, Michigan. 2013. UNSOLVED MICHIGAN MYSTERY: Death of a Lighthouse Keeper | https://99wfmk.com/grand-island-lighthouse-murder/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral https://lostinmichigan.net https://mikelbclassen.com Read Valerie’s companion piece to this episode at Medium or at the Readers and Writers Book Club _______________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 10: Grand Island Murders. Valerie Winans is a graduate of Northwestern Michigan College, a retired state government manager, and a former campground host in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Valerie is the author of three books: Alaska’s Savage River: Inside Denali National Park and Preserve, Road Trip with Remington Beagle: Michigan to Alaska and Back, and A Hero’s Journey: Life Lessons From A Dog And His Friends. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her books are written to inform and entertain readers of all ages. She currently resides with her husband in Traverse City, Michigan. More information can be found at www.valeriewinans.com.  

Episode 9: The Phantom That Came Aboard: A True Gold Rush Saga Perhaps the most famous Alaska Ghost ship story is that of the Eliza Anderson. Here is the saga of a ship in distress, forced to choose between being battered to splinters by the savage sea or running around on the rocky shoals of Kodiak Island. Instead, a tall, gaunt, wind-swept, rain-soaked giant of a stranger seized control of the ship’s wheel and steered her safety. Then, his job completed, he vanished as mysteriously as he had arrived. For fifty years, the legendary “Stranger Who Came Aboard” was grist for the supernatural mill of Alaska Gold Rush stories.         ________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 9: The Phantom That Came Aboard: A True Gold Rush Saga Steve Levi is a 70-something writer in Alaska. He specializes in the impossible crime and the Alaska Gold Rush. An impossible crime is one in which the detective must figure out HOW the crime was committed before he can go after the perpetrators. As an example, in THE MATTER OF THE VANISHING GREYHOUND, the detective must figure out how a Greyhound bus with four bank robbers, a dozen hostages, and $10 million can vanish off the Golden Gate Bridge. Steve’s books can be seen at www.authormasterminds.com/steve-levi and www.steverlevibooks.com. He also does two historical uploads a week. Send Steve your email, and he will include it in the mailings.   Coming Soon: “Did you know anarchists and socialists and Bolsheviks and syndicalists built the Alaska Railroad?” It’s true! The route between Seward and Fairbanks was approved in 1912, just before the First World War, and not completed until 1923. During the most violent period of American history, 1910 to 1920, which saw FOUR major terrorist bombings – Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York! AND the Russian Revolution! The Alaska Railroad was a socialist dream! It was owned by the government, all workers were paid by the government, and all benefits would go to the people, not private enterprises. What more could a socialist or an anarchist or a syndicalist or a Bolshevik ask for?! What could go wrong? Want an in-the-weeds snapshot of what it was like to work on the Alaska Railroad with anarchists, socialists, syndicalists, and Bolsheviks? IT’S COMING!!! A RAT’S NEST OF RAIL www.authormasterminds.com/steve-levi  

Episode 8: What Happened to the Fandel Children? Most parents can imagine no nightmare worse than the disappearance of a child, but how can a parent possibly cope when both of their children vanish, swallowed by the Alaska wilderness? Some time during the late-night hours of Sept. 5 or the early morning hours of Sept. 6, 1978, Scott Fandel, 13, and Amy Fandel, 8, disappeared from their Sterling, Alaska home on the Kenai Peninsula, 136 miles (218.9 km) south of Anchorage. The mystery of what happened to the Fandel children has baffled Alaska State Troopers for over four decades. How can two kids vanish from their home without a trace? The following two photos are age progressions from the Charley Project. If you have any information on this crime, please contact the Alaska State Troopers.       ___________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 8: What Happened to the Fandel Children? Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska and check out her podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Read more about Robin’s books at Author Masterminds. Now Available: 29 True Stories about Murder and Mystery in Alaska  

Episode 7: Silent City Hoax Silent City A hallucination is when something is seen that doesn’t exist. A mirage is a real thing seen in the wrong location consisting mainly of images of distant objects. These may be steady or wavering, single or multiple, upright or inverted, vertically enlarged or reduced. A mirage is a natural optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera since light rays are refracted to form a false image at the observer’s location. However, what the image appears to represent is Richard Willoughby   determined by the interpretive faculties of the human mind. I had never read or considered mirages other than mirages of pools of water standing on a highway on a hot day. And I knew nothing about the Silent City Hoax and no knowledge of any Ghost City before I experienced my North Slope phenomenon.   ___________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 7: Silent City Hoax Evan Swensen, book publisher, editor, author, and Author Masterminds charter member along with his wife, Lois, publishes books by authors worldwide. He has been the publisher and editor of Alaska Outdoors magazine and producer of Alaska Outdoors television show and outdoor videos, and host of Alaska Outdoor Radio Magazine. He has been an Alaska resident since 1957. As a pilot, he has logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time in Alaska in both wheel and float planes. He is a serious recreation hunter and fisherman, equally comfortable casting a flyrod or using bait or lures. Evan has been published in many national magazines and is the author of five books and publisher of more than 1,000 books by other authors. Evan claims to have the best job in the world; he gets up in the morning, puts on his fishing vest, picks up his fly rod, kisses his wife goodbye, tells her he’s going to work—and she believes him. One Last Cast on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3H0OzTo One Last Cast short video: https://youtu.be/2wzwWmim-2g Alaska Outdoors https://alaskaoutdoorsmagazine.com. Alaska Outdoors Blog: https://alaskaoutdoorsmagazine.com/blog/ Alaska Outdoors Videos: https://bit.ly/37xjUzl          

Episode 6: Sister Mary Janina Isidore is a quiet little farm community. Not at all the place you think of when you hear someone has been buried alive in the basement of a church. Sources: https://lostinmichigan.net Where is Sister Janina? Mardi Lind https://wondersandmarvels.com Isadore’s Secret: Sin, Murder, and Confession in a Northern Michigan Town by Mardi Link The 1907 Murder of Sister Janina: Isidore, Michigan https://99wfmk.com ________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 6: Sister Mary Janina Valerie Winans is a graduate of Northwestern Michigan College, a retired state government manager, and a former campground host in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Valerie is the author of three books: Alaska’s Savage River: Inside Denali National Park and Preserve, Road Trip with Remington Beagle: Michigan to Alaska and Back, and A Hero’s Journey: Life Lessons From A Dog And His Friends. A writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her books are written to inform and entertain readers of all ages. She currently resides with her husband in Traverse City, Michigan. More information can be found at www.valeriewinans.com.  

Episode 5: Three Mysteries From a small town in Utah to a mysterious mountain in Africa, mysteries fill the world around us. In this episode, I will share three mysteries.     This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 5: Three Mysteries My pseudonym as an author is Carl Douglass, adopted as a means of telling stories with gripping realism—the truth of which would not bring trouble to my door. My writing of gripping, realistic fiction began after I was obligated to retire from the private practice of neurosurgery due to sudden blindness in my left eye from a retinal detachment which caused loss of stereoscopic vision. I carried with me decades-long knowledge of doctors, hospitals, and institutions of higher learning, including some less than laudatory information. My military experience during the years of the recent unpleasantness in Viet Nam also gave me considerable insight. Both of those lengthy experiences provided true grist for the mill of my writing, but neither of them need to connect the stories to the lives of the real people and places where the stories took place. In that sense, I know too much and have no wish to incriminate or to bring harm or embarrassment to real individuals or institutions. My rich and varied life has provided even more fodder to feed my mind and contribute realism to my written work. In my time, I have had to work due to lacking a sugar daddy. I have been a grease monkey, a lumber mill and forest worker, a lifeguard, a slaughterhouse worker, a diener in a morgue, a lab rat, an academic writer, a medical officer in a mental hospital, a naval officer and surgeon, a brig doctor, and a deep diving officer. I have been the husband of one fine wife, the father of four children—one deceased—eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. All of them have enriched the depth and breadth of my storytelling. I put in the necessary work for my later-in-life craft of writing fiction. I spend hours each day enjoying doing the necessary research to make my historical fiction come alive and to give action and accurate place, time, and characters, to all my stories—some 40 books in print and several in the queue with my remarkable publisher, Evan Swensen, who has taught me a great deal about how to write what people like to read. I maintain a passion to learn, to read, to inform and teach, and—above all—to engage you in my yarns.    

Episode 4: Edna June How did a 200-pound pig become the “darling” on an Arabian horse ranch? Owning a ranch isn’t very mysterious. It’s a lot of plain hard work. But there have been some mysterious things that happen here. I’m going to tell you about one of them.     ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club _____________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 4: Edna June Victoria Hardesty has owned, bred and shown Arabian Horses for more than 30 years. She and her husband operated their own training facility serving many young people that loved and showed their own horses. She is the author of numerous articles in horse magazines, was the editor of two Arabian Horse Club newsletters, one of which was given the Communications Award of the Year by the Arabian Horse Association at their national convention. An avid reader from childhood, she read every horse story she could get her hands on. Victoria and her writing partner, Nancy Perez have written seven novels about Arabian horses. Check out their website at http://www.wonderhorsebooks.com/author-bio and see their books at Victoria Hardesty and Nancy Perez | Bookshelf (authormasterminds.com).

Episode 3: The Clara Nevada No saga of the Alaska Gold Rush would be complete without a touch of the mysterious. Every rush has its eerie events, and the Alaska Gold Rush was no exception. Perhaps the most perplexing incident of that era was the saga of the Clara Nevada. Here was a tale of greed, robbery, and murder, along with a ghostly re-visitation. But it was more than that. It is also one of the largest successful robberies in American history combined with the third largest mass murders in American history as well, surpassed only by the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the 911 attack on the World Trade Center.   ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 3: The Clara Nevada Steve Levi is a 70-something writer in Alaska. He specializes in the impossible crime and the Alaska Gold Rush. An impossible crime is one in which the detective must figure out HOW the crime was committed before he can go after the perpetrators. As an example, in THE MATTER OF THE VANISHING GREYHOUND, the detective must figure out how a Greyhound bus with four bank robbers, a dozen hostages and $10 million can vanish off the Golden Gate Bridge. Steve’s books can be seen at www.authormasterminds.com/steve-levi and www.steverlevibooks.com. He also does two historical uploads a week. Send Steve your email, and he will include you in the mailings.    

Episode 2: Vile Vortices The world is full of mysteries. On this episode, I’d like to share about specific phenomena: Vile Vortices. So, what is a vile vortex? You’ve heard the chilling stories about the Bermuda Triangle, right? Well, there are several other mysterious places where ships and planes seem to vanish. These 12 places are collectively called the Vile Vortices, and like their more famous sibling, they all hold some rather creepy secrets. For the sake of time, I can only share a few. To this day, scientists are not exactly sure how vile vortices work or even why they occur. What we do know is that there are areas in which strange, possibly even paranormal phenomena, disappearances, and disturbing tales seem to be commonplace. The Bermuda Triangle is most likely the most famous of the vortexes. _____________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club _______________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 2: Vile Vortices Mary Ann Poll is the author of four Supernatural Thriller novels, Ravens Cove, Ingress, Gorgon, and Dullahan Sign up to subscribe for free information about upcoming events at www.maryannpoll.com and check out her podcast Real Ghost Chatter.  

Mysterious explores the mysteries in the world around us. Brought to you by authors from a variety of genres, we each tell you about a mystery related to our particular field of expertise. From mysterious disappearances and UFOs to the unexplainable behavior of a pig to an unsolved mass murder at sea to a nun who suddenly disappeared. We will explore mysteries in nature, mysterious occurrences in history, and the enigmas of space. Join us and take a closer look at the mysterious world around us. _________________________________________________________________________________ Episode 1: The Alaska Triangle First named in 1972, the Alaska Triangle stretches from Anchorage in southcentral Alaska to Juneau in the southeast panhandle to Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) on Alaska’s northern coast. Since 1988, more than 16,000 people have vanished from this area, and every year, approximately four people go missing per every 1000 Alaska residents. This rate is twice the national average. __________________________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club. Check out the Author Masterminds Website Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ___________________________________________________________________________ Meet your host for Episode 1: The Alaska Triangle Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska and check out her podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Read more about Robin’s books at Author Masterminds. Now Available: