Author Spotlight: Rhonda Blackhurst

I began writing as a wee four-year-old. Unfortunately, it was on the knotty pine walls of our family home. I grew up in a Minnesota lake house in the country, where we were too far from town to be entertained by anything other than games and activities I planned for myself, like dressing up my chihuahua for a picnic, floating my Barbies in carved cucumber boats in a tub of water, and piercing said Barbies’ ears with stick pins and beads. We had one television, but out in the boondocks where I lived, we only had one channel, so not much to watch there. All of these things combined led to my love of books and writing.

In my teenage years, I fell in love with poetry which was filled with teenage angst as a way of muddling my way through those tumultuous years. In my 20s, I took an online short story & journalism course from a school in Scranton, PA, and I wrote two romance novels that remain tucked away in a drawer. In my 30s, I landed a job as a stringer for a local newspaper. It was then I decided novel-length fiction was my passion. When my boys flew the nest, I began writing for publication and am now a hybrid author with 12 published books under my name (soon to be 13).

This is Author Rhonda Blackhurst’s writing and publication journey in her own words…

Inspiration to start writing…

I’ve always loved writing as far back as I can remember, and the oodles of stationery supplies I could manage to get my hands on. My two favorite Christmas gifts growing up were an electric typewriter from my parents and a notebook from an aunt and uncle–on the cover of the notebook, it said, “A Writer’s Notebook.” I was in love with it! Despite writing two romance novels in my 20s, mystery became my genre of choice, especially cozy mysteries. My day job was at a district attorney’s office as a paralegal and a victim witness specialist. My cases there were dark and filled with trauma. Cozy mysteries allowed me to leave that at the office and pen “fun” murders that resulted in the “good guys” winning, and tied up with a pretty bow at the end. I also have a romantic suspense duology with a domestic violence theme, and a Hallmark-style women’s fiction standalone, The Inheritance, which was my first published book. I’m re-writing a non-fiction book, Finding Peace Through Gratitude–The Secret to Discovering Joy in Every Moment, which will be released as part of an online course the first part of 2026.

 

Rhonda’s works…

My first 10 books I published independently. They can be found on Amazon at: Amazon.com : rhonda blackhurst

They are:

The Inheritance, a standalone Hallmark-style women’s fiction book;

The Melanie Hogan Mysteries, a seven-book cozy mystery series set in Minnesota. The protagonist owns a beauty salon, A Cut Above, with her best friend and sidekick, Claire Davis;

The Whispering Pines Duology, clean romantic suspense books set in Blue Mist Mountain, CO (Fictional Estes Park.)

My traditionally published series, The Spirit Lake Mysteries, a paranormal and animal cozy series, are published by The Wild Rose Press, and can be found here:  Search Results for “rhonda blackhurst” – The Wild Rose Press Inc

Welcome to Spirit Lake in the dead of a Minnesota winter, where the brutally cold temp isn’t the only thing to fear.
Andie Rose Kaczmarek, a six-year sober life coach and owner of the haunted Spirit Lake Inn, has learned the hard way that the living are far more dangerous than anything in the spirit world.
When a controversial guest fails to return to her room on the same night a body is discovered in a fish house on Big Spirit Lake, Andie Rose teams up with her sponsor and sidekick, Sister Alice, and her emotional support red retriever, Aspen, to solve the case.
After Andie Rose discovers illegal activity on the inn’s property that ties to the murder, the investigation shifts into high gear. As she uncovers shocking secrets of those she thought she knew, someone is intent on keeping her quiet at any cost.
Can the inn’s resident ghost save her from impending harm when it seems the ones closest to her pose the greatest threat?

At this rate, I’d be holding all the secret cards in this darn case. Too bad I wasn’t playing poker.