Courtesy Photo Alpena author Nancy Abram holds up her two new novels, "Slinging Bullets" and "Trial by Bullet."

ALPENA — Alpena author Nancy Abram started writing in late January and has since self-published two Detroit-based novels, “Slinging Bullets” and “Trial by Bullet.”

The books, released July 6, are available on Amazon and Apple iBooks.

“I had fun writing it,” Abram said of her first novel, “Slinging Bullets.” “They are standalone books, but the characters do carry over.”

As a retired teacher, Abram still works part-time for Alpena Public Schools, but she has been very busy writing in her free time. She spent 30 years teaching several subjects, but primarily science.

“I have some time on my hands, especially in the winter,” Abram said. “I’m currently in about Chapter 8 of a third book now.”

She loves reading detective novels by James Patterson, John Grisham, and more.

“I’ve always loved reading, but just because you’re a reader doesn’t mean that you can write,” she said.”I thought about it once a long time ago, and I kind of always had the idea that maybe I’d give it a shot. I’m a science person and I’m not really a creative writer or a technical writer, but I can try this … So I finally decided to give it a go in my retirement.”

She said she ventured into writing the novels without even telling anyone at first. But then she was ready to tell her husband, Rob.

“I kind of kept it to myself,” she said. “I was about three chapters in when I told Rob, ‘I’d like to read this and give me your opinion and see if I should keep going.’ And he encouraged me and then I didn’t tell anybody else as I was writing this ’cause I just wanted to see if I could do it.”

When she felt comfortable, she finally let other family members and friends in on her secret writer life. Her daughter Allison, friend Vicky Lindsay, and her parents were all on her feedback team prior to publication.

“At one point when I was getting close, it was the night of the ice storm,” Abram recalled. “My daughter happened to be visiting from Canton with her husband and kids, and we were sitting in the den in the dark with a candle, and I finally said, ‘All right, I’m just gonna tell them.’ So I told them, and they they were sworn to secrecy but then I got my document done and I called my parents — they live in Alpena … I said, ‘Well, I wrote a novel.’ I loaded it on their iPad and they were pretty shocked.”

She said her novels have something for everyone, from crime to mystery to sports to romance. Not to mention they’re set in Michigan.

“I like a lot of the mystery and crime-solving books, and then I do throw in some romance,” she said. “And I’m a big sports fan. The first book has got crime. It’s got sports. It’s got romance. It’s got everything, because those are all things I like, and I’m going to write what I know.”

Book descriptions provided by the author are listed here.

‘Slinging Bullets’

A Super Bowl and gunfire are never a welcome combination.

Detroit Wheels quarterback Luke Bradford should be on top of the world as he competes in the biggest game of his life. However, a series of deeply concerning threats made during his breakout football season have escalated. A shooting during the Super Bowl has been planned with Luke as the intended target. The shooter claims to know how to bypass the extensive security so tensions are high. Will Luke survive long enough to carry his team to victory or will the event end abruptly in a Super Bowl the world will never forget?

Ava Castillo is a respected homicide detective with one job to do — prevent a murder during the country’s biggest sporting event. To do so, Ava needs to get close to the team’s new #1 quarterback without crossing any boundaries. Can Ava infiltrate the team and discover the shooter’s identity before he or she makes good on the threats?

“Slinging Bullets” is the debut novel in the Ava Castillo mystery series. Once you fall in love with Ava, be sure to follow her as she takes on a vigilante assassin in Book 2, “Trial by Bullet.”

‘Trial by Bullet’

Capital punishment was never intended to be a do-it-yourself project.

A self-appointed judge, jury and executioner is eliminating Detroit’s accused criminals one by one. The assassin-style killings target those who the killer deemed to be unjustly excused from their transgressions.

Homicide detective Ava Castillo and her partner Bennett Myers are tasked with solving the vigilante murder spree before the body count continues to grow. Unfortunately, the killer leaves few clues to follow so the detectives must dig deep to find a solution. Pressure continues to mount as an intriguing suspect develops during the investigation. Will Ava and Bennett pursue the correct trail or are they being outsmarted by a master culprit?

“Trial by Bullet” is a standalone novel. However, readers might enjoy first getting to know Ava and her fellow characters in her breakout novel, “Slinging Bullets.”

Abram said she doesn’t anticipate being on the best-seller list, but she hopes people enjoy her books as much as she enjoyed writing them. So far, she has sold books to people in the United Kingdom, Australia, and North America.

“I’ve got three continents covered, so that’s good,” she said, adding that it was fun to see book sales in other countries.

“My deck is my happy place so I sit out there on my little comfy chair with my laptop and go to town,” Abram said of the writing process. “I was pretty determined to get those other books done … but this third one, I’m just being a little more relaxed about it. I’m anxious to write it at the same time. I’m kind of excited about the third book too, so it’ll be it’ll be fun. I’m about a quarter of the way through it, probably.”

Reach News Community Editor Darby Hinkley at 989-358-5691 or dhinkley@TheAlpenaNews.com.