We are so happy to have Mary Alford with us today. Read on, and don't forget--those who leave a comment will have a chance at winning her book, Framed for Murder!
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your newest book.
MA: Thanks, Roxanne. I’m happy to be here today. I started reading suspense at a very young age. I think shortly after I learned to read well. Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, anything I could find at the local library, I’d devour. As a pre-teen, I graduated to reading Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and I loved them and the genre. I tried my hand at writing back then, but I confess, I didn’t take it serious enough until much later in life when I entered the Love Inspired Speed Dating contest and later got the call for Forgotten Past.
Framed For Murder, my October Love Inspired Suspense, is about a CIA agent who is framed for killing her partner. Liz Ramirez must flee for her life in order to find the evidence her deceased partner left behind in a remote cabin in Alaska. But trying to stay alive long enough to find the evidence will be a near impossible task alone. Her future depends on convincing Aaron Foster, her commander, to go rogue and help her. On the run from the rest of her team and the gun dealers who are convinced she knows the location of their missing weapons, Liz risks losing the proof that would clear her name. But will eluding her pursuers—and trying not to fall for the handsome commander—prove to be fatal?
2. Give us an insight into your main character, and what inspired you to write this book?
MA: Liz Ramirez is a seasoned CIA agent, but she’s had to endure some heartbreaking events in her personal life. Five years earlier, she lost her husband, a CIA agent, while on a mission. His death has left her crippled emotionally, unable to move on with her life, and so she has thrown herself into her work. But the life and death missions they face daily has taken its toll, especially now that she’s on the run. Aaron Foster is a good friend and Liz trusts her life to him. Working closely with Aaron, Liz finds herself attracted to Aaron. He’s cut from the same cloth as her deceased husband, but will she be betraying her husband by falling in love with Aaron?
Framed For Murder is the third book in the Scorpion Team series. I’m a huge spy fan and I’ve been blessed to be able to write about something that intrigues me. There’s just something about the type of work spies do, the risks they take that is the perfect backdrop for a romantic suspense.
3. What are you working on at the moment?
MA: I’m currently working on the final two books for the Scorpion Team series. The next book up will be Agent Alex Booth’s story. When Alex gets a call from the sister of his childhood, right away he knows Rachel isn’t calling to catch up. Especially after the way things ended between them. What Rachel has to say is frightening. Her brother, a CIA agent himself has seemingly vanished into thin air. As a former CIA herself, Alex knows Rachel isn’t overreacting. Something bad has happened to Liam.
The final book in the series will be Agent Gavin Dalton’s story and it will take us to coal rich Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, where the truth behind a decade’s old murder is about rise to the surface.
4. What is your writing schedule like?
MA: It depends on what I’m working on at the time. Currently, I have two very tight deadlines so I am writing two books at the same time. Alex’s story and another Amish Romance. I usually devote the morning to working on one book, then after lunch, I’ll start the second book and work until my eyes tell me I’m done.
5. What led you to become a writer?
MA: I think I became a writer because I loved all those stories I read as a child and I could see myself writing the same thing. I love taking a story from just an idea to a finished book. It’s a wonderful feeling. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
MA: Before I became a published author, I received many rejection letters along the way. It can be very discouraging to put your heart and soul into a book and then have someone tell you it’s not good enough. But I think the hardest thing about writing for me is to keep going beyond the rejections. At the time, It would have been so easy to quit and say “oh well”. I’m glad I didn’t.
MA: The easiest thing for me is coming up with the ideas. They can be found anywhere. They’re all around in life, whether it’s a story I hear on TV that sparks a thought, or something I read or hear about in a conversation. Yet not all story ideas make it to the finished book. Some just don’t pan out, but the ones that do, well, it’s a very satisfying feeling to be able to write, “The end”.
8. Anything else you'd like to share? Anything humorous about your writing life?
MA: Every time I think about how close I was to not being able to participate in the Speed Dating contest, I have to smile. At the time of the contest, my husband and I were in Colorado at our cabin where there is no internet availability. So, we grabbed my laptop and ran into town to the Ace Hardware store when I was able to connect long enough to participate. I was so nervous that my hands shook. I’m not sure Emily could understand what I was saying, but she did request a synopsis, followed later by a partial, and a full…and then the call.
I have a Street Team group that I’m always looking for new members. To find out more, just drop me an email at maryjalfordauthor@gmail.com.
