Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 103

Wicked Wednesday: A stranger at the door…

It’s the last Wicked Wednesday of February. The theme this month is wishing and we’re celebrating the release of Shucked Apart, the ninth Maine Clambake Mystery. In the book, Andie Greatorex shows up at Julia Snowden’s door seeking help investigating the robbery of two buckets of oyster spat, baby oysters worth $35,000. While Julia has helped the State Police Major Crimes Unit solve several murders, no one unknown to her has ever approached for help solving a non-murderous crime before this.

Wickeds, if someone were to show up at your door and invite you on an adventure, who do you wish it was and what would they invite you to do?

I’m giving away a signed copy of Shucked Apart to one commenter who answers the same question.

Edith/Maddie: That’s a good one, Barb. I kind of wish midwife Rose Carroll would ask me to provide additional support at an 1890 birth she was about to attend, one where she also thought we would learn something important about a crime in town. More realistically I wish Leslie Karst would invite me on a personally guided foodie tour of Hawaii. A good friend, warm feet, schmoozing about writing, and delicious food? (Plus she loves bourbon as much as I do.) That’s my kind of adventure.

Liz: I kind of love this question! At the moment, I’ve been completely obsessed with Bosch on Amazon Prime and I would be more than happy to accompany Harry on one of his cases. He’s kind of perfect – he hates authority, he’s passionate about what he feels is right, and he loves jazz. It would definitely be an adventure!

Julie: Congratulations on the release, Barb! Two buckets of spat worth $35,000. I can’t wait to read this latest adventure. I’m listening to the Amelia Peabody series, having read the series several times. I’d love to visit her Egypt, with her family. In real life, I’d love to plan a travel adventure for 2022 with any one of the friends I’ve had adventures with in the past.

Jessie: Congratulations, Barb! I love the intriguing bits or research that seem to spark your novels! I have two people I would love to come knocking. One is Tuppence Beresford. She has such an adventurous spirit, not to mention a fondness for hats which I share! We could make stops at milliners a part of our adventure. The other, is Merlin. I would adore being whisked off by a powerful wizard to wherever he suggested!

Barb: Oooh, Merlin! That brings up all kinds of interesting possibilities. I do love the idea of time travel. I’d like one of my ancestors to knock on my door and show me 18th century New York City.

Sherry: I can’t wait to read the final version of Shucked Off, Barb. The version I read was fantastic. I’d love to have Jane Austen show up at my door and take me make to her world for a few days — only a few days — I like my modern conveniences way too much.

Readers: Same question–If someone were to show up at your door and invite you on an adventure, who do you wish it was and what would they invite you to do? One lucky commenter will receive a hot-off-the-press copy of Shucked Apart.

A Map of Busman’s Harbor #giveaway

Hi All. Today I’m celebrating the release of Shucked Apart, the ninth book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series, with a giveaway of a map of the setting for the books: Busman’s Harbor, Maine.

Every US resident who completes this survey by March 3, 2021 will receive a map. (I’m sorry to restrict it to US only. Canadian distribution may be available later. I’ll let you know.)

If you want to see the full map, it is here. (Scroll down.)

How did this come about? Several years ago I wrote about the map of Three Pines being offered by Louise Penny’s publisher. The maker of that map, Rhys Davies, reached out to the Wickeds and we’ve been in touch ever since. Last July, Edith did an Ask the Expert post on the blog with Rhys.

I have always been tempted by the idea of a map of Busman’s Harbor. I’ve loved maps of fictional places since I was a kid. I decided that if I signed a contract for Maine Clambake books ten through twelve, my present to myself would be a map.

Once Rhys and I agreed to do the map, the question was–what would it look like? I remember listening to William Kent Krueger on a panel when he said he knew the neighborhood where his protagonist Cork O’Connor lived really well and he knew the area where Cork’s office/burger joint is, but in between was a bit like the old maps, “Here be dragons.”

Busman’s Harbor was the same for me. Even though it is based on a real place, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, I’ve moved things around and made up a bunch of stuff. And, of course, maps of this type, which are really illustrations, simplify a lot even for real places.

We started with our inspiration, which was this map of Boothbay Harbor that hangs on the wall in my living room.

At the bottom it says, “Copyright 1931, Ethel B. Fowler.” In the other bottom corner it says, “This map designed here. The Bridge House Studio. Boothbay Harbor, Maine.” The Bridge House was directly across the water from our former house in Boothbay Harbor. I spent many happy hours on our front porch looking at it. I wrote several of the Maine Clambake Mysteries from that spot. The Bridge House has been a special place for me for a long time.

I used a real map of Boothbay Harbor to guide me for the initial sketch.

I have often described Busman’s Harbor as looking like a lobster hanging in the sea, so I also downloaded a lobster sketch to help me out. (I looked at hundreds.)

Here’ the first sketch I sent to Rhys. I sent along a Word doc with a prose explanation, too.

Note that I had mixed up east and west. Rhys helpfully straightened me out. This is the kind of project I love to do, but not the kind I’m good at.

Rhys and I iterated back and forth, him adding to the map, me sending back notes.

Slowly, slowly we got to the final.

One piece of advice I would give every author reading this, have your map made before you write nine novels and four novellas, putting stakes in the ground every step of the way–some of them contradictory!

Getting the illustrations of the houses was, if anything, more of an adventure. I’ll write about that process in my next Wicked blog post on March 8th.

Louise Penny has said she was reluctant to have a map because she wanted Three Pines to live in each reader’s imagination. I believe that, too. Every reader’s Busman’s Harbor is different and there is a risk in making it concrete, ink on paper, pixels on screen.

The final map isn’t exactly my Busman’s Harbor. But it is the Busman’s Harbor Rhys and I created together.

Readers: What do you think of the map? If you’ve read some of the books, it is the Busman’s Harbor you imagined?

As a reminder, you can sign up to get a printed copy of the map here.

Also, don’t forget to buy Shucked Apart!

Buy links

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Chapters/Indigo

Your Local Independent Bookstore

No Grater Crime Cover Reveal + #giveaway

Edith/Maddie here, tapping out a post from north of Boston.

I’m excited to share with you the cover for the ninth Country Store Mystery! No Grater Crime releases on August 24 and is up for preorder.

What do you think? The cover Birdy is looking suspicious, and less like his real-life model, my late junior kitty. But it’s all good!

This series is so fun for me to write. I love being back in southern Indiana. It’s always interesting to come up with new breakfast and lunch specials for Robbie Jordan and her crew to offer in Pans ‘N Pancakes, her country store restaurant, recipes I share at the back of the book. It’s even a blast coming up with new ways to murder people – but only fictionally…

Here’s the blurb:

Robbie Jordan’s Pans ’N Pancakes boasts delicious eats and the best vintage cookware finds in South Lick, Indiana. And now, for a limited time, there’s a new special featured on the menu—murder!

Ever since meeting the wary owners of an antique shop opening across the street, Robbie has been scrambling to manage weird incidences plaguing her café and country store. Pricey items vanish from shelves without explanation, a fully equipped breakfast food truck starts lingering around the area each morning, and loyal diners mysteriously fall ill. When an elderly man dies after devouring an omelet packed with poisonous mushrooms, Robbie must temporarily close down Pans ’N Pancakes and search for the killer with a real zest for running her out of business—or else.  

If you’ve read Candy Slain Murder, #8 in the series, you know Robbie’s boyfriend Abe proposes to her at the end. So I also got to plan a wedding for this book, which takes place in May.

If you’d like a signed copy of No Grater Crime, please preorder from my fabulous local indy bookstore, Jabberwocky Books, and put a note in their comment area about how you’d like it endorsed.

Readers: What’s your favorite non-electrified kitchen implement? I still use my mom’s sifter and biscuit cutter. Do you have any antiques you use regularly? I’ll send one commenter one of my special Author aprons!

Disasters and Cozies and a #giveaway

Please welcome F.O.W. (Friend of the Wickeds) author Kaye George to the blog. Into the Sweet Hereafter, the third book in Kaye’s Vintage Sweets series releases March 9th. We’re excited to host her her today.

Take it away, Kaye!

No, I’m not talking about losing files and computer malfunctions. Or even having shoulder or wrist surgery and deadlines looming. (Although those have all happened to me, and probably to you or someone you know.)

I’m talking about disasters, real ones, in the real world, interfering with the action I want to have taking place in my novel, Into the Sweet Hereafter, the third in the series.

Tally Holt, the main character in the Vintage Sweets series has a professional performing team for parents. They’ve been performers since she and her brother Colt were very young and got shoved onto the stage to act and sing, just because kids are always cute. Tally and Colt swore off performing as soon as they could. Well, it coincided with the parents, Bob and Nancy Holt, going international with their act and the kids living with the grandparents. The Holts are the complete package, sing, dance, act, and put on a great show. They have no trouble getting bookings around the world.

The problem I had was that things were happening in the world while I was writing. Bad things.

First, I put them in Hong Kong, a place I’ve always loved to read about and would, I thought, like to visit someday. Then things happened. China had been taking back ownership of the colony after allowing them democratic self-government since the lease to Great Britain in 1898. That lease ended in 1997. In those 100 years, Hong Kong established itself as a bustling service-based economy. It has suffered since then, partly from severe flu epidemics, but also from the lessening of their democratic form of government. At first, while I was writing, the college students were protesting recent crackdowns in the airport by standing silently, covered with sticky notes displaying their grievances. I thought it was the cutest protest ever. Then the flights stopped, so I decided to strand the Holts there for a bit. Quickly, however, things escalated and there was real violence. Not cute at all. So I pulled them out of there and decided they should go to Rome instead. That would be safer, right?

So I sent them to Gibraltar, another place I would love to visit. That should be safe, right? Yikes! After they performed, Thomas Cook Travel Agency has a crisis and all European flights were messed up and grounded. They were stranded there!

They finally got a flight to Rome to perform in the Circus Maximus. So naturally, Rome, and many other places in Italy, had historic flooding right then. Even in their venue, the ancient Circus Maximus. They couldn’t perform there at all!

They got to Australia well before the fires there, at least.

And this is a minor subplot!

I hope I made it work and that you’ll enjoy reading about their escapades. Their cozy escapades, right?

Readers: There have certainly been a lot of natural disasters recently and I’m not even counting the pandemic. Do you want the fiction you read to be realistic enough to take those things into account? Or would you rather the fictional worlds ignore the real one and carry on?

GIVEAWAY: If you’d like to win a copy of a book in this series, please leave a comment and I’ll pick one Monday night, the 22nd. Note: If you would like this latest book, I’ll send it when it comes out in March. I can send you a copy of the first or the second one ( Revenge is Sweet and Deadly Sweet Tooth) right away.

About Kaye

Kaye George is a national-bestselling, multiple-award-winning author of pre-history, traditional, and cozy mysteries (her latest is the Vintage Sweets series from Lyrical Press). Her short stories have appeared online, in anthologies, magazines, her own collection, her own anthology, Day of the Dark. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Smoking Guns chapter (Knoxville), Guppies chapter, Authors Guild of TN, Knoxville Writers Group, and Austin Mystery Writers. She lives and works in Knoxville, TN.

Genre Hopping with Kate Clayborn

February is a month for romance so of course I wanted to invite author Kate Clayborn to be with us today. Last winter I kept seeing the book Love Lettering being promoted and decided I had to read it. I loved how Kate’s protagonist, Meg Mackworth, views the world by seeing letters and reading signs. I’m a romantic at heart and a sucker for a good love story and Love Lettering is a great one.

Here’s a bit about the book: In this warm and witty romance from acclaimed author Kate Clayborn, one little word puts a woman’s business—and her heart—in jeopardy . . .
 
Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing custom journals for her New York City clientele. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Knowing the upcoming marriage of Reid Sutherland and his polished fiancée was doomed to fail is one thing, but weaving a secret word of warning into their wedding program is another. Meg may have thought no one would spot it, but she hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid.
 
A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other, both try to ignore a deepening connection between them. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late . . .  

Name (s): Kate Clayborn

Genre(s): Romance, contemporary

What drew you to the genre you write? I was a reader first — I read my first romance in my twenties, shortly after I’d moved somewhere new for a job. I was still in that space where I didn’t really know anyone yet, and was feeling pretty lonely and unsettled, so I made a lot of visits to my local library (because books are always great company!). I happened to pick up my first romance there…Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me, and I just loved so much about it. There was the love story, of course, but also family relationships and friendships and work relationships, and it just really filled me up to read a book like that. So I was hooked! And I really wanted, eventually, to write books that filled people up in that same way. 

What sets your book apart from what is out there? I suppose I don’t think much like this about my books — I feel very lucky to write in the romance genre, where there is just so much talent and rich storytelling, so many unique voices. What I would say is that something I strive to do in my books is to represent the complexity of all relationships — so while my books are primarily about that central romance arc, I also always want to show how much friendship matters to people’s lives and happiness, how there are different types of family, etc. I am a huge fan of romances like this, so I hope I’m in that company of writers who do this well. 

Do you write a series or standalones? Why? I’ve written both — my first three books (and my first novella) were part of a series, and I loved creating that world and getting to revisit characters in each book as I went along. But I also love the standalone model, too — it’s a nice way to think about characters in a more…compact way, I guess? It allows me to have a really tight focus for the world I’m building, and that can be fun, too. 

What are you reading right now? Well, the world lately has been a scary, difficult place, and so I’ve returned to a lot of old favorites — I’ve been re-reading a lot of favorite historical romances, like those by Lisa Kleypas and Laura Kinsale. But I’ve also recently really loved Alyssa Cole’s latest, To Catch a Queen, and I’ve got an ARC of Joanna Shupe’s The Heiress Hunt. I’m also reading Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close, which is non-fiction–it’s terrific and, obviously, about one of my favorite subjects. 

Do you have a favorite quote or life motto? I’ve got lots of wise words swimming around in my head, and I don’t know that I could pick a favorite. When it comes to writing, I like anything that reminds me to run my own race/go at my own pace — anything that reminds me not to compare my process or experience to that of others. 

Favorite writing space? I have a lovely desk that my husband built for me years ago, before I ever started writing fiction, and I love writing there. But some days, there’s a corner of the couch I curl up in. Not great for ergonomics, but sometimes good for ideas! 

What do you see when you look up from writing? Most often, my dog — a very sweet, very loyal yellow lab — who is always nearby when I’m writing. 

Kate’s latest book Love at First releases on February 23rd. Here is a bit about it: From Kate Clayborn, the acclaimed author of Love Lettering, comes a sparkling, tender novel about bickering neighbors, surprise reunions, and the mysterious power of love . . .

Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling saw—or rather, heard—the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, he shared a perfect moment with a lovely, warm-voiced stranger. It’s a memory that’s never faded, though he’s put so much of his past behind him. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who’s uncannily familiar . . .

No matter how surprised Nora Clarke is by her reaction to handsome, curious Will, or the whispered pre-dawn conversations they share, she won’t let his plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, she sets out to foil his efforts with a little light sabotage. But beneath the surface of their feud is an undeniable connection. A balcony, a star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting—maybe it’s the kind of story that can’t work out in the end. Or maybe, it’s the perfect second chance . . .

Bio: Kate Clayborn is the critically acclaimed author of six novels. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Bookpage, and more. By day she works in education, and by night (and sometimes, by very early morning) she writes contemporary romances about smart, strong, modern heroines who face the world alongside true friends and complicated families. She resides in Virginia with her husband and their dog.

Readers: Do you have a favorite romance in book or movie form? 

Wicked Wednesday: Wishin’ and hopin’

Hi Wickeds. Tell me, what is your main series characters’ most fervent wish throughout the series? She’s searching for murderers, but what else is she searching for? If you have two main characters, either dual protagonists in one series or two series, feel free to tell us about both.

I’m giving away mass market paperback copies of Eggnog Murder, Yule Log Murder, and Haunted House Murder to one lucky commenter who answers the question below.

Edith/Maddie: That’s a deep question, Barb! I’d say Quaker midwife Rose Carroll is on a true quest for justice. Robbie Jordan wants her country store to succeed, which includes keeping her staff, her loved ones, and the community safe. I’m still figuring out Mac Almeida’s fervent wish, but I know it involves family.

Jessie: Barb, I love your questions this month! In my Beryl and Edwina series, Edwina most wants to be valued for more than doing her duty as defined by others. To that end she has started a private enquiry agency with Beryl and has also started writing a novel. Beryl has been surprised to realise that the thing she wants most is to belong somewhere and to have a feeling of connection with others that lasts longer than the length of a daring adventure.

Liz: For Violet, my Full Moon Mysteries protagonist, her biggest wish is to feel like she belongs somewhere. In my Cat Cafe series, Maddie’s wish is to be successful but also feel fulfilled. It’s something she’s struggled with before returning to the island–always looking for the next thing that will make her feel successful, but it’s always just out of reach.

Sherry: I pondered this question for a long time. I think Sarah and Chloe have a lot in common even though Chloe is ten years younger than Sarah. Both want to be strong, independent women but for very different reasons. Getting divorced after marrying at eighteen shattered Sarah’s world and sense of self. Chloe on the other hand had a successful career as a children’s librarian until her life was upended by a friends last request and she finds herself working in a bar. And both wouldn’t mind a second chance at love.

Barb: Like Cate’s Violet, in the Maine Clambake Mysteries, Julia Snowden’s greatest wish is to belong. She has always felt like an outsider–as a kid because her parents’ marriage–a summer person and a local–left her feeling like she belonged to neither group. At prep school, she was the weird kid who lived on an island. A lot of this is internal to Julia, as her sister, Livvie, who had the same parents and never felt that way, points out. Julia’s insides and her outsides have to find a place where she belongs. For Jane Darrowfield, her greatest wish is for reconciliation, or even contact, with her estranged son. She’s self-aware enough to know that she runs around fixing everyone else’s problems in part because she can’t put this one thing in her life right.

Julie: As I’m working on book #5, this is an interesting question that may seep into the book. Lilly Jayne, at the beginning of the series, wished order to be restored. Now, I think that Lilly wishes to fall back in love with life. She lost her mother and husband in short order, and her world was roiled. While she’s coming back to life–gardening and sleuthing–she’s beginning to miss the spark she felt for enjoying and exploring new experiences. Especially now, she’s wrestling with how to move forward while honoring those no longer with her.

Readers: Tell us about your hopes and dreams for one of the characters above. What do you want for her? One randomly chosen commenter will receive one copy of Eggnog Murder, Yule Log Murder, and Haunted House Murder.

What We’re Writing: Mid-Winter Edition

Hello Wickeds. We haven’t checked in for awhile on what we’re all working on. Tell us about the latest writing project that is in your computer/on sticky notes stuck to your walls/spread across your dining room table with scribbles on the pages.

Edith/Maddie: I’m on the verge of submitting Batter Off Dead, Country Store #10. I’ve also written two short stories since the new year, for two different calls for submission, and those are polished and sent. Next book up is Cozy Caper Book Group #4, which might or might not include a wedding…

Jessie: I’m just finishing the polished draft on a new novel this week! Next I will turn my attention to the sixth Beryl and Edwina mystery.

Liz: I’ve just begun the sixth Cat Cafe Mystery, and in the mode of being excited about the story! Which just means I haven’t hit the dreaded middle yet…

Sherry: I sent Three Shots to the Wind the third Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery to my independent editor Barb Goffman last week. Since then I’ve been writing a thriller. It’s the first time I’ve written anything long in third person and the first time I’ve used multiple view points. I’m having so much fun.

Barb: I just sent back page proofs for “Scared Off” my novella that will be in the forthcoming Halloween Party Murder, along with stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis. I’m working on blog posts, newsletter, etc for the Shucked Apart release next week. And I’m pecking away on the tenth Maine Clambake Mystery (no title yet) due May 1.

Readers: Do you have a project you are working on through the long winter? Are you particularly looking forward to anything we’re working on mentioned above?

Dream Dinner

Jessie: In New Hampshire, missing entertaining guests in the home.

If there is one thing I love to do, it is to throw parties. Big ones, small ones, intimate gatherings and potlucks for dozens of guests. I love to choose a theme, create the invitations, plan the menu and set about throwing open the doors to let my guests come in to be entertained.

I adore the flickering candles, the gleaming china, the beautifully plated food. Music drifting under the burble of cheerful voices, clinking glasses, friends both old and new smiling greetings to one another. Alas, it has been too long.

But, since a real dinner party is not in the offing, I have been dreaming up some imaginary ones whilst awaiting an all clear for merriments to resume. It is not an original game but it amuses me nonetheless. I feel no need to constrain myself to realities under such circumstances and shamelessly imagine an acquaintaince with greatness or timeline impossibilities.

First off, I would invite family. I would like to have known my grandmothers, great-grandmothers and my mother-in-law when they were young women. I would love to invite them all to tea. I would invite my great-grandparents on my mother’s side for dessert fondue as they each had a wicked sweet tooth. I would adore hearing their assorted Maine accents once more. I would have my aunts over for finger sandwiches and lemonade in the screen house on the back deck in view of the gardens and the bird feeders since they loved such things.

I would also love to host a dinner party for famous authors I have loved over the years. I think it likely the party would be boisterous and loads of fun. I love the work of so many authors but from their writng s I think I would love to sit down to a meal with Llyoyd Alexander, E.F. Benson, Charlotte McLeod, Elizabeth Peters, Dorothy Parker and P.G. Wodehouse. I think I would have that one catered so that I could focus completely on the chatter!

Finally, if I could have my druthers, I would throw a party for my own characters. I would love to see what they would get up to if set to spin in my home, milling about with cocktail glasses in their hands, free to get to know people from books not their own. I am certain my sleuth Beryl would admire Aunt Hazel from my Sugar Grove series. Edwina would love to chat about plants with Gwen, the protagonist from my first novel, Live Free or Die. Simpkins would likely try his hand at chatting up the Velmont sisters, Elva and Dovie, from my Change of Fortune books. I’d love to watch my sleuth Ruby do a tarot reading with one of my decks of cards or to eavesdrop on Constable Gibbs and Officer Warren Yancey comparing notes on police procedures on opposite sides of “the pond”.

Readers, which writers or characters would you invite to dinner? What would you serve?

Interview with Dara Rosenberg: Audiobook Narrator

by Barb, in Key West gearing up for the launch of Shucked Apart on February 23rd.

I’m lucky that Dara Rosenberg has been the reader of all nine of the Maine Clambake audiobooks. We “met” before she recorded book one, Clammed Up, when she reached out to me to ask how a Mainer would pronounce certain words. She just finished recording book nine, Shucked Apart, and reached out again with a reaction to a story development. You’ll see why when you read or listen to it. I took the opportunity to see if she would visit the Wickeds for an interview. Happily, she said yes!

Barb: Hi Dara. Tell us about yourself. How did you come to be narrating audiobooks? What other kinds of voice work and acting do you do?

Dara: I actually began working on audiobooks back in 2010 when I began transitioning from the onstage world to behind the mic.  After working on a few commercials my agent set me up with an audition at  Audible.  Audiobooks were just taking off and after that one audition I began narrating full time!  

I basically voice everything you can imagine. Aside from books and commercials, there is so much more audio out there! I record for Apple News, Corporate 500 companies, even on hold messaging for hundreds of companies!

Barb: That is so funny to think that at sometime when I’ve been sitting on hold, I’ve been listening to you. How do you get the gigs? How are voice actors matched with books? How do you choose what to accept?

Dara: A lot of my jobs are from clients I have worked with for years.  Big commercials will come through my agent.  For Audiobooks, I have developed relationships with publishers over the years.  A publisher will have the audio rights for a book and then cast it.  Some you audition for but some the author might specifically ask for you or the publisher thinks your voice would be best for it.

Barb: How do you prepare for a recording session?

Dara: First, I read the book.  After that I make choices on certain voices for characters and just begin!

Barb: What is the recording session like? How long does it take? Who else is there?

Dara: Pre-covid,  I would work from my home studio or record at the publisher’s studio.  If it was at the studio there was always an engineer on the other side of the glass helping and directing me.  Since I have a full production studio from my house, I can record at home!   I sit down and narrate as long as I can before needing a break.  Usually it takes about 2 hours to record one finished hour of audio. 

Barb: Be honest, do you have favorite books and series? Tell us about a few.

Dara: So honestly, each book is so different that it’s hard to have a favorite.  I would say some are more challenging than others which is a good thing!  I really love books with humor in them because it’s great to laugh while you are basically talking to yourself all day.  Sometimes, the nonfiction books are great because I am learning about a topic that I previously knew  nothing about.  There are a few books on women’s health that I have narrated that have just blown my mind.  Doing Harm by Maya Dusenbery was one of those. It was about  Auto Immune Diseases because misdiagnosed because of the history of women with hysteria. 

Barb: Any funny stories you’d like to share?

Dara: Well, Covid has made recording full time at home quite the challenge. But funny none the less. I have a silly, crazy, loud, 3 year-old who is doing “virtual school” and likes to pop in the booth every 10 minutes to sing a song.  So that keeps things entertaining!

Barb: That is funny. My daughter is currently teaching a college course remotely with a one year-old and a two year-old in the house so I totally get it. What are you working on now?

Dara: Currently I am recording The Exceptional S Beaufont series by Michael Anderle and Sarah Nofke.  I am on book 10 of 12 and actually sad that it’s almost over.  It’s been quite the wild ride!

Readers: Do you have questions for Dara about audio book narration? What are some of your favorite audiobooks and narrators?

Julia Henry Cover Reveal!

by Julie in snowy Somerville

I think of my writing life and my author life as separate tracks on the same journey. What does that mean? My writing life is about creating. Right now, that part of my life is focused on Book #5 in the Garden Squad series.

My author life is about the website, newsletters, social media, book events. That’s the part that connects with readers. My author life has been busy lately, so I thought I’d catch you up on what’s new.

First of all, Wreathing Havoc, Garden Squad #4, is available for pre-order! How much do you love this cover? The cover artist added, and hid, so many details from the book on the cover.

It’s interesting, but though my covers aren’t exactly how I picture Lilly’s house, they are perfect for the series.

The book won’t be out until September 28, but you’ll be hearing more about it in the coming months. Here’s a bit of a preview, courtesy of the folks at Kensington:

There’s nothing like autumn in picturesque Goosebush, Massachusetts, but beneath the season’s sun-dappled foliage, Lilly Jayne and her Garden Squad must investigate a shadowy murder mystery after a theater owner’s sudden death sows as much drama behind the scenes as on any stage . . .

Lilly Jayne typically spends the harvest season baking festive pies and crafting colorful wreaths to enter in the library’s annual fundraising contest. But this year, autumn opens on a somber note when beloved local theater owner, Leon Tompkin, dies unexpectedly. His memorial sets the scene for a mini reunion of The Goosebush Players’ best and brightest alumni, including Hollywood star, Jeremy Nolan . . . until someone plucks Jeremy from the spotlight, permanently.

Now, as dedicated theater volunteer, Scooter McGee, falls under suspicion, Lilly and her Garden Squad must spring into action. They quickly discover a cornucopia of potential suspects in Jeremy’s murder. Was it an embittered ex . . . or a jilted lover? A rival thespian . . . or an overly ambitious artist? Lilly rakes through the piles of clues, but if she doesn’t uncover the real killer soon, more than autumn leaves will be dropping in Goosebush . . .

I’ve just finished the copyedits on the book, and I cannot wait for you to read it.

In other book news, I’ve been learning/working on getting my Theater Cop series back out into the world. So far they’re both up on Kindle. More to come. They have new covers, but the inside is the same.

A Christmas Peril is the first book in the series, With A Kiss I Die is the second. They were first published by Midnight Ink, but the rights have been reverted to me. I was working on the third book in the series, and I’m going to brush it off and work on it after May 1.

I’ve also refreshed my JHAuthors website, and changed my newsletter up a bit.

Whether I’m on my writing path or author path, I’m so grateful you’re all on the journey with me. Happy Thursday, everyone. I’m putting my writing hat back on, creating more mysteries for the Garden Squad to solve.