Take Five With Author Mary Feliz

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Mary Feliz.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Cliff Hanger?

Cliff Hanger is the fifth book in my Maggie McDonald Mystery series. While it focuses on many of the familiar and favorite characters, the setting is new. Maggie travels to the California Central Coast on Monterey Bay, where I now live. I wanted to highlight the beautiful and fragile Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary while maintaining the mystery and character elements that fans have enjoyed in the previous books.

How do you construct your characters?

When I was creating the original recurring characters, my home office had lots of old cabinets. I mounted poster board on the doors and created large collages for each main character with smaller ones for the secondary characters. The collages started using celebrities who resembled the characters, but branched out from there including the character's cars, pets, hobbies, sports, favorite quotes, what they’d wear to a fancy party, and what they wear when they are at home. I continued thinking about and exporting the characters until each poster board was full. By that time, I had a great handle on who each character was and how they’d respond to conflict and to each other.

Years ago, I heard about an author who used this technique and thought it was bonkers. But it works for me!

For the new books, I review the original poster boards for the main characters and create online collages for the new players in each book. (I moved and don’t have nearly as much wall space for my poster boards!)

How is your main character completely different than you?

Maggie is very organized, and I’m a mess. My friends think I’m organized, but the truth is that I’m desperate to try to remember everything in my schedule and to bring what I need to every event. If I weren’t a bit organized, my whole life would fall apart. Despite my best efforts, I’m always losing my keys, misplacing my purse, and checking and rechecking my calendar. Maggie’s also thinner, braver, younger, and more energetic than I am. I’m happy to let the police do their job and have no interest in investigating murders or chasing bad guys!

Tell us something about yourself we might not expect!

I’m a certified California Naturalist. That means I’ve taken a course to learn about the flora and fauna of my area, along with the geology, climate, hydrology, and other elements of the state’s natural history. The California Naturalist program is run by the University of California in an effort to create “citizen scientists’ with broad-based knowledge of the “greatest hits” of the natural world. Part of my certification is a commitment to performing at least 40 hours of volunteer work with natural history organizations every year. 

Can I answer every question you might have? No way! But I’m definitely a nature nerd and know how to go about discovering answers to questions.

If you were not a writer, what vocation would you pursue?

I’m not sure that I could survive without some kind of writing, because I’ve always sorted through feelings, information, and plans with pen in hand (or fingers on a keyboard.) If I weren’t writing fiction, however, I think I’d be involved in some kind of science education for teens—a fragile, funny, and underserved portion of our population.

How do you create internal and external conflict in your characters?  I find conflict often the hardest to create when I start planning a book.

There are two kinds of conflict in real life and in fiction. Internal conflict is something we all experience and represents the challenges and problems we create for ourselves. For Maggie, that involves worry about whether she’s doing the right thing, neglecting her family, worrying her husband, or short-changing her clients. She worries that her amateur sleuthing is taking up too much time and risking everything.

External conflicts occur on a daily basis in both fiction and real life in the form of unexpected weather, illness, traffic, disagreements, schedule changes and the complicated logistics of our busy lives.

Where fiction takes a sharp detour from reality is in the bigger conflicts we throw at our characters: finding bodies, running into bad guys, plane crashes, frivolous lawsuits, and unwarranted criminal charges. None of those things has ever happened to be. They aren’t something most of us need to plan for. But that’s what makes fiction writing fun—finding a balance between the believable and unbelievable in throwing larger-than-life unexpected conflicts in the paths of our characters.

When you’re brainstorming for a new story, what usually comes first for you, the plot or the characters?

Truth to tell, I have no idea which comes first. There’s a period of daydreaming about the next book when I should be focused on the one that’s due to the publisher. After I meet the deadline and start sketching out the ideas for the plot, the bad guys, the people I want readers to THINK are the bad guy, and select my setting, I discover I’ve already thought about all of it a lot more than I probably should have. Most of those elements are developed concurrently. 

I worked on the characters first for the first book, Address to Die For, but prior to that I already had a sense of the house where I wanted to set the story and the conflict that I wanted to focus on. Fleshing out the characters really helped the rest of the story ideas to come together.

Give us a brief summary of Cliff Hanger:

When a hang-gliding stranger is found fatally injured in the cliffs above Monterey Bay, the investigation into his death becomes a cluttered mess. Professional organizer Maggie McDonald must sort the clues to catch a coastal killer before her family becomes a target . . .
 
Maggie has her work cut out for her helping Renée Alvarez organize her property management office. Though the condominium complex boasts a prime location on the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, aging buildings and the high-maintenance tenants have Renée run ragged. But Maggie’s efforts are complicated when her sons attempt to rescue a badly injured man who crashed his ultra-light on the coastal cliffs.
 
Despite their efforts to save him, the man dies. Maggie's family members become the prime suspects in a murder investigation and the target of a lawsuit. Her instincts say something’s out of place, but solving a murder won’t be easy. Maggie still needs to manage her business, the pushy press, and unwanted interest from criminal elements. Controlling chaos is her specialty, but with this killer’s crime wave, Maggie may be left hanging . . .

Buy: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Bio:

Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever. 

Maggie is like Marie Kondo with heart—she’ll never make you get rid of your books. Mary is a certified California Naturalist and delights in introducing readers to her state’s natural beauty. Her fifth book, Cliff Hanger, is set on the shores of Monterey Bay.

Address to Die For, the first book in the series, was named a Best Book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews. For more information about Mary and her books, visit her website.

Find Mary:

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Take Five With Author J.A. Kazimer

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, J.A. Kazimer. Tell us, what inspired you to write your book CUFFED: A Detective Goldie Locks Mystery?

I adore the Goldilocks and the Three Bears tale for so many reasons. Mainly it’s so true to my own experiences.

Think of it, a girl breaks into your house, takes mouthfuls of your porridge (spitting it out), sits in your chair, and then falls asleep in your bed, all the while whining about it.

Does that sound like an in-law to you? It surely does to me.

Which made me wonder what would happen if Goldie Locks (though a less annoying version) rather than running off when the Bears came home, was actually adopted by them, and in turn grows up to be a cop in a fairytale version of New York City. 

How do you construct your characters?

Since I’m working with fairytale and/or nursery rhyme characters, constructing them is both easier and more difficult. It’s easier since I don’t have to worry overmuch about setting up the ‘who’ or ‘how they look’. People know Goldie Locks has blond hair (at least under all her mousey-brown #42 hair dye). That she’s inquisitive (perfect for a detective). And also a bit of a troublemaker (which makes any character much more fun).

As for those things making constructing my characters more difficult comes in the fact I have to keep true(ish) to the fairytale. Everything my characters say or do, a reader might have a conflicting expectation because of what they ‘know’ of the fairytale.

How is your main character completely different than you?

Not completely, in that, I have a forensic background and spent time working as an investigator, albeit a private one. As for her personality, we both share a by-the-book façade when in truth we’d rather be breaking all the rules. There is also our shared love of bad boys. Okay, fine. We are too much alike for my comfort. Good thing I’m not looking to trespass anytime soon.

Tell us something about yourself we might not expect!

I mentioned it above, but I worked as a private investigator for about 4 years. In that time, I tracked down deadbeats, cheaters, gamblers, and a celebrity or two. Fun times.

You’re having a dinner party.  What character from your novel do you hope doesn’t show up?     Why?

This one’s pretty easy to answer. Goldie Locks should avoid any dinner party I’m hosting. Mostly because I’m a terrible cook, and she’d complain about my spice level, food temperature, and how I only have two chairs, both fairly uncomfortable, at my counter rather than a table.

That and the dog hair everywhere. How can my dogs shed so much? Two of them weigh less than 20 pounds. 

When you’re brainstorming for a new story, what usually comes first for you, the plot or the characters?

Characters always come first. I am a true pantser. Meaning I start a story at sentence one, and start writing with no outline or really, any idea where the book or my life are going. I don’t advise this method. Oddly enough, which honestly I’m shocked about, the plot always works out. Red herrings in place. Bad guys caught. Heroine and hero living happily ever after.

Give us a brief summary of CUFFED: A Detective Goldie Locks Mystery:

Detective Goldie Locks isn’t looking for just the right bed. Or any bed for that matter. 

She’s on the hunt for a killer. 

When she discovers the fingerprints of a once-upon-a-time lover, a man who jumped over a candlestick and out a window to leave her facing some serious trespassing trouble alone, at a crime scene, she vows to see him in handcuffs. 

Jack B. Nimble has other ideas. 

He threatens her adoptive family if Goldie doesn’t help him clear his villainous name, much to the chagrin of her current boyfriend and quite possibly the next mayor, Beau White, the fairest man in all the land. 

Trying to prove his innocence turns out to be harder than she expected, especially when Jack refuses to aid in his defense, and instead, starts a campaign to ‘win’ her back. Goldie might be a blond, but she’s far from dumb enough to fall for his charms a second time. 

Or so she tells herself every time his lips meet hers.

The deeper she plows into the rabbit hole and Jack’s soul, the more she learns about his motives for returning to the city—Destroying her perfectly crafted life.

Buy:

Amazon

Bio:

J.A. Kazimer lives in Denver, CO. When she isn't looking for a place to hide the bodies, she devotes her time to playing with her pups. Other hobbies include murdering houseplants. 

She spent a few years stalking people while working as a private investigator before transitioning to the moniker of Writer and penning over 15 titles. 

Visit her website at jakazimer.com and sign up for her THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MURDER Newsletter.

Social Media Links: 

Facebook Fan Page | Facebook  | Twitter   Goodreads | Bookbub | Pinterest

Author Spotlight Featuring Marilyn Leach's New Book ~ All Hallows Dead

Marilyn Leach has created a wonderful cozy mystery series set in a small English village. Grab your cup of tea and enjoy Marilyn's "tour" of her 5th and latest book in the Berdie Elliot series.  

Thanks, L.A. for hosting me on your blog.  

The North of England grabbed me by the throat and won my heart the moment I stepped onto its soil.  I knew this untamed part of England, Northumbria, near the Scottish borders, was abundant fuel for stories.

 

When first I saw Lindesfarne Castle loom over the landscape of tiny Holy Island, wind blowing the rush of modern life from my soul, the history of the place settled in like a warm cup of tea on a blustery day.  My story would be a mystery set in current day but with roots reaching back into history.

All Hallows Dead: A Berdie Elliott Saints Day Mystery is the fruit of that idea.  Berdie and husband Hugh, a vicar, are attending a church course in Northumbria when Berdie’s captivated by the mysteries of an ancient church.  

Two “accidental” deaths occur in circumstances she finds questionable.  Set among the ruins of Criswell Abbey, Berdie discovers truths that will impact Criswell’s entire village, from a local pub owner to the lord of the manner.

Of course, there’s plenty of humor as Berdie and her best friend, Lillie, get into circumstances that make us chuckle, all while solving dastardly events.  Pretending to be artists, for the sake of snooping, turns into an art form unto itself.

All Hallows Dead is a perfect read for this time of year.  All Saints Day, November 1, marks our collective memory of those devoted pilgrims that have marched on in faith before us.  During this season, a comfy chair, hot beverage, and snuggly throw are all amenities that make reading All Hallows Dead an enjoyable event.

Buy:

Amazon

Bio:

Though Marilyn grew up in the Western United States, she became a dyed-in-the-wool British enthusiast after exploring the UK and making friends there.  She has co-authored plays that have been performed in both secular and church venues.  

Her many devotionals have appeared in such works as The Quiet Heart, Big Dreams in Small Places, and Guideposts.  In her current British mystery series with Pelican Books, Berdie Elliott is the intrepid vicar’s wife who solves crime with a little help from above.  Marilyn lives in a lakeside cottage on the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Find Marilyn:
Website | Amazon Author Page | Facebook

What secrets lie within the stones of Criswell Abbey’s medieval church, St. Baldred’s?  Berdie Elliott digs to find the truth in All Hallows Dead.

Lastingham Stairs

Author Spotlight Featuring M.S. Spencer's New Release ~ The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel

Don't you love the title of M.S. Spencer's new release? I do. It creates all sorts of "wants-to-know." 

Thanks so much, L.A., for letting me talk to your readers about my new cozy mystery The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel. Set on Longboat Key, Florida, it takes place on the spot where John Ringling began building a luxurious hotel in the 1920s. Left to slowly disintegrate over the decades, it inevitably came to be called the Ghost Hotel.

 Blurb:

At midnight, in the darkness of a deserted hotel, comes a scream and a splash. Eighty-five years later, workmen uncover a skeleton in an old elevator shaft. Who is it, and how did it get there? To find out, Charity Snow, ace reporter for the Longboat Key Planet, teams up with Rancor Bass, best-selling author. A college ring they find at the dig site may prove to be their best clue.

Although his arrogance nearly exceeds his talent, Charity soon discovers a warm heart beating under Rancor’s handsome exterior. While dealing with a drop-dead gorgeous editor who may or may not be a villain, a publisher with a dark secret, and an irascible forensic specialist, Charity and Rancor unearth an unexpected link to the most famous circus family in the world.

 

Paris is featured in many of my books because I have a soft spot for it. In The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel, I contrive to send my hero Rancor Bass off to Paris in pursuit of his editor. He lands himself in jail, which gives our heroine Charity Snow a chance to see Paris for the first time. In fact, due to his misadventures, Charity—who’s never been out of Florida—gets to travel a LOT.

Excerpt: April in a Paris Jail

Charity dropped the phone. After picking it up and waiting for the panicky breaths to slow, she said as calmly as she could, “Before I shell out any more money, you need to answer a few questions, mister.”

“Fire away. It’s funny—here in France I’m allowed not one but two phone calls.”

“I presume your first one was to the American embassy.”

“That’s next on my list. This may come as a surprise to you, but I so longed to hear your voice that I decided to check in with you first. Get the money ball rolling, as it were.”

“It’s always about money, isn’t it?”

“Well, in this case, it’s pretty crucial. The French police may be enlightened as to telephone communications, but not so much about accommodations. So what do you say?”

“I say, get on the horn to the embassy without ado.”

He was silent for a minute. Finally, he said gently, “Don’t you want to hear what happened?”

“Let me guess. You were caught in flagrante delicto with a beautiful fugitive from justice.”

“Not at all. My heart is true. I’ve been faithful to you even if you don’t deserve it.”

Charity decided to let that pass—and maybe revisit it later at her leisure. “Tell me then.”

“Well, said beautiful fugitive managed to turn the tables on me. I found her, but instead of consenting to come along quietly, she screamed bloody murder. In a performance worthy of Sarah Bernhardt—you know who she was, don’t you? The greatest actress of her age. The Divine Sarah. Why, her Tosca was emulated by thousands of would-be swans. I—”

“What did she claim?”

“Who? Oh, Isabella? That I—Rancor Bass, author of eleven wildly acclaimed books—had stolen her manuscript! The gall of the woman.” He subsided into incoherent rumblings.

“And?”

“And since this is France, the gendarmes refrained from asking any searing questions for fear of injuring the nymphette’s fragile sensibilities. They swallowed her line without so much as a tittle of qualm and arrested me. It’s appalling, really. These chaps are totally sexist. Chauvinist dinosaurs…”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Well, I’d love the money as soon as you can send it. How’s that done nowadays? They used to say ‘I’ll wire it,’ but I’m pretty sure technology has moved on. No matter, that was five hundred if you recall. I guess I can exchange it here—ooh, I just thought of something. It’s euros, isn’t it? Not francs. What a shame…this Eurozone crap has got to stop. It’s ruining all the color and spice of Europe. Did you know French farmers can’t sell cheese that isn’t pasteurized? Criminal.”

“Rancor? Have you by any chance not eaten in a while?”

“What? No, la bonne femme—that’s ‘wife’ to you Yankees—of Monsieur le Brigadier Dumont provided me with a cheese omelet and a Picardie glass of a refreshing Sancerre. Her name is Antoinette. A very warmhearted woman.”

I’ll bet she is. “All right, then why are you babbling?”

“I think it’s the cell walls—so close, so confining. They’re beginning to get to me. Did I ever mention I have claustrophobia? I’m trying to fend it off with logorrhea.”

“Logo…what?”

“Logorrhea. It’s like diarrhea except with words rather than…well, you know.”

Let’s just skip on ahead. “All right, I’ll see about the money. Who do I send it to?”

“My lawyer—a Monsieur Carotte. Hang on, let me find his email address…here it is. CarotteatAubergineCarotteAsperge-dot-com. That’s all one word. Do you want me to spell it?”

“No, I’ve got it. Wait—you have a lawyer? Why do you need me?”

“He was assigned by the judge. He doesn’t care about me the way you do, Charity. In fact, he actually hooted when I suggested he bail me out. Like a hyena, not like an owl. Most unsettling.”

“How do you know he won’t keep the money?”

“Oh dear, I hadn’t thought of that. Just a minute.” From a distance, she heard a dialogue in rapid French. Rancor came back on the line. “The officer has kindly offered to take custody of the funds. Send it to Brigadier Raoul Dumont, in care of the Commissariat de Police, eighth arrondissement, one Avenue du General Eisenhower, Paris, 75008. Got it?”

“All right. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow! Can’t you do it tonight? It’s not exactly Shangri-La here.”

What time is it there?”

More French. “Dumont informs me it is three o’clock in the morning. So it’s tomorrow.”

“Well, it isn’t tomorrow here. You’ll get the money when you get it.” When he didn’t answer, she said sweetly, “Do call me when you get out.”

“Will do,” he whispered his voice tight. “You’re a saint. I’ll be at l’Hôtel Paris, 13 rue des Beaux Arts, Paris 75006. Number is 33-1-44-41-99-55.”

“Hotel Paris? Where’s that? By the train station?”

“No, dear. That’s Hôtel de la Gare. It’s always Hôtel de la Gare. L’Hôtel Paris is one of the most famous of all French hostelries. I’m shocked you don’t know this.”

“Rancor, I’ve never been to France. I’ve never even been to New York.”

“Why, you sad, pathetic creature. While I still have you on the line, I shall tell you more. All kinds of famous people have rested their weary heads on the silken sheets of l’Hôtel, the most eminent being Oscar Wilde. I believe he breathed his last bon mot there. So naturally, it’s the most suitable hotel for a wielder of clever phrases such as I, don’t you think? Plus, it’s a five-star and really rather special. Did you know its rooms are classified Mignon and Bijou? That tells you how precious it is.”

Not having any response to this little speech, she said goodbye and hung up.

An hour later, money having been sent and receipt confirmed, she went to bed, resolved to force the little reptile to confess just how he managed to bunk in a five-star hotel and yet still had to borrow bail money.

Buy:

Wild Rose Press | Amazon | iTunes |

Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Bio:

Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents, the last thirty years were spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, policy wonk, non-profit director, and parent.

After many years in academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

Ms. Spencer has published eleven romantic suspense novels, and has two more in utero. She has two fabulous grown children and an incredible granddaughter. She divides her time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.

Find M.S.:

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Author Spotlight Featuring Nancy Haddock's A Crime of Poison

Nancy Haddock is one of my favorite authors, 

and her Silver Six Crafting Mystery series is funny, warm and clever. 

Thanks, L.A. for hosting me on your blog. It's always a joy to be here.

Do you all like art and craft festivals? I love them, and I’m eagerly awaiting the big November event in St. Augustine!

Whether they are small, intimate fairs with twenty or thirty booths, or large, juried festivals with a hundred vendors, I adore browsing and admiring the creativity and variety of goodies being offered. And, okay, I do more than browse. If the price is right, I buy fun things for family and friends. Everything from jewelry to art prints, to garden stones so ornate I hang them in my house!

My love of arts and crafts came from my mother who was a self-taught artist and craftswoman. I didn’t get all her talent, but if I can spend time at a festival – or an antique show or flea market – I’m there.

Watching my mother and her friends age was one of the inspirations for my Silver Six Crafting mysteries. My mother isn’t one of the Silver Six, per se, but her varied talents and general “get-‘er-done” attitude is reflected in both my group of senior characters and in the 30-year-old character, Nixy.  Another driving inspiration was my love of art and craft forms, so the Silver Six had to be crafty.

In the first book, Basket Case, my characters host an arts and crafts fest on their farmhouse grounds. In A Crime of Poison, they’ve moved the festival to the town square.

So, I wondered ….

What if a despised former resident showed up at the festival? What if he were working for an equally hated town bully? And what if someone wanted those men permanently gone from picturesque Lilyvale?

When Nixy stumbles on a crime scene with Amber the dog and T.C. the cat, she and the Silver Six are sure to be on the case!

Excerpt From A Crime of Poison:

The critters and I were fed and out the door by six forty- five for our morning jaunt. We walked up Fairview, one of our customary routes, but instead of crossing at Troost to loop back, we went another three blocks to cross at Moccasin, and then turned left on McKinley headed for home. Amber sniffed everything in sight. The grass, the sidewalk, the gutter, the dirt, every tree, even the air. Nothing escaped her notice. T.C. batted at and pounced on bugs, a fallen leaf, a rock. Entertaining as they were to watch, the start-stop pace sure wasn’t giving me aerobic exercise.

On McKinley I noticed an older- model sedan parked whopperjawed midblock under one of two oak trees. The front angled into the curb while the back stuck out into the street. Not enough to impede traffic, but nowhere near parallel to the curb. The paint might’ve been a cream color at one time, but now the car had more rust spots than not.

Amber and T.C. lifted their heads and sniffed as we approached. The closer we got, the more my critters fidgeted, whining and meowing, all the while testing the air for scents. When we pulled even with the passenger door, they sat at the edge of the sidewalk. Amber bayed her odd barkaroo, and T.C. screeched a reeoow. All the windows were open a few inches, the back windows more so. They weren’t tinted, and I noticed a man in the passenger seat. He looked to be asleep, his head tilted back, resting partly on the window, partly on the headrest.

I tugged gently on the leashes, planning to walk away, but my pets refused to budge. They gave me the big eyes and pitiful whimpers as if to say, Aren’t you going to do something?

I sighed and carefully stepped nearer to the car window for a closer look inside. I didn’t want to touch anything, but now I saw the man clearly.

A white floppy hat sat off- center over thin graying hair. Bruises colored his face. A split lip. White shirt smudged with dirt and blood droplets, and something else.

In spite of the cool morning, I suddenly felt clammy, and my knees shook. I swallowed and bent lower to see his eyes, then clamped my free hand over my nose and mouth as a foul, sour smell seeped from the window. The man wasn’t sleeping; not unless he slept with his eyes open and fixed on something he could no longer see.

Sure enough, Cornell Lewis was dead.

Buy: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble Paperback | Barnes & Noble Nook

Blurb:

The Silver Six are known for their arts and crafts—but they’re about to be tested in the art of catching a crafty killer.

It's early October, time for the Fall Folk Art Festival and Bake Sale in Lilyvale, Arkansas. Leslee Stanton Nix, known as "Nixy," is in charge of making the event run smoothly. The festival will benefit the Handcraft Emporium, the store Nixy manages with her aunt and her five sassy housemates, collectively known as the Silver Six. Delicious baked goods, beautiful crafts, and time with friends—Nixy is confident that the festival will be a success.

But things become knotty when local troublemaker Cornell Lewis is found dead with a plate of Snickerdoodles from the bake sale. Two members of the Silver Six are accused of cooking up a murder plot, but Nixy knows that the cookies weren’t literally to die for. With time running out, Nixy and company must catch the actual killer... before the Silver Six find their number permanently reduced to four.

Bio: 

Nancy Haddock is the award-winning and national bestselling author of the Silver Six Crafting Mysteries. Basket Case and Paint the Town Dead are her current books in the series, and A Crime of Poison will be released in December 2017.

Nancy draws on historic wealth, southern culture, and the plain old quirkiness of places and people for her books. She lives with her husband and rescue dog Baron. You can reach her via www.nancyhaddock.com

Find Nancy:

Facebook |  Twitter or @nancyhaddock | Goodreads