Blog Archives

New Release: EMBERS OF FIRE (Guardian Witch Legacy 1)

6/29/2017

Wow! Even I was surprised at how quickly this all came together!
Ari and Andreas are back with new challenges but a cast of many familiar faces.
I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much I did the writing.

Embers of Fire (Guardian Witch Legacy Book 1), the sequel series
Publish Date: June 30, 2017
Genre: Urban Fantasy
PG-13

A chilling prophecy. A child in danger.

Following the defeat of the vampire elders, Guardian fire witch Arianna Calin and vampire prince Andreas De Luca are considering moving to his estates in Italy to raise their daughter in its idyllic setting. As if being descended from two powerful witch bloodlines wasn't challenging enough, Rayne was born with a mysterious star tattoo on her shoulder. Her parents suspect she is the Chosen, the focus of the Star of Esielen prophecy. But that's something to worry about in the distant future. Isn't it? After all, their child may be precocious, but she is only five.

Then the murders begin. The stench of demonic activity hangs over Olde Town, and a symbol carved in blood indicates Rayne may be the next victim. Suspicion points in several directions, including a rival vampire prince, a mysterious stranger, and a werehyena leader attempting to break the bank at Andreas's new casino.

Abandoning plans for a quiet life, Ari and Andreas hunt for the killers. While Rayne may someday have to face her destiny alone, it's up to them to make sure she's ready...and to keep her alive.

YouTube book trailer: https://youtu.be/-I-B_OHsN2E

Buy Links:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073H49YJS
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/embers-of-fire
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embers-of-fire-ally-shields/1126658380?ean=2940158758874
ibookstore: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embers-of-fire-ally-shields/1126658380?ean=2940158758874
GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ally_Shields_Embers_of_Fire?id=ShQqDwAAQBAJ
Etopia Press: http://www.etopiapress.com/embers-of-fire/

Coffee Chat Author Interview: Helen B. Henderson

6/27/2017

Welcome, Booklovers!

The Coffee Chat guest this week is Helen B. Henderson with her fantasy romance, Windmaster.
Nice to meet you, Helen. What may I get you to drink? Coffee? Something else?

HH: I don’t drink coffee. Which made for an interesting time when I worked a mile down the road from a factory that made and packaged the beverage. On some days the smell of burnt coffee beans permeated the air. My morning starts with a small shot of orange juice then glasses of water. In the afternoon beverage selection changes to alternating glasses of water and diet cola. Relaxing for the evening calls for two fingers of sangria over ice in a glass of lemon lime soda—stirred not shaken.

Ally: Hmm. How about a diet coke? While I get our drinks, please introduce yourself to readers.

Author Bio:

A former feature-story writer and correspondent, Henderson has also written fiction as long as she could remember. Her heritage reflects the contrasts of her Gemini sign. She is a descendent of a coal-miner's daughter and an aviation flight engineer. This dichotomy shows in her writing which crosses genres from historical adventures and westerns to science fiction and fantasy. In the world of romantic fantasy, she is the author of the Dragshi Chronicles and The Windmaster Novels.

Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: "In school I hated writing classes, in large part because of outlining in general, and analyzing sentences in particular. My stories were almost always completed early because we had to hand in the work in tradition outline form first with the bullet points and snippets in cascading roman numerals, numbers, and letters. I hated outlining so much I could never get the prose portion done. So, a cheat. I wrote the story, then retroactively created the outline. The irony is that today I admit to being a plotter, or at least to using forms and organization when writing full-length works."

You can find Helen here:

BLOG | TWITTER | GOODREADS | AMAZON AUTHOR | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | GOOGLE +

INTERVIEW:

Ally: What was your journey to publication, including bumps and missteps?

HH: My journey to publication can be described in one word–rocky. Between the number of genres and publishers, the path was so convoluted you need a roadmap to follow it. Every time a path ended, I jumped the dividing hedge in the maze to take another.

After school with its mandatory outlines and research papers, my next introduction to writing was coding computer programs and creating their accompanying “how-to-use” guides. After the dot.com bubble burst, the next use of pen was feature stories and event coverage under the guise of a press badge. Ever ride a train hijacked by confederate soldiers or been challenged on a public street by musket-carrying Hessians? I have.

Publication closures accompanied by the reduction in pay scale (often to nothing) necessitated yet another change in direction. This time to my first love—fiction. Even though now on the original path I attempted decades earlier, twists and turns sometimes obscured the maze’s end. Publications closed, others changed direction to ebook only. Now, years later, I straddle several non-fiction and fiction paths: small press, regional press, and independent publication.

Ally: How much research do you do? When? Where?

HH: I love to research, but there is always the problem of balancing writing time against research time, otherwise research can turn into a huge time sink. Although I generally write fantasy, I try to base my worlds on places real enough the readers can relate to them.

I start my research with the books on my office shelves where there are volumes suitable for grammar and editorial work, fantasy world building, military history and weaponry. The internet is another starting point, but I always take into account the credentials of the person writing the article. If you fake something, if your research isn’t accurate, some reader will call you out on it.

As to where I research, I don’t always bury my head in a book or stare at a computer screen. I love to research in museums, taking notes for future stories as well as the ones in progress. Among the more unusual places where I’ve obtained information are air shows and historical battlefields. I do know a little something about the subject of battlefield archaeology and have participated in digs using both traditional screen and trowel and the new-fangled metal detectors. Although the previous events allowed me to be inconspicuous, not all the places I’ve researched at were suitable for modern clothes. To fit in with historical reenactors, I’ve donned fatigues and hoop skirts, though not at the same time. One night while walking in period garb through rows of small white tents on a Revolutionary War battlefield and watching the mist rise from the hollow, it felt like I had been transported back in time.

Ally: How do you choose and name your characters?

HH: I like my main characters’ names to be simple, such as Ellspeth, Branin, Dal, and Anastasia so I start off with a list of common names from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Then I move to the secondary characters. I write fantasy so uncommon names are acceptable. Their uniqueness creates havoc with spell check, but adds color to the story. Names are acquired in various ways including online name generators. However, you have to be careful that the offerings are not too long or is an unpronounceable assembly of odd letters.

A favorite technique for naming secondary characters is done with the aid of a Gaelic-English dictionary. I take a characteristic that I want to highlight, translate that into Gaelic, tweak for pronounceability, and there is the name. If the setting or character is not Celtic, then I use the appropriate language such as Norse, Polynesian, or Chinese.

Ally: Tell me what you're currently writing. Anticipated release date?

HH: With an expected September 2017 release date, First Change is the final volume dealing with the dragshi, humans who can take on the dragon form. Unlike the other books in the Dragshi Chronicles, First Change is not one tale, but a collection of short stories and novellas of tales of history and legend. Another difference? The first four volumes were a true mix of romance and fantasy. There might be surprises and hazards, but the characters end up with whom they were supposed to. However, First Change more closely mimics real life. There is still the romance between characters, but in legend as in life, not every story has a happy ending.

Ally: What is your home like? Do you get around mostly by car, subway, etc.?

HH --I’m a country girl. I can’t say born and bred because I was actually born in a city and lived there for the first four years of my life. But years on a working farm taught me a love of nature and self-reliance. Marriage came with a 1915-era home in a small town. No more driving ten miles to the grocery store. Evening walks on the waterfront to watch the sunset over lower Manhattan and ready access by train to New York City didn’t diminish the local feel. Although I kept my rural heritage in my heart, my conversion was complete. I was now a townie.

Thirty years later, a move back to a rural area changed the scene again. Instead of the mid-Atlantic region, it was now western Tennessee that was called home. The downtown is within walking distance, although the bicycle is needed to go to the stores on the highway. The area is still rural with corn fields only a stone’s throw away—and it is still a ten mile drive to the main shopping area and thirty miles to the mall.

The two-story colonial was replaced with a more age-friendly ranch house. The basement workshop is now above ground in a garage (that has never seen the car.) The 50 x 100 foot lot grew to half an acre with a row of pecan trees on the property line. And the best part, there is the amenities of a city, but we kept the small town feel.

Ally: Now for the short answer questions...

a. an item on your bucket list: I try to tell myself I'm too young for a bucket list (just ignore the silver hair.) Two activities tease the back of my mind. A trip to Scotland, Ireland and Wales, a week or two glamping trip (camping with a touch of luxury) on horseback in Montana or Wyoming.
b. favorite song: Lately, a favorite tune when I’m writing is the piano solo played at the end of each episode of The Incredible Hulk. “The Lonely Man Theme" by Joe Harnel conveyed the sense of hopelessness, of loss, and of an unknown future. It has helped set the stage for the black moment in several of my works. When I’m listening for pleasure the music alternates between classical and country.
c. What comes to you first - character or plot? I start with the beginning of a storyline and a hint of the main characters. I’ll have their names and maybe a little backstory. By the time I’ve outlined the first three or four chapters (or drafted out the scenes if the muse is visiting), the characters take over and tell the rest of the story.
d. something unique in your closet: Next to the spare metal detector, atop the box of reference books on the Old West, is a memory box. Inside are the credentials that provided access to museum archives and collections. Press badges for military reenactments and air shows share space with images from the events. Each comes with their own memory. The pilots racing to stop their small acrobatic planes from blowing down the runway when a World War II era fighter fired up his engine mixes with the haunting silence that fell upon another show as the radio announcer re-broadcast the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
e. if you couldn’t write anymore, what would you want to do? Be a photographer or landscape painter.

Ally: It was a pleasure to have you visit, Helen. Before you go, let's take a look at your novel, Windmaster.

Windmaster (Book 1 of the Windmaster Novels)
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Heat Level: PG-13

Revenge set Ellspeth, captain of Sea Falcon, on the path to her destiny, but prophecy controlled the journey. Despite his insolent attitude, she is attracted to the dark-haired dockworker she hires to help unload the vessel's cargo. The supposed dockhand reveals his true identity as Lord Dal, the last member of the Council of Wizards, and her passenger. His presence on board ship brings with it more than an impossible liaison. Bringing him back from near-death releases Ellspeth's latent powers and threatens her captaincy. For to have magic she must give up the sea.

In accordance with an ancient prophecy, Dal allows Ellspeth to be handfasted to him without her knowledge or consent. However, the prophecy doesn't state whether she will return his love. A likelihood threatened when Dal is captured and stripped of his powers by fanatical clerics bent on ridding the world of magic and those who wield it. His one chance to survive is to keep secret the key to breaking him—his feelings for Ellspeth.

Trapped within the Oracle's Temple, Ellspeth must choose between her own survival, saving the future of magic... or love.

Buy Links: Amazon / Kobo / Smashwords / Barnes&Noble / iTunes

Too Many Women in the Room: Book Spotlight

6/24/2017

                                       NEW RELEASE!

                           Too Many Women in the Room
                                 (A Gilda Greco Mystery)
                                     by Joanne Guidoccio

When Gilda Greco invites her closest friends to a VIP dinner, she plans to share David Korba’s signature dishes and launch their joint venture-- Xenia, an innovative Greek restaurant near Sudbury, Ontario.

Unknown to Gilda, David has also invited Michael Taylor, a lecherous photographer who has throughout the past three decades managed
to annoy all the women in the room. One woman follows Michael to a deserted field for his midnight run and stabs him in the jugular.

Gilda’s life is awash with complications as she wrestles with a certain detective’s commitment issues and growing doubts about her risky investment in Xenia. Frustrated, Gilda launches her own investigation and uncovers decades-old secrets and resentments that have festered until they explode into untimely death. Can Gilda outwit a killer bent on killing again?

EXCERPT:

“I’m a nobody here,” David said, glancing down at his plate. “And with my credit rating, none of the banks would endorse a loan. I’m screwed.”

“What if I backed you?” I couldn’t believe I was speaking so casually, all the while my heart beat at an alarming rate.

David rubbed a hand over his chin and flashed a grin at me. “Gilda, darling, you’re sweet to offer, but I don’t think you know what’s involved here.”

Susan nodded in agreement.

Were they playing me, I wondered. Since winning nineteen million dollars in Lotto649, I had encountered many sharks who hoped to prey on my easy-going nature. A quick Google search would have revealed my three-year-old lottery win. Old news, but still there on the second and third pages.

“Would one hundred thousand dollars be enough?” I asked. “In case you don’t know, I won a major lottery several years ago.” Since winning, I had received many proposals from across the province and had backed three local ventures. In each case, I had chosen to remain a silent partner.

David’s right hand trembled as he poured himself another glass of wine. Susan’s mouth dropped open, and she gave a little gasp.

“I take it that’s a yes,” I said.

More mild protests followed, and another bottle of wine disappeared. We were all a bit tipsy when we shook on the agreement. And so Xenia was born.

Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CORaCadAnbA

Buy Links:

Amazon (US): https://is.gd/NRjAXT
Amazon (Canada): https://is.gd/1pX3Bn
Kobo: https://is.gd/5VwbTf
Indigo: https://is.gd/o3ZKRW
The Wild Rose Press: https://is.gd/1mns8Q
Barnes & Noble: https://is.gd/NFHdlS

About the Author:

In 2008, Joanne took advantage of early retirement and decided to launch a second career that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.

Where to find Joanne...

Website: http://joanneguidoccio.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanneguidoccio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjoanneguidoccio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneguidoccio
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jguidoccio/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7277706.Joanne_Guidoccio

Giveaway:

Click on the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/628069205/

Coffee Chat Author Interview: B.K. Stevens

6/21/2017

Welcome to our Wednesday book chat!

This week's guest is mystery author B.K. Stevens, who brought her YA martial arts mystery, Fighting Chance.

Thanks for visiting the blog, Bonnie! What may I get you to drink?

BK: I hate to admit this on a blog called Coffee Chat, but I’ve never finished a cup of coffee in my life. I’ve tried many times, but I simply don’t like it. I love hot tea—nothing fancy, just regular old tea loaded with caffeine. Lipton’s suits me fine. And I don’t put anything in it.

Ally: We consider ourselves equal opportunity drinkers! :) I suspect some of our readers in parts of the world where it isn't morning are drinking something a bit stronger. I'll have your tea ready in a moment. Meanwhile, please introduce yourself.

About the Author:

B.K. (Bonnie) Stevens is the author of Fighting Chance, a martial arts mystery for young adults (Agatha and Anthony finalist). She’s also written a traditional whodunit for adults, Interpretation of Murder, which offers insights into deaf culture and sign language interpreting. In addition, she's published over fifty short stories, most in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Some of those stories are included in Her Infinite Variety: Tales of Women and Crime, a collection published by Wildside Press. Some of B.K.’s stories have been nominated for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards; one story won a Derringer. Another story won a national suspense-writing contest judged by Mary Higgins Clark. Currently, one of her stories is nominated for an Anthony. B.K. and her husband, Dennis, live in Virginia with their self-satisfied cat.

Not in my regular bio: "When I was in high school, I spent a summer working illegally in Canada, as the mother’s helper for a wealthy family."

Website: www.bkstevensmysteries.com
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/bkstevens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003534785806

INTERVIEW:

Ally: How did you select the mystery genre? What about it intrigues you and readers?

BK: I enjoy the challenge of constructing a whodunit—that’s a lot of fun—but I write other kinds of mysteries, too, including ones that aren’t built around puzzles. Basically, I read and write mysteries because I have old-fashioned tastes, and mysteries have the same elements as the nineteenth-century novels I love. Among other things, mysteries have real plots—plots with a beginning, a middle, and an end, plots shaped by the choices characters make and the actions they take. And most mysteries have at least some characters who, despite any flaws and limitations they may have, struggle to uncover the truth and see that justice is done. Modern literary fiction often portrays human beings as helpless victims of absurd circumstances, but mysteries usually insist we can and should try to understand the circumstances that shape our lives, can and should try to set things right. On the whole, I agree with the way mysteries see the world, and that’s why I write mysteries. (On my website, I explore these ideas further in an essay called “What’s Wrong with Mysteries?” You can find it at http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/thoughts-about-mysteries/.)

Ally: Did someone or something inspire you to write? If so, in what way?

BK: My father definitely inspired me to write. He was an English professor (as I was for over thirty years—he inspired my choice of career, too). In any spare time he could find, he loved to write—novels, plays, humorous verse. He didn’t have much luck at getting published, but I think he was very talented. I can remember sitting on the floor in his study, reading or doing my homework while I waited for the next page to emerge from his manual typewriter. We discussed what he was writing, I made comments and suggestions, and he treated them with respect. He encouraged my writing, too: Even before I could read, I’d dictate poems and stories to him, and he’d type them up and bind them into folders. My father always made writing seem like the most fascinating, exciting thing a person could do. I should also mention my mother. When I was in second grade, she gave me a diary and told me to write something every day. It’s a good habit, and it made a difference.

Ally: Have you thought about one of your books being made into a movie? Who would play the parts, if you could choose?

BK: Of all the books and stories I’ve ever written, I think Fighting Chance would make the best movie. It’s like a cross between The Hardy Boys and The Karate Kid—it’s a fair-play whodunit laced with action and adventure, but it’s also a coming-of-age story about a teenager growing into adulthood as he studies a martial art. As I was writing the book, I had one actor clearly in mind—Chuck Norris. He’d be perfect in the role of Aaron, the Krav Maga teacher who becomes Matt’s mentor. Thanks to my fifth-degree black belt husband, I’ve seen all of Mr. Norris’s movies (most many times), and I think his gentle, encouraging demeanor is just right for Aaron. As for Matt and Graciana, I don’t know the names of many teenaged actors, so I’ll say Matt could be played by a seventeen-year-old Mark Wahlberg, and Graciana could be played by a seventeen-year-old Eva Mendes. And I think William H. Macy and Karen Allen (first and fourth Indiana Jones movies) would be great as Matt’s parents.

Ally: I know we're going to learn more about Fighting Chance, the YA novel you're featuring today, but tell us about the main character and what kind of person he is.

BK: Seventeen-year-old Matt Foley is a thoroughly nice guy with good instincts and a generous nature—for example, he won’t stand idly by when someone else is being bullied. But he sometimes gets taken in by a pretty face or a smooth talker, he's too quick to believe gossip, and he tends to think the people in his own popular crowd at school are superior to the misfits. He’s also a star basketball player and a talented martial artist who sees himself as a jock who’s bored with school—but he’s smarter than he thinks he is, and reading and writing interest him more than he’ll admit. Although he loves his parents and knows they’re good people, he can’t help feeling distant from them. By the end of the novel, Matt’s taken some important steps toward growing up.

Ally: What is your next writing project?

BK: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine has accepted a story called “Death under Construction,” which will appear in the November/December 2017 issue; AHMM has also accepted a story called “One-Day Pass,” but that hasn’t been scheduled for publication yet. I’ve just about finished revising a novel featuring characters from one of my series for AHMM (the Iphigenia Woodhouse/Harriet Russo series) and plan to send it out during the next week or so. And I’m in the early stages of working on a nonfiction project, a collaboration with another writer.

Ally: Since I enjoy urban fantasy so much, I have to ask this question. If you could have a supernatural power, what would it be and why?

BK: Without a doubt, I’d choose super-speed. I could fix dinner in thirty seconds, clean the house in two or three minutes. And how wonderful it would be to pack an hour of exercise into a minute—provided, of course, that I’d still burn off the same number of calories I would in an hour. Another few minutes would be enough for me to zip through e-mail, tend to promotion, and take care of other routine tasks. Then I’d have lots of time left for reading and writing. I’d slow down and enjoy myself for those.

Ally: It's time for one of my favorite parts, the short answer questions:

a. Favorite book: Jane Eyre
b. Book you’re currently reading: Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law (Alan Dershowitz)
c. Favorite television program: Columbo
d. Favorite movie: Casablanca
e. Your pet: Ari, our fifteen-year-old enormous gray calico

Ally: It was terrific to have you visit, Bonnie! Thanks for stopping by. Before you go, let's check out your novel, Fighting Chance.

Blurb for Fighting Chance (Poisoned Pen Press):
Genre: Young Adult mystery PG

When seventeen-year-old Matt Foley’s coach and mentor is killed in a sparring match at a tae kwon do tournament, the police decide it was a tragic accident. Matt’s not so sure.

With help from a few friends, including the attractive but puzzling Graciana Cortez, Matt learns the coach’s opponent, Bobby Davis, is a brutal, highly skilled martial artist, the central attraction at an illegal fight club. Now, Matt’s convinced someone hired Davis to murder the coach. But who would want to harm the coach, and why do it at a tournament?

Matt’s efforts to find the truth pull him into some dangerous conflicts. To improve his self-defense skills, he joins a krav maga class taught by a man who becomes his new mentor. Matt suspects that he’s going to need those skills, that some day he’ll have to face Bobby Davis himself.

Fighting Chance was an Anthony and Agatha finalist. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a smartly crafted mystery filled with suspense and intrigue.”

You can find Fighting Chance on Amazon— here.
or Barnes and Noble— here.

Hope to see everyone back next week!

Coffee Chat Author Interview: Nina Mansfield

6/13/2017

Happy Wednesday, Booklovers!

Join me in welcoming Nina Mansfield and her YA mystery, Swimming Alone, to this week's Coffee Chat!
How do you take your coffee, Nina?

NINA: I used to just drink it black, no sugar. Then I started adding a bit of milk. But I think I am going back to black!

Ally: Then black it is. My magic pot makes a smooth brew. :) While I do the honors, please introduce yourself to readers.

BIO:

Nina Mansfield is a Connecticut based writer. Her debut novel, SWIMMING ALONE, a YA Mystery, was published in 2015 by Fire & Ice YA. Her short mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mysterical-E, Kings River Life Magazine, and anthologized in Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir. Her graphic novel FAKE ID: BEYOND RECOGNITION (illustrated by Leyla Akdogan) will be published in installments online by PlumeSnake.com. Nina began her writing career as a playwright; she has written numerous plays, which have been published and produced throughout the world.

Something unique that isn't in your regular bio: "My first language is Russian."

Contact Links:

My website: http://www.ninamansfield.com
My blog: http://notevenjoking.ninamansfield.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinaMansfieldWriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaJMansfield
Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/ninamwriter/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4279557.Nina_Mansfield

INTERVIEW:

Ally: How did you select your main genre? What about it intrigues you and readers?

NINA: I’m not sure that I have a main genre! SWIMMING ALONE is a YA mystery. I’ve loved mysteries forever—started with Nancy Drew at a young age, and then discovered Agatha Christie, Lois Duncan, etc.—so I think it was natural for me to write mysteries. When I wrote the first draft of SWIMMING ALONE, I had just finished my first year teaching high school—so I think I had all of those young adult voices swirling around in my head. And because I still teach high school, I think those voices will continue to swirl for the foreseeable future. I’m currently working on another YA novel (which is sort of paranormal romance-thriller).

My short stories, however, aren’t YA, but some do feature characters in their late teens. I’m not sure why this age attracts me. Maybe it’s that young people often think they know everything, and they think they are invincible. This of course can lead to all sorts of problems, and problems lead to plots.

I also write plays that are neither YA nor mysteries. I tend to write a lot of 10-minute relationship comedies, but some of my plays are longer, and very serious in nature.

One of these days I would love to write a really dense and intricate historical mystery, because I really enjoy reading them!

Ally: Do you have a writer's cave?

NINA: My husband and I bought a 1900 Victorian last summer that really looks a bit like a haunted house. When I first stepped into the house I thought, “This is perfect for a mystery writer!” There were creaky stairs, doors that lead nowhere and stained glass windows. There’s a turret at the top of the house, and that is where I have my little writing office. And I need quiet! I have to be able to hear all the voices in my head!

Ally: How do you spend your non-writing/non-editing time?

NINA: I’m a high school drama teacher, which takes up a great deal of my time. I direct the school fall play—last year we did THE CRUCIBLE—and I advise a student directed spring play. I also produce a One Act Festival composed of student written work, which is quite fun!

I also have a three-year old daughter, who is very energetic and keeps me busy! Often I find myself in her world of make believe.

Other than that, I get to the theater whenever I can. I also enjoy gardening, yoga and cooking. One of these days, I will get back to my scrapbooking hobby too. I think it’s important for a writer to find non-writing ways of staying creative.

Ally: Does your real life show up in your writing? In what ways?

NINA: Oh yes, all the time! The town of Beach Point in SWIMMING ALONE is a fictionalized version of the oceanfront Rhode Island town where my grandparents would rent a cottage each summer. I often take real life locations, people and situations, and fictionalize them in my work. My upcoming short story “An Actor Prepares” refers back to the time I spent studying at the Moscow Art Theater in Russia, and drew upon some recent trips I took to the Bronx Zoo. The murders are always made up though!

Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?

NINA: My graphic novel FAKE ID: BEYOND RECOGNITION is soon to be released online in installments at PlumeSnake.com. Seventeen-year-old Minnie VanCutler suffers an identity crisis after using the wrong fake ID. Aside from waking up with the world’s worst hangover, and being chased down by Russian mobsters, Minnie must battle her over-active conscience and rescue her doppelganger from a human trafficking ring.

I also have two short mystery stories that are scheduled for publication. “Gods and Virgins in the Big Easy,” will appear in issue three of Crime Syndicate Magazine, which should be out soon. “An Actor Prepares” is scheduled to be published in When Crime Never Sleeps (Murder New York Style 4), the fourth crime fiction anthology by members of the New York Tristate Chapter of Sisters in Crime, which should be out September 2017.

Ally: And now for the short answer questions...

a. an item on your bucket list: Visit the Great Wall of China
b. manicure or pedicure: Pedicure.
c. favorite tv program: Currently, The Americans
d. high heels or sneakers: Sneakers!
e. favorite book boyfriend: Mr. Rochester.

Ally: Thanks so much for visiting the blog. Before you go rushing off to the rest of your busy life, let's show readers your YA mystery, Swimming Alone.

BOOK BLURB:

SWIMMING ALONE
GENRE: YA Mystery, PG rated

The Sea Side Strangler is on the loose in Beach Point, where fifteen-year-old Cathy Banks is spending the summer with her aunt (who happens to be mystery writer Roberta McCabe). Although thrilled to be away from her psychotic, divorcing parents, with no cell phone or internet access, Cathy is positive that her summer is going to be wretched. Just when she begins to make friends, and even finds a crush to drool over, her new friend Lauren vanishes. When a body surfaces in Beach Point Bay, Cathy is forced to face the question: has the Sea Side Strangler struck again?

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013Y4WE48
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/569442
Fire & Ice:
http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/ninamansfield/swimmingalone.html

Thanks for having coffee with us. Come back soon!

Coffee Chat Author Interview: Sandra de Helen

6/7/2017

Welcome, booklovers!
This week's guest is mystery writer Sandra de Helen.

Ally: Good Morning, Sandra! Thanks for visiting the Coffee Chat. What may I get you to drink?

SANDRA: I don’t drink coffee, I drink Irish Breakfast Tea with a bit of milk.
I got hooked on tea when I went to Ireland for a writer’s residency, and have been a tea drinker ever since.

Ally: My magic pot is excellent at tea also. So while I pour, please introduce yourself to readers.

About the Author:

Sandra de Helen, author of the LGBTQ thriller Till Darkness Comes also pens the Shirley Combs/Dr. Mary Watson series. She is a poet and a playwright. Her plays have been produced in the Philippines, Ireland and Canada, in thirteen of the United States, as well as Chicago and New York City. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Dramatists Guild. Her poetry chapbook All This Remains to be Discovered is available online and at Another Read Through Bookstore in Portland, Oregon. Samples of her work are available on her website.
Something not in my regular bio: "I was born and raised in rural Mid-Missouri. My latest play, The Missouri Cycle, is about my own family from 1951 to 1977, including my coming out as a lesbian in 1977. It includes four generations of women, drama, and humor."

Author contact links:

Email: sandra@sandradehelen.com
Website: http://sandradehelen.com/wp/
Twitter: @dehelen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandradeHelenAuthor/

Interview:

Ally: How did you select your main genre? What about it intrigues you and readers?

SANDRA: Mystery is my main genre, and I've been reading mysteries since I first read the Complete Sherlock Holmes when I was about ten. Later I read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys when we moved into town where there was a library and I wasn't allowed to read adult books. Before then I read whatever was in the house. But mysteries are a puzzle for the mind, and I enjoy them. Conan Doyle was a master at having the detective solve the crime and then show the reader how it was done. As a writer, I enjoy putting the puzzle together and then taking it apart, scrambling it for the reader, and letting them watch as Shirley solves it, with Dr. Mary Watson as her sidekick and narrator.

Ally: Describe your writing process.

SANDRA: I'm one of those annoying writers who work every day, including weekends and holidays. I avoid writer's block by having too many writing projects. <grin> I work on one project, then another, then another -- often in the same day. I currently have a weekly column, have just finished a new play, have a novel in progress, and am writing an essay a week for 2017. My goal is to produce as much written material as I can. I have more stories than I can tell in a lifetime.

Ally: If you met your favorite author Val McDermid, what would you talk about?

SANDRA: First, I would tell her that I bought a scarf she knitted and donated for a silent auction at the Golden Crown Literary Society conference. I'm sure she'd be impressed. Then, I would tell her how much I appreciate that she was writing lesbian feminist crime fiction in the 70's and ever since. (She writes several series now, not all lesbian, but all great.) She'd probably want to know when I'm going to sell millions of books like she does, and I'd smile mysteriously and say, "any day now, Val."

Ally: Have you thought about one of your books being made into a movie? Who would play the parts, if you could choose?

SANDRA: Of course I have. I frequently think about seeing Shirley and Mary on the big screen. Or the little screen. I'd love it if the producer who options my books wants to make a movie from each book, rather than jumbling the stories, or worse, just making up their own story and using my characters. But when they come calling, I will keep an open mind. Shirley and Mary are in their 30's and early 40's, so I'd love to see some of the "older" women actors in the roles. Charlize Theron as Shirley and Teá Leoni as Mary would be interesting. But what if they wanted to use women of color in the roles? That would be fine by me. Viola Davis as Shirley and Gabby Sidebe as Mary would be amazing.

Ally: What is your next writing project?

SANDRA: I'm currently working on the third Shirley Combs mystery, entitled A Valley of Fear. Dr. Mary Watson is engaged and Shirley Combs is engaged in learning new skills when they are pulled into the world of crime organized by Dr. James Moriarty. Expected release now set for May, 2018.

Ally: I always love the short answer questions. Are you ready to start?

a. Book you're currently reading: Kate Kasten's Too Happy.
b. What comes first - character or plot? Character first. Then the story, then the plot.
something unique in your handbag: I carry my own chopsticks because I hate plastic flatware.
c. Your hobbies: Baking, sewing, designing wallpaper.
d. If you couldn't write anymore, what would you want to do? Travel if I could. And create something, anything I was able to.
e. Favorite place to write: in my Eames Lounge chair in the corner between two windows, with my MacBook Air and a bottle of club soda.

Ally: It was a pleasure to share coffee with you. Before I let you go, please tell us about the book you brought for this week's feature, The Illustrious Client...

Book Blurb:

Book Two of the Shirley Combs and Dr. Mary Watson series, THE ILLUSTRIOUS CLIENT, shows us the private investigator and her sidekick sharing an office, and introduces their receptionist, Lix. They are hired to influence a young international pop star, Oceane Charles, to pry her away from her older, richer, player of a girlfriend.

The cast is made up of people with various ethnicities and backgrounds, and of course the job soon includes solving a murder mystery. Along the way, Mary discovers her latent lesbianism. Set in Portland, Oregon on a superyacht, in a hospital VIP room, at Rose Festival, and other fun places.

Buy Links (Note: 18+, alternative lifestyle):

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ILLUSTRIOUS-CLIENT-Shirley-Watson-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00GZ4W4JK
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/audiobook/illustrious-client-unabridged/id898136443
Audible: http://adbl.co/1TVy2RN
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1Usz8Em
Bookmate: https://bookmate.com/books/JkXPYQbV
Powell's: http://www.powells.com/book/the-illustrious-client-9780991079209/61-0
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dehelen
Tanum (Norway): http://bit.ly/1XNueEt