Today we sit down for a chat with Shandra Higheagle from author Paty Jager’s Shandra Higheagle Mysteries.
What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?
I had pulled myself out of a bad relationship, purchased a ranch on Huckleberry Mountain in Idaho, and was successfully making a living throwing vases from the clay I found on my mountain. While living estranged from my mother and stepfather, I was content with only myself, my dog Sheba, my horses, and my new employee, Crazy Lil.
What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?
I’m loyal to my friends. I grew up in a world that was short of loyalty. I believe it is something that should be given to those you call a friend and family that returns the loyalty.
What do you like least about yourself?
That I allowed my mother’s slanted vision of my Nez Perce family to keep me away from them far too long. That I missed getting to know my paternal grandmother before she died.
What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?
Soon after attending my Nez Perce grandmother’s funeral, my grandmother started coming to me in dreams. Giving me clues that I didn’t understand and wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?
I wanted to take my relationship with Ryan slow and she wanted to push things because readers wanted more. Now I’m fighting her on having children. They would get in the way of my sleuthing and helping Ryan catch murderers. But at the same time, Ryan comes from a large family, and even though he says he’s fine with just the two of us, I wonder if he really would like to start a family. My upbringing with a stepfather who despised me has me thinking children aren’t a good thing. The chance Ryan could die like my father did leaving behind small children makes me hesitant.
What is your greatest fear?
That I might do something that would anger or upset my paternal family. I am trying to learn more about my Nez Perce roots, but I fear that one day I will do or say something that will make my family pull back.
What makes you happy?
Riding my horse on the mountain with Sheba running ahead and Ryan riding beside me.
If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?
It would be my father dying when I was four. My mother taking me away from my father’s family. The one summer I spent with my Nez Perce grandmother I discovered more about myself than any other time until her death and my getting reacquainted with my family.
Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?
It would have to be Sidney Doring, the owner of the Huckleberry Ski Lodge. He believes he is God’s gift to women and treats everyone like they are his own personal attendants. He and I have never been on good terms and even more so since Ryan and I became a couple.
Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?
Honestly? No one. I love who I am, what I do, and how my dreams enable me to help Ryan put killers in jail. My life couldn’t get any better.
Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?
Paty is a rural girl who loves riding horses, hiking, and even helping her husband harvest hay. She has always been fascinated with story and has loved mysteries ever since she read Nancy Drew books. You can learn more about her at her website and her blog.
What's next for you?
Paty took a 40th anniversary trip to Hawaii with her hubby and while she was there, she discovered a plausible reason for me to visit and is working on an unusual murder for me to solve when Ryan and I attend an art show on Kauai.
A Shandra Higheagle Mystery
Adultery… Jealousy… Murder
Shandra Higheagle Greer is minding her own business when she walks into a room for a massage and it is already occupied—by a dead body.
Always the champion for someone she knows, when her favorite masseuse looks like the murderer, Shandra listens to her gut and dreams choreographed by her deceased grandmother.
Detective Ryan Greer can’t believe his wife has walked into another homicide. He’s learned no matter how he tries to keep her out of the investigation he can’t. But this time the consequences could be deadly for Shandra—she heard the murder happen.
3 comments:
Thank you for interviewing Shandra!
Hi Paty, I enjoyed hearing about the story from your character's point of view and learning her interesting backstory. Good luck with the book!
Hi Reggi, Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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