Gemma "Trigger Happy" Halliday

Gemma had a hard time figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. She worked as a film and television actress, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900 number psychic, before finally selling her first book, Spying in High Heels, in 2005 and deciding to be a writer.

Since then, Gemma has written several mystery novels and been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Reader's Choice award and three RITA nominations. Her books have hit both the USA Today and the New York Times Bestseller lists.

Gemma now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area where she is hard at work on her next book.

Visit Gemma's website at:  http://www.gemmahalliday.com/
Or follow her on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gemmahallidayauthor


Gemma's Books:


High Heels Mysteries:



Spying in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #1

L.A. shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears - along with $20 million in embezzled funds - and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop. With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300 pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her...





Killer in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #2

L.A. shoe designer Maddie Springer hasn't seen her father since he reportedly ran off to Las Vegas with a showgirl named Lola. So she's shocked when he leaves a desperate plea for help on her answering machine - ending in a loud bang. Gunshot? Car backfire? Never one to leave her curiosity unsatisfied, Maddie straps on her stilettos and, along with her trigger-happy best friend, makes tracks for Sin City in search of her MIA dad.

Maddie hits the jackpot, all right. She finds not only her dad, but also a handful of aging drag queens, an organized crime ring smuggling fake Prada pumps, and one relentless killer. Plus, it seems the LAPD's sexiest cop is doing a little Vegas moonlighting of his own. In a town where odds are everything, Maddie bets it all on her ability to out-step a vicious murderer. She just hopes her gamble pays off... before her own luck runs out.





Undercover in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #3

Secret affairs, hunky gardeners, and housewives desperate enough to bare it all... welcome to Magnolia Lane, TV's hottest new prime time show. A place where L.A. shoe designer Maddie Springer should be in fashion heaven. That is until the body of a rising young starlet is found dead on the show's set. Now it's up to Maddie to sift through a leading lady with a secret, an actor on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a sexy cyber scandal, and one tabloid reporter who'll stop at nothing to get the story of the century. Not to mention Maddie's hot-cold relationship with the case's familiar lead detective, Jack Ramirez. In a world where secrets, lies, and deception can earn you an Oscar, Maddie plays the role of a lifetime to catch Hollywood's hottest killer. But if she doesn't watch her step, Maddie's fifteen minutes of fame just may be her last.






Alibi in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #4

Baguettes, bodies, and haute couture galore! Shoe designer turned amateur sleuth, Maddie Springer, is at it again, this time in fabulously fashionable Paris. When Europe's designer de jour, Jean Luc LeCroix, invites Maddie to show her creations at Paris Fashion Week, Maddie's sure she's died and gone to heaven. That is until Jean Luc's top model is found dead on the runway, stabbed with a familiar stiletto heel. Sure someone is trying to frame her, Maddie enlists the help of her friends, including the sexy Detective Jack Ramirez, to uncover a daring jewel heist, a devious blackmailer, and even a few skeletons lurking in the closets of those closest to her. But as the evidence mounts, Maddie becomes the prime suspect and Ramirez is stuck between a badge and a cute blonde with a tendency for trouble. Will he stand by her as she attempts to track down an international killer, or will this be the case that finally comes between them? One thing's for sure, if Maddie doesn't uncover the real killer soon, she may be saying her final adieu.





Mayhem in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #5

Maddie Springer is finally walking down the aisle with the man of her dreams. And she's got the perfect wedding planner to pull it all off in style. Well, perfect, that is, until the woman winds up dead - murdered in buttercream icing. Suddenly Maddie's hope of a dream wedding melts faster than an ice sculpture at an outdoor buffet. And when her groom-to-be is assigned the detective in charge of the case, there goes any chance of a honeymoon. Unless, of course, Maddie can find the murderer before her big day. With the help of her fellow fashionista friends, Maddie vows to unveil the cold-blooded killer. Is it the powerful ex-husband, the hot young boy toy, a secret lover from the past, or a billionaire bridezilla on the warpath? As the wedding day grows closer, tempers flare, old flames return, and Maddie's race to the altar turns into a race against time.

Christmas in High Heels
High Heels short story

Fashion designer turned amateur sleuth Maddie Springer can't wait to spend the holidays with her boyfriend, LAPD Detective Jack Ramirez. It's their first Christmas together, and Maddie wants it to be perfect. But between her zany family and wacky friends, Maddie's having a hard time finding alone time with her man. But come Christmas morning, this is one holiday she'll be sure to remember - naughty or nice!





Sweetheart in High Heels
High Heels short story

Being the wife of a cop isn't all it's cracked up to be. Especially when dead bodies keep ruining your romantic dinner plans. But fashion designer turned amateur sleuth Maddie Springer is determined that her husband's latest case, dubbed the "Sex Shop Murder", will not keep him from celebrating their first anniversary together, which just happens to fall on the most romantic of all holidays, Valentine's Day. She's ready to do whatever it takes to make this night special and distraction-free - even if it means solving his case herself!



Other works:




Viva Las vegas
The Queen of Hearts: Mary Halligan can't get over her ex-fiancee, can't get a date to her sister's wedding, and can't help being faced with happily ever after everyday at the wedding chapel where she works for an Elvis impersonating reverend.

The Full House: Ella Campbell is a former showgirl turned minivan driving mom who isn't sure just how it happened that she and her perfect husband are sleeping in separate rooms.

The Ace of Clubs: Kit (just Kit) is a magician's assistant who wishes she could make her attraction for her married boss disappear.

The Straight Flush: David Shepard is a flamboyant showboy with only one thing hotter than his dancing career - his lover's jealous temper.

Four friends. Four different points of view. One story of love, loss and lust in the most decadent place on earth. The only question is, what are the odds of finding true love in the city of sin?


Haunted
Novella

Web designer Kya Badder is as Plain-Jane as they come. So, when she sees an ad for a impractically gorgeous pair of red heels where the model is everything Kya isn't - beautiful, confident and sexy - she can't help buying them. And can't help doing a little strutting around town in them. Suddenly, thanks to her fab footwear, Kya's caught up in a new whirlwind life - a modeling contract of her own, a gorgeous boyfriend, and a life in the fast lane. It's almost as if she's stepped right into that sexy model's life. But when Kya begins having strange dreams and learns that the model died under mysterious circumstances, she learns to be careful what she wishes for, as the killer threatens to strike again.



Confessions of a Bombshell Bandit
Short Story

All Carrie Cabot ever wanted was a little freedom - sandy beaches, tropical breezes, drinks with little umbrellas in them. Instead she got an overbearing landlord, a booty-grabbing boss, and a repo man just waiting for her to park her car in the open. But Carrie's life takes a drastic turn for the worse when she's not only fired from her job at L.A. Mutual bank, but also robbed by the sexiest bank robber alive and evicted from her apartment all in the same day. That's it. No more Miss Nice Chick. Carrie hatches a plan to take back her life - involving skimpy bikinis, semi-automatic weapons and one big bank heist. If Carrie can pull this one off, she just might realize her island dreams after all. That is, if Mr. Sexy doesn't beat her to the big score...




Watching You
Short Story

Isabella is being watched. 4:15pm, Starbucks. 9:07pm, home from work. 9:26pm a long, leisurely bubble bath. Someone is cataloguing her every move, listening to her every word, developing an obsession with her. And the beautiful young attorney doesn't have a clue, has no idea that an unseen man is busy making his own plans for her. Plans that will change her life forever...