This week it’s my pleasure to welcome Suzanne Hurley, author of the Samantha Barclay mystery series. Suzanne has taken her own profession and put it to work for her in her series. She also writes women’s fiction. Thank you for visiting today, Suzanne.

Marja:  Please tell us a little about your background and how you put your profession to work in your mysteries.

Suzanne: I just recently retired from being a counselor in a high school for twenty years. I loved my job and nothing made me happier than having an office full of students. I learned so much from each one of them. I also love to read mysteries and women’s fiction so one day I decided to write a mystery and also use what I know. You always hear that – write what you know – so I did. I made my main character a counselor in a high school. I never used any real life stories but I certainly wrote about school life from my experience and perspective.

Marja:  I have to be honest. I haven’t read any of your books yet, but they’ve come highly recommended, so I’ll be picking one up soon. What made you decide to write mysteries? They really can be such a challenge.

Suzanne: I have two older brothers who had the Hardy Boy Series when I was a kid and I devoured every one of them, then moved on to Agatha Christie and still read every mystery book I can get my hands on. I especially love reading books about independent, gutsy heroines who save the day, so to speak. So it was great fun to try my hand at creating such a character which I tried to do with Samantha Barclay and then throw her in among dead bodies, mysterious circumstances and lots of stuff to solve. Challenging but great fun.

Marja:  I had to laugh when I read that you threw her in among dead bodies – great way to put it. Tell us a little about your protagonist. Does she deal with life like you do, or does she find her own way?

Suzanne: My protagonist is called Samantha Barclay and she is a little like me but mostly her own person. I would never take the risks she does when helping people as, to be honest, I’d probably be fired from my job. But I admire Sam for going to the ends of the earth to help someone in need. I also love her sense of humor and kind of klutzy, not very confident moves when solving a mystery.

                                

Marja:  I love anything that includes humor. What kinds of challenges did you find while working as a high school counselor? Knowing teenagers, I’d imagine it was an interesting job on a daily basis.

Suzanne: It was a fascinating job and one of the main aspects I loved the most was encouraging teenagers to follow their dreams and never give up on them. I liked urging them on to try new things and get involved. There were sadder challenges, when dealing with very complex situations where students were very depressed and almost not capable of functioning. I tried hard to give them a ray of hope, hoping myself that it would blossom into sunshine for them.

Marja:  What a lovely thought. I understand a lot of your time is devoted to dog training, and that your dog, Rico, recently received his first title, Agility Dog of Canada. Congratulations! Do dogs figure in any of your books? Does the repetitiveness of training offer you any insights that you can use in your stories?

Suzanne: I love dogs and there are dogs in all my books. Max and Maxine – two delightful Red Irish Setters – are in all my mysteries. There is also a cat named Scruff. In my women’s fiction books, Havanese dogs appear and that’s the kind of dog I have now, a two year old Havanese named Rico. He just finished a competition on the weekend where he received his first Qualifying score in Advanced Agility.

Marja:  Congratulations, Rico! Other than reading, writing and dog training, what types of activities do you involve yourself in for entertainment?

Suzanne: My three main hobbies – reading, writing and dog training – take up most of my time but I also walk every day for an hour and love to spend time with family and friends – especially if it involves good food to eat.

Marja:  I can relate to that. Do you have a mentor? If so, who is it and why?

Suzanne: I have two mentors. Dorothy Bodoin is definitely one of my mentors. She did a review for my first book and we have chatted constantly since then. I adore her and she has so much wisdom to share plus she’s loads of fun. Canadian Author Lynda Simmons is also a mentor. I enjoy her books and she also shares her writing knowledge with me.

Marja:  Who are some of your favorite authors?

Suzanne: I have so many as I read all the time – about 5 books a week. I love Marcia Muller, Janet Evanovich, Dorothy Bodoin and my brother Peter Hurley.

Marja:  So your brother writes, too. You two must have so much to share with each other. As a mystery writer, is there one piece of advice you can share about writing in this genre?

Suzanne:  Hmmmmmm… I don’t have advice directly relating to the mystery genre, but my advice to people wanting to write a book is the Nike motto – Just Do It. I know so many people who start books and never finish, or get hung up on a chapter and stay there forever. To me, I write from start to finish. It’s like I race through the book trying to figure out what happens next. Sometimes my chapters are long, sometimes short but I need to get to the end. Then I go over it and flesh it out. So my main advice is – don’t procrastinate – just write the book. I write every single day, even for a short while depending on whether I have appointments or not. Before you know it, that little bit every day adds up to a book.

Great advice. It’s been a pleasure visiting with you today, Suzanne. I understand one of your books is an Epicon Finalist. Please let me know how that turns out. I hope you’ll return for another visit one day soon.

Suzanne’s website:   www.suzannemhurley.com

Suzanne on Amazon: Click Here

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Writing an action scene can be kind of tricky. Our first inclination is to write it just like the rest of a book, commas and all. But such is not the case. If you want your reader to feel the action along with your characters, you need to let go of some of those commas and long sentences and start clipping and chipping away at your words.

Let’s say you’re writing a car chase scene. Try putting yourself in the driver’s seat. If you were chasing someone or being chased, how likely is it that you’d be carrying on a conversation with a passenger? Not likely at all. Here’s an excerpt from A Well-Kept Family Secret, a scene between Sandi Webster and her mother, Livvie:

   “Punch it!” My mother was giving me an order. “He turned right at that next street.” She’d let go of her seat and was leaning as far forward as her seatbelt would allow.

   My eyes widened. Punch it? I turned right at the next street. I could see him ahead, but he was over a block away. He turned again. I turned again. He was driving into an area I didn’t know. We slid around a few more corners. He turned onto a longer street. He had the advantage. His car was faster and there weren’t any corners nearby to slow him down.

   “You’re letting him get away,” Mother yelled.

   “He’s faster,” I yelled back.

Notice that in most of this excerpt the sentences are short and clipped. That denotes action. If I’d said, “I turned right at the next street, and I could see him ahead, but he was over a block away. He turned again and so did I.” Do you see how those commas slow down the action? How about, “He turned onto a longer street, and he had the advantage because his car was faster…” Well, you get the idea. Keep it short, keep it clipped and keep it simple for the best action.

There’s another great example of a freeway scene in Prudy’s Back!, but I’d be giving away the story if I referenced that one. Just remember, a one word sentence can sometimes say volumes, especially if that one word has to do with your speed inching up. “Eighty. Ninety. Slow down!”

Now let’s say that someone is chasing Sandi and Livvie and they’re on foot. Is it likely that they’re going to be able to talk while they’re running? It’s more likely they’ll be running out of breath and maybe pointing at a place to hide, or a shortcut to lose the guy chasing them. When they do stop running, they’re going to be panting and trying to catch their breath, not discussing the madman who’s chasing them. Try something like:

    “Sandi, I can’t breathe.” pant pant “I’m getting too old for this.” She bends over with her hands on her knees.

    Sandi holds up a hand to still her mother. pant pant  “Breathe, Mother. Did you see where he went?” pant pant

    “No.” She takes a deep breath. “He must be – ”

    “Right behind you, lady,” the madman said breathlessly, letting his ax-wielding hand fall to his side.

Okay, that’s not a real scene from any of my books. But the point is that when you’re writing action, write it so it feels like action. Let the reader (mentally) follow right behind the chase and feel like they’re a part of it. Keep it short. Keep it brisk. Keep it lively. Keep it real. Let yourself imagine what it would feel like. And remember that this same thing would apply to a fight scene, whether it’s verbal or physical.

One more thought. Sometimes when things are getting dicey in a story, but it’s not an action scene, commas can slow down a sentence just as much as they can in the action scene. “I think we’re in real trouble. Let’s get out of here.” vs. “I think we’re in real trouble, so we’d better get out of here.” It’s subtle, but there is a difference.

When you write action, put yourself in the shoes of your character and let yourself feel what they’re feeling. Trust me when I say it will make for a better scene.

Until next time, I sincerely hope you don’t find yourself mixed up in a real life action scene unless you’re running in a foot race for charity. Have a great week, and enjoy a chocolate bar, my cure all for everything.

Coming Soon: Bogey’s Ace in the Hole   

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Think about your friends and relatives, and even the people you don’t care for -- maybe someone you saw on the evening news. Now picture them sitting on chairs in a circle. Is one of them tapping a foot? Maybe one is looking off into space, bored to tears. Is there a woman sitting up straight, knees held primly together, appearing expectant? Is one of them a killer? (Of course, because I write mysteries.)

Everyone has traits that make them memorable, whether the memories are good or bad. The same goes for fictional characters. Writing them so they’ll be remembered is half the battle. A good storyline is made even better by the individuals who carry the story.

In my two series I have Sandi Webster who sighs frequently, taking it to levels of competition, and her partner, Pete, who’s overly protective. Pamela Cross rolls her eyes even though her mother once told her they might get stuck that way, and Chris Cross, the Bogey Man, bears a strong resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. He rolls his upper lip under, tugs on his ear and rolls back on his heels. Who can forget Stanley Hawks and Felicity DuBois, a couple whose clumsiness endears them to the other characters, and the readers. Livvie Brewster is menopausal and frequently fans herself, insisting that she’s not sweating, but only misting. Even pets have mannerisms. Sherlock, a yellow Lab, races for the kitchen when the phone rings and he slides into the wall every time.

Are these memorable traits? I’ve had readers ask when I’m bringing Livvie back because they enjoy her menopausal antics, and many readers can relate to what she’s going through. Felicity’s little “accidents” are humorous and readers have asked to see more of her in the books, too. I guess you’d have to say that, yes, they are memorable.

What about other more peripheral characters? How do people react under stressful circumstances? Their traits will tell you whether they’re nervous or not. Someone picking at a napkin in a restaurant, a twitching eye, or even that tapping foot tells you how a character is handling a given situation. A woman rapidly tapping her fingernails on a table can be annoying, and yet telling.

Back to the circle of friends and relatives. Watch Aunt Ivy. She’s looking everywhere except at the other people. She’s drumming her fingernails on her knee. She puffs air into her cheeks until she looks like a chipmunk, and then releases it. Her right knee begins to bounce. She keeps glancing at the exit. Does she have something better to do than sit here with this group? Is she annoyed? Or is she avoiding looking at everyone because she has a secret? Or maybe she knows someone else's secret. Maybe she wants to leave so there’s no chance she’ll spill the beans.

Fred, the man who lives down the street, keeps swallowing like his mouth is too dry. Is he nervous? He’s pulling on his shirt collar, too. Maybe he just doesn’t interact well in a group. He could be self-conscious. Then he says, “Hey! When are we gonna get this show on the road? I’ve got a football game to watch.” Oh, okay, football. I get it.

Freida keeps rubbing her arms, like she’s cold. When she’s not rubbing her arms, her fingertips pat a rhythm on her chest. Her eyes dart from face to face. What’s her story?

So when writing characters, give them traits, habits and mannerisms. What they do is as important as what they say and where they are. It makes them so real to the reader. Let them be clumsy or nervous or snooty or funny, or even a little eccentric. Any trait or mannerism you give them can make them memorable.

Uh oh, look out! Fred just made a break for it. He’s out the door and gone. He’s got a football game to watch and nobody’d better get in his way. I sure hope he wasn’t the killer.

Until next time, watch the people around you, but not to the point where they think you’re a little weird. Study their mannerisms. Even if you're not a writer, it can be very entertaining.

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CLICK HERE to view the book trailer for Old Murders Never Die

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Well, it’s a new week and I have some new thoughts, which is actually a dual-edged sword. On one side I’m glad I’m still sharp enough to have new thoughts, and on the other side I never know in which direction they'll head.

Okay, so this time I’m thinking about something a friend recently asked me. Why do I have guest authors on my blog instead of promoting my own books more often? The answer is actually a lot simpler than you might think.

I only have so many books that I can promote. Which reminds me, Bogey’s Ace in the Hole will be out sometime in February, 2012.  Does anyone remember the Snoop Sisters? Well, think Snoop Sisters who go to church. Yes, a gaggle of Church Ladies want Chris Cross to find a missing friend. She turns up on her own, but it appears she’s overheard a Murder for Hire plot. Even Church Ladies enjoy becoming involved in a good mystery.

Okay, so enough self-promotion – for the moment.

So why do I have guest authors on Marja’s Mystery Blog? Again, the answer is simple. Yes, I’m an author, but I’m also a reader. What better way to find out about authors and their books? It can be fun to learn more about the writer as a person. We can learn what motivates them and where some of their stories come from. Just when I think I’ve got writers figured out, they come along and tell stories which surprise me. And some of these authors are brand spanking new. S.L. (Sharon) Smith’s first book, Blinded by the Sight, came out not long ago. She participated in an interview on my site and I was interested enough to read the book. I truly enjoyed the story, and I’ll look for more by her in the future. The same applies to the interviews by established authors like Dorothy Bodoin, Marilyn Meredith, and all the other authors who've visited.

I surprised a few people when I told a story on someone else’s blog about having to search a women’s restroom for a bomb without any training back in the 1970s. Things were very, very different at that time. There was a job applicant who threatened to kill me because she didn’t get the job. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t made the decision not to hire her and didn’t have any input. She told me to watch my back, because she’d get me when I least expected it. Okay, so I’m still here and she never went to work for the agency she’d applied to, but good grief! All I did was administer a typing test. I’ve got a lifetime of stories, and people wonder why I became a mystery writer.

Authors have lots of stories and if you’ll give them the chance, they’re more than happy to share. Some of the stories are sad, and some are quite funny. All you have to do is sit down, ask questions, and listen.

As Chris Cross would say, I want the skinny about mystery writers and the capers they’ve been involved in. Give me the lowdown – all the background behind the writer. Tell me where you’ve been and where you’re going. I want it all.

Ever hear of reciprocity? I sincerely believe that what goes around, comes around. So if I give someone a chance to discuss themselves and their books, then on occasion someone else will allow me to do the same. It’s a win-win situation.

In the process, I find new books to read and make new friends. How much better can it get? Well, maybe my books could become bestsellers appearing on the New York Times bestseller list, but if not, I’m still having a great time and meeting some outstanding people.

So I’ll continue to have guest authors visit, and I’ll promote my books, too. And on occasion I’ll do a blog about writing issues. I almost did one about overused words this week, but I have to admit that I was bored with it. So I took a break and went to the movies where I saw “One for the Money” (based on the Janet Evanovich book), which is a whole different topic.

Until next time, do for others, and just maybe they’ll pass it on and do for someone else.

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CLICK HERE to view a book trailer for Bogey Nights

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This week my guest is Patricia C. Hernández, although you might know her by a few other names such as Tricia Lee, Lea Chan, Patrice de Chauncy or Chancey Hernandez. No, she’s not a criminal on the run and trying to hide her true identity – she’s a writer, and one whom I enjoy. She writes romance and mystery, along with children’s books. In fact, keeping it in the family, her granddaughter has created the covers for her children’s stories. I’m glad you could be with us this week, Pat.

Marja:  Patricia, please fill us in on a bit of your background. What made you decide you needed to write?

Patricia:  Hi Marja, and thanks so much for inviting me. The first five years of my life were spent on a farm in east central Oklahoma during WWII. We had no water or electricity but had a cistern a few feet away from the kitchen door. Heat was provided by a coal burning stove and a wood burning stove. (No need to dwell on the outhouse.) My mother was a city girl who had married a country guy. The change from all the luxuries of city living to country living must have been quite an ordeal for her but she handled it quite well. Okay, this is leading up to my great love of stories and eventually reading and writing. My mother read stories to my little brother and me all the time and one of my older cousins would walk down the road to listen to them also. All three of us became lifelong bookworms. I’m sure that early introduction to childhood stories led to my desire to write. I’ve never thought of “needing” to write unless feeling compelled to write is the same thing. I can’t imagine not writing.

Marja:  What an interesting story. It touches my heart. You’ve created a very interesting island called Palmaltas for some of your stories. You even show a bit of political turmoil in this location. How did you come up with the idea for this fictional location?

Patricia:  In 1969 I worked for Sears in Laredo, Texas and asked for a transfer to Sears in Puerto Rico.  I was by then a single mom with a son who was almost three years old. I saved money, left Laredo and went to Puerto Rico. The first hotel we stayed in is the one described in my first published (not the first one I wrote) novel, The Pig Farm. The antics of the residents in that hotel stayed with me forever.

In 1993 I went to England and stayed with a friend (a British naval officer) whom I had met some 20 years previously in Puerto Rico. I told him about my dream to be a novelist and the stories in my head. He told me in so many words to put up or shut up about writing. So, one evening I sat down in his living room and wrote the first draft of The Pig Farm. (Please note that I had already written the draft for a romance novel and a novella but hadn’t done anything with them.) I wanted the island to be a fictional one so I could create my own landmarks and fictional society, although much of it does resemble Puerto Rico on a much smaller scale. We got out a map of the Caribbean and picked out a location for this island. Then we started discussing names for the island. I settled on Palmaltas because it’s shortened from palmas altas, Spanish for tall palm trees.

Marja:  I have to admit it is kind of fun to dream up a fictional location and give it whatever type of “personality” you want to. I appreciate the fact that many of your stories include humor. What made you decide to write with humor? Is it difficult?

Patricia:  I don’t think that was something I decided. It just happens. The residents of the Pig Farm hotel were totally nutty from my perspective as were the apartment residents in The Pool Lizards, the sequel to The Pig Farm. I observe people and seem to see craziness that no one else sees. When I was writing Who’ll Kill Agnes?, the characters, especially the police chief and his assistant, weren’t too terribly bright. I knew I couldn’t create policemen who were smarter than I was. The scene where Marcel, the fake French chef, offers them canapés just popped into my head and had even me laughing out loud. There are other scenes I have written, which turned out to be funny but I had no idea they were. That happened in my romance novel A Colorado Destiny when my hero undertakes a stakeout with various disguises. I worried about those scenes and asked a romance novelist friend who read the manuscript if I should omit them. She told me to leave them in. When my editor at Wings was editing the manuscript, she e-mailed me and said she literally laughed out loud. Curious, I immediately went back and read that section and I laughed also.

Marja:  I have to admit, it made me laugh, too. By the way, I thought Who'll Kill Agnes? had a bit of a Hitchcock edge to it. And what are you working on now? (As if I didn’t know. I love the title.)

Patricia:  I guess you mean Death by Salsa. It’s almost ready for submission. I need to work on the dialogue for two of the main characters—two husbands who are clueless about what they are doing and take everyone at face value, never suspecting they might be involved in murder. Last year I wrote the draft for The Groundhog Lounge, which ends my human zoo trilogy started by The Pig Farm and The Pool Lizards. As you know, no animals were harmed in these books. In fact there aren’t any animals—except for the humans. As soon as I polish Death by Salsa, I will do the same with The Groundhog Lounge.

Marja:  Great titles! Who are some of your favorite authors, and have any of them influenced the way you write?

Patricia:  Mary Stewart probably influenced my desire to write about romance and adventure in other countries. My Tricia Lee and Patrice de Chauncy personas will cover those stories. My current favorite authors are Janet Evanovich, Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard. And in my opinion, there is no one funnier than the late, great P.G. Wodehouse. I don’t think any of them influenced the way I write unless it was subliminal. I have no idea why I write the way I do.

Marja:  Just for the heck of it, what are you reading right now?

Patricia:  Double for Death by Rex Stout, his first of three novels featuring Tecumseh Fox. I went online trying to find a Nero Wolfe that I hadn’t read and stumbled upon Tecumseh. I had no idea that Stout had created another detective besides Wolfe.

Marja: I didn’t know that either. You have some very interesting titles for your books. How do you come up with these? The Pig Farm and The Pool Lizards definitely got my attention.

Patricia:  The Pig Farm is part of the plot although no pigs or farms appear in the novel. I wanted all three books in the trilogy to have an animal in the title. The Pool Lizards was inspired by the term lounge lizards. As for The Groundhog Lounge, I hope you will be intrigued enough to want to read it to find out why I chose that title.

Marja:  Absolutely. Do you ever use real life experiences in your books?

Patricia: Yes, The Pig Farm for the most part is based on a real adventure I had in Puerto Rico. I changed the names of the characters, except for one, and the narrator is a composite of many male chauvinists I’ve met.

Marja:  Sounds like you’ve met a few. When you’re not writing, what do you enjoy doing?

Patricia:  Right now, it’s mostly reading and cooking. Travel was always a passion but at this time of my life, I need to write all those stories bouncing around in my head.

Marja:  Is there anything in particular you’d like people to know about your and/or your books?

Patricia: I have probably told more than you ever wanted to know. My mystery novel The Chameleon Chase will be available on Kindle this month and soon in paperback. Of all the things I’ve written, it’s my favorite and I have no idea why. Although it has an animal in the title, it’s not part of the zoo trilogy.

Marja: Patricia, it’s been a pleasure having you visit today. I’ll be watching for The Chameleon Chase, and I hope you’ll come back again. And here's a preview of the book cover.

Patricia: Thank you so much, Marja, I have enjoyed this immensely and appreciate the opportunity.

If you enjoyed this interview, take a run over to Patricia’s blog  at palmaltas.blogspot.com/ where I’m doing an interview. This has been fun for both of us.

CLICK HERE to return to Marja McGraw’s Home Page

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CLICK HERE to view the book trailer for Old Murders Never Die

CLICK HERE to view the book trailer for Bogey Nights

 

And coming in February from Oak Tree Press, Bogey’s Ace in the Hole – A Bogey Man Mystery

Note: Please email Betty Sullivan La Pierre at BZNA93A@aol.com if you'd like to have her add your name to her mailing list. Also, the winner of Betty's new book, Moonshine Murder, is Dorothy Bodoin.

Now, on to this week's blog.


My name is Sandi Webster. I’m a main character in one of Marja McGraw's series, and I decided to give her a break this week. I’m writing the blog in her stead.

 

I’m not altogether sure how Marja thought me up, but I once heard her say she originally planned on basing me on a younger Sally Field. Well, I showed her. Within the first chapter of the first book, I took on a personality of my own. I didn’t want to be based on anyone but myself.

I later heard her say she’d decided to base my menopausal mother on Sally, but as you can read for yourself in the books, that plan fell short of the mark, too. My mother is a one-of-a-kind. Why, she once took down a mugger while in the throes of a mood swing. Poor guy -- I almost felt sorry for him.

I’m a private investigator and proud of the work I do. Yes, I do a lot of work for insurance companies, my bread and butter, but I’ve also brought down a number of bad guys -- really bad guys.

My life is full. I have Pete, my partner and fiancé, our friends Stanley and Felicity, and… I should probably explain that I hired Pete not long after I opened my agency. In true fictional form, the business took off and I needed help. We’ve had our ups and downs, but overall we make a great couple.

Stanley was one of our first clients. He was being stalked, but I won’t go into that because Marja is writing a story that will explain Pete’s and my relationship with Stanley. When we met him, he was writing verses for greeting cards, not a very exciting career. Now he works for us. And Stanley met Felicity when Pete and I were out of town and she came in to ask for help. They are the cutest, smartest and clumsiest couple I know.

I have an elderly neighbor named Dolly who owns a cat named Miss Kitty. I always feel so silly when I refer to Miss Kitty. Good grief! Dolly is like the grandmother I never knew, and she loves what I do for a living even more than her soap operas.

I have a dog named Bubba. He’s half wolf and half Golden retriever, and he’s, well, big. Very big. And he smiles frequently. The first time he ever smiled at me he was a stray and I thought he was baring his teeth and almost called the cops. Bubba’s just a big ol’ bear-sized lovable mutt. And he can be very protective, which is a good thing.

So far Marja has exposed me to a hundred-year-old murder involving a relative, Bubba thinking there was a ghost in the attic, a young woman being harassed by a bum, and an eighty-something-year-old woman who wanted me to solve a cold case for her. As if that wasn’t enough, she brought the Bogey Man into my life. I have to admit, he was quite a character. One of my favorite actors is Humphrey Bogart, and this guy was a dead ringer for Bogey. After that she sent Pete and me to a ghost town where we became stranded. Actually, that was a lot of fun and quite an adventure.

I wonder what she’s got up her sleeve next. I know my author is sometimes frustrated with me. She’ll write a scene for me, scratch her head, and rewrite the whole scene. Sometimes I get dizzy from all the rewriting.

Well, all I can say is that I think it’s very generous of me to take over the blog this week. I hope Marja is busily writing me into another adventure as I carry her load.

Like Marja always says: Until next time, have a great week and enjoy a big chocolate candy bar. We do have that in common.

COMING FROM OAK TREE PRESS IN FEBRUARY, 2012, Bogey's Ace in the Hole - A Bogey Man Mystery

To find out more about Sandi’s adventures, please CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

CLICK HERE to view a book trailer for Bogey Nights

CLICK HERE to view a book trailer for Old Murders Never Die

This week my guest author is Betty Sullivan La Pierre who writes the Hawkman mysteries along with other novels of suspense and mystery. She’s an interesting woman and I think you’ll enjoy learning more about her. By the way, if you leave a comment at the end of this interview, you’ll be entered to win a copy of Moonshine Murder, Betty’s latest book. Welcome, Betty!

Betty: Thank you, I'm very happy to be here.

Marja:       Betty, it’s great to have you stop in for a visit. I know that at one time you worked with signed and rare books, and I find that fascinating. Would you please tell us a little about your background?

Betty:  That was many years ago... But it started with me going to garage sales with my husband.  Back then you were able to find real bargains on many items plus first editions.  It threw me into research, and I also bought reference books which helped me toward picking the author's books worth reselling.  I did this for several years and had a few great successes--like the time I picked up a children's book for ten cents and sold it for a hundred dollars.  Now that was exciting.  Since, it seems people are more aware of the value of things, so you don't get the deals, then postage went up, so it came to the point it wasn't worth my effort.  During this time the thought of writing a mystery kept popping into my mind.  My boys had grown up and didn't require so much of my attention, so I decided to give up the rare book business and devote my time to writing.   

Marja: Working with rare books sounds so interesting. What was the turning point that made you start writing mysteries? Who is Hawkman and what inspired him?

Betty:  I always loved reading mysteries, so guess it wasn't much of a decision on what I wanted to write. I wanted my characters intriguing. Little did I realize that Hawkman had started forming in my mind way back in my high school years while dabbling with oil painting. I'd seen a picture of an Indian warrior with a falcon on his arm and the image was embedded into my brain and kept coming forward. In fact, I still have the picture stuck away in my box of memories.  Anywho, Hawkman began to form.  I wanted him handsome, well built, compassionate, and have a pet falcon, yet he had to be tough as nails.  Being from Oklahoma, I'd say the cowboy type, but he needed a flaw.  Therefore, the eye-patch, explained in the first book of the series—The Enemy Stalks.  Which you can get as a free download at:  http://www.obooko.com/obooko_thriller/bookpages/thr0098_enemy_stalks_lapierre.php

Marja:  As far as why you write mysteries, I think we’re on the same page. You decided to take your own road to being published, long before the Kindle came along. Would you tell us about that? It sure seems to be working.

Betty:  I didn't plan originally to write a series, so while sending "The Enemy Stalks' out to the big houses, I wrote another mystery/suspense—Murder.com.  I kept getting rejections on The Enemy Stalks and got very deflated and discouraged.  I finished Murder.com and began to hear about e-books, so sent it to an e-publisher while waiting for more responses on Enemy and lo and behold it got accepted.  I was elated. However, it turned out the house that took it was fraudulent and I never received one dime of royalties. It took awhile to get my rights back, but I finally got them.  This house was soon banned from the internet and I've never seen it up again.  Good riddance to bad stuff. 

All of this was quite a bad experience, but I didn't let it get me down.  I plunged ahead and decided to forget the big houses, researched other e-publishers and sent in Enemy.  Great guy, he told me how to correct my manuscript and resubmit.  By the way, it took me seven years to get Enemy published from start to this point.  Once I had the book in good shape, he took both Enemy and Murder.com.  I was with him for several years before he had to close down as he could see the e-book business starting to expand, and being he had to work a full time job to keep his family in food and clothing, he couldn't give his authors the time it required to be successful, so he had to give up the publishing business. 

By this time, I had several books under my belt and didn't know if any e-publisher would want to take on a series.  But I lucked out and met Deb Staples of SynergEbooks.  She took me in with all my books and any I've written since.  She's a great publisher and has our books all over the internet.  E-book sales are sky-rocketing and I couldn't be happier.    

Marja:  And being happy is half the battle. I met you when you came to Nevada to do a presentation at the library. I enjoyed meeting you and now I’m hooked on Hawkman. Your latest book is Moonshine Murder, and it sounds pretty exciting. Would you tell us a little about the story?

Betty:  That's been several years ago, Marja and to think we've stayed in contact ever since.  I think that's great, and I've enjoyed you so much, and your books. Love Bogey Man....

Marja: Thank you so much, Betty!

Betty:  When I first started Moonshine Murder, I really didn't know where I was going.  My characters began to guide me and I had a ball.  Here's a short description that will give you an idea about the story.

Hawkman is very suspicious of the Hutchinsons, and worries when his wife, Jennifer, becomes fond of this dysfunctional family.  He does some clandestine investigating and discovers a copper still on the property.  It isn’t long before a murder takes place and the Hutchinson family disappears. They couldn’t have gone far, as their only means of transportation was a buckboard drawn by a couple of horses. However, they’ve eluded everyone, and Hawkman makes plans to discover where they went. 

 

Marja:  You made a book trailer for Moonshine Murder, which I enjoyed very much. How did you obtain permission to use Copperline Hills for the music in the trailer? You included some interesting pictures of stills, too. (By the way, folks, we’re talking about the kind of still you use to make hooch.) Did you have to get permission to use the photos?

Betty:  While doing research and looking up the types of stills, I came across Colonel Wilsons Copper Moonshine Stills (http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com) and on that first page he had the song "Copperline Hills" by the "Nowhere Road Band", vocalist-Danny Thompson.

I spotted an email address on the Colonel's page, and knowing this was a company, I better not just snitch the pictures as I could see me getting sued. So I quick wrote him a note, told him who I was, gave him some links to find me so he'd know I was legit. Within a day I received a note from him telling me 'I could use any of the pictures I wanted.'  I was thrilled.

I loved the song on his site and took down the information supplied about the band.  Turns out the Colonel’s link for the tune took me to MySpace. I did find a contact link, wrote a note--but no response came. I didn't give up, and Googled the band, found their web page and another contact link. So I wrote another e-mail, similar to what I'd written the Colonel.  I thought, well, they'll probably come back and say “Yeah, sure I could use it for $10,000."  Yikes... What a wonderful surprise when I received an e-mail from Danny Thompson saying I had permission to use the song for my book trailer.  All he wanted was credit on the trailer, a copy of the book and the book trailer. I was dancing on the ceiling. Here's the link for the trailer in case your visitors haven't had a chance to view it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd5XDGO7FOo

Marja:  How wonderful that they were so cooperative. On to another topic, how long does it take you to write a book? Do you have any particular process you use, like outlining? I play it by ear because I can’t stick to an outline.

Betty:  It takes approximately a year from start to finish, which means, rewritten however many times is needed, edited and polished for submission.  There is no way I could turn a book out in any shorter time.  As far as any process, I don't outline, I'd never follow it, because once my characters take over, I don't have much of a say.

Marja:  When you’re not writing, what type of books do you enjoy reading?

Betty: Any type of Mystery/Suspense.  I love the plotting of books, and I learn as I read.

Marja: Do you have any words of wisdom for writers who are just starting out?

Betty:  Never, never, never give up.  Someone out there will like what you write, regardless of the genre.  Make sure you do your research, join a critique group, do not take offense to their critiques, have big shoulders; it will only make you a better writer.  When you've polished your manuscript, which means, read it out loud, amazing what errors you can catch if you do this, check your spelling and make sure of your grammar.  Then submit your story, try not to think about it, and start another novel. 

Marja: Is there any one thing you’d like people reading this blog to know about you? Something that might prompt them to run right out and buy a book?

Betty:  Boy, I wish I knew the magic words. I'd just like to encourage people to give one of my books a try. They're in all formats: downloads, Kindle, Nook and print; from my publisher-SynergEbooks, Amazon, B&N, my website and many other sites.  Marja will list the links that will take you to my books or just Google my name and you'll find me.

Marja: Betty, thank you so much for stopping in today and sharing with us. I wish you the best with your books and writing, and I hope you’ll stop in again one day.

Betty: Thank you, Marja, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I'd like to remind your visitors to be sure and leave a comment so their name is included in the drawing for an autographed copy of my latest book, Moonshine Murder.

Betty’s website: http://www.bettysullivanlapierre.com

Publisher: SynergEbooks - eBooks - Mystery 5

Books available at: Amazon Kindle & Print:  http://tinyurl.com/4xaze44

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/798aye7

You can see the book trailer for Moonshine Murder at http://tinyurl.com/cvb59f or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd5XDGO7FOo

CLICK HERE to return to Marja McGraw’s Home Page

CLICK HERE for a visit to Amazon.com

CLICK HERE to see a book trailer for Old Murders Never Die

CLICK HERE to see a book trailer for Bogey Nights

I recently bragged that I never really have a problem with Writer’s Block. Uh huh. Well, guess what. I can’t think of anything to write about for a blog. I started a new book, and I’m stumped. Ack! I’ve been infected with the Big WB. I hope this isn’t an indication of what 2012 is going to be like.

So I decided the best thing to do would be to sit down and think about writing. Like, why did I start writing in the first place? Where did I think I was going with it? I’m an avid reader and I love to tell stories. So why not put my tales to good use and write a book to entertain others? It sounds simple enough. It isn’t. And yet, I’ve had a lot of fun writing novels. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had working, and for those scoffers out there, it is work. It isn’t a mere hobby. Yes, this is something many of us run into at first. People ask how your little hobby is coming along.

I’d written a couple of really dopey books (that were never published), and after my husband and I married, he encouraged me to keep going. He didn’t think they were that bad. That’s all I needed – a little encouragement and I was off and running. I’m easy, and I can’t help it.

I self-published my first two books. I don’t often talk about the first one, but the second wasn’t half bad. I reread it recently and surprised myself. It’s called Secrets of Holt House and it isn’t part of a series.

At that time being self-published was the kiss of death, but that seems to be changing now, thankfully. Anyway, I submitted to a few traditional publishers and met with disappointment. Not one to keep beating my head against the wall, I tried submitting a book to Wings ePress, an epublisher who was recommended by a friend. To my delight and bewilderment, they liked the book (A Well-Kept Family Secret) and offered me a contract.

I might not be the brightest bulb in the lamp, but I knew one thing. I knew I had to keep writing while I tried to find a home for that book. So while I waited I worked on Bubba’s Ghost. By the time I got together with Wings, I had the second book ready. Woohoo! I waited a few months and submitted the second book to Wings. Again, to my delight and surprise, they liked it, too. You couldn’t keep me away from the computer after that. I was a writing fool, and having a blast. Do people still say “blast”? I have no idea, nor do I care. I had a blast.

I started a second series and Oak Tree Press offered me a contract for Bogey Nights. It took a couple of days for my feet to touch the ground again. Maybe I’ll never get used to my writing being accepted, and maybe that’s a good thing. It keeps me humble. And Oak Tree Press is releasing Bogey’s Ace in the Hole, the second in the new series, in February.

Well, I could continue and name every book, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about being stumped.  It’s about bragging and finding I should have kept my trap shut. I thought maybe blogging about writer’s block might help. Sometimes writing can be very therapeutic.

Between marketing and promoting, building book trailers (I now have two), appearances, family, housecleaning, and everything else involved in living a life, maybe I need a vacation.  Oh! I just took one after finishing the last book. Okay, so I stayed at home and continued to work on marketing and promotion, but…

Wait! Hold the boat, I think I’m having a thought. I’m both delighted and surprised again. Gotta go.

Until next time, take a few minutes and smell those ol’ roses. Sometimes a few quiet moments will stimulate ideas.

CLICK HERE to return to Marja McGraw’s Home Page

CLICK HERE for a trip to Amazon.com

CLICK HERE to see a book trailer for Old Murders Never Die - A Sandi Webster Mystery

CLICK HERE to see a NEW book trailer for Bogey Nights - A Bogey Man Mystery

What’s one of the best things that can happen to a mystery writer? Well, to come up with your own personal mystery, of course. And that happened today.

I’m in the process of building another Book Trailer and Bogey Nights (the book) involves a few issues from the 1940s. It becomes a long, drawn out issue to try to find graphics on the Internet, but what else are ya gonna do? What’s a trailer without graphics?

So, I have this huge old trunk my grandmother gave me, and it’s chock full of old photos. This trunk has three layers and enough photos to last a lifetime (or maybe several lifetimes). There are photos from the 1800s on up to the 1990s. You can find a photograph to suit just about any occasion. There are ornate vintage greeting cards dating back to the early 1900s and plenty of aged postcards. In addition to family photos I’ve found pictures of a train wreck, scenery, and shots my grandfather took around the world when he was in the Navy from 1904 – 1907 (he was quite a bit older than my grandmother). I even found (to my horror/fascination) a photo of a firing squad shooting some people. How’d you like to find that stuck in the middle of the likenesses of great-grandparents? There are plenty of pictures of people just goofing around. Yes, they used to do that in the old days, too. They were “staged” photos of a boxing match, a man proposing marriage; that type of thing.

This trunk is so full that every time I go through it I find things I’ve missed every other time I’ve gone through it. Today I found a small diary, and a pad of paper on which my grandmother tried her hand at writing poetry. I’m very family-oriented so these things are important to me.

However, back to business. I’m looking for candid photos from the 1940s. I find some group family shots, but that’s not the type of thing I need. I finally see an old album resting in the bottom of the trunk. It’s full of old greeting cards from the forties and I know I’ve found what I was looking for. Eureka! Oh, really? The cards are followed by page after page of those little black tabs that people used to use to hold down the corners of photos – and that’s it. There are lots of tabs, but no photos. They’ve all been removed. Picture me looking perplexed.

Now, I come from a family of photographing fools. They took pictures of everything they could aim a camera at, including a buggy being pulled by an ostrich and my great aunt trying to look sexy in a woolen bathing suit. Yes, this is the same great-aunt who was seen drinking out of a perfume bottle which I mentioned in the Thanksgiving blog.

Okay, I’ve got the group family shots from the forties, and pictures of my brother and sister and me, but this isn’t what I need. So what happened to the 1940s? Where did all the pictures go? The people who could answer that question for me are all gone. Those who are left won’t know the answer. An era is missing. How can you lose a whole ten years?

Maybe I’ll never know the answer to this little mystery. Or maybe I’ll find something informative in the trunk the next time I go through it, although I have overwhelming doubts. And maybe I’ve just stumbled on an idea for a new mystery. Ideas come from the darnedest places.

You’d think a mystery writer could figure this one out, wouldn’t you?

Until next time, I wish you a New Year of good health, prosperity, and… Well, maybe a little mystery of your own to solve. They can be so much fun.

CLICK HERE  to return to Marja McGraw’s Home Page

CLICK HERE to take a quick trip to Amazon.com

CLICK HERE to view a short Book Trailer for Old Murders Never Die – A Sandi Webster Mystery

Santa Clause always visited our house when I was a child. What was interesting was that my father and grandfather always took me for a ride to see the fancy decorations in Pasadena, California, and when we arrived home, we’d just missed Santa. Mom and Grandma had seen him, but not me.

One year I heard him up on the roof. Bells were tinkling and I just knew they were the bells hanging from Donner’s or  Blitzen’s neck. My sister and I shared a room, and I woke her to tell her of our visitor. She told me to be quiet and go to sleep because the bells I heard were on something she’d been wearing. Hmph!

But the best story I heard came from my father. At about seven-years-old my daughter decided there was no Santa. I told my father about it, and he sat her down to tell her why he knew there was a Santa Clause.

When he was a boy in Kansas, the family always took the buckboard and horses to visit his grandparents for Christmas. The kids would sleep in the loft and await Santa’s visit. This particular year it took a long time, but finally all the children except my father went to sleep.

On this night he sat up and peeked out the window. There was snow on the ground and the moon gave it a blue cast. It was so bright out for nighttime. The trees waved their branches slowly, back and forth, but he couldn’t hear the leaves rustling. They’d all fallen off in the fall, leaving only a couple of stragglers. He could see the wagon sitting beside the house, and he thought he heard the horses snort a time or two.

He watched as a rabbit ran across the snow, hoping there weren’t any critters around to take it for dinner. The rabbit safely made it into the brush and my father let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

That was when he heard a noise. It sounded like horses quietly stomping their feet in the snow. He turned and glanced at the barn, but the doors were closed and there wasn’t a horse in sight. Slowly, very slowly, he raised his eyes toward the ceiling. The sound was coming from the roof above him. He knew with all his heart that Santa had arrived. He lowered his head to the bed, hoping Santa would think he was asleep. And he waited. He never heard a sound again until there was a whishing sound from outside.

Jumping up he looked out the window and saw what looked like Santa in his sleigh with reindeer pulling it, just as it passed by the moon. He knew no one would believe him, but he also knew he’d been privileged that night to see Santa Clause carrying out his gift-giving.

Well, of course, Grandpa wouldn’t make anything up, so my daughter went to bed that night in anticipation of a visit from the jolly old elf.

My dad and I talked later, and he said he didn’t know what he actually saw that night, but whatever it was, it really looked like Santa and his reindeer -- at least to a child.

I thought about Christmas and what it means to me before I wrote this. And then I remembered a Christmas decoration that I set out every year. It’s a figurine of Santa Clause, hat in hand, kneeling over the baby Jesus and paying his respects.

So when you tell your children about St. Nicolas, be sure you tell them about the real meaning of Christmas first. Tell them about the child who came to teach us, to love us, and to care for us.

Talk to them about caring for each other. In these difficult times, it’s warmed my heart to hear about people paying for other people’s layaway items without asking for recognition. They just wanted to help someone out who was having a difficult time. I watch when people drop money in the bucket outside of stores, and as others pull names off a Christmas tree in a store to buy a gift for a child they don’t even know. Toys for Tots? What a wonderful effort. Food delivered for Christmas dinner? Someone, many someones, helped out again.

Until next time, unpolitically correct me wishes you a Very Merry Christmas, and please, remember the real reason for the season. He loves you, and so do I.

CLICK HERE to return to Marja McGraw’s Home Page

CLICK HERE to take a quick trip to Amazon.com

CLICK HERE to take a peek at the Book Trailer for Old Murders Never Die – A Sandi Webster Mystery

And, CLICK HERE to see the new Book Trailer for Dorothy Bodoin’s “The Secret Room of Eidt House” (coming in March, 2012). I’m partial to it because I put it together.