BEYOND DEAD BLOG TOUR

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dead less than twenty-four hours, with a job that doesn’t pay, a fashion disaster for a uniform and more afterlife rules than she can shake a stick at, Bridget Sway thinks it’s as bad as it can get. And then she finds a dead ghost stuffed in her locker.

Since the police are desperate to arrest her for murder, Bridget’s new best friend convinces her the only way to save herself from an eternity in prison is to solve the murder themselves.

With a handsome parole officer watching her every move, an outlaw ghost befriending her and two persistent mediums demanding her attention, solving the murder is not quite as easy as it sounds. And when “murder” turns into “murders” Bridget needs to solve the case . . . before she becomes the next dead body stuffed in her locker.

GUEST POST BY JORDAINA SYDNEY

Hi everyone. I’m Jordaina, and I write paranormal cozy mysteries.

Amy was kind enough to let me do a guest post on her blog today, and since being a writer automatically makes me an avid reader, I thought that I might share some of my all time favourite books today. Maybe you haven’t read them and you’ll leave with some recommendations. If you have some recommendations for me then drop them in the comments.

1.    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This has been one of my favourite books since I read it in high school. I think because it’s told from the perspective of Scout (a little girl) it really highlights the craziness of adult prejudices. As a child she doesn’t understand a lot of what is happening and I always find it so refreshing to read. It’s so easy to get lost in your own biases that this always gives me a little mental shake. It also helps that it’s beautifully written.

2.    The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. I first read this book in my early twenties when I was still really finding my writing feet. I’d been writing for a long time before I read it and had just finished the millionth draft of my first novel. I was working as a stockroom assistant in a dress shop at the time and I would always make sure I had a book with me because the manageress was always late. I was sitting outside the shop, first thing in the morning, and I’d just gotten to the part of the book where *spoiler alert* Prof Challenger and his group were about to ascend to “The Plateau.” I remember getting so excited—not for the characters or for what was coming next—for Arthur Conan Doyle because this was the point he could let his imagination run wild. He was the one who decided what Challenger would find, what would happen, how it would end. Even now, I vividly remember that moment and despite the fact that I had already been writing for a long time, that was the moment I knew for sure that I was a writer.

3.    The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. I remember my mum reading this to me when I was really small and being fascinated by it. Wizards, dwarfs, hobbits, dragons. What child isn’t going to be fascinated by that? It’s still one of my favourite books and though I like The Lord of the Rings just fine it’ll never be The Hobbit.

4.    Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. I can’t remember how I came across this series but I’ve been a fan since the first page or so. The heroine is strong and flawed which makes her lovable (to me at least). I think this series is on book eight now and the reason it still captivates me is because the characters grow. They aren’t the same people from the first book—they’re changed by their experiences but not so much you can’t recognise them. There are so many series that are eight books or more in and everything is still the same. Though you don’t want the series to change radically but it is nice to see the characters you've invested in grow. Nothing makes me lose interest faster than a series which is basically the same thing over and again.

5.    The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. This is another series (or trilogy) that I read when I was much younger and just captivated me. I think it was the depth of the characters. I was rooting for the Fool the whole time. That was my favourite character. I still get a bit of a lump in my throat when I think about it. The world Hobb created just blew me away. There are at least three others trilogies that are linked to this and there’s some character cross over but this was the one that stole my heart.

Okay, so those are my top five books. I’ve haven’t included any cozy mysteries on this list simply because, when I thought about it, I couldn’t pick just five. Every one I thought of reminded me of at least another five and my list was getting far too long. That said, if any of you have any recommendations please drop them in the comments and I’ll check them out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jordaina Sydney Robinson grew up and, despite many adventures further afield, still lives in the North West of England. For fun she buys notebooks, gets walked by her husky puppy and sings really loudly and really badly while driving her trusty old Seat, Roger. If you want to find out just how bad her singing is then you can visit her official website and ask her.

Connect with Jordaina:
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Buy the book:
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GUEST POST BY HEATHER HAVEN

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lee Alvarez takes a job ferreting out the saboteur of a start-up company’s Initial Public Offering in the heart of Silicon Valley. Little does she know early one morning she will find the CEO hanging by the neck in the boardroom wearing nothing but his baby blue boxers. Was it suicide? Or was it one of the many people who loathed the man on sight, including his famous rock singer ex? Enter the world’s scariest drug, Devil’s Breath, and the bodies start piling up all the while she’s planning her very own Christmas wedding. Ho, ho, ho.

GUEST POST BY HEATHER HAVEN

The first book I remember reading was Uncle Remus, when I was six or seven. When I turned nine, I hop scotched to the public library and checked out Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock.

My life was changed forever. I not only fell in love with reading, big time, I fell in love with mysteries and writing. It’s a love affair that has never waned. I went to college on a costume scholarship, studied drama then went to NYC to become an actress. I hated it. I hated the life of an actor. It wasn’t for me. All that traveling! Living out of a suitcase! Who needs it?

However, I discovered I loved writing. I could sit in a room and write for hours, send characters to the far corners of the earth, and not have to leave my chair. To make money, I worked in advertising for a while, wrote short stories, one-act plays, ad copy, and nightclub acts for performers. I loved it.

I didn’t tackle writing a novel until I came to California, wine country. Chardonnay helped tamp down any jitters I had about taking on 75 thousand words and hoping somebody would read them. Now I write 85 thousand words and still hope somebody reads them.
Essentially, I love the written word. For example, there’s nothing I admire more than someone who writes beautiful imagery that stirs the heart. Remember Don McLean’s "Vincent" (Starry, Starry Night)? The lyrics are absolutely gorgeous. Add that beautiful, haunting music and you have something memorable. If Vincent Van Gogh looks down from time to time, I believe he knows he did something right to evoke such a wondrous song.

My favorite author may surprise you, me being a mystery writer. It’s P.G. Wodehouse. No matter how many times I read Right Ho, Jeeves! it makes me laugh. I have read every book of his I can get my hands on and he wrote over 90. He’s most famous for the Jeeves and Bertie Wooster collection of short stories and books, but he was a prolific writer of screenplays, plays, novels, short stories, pretty much anything. I’m a big fan.

Of course, there’s Agatha Christie, the queen of the mystery, the plot maker. She’s the one who made crime writing all warm and fuzzy. Let’s not forget Janet Evanovitz, who turned it all into a wonderfully, funny game.

I developed the protagonist of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, Lee Alvarez, because I wanted to have a central character that was identifiable but different, off-kilter, and likable. Lee’s not your typical protagonist. She’s smart, talented, and loves dancing, shoes, handbags, and a good joke. She knows her own worth but, like all of us, has her moments of self-doubts. They seem to hit her when least expected. It makes for some funny moments in the books.

The Alvarez Family owns Discretionary Inquiries, a Silicon Valley investigative agency dealing in the theft of software, hardware, and Intellectual Property. Dead bodies are not in Lee’s job description, but they seem to crop up, especially when she isn’t looking. But as she chases down a new suspect, she strives to be a better person, knowing nobody’s perfect. Except maybe her mother, Lila-Never-Had-A-Bad-Hair-Day Hamilton Alvarez, she who can chill a glass of chardonnay at a single glance. Try living in that woman’s designer-clad shadow all your life.

I’ve tried to create a real, California-honed, reluctant PI in Lee, who wears Vera Wang clothes, while cheering on Humphrey Bogart. She reads Dashiell Hammett detective stories or watches old black and white movies on TV, while searching the web or her iPhone. She loves peanuts and a good, classic martini—gin, vermouth, orange bitters, and 3 olives. And served icy cold, please, straight up!

The humor is sparkly, the characters real but slightly larger than life. Most importantly, I try to keep it positive. I wanted The Alvarez Family to like each other, even if they don’t always ‘get’ each other.

On a personal note, I read so many books where protagonists are antagonistic and nasty to the people they profess to love. How can the reader like them or root for people that dysfunctional? I can’t. I try to write a world I’d like to live in, a family I’d like to live with. Or should I say, with whom I’d like to live. Better grammar.

The latest book of the series, Book Five, is The CEO Came DOA. The subject matter forced me to do a lot of research about the world of startups in Silicon Valley. And I thought writers were crazy!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After studying drama at the University of Miami in Florida, Heather went to Manhattan to pursue a career. There she wrote short stories, comedy acts, television treatments, ad copy, commercials, and two one-act plays, which were produced, among other places, at the famed Playwrights Horizon. Once, she even ghostwrote a book on how to run an employment agency. She was unemployed at the time.

Her first novel started the Silicon Valley based Alvarez Family Murder Mystery Series. Murder is a Family Business, Book One, won the Single Titles Reviewers’ Choice Award 2011, followed by the second, A Wedding to Die For, 2012 Global and EPIC finalist for Best eBook Mystery of the Year. Death Runs in the Family won the coveted Global Gold for Best Mystery Novel, 2013. DEAD . . . If Only won the Global Silver for Best Mystery Novel, 2015. Her fifth novel of the series, The CEO Came DOA, debuts September, 2016. She loves writing this series mainly because she gets to play all of the characters, including the cat!

Heather’s other series, The Persephone Cole Vintage Mystery Series, is set in Manhattan circa 1942, during our country’s entrance into WWII. The Dagger Before Me, Book One, was voted best historical and mystery novel by Amazon readers in October, 2013.  It was followed by Iced Diamonds. Book Three, The Chocolate Kiss-Off, is a 2016 Lefty Award Finalist Best Historical Mystery.

On a personal note, her proudest award is the Silver IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards) Best Mystery/thriller 2014 for Death of a Clown. The stand-alone noir mystery is steeped in Heather’s family history. Daughter of real-life Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus folk, her mother was a trapeze artist/performer and father, an elephant trainer. Heather likes to say she brings the daily existence of the Big Top to life during World War II, embellished by her own murderous imagination.

Heather gives lectures, speaks at book clubs, and moderates author panels in the Bay Area, as well as teaching the art of writing. She believes everyone should write something, be it a poem, short story or letter. Then go out and plant a tree. The world will be a better place for it.

Connect with Heather:
Website   |  Facebook   |  Twitter  |  Amazon  

Buy the book:
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FEATURED AUTHOR: JENNIE MARSLAND

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Rochelle McShannon moves with her father from Morgan County, Georgia to the Yorkshire Dales, she thinks she’s leaving behind everything that matters to her. Her mother has passed away, her twin brother is going west to avoid the looming Civil War, and her family’s unpopular views on slavery and secession have destroyed her relationship with the man she hoped to marry. If returning to her father's childhood home eases his grief, Chelle asks for nothing more.



Martin Rainnie understands grief. Since the loss of his wife in childbirth, he’s known little else, except anger. He’s retreated to his farm and turned his back on the world, including his baby daughter, who’s being fostered by Chelle’s relatives. With little Leah drawing them together, Martin begins to wonder if he can love again—and convince Chelle to do the same.



But the war overseas has far-reaching consequences, even in a small English village. Can Martin and Chelle overcome danger, loss, and bitterness to make a home where the heart is?

INTERVIEW WITH JENNIE MARSLAND

Jennie, how did you get started writing?
I started writing when I was very young, eight or nine years old. I just felt the need to tell stories. By the time I was twelve, I had a binder full of short stories and poetry. Then, in a fit of adolescent angst, I decided it was all trash and threw it away. A few years went by, and I started again. I kept writing short pieces, but never dreamed I’d write a novel—until I did.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Getting a fresh new idea and plunging in, excited about the characters and the story. Middles are the most difficult part of writing for me. Plot becomes complicated, and as a pantser, I sometimes write myself into a dead end. When that happens I just have to trust that I’ll find my way out, but it isn’t easy.

What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started the publishing process?
I wish I had been more patient and done more research before submitting my first book. On my first attempt, a small independent publisher accepted my book the day after I sent it, which should have been a red flag. The company folded before the book could be published. The next small publisher I tried published the book and then closed under suspicious circumstances, leaving authors unpaid. I could have saved myself a lot of anguish by being more selective.

Boy, have I been there, done that! (See my blog post on that subject.) What’s more important—characters or plot?
All of my books are character-driven. The plot arises from the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. How do they change? How do they need to grow to achieve a happy ending? And I insist on happy endings.

What books do you currently have published?
Where The Heart Is, my upcoming release from Tirgearr Publishing, will be out on September 7. It’s the first in a series called Choices of the Heart. I have a soft spot for Martin because he’s a talented musician. My partner is also a musician—we met when I signed up to take guitar lessons from him. When he stopped charging me for the lessons, I knew I was in trouble.

The second book in the series, now under consideration by Tirgearr, features Chelle’s twin brother Trey, who lands in Colorado after the Civil War. I grew up reading my father’s Westerns, so the setting came naturally.

I have three other books currently in print, titled Shattered, Deliverance, and Flight. These books make up my Winds of War, Winds of Change series. They’re based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, my hometown, during and after the Great War. Many people aren’t aware that the greatest explosion prior to the atomic bomb took place on Halifax Harbour on December 6, 1917, when a ship loaded with explosives collided with another ship and blew up. Half the city was destroyed. It was one of the major disasters of the twentieth century. Shattered and Deliverance are set at the time of the explosion, while Flight takes place later.

What’s the oldest thing you own and still use?
I love old things. Probably the oldest item I have is a small silver box that belonged to my grandmother. It’s similar to boxes that were sent to soldiers as gifts during the Great War, so it may have been used for that purpose. I use it to hold a few pieces of jewelry.

Is writing your dream job?
Definitely. It isn’t always easy, but there’s nothing else I’d rather do. I can’t survive without a creative outlet. I’ve heard it said that if you can stop writing, you should, but I’ve never been able to stop.


What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
Ten years ago, I lost my job as a high school teacher because I’d developed a hearing problem. Feeling scared and desperate, I took a job selling insurance, even though I knew it wasn’t really a good fit for me. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I learned that no matter how bad things look, it’s vital to stay true to yourself.

What do you love about where you live?
I love Halifax for its rich history—it’s one of Canada’s oldest cities, and it’s been a military port and seat of government since its inception. Then there’s the explosion, with its stories of tragedy and heroism. Then, Nova Scotia is just plain beautiful and the people are just plain nice.

What’s your favorite fast food?
Sushi, bar none. I love the stuff.




What are you working on now?
I’m working on book 3 in the Choices of the Heart series. It doesn’t have a title yet. It features a character from the second book that readers have told me intrigues them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennie Marsland is a teacher, an amateur musician, and for over thirty years, a writer. She fell in love with words at a very early age, and the affair has been life-long.

Jennie grew up reading Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey. She still has a soft spot for Westerns, and she draws further inspiration from her roots in rural Nova Scotia and stories of earlier times, passed down from her parents and grandparents. Glimpses of the past spark her imagination.

Jennie lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband and their two rambunctious Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Ceilidh and Echo. When she isn't teaching or writing, Jennie plays guitar, dabbles in watercolours, gardens, and caters to the whims of the four-footed tyrants of the household.



Connect with Jennie:

Website  |  Facebook  |  
Twitter  |  
Goodreads  

Buy the book:
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GUEST POST BY JOYCE ANN BROWN

ABOUT THE BOOK

The elevator won’t go to the tenth floor, someone is breaking into condos, and the well-heeled Ukrainian renter isn’t paying the rent. Beth and Arnie have retired to the building where Beth’s last rental unit is located, and Beth, the klutzy landlady, has declared herself through solving mysteries. Then, her renter is arrested for the murder of the neighbor who fell (was pushed?) from the tenth-story balcony and the dead neighbor’s grandchildren are left with only their wheelchair-ridden grandmother to care for them. Beth feels compelled to help out.

Are Sylvester’s psycho-cat behaviors providing clues? Is the renter actually the killer? Do the break-ins and elevator problem have anything to do with the murder? Even Arnie, who has always told Beth to keep her nose out of police business, gets involved—for the sake of the children.

GUEST POST BY JOYCE ANN BROWN

The Cozy Clean Murder Mystery:

How to Portray a Vile and Evil Antagonist without Using Violence and Profanity

In contemporary movies and some television shows, cursing has become ubiquitous. Criminals cuss, detectives swear, victims moan obscenities, and bystanders shout expletives. Gun battles, knife fights, and torture are common. Blood dominates the scenes, and body parts pile up center stage in many fiction plots.

Used too much, these shock scenes become not only vulgar but also stale. Recently, I began reading a romantic mystery in which the protagonist, the antagonist, and whoever came on the scene swore on every page. I didn’t find one character to like and couldn’t finish the book. It didn’t matter to me whodunit—all were pretty despicable.

How, then, can an author create a cozy mystery that involves a ghastly murder by an evil, contemptible individual without using profanity or showing the perpetrator disemboweling a cuddly kitten? The following are some examples of how talented authors have accomplished the task with style:

•    The body is discovered, but the murder isn’t witnessed by the sleuth. It could be inside an empty house that’s for sale (Murder in Merino by Sally Goldenbaum), in a stream near a charming resort (The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun), in a claw foot bathtub (Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen), floating down a millstream outside of a quaint Scottish village (Weeping on Wednesday by Lois Meade), on a bed in an upstairs bedroom of an English manor (The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie), in a hot tub at a woodsy resort in Canada (A Killer Retreat by Tracy Weber), or in a room at a destination wedding in Mexico (Dizzy in Durango by D.R. Ransdell).
•    A character is described as having empty eyes, a false smile that doesn’t reach the eyes, a sneer, or a calculating squint—foreshadowing that gives the reader an impression of someone not to trust. The reader doesn’t see the person doing anything bloody. The description could be there to create a red herring.
•    An animal or small child recoils from one of the suspects even though that person smiles or acts friendly. (The Cat Who . . . books accomplish this very well. The sleuth notices Ko Ko’s peculiar attitudes towards people but doesn’t give them credence until the end when the clues come together).
•    A character is seen doing something suspicious—following in a car, hiding behind a newspaper, peeking through a window, etc.
•    The perpetrator of the crime pretends to be a good, solid citizen.
•    The perpetrators are not too bright and blurt mispronunciations or silly remarks rather than swear words.
•    If there is a climax where a character is captured by the criminal, the language is described as indecent, vile, foul, ear-burning, gutter language, swearing a blue streak, expressions the good guys have never even heard, etc. but never spelled out.
•    Euphemisms (heck, dang) or symbols (@#%*) are used when an innocent character blows up.

In my cozy Psycho Cat and the Landlady Mystery series, I use several of these devices. The thieves and murderers in CATastrophic Connections pretend to be friends until the climax. At that point, one of them lets loose with a couple of mild cuss words.

Psycho Cat discovers a skeleton in the attic in FURtive Investigation. The reader follows Beth, the sleuth, as she digs into the cold case, but the reader doesn’t know who the killer is until the end. Her suspects pretend to be upstanding citizens.

Children and immigrants with special problems complicate Beth’s sleuthing in Nine LiFelines. Suspects are in jail, don’t speak English well, or act like friends. There’s no off-color language, only some foreign languages.

What do you think? Do you like charming stories that use clean language or do you want the bad guys to be depicted using street language?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joyce Ann Brown, the author of the Psycho Cat and the Landlady Mystery series, set in Kansas City, was a librarian, a landlady, and a realtor before becoming a short story and novel writer. She also has two mischievous cats.

Her actual tenants have never disappeared, murdered, or been murdered. Nor have any of them found a skeleton in the attic. Joyce has never solved a crime. Moose and Chloe, her cats, haven’t sniffed out a mystery, at least not yet.

Joyce spends her days writing (with a few breaks for tennis, walking, and book clubs) so that Beth, the landlady in the series, and Sylvester, the Psycho Cat, can make up for her real-life lack of excitement in a big way.

Connect with Joyce Ann:
Website  |  Blog  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: GERRIE FERRIS FINGER

ABOUT THE BOOK

Saudi Arabian prince, Husam al Saliba, hires Dru to find his missing wife, Reeve and daughter, Shahrazad. The investigation beginS when Husam tells of falling in love with Reeve, of turning his back on his ascendancy to the Saudi power structure for the woman he loves. He talks of his king’s disapproval of him marrying and siring an infidel. But does he really want to return to the good graces of the royal family and marry Aya and be an heir to kingship? Confused, Dru thinks she’s fallen into a fairy tale. After all, the prince is fond of reciting tales from the Arabian Nights. The investigation had just begun when Reeve’s parents, Lowell and Donna Cresley are killed. That brings the Atlanta police into the case and it’s soon evident infidelity abounds and everyone has something dreadful to hide.

INTERVIEW WITH GERRIE FERRIS FINGER

Gerrie, how did you get started writing?
I went to journalism school and became a reporter/editor for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, until I retired to write fiction.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Rewriting, polishing.

Do you have a writing routine?
Unless I’m on deadline, I write in the afternoon after my “morning work” is finished. If I sit down to write before then, my thoughts are interrupted by dishes in the sink, unmade beds, unfolded socks.

Do you write every day?
Mostly. Not on vacations or visits to family and friends. That’s when I catch up on my reading.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
Getting the story from my head to written word.

What’s more important – characters or plot?
To me the plot is a character, but on the whole character. They must be alive, have beliefs, morals, no morals, in thought and deed.

What books do you currently have published?
I have six  in the Moriah Dru/Richard Lake Series: The End Game, The Last Temptation, The Devil Laughed, Murmurs of Insanity, Running with Wild Blood and the newly released American Nights. I have standalones: Whispering, The Ghost Ship, and Shooting the Dead.

What’s the oldest thing you own and still use?
Word 2003.

Is writing your dream job?
Yes.

How often do you tweet?
Daily. Two to three times.

How do you feel about Facebook?
It’s fine for keeping in touch with family and friends, but hostile to self-promotion. An announcement of a new release, a book cover, is tolerated, but too many buy-my-books is not a good thing. I think people put too much of themselves out there, but that’s just my private opinion.

What scares you the most?
It’s never happened, but writer’s block. I take the advice of a sage who said: If you’ve written yourself in a corner, kill someone. Works for mystery, suspense and thrillers.

I like that advice. Would you make a good character in a book?
If I could write me as a character, yes. I believe no one see us like we see ourselves.

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
A positive attitude.

What’s your favorite fast food?
MacDonald’s. The fries. We only eat there when we’re on the road.


What’s your favorite beverage?
Chardonnay.

What is one of your happiest moments?
The birth of my children and grandchildren.

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
Read.

Where is your favorite place to visit?
The beach.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
I do. Moriah Dru has a jealous streak, but she admits it.

Have you ever killed off a character fictionally, as revenge for something someone did in real life?
Don’t think so. But the subconscious is evil.

You have a personal chef for the night. What would you ask him to prepare?
Lobster Thermidor.

How do you like your pizza?
Double cheese.

What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
A family collage.

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

What are you working on now?
A book in a new series titled A Need for Vengeance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Retired journalist for The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Gerrie Ferris Finger won the 2009 St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel for The End Game. The Last Temptation is the second in the Moriah Dru/Richard Lake series. She lives on the coast of Georgia with her husband and standard poodle, Bogey.

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

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

FEATURED AUTHOR: BRENT HARTINGER

ABOUT THE BOOK

A weekend retreat in the woods and an innocent game of three truths and a lie go horribly wrong in this high-octane psychological thriller filled with romantic suspense by a Lambda Award–winning author.

Deep in the forest, four friends gather for a weekend of fun.

Truth #1: Rob is thrilled about the weekend trip. It’s the perfect time for him to break out of his shell . . . to be the person he really, really wants to be.

Truth #2: Liam, Rob’s boyfriend, is nothing short of perfect. He’s everything Rob could have wanted. They’re perfect together. Perfect.

Truth #3: Mia has been Liam’s best friend for years . . . long before Rob came along. They get each other in a way Rob could never, will never, understand.

Truth #4: Galen, Mia’s boyfriend, is sweet, handsome, and incredibly charming. He’s the definition of a Golden Boy . . . even with the secrets up his sleeve.

One of these truths is a lie . . . and not everyone will live to find out which one it is.

INTERVIEW WITH BRENT HARTINGER

Brent, I can’t believe it’s been over a year since you’ve been here. Catch us up on what you’ve been doing.
Time does fly, doesn't it? It's always strange to be talking about a new book, because whenever I release a book, it's usually a project I was working on three years before. I'm currently working on three new projects. But of course they won't be out for three years, so there's no point in talking about them now! That said, I'm very proud of Three Truths and a Lie, so I'm happy to talk about it.

Where did you get the idea for Three Truths and a Lie?
It was as simple as my visiting a remote cabin in a rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula near Seattle and thinking, "Oh, my God, this would make a fantastic setting for a book!"

Everyone knows what a tropical rain forest is, but these are temperate rain forests, which means they're cold and dark and misty. They're also incredibly lush, with ancient trees, and hanging moss. It's like everything is growing, but nothing has changed in millions of years. Talk about a forest primeval!

But as one of the characters keeps saying, "Nothing is exactly what it seems in this place." This is very much a psychological thriller.

I'm not one of those authors who says that a location is a "character." It's a location, not a character! Give me a break. But I'll grant you that the location here is very specific and very important, and very much a reflection of the characters' feelings.
Then again, that's what I think the location should be in almost every novel.

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
I don't think I've ever told any truly harmful lies, but I guess I've been known to practice the art of "spin." I used to work as an entertainment journalist, and I interviewed many, many famous people—some of the biggest names you can imagine. I confess there were times when I complimented a movie star on a movie or a TV show that I didn't particularly care for. But I'd like to think I was just being polite!

Of course! I know this is an unfair question, but of the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite?

I think it's a totally fair question! I always love my most recent book, which in this case is Three Truths and a Lie.

But among my backlist, my favorite books are Grand & Humble, which is a twisty puzzle box thriller (like Three Truths and a Lie!). It has a twist ending, and no one ever guesses it correctly. Better still, it's currently available for free as an e-book in all platforms.

My other favorite book is Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams, which is the fifth book in my Russel Middlebrook series (now seven books!). It tells the story of Russel trying to make it as a screenwriter in Los Angeles, but it's mostly my own story too. I knew as I was living it that it would make a good book. And I think it did! It's my most personal, anyway.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Having written. Being done. But also having something complete, something you can point to and say, "I did that."

There are many, many, MANY frustrations that come along with being a writer (and they all mostly boil down to rejection, failure, and criticism—the unholy trinity!).

But that sense of completion is something that we writers get but not every profession does. I've written twelve published novels now (and a bunch of unpublished ones!), and I've had eight screen projects optioned. That makes me feel quite satisfied!

It should! Do you have a writing routine?
I work Monday through Friday, from about ten until five. But it takes me a while to get rolling. If you walked into my office, I'll be doing much more work later in the day, and later in the week.

In terms of each project, I do a "concept" outline, then a more detailed outline. Then if I can convince someone to buy the damn thing, I do a terrible first draft (that no one sees except me!). Then I rewrite it, and show it to my first reader. Then I rewrite again based on his feedback, and show it to some other early readers. Then I rewrite again based on their feedback. Then I show it to my editor. Then I rewrite again based on his or her feedback (often more than once!), and then I show it to my beta-readers, and rewrite at least one more time.

Then I drop dead of exhaustion!

Do you write every day?
If I'm writing, I'm writing. If I'm not writing, I'm soooooooo not writing! I don't keep a notebook, I don't write for an hour in the morning, I don't even THINK about writing!

For me, writing is insanely hard. I enjoy having done it, and occasionally I'm riding the wave, which feels euphoric. But for the most part, it's a cold, hard, never-ending slog. I don't write for pleasure, so when I want to be having fun, I don't write.

Makes sense. What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started in the publishing business?
I wish I'd known that no one can edit their own work. Seriously, no writer I've ever met has any perspective on his or her own work! You NEED outside eyes—as many as possible. It's the only way to produce anything good.

Honestly, since I discovered first-readers and beta-readers, I think my work is so much better. Writing is about communication, and the most important thing to know is whether or not you've succeeded in actually communicating! Otherwise you're writing for an audience of one: yourself.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
For me, it goes from hardest to easiest. The outline is the hardest (but it's still essential). The first draft is slightly less hard. The second draft is slightly less hard than that. And so on, all the way through copy-editing.

Then you get to "book promotion," and things get really hard again! Ha!

Agreed! What’s more important—characters or plot?
Well, character is important, but plot is most important. I've always seen myself as a storyteller. The point is tell a story. Things have to happen. It needs to be going somewhere. When you're done, it needs to feel complete, like there was some kind of conscious, intentional resolution (even an ambiguous one). Personally, I need to feel like there was some kind of point to the books I read, and the author wasn't just jerking me around, or being completely self-indulgent. Self-expression is fine, but it's not the same thing as telling a story.

For me, you can have a story with weak characters (though it'll be a bad story). But a story with no real plot is not a story, and it shouldn't be a book. Or at least it's not a book I want to read!

You'd think this would be obvious, but I feel like I read books all the time that have virtually no story or plot.

Good point. What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
That the stories you hear about overnight sensations are exceptions to the rule, and even then, that kind of success doesn't always last. Most writers struggle in obscurity for years, with little or no acclaim or financial reward. Some eventually break out, but the vast majority do not. I think it’s interesting that I have a lot of very bitter writer-friends, but that none of my doctor or lawyer friends are bitter!

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
Read, swim, hike, bike, eat out with friends, walk on the beach. And not write!

Your book, Geography Club, was made into a movie. Do you have any new movies in the works?
I do! I have three movies in the works right now!

I've been working with some producers on one project, a very personal teen drama, since 2009! But it finally seems to be coming together.

My 2007 novel Project Sweet Life was just optioned by some producers, and I wrote the screenplay.

And finally, earlier this year, I had an animated movie script of mine optioned by a Chinese company. I said to my rep, "Really? But it won't be seen in the United States." He said, "It'll be seen by up to a billion people in China, and their movie industry is already three times the size of Hollywood. Their money is real!"

So I took the deal, and sure enough, their money is real.

What’s next?
Right now I'm pitching projects to different editors, which is hard (as I said), but also exciting. I've come up with three different ideas, all thrillers, and I'm dying to get a couple of them under contract so I can start writing them!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brent Hartinger is a novelist and screenwriter. His first novel, Geography Club, was adapted as a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula, and he's since published eleven other novels, most recently, Three Truths and a Lie. As a screenwriter, Brent has three different movies in the works with various producers. Visit him at brenthartinger.com.







Connect with Brent:
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Book trailer

GUEST POST WITH SARAH FOX

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Marley McKinney’s aging cousin, Jimmy, is hospitalized with pneumonia, she agrees to help run his pancake house while he recovers. With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it—and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff.
After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy’s workshop, Marley is determined to find out what’s really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she’s not careful, she’s going to get burned by a killer who’s only interested in serving up trouble.

GUEST POST WITH SARAH FOX

Discovering Cozies

I've loved mysteries for as long as I can remember. The foundation for my obsession was built upon the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden books I found on my family's shelves. By about age twelve I'd discovered Agatha Christie, and from that point on I was absolutely hooked. I went on to read numerous Agatha Christie books as well as mysteries by other authors such as Elizabeth Peters, Kathy Reichs, and Elizabeth George. I also started watching mysteries on television, especially British ones like Foyle's War, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders, Poirot, and Miss Marple.

While I love all types of mysteries, it was when I discovered the modern cozy mystery that I truly found my favorite genre. I was in my twenties at the time. I'd just moved to a small town and was checking out the new-to-me library when I found a rack full of paperback mysteries with fun cover designs. I checked out a couple and took them home, and an avid cozy mystery reader was born.

I devoured numerous cozies and became hooked on several series, including Sheila Connolly's Apple Orchard Mysteries, Lorna Barrett's Booktown Mysteries, and Jennie Bentley's Do-It-Yourself Mysteries. I couldn't get enough of them, and I longed to be a cozy mystery author myself. At the time, however, I told myself I wouldn't be able to write a mystery, that I simply wasn't clever enough to pull it off. So I stuck with writing science fiction and fantasy, while still reading cozy after cozy.

Eventually, my desire to write a mystery became too powerful to ignore, and I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a try. Since I was so in love with cozies, it was a natural choice for me to write in that subgenre. In less than four months, I'd written Dead Ringer, the first book in the Music Lover's Mystery series. Even before I'd finished the manuscript, I knew that writing cozies was what I was meant to do. As with reading cozies, writing one made me so happy that I knew I would write more and more in the future.

Now I'm working on the Pancake House Mysteries, my second series, and I couldn't be happier. The Crêpes of Wrath was so much fun to write, and I particularly loved bringing the seaside town of Wildwood Cove to life. At this time, I'm writing the second book in the series, For Whom the Bread Rolls, and I'm enjoying the process as much as ever. Although my writing and my day job keep me busy, I still make time to read cozies on a regular basis. I have such a good time returning to familiar settings and characters, following the next adventure in a series, and I also delight in discovering new cozy series. As much as I enjoy reading and writing other types of mysteries, cozies are—and likely always will be—my true book genre love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Fox was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she developed a love for mysteries at a young age. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer, she is often reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English Springer Spaniel.

Connect with Sarah:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Penguin Random House