Annette Drake's Blog, page 10
May 3, 2016
House of the Hanging Jade
Amy M. Reade visits my pages today to talk about her new release, House of the Hanging Jade. She shares her top 10 things most folks don’t know about Hawaii. Welcome, Amy.
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Hawaii…
which may or may not be from personal experience
1. There are no billboards.
2. The state bird, which is actually a goose called the nene (pronounced nay-nay), is a highly threatened species that looks remarkably like a miniature Canada Goose.
3. Big Island: If your children are fighting in the car to the point where you wish you could be strapped to the front grate for the rest of the trip around the island, do yourself a favor and use Saddle Road, which can potentially cut several hours off your “fun family drive.”
4. Big Island: The southernmost winery in the United States is Volcano Winery, located in Volcano, Hawaii. This is actually a village on the slopes of Kilauea, a volcano that has been erupting since 1983. The winery has great wines (especially their Symphony Mele- pronounced “may-lay”) and can be a useful stop if … see #3 above.
5. Hawaii has no rabies. I learned that the hard way, thanks to a cat I mistakenly thought was adorable.
6. Winter is the best time to go to Hawaii if you want to see humpback whales frolicking in the Pacific Ocean. The males put on quite a show if they are courting a female. Once the females calve they, too, put on a great show. When calves are learning to jump, they’re often referred to as “flying pickles” because they can’t quite get their tails out of the water and they do, in fact, look like giant flying pickles.
7. When swimming in the ocean, be aware that it gets deep very quickly and the waves can be gigantic. If you happen to be out too far with your daughter and have to be rescued by a stranger when a wave tries to kill you, just remember to be gracious and apologetic when that stranger tells you not to be so stupid.
8. Oahu: You may decide to climb Diamond Head on your last day in Hawaii. I encourage that because it’s a great experience. But please, take extra water. Otherwise, you too might have an inexplicable seizure on the airplane home. And if the doctor behind you gets testy when you, in a frenzy of flight officials trying to decide if the airplane should be turned around to get you to a hospital, suggest it might have been the water in the restroom at Diamond Head, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
P.S.: My kids actually enjoyed that flight because they got to sit in the back of the plane and eat ice cream while I was stretched out across three seats up front on my deathbed. They do love their ice cream.
9. Big Island: And speaking of ice cream, be sure to stop at Tropical Dreams, a little ice cream and coffee shop in Hawii jam packed with fun souvenir finds and the best ice cream on the island. It’s where I first saw Dragonfruit Sorbet (it’s actually the only place I’ve ever seen it).
10. You will never want to leave.
More about House of the Hanging Jade:
A dark presence invades the Jorgensens’ house. On a spectacular bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, something evil is watching and waiting . . .
Tired of the cold winters in Washington, D.C. and disturbed by her increasingly obsessive boyfriend, Kailani Kanaka savors her move back to her native Big Island of Hawaii. She also finds a new job as personal chef for the Jorgensen family. The gentle caress of the Hawaiian trade winds, the soft sigh of the swaying palm trees, and the stunning blue waters of the Pacific lull her into a sense of calm at the House of Hanging Jade–an idyll that quickly fades as it becomes apparent that dark secrets lurk within her new home. Furtive whispers in the night, a terrifying shark attack, and the discovery of a dead body leave Kailani shaken and afraid. But it’s the unexpected appearance of her ex-boyfriend, tracking her every move and demanding she return to him, that has her fearing for her life…
Grab your copy here: Amazon
Want to win a free ebook of House of the Hanging Jade? Please leave a comment, and one contributor will receive a copy. Thanks!
How to connect with Amy:
Website: www.amymreade.com
Blog: www.amreade.wordpress.com
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/8189243...
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Amy-M.-Reade/e/B00LX6A...
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amreadeauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/readeandwrite
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/amreade
Tumblr: www.amymreade.tumblr.com
April 29, 2016
With A Vengeance
Today, I welcome Annette Dashofy to share her latest release, With A Vengeance. Welcome, Annette.
Why do you write cozy mysteries?
I’ve always loved reading mysteries and solving the puzzles. I didn’t set out to write cozies, and mine are actually considered gritty cozies, or as Hank Phillippi Ryan dubbed them, Not Quite Cozy. There’s quite a bit of humor in them, which I think sways them back under the cozy umbrella.
Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
With A Vengeance is the fourth book in the series and deals with someone opening fire on first responders as they arrive at emergency calls. The inspiration came from a news article that I vaguely remember reading, although I can’t recall the details. But that’s fine since I made up my own! Having been an EMT and having walked sometimes blindly into situations to rescue people, the thought of someone shooting at me in those circumstances was terrifying.
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I’ve tried to picture my “ideal reader” and can’t quite do it. I write the kind of stories I like to read. I’ve come to realize I have a great many readers who are school teachers, so if there’s a group I keep in mind as I write, it would be them. I guess in a way I’m still penning essays for my high school English class!
Please describe your writing routine.
As a rule, I get up early (5AM), get my husband off to work, grab some coffee and some breakfast—I check emails and Facebook while I’m eating—and then sit down to write around 7. I work until 9 or 9:30. The rest of my day varies quite a bit. But those morning hours of writing stay pretty consistent.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
I get asked this a lot. My advice is to join a good writing group (I belong to Pennwriters and Sisters in Crime among others, and would never have gotten published without them), learn your craft, write and rewrite until you have the best story you possibly can, and never, ever give up.
More about With A Vengeance:
Paramedic Zoe Chambers and the rest of rural Monongahela County’s EMS and fire personnel are used to wading into the middle of trouble to rescue the sick and the injured.
But when someone with an ax to grind seeks retribution by staging accident scenes and gunning down the first responders, Zoe finds herself forced to not only treat her own brethren of the front lines, but also, in her role as deputy coroner, seek out whoever is killing her friends.
At the same time, Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams races to track down a gun, a mysterious all-terrain vehicle, and the sniper before Zoe goes back on duty, placing herself — and Pete — firmly in the gunman’s crosshairs.
Grab your copy here: Amazon
How to connect with Annette:
Website: www.annettedashofy.com
Email: annette@annettedashofy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annette.dash...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Annette_Dashofy
April 24, 2016
Meddling with Murder
Today I welcome the sister writing team of Pam Burks and Lorraine Campbell. They write contemporary women’s fiction laced with humor, romance, and mystery. Welcome!
Why do you write cozy mysteries?
We love stories with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing.
And we especially love humor. Most of all, cozy mysteries are usually character-driven and having entertaining, idiosyncratic characters in fiction is always a big plus! Lorraine, even more than Pam, is a big coward, the sort that puts her sweater over her head when something too scary or hard-core comes on screen. Of course cozy mysteries usually revolve around a murder but without the graphic elements that provoke nightmares and make you triple-check your doors and windows are locked. We want excitement, drama and suspense, yes. But most of all we want fun. We’re not brave enough to write anything that will have us shivering in our bed at night.
Please tell us about Meddling with Murder. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
It’s a funny mystery about a harassed housewife and mother who gets up to all kinds of crazy antics as she becomes a wanna-be sleuth operating her own North London agency. There are a lot of elements to the story but since Pam is always jaunting off on charity bike rides to Europe, it’s probably natural that bicycles feature largely in this one – stolen bikes, vandalism to Cathy’s girlfriends’ new bike shop. Then there’s the tougher side of being a teenager today, with gangs, drugs and the communication gap between parents and kids. We had this image of an alarmed mother anxious to find out why her teenage son is hiding a gun but terrified he’ll run away or choose to live with his divorced father if she probes. And since we wanted to add some complications to Cathy’s far too happy marriage, and we’d been talking about the Norfolk countryside (where both of us have had several holidays) we made husband Declan intent on moving the family away from the crime-ridden city and Cathy desperate to stay in Crouch End, running her business and close to her best friends. As in all our novels, the female friendship aspect is huge and Cathy faces some difficult choices about whether it’s more supportive to hide things from them or keep hurtful information secret to spare them heartbreak.
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I’m not sure that we have an ideal reader exactly but if we did, they’d be very much like our friends. Probably over thirty, married or in a relationship, possibly with children (Pam has them, Lorraine doesn’t) so they can identify with the parenthood struggles. I think they would be gossipy, intelligent, concerned, tolerant, not too naïve about the world … who knows – maybe fans of Friends or Desperate Housewives? But whatever their age or social status, the biggest thing is that they like to laugh, they love hanging out with their girlfriends and they’re not afraid to have a good time.
Please describe your writing routine.
Ours is slightly different from most writers in that our working days involve a seven hour time difference – Lorraine starting just as Pam is almost ready to wrap up for the day. Having said that both of us work strange hours sometimes. Lorraine often rises at four a.m., works a few hours, takes a break to do horse stuff, then writes again in the afternoon. Pam works part-time at a local college, so on those days, she usually rushes to her computer as soon as she gets home, takes time off to cook and eat dinner and gets back to work again. (Otherwise she works a full day.) We usually rush to check emails first thing to see what the other has sent and that sets our priority. It might be a new version of the manuscript we’re working on, a blog post to write or questions that need to be answered. We often phone each other and get into hour-long discussions about plot problems, decisions to be made or promotional plans, calls which can be very creative, essential or total time-killers. And then we knuckle down and get to work, emailing each other a barrage of questions about anything that arises. At the end of the day we send off whatever we produce and a few hours later, our writing partner wakes up and carries on the good work.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
Be fearless. (I know that sounds contradictory given that we’ve admitted to being cowards but that’s why we write as a team.) It takes courage to start a book and stamina to finish. It takes courage to show it to people. It takes courage to face rejection and bad reviews.
However today’s novelists are extremely fortunate in that we don’t have to depend on traditional publishers to find readers. So, having said that, the best thing is to write about what interests you, what will make you excited to get to the computer, and accept that for most of us fiction is less about making money and more a creative need and labor of love.
More about Meddling with Murder:
Crouch End Confidential, the agency started by housewife and mother, Cathy O’Farrell, with ex-cleaner, Pimple, is failing badly. Hardly surprising when Cathy’s too soft-hearted to charge their only clients – little old ladies seeking lost pets and a school kid searching for his stolen bike.
A new case involving a teenager in possession of an unexplained Glock pistol promises to change all that. Quickly Cathy’s deep in waters over her head, forced with hilarious results to pose as a mathematics tutor, a subject of which she’s truly clueless. There’s also the tricky situation of best friend and new mother Rosa hiring her to investigate her fiancé, Alec, plus the mysterious sabotage of Cathy’s friends’ cycle shop and a gang of yobbos dealing drugs at her children’s primary school.
Worst of all, an ill-fated trip to rural Norfolk has Cathy’s husband, Declan, intent on buying a post office and transplanting the family to safer climes, threatening to tear Cathy permanently from her beloved North London home.
Pretty soon Cathy’s risking her friendships, her marriage and even her life untangling all these messes. But that’s what you get for meddling in murder.
Grab your copy here: Amazon
How to connect with Ellie Campbell:
Website: http://chicklitsisters.com
Email address: chicklitsisters@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllieCampbel...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ecampbellbooks
About the author:
Ellie Campbell is a pseudonym for sister writing team, Pam Burks and Lorraine Campbell. Running wild as tomboys in Scotland, playing imagination games, they couldn’t dream that one day they’d co-author novels despite an ocean between them. From boring clerical jobs in London to a varied life of backpacking and adventure travel, both started almost accidentally as short story writers, Lorraine when working in publishing, Pam as a fun hobby while an at-home mother of three.
By the time each had 70 short stories published internationally, Pam was settled in Surrey, England, and Lorraine had finally taken root in Boulder, Colorado. Long telephone chats about life and fiction led to their current collaboration. They have produced five acclaimed novels – How To Survive Your Sisters, When Good Friends Go Bad, Looking For La La, To Catch A Creeper and Million Dollar Question. They write contemporary women’s fiction laced with humor, romance, and mystery.
When not hunched over computers, Lorraine, a certified ROTH ‘horse whisperer’, can usually be found messing about with her four rescue horses. Pam spends her time on a fund-raising bike ride, madly cycling over mountains to Paris, Barcelona or Gibraltar on the back of her husband’s bone-shaking tandem.
April 20, 2016
For Dead Men Only
Author Paula Paul stops by today to talk about her new cozy mystery, For Dead Men Only. Welcome, Paula.
Why do you write cozy mysteries?
I like writing cozy mysteries because of the challenge. The plot must be more intricately woven than a thriller or even a police procedural novel. A cozy mystery presents a puzzle that the reader becomes involved in solving. I once read that cozy mysteries are the “beach reads for intellectuals.”
Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
For Dead Men Only involves the secrets and ancient history of the Knights Templars and the Freemasons. I find those secret societies intriguing, and they lend themselves quite well to mysteries. I am so familiar with the fictitious village of Newton-Upon-Sea where the Gladstone series is set, and I’ve gotten to know the citizens of the village as I’ve written the books. I started wondering how they would think and feel about a Freemason’s lodge in the village and about the stories of the Templars who would have most certainly been a part of local legend. Once I started researching the organizations and how they evolved in Essex, where Newton is located, a plot just seemed to form itself, and I became eager to write the story.
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I try to write for as broad a spectrum of the population as possible. I am aware that women buy more books than men, but I don’t want my books to be addressed only to women. I always assume that I am writing for a smart reader who won’t let me get away with writing down to them. I always think of my reader as a highly intelligent person who challenges me, and who won’t let me get by with sloppy plotting or facile solutions to the mystery.
Describe your writing routine.
I usually start writing in the afternoon and often write until dinner. After I’ve had dinner, I come back to my office and write more. That’s easier to do now that my children are grown and my husband is no longer living. When I had a houseful at home, I just snatched an hour here and there when I could. Now, I live with my two five-pound maltese-and-poodle-cross dogs who sleep in my lap while I write.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
Write a lot and read a lot. If you really want to be a writer, you either have to be writing or reading or thinking about writing. When you read a book in the genre or type in which you want to publish, you must not read strictly for pleasure. You need study the technique as you read and apply what you learn to your writing. Most of all, don’t give up. If a person really wants to be a writer, they don’t need that last bit of advice. A real writer will never give up.
More about For Dead Men Only:
The Temple of the Ninth Daughter sits on a hill at the edge of Newton-upon-Sea, an aura of mystery lingering over its tall, gray silhouette. Villagers whisper about the treasure housed inside, protected by local Freemasons who are bound by clandestine oaths.
Dr. Alexandra Gladstone has no time for such nonsense. Between the patients in her surgery and the rounds she makes with her faithful dog, Zack, her days are busy enough. But Alexandra has no logical explanation when the Freemasons start dying, one by one, with no sign of foul play other than smears of blood on their Masonic aprons. And what to make of reports that a Knight Templar rides through the village before each passing?
After the constable disappears in the midst of the crisis, Alexandra reaches out to her dashing, diligent friend, Nicholas Forsythe, Lord Dunsford, for assistance. Is someone after the treasure, or might a more sinister game be afoot? In order to solve this puzzle, Alexandra must somehow catch a killer who shows no remorse — and leaves no witnesses.
Grab your copy here: Amazon
How to connect with Paula:
Website: paulapaul.net
Facebook: facebook.com/paula.paul.545
(the Gladstone series has a Facebook page:
Facebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Gladston...
Twitter: PaulaPaul4
April 19, 2016
Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker
Author D.E. Haggerty generously hosted me on her website in a few months back, so I’m delighted to return the publicity. Learn more about her newest release, Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker!
About the book:
Callie’s life is rather awesome.
She owns a successful bakery and teaches German literature at the local university. There’s just one tiny problem. She has no self-confidence when it comes to her body. And then there’s the little matter of her being accused of murdering her pole dancing instructor. There’s no way Callie’s going to risk losing her teaching position and thus she embarks, with her best baker bud Anna, on a journey to discover the real killer. Between stripper auditions and a detective who insists Callie is the woman of his dreams, it’s a roller coast adventure. Cupcakes not included.
How to connect with D.E.:
Website: https://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/denaehaggerty
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty
The author is hosting a $15 Amazon card giveaway. Here’s details on entering.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
April 16, 2016
Murder Dancing
If you’re a reader who loves a long series, this is the book for you! It’s the 16th installment of the Libby Sarjeant series. A hearty welcome to the author, Lesley Cookman. I’m so delighted to host her today. Welcome, Lesley. 
Why do you write cozy mysteries?
I was brought up on mysteries/detective stories of the Golden Age, which I still love, and when I began to write this is what they were called! I had no idea I was writing “Cozy” crime when my first mystery was published, and I still hate the term.
Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
This particular book, the sixteenth in my Libby Sarjeant series, was inspired by the British Dance company of Matthew Bourne, whose innovative all-male Swan Lake took the world by storm over a decade ago.
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I don’t really. I doubt very much if anyone under the age of 50 would enjoy them, and as far as I can tell, my main readership is female, but I’m not writing specifically for a white, middle-aged female audience. I’m very inclusive!
Please describe your writing routine.
Routine? What’s that? No, seriously, it’s my job, so I work as much as possible in my office and keep to more-or-less office hours.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
Keep trying and read. A LOT!
More about Murder Dancing:
Max Tobin brings his all-male dance company to Steeple Martin, with his new ballet Pendle, based on the infamous Pendle Witch Trials, due to be performed at the Oast Theatre.
There have been unpleasant incidents during rehearsals in London, and Max asks Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran Wolfe to look into them. To everyone’s surprise, the seriousness of the incidents escalates until, inevitably, someone is murdered.
While the police look into the murder, Libby and Fran wonder why someone seemed so set against the ballet. Were occult forces at work, or was there a more worldly, personal motive?
Grab your copy here: Amazon
How to connect with Lesley:
Website: www.lesleycookman.co.uk
Email address: via website
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteepleMarti...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LesleyCookman
April 15, 2016
A Daughter’s Doubt
Author Richard Audry is visiting my pages today to talk about his newly released mystery, A Daughter’s Doubt. Welcome, Richard.
Why do you write cozy mysteries?
For my canine cozy series — the King Harald Mysteries — I simply get a kick out of playing god to the eccentric denizens of Beaver Tail County. It’s been a blast creating this little world in a locale very much like north central Minnesota. This is a place where I would love to live, and these are people I would like to have as friends. Of course, if I really lived in New Bergen, I would prefer there not be any murders. My historical mystery series — the Mary MacDougall Mysteries — reflects my interest in the era of Teddy Roosevelt and the possibilities of a young female detective during those years. I realize that an heiress sleuth of 1902 would have been very unlikely. But if Mary is to be interesting to modern readers, she has to be a real maverick.
Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
I wrote the first Mary MacDougall novel back in the ’90s. The character was a mash-up of Lucy Honeychurch (from E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View) and Sherlock Holmes. I think it was a good story, but Mary was too cold and intellectual to be sympathetic, and it was too much in the actual literary style of a century ago. I rebooted the character three years ago as a more sympathetic and appealing young woman, along with a more modern voice. There have been two novellas, A Pretty Little Plot and The Stolen Star. Now the first full novel, A Daughter’s Doubt, is out.
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I write in three genres, so I imagine different readers for each. For the Mary MacDougall stories, I visualize someone who enjoys a good mystery set at the turn of the last century, but doesn’t need the deep historical detail that a reader of straight historical fiction might. For my canine cozies, I see a reader who loves dogs and small towns and truly colorful characters.
Please describe your writing routine.
I have two desks and two computers. When I’m writing a first draft, I’ll be at my standing desk several hours a day, cranking out at least 1,000 words per day. When I’m outlining a book or doing revisions or working on promotion and social media, I’m at my sitting desk. I don’t work eight hours a day; my brain works better if I have time to look out the window or take a walk.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
If you’re interested in writing genre fiction (mystery, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, suspense, etc.) and your goal is to eventually make a living at it, the current wisdom that I’ve gleaned is this: Pick your genre very carefully. It should be a genre that produces lots of big sellers on Amazon and other sites. Then buckle down and knock out at least five or six books of good quality in the same series as quickly as you can. Readers like to know there are more than one or two books in a series to read before they’ll buy that first book. Unfortunately, I didn’t know all this four years ago. If your goal is simply to write the stories you have inside you and have some fun along the way — rather than make money — just ignore the preceding advice and go for it.
More about A Daughter’s Doubt:
Mary MacDougall’s first case of 1902 seems simple enough.
Just before the 19-year-old heiress leaves for a summer holiday on Mackinac Island with her Aunt Christena, she’s hired to stop in a little town along the way and make inquiries. Did Agnes Olcott really die there of cholera? Or were there darker doings in Dillmont?
Mary’s mentor, Detective Sauer, thinks it’s merely a case of bad luck for the dead woman. But Mrs. Olcott’s daughter suspects her detested stepfather played a hand in her mother’s untimely death.
With the reluctant help of her aunt and her dear friend Edmond Roy, the young detective struggles to reveal the true fate of Agnes Olcott. As she digs ever deeper, the enemy Mary provokes could spell disaster for herself and the people she loves. But in the end, it’s the only way to banish a daughter’s doubt.
Grab your copy here! Amazon
How to connect with Richard:
Website: http://drmartinbooks.com/
Email address: drmartin120@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Audr...
Twitter:
Prefer a paperback copy? http://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Doubt...
April 12, 2016
Death by Trombone
Today I welcome mystery author, Rebecca M. Douglass, to talk about Death by Trombone, the second installment in her Pismawallops PTA mystery series. Welcome, Rebecca.
Why do you write cozy mysteries?
I have been reading cozy mysteries for years, so when I set out to write a mystery it was natural that it would be a cozy. That also fits with my sense of humor — I just can’t take things too seriously, so I wasn’t likely to pull off a thriller or even a good police procedural. I like to keep the tone light, and I like reading books where the setting, people, and community are as important as the mystery, so that’s the kind of book I try to write.
Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
Death By Trombone is the second book in the Pismawallops PTA mystery series, so the main characters and setting were developed with Death By Ice Cream. Writing about a PTA was a somewhat tongue-in-cheek answer to the constant advice to “write what you know,” as at that time I was fully immersed in running a PTA (a task for which I’m not really any better suited than JJ MacGregor is). Pismawallops Island is in part based on Vashon Island, the Puget Sound “Rock” where I grew up.
The idea for DBT came from the title, which I’m pretty sure I selected just because it was a bit absurd. Having the title, I simply went looking around my brain for a trombonist, and the rest followed! JJ struggles with her impulse to investigate, because she knows it can be dangerous, and she’s a single mom. She is also at least half in love with the police chief, so if she forgets she shouldn’t be interfering, he’s always willing to remind her. But as she herself would say, things just happen to her, and she can’t ignore them, can she?
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I don’t think I have an ideal reader in mind, exactly. I do keep a certain type of audience in mind, as much as anything to keep me from wandering too far into non-cozy situations (violence, cursing, or sex). My mom (I admit it!) is in many ways that audience, and I sometimes run things by her to see if I’ve gone too far. Because this is a series about a PTA, I’m also thinking of the PTA parents who often share the same frustrations as JJ and her friend Kitty: the difficulty of finding volunteers, too many expectations, and the way that kind of work can keep drawing you in deeper. On reflection, that pretty much explains how JJ got started sleuthing, too!
Please describe your writing routine.
I wish! On an ideal day (I’m pretty sure I’ve had one of those, sometime), I would see the kid out the door at about 7:20, finish my breakfast and read the paper, and at 8:00 start working. I’d work for 2-3 hours, break for a workout and lunch, and then go to my job at the library. Evenings are for social media.
What really happens is that I have to run to the grocery store after breakfast, and then I just have to peek at Facebook, and someone wrote a great trip report on the backpacking forum where I hang out, and I need to run a load of laundry and bake some bread and… I do usually try to work for 1-2 hours each morning on writing or editing, and to spend some time at Goodreads and reading and commenting on other people’s blogs each day.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
Read. Read, read, read! And write. If you haven’t internalized English grammar, read more, and study it, because having the mechanics come without thinking really helps. Read in your genre and in others, including at least some of the time in genres you don’t really like. Pick a book in your genre that you like and dissect it — re-read, listen to the audio, figure out why you like it, and what works or doesn’t work. And write a lot. Don’t expect your first novel to be any good, but do finish and revise it. That’s all part of learning the craft. Finally, if you don’t enjoy the process, and I mean most of it (we all have something we struggle over), then it probably isn’t for you. Writing is unlikely to make you rich, so you need to love it.
More about Death by Trombone:
JJ MacGregor’s very bad day has just gotten a lot worse.
JJ thought starting the day without coffee was a disaster, but now there’s a dead musician behind the Pismawallops High School gym. His trombone is missing, and something about the scene is off key. JJ and Police Chief Ron Karlson are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, but will they be able to work harmoniously or will discord ruin the investigation? With the music teacher as the prime suspect, JJ could be left to conduct the band, and then graduation might truly end in a death by trombone, or at least the murder of Pomp and Circumstance!
Grab your copy here: Amazon
How to connect with Rebecca:
Website: http://www.ninjalibrarian.com
Email address: Rebecca.douglass@ninjalibrarian.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaDougl...
Twitter: Douglass_RM
Other places to buy Death by Trombone:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death...
April 2, 2016
A Muddied Murder
Author Wendy Tyson visits my blog today to talk about her new mystery novel, A Muddied Murder. Welcome, Wendy!
Why do you write fiction?
I write because in a sense I have to. It’s my favorite form of expression and a therapy of sorts. I write because I want to connect with other people, and the written word is the most direct, lasting, efficient way I’ve found to communicate with others. I write because I am in awe of language and the power of words. I write fiction because I love it. Probably like most of your readers, I’ve been a voracious reader since I can remember. My mother used to kick me out of the house (“put that book away and get some fresh air!”) because I always had a novel in my hands. It feels only natural to write fiction. I relish the challenge of using an imaginary story as a vehicle for communication and entertainment—and writing mysteries is particularly enjoyable. Each mystery is a puzzle, as much fun to create as to solve.
Please tell us about your book. What ideas or images inspired this novel?
A Muddied Murder, the first novel in the Greenhouse Mystery Series, was inspired by a personal hobby and a trip to North Carolina. My husband and I are passionate organic gardeners. We live on a four-season micro-farm in the Philadelphia suburbs, grow most of our own produce, and a few years ago, we started an urban farm. I’d long been thinking about a way to incorporate gardening/farming into my novels. One day, during a book signing in a small town in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, I had the idea to set an organic farming series in a small Pennsylvania town, a town similar to the one I had been visiting. The more I thought about the project, the more excited I became. I’d spent my childhood in the kitchens and gardens of my grandmothers, and, later, at my husband’s grandparents’ rural homestead. What better way to pay homage to those family members than a cozy about farming, sustainable agriculture and slow food? I couldn’t wait to get started, and A Muddied Murder was born.
Do you have an ideal reader in mind when you write? If so, please describe that reader.
I don’t really keep an ideal reader in mind while I write. I’d like to think that anyone can enjoy my mysteries. That said, I think the new Greenhouse series will especially appeal to people who enjoy mysteries with a colorful cast of characters (including animals), set in a small town. If they love gardening and/or “real” food? A bonus!
Please tell us about your writing routine.
I work full-time and have three kids, so I have to take advantage of any free moment I get to write or promote my books. Right now, I write largely in the mornings. I typically get up early, around five, and write for an hour or two before work. At night, I log on to Facebook and Twitter and attend to social media.
If I’m in the midst of a revision, or it’s crunch time for a book deadline, all bets are off. I use weekends, my lunch hour, PTO days — whatever it takes to finish the book.
What advice do you give new writers just starting out?
My best advice is that if you want to be a writer, you need to write. Develop the habit of writing. There is no getting around the fact that you must write often and regularly. And stick with it. Don’t wait for inspiration. You have to foster inspiration, coax it out of its shell, make it come to you. Too often I see new writers focus on research, outlining, how to get published — anything but the act of writing itself. Stop making excuses and get that first draft done.
More about A Muddied Murder:
When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family’s organic farm and café, she expects to find peace and tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, Pennsylvania. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family’s Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings.
Just when she thinks she’s reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town’s hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner’s battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation—and she’s the chief suspect. Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances in time to find a killer before that killer strikes again?
Grab your copy here: Amazon
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More about Wendy:
Wendy Tyson is an author, lawyer and former therapist whose background has inspired her mysteries and thrillers. Wendy’s latest novel, Dying Brand, the third Allison Campbell mystery, was released in May 2015. The first Campbell novel, Killer Image, was named a best mystery for book clubs in 2014 by Examiner.com. Wendy is also the author of The Greenhouse Mystery Series, the first of which, A Muddied Murder, premiered March 29. Wendy and her husband are passionate organic gardeners. They live with their three boys and three dogs on a micro-farm just outside of Philadelphia.
How to connect with Wendy:
Author website: http://www.watyson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendytysonau...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendyTyson
Pinterest: Greenhouse Mystery Series: https://www.pinterest.com/henerypress...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
March 23, 2016
Secrets in the Stones
Today, I profile author Tessa Harris and her newest mystery, Secrets in the Stones.
Within the mysteries of the body, especially those who have been murdered, 18th-century anatomist Dr. Thomas Silkstone specializes in uncovering the tell-tale clues that lead towards justice…
Newly released from the notorious asylum known as Bedlam, Lady Lydia Farrell finds herself in an equally terrifying position – as a murder suspect – when she stumbles upon the mutilated body of Sir Montagu Malthus in his study at Boughton Hall.
Meanwhile Dr. Thomas Silkstone has been injured in a duel with a man who may or may not have committed the grisly deed of which Lydia is accused. Despite his injury, Thomas hopes to clear his beloved’s good name by conducting a postmortem on the victim. With a bit of detective work, he learns that Montagu’s throat was slit by no ordinary blade, but a ceremonial Sikh dagger from India – a clue that may be connected to the fabled lost mines of Golconda.
From the mysterious disappearance of a cursed diamond buried with Lydia’s dead husband, to the undying legend of a hidden treasure map, Thomas must follow a trail of foreign dignitaries, royal agents – and even more victims – to unveil the sinister and shocking secrets in the stones.
Grab your copy here: Amazon
Copyright Maureen McLean 2011
Since leaving Oxford University with a History degree, Tessa Harris has been a journalist and editor, contributing to many national publications such as The Times and The Telegraph. She has also acted as a literary publicist for several well-known authors. Readers can visit her website at tessaharrisauthor.com.Would you like to win a print copy of this novel? Me too! But I can’t. But you can. Just comment on this blog post, and your name will be entered to win. The print copy will be mailed to your home address, but don’t put that in your comment. Just your name. I will find you! (My mascot is a basset hound, after all!)
