FEATURED AUTHOR: KATE DYER-SEELEY

ABOUT THE BOOK

When a mud marathon champion bites the dust, Meg Reed has to go the distance to make sure a killer comes clean . . .

Back home in Portland, Oregon, Meg is ready to take her career as an outdoor writer for Extreme magazine to the next level. Lesser journalists sling mud—Meg plans to run through it. To train hard for Mud, Sweat & Beers, an extreme 5K mud run, she’s signed on with the Mind Over Mudder team, run by ten-time mud marathon champ—and former drill sergeant—Billy the Tank. But when Meg finds her tenacious trainer dead in the locker room, she has a sinking feeling someone may have been pushed too far. Digging through the hidden secrets at Mind Over Mudder is a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Meg will have to tread carefully, though—or she may soon be running for her life . . .

INTERVIEW WITH KATE DYER-SEELEY

Kate, do you have a writing routine?
Yes, I have a very strict routine. When I’m working on a new book I write 2,000 words every day. No exceptions. I don’t leave my office until I hit my word count. I think that writing is a bit like exercise. If you want to strengthen your writing muscles you have to work them out every day.

What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started the publishing process?
I wish I would have known how valuable my relationships with other mystery writers have become. I’ve met so many incredible friends through writing. The act of writing is a solitary process which makes having connections with other writers extremely important. My writer friends are fabulous sounding boards when I’m stuck on a plot idea or when we’re brainstorming the best way to reach readers. I’ve found that collaborating with my fellow mystery writers has been really beneficial in growing our readership together, and saving our sanity when we’re pulling out our hair over copy edits. I would have joined Sisters in Crime and other writing organizations long before I got a book contract in hindsight. I think it’s a huge networking tool and it’s never too early to start building relationships.

Do you have any secret talents?
I know American Sign Language. My high school offered it as a foreign language, so I took it all through high school and college. I spent my summers interpreting, and my first job after I graduated from college was working in a deaf education program. These days I don’t use it very often so I’m pretty rusty, but it’s always fun when I bump into a former student and even readers at conferences and get to put it to use again.

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
I’ve found it extremely successful to tie book launch events into the theme of my books. For example in the 4th book in the Pacific Northwest Mysteries the protagonist, Meg Reeds, runs her first mud run. For the launch event we are creating Meg’s race day stops. Readers will get to sample some of Meg’s race day favorites like mochas with extra whipping cream to give her a sugar rush, beer infused cupcakes, and post-race wine tasting. We’re also offering mini massages, a chat with a chiropractor, and book themed prizes and giveaways. It’s a great way to bring the pages to life and offer readers a preview of what’s to come. The same goes for social media giveaways. I share items inspired from the books with readers online.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
BBC! Or anything on Masterpiece.

How often do you tweet?
Not often enough. I just read that to reach the widest possible audience you should be tweeting at least three times a day. I’m lucky if I tweet three times a week. It’s on my list of things to improve in 2017.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I really enjoy connecting with readers on Facebook. I use it much more frequently than Twitter, in part because it feels like more of a conversation. My reader friends on Facebook have helped picked titles for new books, are amazing about spreading the word when a book releases, and are just fun to hang out with. It’s always stunning when I realize that I’m chatting with someone in New Zealand or London. I try to respond to as many comments as I can because I appreciate that a reader has taken the time to reach out to me.

Would you make a good character in a book?
I’ve always joked that I match my star sign perfectly. I’m a Gemini and most days I feel like I have a split personality. I think having a twin personality would make a compelling character and leave the reader constantly guessing.

What five things would you never want to live without?
Coffee
Books
Fresh air
Wide open spaces
Trees

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
My epi pen. I’m allergic to bee stings and do a ton of hiking here in the Pacific Northwest. You never know when you might stumble upon a swarm of bees.

What do you love about where you live?
I live in Vancouver, Washington, right across the river from Portland, Oregon and not to be confused with Vancouver, Canada. I love living in and writing about the Pacific Northwest. The landscape is so vast and changing. You can drive any direction for an hour or two and end up at the coast, the Columbia River Gorge, the Cascade Mountains, or the high desert. There’s always somewhere new to explore. I think people tend to have an adventurous spirit out here in the west. Plus there’s a plethora of delicious coffee and microbrew!

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Peanut butter M&Ms.

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
When I was in 1st grade I used to make my Blue Bird troop march in a line behind me from school to my house for our weekly meetings. They didn’t enjoy marching (go figure) so I told them that my mom (our troop leader) made me line them up. Totally untrue! When they finally revolted and complained to my mom she was mortified and made me apologize and come clean. Apparently I was a bit of a dictator at a young age.


What’s your favorite beverage?
Coffee. I know it’s a cliché not only as a writer but also as NW native, but I love coffee pretty much any time of the day. I love a good rich dark chocolate mocha or a creamy latte, but I’m not picky I’ll drink just about anything coffee related that you put in front of me.


Would you rather be a movie star, sports star, or rock star?
A rock star! I love music, but cannot sing to save my life. I’ve always wanted to be able to sing but can’t stay in key.

What’s in your refrigerator right now?
Salsa, yogurt, an assortment of cheeses, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, and tons of La Croix sparkling waters.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
When I was in college I white water rafted over a 20 foot waterfall in New Zealand. Don’t ask why. I would never do that now, but Meg would!

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?

My first book was a memoir about losing my mom to young onset Alzheimer’s while becoming a mom for the first time. It was a gut-wrenching and painful process to dig up memories and piece her story together, but I’m so grateful for that book. It was definitely a huge part of my grief and healing process.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the 5th book in the Pacific Northwest Mysteries, In Cave Danger. This time Meg is heading to the high desert in Central Oregon for a spelunking adventure deep underground.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Dyer-Seeley writes the Pacific Northwest Mystery Series for Kensington Publishing, featuring a young journalist, Meg Reed, who bills herself as an intrepid adventurer in order to land a gig writing for Northwest Extreme. Only Meg’s idea of sport is climbing onto the couch without spilling her latte. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and son, where you can find her hitting the trail, at an artisan coffee shop, or at her favorite pub. Better yet—at all three.

Connect with Kate:

Website  |  Facebook  |  
Twitter  | 
Goodreads
Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Indiebound

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GUEST POST BY SARAH T. HOBART

ABOUT THE BOOK

As this captivating cozy mystery series featuring real estate agent Sam Turner continues, a dream home turns into a crime scene when murder intrudes on an open house.

Thanks to a few sales and a self-help book on becoming a super-agent, Sam Turner is well on her way to becoming real estate royalty in Arlinda, her eccentric hometown on the Northern California coast. And after settling into her new house with her teenage son, she’s finally a homeowner, too. Sure, things aren’t perfect—for example, her sister still doesn’t know that Sam is dating her ex, police chief Bernie Aguilar—but perfect is boring. And Sam’s life is never boring.

When Sam’s boss, Everett Sweet, assigns her an open house in Arlinda’s most exclusive neighborhood, she brushes up on her super-agent tips, hoping to wow potential buyers. But there’s nothing in the manual about stumbling upon the owner’s dead body halfway through the tour. When suspicion falls on her boss, Sam and her co-workers are suddenly out of work, their real estate licenses suspended. Now, with her job on the line and a mortgage to pay, Sam will need every trick in the book to clear Everett’s name.

GUEST POST BY SARAH HOBART

It’s been impossible to get anything done around here.

Not because of the spectacular fall weather, which on the North Coast tends more toward the “liquid sunshine” spectrum. We had record-setting rain in October, three roof leaks, and a body of water at the foot of our driveway that rivaled Lake Shasta. But that’s just business as usual when you live in a maritime climate.

Not because our year-long bathroom remodel means there’s a bathtub in the middle of the living room, a state of affairs that’s gone on so long it seems almost normal. You keep your tub in the bathroom? How odd.

Not because of the bitterly-fought election season. Don’t even get me started on that. If I could, I disappear into my writing room and emerge in 2020.
No, truth is, in a moment of weakness, I succumbed to the charms of . . . a puppy. And the sweet, sleepy, limpid-eyed bundle of golden fur I fell in love with has magically transformed into a dervish of sock-chewing, puddle-producing, middle-of-the-night-summoning boundless energy.

Last night I was up at one, then two, then again at three, at which point I gave up sleep as a lost cause and sprawled out in the tub with a book, Aggie the pup curled around my feet, until it was time for breakfast (two scoops of kibble and a cup of coffee).

My intentions were good, as they say. Our old retriever, Scout, was lonely. My boys pointed out that our animal family had dwindled over the last few years – such is the sad truth of companion animals, that they never live as long as our hearts need them to. A small dog, I thought, mature and sedate, would keep the old girl company. And then I met Limpid Eyes. It was all over in seconds. Before I knew what had hit me, I was naming her Agatha after my favorite author and stocking up on indestructible puppy toys, which she ignores in favor of leather Birkenstocks. At least her tastes are refined.

But it’s clear she’s an unqualified success in our household. It’s impossible to keep from smiling when there’s a puppy around. She plays hard and naps hard, except, of course, at night. She’s happy to trot up the street with the boys, proudly sporting her little purple harness, or curl up in a warm lap after an afternoon of digging up the garden – her preferred activity after her bath. She’s universally adored by everyone she meets.

Except, possibly, for Scout, whose peaceful afternoons dozing in the sun may at any moment be interrupted by a nip on the ear or a shrill bark inviting her to wake up and play. On several occasions, she’s firmly squashed Aggie’s overzealous enthusiasm, as a pack leader should. Other times, the two tear around the living room, barking at top volume until our ears ring. It’s bedlam.

I often wonder, especially around 2 a.m., why the whole notion of a second dog had seemed like a good idea.

Then yesterday I found my younger son curled up with the pup, his face buried in her fur. “I love you, Aggie,” he whispered.

Oh yeah. Now I remember.

ABOUT THE  AUTHOR

Sarah Hobart is a real estate agent and former newspaper reporter in Northern California, where she lives with her husband and two children in a majestic fixer-upper overlooking State Highway 101.

Buy the book:

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FEATURED AUTHOR: KEN McGORRY

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lyle Hall is a new man since his car accident and spinal injury. The notoriously insensitive Bridgehampton lawyer is now afflicted with an odd sensitivity to other people's pain. Especially that of a mysterious young girl he encounters outside a long-abandoned Victorian house late one October night. “Jewel” looks about 12. But Lyle knows she’s been dead a hundred years. Jewel wants his help, but it’s unclear how. As if in return, she shows him an appalling vision—his own daughter's tombstone. If it’s to be believed, Georgie’s last day is four days away. Despite Lyle’s strained relations with his police detective daughter, he’s shocked out of complacent convalescence and back into action in the real world.

But the world now seems surreal to the formerly Scrooge-like real estate lawyer. Lyle’s motion in court enjoining the Town of Southampton from demolishing the old house goes viral because he leaked that it might be haunted. This unleashes a horde of ghost-loving demonstrators and triggers a national media frenzy. Through it all strides Lyle’s new nemesis in high heels: a beautiful, scheming TV reporter known as Silk.

Georgie Hall’s own troubles mount as a campaign of stationhouse pranks takes a disturbing sexual turn. Her very first case is underway and her main suspect is a wannabe drug lord. Meanwhile, Lyle must choose: Repair his relationship with Georgie or succumb to the devious Silk and her exclusive media contract. He tells himself seeing Georgie’s epitaph was just a hallucination. But a few miles away the would-be drug lord is loading his assault rifle. Berto needs to prove himself.


INTERVIEW WITH KEN McGORRY

Ken, what's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Solitude. If they’d only just leave me alone!

Do you have a writing routine?
Try to: 8:30 am to 1:30pm.

Do you write every day?
Yes. This is writing, right?

Absolutely. What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started the publishing process?
Oh. Taken hostages.

What do you think is the hardest aspect of writing a book?
Plot. Characters are tremendous fun, I think, but they must have something to do.

What books do you currently have published?
Ghost Hampton. Smashed is on the way. (It’s about substance abusers in a rehab. And is funny. Sort of.)


What’s the oldest thing you own and still use?
My Dad’s watch.

Is writing your dream job?
Yes, if I can’t be a movie star.


What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
Delivering orders for a pharmacy when I was 18. Do well in college.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
PBS. I watched Wolf Blitzer for a year last night.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I’m addicted to it, but don’t tell anyone. And it’s a great way to keep up with both far-flung and close-flung friends and relatives and in-laws.

What scares you the most?
No afterlife whatsoever.

Would you make a good character in a book?
Nah.

What five things would you never want to live without?
Hamburgers
Wine
The New York Times
My Jeep Wrangler
My gym membership (without that I can’t have the first two)

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
I never leave the house without cursing, because I’m always late for the next thing.

What do you love about where you live?
The changing seasons.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Popcorn!

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
My golf score.

What’s your favorite fast food?
Pizza.


What’s your favorite beverage?
Coffee.

What drives you crazy?
Medical commercials on TV.

What is your superpower?
I get premonitions but do not understand what they mean until later, when something really happens and it’s not a surprise.


Name one thing you’re really good at and one thing you’re really bad at.
Ad libbing. Faking niceness.


What do you wish you could do?
Time travel.

What is one of your happiest moments?
The birth of my second son. (Kidding! The first was a blast, too!)

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
Smoke a cigar outside with a beer and text with old friends.

Where is your favorite place to visit?
The Caribbean. Anywhere in the Caribbean.

What would you name your autobiography?
Get it Right the First Time.

What’s your least favorite chore?
Pulling someone else’s hairs out of the shower drain. They’re definitely not mine.


Would you rather be a movie star, sports star, or rock star?
Movie. Rock is kind of over-rated. And sports . . . well, you know.


If you could be any movie star, sports star or rock star, who would you want to be?
Bruce Willis.


Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
No! There’s nothing to give!

Have you ever killed off a character fictionally, as revenge for something someone did in real life?
No. I kill them off to see if readers are paying attention.

What’s one thing that drives you crazy?
TV announcers who are unable to enunciate.

What’s in your refrigerator right now?
Meat.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
Left a New York City hospital with acute appendicitis.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Left a New York City hospital with acute appendicitis.

I guess I shouldn't be amazed at how many times those two answers go hand in hand. What is your most embarrassing moment?
Definitely that time on the bus. When the carload of teenage girls pulled up alongside.

What would your main character say about you?
“I love this guy.”

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
My hometown Manhasset Library. They’ve been very, very good to me. (So have the others, but they’re far away.)


Who is your favorite fictional character?
John Corey, by Nelson DeMille.

I like him too! 
If you had a talk show who would your dream guest be?
Elizabeth Banks.


What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
I’ve written a book called Ghost Hampton!


You have a personal chef for the night. What would you ask him to prepare?
My last meal.


How do you like your pizza?
Crispy, with fresh tomato sauce, crumbled sausage and red pepper flakes.


What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
Can’t see it; too many icons and things.


Do you have any hidden talents?
I’m a caricaturist.  And I do vocal impersonations.


Describe yourself in 5 words.
Brave, courageous and bold. Very.

Cheater. 
What’s your favorite song?
“Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan.


What’s your favorite smell?
Bacon.


What’s your favorite color?
Blue.


What are your favorite foods?
French food: French toast, French fries, French’s Mustard.


What do others say about your driving?
Stop.


What’s your biggest pet peeve about writing?
Other people.


What is your favorite movie?
The Perfect Storm.


If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
Get me outta here!


What are you working on now?
Ghost Hampton Harrier (it’s the sequel)!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ken McGorry has been writing since third grade. (He learned in first grade but waited two years.) He started a school newspaper with friends in seventh grade, but he’s better known for his 23 years as an editor of Post Magazine, a monthly covering television and film production. This century, he took up novel-writing and Ghost Hampton and Smashed are examples. More are in the works, like the promised Ghost Hampton sequel, but he’s kinda slow.

Ken lives on Long Island with his wife and they have two strapping sons. There are dogs. Ken is also a chef (grilled cheese, and only for his sons), and he enjoys boating (if it’s someone else’s boat). He has a band, The Achievements, that plays his songs (try https://soundcloud.com/ken-mcgorry). Back at Manhattan College (English major!), he was a founding member of the venerable Meade Bros. Band. Ken really was an employee of Dan’s Papers in the Hamptons one college summer, and really did mow Dan’s lawn.

Connect with Ken:

Website     |  Facebook   |   Twitter  |   
Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon

GUEST POST BY FRANKIE BOW

ABOUT THE BOOK

Professor Molly Barda is thrilled to be included in a grant to investigate attitudes toward biotechnology. But she immediately finds herself embroiled in the deadly fight between big biotech and anti-GMO activists. When Molly and her best friend Emma Nakamura stumble onto the scene of a brutal murder, they realize that everyone has something to hide–and there are some questions you don’t ask.

The Professor Molly mysteries are the first campus murder mysteries set in Hawaii.

GUEST POST BY FRANKIE BOW

The most dangerous animal is not what you think

As a mystery author, I’m always on the lookout for death and danger, and the animal kingdom is a great place to find both. Nature, Tennyson reminds us, is “red in tooth and claw,” and a quick perusal of the Netflix catalog confirms that ferocious animals continue to capture our imagination. Sharks (Jaws), dogs (Cujo), giant snakes (Anaconda), birds (The Birds), bears (Grizzly), rats (Willard), even cockroaches (that episode of Creepshow . . . *shudder*).

But when it comes to human fatalities, none of these creatures holds a candle to deer.

That’s right, deer.


In the United States, deer rack up (ha!) 120 human deaths a year, on average. Bears, alligators and sharks murder a paltry one human per year, and rattlesnakes, those slackers, are responsible for 0.23 annual deaths.

So where’s the scary deer movie? Aside from this one scene from The Ring Two, there doesn’t seem to be anything.

Maybe it’s because deer don’t look that fierce.

Also, they aren’t really out to get us; we’ve expanded into their habitat, and most of the fatalities result from humans in cars running into them. The deer, it must be said, don’t benefit from these encounters any more than we humans do.

So would I consider a death-by-deer plotline? Sure.

It could even be seasonally appropriate.

Like Molly Barda, Frankie Bow teaches at a public university. Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, and a perfectly nice office chair.

She believes if life isn’t fair, at least it can be entertaining.


In addition to writing murder mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Like Molly Barda, Frankie Bow teaches at a public university. Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, a loving family, and a perfectly nice office chair. She believes if life isn’t fair, at least it can be entertaining.

In addition to writing murder mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.

Connect with Frankie:
Webpage  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  LinkedIn 

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

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GUEST POST BY CAROLINE FARDIG

ABOUT THE BOOK 

Coffeehouse manager and reluctant sleuth Juliet Langley returns in a gripping novel from the bestselling author of Death Before Decaf and Mug Shot. Just as things are perking up in Nashville, a serial killer sends tensions foaming over. 

Juliet’s personal and professional lives have recently received an extra jolt of energy. Her romance with the hunky detective Ryder Hamilton continues to simmer, and business at Java Jive has never been better. But her good mood quickly turns as stale as day-old espresso when she finds out that Ryder has been promoted to his precinct’s homicide division. With him risking his life to catch the worst kind of criminals, Juliet’s growing sense of unease ignites when a local college student goes missing.

Suddenly every Nashville resident is on high alert, especially Juliet’s neighbor Chelsea. Juliet does her best to calm the girl’s nerves, but her worst fears are confirmed when she finds Chelsea dead. Even though she tries her best to stay out of it, Juliet’s involvement puts a strain on Ryder’s first homicide case. The situation soon becomes even more personal for Juliet and her best friend Pete Bennett when one of their employees disappears during her shift. As a killer lurks in the shadows, Juliet, Pete, and Ryder seek out a double shot of justice.

GUEST POST BY CAROLINE FARDIG

I’m a little new to songwriting, but I’ve found that it’s one of my favorite things to do.  I’m even taking songwriting lessons (along with my nine-year-old daughter, who is super creative and musical) from The Honey Vines, a fantastic local singer/songwriter duo.

The first thing I decide is what kind of a song I want to write—a soulful ballad, an up-tempo pop tune, a jazzy throwback, etc.  That totally dictates the rest of the process for me.  Then I decide what the main theme of the song is going to be.  Am I going to deal with love, loss, and break-up, or is it going to just be something fun?  Once I have some kind of idea where I’m going, I listen to other songs in the genre and songs with similar themes to get some ideas.

When I’m ready to buckle down and do some actual work, I begin by jotting down notes outlining the theme—ultimately, the points I want to make in the song.  Then I start playing around with chord progressions I think “sound” like they’ll go with my idea. 

I take the notes I’ve jotted down and then write some snippets of lines and phrases I want to use.  Building on that, I take those phrases and group them by ideas that would fit together.  I group those ideas by ones that might rhyme, or be made to rhyme, and I decide what parts I want to include in the verses, chorus, and bridge.

After I have a clear idea, I nail down the chord progression and strum pattern I’ll use on the guitar, which forces me to firm up my phrases into real lyrics that will fit into the rhythmic pattern I’m planning to use.  Once that is done, I let my creative juices flow and come up with a melody that works with both the chord progression and the lyrics.  That’s not always an easy task, and most of the time I have to go back and tweak the lyrics to better fit within the melody.

As with any writing endeavor, I go back over what I’ve done with a critical eye, making changes to tighten everything up and smooth everything out.  When I’m sufficiently happy with my nearly-finished product, I make a rough recording so I can sing along and come up with some harmony vocals, which is my favorite part.  If given the choice, I always want to be the backup singer instead of the lead, because I think harmony is way more fun. 

The only thing left to do after that is to use my Finale program to make a professional-looking copy of the sheet music, which is the worst part.  After enjoying so much creative freedom, it all comes down to fighting with a computer in order to be able to share my music with the rest of the world!

To learn more about my book writing process, follow the A WHOLE LATTE MURDER blog tour for more of my guest posts.  And to hear my latest song, “You Are Mine,” from A WHOLE LATTE MURDER, go to www.carolinefardig.com/music for a list of retailers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caroline Fardig is the author of Death Before Decaf and the Lizzie Hart series. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

Connect with Caroline: 
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest  |  Amazon 

Buy the book:
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FEATURED AUTHOR: LIA FARRELL

ABOUT THE BOOK

As Halloween approaches, engaged couple Mae December and Sheriff Ben Bradley have devoted all their energy to Ben’s campaign for reelection as sheriff of Rose County, Tennessee. The race is already too close to call when the sheriff’s office is hit with yet another maddeningly tricky murder case. In recent years the town of Rosedale has had more than its fair share of murders, a fact Ben’s smarmy opponent is all too eager to exploit.

Investigator Dory Clarkson and her friend, Counselor Evangeline Bon Temps, are visiting the mysterious Voodoo village when a resident tells them her granddaughter, Zoé Canja, is missing. Her dog, a Weimaraner nursing four pups, escapes the house and finds the young woman’s body in a shallow grave. Evangeline becomes Sheriff Ben Bradley’s unofficial consultant because her grandmother in Haiti and later her mother in New Orleans practiced Voodoo. A threatening symbol is left on the pavement by Dory’s front door, effectively banning her from the case. Evangeline and the sheriff’s office ask too many questions, and Evangeline soon wears out her welcome. Voodoo curses aside, Ben’s job is at stake, and no one associated with the case is safe until the killer is found.

Book 5 in the Mae December Mystery series, which began with One Dog Too Many.

INTERVIEW WITH LIA FARRELL

Note: Lia Farrell is a mother/daughter writing team. These answers are from the mother, Lyn.

Lia, how did you get started writing?
Wrote grants and journal articles for much of my career. Started writing fiction when I took early retirement in 2008.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Starting a new book.

Do you have a writing routine?
Normally write 2 hours each morning.

Do you write every day?
Usually 5 days a week.

What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started the publishing process? Started years ago!

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
Getting a publisher.

How often do you read?
Every day and normally in my genre.

What is your writing style?
I am plot oriented and set up problems my characters need to solve.

What do you think makes a good story?
Great characters, a cool setting, and a writer who can take me there.

What books do you currently have published?
One Dog Too Many, Two Dogs Lie Sleeping, Three Dog Day, Four Dog’s Sake, Five Dog Voodoo (release date 11/16) also Indie published by Lyn Farquhar: Journey to Maidenstone, The Songs of Skygrass, Skygrass Reunion Sab-ra’s Story, Skygrass Reunion, Ruby’s Story.

What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
How much of an author’s life has to be devoted to marketing and publicity. I don’t like this part as much as writing.

Do you have any secret talents?
I have a nearly perfect color sense and most of my memories are in still images like photographs. Most people’s memories are like movies.

Is writing your dream job?
For sure. Only wish it made more $.

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
Running a cash register at a student book store (when I was 19) at the beginning of fall semester. Routinely gave customers back too much $. My cash register never balanced. They fired me. Taught me I needed to do something that didn’t involve handling cash.

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
I love the Goodreads and the Amazon Book Giveaways. It’s really good for a series writer.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
HGTV.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I don’t love the personal side of it, but it has been helpful in posting updates about the May December series to friends and for posting book covers.

For what would you like to be remembered?
As a person who left behind something for others to enjoy.

What scares you the most?
Being too ill at the end of my life to take care of my pets.

Would you make a good character in a book?
I think I would because I’m energetic, open-minded, love kids and dogs, and commit myself to what I want to get from life.

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
Debit card and most of the time, my dog.

What do you love about where you live?
We have many large 40 acre parcels with mowed paths for walking in my area and my yard is filled with huge trees and multiple gardens.

What’s your favorite thing to do on date night?
Going to a play in Stratford, Canada.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Junior Mints.

What's the biggest lie you ever told?
Goodness, there are so many . . . I consider exaggeration and sometimes making things up part of the life of a story teller and author.

What’s your favorite fast food?
Pizza.

What’s your favorite beverage?
Water.

What drives you crazy?
People who won’t try to learn new things.

What is your superpower?
An eidetic memory for images.

Name one thing you’re really good at and one thing you’re really bad at.
I have an excellent sense of time and always know how much time something will take whether it’s cleaning the garage or writing a chapter of a book. I am badly coordinated and I was always the last person chosen for sports teams in school.

What do you wish you could do?
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

What is one of your happiest moments?
The day our publisher sent us a contract. 

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
There is never nothing to do in my life! When things are slow, I read, write, or take long walks, even when it’s below zero outside. 

Where is your favorite place to visit?
Santorini, an island in the Cyclades. 

What’s your least favorite chore?
I hate to iron because I’m so bad at it. Actually I think I’d hate it even if I were good at it.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
Yes, Detective Nichols suffers from low self-esteem and has a hard time forgiving himself. I do too.

What’s one thing that drives you crazy?
I don’t suffer fools gladly.

What’s your favorite/most visited Internet site?
Amazon.

What’s in your refrigerator right now?
I make chocolate melting cakes for family dinners and often have extras chilling in the fridge. They only take 16 minutes to cook in the oven. Delicious.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
I am 73 years old. This year I hiked to the top of the Acropolis in Athens in 103 degree heat. 

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Going to a bar late at night with a girlfriend who ditched me and took my car keys with her.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” -Anias Nin

What would your main character say about you?
That I should get a life and a boyfriend.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
I have a hard time writing scenes that are violent. Hate doing it. It’s because I deplore violence in life.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
I love the Special Collections room in the basement of the MSU Library for all the old books that have to be handled with white gloves under the gimlet eyes of a librarian.

Who is your favorite fictional character?
Ruth Galloway, the archeologist in the Ellie Griffith books.

If you had a talk show who would your dream guests be?
Spock, the Dalai Lama, and Jane Goddall.

What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
That I’ve always wanted to own a farm.

How do you like your pizza?
Thin crust, sausage, green peppers.

What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
Pictures of flowers.

Describe yourself in 5 words.
Intellectual, energetic, creative, animal lover, self-critical, grandmother.

What’s your favorite song?
"Bridge over Troubled Waters" by Simon and Garfunkle.

What is your favorite movie?
Out of Africa. 

Do you have a favorite book?
Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandrian Quartet.

What are you working on now?
Book 6 in the Mae December series.

ABOUT LYNN

Lyn Farquhar taught herself to read before starting school and honed her story telling abilities by reading to her little sister. Ultimately, her mother ended the reading sessions because Lyn’s sister decided she preferred being read to over learning to read herself. She fell in love with library books at the age of six when a Bookmobile came to her one-room rural elementary school. The day the Bookmobile arrived, Lyn decided she would rather live in the bookmobile than at home and was only ousted following sustained efforts by her teacher and the bookmobile driver.

Lyn graduated from Okemos High School in Michigan and got her college and graduate degrees from Michigan State University. She has a master’s degree in English literature and a Ph.D. in Education, but has always maintained that she remained a student for such a long time only because it gave her an excuse to read. Lyn holds the rank of Professor of Medical Education at Michigan State University and has authored many journal articles, abstracts and research grants. Since her retirement from MSU to become a full time writer, she has completed a Young Adult Fantasy trilogy called Tales of the Skygrass Kingdom. Volume I from the trilogy is entitled Journey to Maidenstone and is available on amazon.com. Lyn has two daughters and six step children, nine granddaughters and three grandsons. She also has two extremely spoiled Welsh Corgi’s. Her hobby is interior design and she claims she has the equivalent of a master’s degree from watching way too many decorating shows.

ABOUT LISA

Lisa Fitzsimmons grew up in Michigan and was always encouraged to read, write and express herself artistically. She was read aloud to frequently. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, she was seldom seen without a book in hand. After becoming a mom at a young age, she attended Michigan State University in a tri-emphasis program with concentrations in Fine Art, Art History an Interior Design.

Lisa, with her husband and their two children, moved to North Carolina for three exciting years and then on to Tennessee, which she now calls home. She has enjoyed an eighteen year career as a Muralist and Interior Designer in middle Tennessee, but has always been interested in writing. Almost five years ago, Lisa and her mom, Lyn, began working on a writing project inspired by local events. The Mae December Mystery series was born.

Lisa, her husband and their three dogs currently divide their time between beautiful Northern Michigan in the summertime and middle Tennessee the rest of the year. She and her husband feel very blessed that their “empty nest” in Tennessee is just a short distance from their oldest, who has a beautiful family of her own. Their youngest child has settled in Northern Michigan, close to their cabin there. Life is good.

Connect with the authors:
Website  |  
Blog  |  
Facebook  | 
Twitter  |  
Goodreads  

Buy the book:
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FEATURED AUTHOR: JAMIE M. BLAIR

ABOUT THE BOOK

New to the historic town of Metamora, Indiana, Cameron Cripps-Hayman is looking to make friends with her neighbors. What she isn’t looking for is one of their bodies floating in the canal.

When she and her estranged husband, the town sheriff, are both named suspects for the murder, Cameron takes solving the crime into her own hands, teaming up with her eccentric co-workers who dub themselves The Metamora Action Agency.

As if hunting for a murderer with two high school geniuses, the town drunk, and an elderly kleptomaniac isn’t hard enough, Cameron adopts the five mangy guard dogs of her deceased neighbor. But maybe a stint at playing gatekeeper is just what she needs to come face-to-face with the killer and save another neighbor from being the next victim.

INTERVIEW WITH JAMIE M. BLAIR

Jamie, what is your writing style?
I write dialogue and action heavy books with a fast pace, and I attempt to write humorous cozies. 


Is writing your dream job?
It was at one time. Now I would rather do it just as something I love to do.


What five things would you never want to live without?
Sneakers, my shower, Advil, chocolate, and coffee.


What’s your favorite thing to do on date night?
Dinner and a movie with my husband and even my two teenagers. We love Marvel movies, Harry Potter, and Starwars.

What’s your least favorite chore?
Laundry because it takes forever!


What would your main character say about you?
“Wow, we have a lot in common!”


Who is your favorite fictional character?
Jamie and Claire Frazier in the Outlander series are tied. You can’t really have one without the other. 



You have a personal chef for the night. What would you ask him to prepare?
My husband cooks a lot, although I wouldn’t say he’s a personal chef . . . I ask him to make his French onion soup a lot.


How do you like your pizza?
Deluxe!

My kind of woman! 
What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
My 14 year old daughter and 13 year old son being silly.



How often do you read?
I try to read a bit every day. I read everything. Historical fiction, fantasy, all kinds of genres. Lately, I’ve been a little obsessed with reading about Sisi, Empress Elisabeth of Austria.

Do you have a favorite book?
Where’d You Go Bernadette? is my favorite book. Author, (and former Arrested Development producer) Maria Semple is a genius. Plus, I think I might be Bernadette (minus her architecture abilities).



What are you working on now?
Book 3 in the Dog Days Mysteries series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jamie Blair (Ohio) is the award-winning author of young adult and romance books, including Leap of Faith (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and Lost to Me.

Connect with Jamie:
Website  |  
Facebook 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo 

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