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:
Amazon  |  Smashwords

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 

Buy the book:
Amazon

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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:
Website  |  
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon  | Barnes & Noble 

Watch the trailer:
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

FEATURED AUTHOR: CASSIDY SALEM

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bad karma, a rival suitor, and a deadly attack are enough to put a damper on any date.
Just when Adina’s social life is looking up, her night out is interrupted by the scream of police sirens. Afraid her bartender boyfriend might be accused of murder, Adina’s neighbor enlists her assistance, and in the process exposes her to the seamier side of illegal immigration and crime in the city. Hard as she tries to limit her involvement, the more Adina learns, the more she needs to know—until a case of mistaken identity lands her in hot water. Will she uncover the truth before it’s too late? Dying for Data is the second book in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth mystery series.

INTERVIEW WITH CASSIDY SALEM

How did you get started writing?

Like most authors, I have been writing all my life in various forms. Starting from school and college, in the context of assignments (I always did better on term papers than exams). But my writing was always semi-academic or technical in nature. I have always been an avid reader and thought about writing a book one day. Around 16 years ago, I made a career move and landed in technical writing. When you write technical manuals, your sentences must be short and concise—and almost always in the present simple tense. No room for creativity at all. Writing a novel was a way of challenging myself to be creative.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
Plot. No doubt about it. Coming up with an original storyline. My characters seem to take care of themselves as I write.

What books do you currently have published?
I have published two books in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth series. The first, Think Murder, was released in 2015. Dying for Data was released this week.

How often do you tweet? 

At least once a day. I also try to retweet my fellow authors whenever I have time to get on Twitter. (I don’t use any automated retweet programs.)

How do you feel about Facebook?
It’s great for keeping in touch with geographically-remote family members, and has been a great tool for networking with other indie offers. I love it, but I definitely see the need to exercise caution in what you put out there in cyberspace on any form of social media.

What’s your favorite fast food?
That’s easy. Pizza!


How do you like your pizza? Growing up, my favorite pizza was the homemade pizza my dad would make—thick crust, tomato sauce, and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. I’ll occasionally make it that way at home. Even when I eat pizza out, I don’t go for all the toppings, just extra cheese.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
A few little ones—I will confess to having a Diet-Coke habit and a scary loud sneeze.

What is your most embarrassing moment?
I have embarrassed myself more often than I’d care to admit. I’ll share one with you. For a while when I was in junior high school, long skirts with elastic waistbands were in style. One day, I got to school and crouched down to get something out of my locker, inadvertently stepping on the hemline. When I got up, the skirt stayed down.

Yikes! What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
As part of a final assignment in college for a course on adolescent development, we had to write a personal development paper—how events/people had played a part in becoming who we are. I put it off forever, until I had no choice but to hunker down and do the soul-searching the task entailed.

What’s one thing that very few people know about you? 

This one might qualify as an embarrassing moment—when I was in 5th grade, I broke my pinky finger kicking a ball. (No, that’s not a typo.)


What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
A picture that I took on a trip to Norway—a field full of wild Norwegian fireweed.


What’s your favorite smell?
Vanilla.


What’s your favorite color?
Blue
.

What are your favorite foods?
Chocolate, cheesecake.


What do others say about your driving?
I am directionally-challenged. Distract me for a minute and expect to take an unscheduled detour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries (both cozy and traditional). Over the years, her favorite mystery authors have included Agatha Christie, Kathy Reichs, Mary Higgins Clark, and John Grisham. Cassidy also enjoys reading historical fiction focused on American and world history, as well as the classics.

Cassidy has never met a dog she didn't like—a fact that influenced her decision to have the protagonist in her mystery series volunteer at a dog rescue center.

When she's not reading, Cassidy enjoys spending time with family and friends, and travels with her husband and son whenever possible. Her travels have taken her to destinations throughout the United States and Europe.



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FEATURED AUTHOR: MARIA GRAZIA SWAN

ABOUT THE BOOK

When her eyes were finally opened to the truth, she couldn't recognize her own life... 
Italian-born Lella York is trying to figure out who she is. Her husband has died. Her son is grown and, for the most part, gone. And now, her best friend is missing. Upon returning to Southern California after a visit to her beloved Italy, Lella is shocked to learn the mysterious circumstances of Ruby's disappearance as well as the death of Ruby's husband. And Lella's son is the prime suspect. Her cat is not so happy about it all either! 
Now, someone's stalking Lella. Caught in the middle of it all, Lella stumbles across the perfect topper—namely, a sexy police detective who keeps secrets from her while he's setting her pants on fire. Nothing like a little romance to distract a girl while she's trying to locate a missing person, solve a possible homicide, get her son out of jail and stay two steps ahead of the firing line.


. . . A perfect murder mystery ~Dana Point Times




In a “suspenseful  . . . smooth, compulsive” read, national bestselling and award winning author Maria Grazia Swan, delivers a “can't-put-it-down kind of read, almost like a dream/nightmare that won't stop.”  ~Italophile Book Reviews


Gemini Moon was awarded the prestigious HOLT Award of Merit from the Virginia Romance Writers Association. It also received a certificate of excellence from The Heart of the West Romance Writers of America



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INTERVIEW WITH MARIA GRAZIA SWAN

Maria, tell us about your series.
At the moment I have 2 series: Mina’s adventures with 6 books. It started out as a classic mystery, but somehow, as the writing progressed, romance got in the mix. By book two bad boy Diego had entered the pages and he’s still here, stealing my readers’ hearts. Mina, the main character is in her mid-twenty and like all my female main characters is Italian born, living in the United States.

The other series is somewhat different. Lella York’s is fifty plus, a widow with a grown son who is a movie actor. We witness her menopausal years with hot flashes and mid life crisis. Her insecurities come shining through when she meets a sexy retired detective who gets her heart racing in more ways than one. This series is more psychologically suspenseful than Mina’s adventures where there is more spontaneous action.

Again, both series have an Italian-born female character and a cat. What can I say? I’m Italian-born, living in the United States, and I’m a cat person. 

In what setting do your books take place?
I wrote my first book, Love Thy Sister-Mina’s adventures #1 while living in Orange County, California. It was only natural to use that locale. I mean, you have sandy beaches, busy freeways, golden boys, and starlets galore. A brief ride form Los Angeles or San Diego, Orange County is simply perfect. Except for book #3, Italian Summer, that I wrote when I went back home, the houses, the streets, and the cemetery are all real, along with the tears and the joys of reliving my youth while telling the story, book 4-5-6 are all set in California. I may have another book there before Mina feels the urge to revisit her beloved Italy.

As for Lella’s books, since she’s not working, she travels more. Book #1, Gemini Moon, starts out in Italy, magnificent Florence, then moves to Orange County, California where she lives and volunteers at the San Juan Capistrano Mission as a docent. Yes, I did that.  The second book, Venetian Moon, needs little explanation, takes place around Venice, places I call home. The last one, Desert Moon see our Lella in Phoenix, Arizona, the place I now call home . . . not sure about book #4, but I may have a few surprises for Lella, all associated with the Mission where as I said, I was a docent for a while.

Then again, I have a trip to Italy coming up soon . . .

Are any of your books based on real events?
Indeed all my stories have elements of truth or real events if you prefer. And most of my characters are based on real people.

Take Lella York’s book #1. The encounter with the astrologer on Ponte Vecchio? It happened to me, I changed some details and stretched the drama, but yeah . . . I did give the astrologer a false birth date . . . long story . . . not nearly as interesting as Lella’s.
And the book was inspired by the death of my good friend Yvonne. In real life she died of a gunshot to the back of the head. The shooter? Her husband. After spending years running the scenario of her death in my mind I ended up reversing the roles. I paid homage to my friend by describing Ruby just the way I remember Yvonne. Charming, pretty, petite with dark eyes and dark hair (she was part Italian), and full of life. She was the editor of a magazine. And some of the joyful scenes between Lella and Ruby are also true to life. R.I.P Yvonne.

What are you working on now?
For readers of my Lella York’s books, I have a new title in a wonderful mystery collection that will be published in October. If you like Halloween and mysteries by some of your favorite authors, you're in for a treat. That’s all I know for now.

I’m also working on a new series and some of you are probably tired of reading ‘working on’ it will definitely be out by November. All I can tell you is that I have recipes and the male character name is Tristan. My dear readers, you were the ones who voted for the name . . . remember?

And with that, I’ll say, ciao e mille grazie to Amy for kindly allowing me to share her pages for today.

Thanks for being here, Maria!

Readers, grab Gemini Moon now while it's just $0.99! And enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Best selling author Maria Grazia Swan was born in Italy, but this rolling stone has definitely gathered no moss. She lived in Belgium, France, Germany, in beautiful Orange County, California where she raised her family and is currently at home in Phoenix, Arizona—but stay tuned for weekly updates of Where in the World is Maria Grazia Swan?



As a young girl, her vivid imagination predestined her to be a writer. She won her first literary award at the age of fourteen while living in Belgium. As a young woman Maria returned to Italy to design for—ooh-la-la—haute couture. Once in the U.S. and after years of concentrating on family, she tackled real estate. These days her time is devoted to her deepest passions: writing and helping people and pets find the perfect home. 

Maria loves travel, opera, good books, hiking, and intelligent movies (if she can find one, that is). When asked about her idea of a perfect evening, she favors stimulating conversation, Northern Italian food and perfectly chilled Prosecco—but then, who doesn't? 



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