FEATURED AUTHOR: S.R. MALLERY

“TEA, ANYONE?”

How do two modern, quirky, twenty-something gals solve murders in a small, cozy USA town?
Easy. With a little time travel, some humor, and a lot of hard work. When the skeptical Brooke first meets the psychic Abby, she’s not impressed. But with the help of her comfort cat, her middle-aged roomie, her childhood friend, and a hunky detective hinting at a sweet romance, Brooke not only accepts that Abby has real gifts, it’s clear that these five people and one cat make up a crack team.

Got tea, anyone? In 1773, the Boston Tea Party sure did. Find out why going back in time helps break the case!

Book Details:

Title: Tea, Anyone?

Author: S. R. Mallery

Genre: cozy mystery

Series: A Brooke & Abby Cozy Mystery series, book 1


Published: November 19, 2019


Print length: 190 pages

Ifs


Q: If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
A: I would definitely go back in time to my great aunt’s house in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. A simple clapboard New England hide-away, it didn’t have much property surrounding it and when you took the rickety, weather-beaten, wooden steps down to her little piece of private beach, you weren’t met with pristine white sand, just big bulky looking rocks, which made it impossible to move, much less swim or sun-bathe. But her screened-in porch overlooking the Menemsha Bay had a peaceful magic for me. With nearby buoys clanging, seagulls gently squawking as they swooped down and around in beautiful patterns, my frail, musicologist of a relative, always gave me wise, supportive counsel––and much love.

Q: If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
A: Before I became a writer at fifty, amongst a whole host of other careers, I was a quilt designer and lastly, an English As A Second Language teacher. I truly loved my students. Still do. They were wonderful examples of not only how hard it is to leave one’s own country and family to start a new life here, but also how they manage to do it with grace and humor. But I left teaching because preparing lessons and writing were basically sabotaging my brain. It’s not fun to alternate from a new lesson plan details to the inevitable, “What’s my latest character thinking as she’s doing this?” Particularly when you’re driving to work! Yikes!

Q: If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
A: A long time ago, I worked on the phones of a battered women’s shelter. I was glad to do it, but it sure wasn’t easy hearing all the horror stories of abuse. So this time, I think I’d rather volunteer to help veterans in some way. Their stories are more than sad as well, but the older I get, the more I feel badly about all the sacrifices they have made for our country. After all, these men and women deserve the very best, no?

Q: If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
A: That’s an easy one. Mark Twain. Boy, what a kick that would be! Imagine the breadth and scope of his insightful humor. Quotes such as, “Politicians are like diapers, they need to be changed often, and for the same reasons,”  “If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it,” and, “We have the best government money can buy,” says it all.LOL. I think I may be one of the few people who has a little Mark Twain quotations booklet in our bathroom.  Does that make me weird?

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
A: I would probably like living in one of those charming little British villages that figure so prominently in the “Midsomer Mystery” series. Of course, if I did live in such a small and quaint town, I would not want to be a murder suspect… or a victim.


Ands


5 things you need in order to write:  

    •    my laptop
    •    a pencil & pad
    •    my Merriam Webster Thesaurus
    •     Google Search
   and
    •     my imagination!

5 things you love about writing: 

I’ll mention four things first then relate a little story, if you don’t mind.
    •    I like thinking about scenes, motivations, and plots. My overactive OCD brain seems to thrive on being involved with anything creative.
    •    I absolutely love editing. I know, I know, most authors don’t, but for some reason, after I sling my words down, I enjoy going back to “attack” them until they make sense.
    •    I enjoy jotting down ideas onto little papers or 3 x 5 cards, then put them away for later. Probably comes from sewing all those pesky little quilt blocks together in my former career.
    •    I love doing research, be it from the internet, TV, movies, or books.
   and
    •    here’s the main reason: My very first short story was written just outside of a Macy’s Foundations department, where I waited for my then teenage daughter to select a few bras. She was taking her sweet time, so, as I sat on a leather couch nearby, I got out a little pad and pencil and started scribbling a short story. Forty-five minutes later, my daughter appeared, apologizing heartily for taking so long. I looked up at her, dazed, my mind exploding with inspired thoughts and images. “It’s okay, honey,” I told her. “Why don’t you go back and check out some panties?”
    Twenty years later, I feel the same way. Once I start writing, time stops for me.

5 things you always put in your books:  

    •    Because characters are so important to me, I always do research about their characteristics. For example, in my Genteel Secrets, an evil cousin blackmails the female lead into spying. I started out by making the cousin just plain mean. Then I thought about it. That was too simplistic. Why would she be that way? So I took out my book, The Writers Guide to Character Traits, by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D. According to her, sometimes a severe accident can change one’s brain enough to create character flaws. Bingo. Problem solved. She was thrown from a horse as a child––and was changed forever.
    •    I also work hard––along with my editor’s gentle reminders––to “Show Not Tell” my characters’ emotions. I first learned about that from the wonderful Harper Lee, who demonstrated all that so beautifully her To Kill A Mockingbird. Actions and little personal gestures speak volumes.
    •    Plots are important for me as well. Sure, I’d love to write the most glorious prose on the planet. Long, detailed and gorgeous paragraphs that make you swoon with admiration. But you know what? After a page or two of that, I’m usually bored enough to start flipping those pages to get to the ‘good stuff,’ the stuff I care about––plots, characters, and motivations. 
    •    Most of my books have been historical fiction, and even my new cozy mystery has some time travel in it. I work very hard to create the past as authentically as I can. That means learning about what went on at that particular time, both in film, TV series, books, and articles.
   and
    •    I like to create vocabulary and phrase sheets of the era I’m portraying, so when you see my dialogues you’re never going to read someone say, “Sure thing, Babe,” when a man is talking to his mistress during the 1700s. My brain has closed for the night. Sorry . . .

5 favorite things to do:  

    •    Sometimes, to de-stress, I just go onto my Youtube app and watch all kinds of videos. Puppies, kittens, parrots, toddlers dancing to music, funny Late Night opening monologues, scenes from comical movies––whatever does the trick. Forget meditation. For me, letting those laughing endorphins loose hits the spot! 
   
   •    I also like to water my plants because I listen to music while I’m doing it and I’m outside (negative ions, negative ions). 
   
   •    I like to have family and friends over (once I’ve cleaned up the house, that is!). 
   
   •    I like my Senior and Fit exercise class. Not only is it helping me physically, as someone who is past thirty (WAY past), before class and after, it is like walking into a cocktail party, everyone is so chatty and friendly. 
   
and 
  
   •    lastly, I LOVE to cuddle with my cat, Junebug. She’s actually featured in my Tea, Anyone? So now, I actually write notes on what cute things she does for future books in the series. Does she realize why I’m taking out a pad and pencil as I coo at her? Maybe. But chances are, she’s just wondering when I’m going to feed her next.


5 people you consider as heroes:  

I’m going to just name some groups of people.
    •    fire fighters who deal with such danger all the time. We owe them so much!
    •    people who stand up against injustices in the world, no matter their jobs or politics.
    •    scientists who work tirelessly to discover cures for horrendous diseases.
    •    people with crippling conditions who fight every day just to survive.
and
    •    people who quietly donate great sums of money to charities without any fanfare.

Whats

Q: What’s your all-time favorite place?
A: On the upper East Side of New York City, there is an old building that used to be someone’s mansion. It’s called the New York Society Library, and is actually the city’s oldest institution. Established in 1754, early on, it even served as the Library of Congress. I loved the fact that my voraciously well-read mother faithfully went there once a week. Inside, there was a main reading room, where huge armchairs and sofas surrounded a giant stone fireplace and nearby little brass lamps sat atop of a wide mahogany table. I marveled at the complete peacefulness and comfort it gave me as I sat with my own little pile of young girlie books, as my brother sat across the way, devouring scientific encyclopedias and our mother blissfully turned pages from one of the seven or eight books she had chosen for the week.

Q: What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
A: Having graduated with a Bachelor of Music as a voice major, I soon faced a dilemma. Although I was told my voice was pretty enough, when it came to performing, I froze. I had gotten several church soloist jobs, always with so much nervousness it wasn’t fun. But then it hit me. I simply needed to loosen up more. It was 1979 and disco was coming in big time. So I tried out in front of a small band as their female singer. I got the job and we played at various inconsequential places here and there. But one place was a college type bar, much like the one in Cheers. Little did I know that singing there was about to change my life.
In the audience was a really good looking man who, after talking to me on a couple of my breaks, finally asked for my phone number. I insisted on taking his, calling him two days later. And the rest, as they say, is history. I had met my hubby of forty years.


Q: What’s your favorite time of day?   
A: Mornings . . . definitely! Even if I don’t get a ton of sleep the night before, just give me a couple of cups of half caffeine, half decaf, poured into my thermos with some Almond milk, and I’m a happy camper. While hubby watches some morning news, I’m off to our bedroom with my laptop, with whatever I’m working on, along with my pencil and eraser, my thermos, and my cellphone. Soon, our kitty, Junebug, jumps up to join me, with her usual squoosh-one-side-of-her-face-against-my-fingers before she circles around once or twice, then flops down close to me to make sure she’ll get more pets and rubs as I work. And we’re off and running. I do take breaks to exercise and clean up a bit. And sometimes, if sleep deprived, by afternoon, I’m ready for a nap. By night, as far as ideas coming into my head, the right side of my brain doesn’t work that well. Remember, I’m an established morning gal. However, my left side works just fine.  So sometimes, I design my promos then.

Q: What’s your favorite dessert?
A: Ice cream. Ice Cream. Ice Cream. And then, of course––there’s always ice cream.

Q: What’s your favorite color?

A: Mauve or Periwinkle blue. My hubby says I obviously got to play with a much bigger crayon set than he did, so I learned early about extensive color pallets).

Q: What book are you currently working on?
A: Brooke & Abby Cozy Mystery Book 2, When In Rome. This time, the clairvoyant, Abby, goes back to Ancient Rome and finds out about poisons . . . and how they were used. Oooooh.


Q: All-time favorites with pictures:
A: This first one is me at four years old, with my brother. I have NO idea why I was wearing that crazy space outfit. I looked ridiculous! And talk about being a major blockhead. Twenty-six later, I was thirty and looked a bit more normal. That’s just after I had married my husband (I checked the wedding ring in the picture).

The other photo is of Venice, Italy. I was just shy of twelve and that summer my family went to England and Italy. So many good memories, but I remember how much I loved Venice. So beautiful, and the sounds of the water lapping, the gondoliers . . . back then, it was heaven. I hear now they have far too many tourists around with huge cruise ships barging in.

Q: What’s your latest recommendation for:
Food: I’ve discovered PB2 Chocolate powder. I use it to make up mug cakes, freeze into little cookies, and turn into popsicles. Recently, I’ve also blended two tablespoons of it with a frozen banana, a little almond milk, and a splash of vanilla, then poured it into a small tub to freeze. Talk about Yummmm. Excuse me while I go make up some more for tonight . . .
Music: Frankly, I am completely eclectic when it comes to music, no matter the genre. If it’s good, I like/love it. But recently, I’ve been appreciating some movie music scores, particularly when they help to create a dramatic mood or tell a story. For example, in The Firm, the constant banging of an old piano really creates tension throughout. In Vertigo, those haunting sounds are perfect. And let’s face it, Jaws is amazing, and The Godfather theme captures that old Sicilian feeling like nobody’s business!
Movie: Green Book. Loved it for its touching appeal and great character personality arcs.
Book: I recently read a sci-fi A.I. book, which completely surprised me how much I got into it. I mean usually anything that says A.I., I’m already tuning out. But this one was very well done. It was written by Inge-loss Goss, called, No Freedom.
Audiobook: Pride and Prejudice. Now I have to say, I love all the movies made from Jane Austen’s books, but, reading her has always been a problem for me. She’s a bit too clause-oriented. I mean, those commas keep coming and coming. However, when I got a free copy of Pride and Prejudice, narrated by the fine actress, Rosamund Pike, I couldn't believe how much she made Austen’s work come alive. Bravo to her!
TV: Mysteries of the Museum and Lucky Dog.
Netflix/Amazon Prime: Recently, I’ve watched Succession and Peaky Blinders.
Miscellaneous: I enjoy putting my once-a-month Newsletter together, not just for promoting my own books, but also to give back to authors—like you do so well, Amy! I may start releasing it twice a month, starting next year. We’ll see . . .

Q: What books do you currently have published?
A: The Dolan Girls
In 1800s Nebraska, where ladies of the night, brutal outlaws, colorful land rushes, and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows are the norm, can a whorehouse madam and her schoolmarm daughter both find true love?
Ellie & The War on Powder Creek 
It’s 1891 and The Dolan Girls western romance saga continues. It stars the feisty Ellie Dolan Parker, who finds herself caught up in the middle of the Wyoming Cattle Wars. Filled with Rich, greedy cattle barons, crooked politicians, a major kidnapping, local ranchers in life-threatening danger, and a troubled marriage, this story is a colorful portrayal of a forgotten time. A time when these events and people filled the newspapers.
Unexpected Gifts 
Can we learn from our ancestors? In this 2017 Readers’ Favorite Gold medal winner, a confused college student learns about life from her ancestors’ journals, as she reads of their time during Vietnam, Woodstock, McCarthyism, the Great Depression, their arrival on Ellis Island, and fighting as Suffragists.
Trouble in Glamour Town
Murder. Corruption. Romance. Movie Stars. A modern-day TV shoot ‘em up? No. It’s 1926 Old Hollywood, and a film producer is gunned down in cold blood. In comes Rosie, a pretty bit-player, who, in spite of her stage-mother’s expectations, just longs to be happy. Silent screen idols Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Lon Chaney, and Rudolph Valentino float in and out, as Los Angeles’ corruption is exposed, the era described, and a chase to find the killer revs up before there’s another hit.
Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads
History, mystery, action, and romance are all rolled into one book in this 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal winner. These short stories follow drug traffickers using hand-woven wallets; a U. S. slave sewing freedom codes into quilts; a cruise ship murder mystery; hiding Christian passports in Nazi Germany; Salem Witchcraft quilt curse; the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and a 1967 Haight-Ashbury love affair gone horribly wrong, just to name a few.
Tender Enemies  
It’s 1941 in New York City, a time before Pearl harbor, when Nazi spies are everywhere in the U. S. and no one knows who’s working for whom. In comes beautiful Lily, paid to gather intelligence by setting up a “honey trap” for Joe Stiles, a supposed German infiltrator. Problem is, she soon faces a danger she isn’t prepared for––falling in love.
Tales To Count On 
Whether it’s 500 words or 5,000, these stories, where sad meets bizarre and deception meets humor; where history meets revenge and magic collides with gothic, will remind you in the end, nothing is ever what it seems.
Genteel Secrets 
What do a well-bred Southern Belle and a Northern working-class Pinkerton detective have in common? Espionage…and romance. At the start of the U.S. Civil War, while young men begin dying on American battlefields and slavery is headed toward its end, behind the scenes, female undercover work and Pinkerton intelligence are alive and well. But in the end, can this unlikely Romeo and Juliet couple’s love survive, or will they be just another casualty of war?
Snippets In Time 
Drift back in time with award winning S. R. Mallery, as she presents some excerpts––or “snippets”––from her different books. They range from an American family saga to full, historical adventures involving sewing; from a U.S. Civil War Romeo and Juliet couple defying all odds to a 1926 Old Hollywood romantic murder mystery; from both a colorful Western romance and a Nazi spy romance thriller to short stories that keep you guessing.



A USA Today Best Selling author and two-time Readers' Favorite Gold Medal winner, S. R. Mallery—as her fans say—"brings history to life."

They say she's as eclectic as her characters. She's been a singer, a composer, a calligrapher, a quilt artist, and an ESL/Reading teacher. But it is the world of writing historical fiction where she feels she's come "home." It's where she's received various awards and in addition, get to do her second love: Research.
When people talk about the news of the day, or when she listens to music, her overactive imagination likens the story to a similar kind of news in the past, which helps her conjure up scenes between characters she's yet to meet.

Connect with Sarah:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest  |  Instagram  |  Newsletter  |  Amazon  |   Audible  |  BookBub 

Buy the book:
Amazon 

Featured Author: Sarah Mallery

In October, Sarah Mallery was here to talk about her book Unexpected Gifts, and she gave us a hint at her then soon-to-be-published book, Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads, published December 16 by Mockingbird Lane Press. Now that it's out, Sarah is back with an excerpt from the book, and she also braved my Dirty Dozen, earning the coveted Daredevil Award.

About the book:

The eleven long short stories in Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads combine history, mystery, action and/or romance, and range from drug trafficking using Guatemalan hand-woven wallets, to an Antebellum U.S. slave using codes in her quilts as a message system to freedom; from an ex-journalist and her Hopi Indian maid solving a cold case together involving Katchina spirits, to a couple hiding Christian passports in a comforter in Nazi Germany; from a wedding quilt curse dating back to the Salem Witchcraft trials, to a mystery involving a young seamstress in the infamous Triangle Shirt Factory fire; from a 1980's Romeo and Juliet romance between a rising Wall Street financial 'star' and an eclectic fiber artist, to a Haight-Asbury love affair between a professor and a beautiful macramé artist gone horribly askew, just to name a few.

Reviewers are saying:

"Moving, engaging and powerful - the core of this collection is superb and so is its prose. These stories are sure to stay with you long after you finished them. This is great historical story telling." --Christoph Fischer Luck of the Weissensteiners, The Black Eagle Inn, and Sebastian.

“S. R. Mallery’s Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads is a box of bon-bons, every story an eye-opening surprise.  Eat one and you’ll want to devour the whole box. A sparkling, irresistibly readable follow-up to her accomplished debut novel, Unexpected Gift." --Grady Miller, Lighten Up, A Very Grady Christmas

Excerpt from Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads

A Drunkard’s Path

...“It started so long ago. I don’t even know how it all came about, but—there’s—there’s been a curse placed on you and David—that quilt that I was so excited about—Martha Stinson in my quilt group kept silent until after I had given it to you, and—and I didn’t want to say anything in case it wasn’t true...”

“Are you kidding me?” Deborah exploded. “My life is falling apart! C’mon, curses don’t really happen, do they? I mean, what can I do? You tell me now!” She segued into a screech.

“Come over to my place tomorrow and I’ll try to relate it all to you, I promise...”

...“Do you know anything about the Salem Witchcraft trials?” The older woman leaned in toward her niece, as if casting a spell herself.

“No, not much, why?”

“You remember Martha Stinson from my quilt group? Well after the wedding, she showed me a journal written by a relative of hers and frankly, I am very concerned about you. It seems one of the accused witches from the original Salem trials might have actually had a connection with a real witch, an ancestor of Martha’s...”

* * * *

Inside the packed meetinghouse, dust particles from mud-caked boots floated throughout the air, rendering it dense, murky. That year, April had been an unkind month to Salem Village. Rain-drenched meadows produced a sludge that clung to the edges of women’s dresses, creating odors so foul that in such tight quarters, it became difficult to breathe. But people weren’t concerned with such matters on this day. They had gathered for a higher purpose: the Devil was in Salem, and they wished him thwarted at all costs. Even the constant threat of Indian attacks and surviving harsh winters paled in comparison to what was happening now, in that room, swelling with apprehension.

Crammed into high-walled pews, dark wooden benches, or simply shoved up against walls, spectators filled every conceivable space in the meetinghouse. Donning black hats, cloaks, and breeches, the men angled forward, their eyes boring holes into the five men sitting up front, yet it was the women who carried the greatest burden that day; their hooded coats and muffs covering their recently unkempt hair and unwashed fingernails, couldn’t disguise the uncertainty they felt about their community’s loyalty to them and how it would all end.

Sitting at the head of the counsel table, amongst other magistrates in the newly appointed Court of Oyer and Terminer, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin quietly conferred with each other before beginning their first round of questioning. Arrogant, self-important, the black-robed magistrates assumed their positions on the political totem pole, and having been brought to Salem for such a specific purpose, they dared not disappoint. They were on a mission to deliver souls. Hathorne, displaying the greatest exhibition of self-aggrandizement, seemed the most severe. With no real legal experience, and having only glanced at Sir Mathew Hale’s Trial of Witches, and Joseph Granvill’s Collection of Sundry Trials in England, Ireland the week before, he nonetheless believed he was more than competent to interrogate the accused.

At the front of the room facing the magistrates, sat all the accusers, the “afflicted” girls: Abigail Williams, her cousin Betty Parris, Ann Putnam, Sarah Bibber, Sarah Churchill, Elizabeth Booth, Mercy Lewis, Susanna Sheldon, Jemima Rea, Mary Warren, Mary Walcott and Elizabeth Hubbard. With downcast eyes and folded hands, they appeared demure; inwardly they were experiencing emotions quite different from anything they had ever known. Childhoods stocked with adult repression and fear now served as a springboard to the frenzy of accusations they had created, because on this day, along with their catharsis and even exhilaration, came the most important emotion of all: a sense of empowerment. At last, they were getting adults to listen to them, and it was intoxicating.
John Hathorne commenced with the proceedings. “Bring in the accused, Bridget Bishop...”

Book Trailer

Sarah answers the Dirty Dozen

1.  Name one thing you couldn’t live without.

Well, besides my family, of course, I would have to say––and believe me there are several in this category––my thesaurus, either on my computer, or the old, tattered paperback one, whose cover is half-eaten by a rambunctious cat;  the one that I seem to cling to, despite disparaging remarks about its condition from my students and husband.

2.  If you could only keep one book, what would it be?

Probably my large, one-volume encyclopedia, published by Random House. At least that way, I could still learn new things...

3.  Your last meal would be...

Okay, I know this is politically incorrect, but it would be a beautiful steak –– marinated and grilled to perfection, and a luscious, vegetable-filled salad. For dessert, some kind of Breyer’s ice cream. I like them all, but am particularly partial to English Toffee Crunch...or the caramel crunch, or...Oh, I’ll take any one of them!! Hey, if it's your last meal, I think you should have them all!

4.  Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?

Looking at this question, my first reaction was bookstore. All those brand new books spread out so enticingly, so artistically. But then I thought about it further. If I worked in a library, I would not only have access to new books and classics, I’d be able to browse the old magazine stacks and peruse the one-of-a-kind books, those gems, that to the bright shiny world of marketing are long-forgotten. So library, it is!

5.  You won the lottery. What’s the first thing you would buy?

Although I love my house, I would probably buy a house in an area with a lot more greenery around it than where my current house is. I’m an east coast kind of gal, who spent summers in rural Connecticut.

6.  Would you rather be stranded on a deserted island or the North Pole?

Geesh! What a question! On the one hand, I like the cold, polar bear cubs, and penguins.  On the other hand, I think the deserted island would offer me more food opportunities.  But then again, unless there is an idyllic waterfall somewhere on the island, like what you see in movies, where would I get fresh-desalinated water? Besides, I could always chow down on whale blubber at the North Pole with an ample supply of melted iceberg water. The North Pole, I guess...

7.  You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?

First off, comes the early a.m. feeding of our hunger-howling, leg-rubbing, insistent cats. I’ve learned the hard way that their needs come before mine. Next, is a cup-a-java and some breakfast, nestled on the couch, watching something on the TV: the news, old movies, new movies, whatever tickles my fancy. Next would be a little clean up and stationary bicycling and treadmilling to a Netflix DVD, then a shower. Since I can’t write, I would most probably be doing social media stuff on the computer and reading, either research for my current projects as well as simply reading another author’s work.  Later might be some gardening, some errands if they’re absolutely necessary, the more exercise if I’m so inclined, some food prep later in the day, time with my husband and daughter, then maybe more emailing, social media stuff, and bed with my Kindle.

8.  You’re driven to a private plane and told it will take you anywhere you want to go.  Where would it be?

I’d love to go to Ireland –– both the cities and the lovely countryside. I’ve never been there, but I do love their rhythmic singsong accent, their music, their dancing, their proverb-filled history.

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

When I was a teenager, I DEVOURED the book, I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. Written in the first person narrative, it was a coming of age story, told from the point of view of Cassandra Mortmain, a highly literate teenager. Her observations included her sister, her eccentric writer-blocked father, his young second wife, and their two neighbors, both of whom were eligible bachelors. I loved her sensibilities, the castle she lived in with all the little hidden turrets, her moat, her walks in the English countryside, even her angst of misguided love. I wouldn’t mind being her for a day...

10.  Where would your dream office be?

It would be a cozy, book-filled, quilts-on-the-wall, wood-floored kind of room, overlooking a lush, verdant scene, or perhaps a Northern California Carmel type of coast.  My two cats would be there, one of them on the table next to my computer, purring loudly and batting at my pencil, the other at my feet nestled against my shoes (or in summer, bare feet). I would be able to go out my door and be surrounded by my loved ones...

11.  If you could do only one, would you rather read or write?

Wow! This is by far the hardest, cruelest question of all! I love reading; it sustains me. But if I couldn’t write at all? That would eventually eat at my soul, so...I suppose the writing is the thing with me.

12.  One of the main characters has to die. Which one would you kill off?

If I were working on a murder mystery, it would probably be the bad guy; too depressing otherwise! If it were a drama, it would be someone important, someone sympatico, but still...In my book, Unexpected Gifts, someone pretty important dies (no spoilers here, though!).  Can’t say any more about it.

Can I get my Dirty Dozen Daredevil award now?

Absolutely! Bravo!

About the author:

S. R. Mallery has worn various hats in her life. Starting out as a classical/pop singer/composer, she worked in clubs and churches while composing for educational filmstrips. From there, she moved on to having her own calligraphy company, a twenty-year quilting and craft business, and teaching English as a Second Language/Reading. Finally, she tried her hand at fiction writing and it was like an all-consuming drug. She's been happily writing ever since.

She has had eleven short fiction pieces published in "descant 2008," "Snowy Egret," "Transcendent Visions," "The Storyteller," and "Down In The Dirt." Several of her stories have appeared in different anthologies through Scars Publications. Before that, she had articles published in "Traditional Quiltworks" by Chitra Publications, and "Quilt World" by House of White Birches when she was a professional quilt artist/quilt teacher.

Connect with Sarah:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon

Featured Author: Sarah Mallery

One reviewer called Sarah Mallery's historical romance novel, Unexpected Gifts, "A history lesson with a surprise ending." I'm happy to welcome her here today to tell us about her debut novel, published by Mockingbird Lane Press.

About the book:

Can we learn from our ancestral past? Do our relatives behaviors help mold our own? In Unexpected Gifts, that is precisely what happens to Sonia, a confused college student, forever choosing the wrong man. Searching for answers, she begins to read her family’s diaries and journals from America’s past: the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and Timothy Leary era; Tupperware parties, McCarthyism, and Black Power; the Great Depression, dance marathons, and Eleanor Roosevelt; the immigrant experience and the Suffragists. Back and forth the book journeys, weaving yesteryear with modern life until finally, she gains enough clarity to make the right choices.

Praise for Unexpected Gifts:

“…a rich and involving book, the author has written a gem.” (Dorothy Salisbury Davis, author);  “…an impressive, wonderfully thought out and well-told first novel.” (Carla Davidson, former Sr. Editor, American Heritage);  “…In S. R. Mallery’s fine first novel, a dozen vibrant, real characters leap out…as the author adroitly rewinds and replays the greatest hits of American history…” (Dan Vining, author)

Interview with Sarah Mallery:

How long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I didn’t become a writer early like a lot of authors. At the time ‘It Happened’(about ten years ago), I was already a matured wife and mother. I remember hoping two very significant people in my life would become professional writers––basically, so I could stand back and live vicariously through them. But neither one of them complied, so before I knew it, I had sat myself down one day and taken a stab at it. It was like a drug and I have never stopped since.

What do you like best about writing?

I love having the ability to get lost in a separate world and to say to myself that it’s okay to read a book for research or enjoyment in the middle of the day because this is a part of my profession. I also enjoy the editing process a lot. It’s my way of getting a second, third, fourth, or even firth chance to make it better.


What’s your least favorite thing?

My least favorite thing is waiting for that special click in my head, when I know it’s an Ah-Ha moment, and when that doesn’t come readily, being tempted to eat out of frustration or futz with something that doesn’t need futzing. Also, getting too swept up in the social media game and ignoring my writing and my historical research.

Oh my, is that easy to do, or what?! Do you have another job outside of writing?

Yes. I am an adult English As a Second Language Teacher and an essay-writing teacher. And I have to say, they are the most wonderful students in the world!

How did you create the plot for this book?

Many moons ago, while I was lying in bed with my daughter who was three at the time, I was reading a short story my mother had written years before that. As I looked down at my sleeping child, I suddenly thought, ‘There are three generations in this bed tonight.’  That thought stuck with me somehow and years later, when I decided to write a book, I thought about that special night and how powerful it had been for me. I also realized it could be a great vehicle for getting different U.S. time periods in.

Your book sounds fascinating. Do you outline, write by the seat of your pants, or let your characters tell you what to write?

Probably from being a quilter for so many years, when I started preparing for my novel, I put any ideas, character developments, traits, etc onto little slips of paper then tossed them in a large folder. I also read a LOT of historical books, underlining, and notating in them like crazy, then jotting down specific pages numbers on little paper pieces as well before placing them in The Folder. Once I had a lot of slips piling up, I took them all out, and started sorting them––some for basic historic events, some for characters, some for objects that the characters left behind. I started little envelopes with each character’s name, and for historical events. The more I did this method, the more the basic plot was developing in my head.

From there I made a very, very broad outline. Then, as I divvied everything up into chapters, I would outline each chapter, based on those little slips of papers, with scene ideas, where to get authentic details, etc. 

Did you have any say in your covert art? 

The cover art person is Jamie Johnson. She is a vital part of Mockingbird Lane Press and is a joy to work with. She read the book to get the flavor of its various components, and after listening to me suggest that maybe it should involve an attic and a trunk, came up with the basic artwork. We went back and forth for quite a while ironing everything out, with her trying to please me at every step of the way. I consider myself very fortunate because I had read how some publishers really don’t give the author much choice in the matter.

What is your favorite line from a book?

The opening line from Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

I really enjoyed writing the chapter involving my heroine’s great grandmother, Daria from Ireland. I enjoyed reading all about Ireland (those DK Eye Witness travel books are fantastic!), and learning the Irish grammar. In fact, as I invented her and her experiences, I was constantly saying the words out loud with an Irish lilt, and I believe because of that, the character really stayed in me.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new names. How do you name your characters?

I have a couple of ways: 1) I mostly use Google to look up names from whatever time period I’m working on. I get a lot of good sites on that. 2) I picked up a little book at CVS called, Baby Names by Bruce Lansky. It has 15,000 names with their origins. 

How do you handle criticism of your work?

The truth? Inwardly, not well. Outwardly, much better. I ruminate about it for a while, then as I gradually calm down, I start to sort out what is probably true and what is their opinion only. It is a process. 

Do you have a routine for writing?  Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?

I notice I tend to be more alert in the early morning, but sometimes I do write at night.  Basically, whenever I can fit it in.

Is there anything in particular that you do to help the writing flow?  Music?  Acting out the scene?  Long showers?

Definitely music! When I worked on Unexpected Gifts, I compiled CD’s of the various time periods. That helped me so much. As I listened, I would jot down ideas about scenes, character motivations, traits, plots.

And funny you should mention the shower. That seems to be a place where as I lather up, I suddenly think of something that happens to one of my characters, or the fact that a character wouldn’t say this or that. I guess I’m in good company––I remember reading that Agatha Christie claimed she got her best ideas while doing the dishes...

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I like to teach ESL, but I also love watching films on Netflix and TV––classics, new films, Indie films, BBC series, American series, you name it! I get a lot of ideas for my books by watching the plots and character development.

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you
go? (Don’t worry about the money.  Your publisher is paying).

I would love to spend a long summer in the British Isles with my husband, going from one cottage to another in England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Sounds wonderful. Can I go too? What are you working on now?

I am slowly doing historical research for a Civil War mystery.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!

Book Trailer

Excerpt from Unexpected Gifts:

Chapter 1: Discoveries

    “….[at her parents’ house] Sonia stood over her father. Once her hero, she looked down at him now, thinking how old and fragile he seemed.  Just a mass of angry words….She glanced past him to his hospital bedside table and saw what he must have been reading earlier, before the outrage and drink overtook him.  The Agent Orange Aftermath was about two and a half inches thick, bloated from dog-eared and alcohol-stained pages….”

    “….Sonia stirred her tea. “Here’s the thing. I think I’m––I’m lost.”

    “…She watched her mom scrunch up her face….“Maybe you should…explore other things… There are quite a lot of old family diaries and objects up in the attic...Who knows?  They might even give you some answers…..”

    “…there was an old steamer trunk at the far end of the room, rusty, threadbare, and artistically draped with a cobweb or two over its corner edges.….”

    “…when Sam’s [Sonia’s father] box was exposed, Sonia gasped.  A cornucopia of the Vietnam experience flooded her senses and…left a slight dread.  Did she really want to unleash all their secrets?”

From the author: 

I have worn various hats in my life. Starting out as a classical/pop singer/composer, I worked in small clubs/churches and composed for educational filmstrips. From there, I moved on to having my own calligraphy company, a twenty-year quilting and craft business, and teaching ESL/Reading. Finally, I tried my hand at fiction writing and it was like an all-consuming drug. I’ve been happily writing ever since.

I have had eleven short fiction pieces published in descant 2008, Snowy Egret, Transcendent Visions, The Storyteller, and Down In The Dirt. Several of my stories have appeared in different anthologies through Scars Publications. Before that, I had articles published in Traditional Quiltworks by Chitra Publications, and Quilt World by House of White Birches when I was a professional quilt designer/quilt teacher.


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