Welcome to this week's Coffee Chat!
Guest author is Micki Browning, who lives in and writes mysteries about Southern Florida's fantastic ocean life. Those of us experiencing the northern deep freeze can only dream!
Thanks for coming, Micki. How do you take your coffee?
MB: I’d love to chat over a cup of bold coffee tempered with a splash of cream. Thank you!
Ally: Then settle in and introduce yourself while I pour.
Guest author is Micki Browning, who lives in and writes mysteries about Southern Florida's fantastic ocean life. Those of us experiencing the northern deep freeze can only dream!
Thanks for coming, Micki. How do you take your coffee?
MB: I’d love to chat over a cup of bold coffee tempered with a splash of cream. Thank you!
Ally: Then settle in and introduce yourself while I pour.
Bio:
An FBI National Academy graduate, Micki Browning worked in municipal law enforcement for more than two decades, retiring as a division commander. Now a full-time writer, she won the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence and the Royal Palm Literary Award for her debut mystery, ADRIFT. The second Mer Cavallo Mystery, BEACHED, launched January 10, 2018.
Micki also writes short stories and non-fiction. Her work has appeared in dive magazines, anthologies, mystery magazines and textbooks. She resides in Southern Florida with her partner in crime and a vast array of scuba equipment she uses for "research."
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: "I was part of a press junket that had the honor of spending three days on the USS Abraham Lincoln while it was practicing maneuvers. Landing on an aircraft carrier is a thrill. Being catapulted off of it is an adrenaline rush!"
Learn more at--
Website: www.MickiBrowning.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MickiBrowning
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MickiBrowningAuthor/
An FBI National Academy graduate, Micki Browning worked in municipal law enforcement for more than two decades, retiring as a division commander. Now a full-time writer, she won the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence and the Royal Palm Literary Award for her debut mystery, ADRIFT. The second Mer Cavallo Mystery, BEACHED, launched January 10, 2018.
Micki also writes short stories and non-fiction. Her work has appeared in dive magazines, anthologies, mystery magazines and textbooks. She resides in Southern Florida with her partner in crime and a vast array of scuba equipment she uses for "research."
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: "I was part of a press junket that had the honor of spending three days on the USS Abraham Lincoln while it was practicing maneuvers. Landing on an aircraft carrier is a thrill. Being catapulted off of it is an adrenaline rush!"
Learn more at--
Website: www.MickiBrowning.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MickiBrowning
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MickiBrowningAuthor/
INTERVIEW:
Ally: What type of fiction book did you bring today?
MB: Beached is the second Mer Cavallo Mystery and is a traditional mystery with a lot of adventure and a kiss of romance. I’d rate it PG for the occasional swear word. Mer and Selkie banter, but their intimacy plays out behind closed doors.
Ally: Who is the main character in Beached and why will readers like her?
MB: Mer Cavallo is intelligent, loyal, driven, and has a tendency to speak her mind—which chafes some and amuses others. After losing her Arctic research funding, she relocates to the Florida Keys. Accustomed to a regimented academic life, the transition to the laid-back lifestyle of the islands proves to be more difficult than she anticipates. She questions where she belongs and if she’s made the right life choices—the same questions many women grapple with as they consider career and family choices. Events in Beached amplify some of Mer’s questions and simplify others as she discovers the true treasures in her life.
Ally: Have you thought about one of your books being made into a movie? Who would play the parts?
MB: I’d love to see Mer and her cohorts on the screen. Before I began writing the series, I constructed a storyboard in Scrivener and cast my characters. The title role of Mer went to Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (circa The Abyss). I chose the English actor Brian Blessed as Leroy, a taller Daniel Craig as Selkie, Jesse Williams as Detective Talbot, and a striking model (whose name I sadly don’t know) as Bijoux. And for the record, if Daniel Craig agreed to sign on as Selkie, I’d be happy to shave a couple inches off the character.
Ally: How much research do you do?
MB: I received extensive training throughout my career in law enforcement, so those types of scenes rarely need any additional research. By education, I’m a medievalist and during my undergraduate days, I learned how to mine the library stacks for information. I also discovered research is serendipitous. I may be looking for something specific but stumble across something completely unexpected that serves the story in another capacity. That happened in Beached, but sadly, it would be a spoiler if I revealed which part.
I also do “fins-on” research. I’m a professional divemaster and I’ve been on every dive site Mer visits. I work hard to bring the ocean realm to life. It’s really special when readers who don’t scuba dive tell me it felt like they were right there with me during the underwater scenes.
Ally: What role do animals play in your books?
MB: Mer’s love of the ocean led her to become a marine scientist. She studies octopuses, which makes her a teuthologist. An octopus has a cameo role in a pivotal scene in Beached. While she doesn’t have any four-footed friends, she is surrounded by marine life whenever she takes the plunge.
Ally: What are you currently writing?
MB: I’m returning to my police roots in my current project. Set in a small town in the dead of winter, it’s a gritty police procedural with two strong female protagonists. When I wrap that up, I’ll tackle the third Mer Cavallo Mystery, Chum. I’ll keep you posted on dates as I know more!
Ally: And now, let's get to know you with these quick answer questions.
Ally: What type of fiction book did you bring today?
MB: Beached is the second Mer Cavallo Mystery and is a traditional mystery with a lot of adventure and a kiss of romance. I’d rate it PG for the occasional swear word. Mer and Selkie banter, but their intimacy plays out behind closed doors.
Ally: Who is the main character in Beached and why will readers like her?
MB: Mer Cavallo is intelligent, loyal, driven, and has a tendency to speak her mind—which chafes some and amuses others. After losing her Arctic research funding, she relocates to the Florida Keys. Accustomed to a regimented academic life, the transition to the laid-back lifestyle of the islands proves to be more difficult than she anticipates. She questions where she belongs and if she’s made the right life choices—the same questions many women grapple with as they consider career and family choices. Events in Beached amplify some of Mer’s questions and simplify others as she discovers the true treasures in her life.
Ally: Have you thought about one of your books being made into a movie? Who would play the parts?
MB: I’d love to see Mer and her cohorts on the screen. Before I began writing the series, I constructed a storyboard in Scrivener and cast my characters. The title role of Mer went to Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (circa The Abyss). I chose the English actor Brian Blessed as Leroy, a taller Daniel Craig as Selkie, Jesse Williams as Detective Talbot, and a striking model (whose name I sadly don’t know) as Bijoux. And for the record, if Daniel Craig agreed to sign on as Selkie, I’d be happy to shave a couple inches off the character.
Ally: How much research do you do?
MB: I received extensive training throughout my career in law enforcement, so those types of scenes rarely need any additional research. By education, I’m a medievalist and during my undergraduate days, I learned how to mine the library stacks for information. I also discovered research is serendipitous. I may be looking for something specific but stumble across something completely unexpected that serves the story in another capacity. That happened in Beached, but sadly, it would be a spoiler if I revealed which part.
I also do “fins-on” research. I’m a professional divemaster and I’ve been on every dive site Mer visits. I work hard to bring the ocean realm to life. It’s really special when readers who don’t scuba dive tell me it felt like they were right there with me during the underwater scenes.
Ally: What role do animals play in your books?
MB: Mer’s love of the ocean led her to become a marine scientist. She studies octopuses, which makes her a teuthologist. An octopus has a cameo role in a pivotal scene in Beached. While she doesn’t have any four-footed friends, she is surrounded by marine life whenever she takes the plunge.
Ally: What are you currently writing?
MB: I’m returning to my police roots in my current project. Set in a small town in the dead of winter, it’s a gritty police procedural with two strong female protagonists. When I wrap that up, I’ll tackle the third Mer Cavallo Mystery, Chum. I’ll keep you posted on dates as I know more!
Ally: And now, let's get to know you with these quick answer questions.
- a. an author (living or dead) you'd love to take to lunch: Mark Twain. Although I suspect I’d be laughing too hard to eat much.
- b. favorite movie: Casablanca. The dialogue is fantastic.
- c. Last book that made you laugh: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
- d. last book that made you cry: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
- e. favorite place to write: Outdoors, especially places that require hiking trails to get to.
Beached (A Mer Cavallo Mystery)
Genre: Mystery
PG-13
In this latest thrilling mystery from award-winning author Micki Browning, marine biologist Meredith Cavallo uncovers clues to a mysterious Spanish galleon—and quickly discovers the ship may be legendary, but the danger surrounding it is real.
Mer’s life unravels after she finds a plastic-wrapped bundle floating on the waves off Key Largo. Curious, she pulls it aboard her dive boat and lands in the middle of a storm of intrigue involving an obscure legend, an 18th century shipwreck and a modern pirate who’ll resort to murder to claim the booty first.
Thrust into the hunt for a ship with no historical record, Mer plunges into the world of nautical archaeology. But for a woman accustomed to dealing with facts, deciphering secrets proves difficult—and everyone she encounters harbors their own skeletons. A sinister betrayal sends her reeling, and even with the help of a crusty former marine salvager, a fiery professor, and her friends on the island, Mer realizes she’s in over her head. Determined to outwit the man who wants her dead, she’s certain of only one thing—treasure is trouble.
And here is the multi-region buy link for Amazon: http://authl.it/B0778Z8B96
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