Wednesday Wicked Ways: Friday Night Mystery Club Series
by Joanna Campbell Slan
I am happy to welcome Joanna Campbell Slan
to Escape With Dollycas today!
The Magic Behind the Mystery: A Thank You to Book Influencers
Dear Lori and the wonderful Dollycas community,
There’s something magical about the moment when a reader discovers your book, isn’t there? That instant when a stranger picks up your story and steps into the world you’ve created. As I celebrate the release of Wednesday Wicked Ways, the fourth book in my Friday Night Mystery Club series, I’ve been thinking a lot about the unsung heroes who make those magical moments possible: book reviewers and influencers like Lori.
You know, I’ve learned to describe my books as socially conscious cozies. (A term that took hours to coin while getting my nails done with a book-loving friend, I might add!) My Friday Night Mystery Club series follows five working women in 1986-7 as they navigate life’s challenges and solve mysteries along the way. These women struggle to survive and thrive in what was very much still a man’s world, dealing with everything from workplace discrimination to the daily hunt for run-free pantyhose.
But here’s the thing—no matter how much heart and soul I pour into these stories, they’d never find their way to readers without people like Lori and sites like Dollycas’s Thoughts.
In a world overflowing with books, reviewers and book influencers are the lighthouse keepers guiding readers safely to shore. They read tirelessly, thoughtfully analyze each story, and create communities where book lovers can gather. They’re the ones who take a chance on new authors and breathe second life into series that deserve more attention.
When I submitted my first Friday Night Mystery Club book for review, I was honestly terrified. Would anyone understand what I was trying to do with these characters? Would they appreciate a cozy that deals with tougher social issues while still delivering that delicious cozy feel? It was reviewers who first got what I was trying to accomplish, who articulated it better than I could myself sometimes, and who connected my books with readers who would appreciate them.
I remember one particular review (not naming names, but perhaps sitting on this very website!) that pointed out how the 1980s setting allowed me to examine issues women faced then that still resonate today, but through a lens that gives us perspective. That reviewer understood exactly what I was trying to do, sometimes better than I did myself!
Book bloggers and reviewers like Lori don’t just read books—they champion them. They create spaces where readers can discover new voices. They foster discussions that keep stories alive long after the last page is turned. And they do all this out of sheer love for books and reading.
So, as I introduce Wednesday Wicked Ways to the world, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to Lori and all the book reviewers and influencers who make what I do possible. You are the bridge between authors and readers, and that’s a pretty incredible thing to be.
And to the readers of Dollycas’s Great Escapes Book Tours: thank you for being part of this community. I hope you’ll join Cragan, Pru, Rosie, Zee, and Winnie for their latest adventure. These five working women from the 1980s still have plenty of stories to tell and mysteries to solve!
With gratitude, Joanna Campbell Slan
Wednesday Wicked Ways, Book #4 in the Friday Night Mystery Club series, is available now. Join five working women from 1986 as they face both workplace challenges and a mystery that hits far too close to home.
Thank you, Joanna, for the wonderful shoutout. I love what I do. Promoting books and helping authors like you gives life to my soul and has saved me in so many ways.
Keep reading for more information about Joanna and her new book, Wednesday Wicked Ways!
About Wednesday Wicked Ways
Wednesday Wicked Ways: Friday Night Mystery Club Series
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Decatur, Illinois/1986
Publisher : Spot On Publishing (March 23, 2025)
Paperback : 230 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8314595169
Digital ASIN : B0DSCJFK42
From bestselling cozy mystery author Joanna Campbell Slan comes a thrilling new installment in the Friday Night Mystery Club series, featuring a group of female amateur sleuths.
Decatur, Illinois/1986– In this small Midwestern town, everyone has something to hide, from Japanese business interests eyeing a piece of property to an angry sharpshooter harboring a murderous obsession. Meanwhile, working women struggle to make their way in a man’s world, and their primary opposition might well be…other women.
Cragan Collins has a lot on her plate: a demanding job as an advertising rep, a complicated love life, and an upcoming public speaking contest. But when a shooter targets a performer at one of her ad accounts, Fast Freddy’s Gentleman’s Club, and leaves a young dancer critically injured, Cragan and her mystery-solving friends spring into action. They suspect that Pru, the club’s star performer and their housemate, may be the real target — and the danger to her is far from over.
This page-turning cozy mystery features female amateur sleuths who love reading mysteries. The book blends humor, romance, and suspense while tackling themes of workplace equality and acceptance.
Perfect for fans of Wendy Delaney, Elaine Viets, and Tonya Kappes, or anyone who enjoys mysteries with a side helping of social commentary, a smidgeon of humor, and a dash of romance.
This is Book 4 in the Friday Night Mystery Club series, but can be read as a standalone novel.
Excerpt
Pop! The sound exploded the frigid night air.
A backfire, thought Chantilly.
A firecracker, thought Pru, standing not far from her friends.
Weird, thought Taffy. She intended to get inside her car, but her legs didn’t cooperate. Instead, they buckled.
Chantilly made a diving grab and caught the other girl before she hit the ground. Being stronger and taller, Chantilly was able to ease Taffy to the pavement. While doing so, she noticed how white Taffy’s face looked. Was it a result of the sodium lamp? No, it was deathly pale.
“Taffy, you okay?” asked Chantilly, lightly slapping Taffy’s cheeks.
“Leg,” Taffy moaned.
Chantilly ran her hands down the other woman’s body. She stopped when she discovered a warm wetness. Lifting her ivory-colored leather gloves toward the parking lamp, Chantilly gasped in horror. Blood dripped down her arm.
About Joanna Campbell Slan
Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.
Otherwise, Joanna’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).
Currently, she writes six fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), the Tai Chi Mystery Series (featuring a mature female amateur sleuth!) and the Friday Night Mystery Series (set in Decatur, IL in 1986 with a spunky female heroine.)
A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.
In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida. You can email her at jcslan@joannaslan.com or visit her website at https://linktr.ee/jcslan
Author Links
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Find all of Joanna Campbell Slan’s books HERE.
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
May 1 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
May 1 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
May 2 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
May 2 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
May 3 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
May 4 – Frugal Freelancer – AUTHOR GUEST POST
May 5 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT – no post -medical
May 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
May 7 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 8 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
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, my thoughts went back to Decatur, Illinois, and the years I worked as a newspaper ad rep, the mid-1980s. First I took a long distance view, like a bird soaring over the experience, getting the lay of the land. Then I zoomed in for a closer look. I remembered an incident when I made a sales call on the manager of a TSC (Tractor Supply Company) store, a man named Ross. Uninterested in the newspaper where I worked, he literally picked me up and bodily threw me out of the store. Okay, he didn’t toss me but set me down gently outside the front entrance. Once I steadied myself, I meekly walked to my car and climbed inside. But I couldn’t drive off. I’d waited and waited to talk to him. I knew I could do a good job for him. By golly, I needed the revenue and he needed my expertise. Gathering all my dignity and my resolve, I got out of the car and went straight to his office. Walking in, I told him, “I have something to offer, and you need to listen. I’m good at my job, and I can put that to work for you, if you give me a chance.”
. I applied the “what if” question and dreamed him up in a new incarnation, Ross as a cowboy hunk. The more I worked on the book, the more the new Ross became real to me. He actually morphed into a romantic hero.
!
(Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the 
(contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the 
(Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the 
(late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), the 
(featuring a mature female amateur sleuth!) and the Friday Night Mystery Series (set in Decatur, IL in 1986 with a spunky female heroine.)
It is my please to shine my spotlights on Ink, Red, Dead: Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series
