R. Marquez's Blog, page 4

Celebrate

The first book in the Matty Cruz Adventure series has a total of 113 reviews, not including those I lost when I temporarily unpublished in Apple. The reviews, across the board, are 4+stars. Small victory for most writers, but a satisfying one for me.

November 16th, 2016

​​The third draft of Fallen Angel is going well, but add to that that I'm also writing a prequel novella that will reprise how Carol Karuso got into the PI business. Initially, it will be a giveaway to folks who sign up to my mailing list. If you are already a member, you'll get it FREE, too. Here is a peek at the preliminary cover.

Box Set at Special Promo Price of $0.99 for the Long Weekend (starting today). Tell your friends.

COUPER, Washington, nestled on the banks of the Columbia River, is a lovely place to visit, but living there can be killer.
   When Matty Cruz’s career ends prematurely due to hard economic times, she pulls up stakes and relocates to the tree-filled Pacific Northwest. She’s hoping the natural beauty there will lift her spirits. But soon she discovers that her impulsive move lands her in a city with one of the highest violent-crime rates in the region.
   Matty Cruz Adventures holds the first three stories of this cozy mystery series with a criminal edge, but the stories are told with a dash of humor and fun. If you like a smart, brave heroine who must quickly reinvent herself—or else, quirky, colorful characters, and dark villains, you’ll love R. Marquez’s slightly skewed version of the Pacific Northwest.

Buy Matty Cruz Adventures today, and read how Matty survives a city that too many psychopaths love to call home.

Going on hiatus

LIFE is getting in the way, and I need to take a break from this blog. Except for the occasional announcement about my finished work, I won't start up again until I'm close to finishing my latest book, Fallen Angel. Have a great summer, everyone. Try not to forget me.

Saying Good-bye Is Hard to Do

WHEN I first began writing, I wanted to do a book with a female detective as a lead. Long before I became a fan of mysteries and thrillers, I was faithfully reading Sue Grafton, and I became a big fan of Kinsey Millhone. I also loved the Noir movies from the 1940s, which I used to watch on television when I was a kid. My first crush was on Humphrey Bogart (I cried when I found out he died before I was born). Of course, my female detective had to have Noirish aspects to her story.
  But I knew that was too ambitious a project for a newbie writer. Instead, I began a series based on that sound piece of advice that one should write about what one knows. I had experienced culture shock after moving from a California Bay Area suburb to a middling neighborhood in Southwest Washington, and I thought it would be interesting to use an amped up version of my own story to create the premise for the Matty Cruz Adventure series.
  By the time I finished the fifth book, The Couper Vendetta, I felt I had the writing chops to attempt that female detective series I truly wanted to do. I began planning the first book in my head while writing The Couper Conundrum. I even had the cover for Fallen Angel created by my graphic designer. I was so anxious to start that I briefly debated setting aside the last Matty Cruz book and beginning the new series. Fortunately, I came to my senses, and I persevered.
  To satisfy my desire to get started on my new project, I did put a parallel story for Carol Karuso (a prequel for her series) in the last Matty Cruz book. I also created a high-level outline for Fallen Angel, and I began reading a series of classic American detective novels to get that Noirish flair going in my mind.
  Finally in January 2016, I published The Couper Conundrum. Then something happened that I didn’t expect. I had a hard time letting Matty Cruz go. Since I’m using her best friend, Carol Karuso, many of the characters (including Matty), and the Couper, Washington setting for the new books, you might wonder how that could be. The truth is that Carol’s point of view is vastly different from Matty’s, and since the new series would be seen from her eyes, everything would change.
  But isn’t that what I wanted? Yes, but that didn’t mean I should give short shrift to Matty’s books. There were a few nice-to-do tasks for that series that I had put off until I had the time (which never came), and I couldn’t let them go. Half-way through the rough draft of Fallen Angel, I set it aside and took out that task list for Matty, and I did my best for her. I even paid to have better covers done for the print versions of the books, even though I sell very few of those. Finally, when the last item was crossed off, I bid Matty a fond farewell, at least for the time being, and went back to Carol Karuso.
  For those readers who are bemoaning the delay this caused, let me reassure you that at the same time I was putting the final touches to the Matty Cruz series, I was doing research for the new one. Carol Karuso is a fledgling private investigator and I’m determined to make her believable. I also want to inject that Noir spin to her tale. The more research I did, the more I began to realize that this first book, and the whole new series, would take longer to write than Matty’s story because Carol’s road to redemption is a tougher and more complex one.
  My fingers are crossed that everything I did attracts more people to the Matty Cruz Adventure series, and what I’m doing now makes Fallen Angel a book worth waiting for. Time, hopefully well spent, will tell.

All in with amazon

The Matty Cruz Adventure e-books are becoming exclusive to Amazon. This allows Kindle Unlimited and Prime subscribers to read the series as part of their subscription. I will announce this formally on FB, Twitter, and Google + once the switch is complete. See links for these sites at the top of this page.
How long will this last? A minimum of three months or as long as enough Amazon subscribers download and read the books. If you aren't done with the series and bought the earlier adventures at other vendors sites, you can download the Kindle App (https://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/kcp-landing-page) so that you can read the remaining books.

Don't forget that the paperback versions of the novels are also available from Amazon and Createspace.

Instinct for Evil

  Before I tell you this story, you need to know a little about the way I once led my life. Among my friends, I was always the rational one. My decisions were based on the facts presented to me. In contrast, most of them were guided by hunches and feelings. I never understood that, and if their choices turned out to be good ones, I attributed it to blind luck. Let me tell you the incident that changed my way of thinking.
  Back then, every year, I would journey down to Southern California with my little dog Odie to visit my mother. It was a long, but familiar drive and I took the same route every time. When I reached LA County, it was my custom to stop for lunch. I would normally park in front of a fast food restaurant, eating my burger while Odie ate his beef patty. To relieve the stiffness in my legs, I'd also sit sideways on the driver seat with my feet on the pavement.    This particular time, a car pulled into one of the spaces near me, and a small, wiry man emerged. I didn’t think anything of it, then I noticed him staring at me. Instead of entering the restaurant, he headed my way, calling out as if he knew me. I thought for a moment that he wanted directions, but underneath his friendly mask, I detected a look of feral cunning and an unnatural excitement in his eyes. Something primeval took over me. In my bones, I knew he was a predator. Because of his proximity and the way I was seated in the car, I realized that I wouldn't be able to escape him.
  Like a crazy woman, I began yelling--Keep away! The smile still on his face, he didn’t stop. My dog came to my defense and began to bark, and luckily for me Odie's bark was bigger than he was. We made such a ruckus, that the man hesitated, and he took a second to glance through the restaurant's front window. The people inside were staring straight at him. His friendliness vanished and was replaced with an ugly look of disappointment. He muttered something about not knowing what my problem was, and then he did an about face and hurried to his car and drove away. I stayed at the restaurant for another half hour to make sure he wasn't lurking nearby. When I finally hit the road again, I checked the other cars, but he was gone.
  I was so certain that he would target someone else that I wanted to call the police, but I could just imagine how they’d respond.

--Did the man threaten or try to touch you?
--No, but I had a feeling he would.
--Feeling, huh? You may need help, but it isn't the kind we we can give you.

  No, calling the cops wouldn’t have been a good idea. The logical part of me wondered if I had overreacted or misread the situation. But deep inside, I knew that I did the right thing. I had never reacted that way to anyone before (or since), and I’m still absolutely certain that if I hadn’t done what I did, that man would have harmed me.
  That experience woke me to the fact that using just my rational mind limited me, and by ignoring my instincts, I could place myself in peril. After that, I made some changes in how I conducted my life. Though, I still base most of my decisions on logic, before I make that final call, I check my gut, which allows me to see the truth that lies beyond the rosy picture presented.
  As far as that wiry, little man is concerned, whenever I read about a serial killer being captured, I study their picture carefully. None have looked like him, and that makes me wonder--Is he still out there?

Matty Cruz Adventures 1,2,3 for the promo price of $0.99

Matty Cruz Adventures 1,2,3, the box set of the first three books in the Matty Cruz Adventure series, will be available for $0.99 (regular price, $3.99) for a short time only. Get it for this reduced price while you can.

Check the home page for links to your favorite vendor

Due to varying requirements by vendors, the box set is sold with one of the following covers.

Pretty Girl

  Since Pretty Girl is a fan-favorite of the Matty Cruz Adventure series, my readers might enjoy learning how I created the character. I named her Pretty Girl because she was originally owned by Agnes Whitshaw, a  gruff, no-nonsense woman, who I thought would choose the simplest moniker possible for her only pet.
  After choosing the name, I made Pretty Girl a terrier because I admired the breed, and because I was a big fan of The Thin Man movies. I loved Astra, the Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, who accompanied Nick and Nora on their adventures. In my mind’s eye, Matty’s devoted companion was a small, irresistibly cute dog with fluffy brown hair, and dark eyes.
  The next step was to create Pretty Girl's personality. Who better to inspire me than the dogs who had graced my life?
  Her nucleus lay in a toy poodle named Odie. My mother urged me to adopt one of her dog's puppies, and I finally succumbed, though I was worried I wouldn't be a good dog owner because of my long work days and my frequent business trips. However, Odie adapted well to my lifestyle and loved to travel with me. He was a tough little guy, cute as a button, and ready for anything as long as we were together. He was very protective and barked at every stranger who came close, but he loved my friends and family. His favorite thing to do was to watch me with his dark, intense eyes, just like Pretty Girl liked to do with Matty.
  After Odie, in an insane moment, I let a young, male relative living with me adopt a beautiful, white Husky rescue. When he relocated, he gave me China. She was a force of nature and drove me to exasperation at times, but I grew to love her very much and she me. Once, while she was having a tooth pulled, I called the vet and somehow she recognized my voice over the phone line and kept howling until I went and took her home. When her mind was set, there was no stopping China, just like Pretty Girl when she was determined to be with Matty.
  Next came Los, a Mastiff mix, that belonged to the same young relative who brought me China. Once again, he left and the dog stayed. Luckily, China and Los got along. Despite that, this time, I was determined to find a home for ninety-pound Los, but I soon realized that because of his breed, it would prove difficult. I’d also heard horror stories about what could happen to that kind of dog if he fell in the wrong hands. Los won my heart with his great temperament and excellent manners, which was exactly how Pretty Girl won over Matty.
  After both Los and China passed, I adopted my mother's beloved Cocker Spaniel, Sassy, after Mom was no longer able to care for her. I fell for Sassy because she was possibly the most loving, sweet natured dog on the face of the earth, which was why Sam Bester, and almost everyone who met her, fell in love with Matty's dog.
  To me, Odie, China, Los, and Sassy were all pretty girls and pretty boys, and I enjoyed  memorializing them in Pretty Girl. If you miss the terrier, don't worry, she’ll pop up again, along with Matty Cruz, in the last planned book of the Carol Karuso Mystery series, The Lovesick Detective.

Odie
China
Los
Sassy

and so it began

I once read that a great writer (whose name escapes me) famous for his colorful and varied characters said that he based them on his mother and himself, the only people he knew really well. When I read that, I couldn’t see how only two people, especially one’s mother, could be the basis of so much of an author’s work. Years later when I began to write, I began to understand. My own relationship with my mother was complicated. She was a fascinating but sometimes difficult person. If I had to compare her to a literary character, it would be Scarlett O’Hara. Mom was sexy and passionate, the witty life of the party, and one of the most nurturing and loving people I’ve ever known. She could also be self-involved to the point of narcissism,
    my beloved mother
insecure and in need of constant reassurance, and capable of being both cruel and taunting. In contrast, when I was young, I was a quiet, moody loner, whose nose was always in a book. As you can imagine, we clashed quite a bit while I was growing up and in my young adulthood.But like most mothers and daughters, after a certain time passed, I began to appreciate what a great mom she was, and she decided to set aside the many times I’d disappointed her and concentrate instead on my good points. Together, despite our differences, we forged a new and supportive relationship, and for many years, we were best friends.

When she passed in 2010, I was truly brokenhearted, and I desperately needed a distraction to get past my grief. I had always wanted to develop my writing skills, and I decided that this was the time to do it. The Matty Cruz Adventure series was written during the five year period following her death. Like many authors, when I created my characters, I based them largely on different facets of myself, along with those of the many folks I’d passed along the way, but what surprised me was how frequently I used bits and pieces of my mother. I’m not sure whether this was a way to grieve or understand her, but I found infusing my characters with her traits, both good and bad, very healing.

Now that I am starting something new, I continue to inject her in my stories. I was blessed with a colorful and complex mother, and I would be foolish not to. Mom partially inspired the psyche of Carol Karuso, the main character in my upcoming series. Carol is sexy and intriguing to men, witty, a bit vain and worried about losing her looks as she grows older, and always up for a good fight. I think my mother would have found her to be a much more suitable daughter than I ever was.

Maybe that unnamed author had it right. Just as our mothers know everything about us, we know them in the same intimate manner. And even when they’re gone, their influence on us never ends. In my case, that turned out to be a good thing.