Fearless Adventures by M. S. Spencer

Please welcome M. S. Spencer to Fearless Friday on Discover...What fun she's had. 

Let’s see, adventures. I’ve had so many it would be impossible to choose just one. I’m not sure my childhood adventures qualify since I kind of went along for the ride—things like flying one of the first passenger planes to Europe, then going halfway around the world to Turkey, or taking the Queen Mary across the Atlantic to live in Paris, or tea with Barbara Hutton in Tangier.

Living in Egypt had its share of events. It was just before the October 1973 war broke out and foreigners weren’t permitted anywhere but tourist sites. We had taken the train to Luxor (the Temples of Karnak) and slept through our stop. Terrified we’d be thrown into an Egyptian jail, we huddled on the platform. Suddenly a delegation of the village elders appeared, greeted us like celebrities (they loved Americans) and made sure we got to Luxor safely.  Another heart clutching moment came at customs when I returned from Egypt with a suitcase full of spices. Swarmed by agents, they led me to a windowless room. The agent asked me to identify what was in each package. I gulped and began. Halfway through my mind went blank. I stared at the agent with panicky eyes. “I…I…” He said calmly, “Cardamom. Next?” I realized he knew exactly what I had and was just toying with me.

While working for the Bureau of Reclamation, I flew a Cessna down the Colorado River, stopping at every dam. Despite severe claustrophobia I managed to crawl through the bowels of the Hoover Dam on an inspection tour.

I thought the Mayan city of Chichen Itza was the coolest place in the Americas until I went to Peru. The research station deep in the Amazon jungle was the setting for my book  Orion’s Foot: Myth, Mystery, and Romance in the Amazon. I swam with pink dolphins and fished for piranha, watched the smallest primates on earth cavort in the trees, and the largest rodents on earth, capybaras, graze at my feet. One of our group of four touched a plant and her fingers stuck together. Our guide took his razor-sharp machete and split the two digits without spilling a drop of blood! 

But probably the most dangerous thing I ever did was walk down Amsterdam Avenue on the upper west side of Manhattan in my bare feet.

I’m excited to announce the release of my new mystery, Railroad Ties: the Marmion Grove Murders.

Blurb

When Sophie Childress discovers a letter written in 1920 by the witness to a murder, she enlists Noah Pennyman—owner of the house where it took place—to investigate. Who was the victim? What did the killer do with the body—not to mention a carpetbag full of money? Together they expose a complex web of family ties and lies that has persisted through four generations in the historic village of Marmion Grove. When two more corpses are unearthed, Noah and Sophie are faced with too many victims and not enough murderers.

Railroad Ties: the Marmion Grove Murders

Mystery, cozy

The Wild Rose Press, June 11, 2025

390 pp; 89,900 words

Buy link: Books2Read: https://books2read.com/railroadties/ 

About the Author

Librarian, anthropologist, Congressional aide, speechwriter, nonprofit director—M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents.  She has published eighteen romantic suspense and mystery novels. She currently divides her time between the Florida and Maine. 

Social media links:

Blog: https://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msspencermysteries

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-s-spencer

Shepherd: https://shepherd.com/search/author/21204

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002ZOEUC8