FEATURED AUTHOR: TERRI L. AUSTIN

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rose Strickland’s life is complicated. Besides her waitressing gig, she works part-time for Andre Thomas, a PI with no faith in Rose’s ability to investigate, her love life with Sullivan has stalled, and her BFF, Roxy, has found a new bestie, leaving Rose out in the cold.

Determined to prove herself, Rose takes a case on the sly. As she searches for a missing MMA fighter, Rose discovers an illegal fight club, a group of ruthless businessmen, dead bodies, and a trail of drugs.

Hunting down clues that lead too close to home, Rose finds herself in the fight of her life. Can she beat the killer to the punch before she gets knocked out for good?

INTERVIEW WITH TERRI L. AUSTIN

How did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?”
I wrote a bit when my kids were young, but didn’t have time to write seriously until they were teenagers. Then I went at it full throttle.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I like being surprised by the characters.

How long is your to-be-read list?
I’m not sure I can count that high.

What books do you currently have published?
I have the Rose Strickland Mystery series and Beauty and the Brit, a romance series.

Can you share some of your marketing strategies with us?
I’m a firm believer in the adage: your next good book is your best advertisement. I believe in putting my eggs into a lot of different baskets. I like to switch genres. I write for a small press, a traditional press, and soon, I’m going to indie pub for the first time. I like to tweet about reality TV, and that led to a gig as a contributor on All About the Tea. I try to put time into what I enjoy and write like crazy.

How long have you been a writer?
I’ve been writing seriously for the last five years.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
Bravo! I love me some Housewives.

How often do you tweet?
I like to live tweet my favorite shows. I’ve found my tribe on Twitter.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I really love the connections I’ve made with readers on Facebook. They’re a good group, and I value their friendship.

For what would you like to be remembered?
If I can give people a chuckle, I’m happy.

What scares you the most?
I’m a wuss. Everything scares me.

YouTube is . . . Awesome. How else would I know how to do a proper smoky eye?

What five things would you never want to live without?
My hubs, my allergy meds, my books, Coke Zero, and beads. Shallow? Yes, but my world would be a much sadder, snifflier place without them.

Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
Morgan Freeman. He should narrate everything.

3D movies are . . . nausea inducing.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
Yep.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert. I like people. Just in small doses.

What's your relationship with your TV remote?
We’re besties.

Do you spend more on clothes or food?
Do beads count as clothes? Because beads.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Coke Zero. Can’t get enough.

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
Like I’d tell you, you naughty minx!

Can't blame me for trying. What is the most daring thing you've done?
Gone on vacation with my mother-in-law.

You are a daredevil. What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Did you not read the last sentence?!

I take your point. What is your most embarrassing moment?
Back when I was in hair school, I rubbed temporary dye off a woman’s forehead. Except it wasn’t dye. It was Ash Wednesday. Whoops!

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
That perm that spanned the 80s.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Never give up. Never surrender” Galaxy Quest.

What would your main character say about you?
“She’s a little obsessive. And not in a good way.”

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
I always think the current project I’m working on is the hardest. I go through a few drafts and I have a love/hate relationship with each of them. 


Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
The little library in my hometown is gone, and a bigger, newer building has taken its place. I worked there as a page when I was fifteen. It was small, and we didn’t have a lot of books. The floor was wavy and the ceiling leaked, making all the books smell like mildew. I fell in love with reading in that ratty library.


You can be any fictional character for one day.
Who would you be? Veronica Mars. She rocked so hard.

Yes, she did. What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
Someone thought my characters were flat. It’s like telling someone their kid is ugly. I love my characters. They’re real people to me. I shook it off and got thicker skin.


Who would you invite to a dinner party if you could invite anyone in the world?
Hmm. I don’t really dislike anyone enough to foist my cooking on them. 


What's your relationship with your cell phone?
I keep losing it. So . . . I’m not as close to it as I am my remote control.


How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Never enough.

What is your favorite movie?
Pride and Prejudice, the Colin Firth version.

Do you have a favorite book?
That’s like asking which character I love the best. I don’t like to play favorites.

Do you sweat the small stuff?
I’m schvitzing as I type.

What are you working on now?
The first book in a new romance series. It’s about Irish expats living in Chicago.

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Um . . . both, naturally.
Laptop or desktop? Desktop to work. Laptop to search.
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Bill.
Emailing or texting? Email.
Indoors or outdoors? In.
Tea: sweet or unsweet? Unsweet.
Plane, train, or automobile? Auto.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a girl, Terri L. Austin thought she'd outgrow dreaming up stories and creating imaginary friends. Instead, she's made a career of it. She met her own Prince Charming and together they live in Missouri.

Connect with Terri:

Website  |  
Blog   |  Facebook  |  Twitter  | Goodreads  

Featured Author: George R. Hopkins

George R. Hopkins' mystery novel, Letters from the Dead, is a 2013 Readers Favorite International Book Contest Award Winner and 2013-2014 Reader View Literary Award Winner. Dr. Oliva Dsouza, of Readers' Favorite, says, “A thriller that entangles you in the web of intermingling story tracks and keeps you guessing till the end.” Michel Violante of Reader Views says the book is “An intriguing thriller that kept me glued to the pages. I was not able to put it down thanks to the combination of interesting characters, pacing and suspense, along with the humor.” George is here today with an excerpt and to chat about writing, himself, and his books.

       

About the book:    

What do you do when a killer comes after the people you love? Set against the background of the hunt for serial killer Lex Talionis, Letters from the Dead includes a cast of complex characters: hard-nosed, hot-headed NYC homicide detective Tom Cavanaugh; Cavanaugh’s half-brother, Jack Bennis, a Jesuit priest and former covert agent; 90 year-old Mary Jane McIntyre in a nursing home guarding deadly secrets in letters from her dead sister; and a ninja-like killer bent on revenge for the cyber-bullying suicide of his daughter. Together in this fast-paced mystery-thriller, they confront a wide array of physical, emotional, and psychological conflicts – including anger, aging, marriage, pregnancy, love … and murder.

Interview with George Hopkins

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

I’ve been writing on and off for over fifty years. I was Sports Editor of my weekly college newspaper for a while and majored in English. I taught English in high schools for over thirty years and had a number of essays published in our local newspaper. I wanted to try fiction, and for the last ten years I’ve been writing mystery/thrillers. 

What’s the story behind the title Letters from the Dead?  

A 90-year-old woman in a nursing home keeps a group of letters she received from her now dead sister.  The letters hold secrets that her two sons never knew. The letters could change the brothers, but they also put the elderly woman in danger as they also reveal things about another resident of the nursing home that could implicate him in a number of crimes.

Do you have another job outside of writing?   

I conduct a writing workshop at the John Noble Maritime Collection on Staten Island, New York. I also have been coordinating a Senior Poetry Contest and Festival for the Community Agency for Senior Citizens for the past fourteen years.

How did you create the plot for this book?
  
This is an interesting question I never thought about before. Actually, with this mystery, I started with the killer and worked backwards. I introduced a lot of cross-conflicts and an elderly aunt who holds letters written by the mother of the major characters. The letters reveal secrets the brothers do not know, but also put her life in danger.

What’s your favorite line from a book?
  
My favorite line is naming the serial killer. If I told you the line, however, it would give away the ending.

Talk about a hook! How do you get to know your characters?  

I put myself in their shoes. I’ve come to realize that there are usually no completely blacks or whites in life, but a series of grays. All of my characters face real problems.  How they deal with the problems and conflicts make up the story. No one is without blemishes or totally evil. We are what we are.

Which character did you most enjoy writing?  

All of my characters are a part of me. Choosing one would be like asking me which of my children do I love the most. I love them all – for better or worse.

What would your main character say about you?   

“He’s not really a bad guy. He means well. He gets a bit obsessed at times. He’s scrupulous, basically moral, has a sense of humor (maybe a little sick at times), and loves life. He’s not very aggressive, but with him – still waters definitely run deep – and I wouldn’t like to get on his wrong side. He loves his family, writing, and golf – in that order (although he is a horrible golfer).”

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

My characters are a part of all the experiences I have had and the imagination of my sometimes fertile mind. No one is based on a real person. Rather they are all based on combinations and imagination.

Is your book based on real events?  

No.  Although there are elements in it that are real like the stories of Rwanda, Somalia, post-stress-traumatic syndrome, and ectopic pregnancies.

Are you like any of your characters?

Probably. We are all human beings, and we all have flaws as well as strengths.

One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?    

He would probably have my wife come up to me and shoot me as she said, “I am sick and tired of calling you for dinner while you keep typing on that damn computer. How many times do I have to tell you dinner is ready? I’ve had it. Eat this!” BANG!

Yikes! I'd be on time to dinner, if I were you! If you could be one of your characters, which one would you choose?   

I’m a part of all my characters, but I would probably choose Cavanaugh because he appears resolute on the outside, but he tries to keep his true feelings to himself.

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?   

Father Jack Bennis. He is well-read and has had multiple experiences as a soldier, an assassin, and now a priest.


A father with experience as an assassin? Now that is intriguing. With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore? 

My family.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book. 

This would be the rape scene where Fran’s ex-lover attacks her and she fights for the gun in her purse. Or it could be the scene where Cavanaugh encounters the serial killer in Fran’s apartment.

Who are your favorite authors? 

Michael Connelly, James Patterson (when he writes by himself), Pat Conroy, James Joyce, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Lawrence Sanders, Robert Parker – eclectic group!


Yes, and you have some of mine in there! What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?

Grammatical and spelling errors.


Do you have a routine for writing?   

I usually write at night when everyone else has gone to bed. The plan is to write one page a night so that at the end of the year I will have written 365 pages, but I tend to get on a roll at times which means I finish the book earlier (unless there are a lot of distractions in my life – which there usually are) and I go to bed much later.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?   

I prefer to write at night so no one disturbs me, and I don’t disturb anyone else.  It seems sometimes when I am sitting at the computer typing I get the feeling my wife feels I am goofing off. It’s much better for both of us if I write alone.

Where’s home for you?   

I live in Staten Island, the “forgotten” borough of New York City.

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

The dictionary.

You’re leaving your country for a year. What’s the last meal (or food) you would want to have before leaving?   

A 24 oz. steak, medium-rare, smothered with onions and mushrooms or simply a quarter-pounder with cheese, onion rings, and French fries.

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?  

A bookstore because you can talk more freely to people.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
  
The 42nd Street Library in Manhattan because it has everything a “normal” person would want or need.

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

Play golf with my friends or play with my grandchildren.

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

The Little Engine that Could.

I love that! What would your dream office look like?  

It would be lined with books. There would be a large, uncluttered (for a while at least) desk with a computer, a printer, a radio, and quiet.

Why did you decide to self-publish?

I could not find an agent, and I wanted to get my books “out there” before I died.  Publishing with the few remaining large publishers can take up to two or more years.
 
You published with OutskirtsPress, who caters to self-published authors. Are you happy with your decision?
 
I published Letters from the Dead with OutskirtsPress because it allowed me to keep the price of the book down for readers. I was disappointed, however, in their use of a small font in printing the book. I found Xlibris, who published my first two novels, Blood Brothers and Collateral Consequences, did an excellent job of printing, but the cost for readers, I felt, was too high.

What steps to publication did you personally do, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service?

I did the first book all on my own, but had the second and third novel covers designed by the publisher.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?  

“Things fade, alternatives exclude.”

What’s your favorite candy bar? And don’t tell me you don’t have one!  

Chuckles and jelly beans.

Tis the season for jelly beans. I get in trouble with those little bitty beans. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? 

Talk with my wife, visit my grandchildren, watch my favorite TV shows (NCIS, Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Castle), and play a lousy game of golf.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?  

Where I am. As a former student once told me, “No matter where you are, that’s the place to be.”

What are you working on now?  

Another mystery/thriller with the same characters tentatively called Random Acts of Malice, involving a plot to kill a judge.

Good luck with it, George, and please come back when it's released to tell us more!

Let's Talk Writing Interview

Excerpt from Letters from the Dead

We lay aside letters never to read them again,
and at last we destroy them out of discretion,
and so disappears the most beautiful, the most immediate breath of life,
irrecoverably for ourselves and for others.
--Goethe

Chapter 1

Mary Jane MacIntyre lay in her bed fingering her rosary beads. She looked down at her hands as she started the first decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries – the Agony in the Garden. Her fingers were bent and twisted by arthritis. She looked at the brown spots and wrinkled skin on the backs of her hands. And her mind began to wander.

    “Peggy, you’ve got to tell the police….”

     Tears rolled down Margaret’s cheeks. Her hands and voice trembled. “I can’t, Mary Jane. He’ll kill me. You don’t know what he’s like.”

    “You can’t let him do this to you, Peggy. You can’t let him get away with this.”

    Like a sheet of newspaper caught in the wind, the voices within her skipped from place to place as another voice within voiced a series of Hail Marys.    

She lifted her eyes to see the black and white picture of three young people framed in a faded leather frame on her night table. She didn’t need her reading glasses to recognize the three standing, smiling on the sandy beach of Coney Island. He stood in the middle with one arm around each girl. He was tall and thin, and his dark hair was ruffled. Both girls were laughing. One wore what looked like a short shirt with two thin bands running around the bust and the bottom. The other wore a sleeveless dark woolen jersey tank suit that clung tighter to her body with a light belt around the waist. The bathing suit was actually navy blue and the belt white rubber, Mary Jane remembered.

    The words of the prayer in the background peeped in again as she started the second Sorrowful Mystery. “… lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil….”

    She was the only one left now. They had gone. He first, then she. Mary Jane was the only one left now - the only one who knew.

    The door to her room opened a bit as a nurse looked in. Ms. MacIntyre was saying her rosary again as she did every day. The nurse decided not to interrupt her reverie. She would come back later.

Mary Jane heard the door open and close. Her ears had not lost what her legs, hands, and eyes had. She may be old, but she still could hear. Sometimes, as she continued to pray the rosary and try to concentrate on the second Sorrowful Mystery – the Scourging at the Pillar, the voices of her past were as clear as the opening of the door.

“Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?” The voice was gruff and loud with a slight touch of a coarse Irish brogue. She heard the thud again as he punched her in the chest and threw her against the car. “You mind your own bloody business, you little whore, or I’ll do the same to you.”

“I hope you die,” the young woman’s voice replied. She saw herself running down the street screaming, “I hope you die. I hope you die….”

She heard his laugh again. Its icy tone sent shivers through her body. Howling like a madman, he lifted his flask of Bushmills and shouted, “Not before I take your little sister with me.”

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners....” Mary Jane’s eyes moved to her end table where she kept the letters. No one seemed to write letters very much anymore. At least she never got any. But who was left to send her any? The letters in the drawer were sacred to her. They held a secret she had kept buried within her for a long time. Maybe too long. Soon it would be her time. Should she tell someone? What good would come of it now?

On the wall by the side of the window, the MacIntyre coat of arms hung, another remembrance of the past, a gift her father had given her on her twelfth birthday. She recalled his stories about the ancient MacIntyre clan and how one of its earliest lords cut off his thumb to plug a hole in a sinking ship. He regaled her with stories as she sat in his lap at the kitchen table in their fourth floor railroad apartment and he drank his Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and told her about how the MacIntyre family was a proud clan of warriors and poets that survived battles and adversity. How many times had he made her shout with him, the MacIntyre war cry, “Cruachan”?

Her eyes could just make out the two red eagles with outstretched wings, the ship with furled sails, the red fist clutching a cross, and the hand with a dagger protruding from a knight’s helmet on the family crest. She couldn’t see the family motto from where she lay, but she knew it by heart – “Per ardua” – through difficulties. Life had been a series of difficulties, yet here she was – the only one of the group left with a secret buried in the letters which pressed on her heart.

It was time to let go. But she had to tell someone before she left. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”

About the author:

George Hopkins, a former United States Marine Corps sergeant, has worked as an assistant principal of English in the NYC public high schools and has taught at Columbia Teachers’ College, St. John’s University, Middlesex College, and the College of Staten Island, in addition to being an exchange teacher in Puerto Rico. Twice he was honored by the NY Association of Teachers as “Teacher of the Year.” This novel is his third mystery featuring Detective Cavanaugh and Fr. Bennis. Both previous novels, Blood Brothers and Collateral Consequences, are award-winners and are available online.

Connect with George:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads| Venture Galleries

Buy the book:
Amazon   

Featured Author: Niamh Clune

And now for something completely different...I haven't featured a children's book before, but today I'm happy to be talking to Niamh Clune about her children's book series PA Dug & Rosie In The Garden: Rosie Wears Her Wellingtons, Wollee The Worm, and Biddle The Bee, published by Plum Tree Books.

About the book:

Everything in the garden serves a purpose including Wollee The Worm who brings food to our table!

Interview with Niamh Clune:

Niamh, you're CEO & Founder at Plum Tree Books and Art. Tell us about Plum Tree Books.

Plum Tree Books is committed to finding rare and exciting new talents in the fields of art, literature, and poetry and combining these mediums in new, exciting ways. We are focusing on children's books with a message, poetry, and a few exceptional, quirky novels. We also offer services to help others bring their e-books to fruition.


Think of us as an on-line group of modern-day Bohemians ~ artists inspiring, nurturing, supporting and promoting each other and raising the barre. Our poetry is often subversive, and I will be publishing some very exciting new poets soon. Such creative gatherings have always existed as breeding grounds for excellence and inspiration. In fact, movements are born from them. Ours is a virtual gathering. What's essential is a genuine sincerity, and a real appreciation of each other's genius.


Where did you get the idea for the Pa Dug & Rosie In The Garden series?

These little books were inspired by my granddaughter, Siolfor Rose (old English spelling for Silver). She is inquisitive, funny, spirited, very intelligent and very mischievous. Siolfor-Rose was two when I began this project. She is three now and has grown with the books, as they have evolved to keep pace with her!

Tell us about the books.

At the time, I was working with artist and author Marta Pelrine Bacon doing various projects for Plum Tree Books. I asked her if she would do the drawings in her inimitable black and white style. I wanted only one element on the page to have a colour. I felt this would help stimulate a child's memory. Children remember a red bow or a yellow watering can or pink or red wellies (Wellington Boots). In fact, these details seem very important to a small child ~ the beginnings of how s/he constructs a psychological sense of personhood: "I like this, I don't like this or that. I choose this, I don't choose that!"

I am a Doctor of Psychotherapy specialising in The Imaginal Mind, but I have always been a writer. I began writing poetry when I was 12 to escape the horror of my own childhood. I have been writing since ~ everything from novels, Orange Petals in a Storm, to The Coming Of The Feminine Christ, which is about awakening the heart! It isn't religious, but a spiritual psychology.

As I entered nana land, I was amazed at how delighted I was to be led and guided by my beautiful granddaughter. I ventured back into the world of faeries, magic and the pure delight of minute-by-minute discovery. These days, I write about the magic of very ordinary things ~ wellies, worms, bees, sunshine, rain, emotions!

I have a special relationship with Siolfor- Rose. She is very much like me: strong-willed and determined. My Rosie character is based on her.

I wrote the books all in rhyme as it is so much fun. I find that teaching and learning something is always more effective if it is a light and happy experience. These little books deliver a message about the importance of nature and how amazing it is. Rhyme helps children develop a freedom with language. It stimulates an enjoyment of words. Children love onomatopoeia.

I decided on two series in particular. The first is the Rosie series - how everything in the garden serves a purpose. I think it important for children to be aware of nature. My Siolfor-Rose loves going into the garden with her Papa Doug. Doug is Canadian and loves everything to do with nature. His background is in agriculture, so he knows soil science. I decided this would be a great combination: rhyme, story-telling about the magic of the ordinary, coupled with beautiful art and basic garden science. What a learning experience for a small child!

In the first of the Rosie series, we are introduced to Rosie and Papa Dug, and we realise that even when it is raining, everything is a celebration. Wearing wellies solves all problems to do with splashing in the mud and having fun whilst being able to help Pa Dug work in the garden. Wellingtons serve a very good purpose!

In the second story, we meet Wollee The Worm and learn how the worm brings food to the table. Rosie doesn't believe Papa Dug at first:

But standing firm, she shook her head, 
“Worm’s cannot do what you’ve just said. 
Mummy brings the food to table. 
Mummy, not the worm, is able.”

Rosie soon discovers that the worm serves a very good purpose too, as it does help Mummy bring food to the table!

The next in the series is Biddle The Bee, coming soon!

In another series, I am tackling the subject of helping children with their emotions. I have two more books on their way and will let you know when they are ready too!

The books can be bought directly from our website. They are not yet available from Amazon.

Where’s home for you?

I am Irish, originally from Co. Clare in Ireland, but I live just outside London.

Tell us one weird thing, one nice thing, and one fact about where you live.

I live beside Hampton Court Palace. It was built by Cardinal Wolsey in 1514. But when he fell foul of dear old Henry V111, Henry gave the palace to Ann Boleyn. We all know what happened to both Wolsey and to Ann. Her ghost is said to roam the ancient corridors of Hampton Court. Many tourists have claimed to have seen her, and of course, the Palace makes much of this as a tourist attraction. When I take my granddaughter for a walk, we pass the palace almost daily. She always asks about whether the princess still lives there or not. The architecture alone is enough to stimulate the imagination, let alone its bloody history saturated in political intrigue. These days, it is a very friendly place with beautiful extensive grounds bordering on a huge deer park and situated on the banks of the River Thames ~ such a great location for the royal party to hunt and travel to by barge.

It sounds lovely, as does your series. Please come back and tell us more!

About the author:

Niamh is the author of the Skyla McFee series: Orange Petals in a Storm and Exaltation of a Rose, which is soon to be released. She also penned The Coming of the Feminine Christ ~ an in depth spiritual/ psychological journey into ancient mythology, prophecy and personal experience. Dr. Niamh Clune worked in Africa for Oxfam and UNICEF in her career as a psychotherapist. She is the founder of Plum Tree Books, an award-winning social entrepreneur, an environmental campaigner, and a singer/songwriter.

Website | Blog | Facebook--for poetry and comment | for news about products on facebook  |
for Niamh Clune on Facebook | Twitter Niamh, Plum Tree Books

Buy links:
Plum Tree Books | Amazon link for Niamh Clune: Orange Petals In A Storm

Featured Author: Cindy Blackburn

Cindy Blackburn is the author of Playing With Poison, the first book in the Cue Ball Mysteries series. Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction's main character, Tess Tramaine, got to sit down for a chat with Playing With Poison's Wilson Rye.

About the book:

Pool shark Jessie Hewitt usually knows where the balls will fall and how the game will end. But when a body lands on her couch, and the cute cop in her kitchen accuses her of murder, even Jessie isn't sure what will happen next.

Playing With Poison is a cozy mystery with a lot of humor, a little romance, and far too much champagne.

About the character:

Captain Wilson Rye is the chief homicide detective of the Clarence, North Carolina Police Department. Forty-eight, widower, one son in college. Rye thought he could handle anything. Then he met Jessie Hewitt.

Tess's Interview with Wilson Rye:

Wilson, your series is a humorous romantic cozy mystery. How did you first meet Cindy Blackburn?

In Jessie’s condo. Jessie and I were standing over the dead body of Stanley Sweetzer. It wasn’t the best Friday night I’ve ever had.

Want to dish about her?

About Cindy? The woman always takes Jessie’s side. The two of them are in cahoots.

Well...duh...women have to stick together. Of course they're in cahoots. So tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

When I won a pool game against Jessie. The woman’s a shark, and the look on her face when the eight-ball fell? Priceless.

Competitive much? If you could rewrite anything in your book, what would it be?

When Jessie accused me of thinking she was an ugly, old, bitch murderer, I probably should have denied all of the above. Instead, I just told her she’s not ugly. Not my brightest moment.

Typical male move, if you don't mind my saying so, bless your heart. Do have any secret aspirations that your author doesn’t know about?

Yep. But you’re not expecting me to tell you, are you? Cindy will have to work to learn my secrets. Just like Jessie does.

Well aren't you a little dickens. If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do? And leave Cindy out of this.

Go fishing on Lake Lookadoo with my son Chris. Spend the night with Jessie. Don’t tell her I said that.

Um...Wilson...remember when I said girls have to stick together? I'm pretty sure she's gonna find out about that one. What’s the best trait your author has given you?

Cindy gave me lots of good traits--I’m handsome and smart, and I like cats.

What’s the worst?

Cindy insists that I’m impatient. She might have a point. 

A man who's impatient. Shocking. What do you like best about Jessie? Least?

Least—the woman drives me crazy. Best—the woman drives me crazy.


Oh my. Okay...well...What aspect of your author’s writing style do you like best?

Cindy doesn’t pussy-foot around. Her books are fast reads. She cuts out the garbage.

Good trait to have in a writer. Describe an average day in your life.

I take care of my cats, call my son (Chris is in college), catch criminals, and argue with Jessie. Usually in that order.

There are currently three published books in the series. Will you talk her into more?

Yes. But Cindy and Jessie already had a sequel planned, even before I walked into Jessie’s condo that first night. They’re right now in cahoots writing book four of the Cue Ball Mysteries—-Four Play.

Well. That's certainly...an interesting title. I hope you'll come back when it's released. And bring Jessie next time. Okay?

Other books in the Cue Ball Mysteries series:

About the author:

Cindy Blackburn has a confession to make--she does not play pool. It's that whole eye-hand coordination thing. What Cindy does do well is school. So when she's not writing silly stories she's teaching serious history. European history is her favorite subject, and the ancient stuff is best of all. The deader the better! A native Vermonter who hates cold weather, Cindy divides her time between the south and the north. During the school year you'll find her in South Carolina, but come summer she'll be on the porch of her lakeside shack in Vermont. Cindy has a fat cat named Betty and a cute husband named John. Both are extremely lovable. When Cindy isn't writing or grading papers, she likes to take long walks or paddle her kayak around the lake. Her favorite travel destinations are all in Europe, her favorite TV show is NCIS, her favorite color is orange, and her favorite authors (if she must choose) are Joan Hess and Spencer Quinn. Cindy dislikes vacuuming, traffic, and lima beans.


Connect with Cindy:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Featured Book: River of Love

River of Love {Book 3 ~ Savage Destiny Series}

Zeke Monroe will do anything to protect his Abbie and make sure she is happy, which is why he opts to settle into ranching and build his Abbie-girl a home of her own where they can begin raising a family on the plains of Colorado along the Arkansas River. But the encroachment of white settlers and its affect on Zeke’s Cheyenne brothers begins to threaten his and his family’s safety, and the paradise he and Abbie find is short-lived.  Still, nothing can kill the devotion these two share toward each other, and it’s love that holds them together through heartbreaking adversity outside their private world.

Excerpt

“Come back to bed, Zeke,” Abbie told him softly. “You know how I hate storms. Come and hold me.”



The rain started pelting the roof then, and he came back beside her. Both were naked, for that was the way they always slept. 

She pulled the buffalo robe over them, snuggling close to him, finding perfect shelter from the storm that frightened her. She was afraid of nothing when Zeke was beside her.  He was like a rock, indestructible, strong, hard, never afraid. She lifted her face to his. Then his lips covered hers and she had no defense against the way he had of enticing her, as if his manliness and his touch were not enough.

About Roseanne Bittner

I've been writing for nearly thirty years and to date have had 57 novels published, all about the American West of the 1800's and Native Americans. I write romance, but not the typical bodice-ripping adventures. My stories are deep love stories, often family sagas told as a series. It is the hero and heroine's love that holds them together through the trials and tribulations of settling America's western frontiers. I absolutely love the Rockies, the Tetons, the Sierras, and the wide-open plains, prairies and desert land west of the Mississippi. In my books, I strive to tell the truth about the settling of the West and how it affected our American Indians, as well as the gritty depth of what our brave pioneers suffered in their search for free land and a better life. 

I am a member of the Nebraska and Oklahoma Historical Societies, my local southwest Michigan historical society, Women Writing the West, Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America (treasurer) and the national RWA, and a local charity group called the Coloma Lioness Club. I help run a family business and love doing things with my three young grandsons. If you visit my web site atwww.rosannebittner.com, where all my titles are listed as well as a page that lists all my many writing awards; or you can visit me on Facebook. At either site you will learn news of new books to come as well as reprints of many of my past titles soon to be published in trade paperback and as e-books! I also have an author site at Amazon.com.


Rosanne's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads /  Amazon

Meet Sam Jenkins

Sam's latest book is Heroes & Lovers:

Sam Jenkins might say, “Falling in love is like catching a cold. It’s infectious and involuntary. Just don’t sneeze on any innocent people.”

Getting kidnapped and becoming infatuated with a married policeman never made TV reporter Rachel Williamson’s list of things to do before Christmas. But helping her friend, Sam Jenkins with a fraud investigation would be fun and get her an exclusive story.
Sam’s investigation put Rachel in the wrong place at the wrong time and her abduction by a mentally disturbed fan, ruined several days of her life.

When Jenkins learns Rachel has gone missing, he cancels holiday leaves, mobilizes the personnel at Prospect PD, and enlists his friends from the FBI to help find her.

During the early stages of the investigation, Sam develops several promising leads, but as they begin to fizzle, his prime suspect drops off the planet and all the resources of the FBI aren’t helping.

After a lucky break and a little old-fashioned pressure on an informant produce an important clue, the chief leads his team deep into the Smoky Mountains to rescue his friend. But after Rachel is once again safe at home, he finds their problems are far from over.


In October we talked with the author of the Sam Jenkins mystery series, Wayne Zurl, about his new book, Heroes & Lovers. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to get his main character, Sam Jenkins, to talk to me. I’m happy to say he’s finally here. Sam is a personable, laid back, affable man, who is remarkably a lot like Wayne. Sam is the police chief of Prospect, Tennessee and coincidentally, Wayne is a former police officer. Everybody likes Sam, and I think you will too. Grab a glass of sweet tea, and sit back and enjoy this interview with Sam Jenkins.


Sam, thank you so much for agreeing to talk to me. It’s a pleasure to meet you. How did you first meet your writer?

Wayne and I were born in Brooklyn, and around 1949, our parents moved east on Long Island. I met him again at a place called Goodrich Street School. From there it was uncanny--high school, a job and part-time college, then the Army, the police department, more college on the GI Bill, and then we retired. We never hung out together, but our paths always crossed. Occasionally, we’d work on something together. Now we’re retired and living in east Tennessee, and he wanted to become my Doctor Watson. You’d think he had his own war stories to tell. And I’m still waiting for my share of the royalties on these books. If you’re talking with him, refresh his memory.


He said he doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Sorry. I tried. I wouldn’t hold my breath on him coughing up any royalties. What is Wayne’s best trait?

I just told you how he’s welching on our business agreement, and now I’ll contradict myself. The man is honest to a fault--almost disgusting. I think he really believes that old Army motto: ‘Death before dishonor.’ I think he’s kinda nuts.


Well, maybe there’s hope for some royalties yet. Okay, now that we’ve been nice, give us some dirt. What’s his worst trait? Besides stiffing you with the royalties.

I’m afraid he suffers from the same shortcoming I have. He’s terminally impatient. And that can get a cop into trouble. I won’t mention that he drinks more than me, and I think he falls in love much too easily.


So Wayne’s as big a flirt as you are? Who gets whom into trouble with your flirting? Do you make Wayne write those scenes and dialogue or does he make you say and do those things?

Does he say I flirt?

Um...yeah...

I’m just being nice to people—and they happen to be women.

Mmm hmmm.

I get along with women better than men. And nobody likes a detective with a broomstick stuck--

Ho, ho, hold it right there, mister!

Would you answer questions or do a favor for someone who was stuffy or mean to you?

Well, no, I guess not...

I guess he’s just writing about what he sees. I’ll explain things and straighten him out.


Good luck with that. Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

The whole idea about the kidnapping and me accomplishing more than the FBI is something I’ll always love. But that scene in the cabin at Top O’ the World is what I’d like to see on film. Who do you think should play me in the movie? 


I love that scene too. I really do. Hmmm...who should play you in the movie...um...how about Billy Bob Thornton?

He’s a little off-beat and too short.


Clint Eastwood? Too old. 


Dennis Hopper?

He’s dead!

Oops. Really? How about Bruce Willis? 


Not a bad choice, but he’d have to get over the shaved head thing.


Wayne Zurl?

Hmmm. He knows how to act like a cop, but he doesn’t belong to the actors union. 


I don’t know. I’m terrible at casting. Hey, how about Mark Harmon? I think you’ve got it. 


Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?

Wayne and the publisher weren’t crazy about telling the world I got a little carried away interrogating that miscreant Elrod Swaggerty. But that’s the way it happened. Hey, I’m only human and needed to get some answers. Andy Sipowitz has done worse on NYPD Blue.


For sure. I wouldn’t feel bad about it. I mean, it was Elrod, for Pete’s sake. Great name, by the way--Elrod. How did you come up with it? 


I was looking in a local phone book for character names. I made two columns of interesting possibilities, one for first names and one for surnames. Then I mixed and matched by sound and the character’s personality. Elrod Swaggerty had a ring to it.


It certainly does. What's the worst thing that's happened in your life--aside from meeting Elrod Swaggerty?

The third time I got wounded in Vietnam, I ended up in a hospital for almost a month. I was hurt, but so many guys there were in worse shape than me. The government must be totally sure we need to go to war before we charge in and waste young lives or cause kids to spend the rest of their lives disabled. I couldn’t have made a simple arrest with the amount of reasonable cause to believe they had when Bush said Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. With nothing more than a suspicion, based on unconfirmed intelligence, they started a war lasting more than ten years. Makes you wonder why. No one should be asked to fight for economic reasons. 


Agreed. And thank you for your service. Being a soldier and a policeman can be dangerous work. What are you most afraid of?

Losing my hair.


Ha! That’s cheating, but okay, I guess you’re fearless. What’s the best trait your author has given you?
He portrays me as my own man. I like that. Peer pressure, political pressure, taking the easy way out, isn’t as important as professionally doing the right thing. Wow—shades of King Arthur and Sir Galahad.

What’s the worst? 

I think he’s annoyed at himself, and he lays that impatience thing on me too. But I guess that’s true. Sometimes you’ve just got to make things happen.

Absolutely. Does Wayne know that patience is a virtue? 
Oh well, at this point, he’s probably not going to change, right? How do you feel about the life Wayne’s given you right now?

If nothing else, the old guy’s got a good memory and gets the facts straight. I like how he makes me look in print. In the PD we’d call it ‘good ink.’ I just hope he doesn’t think I owe him now. If he gets that idea, he’ll want to borrow my Austin-Healey.


Oh no. You can’t let that happen. What aspect of your author’s writing style do you like best?

He’s learned a lot from a guy named Robert B. Parker--the man who wrote the Spenser and Jesse Stone novels. Wayne tries to tell the stories in the fewest possible words with lots of realistic dialogue. I like that idea. 


Robert B. Parker is my hero. Sigh. And don't forget he wrote the Sunny Randall series too. You know what else you have in common with him? He set his stories in the town where he lived. You do that too with Prospect, Tennessee. Describe Prospect for us.

Prospect is the quintessential small American town. Clean streets, old trees, a town square, and a municipal building that looks like one of those great old Carnegie libraries. Hit one of the high spots, and you’ve got breathtaking views of mountains almost 7,000 feet tall. The sun doesn’t always shine, but it’s a nice place. And if you like really good-looking blondes, Prospect PD has the most beautiful desk sergeant on the planet. 


How can you be so sure? Have you met every desk sergeant on the planet? Never mind. What kind of trouble do you think Wayne will get you into next?

Right now he’s working on a book about my first--and only, I hope--venture into the world of country and western music. No, he doesn’t have me playing the banjo or singing. My buddy, the mayor, asks me to guard C.J. Profitt, his old school chum, who’s made it to the top of the Nashville charts. She’s back in Prospect for a benefit concert, and a group of right-wing nitwits have sent her several threatening letters. They take exception to her alternative lifestyle and want her out of town or else. With the help of a few others, keeping her safe wouldn’t be too difficult, but she doesn’t like me and refuses to cooperate. I can’t imagine why she hates me. 


She doesn’t like you? No way. Maybe she needs more time to get to know you. But you said “alternative lifestyle.” That might be the key word. Your flirting won’t work with her, will it? Into each life a little rain must fall... What kind of trouble will you get Wayne into next?


Wayne should stop spending so much time peddling his books on Facebook and Twitter. If he had more free time and any sense, he’d work cases with me. That’s the kind of trouble we’d call fun. We did it for twenty years in New York. There’s no reason to stop now. 


I totally agree. More writing, less social networking. Okay, tell the truth. Just between you and me, what do you think of the mayor of Prospect?

Ronnie Shields is a nice man, but he’s a politician. I can’t understand why people consider that a legitimate occupation and give prostitutes such a bad rap. 


That’s an interesting take on things. I’m gonna leave that one alone, though. Wayne is from Long Island, but he now lives near Knoxville, Tennessee. Is his dialect more Yankee or southern?

Wayne tries to cover his Nu Yawk accent. And he does a pretty good job until we get together with people from back home. Everyone speaks faster, uses the old expressions from on the block, and we all sound like we just stepped off Flatbush Avenue.


Ha! I knew it. But, Sam, you’re a southern boy. Tell the truth. You like sweet tea, don’t you?

I lived in South Hempstead once when Kate and I were first married. Even though I’ve been in Tennessee for twenty years, the sweetest thing I’ll drink is a Manhattan made with red vermouth.


For shame. Not liking sweet tea is a crime in my book. Are you amazed at the crime rate of Prospect, Tennessee?

Stunned. If you believe what Wayne writes, you’d think Prospect had a homicide rate greater than Detroit. But small towns can have their share of problems. Remember Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove, Maine? Those people dropped like flies. The reader has to remember these cases are transplanted from New York to Tennessee. We stay here because the taxes are low.


I prefer to think of Prospect as a hotbed of crime. If you ever need any help, give the Goose Pimple Junction chief of police, Johnny Butterfield, a call. He’ll be glad to hep ya. What case are you working on now, by the way?

Funny you asked. Just the other day, the resident OSI agent--beautiful woman named Roxy Wallace--walked into my office and asked me to help with a major case at McGhee-Tyson Air Base. That’s not my territory, but who could refuse someone like Roxy? I doubt we’ll need much time to clear this one, so Wayne can write one of his novelettes and get it published as an audio book. I like those. Kate and I listen to them when we take long drives.

I admit to listening to you a time or two on road trips, Sam.

Okay, Amy, we’ve played Twenty Questions, and now we’re finished. When you told me about that little place called Goose Pimple Junction, I checked the map. It’s not too far from Prospect. Come on, I’ll buy you lunch and you can tell me more about it. Oh, and thanks for inviting me here. I hope I’ve straightened out your fans and now they know Wayne’s not such a bad guy. 

Darlin’, they’re your fans. I don’t know though, you may have gotten Wayne into some hot water. But I can vouch for him. He’s a good guy and a good writer too.  So gwon, y’all—buy Heroes & Lovers. You’ll be glad you did. And yes, GPJ is purt near to Prospect. How about we gwon over to Slick & Junebug’s diner? And bring your wife, Kate. I always like talking to her. Thanks for being here, Sam. Come back when your next adventure hits the stands. And hey—let’s be careful out there.

About the author:

Wayne Zurl grew up on Long Island and retired after twenty years with the Suffolk County Police Department, one of the largest municipal law enforcement agencies in New York and the nation. For thirteen of those years he served as a section commander supervising investigators. He is a graduate of SUNY, Empire State College and served on active duty in the US Army during the Vietnam War and later in the reserves. Zurl left New York to live in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with his wife, Barbara.

Fifteen (15) of his Sam Jenkins mysteries have been produced as audio books and simultaneously published as eBooks. Ten (10) of these novelettes are now available in print under the titles of A Murder In Knoxville and Other Smoky Mountain Mysteries and Reenacting A Murder and Other Smoky Mountain Mysteries. Zurl’s first full-length novel, A New Prospect, was named best mystery at the 2011 Indie Book Awards, chosen as 1st Runner-Up from all Commercial Fiction at the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Awards, and was nominated for a Montaigne Medal and First Horizon Book Award. His second novel, A Leprechaun's Lament, is available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle. A third full-length novel, Heroes & Lovers, was released on Sept 29, 2012.

For more information on Wayne’s Sam Jenkins mystery series see www.waynezurlbooks.net. You can read excerpts, reviews and endorsements, interviews, coming events, and see photos of the area where the stories take place.

Find Wayne and his books:

Facebook page
Goodreads author page
Twitter
Amazon author page 
Heroes & Lovers on Amazon
Heroes & Lovers on Barnes & Noble

Review

Heroes & Lovers is another Sam Jenkins mystery, and Wayne Zurl doesn't disappoint. The more we get to know Sam, the more we like him. He's a laid back type of hero, but he has his flaws. He also has a weakness for a pretty woman, which tends to get him in trouble from time to time because he has a beautiful wife waiting for him at home. But Sam is human, and life happens.

Wayne's characters are always likeable, and I'm a fan of the use of dialect. Wayne has the Tennessee speech down perfect. Being a retired police officer, he knows police procedure. And he's great at combining these elements and coming out with a good mystery. You read one Sam Jenkins story, and you'll want to read them all. The series is fictional, but the books always read like real life.

If you like well-developed characters, witty banter, and a good mystery, you'll love books by Wayne Zurl, and Heroes & Lovers is no exception. Highly enjoyable.