CHARACTER INTERVIEW: SHERIFF PROMISE MARY FLYNN

ABOUT THE BOOK

Years after the Willis Asylum closed, the secrets of its past lingered in its decaying halls as a reminder to the good people of Auburn Notch—when Evil closes a door, he also opens a window. Sheriff Promise Flynn was new to the town, and she was about to find out some windows should never be opened. 

Promise Flynn is an overly impulsive Metro Detective whose disregard for procedure finally resulted in her being shot and left for dead during an investigation. To repair her bruised ego and splintered confidence she abandons the callous dark alleys of Chicago to patrol the quiet, birch-lined streets of Auburn Notch—a favorite vacation spot of her youth. For two years everything was idyllic, until the body of a young girl found in the abandoned asylum outside of town awakens the insecurities she thought her new life would insulate her from. As the new Sheriff she begins her investigation ignoring the similarities between the young woman’s death and her own case, oblivious to being unexpectedly recognized and penciled in at the top of a clever murderer’s To-Do list. Her internal struggle intensifies when a discredited crime reporter from the past suspiciously arrives in town to resurrect his threadbare reputation, along with an FBI agent chasing down a lead in a cold case. Both men quickly become entangled in Flynn's investigation and her attempts to finally put her past to rest. Flynn reluctantly accepts the murder of the young girl might be the work of the two men responsible for her hasty departure from Chicago, but Agent MacGregor insists the evidence points to a man he’s been chasing. As the rising current of her past threatens to pull her under, Flynn finds herself unprepared for option three.

ABOUT SHERIFF PROMISE MARY FLYNN

Promise Mary Flynn was a decorated Metro Detective, one of the youngest to achieve the rank. She was overly impulsive, charging right into danger without regard to procedure at times.  She ruffled a lot of feathers on her way up the ranks, but she didn’t care. Her penchant for disregarding procedure when it suited the situation finally resulted in her being shot and left for dead during an investigation. It had a devastating affect. Her was ironclad outer shell was shattered, along with her confidence. To repair her bruised ego and splintered confidence, she abandons the callous dark alleys of Chicago to patrol the quiet, birch-lined streets of Auburn Notch where she spent summers with her family. What follows is anything but therapeutic.

INTERVIEW WITH SHERIFF PROMISE MARY FLYNN

Sheriff, how did you first meet your writer?
Michael also spent a good deal of his youth in New Hampshire. He was very familiar with Auburn Notch, so when it came time to develop a new mystery series he decided to use our town as the setting. I was delighted to be included, though I could do without the murder and mayhem that goes along with his stories. Just don’t tell him I said that.

Want to dish about him?
He’s a very polite and modest kind of guy. I wouldn’t want to embarrass him. I can tell you he’s incredibly creative when it comes to new ways to remove people from this world. He doesn’t just use the old bang-bang-shootem-up methods, he’s always looking for new ways to surprise a reader and raise a few eyebrows. If you want to know what I mean, in this first book I would have never guessed you could kill someone that way.

Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?
I’m a little irritated that the only men I meet are either deranged or a bit slimy around the edges. Michael and I have had a small discussion about this, and he has assured me in the next book I’ll be meeting a “rather dashing fellow,” as he put it. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m sure there will also be a few strings attached.

Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters?
For the most part I get along with most of them. Sure councilwoman Johnson and I have words every once in a while, but at the end of the day we’re friends. My deputy, Hank, and I had a rough start, but we worked it out just in time. Agent MacGregor is as good as any fed could be. The only problem is he just shows up at the worst times, and trouble is not far behind. I’ll let you size up Bob Clayton for yourself, just don’t do it at night alone.

Do have any secret aspirations that your author doesn’t know about?
As my confidence is returning, I sometimes think I’d like to go back to a big city. Not Chicago, but maybe Boston.



What's the worst thing that's happened in your life?
The worst thing that happened is a result of the stupidest thing I’ve done, but it turned out to be the best thing I’ve done. I was a Metro detective in Chicago when I ignored procedure and followed up on an anonymous tip without backup. It lead me right into a trap, where I was shot and left for dead. If it weren’t for Williams, my partner, I would have died that day. I won’t admit this in public, but it was an irritating reporter that had been shadowing us during a case involving a serial killer that alerted Williams to my stupidity. The one good thing that came out of that whole ordeal is I came to Auburn Notch to recuperate and never looked back . . . at least not until the incident at the asylum. I wouldn’t have put the two together if it wasn’t for that black candle they left burning in the window.

Tell us about your best friend Dr. Laura Dearing.
She is the precinct’s clinical psychologist in Chicago and my close friend for many years. It was Laura’s suggestion for me to return to the quiet, pleasant ambiance and familiarity of Auburn Notch to recuperate. We met there years ago during one of our family summer vacations. We were so surprised when we both ended up in the same precinct in Chicago. It didn’t take long to rekindle the friendship we enjoyed so many years ago.

What are you most afraid of?
The bitter scent of ash, and lets just leave it at that. 



What’s the best trait your author has given you?
My ability to size up a person within minutes of meeting them is the greatest strength he’s given me. It’s come in handy more than once. 
What’s the worst?The most irritating trait, and I’m embarrassed to say it, are what he refers to as my “runway looks.” I’d be much happier with a pleasant expression and authoritative glance.

What do you like best about your deputy, Hank Harris? Least?
Hank and I started out on a friendly note when I first arrived in town. He knew I was a detective from Chicago, but he didn’t know what brought me to Auburn Notch. There was a mutual respect for the badge between us. Everything changed when the mayor offered me the sheriff’s position. Hank became gruff, deliberately irritating, and went running to the town council about every little decision I made. I began to wonder if I could trust him. I found out he did a little digging into my past, which fueled his fire even more. He also felt he should have been made sheriff instead of me. I’ve worked with a lot of cops. Hank is a good one, but still a little wet behind the ears. This became very evident, even to him, when we found the body of that young woman in the abandoned asylum. Our relationship changed dramatically after that. I’m so happy it did, otherwise I might not be here today.

What’s your author’s worst habit?
He has an uncanny knack for digging up the worst humanity has to offer and giving them directions to Auburn Notch. Sure, he dresses them up a bit, makes them appear somewhat normal, but it isn’t long before I start to unravel their true character. And people in town wonder why I’m so suspicious of every stranger that strolls into town.

What aspect of your author’s writing style do you like best?
Michael has an artist touch when it comes to describing the setting of a chapter. I really believe it gives the reader a deeper understanding of the surroundings. He doesn’t just explain where the scene is taking place; he places the reader in the room experiencing all the sights and sounds the characters experience. At times it’s quite creepy.

If your story were a movie, who would play you?
This is the one reason I would be happy about my looks and say I would be thrilled to see Charlize Theron play my character in a movie. Putting her stunning looks aside, she has just the right edginess to her attitude and the toughness to carry the badge.

Describe Auburn Notch.
Auburn Notch is a quiet New Hampshire town nestled beneath the shadows of the White Mountains. I spent many summers here as a young child with my parents, so returning after so many years felt like going home. The people are friendly, the air is clean and brisk, and the fresh scent of pine lingers over the town like a delicate lace throw. It’s the complete opposite of the gritty streets of Chicago I left behind. It’s the last place you would expect to find crime, but unfortunately it rears its ugly head from time to time even in this tranquil setting.

What makes you stand out from any other characters in your genre?
That’s a tough question. I don’t know whether I would want to stand out from others in my genre. What I would really like is to be accepted as an equal to some of the great characters that have come before me. Having accomplished that would be a great achievement.

Will you encourage your author to write a sequel?
I’m very excite to say I just found out a second book has been submitted to Sunbury Press for publication toward the end of this year. It details a very strange occurrence in town, and will introduce readers to Alice Norbury. Alice is the town matriarch, and she becomes embroiled in an eco-terrorist plot after the mysterious death of her husband. I’ll tell you this one is not a story to miss. They say it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature; but when you do, look out. Her fury has never been so threatening. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael is a classically trained artist turned mystery writer. By combining his creative talents with a passion for mysteries he conceived his first series—The Ernie Bisquets Mysteries. It introduced Ernie Bisquets, a retired London pickpocket who decided he was going to assist the London police with their most difficult cases—whether they want his help or not. Michael has completed 3 books in the series, and has plans for at least five additional books. Book 4 is in the works now.
   
Michael travels a bit, especially to Great Britain, but also has a fondness for New England. He spent many winters in the shadow of the White Mountains, skiing and enjoying the beautiful countryside. Those fond memories are the backdrop now for the new Auburn Notch Mysteries being published by Sunbury Press. The main character is Sheriff Promise Flynn—an ex-metro detective who left a dark past and her big-city detective shield behind and moved to a small New England town.
   
When he’s not painting or writing, Michael is an avid antique collector, filling his current home—an 1894 Queen Ann Victorian he, his wife, and son are restoring—with an assortment of antiques from around the world. Michael also enjoys cooking, working in the garden, and playing in the yard with their two rescues, Beau and Pup.

Connect with Michael:
Website  |   Blog  |   Facebook  |   Twitter  |   Goodreads  

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes &Noble  |   Sunbury Press  

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FEATURED AUTHOR: JOHN ENRIGHT

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dominick is always just passing through. He is a professional houseguest who follows the sun and the leisure class from resort to resort. But this winter he lingers on a quaint New England island and in spite of his best intentions becomes involved in the travails of his eccentric geriatric hosts. An environmental protest against a proposed liquid natural gas terminal turns ugly, and by accident and happenstance Dominick becomes a mistaken suspect in terroristic bombings.

But the book, of course, is really about its characters, and the plot is just to keep them busy as we get to know them. None of them are young — white-bearded men and blue-coiffed women — dealing with aging, dementia, and ungrateful children. Dominick strives to float above it all in a life of itinerant escape. A New England comedy of sorts, on another level the book is an extended meditation on history and identity.

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN ENRIGHT

John, how did you get started writing?
When I was 17 I was with a date in the backseat of my best friend Michael Joyce’s ’57 Chevy when he recited a poem he had written to his date in the front seat. We were on South Park Avenue in Buffalo, New York, headed out of town for some reason. I remember the line, “Run run run, children on a sugar cube road.” I was impressed. No one I knew had ever written a poem before. The next day I wrote my own poem, and I couldn’t stop. Up to that point I had figured I would be a painter like my mother. That was 53 years ago. I haven’t stopped writing.

What’s your relationship with your TV remote and your cell phone?
This is easy — out front — there is no relationship. Maybe it was my quarter century in the South Pacific bush whilst everyone else was getting addicted. I’ve never watched much TV, these days maybe a couple of innings of baseball in a sports bar where the sound is muted. I have a cromagnon fliptop phone thing, but I like it turned off. I don’t text or tweet. I miss getting letters in the mail. When was the last time you got a postcard?

I take your point. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
I’m a mesovert.

I had to look that one up. The word isn't in the dictionary, but there are several blogs talking about it, so I found out that a mesovert is someone who needs solitude sometimes but also needs social interaction at times. This makes much more sense than when people say they're both an introvert and an extrovert. I think it's much more accurate to say you're a mesovert. Next question: YouTube is. . .
Someone else’s waste of time.

Do you spend more on clothes or food?
I find this an amazing question. Are there really people who would have to stop and ponder this one? The world is sicker than I thought.

Some people wear clothes only so they won't be naked. Others are fashion conscious. The question isn't one to ponder, but speaks more to your personality, which readers are often curious about. Moving on . . . Have you ever been to a fortune teller? What did she tell you?
That I played the piano. I don’t.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Nick Carraway.

Do you have a favorite book that was turned into a movie?
Moby Dick — the original Gregory Peck version. I loved the real whale-hunting sequences.

What’s the hardest thing you ever had to write?
Funeral eulogies for bosom friends.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Be good and you will be lonesome.” -Mark Twain

What would your main character say about you?
Where’d he go?

Who would you invite to a dinner party if you could invite anybody?
Barack and Michelle, and then a few dead friends. We can only seat six at the kitchen table.

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty; it’s half-way to being refilled.

What are you working on now?
Books four and five of the Dominick Chronicles series — Port Athens and Unholy Grail.

Other books by John Enright

Pago Pago Tango (2012)
Fire Knife Dancing (2013)
The Dead Don’t Dance (2014)
Blood Jungle Ballet (2014)
14 Degrees South (2012)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Enright was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1945. After serving stints in semi-pro baseball, the Lackawanna steel mills, and the publishing industry in New York, San Francisco, and Hong Kong, he left the United States to teach at the American Samoa Community College and spent the next twenty-six years living on the islands of the South Pacific. Over the past four decades, his essays, articles, short stories, and poems have appeared in more than seventy books, anthologies, journals, periodicals, and online magazines. Today, he and his wife, ceramicist Connie Payne, live in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Connect with John:
Website  |   Blog  |   Facebook  |   Goodreads

Featured Author: Kevin V. Symmons




About the book:

Jessica Long has the voice of an angel. But Jesse's cold beauty masks a brutal past filled with privation and cruelty. As the talented soprano approaches her final year at New England Conservatory, she is faced with a choice: stay with her striking young lover or accept the offer of a successful Broadway producer. She chooses the latter only to discover that fame can exact a cruel price. After years of yearning, the lovers meet again - at Jesse's ragged homestead on the Maine Coast. Matt will reveal the benefactor who's followed and protected Jesse as the lovers face a confrontation with the jealous pursuer who's tried to destroy her. One final choice awaits that may cost Jesse both Matt and her life. The Broadway impresario, a mysterious crime lord, and Matt's stunning literary agent head a cast of absorbing secondary characters. Filled with unexpected plot twists, Solo is a classic, leading the reader over a bittersweet tapestry spanning fifteen years.

Interview with Kevin V. Symmons

How long have you been writing, and how did you start?
Since college, but my career as a novelist began about ten years ago.

What’s the story behind the title Solo?
As a former serious music student and published author, I wanted to synthesize those art forms and create a serious novel that dealt with them and also included a segue into the sad world of domestic violence, for which I have raised funds and been a spokesman. Solo is the result.

Do you have another job outside of writing?
No. I am a full time author.

Who are you?
I am a renaissance man. I have been a classically trained musician (studied at New England Conservatory and have a minor in music at the undergrad level), a businessman (#1 in my MBA class), an Army officer, a consultant, an athlete, a Coast Guard certified operator in both seamanship and navigation, and of course a best-selling author of commercial fiction.

How did you create the plot for Solo?
There are those who spend months outlining and those of us who write using what Stephen King characterizes as “Organic writers . . .” I’m one of those, meaning I developed an idea . . . two ambitious and successful young people who are instantly attracted to each other and then I let my characters and imagination run with it. I could never have imagined what I emerged with as the final product!

What’s your favorite line from a book?
The tag line . . . borrowed from Oscar Wilde, BTW . . . “When the gods want to punish us they let our dreams come true.” IT is the best example of summarizing a novel’s plot in a single line I have ever seen (and my publisher agreed).

How do you get to know your characters?
It took me seven years to write Solo. I wrote two other novels for my publisher while working on it, so I got to know every character very well. And as you may expect, several did major changes over the evolution of the novel.

Which character did you most enjoy writing?
Jesse . . . Jessica Long, my heroine. I believe in vibrant, dynamic heroines and Jesse may be my most. She is so driven and yet so vulnerable and so sensitive. I love her!

What would your main character say about you?
My desire to create complex and vivid characters who both engage and challenge the reader. I want them wondering, guessing what and how she’ll handle the next crisis in her life . . . perhaps supposing what they’d do in her place!

Is your book based on real events?
Yes and no. As a former musician and student of music, I based it roughly on the evolution of musical theater during the mid to late 1980s. Think of the relationship between Sarah Brightman and Andrew Lloyd Weber.

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
My hero . . . he is a mega best-selling author of historical fiction!


What song would you pick to go with your book?
“I Dreamt a Dream.” It is the song that my heroine, Jessica Long, sings at her watershed recital — the one that propels her to stardom — and so appropriate for her life.

Who are your favorite authors?
So many. Cormac McCarthy, Dan Brown. John Grisham . . . Nicolas Sparks (every other novel . . . ha ha!) and several friends.


Do you have a routine for writing?
No. It depends on my schedule!

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
Late into the evening. My favorite time is between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. in the morning!

Where’s home for you?
I live south of Boston . . . Plymouth (America’s Home Town!) and Cape Cod in the summer.

Where did you grow up?
Boston’s South Shore . . . born in Quincy, Massachusetts and grew up in several local locations.

What dumb things did you do during your college years?
Too many to numerate. Once kicked a fire hydrant and broke my ankle!

Ouch! I love Boston and New England in general. What do you love about where you live?
The history and the people.



Have you been in any natural disasters?
Many hurricanes, if that qualifies.

It does. What are you working on now?
I began edits with my editor on February 1st on Chrysalis, my new novel. It’s a YA/NA romantic thriller. I expect it to be released late spring/early summer of 2015.

C

About the author:

Kevin Symmons has a BS and an MBA. He has attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and studied in France. After a successful career in business management and consulting, he returned to his first love: writing. His first novel, a spell-binding paranormal romance titled Rite of Passage is set in the chaotic period after World War II. It's received dozens of great reviews and was a RomCon Reader's Crown Finalist for 2013. His second effort is a contemporary romantic thriller set near his Cape Cod home, titled Out of the Storm. Like his first novel, it is an Amazon Best-Seller and received many 5-star reviews. Solo, an intense and ambitious women's fiction work, has been released from The Wild Rose Press, his award-winning publisher. It explores the devastating effects of privation and domestic violence on the beautiful and extraordinarily talented young heroine.
 

Connect with Kevin:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads 

Buy the  book