Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 9

Great Reviews for A BASKET OF TROUBLE!

The third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series, A Basket of Trouble , will be  released on November 8th. The reviews have already started rolling in, and I'm very pleased so far! Below are some quotes from reviews to date that I know about, along with links to where you can read the full text on-line (sometimes only available to subscribers).

“Groundwater combines a satisfying mystery with aspects of riding life and a look at the illegal immigration issue. A good choice for fans of small-town amateur sleuths.”
   -- Booklist , Oct 1, 2013

“Groundwater’s well-crafted cozy comes complete with numerous red herrings and a picturesque setting.”
   -- Publishers Weekly , Sep 30, 2013

“This book had everything I want in a cozy mystery. It featured multidimensional characters, a twisting plot, and a location I want to visit.”
   -- Mystery Books Examiner , July 15, 2013

“The latest starring Claire (To Hell in a Handbasket, 2012, etc.) packs in more action than a typical cozy.”
   -- Kirkus Reviews, August 11, 2013

“Horse lovers and mystery fans will enjoy A BASKET OF TROUBLE.”
   -- Clare O'Beara, Fresh Fiction , October 9, 2013

“This one is not easy to figure out! Throughout the story the themes of self-esteem, personal perception and sibling rivalry are explored. Ms. Groundwater brings the social issue of immigration reform to the table through the Mexican farm hands in her story. She also introduces us to and enlightens us about the benefits of Hippotherapy and the tragedy of Alzheimer's. All of these issues and themes are seamlessly blended together in a gripping cozy mystery that you do not want to miss. Check out A BASKET OF TROUBLE!”
   -- Viki Ferrell, Fresh Fiction , October 9, 2013

“This is a very entertaining mystery with likable and engaging characters.”
   -- a 4-star review by Lis C, a Goodreads reader

Fans of the series have had a long wait for the third book to appear, four years after the second installment in Claire's adventures, To Hell in a Handbasket , came out in hardcover in 2009. The reason is because I changed publishers between the two books, and Midnight Ink wanted to republish the first two in trade paperback and ebook before bringing out the third. The long wait is almost over, and I hope everyone who reads A Basket of Trouble agrees that the wait was worth it!

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Kathleen Ernst

As promised yesterday, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Kathleen Ernst is visiting my blog today, with an article about her protagonist Chloe Ellefson's boyfriend. To read Kathleen's bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Kathleen is running a contest for a free autographed copy of the latest release in her Historic Sites mystery series, Heritage of Darkness, the cover art for which appears above, or one of the other books in the series. Kathleen will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow and will announce the name in a comment on this post.

In the book, for curator Chloe Ellefson, a family bonding trip to Decorah, Iowa, for rosemaling classes seems like a great idea—until the drive begins. Chloe’s cop friend Roelke takes her mother’s talk of romantic customs good-naturedly, but it inflates Chloe’s emotional distress higher with each passing mile. After finally reaching Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Chloe’s resolve to remain positive is squashed when she and Roelke find Petra Lekstrom’s body in one of the antique immigrant trunks. Everyone is shaken by the instructor’s murder, and when Mom volunteers to take over the beginners’ class, Chloe is put in the hot seat of motherly criticism. As she investigates, Chloe uncovers dark family secrets that could be deadly for Mom . . . and even herself.

Sounds like an exciting read to me! Below is Kathleen's article.

The BoyfriendKathleen Ernst
Chloe Ellefson, the protagonist of my Historic Sites mystery series, is a museum curator.  She is also thirty-two years old, single, and in the process of leaving behind an old relationship that failed in a particularly colossal way.  I knew from the start that I wanted Chloe to have a man in her life.  Enter Roelke McKenna, local cop.

I also want the series to continue indefinitely.  That means sustaining a believable relationship over a long arc.  It means letting Chloe and Roelke grow and change in each book, both singly and as a twosome.  And it means finding the right pace—not rushing things, but also not drawing things out to the point of annoyance for readers.  I want people to feel satisfied at the end of each volume, but still eager to see what comes next.  Based on mail from readers, the complicated interactions between these two is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the series.

Chloe and Roelke spend most of the first book in the series, Old World Murder, getting to know each other.  He’s interested; she’s wary.  They seem to have nothing in common.  She’s made mistakes in the past.  She doesn’t want to make any more.  He comes up with a pretty cool plan to help her move forward.

Fast forward to the fourth (and brand new!) book, Heritage of Darkness.  Chloe and her mom travel to Decorah, Iowa, to take concurrent painting classes at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.  When Roelke sees that a woodcarving class is being held at the same time, he signs up and comes along.  Chloe and Mom have a sometimes-prickly relationship, and he’s pretty sure he can help smooth out the tension.

Things don’t go as planned, of course.  Mom takes a shine to Roelke, which is great!  But when she bombards him with hints about traditional courtship and marriage customs, Chloe is mortified.

Then there’s the whole problem of how Chloe should introduce him to her mother’s friends.  Here’s how Roelke handles the conversation:

“Listen,” Chloe said, “this will probably sound stupid, but I need to ask you something.  How do you want me to introduce you to people?  What should I call you?”

“How about your boyfriend?  That works for me.”  It worked quite well, actually.

“That would make me feel like we’re in junior high.”

He considered.  “Is there some historical term you’d like?”

“Beau?  Suitor?  Gentleman caller?”

OK, that idea wasn’t as clever as he’d hoped.  “Those would make me feel like we’re living in some PBS show.”  And if one of his friends ever heard Chloe refer to him as her “gentleman caller,” he’d never live it down.

Despite the awkward moments, it was time for Roelke and Chloe’s relationship to make a real step forward.  By the end of Heritage of Darkness, it does.  (Right after they manage to prevent a killer from striking again.  This is a murder mystery, after all.)

While launching Heritage of Darkness into the world I’m also feverishly working on the fifth Chloe Ellefson mystery, so I’ve been giving this topic renewed thought.  How can Chloe and Roelke keep growing?  What new challenges will they, and their relationship, face?  I’ve still got a lot of ideas about that.  In real life, even the strongest partnerships require attention and care.

What do you think about relationships in long-running series?  Do you have a favorite fictional couple?  Do you look for peaceful equilibrium, or ever-evolving growth?  It’s a topic most mystery authors confront, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Leave a comment, and you’ll be entered in a drawing for your choice of Chloe Ellefson mysteries:  Old World Murder, The Heirloom Murders, The Light Keeper’s Legacy, or Heritage of Darkness.


Thanks, Kathleen! Now, who has an answer, comment or question for Kathleen Ernst? Good luck in the contest!

Tomorrow's Guest: Kathleen Ernst

Tomorrow, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Kathleen Ernst will guest on my blog. She writes about The Boyfriend of Chloe Ellefson, the protagonist in her Historic Sites mystery series. Also, Kathleen will run a contest for an autographed copy of the fourth release in her Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites mystery series, Heritage of Darkness, or one of the other books in the series. She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Heritage of Darkness is Kathleen’s twenty-sixth published book. In addition to the Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites series, she has written many books for American Girl, including seven books about the newest historical character, Caroline Abbott. The latest is a Caroline mystery, Traitor In The Shadows.  Several of her titles for young readers have been finalists for Edgar or Agatha awards. Kathleen lives in Wisconsin, but loves to travel to new locales for research!  Visit her at her website, her blog, or her Facebook page.

Seven Kayak Facts You Didn't Know

I sometimes come across really fascinating articles in the paddling community that I think may be of interest to the readers of my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series (Deadly Currents, Wicked Eddies, Fatal Descent). Here's a very cool one:

http://paddlinghq.com/general-news/46...

A Contest Winner!

I put out an email newsletter sporadically when I have news to report. The good reviews for my November release, A Basket of Trouble , have been rolling in, so I'll be sending out a new issue soon. If you want to subscribe, go HERE.

Every time the number of subscribers to my email newsletter increases by another 100, I randomly draw the name of a winner in my email newsletter contest. I've chosen 31 winners so far! Each winner receives an autographed copy of one of my books and 1 or 2 books by other mystery authors. If you want to enter this contest with great odds of winning, all you have to do is subscribe.

My latest winner is Camille from Longmont, Colorado. Congratulations, Camille!

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Sheila Webster Boneham

As promised yesterday, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Sheila Webster Boneham is visiting my blog today, with answers to my interview questions. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Sheila is running a contest for either a free autographed copy of her latest release, The Money Bird, or a Kindle ebook copy, the cover art for which appears above. Sheila will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow and will announce the name in a comment on this post.

In the book, for Janet MacPhail, photographing retrievers in training is the perfect way to spend an evening. But a photo session at Twisted Lake takes a peculiar turn as Drake, her friend Tom’s Labrador, fetches a blood-soaked bag holding an exotic feather and a torn one-hundred-dollar bill.
When one of her photography students turns up dead at the lake, Janet investigates a secretive retreat center with help from Australian Shepherd Jay and her quirky neighbor Goldie. Between dog-training classes, photo assignments, and romantic interludes with Tom, Janet is determined to get to the bottom of things before another victim’s wings are clipped for good.


Sounds like a very interesting read to me! Below are Sheila's answers to my interview questions.

1. Your Animals in Focus series obviously involves animals. Are these animal-as-sleuth stories, or something else?

The animals in my books behave like real animal. They are essential characters in that they are companions to Janet MacPhail, my accidental amateur sleuth, and to other people in the books. Janet’s Australian Shepherd, Jay, and her orange tabby cat, Leo, are members of her family, just as my dogs and cats have always been part of my family. So the animals in the books do bring clues to light and play essential roles in the plots, but only because Janet is smart enough to make connections. In The Money Bird, for instance, black Lab Drake retrieves a bag that turns out to be an essential bit of evidence, but he didn’t know that. It smelled interesting, so he brought it to his master, as any self-respecting Labrador Retriever would!

I’ve been involved with animals, particularly dogs, for many years in a variety of roles—rescuer, competitor, shelter volunteer, breeder, obedience instructor, and author of seventeen books about dogs and cats. I feel very strongly that many of the problems people have with their pets, problems that too often lose pets their homes, are partly because some people think of animals as funny little people. So I strive to make the animals in my mysteries realistic, complex, loving and loveable, messy…. Just like the ones who live in my house!

2. What tools and process do you use to “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?

When I started writing fiction, I tried creating elaborate background files on my characters, but I discovered pretty quickly that they didn’t work for me. I’d put a lot of time in on them, then forget the details or find that what I created in what amounted to a vacuum didn’t work in the story. So I stopped.

I do much better when I let myself get to know my characters as we get to know other people—bit by bit and in context. As the story unfolds, characters act and react, and slowly reveal themselves and their backstories. I record what they say and do, and I have a spreadsheet that helps me keep track of everyone, especially the series characters who come back book after book.

3. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

I begin with a sense of where the story is going, who is involved, and what’s at stake. I don’t outline, but I do use a spreadsheet (yes, another spreadsheet!) to plan and then track where the crucial plot turns need to occur to keep things moving. In the first book in the series, Drop Dead on Recall, I did more plotting than I have done since, and I set out knowing who the villain was. I finished the book and put it down for a couple of weeks. Then I woke up one morning and said, “No! That’s not right. She didn’t do it!” So I rewrote most of the book. With The Money Bird, I began with a setting and my characters, and I knew that the plot involved wildlife trafficking. I had no idea when I started who would be killed, or why, or who done it. I just followed along, and the characters did what they needed to do. For me, waiting to see what’s going to happen is half the fun of writing fiction!

4. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

I think character is always primary regardless of genre. Plot is intriguing, but what really matters is not the events and other elements in a story, but how the characters respond to them. We know this in our own lives. Put two people into the same situation, the same series of events, and they will not have the same experience, nor do the same things, nor tell the same story later. So characters make the plot work.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

The biggest challenge for me is deciding what to work on. I always have way more ideas than time to work on them. As for motivation, I’ve never NOT been motivated to write and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing something. Even as a kid I wrote all the time. I’ve gone through short periods when I just needed to take a break, and I’ve changed direction with my career more than once, but I can’t really imagine not writing, not working on something.

6. What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?

I write almost every day, and have done so for many years. When I was teaching at universities and working as an editor, I carved out writing time in the evenings and weekends. Now I write every morning for 3-5 hours, depending on circumstances and the stage of the project, and I often write in the afternoon or evening as well. Every once in a while I take a break, but I find that if I go more than 4 or 5 days without writing, I get itchy.

7. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

- Read, read, read. Read in your chosen genre(s), and read widely outside your chosen genre(s). Read mostly works that speak to you, that you enjoy. Occasionally read something you don’t like, and read it critically, as a writer, to figure out why it doesn’t work, at least for you.

- Write, write, write. Put your writing sessions in your weekly calendar as you would anything else that matters to you. Show up.

- Go to readings and other book and author events when possible, even if you aren’t very interested in the topic. You will still learn something, even if it’s how not to present yourself when your own time comes.

- Writing is by nature a solitary venture, but there is also a community of writers and readers out there for inspiration and support. Join that community, and give more than you ask for.

- Stay in the world—travel, play, learn new things, volunteer, do things!—so that you have something to write about.

8. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.

I’m ridiculously terrified of heights and falling, and my fear has gotten worse over the past few years. It’s really pretty embarrassing at times. I’ve been known to get down and crawl on trails when I’m hiking. But I still go out.

9. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

As usual, I have several dogs in the grooming area! First, I’m finishing up the third Animals in Focus mystery, which is scheduled for September 2014. I can’t tell you much about it at present, but Leo, the protagcat, would like you to know that dogs aren’t the only ones who have their days in this series. I’m also working on a stand-alone environmental suspense novel, and some literary nonfiction and a few poems. I love working in different forms—it keeps them all fresher.

10. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers?

If you would like to learn more about me and my work, or follow my journey, you can find me at my website, my Facebook page, or my blogs – for writers and readers and for animal-related stuff.

I enjoy visiting book clubs as well as groups for writers, animal fanciers, and more. I am also available to teach workshops and speak at conferences. Although I currently live in North Carolina, I travel a lot, so if you’re interested, please ask! I just might be headed your way.

Thanks, Sheila! Now, who has a comment or question for Sheila Webster Boneham? Good luck in the contest!

Tomorrow's Guest: Sheila Webster Boneham

Tomorrow, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Sheila Webster Boneham will guest on my blog. She answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Also, Sheila will run a contest for either an autographed copy of the second release in her Animals in Focus mystery series, The Money Bird, or a Kindle ebook copy. She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Sheila Webster Boneham is the author of 17 nonfiction books, six of which have won major awards from the Dog Writers Association of America and the Cat Writers Association. She is also the author of Drop Dead on Recall, the first in the Animals in Focus Mystery series. For the past two decades Boneham has been showing her Australian Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers in various canine sports. She has also bred top-winning Aussies and founded rescue groups for Aussies and Labs. Boneham holds a doctorate in folklore and MFA in creative writing and resides in Wilmington, N.C., with her husband Roger, Lily, their yellow Lab, and Sunny, their Golden Retriever.

Volunteering to Be Evacuated from a Gondola

Every fall for the past few years, the Breckenridge Ski Area has had a gondola evacuation practice day. They sign up about 150 volunteers to load into gondolas and ride up the mountain. Then they stop the gondola line once the whole uphill side is loaded and start evacuating people. My husband volunteered to be evacuated last year when I was busy with another event, and this year the reverse happened--he was busy and I could volunteer.

I arrived at the base of the gondola lift at 9 AM, signed a waiver, and listened to instructions along with the other volunteers, children and dogs included. Then I rode up with my gondola-mates in my gondola until the line stopped. We were left hanging between the stations at the bases of Peak 7 and Peak 8, so we weren't as high up in the air as those who were hanging over the Cucumber Gulch Open Space. We watched a pair of ski patrollers, one on the ground and one working in the air, evacuate people from another gondola, then it was our turn.

Below are photos from our evacuation:


In the photo above, a ski patroller is climbing up the nearest pole to our gondola, and in the next photo, he's standing at the top of the pole and hooking onto the cable, preparing to slide along it the short distance to where our gondola was hanging.


After reaching the roof of our gondola, he told us to back away from the door, then released it and swung himself down and inside. The folks sitting on the ground behind him had just been evacuated from another gondola and were watching us get evacuated. The ski patroller gave us instructions on what he was going to do, then began the evacuation procedure.


Each of us was outfitted with a sling (called "the diaper") that went around our waist and through our legs and was attached to the lowering line. I'm wearing the diaper below.


Then we were each lowered to the ground out of the gondola door. You see me leaving the gondola in the first photo and another passenger being lowered in the second.



After lowering all the occupants, the ski patroller went back up to the roof, resecured the door, and slid along the cable to the next gondola to repeat the process.


The evacuation practice was interesting, educational, and fun for the volunteers, and it's good to know that the patrollers are well-trained in the whole process in case the gondola ever stops during the winter. Plus, we got a free barbecue lunch after it was all over. If I'm available, I'll definitely sign up to do it again next year!

A Wild Weekend at the Breckenridge Festival of Film

Last weekend, my husband and I attended and volunteered at the Breckenridge Festival of Film. Unfortunately, we were too busy having fun to take many photos, but I can give you a summary of our experiences that will hopefully entice you all to attend next year!

I spent many volunteer hours before the festival reviewing films, mostly short dramas, since I was the lead for short dramas on the Program Committee and selected those that made it into the festival. I was anxious to meet all the short drama filmmakers who were able to come and to thank them for making their wonderful films. And, the parties and panels that were an integral part of the festival gave me plenty of opportunities to do that. In exchange for my work on the Program Committee, I received a "Peak 10 Pass" that gave me access to all the films, the parties, and the hospitality suite, and I made full use of that access!

The first day of the festival, Thursday, September 19th, kicked off with a Welcome Party at Burke and Riley's Irish Pub, with two drink coupons for Guinness Stout beers and heavy appetizers that became my dinner: chicken salad, pasta, chicken wings, and fried cheese. I met some of my short drama filmmakers there. Also, my husband, who volunteered to be a filmmaker liaison in exchange for his Peak 10 Pass, found the screenwriter and his wife who had arrived to represent the film, H2IndO, a beautiful and exciting film about world class stand-up paddleboarders riding the waves in Indonesia. Next came the Opening Night films at the Riverwalk Center, the haunting Death of a Shadow, followed by the inspirational Chasing Shakespeare. The day wrapped up late with a party at Ember, with tasty treats such as shrimp corndogs, sliced duck bruschetta, and more, and glasses of wine.

We set an alarm after all that partying (on only the first day!), and got up early on Friday, September 20th, to make it to our first block of films, starting at 9:30 AM: Body Complete, Adonis, and The Insomniac. We then headed for the Hospitality Suite, where we watched some films on their TV that we couldn't squeeze into our schedule otherwise (Bumming Colorado's Ski Country, The Interviewer) while munching on snacks and sipping coffee. Reenergized, we went to the Breckenridge Theatre to watch the uplifting film, The Lady in Number Six.

Next was a cocktail party jointly sponsored by The Warming Hut and Summit Media Labs, where I chatted with folks ranging from the town mayor, to a representative from the Colorado Film Commission to an Austrian snow biker in lederhosen! Then we watched the excellent musical documentary, AKA Doc Pomus, an animated short, The Gold Sparrow, and We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding. For the last two films, I was the ticket taker and my husband was the projectionist. The final stop was Fatty's Pizzeria for the Ski Bum Party. We didn't stay long, because we were bushed by then, and we still had two days to go!

Saturday morning, September 21st, my husband and I split up. I spent the whole morning fighting tears while watching documentaries of good works being done for orphans, lepers, the blind, and the hopelessly destitute in Africa: Man Up and Go and Duk County. After a quick lunch at home, I headed to the Riverwalk Center to listen to a series of panels with my husband. First came three panels of 8-9 independent filmmakers each, followed by one on the Democratization of Film and one on Making the Shot. During the last panel, I helped set up a pizza dinner for those like me who were too busy attending films and panels to grab a bite to eat elsewhere. Then, I stayed for the Adventure Reel session that evening that consisted of short films about river rafting, ski patrolling, and climbing followed by Antartica: A Year On Ice. My husband was the projectionist for this session, too.

Sunday morning, September 22nd, we slept in until the Filmmakers Brunch, where I found and talked to the last attending short drama filmmaker that I hadn't yet connected with. After that, we saw a documentary about the famous sherpa Nawang Gombu, the first man to summit Mount Everest twice. Then we joined the producer of H2IndO and her husband, and the screenwriter and his wife, for lunch. Over lunch, the screenwriter and I talked shop, and that discussion may very well lead to me becoming a story consultant on his script for an upcoming film.

Next, we headed to the Breckenridge Theatre again for The Swimmer and H2IndO, where my husband introduced the producer, who introduced the film then answered questions afterward. We snatched a bite to eat at home, then went to the Riverwalk Center for the Award Ceremony and the romantic comedy film, Language of a Broken Heart. That was followed by the Wrap Party for the festival, hosted by Blue River Bistro. Wine and yummy appetizers such as spinach wraps, ham wrapped asparagus, and white bean bruschetta got the tongues wagging there.

Some other films that I didn't see during the festival, but that I reviewed and recommend and which won awards are: Dream Team 1935 (Best Drama), Rose, Mary and Time (Best Short Drama), and Splendor (Best Student Film). All in all, I had a great time at the festival and saw a lot of excellent films. Also, I traded cards with a couple of filmmakers who were interested in my mystery novels. So, there's even a slim chance that a deal could come my way as a result of participating in the Breckenridge Festival of Film!

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Deborah Sharp

As promised yesterday, fellow Midnight Ink mystery author Deborah Sharp is visiting my blog today, with answers to my interview questions. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Deborah is running a contest for a free autographed copy of her latest release, Mama Gets Trashed, the cover art for which appears above. Deborah will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow and will announce the name in a comment on this post.

In the book, after a tipsy Mama tosses out her wedding ring with the trash, she drags daughter Mace to the city dump to search. When they stumble upon the body of librarian Camilla Law, the straitlaced town is scandalized. Not only is a killer on the loose, but prudish Camilla is all done up in sexy black leather. Foul play and fetish wear in little Himmarshee? Mama's blushing fifty shades of pink!  


Sounds like a very fun read to me! Below are Deborah's answers to my interview questions.

1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?

I was a journalist for almost two decades, mainly with USA Today. I'd been writing non-fiction for what seemed like forever. By age fifty, though, I'd really burned out on a steady diet of sad news and tragedies (One of my last assignments was writing profiles of all the military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq). I left the paper in 2004, and I took a stab at making things up. It's a lot more fun to be able to say how the stories end. Even better, in my books I get to punish the bad and reward the good -- which isn't always how real life turns out. My own family served somewhat as inspiration for the series I ended up writing -- the Mace Bauer Mysteries, featuring Mace's wacky mama.

2. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

I'm definitely a plotter, though sometimes my characters will make a u-turn, and I end up on a road I hadn't thought to travel. I typically do an outline of about 30 pages before I even start a book.

3. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

Plot seems most important in traditional mysteries, as readers are keen on solving the puzzle of whodunit. Character takes precedence in my own books, though, and in the mysteries I like most. Give me interesting personality and strong character motivation over an intricate plot any day. Maybe my interest in character-driven fiction is due to my background in psychology. I earned a master's degree, and was working on my doctorate, when I dropped out to become a journalist. Uh-oh, am I revealing here that quitting is a recurring theme in my life?

4. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

My own mother has a bearing on both elements of this question, my inspiration and my challenge. I stole so many of her traits for my books' Mama character: multiple marriages, a taste for sherbet-colored pantsuits, an affinity for sweet pink wine and gambling with the Seminoles. She's never actually ''done time'' like Mama in the first book, and I've never had to rescue her from a gator, like Mace did with her mama. But Mom's only 98, so I guess it could still happen. Not to mention, a spry old guy has been giving her the eye at their assisted living facility, so she might just catch up yet to Mama's serial marriage lead.

Part of my joy in writing this series was seeing my mom react to the stories. Writing the first four books, I'd finish a chapter, then visit her house for coffee to read her what I'd written. About halfway through book four, I got this question, repeatedly: ''Now, who's Mace again?'' Her memory was really failing, and I knew she was in trouble. Within a year, she began to fall down and wander. I had to move her out of her home -- my childhood home -- and into assisted living.

She's still in fairly good physical shape, but she has dementia. Some days she's sharper than others, but she's not the same mom she was when the first book came out in 2008. The challenge is in finding motivation to still write about ''Mama'' without the gleeful participation of my muse and biggest fan.

5. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

Aside from advising them to READ (you might be surprised how many people who say they've always wanted to write can't mention a single author they like to read), I have three tips for would-be authors:

A. Join a writers' group, for the experience of sharing your work and learning from critiques.
B. Try to attend seminars or conferences in your genre, whether it's mysteries, romance, or travel writing. Joining Mystery Writers of America and attending the Florida chapter's national conference got the fiction ball rolling for me, way back when.
C. This one seems obvious, but WRITE. Paul Theroux said, ''You can't want to be a writer. You have to be one.''

6. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.

I have talked before about playing a zombie in George Romero's ''Day of the Dead,'' and then writing about it as a cub reporter in Fort Myers, Fla. What I've never revealed is that Romero left my scenes on the cutting room floor. It's kind of embarrassing. Apparently, I lacked the acting talent to lurch convincingly.

7. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

See answer above about my real-life mama being my inspiration AND my challenge. I'm taking a bit of a breather, waiting to see what the tea leaves reveal about future writing plans.

8. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers? 

I'd like to say I'm grateful to Beth for her friendship, and for the chance to visit here today. Folks can find more information about me and my Mace Bauer Mysteries on my website. You can also find me on Facebook. Also on Facebook, Friends of Mama From the Mace Bauer Mysteries lets the Mama character blow off steam about how I'm treating her. Lastly, I love to hear from readers and chat with book groups, through my website and via Skype.

Thanks, Deborah! Now, who has a comment or question for Deborah Sharp? Good luck in the contest!