MEET P.I. SKYLAR DRAKE

Catalina Island in the 1950s

Today we sit down with private investigator Skylar Drake from Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger’s Skylar Drake Murder Mystery Series.

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

My life? I didn’t have much of a life after I lost my wife Claire, and Ellie, my beautiful three-year-old girl. They died in a house fire three years ago when I was undercover for LAPD. The circumstances were suspicious, and I started a lawsuit against the LAPD that got me fired. My dream is to open my own gym and find out who was behind the fire that killed my family. But you know, when I’m desperate to pay my bills, I work as a stuntman for Prestigious Studios. I still take on one of their gigs when money is low.  The work is fun. I get to meet many stars. Most (not all) are just plain folks with a special talent trying to live their lives.

Before these writers came along and threw a couple wrenches into my life, I was having nightmares from my time in Korea. Even with the distraction of interesting cases, I still wake up in a cold sweat— but only once in a while.

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

About the time Lynn and Zeilinger wrote their first story for me I inherited a detective agency from my late wife’s brother. He’s going to be out of the picture for three to five years.

The LAPD taught me how to be a pretty good investigator, so I got together with my partner Casey Dolan. Our clients are happy in the end, some are saddened, but the mystery is always solved. I must say that my detective agency, D&D Investigations has brought in interesting cases. I’ve doubled the amount of cases and money since I took over the agency.

What do you like least about yourself?

I don't trust anyone except my partner Dolan and Lory Carrington, my secretary. Even good people need to prove themselves to me. It embarrasses me when they prove they can be trusted and I’ve treated them badly.

What is the strangest thing your authors have had you do or had happen to you?

Everyone seems to want me to date again, but I have trouble leaving the memory of Claire and Ellie behind me. Along with that, women whose first names end in "y" are unlucky for me.

These authors keep naming the interesting women in my stories with first names that end in "y.”  Take Mary Black in my latest case, Slick Deal. This lady is the spitting image of Ava Gardner.  But they’ve written her so I can’t get too close. She’s a sweet girl and a stunning beauty. I’ll have to find a way around the authors’ plot ideas.

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

You should see the outlines these two make. It's horrific the way they have me fighting and getting beat up. I'd be exhausted to say the least. I don't always have to fight to get my point across. So I argue with them and try to get them to add more "reasonable" characters. They usually listen to me but only after the first edit.

What is your greatest fear?

Other than the outline? I'd say there are two things that I worry about in all four books:  One, that the bad guys gets away with the crime, leaving dead people in their path. It's never happened because I make sure the authors listen to me. And second, I miss not being in love, and worry love won't be in the stars for me... because of these word jockeys.

What makes you happy?

Memories of my wife and daughter and solving the unsolvable. And it's great to prove the "experts" wrong. I'm happy when my partner and I see eye-to-eye. Dolan and I go way back to our days at the LAPD, and since 1955 when I took over this business, we've worked well together, always have.

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

I would definitely change the names of the Femme Fatale's and not make their names end in "y". Many times I have to bite my lip, turn and walk away. Hey, it's not easy. Why you ask?  This may sound corny, but I'd like to fall in love again.

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

In the first book, Slivers of Glass, I met FBI Agent Olivia Jahns. A gorgeous, smart and sexy women whose name doesn't end in "y". She keeps an eye on me and my partner. You’d think a lady like her could think outside the box once in awhile. Since she can't seem to do that, she could listen to me, but what woman ever does?

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

Softy Moreno, a big time gangster in LA, He’s a really cool cat. I don't agree with his methods for getting things done. He's been my nemesis for four books now. I admire his charm with the ladies and his fortitude. When he makes a promise he never fails to follow through, good or bad. In Desert Ice he actually promised to get the person responsible for the violence that everyone blamed on him. And he did exactly that. Too bad the writers don’t let people like him tell their side of the story often enough.

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

It amazed me how they make each book happen. They don't believe in just researching the mid-1950s. They have to experience each location before they put pen to paper. So they took me with them to rural Santa Rosa, California, pre-statehood Hawaii, gang-infested Las Vegas, and the sleepy town of Avalon, on Catalina Island. It's been a joy to travel with them and it's exciting to guess what they have planned for me. They each have a thing they call a website:

www.janetlynnauthor.com, www.willzeilingerauthor.com, and together they have a blog: www.themarriedauthors.blogspot.com.

What's next for you?

I enjoy staying close to LA, where my office has easy access to the film and TV studios. Traveling by rail or flying out of the area is time consuming and expensive. So I hope for the next one they'll let me stay in L.A. or Hollywood. There's plenty of excitement in both cities, but with these two authors... one never knows.

Slick Deal

On the eve of the New Year, 1956, oil tycoon, Oliver Wright dies suspiciously at a swanky Hollywood New Years Eve party. Some think it was suicide. His death is soon followed by threats against the rest of his family.

Private Investigator Skylar Drake and his partner Casey Dolan are hired by an L.A. gangster to protect the family and solve Oliver’s mysterious death. Clues lead them to Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island, a Hollywood movie star playground. A high profile scandal, mysterious women, treason and more deaths complicate matters, putting Drake and his partner in danger.

Twenty-three miles may not seem far away but false identity and corruption on this island could squash their efforts to answer the question—How in the world can a dead man commit suicide?

Buy Link 

SHARE A MARGARITA WITH GUEST AUTHOR VINNIE HANSEN

The author with Carol Sabala's m#argarita

A reading addict since childhood, Vinnie Hansen is now the author of the Carol Sabala mysteries. The seventh installment in the series, Black Beans & Venom, was a finalist for the Claymore Award. She’s also written many published short stories including Novel Solution in the anthology, Fish or Cut Bait, and Bad Connection, the 2015 winner of the Golden Donut Award. Learn more about Vinnie and her books at her website. And keep reading for a chance to win one of three copies of Squeezed & Juiced Vinnie is giving away.

When I started writing my Carol Sabala mystery series, I was married to Mr. Wrong. I’d made Carol Sabala, my protagonist, a baker in an upscale restaurant, modeled on the place where my husband worked as a sous chef.

My husband was a treasure trove of inside information. Until we got divorced.

What might have been a stumbling block proved to be a step up. My protagonist, like myself, was feeling constricted in the cozy genre. I personally like to read grittier mysteries. Plus, in a small town setting like my Santa Cruz, I faced the Jessica Fletcher problem. How many bodies could an amateur sleuth credibly stumble upon? My series also jumps through time, and I wanted Carol Sabala to grow and change. She gradually morphed into a P.I., while still retaining her bread-and-butter job as a baker.

Having Carol keep her restaurant job not only seemed realistic, but also allowed the established food titles to continue to make sense. While I am neither a sous chef nor a professional baker, I still offer one recipe in each book. Here’s the menu and the connection:

Murder, Honey, Book 1 (now available in the boxed set Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries): Lebkuchen because the victim collapses into Carol’s pan of lebkuchen dough.

One Tough Cookie, Book 2: Crinkles. By the second book, I already realized I needed help with recipes. This one came from a member of my reading group. She often baked them for us until she passed away at ninety-three.

Squeezed & Juiced, Book 4: Margaritas. The old people in the story are “squeezed” and the victim is killed with a deadly injection. Juiced? So I give you the secret to my new husband’s very best margaritas just in time for summer. Recipe below.

Death with Dessert, Book 5: Flan. Carol goes on a manhunt into Mexico. This recipe for traditional Mexican flan I coerced from a Mexican-American colleague.

Art, Wine & Bullets, Book 6: Wine & Cheese Pairings. Fitting for a book set during Open Studios. A professional “culinarian” provided these pairings. Before sampling them all, I’d never even tried a Shiraz or Malbec wine. Writing mysteries leads to amazing experiences . . . .

Black, Beans & Venom, Book 7: Black Beans. Carol Sabala’s last adventure takes her to Cuba. Cuban food is wholesome and healthy, but on the bland side due to the lack of spices (a result of the embargo). But a Puerto Rican friend shared his Mama’s recipe, the tastiest black beans I’ve ever eaten.

Now, you may have noticed Book 3 is not listed. This is not an oversight. Rotten Dates, the third Carol Sabala mystery, will be the last one re-released from misterio press in late 2016. In the book, the “dates” are deadly ones with an evil man. For the recipe, I am looking for a delicious, non-deadly use of dates. Any offerings?

Carol Sabala’s Margaritas

The secret is the freshly squeezed juice!

Put lots of ice cubes in a container for mixing.

Coat the rims of the two glasses with lime juice and dip in salt (ground sea salt preferred). Fill the glasses with additional ice cubes.

Combine in the container:

3 oz. of Hornitos Tequila Sauza (or an upper shelf Tequila of your choice)

3 oz. of Controy (This is Mexican orange liquor that I’ve never found in the United States. A good Triple Sec is a fair substitute, but may give your margarita a slight orange tint.)

1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

Stir and pour over the ice in the glasses.

Squeezed and Juiced

Her first real P.I. case, an ailing mother, and a stalled relationship.

As Carol Sabala attempts to juggle the components of her life, they all threaten to crash. Training to be a private eye, Carol wrangles a job to investigate a woman’s will. The more Carol probes the retirement home where the woman died, the more she grasps how easily one could kill an elderly person in such a facility. It is, after all, an expected last address. With Carol’s mother intent on moving to the same retirement home, the stakes are high. Will Carol prevent this facility from being her mother’s final address? Can she keep all the pieces of her life in the air as she enters a world of drug addicts and murder?

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook 

Want a chance to win a copy of Squeezed & Juiced? Vinnie is doing a Goodreads giveaway of three copies. Click here to enter.

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR STEVE LISKOW

Steve Liskow is a panelist and mentor for both Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and has been named a finalist for both the Edgar Award and the Shamus Award. His next novel, The Nowhere Man (hello, Beatle fans), will be published in May. Learn more about Steve and his books at his website. 

Rock & Roll Mystery

When I started college, I was a big British Invasion fan. I also liked the Monkees and Paul Revere and the Raiders, all of which helps you guess my age. In the fall of my sophomore year, I took a date to see Martha and the Vandellas, and the opening act was some guys called the Muddy Waters Blues Band. I’d never heard of them, but they blew me out of the water and I dropped my teeny-bopper allegiance and became a blues fan on the spot.

About two months later, I bought my first guitar, slightly better than what you’d find at Toys ‘R’ Us now, and began struggling to fingerpick the blues. I wanted to become the next Charley Patton, but sounded more like General Patton. Small hands, a lack of talent, and a wrist broken playing football didn’t help, but I still play. Since then, I’ve bought, sold or traded about twenty-five guitars and I can’t even guess how many amplifiers. I perform at local open mic nights, and I love it.

The writing epiphany came several years ago when my wife and I returned to Michigan for my high school reunion and I met a classmate—a woman I never knew then—who was now a session keyboard player in Detroit. In fact, her escort was the former drummer from Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet band. That meeting inspired my Chris “Woody” Guthrie PI series, set in Detroit. I envisioned the character as a guitar player and set out to list song titles that might also suggest a mystery. Right now, that list is five pages long and most of my published titles use songs or a line from a song.

The manuscript collected over 100 rejections under four different titles and dozens of revisions. Woody’s name changed three times, too, but the basic premise never varied. Years later, one of my musician friends commented that it sounded like the Bobby Fuller murder in 1966, and I admitted that I hadn’t thought about that at the time. I self-published the book in 2013 as Blood On the Tracks (the title of a Bob Dylan album), and it placed in the top ten of over 1500 entries for the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Novel Awards.

Now, Chris “Woody” Guthrie has his own series. He and girlfriend Megan Traine, an ex-keyboard player, get involved in cases that have a music slant. The first book solved the cold case of a rock star who died in his car years before, and it got some decent reviews. Oh Lord, Won’t You Steal Me a Mercedes Benz involves a car thief, the Detroit Mob, and a pregnant stripper. One of the important clues is a Gibson Les Paul guitar, which a man bought only weeks before someone kills him. Under one of his earlier names, Woody solves the murder of a rock singer in “Stranglehold,” which won the Black Orchid Novella Award for 2009, too.

I gave Woody my general appearance and musical preferences, so he plays a Fender Stratocaster for electric and a Gibson Hummingbird for acoustic. Now that he’s hooked up with Megan, a real musician, he practices more often and he’s a much better player than I am. In the third book, slated for fall of 2016, he’s learning to play “Crossroad Blues,” a classic by Robert Johnson, the King of the Delta Blues (You may know Eric Clapton’s reworking of it with Cream). Johnson was murdered at the age of 27, and a line from that song is my title: Dark Gonna Catch Me Here.

Music helps me write because a good song involves rhythm and harmony, too.  The chords and rhythm in a song are like the subplots and pacing in a good story, and I like to change points of view so everyone gets a solo.

Does it work? Well, I know the title of the fourth Woody Guthrie book that I won’t start writing until next fall. And I still have about 325 song titles left on my list.

Oh Lord, Won’t You Steal Me a Mercedes Benz

When “Hot Rod” Lincoln steals a Mercedes, he doesn’t know Tony Fortunato’s dead in the trunk, but the Detroit cops charge him with murder anyway. He turns to PI Chris “Woody” Guthrie for help, and Guthrie discovers that Tony, who married into the Mob, may have been embezzling—talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Everyone wants that money, but nobody knows where it is: Tony’s cheating wife, his pregnant stripper girlfriend, his crime boss uncle…or whoever really killed him. Guthrie needs to find the money and the killer before the meter runs out.

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook