Good Morning, Booklovers!
We're having that topsy-turvy weather that is fall in the Midwest. Cool one day, hot and steamy the next. This morning is quite pleasant on the deck, but I expect this is one of the last. Let's enjoy it while we can as we welcome guest mystery author Nichelle Seely.
Nice to have you join us, Nichelle. How do you take your coffee?
NS: I drink it with about a tablespoon of non-dairy creamer, usually Ripple. My protagonist, private investigator Audrey Lake, takes hers black with a pinch of salt. I personally only use salt if it’s really bitter.
Ally: I've never heard of putting salt in coffee! Live and learn, I guess. Maybe I'll try it sometime. For now, while I fill our mugs, please introduce yourself to readers.
We're having that topsy-turvy weather that is fall in the Midwest. Cool one day, hot and steamy the next. This morning is quite pleasant on the deck, but I expect this is one of the last. Let's enjoy it while we can as we welcome guest mystery author Nichelle Seely.
Nice to have you join us, Nichelle. How do you take your coffee?
NS: I drink it with about a tablespoon of non-dairy creamer, usually Ripple. My protagonist, private investigator Audrey Lake, takes hers black with a pinch of salt. I personally only use salt if it’s really bitter.
Ally: I've never heard of putting salt in coffee! Live and learn, I guess. Maybe I'll try it sometime. For now, while I fill our mugs, please introduce yourself to readers.
Bio:
Nichelle Seely is a writer and architect living on the Oregon coast with her husband. Born and raised in Oregon, she has also lived and worked in Alaska and Colorado. She has been writing since she was a child. An eclectic reader, she dips into almost all the fiction genres and also a fair amount of non-fiction. She loves the outdoors, walking in the woods or on the beach, and bicycling. An avid traveler, she has visited 26 countries and once spent a year traveling alone with a backpack. In the rainy winter she enjoys playing games, including a mean hand of cribbage. She has a B.A. in English, a Master’s degree in architecture, and half of an MFA in creative writing.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio. “I have thousands of comic books.”
Author Contacts:
www.nichelleseely.com
Follow me! Facebook | Bookbub | Goodreads | Amazon | Library Thing | Twitter | Instagram
Nichelle Seely is a writer and architect living on the Oregon coast with her husband. Born and raised in Oregon, she has also lived and worked in Alaska and Colorado. She has been writing since she was a child. An eclectic reader, she dips into almost all the fiction genres and also a fair amount of non-fiction. She loves the outdoors, walking in the woods or on the beach, and bicycling. An avid traveler, she has visited 26 countries and once spent a year traveling alone with a backpack. In the rainy winter she enjoys playing games, including a mean hand of cribbage. She has a B.A. in English, a Master’s degree in architecture, and half of an MFA in creative writing.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio. “I have thousands of comic books.”
Author Contacts:
www.nichelleseely.com
Follow me! Facebook | Bookbub | Goodreads | Amazon | Library Thing | Twitter | Instagram
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book?
NS: When the pandemic hit, we had just moved to a new town and I didn’t have a job yet, so I decided to write (and actually finish!) a novel. That’s not as impulsive as it sounds, since I’ve been writing for years, although I had never published anything but magazine articles. I imagined my main character first, gave her a back story and mental health issues, and thought about what kind of case an ex-detective with issues might be called on to solve (in this book, a missing person). For the other characters, the victim and the suspects, I asked my sister for help. She is an astrologer and Tarot card reader, so we did an exercise where I drew a card for each of the various characters and she filled me in on the archetypes that those cards represented. Coincidentally, the suspects were all drawn from the suit of Swords, which often embodies internal conflict. The victim was the Queen of Cups, which inspired me to make her a spiritual leader. The plot flowed from that.
Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job?
NS: I am an architect, and have worked in that field for twenty years. I am currently taking a break from that and writing full-time. Creating stories is immensely satisfying for me. I get so much pleasure from reading, and it brings me joy to think I’m providing that pleasure to someone else.
Ally: Tell us about your reading habits. Current favorites?
NS: I read everything: mysteries, fantasy, science fiction, horror, literary fiction, Westerns, historical fiction, YA, classics, and nonfiction. My favorite mystery author is Tana French. I also like Deborah Crombie, Ian Rankin, Ngaio Marsh…the list is long!
Ally: Do you have a newsletter? Tell us about it. Do you think it is an effective marketing tool?
NS: Yes, I do. It’s brand new, so I’ve only had a single issue. My plan is to send one out once a month. I use MailerLite as my service, and I’ve found the platform to be intuitive and user friendly. For content, because my series is set in an actual town, I have included pictures of the places Audrey visits during the novel. I’ll also include book reviews, updates on my writing progress, and interesting things I discover in my research. I don’t know yet how effective it will be as a marketing tool, but I think the content will be a higher quality than what I can do on social media, although I’m active on that as well.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
NS: I’m working on the sequel to A Memory of Murder, which I hope to be ready by the beginning of next year. I’m also working on a fantasy novel, and I’ve got some shorter works on the back burner.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?
NS:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book?
NS: When the pandemic hit, we had just moved to a new town and I didn’t have a job yet, so I decided to write (and actually finish!) a novel. That’s not as impulsive as it sounds, since I’ve been writing for years, although I had never published anything but magazine articles. I imagined my main character first, gave her a back story and mental health issues, and thought about what kind of case an ex-detective with issues might be called on to solve (in this book, a missing person). For the other characters, the victim and the suspects, I asked my sister for help. She is an astrologer and Tarot card reader, so we did an exercise where I drew a card for each of the various characters and she filled me in on the archetypes that those cards represented. Coincidentally, the suspects were all drawn from the suit of Swords, which often embodies internal conflict. The victim was the Queen of Cups, which inspired me to make her a spiritual leader. The plot flowed from that.
Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job?
NS: I am an architect, and have worked in that field for twenty years. I am currently taking a break from that and writing full-time. Creating stories is immensely satisfying for me. I get so much pleasure from reading, and it brings me joy to think I’m providing that pleasure to someone else.
Ally: Tell us about your reading habits. Current favorites?
NS: I read everything: mysteries, fantasy, science fiction, horror, literary fiction, Westerns, historical fiction, YA, classics, and nonfiction. My favorite mystery author is Tana French. I also like Deborah Crombie, Ian Rankin, Ngaio Marsh…the list is long!
Ally: Do you have a newsletter? Tell us about it. Do you think it is an effective marketing tool?
NS: Yes, I do. It’s brand new, so I’ve only had a single issue. My plan is to send one out once a month. I use MailerLite as my service, and I’ve found the platform to be intuitive and user friendly. For content, because my series is set in an actual town, I have included pictures of the places Audrey visits during the novel. I’ll also include book reviews, updates on my writing progress, and interesting things I discover in my research. I don’t know yet how effective it will be as a marketing tool, but I think the content will be a higher quality than what I can do on social media, although I’m active on that as well.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
NS: I’m working on the sequel to A Memory of Murder, which I hope to be ready by the beginning of next year. I’m also working on a fantasy novel, and I’ve got some shorter works on the back burner.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?
NS:
- book you're currently reading: I can never read just one at a time. Here’s what I’ve got going at the moment: Crush by Alan Jacobsen (mystery); Mountain of Black Glass by Tad Williams (science fiction); A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (fantasy); His Majesty’s Hope by Susan Elia Macneal (historical mystery); Save the Cat Writes a Novel (writing craft book); My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (literary fiction); The Ghost Pirates and other Revenants of the Sea by William Hope Hodgeson (horror) and finally King Henry VI, part one by William Shakespeare. Oh, and I’m also rereading a comic book series: Arion, Lord of Atlantis by DC Comics.
- most beloved comic book character: Eek, this is hard. Storm, from the X-Men (Marvel). Harley Quinn (DC). Batman. But actually, I really love Uncle Scrooge from the forties. He was always traveling around the world with his nephews and having cool adventures, like searching for lost cities. My mother had all these comics from her own childhood, and I loved reading them. Maybe that’s where I discovered I wanted to travel.
- last time you rode a train (not subway): In 2013 in Morocco.
- a supernatural ability you’d love to have: Flying, or telekinesis.
- Do you re-read books? Any book in particular? Yes, all the time. A good book always has something new to discover, and characters become like friends.
A Memory of Murder (Audrey Lake Investigations Book 1)
Genre: Traditional Mystery
A disturbing vision. A drowned woman. Tragic accident, or vicious crime?
Former homicide detective Audrey Lake is determined to start a new life as she recovers from an emotional breakdown and a nearly-fatal stab wound. She settles in the old and mossy town of Astoria on the Columbia River, a thousand miles and a world away from the crime-ridden streets of Denver and her career an undercover cop. In the midst of small-town peace and quiet, she hopes to sort out the trauma and harrowing memories from her last undercover assignment.
But Audrey begins to have recurring visions of a woman being attacked and forcibly drowned. The hallucinations bear all the familiar, terrifying earmarks of psychosis. And when the river yields up the body of the same woman who appeared in her vision, Audrey is forced to ask: is she finally losing her mind, or is there another explanation?
Driven to investigate, she digs into the victim’s life and secrets. But doing so compels Audrey to examine the unresolved pieces of her own past. Can she discover the truth behind the killing, or will the investigation push her beyond the breaking point?
You can purchase A Memory of Murder at:
https://www.amazon.com/Memory-Murder-Audrey-Lake-Investigations-ebook/dp/B095JCP2X8/
Genre: Traditional Mystery
A disturbing vision. A drowned woman. Tragic accident, or vicious crime?
Former homicide detective Audrey Lake is determined to start a new life as she recovers from an emotional breakdown and a nearly-fatal stab wound. She settles in the old and mossy town of Astoria on the Columbia River, a thousand miles and a world away from the crime-ridden streets of Denver and her career an undercover cop. In the midst of small-town peace and quiet, she hopes to sort out the trauma and harrowing memories from her last undercover assignment.
But Audrey begins to have recurring visions of a woman being attacked and forcibly drowned. The hallucinations bear all the familiar, terrifying earmarks of psychosis. And when the river yields up the body of the same woman who appeared in her vision, Audrey is forced to ask: is she finally losing her mind, or is there another explanation?
Driven to investigate, she digs into the victim’s life and secrets. But doing so compels Audrey to examine the unresolved pieces of her own past. Can she discover the truth behind the killing, or will the investigation push her beyond the breaking point?
You can purchase A Memory of Murder at:
https://www.amazon.com/Memory-Murder-Audrey-Lake-Investigations-ebook/dp/B095JCP2X8/
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