BOOKS & THEIR STORIES
THE LAST HURRAH: A Phoebe Korneal Mystery
Hey! Hey! Hey! So happy to share with the Phoebe readers...this first book landed a BRONZE award in the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) EVVY awards—Mystery/Crime/Detective Category.
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Also, a FINALIST Award in the Colorado Authors League (CAL) Awards for 2021—Mystery category.
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The Last Hurrah also made the list in Books That Take You Away, November 2021, Colorado Country Life magazine. Many thanks go out to the people of this great magazine.
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High in the Colorado Mountains, Green County reveled in a proud history
of prospecting and mining dating back to the Colorado 1860s Gold Rush. It seemed like the perfect place for Phoebe Korneal to start life over.
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Disillusionment in Utah catapulted her over the mountain peaks to a deputy sheriff position and join her childhood friends: Crack reporter Carrie Jean O’Brien and Undersheriff Bill Diamond.
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Awakened to hear their small mining community’s gold prospector had been found dead – they called him Old Al, because, well, he was old – Phoebe puts her detective skills to work, while Sheriff Joe Jackson is at Becky's Buns Up Bakery in his usual campaign mode for the next election.
Was Old Al’s death an accident?
Was about his gold? Where's it stashed?
Secret ingredients in Augusta’s Special Tea?
Can senior citizens find love at 10-5?
What’s a teenager to do?
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Phoebe is determined to find the answers and prove herself to be a top-
notch detective for Joe Jackson and her adopted town of eclectic characters.
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Join this eclectic cast and crew in hot pursuit of a killer cozy mystery!
THE LAST SLIDE, A PHOEBE KORNEAL MYSTERY, BOOK 2
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High in the Rocky Mountains, winter has closed in before Christmas. The first big storm of the season has covered the town of Oresville, Colorado in a beautiful but deadly white blanket.
The surrounding mountains shimmer in the bright sunshine as the Gettin' Higher Snowmobile Club takes a ride up the peaks, only to discover a red truck off the trail, held in place by towering pine trees.
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​ An unfortunate driving accident?
Or is something more sinister afoot?
A body in the truck, left for dead or worse?
Will Augusta leave her beloved mountains?
Can a thirty something find love at 10-5?
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Deputy Phoebe is determined to prove her detective skills to Sheriff Joe and the eclectic characters of Green County.
She will take charge of the situation to solve yet another mystery in Oresville while celebrating the end of the year—anticipating new starts.
Join this eclectic crew of townsfolk as they create headlines for the New Year! ​
THE LAST LINE, A PHOEBE KORNEAL MYSTERY, BOOK 3
High In the Rocky Mountains, the small mining town of Oresville, Colorado, awakes on Tuesday to the insidious impact of a death, maybe a kidnapping.
Deputy Sheriff, Phoebe Korneal, is charged with solving a crime the likes of which the town has never seen. The players are here—town cop, state police, FBI. Phoebe’s relentless investigation skills are stressed to the max.
The elephant in the room is a special election for sheri
Vote for Phoebe! No more old white guys in charge!
A nearly naked man hanging from a zipline?
Where’s the girlfriend?
What about Old Al’s gold?
Will Phoebe declare love. . .finally?
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Award-winning authors, Butler and Gabardi, use technology to collaborate seamlessly while migrating between their homes in Colorado and Wyoming.
This light mystery resonates with all ages and audiences—whether on the beach or in front of the fireplace. Read on!
Check out the Phoebe Korneal Series ... books that take
you away!
MYSTERIES FROM THE MUSEUM
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Mysteries From the Museum was published in 2020. The Chaffee County Writer's Exchange came together on a Saturday to tour the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum and write historical anthology based on the museum collections.​
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GaGa and Judilee wrote their first collaborative short story in this setting and a writing partnership was born. Go to the BONUS page on this website and sign up to receive your copy!
The pandemic hit and magically there was enough time for collaborative storytelling!
The Last Hurrah was written while managing a steep technical learning curve, time zone differences, and lack of writing tools such as, "What the heck is a narrative arc?"
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GaGa & Judilee at the
Sloboda Summer Soirée
SNEAK PEAK
2025 Launch,
Prequel
Love in the Rearview Mirror!
Police Officer Phoebe Korneal dreams of being Police Detective Phoebe Korneal, not easy for a young woman in a Western city run by good old boys.
Waiting for the promotion, she’s assigned temporary positions and lands in the Cold Case Unit. Here the unit brass throws her a bone by assigning a fifty-year-old case.
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Solving a murder is not the only thing Phoebe will have to negotiate as she falls in love for the first time—love is not always as wonderful as imagined.
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Strap in, buckle up, and get ready for a wild ride as award-winning authors Butler and Gabardi present the prequel to The Phoebe Korneal Mystery Series.
