The Muriel Reeves Mysteries

Chester Campbell's The Good, The Bad and The Murderous

2012-02-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

My guest today is Nashville mystery writer Chester Campbell. Welcome to my little corner of cyberspace, Chester. Let’s not waste a precious second of our time together and talk writing!

Anne - When did you first realize you were destined to be a mystery/suspense writer?

Chester - I wrote my first "murder mystery" in the summer of 1947 while going to journalism school days and working as a newspaper reporter nights. Somehow I found time to pound out a novel on my portable typewriter in my basement room at a fraternity house. The second, a Cold War spy story, came in the middle sixties while I was editor of a local magazine. But work and family kept me too occupied to think about destiny until I was near retirement. That's when I realized I wanted to devote the rest of my allotted time to writing novels. Counting those first two, I've written sixteen, with seven of them published. A few of the early ones are destined for e-book status.

Anne - Tell us about your book.

Chester - The latest is The Good, The Bad and The Murderous. A wrongfully accused ex-con, dirty cops, Medicare fraud, racial tensions, false accusations, and a gun for hire are just some of the problems Nashville PI Sid Chance encounters as he and his sometimes associate Jaz LeMieux seek to prove Djuan Burden innocent of killing a medical equipment dealer. Their first dilemma concerns Burden's recent release from serving thirteen years for a murder committed at age twelve, leading a pair of detectives to put him behind bars quickly based on seemingly obvious clues.

A wealthy businesswoman when not pursuing her love of the chase, Jaz finds herself in trouble with the law as the pair begins to peel away layers of deceit. A false accusation of racial slurring morphs into a serious charge against her. As they move toward a closing the investigation, Sid realizes a hit man has him in his sights.

Anne - Is it part of a series? If so, include other titles. What do you enjoy most about writing a series? What do you loathe?

Chester - This is book two in the Sid Chance Mystery Series. The first was The Surest Poison, in which Sid and Jaz solve three murders as they track down the man responsible for a toxic chemical spill poisoning the water supply of a small community near Nashville. In writing a series, I get to explore the characters over a range of situations. The only drawback is the necessity of taking great care to keep all the details consistent from book to book. I have five books in my Greg McKenzie Series, and there are several recurring characters to keep track of.

Anne - Of all the characters you've created, does one hold a special place in your heart? Why?

Chester - I'd say Greg McKenzie is the most special, since I gave him a Scottish name and background and created him out of my Air Force experience. He was also my first protagonist in the ranks of older adults, being sixty-five in the first book. I was ten years past his age when I started writing about him, and I wanted to portray older people as just as sharp and able as anybody else. I get lots of comments from readers that Greg and his wife, Jill, are like the people next door.

Anne - Tell us about the defining moment when you felt as if you'd finally made it as an author.

Chester - "Made it" is a rather indefinite term. If it refers to monetary success, I haven't reached any best seller lists. But if it refers to acceptance as an accomplished author, I look no further than comments by two veteran reviewers who have reviewed nearly all of my seven published novels. Here's what Sylvia Cochran wrote of The Good, The Bad and The Murderous:

"Kind readers know that I am a fan of Chester Campbell’s writings. He 'gets' detective fiction on a gut-level. There is no contrived dialog, questionable literary tactic or predictable plot turn. Mystery buffs, who are strong aficionados of the Chekhov’s gun technique, most certainly celebrate the author’s solemn dedication to not litter the plot with confusing and pointless elements. Instead, there is no hole in the plot and all loose ends are tightened neatly before the last page. (Did I mention that this book is superbly edited?)"

Patricia Reid wrote:

"Chester Campbell’s books always make good reads but the Sid Chance series is special."

Anne – Those sound like “made it” moments to me! Congratulations. Now, would you share an excerpt of The Good, The Bad and The Murderous with us?

Chester – Here it is…

He was a young man, dark as the back side of the moon, dreadlock tentacles crawling down his shoulders, brooding eyes filled with questions. Djuan Burden hesitated just inside the small medical equipment store in Nashville’s Green Hills section. It resembled the aftermath of a spring storm, shelves bare as though swept by the wind, scattered trash on the carpet. A stack of boxes tumbled in the doorway to the back room. An acrid odor added to the confusion. Splayed on a small desk at one side lay a few papers and yellow No. 2 pencils piled as if for a pick-up-sticks game. Were they moving out? He approached the desk, where someone sat facing the other direction, his head barely visible above the back of an executive chair.

Djuan tossed the document he’d brought onto the desk. “Sir,” he said in a deep but subdued voice, “we have a problem.”

The man said nothing. Didn’t move.

Djuan was about to speak in a more strident tone when he realized the smell he had first noticed was gunpowder, a once-familiar odor he had not experienced in years. He edged around the desk until a lifeless face came into view. A bullet hole in the forehead glared back at him like a vacuous third eye.

Face flushed with panic, Burden broke into a run for the door. He darted a frantic glance toward the street as he dashed from the building, headed for the old Ford with the bruised front fender. Blinded momentarily by the afternoon sun, he groped for the door handle, crammed himself into the small sedan. The tires screeched as he swirled around, corrected, and veered toward the street. Too fast, he realized, as it attracted the attention of a tall man in a dark business suit who glared at him from the sidewalk. Though he had been driving only a short time, the skill had come naturally to him. Now his driving instinct held but one message—get the hell out of here!

Traffic along Hillsboro Pike slowed his progress, although it hardly rivaled the impending home-bound rush hour. He ducked his head as a police car passed, traveling in the opposite direction. The specter of that cold, dark prison cell still haunted his befuddled mind.

Anne – Thank you! What a ride. One final question, Chester. Where can readers find you online?

Chester – At my website, blog and on Facebook.

Anne – Thank you so much for dropping by today, Chester. I wish you every success with The Good, The Bad and The Murderous.

Readers, as always, your comments are welcome and appreciated. Become a follower to ensure you receive every author interview, announcement and/or blog post. Stay tuned for the Spring 2012 Mystery We Write Blog tour April 16-28. More info to follow, but for now, enjoy the slideshow below. J

Kizoa slideshow: Mystery We Write Blog Tour April 2012 - Slideshow

Until next time, happy reading!

* * *

Vintage Murder by William S. Shepard

2012-02-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

My guest today is William S. Shepard. Prize winning mystery writer, William is the creator of a new genre, the diplomatic mystery, whose plots are set in American Embassies overseas. That mirrors Shepard’s own career in the Foreign Service of the

United States

, during which he served in

Singapore

, Saigon, Budapest, Athens and Bordeaux, in addition to five Washington tours of duty.

His books explore this rich, insider background into the world of high stakes diplomacy and government. He evokes his last Foreign Service post, Consul General in Bordeaux, in Vintage Murder, the first of the series of four “diplomatic mysteries.” The second, Murder On TheDanube, now also available on Kindle, mines his knowledge of

Hungary

and the 1956 Revolution. In Murder In Dordogne Robbie Cutler, his main character, is just married, but their honeymoon in the scenic southwest of

France

is interrupted by murders. The most recent of the series, The Saladin Affair, has Cutler transferred to work for the Secretary of State. Like the author, Cutler arranges trips on Air Force Two – now enlivened by serial Al Qaeda attempts to assassinate the Secretary of State.

Anne - Welcome to my little corner of cyberspace, William. Let’s not waste a precious second of our time together. Tell us about your book.

William - “Vintage Murder” is set in Washington, Bordeaux and Paris. It pits a young American diplomat, Robbie Cutler, against a vicious terrorist group, which is blackmailing the great wine estates of the region. The novel begins at a dinner to celebrate the new vintage, at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., as

America

’s leading wine critic, while tasting the first wine, is poisoned. Cutler, on home leave from the American Consulate General in Bordeaux, is present at the dinner, and on his return to Bordeaux, finds the murder is front page news. An inquisitive and charming French newspaperwoman, Sylvie Marceau, interviews Robbie about the murder. Soon they are finding excuses to see each other again. Neither one dreams that they will become colleagues in uncovering a terrorist scheme against the most famous Bordeaux wine estates.

It seems that there is an American connection to the blackmailers, as a French winery owner tells Robbie Cutler, the American Consul, that the blackmailer speaks English with an American accent! With the authority of the American Ambassador, Cutler pours through past visa files to see if he can identify possible suspects. At the same time, he and Sylvie tour the wine regions, and uncover several more estate owners who are being blackmailed. Apparently their detective work is getting too productive, as a car bomb set to murder Cutler is set.

The visit of a prominent United States Senator, on the national ticket as nominee for Vice President, visits Bordeaux. Robbie travels with him to Bayonne and Biarritz on the Basque coast. At a dinner in Biarritz the terrorists start to show their hand, and a speech by the Senator in the Basque interior becomes an invitation to assassination. Robbie and Sylvie must discover the plot’s leaders, even as they discover their feelings for each other.

Anne - Is it part of a series?

William - Yes, Vintage Murder is the first in my diplomatic mysteries series. In the second, Murder On The Danube, Robbie has been transferred to the American Embassy in Budapest,

Hungary

. There, against the background of the Hungarian Revolution against the occupying Soviet Union, a brave group of street fighters defended their nation. Now, years later, a killer is trying to kill the survivors. Robbie Cutler is called to solve the mystery when a prominent American is murdered in the old section of Budapest. His efforts reopen the past – and result in a Russian Mafia contract killer being retained to kill him.

That isn’t the only peril Robbie faces. He is attracted to the young wife of a fellow diplomat, and they start lunching together. A visit from Robbie’s sister Evalyn uncovers that little secret, and she tells him off. Chastened, Robbie is back in touch with Sylvie Marceau. She is now a national television correspondent, and is sent to cover the visit of French President Sarkozy to neighboring Prague. Robbie meets her there, and they are soon engaged to be married.

The story continues in “Murder In Dordogne,” which will be posted on Kindle in a few months. Robbie and Sylvie are now on their honeymoon in the beautiful, rustic southwest region of

France

. An old murder interrupts their honeymoon. Robbie decides that he must solve it, and he does – while not focusing on another murder plot, this one aimed at him! Fortunately, his bride is also a skilled amateur sleuth. From now on, they will solve mysteries together!

Anne - Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold a special place in your heart? Why?

William - Robbie’s Uncle Seth Cutler (his great uncle, actually) is the surprise favorite of many readers. He is a nationally prominent man, a former Time Magazine” Man Of The Year,” who was an intelligence operative during World War Two, then became a school headmaster in New England. He led the fight for equal education for minorities and for young women nationally from his school. Uncle Seth kept his intelligence connections, and many of his former students are prominent in both political parties. When Robbie needs to know what is really going on in Washington, Uncle Seth can let him know, by coded messages. It is the murder of Uncle Seth’s fiancée during the war that Robbie solves in “Murder In Dordogne.”

Anne - What activity consumes your time when you are away from the keyboard?

William - I teach courses on American history, writing, and French wines at Chesapeake College, our community college here on the Maryland Eastern Shore.

Anne - Have you experienced writer’s block?

William - Yes, once. I was nearly through writing Murder On The Danube. Robbie Cutler is pouring over the past, to discover what happened during the Hungarian Revolution. If he knew that, then he would understand why a killer is trying to murder surviving members of the resistance group now. Then I was informed that those records are still a state secret, and are never made public! That stopped me cold for three months. But I guess it is true that the brain keeps working when one is asleep, for one night I awoke, with the idea for solving the difficulty. It has to do with Edgar Allan Poe and “The Purloined Letter", which you’ll recall involves a letter being hidden – in plain sight! That was the insight that I needed to finish the book.

Anne - Would you share an excerpt from Southeast Asian Quartet: “Disappearance from Moonlight Cottage” with us?

William – My pleasure.

The facts of Jim Thompson’s disappearance from Moonlight Cottage, in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, on that Easter Sunday in 1967 were well known. They had been sifted finely over the years for clues and meaning. For how could the most famous American living in Thailand, a trained jungle survivor, intelligent and in good physical condition, simply vanish?

And yet, and yet ... that is what had happened. A few days after his 61st birthday, at the suggestion of his friend, Mrs. Connie Mangskau, Thompson had agreed to spend a few days on vacation in the Cameron Highlands, so named because this hill station, at an elevation of several thousand feet, provided a welcome contrast to the sweltering heat and humidity of Malaysia and Singapore. Moonlight Cottage was owned by Dr. T.G. Ling, a distinguished Chinese physician, and his wife Helen, an American who ran a highly successful antiques shop in Singapore. Jim Thompson and Mrs. Mangskau looked forward to a pleasant Easter weekend relaxing in the refreshing hill climate. The Lings were gracious hosts, and Moonlight Cottage was an American ideal of luxurious but unpretentious and comfortable British living. There was a family staff led by Mohammed the cook to look after them.

On Easter Sunday, all went to services at the small Church of England in Tanah Rata. Thompson walked alone to the foot of the hill by their cottage, and was picked up by the Lings in their car. They attended services, and then bought some newspapers, and returned to Moonlight Cottage to get their picnic baskets. Upon their return, as planned, all went for naps, the Lings to their room, and Mrs. Mangskau to her room, which adjoined the Lings. Thompson, when they saw him last, was in the cottage’s living room, preparing they thought to go to his own room in the back of the cottage, to have his nap.

When the Lings and Mrs. Mangskau got up from their naps, Thompson was not in the cottage. Furthermore, his bed had not been slept in. The Lings recalled having heard through their open window the sound of an aluminum chair being moved on the porch, and a while later, they had heard footsteps – the heavier steps of a European.

But no trace of Jim Thompson was ever found.

It is time for the mystery to be solved.

Anne – Thank you! Where can readers find you online?

William – At my website and on Facebook.

Readers, as always, your comments are welcome and appreciated. Become a follower to ensure you receive every author interview, announcement and/or blog post. J Happy reading!

* * *

Marilyn Levinson's A Murderer Among Us

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

My guest today is Marilyn Levinson. Marilyn was a bookworm from the moment she learned how to read. She devoured Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, and Trixie Beldon books – sometimes two in one day. Is it any wonder she ended up writing mysteries? (I can SO relate because that’s how I got started, too!)

Anne - Welcome to my little corner of cyberspace, Marilyn. If you’ve cozy and comfy, let’s talk writing. Tell us about your book.

Marilyn - In A Murderer Among Us, Lydia Krause moves to Twin Lakes, an upscale retirement community on Long Island. where she uncovers a resident’s criminal past and sets off a series of homicides. In the course of unveiling the murderer,

Lydia

forges new friendships, heals her relationship with her older daughter, and starts a romance with the homicide detective in charge of the investigation.

Anne - Is it part of a series? If so, include other titles. What do you enjoy most about writing a series? What part do you loathe?

Marilyn - A Murderer Among Us is the first book in my Twin Lakes series. The next, Murder In the Air, is coming out in a few months. I love writing series because my characters are important to me. They have fully-developed personalities, with a range of attitudes, quirks, and histories. Writing a series gives my characters the chance to grow as they experience new adventures.

And I still have plenty of opportunity to add new characters and locales in each book.

Anne - Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold a special place in your heart? Why?

Marilyn - I believe that distinction goes to Cameron Leeds, a character in my mystery, Giving Up the Ghost, which is coming out in April with Uncial Press. Actually, Cam is a ghost who can only manifest in the den of the cottage where he used to live. Alive, Cam was a sexy, charismatic wheeler dealer, who enjoyed living by his wits, skirting the law, and romancing the ladies. Now a ghost, he asks Gabbie Meyerson to find out who murdered him. Gabbie sees through his charm to the sensitive soul beneath. She is saddened that it's only after his death that Cam realizes he was deeply in love with the woman he'd been seeing.

Anne - What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself from writing?

Marilyn - Aside from being surprised by the twists and turns my novels take, I'm astonished where writing books has taken me--to speaking on the radio, seeing my book honored by Suspense Magazine, co-founding a chapter of Sisters in Crime, and hearing how much readers have enjoyed my work.

Anne - Any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

Marilyn - Take writing courses; join writing groups; critique with peers; accept rejections as a part of it all. Above all, write!

Anne – Would you share an excerpt from A Murderer Among Us with us?

Marilyn – Here you go!

Lydia Krause never made scenes, but tonight she longed to rip out the heart of the man approaching their table.

Her neighbor, Peg DiMarco, smiled as she introduced her to the monster. “Lydia Krause, this is Marshall Weill; Marshall,

Lydia

just moved to Twin Lakes. I persuaded her to come down to Bingo Night to meet her fellow residents.”

“It’s a pleasure,” he said, nodding with the self-assurance of a seventy-year-old male who had retained his trim physique and handsome demeanor. Everything about him was stylish and shouted “designer,” from his Italian loafers to the elegant suede jacket.

Marshall Weill? Could she be wrong? More than six years had passed. He stepped closer. Years of running her own company had sharpened

Lydia

’s B.S. sense, and this man was sleaze with a capital S.

She hesitated before shaking his extended hand then wished she hadn’t. His palm felt too smooth, almost as if it were slimed with sweat though her hand wasn’t damp. She jerked free of his grasp and lifted her hand to cover a false cough. At the same time, she questioned her visceral reaction. Was she suddenly psychic--able to detect sleaze with a handshake, or was her negative frame of mind getting the better of her?

“Marshall’s our HOA’s financial advisor,” Peg offered with pride. “He’s also handling several residents’ portfolios.”

Financial advisor? Portfolios? A frisson ran down

Lydia

’s spine. This couldn’t be a coincidence!

The growing certainty that she faced an amoral, malevolent fiend vied with her mind’s insistence that he couldn’t possibly be the person she supposed him to be. To cover her dismay, she spoke disparagingly.

“I didn’t realize the homeowners’ association has enough funds to warrant the services of a financial advisor.”

Marshall Weill gazed down at her. “Regardless of the amount, you don’t want to let money lie fallow in a bank. Put it to work, I always say.”

He smiled, revealing a gap between his front teeth. All doubt vanished.

Lydia

gasped.

“You’re Warren Mannes.” Suddenly lightheaded, she gripped the edge of the table.

The smile returned, but this time it was forced. “You’re mistaken. My name is Marshall Weill.”

The fear and anger

Lydia

read in his eyes empowered her. She’d recently moved to this Eden-like retirement community and felt obliged to protect her fellow residents from the serpent in its midst. She drew herself up and plunged ahead.

“You’re Warren Mannes, and you’ve no business handling anyone’s money.”

Anne – That certainly hooked me. A Murderer Among Us is going on my TBR list! Where can readers find you online?

Marilyn – At my website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Anne – Thank you for dropping by and chatting, Marilyn. It’s been such fun, and I wish you every success both on and off the page.

Readers, as always, your comments are welcome and appreciated. Becoming a follower will ensure you never miss an interview, announcement or blog post. Plus, you’ll have my eternal gratitude. J

Happy reading!

* * *

Somebody Doesn't Like Sarah Leigh by Peg Herring

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

My guest today isPeg Herring. Peg left teaching in 2002 to pursue writing full-time. Her love ofhistory and years of teaching Shakespeare naturally led to her writinghistorical mysteries, but she also writes contemporary mysteries. These bookscenter on female characters caught in threatening situations. Being strongwomen, they stand up for themselves and, in the process, find that they arecapable of much more than they ever imagined.

Anne – Welcome tomy little corner of cyberspace, Peg. It’s a joy to talk writing with you! Tell usabout your latest release.

Peg – It’s called SOMEBODY DOESN'T LIKE SARAH LEIGH.

Caroline Batzerand Sarah Leigh have been friends forever -- at least until Sarah starts actingoddly. Sarah, whose reputation in town is as close to sainthood as a Methodistcan get, is unwilling to discuss why she suddenly wants nothing to do withCaroline. At first Caroline is bewildered, then hurt, and finally angry. It’sobvious the friendship is over. People change, she tells herself, and she moveson with her life.

Then Sarahdisappears, and circumstances point suspicion at Caroline. A book Carolinewrote is published under Sarah’s name, and it appears that Caroline did awaywith Sarah in revenge. Caroline is confused, unsure whether to mourn her oldestfriend or expose Sarah’s lies. When a mysterious phone call summons her to the Michigan forest near her home town, she is pulledinto a frantic run for her life and a desperate struggle with a pair ofkillers. And it’s all because of Sarah Leigh.

Anne - Tell us about the defining moment when you felt as if you’d finally madeit as an author.

Peg - I was at amystery conference and got into an elevator with two other women. One of thempoked the other, who looked at me and then said, “Oh, you’re Peg Herring. We’rereading your book, and we just love it!” It’s so great when strangers say that!I mean, your sister kind of has to, but they don’t.

Anne – What a fun experience! Outside of writing, what accomplishment are youmost proud?

Peg - I was ahigh school English teacher for thirty years. It is a rewarding jobs as well asa difficult one, but to feel that I helped young people see their potential andperhaps achieve it is something I take pride in. I also hold the distinction ofbeing the only person who ever set the school’s stage on fire, but that’sanother story.

Anne – Okay, NO fair! I want details about you setting the school stage on fire.No? Okay… How many rejections have you received? Was one more memorable thanothers?
Why?

Peg - Like thevast majority of writers, I’ve got tons of rejection letters, many of which areless than three words: “Not for us”, “Sorry, no” or just “No.”

My most memorablerejection turned out to be positive. An agent scribbled on the query letter I’dsent her three things she found wrong with my manuscript. After I decipheredher handwriting, I corrected those three things and sent it back to her. Thesecond time, she took it, sold it, and got me started as a writer! I didn’tknow it at the time, but when an agent takes a minute to write advice, that’slike striking gold.

Anne - Any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

Peg - There’sonly one word: persevere. To become a good writer, you have to write a lot,keep at it, keep getting better. To become a published writer you have to keepsubmitting and learn from every step, whether it’s forward or backward.Sometimes it’s embarrassing to look back and think how naïve I once was, howunaware of how things work. But everyone has to start somewhere, and I kept atit. Perseverance is key.

Anne – Would you share of an excerpt of SOMEBODY DOESN'T LIKE SARAH LEIGH?

Peg – Mypleasure!

Chapter One

Darkness masked the face of the terrified woman beside me, but her labored breathingmatched my own. Stumbling blindly through the dark woods, we ran into treetrunks and tripped over mounds, each of us occasionally gasping from pain atthe lash of a branch across the face or stubbing a toe on an unseen rock orroot. I sensed her waning spirit and flagging energy. I was not much betteroff. And why should I care if she fell behind?

We had to stoprunning soon. For one thing, we had pushed ourselves farther than I would havethought possible for two women in the fifth decade of life. In addition, ourhippo-like crashing through the woods made so much noise that our flight had tobe easy for pursuers to track.

And worst of all,we had no idea where we were going. We could end up circling back to the verypeople we now sought desperately to avoid. Ahead I saw an earthy space justwide enough for the two of us, a nest half filled with old leaves that werealmost compost. We lay down, struggling to quiet our exhausted lungs and staringinto the black around us as if through sheer will we could see dangerapproaching.

In minutes, weheard them. One was some distance off but noisy. The nearer one movedstealthily, listening for movement. When I realized how close he was, I couldhave reached out and touched the fluorescent white strip on his sneaker.

The two men tooktheir time. Each second’s passing felt like a year off my life. Any noise meantdeath in a place where no one would find our bodies for years. Our only hopefor life was complete silence.

“They’re heresomewhere,” the noisy one called.

“Quiet.” Thereply was barely a sound.

The men stood fora long time, waiting for us to betray ourselves with a shift, cough, or cry.Some say it is impossible for two women to keep silent for long, but neither ofus so much as twitched. While my body remained tense and still, my mind workedovertime.

How had thishappened to me, middle-aged Caroline Batzer, the Bilbo Baggins of Aldridge, Michigan? What had I done to deserve this? Untiltwo years ago, I had been Sarah Elizabeth Leigh’s best friend.

Anne – Fantastic excerpt. This is exactly the kind of book I enjoy reading! Where canreaders reach you online?

Peg – At my website, on Goodreads,and at my blog.

Anne – Thanks somuch for dropping by, Peg. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat and the excerpt. I wish you everysuccess with SOMEBODY DOESN'T LIKE SARAH LEIGH.

As always, readers, your comments are welcome and verymuch appreciated. Why not become a follower? I’ll be eternally grateful! Untilnext time, happy reading.

* * *

Richard Brawer's Beyond Guilty

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

My guest today onthe Muriel Reeves Mysteries is Richard Brawer, author of Beyond Guilty. After graduating the University of Florida and a stint in the National Guard,Richard worked 35 years in the textile industry. Always an avid reader, Richardbegan writing mystery, suspense and historical fiction novels. When notwriting, he spends his time sailing and growing roses. He has two marrieddaughters and lives in New Jersey with his wife. He has published sixnovels.

Anne - Welcome, Richard.If you’re comfy, let’s talk writing! When didyou first realize you were destined to be a mystery/suspense writer?

Richard - Mywriting career started when I read a newspaper story about a father who refusedto take his child home from the hospital because the newborn was diagnosed witha brain impairment.

Having commutedon a train for years, I had read hundreds of mystery/suspense novels. Thatnewspaper story struck a nerve because it was so horrendous and I asked myself,“What if the baby was misdiagnosed?”

With thatquestion as a plot line, I began making notes. The notes turned into paragraphsand the paragraphs into chapters. Thus, my first Murder at the Jersey Shore mystery, Secrets can beDeadly was born in 1994.

Anne – Tell usthe defining moment when you felt as if you’d finally made it as an author.

Richard - Between1994 and 2003 I had written four mysteries of which two were published by asmall press. Those books neither garnered favorable nor unfavorable reviews inthat they got no reviews. Blogs were not prevalent back then and newspaperreviewers were not inclined to review books from small presses.

Then in 2006 Ihad finished Silk Legacy, an historical fiction novel. Ifelt this story had all the details of a great novel--jealousy, infidelity,arrogance, greed, and confrontational characters.

I couldn’t get anagent interested and the small press that published my previous books onlypublished mysteries so I self published. By now, bloggers and reviewers of selfpublished books were proliferating and I gave out a lot of free copies to getreviews.

Every singlereview was positive. “Magnificent Characters” “Remarkable Storytelling” “ATribulation of Yesteryear” “Vivid Enticing Characters” “An Absorbing PageTurner of a Novel” “Realistic Dialogue” “The fictional family is made up offlesh-and-blood characters. They laugh, love, argue, fight, and have adulterousaffairs.”

It was thosereviews that whispered in my ear, “You’ve have made it as an author.” But was Silk Legacy a fluke?

In 2010 anindependent press published Beyond Guilty, a high concept thriller where awrongly convicted woman escapes from death row and fights to prove herinnocence. (The publisher of my first mysteries had gone out of business inthe harsh economic climate.)

The reviews of BeyondGuilty solidified in my mind that I had become a writer.

“Twisting Action”“Thought Provoking” “A Fast paced Thriller” “Sympathetic Engaging Character” “AuthenticDialogue” “Complex Characters” “Spirited Prose” “A Real Winner” “A Damn GoodStory” “Don’t go in expecting stereotypes because you won’t find them.”

Anne – I love asuccess story! Of all the characters you’ve created does one hold a specialplace in your heart?

Richard - SarahBressler in Silk Legacy, the female foil to her domineering husband is still myfavorite character. She is based on my paternal grandmother. She’s like avelvet steamroller, slowly smoothing her husband to her way of thinking.

Anne - Velvet steamroller. Wow. What a description! Any wordsof advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

Richard - I’msure you’ve heard this before, friends and relatives will not be inclined togive you adverse criticism of your work.

Therefore, try tofind a critique group that will give you feedback on character development, dialogue,voice, plot, conflict and setting. But don’t automatically take anyone’scritique as, “Oh I have to change that.” Remember, it’s your story. Analyze thecritiques to see if they have merit.

For example, I belong to a six person group.If one person criticizes something I do give it thought. However, if three orfour in the group say the same thing about a segment then I take it underserious consideration and study how to rewrite.

Most important, behonest with yourself. You know deep down whether you have written a good bookor whether it needs work.

Anne – So true! Howmany rejections have you received? Was one more memorable than others?

Richard - Youhave to have a thick skin if you want to become a published author. Every oneof my books has been rejected by at least twenty-five agents.

However, with myego inflated by the reviews of Silk Legacy, I was determined to find an agentfor Beyond Guilty. Again, the rejections flooded in. But one rejection really opened my eyes.

Without goinginto details, a famous author gave me a hand written note introducing me to hisagent. This type of referral was supposed to get your work a serious look. ExcitedI sent off Beyond Guilty.

Eight weeks wentby without hearing a word. I sent an e-mail asking if they had received mymaterial. I received the following reply. “I just found your pages in a placewhere they shouldn’t have been. I’ll read them and get back to you right away.”The next day I received the agent’s e-mail rejection.

This was thecrowning incident that totally turned me off to agents and the big New York City publishing cadre, and began my search foran independent publisher with staying power. I found that publisher in L & L Dreamspellwho is now publishing my latest suspense/thriller in 2012 titled, Keiretsu.

To read the bookjackets, excerpts, full reviews of Silk Legacy and Beyond Guilty and my earlymysteries, and find links to book sellers, as well as the book jacket and anexcerpt from Keiretsu please visit my website: www.silklegacy.com

Anne – Thanks so much for dropping by today, Richard.It’s been a blast! I wish you every success with Beyond Guilty and your next release.

As always, reader comments are welcome and appreciated.Btw, if you become a follower, well, hey, I will be eternally grateful, and you won't miss a single post, interview, guest blog or giveaway.

Happy reading!

* * *

Mysteries...Why do Readers Read 'Em?

2012-01-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

Few readers stopto consider why they read mysteries. Nor should they. Still, the mystery reader,like the romance, horror, or fantasy genre reader, has certain expectations ofmystery authors. Writers are obliged to deliver the goods. Failure to do so couldresult in a decline in readership and sales, and no author wants that.

What are theseexpectations? The good news is they’re not as mysterious as one would think!

Readers readmysteries, especially cozies, to be entertained. They want to forget about the realworld and spend a few hours immersed in a fast-paced, well written story with abeginning, middle and end that makes complete sense and appeals to their moralwell-being. They want to read about murder, yet be spared the graphic detail.They want the suspense without the terror. And if the story includes a littleromance and humor, all the better!

Readers crave astory with memorable characters. They want to cheer for the underdog, often anamateur sleuth, as she solves the mystery. They also want to meet a cast ofcharacters who walk off the page and step into their living room.

While readersidentify with these characters, they also scrutinize them. This is one aspectthat differs from other genres where the reader experiences the story throughthe eyes of the protagonist. In most genres, readers tend to accept thecharacter’s truth as their own. Mystery readers, however, examine each characterwith care…and often glee! Is this individual telling the truth? Does her alibihold up? What does she have to gain by lying? Readers look past the obvious andlike any seasoned detective search for the truth.

This brings us tothe puzzle. Mysteries are who dunnits. The author challenges the reader tosolve the mystery. The reader is actively engaged, searching for clues and redherrings at the same time as the protagonist. This allows the reader to besimultaneously inside and outside of the story as she struggles to outsmart notonly the villain and detective, but the author as well.

Many mysteries dealwith death. Death in the real world is an at-arms-length experience we don’tunderstand or want. It defies reason and seems irrational. But in a mysterystory, death is rational. Whathappens can and will eventually be explained. The world inside a mystery novelmakes complete sense. The villain is caught. Justice is served. Good triumphsover evil. The story characters and thereader gets closure. Mystery novels are a win/win situation, and that’s whyreaders read ‘em and writers write ‘em!

* * *

Rick Bylina's One Promise Too Many

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

My guest today isRick Bylina. Rick lives with his wife and cockatiel, Sydney, near Apex, North Carolina. Ongoing corporate downsizing convincedhim to tap into his passion. He scribed any crazy idea that crossed his mind.After gaining discipline, he wrote his debut mystery novel, One Promise Too Many, the first in a series, featuring Detective Roger Stark. Writing happensspontaneously between housework, gardening, cooking, and wrestling alligators.The second book in the series, A Matter of Faith has also been published. Thethird book, Meteor Magic, is due out in the spring of 2012.

Anne - Welcome,Rick! When did you first realize you were destined to be a mystery/suspensewriter?

Rick - Quitfrankly, it didn't take long to head in the direction of being a mystery andsuspense writer. I started writing the great American novel and found deadbodies piling up in my office space. I had to do something with them. Besides,in general, all stories are mysteries. Someone needs, wants, or desiressomething whether it's internal or physical. The mystery is not only what itreally is sometimes, but also how they acquire it. I believe that detectivenovels are popular because most people like an experienced guide to help themon the journey to discovery, and that is what a detective is. In DetectiveStark's case, he's somewhat like you and me as we try to find answers to themysteries in our lives, always moving forward, even when we sometimes takewrong turns or make initial decisions that turn out wrong. In sum, we canempathize with him. At least I hope so.

Anne - Tell usabout your book.

Rick - One Promise Too Many is the first novel of what I plan to be a seven-book series,featuring Detective Roger Stark. He's a steady family man who wrestles withpersonal issues as we all do, but without making him the dark tragic figurethat so many stories paint our police heroes to be. In this story, hisco-protagonist, is Phil Cartier, a paranoid-schizophrenic, who quickly becomesthe target of the investigation into the kidnapping of a five-year-old girl,the daughter of a wealthy CEO. My portrayal of Phil has gotten some highlyfavorable comments from people who deal or treat schizophrenics in real life.I'm proud of the research I did to make this come alive. This is Stark's firstcase as a detective. Much on his plate and more keeps being heaped onto it. Hehas had some recent failures that has dampened his enthusiasm for the job heloves, he gets a new partner, Edwin Jones, fresh from a boring retirement fromthe NYPD, who has issues of his own, and the investigation uncovers a crime ofwider scope.

Anne - Is it partof a series? If so, include other titles. What do you enjoy most about writinga series? What part do you loathe?

Rick - Asmentioned, One Promise Too Many is part of the Detective Stark Mystery Series.The second book, A Matter of Faith, has already been published. The third book,Meteor Magic is a bit more whimsical than the first two. However, it does maintainthe obviously serious overtones necessary to capture a murderer. It will be outin April 2012. What I enjoy most about writing a series intertwines to significantwriting elements: one is the growth of the character over the series and thesecond is the ability to use that growth as a familiarity factor in my writingand for the reader. I don't think I loathe anything about writing a series,yet; however, the most challenging part in a series is filling in a new readerin the middle of the series with the characters background without boring thetears out of a reader who has come along for the full ride.

Anne – Okay, myfav question. How many rejections have you received? Was one more memorablethan others? Why?

Rick - I'vereceived 527 rejections for the five novels I've submitted. On the surface,that's bad, but in reality, each rejection made the novel stronger. Now, Istand behind some really solid work. I did have one email rejection two minutesafter I sent it out, but the one that stands out was the agent who lovedeverything about the book, but still rejected it. I'm a bit anal, and thatrejection still drives me nuts.

Anne – I’ve hadsome of those “love it, but no thanks” rejections as well, and you’re right.Those are the ones that gnaw at your soul! Any words of advice for struggling,unpublished writers?

Rick - Thetagline at the end of my emails says it all. The only rule: writers write!Everything else is a guideline. Learn all the supposed rules, understand thatthey are guidelines, and then keep writing with an eye on breaking those rulesby going places where the stories haven't gone before.

Anne – Would youshare an excerpt of One Promise Too Many with us?

Rick – You haveto ask?!

Chapter 1

I waseight-years-old when Mother captured Father’s dimpled smile with her camerajust as I had reached for his red hair. The next day, someone murdered him.Fused onto a three-inch square memorial magnet, my father’s image from that dayis a constant bittersweet memory. Twenty-four years later, I saw his face stareback at me whenever I looked into a mirror. I grew into him with the dimpledsmile, familiar blue eyes, and same copper-colored hair. I idolized him. At hisfuneral, I made a promise only a naïve boy could make. I had promised to findhis killer. It was a promise I felt honor-bound to accomplish as a man.

When I wasfinally in a position to eventually investigate his cold case, my confidenceebbed. Fulfilling that promise weighed heavily against recent events. On theback wall of my locker’s gray interior, the magnet held a weathered three-monthold newspaper article from the Memorial Day edition of the Marshfield, Pennsylvania Sentinel. It was a reminder of unfinishedbusiness, one of those recent events. In one of the article’s photographs, Istood dripping wet, shrouded in a blanket. Bobby Richardson’s anguished fatherpointed an accusatory finger at me. The other picture showed Bobby’s cherubicface captured for all eternity over the caption “Eight-year-old boy drowns.Stark’s rescue fails.” The underwater caverns below the thundering Hidden River Falls at the edge of town still held his body.

I grabbed thearticle and wadded it up, not needing the reminder that Bobby could bob to thesurface at any time. He did it often enough in my nightmares. Three monthsafter Bobby’s drowning, the haunting question remained. What more could I havedone to save him? I convinced myself the answer was nothing, but some days itwas a hard sell. I needed to focus on the here and now—to move on. The crumpledarticle thumped the bottom of a trashcan.

I slipped my tieunder the collar of my white shirt in the changing room at Marshfield PoliceHeadquarters. Over, under, around, and through, I knotted the black tie into ahalf-Windsor. The review board cleared me of procedural issues in the drowning,but the process stung anyway. It sucked the enthusiasm out of the job I loved,making me question my actions. Afterwards, Lieutenant Newby warned me,“Hesitant cops are dead cops.” Newby’s stern message played like a refrain froma dirge. I straightened the narrow tie and slipped on my black suit coat. A lothad happened since Bobby died. Sometimes it seemed like too much, and all of itbad. I had to find a way to put the bad behind me or risk making Newby’swarning prophetic.

Shift changecommenced. Cops entered from across the room beyond the row of lockers. It wastime to go. I closed the locker door, and Bobby slipped beneath the surface ofmy thoughts.

The detective’sbadge fit snuggly in my shirt pocket, and then I headed for my first shift as adetective to help out over the Labor Day weekend. Entering quietly into thisnew position three days ahead of my scheduled return to duty seemed like a goodidea. I sucked in a cleansing breath before pushing open the door to the catwalkbehind the central processing pit. Designed to keep me grounded and focused, Imumbled my mantra. “I’m a cop.”

Anne – What afantastic opening, Rick. I can’t wait to read more, and I know I’m not the onlyone. Where can readers reach you online?

Rick –I blog, I tweet at @Rickbylina, and I yak on Facebook. You can also email meat rbylina@earthlink.net. My books areavailable at most online book sites, including Amazon and Smashwords. They are alsoavailable at Quail Ridge Book Store in Raleigh, NC, one of the top 25 independent bookstores in

America

according to Newsweek.

Anne – Thanks somuch for dropping by, Rick. One Promise Too Many is now on my TBR list!

In closing, happy reading, y'all! As always, your commentsare welcome and appreciated. Btw, if you become a follower, well, hey, I willbe eternally grateful!

* * *

Lois Winston's Death By Killer Mop Doll

2012-01-04T00:10:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012everyone! I’m excited and thrilled to start the new year with a visit from Lois Winston.

Lois is theauthor of the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteriespublished by Midnight Ink. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book inthe series, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Thenew year brings with it the release of Death By Killer Mop Doll, the secondbook in the series.

Welcome, Lois!

Lois - Anne,before we begin the interview, I want to thank you for inviting me to yourMuriel Reeves Mysteries blog as part of my virtual tour for the release ofDeath By Killer Mop Doll, the second book in my Anastasia Pollack CraftingMysteries.

I’d also like your readers to know that I’ll be giving away 5 signed copies ofDeath By Killer Mop Doll at the end of the tour. To enter the drawing to win acopy, readers only need to post a comment to any of the blogs on the tour. Thefull tour schedule can be found at my website, and theKiller Crafts & Crafty Killers blog.In addition, I’m giving away 3 copies of Death By Killer Mop Doll on Goodreads.

Anne - Do youhave a fear, phobia, or habit you’d rather no one knew about?

Lois - Fear of failure is a biggie for me. I constantly angst over how eachbook will be received by my editor, reviewers, and readers. Because I writehumorous amateur sleuth mysteries, I always worry about whether readers willget my particular brand of humor. Humor is so subjective. I know I’ll neverplease everyone. I just hope that I please more people than I displease, butit’s only human nature to want everyone to love your darlings.

Anne – I completely relate! When did you first realize you were destined to be a mystery/suspensewriter?

Lois - I havemy agent to thank for that. I’m previously published in romantic suspense andhumorous women’s fiction. Truthfully, I’d never considered writing a mystery.Then one day my agent was speaking with an editor who said she was looking fora crafting mystery. With my background as a crafts designer, my agent thoughtI’d be a natural to write something crafts related. So I gave it a try. Ienjoyed writing mystery so much that I never went back to writing in the othergenres.

Anne - Tell usabout your book.

Lois - DeathBy Killer Mop Doll is the second book of my critically acclaimed AnastasiaPollack Crafting Mysteries.

BLURB: Overdue bills and constant mother vs. mother-in-law battles at home arebad enough. But crafts editor Anastasia Pollack's stress level is maxed outwhen she and her fellow American Woman editors get roped into unpaid gigs for arevamped morning TV show. Before the glue is dry on Anastasia's mop dolls,morning TV turns crime drama when the studio is trashed and the producer ismurdered. Former co-hosts Vince and Monica—sleazy D-list celebrities—stand outamong a lengthy lineup of suspects, all furious over the show's new format. AndAnastasia has no clue her snooping has landed her directly in the killer'sunforgiving spotlight.

Anne – What’sa mop doll?

Lois - As youcan probably imagine, I’ve been getting this question a lot lately. A mop dollis a doll crafted from a cotton string mop, those mops you often see janitorsusing in office buildings. Yuck, right? Hold on! These dolls are made fromunused string mops, ones that have never come in contact with a bucket of Mr.Clean.

Crafters are very resourceful people. We’re constantly finding new uses forreadily available materials, and cotton string mops are readily available injust about any hardware store, home store, or supermarket.

At some point in the late 1980’s, these dolls started popping up at craftsfairs, first in California, then throughout the country. Suddenly, mop dollswere all the rage, and mop head manufacturers were selling tens of thousands ofmop heads to craft stores. Like all trends, though, the mop doll crazeeventually went the way of the pet rock -- until now, thanks to my craftyamateur sleuth, Anastasia Pollack.

The picture shows me with a mop doll at Bouchercon this past September. Foranyone attending The American Library Association’s Mid-Winter conference January20-24 in Dallas, Midnight Ink will be raffling offthis hand-crafted mop doll during the opening reception Friday evening.Librarians and reviewers in attendance are encouraged to stop by the MidnightInk booth #1459 to register for the drawing.

Anne –Fascinating and I can’t wait to read Death By Killer Mop Doll! Tell us aboutthe defining moment when you felt as if you’d finally made it as an author.

Lois - Thatwould have to be last year when Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first bookin the series, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. My previous books hadn’t even been reviewedby PW. So this was the best day ever in my writing career.

Anne - Whatactivity (cause, charity, or organization) consumes your time when you’re awayfrom the keyboard?

Lois - Awayfrom the keyboard? Is that possible? Between my iPhone, iPad, netbook, anddesktop computer, I’m never away from the keyboard! However, I’m one of thefounding members of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a multi-genrewriting organization based in NJ with nearly 200 members throughout the

U.S.

As a member of the board and theprogram chair, when I’m not writing (or juggling one of my two other careers,)the organization consumes much of whatever time is left. And if there’s anytime left after that, I spend it with my husband. ;-)

Anne – Wouldyou share an excerpt with us?

Lois – Mypleasure!

Excerpt:

Upstairs, thefront door slammed with enough force to register a five on the Richter scale.Dust dislodged from the exposed basement rafters and drifted down like pollutedsnow, settling over the basket of clean laundry I’d been folding. The ensuingshouting, barking, and yowling drowned out my muttered curse of choice andyanked my attention away from the now Dalmatian-spotted white wash.

“Once moreunto the breach, dear friends,” squawked Ralph, the Shakespeare-spoutingAfrican Grey parrot I’d inherited when Great-aunt Penelope Periwinkle died twoyears ago. “Henry the Fifth. Act Three, Scene One.” He spread his wings andtook flight up the basement stairs to check out the action. I raced after him,eager to prevent World War Three from erupting in my living room.

“Muzzle thatabominable creature, or I’ll have the pound haul him away,” shrieked Mama.“He’s traumatizing Catherine the Great.”

“So shove someProzac down her throat,” said my mother-in-law Lucille. “What the hell are youdoing back here? And don’t you ever bother to knock? Just barge right in like youown the place.”

“I have moreright to be here than you. This is my daughter’s house, you…you pinkosquatter.”

As I hurriedthrough the kitchen, I glanced at the calendar tacked next to the telephone.Mama wasn’t due back from her Caribbean cruise for another three days. Damn it. I neededthose three days to steel myself for the inevitable explosive reaction thatoccurred whenever Flora Sudberry Periwinkle Ramirez Scoffield Goldberg O’Keefe,my mother and the former social secretary of the Daughters of the AmericanRevolution, locked horns with Lucille Pollack, my mother-in-law and currentpresident of the Daughters of the October Revolution. I’d been swindled out ofseventy-two hours.

By the time Ientered the living room, Mama’s and Lucille’s voices had reachedglass-shattering decibel range.

“Crazycommunist!” yelled Mama. She stood in the middle of the room, cradlingCatherine the Great, her corpulent white Persian with an attitude befitting hernamesake.

Manifesto, mymother-in-law’s runt of a French bulldog, stood inches from Mama’s Ferrigamos,his bark having switched to growl mode as he glared up at his nemesis. With ahiss and a yowl, Catherine the Great leaped from Mama’s arms. Showing his truecowardly colors, Mephisto, as we always called him behind his back and often tohis snout, scampered to safety behind my mother-in-law’s ample girth.

Lucillebarreled across the room, waving her cane at Mama. “Reactionary fascist!”

“How dare youthreaten me!” Mama defended herself with a French manicured backhand that wouldhave done Chris Everett proud. The cane flew from Lucille’s grasp and landedinches from Mephisto’s nose. Demon dog yelped and dove between Lucille’s orangepolyester clad legs.

Anne – Where can readers reach you online?

Lois – At my website andAnastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog.You can also follow Lois and Anastasia on Twitter @anasleuth.

Anne – Thankyou so much for dropping by today, Lois. I’d like to remind readers about your Death By Killer Mop Doll giveaway (details above), and that comments are always welcome and appreciated.(Hint, hint!)

Next week myguest will be Richard Bylina. Become a blog follower today so you won’t miss asingle word. 2012 is going to be a fantastic year.

Happy reading!

* * *

2012 is Here!

2012-01-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

* * *

MRM -12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop Winner

2011-12-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to

Wall-to-Wall

winner of the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop.

She wins an e-copy of

Frank, Incense and Muriel

book 1 of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries.

Thanks again to Intoxicated by Books
and everyone who took part in the hop.

Seasons Greetings to you and yours, and as always,
Happy Reading!

* * *

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

All the best of the holiday season to you and yours!

* * *

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop

2011-12-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

All the best of the holiday season to you and yours! Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to take part in the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop.

Before we begin I'd like to extend a very special thank you to Intoxicated by Books for organizing this event. Blog hop’s are a great way to connect with readers, authors and bloggers, win some super giveaways, and share in the spirit of the holiday season.

I'm offering an e-copy of book one of the MURIEL REEVES MYSTERIES. I'm very proud and honored that it is the recipient of the 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit.

Frank, Incense and Muriel

Murder and mayhem abounds when a gullible intellectual reluctantly teams up with her sexy high school nemesis, now an even sexier private investigator, to find a missing woman.

To enter your name in the giveaway draw:

(1) Follow my blog
You're already a follower? Then:

(2) "Like" my Facebook Fan Page - HERE.
Goodness! You've done that, too? THANK YOU! ;-)

(3) There's only one solution. Please mention this post (and link) on your Facebook page and/or Twitter!

Please leave a comment stating whether you selected #1, 2 or 3, and don't forget to include your email addy.

Thanks again for taking part in the 12 Days of Christmas Hop. I wish you and yours all the best of the holiday season. Happy blogging, and happy reading!

***I’ll announce the winner during the last week of December.***

Enjoy the rest of the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

* * *

THREE Additional Giveaways and Winners

2011-12-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

It’s the final day of the second 2011 Mystery We Write Blog Tour, and what a tour it’s been. Fifteen mystery authors on a virtual two-week tour of interviews, excerpts and of course, giveaways. Events like this can be a great deal of work, but they can also be a lot of fun and this one was a blast!

My deepest gratitude to my partners in crime (Beth Anderson, Ron Benrey, Pat Browning, John M. Daniel, Alice Duncan, W.S. Gager, M.M. Gornell, Timothy Hallinan, Jackie King, Jean Henry Mead, Marilyn Meredith, Mike Orenduff, Jinx Schwartz, and Earl Staggs) for making the second 2011 Mystery We Write Blog Tour such an enjoyable experience.

We’re all aware, however, that without you, the reader, none of this would be possible. Thank you for your continuing support, comments and encouragement. It means the world!

Now, for a little surprise. I'd originally opted to give away three ecopies of Frank, Incense and Muriel. I've decided to add THREE more.

Congratulations Kelly H., Susanne D., & Jaden T.

Your names were chosen at random. I hope you enjoy reading Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks again to everyone for making the second 2011 Mystery We Write Blog Tour so much fun. I hope you'll join us next year for the 2012 Mystery We Write Blog Tour. (Details will be announced in the new year!)

I wish you and yours all the best this holiday season, and of course, happy reading!

* * *

Holiday Mayhem & Madness

2011-12-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

Todayis day 14 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and it seems fitting today’s topicshould be holiday mayhem and madness. If your family is anything like mine,this is a hectic season.

Whenmy daughter was young, I used to prepare for Christmas months in advance. Thatincluded selecting just the right gifts, holiday baking, making cards, planningget-togethers. Now, my sister and her family are on the one side of thecountry, my daughter is on the other, and I no longer have the time orinclination to do all of that prep work!

Manypeople still do, of course, and Val, Muriel’s aunt, is no exception. In Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries, she’s doing abaking marathon based on the 12 Days of Christmas.

Todaymy final Mystery We Write Blog Tour visit is with Earl Staggs. I’m sharing another excerpt from Frank, Incense and Muriel. Here’s a taste:

Myaunt ambled inside the kitchen, and handed me a round cookie tin. Arosy-cheeked Santa smiled up at me.

Igave the tin a gentle shake and asked, “Day two?"

Thedog made yelping sounds. At least I think it was the dog. It was hard to tellwith his muzzle embedded beneath Frankie’s thighs.

“Youbet,” Val said, referring to her gift. “I made a dozen mincemeat tarts. Eachdecorated with two of the cutest little ceramic turtledoves you’ve ever seen.”

Toread the entire excerpt click HERE. Leave acomment (either here or on Earl’s blog) and you will be eligible to win one ofthree e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced tomorrow.

Good luck in the draw and happyreading!

* * *

Dragonfly on the Wall

2011-12-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

Todayis day 13 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. Maybe it’s the number (although Idon’t believe the number thirteen is bad luck), but I wish I could take back aword I used on Jinx Schwartz’s blog.

When sheasked me to describe my writing process Isaid, “Writing for me is akin to being a fly on the wall.”

Afly? Seriously? What was I thinking? Flies are disgusting creatures. They’repests that can carry diseases.

WhatI should have said was, “Writing for me is akin to being a dragonfly on the wall.”

They’re beautiful. They don’t spread disease. Take a look.

Toread the entire interview hop over to Jinx Schwartz’s blog. And when you get to the word 'fly', please substitute 'dragonfly'!

Leave a comment (either here or on her blog) and you willbe eligible to win one of three e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happyreading!

* * *

Nicknames Stick Like Glue

2011-12-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Nicknamesstick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive. ~Thomas C.Haliburton

MurielReeves would agree with that quote. In high school, thanks to Frankie Salerno, everyonecalled her ‘Brian’.

Thisis her take on how it all began….

Imaginemy surprise when Frankie Salerno showed up at my front door one cold, December,Monday morning. Displaying a set of dimples that could make a grown woman cry,he gave me a quick once over and let out a long, slow, wolf whistle. “You’relooking good, Brian. Real good.”

Beingogled at is one thing. Being called that ridiculous nickname after afifteen-year hiatus another. I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach as mythoughts traveled back to Ms. Traynor’s ninth English class when Frankie wroteme a note. I have no idea of its contents. Nor do I care. All I know is theteacher intercepted it. She read it, raised an eyebrow, and zeroed in on me.

“Ibelieve Frankie had you in mind when he wrote this,” she said.

Tomy horror, she began to read the note aloud. She got as far as the salutationhe’d printed on the outside of the folded sheet of three-ring notepaper.

“Tothe Brian.”

Theclass erupted into fits of laughter and Ms. Traynor, satisfied we’d sufferedenough humiliation for one day, returned the note to Frankie and resumed herlesson. From that day forward, I was the girl named Brian, and Frankie becamemy sworn enemy.

Todayis day 12 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and if you’re curious why he calledher Brian you’ll find the explanation in the excerpt on Mike Orenduff’s blog. Leave a comment (either here or on his blog) and you willbe eligible to win one of three e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happyreading!

* * *

A Picture Worth 1000 Words

2011-12-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Do you know where this is? Odds are you do. Which means you also know the setting for Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries.

Where a story takes place is important. Used well, it becomes another character. It helps establish mood. It creates conflict and causes turmoil. It can (and should) move the story forward.

A sleepy English village on a clear, winter’s day is a profoundly different setting from a bustling Asian city of fifteen million battered by a category five typhoon. A story’s location provides distinct conditions that influence the pace, progression and telling of the story, as well as determine a character’s actions and reactions.

Western New York State is the backdrop for Frank, Incense and Muriel. Readers from around the world may not be aware of Lackawanna or Buffalo, but they will likly have heard about and/or recognize Niagara Falls. It is a romantic destination. (My mother and father honeymooned there in the 1940s!) It is also one of the natural seven wonders of the world.

Today is day 11 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m discussing setting with Marilyn Meredith. To read more of what setting can do, go to Marilyn’s blog. Leave a comment (either here or on her blog) and you will be eligible to win one of three e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. The winners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happy reading!

* * *

Mirth, Mutts and Mark Twain

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

"Hewa'n't no common dog, he wa'n't no mongrel; he was a composite. A composite dogis a dog that is made up of all the valuable qualities that's in the dogbreed—kind of a syndicate; and a mongrel is made up of all riffraff that's leftover." ~ Mark Twain

Pets play an important role in storytelling. When I envisioned there would be a big, ugly, but lovable dog in Frank, Incense and Muriel I was certain Big Boy would belong to Val, Muriel's aunt.

Big Boy may be a mutt she rescued from the pound, but he's so very much more. He’s playful, energetic, yet mindful of his owner. He's a perpetualpuppy always looking to discover something new, exciting and tasty. Life with Val is good. He gets fed and groomed and he loves doggy treats. Expensive doggy treats!

Todayis day 10 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m visiting with Jean HenryMead.

I’m also sharing an excerpt from Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries, where Frankie is first introduced to Big Boy.

Here’sa snippet:

..........

(Frankie) Hefixed me with a level stare but before he could reply, the outside door, thatlead from the kitchen to the backyard, swung open.

“You-hoo,Muriel."

“It’smy Aunt Val,” I explained. “We’re supposed to go to the mall after we drop offher dog at--”

Loud,frantic yowls drowned out the remainder of my sentence. The massive, furrycreature galloped toward us. Long legs a blur, its claws scraped the ceramictile like fingernails on a blackboard. Thick blobs of drool splattered in alldirections. I braced myself for the inevitable gooey assault, but the animalbypassed me completely.

Frankiebolted to his feet. “What the--?”

..........

Toread the entire excerpt click HERE. Leave acomment (either here or on Jean’s blog) and you will be eligible to win one ofthree e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happyreading!

* * *

Perception is Reality

2011-12-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

The difference between a gnome and a gargoyle is funny stuff. At least, it is if you’re a writer.

Today is day 9 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m visiting with Jackie King. I’m also sharing an excerpt from Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries that includes gnomes, gargoyles and a body.

Curious? I certainly hope so! Jog on over there now to read the excerpt.

Tell me what you think.

Leave a comment (either here or on Jackie’s blog) and you will be eligible to win one of three e-copies of FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. The winners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happy reading!

* * *

Pantser or Plotter?

2011-12-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

I’menvious of writers who plot their stories. I listen and stare in wonder when theysay they have such and such a scene to write, and then provide me with in-depthdetails of what they foresee.

Howdo they do that? How can they possibly know these things? I never know from onesentence to the next what will happen!

Asyou may have already guessed, I’m a pantser.

Idoubt most readers are even aware of these two methods, let alone care whether authors are plotters or pantsers. What matters is that wedeliver a great story.

Speakingof great stories, today is day 8 of the MysteryWe Write Blog Tour. I’m visiting with Timothy Hallinan. Leave a comment (eitherhere or on his blog) and you will be eligible to win one of three e-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happyreading!

* * *

15 Minutes of Fame is SO One-dimensional

2011-12-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

Submitting to an agent or editor can be scary. Especially when (okay, IF) they respond and reject your work because they think your characters are one-dimensional. Ouch. That hurts. How could it not? You love these people. (They're NOT just characters in a book.) You regard them as friends. They have faults and flaws and idiosyncrasies just like real people. You KNOW they do because you created them, right?!

Do these same rules apply to Hollywood? Who tells the creators of reality television programs their characters are flat and one-dimensional?

Believe me when I say I find people fascinating. I’ve always enjoyed readingbiographies and watching television shows that delve into the psyche of anindividual. I watch people wherever I go. I eavesdrop on their conversations. (Sorry.I can’t help it!) I also watch and analyze their mannerisms and body language.

I try to figure out what makes these people tick.

Understanding why a person acts the way they do helps me to createbelievable, memorable characters that walk off the page. I love to plunk theseindividuals in the middle of a story, give them a problem, surround them with friendsand relatives, and then sit back and watch the mayhem begin.

That said, I rarely watch reality TV programs. Ihave a hard time believing these are real people in real situations. To me they’rein the spotlight for one reason: they want their 15 minutes of fame. And that’sSO one-dimensional. If fame and fortune is all that makes these people tick, Iwant more. I need more. I'll turn the channel until I find a real person or character.

Do you agree or disagree? Am I missing the point of these programs?

Today is day 7 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. I’mvisiting with M.M. Gornell, and we’re talking about this very topic. Leave acomment (either here or on her blog) and you will be eligible to win one ofthree e-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. The winners will be announced December 9.

Good luck in the draw and happy reading!

* * *

Skeltons, Traditions & Family Secrets

2011-11-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

Weall have secrets, those skeletons in our closet we’d rather no one knew about.Families also have traditions or customs that may seem odd to outsiders, butare perfectly normal to them. It’s these tidbits that make our story unique andmemorable.

Fictionalcharacters are the same. Take for instance, Muriel Reeves, heroine of theMuriel Reeves Mysteries. In book one, Frank, Incense and Muriel, Muriel has always felt like the black sheep of herfamily.

While everyone else is keen to win the D-DAY Award, she would preferto forget about the competition. Just for once she’d like to enjoy ChristmasEve without having to vote for the member of her family who cheated death.

Sherarely talks about it, but today she opened up about the Reeves family D-DAY awards on W.S. Gager’s blog.

“It’sa tradition,” she says, “that began with my parents. My father was a real liveaction figure. Always on the go. Always in search of that next adrenalin rush.My mother shared his sense of adventure, and in some ways was even more of adaredevil. My brothers went on their first adventure trip when they were stillin diapers. Me? Riding the merry-go-round makes me nauseous.

“I’vealways held the conviction that if humans were meant to race down snow coveredmountains, scuba dive on ocean floors, or jump out of airplanes, we’d have beenborn with skis for feet, gills for lungs and had wings attached to our backs.

“Fortunately,or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the only time of year thefamily gets together is December. On Christmas Eve, we vote for the familymember who took the greatest risk during the past year and lived to tell thetale. The winner receives the D-DAY trophy. The lettersstand for Death-Defying Act of the Year Award.”

Toread Muriel’s entire interview visit W.S. Gager’s blog. Leave a comment (eitherhere or there) and you will be eligible to win one of three e-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. The winnerswill be announced December 9.

Btw, today is day 6 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. Goodluck in the draw and happy reading!

** *

Lee Barwood's A Lingering Passion

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

My guest today isLee Barwood. Lee writes about the plights of animals and the environment, witha paranormal edge. Her environmental suspense thriller A Dream of Drowned Hollow won Andre Norton’s Gryphon Award and garnered rave reviews, and hershort fiction and poetry have been nominated for several awards, including theBalrog.

Her Haunted Ozarks series is peopled by those whose otherworldlyabilities that go beyond the physical universe. She finds that mystery and theparanormal often fit together perfectly, embracing the unknown and offeringclues to more than one puzzle at a time. Barwood is a long-time member ofMystery Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Science Fiction and FantasyWriters of America. Her latest book, The Trail Through the Mist, is set aroundthe Cherokee Trail of Tears and will be out in 2012 from Double DragonPublishing.

Welcome to mylittle corner of cyberspace, Lee. Let’s talk writing!

Anne - Tell us about your book.

Lee - A Lingering Passion is part murder mystery, part ghost story, and part romance. A movie producerobsessed with his family history decides to revive an old theater—where his great-grandfatherused to act—in what used to be a spa town in the Ozarks. In the course ofuncovering why his ancestor fled the place for

England

in the 19th century, never to return, he stirsup ghosts hungry for revenge—and love.

Stan Richardscomes to Sassafras Springs to find out the truth about the family scandal, amystery never discussed at home but that has colored his whole life. He findsclues in the morgue of the local newspaper, and more evidence in the oldtheater itself, but puts the pieces together in a way that keeps him fromseeing the truth about his ancestor. As he revives the theater with aproduction of an obscure but superb playwright, and brings a big-name cast tothe small town, he becomes more and more obsessed with bringing his family’sstory to the big screen—despite the fact that his version does not fit thefacts of the case.

His cast membersbring their own ghosts with them, in a manner of speaking. Declan Garrett, theleading man, has his own tragic secret that makes him particularly vulnerableto the theater’s hauntings. Phyllida Hancock, who has loved Declan for years,is psychic and knows Declan is in danger—but with a ghost as the third side ofa romantic triangle, can she save him from its clutches? And the ghosts whohaunt the theater have their own agendas. Can a ghost fall in love? Will onemurder beget another? Pride and jealousy can be as strong as love, and the verysurvival of the cast hangs in the balance. Everything comes to a head after theproduction is filmed for DVD release, and the cast on screen is not the castDeclan expected.

Throw in agenerations-old murder, some conflicts with the townspeople, and a healthy doseof theatrical superstition, and you have the ideal story to read on a dark andstormy night.

Anne - Is it partof a series? If so, include other titles. What do you enjoy most about writinga series? What part do you loathe?

Lee - A Lingering Passion is part of the Haunted Ozarks series, standalone books set in the samefictional Ozarks counties of Blackburn and Fulbright, where otherworldly things happen as amatter of course.

The first book inthe series was A Dream of Drowned Hollow, an award-winning environmentalthriller in which a girl with paranormal talents is pitted against a ruthlessdeveloper determined to bring jobs and “prosperity” to the region where he grewup—even if he destroys it in the process.

In Some Cost a Passing Bell, Camilla Carthan flees the notoriety that follows her everywhereafter her husband is murdered by his mistress. Ignorant of her husband’sperfidy, she had thought they had a good marriage, but when he returns to haunther dreams she seeks sanctuary in the only place she feels safe—a house towhich she fled in a dream. The house is real—but so is the ghost who haunts it.

And next year, TheTrail through the Mist will come out from Double Dragon Publishing—a YA timetravel story set on the Trail of Tears, the path of the Great Removal of theCherokee through the Ozarks in the eighteen hundreds.

A series offersthe opportunity for a really deep background, for a familiar setting in whichreaders know they can expect certain things to happen, and a chance to playwith the superstitions and rules that govern the series universe. In the caseof the Haunted Ozarks books, I draw heavily on Ozark folklore and superstition,as well as actual places in the region that my characters visit or talkabout—wonderful places like Mammoth Spring or Blanchard Springs Caverns—andfictional counterparts where the plot can shape the surroundings. Also, I findit a lot of fun to have characters from one story visit a location from anotherstory, or relate the history of one location to events taking place in theirown; it’s always fascinating to interweave stories and characters and giveseverything involved more depth and texture.

If there areadvantages to a series, there’s also the disadvantage of having to make sureyou remember all the events and the chronology, the geography and the history,so that you don’t inadvertently mess up in one book something that you did inanother. I am constantly going back and forth from existing books to thecurrent WIP to make sure that I haven’t introduced any anachronisms or messedup a sequence of events or a character’s persona from one tale to the next.It’s somewhat less of a danger in a series of standalone books, but it’s stillsomething that has to be accounted for.

Anne – So true. Iwrite two series and am always afraid I’m going to mess up some detail! Whatactivity (cause, charity, or organization) consumes your time when you’re awayfrom the keyboard?

Lee - Animalwelfare—and it spills over into my books. We share the planet with so manyamazing and wonderful creatures, sentient and independent, and in such adeveloped and urbanized society we’ve completely lost touch with the marvels ofnature. I write a lot about animals and also write stories from animals’ pointsof view because we’ve by and large lost the ability to “hear” their voices.

Those of us withpets perhaps have a closer tie to animals than others, but still we live in asociety in which animals are more of an afterthought than a part of our dailylives, and they can suffer terribly, through cruelty and into extinction, as aresult.

I try to do what Ican to make people aware, and to lessen that suffering. To borrow a quotationusually attributed to Chief Seattle, “What is man without the beasts? If allthe beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, forwhatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man.”

My other bigpassion is the environment, which took center stage in A Dream of DrownedHollow. As we become more divorced from nature in our daily lives, we fail torealize how important each strand of the web is not just to itself, but to allthe others and the web as a whole—to borrow again from another Chief Seattleattribution, “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one threadwithin it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”

(By the way, aswonderful as those quotes are, apparently Chief Seattle, although real andknown for his eloquence, never said them. Still, they express ideas that manypeople share.)

Anne - Of all thecharacters you’ve created, does one hold a special place in your heart? Why?

Lee – That wouldbe my minstrel Hugh in “The Minstrel,” a short story I wrote quite a number ofyears ago that was originally published in Space & Time and republished inthe e-anthology Illuminated Manuscripts. Hugh is a medieval minstrel in lovewith a woman who is indifferent to him because her affections lie elsewhere,although he doesn’t know that.

Blinded by hisfeelings, he allows himself to be bewitched, and spends eight centurieslearning to rue his credibility—and to appreciate what really matters in love.When at last he is discovered and brought back to the light of day, well, let’sjust say those eight hundred years of contemplation and learning have not beenwasted.

Anne - Have youexperienced writer's block? If so, how did you work through it?

Lee - I’ve had twokinds of writer’s block, and while I wouldn’t wish either of them on anyone, Ifound coping strategies for both that worked—although one was definitely easierto deal with than the other.

The first was thefairly straightforward problem of just not knowing what to do to extricatecharacters from whatever plot situation they are in. The most effective way Ifound to cope with that was to go work on another story. It’s as if mysubconscious is figuring out all the options for the blocked story as I work ona different project, and when it’s reached a satisfactory solution I somehowknow it’s time to go back to that first story and work on it again. For thatreason, I nearly always have several projects going at once, so that I can goback and forth if either inspiration or block strikes.

The second kind ofwriter’s block is far more overwhelming, and it took a long time to breakthrough. It had nothing to do with writing and everything to do with grieving.

I have beenwidowed twice, and each time it was a terrible, terrible loss that literallyshredded my life as it had been. And one of the parts of my life those lossesshredded was my ability to write fiction.

When my firsthusband passed away, it was devastating. My whole life was torn apart and Icould barely function. But I had always loved writing, and it had always beenmy retreat from the world. So I foolishly thought I could just do it again, retreatfrom the world—shut out my feelings and lose myself in writing—because it hadalways been so easy to do so; formerly I could sit down and work on a book andrealize several hours later to my shock that the whole day had passed and itwas time to cook dinner. But after my first husband died, that part of my brainwas shut down as tightly as if it had never existed, and there was simplynothing there. For years.

I should explainthat I’ve worked as a writer and editor all my life, for various kinds ofnonfiction publications, and the nonfiction/editing parts of my brain stillworked. It was the fiction and poetry part—the part that required imaginationand dreams and creativity rather than analysis—that was walled off so that Icouldn’t reach it. When I lost my husband, it felt as if I had lost half ofmyself; we had been very close, and done everything together. When I realizedthat my writing was gone, it felt as if I had lost the other half as well.

What finally crackedopen the door was an invitation from Andre Norton to write a story for one ofthe Catfantastic anthologies. I had continued to edit and to writenonfiction—it was my job, after all—and I could manage that. I edited articlesothers had written, and could even edit old fiction work of my own and make itbetter. But I couldn’t come up with anything new, although I tried and tried. ThenAndre invited me to write for Catfantastic, and I was both honored andterrified—terrified that I wouldn’t be able to produce a good enough story,from scratch, by the deadline. But I wasn’t going to say no.

She had been sosupportive of my writing, from the time I had gotten honorable mention in thefirst Gryphon Award competition (I won the award itself the following year), thatthere was no way I was going to disappoint her. And she knew my personalsituation—that I was widowed; not, of course, that I was blocked; I didn’t tellanybody about that, really.

So I forced myselfto get to work and somehow managed to come up with a story that she likedenough to buy—and then invite me to submit to yet another Catfantasticanthology. I owe her more than I can say.

After my secondhusband died, I took what I had learned from the first horrible experience andbegan to edit some of my older work that had been put aside and neverpublished. And that opened the door to writing again. Now, as in the earlydays, my main complaint is that I don’t have enough time to write.

Anne – My deepestcondolences, Lee. I can’t imagine losing one husband let alone two. You’re aninspiration. Would you share an excerpt from A Lingering Passion with us?

Lee – Of course.

…The town wasn’tquite as elegant as it had been during its heyday as a spa, so there reallywasn’t the money to be concerned with such things. Much easier, much cheaper, just to leave italone, let it be.

And so the theaterstill stood, despite the dreadful legend of betrayal and murder that scarredits history.

But prosperity hadcome with a vengeance of late to this little town of Sassafras Springs, hiddenaway deep in the Ozarks; the prosperity of tourism. Money and insight had done what mere ambitioncould not, and the town was on its way back up again. All its streets and buildings were undergoingfacelifts, being reclaimed from obscurity or decay, being capitalized on as thetown awakened to the demands of travelers hungry for obscure little retreatswith unique and charming features to tempt their jaded tastes. The town that had been a health spa in the1880s was experiencing a resurgence the like of which it had never evendreamed, and now nothing within its perimeter was exempt from the fever forrestoration and renewal that had seized all the inhabitants like a happyepidemic….

***

…Now the councilhad decided that it was the theater’s turn….

The decision hadbeen made: look for a buyer for thetheater, someone who would revive it, put on elaborate shows, and make full useof the theater’s Victorian opulence. That would put Sassafras Springs on the map for good and all, theythought, and give them something to really boast about in next year’s Chamberof Commerce advertising leaflets.

The councilconveniently forgot all the stories about the theater being haunted. Nobody believed that sort of thing in thisday and age, anyway. They alsoconveniently forgot all the acting troupes who had tried without success torevive the theater. None of them hadbeen very good anyway, and that had probably been the real reason for all thosefailures, not some oddball happenings that couldn’t be explained. This councilwas populated with movers and shakers, many new to the area, led by the town’smayor for the last seven years; its members were determined to complete thetown’s resurrection, provide the best they could in everything to ensure thatit continued to prosper. A worthynotion, to be sure, and one that so far had worked admirably.

But nobody hadthought to wonder what would happen if the theater itself refused tocooperate. Or if more than just thetheater were about to be revived. . . .

And just outsidetown, within the theater’s dark and echoing emptiness, a presence stirred andwoke to the forces of change.

Anne – Oh! What afantastic ending! Now I really have to read more. Where can we get a copy of ALingering Passion?

Lee – At Amazon and from Double Dragon Publishing. http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/single.php?ISBN=1-55404-809-5

Anne – One finalquestion. Where can readers reach you online?

Lee – At mywebsite.

Anne – Thank youso much for dropping by today, Lee. Happy writing!

* * *

Influences

2011-11-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

Friendsare often surprised I write mysteries. They find it difficult to believe thewoman whose knees get weak at the sight of blood would willingly (and with suchglee) write about murder.

Iblame the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden books. I read every single book as achild and always imagined myself as the sleuth. If I close my eyes I can stillsee those books on the shelves of my small town public library. They began mylove affair with the mystery genre.

Ifyou’re an author, what books influenced you to become a writer?

Ifyou’re a reader, what books drew you to this genre?

Todayis day 5 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. I’m visiting with Alice Duncan andamong other things, we’re chatting about what books influenced our decision towrite mysteries.

Leavea comment (either here or on Alice’s blog) and you will beeligible to win one of three e-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced December 9.

Goodluck in the draw and happy reading!

** *

Essential Mystery Ingredients

2011-11-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

Todayis day 4 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m featured (and being interviewed) on John M. Daniel’s blog.

One of the questions he asked me was, “Can you name six essentialingredients of mystery plot that begin with C?”

Icame up with:

(1)Catalyst - a person or thing that causes a change

(2)Character - a person portrayed in a novel

(3)Conflict - opposition that motivates or shapes the action of the plot

(4)Challenge - to take exception to; to call into question

(5)Change – to cause to be different

(6)Consequence - something that follows from an action or condition

(7)Clue - something that guides or directs to the solution of a mystery

(8)Crisis - a turning point

Have I missed one? Is one more important than the others?

Leavea comment (either here or on John M. Daniel’s blog) and you will be eligible towin one of three e-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. (And yes,it has all of the above ingredients!) The winners will be announced December 9.

Goodluck in the draw and happy reading!

** *

Scary, Not Terrifying

2011-11-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

YesterdayI wrote a post about what readers expect from a mystery. A cozy mystery reader makesa few more additional requirements on authors. They want to read about murder,yet be spared the graphic detail. They want suspense without terror, they wantromance without the intimate details. If the story includes an invitingsetting, a little humor or a tantalizing recipe, all the better. This readerwants to FEEL cozy.

Todayis day 3 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m visiting Pat Browning.

Dropby her blog to read an excerpt from Frank, Incense and Muriel.

Inthis scene, Muriel is confronted by an unknown assailant. From beginning toend, the attack is described in 182 words. Short. Precise. Scary, but notterrifying.

Whilethe horror reader enjoys page after page of dark, dank terrifying stuff, thecozy reader does not. This excerpt provides exactly what the cozy reader wantsand expects.

Leavea comment (either here or on Pat Browning’s blog) and you’ll be eligible to win one ofthree e-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Thewinners will be announced December 9.

Goodluck in the draw and happy reading!

** *

The Unspoken Contract Between Author and Reader

2011-11-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

Themystery reader, like the romance, horror, fantasy or science fiction reader, hascertain expectations when they pick up a book. They want to be entertained.They want memorable characters and a fast-paced plot. They want a satisfying ending.

Pitythe writer who fails to deliver the goods! A decline in readership and salescould be on the horizon.

Todayis day 2 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and I’m discussing why readers readmysteries with Ron Benrey.

Dropby his blog, leave a comment and you’ll be eligible to win one of threee-copies of FRANK,INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries. (Or, youcan also leave a comment here.) The winners will be announced December 9.

Whatis being said about Frank, Incense and Muriel?

DianaCoyle at Night Owl Reviews said:

“This author knows how to entertain herreaders and keeps them wanting to turn the page to see what happens next. Ifyou’re looking for a story with a little bit of humor, a whole lot of suspenseand plenty of insanity, then you’ve found the perfect story. I’m highlyrecommending this story to other readers and I’m definitely adding this book tomy library. You won’t be disappointed buying this book or others penned by thisauthor. Great job, Ms. Albert! Keep the stories coming!”

Seeyou at Ron Benrey's blog. Good luck in the draw and happy reading!

** *

What is Your Achilles Heel to Getting Published?

2011-11-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

Whetheryou think you can or think you can't - you are right.

~Henry Ford

Thispost begins with that particular quote because self-confidence has always beenmy Achilles heel. For far too many years, I was my greatest and most ardentcritique. My writing career suffered as a result. While I could blame a majority of thosenegative thoughts and actions on my childhood, I won’t. That’s another story,and really not all that interesting or pertinent. Yes, it's true that one’s past can affectour present. It does not, however, determine our future. WE DO. J

Thispost marks day 1 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. I’m thrilled to be in the company of14 talented and award winning mystery authors for this virtual tour. We’re doinginterviews, guest posts, offering writing tips, and of course, talking aboutour books. Speaking of books, more than 60 (yes, I said SIXTY!) e-copy and/orprint books are up for grabs from now until December 9.

TodayI’m featured on Beth Anderson’s blog. She asked me to talkabout the hardest thing I learned on the road to publication. As you might havealready guessed, that would be the merits of self-confidence. J

Dropby, leave a comment and you’re eligible to win one of three e-copies of FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL, the first book of my MurielReeves Mysteries.

DidI mention Frank, Incense and Muriel received the 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit? That did a lot toboost my self-confidence. I felt like the actress Sally Fields when she won theOscar. “You like me! You really, really like me!”

Alljoking aside, here’s the story blurb:

FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL is set the week beforeChristmas when the stress of the holidays is enough to frazzle anyone’s nerves.Tensions increase when a friend begs Muriel to team up with a sexy privateinvestigator to find a missing woman. Forced to deal with an embezzler,kidnapper, and femme fatale is bad enough, but add Muriel’s zany yet loveablefamily to the mix and their desire to win the coveted D-DAY (Death Defying Act ofthe Year) Award, and the situation can only get worse.

Seeyou at Beth’s blog, and don't forget to leave a comment to win one of three e-copies of Frank, Incense and Muriel. (Or, you can leave a comment here.) The winners will be announced on December 9.

Good luck!

** *

Janis Patterson's The Hollow House

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

My guest today is Janis Patterson. Janis isa seventh-generation Texan and a third-generation wordsmith who writesmysteries as Janis Patterson, romances and other things as Janis Susan May,children’s books as Janis Susan Patterson and scholarly works as J.S.M.Patterson.

Formerly an actress and singer, a talentagent and Supervisor of Accessioning for a bio-genetic DNA testing lab, Janishas also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups aswell asmany other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist.

Janis married for the first time when mostof her contemporaries were becoming grandmothers. Her husband, also anEgyptophile, even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janisand her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued fur babies.

Anne – Welcome to my little corner of theblogosphere, Janis. Do you have a fear, phobia, or habit you’d rather no oneknew about?

Janis - Well, everyone kind of knows that Iam addicted to chocolate. Does that count as a habit? I also have to have somethingto read (whether I get to or not) within arm’s reach. As for fear, not manypeople know that I have a terror of roaches, crickets and similar critters. Iwill go on top of the furniture to avoid one, which is ridiculous, since when Iwas a child my cousin and I milked rattlesnakes to earn spending money. Youjust can’t explain a phobia!

Anne – I cannot imagine every milking arattle snake. Yikes. Let’s think chocolate and books! Tell us about The HollowHouse.

Janis - Released on 14 November by CarinaPress and written as Janis Patterson, THE HOLLOW HOUSE is a cozy historicalmystery set in Denver in 1919. The Great War to End All Wars is over, the InfluenzaEpidemic has ended and my heroine is struggling to find a new life, one whereshe can escape what she was. The teaser is, “When a murder is committed in heremployer’s home, Geraldine Brunton knows she must solve the crime to hide thefact that she herself is a killer.”

No one was more elated than I when, twodays after release, THE HOLLOW HOUSE was positively bombarded with laudatoryreviews, including 4.5 stars and a Top Pick rating from RT!

Anne – Huge congrats! Tell us about thedefining moment when you felt as if you’d finally made it as an author.

Janis - Dunno. Even after 24 books I haven’thit it yet.

Anne – Oh, come on. I’ve got chocolate. ;-)Okay. Moving on…how many rejections have you received? Was one more memorablethan others? Why?

Janis - How many? I have no idea – hundredsand hundreds. The most memorable, however, came along just a few months ago. Ihad several books in submission to several houses and got back a rejection thatsliced, diced and julienne-fried (for those of you who remember the oldVeg-O-Matic commercial) my story. After nearly a page of unremitting criticismthe editor condescendingly allowed that if I kept studying and kept at mywriting, I might be able to do something someday. Since I had already sold over20 books to major publishers, it was obvious to me that she didn’t bother toread my resume! Then, to make things perfect, two days later I got notice fromanother, bigger house (my dream house for that story) that they liked themanuscript and wanted to publish it. Success is indeed the best revenge!

Anne - Any words of advice for struggling,unpublished writers?

Janis - Write. Learn. Write. Read. Write.Study. Write. And NEVER give up.

Anne - Outside of writing, whataccomplishment are you most proud?

Janis - Being a good wife to my wonderfulhusband. We waited a long time for each other. In the professional arena, itwas beginning (from scratch!) and editing the Newsletter of the NT chapter ofthe American Research Center in

Egypt

, which is writing in a way, but more scholarly/business oriented. Isaw that it was accepted and archived as a scholarly journal in museums,universities and libraries around the world. I don’t know about now, but duringthe nine years of my reign the Newsletter was the only monthly publication forARCE in the world.

Anne - What activity (cause, charity, ororganization) consumes your time when you’re away from the keyboard?

Janis - The American Research Center in

Egypt

, ascholarly organization for the study of Egyptian history. East Lake PetOrphanage, a wonderful organization that rescues all kinds of animals. And, toa lesser extent, any organization that helps unwanted, abandoned and/or abusedanimals.

Anne - Have you experienced writer's block?If so, how did you work through it?

Janis - One dogged word at a time, oneafter another. A lot of them may be garbage, but as Nora Roberts said, You canfix garbage. You can’t fix a blank page.

Anne – Would you share an excerpt from TheHollow House with us?

Janis – Of course!

There was one light bulb in the servants’stair, a poor thing that gave little light. It gave more than enough, though,to show the twisted body of Annie lying in an unnatural heap on the landing,her legs lying indecently up the stairs, her head jammed against the wall at aforty-five degree angle.

I screamed.

Then the incredible happened. She blinked.

I could hear footsteps, but my entire focuswas on Annie. I scrambled down the steps, maneuvering as best I could over herlegs and contorted torso until I was level with her face.

I stared at Annie. She saw me, I know shedid. She blinked again. Then she died. The transition from a living—howevertenuously—creature to a dead one is unmistakable to anyone who has everwitnessed it. I don’t know if it is a soul, or a life force, or what, but someinvisible something leaves and suddenly everything is changed forever.

Eula was shrieking.

Behind her, Mrs. O’Toole was weeping andcalling on her pantheon of saints. Behind her, Dawkins, to my intense surprise,was swearing with both fluency and unrepressed emotion.

I could not take my gaze from Annie’s twistedbody. Though it was almost as close to dawn as dusk, she wore her everyday palebrown uniform and the work-stained apron from earlier in the day. She was not,however, wearing shoes. Her feet, indecently stuck almost straight up, wereclad in nothing but heavy socks that showed signs of darning.

There was something else.

Her arms were thrown about as if she hadtried to break her fall, but from under her right hip I could see a small flashof green. I leaned forward, startled at the sight of a twenty-dollar bill.Twenty dollars in a single bill, when that was probably most, if not all, ofher monthly salary.

“Should we send for a doctor?” Milton was asking.“Mrs. Brunton? Should we—”

“No,” I said softly, feeling oddly that Ishould keep my voice low so as not to disturb Annie.

“No, she doesn’t need a doctor. I think weneed to call the police.”

Anne – I want to read more! Where canreaders reach you online?

Janis - At my romance/horror website: www.JanisSusanMay.com
and my mystery website: www.JanisPattersonMysteries.com. Plus on Twitter:@JanisSusanMay

Anne – Thanks so much for taking time fromyour busy schedule to chat with me today. Let’s do it again…soon!

* * *

Victoria Roder's Bolt Action

2011-11-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Myguest today is Victoria Roder. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Victoria currentlyresides in Spencer, Wisconsin with her husband Ron, and their pets - Rocky athree-legged Husky, Tucker a German Shepherd dog, Molly a black lab, two catsBaby and Zeus, and a Blue Tongued Skink named Slippery. She has three grownsons she’s proud of, each one making their own way in the world.

Her mom always told Victoria she was creative and shouldwrite books. Victoria hasn’t quite decided if she shouldthank her mom for this crazy life of a writer, or blame her. A story about herchildhood was included in ACup of Comfort for Adoptive Families.
The kidney donation between Victoria and her sister is in Chicken Soup for the CoffeeLover's Soul.
She has been published in Canadian Kids Magazine, Wisconsin Regional Writer'sJournal, Guide Magazine, Pockets Magazine, The Highground, The Little Lutheran,The Little Christian, FarmLife Magazine, and One Way Street.

Victoria is a member of Wisconsin Regional Writer'sAssociation and Wisconsin Sister's in Crime.

Welcometo my little corner of the blogosphere, Victoria. Let’s talk writing!

Anne- Do you have a fear, phobias, or habit you’d rather no one knew about?

Victoria - Like a lot of people, I have a fearof rats, but that’s a story for another day. Today, I’ll share a fear that isn’t as common. I have an irrational fear of deadanimals. When I drive down the road andhave to pass a dead animal, I roll my car windows up, move as far over to theother lane as possible, grip the steering wheel in a death grip, and hold mybreath. I don’t do these things becauseof the smell. I do them because I am positive the dead animal is going toexplode as I drive past it and spray dead animal intestines all over mycar. Have I ever had a dead animalexplode on my car? Never. I told you it is an irrational fear.

Anne– I know it’s impolite to laugh, but I have to admit I find the image of anexploding dead animal kind of funny. So, I suppose we’re both a littleirrational! Okay, let’s talk about your latest release. What’s it about?

Victoria - In Action Thriller, Bolt Action fromChampagne Books, Detective Leslie Bolt is a smart talking, gun hording, Harleyriding investigator forced to work a serial murder case with her sexy ex-lover.After a childhood of abuse suffered at the hand of her father, Leslie sleepswith a Ruger Blackhawk .357 under her pillow, has a Browning A-Bolt StainlessStalker rifle in her broom closet, and a Saturday Night Special stashed in herroad-hog cookie jar. The body count mounts and Detective Bolt must conquer herown past, as she races to capture “The State Quarter Killer” before her sisteris the next victim.

Anne - Sounds like a super read. I also enjoyedthe video book trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqcYL_G7h7sOf all the characters you’ve created do you have a favorite?

Victoria - Detective Leslie Bolt is my favorite.First of all, I modeled her after one of my own sisters. I will let my fivesisters fight it out, trying to decide which one it is, but it should be kindof obvious. Leslie Bolt has a flawed past and struggles with relationships, sheis usually her own worst enemy. She has a tough outer shell, but longs forintimacy like the rest of us.

Anne– Do you have any words of advice for unpublished writers?

Victoria - Set your goals, be determined andpersevere. Expect rejection, it is part of the process. The difference between quitting,or becoming a published writer is what you do about that rejection. Work hardand resubmit.

Anne- Have you ever experienced writer’s block?

Victoria - I do experience times in my writingwhen I’m not sure where the book is going. I’m what they call a pantser. I don’t plot out my novels. So, I don’tknow the specific ending to my novel until my characters reveal it to me. When I get stuck, a ride on the motorcyclegives me a chance to clear my head and work out scenes. I live in Wisconsin, so that motorcycle ride isnot always possible, but I also write children’s books and create puzzles, soif I am stuck on a novel, I always have something else to work on.

Anne– Would you share an excerpt of Bolt Action with us?

Victoria – Absolutely!

Outof my collection of weapons I have stashed around my apartment, I chose myBrowning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker rifle from behind the mop in the broomcloset. I headed in the direction of my enclosed storage area. Flipping on theporch light in hopes of frightening an intruder, I exited my front door. As I reachedthe bottom of the wooden steps, I could detect an outline of a person in frontof the shadowed storage door. Male-at least six feet tall.

Cockingthe rifle, I warned, “Stop. I have a rifle.”

“Calmdown, Bolt. It’s just me.” Lance Kestler ran his hand through his thick blackhair as he stepped from the shadows into the glow of the porch light.

“Ohfor crying out loud. What the hell are you doing here?” I released the trigger.

“Didyou just come out of my storage area?”

“No.I got out of my car and walked toward your door.” Kestler placed his hands onhis slim hips. “How come you never wear your hair down during the day?”

Iignored the question. “I heard a door close.”

Kestlershrugged his broad, black Fieora-clothed shoulders, and wobbled on his feet.“Must’a heard my car door.”

Headlightsfrom a passing car shined toward me and I slid the rifle behind my back.“Whatever. It’s like midnight what the hell do you want?”

“Well,I remembered you don’t sleep much at night, so I assumed you’d still be up. Ormaybe you just didn’t sleep at night because I kept you up-or should I say, youkept me up?” Kestler took a stumbling step forward.

Iblew out a breath in frustration. How did I ever get involved with this guy inthe first place? “Get off it, Kestler. You’ve been drinking. What do you want?”

“Aren’tyou gonna invite me in?” He winked in his typical cocky manner. “It’s been along time since I’ve had your firm body under mine.”

Ishook my head. “Are you kidding me?”

“Look,I want to apologize for how things have been going between us lately.” Lancestumbled and dragged his hand across the side of the duplex to stabilizehimself.

“Apologize?”The rifle dug into my hand as I tightened my grip. “You can’t even talk incomplete sentences. How come you only show up to talk after you’ve beendrinking?”

Kestleradvanced two steps toward me. “What’s wrong with you? I’m trying to rekindle acivil relationship between us, and you show up acting like Annie Oakley thesharpshooter.”

“Youdon’t do apologies, or favors without an ulterior motive.” I pointed the rifletoward him. “What the hell do you want? Why don’t you go home?”

“What?You’re gonna shoot me?” Lance put his hands up, pretending to surrender andlaughed.

Hishumor was lost on me. I wanted Kestler off my property and wanted him to know Imeant business. Not that I would have shot him. Probably. “You’ve beendrinking, and you’re trespassing. I believed you were an intruder and I had todefend myself.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Sounds convincing. I might be able toget someone to buy that.”

“You’dmiss.”

Myfinger itched to pull the trigger. “Don’t you remember my target scores wherealways better than yours?”

Lancewinked at me. “That’s because I was distracted by your cute ass.”

“Youare an ass.”

“I’mdone trying to be nice to you.”

“Whendid you start?”

“Screwyou.” He turned to stomp back toward his car.

Ilowered the rifle and called out, “Kestler, you’ve been drinking. Should I callyou a cab?”

Iheard him open his car door. As I walked backward up the three steps to thefront door, it didn’t take detective skills to realize he didn’t have theability nor the courtesy to answer me. Kestler was six feet tall─could he haveconsumed more then two drinks an hour? I ran back down the steps to offer him aride.

“Kestler!”I pounded on the hood of the car. “Kestler, wait!”

Hejammed the car in reverse, spun it around and squealed his tires on the usuallyquiet street. I watched him drive off and prayed he wouldn’t hit someone on hisway home. Retreating inside my apartment, I locked and dead bolted the frontdoor. I returned the A-Bolt rifle to its spot behind the mop, and headed forthe phone to call in a tip about a drunk driver. If he was lucky, he’d bestopped by a friendly cop. It not-if he had to spend the night in the drunktank at least he wouldn’t kill himself or anyone else.

Anne– I love the dynamics between these two! Where can readers reach you online?

Victoria – At my website www.victoriaroder.com

Anne - Thank you so much for dropping by, Victoria. I wish you every success with Bolt Action. It is definitely going on my TBR list! As always, reader comments are welcome and appreciated.

Happy reading!

* * *

Viper by John Desjarlais

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Myguest today is John Desjarlais. A former producer with Wisconsin Public Radio,John teaches journalism and English at Kishwaukee College in northern Illinois. His first novel, The Throneof Tara (Crossway 1990, re-released 2000), was a Christianity Today ReadersChoice Award nominee, and his medieval thriller, Relics (Thomas Nelson 1993,re-released 2009) was a Doubleday Book Club Selection. Bleeder and Viper(Sophia Institute Press, 2009 and 2011 respectively) are the first two entriesin a contemporary mystery series.

Hiswork has appeared in periodicals such as Student Leadership Journal, UMagazine, The Critic, Conclave, On Being, StudentSoul, Apocalypse, TheUpper Room, The NewPantagruel, The Karitos Review, Dappled Things andThe Rockford Review. A member of The Catholic Writers Guild, The Academy ofAmerican Poets and Mystery Writers of America, he is listed in ContemporaryAuthors, Who's Who in Entertainment, and Who's Who Among America's Teachers.

Anne- Welcome, John. Let’s talk writing! When did you first realize you weredestined to be a writer?

John- In junior high school I wrote spy novels on a portable typewriter in thebasement. They were in homage to all the espionage stories of the day: JamesBond, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, I Spy, all that. Of course, thenovels were awful but I got the bug. I showed some material to my high schoolEnglish teacher and she didn’t laugh or criticize but instead gave me a littlestack of ‘The Writer’ magazine. I still have them.

Anne– I’m always envious when I hear about a teenage writer, and even more envious whenthey mention a mentor. Kudos to you and your teacher! Tell us about your book.

John- VIPER features a minor character from the first book, BLEEDER – Latina insurance agent Selena De LaCruz. Haunted by the loss of her brother to drugs and a botched raid that endedher career with the DEA, Selena De La Cruz hoped to start afresh in rural Illinois. But her gung-ho former bossneeds her back to hunt “The Snake,” a dealer she helped arrest who is out ofprison and systematically killing anyone who ever crossed him. His ‘hit list’,appended to a Catholic Church’s All Souls Day ‘Book of the Deceased,’ showsSelena’s name last.

Workingagainst time, small town prejudice and the suspicions of her own Latinocommunity, Selena races to find The Snake before he reaches her name while agirl visionary claims a “Blue Lady” announces each killing in turn. Is it OurLady of Guadalupe, as many in the Mexican community believe, or, as othersbelieve, the Aztec goddess of Death?

Anne- So it’s part of a series. What do you enjoy most about writing a series? Whatpart do you loathe?

John- The best part is having continuing characters that you care about and theopportunity to deepen them over a longer arc, exploring their relationships.You don’t need to start from scratch. You already have a cast to work with. Adifficulty with it – not something to loathe, though – is keeping track of whathas happened before and making sure the characters’ backstories are consistent.In the third book that I’m working on now, I needed to write out a timeline forSelena’s life, so I’d know how old she was at a certain time, when she went tocollege and that sort of thing. There are childhood incidents I refer to in thesecond book and so now I’m committed – it’s in print and I cannot undoanything.

Anne– Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold a special place in yourheart? Why?

John- Clearly it is Selena, the fiery Mexican-American who can be both tomboy-toughand tender, an independent Latina working hard to navigate her way in a man’sworld and struggling to come to terms with her bicultural identity. She drivesa ’69 Dodge Charger and is handy with a P226 SIG Sauer pistol but she alsopaints and volunteers for literacy programs. She knows when she needs to dressin loud taffeta and hoop ear rings with flashy heels and fire-engine redlipstick and when to wear the charcoal Ann Taylor suit with pearls and pumpsand sandpiper gloss - when to be Latina and when to be Angla.

Anne– She sounds like a fabulous person. I can see why anyone would be drawn toher. Any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

John- Don’t give up. Hone your craft. Read, read, read. Learn the business (andit’s changing dramatically these days). Attend a writer’s conference gearedtoward your genre. Make an appointment with yourself to write regularly andtreat it like a job. Think of yourself as a writer. Read, read, read.

Anne- Where can readers find you online?

John - At me website:http://www.johndesjarlais.com. They can also visit my blog Johnny Dangerous http://jjdesjarlais.blogspot.com, plus I'm on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jdesjarlais1

Anne– Thank you so much for talking writing today, John. I wish you every success with Viper,and of course, happy writing!

Asalways comments are welcome and appreciated. Happy reading!

* * *

Amy Corwin's A Rose Before Dying

2011-11-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Myguest today is award-winning author Amy Corwin. Amy manages a dual career as awriter and an enterprise systems administrator in the computer industry. Shewrites Regencies, paranormals, and mysteries, although to be truthful, most ofher books include a bit of murder and mayhem since she discovered that killingoff at least one character is a highly effective way to make the remaining onestoe the plot line.

Amylives out in the country, way out in the country, and deeply regrets nothabitually carrying a camera. Without photographic evidence, no one willbelieve she nearly ran over a 20 lb barracuda lying in the middle of her road;saw a hot-air balloon land in her front yard; and found a dairy cowthoughtfully trimming the grass at her mailbox. She wishes she’d also had arope when she came across the cow because she could have used the cow poo forher Old Garden roses, which currentlynumber well over 100.

Herwildlife biologist husband, a chocolate lab, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, andtwo cats enjoy the temperate climate on thirty acres near the coast of North Carolina.

Anne– It’s a joy to chat with you, Amy. When did you first realize you weredestined to be a mystery/suspense writer?

Amy-I realized I was destined to be a mystery writer when I discovered that Icould not complete a book without killing a character off. It’s a compulsion. SometimesI worry there must be something terribly wrong with me. But then I writeanother book and that strange feeling goes away.

Anne– I have the samecompulsion, and would never trade it for the world! ;-) Tell us about A Rose Before Dying.

Amy- OnlySir Edward had the motive, the opportunity, and a garden full of the identicalroses sent to each victim before their death.

Thefirst victim was Sir Edward’s ex-mistress, a woman who threw him over for ayounger man. After receiving a mysterious rose, she dies while alone with SirEdward. Then a second rose is delivered and a deadly game commences, whereroses are the only clues to save the next victim.

However,Charles Vance, Earl of Castlemoor, refuses to believe his uncle, Sir Edward,could commit the murders, even when the renowned head of the Second SonsInquiry Agency warns him there may be some truth behind the rumors. "Theroses are Sir Edward’s attempt to cast suspicion elsewhere.""Misdirection." Or so the whispers say.

Convincedhe can prove his uncle’s innocence, Vance enlists the aide of notable rosarian,Ariadne Wellfleet, little realizing his actions will involve the Wellfleethousehold in the killer’s game.

Beforethe week is out, another rose is delivered.

Andsomeone else is missing.

Anne– I understand you also have another recent release. A novella?

Amy– Yes! It’s a historical mystery novella released just in time for the holidays.It’s titled Christmas Spirit.

Anne– Wonderful! It’s on my TBR list. Now, back to A Rose Before Dying. Is it partof a series? If so, include other titles. What do you enjoy most about writinga series? What part do you loathe?

Amy- A Rose Before Dying is part of a series of books with characters who eitherwork for the Second Sons Inquiry Agency or seek help from an inquiry agentthere. The first book in the series, The Vital Principle, introduced thefounder of the inquiry agency, Knighton Gaunt. I’m working on another one rightnow that I hope will be released next spring.

Anne- What do you enjoy most about writing a series? What part do you loathe?

Amy- I love writing series because it’s like working with old friends. I’velearned something about the characters in the first books, but as the seriesgrows, you always seem to learn something new or unexpected about thecharacters, just like you do with real people. The process fascinates me.

Theonly difficult part about a series is keeping track of time and charactertraits, particularly secondary characters. There is a lot to keep straight andsometimes that gives me a headache.

Anne– I know what you mean about keeping track of things. I have a problemremembering stuff in my personal life, so keeping fictional info straight is areal problem. I’ve found an Excel spreadsheet helps…as long as I remember whereI filed it!

Wouldyou share an excerpt of A Rose Before Dying with us?

Amy– Of course!

“Isthis our only clue, then?” Charles arranged the two calling cards in front ofhim before gently rewrapping the spray of yellow flowers. “Did anyone see theflowers delivered?”

“No.The butler found the first bundle on the stoop when he opened the door for LadyBanks and Sir Edward to attend church services. They assumed I’d left it thereas a surprise when I arrived.”

“Surelythe accident didn’t occur on your way to church?” Charles asked, appalled.

“No—no.We went for a walk. Later. In the garden,” Sir Edward said. “There was a shot.She fell into my arms….”

Aftera moment of silence, Gaunt picked up the threads of the story to spare SirEdward. “The second note and rose were left at the French doors leading to thegarden.”

“Insidethe house?”

“No.Outside,” his uncle said.

“Andno one saw anyone?” Charles asked. How was that possible?

“No.No one but me. The servants said no one but me had visited or been in thegarden. The constable did his best. He questioned several of the lads—knownpoachers—but they all had witnesses to verify their whereabouts at the time.Then he had to look elsewhere. By then, the whispers had started. I was alonein the garden with her. They said I did it. I was the only one there.”

Charlestouched his uncle’s shoulder. “Nonsense. Obviously, someone else had beenthere. Had she argued with anyone?”

“No!”The single word exploded from his uncle’s white lips. “No. She argued with noone. This was—inexplicable. Inexcusable. She was an innocent victim. I—Ibelieve it was aimed at me. The taunting flowers—what other reason could therebe for those bloody roses?” His voice rasped with barely suppressed emotion.“He killed her—so they weren’t meant for her. The flowers were a message tome.”

“Why?”Charles glanced away from the pain in his uncle’s face, trying to drag theconversation into less terrible channels. “Who would hate you so much? Who doyou suspect?”

SirEdward took a deep, shuddering breath and then straightened. He shrugged. “Noone. I can’t imagine who would hate me so. Or treat Lady Banks with suchcallous contempt. It’s beyond comprehension.”

Thethought of shooting a woman for the purpose of bringing pain and suffering toanother man was difficult for anyone to accept.

Ittook Charles a few moments to convince himself it was possible for a man to bethat cold, that malicious. “Have you any other information? Perhaps a list ofthose who bear you malice?”

Hisuncle shook his head, his gaze fixed on the floor.

Charlesglanced at Mr. Gaunt. He wanted to question him to see what the man might haveto offer in his professional capacity. Surely he had some relevant experience.Something that might bring light to the awful events.

“Please,Lord Castlemoor. Hoopes was right, after all. I should have gone to you,first.” His uncle interrupted the silence in a rush as if he could no longerbear the company of his own thoughts. “Whatever scandal is flushed out is bestkept within the family. You must see that.”

Scandal?Charles’s gut clenched. What skeletons did his uncle know about, that mightcreep out of the family’s closet?

Certainly,none that he wanted Gaunt to chat with.

Anne–Thank you! Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold a special placein your heart? Why?

Amy- Sarah Sanderson from The Bricklayer’s Helper never fails to make me laugh.Unlike me, she’s fearless and pretty much says the first thing that pops intoher mouth. You definitely don’t want to ask her questions which you don’t wantanswered, truthfully.

Anne– She sounds like my kind of person! What is the most surprising thing you’velearned about yourself from writing?

Amy- That I have an imagination. I know it sounds weird for a writer, but I alwaysthought of myself as a ordinary person, completely lacking in imagination.Turns out, I was wrong.

Anne– Tell us about the defining moment when you felt as if you’d finally made itas an author.

Amy- I’ll tell you when it happens. LOL.

Anne- Any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

Amy- Keep writing no matter what. You will find your audience if you keep writingand honing your skills. And remember to be humble: no one’s writing is perfect.Be prepared to edit the heck out of it and even delete what may seem to be thebest parts. But while you’re being humble, don’t forget to be proud of yourwork. It’s a huge accomplishment when you finally get to type, “The End.”

Anne– Where can readers reach you online?

Amy– At my website http://www.amycorwin.com

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmyCorwinAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/amycorwin
Blog: http://amycorwin.blogspot.com
myspace:http://www.myspace.com/amycorwin
AmazonAuthor Central: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLY7MI

Anne– Thank you so much for visiting my little corner of cyberspace, Amy. It's always a pleasure to meet someonewho shares my need to kill off a character! ;-) Happy writing.

Asalways your comments are welcome and appreciated. Happy reading!

* **

Charmaine Gordon's Haven

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

My guest today is Vanilla Heart Publishing author, CharmaineGordon. Her years of experience as an actor helped prepare her a writing career.

"Of course, I didn’t realize it at the time...I was like a sponge, soaking up how to construct a scene, write dialogue, and paint the setting."

"My writing effort came later when I wrote a two page story, sent it to son, Paul who commented, “Cool.Can you write ten pages?” Seemed impossible but the story poured from my fingers and seventy thousand words later, I typed The End."

Charmaine, it's a real treat to have you here today. It's not everyday I get to chat with someone who has rub elbows with Anthony Hopkins, Harrison Ford, and Gene Wilder to name a few. Welcome!

Anne - When did you first realize you were destined to be amystery/suspense writer?

Charmaine - A funny thing happened while writing this sequelto RECONSTRUCTING CHARLIE. I’m thinking romance and suddenly there’s a bad guywho held a family hostage and escaped when the police came and what in theworld is going on here? I kept writing to find the family has come to HAVEN forsafety and recovery after such an ordeal. The small children reveal what theyrecall about the bad guy and soon Jimmy Costigan, who stopped by to make adelivery, is up to his eyeballs involved in protecting the kids and theirmother all the while--yes, there is romance-falling in love with ShelleyJackson, the psychiatric social worker in charge of HAVEN. In answer to your question,mystery/suspense discovered me.

Anne - Tell us about HAVEN.

Charmaine - Jimmy Costigan gets more than he expected whenhis sister Charlie asks him to make a delivery to her new project, Haven. Herbest friend Shelley Jackson is now a psychiatric social worker about to handlethe first case to arrive at this respite. A mother and three children heldhostage by a strange assailant have just come in and Shelley is alone, in needof another pair of hands.

One look at the amazing woman he's admired from a distance and Jimmy is agoner. He has no hope of a relationship with the brilliant Shelley but stays tohelp out. Just for a night. Until the children reveal that the bad mandisappeared and is on the loose. The family is in danger. The police are calledbut Jimmy, a sucker for anyone in peril, is compelled to stay and protect thosehe cares for.

Anne - Is it part of a series? If so, include other titles.

Charmaine – This all began quite innocently toward the endof RECONSTRUCTING CHARLIE.

Anne – Tell us about that book.

Charmaine - Charlie Costigan is Jimmy’s older sister. Afterrunning from her home at age fifteen, she finds a new life with wonderfulrelatives in Chicago andbegins again. Years later, Jimmy joins her in her dream of a haven for peoplein need of refuge. She finds a house on acres of land in a town North ofChicago. When I typed 'the end' I and cried, I knew there was more to be told. Thus.HAVEN came to be. Now I’m working on the third connected story to be out in thewinter. Like the pyramid, the stories grew one on top of the other.

Anne - Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold aspecial place in your heart? Why?

Charmaine - In my book Now What?the protagonist Carly Evans is closest to my heart. Why, you ask? Because sheis most like me. I admit when suddenly widowed after a long and happy marriagewhere our theme song was “Marriage is one long conversation,” I didn’t know howto put one foot in front of the other. I cried and laughed a lot while writingNow What?

Anne - What is the most surprising thing you’ve learnedabout yourself from writing?

Charmaine - I’ve learned if you hide behind a curtain ofmemory, you’re cheating yourself and the reader. Better to lift the curtain,open your heart and maybe a vein or two (not really) to let the emotions spill.

Anne - Tell us about the defining moment when you felt as ifyou’d finally made it as an author.

Charmaine - I made it as an author when. . .drum roll,please. . .a contract was offered to publish my baby! No longer a writer, nowan author. Tada! And since you’re only as good as your last book, (my advise isto) write another and another. I thank Vanilla Heart Publishing and KimberleeWilliams, and to you, Anne for inviting me to visit with you today.

Anne – My pleasure, Charmaine, but one last question beforeyou leave. Where can readers reach you online?

Charmaine – At my website, blog, or Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/charmaine.gordon

Anne – Thanks so much, Charmaine. I'm so glad you could take time away from your busy schedule to visit my little corner of cyberspace. Happy writing!

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Sharon Donovan's Mask of the Betrayer

2011-11-09T00:03:00.000-05:00

Myguest today is Sharon Donovan. Sharon lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to the loss of hervision, she was a legal secretary for the Court of Common Pleas where sheprepared cases for judges in Domestic Relations. Painting was her passion. Whenshe could no longer paint, she attended creative writing classes and memoirworkshops. After a long and winding road, a new dream arose. Today, instead ofpainting her pictures on canvas, Sharon paints her pictures withwords.

Welcome,Sharon. Let’s talk writing!

Anne- Tell us about MASK OF THE BETRAYER.

Sharon - What would you do if you realized youhad just married a serial killer? Margot Montgomery faces this dilemma in MASK OF THE BETRAYER, a psychological thriller set in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.

Whenthe whispers in the night, the whispers of her lover, are the whispers of akiller, will Margot escape before she becomes the next victim?

Deepin the foothills of Red Rock Canyon, a serial killer stalks. Heleaves his signature—a skull mask on the corpse. But when the homicide coprealizes the crimes are the reenactment of a case never solved ten yearsago--all fingers point to Michael DeVeccio. And when Margot realizes she ismarried to the killer, her life becomes a living nightmare.

Anne– What a super and terrifying premise for a book! Is it part of a series? Ifso, include other titles.

Sharon - MASK OF THE BETRAYER is book one inthe series. It ends with a chilling cliff hanger and opens in VENDETTA with adeadly plan of unspeakable vengeance.

Anne- What do you enjoy most about writing a series? What part do you loathe?

Sharon - I enjoy writing a series because ofcharacter depth and development. By the time one book is written, I know mycharacters as well as family members and close friends. It makes writing thenext book in the series something I enjoy jumping into so that I can furtherdevelop their life story. Oddly enough, I loathe series for the same reason. Ihate bidding farewell at the end of a series to characters that I’ve come tolove.

Anne- Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold a special place in yourheart? Why?

Sharon - Michael DeVeccio is my biggestchallenge to date. He’s a twisted sociopath with no remorse. He masks it quitewell behind a handsome façade of brilliant blue eyes, a killer smile and 180pounds of raw, sexual energy. Outwardly, he is charming and debonair. Inwardly,dark demons lurk in his soul. Michael is a trained assassin and has been gettingaway with murder for years. Why? Trained by his uncle to kill, he murders thebetrayer and covers the corpse with a macabre death mask.

Profilingis a big part of this book. As with most serial killers, childhood abuse playsa vital role in the adult’s psyche. I needed to know why Michael killed with noremorse, and in order to do that, I needed to research his family roots. Partof creating a good villain is to show the vulnerable traits in order to garnersympathy as well as understanding.

Thehardest part to write was getting inside the mind of a killer. To help betterunderstand how fragile the mind is, I took some psychology classes. The mindhas always fascinated me. It can bend. It can break. It can snap. What couldhave possibly happened in someone’s life to cause them to do such heinousthings? Thinking like a killer is not a pleasant thought, but unraveling themany layers of the psyche to find out why it cracked was quite a challenge thatcould not be rushed.

Anne– Again, scary stuff. Would you share an excerpt with us?

Sharon – From Mask of the Betrayer

Thedance floor vibrated with footsteps as guests glided, clomped, and stompedacross it. The Joker hopped around, laughing like a fool. The Deranged Clowngrabbed Margot for a spin around the floor. Dressed in black and white checksand a black mask, An Evil Jester rubbed up against the Smoldering Temptress,whispering crude suggestions in her ear. Covered in voodoo pins from head totoe, the Voodoo Doll danced alone.

Butit was Zorro who turned heads from the moment she’d sashayed into the ballroom.Drop dead gorgeous in a crimson body suit and long flowing cape, she had theattention of every male in the ballroom. Her long platinum hair billowed aroundher voluptuous body and red feather mask. Sheathed in a crimson scaledscabbard, her Zorro sword rested on her left thigh.

Themen all stared. The Mysterious Stranger in a black cape swept Zorro away withthe moves of a ballroom dancer, looking for all the world like her long lostlover. But as soon as the song ended, another masked guest asked Zorro todance, and before long, she’d danced with nearly every man at the party.

“Michael,”Margot whispered in his ear. “Everyone is captivated by Zorro. Do you know whoshe is?”

Michaelwatched Zorro glide across the ballroom floor with ease. Chic and elegant withthe legs of a dancer, she danced the night away, her patent leather heels nevertouching the ground. A crimson rose pendant graced her long, elegant neck.Michael knew precisely who she was. He’d given her the rose necklace on theirwedding night. Taking one final look at Zorro, he pulled Margot into a tightembrace. After kissing her, he whispered in her ear. “I have no idea who sheis. Darling Margot, I only have eyes for you. You are the perfect woman.”

Thestorm that had been brewing all day broke just as the bell tower tolled. Elevenpiercing chimes rang out simultaneously with the rumbling of thunder. Windsfrom the Mohave Deserthurled in through open terrace doors, blowing out the cinnamon-scentedcandelabras in the ballroom. Pellets of cold hard rain pounded helter skelteron the windows. The crystal chandelier swayed back and forth like a pendulum.It flickered once, then twice. And then all went dark.

Zorrosat at the bar, sipping on a bourbon on the rocks. Michael crept up behind herand whispered in her ear. “Nobody makes an entrance like you do, DarlingCandace. You have every man in the place rock hard.”

“Michael,”she purred, her smoky voice as smooth as silk. “I knew you’d recognize me.” Sheran her hand over his masked face. “The role of Valentino suits you. You arestill the most handsome man I’ve ever set eyes on.”

“Andthere were certainly enough of them,” his voice came out low and husky. “Howmany men, Candace? Did you ever keep count of how many lovers you had duringour marriage?”

“Youwere the only one that ever mattered,” she rubbed up closer. “We had somethingreal special between us. And being back in the ballroom tonight brings back allthose memories. Like the way you used to hold me in your arms when we glidedacross the floor. And afterwards,” she slid her hand down his chest—and lowerstill. “We set the sheets on fire, remember, darling?”

“Wehad our moments,” he said. “But I also remember kicking your trashy ass out ofVegas and telling you to never return. And yet here you are, an uninvited guestat my masquerade ball. You know the extent of my wrath better than anyone. Andyet you dare to defy me. Why is that, Candace?”

“BecauseI love you, darling,” sexuality oozed from every pore. “You and only you. Let’ssneak up to our old bedroom and see if we can rekindle some old flames. Comeon, sugar. Let’s get between those satin sheets and set the night on fire.”

Michaelleaned very close, massaging her leg with his fingers. In a voice raw withsexuality, he whispered, “Darling Candace. How can I resist. Meet me in UncleCarlos’s suite in ten minutes. We’ll ring in the New Year together. You have noidea how much I want to be alone with you. Beautiful, beautiful Candace. Ipromise to make you scream.”

Anne– Wow! I see what you mean about Michael being charming. And deadly. How manyrejections have you received? Was one more memorable than others? Why?

Sharon - Too many to count. LOL! One in particular stands outfrom a big New York house. On a rejection letter, the sizeof a business card, was neatly typed in bold type. “YOUR PROJECT DOES NOTEXCITE US.”

Anne– Any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers.

Sharon - Never give up!

Anne – Well said! J Where can readers find you online?

Sharon – at my website www.sharonadonovan.com, on Twitter http://twitter.com/SharonADonovanor they can email me at: sharonad@comcast.net

Anne– Thank you so much, Sharon. It’s been a pleasure tochat and get some insight into how you write. I wish you every success, and ofcourse, happy writing!

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Marco Conelli's Matthew Livingston Mystery Series

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

My guest today isMarco Conelli. Drawing from twenty years of experience as a NYPD detective,Marco is the creator of the young adult Matthew Livingston Mystery series. Helives and works in New York City. Welcome, Marco. Let's talk writing!

Anne - When didyou first realize you were destined to be a mystery/suspense writer?

Marco - The ideaof being a writer surrounded me from a young age, simply because I was a bigfan of reading. When I became a detective in the NYPD I saw so many things inthe course of my work, especially as an undercover, I found myself saying, “Noone would believe this!” I desired to tell a story and felt it was best suitedfor the crime genre.

Anne - I'mimpressed by people who lead an undercover life. Me? Nope...I talk too much!Tell us about your book.

Marco - My latestbook is Matthew Livingston and the Politics of Death. I’m thrilled that it wonthe Silver Falchion Award this year for best crime novel. In book 3 of theMatthew Livingston mystery series 16 year old aspiring journalist DennisSommers is assigned to cover a political campaign speech for the school’snewspaper. At the site of the campaign speech, he witnesses the candidate shotby a sniper who is, according to all accounts, imperceptible at the crimescene.

Dennis relays thestory to 17 year old teen prodigy Matthew Livingston who decides to pursue theshooter with a different investigative method than the ones used by his localpolice. Along with the multi-talented Sandra Small, they dispatch themselves intoan investigation that the elusive murderer turns into a game of cat and mouse.Matthew, Dennis, and Sandra employ stealth tactics and tech-savvy gear in thehopes of baiting this killer, only to find the anonymous assassin is preparingfor his next kill.

As the mysteryunfolds, Matthew feels his opponent watching his every move. Only Matthew'sintellect can protect him and his friends. Will he corner the killer in time,or will the assassin strike again?

Anne - Is it partof a series? If so, include other titles. What do you enjoy most about writinga series? What part do you loathe?

Marco - Yes. MatthewLivingston and the Politics of Death is indeed part of a series. The titlesthat precede it are Matthew Livingston and the Millionaire Murder and Matthew Livingstonand the Prison of Souls.

I enjoy writingin a series because I believe the characters really get to grow. I introducenew facets to them from book to book. Readers enjoy learning more about myprotagonists. That is something that lacked in young adults mysteries of thepast, no growth in the characters. They were strictly boilerplate.

What I loathe (orrather dislike) in writing a series is occasionally people will not buy the newbook when I am touring because they haven’t read the books that precede it. Ialways explain that it is a series but each book stands alone as a mystery. Youdon’t have to read them in order.

Anne – I agreewholeheartedly, which is why I don’t mind reading a series out of order. I’lltake a good read anyway I can get it!

Where can readersget your book?

Marco - The bookcan be purchased at Amazon,and Barnesand Noble.

Anne - Outside ofwriting, what accomplishment are you most proud?

Marco - I amextremely proud of my accomplishments as a detective in the NYPD. I served alittle over 20 years and got to be part of some amazing things.

Something I’mproud of recently is my lecturing and in particular the lectures I provide foraspiring mystery writers as well as established mystery authors.

My presentationcalled "Going Undercover To Solve Your Crime" has been featured atvenues such as The 2010 and 2011 Writer's Police Academy as well as Killer Nashville and manyforthcoming venues. In my course writer’s get to see first-hand fallacies aboutCriminal Investigations that usually come from television. They also experiencethe importance of undercover work to corner criminals for information.

Anne - I'm filingthat information away for future use. I definitely want to attend one of yourworkshops. J

Quick. Your fourfavorites – author, actor, movie, song.

Marco – Author:Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Actor:Christian Bale, Movie: Fletch (big fan of theGregory McDonald novels), Song: A Day In The Life (The Beatles)

Anne – Where canreaders reach you online?

Marco – At my website and on Facebook.

Anne – Thank youso much for dropping by today, Marco. I enjoyed chatting with you about yourMatthew Livingston series. I wish you every success, and hope to attend one ofyour workshops very soon.

As always comments are appreciated and welcome. Happy writing!

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Lillian R. Melendez's Dismantling Vindictiveness

2011-10-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

My guest to day is author Lillian Melendez.She was born in New York City, and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. Writingsince childhood, she began to publish her work when she was very young. Thearts as a whole have always been an interest, but creative writing is herpassion.

Lillian received a B.A. degree in Englishwith a minor in Psychology from Trinity University, inWashington, D.C. In addition to her education, Lillian completed internships, didfreelancing, and worked in libraries, which gave her more practice for herwriting and researching skills.

She specializes in theMystery/Psychological Suspense genre and is a member of Mystery Writers ofAmerica.

Anne - Welcome to my little corner ofcyberspace, Lillian. I understand that yesterday your debut novel was released.That’s a milestone in every author’s life. Congratulations! Without any furtherado, please tell us about your book.

Lillian - The title of my novel isDismantling Vindictiveness.

Christopher Parker is finding it hard to believethat his architect firm is being affected by the recession. His firm's overallbudget is decreasing in a rapid pace, employees are complaining that theirfunds are being tampered with, and the unforeseen attacks on top employeesoutside of his firm and murder, has Christopher's heart racing.

Witnessing his own company's downwardspiral, Christopher holds suspicions, but does not accurately know who isresponsible for the sabotage. Through newspaper articles published by theDisclosure Daily Tribune, he is getting closer and closer to the suspect. Atthe same time, Christopher's health is declining and he is trying to make peacewith those he hurt in the past before it's too late. To his surprise, helpcomes from the unlikeliest of sources.

Anne – Where can readers get a copy?

Lillian – At Black Rose Writing Publishers OnlineStore and Amazon.

Anne - Have you experience writers block?If so, how did you work through it?

Lillian - For me, writer's block means thatI write too much and I need to put my notebook down for a day or two. When mybrain can't think of what to write, it lets me know that I have to take abreak. Writing is not only a hobby, but a job. Just like a 9 to 5 gig, if you work without a lunch break, you can't really functionlater. When I take breaks, and do other activities and go back to writing, I feelrefreshed and write like an energizer bunny.

Anne – I’m slowly figuring that out formyself. Great advice, although as of yet I’m hardly an energizer bunny! Do youhave any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

Lillian - Never give up. Of course, youhear these three words all the time. Every failure is an opportunity to learnsomething. Failure leads to success if you continue on. Any form of educationin writing is important. I have to emphasize this. I wrote since I was a child,but through teachers, I learned various writing techniques.

Anne – Tell us about the defining moment when you felt as if you’d finally madeit as an author.

Lillian - After submitting dozens of queryletters and manuscripts to agents and publishing houses, when I got the newsthat I was accepted by a publisher I was more in a daze than excited. Once thesense of unbelief worn off, I was thrilled.

Anne – I know that feeling. Same thinghappened to me. I received “the call”, then sat back in my chair and just sortof mellowed right out. I’m a little disappointed really. Although I’ve neverbeen a screamer, it would’ve made a much better story!

What is the most surprising thing you’velearned about yourself from writing?

Lillian - I like my day job. Yet, when itcomes to what you love to do, the saying is true; do what you love and younever have to work a day in your life. I love being a novelist. That beingsaid, I want to also add that I love sharing stories with readers. Anymanuscript inside my desk draw means that the work is not yet completed untilthe story line is fully developed. I write to give meaning to something. Likeall authors, in my opinion, I write with a purpose.

Anne – Where can readers find you online?

Lillian – At my website andon Twitter.

Anne – Thank you so much for dropping bytoday, Lillian. I wish you every success with Dismantling Vindictiveness.

Any comments or questions? Lillian and/or I will gladly reply. :)

* * *

Let's Talk Writing

2011-10-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I attended a writers workshop and multi-author book signing. The organizer of the event did everything right. She promoted the be-jeepers out of it in print and on the radio. She worked long and hard for much of the past year to prepare for this day.

(Kudos, Audrey!)

It should have been a roaring success. Unfortunately, only a few readers showed up. Book sales were dismal. Some writers grumbled and griped. I did my best to smile and be gracious. (Hey, I'm a writer, not a saint.) Besides, it wasn't as if anyone was to blame. It just happened.

What got me through the day were the people I met.

Hobnobbing with individuals who share my love for the written word is always a rush and a super way to spend ANY day. We chatted about our books. We shared secrets of how we write. We discussed our individual processes, our quirks and yes, even our warts. We even ventured into cyberspace and spouted our views on social media. (Not surprisingly those opinions varied from a hate to love relationship!)

As I packed up my books and banners and headed home I realized what I'd been missing lately is that personal connection. It's easy for a writer to get bogged down and exist inside a vacuum. Alone. It's okay for short periods of time, even necessary sometimes, but eventually we need to come up for air.

Sunday morning with my coffee cup in hand I thought about the reasons why I write. I write to find out what happens next. But it's the characters themselves that fascinate me and grab my attention. Whether real or fictional I love to watch people in action. I want to figure out what makes them tick. I want to grasp their kernel of truth and hold it in my hand. It's an obsession I can't explain, but it's real and gives me joy!

On Friday I'm returning to my passion. People. I've got a great line up of authors to interview. First up is Lillian R. Melendez. Join me for Let's Talk Writing!

* * *

Weak Kneed, Lily-Livered Wimps

2011-10-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

Did the title grab your attention? Odds are it did. When it comes to people, either real or imaginary, there is nothing that turns me off more.

These individuals whine. They moan. They blame everyone and everything for their woes. They refuse to accept responsibility for their actions or make the necessary changes to achieve their dreams. They're spineless, whimpering cowards who can't look a person in the eye or tell the truth, and they drive me nuts!

What got me started on this tirade? In tweet-speak, it can be explained by #amwriting and #amreading.

I am writing. Well, to be honest, I'm always writing, but right now I'm planning to write the second book of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries. I start in earnest January 1, 2012. So far, I've got the title. I've got a dead guy. I'm got the regular cast of characters who appeared in Frank, Incense and Muriel. What I love about them collectively and individually is their strength. They're people I admire and enjoy spending time with. There's not one weak kneed, lily-livered wimp amongst them.

They're fun to write. They're also fun to read.

Just last night I finished a book where the protagonist breaks up with her boyfriend in the final chapter. She tells him he's weak. (He is!) Their relationship, she explains, will never work because she doesn't have the stamina or wherewithall to hold them both up for the longterm. In short, he's high maintenance with a very low return!

That sums it all up for me. Strong versus weak will always win the day. Think Scarlett O'Hara, Robert Langdon, Hannibal Lecter, or Harry Potter. Regardless of age, gender, genre or whether heroine or villain, a strong, willful character makes for better writing and better reading.

So, what character trait drives you crazy? Which one tips you over the edge? Ah, come on. Spill. Don't be a weak kneed, lily-livered wimp... ;-)

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