FEATURED AUTHOR: ZOE EFSTATHIOU

ABOUT THE BOOK

While sharing a bottle of wine with her flat mate after yet another bad date, Sophia advertises for her perfect man online. He must have a multi-million pound business, the face of Robert Pattinson and the body of Daniel Craig. He must have a fluffy cat and a massive penis. The profile is just a bit of fun, but what happens when a man who meets pretty much all the criteria actually replies? Has Sophia finally found her perfect man, or is he not quite as perfect as he seems? As she uncovers some dark and disturbing secrets, Sophia’s dream man turns out to be her worst nightmare. 

A romantic comedy set in London, Would Like To Meet . . . explores the weird and wonderful world of online dating. A light-hearted, fun and easy read, it will appeal to fans of Sophie Kinsella.



INTERVIEW WITH ZOE EFSTATHIOU

Zoe, what's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I love it when you have the seed of an idea for a book and the more you research and write, the more the idea develops and grows. It feels like the story takes on a life of its own—eventually it has twists and turns and layers that you could never have envisaged at the beginning. I find that process really exciting.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
For me, the hardest aspect is the isolation. When I wrote Would Like To Meet . . .  I barely my saw family or friends for a month. I wrote four to five thousand words a day and I only really left the house to walk my dog (luckily, I had saved up enough money to take a month off work to do this). It know it sounds weird to be this isolated, but at the time I was so swept up in my idea that I didn’t care.

I’ve tried juggling real life and writing - writing 500 words here and there, but it doesn’t work for me. I can’t handle thinking about my everyday life while also trying to imagine a detailed imaginary world—it’s just too much for my brain!

I know what you mean. What books do you currently have published?
I recently self-published my romantic comedy novel, Would Like To Meet . . . which is about a woman who advertises for her absolute dream man online.

I tried online dating in 2015, and I often wondered what would happen if I just stopped beating around the bush about what I was looking for and spelled out exactly what I wanted in my ideal man. I never actually did it, but the idea inspired my novel. To her surprise, Sophia, my main character, gets a response from a man who meets all her incredibly picky criteria. She can’t figure out if she’s finally got lucky and met the man of her dreams, or if there’s a terrible catch.

My travel writing was published in 2014 by Bradt in, The Irresponsible Traveller: Tales of Scrapes and Narrow Escapes, a travel anthology which also features the work of Michael Palin, Ben Fogle, and Simon Calder.

Do you have any secret talents?
I’m a white belt with three yellow tabs in Judo. Yep, that’s right. Watch out!

Yikes! Is writing your dream job?
Absolutely. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was about 14—way before I knew how to write. As a kid, I used to love curling up with a good book. I love how books can transport you into another world, stretch your mind and change the way you see the world. At 14, I thought that was the coolest thing ever (I still do), and I decided I wanted to write books capable of entertaining other people the way my favorite books entertained me.


What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
I’ve done lots of menial jobs, from making sandwiches in a sweaty kitchen to working eight hour non-stop shifts in a busy bar, but I don’t think they taught me anything particularly worthwhile (although, I do know how to pull a great pint of Guinness . . . ).

It may not sound like a job from hell, but my experience of running a beauty blog turned out to be my most valuable in terms of life lessons. I’m not particularly interested in beauty, but three or four years ago, I started a beauty blog because I thought I could make money through it. Even though I put quite a lot of effort into it, the blog never really took off. I think it came down to the fact that I wasn’t genuinely passionate about beauty, and people can sniff out a fake, even online. It also became a total drag to be working on something I didn’t really enjoy. I was making a bit of money and perhaps I could have persevered, but ultimately I realized that money is not enough of a motivator for me; I want to enjoy my daily life. I shut down the blog and decided to focus on my true passion instead: writing.

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?

Use Instagram! Before I self-published, I hadn’t really bothered with Instagram, but the book community on Instagram is amazing. There are so many nice, supportive people. I’ve had book bloggers contact me and ask to review my book, and it’s also really encouraging when people ‘like’ quotes that you post from your novel.


Name one thing you’re really good at and one thing you’re really bad at.
I’m really good at coming up with crazy get-rich-quick business ideas. I have a new one practically every week. For example, I live in Greenwich, in London, and a few years ago it occurred to me that even though there’s a big park and lots of dog owners, no one was selling dog jumpers. So naturally, I decided to bulk buy them from China and sell them at the Greenwich Market. In the end, I got commissioned to do some writing work and didn’t have time to sell the dog jumpers so now every spare drawer and cupboard in my flat is stuffed full of them! At least I know my dog, Bella, will never be cold again! (Email me if you want to buy one!)

I’m really bad at public speaking. I don’t know what it is about speaking in front of a crowd, but I find it terrifying. And when I say crowd, I mean anything more than about five people at once.

What would you name your autobiography?
FML. I am a magnet for embarrassing, awkward moments and silly dramas, so FML would be a suitable name for my autobiography.

What’s one thing that drives you crazy?
People who walk slowly in the street or have no spatial awareness and take up the entire pavement. I see red!

What’s your favorite/most visited Internet site?
These days, it’s Amazon and my author account. I keep obsessively checking my sales figures every half an hour. I check them last thing at night and first thing in the morning. It’s not healthy and I’m trying to cut back!

Sadly, I think it's a writer affliction. 
What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
At the moment, it’s my dog, Bella, but for a while it was Robert Pattinson. I think he’s so good-looking, to the point that he inspired me to come up with the character of Daniel in, Would Like To Meet . . .

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
You create your own luck. I don’t believe in asking the universe for anything. I believe that the harder you work and the more you learn, the ‘luckier’ you get.

What are you working on now?
In a couple of weeks, I’m going to throw myself into writing my next romantic comedy novel. Although I’m really excited about my new idea, I’m also a bit nervous about getting started, because I know it will take over my life!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zoe Efstathiou is a freelance writer living in London. Would Like To Meet . . . is her first novel. Although it is a work of fiction, it is richly inspired by Zoe’s personal experiences of the London dating scene.



Zoe has previously been published by travel publishers, Bradt in, The Irresponsible Traveller: Tales of Scrapes and Narrow Escapes.
When she is not writing, Zoe enjoys going to the theatre, walking her dog, and making jewelry.




Connect with Zoe:

Website  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 
Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: SALLY CARPENTER

ABOUT THE BOOK

38-year-old formal teen idol Sandy Fairfax is a guest panelist on a TV game show–and the first category is murder! When his brother, a college professor, is framed for the murder of one of his students, Sandy investigates, in between fighting with his ex, visiting his kids, wooing his new girlfriend, and presenting a concert at a black tie gala to save his father’s orchestra. Sandy’s ready to tear out his long blond hair as the game points and suspects pile up.

INTERVIEW WITH SALLY CARPENTER

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Revisions, when the characters begin to develop, the writing smooths out, I streamline the plot, and it all pulls together.

Do you write every day?
No, but I try to write most days, and it’s not always on a book. Sometimes I’m writing a blog post (like right now) or my newspaper column. Sometimes I’m spending the time researching for the book. And occasionally it’s good to take a “vacation” day or two and just read or catch up on life’s chores.

How often do you read?
Daily. I read as part of my day job at a community newspaper. I read to do research for my writing. I try to include “fun” reading at the end of the day if I’m not too exhausted.

What books do you currently have published?
I have four books in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol mystery series: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper, The Sinister Sitcom Caper, The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper, and The Quirky Quiz Show Caper. I wrote chapter three of the group mystery novel Chasing the Codex. I have a short story each in the anthologies Last Exit to Murder and Plan B: Omnibus.

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
Find your niche. For my first book, I did a guest post on every blog I found and joined a number of online writers’ groups. Most of that was wasted effort. Since then I’ve focused my efforts toward cozy readers only. I’ve joined cozy reader Facebook groups and limited my guest posts to cozy-focused blogs. This has worked better than trying to reach every possible person. I also had good success with a recent Goodreads giveaway. I caution authors at paying for ads and listings in “mass mailing” blogs. That hasn’t worked for me; I didn’t earn back what I paid. But some authors swear by paid ads/listings, so that must work for some writers. And don’t get so bogged down in marketing that you forget to write the next book! I spent an entire year doing nothing but marketing. I had few sales, no new book, and my previous publisher dropped me. So I got smart, wrote another book, and found a new publisher.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
That’s easy: TCM. I love old movies. Many of them are still “new” to me, and the ones I’ve seen I watch again. In those days the storytelling/writing was superior to now. The acting (except for B movies) was better too.

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
House and car keys. Duh. I have to lock the house and start the car.

That's two things! You can lock you house, but you can't go anywhere. :) What do you love about where you live?
My cats have a big outdoor area where they can lounge, prowl, and catch mice. And I have a detached cottage, no adjoining walls with any neighbors.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Popcorn and chocolate (separate, not together).

What drives you crazy?
People who lie to me.

What’s your least favorite chore?
Taking the car to the garage, as car repairs generally end up taking a great deal of my time and money to get them fixed.

Would you rather be a movie star, sports star, or rock star?
Movie star.

Do you procrastinate?
I’ll answer that question late.

What would your main character say about you?
That I need to give him more sexy love scenes and fewer deathtrap scenes.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
I’ve never “used” this library as a patron, as it’s too far away, but once I went on a group tour of the Los Angeles Central downtown library. It’s a massive building full of incredible artwork, paintings and sculpture. Lots of things to look at and endless stacks to wander in. And it has over a million books! A person could check out books weekly and still not read everything.

Who is your favorite fictional character?
I have two: Lt. Columbo (best detective ever) and Ernest Pratt, dime novelist in the Old West from the TV show Legend.

How do you like your pizza?
Pizza Hut veggie pizza.

What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
A goofy looking bird is staring at me and saying, “Is the book done yet? Is it? Is it? How about now?

What’s your biggest pet peeve about writing?
That it takes so long. I’d like to be able to finish a novel in a week instead of a year. Think how many more books I’d have!

What is your favorite movie?
The Trouble with Angels with Haley Mills and Rosaline Russell.

What are you working on now?
I’m starting a new mystery series, a retro cozy set in 1967. Still working on the details. It will have a cat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier now living in Moorpark, Calif.

She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University. While in school her plays Star Collector and Common Ground were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act Playwrighting Competition. Common Ground also earned a college creative writing award and Star Collector was produced in New York City.

Carpenter also has a master’s degree in theology and a black belt in tae kwon do.

She’s worked as an actress, college writing instructor, theater critic, jail chaplain, and tour guide/page for Paramount Pictures. She’s now employed at a community newspaper.

The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series is comprised of: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper (2012 Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel), The Sinister Sitcom Caper, The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper and The Quirky Quiz Show Caper.

She has short stories in two anthologies: "Dark Nights at the Deluxe Drive-in" in Last Exit to Murder and “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” in Plan B: Omnibus.

Carpenter penned chapter three of the Cozy Cat Press group mystery Chasing the Codex.

To atone for her sins of killing fictional people, she also writes the monthly "Roots of Faith" column for the Acorn Newspapers.

She blogs at http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com and ladiesofmystery.com.

She’s a member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles.

Connect with Sally:
Website  |    
Facebook  | Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: VICKI VASS

 ABOUT THE BOOK

Antique hunter Anne Hillstrom’s whirlwind shopping tour to Paris comes to a dead stop, as dead as the man sitting next to her on the plane. And to make matters worse, her identity has been stolen, leaving her to face her worst nightmare. She must sell all her precious antiques with the help of her business partner and co-blogger, CC Muller. Together, they open a pop-up antique store in the quaint suburb of Glen Ellyn Illinois. Their blog fans flock to the store looking to find that perfect treasure and so does a killer. When the Sweet Shop lady next door is found caramelized, the success of the pop-up sale turns bittersweet. Anne and CC dust off the clues, unraveling a centuries-old mystery that leads them to one conclusion. They must find the killer before the killer finds them.


INTERVIEW WITH VICKI VASS

Vicki, how did you get started writing?
I’ve been writing ever since I could read. I started reading when I was four and wrote my first short book when I was five.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I love creating characters and imagining them in their world.

Do you have a writing routine?
During the week, I try to write at least five pages a night and on the weekends at least 10 pages every day. This allows me to stay current with whatever story I am working on.

What’s more important – characters or plot?
I’d say character. If the characters are not interesting or the reader doesn’t care about the character, then the book can fall flat. The books that resonate with me are ones where the characters seem to jump off the page, to become real, and you don’t want the book to end.

How often do you read?
As often as I can. Right now I am reading several different books, all research for the new Antique Hunters mystery.

What books do you currently have published?
There are three books in the Antique Hunters series: Murder by the Spoonful, Pickin’ Murder and Killer Finds (I am working on the fourth book currently). I recently published the first book in a new series called Gem Hunter. And, I wrote a mystery novel based on my real-life neighbor called The Postman is Late.

Is writing your dream job?
Yes, I’ve always wanted to write.


What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
I’ve had several jobs, actually my friends call me a serial job hopper, but the worst was working at a rebate center where I literally typed in rebate forms all day. Or, perhaps it was the 4-1-1 call center. It taught me that you have to do what you have to pay the bills but there’s something better out there.

What scares you the most?
Snakes. I am irrationally afraid of snakes. I see them in places where it makes no sense. My science fiction novel, the Lexicon, uses this as a theme throughout the book.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Popcorn. I love buttered, movie popcorn so much that I have actually walked into the theater, bought popcorn and then left.

What is your superpower?
I have an almost photographic memory. I remember conversations, emails, and even where something appeared in a book, came in handy on tests in college.


Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
Yes, my main character, Anne shares my obsession with shopping. I have been known to go out of the way for a sale and spend a little more than I should.

Do you procrastinate?
All the time.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
Faith is believing even when common sense tells you not to. 


Who is your favorite fictional character?
I actually would have to say Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind. She is anachronistic living in the wrong time period but she does what she has to survive I admire her spirit. 


What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
It is a picture of my large dog surrounded by 12 feet of snow. I lost him a few years back, but he loved the snow and willingly trudged through it.


What is your favorite movie?
My all-time favorite movie would be Casablanca. I watched it as a child with my father and enjoy watching it now. There are so many great lines and characters in that movie. It never gets old. 


What are you working on now?
I am working on the fourth book in the Antique Hunters mystery series, the second book in the Gem Hunters series and already have ideas spilling for the fifth book in the antique hunters series. I wish I had started all these about 20 years ago.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

With a passion for shopping and antiques, Vicki Vass turned in her reporter's notebook to chronicle the adventures of Anne and CC, two antique hunters who use their skills to solve a murder case. 

Vicki has written more than 1,400 stories for the Chicago Tribune as well as other commercial publications including Home & Away, the Lutheran and Woman's World. Her science fiction novel, The Lexicon, draws on her experience in Sudan while writing about the ongoing civil war for World Relief.

Connect with Vicki:

Website  |   Blog  |    
Facebook  |    Amazon

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FEATURED AUTHOR: GLENN NILSON


ABOUT THE BOOK

Bobby Navarro is looking forward to a shower and a good steak dinner when he pulls his motorcycle into Williams, Arizona. What he finds instead, is the body of a young girl who’s been murdered and left in the trunk of a car parked on old Route 66—and the police think he did it. To make matters worse, one of the investigating officers is a woman he had a crush on in high school. Before Bobby leaves town, he must find out if a local eccentric is telling him the truth about knowing who killed the girl, and untangle a web of mysteries he stumbles into at the Holiness Pentecostal Church of the Brethren.

INTERVIEW WITH GLENN NILSON

Glenn, what's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I enjoy getting caught up in the stories I write and watching the characters come to life. When I come back to a manuscript I’m working on, I read a bit of conversation that took place before I left off and it feels like the characters are telling the story for me. I just need to immerse myself in what the characters are doing, and the story will usually start to unfold through their dialogue.

What’s more important – characters or plot?
For me, characters are all-important. I have to care about people in a story I’m reading in order to want to know what happens next. Characters bring life to the story, and what they do and what happens to them moves the plot.

What books do you currently have published?
I have two books out, Murder on the Mother Road and Murder on Route 66
.

Is writing your dream job?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer and I’ve often looked at other things I’ve done as grist for the writing mill. Now, I look at writing as one of the things I do, one of the things I love doing, but I can’t say it’s my dream job. Now that I am a writer, I’ve learned there is more to the job than I first dreamed. I hate the business end of writing; I love telling a good story.


What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
I worked in a bank for a while, in an office without any windows. I’m an outdoor person. I guess I learned that a lot can be accomplished if you really listen to what someone is trying to tell you. I found I could solve a lot of problems by really listening. I also realized I was much more interested in the human dramas all around me than in the business of banking. I’ve never regretted leaving that job.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
That’s pretty easy. It would be PBS. I rely on PBS for higher quality programs than I think television generally offers.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I have very mixed feelings about Facebook. I get to keep up with the postings of friends and family, but I also get a lot of things on Facebook I could do without. I like to have an actual conversation and hear the person I’m talking with.

What do you love about where you live?
I suppose you could say I lead a semi nomadic life, spending half the year in Florida and the other half in upstate New York. Since I am upstate at the moment, I’ll say I love the countryside here. We live on a trout stream, and I can hear the water when I sit outside in the evening. The area is farming country, but heavily wooded as well, and we enjoy a lot of wildlife. We often eat meals on our deck and tell ourselves how lucky we are.
 
What’s your favorite fast food?
There’s nothing like a good cheeseburger. We used to spend a lot of time in Key Largo, Florida, and talk about stopping in for a Cheeseburger in Paradise when we were out for a night on the town. Like Jimmy Buffett, I like mine with lettuce and tomato, pickles and onion. And, don’t forget the mayo and catsup.


What’s your favorite beverage?
If I’m really limited to one thing, I can’t answer this question. But, I can say I’m a devout tea drinker. Most of the time, there’s nothing like a good cuppa. I prefer black tea, straight and strong. On the other hand, a good glass of red wine with dinner tops just about anything else.
 
What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
I’m an outdoor person, so I enjoy taking a walk, or hiking, or going camping, or playing a round of golf. Of course, I love to ride my motorcycle.

Do you procrastinate?
Sadly, yes. Do you know any good approaches to not doing that?

Unfortunately, I do not. What would your main character say about you?
“He’s put a lot of miles under his wheels, he can’t be all bad.”
When I was doing a promotional tour on my motorcycle for Murder on Route 66, my first published novel, a woman asked me if I was a real rider. I guessed she wanted to know if the bike was for show. I pointed to my motorcycle parked outside and told her I had ridden it from New York. A lot of people ride for recreation, especially in groups. Bobby would appreciate that I have done most of my riding across country and solo.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
I love writing fiction, novels, short stories, and poetry. I’ve also written professional articles as a sociologist and as a trainer/researcher in something called “Action Learning.” The hardest thing? I once had to complete a massive application to become an officer in the Navy. I think that was the hardest. Why? I hate filling out forms requiring information, addresses and dates I never think about. Part of it included a psychological questionnaire. Who would enjoy doing that? I didn’t.

Understandable. Who is your favorite fictional character?
I really admire Robert Parker. Too bad we lost him. I think Parker was a master at getting needed information into a few words or lines. His Jesse Stone character is a favorite of mine because he is a pretty complex character with a few flaws, but is really likeable.

I totally agree! 
What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
I have a photo of a coastal town I took in Tuscany. It shows multi-storied buildings on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and boats moored in the shallows. I love the memories connected with the scene, and the scene itself. I use it for my favorite wallpaper.


Describe yourself in 5 words.

Analytic, Cynical, Optimistic, A Romantic, A Dreamer.


Do you have a favorite book?
Probably have to pick Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath for this answer. I think Steinbeck was a master of understanding the human condition of everyday people.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on another novel featuring Bobby Navarro. This time he has taken his motorcycle to Florida, where he gets involved solving a murder that occurs in Key Largo. I wanted to take Bobby out of the southwest and off of Route 66 for a time. South Florida has a lot of rural area with cattle ranches and fields of truck crops, in addition to sugarcane, and a lot of open highway for bikers. You can get a pretty good cheeseburger there, too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Glenn grew up on a farm in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, hiking, hunting, even panning for gold. After college, he served as an officer in the Navy, then earned a doctorate in sociology and taught at a branch of the State University in Connecticut. There, he developed, directed and taught a criminal justice program. Upon retirement, the West drew him back, this time to New Mexico, the setting for his first novel, Murder on Route 66. Currently, Glenn divides his time between living in rural Florida and up-state New York, writing and refurbishing an 1870’s-era, creek-side cottage. Whenever possible, he enjoys cooking, riding his own motorcycle and camping.



Connect with Glenn:

Website  |  Blog  

Buy the book:
Amazon

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FEATURED AUTHOR: CARL BROOKINS

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Inside Passage is an adventure thriller set primarily on the waters between Campbell River, British Columbia, and Seattle, Washington. It is the story of one man’s successful effort to find justice and peace after the murder of his wife and her friend by ruthless gun runners. It offers moving descriptions of magnificent mountain scenery and the sea, storms, explosive action, murder, loss, love, and redemption.

INTERVIEW WITH CARL BROOKINS

Carl, how did you get started writing?
I cannot remember a time when I didn't write. My parents encouraged me to read and apparently treated my early scribbles as sensible. My mother disagreed with librarians who wanted to keep me out of the adult sections and restrict my book choices to those in the children sections. I have always appreciated good, thoughtful, well-constructed writing. Shakespeare is my favorite writer in the English language. He has great plots, marvelous creative use of the language, and an innate sense of pace that is unequaled. Did you know there are almost a thousand phrases in current use in English that can be traced to his invention?

I achieved second place in a writing contest from a Western  pulp magazine when I was in the seventh grade! Nearly every job I've ever held, including several temporary summer jobs, included a writing component. Writing is part of my DNA, but then, so is talking.

Do you have a writing routine?
When I decided I wanted to try writing serious fiction, I was still employed full time in a position which usually required my presence in the office. I was an adult student college counselor. I had appointments. Hence I developed a routine of getting up quite early, usually between five and five-thirty and writing at typewriter and computer. After an hour or so I would get dressed and go off to my office. Sometimes I worked on  manuscripts in the evening, but usually not. I did spend many weekends writing all day. Now I don 't do that so much. Weekends are reserved for other activities although many times they are writing related, such as appearing at or attending book events or conventions or traveling between events and home. I don't do much writing on tour, but I do communicate and often edit a current project.

What’s more important – characters or plot?
My answer—it depends! An author singularly focused on thrillers or multiple murders, terrorism, has to develop and maintain a strong active plot. Most good detective stories, whether run by amateurs or professional detectives, need a crime as motivation, but the interaction of interesting characters usually enriches and enlarges the scope of the story. Sometimes that gets away from you and you discover meandering tales in which the characters become so enamored of themselves and their talent or intellect that the story gets lost.  Authors of crime fiction who do not narrowly focus their concentration may lose important threads and thereby damage their tales. So the question has no obvious or easy answer. I try to maintain a clear focus whether I'm writing a thriller or a detective story. I want authors I read to do the same thing and that means making specific choices. Of course, if you are enormously talented and highly popular, you can probably ignore this advice at your pleasure.

What books do you currently have published?
About a dozen crime novels, in three separate categories. I began with an adventure series in which my main characters, a husband and wife are recreational sailors, and I can place them  in interesting and exotic places like the Caribbean where Red Sky is set. I get lots of ideas for stories that are simply inappropriate for Mary Whitney, although the series does allow me to explore the mind and activities of a strong intelligent woman. My private detective came about because I wanted to write something a little humorous as well as crime-focused. He's a short fellow with a tall wealthy girlfriend. There's a satirical  element to them and a nod to a writer I really liked as a kid, Richard Prather. He wrote the highly successful Shell Scott detective series in the 1950s. I also write about my life as a student counselor for a new and highly experimental (at the time) college for working adults. More cozy fiction from an amateur detective.

What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
For a time I sold hardware and photographic equipment for a national retail chain. They had a dress code, and a number  of arbitrary rules that often made no sense. Worse, some of the rules inhibited sales which seemed odd to me. Sales people on the retail floor were required to wear a shirt and tie. Shirts were quickly dirtied because tools and nails and nuts and bolts were not packaged in plastic boxes, they were in bins and had to be handled. The photo department on the main floor, developed a reputation for ignoring the rules of decorum. We were loud and laughed and seemed to be having a good time. That attracted customers and we had really good sales records. That didn't matter as much as that we were sometimes noisy in the process of celebrating success with customers. I learned that rigid rules in most circumstances were frequently a hindrance to getting the job done and that managers needed to work with staff instead of maintaining hard-line ruling. When the manager in the tower made a ruling, it usually meant that he (the most inflexible managers were always men) either didn't understand the situation or he was unwilling to try to fix a bad situation.

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
Listen and learn. Know there are a thousand scam artists out there eager to take your money. Take in all the advice you can possibly acquire from many different sources and then follow your heart. Be cautious, be wise, work hard and be patient.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
Our local PBS station. We support the station. I worked as a producer, director, program manager, and general station manager for public television stations for many years. But I'd miss the local news.

How often do you tweet?
A couple times a week. I'm more active on other platforms.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I feel fine about it. I use FB to comment on political and social events and views, I promote causes, ideas, and my books and reviews. I also promote my family. I believe too many authors—who are nearly all creative thinkers—are too reticent about speaking and  writing about current affairs.

What’s one THING you never leave the house without (besides your phone).
I don't carry a phone. My wife has a cell, but I do not. I never leave home without my camera.

What’s your favorite beverage?
Good single malt scotch. I'm partial to Glenmorangie.

What do you wish you could do?
Go back in time and finish my Master of Communication Arts degree at Michigan State University.

What’s your least favorite chore?
Changing the bed sheets because it hurts my back.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
Absolutely! I wish I could make it permanent, as does my wife.

What’s one thing that drives you crazy?
Racial, gender, and religious intolerance.

What’s in your refrigerator right now?
White wine, orange juice, milk, lettuce, eggs, snacking cheeses, jams and jellies, sandwich meats, bacon, and butter.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
The new Ramsey County library; great staff, excellent accommodations, convenient parking and an affiliated coffee shop.

If you had a talk show who would your dream guests be?
Actually, with two dear fellow authors, Ellen Hart and Kent Krueger, I had a cable talk show which ran weekly for nearly three years. We interviewed agents, authors, publishers, bookstore owners and anybody else in the book business we could entice. They were all dream guests (even the difficult ones).

Describe yourself in 5 words.
Progressive, tolerant, smart, stubborn, aging.

What’s your favorite color?
Blue, all variations of blue, but intense ocean blue is best.

What are you working on now?
A crime novel featuring an older Travis McGee-type and his honey, a former stripper and show girl.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Before he became a mystery writer and reviewer, Carl Brookins was a counselor and faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Brookins and his wife are avid recreational sailors. He is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Private Eye Writers of America. He can frequently be found touring bookstores and libraries with his companions-in-crime, The Minnesota Crime Wave.
 
He writes the sailing adventure series featuring Michael Tanner and Mary Whitney. The third novel is Old Silver. His new private investigator series features Sean NMI Sean, a short P.I. The first is titled The Case of the Greedy Lawyers. Brookins received a liberal arts degree from the University of Minnesota and studied for a MA in Communications at Michigan State University.

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

Buy the book:
Amazon  

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

I almost have as much trouble naming the characters in my novels as I did naming my children. But writing Southern novels makes it a little easier since there are so many colorful names from which to choose. And colorful equals memorable, in my opinion. It’s a pretty safe bet that if someone has a unique name, they’re going to be . . . well, a character.

Double names are big in the South. They came about as a way to both honor and appease family members. If a child was named for the mother’s sister, she had to be given the name of the father’s sister too. They didn’t want anybody to feel left out. The Closer had two great examples in Brenda Lee and Willie Mae. I love Eula Lee, Dora Sue, and Edna Maye from my family. Women aren’t the only ones with double names. If you live in the South, you know at least one man named Joe Bob, Jimmy Lee, or Billy Ray. It should be an unwritten rule that Southern novels have to have at least one character with a double name.

And nicknames? Child, nobody loves a nickname like a Southerner does. Whether they’re shortening a perfectly good name, like Araminta to Mint, or giving someone a whole new moniker altogether, nicknames abound, and the more unusual the better. When it comes to a name, which would a reader remember more—Tom, Dick, or Harry, or Brick, Skeeter, or Booger? Those kinds of names add richness to a character and a story, in my opinion. (No offense to Tom, Dick, or Harry.) My family had Uncle Toad. Nobody seems to know how he got that nickname, but one thing was for sure: he had a great sense of humor.

Sometimes the nickname fits the character, like Beedy Eyes Hickman or Slewfoot Taylor. It’s a pretty safe bet what those dudes look like. Some names are ironic, like Tiny Walker, who is six foot four and weighs three hundred pounds. Other times, there’s no rhyme or reason why someone came to be known as Spoodle, or Little Bun, Murble, or Boojay. But they certainly are memorable.

And then there are the names like the basketball coach, Tubby Smith, who got his nickname not from his size but because he liked to take baths when he was a kid. But my favorite one is Blister. Everyone knows if your nickname is Blister it tells the world you’re a lazy, good for nothing so-and-so who never shows up until the work is done.

Men’s nicknames seem to be more colorful than women’s, for some reason. Who knows how someone came to be called Stumpy, Moo, Big Curly, Cotton, Cactus, Howdy, or Tuffy, but you can bet they’re not boring. Women tend to get the tamer, but still memorable, names such as Teenie, Liddy, Precious, Princess, Bitsie, or Bunny.

Maybe I’m biased, but Southern characters are my favorite. History, culture, dialect, and expressions vibrantly come alive in books about the South and its charismatic characters with distinctive names. I mean, only in the south would you find a person, not a restaurant, named Taco Belle. And only in the Goose Pimple Junction mysteries will you find Pickle, Peanut, Butterbean, Skeeter, Brick, Tank, Slick, and Junebug.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy Metz is the owner of this blog, the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series, and a mom. The fourth book in her series, Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction was released in May. The audiobook of the first in the series, Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction, became available for sale in June.


Find/follow/like me at:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon   




*This post has been slightly altered since it first appeared on the blog Suite T.

GUEST POST WITH FREDRIK NATH

ABOUT THE BOOK

"The story is brilliantly executed . . . Nath’s biggest success is the sustained atmospheric tension that he creates somewhat effortlessly." 
 - Little Interpretations

"A haunting and bittersweet novel that stays with you long after the final chapter – always the sign of a really well-written and praiseworthy story. It would also make an excellent screenplay."
- Historical Novels Review - Editor's Choice, Feb 2011

Nazi occupied Aquitaine, 1943: A young woman is found murdered in the shadow of the Bergerac Prefecture. Auguste Ran, Assistant Chief of Police, suspects Brunner, a German Security Police Major, of the crime. The more Auguste investigates, the more obsessed he becomes with bringing down the seemingly untouchable Brunner.

Auguste begins to realise he has been conveniently ignoring the Nazi atrocities going on around him, and understands too late the human cost of his own participation in the internment of the local Jewish population.

Driven by conscience and struggling with his Catholic religious beliefs, his actions start to put his own family at risk. Harbouring the daughter of his lifelong Jewish friend Pierre, they are forced into a desperate trek towards neighbouring Switzerland, pursued all the way by the German Sicherheitspolizei.

The Cyclist is the first in Fredrik Nath's series of World War 2 novels. The adventures continue in Farewell Bergerac, Francesca Pascal. Find out more about The Cyclist and Fredrik Nath's other holocaust novels in his 3D author room.

GUEST POST:

The Cyclist and an Inspiration

The early morning sunlight flickered from behind the high clouds and reflected golden and crisp from the monument in Bergerac’s market square. Around me, shoppers bustled and in the roadway a car beeped its horn. The grey stone pillar rose fifteen feet above me, its shadow pointing away towards the elm trees that line the roadway. A smell of garlic wafted as I read those brave words that showed the strength of the French and France’s indomitable leaders. The monument was a reminder of the valour and sacrifice of those brave local partisans who gave up their lives in the struggle against the occupying Nazi forces all those years ago. 

Yes, it is moving. Surely there’s a story here.

In my head a story began to form. What would it have been like to have to make the choices needed to protect oneself and one’s family yet still remain French? The main character would need to do something admirable. He would need to depart from the norm. If you became a partisan you would endanger the people nearest you. What if you were caught?

I began to think of how it would be to be the one who is rounding up the local Jewish people. Would you hate it? Of course you would, even if you were forced to it for fear of endangering your family. For a religious man it would be even harder. Surely one would do anything to avoid such ‘duties’ if you had a conscience?

The story began to form. A Vichy French policeman, a man of conscience, a family man working with evil Nazis whom he secretly hated. I created Auguste Ran, a good policeman, but in essence weak, until a certain event tips him over the edge and slowly he begins to fight back.

That’s where The Cyclist came from and it was my springboard for the other books in my French resistance series. Each takes a character and makes life hard for them, allowing them to become. In the end, THE CYCLIST sold 30,000 copies. It was Editor’s choice in the Historical Novel Review in 2011.

You can catch all six books on Amazon: a policeman, a teacher, an artist, a chef, a philosopher and in THE PROMISE a medical student.

The Promise is the last and most recent of the series. Jean Valois, a medical student before the war, swears to his sister he will protect her. But in war, who can keep such promises? Trained to kill by SOE, in a desperate bid to save his sister Rebecca, he undertakes a mission deep into enemy-occupied Poland, risking all for the sake of a promise made long ago. A story of love, war, hatred and revenge, The Promise tells a tale of courage and staunchness.

If you like drama and character-based plots check them out!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fred Nath is a full time Neurosurgeon. Fred was born in Sweden and brought up in London and has worked in Liverpool, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow in his training (a long, long time ago). He lives in the northeast of England with his teenage daughter, his three sons having grown up and flown the coop.

In his time, he has run twenty-four Great North Run half-marathons (22 consecutive), trekked Island Peak, to 6000m in Nepal, crossed the highest mountain pass in the world (also in Nepal) [which you can see on You-tube],done a 12,000ft tandem parachute jump and began writing, like John Buchan, "because he ran out of penny-novels to read and felt he should write his own." Fred loves a good story, which is why he writes.

To date, his published works include: five French resistance thrillers, three books in the Galdir series and the first instalment of a four book series 'Amulet' has recently appeared in print - all published by Fingerpress publishers.
Galdir 4 is on the way and this year Amulet 2 will come out.

How does he find time to write? Get up a bit earlier and go to bed a bit later - sleep makes you unproductive!

He also loves the Dordogne, French wine and a good family getogether!

Questions? He's happy to hear from any of his readers.

Reach Fred at: fred@neurosurg.co.uk or  at his Website. 

Buy the book:
Amazon