A Writer Remembers Why He Fell in Love with Writing

Please welcome Ray Hamill as Wednesday's Guest today. I reviewed his book, Free the Leprechaun on Sunday, and hope you caught the review. Ray said one of his favorite  drinks is dark Irish tea, although I'm guessing he uses a mug and not a fancy tea cup, but he can clarify for us later. He is Irish and said he really misses McVities biscuits, so I thought I would get some for him, but he didn't say which kind. I had no idea there were several varieties. Here again, he can clarify if I got the right kind. I'm sure he is willing to share, so grab a biscuit and enjoy....

Image Courtesy of Notes on Tea Blog

“Imagination will take you everywhere,”

- Albert Einstein

 

Although I was completely unaware of it at the time, I first fell in love with writing when I was just 12-years-old.

That was back in the days when I was attending St. Paul’s College in Dublin, Ireland, an all-boys school run by the Vincentian priests and known more for its complete lack of success on the rugby fields than for any memorable academic achievements.

Of course, we didn’t care much about that in those days, instead spending our time teetering between the dreams of childhood and those awkward teenage years, as the priests and teachers all tried to impress upon us the expectations of impending adulthood and how important it was to no longer waste our precious time on meaningless childlike pursuits.

I never much liked school and the constraints it attempted to impose on my mind, but it had its moments, most notably history class, where we read of the brave Irish heroes who fended off the mighty British army with a proverbial handful of pitchforks and the gift of the gab, as well as English class, where we were given weekly essay assignments by our teacher Mr. Madden.

He was a laid-back type who inspired by saying little but instilling confidence, and in his own way that made him one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.

I took his reticence as encouragement when it came to the weekly essays, which I began to write with an ever-growing abandon, testing the waters with my own brand of goofy humor, as much to stave off the boredom of school as through any great ambition on my part, and I decided the fact he didn’t tell me to stop was reason enough to carry on.

Of course, as my classmates pointed out on an almost weekly basis, it couldn’t last. It just wouldn’t do. Goofy ramblings were grand and all in the classroom, but serious writing was needed for the Intermediate Certificate, a set of national exams we were preparing to take the following year, and a set of exams that would shape our future in education and our place in the world, or so we were forced to believe.

For the moment, however, I didn’t care. When it came to writing essays, I was having too much fun to take it seriously, losing myself in worlds only children and writers can dream of, embracing the freedom and allowing my imagination to soar in what was literally a limitless universe.

The following year, things changed. Mr. Madden was gone, and as our exams approached I was forced to take a more serious attitude toward my penmanship.

Since then, I have always enjoyed writing, graduating college as a journalist and forging a career in the field, while writing books, blogs and ramblings in my spare time. You know you’re lucky when your career is also your hobby.

But I never enjoyed the same freedom from my writing as I did when I was 12-years-old.

Or at least I hadn’t until recently, and if publishing a second novel is incredibly gratifying, the process of writing this one was even more so.

Why? Because for the first time in years - dare I say decades - I wrote purely for myself, ignoring all outside distractions or expectations, and I wrote like a 12-year-old again, allowing my imagination to soar with a freedom we often forget ever existed as we grow older.

Simply put, I didn’t care how my writing would be received by others, and I became determined to consciously not dwell on what the finished product would look like, but rather to lose myself in the process, which in turn allowed me to write with the same abandon I enjoyed as a child.

Writing Free the Leprechauns reminded me of why I started writing in the first place. In my mind it’s already a huge success.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can connect with Ray on Facebook and find him on his sports blog, Bar Stool Fanatics, as well as the Website for Free the Leprechauns

New Direction in DNA Testing for Investigations

Today's Wednesday's Guest is DL (David) Swykert, author of The Death of Anyone, a police procedural mystery set in my hometown, Detroit. As I mentioned in my review last Sunday, it was a pleasure to take a virtual trip back. I thought David might enjoy a cinnamon roll this morning with his coffee, and you are welcome to join us.  

First I want to thank Maryann for having me as a guest today, and I would like to share a bit about Familial DNA. This is a unique DNA search technique not in common use, only two states even have a written policy.

I first heard about the use of Familial DNA working as a 911 operator in 2006. It came up in a conversation with officers working a case. I thought at the time it would make an interesting premise for a book. I began writing The Death of Anyone three years after leaving the department. I had just finished editing a first draft in the summer 2010 when news of The Grim Sleeper’s capture in Los Angeles using a Familial DNA search was released. I read with interest all the information pouring out of L.A. regarding the investigation and the constitutional admissibility issues confronting prosecutors.

The trial of alleged serial killer Lonnie David Franklin, known in the media as The Grim Sleeper, is scheduled to begin in 2015. Franklin will be the first person brought to trial on the basis of Familial DNA evidence in the U.S. Pretrial motions regarding Fourth Amendment civil rights violations have been ongoing for over four years.

The Grim Sleeper was caught because his son's DNA was the closest database match to DNA samples collected at the crime scenes. Investigating Franklin's son led officers to investigate Lonnie David Franklin. But there was no direct DNA linking him to the crime scene until a matching DNA sample was obtained after his arrest. The admissibility issues are being thoroughly tested by defense attorneys.

Many legal analysts believe Familial DNA searches violate Fourth Amendment rights which guard against unreasonable searches and seizures. The courts may ultimately rule that searching among Familial DNA databases for partial matches would be the same as the use of a generalized warrant to search someone's house when there is no prior reason to suspect the person of wrongdoing. Our Constitution protects us from that kind of unwarranted search.

Even Thomas Callaghan, the former head of the FBI's national DNA database, feared that Familial Searches might be legally vulnerable, since courts might view the searches as an attempt to use samples collected for one specific purpose for a very different purpose.

Just as we would consider it unreasonable to cast a wide net of suspicion without probable cause due to concerns of privacy, personal dignity, and unwanted intrusion in the lives of innocent citizens, we should be concerned the identification of a suspect through partial DNA searches will contribute to further loss of freedoms. These are all constitutional issues that will come into play as the use of DNA science continues to progress in criminal investigations.     

These are the same issues confronting Detroit Homicide Detective Bonnie Benham in The Death of Anyone. Bonnie has been transferred from narcotics for using more than arresting and is working the case of a killer of adolescent girls. CSI collects DNA evidence from the scene of the latest victim, which had not been detected on the other victims. But no suspect turns up in the FBI database. Due to the notoriety of the crimes, a task force is put together with Bonnie as the lead detective, and she implores the D.A. to use an as yet unapproved type of a DNA Search in an effort to identify the killer. Homicide Detective Neil Jensen, with his own history of drug and alcohol problems, understands Bonnie's frailty and the two detectives become inseparable as they track this serial killer.

Read an excerpt of the book at MAGICMASTERMINDS --- Buy the book at  MELANGE BOOKS * AMAZON  *  BARNES AND NOBLE  *  iTUNES  * KOBO 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

DJ Swykert is a former 911 operator. His work has appeared in The Tampa Review, Detroit News, Monarch Review, Lunch Ticket, Zodiac Review, Barbaric Yawp and Bull. His books include Children of the Enemy, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington, Alpha Wolves, The Death of Anyone and The Pool Boy’s Beatitude. You can find him at his WEBSITE  

QUESTION - Have you heard of Familial DNA testing? What do you think of the civil rights issues involved with using the results of partial DNA testing for prosecutions?

Kate Frost Meets Sophie Keech

Today's Wednesday's Guest is Kate Frost, who is sitting down for a chat with the central character from her debut novel The Butterfly Storm.  Please help me welcome the ladies to It's Not All Gravy. Grab a chair at the table and I'll provide a cool drink to beat the hot summer day in Greece. Here in Texas that cool drink would be sweet tea, but in Greece it is a chilled beer.

It's one of those perfect Greek summer days, hot and dry with just a hint of a breeze when I meet up with Sophie at the fish restaurant by the harbour in Oia, Santorini that she and Alekos had been to the summer before. Sophie's already there at a table by the water wearing a short cream skirt, a pink vest top, her green eyes shaded by sunglasses. She's tanned and toned, a few years younger than me and pretty in a not obvious kind of way. Her long hair looks even redder than normal in the sunshine. She waves me over, and I thankfully sink into the chair opposite her feeling hot and flustered from walking in the sun.

'You found it okay then? she asks.

'Of course, I've been here before remember? That's why I wrote about it in the novel. You and Alekos loved it too.'

'Apart from the argument.'

'Yes, sorry about that.'

There are two glasses of cold beer and an array of dishes already laid out on the table: calamari, fried mussels, Greek salad, octopus and fried Santorini tomatoes.

'I ordered,' Sophie says, taking a sip of her beer. 'I love your skirt by the way.'

I smooth down my long gypsy skirt. 'This old thing, really?'

'It's something mum would wear.' I take that as a compliment. Sophie's mum, Leila, may be a good few years older than me but she has taste, a youthful appearance and always looks good.  

'I have a bone to pick with you,' Sophie says, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair. 'Did you seriously have to put me through all that emotion?'

'Of course,' I say, shading my eyes from the sun. 'Who wants to read a story without emotion?'

'Fair point, but family trouble, boyfriend trouble, a domineering mother-in-law to be... you really dished it out, didn't you.'

'Well, I did try my hardest to make your story an interesting one that readers could invest in.'

Sophie stabs a piece of calamari with her fork and pops it into her mouth. 'Why did you write it?'

'The Butterfly Storm? Because it was a story I wanted to tell and one that was full of passion and themes that most people can relate too – family, love, independence, a sense of belonging.'

'What gave you the idea in the first place? Was it me?'

'Um, actually no, Sophie, it wasn't you. It was the time I'd spent in Greece visiting my husband's family that inspired the idea. I always start off with an idea of place. For The Butterfly Storm it was Greece and north Norfolk in the UK where my grandparents lived; for my new novel it's Tanzania and Zanzibar. You came along afterwards when I had a rough sense of plot and ideas for certain scenes, such as the birthday party in Greece. But ultimately you told the story. I went where you took me.' 

'Did you always intend to have me narrating the story?'

'I never really thought about writing it any other way than from your point of view. The story needs to be seen through your eyes so it makes sense that you take the reader on your journey both physically and emotionally.'

'And what a journey it was.' Sophie pops a fried mussel into her mouth. 'Oh my God, Kate, you have to try these.' She squeezes more lemon over them and passes the plate to me.

I pick a juicy looking one and pop it in my mouth. 'That is so good.'

Sophie smiles and taps her glass against mine. 'To us and our story. Oh, and congratulations on finally becoming a published author.' 

Author Bio

Kate Frost has wanted to write since she was seven. Over the years she's had short stories and articles published in various magazines including The London Magazine and New Welsh Review. She has a MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and The Butterfly Storm is her first novel. She lives in the UK with her husband and their dog. 

Book blurb

Four years ago, life for Sophie Keech was perfect. A new start in Greece with Alekos, her boyfriend of just six weeks, removes Sophie from a mundane 9-5 job, takes her away from the difficult relationship she has with her mum, and gives her the opportunity and belief that she is finally doing something positive and exciting with her life.

But a lot can change in four years. An engagement, a domineering mother-in-law to be and the reality of life in Greece not being quite what Sophie imagined puts a strain on her relationship with Alekos.

When an accident forces Sophie back to the UK to look after her estranged mum, she has time to reevaluate her life, her idea of family, where she wants to be and, most importantly, who she loves.

Buy the book at Amazon U.S. or Amazon U.K  

If you enjoyed meeting Kate, you might want to visit  her BLOG - and follow her on TWITTER

One Sweaty Night Results in Debut Novel

Please help me welcome Anne O'Connell as today's Wednesday's Guest. She is here to share how her first book came about.

I’m thrilled to be here on It’s Not All Gravy on the occasion of the launch of my first novel, Mental Pause. I’ve been a writer all my life but mostly corporate communications and PR but I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic and dreamed of one day writing fiction. About three years ago I tested the waters and submitted a couple of short stories to The Fiction Writers Platform (now The Writers Platform) and both received an editor’s choice award!

Prior to that, I had started freelancing and was doing corporate copy writing while thoughts and dreams of being a novelist did a water ballet in the back of my mind. Simultaneously, I began experiencing some rather uncomfortable peri-menopausal symptoms. I honestly didn’t know what was happening at first, only that I was horribly irritable. So much so that I couldn’t even stand being around myself. I was also having crazy thoughts, tinged with paranoia, along with such startling memory loss that it felt like I had had a lobotomy.  It wasn’t until the night sweats started that it finally dawned on me that I was experiencing ‘The Change.’  It was a shocking revelation as I was still in my early-40s. It made me feel a little better knowing there was an explanation for it all but didn’t make it go away.

Buy it At Amazon

Then one very sweaty, steamy night as I was lying there in a disgusting pool of sweat, even though the A/C was blasting, and trying not to slime my poor husband sleeping soundly beside me, I did what any writer would do… hit the keyboard and poured out what I believed to be the mad ramblings of a peri-menopausal woman. If anyone had seen me they would have thought I’d lost it! I stifled the giggles so as not to wake my husband and wiped the tears and just kept writing. I thought I might turn it into a blog but wasn’t really comfortable exposing myself that openly. Then the idea hit. I could have even more fun with it if I turned it into fiction.

As luck would have it, I had recently heard about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which was about to start, my husband had recently retired and we had just moved to Thailand. I hadn’t really met anybody and had a lot of time on my hands. I signed up and plunged in headfirst.

I started segmenting the ‘ramblings’, categorizing and developing a loose plotline. The first chapter sort of spilled out and characters started to take shape. The more I wrote the more I dreamt about my main character, Abbie, her thoughts and feelings, family and friends. I’d wake up with a start and run to my computer to type out a description of one of my characters that I had seen so vividly in a dream. The best plot twist in the book (in my opinion) came in a dream!

It was really cathartic to write it because no matter how bad I was feeling, how crazy my mood swings or wild my thoughts were, Abbie’s were always worse. I could also live vicariously through her. Without ruining the story for anyone who plans to read it, I can share that I’ve always teased my mom that we’d both get tattoos when I turn 50 and she turns 90! I’d really never do it because I have absolutely no pain threshold and the thought of even one needle makes me go weak in the knees, so I had Abbie get one.

Focusing on writing and publishing Mental Pause has really helped ground me and allowed me to face my change with a more positive attitude. I talk more openly about it now and hope that, along with enjoying the storyline, it can help other women as well. My mood swings seem to have tapered off; I’m not having nearly as many night sweats and the hot flashes aren’t noticeable since I live in a very warm and humid climate anyways.

I’m already working on my next novel so I hope that my diminishing symptoms won’t limit my creativity! Having said that, I will happily seek inspiration elsewhere.  

Thank you for your guest post, Anne. I've heard of creativity coming from a lot of sources, but this is the first to come from menopause. (smile) I can't wait to read the book. 

 

For more about the book and Anne, check my Sunday post.   You can visit Anne on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.  

On another note, and certainly not to take the spotlight away from Anne and her new novel, I do need to announce the National Wormhole Day Blog Hop sponsored by Laura Eno and Luanne Smith. Participants will be sharing where they would go if they could go forward or backward in time via a wormhole. This is to celebrate Albert Einstein's Birthday on March 14th. Come back tomorrow to see where I will go.

Guest Blogging

Today I am a guest on the wonderful DFW writer's group blog, As we Were Saying. One of the blog members, Ruby Johnson, was kind enough to invite me there today to introduce my new book, Stalking Season, which is now out at libraries, and coming in the next two weeks to online retail stores.

Ruby was also so kind to say how much she enjoyed reading Open Season, the first book in the series, and is looking forward to reading this next one.  Since she is a writer, too, she does know how much that means to those of us who pound a keyboard for a living. Ruby has won short story contests, published in the AANA Journal and has contributed to Hospital Topics and  a book on Hospital Management. She currently writes medical suspense.

On the blog today, I share a little about who inspired me to write police procedural mysteries, and there is a short excerpt from the book. Hop on over if you have a moment.

I am sill out of town for another week, then we have the Thanksgiving Holiday bearing down on us. I probably won't get back to my usual blog schedule until after that, but I may pop in now and then.

25 Years in the Rearview Blog Tour

I'd like to welcome Jaleta Clegg, one of my fellow authors from the brand new e-book 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror, 52 Authors Look Back. She is here today with a fun post from one of the characters from her own book as part of the 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror Blog Tour. If you enjoy magazine columns and Chicken Soup for the Soul books, then we're sure you'll enjoy our collection of essays, designed to warm your heart, raise your spirits and compel you to examine your own life. Get a full listing of authors, essay titles and retailers HERE 

And now, let's say hello to, Leon Gravis, a character in Jaleta Clegg's book, Priestess of the Eggstone. Leon was a fun character in the story, and you will understand why I liked him when you read his post. Enjoy.....

Hiya, Sweetheart. How ya doing? Got anything to drink around here? I'm parched. Just spent six hours arguing for an acquittal. I'm bleeding? *dabs forehead* Just a scratch. Bully boys thought they could push me around. But you don't work for a crime syndicate for ten years without picking up a thing or two about intimidation. You thought I was talking about acquittal in court, legal proceedings and all that. Naw, working on some back alley negotiations.

Speaking of negotiations, did I ever tell you about how I got off Viya Station and away from the Targon Syndicate? Yeah, I used to work for them. Stupid, really, but I didn't have much choice. My wife's family is all Targon. Married into it, you might say. But I'm rid of her and her relatives.

So, there I was, sitting in the office of Belliff on Viya Station, wondering what I was gonna do. The Patrol was gearing up for a raid. I could smell the trouble. The management had all disappeared. On a retreat seminar. *hand quotes* They left me to catch the blame from the law. You didn't know Belliff is a front for the Targon Syndicate? Everybody knows that.

I was sitting there, deleting files while my wife's idiot nephew watched his vids, when this woman, Dace, walks in claiming to have a courier delivery for me. She couldn't have had worse timing. Those courier shipments were nothing more than illegal contraband. Brilliant idea for smuggling, if you could find a pilot dumb enough to fall for it. The smart ones would figure out what you were doing and either demand a cut of the pie or steal the shipment outright and sell it to the highest bidder. I'm not saying Dace was stupid, just naïve.

I shifted some papers around looking for a way out. That cargo was going to send me away for a long time. I don't do well with incarceration, makes me break out. Ha! Sorry, bad joke. Anyway, I'm digging through the desk when what do I find but a stunner. My escape plan hit me like a sledgehammer. She was a pilot, she had a ship. She could fly me to Freeport, capital of the Federation. I'd take the cargo and sell it to finance setting up my new home. Yeah, the Federation is kinda small and more than a little backward, but they're a lot looser on the law enforcement than the Empire. But they still got laws. Where you got laws, you got lawyers. Like me. See? Genius plan.

So I hide the stunner and make her take me to her ship. Everything was working according to plan until her copilot decides he wants to be a hero. He jumped me. Things got a bit crazy, especially after Dace convinced Viya Station to undock us. Insane woman flew us through a Patrol firefight with these aliens. We took a direct hit and you know what she did? She kept going. We made the jump to hyperspace with a failing engine.

The woman is completely bonkers, you get what I'm saying? Totally bonkers, but she's the best pilot I've ever seen. *shakes head* I'll even forgive her for tying me up and locking me in the bathroom for most of that trip.

Freeport? Nah, never made it. Dace took us straight to Tebros where the Patrol jumped all over me. I turned myself in, gave them everything I had on Targon. Yeah, Targon hates me now, but I'm legal again. You want the rest of the story? You're going to have to bribe the Patrol for it. I'm pretty sure Dace gave them a full report.

And those rumors that she's some kind of secret agent for the Patrol? *leans forward and whispers* Don't believe it. She hates them almost as much as I do.

Now I've got a question for you. What do you think of my suit? Manny made it. He's a great tailor. *stands up to show off blue and purple plaid with stripes of lime green and little yellow flowers* I like a bit of flash, ya know? Catches them off guard. *winks*

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaleta Clegg loves writing stories about interesting characters. She writes science fiction adventure, silly horror, and dabbles in every genre in between. Find more about her at www.jaletac.com

Her second novel, Priestess of the Eggstone, is now available. www.altairanempire.com

Book Blurb: Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

Living in Hawaii

Please help me welcome Doug Corleone to It's Not All Gravy. Doug is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime novels published by St. Martin's Minotaur.  A former New York City criminal defense attorney, Doug now resides in the Hawaiian Islands, where he is currently at work on his next novel. My daughter was stationed in Hawaii while she was in the army and as her brother said, "What a terrible tour of duty." So I am not sure I feel too terribly sorry for Doug.

It’s tough to complain about living in Hawaii.  And I don’t do it often. But as an American writer, I do often feel isolated, as though I’m still on the outside looking in. When a friend launches a new book at the Mysterious Bookshop in New York, I wonder if I made the right decision seven years ago when I moved away from the Big Apple. When the Southern California chapter of the Mystery Writers of America emails me an invitation to a gathering at a bar in LA, I immediately feel a pang of regret before striking the delete button. I’ve asked my literary agent and fellow writers, even my editor, about whether moving back to the mainland would be best for my career. But in this digital day and age, when the world is so small and everything moves at the speed of light, the answer I receive is consistently no. And they’re right.

Authors are touring less. Fewer physical books in existence means fewer books are being signed. Yet readers are closer to their favorite authors than ever. On Twitter, you can follow the writers you most admire throughout their day, learn what they eat, how much they drink, and where they shop, all in 140 characters or less.  On Facebook, you can often see photos of authors reading their books at packed events, or even shooting hoops in the driveway with their kids.  Many authors today maintain blogs. It’s almost as though you can sneak into their bedroom and thumb through a few pages of their journals or diaries each night after they fall asleep.

Still, living in Hawaii, I often miss sitting down to dinner or having a drink with my colleagues. I keep in touch with many authors via email, but of course, it’s not the same. That’s why I so look forward to writing conventions and conferences and other mainland events. My favorite event over the past three years has been Bouchercon, the annual world mystery convention. In San Francisco and St. Louis, I was afforded the opportunity to discuss the craft of writing with fellow scribblers, not just on author panels but at awards ceremonies, publishing parties, and simply sitting around the hotel bar.

As I write this I’m counting down the days until October 3rd when I’ll leave Honolulu for Cleveland for Bouchercon  2012.  For four days I’ll be surrounded by readers and crime writers from all over the globe and I’ll relish every second of it. 

In the meantime, I’ll just have to pass the time here in Hawaii. It’ll be tough. But somehow, someway, I know I’ll make it through. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Doug's latest book, Last Lawyer Standing, hotshot defense attorney Kevin Corvelli is juggling clients as high profile as Hawaii's governor and as gritty as the career criminal who once saved Kevin's life.
 
  

Wednesday's Guest - Author Nancy Cohen

Please help me welcome Nancy Cohen to It's Not All Gravy. Nancy is the author of Shear Murder and is here talking about her book and what keeps her motivated to write.

Question #1: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes, ever since I can remember I’ve been writing. At first, it was poems and short stories and a Shakespearean type play which I forced my summer camp mates to act out. I began the submission process quite young, but it wasn’t until grad school that I decided to write a novel. One of the most important things I did to boost my career was to join Romance Writers of America and attend conferences and monthly chapter meetings.

Question #2: Tell us a little bit about your latest book. 

Shear Murder is the tenth book in my Bad Hair Day mystery series. It’s the culmination of a personal journey for my hairstylist sleuth, Marla Shore. It’s about weddings and new beginnings. Just when Marla is planning her own nuptials, she gets caught up in another murder investigation. Marla is a bridesmaid at her friend Jill’s wedding when she discovers the matron of honor—the bride’s sister— dead under the cake table. She has a lot going on in her life, but when Jill pleads for her help in solving the case, Marla can’t refuse. It’s a fast-paced tale with humor, romance, and suspense as Marla races to find the killer before her wedding day arrives.

Question #3:  I noticed on your Website that you write books that mix genres a lot. Why do you think those types of books are so popular with readers?  

Mixed genre stories stretch the boundaries. You’re not limited by conventions of a particular type. You can blend these expectations, add unexpected elements, and surprise the reader. I really like combining sci-fi and fantasy with romance. Those stories of mine are romantic adventure tales set in another universe. Paranormal mysteries are another type of mash-up, popular with mystery lovers who like an otherworldly touch in their stories. It’s like adding spice to a recipe. My mysteries, however, are straight whodunits with a touch of humor.

Question #4: Have you always been a lover of books and stories? What did you read as a child?

I was a devoted fan of Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, and Judy Bolton. I couldn’t wait for the next Nancy Drew book to come out. That was my favorite, but Cherry Ames stories inspired me to become a nurse. And Judy Bolton influenced my writing in that she grew and changed as a character. She got married, whereas Nancy Drew has changed very little over time. It’s much more interesting when you follow a character’s growth. Horatio Hornblower is another example of how a fictional character evolves over the course of a series. Thus my heroine sleuth, Marla Shore, matures during the stories to a woman who embraces her new family.

Question #5: Tell us a little about your family.  Has your family been supportive of your writing? 

My husband is retired and we’re empty nesters with two grown children. He knows to leave me alone when I’m writing, which is early in the morning. They’re all proud of my work.

Question #6: Most writers put a bit of themselves in their characters. Is there one in particular that you think has some of your characteristics? 

Marla Shore and I share similar backgrounds, traditions, and values. In some ways, she is me, but in other ways, she’s a lot braver! I wish I had her skills as a hairstylist, and I admire her talents. We also share the nurturing nature from my nursing career. Marla likes making people look good because then they feel better about themselves. It boosts their self-esteem.

Question #7: Many writers have pets. Do you? Do you include any in your stories?

Marla has a poodle named Spooks who takes after our late dog, who died at the ripe old age of nearly 17. Most of Spooks’ antics happened to our dear pet.

Question #8: What do your think your best friend from high school would say about you now? 

She admires my accomplishments. Seriously. We connected on Facebook.

Question #9: What is it that keeps you writing - money, success, readers or simply satisfying the creative urge?

Readers are the number one reason why I keep writing. So please continue your fan mail and positive reviews! Pleas for more Marla stories are what inspired me to finish Shear Murder after my previous publisher cancelled the series. If not for reader demand, I would not have completed this book. Also, being a writer is not a switch I can turn off. I love telling stories and sharing my imaginary worlds with booklovers. If I did it for money or success, I’d have quit a long time ago!

Question #10: What would you like to say to the people who read your books? 

Thank you so very much for being devoted readers, for following my work, and for your supportive comments. I have saved every letter or email written to me, that’s how much it means. You’re my inspiration. Keep reading!

~~~~~~~~~~

Nancy J. Cohen is an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her popular Bad Hair Day series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several titles in this series have made the IMBA bestseller list, while Nancy’s imaginative sci-fi romances have garnered rave reviews. Her latest book, and tenth in her mystery series, is Shear Murder from Five Star Cengage/Gale. Active in the writing community and a featured speaker at libraries and conferences, Nancy is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets.

Shear Murder

Watch the Book Trailer

BUY NOW

Follow Nancy on her Social Networks:

Website 

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Guest Blogging

This is my day to contribute at the blog, All Day, All Night, written by a group of us who all share the same name. The spelling might be different, but we are all Maryann's. We are not, however, "down by the seashore sifting sand."

We are all writers busy at work.

My blog post today is all about cats. Come on over and see what Big John has been up to lately.

Guest Blog - Lauren Carr

Please help me welcome mystery author, Lauren Carr to the blog today. 

Having a Life: The Wonderful Problem

The last few days, my husband has been mentioning an acquaintance who is having a hard time right now. Barely out of his teens, this young man has just graduated from college, has no job, no friends, no girlfriend, no wife, no kids, and lives in his mother’s basement.

He has no life.

A few years ago, I attended a book signing for John Lamb, author of the Bear Collector Mysteries   He is a  retired police officer who collects teddy bears, and his life mirrors that of his protagonist Brad Lyon, also a retired police officer who collects teddy bears. Yes, John Lamb’s life is a cozy mystery! During our conversation I learned that Mr. Lamb is able to devote eight hours a day to his writing and churn out two of his bear mysteries a year.

Me: Between husband, son, two dogs, and at that time taking care of my elderly father-in-law who has since passed away, it was all I could do to squeeze in four hours a day for writing and get one book out a year.

“Oh, so you have a life,” John Lamb replied after hearing my tale of woe. Not that he doesn’t have a life, it was I who had one.

Back before I had a husband that couldn’t cook; son that feeds his homework to the dogs for breakfast; kitchen that can’t stay stocked; laundry that won’t stay clean; and soccer team that scored a goal yesterday for the other team-oh-my!; I would have given my left arm to not have a life and devote eight hours a day to my writing career. I’m left-handed.

Like George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life, I yearned for what I didn’t have while not thanking God for the many blessings I did have. 

What has happened to make me appreciate the obstacles in my life that keep me from writing eight hours a day and churning out two books a year and having that glamorous writing career I always dreamed of having? No, it didn’t happen all in one night in which an angel got his wings after showing me what life would have been like for those around me if I weren’t around to coach them in how to score goals for the other team. I guess it was the natural realization that comes with approaching middle-age.

 As I was approaching my fiftieth birthday, I had a moment in which I looked around me and saw those, like the young man my husband had noted, who had not been blessed with the family and friends I had. Then, like the beginning of It’s A Wonderful Life where the audience saw significant moments in George Bailey’s life, I recalled a night a lifetime ago in mine.

It was one of those nights that many young women have. 

My heart broken by who I had thought was the love of my life, with all my friends married or engaged and starting families, I spent one night praying to God for a husband and family. At that moment, my greatest fear was not that I wouldn’t have a career as an author, but that I would end up alone without people in my life who cared about me. 

My greatest fear was not having a life.

Yes, God does answer prayers.

So now, as I sit here typing this as fast as my fingers can fly across the keyboard because my son is burning down the kitchen while cooking breakfast because he can’t wait one minute longer for me to come cook it; and the dogs are wrestling at my feet threatening to knock the computer out of my lap while I try to finish this because I missed my deadline because I had to do the laundry because my husband insists the whole world will know if he wears the same pair underwear two days in a row, I have to say –

It’s a Wonderful Life!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother used to read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. She wrote A Small Case of Murder after giving up her writing career to stay at home with her now twelve-year-old son. Her first book, A Small Case of Murder, was named finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Old Loves Die Hard is the second installment of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which take place on Deep Creek Lake. She lives on a mountaintop in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, with her husband and son.

Book Review- Night on Fire by Doug Corleone

Tomorrow I am going to have a guest, Doug Corleone, who writes a mystery series set in Hawaii, featuring attorney, Kevin Corvelli. Doug will be sharing some thoughts on writer's block that are pretty interesting. I hope you can come back to see what he has to say.


In the meantime, here is a short review of his book.

 In Night on Fire, hotshot Honolulu defense lawyer Kevin Corvelli narrowly escapes a deadly arson fire at a popular Hawaiian beach resort only to land the prime suspect - a stunning but troubled young bride charged with murdering her husband and ten others - as a client.

This is an entertaining read that really picks up momentum as it races to the end. There are some suprises at the end, so don't think the story is over until you read the last word. The book is set in Hawaii, and while some landmarks are mentioned, as well as popular restaurants, I wanted a little more of a feel for the island. I've been there and the sounds and smells and breathtaking beauty of the island was missing in this story. But maybe that was because the story is in Kevin's POV and that wasn't important to him.

The mystery is a good one as Kevin tries to get his client off and find out who really killed her husband. Also very enjoyable is the relationship Kevin forms with the young boy he rescued from the fire. It is strong and well defined in the story without being too predictable or sappy.

The official release date for the book is today - Happy Release day, Doug.

Douglas Corleone is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime series published by St. Martin's Minotaur. His debut novel ONE MAN'S PARADISE won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. A practicing attorney, Douglas divides his time between New York and Hawaii. NIGHT ON FIRE is his second novel.


~~~~~~~~~~~
FTC Disclaimer: The author sent me the book in hopes of a review, and a favorable one at that, I'm sure. But I made no promises. While I did enjoy the book, I derived no compensation for reading it. I didn't even get to smell the wonderful perfume of the flowers on the island of Oahu. Why does Kevin not stop and smell the orchids? Maybe then he wouldn't need his special medicine. You have to read the book to figure that one out.

Some Sunday Fun

No book review today. I am a guest at Lelia Taylor's  Creatures and Crooks Books Blog today. Well, that is not entirely accurate. One of our cats, Little John, is a guest there. If you have time,  hop over and see what he has to say.

I have done several blog pieces about our cats on the blog, and we have had so much fun with it, I will do at least one more. Then I run out of cats to write about.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Before we get to the regularly scheduled program, I have a guest piece on Elizabeth Spann Craig's Mystery Writing is Murder blog. We are talking about jigsaw puzzles and writing and what they have in common. Stop on by if you have a minute.

~~~~~~~

Add caption

Dennis Montgomery, who owns a California computer company, sold fake technology that was supposed to assist in tracking terrorists to the military. It took two years for the Air Force to cancel the contract after the fraud was brought to light. The extent of the fraud may never be known because the Justice Department believes that releasing the details would be a threat to national security. More details HERE

What is wrong with that picture? Is the bureaucracy of the military so over loaded that someone could not have pulled the plug in, say, a week and saved millions?  Do we have a right to know the details of this fraud?

Obama's 2012 budget cuts calls for reduction of the charitable donation tax deduction. Rick Dunham, CEO of a company that assists non-profits wrote and op-ed piece in which he stated, "Our charitable deduction ensures that the wealthy have an incentive to share their financial blessings with the less fortunate."

While I agree that the deduction should stay in place, the idealist in me wishes the wealthy could donate because it is a good thing to do. Why does everything have to include a personal benefit? Have we totally succumbed to the the "What's in it for me?" mentality?

The latest trend in gardening for the busy family. There are now expert gardeners, who, for a fee, will come to your home and create a garden. They bring tools, compost, mulch, hoses, seeds and starter plants and will build raised beds, then plant your garden. If you are too busy to tend to the garden, they will come out regularly to pull weeds and take care of any other gardening chores. They'll even come out and harvest. According to an article in The Dallas Morning News, this approach to gardening has become popular in Dallas, Austin, and Seattle, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is not springing up in other places.

I'll admit that I have been tempted in recent years to hire someone to dig my garden, I don't think I would go so far as to hire a company to do it all. Some of the physiological benefits of gardening are lost if you are not putting your own hands in the dirt to plant the seeds and nurturing the plants until you are ready to pick that first juicy tomato.

What about you? Would you hire folks to do a garden?