Big Things are Afoot!

And More Free Book Links...What Could Be Better?

Feb 10, 2025

Vacations Can Be Murder: Coming Soon!

It’s February, which means that spring is only a few months away! The big news is that next month, I’ll be releasing the first of a multi-volume series of true crime travel guides called Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide. These are written under my own name, Dawn M. Barclay, as opposed to my fiction pseudonym, D.M. Barr.

The first volume covers the six states of New England, and includes information on the major crimes that occurred there, including addresses; where to read for more information; true crime and haunted tours; hotels and restaurants that are either haunted or have a crime/justice connection; museums and other attractions that are crime- or justice-related; locations of the prisons and burial sites; and itineraries that bring it all together to make for easy touring. There’s even a Victim Resources Guide included for each state. No other than Katherine Ramsland, author of 73 books and a familiar face from Forensic Files, has called the book “a gem of a travel guide.” I’ll have the cover reveal soon but check out this trailer here:

Deadly When Disturbed Receiving Great Reviews!

I’m so delighted to report that readers seems to be loving my newest domestic thriller, Deadly When Disturbed! My favorite description was from one reviewer who called it “jaw-droppingly good.” And the audiobook debuts on March 18th! If you haven’t read it yet, here are the buy links:

Google Books (with links to Books-a-Million and Indiebound)

FREE BOOKS!

My gift to you: some links to free books offered by some other mystery, suspense, and romance/romantic suspense authors for you to download.

Here are the links:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mystery_crime_thriller_giveaway/k26fduj69w

https://books.bookfunnel.com/loveontheline/c7c9fh14gl

https://books.bookfunnel.com/FebruarySizzlingHotRomance2025/k64kql64q6

https://dashboard.bookfunnel.com/bundles/board/vlac9dvfmr

Thanks for reading Barr Sinister: The Suspenseful World of D.M. Barr! This post is public so feel free to share it.

What have I been up to?

Award Nods: So happy to announce that New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style 6 , an anthology I co-edited for Sisters in Crime-NY/Tristate, has been nominated for a Derringer Award for Best Anthology. Voting commences in April, but is restricted to members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. If you’d like to take a look or have a read, click on the book cover for the buy link. Be sure to catch my contribution, Orchestral Removals in the Dark, inside.

Audiobooks: Currently under productions: audiobooks for The Queen of Second Chances, Simple Tryst of Fate, and Saving Grace: A Psychological Thriller. As said earlier, the audiobook for Deadly When Disturbed will be out March 18th.

Anthologies: I’m hard at work, editing submissions for Ya Got Trouble: Crime Fiction Inspired by Broadway Show Tunes, to be published in May 2026 by Down & Out Books.

New Purchase Outlets: While all my paperbacks are available at Bookshop.org (supporting small, independent bookstores), the e-books will soon be available there as well.

Appearances: I moderated a True Crime Panel for the Montclair (NJ) Women’s Club on February 7th, exhibited with Hudson Valley Scribes at the Rockland (NY) Arts Festival on February 9th, and will be at Big Red Books (Nyack, NY) on February 16 as part of Indie Authors Day. (Their definition of “indie authors” includes those published by small presses.)

My latest post from Miss Demeanors, this one about how authors can change their perspective on swag and merch ran in late January. Click on the photo below to be linked to the post. It’s a great blog (voted #25 in the top 400 mystery/suspense blogs for 2025) so be sure to subscribe.

Here’s the link, just in case: https://www.missdemeanors.com/merchandising-sales-tool-or-author-side-hustle/