SIT DOWN WITH JENNIFER DODRILL

 by Patricia Bradley

Good morning! I don't know where you are, but here in Northeast Mississippi, we are having a lovely spring! 

Today I want to introduce you to Jennifer Dodrill. I've known Jen for...a while now. She writes clean fiction, including cozy mysteries, women's fiction, and romantic suspense. Oh, and she's giving away a copy of No Egrets! Just leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. Without further ado, hereeeees Jen.

Jen Dodrill, retired Navy wife and homeschool mom, is living out her dreams on the pages of her books, bringing readers compelling stories of inspiration and hope for good times and bad.

Her family-focused novels depict her values of cooperation, connection, compassion, and community, demonstrating the importance of helping one another brave the waves of the world together. 

As a mother of five, family life and travels have left her with decades of stories to tell, and she cherishes the time she has now to tell them, in between her honored role as Grandma, her passion for reading, and her adoration of all things coffee.

Patricia: How did you get your start writing fiction and what genre do you predominantly write in?

Jen: I started writing years ago, but I never finished anything. This was way before the internet and computers. In 2021, I decided to be intentional and began attending conferences and writing and learning. My first books were cozy mysteries, but I also write romantic suspense, and women’s fiction.

Patricia: What has being published taught you?

Jen: Being published is this wild ride. It’s everything, and then there’s more to do. I love it! But it’s hard work.

Patricia: Absolutely!

What is your favorite part about writing. Least favorite.

I’d rather edit my work than actual write it. Least favorite – waiting on a yes (or no).

Patricia: Me, too!

Patricia: Panster or Plotter?

I’m definitely a panster. I’ve tried plotting, and even thought maybe I could be a plantser! But so far, it’s not working.

Patricia: Goodness! We are so much alike.

Does writing energize or exhaust you? 

Jen: Sometimes a bit of both, but I’m always energized when I have cool ideas.

Patricia: What have you researched that makes you think the FBI might be interested in you?

Too funny! I love this question. Since I write mysteries, I’ve researched how to kill people. I’ve looked at how to use mountain laurel to poison/kill someone for my last romantic suspense.

Patricia: Remind me not to drink any of your teas...

Would you tell us about your last Cozy Mystery book release No Egrets?

Jen: No Egrets is book #3 in my Empty Nesters Cozy Mystery series. The whole series is set in Pensacola, and unlike many cozies, each book leads to the next. The basic murder in each is solved, but there’s an overarching issue too that concludes in No Egrets. 

Patricia: What would you like readers to know about your story/characters? 

I’m committed to writing clean fiction – clean enough that my grandkids could read it any time. My characters are 45+ years old. I love to show hope and encouragement in the 2nd half of life.

Patricia: I love that your heros and heroines are a little older!

Would you share with us what you are working on now?

Jen: My first women’s fiction, Finding Ginny, released April 7th. I’m so excited about that! Then, I will be working on a new cozy series called Sunnyside Sleuths. 

Patricia: I loved Finding Ginny! And I'm excited about your new cozy series, although I'll miss the Empty Nesters!

What is the most valuable piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors? 

Jen: Find other authors to talk to and learn from. Never stop learning. Find a good critique group. Okay, that’s 3 valuable pieces! 😉

Patricia: What’s next from you? 

Jen: After Finding Ginny releases, I’ll work on Sunnyside Scandals, book #1 in the Sunnyside Sleuths series. I also have another romantic suspense that releases in October, Bedlam in Bridal Falls. It’s the 2nd book in the Second Chances: Romance and Mysteries series.

Here's the cover and back cover copy for No Egrets:

Life in Stone Creek Cove is supposed to be peaceful—sunny Florida days, friendly neighbors, and a rookery of beloved egrets nesting near the creek. So when the birds vanish overnight, Peg Howard expects nothing more than a little small-town drama.

She doesn’t expect to find a body.

Volunteered to help search for the missing egrets, Peg teams up with her mother-in-law, Hazel, and quickly discovers that Stone Creek Cove has more secrets than birdwatchers. Rumors spread, tempers flare, and what started as a harmless mystery turns into a full-blown murder investigation.

Already juggling a doting grandmother role, a mischievous new puppy, and two very different men competing for her attention, Peg has no desire to become an amateur sleuth. But when cryptic clues and thinly veiled threats suggest someone wants the truth buried, Peg knows walking away isn’t an option.

As Peg and Hazel dig deeper, they uncover shady deals, long-held grudges, and motives hiding behind polite smiles. And in a town where everyone knows everyone, the killer could be closer than Peg ever imagined.

You can learn more about Jen Dodrill at her website, Jen Dodrill Writes, and check out her other books!

Don't forget to leave a comment and your contact information to be entered in a drawing for NO EGRETS! The winner will be announced next month!

The winner of one of Elizabeth Goddard's books from last month is...Heather!

REVIEW and a Free Book!

The Visitor Arrived in Texas last week, and I’m glad she did!

The Visitor Mystery Series is a new, multi-author series with a main character that is something of a cross between Jessica Fletcher from “Murder, She Wrote” and Nancy Drew. The unique thing about this story, though, is that while The Visitor (Connie B. Wright) is considered the main character and travels from place to place where she meets with mayhem and mystery, the stories aren’t “from her.”

THE VISITOR MAKES A RETREAT is told from the point of view of a caregiver, Izzy Guiterrez, in the employ of Fanny Henderson. Fanny is The Visitor’s aunt. Connie and Aunt Fanny have set up a weekend to share the need for a riding camp for underprivileged and physically challenged children. (Connie is the head of her family’s Wright Foundation.)

Unfortunately, one of the invited guests is well hated by most of the others, and someone takes advantage of the timing to physically show him how hated he is. Izzy doesn’t even know Connie well enough to completely trust her, so when the sheriff starts investigating, the gloves are off.

Julie B. Cosgrove weaves a twisted little tale that has a full cast of suspects, both engaging and repulsing. And no, I didn’t quite figure out the whodunnit! All of the details were there in plain sight, but I didn’t catch a few of the clues. Maybe I’ll do better with the next THE VISITOR mystery!

Have you recently failed to figure out a mystery before the antagonist became obvious? Tell me about that book! You might just win An e-copy of THE VISITOR MAKES A RETREAT!

Interview with Julie B. Cosgrove - and a FREE BOOK! Woohoo!

Hi, y’all! Marji Laine here and I’m chatting today with award-winning, multi-published author Julie B. Cosgrove who has recently released her latest “Wordplay Mystery” book. Book 1 in the series is Word Has It and involves an eerie Scrabble® game that gives clues to more than one mystery that hovers over the small town of Scrub Oak, Texas. Book 2 of the series has just released Word Gets Around involving a missing person nightmare.

I’m so glad you were able to join us here at Suspense Sisters today. Now, I know you have a lot of things that you’re good at. Certainly writing. But what would you consider to be your passion?

For the past eleven years it has been to let people know that God is there and He cares. I try to show that in my writings, whether it in woven into my novels, the devotionals I am contracted to write, or on my blog Where Did You Find God Today.

That is why I write “Mysteries with a Message”, and why I love to read mysteries as well. Mysteries have a common theme―seeking justice through discovering the truth. That hopefully leads the way to repentance. As it says in Malachi, what God requires of us is that we seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Lord. Don’t we all want to do that?

So many people seem to need His presence but often cannot see the ways the Holy Spirit is moving in our lives. Their faith-eyes have installed blinders due to hurt, anger, guilt, or a myriad of other reasons. I pray the Holy Spirit uses my writing to help remove some of those obstacles as my readers follow my characters through the mystery.

Oh, I’m with you on that. I love how the Lord shows me things about Himself even through everyday events. Especially through what I read! But you have a unique niche in today’s market . . . sort of an Agatha Christie thing going on. Why do you write about senior sleuths?

I am a senior, so I relate to these characters more than mystery solvers in their thirties. But my main reason goes a bit deeper. There is so much worry out there about Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the elderly it is assumed all people over sixty are becoming feeble-brained. Not so at all. My mother was blessed to have life-long friends who had wit and charm well into their mid-eighties. I so admired those women. Therefore, to dispel that misnomer, I wanted to write about witty, savvy, and sharp senior women, all widowed friends like my mom and hers. They each have their quirks and personalities. They are hardly perfect but they love each other and forgive each other when snarkiness creeps up. These spirited fillies aren’t ready for the pasture yet.

You’re right about that. Wanda is anything but “ready for pasture.” She’s a hoot, and Word Gets Around shows some great examples of her character and the inter-workings of a small town. Tell us about the theme from your latest book?

Word Gets Around is the second of five, maybe six, planned books in the Wordplay Mysteries. Each book is based upon a word game, which is another love of mine. In this one, one-word notes are left on the windshield of cars around town and the women scramble to decipher the message thinking it to be a ransom note for a missing reporter. Underlying the story, the message in the mystery, is that jealousies can become destructive, especially when combined with ambition. When we start comparing ourselves to others in order to receive glory rather than striving to improve ourselves for God’s glory, we open the door for all sorts of negative decisions and reactions.

Yes, that creeps up throughout the story. Now every time we chat, you’re working on some new project. What’s next for you?

I am continuing the Wordplay Mysteries series. In Other Words is in edits, and I have recently turned in Hang on Every Word to my publisher, Write Integrity Press.  I plan to start writing the fifth one, Away with Words soon.

But I’m taking a detour and writing, along with six other mystery writers, The Visitor series. They are planning to release in 2023.

Yea! I’m getting to write on that series with you. I’m having so much fun with it.

Each novella involves a thirty-eight year-old woman who has inherited her parents’ non-profit foundation, and inevitably bumps into in a mysterious crime.

All seven of us have chosen people for our Visitor to visit along with fundraising plans for the foundation and a juicy mystery to solve. Your story idea is clever. I can’t wait for you to share that soon. Are you doing any other writing?

I continue to write devotionals for three publications, as I have since 2009, and produce my own blog as well. I’ve also recently become contracted with two publishing companies as an editor and continue to accept freelance editing for both fiction and nonfiction faith based works on the side.

One busy lady. Thanks so much for visiting with us today, Julie. We’ll have to chat with you again when your next puzzle hits the stands.

Here’s a little about Julie’s release: Word Gets Around

Random Notes,

One-Word Messages,

And a Puzzle that Might Be Too Hard to Solve.

Wanda Warner loves word games, but when she and her friends find random words stuck to their windshields, even her skills are challenged. A rising star reporter has disappeared and the newspaper office is trashed.

Could the words be clues as to why?

And can Wanda decipher the meaning of the complete message before it's too late to matter?

Get your copy of Word Gets Around at this HERE or click the cover image. And don’t forget to leave a comment. Got a question for Julie or Marji? By all means, ask! One commenting reader will receive a free e-copy of Word Gets Around. Be sure to leave your email address in the comments and make your comment by September 3, 2021.

Welcome back, Leeann Betts. Leave a comment to win a copy of LITTLE GREY CELLS

LITTLE GREY CELLS ~ A missing woman, a suitcase buried in a ceiling, and a rare manuscript. Who hid them? And why? And who wants them now? 

ME: Welcome back, Leeann, Tell us about something interesting that happened while writing LITTLE GREY CELLS, book 2 of the Mysterious Ink Bookstore Mysteries

LB: While I was writing this book, I realized I needed to nail down more details about my two main characters. Honestly, when writing the segue novella, “The Game is Afoot”, I didn’t see there was a potential for any kind of attraction between my heroine and my police hero. I had the opportunity to really explore that in this book. I also needed to add more businesses in the downtown core of Edgewater, but I didn’t want anything that was actually there, so I made certain the bakery wasn’t where I say it is, and that the address of the bookstore isn’t a real address. I usually invent my settings, which, while it sounds more difficult, has proven to actually be a lot easier! 

ME: Here's a little bit about Leeann: Leeann Betts writes contemporary romantic suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical romantic suspense. Together she and Donna have published more than 30 novellas and full-length novels. They ghostwrite, judge writing contests, edit, facilitate a critique group, and are members of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, Christian Authors Network, Pikes Peak Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Leeann travels extensively to research her stories, and is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary LLC

Click on the LINK to buy Little Grey Cells:

Please leave Leeann a comment for a chance to win a copy of Little Grey Cells, book 2 of the Mysterious Ink Bookstore Mysteries. Print or electronic ~ reader's choice! You must leave an email address in order to win! Drawing in one week! 

Thanks for dropping by Suspense Sisters, readers! ~ Mary Ellis

Meet Cozy Mystery Author Stephanie Cole with a giveaway!

Today Suspense Sisters are proud to welcome cozy mystery author, Stephanie Cole, who has a new series, Tuscan Cooking School Mysteries. Book one, Al Dente's Inferno, was released in the spring from Berkley/Penguin Random House.

First the interview:

If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say? I’m a friendly introvert, who loves the arts, enjoys smart and funny books, values kindness above all, and is grateful for the love of friends and family.

What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies? I audit Art History courses, take fiddle lessons, enjoy cooking classes, and practice meditation and yoga daily.

What was your favorite book as a teen or child? As a child, Nancy Drew and Winnie the Pooh, as a teen. . .REBECCA!

Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers. I am a closet egghead and weep in academic libraries; from a theater background, I took a term off from college and went to acting school in Manhattan; I am a hobbit and prefer to stay at home in the shire rather than go adventuring (my greatest adventures of my heart happen in art museums).

What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not? Literary short stories. Still do them, although less frequently. It takes me quite a long time to “get it right” when a storyline matters enough to me to write it. Suspense imbues my short stories, so there’s that crossover with mystery novels. And as a reader, I love mystery novels that have literary qualities.

Any other genres you’d like to try? If yes, what and why? Not really. Although I might want to try writing about art. (Yes, really.)

If you could go back in time and do something differently at the start of your career, what would it be? I would have cut my losses much sooner and tried a different subgenre. I spent twenty plus years writing and trying to sell two female PI novels, and never getting anywhere. What I thought was admirable persistence seems now a bit like dimwitted stubbornness.

What is the most important piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors? Have a downright honest conversation with yourself. There is a staggering number of people writing, publishing, striving, writing, not publishing, still striving. The competition is formidable. Ask yourself how badly you want to pursue it, given difficult odds.

Here's a little bit about Al Dente's Inferno: When American chef Nell Valenti is hired to design a cooking school at the villa of renowned Chef Claudio Orlandini, she eagerly moves to Tuscany. But Nell gets more than she bargained for when she arrives. The villa is in shambles, Chef spends all his time on the bocce court, and local dignitaries have been invited to dinner the very next day. Bad enough the filmmaker who shows up to document the affair turns out to to be Nell's ex-boyfriend, but worse yet when he's discovered murdered later that evening. To top it off, Chef has disappeared. Can Nell save the Orlandini family, the villa, and her own job before the accusations of murder shut the school down for good -- before it's even opened?

Here's a little bit about Shelley Costa, writing as Stephanie Cole:

SHELLEY COSTA's work has been nominated for both the Edgar and Agatha Awards. Writing as Stephanie Cole, she is the author of the new Tuscan Cooking School Mystery Series (Berkley/Penguin Random House), which debuted in February with Al Dente's Inferno. Shelley wrote her dissertation on suspense, taught creative writing for many years at the Cleveland Institute of Art, enjoys violin lessons, yoga, plotting murder (pure fiction), and time with friends and family. www.shelleycosta.com. Her books are available on Amazon, IndieBound, and Barnes & Noble.

Buy the book Al Dente's Inferno here: https://www.amazon.com/Dentes-Inferno-Tuscan-Cooking-Mystery/dp/0593097793/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22TRQ7LLS0DRJ&dchild=1&keywords=al+dente%27s+inferno&qid=1598468392&sprefix=Al+Dente%27s+%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1

Leave Stephanie a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Al Dente's Inferno. US and Canada only. You MUST leave an email address to win. Drawing in one week.

Interview with Rachel McMillan by Mary Ellis

ME: If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?  

RM: Rachel is imaginative and anxious city-girl bookworm who tries hard to balance her career and the realization of her life-long dream of publication

ME: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

RM: I work full-time in educational publishing.  I love to travel in Canada, the States and in Europe especially. I am a massive theatre nerd (for example, a few months ago, I was in New York for a weekend just to see 6 shows).  I am also a baseball nut and try to catch as many Toronto Blue Jays games as possible during the season

ME: What was your favorite book as a teen or child?  

RM: They haven’t changed really, since teenage-hood, I have three: the Blue Castle by LM Montgomery, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I have been a Sherlock Holmes fan since I was a little kid.

ME:Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers:

RM: 1.)    My degree in University was as a specialist in Victorian Literature (especially Dickens!)

2.)    I am a classically trained singer

3.)    I have never had a driver’s license ( most Torontonians like myself use public transit and the subway)

ME: What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not?

RM: I have always scribbled at historical romance and that is the first genre I wrote.  I wrote since I was a little kid and it took twenty years for me to finally query an agent with a historical romance.   The book was not getting traction but editors were interested in seeing something else from me.  So while it was still being shopped, and cognizant that Romantic Suspense was a growing CBA market trend, I began working on a female Sherlock Holmes.  I am as much of a misfit in writing mystery as my female Sherlock and Watson are at solving crimes.

ME: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?  

RM: As a Canadian, it was hard for me to get editorial feedback saying “ we don’t publish stories set in Canada. Can you change your setting?” I guess that always just hurt a bit because I love my country and its history ( though I am extremely well-versed in American history and it plays into a few Herringford and Watts books: set in Boston and in Chicago, respectively and featuring prominent American historical personages).  While most of the editorial feedback we received on the series was helpful, I had one editor dismiss it immediately by saying “I don’t really love this voice. But I like the title.”    I am someone, however, who loves reading reader reviews that aren’t perhaps shining!  I would much rather a review that criticized while showing a careful reading of the book.

As for compliment: I really love hearing from readers who said that this book validates them in their stage of life. I think we spend so much time trying to fit women into boxes: she’s a mother or a career woman or single or married.  Women are so many different things.  They are both Jem and Merinda--- a little bit of both.  It was my intention to champion women in a way that perhaps hasn’t been as clearly explored in the CBA and I love when readers find this resonance. Also, I love when readers see that beyond the fun mystery and the trouser-wearing detectives, is a much darker and deeper look at social reform and the immigrant experience. That is a driving force throughout the series (alongside runaway roosters)

ME: Any other genres you’d like to try? If yes, what and why? 

RM: YES! I really do want to get back to straight historical romance. I have so many books that have been languishing for years because I was too afraid to pitch them or show them to anyone.   I am first and foremost a historical romance novelist. But, I have always been a voracious mystery reader so I can safely say that this is now going to be a part of my writing oeuvre going forward.  I especially like cozies, but would love to riff on noir fiction and hard-boiled crime such as Rex Stout and Dashiell Hammett much as I riff on the Doyle Holmes canon in the Herringford and Watts series.

ME: If you could go back in time and do something differently at the start of your career, what would it be? 

RM: It was only three years ago that I finally queried an agent (who was, also, the first person to ever read a piece of my fiction. I was too shy to show family and friends).  Thereafter, I was flung into the whirlwind that landed the Herringford and Watts contract and the 6 stories in the Herringford and Watts series.   I really should have moved up this insane moment of courage earlier! I waited so long because I was so afraid if I was truly terrible, that something I passionately loved to do would be taken away from me. Instead, it was a relatively quick turn-around. I signed with the first agent I queried (my first choice) and landed this amazing debut opportunity. Why did I wait?

ME: What is the most important piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors? 

RM: I am going to cheat and give you three:

I tried so hard to write a manuscript that conformed to what I thought publishers were looking for (an aforementioned historical romance) but it was when I threw caution to the wind and really wrote a book undercut by my personality and zany characters and love for Toronto and detection and romance and words that I was signed.  They say write what you know but I say write what you love!   

Also, always have something in your back pocket.   Your first submission may not be your first published project.  When my first book was on submission I started writing Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder when that was on submission I immediately started another historical romantic adventure.   Keep writing.

Finally, I have never attended a writing seminar or workshop or class or lecture.  Neither have I ever read a book on writing craft. But I have read thousands of books in all genres.  I try to read five CBA titles in all genres a month, 2 Gen Market titles and 1 non-fiction book (history or biography) … having a subway commute to work really helps ;)   Read everything. Read in your genre. Read in other genres. Follow authors.  It will not only help you become a stronger writer, but will also give you the connections needed when it comes time to find influencers and endorsers and prove to editors and agents that you have a well-rounded knowledge of the industry and comparative titles. 

Thanks, Rachel! Readers ~  For a chance to win a copy of Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder, leave a comment for Rachel McMillan. US and Canada only please.

Creative Minds and the Need for Sleep by Mary Ellis

Read any author interview or listen in on any conversation between writers and you will hear one universal theme: There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. Between day-jobs, spouses, kids, houses that need to be cleaned, and meals to get on the table—how does a writer find enough time to write? Once you’re published, you must factor in time for editing your last book, publicity for the current release, research for the next one to be written, and coming up with ideas for an outstanding proposal. Wait a minute. What about email, keeping up with your blog, and that social media Goliath lurking in the corner, ready to devour an hour—or day—or two? So little time, so much to do. Writers are ingenious when it comes to squeezing more into their workdays. We become masters at multi-tasking, but sleep is often what gets short-changed.

Instead of slipping on our jammies, dimming the lights, turning off communication devices, and slipping under Grandma’s quilt at a decent hour, we network into the wee hours. Then we face the next writing day sleep deprived. Besides packable bags beneath our eyes and crabby temperaments, there is another downside few authors consider. Sleep-time is also dream-time, and there is no better way to recharge your creative batteries than to dream. Especially during REM sleep, our dreams are often vivid enough to practically jump into and direct the outcome. The more we dream, the more we revitalize the right side of our brains. I’m not a dream therapist, nor do I play one on TV. But for years I’ve noticed my work after a good, dream-filled night’s sleep. Creativity thrives on rest, not extra caffeine. So the next time you find the middle of your story sagging, your characters suddenly have nothing interesting to say, or your next turning point is as predictable as January snow in Minnesota, don’t reach for another cup of coffee. Instead brew a cup of chamomile tea, dim the lights, turn off your phone and go catch some zzzz’s. Your writing will thank me in the morning.

Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances. Her latest, Magnolia Moonlight, is part of a new mystery series, Secrets of the South, from Harvest House Publishers. Before "retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. She enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. Sunset in Old Savannah will release in early 2017. She can be found on the web at: www.maryellis.net or www.facebook.com/Mary-Ellis/Author

Please leave Mary a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Magnolia Moonlight. US residents only please.

INTERVIEW: Cozy Mystery Author Kylie Logan

SS (Interviewer Mary Ellis): If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?

KL: I’m a writer with a career that allows me to kill people legally. 

SS: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

 

KL: I don’t know how interesting they are to anyone but me, but I enjoy weaving and knitting.  I’m also a sucker for cemeteries—the older the better--and am always anxious to explore them.  I love the combination of history, art, architecture.  And of course as a writer, I look at names and dates on tombstones and on family gravestones clustered together and I always think of stories!  I’m also interested in family history and am the keeper of genealogy for both my family and my husband’s.  I volunteer at our local county archives which gives me plenty of chances to immerse myself in old pictures, records and documents.  It’s great fun! 

SS: What was your favorite book as a teen or child?

KL: Hmmm…favorite is tough because I have so many favorites!  As a child I remember reading “Island of the Blue Dolphin” and loving it.  As a teen, I started reading Dorothy Dunnett’s fabulous Lyman books as well as Mary Stewart and of course, Arthur Conan Doyle. 

SS: Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers. 

KL: Gosh, I wish there was something surprising about me!  Maybe the surprise is that there isn’t one!  I think I’m pretty normal except for my tendency to plot murder and mayhem at the oddest times like at cocktail parties and business meetings.  But then, maybe that’s not a surprise to anyone who’s attended those sorts of things. 

SS: What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not? 

KL: I started my career writing historical romance.  At the time, I didn’t know a thing about markets, but I had a story in my head, and the more I learned about how to get it published, the more I realized it was what the industry called historical romance.  I love history and I really enjoy research, so this was a natural to me.  I ended up writing more than a dozen historicals as well as some contemporary romance.  I’ve also written YA and a children’s book, but my first love has always been mystery.  For many years, I talked myself out of writing mystery because I thought I wasn’t clever enough to pull off the clues and the plots twists and the red herrings.  Finally I realized that like anything else in life, you don’t know if you can do it until you try.  Thirty mysteries later, I’m still writing what I love! 

SS: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment? 

KL I don’t know if it’s the toughest criticism, but the one I heard the most back when I was writing historical romance was that my books were too plot heavy.  At the time, it stung, but eventually, that criticism helped nudge me toward writing mysteries.  Mysteries are all about plot and knowing I was a plot lover made me realize I was writing in the wrong genre. As for compliments . . . I never get tired of hearing from readers who enjoy my work.  I remember once getting an email from a reader who confessed she’d taken my book to work, and had read it at red lights during her commute!  This is not something I recommend, but it was nice to hear that I’d hooked this reader and that she couldn’t put the book down. 

SS: Any other genres you’d like to try? If yes, what and why? 

KL: I’ve always been fascinated with short stories and I’ve never written one.  I like the way short stories pack so much into so little room and how they often surprise and amaze right there at the end.  Maybe someday . . . 

 

SS: If you could go back in time and do something differently at the start of your career, what would it be?

 

KL: A million things!  Really.  But then, that’s what growing and learning is all about, isn’t it?  None of us is the person we were five or ten or twenty years ago.  We change because life teaches us lessons.  Every day, we understand our world in a different way.  I can’t even begin to list the things I’d do differently, because there are so many.  I do know that if I’d done one or two or three things in a different way, I wouldn’t be where I am now, I’d be in some other place.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  I’ll never know. 

SS: What is the most important piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors? 

KL: Think about what you’re trying to accomplish.  Why do you want to write?  If you want to leave your memories for your family, that’s great, and that’s one kind of writing.  Do you want to self-publish?  That’s a whole other thing, and something I don’t know very much about.  I do know that if you’re looking to publish commercially with a traditional publisher, never forget that this is a business.  We’re not talking art here or vision or dreams though all of that certainly goes into the mix.  We’re talking business.  Publishers are businesses, they need to make money to keep their doors open.  Know your markets.  Target your writing.  Do your homework. 

SS: Tell us about yourself...

Kylie Logan is the bestselling author of the League of Literary Ladies mysteries, the Chili Cook-Off mysteries and now, the Ethnic Eats mysteries.  She is a lifelong resident of Ohio and both the League series and Ethnic Eats are set in her home state.  The newest League book (#4), "And Then There Were Nuns," was published in March.  In addition to writing cozy mysteries as Kylie, she writes the Pepper Martin paranormal mysteries as Casey Daniels.  Book #10 in that series, "Graveyard Shift" will be published this fall.  Kylie is a founding member of the Northeast Ohio chapter of Sisters in Crime, a lover of cemeteries, and can't think of a better way to make a living than killing people off--and not getting arrested for it!
 
SS: Tell us about your new mystery, Irish Stewed, about to released on May 3rd:

KL: Murder on the menu....after flopping as a personal chef to a Hollywood movie star, jobless Laurel Inwood finds herself humbled in Hubbard, Ohio, helping her aunt Sophie run her restaurant. Much to Laurel’s dismay, Sophie’s Terminal on the Tracks is not the cozy bistro her aunt would have had her believe—it’s a run-down greasy spoon in an old railroad station. To save the dingy diner, Laurel cooks up a plan to feature alternating ethnic cuisine as specials. But first there’s the problem of the body in the booth. Slumped over a table with a receipt spike in his back is Jack Lancer—”the Lance of Justice”—an investigative reporter for local TV news. Assisted by the drop-dead gorgeous owner of the neighboring Irish store—who may or may not be a suspect—Laurel sets out to track down a killer who had no reservations about impaling a newshound. But as she turns up the heat, will she end up in the soup herself?
  Irish Stewed can be pre-booked at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Stewed-Ethnic-Eats-Mystery/dp/0425274888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460329395&sr=1-1&keywords=irish+stewed

Please leave a comment for Kylie, along with your email address, to be entered in a drawing for a print copy. US readers only, please.

SOMETHING HAS RECURRED TO ME - FINDING THEMES IN OUR WRITING

by Ellen E. Kennedy

A writer’s work can be like a mirror, reflecting aspects of his life that has an influence on his thoughts that even he may not realize. Is Stephen King an optimist? Is Richard Paul Evans an idealist? My answers to those questions would be no and yes, simply judging by what they’ve written. In looking over my own work, I’ve noticed some themes that appear again and again.

Barbara Scott, an editor and online friend, in a tweet recently suggested looking for recurring themes in your own writing. So I did. The thread in Irregardless of Murder, I found, seemed to be reunion. My main character, Amelia, is in her forties, single and comfortable. She likes things as they are, but when she literally stumbles over a murder, it starts a domino-like effect that ends in her tying up one really big loose end in her own life.

In Death Dangles a Participle, I see reconciliation and forgiveness. Three young people, two boys and a girl, have messed up, big-time, and their road to recovery—if indeed there is one—is bumpy and loaded with potholes. The other people in their lives must decide if it’s worth the effort to repair the relationship. I also touch on the futility of revenge at the end. And, of course, there’s a murder that links all this together. I am, after all, a mystery writer.

Another Think Coming isn’t part of the Miss Prentice series. It’s set in a tiny town in Texas (that’s called alliteration, students) and is about God-fearing seventy-ish widow Esther MacBride who decides to exact justice from the man she holds responsible for her grandson’s death. Needless to say, she hasn’t consulted God about this, in fact, she declares herself “hopping mad” at Him. The theme in this one is again the futility of revenge and also forgiveness.

The corrosive effect of revenge is also showcased in my current work-in-progress Murder in the Past Tense (#3 in the Miss Prentice series) which, if all goes well, should come out this Spring. When a murderer embraces hate and the idea of revenge for decades, it can only end in disaster. I’ve enjoyed going back in time with my character Amelia, getting to know her and her friends as teenagers. We even find out why sassy, glamorous Lily Burns started smoking: boys!  

There are the trivial things, too. One fellow writer pointed out to me that a store’s fitting room (euphemistic in the extreme—especially if you’re trying on a swimsuit!) appear in both Irregardless of Murder and my to-be published Texas novel, Another Think Coming. Until she said something, I hadn’t noticed this, and would probably have put a fitting room in another story, because they’re such handy places to eavesdrop! Another triviality I noticed myself was a propensity for resting one’s head against the cool window as the character rides in a car—or in another case, a bus. I like to do this myself (but only if I’m a passenger).

I was asked in an interview why I chose to write about mysteries, and it caused me to search my reason: because I favor resolution. For instance, there is such a thing as a resolved chord, which I prefer in music. (You’d know it if you heard it.) I also prefer resolution in a story, that is, right wins out and wrong is defeated. All of my books end that way. Justice is done, even if there are some heart-wrenching moments along the way. I believe it’s part of the basic human condition to long for resolution and the ultimate resolution, the ultimate happy ending, is the one provided by God.

Our earthly plot involved getting ourselves in such trouble that we could never be forgiven. We were scheduled to be punished. But a Hero stepped in and took the punishment for us. All we have to do is accept it.

It’s what every soul longs for, resolution and a home to go to for our own happily ever after. This is a theme I can’t emphasize too much.

 

Ellen Edwards Kennedy (aka EEK) grew up in far northern New York State and has lived with her husband and children across the South and West. She's the author of IRREGARDLESS OF MURDER, the first in the new cozy mystery series. Along with the Miss Prentice Mysteries, she is the author of a Christian romance novella, "The Applesauce War," in the anthology, THE FARMER'S BRIDE, from Barbour Books.

Book Two in the Miss Prentice series, DEATH DANGLES A PARTICIPLE, follows Amelia, Gil, Vern and Lily in the wintry North Country is available now at Amazon, B&N, CBD, and DeeperShopping in both e-book and paperback. Book three, MURDER IN THE PAST TENSE that introduces us to Amelia and friends as teenagers, is scheduled to be released Spring, 2014. Ellen also writes weekly articles at The Wordsmith Journal Magazine under the title, "Behind the Mystery."