About Me
Elaine L. Orr writes five mystery series, the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, the three-book River's Edge series, the three-book Logland series, and the four-book Family History Mystery series.
The Jolie Gentil series is set at the Jersey shore. Behind the Walls was a finalist for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards.
Her newest series, Shore Shenanigans, is also set at the Jersey Shore.
The first book in Elaine's River's Edge cozy mystery series, From Newsprint to Footprints, debuted in late fall 2015, followed by Demise of a Devious Neighbor. The latter was a Chanticleer finalist in 2017. The fictional South County sits along the Des Moines River in Southeast Iowa.
In 2016, Elaine issued Tip a Hat to Murder, first in the Logland mystery series. Set in small-town Illinois, its protagonist is a police chief rather than an amateur sleuth. The third book, Final Cycle, was published in June 2019.
Finally, a series set in her native Maryland! The Family History series in the Western Maryland mountains examines crimes of the past with a sleuth in the present. Add a ghost only Digger can see, and you get a great mix of humor and insight of the region.
Nonfiction includes Writing When Time is Scares -- and Getting the Work Published, and many family history books. In 2019, she published Fitting in After Fifty -- to Your New Town. The guide to breaking into a community at a 'mature' age is practical and adds a touch of humor.
Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including Falling Into Place and In the Shadow of Light. Biding Time was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's first fiction contest, in 1993, and her play, Permission to Hope, was part of the Bethesda, MD Plays in Progress series in 1989. The one-act, Common Ground, is a story of three couples planning big moves -- with a twist.
Elaine conducts presentations on electronic publishing and other writing-related topics. Nonfiction includes Words to Write By: Getting Your Thoughts on Paper and Writing in Retirement: Putting New Year’s Resolutions to Work. She also conducts online courses on writing and publishing on the TabletWise and Teachable platforms.
Thought her degrees are in government, Elaine studied writing at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University School of Continuing Education, the Writer's Center of Bethesda, Maryland, and the University of Iowa's Summer Writing Festival. A member of Sisters in Crime and the Indiana Writers’ Center, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994.
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Elaine L. Orr Books
Broken Ornaments Healing Holidays: A Short Story in the Family History Mystery Series
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New Lease on Death: 13th Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series)
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Holidays in Ocean Alley: Ninth in the Jolie Gentil Series (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series Book 9)
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The Twain Does Meet: A Jolie and Scoobie Novella (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series Book 0)
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Aunt Madge and the Civil Election: An Aunt Madge Story in the Jolie Gentil Series (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series)
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From Newsprint to Footprints: First River's Edge Cozy Mystery (River's Edge Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)
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Demise of a Devious Neighbor: A River's Edge Cozy Mystery (River's Edge Cozy Mysteries Book 2)
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Mildred Mistletoe Adjusts to a COVID Christmas (Mildred Mistletoe Holiday Series Book 3)
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Isabella Orr and Ephraim Campbell: of Ballylaggan, Ireland and Jasper County, Missouri
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Orr, Campbell, Mitchell and Shirley Families in Ireland and America and More: Descendants of Paul Orr and Isabella Boyd of Aghadowey
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Jolie Gentil Cozy Mysteries Box Set: Books 7 - 9 (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series)
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Jolie Gentil The Mysteries Continue: Books 10 and 11 and a Fun Novella (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series Book 0)
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Jolie Gentil Translates to Trouble: Boxed Set: Books: Four - Six (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series)
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Ocean Alley Adventures : Boxed Set: Books 1 - 3 (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series Book 0)
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