Books
Web of DeceptionBy Mary S. Palmer
The third mystery in the Entanglement series is out! Returning to his childhood home in Mobile, Fred Hansen juggles his job as a police lieutenant with teaching a college course. He is also searching for his long-lost mother but fears she may have died in a plane crash years earlier.
Fred’s world is turned upside down when he discovers a family secret with the help of his partner, Jack, a female officer, and also with assistance from a former associate who was an anchorwoman for a television station in Atlanta when Fred worked there as a policeman. Colleen moved to the Port City in Alabama, too, and she joins forces with Fred in his quest, which becomes more complex than they anticipated.
Intrigue rules as problems overlap and issues intertwine in unusual and unaccountable ways. This tale of murder and mystery, mixed with history and a touch of romance, shows how meeting such challenges is a daunting task.
The song in Web of Deception!
Deja Vu, Me and You - Original Song Performed by Mike Turner
$20.00 from Amazon in paperback.
Entangled WebBy Mary S. Palmer
Mystery ensues as Lt. Fred Hansen unveils uncanny facts about his own family amidst mayhem and murder. He is caught up in the middle of his own case as he attempts to unravel things beyond his conception.
The results become unrealistic.
$20.00 from Amazon.
Melody of MaliceBy Mary S. Palmer & Paula Lenor Webb
The third thriller in the Mississippi Mojo series! When a narcissist, ruthless mother exploits her own children, Shannon, their half-sister, is hard-pressed to keep them safe from her wiles. Sheriff Hunter Harley comes to their aid but protecting them isn’t an easy task. This intriguing story keeps readers turning pages to see what happens next. Will Shannon resort to the mojo for help? When can she return to her goal of completing a museum for Goldie Parsons along with finding the urn containing his remains? Surprisingly, her own life takes an unusual turn in the process. So does the life of Zita Rocconi.
$20.00 from Amazon.
Fatal EntanglementsBy Mary S. Palmer
Pet lovers will understand Lana Doni’s love for her dog. But will they feel it should surpass her love for her husband? Relationships become entangled in the Doni household and a murder with an unknown weapon complicates things further.
$20.00 from Amazon.
Devilry in the DeltaBy Mary S. Palmer & Paula Lenor Webb
The thrilling sequel to Mississippi Mojo is out! Hunter Harley had a run of bad luck before he came to Cleveland, Mississippi as their new sheriff. Solving a sixty-year-old case had given him satisfaction and made his life better. Then, his nemesis, a serial killer also targeting attorney Shannon Brown’s two young children, stalks him. The hunter becomes the hunted. Can his new friends help him survive?
$20.00 from Amazon.
Mississippi Mojo … and Murder: Tales of the BluesBy Mary S. Palmer & Paula Lenor Webb
A sixty-year-old cold case and a big city sheriff seeking redemption—it’s time for the dead to rise. A thwarted youthful romance blends with the blues and Mama Cheche’s mojo. Controversy ensues when a blues singer groom goes missing in Cleveland, Mississippi. All becomes a tangled web.
“The home of the blues… I was happy to make this, my first piece to be used as a book cover. The story is set in a place dear to my heart. Paula and Mary have written this redemptive tale in such a way that transports you to the Delta. You can feel the gentle breeze coming across the Sunflower River and hear the mellowed notes jumping off the blues man's guitar.” —Abe Partridge, singer and artist
$20.00 from Amazon.
Commas for Soul SearchersBy Mary S. Palmer
This collection of essays and short stories uses examples of the best qualities we all share as human beings: compassion, forgiveness, hope, courage, generosity, and faith. Dealing with both life and death, it has a variety of examples of respect and good values. The purpose is to touch people where they live, to have them make connections with their own lives and hopefully learn how to deal with similar situations in a sensible manner. By comparing commas to pauses in life, it should inspire people to think about what is truly important.
Many essays herein explore the power of influence we have on each other, something we often don’t realize. They also talk about the music of life, high notes and low notes, the tempo that remains balanced if we know where to put the commas. We can only truly enjoy life if we recognize the signs telling us when to listen and when to speak.
Just as it's important in writing to keep sentences varied in structure and length, it's important to keep life varied in the structure and length of experiences. People who know when to pause, stop, or go full speed-ahead are more likely to be productive, successful, and happy. Life needs the right blend to have harmony.
So, savor these creative stories and essays, which may also raise the question of whether our conscious or subconscious is stronger, and which determines where we put punctuation marks in our own lives. The answer is left up to the reader.
$20.00 from Amazon.
Boyington Oak: A Grave InjusticeBy Mary S. Palmer
Based on events that have since become folklore in Mobile, Alabama.
A nineteen-year-old printer, Charles R. S. Boyington, was unjustly convicted and hanged for killing his best friend in 1835. During this period, the people of Mobile considered all individuals as either God-fearing or evil. Boyington’s atheistic beliefs, checkered past and inconsistent testimonies gave more weight to the flimsy circumstantial evidence against him. Heightened public outrage frightened off any potential witnesses for the defense and biased jurors and judges so that the legal process turned into a sham, with a guilty verdict a foregone conclusion.
Convicted by an unqualified jury in 1834 using only circumstantial evidence, he was shackled in Mobile’s first jail, where he wrote poetry to his fiancée before his execution. As he predicted would happen to prove his innocence, a tree grew on his gravesite and still stands 175 years later in the Church St. Graveyard.
$20.00 from Amazon.
Tourism Writing: A New Genre Unveiling the History, Mystery, and Economy of Places and EventsBy Mary S. Palmer
Out from Universal Publishers—received Faulkner University grant.
A new genre, Tourism Writing, is an innovative and effective means of teaching students composition. Tourism Writing focuses on a particular place or event, provides photos and information on nearby points of interest, and directly invites visitors. This book provides an understanding of how Tourism Writing benefits people in all areas of life. PR sheet.
$25.95 from Amazon.
Who Am I? Who Are You?By Heather Heathcock with Mary S. Palmer
A murderess, alcoholic mother's neglect makes her daughter vulnerable to abuse. The grandmother who tries to help blames all their troubles—violent deaths and problems the child has as a teenager—on The Family Curse. The theme moves from crime, to psychology, to survival and inspiration.
$20.00 from Amazon.
Time
Will TellNow re-released from Decadent Publishing!
In the inner space of outer space, an Earthling, reporter Mona Stewart, discovers that living almost forever in idleness, without challenges, is much worse than having too much to do. The only reprieve from boredom for the Svarians is outwitting the Aliens.
YouTube trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=2aJ_-B9vlBY
“Most fascinating book … before I found your books I was
reading John Grisham books. I must say yours are more fascinating. I
have a hard time putting the book down to work, sleep, eat; you have
a way of keeping one’s attention. Thank you …”
—Judith F. Jacob, MSgt,
TNANG (Ret)
$20.00 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to: mlsp0121@gmail.com
George Wallace: An Enigma, a factual account of the life of Alabama’s most controversial and divisive governor, has been released by Intellect Publishing.
Palmer has created a uniquely Southern style in telling this
story without losing the truth of Wallace’s many moral and
political contradictions that made him the ultimate prodigal
son of politics in the deep South.—Patrick Miller, President, Southeastern Literary
Tourism Initiative
Author Mary Palmer takes us into the tumultuous political
scene of George Wallace. George Wallace: An Enigma
reveals the good, the bad, and the ugly, of one of the most
controversial politicians of our time... and how his views
evolved over time.—Cindy Ingram, Director of Satsuma Public Library
Mary Palmer has peered into the closet of George Corley Wallace and masterfully portrayed the man who might have been President of the United States of America, the little fighting judge, and the legendary Governor of Alabama. In a preface to this book, John O’Melveny Woods, the publisher asks: “Should I publish this book or not?” Thankfully, the answer was “yes,” because the public needs to know the real Wallace who was more, much more, than the icon known for his adamant stand in the schoolhouse door proclaiming “Segregation Forever.”Palmer’s book bears an important foreword from George Wallace himself, so this account carries the Governor’s endorsement. He says: “I feel that this biography, by Mary S. Palmer, probably is the most unbiased, objective presentation of my true life story. While it is critical of my deficiencies, it also acknowledges my objective as a person as well as a politician.” Wallace notes that other biographies have made harsh judgments of him and portrayed him as a “bigoted racist with only his own interests at heart.” He hopes “that man is not me.”
George Wallace: An Enigma is a book of fairness and compassion. […] she gives a relevant historical perspective into the life and time of one of America’s most “complex, divisive and controversial governors.”
Mary Palmer’s book is a “must read,” not only because it is about a governor who would be President, but because it shows us the human side of success and failure. In many ways, the book discloses the sad realities of fame…
—Sue Walker, Ph.D, Publisher of Negative Capability, Former Poet Laureate of Alabama, Former Chairperson of the English Department of the University of South Alabama
$20.00 trade paperback print; $9.95 Kindle. Buy from GeorgeWallaceBook.com
Hardcover is available: $33.00 including tax, plus shipping, via PayPal: mlsp0121@gmail.com
Question of Time (Musa Publishing, 2014)A science-fiction novel—the sequel to Time Will Tell
When aliens try to take over the world—starting with an attempt on the life of the President of the United States—can photo-journalist Mona Stewart Parker prevent the unthinkable from happening?
Mona’s marriage to Rob seems perfect. They share many interests: their jobs at the newspaper, a very bright son, and a home peers might envy.
Space creatures invading Earth change everything. Secrets are unveiled when Mona and Rob become their captives. In mid-conflict, where the Aliens try to force the Svarians to reveal cures for fatal diseases and the key to immortality, Rob has other issues to deal with. Illegal activity involving high-ranking politicians is about to be unveiled—and he must decide what to do about his implication. None of Rob’s choices are good. Confession could lead to divorce and a jail sentence; silence would mean living in constant fear of discovery. He will have to decide which has the less dire consequences.
$20.00 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to: mlsp0121@gmail.com
Chance for Redemption (Westbow Press, 2013)A fantasy novella
$20.00; available at Amazon, Westbow Press, or via PayPal to mlsp0121@gmail.com
When Jerome Strait is turned away from Heaven’s Gate, he’s shocked to find that he can’t buy his way into heaven. On Earth, money allowed him to have everything he wanted.
Now, he must return to earth, relive his life, and right all of his wrongs in order to be saved. Can this greedy, selfish man learn that the only lasting values are faith, hope, and love?
A guardian angel named Ezekiel is sent to help him. If Jerome fails to change and earn his redemption in the two days between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, his soul is lost forever. Will he be able to meet the challenge, or is he doomed to hell?
Baiting the Hook (Musa Publishing, 2012)The sequel to To Catch a Fish
Co-author David V. Wilton
When the storms of life blow, can true love stay afloat?
Childhood friends Davey Simpson and Pokey Merrill overcame the lies that kept them apart and are now engaged to be married—and fighting to stay together and to stay alive.
Davey secretly infiltrates the KKK to protect his best friend, a black man running for governor of Alabama. Pokey secretly undergoes experimental surgery to regain the use of her legs. And both wonder if they are good enough to deserve the other’s love.
Amid murder and politics, Davey baits the hook to reel in the bad guys. Can he and Pokey survive the rough seas of insecurity, hatred and deceit? Can their love?
$20.00 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to mlsp0121@gmail.com
To Catch a Fish (2010)Co-author David V. Wilton
YouTube trailer:
youtube.com/watch?
v=eNRctSRzGLw&feature=youtu.be
This novel stresses the sanctity of the sea, the importance
of the Gulf waters, and lifelong loyalty and triumph over adversity.
As a young girl, Pokey has a life-threatening disease. Davey, a simple fisherman, is charged with the murder of a politician’s son. Ben, Alabama’s first black lieutenant governor, has to decide whether to resign to become his childhood friend’s attorney.
$20.00 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to mlsp0121@gmail.com
or from Amazon
Quest
for Forgiveness (2009)Co-author James McEnery
(Available only from Mary) This shockingly frank autobiography bares the soul of a young boy as he progresses on a lifelong journey seeking forgiveness of alcoholic parents who abandoned him. This caused him to be relegated to growing up in an institution. Later, he also has to seek God’s forgiveness and, the most difficult of all, forgiving himself.
$20.00 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to mlsp0121@gmail.com
False Gods (2006)Co-author Elizabeth T. Coffman, Ph.D.
The story of a man who is tempted by a quest for power. He exploits everyone to become a TV evangelist. It shows a person who made money his God and power his goal. Both became false gods.
$24.95 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to mlsp0121@gmail.com
The Callings (2003)Co-author Loretta Theriot
A story of one man called by God and another called by the devil. Based on a true story of matricide, a teenager ends up in Angola’s Louisiana State Penitentiary.
$34.95 (plus $5.00 shipping)
Autographed copies can be ordered directly by PayPal to mlsp0121@gmail.com
MemoraMOBILEia:Alabama Gulf Coast Potpourri (1993)
Co-author Elizabeth Coffman, Ph.D.
OUT OF PRINT
Short Stories
“Raisin’ Cain,” a Mardi Gras-themed short story, won the Mobile Bay SELTI Tourism Writing Contest.
“Double Indemnity” in Faulkner University’s literary journal, Images in Ink.
“Maggie O’Hara” in Mobile Bay Tales, edited by Tom Franklin, author of Hell at the Breech
Short stories forthcoming in NEGATIVE CAPABILITY anthologies:
In Secrets—“The Reverend Reminisces”
In Alabama Places in Our Hearts—“Raisin’ Cain”
Essays
My essay on my book, George Wallace: An Enigma, appears on Ezine Articles at ezinearticles.com/?George-Wallace:-An-Enigma&id=9301500.
“The Big City—Then and Now” in New Orleans by New Orleans, from Bookbyauthor.
Poetry
Included in several books and other publications.
Plays Produced
Remembrances—a play about the unjust hanging of CHARLES R. S. BOYINGTON (1816–1835). Photos from 2020 public performance.
Murder, Most Southern
One Life, Much Influence—Knights of Columbus Alabama State Award 2015