Wednesday, June 26, 2024

MYSTERY AND PARANORMAL ROMANCE AUTHOR MICHELE DRIER ON ADDING LOVE TO THE MIX

Michele Drier is a fifth generation Californian. During her career in journalism at daily newspapers in California, she won awards for investigative series. She started out writing mysteries with the Amy Hobbes series then segued into paranormal romance—short on the violence, long on the romance—with her eleven-book series The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles. She’s also a book editor and teaches basic writing skills. Learn more about Michele and her books at her website.

Is Love the End?

 

Writing a series has its good and bad. Good because the characters have backstory that doesn’t need to be recreated in each book, and this allows them to grow.

 

Bad because they may never be able to have a Happily Ever After. The emotional and sexual tension between the protag and his or her love interest has kept the series fresh. Will a HEA release that tension?

 

I didn’t set out to write mysteries with a romantic subtext, but somehow there was always an attractive man (my protags are usually women) hanging around, wanting to be acknowledged. And the protags are all women who have never counted commitment as a need in their lives.

 

In my paranormal romance series, The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, I managed to keep this tension going through the first nine books, but finally Maxie Gwenoch, the protag, had to make a decision. And now, as I set out to write the twelfth book, the tension has shifted but love and sex is still there.

 

In my mystery series, The Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries and the Stained Glass Mysteries, both protags seem to be moving toward commitment, so will the subtext shift or will the couple become like the wise-cracking Thin Man series, with wit and humor keeping the zeitgeist alive?

 

In July, the third book in the Stained Glass series, Resurrection of the Roses, will see the light of day and a new female attraction will be introduced. How will this affect the budding relationship between Roz and Liam? Or has the murder of Roz’ husband affected her so deeply that she can’t entertain even having another relationship?

 

There are times when, as an author, my decision to leave the question of “will she or won’t she” up to the reader, has backfired. My readers have all wanted to know! And they wanted a HEA.

 

One of the reasons I started writing mysteries, and why the genre still attracts me, is that I love puzzles. Reading and solving a mystery has such a sense of satisfaction that even the romantic subplot needs a resolution, even if it’s a HFN (happily for now).

 

I think most of us are creatures of gratification, and wrapping up a mystery or relationship question gives us a feeling of making the world right again.

 

How about you? As a reader do you want the book (or series) to end on a HEA, or are you satisfied when the author leaves some ambiguity?

 

Resurrection of the Roses, the third book in The Stained Glass Mysteries, will be available in July.

 

Resurrection of the Roses

The Stained Glass Mysteries, Book 3

 

When Roz Duke receives an invitation to speak on stained glass at a medieval crafts conference in Paris, she’s torn about accepting. Then her friend Liam spots the invitation and conjures up a summer touring France, a lure Roz can’t resist.  Before the conference officially kicks off, though, the body of a man, impaled on a large shard of ruby red stained glass, stops her. Once again, she’s the finder of dead bodies. Who is the dead man? And why her? One of the first police officers on the site is a beautiful French Surete inspector, Celie Lejeune, who instantly homes in on Liam. 

 

Set against the vineyards and wineries of Burgundy, Roz, Liam and her rescue greyhound Tut, learn about making stained glass, wine and medieval crafts, but another body turns up and a couple of French cathedrals burn down. Arson? 

 

Roz and Liam’s idyllic French summer takes on a distinct menacing tone, dogged by an inscrutable French policewoman. Does she have designs on Liam? Or is it Roz in her sights? 


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Wednesday, June 19, 2024

AN INTERVIEW WITH CALLIE HAYBECK FROM JANNA ROLLINS' ZEN GOAT MYSTERIES

Today we sit down for a chat with Callie Haybeck from author Janna Rollins’ Zen Goat Mysteries. 

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

Before I met Janna, I was twenty-seven and still living in my childhood bedroom in my parent’s house in Seattle, Washington. I was waitressing at a seafood restaurant and teaching a couple of yoga classes a week, but I felt like I was at loose ends. I couldn’t afford my own place in Seattle, most of my friends were getting married or at least in solid relationships, and I was content to play board games with my family on Friday nights. On a whim, I took a DNA test and found some long lost family. I’m glad my author pushed me to get on a plane to New Hampshire to meet them. It has changed everything. (Well, most everything. I’m still living in a family member’s spare room, but at least it’s not my parent’s anymore!)

 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I’ve discovered I have a strong work ethic and can pretty much learn any task set in front of me. Whoever thought a city girl like me would be out there mending fences and bailing hay?

 

What do you like least about yourself?

My tendency to open my mouth and let stupid things fall out of it before I think. I really need to work on that!

 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

Probably buying a herd of goats only to find out I’m allergic to them, but going ahead and teaching sessions of goat yoga anyway. I should have purchased stock in Kleenex!

 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

Not that often, but every once in a while. It’s usually about my author wanting me to be braver than I am. Why can’t she let someone else catch the bad guy for a change?

 

What is your greatest fear?

Never fully growing up. What if I’m one of those people who is labeled “failed to thrive?” It’s not that I don’t love my great-aunt and great-uncle and working on the farm, but am I ever going to be fully independent? 

 

What makes you happy?

Oh, gosh. Coffee, my favorite goat Bugsy, especially when he’s yelling to make sure I know he’s there. It cracks me up every time. My cousin Tristan, that adorable but maddening veterinarian Levi. Uncle Will’s sparkling eyes when he’s teasing me, Aunt Ellen’s lemon-blueberry muffins, the sound of summer nights, fireflies. So many things!

 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

Nothing really. My life hasn’t been bad, at all, even though it’s been a bit less than magnificent. I mean, maybe I would’ve, should’ve, put myself out there more and given myself the opportunity to fall in love. But I’m only twenty-seven. There’s still plenty of time to get my heart broken. 

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Hands down, Jim Haybeck. He’s Tristan’s dad, and Aunt Ellen and Uncle Will’s only offspring. The guy’s a big jerk. He’s an attorney from Chicago and apparently thinks I’m here to try to scam his parents out of their farm. I could do without seeing him again for a very long time. 

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

Hmm. Interesting question. I’m going to have to go with Sydney Livingston. She’s the nicest one out of the group of mean girls staying at the farm for a goat yoga retreat. Sydney is about my age and already almost done with medical school. She really has her life together. I mean, it’s possible she may be a murderer, but….nah. I don’t think she is. 

 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

My author, Janna Rollins, also writes the Hometown Hardware mysteries as Paula Charles. You can find both her personalities on her website – www.paulacharles.com – or on both Facebook and Instagram as Rainy Day Mysteries. 

 

What's next for you?

I’ll see you again in the spring of 2025 in Goats Just Wanna Have Fun where I’ll be at the local county fair teaching daily sessions of goat yoga, and probably eating my weight in fried fair food! 

 

An Escape Goat

A Zen Goat Mystery, Book 1

 

After finding long-lost family through a DNA test, Callie heads to Bobwhite Hollow, New Hampshire, to meet a great-uncle she never knew existed. Charmed by the village and more than half in love with her new family, she decides to stay and open a goat yoga studio and retreat space.

 

When retreat guest Angilene Claudson turns up dead with a wine glass shattered at her side and Callie’s favorite goat lapping up the spill, the death is written off as an accidental overdose. But when the goat gets sick, Callie’s gut tells her it wasn’t an accident at all. With her new business on the line and a possible murderer staying in the guesthouse, Callie sets to work to uncover the truth and keep her family safe.

 

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Wednesday, June 12, 2024

MEET DEBUT MYSTERY AUTHOR ALICE FITZPATRICK

The harbor in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales,
the inspiration for the Meredith Island setting.
Alice Fitzpatrick has contributed short stories to literary magazines and anthologies and has recently retired from teaching to devote herself to writing full-time. Secrets in the Water is the first book in the Meredith Island Mystery series inspired by her summers spent with her Welsh family in Pembrokeshire. Learn more about Alice and her writing at her website.

I Have Always Been a Writer

Like most authors, I’m sometimes asked, “When did you know you wanted to become a writer?” The truth is, it was never a conscious decision. I’ve always been a storyteller. It’s how I comprehend and interact with the world. While other people arrive late and offer vague references to problems with public transit, I delight in recounting every detail.

 

My love of stories came from escaping into the books I received for Christmas and my birthdays from my English grandmother. I suspect she hoped reading British literary and historical classics would keep me in touch with my birthplace. But she also sent me tales of girls preparing for careers in ballet, which was my passion for many years.

 

However, it wasn’t simply being a voracious reader that sparked my desire to write. In Ontario, there was a children’s safety campaign featuring Elmer the Safety Elephant, a cartoon elephant wearing a silly hat. Each year public school students competed for silver dollars by writing four-line poems on the theme of safety. I always won. That taught me there was money to be made from writing, even poorly rhyming poetry.

 

When I ran out of my favorite stories—Pippi Longstocking and Lewis Carroll’s Alice books—I continued their adventures by writing my own, my first attempt at writing a series.

 

At the tender age of twelve, I received my first rejection letter when I sent Carol Burnett a sketch I’d written, a satire on the ballet Swan Lake called “Swan Swamp”. I was politely told that Carol’s show couldn’t accept outside submissions. It would be the first of many rejections, but it’s still my favorite.

 

The next year, I completed my first novel, The Dying Swan, once again picking up on the theme of ballet. I never set out to write a novel; it was simply a short story that got out of hand. Lots of people write books, so I never regarded it as anything remarkable.

 

My first publication was in my last year of high school when one of my poems was chosen for a student anthology edited by Canadian poet George Bowering. Emboldened by my success, I submitted my poetry to every publishing company listed in the Yellow Pages, determined to become the youngest person to win the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Sadly, it wasn’t long before I realized I wasn’t a poet.

 

Once I entered university, academic writing demanded all my attention as well as the engagement of the restrained analytic rather than the spirited creative part of my brain. This continued for fifteen years as I completed three degrees. As a newly minted high school English teacher, I was now responsible for instructing the next generation how to write academically.

 

But I missed telling my stories. It was time to give my imagination free reign once more. In the 1990s, I published literary short fiction and attempted a novel about a group of young people whose friendship is based on their mutual admiration for Dylan Thomas. Because I’d spent many wonderful summers in Wales, it was begun as an homage to Wales’ most famous poet—not the best reason to write a novel. As a result, both the plot and its creator suffered from a lack of focus, and the book was abandoned. What I needed was a genre with a defined plot structure.

 

As a teenager, I’d immersed myself in my mother’s Agatha Christie novels. The quaint country villages, elegant stately homes, and exotic seaside hotels reminded me of the England I’d left behind when we’d immigrated to Canada. With each book, I took on the challenge of matching wits with Miss Christie, ever hopeful that this time I would identify the murderer. Like a jigsaw puzzle, every piece of a mystery has to fit perfectly, and I marvelled at the skill required to construct such intricate plots.

 

But when it came to writing these books myself, I was intimidated by the task of researching police procedure and forensic science on the off-chance my amateur sleuth crossed paths with a CID detective. However, my desire to write eventually overcame my fear of getting the details wrong.

 

So the Meredith Island Mysteries were born, a series featuring a retired English teacher amateur detective—with more than a passing resemblance to the author—eccentric characters, and a picturesque island setting reminiscent of my youth spent in a Welsh seaside town.

 

Secrets in the Water

A Meredith Island Mystery, Book 1

 

When Kate Galway was just three years old, her aunt Emma committed suicide. Now Kate has returned home to her childhood island home off the Welsh coast to bury her grandmother where she’s confronted with the islanders’ conviction that her aunt was murdered all those years ago. But it's when she learns that her grandmother died believing she was responsible for Emma’s death that Kate decides to track down a killer who has eluded detection for fifty years. Along the way, she must confront shameful secrets from her family’s past and her conflicted feelings about the place which was once her home.

 

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Monday, June 10, 2024

SORRY, KNOT SORRY VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR


Today marks the start of the Great Escapes virtual book tour for Sorry, Knot Sorry, the 13th book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. Join me and my author at each of the participating sites for some fun posts and a chance to win a copy of the book by entering the Rafflecopter at each stop. The more sites you visit and enter, the greater your chance of winning one of copies author Lois Winston will be giving away at the end of the tour.

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 10 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – Jane Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST  

June 13 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 14 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – CRAFT POST

June 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 16 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

June 18 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 20 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 20 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 22 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT

You can also find all the information on the Great Escapes Tour Page

Sorry, Knot Sorry

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 13

 

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth. 

 

Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script.

 

Craft tips included.

 

Buy Links

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Kobo 

Nook 

Apple Books

Books2Read Universal Link to Other Sites 

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

FROM MID-CENTURY MODERN TO PODCASTS TO AI, OH MY!

Today marks the release of Sorry, Knot Sorry, the thirteenth book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Lucky number thirteen for my author, not so lucky number thirteen for me because once again, author Lois Winston has wreaked havoc in my life with yet another dead body. This one, gunned down in front of my house. Right after the guy left my house! So, it’s not like I can shrug my shoulders and say there was no connection between the two of us.

Lois is a news junkie who likes to draw on current and newsworthy events when developing the plots for the books in the series about me. In Sorry, Knot Sorry she weaves together such disparate topics as podcasts, artificial intelligence, and the current trend for all things mid-century modern, including a nod to tie-dye and macramé. After all, this is a crafting cozy series.

 

Speaking of artificial intelligence, did you hear about my author’s experiment, using me as a guinea pig? When AI hit the news full force several months ago, worry began to mount among authors. Would they all become obsolete in the not-too-distant future? Lois decided to ask Chat GPT to create a novel for the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. She wanted to test just how intelligent this artificial intelligence is to see if her days as an author really were numbered.

 

Now keep in mind that you can find information about me, as well as the stories Lois has created about me, all over the Internet. A short synopsis of each book, along with the first chapter, are not only available on her website, but also on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Books-a-Million, Audible, and countless other e-tailers. You’d think with all that available information, Chat GPT would scan the Internet cosmos and come up with something that bore some resemblance to me, my family, and the world Lois has created for us.

 

Think again! The results were so off base that they were laughable. The not-so-intelligent artificial intelligence transformed Ralph, my African Grey parrot into my uncle. My mother’s Persian cat, Catherine the Great, morphed into my employee. Instead of working as the crafts editor at a women’s magazine, AI made me the owner of a knitting shop. Worst of all? There was absolutely nothing funny in any of the pages that AI had generated. Lois writes humorous amateur sleuth mysteries. I get through all she dumps on me by relying on my sense of humor. But apparently, this new technology lacks a funny bone and is both incapable of seeing humor or generating it.

 

This has turned out to be a good news/bad news situation. Good news for Lois because she now feels she can rest easier, knowing her career won’t be usurped by a bunch of algorithms anytime soon. Bad news for me, though, because Lois is already plotting how she can wreak more havoc in the life of this reluctant amateur sleuth for Book Fourteen. And you can be sure, there will be more dead bodies.

 

Sorry, Knot Sorry

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 13

 

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth. 

 

Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script.

 

Craft tips included.

 

Buy Links

Amazon

Kobo

Nook

Apple Books