I’ll be honest, I get a LOT of requests from authors asking to be showcased in this “Authors Helping Authors” series. I’d love to accommodate them all, but I only post on Saturdays, and I leave a couple of Saturdays a month open for my own posts. But when Erica Miner, a friend of my author buddy Lois Winston, reached out and I saw all that she’s accomplished, I knew I had to introduce her to my readers. Today, we’re highlighting here newest book, OVERTURE TO MURDER, the third novel in the Award-winning Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series.

Title: OVERTURE TO MURDER

About the book: The curtain comes down on murder in the third novel of the Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series. Young violinist Julia heads to the San Francisco Opera to replace ailing concertmaster, Ben, who has suffered serious injuries in a hit-and-run accident. Julia suspects it was no accident, and when one prominent company member becomes the victim of a grisly murder, she cannot resist becoming involved in the investigation. As in her previous sleuthing at the Metropolitan Opera and Santa Fe Opera in Books 1 &2, Julia finds danger lurking in the dark hallways and back stairways of an opera house and again finds herself face to face with a ruthless killer. But this time her courage is put to the test when the life of a precious family member is in even deeper peril.

About the author: Award-winning Seattle-based author, lecturer, screenwriter, and arts journalist Erica Miner believes opera theatres and fiery artistic temperaments are a chilling backdrop for murder and perfect for creating fictional mischief. Drawing on her 21 years as a violinist at the famed Metropolitan Opera, Erica’s fanciful plot fabrications reveal the dark side of the fascinating world of opera in her Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series (Level Best Books): Aria for Murder (2022), finalist in the 2023 CIBA and Eric Hoffer Book Awards; Prelude to Murder (2023), a Distinguished Favorite in the 2024 NYC Big Book Awards (‘A skillfully written whodunit of operatic proportions’—Kirkus Book Review); and Book 3, Overture to Murder (2024), a Distinguished Favorite in the 2025 Independent Press Awards.

Erica’s debut novel, TRAVELS WITH MY LOVERS, won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Her screenplays have won awards in the Writer’s Digest, Santa Fe, and WinFemme competitions. When she isn’t plumbing the depths of opera houses for murderous mayhem, Erica frequently contributes reviews and interviews for the well-known arts websites www.BroadwayWorld.com, www.bachtrack.com, and https://classicalvoiceamerica.org and lectures widely on opera. Find her at https://www.ericaminer.com