FEATURED CHARACTER: TERRY AMBROSE'S WILSON McKENNA

ABOUT THE BOOK

Honolulu landlord Wilson McKenna can smell a scam from across the room. So when one of his tenants loses everything in a work-at-home scam involving a new perfume, he’s shocked. With his wedding just weeks away, McKenna has to make a tough decision. Does he evict a woman who’s down on her luck? Or take time out from wedding planning to help his tenant?

Turning the case over to his PI-in-training friend Chance Logan seems like the perfect solution—until Chance tells McKenna he needs a wingman for a visit to fragrance entrepreneur Skye Pilkington-Winchester. McKenna’s sure he can keep everyone happy by helping Chance this one time. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems, and soon McKenna’s up to his board shorts in hot water. His tenant’s simple fragrance scam might involve industrial espionage, Skye’s assistant is murdered, and McKenna’s bride-to-be accuses him of having cold feet.

As McKenna and Chance dig deeper, it seems so much of what they’re being told doesn’t pass the sniff test. And the only way to get his life back is to find the dead girl’s missing boyfriend, unmask a killer, and finish up in time for the wedding. Other than that, it’s just another day in paradise.

Book Details;

Title: The Scent of Waikiki

Author: Terry Ambrose

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Trouble in Paradise, book 9

Publisher: Satori (July 19, 2018)

Print Length: 330 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

ABOUT WILSON McKENNA

 McKenna is a former skip tracer who moved to Hawaii after losing his job and the woman he loved. After several years of being miserable, he found his purpose when one of his tenants got him involved in a murder investigation. He’s been chasing killers ever since and now works with Chance Logan, who wants to become a private investigator.

INTERVIEW WITH TERRY AMBROSE'S WILSON McKENNA

McKenna, how did you first meet Terry?
We met on a lovely summer day while he was visiting Kauai. He was looking out through the slats of the blinds at all that gorgeous sunshine and got the brilliant idea to write a mystery series about a broken-down, former skip tracer. He thought we hit it off right away. Me—not so much. I mean, who wants to hang out with a guy who knows exactly how to make you miserable?

Sounds like you might like to dish about him?
So glad you asked. Terry might think he’s in control of my stories, but he doesn’t get it. What happens on the page is my business. He keeps butting in and trying to make things worse for me. Personally, I think he’s got some sort of mental thing going on that he’s only happy when I’m not.

Why do you think that your life has ended up being in a book?
Because I keep winding up chasing down bad guys and all these mystery readers would rather read about it than go out and solve their own crimes.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
I don’t want to give away the good stuff, but my favorite scene was once my least favorite. I met this guy named Steward Johnson, and he decided to kidnap me so we could chase down a bad guy. I thought Steward was a nutcase at the time. Well, he probably is, but that’s another issue altogether. While I didn’t like careening around the streets of Honolulu, now that I look back on it, I can laugh about the whole thing. Sort of. Maybe not. You know what? I have a little planning to do. Call it a revenge trip for my writer. Anybody know a good stunt driver?

What do you like to do when someone's not reading about you?
I’m a landlord and have landlord stuff to do. Lately, it seems I have to do all of that in between books. So don’t think just because I’m not chasing some bad guy that I’m not busy. Besides, I’m getting married soon and that’s going to keep me busy for a while. I’m also thinking about starting an anti-junk mail service. For a small fee, we’ll follow the mail truck around and throw all the junk straight into a recycling bin. Nice, huh? My customers will have the ultimate in convenience and  peace of mind. They’ll never have to look at another piece of junk mail and it will all be properly recycled.

Brilliant! If you could rewrite anything in your book, what would it be?
Anything? Well, I’d make myself taller, about ten years younger, and give me some of those kung fu voodoo moves my friend Chance Logan has. Come to think of it, I might just swap places with him. He’s got money, brains, and good looks. I love it. Somebody give me a pen, I’ve got rewrites to do.

Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters?
It’s kind of like real life. I like my friends and don’t like the bad guys. My friend Chance and I get along really well. He and I banter back and forth and occasionally I even let him win a couple of those. And Benni, my bride-to-be is phenomenal. Of course, I’m head-over-heels in love with her and she’d probably beat the crap out of me if I didn’t say that. So, she’s phenomenal. Loving. Caring. Is that enough, honey? Looks like we’re good.

What impression do you make on people when they first meet you? How about after they've known you for a while?
When I first meet people, they usually think I’m a grumpy old coot. After they get to know me, they realize I’m not really that old.



Ha! Tell us about your best friend.
Chance Logan has turned into one of my good friends. On the plus side, he’s young, filthy rich, and wants to be a private investigator. He’s not without his faults, though. He’s been through a number of careers—most of which ended badly. The worst was probably when he decided he wanted to be an actor. He landed the role of leading man in an action-adventure movie, but then he got drunk one night, stole the studio’s helicopter from the set, and crashed it. Chance doesn’t like to talk about the incident for some reason, but I say let bygones be bygones. It’s not like he burned down the set . . . wait, maybe I’d better ask him about that.

What do you like best about Chance Logan?
Chance has lots of money. That makes him a great sidekick because it’s like traveling with a human ATM. In the old days, back when I was skip tracing, I had to pry information out of people in any number of ways. With Chance around, I just say, “Cash please.” Next thing you know, some guy who was reluctant to talk is singing like a lark.
Least?
The thing I like least about Chance might be his lock-picking skills. I mean, who spends two minutes working on a lock when you’re standing out in an open hallway? He needs to get it together because I’m too old to wear an orange jumpsuit. Have you ever thought about how much those things must itch on a hot summer day?

Describe where you live.
Honolulu is a typical big city in many ways. But it’s also distinctly Hawaiian because the mishmash of cultures that make up Hawaii all come together here. Of course, we have a fabulous beach, world-class shopping, and great restaurants—most of which I never bother with because we also have so many tourists. Let’s face it, those of us who live in paradise can do all the cool stuff anytime we want. The tourists only have a couple of weeks. As a result, we go about our daily lives trying to avoid the tourists who are having all the fun. Maybe we need a tourist-free day so us locals could enjoy the place once in a while.

Describe an average day in your life.
I’m a landlord so my typical day is pretty boring. The apartment complex I manage only has twenty units, so it’s not a huge job to deal with the tenants. I sometimes have to arrange for plumbers and pest exterminators and window washers. But by and large, I have time during a typical day to be inquisitive about any number of things, and that sometimes involves a murder.

What makes you stand out from any other characters in your genre?
You mean other than those loud aloha shirts we wear here in the islands? I’m funnier than most of those other amateur sleuths. And a lot of them are women. Don’t get me wrong, I’m getting ready to marry a woman. So I like women. But I’ve been known to be a tad snarky at times—okay, a lot snarky.

Will you encourage Terry to write a sequel?
Encourage? No. Demand? Now we’re talking. It’s expensive living in paradise. So if I’m going to stay here, he’s got to keep writing stories about me. On top of that, I kind of like the attention. I have fans . . . so that’s kind of fun. Imagine that—me—with fans.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Terry Ambrose is a former skip tracer who tracked down deadbeats for a living. He’s long since turned his talents to writing mysteries and thrillers. Several of his books have been award finalists and in 2014 his thriller, Con Game, won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He likes cool photography, funny mysteries, and finding the oddest things while walking on the beach. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.

Connect with Terry:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

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