#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Sharon Marchisello

Sharon Marchisello is my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Marketing. A close second is the first draft once I get past the opening scene.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Proofreading. Also, talking about being a writer and seeing my books in print.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A computer with Microsoft Word in a quiet area.

Things that hamper your writing: The internet, email, social media. While I love having Google at my fingertips to look up words or do research, I’m easily distracted once I allow myself to get online.

Last best thing you ate: A piece of fresh, perfectly-prepared sea bass in a specialty restaurant on a cruise ship.

Last thing you regret eating: A chocolate brownie. (No nutritional value, and more calories than it was worth.)

Favorite music or song: Classic rock from the sixties, seventies, and eighties speaks to me.

Music that drives you crazy: I could never get into rap music.

Things you always put in your books: I lost both my mother and mother-in-law to Alzheimer’s disease, and the subject seems to have worked its way into my books. Going Home, my first published novel, was inspired by my mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s, so the disease is central to that plot. Michelle, the protagonist in Going Home, is a secondary character in Secrets of the Galapagos, and there’s a brief reference to her mother’s Alzheimer’s in that book. (She’s afraid it could be hereditary.) But also in my new cat rescue mystery series, DeeLo’s mother resides in a memory care facility, suffering from Alzheimer’s. Her mother’s situation is not central to the plot, but it has turned out to be more important than I thought it would be.

Things you never put in your books: I won’t kill an animal. (Humans are fair game, though.)

Things to say to an author: I loved your book, I wrote you a 5-star review, and I’m buying copies for all my friends.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Why can’t you be as rich and famous as J.K. Rowling? Your books must not be that good.

Favorite places you’ve been: The Galapagos Islands, South Africa, Antarctica, Alaska (anywhere I’ve seen animals in the wild).

Places you never want to go to again: The slums of Mumbai.

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries, domestic suspense, psychological thrillers.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Books about politics.

Favorite things to do: Travel, read, cuddle with cats.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Bungee jump or skydive. Of course, I wouldn’t run through a fire or eat bugs, either. I’d never cut it on The Amazing Race.

Some real-life story that made it into one of your books: In Trap, Neuter, Die, I used my rescue group’s quest to change the county ordinances to support Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return for free-roaming cats, and some of our ensuing drama. The antiquated animal ordinances governing fictitious Pecan County are based on the real ones followed in Fayette County, Georgia, where I live (and they’re not unique).

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: When Going Home came out, one of my neighbors asked me if I really found my mother hovering over the bludgeoned body of her caregiver. (That’s the opening scene.) Fortunately, that never happened!

Your favorite movie as a child: The Wizard of Oz. It came on every year, and sometimes my parents would let me stay up late to watch it.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Bambi. I cried and cried when Bambi’s mother died, and I had nightmares about the forest fire. I wanted to rewrite the story and give it a happier ending.

About Sharon:

Sharon Marchisello is the author of the DeeLo Myer cat rescue mysteries from Level Best Books. Trap, Neuter, Die was published in 2024; Trapped and Tested in December 2025. Her other mysteries were published by Sunbury Press: Going Home (2014), Secrets of the Galapagos (2019), and Murder at Leisure Dreams – Galapagos (2025). Sharon has also written a nonfiction book about personal finance (Live Well, Grow Wealth - 2018), travel articles, a blog, book reviews, and short stories, one of which was a Derringer finalist. She earned a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is active in Sisters in Crime, the Atlanta Writers Club, and several critique groups. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, and serves on the boards of the Fayette Humane Society, Hometown Novel Writers Association, and the Friends of the Peachtree City Library. Sharon fosters cats for the Fayette Humane Society when she isn’t traveling the world.

Website: sharonmarchisello.com (https://smarchisello.wordpress.com/)

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Mark Bergin

I’d like to welcome the multi-talented author, Mark Bergin, to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday.

Hardest/easiest things about being a writer: I find the actual writing, the putting down sentences and paragraphs, then polishing it pretty, is the easiest part. The hardest parts are thinking of what to write, so I carry a notebook everywhere.  And I get stymied because I write chronologically, so if a scene or chapter comes hard, I can’t figure out how to push my characters through it and tell what I want, I can’t step past it. Sometimes I just put a lot of crap down to get moving, and in my new book I did that and it turned out fine. I said Kelly’s not coming out of that office till he learns what caused… whatever, and I ended up with a useable scene.

Things I am good at, or not: I am very good at public speaking and breaking down issues in ways people can understand. I was a training officer and enjoyed teaching new officers how, and sometimes why, we do what we do, and I try to do that in the books. Although my first, APPREHENSION, suffered for it, much too dry and detailed. I am not good at computer programs. I have tried to teach myself Scrivener twice and can’t get the hang of it. I was a cop for 28 years, and only in the last one did I have two desk jobs that required extensive use of computers and data systems. And that’s the year I died of two heart attacks and had to get out of the cops. All the years on the streets were fun, exciting, dangerous, rewarding, and I never had any issues. Deskwork killed me

Words good: goal oriented; I decided to get published, then I decided to get really published by a real publisher. Optimistic: I bought Ruth’s wedding present after three months of dating and a year before I asked her. Friendly. Supportive; I have had the most fun recently being able to work with new and experienced authors with police issues and procedures. I like to see writers get it right, and usually that can be done without losing the drama. I will admit, though, that I completely fabricated the procedures for burial of an indigent jail prisoner in my first novel. It had to go the way I wanted, and I didn’t want to know if I was completely off-target.  Words bad: Arrogant: if you’re wrong, you’re wrong and that usually pivots on whether you think like I do. Forgetful; I can’t remember a name to save my life, so I have actually excused myself from parties to go write a name down if I think I will need to talk with them again. Lousy skill failure for a cop, but I am good with faces and, if you‘re a cop, you can ask their name.

Music: I like Americana/hard country/singer-songwriters. My first personal purchase of music was the album American Woman by The Guess Who. I hate gangsta rap. I don’t think it is a threat to society; it’s just offensive. Why would you say that about yourself and think that endears you to me? @#$% You kiss your mom with that mouth?

Things I always put in my books: I like to humanize my heroes, so I have them do things other than their specific tasks. In my new book, I have Kelly dive into a crashed car that is leaking gasoline to comfort and help rescue a driver, actually an armed robber who was running from police. (Almost a true story. On a recent vacation I saw a car crash and overturn. I got into it through a broken window and was tending to the not-terribly-injured driver when gas started dripping on us. We got out. Never in books: killing a cop. It is too easy a shortcut to amp up emotion and anger, and it is never portrayed accurately in any fiction I’ve read or seen. In my new book I started writing that scene, but realized I could cet the same emotional impact if I had the international criminal kneecap a detective instead of killing him, plus such a death would completely overshadow all the other things I had to have my characters do.  Killing a cop is devastating to a department, the loss of a friend, the reminder of our tenuous hold on safety, the fear in our spouses and families. My wife and I stopped watching Will Trent last year when they very casually killed a cop, a female bomb-squad officer setting up to be the hero’s love interest. It meant nothing on the show.

Favorite places: The southwest coast of Ireland, the craggy, rough almost fjords and the deep sea. I visited there ten years ago and found a setting that will emerge in Book Four, whenever I get to it. Santa Fe and the American Southwest, just love the environment, the sand, the huge blue sky. Least favorite place: Las Vegas. Went once because everybody has to, and I go back because the Public Safety Writers Association meets there every year, but what an ugly, brutal and fake environment.

Favorite book and author: The Secret Ways by Alistair MacLean. The perfect thriller by one of the most gifted writers. I remember carrying the paperback in my pocket and deliberately mouthing off in Mr. Fenicle’s ninth-grade music class so Id be sent out to sit in the hall. And read! I discovered Alistair MacLean in my early teens, and remember getting his books out of the library a second time so I can try to figure out how he did it, how he built suspense, how his stories laid out. Still haven’t figured it out, and I can’t write like him but he’s great.  Books I wouldn’t buy: none. I attend the annual Creatures, Crimes and Creativity conference with authors of all kinds of genres. Each of them works hard to craft their stores, hard as I do (but when you can just conjure a dragon to deus ex machina your hero out of her plight, it seems too easy and cheap.) And the first writers I ever met, after I decided to try, at a mystery writers library panel were cozy writers Sherry Harris and Maya Corrigan who just died this week, may her memory be a blessing. I came out of the presentation thinking these are just some ladies writing soft mysteries, what can I learn from them? But their writing was tight and clear. Had to be, they couldn’t just shoot or punch somebody to move their story along.

Coolest person I ever met: I was in the Mystery Bookstore on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia in about 1982, talking with the owner, a novelist, when he looked past me, walked to shake the hand of a customer just entered and said, “You’re Warren Zevon, aren’t you? I’m Art Bourgeau.” We talked mysteries for about a half an hour. Cool guy, very unprepossessing, in town because he was dating a local FM DJ (Cindy Dru if you have to know.) I also thought it was cool that Bourgeau introduced himself too, as if being a novelist was also cool. And now I know it is.

Daring thing: Tandem skydove out of a helicopter down the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland. My son and I came up with it, I told my wife, she said, “You know my answer.” Well, I knew her answer but it apparently shocked her when I actually went ahead and did it. A long time to recover from that one.  Chickened out: I rowed in the World Championships in Villach, Austria in 1976 (took fifth) and on the plane back to the United States I learned that two girls from my high school class were aboard, having just spend the summer in an Israeli kibbutz. And I was too shy to go talk with them. Here’s me, at the height of my game, international athlete, and here they are, just having done something so cool. But they were pretty and above my class and I was so shy.

Real-life story in a book: One night when I was a patrol officer I stood outside an apartment waiting for partners to finish something up. A little old lady tottered by and looked at me and remarked, “Oh, you look just like that Father Mulcahey from that MASH show.” (Glasses and such.) I made the sign of the cross in front of her and said, “In nomine Patris, et Fili, et Spiritus Sancti.” She said, “Oh, is you Jewish?” I wrote that into my first book APPREHENSION, and later discussed it on a blog with another writer. Later, I found I had actually edited that scene out for length. It may rise. Not real: In my books my hero John Kelly dates then marries a public defender, Rachel Cohen. While I did marry a public defender, Rachel is not my wife Ruth, and the personal things between them in the book are entirely fictional. Fictional Rachel does not conduct herself in the way Ruth does, and Ruth hates her for it.

Nicest thing anyone said: Two ex cops who cowrite mysteries sought me out at BoucherCon Dallas and asked me to blurb their upcoming book. “Me? Mark Bergin? You sure you mean me?” I didn’t know anyone knew me or knew of me. Worst thing: Maybe oddest. A friend, in my wife’s book club after they ready my first, said, “Oh, there was too much sexy stuff in it.” One line! Where Kelly is imagining the curve of Rachel’s hip. Oy vey!

About Mark: Mark Bergin spent four years as a newspaper reporter, winning the Virginia Press Association Award for general news reporting, before joining the Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department in 1986. Twice named Police Officer of the Year for narcotics and robbery investigations, he served in most of the posts described in APPREHENSION, his award-winning debut novel. APPREHENSION was reprinted by Level Best Books as the first in a four-book series called The John Kelly Cases. Book two in the series, SAINT MICHAEL’S DAY will be published this year and was a finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. His short stories appear in three Anthony Award-nominated anthologies; PARANOIA BLUES, LAND OF 10,000 THRILLS and SCATTERED, SMOTHERED, COVERED AND CHUNKED, as well as THE TATTERED BLUE LINE and THE EVICTION OF HOPE. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Jonni Jordyn

I’d like to welcome Jonni Jordyn back to the blog for the first #ThisorThatThursday of the new year!

A few of your favorite traditions: Watching the leaves turn.

Something holiday-related that you’ll never do again: I had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, but they served sliced deli meat.

Favorite fall treat: I'm definitely a pumpkin spice girl.

A fall treat that makes you gag: I have allergies to mint and chocolate, but gagging might be mincemeat pie.

Favorite beverage: Sweet tea, but that's year-round.
A drink that gives you a sour face: Lemonade.

Favorite smell: I like the smell of pines and the forest in general, but I'm not sure it would be a favorite.
Something that makes you hold your nose: I'm not too fond of dead and rotting flesh.

A funny true story: I took my six-year-old granddaughter to the Spirit store. We were way in the back of the store when a coffin opened up, and Dracula popped out. She immediately ran to the entrance with her hands in the air while screaming at the top of her lungs.

Something embarrassing that happened: I took the same granddaughter to Knott Scary Farm for Halloween, and she freaked out. I had to ask for a refund.

Best thing you ever cooked/baked: I've made a couple prime rib dinners that worked out.

Your worst kitchen disaster: Not mine, personally, but we went to my uncle’s for Christmas. He had a turkey to cook, but the oven died THAT DAY!! This was in the mid 70s, so they went out and bought one of those newfangled microwaves, a really big one. They set it on the counter and set the turkey to cook for four hours. After four hours, it still wasn't browned. So they cooked it some more. Nobody knew about cook times or browning elements. Naturally, it was inedible. Nobody's fault, but quite a disaster.

Your best costume: I have a grim reaper costume that I could wear to gigs. The sleeves had Velcro, so I could stick them to my shoulders and still play the keyboards.

A costume that wasn’t quite what you imagined: I tried to be Elvira, but just couldn't fill the dress.

Favorite holiday treat: I couldn't find it this year, but my grocer used to carry a pumpkin spice eggnog.

Something that should never be pumpkin-spiced flavored: Coffee? But then, I don't drink coffee.

Best holiday memory: I created a computer program to play short audio snippets from horror movies. I had my pro stage speakers in the yard pumping out themed music while my granddaughter and I would cue these snippets. A young boy around five or maybe seven, dragged his father past all the other houses on the street to the corner with all the sound effects, but when he got to us, he froze on the sidewalk. We had to go out and soothe him.

Worst holiday experience: My band was booked at a nice hotel. I wore a black dress with tuxedo cuffs and collar. First, there was a big hubbub about my not being eligible for best costume, then, I kept getting hit on by my own bass player.

About Jonni:

Jonni Jordyn was born in Oakland, California in 1957. She started writing at an early age, writing music, poetry, short stories, radio, film, and stage scripts. She didn’t start writing novels until later in life, after she retired from playing music, and found herself travelling away from home for extended periods. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.

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Website: https://www.jordynatlargebooks.com/

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Veronica Lee

I’d like to welcome the wonderful Veronica Lee to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Knowing when my manuscript is ready to submit. I too often jump the gun.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Is there something easy about being a writer? If there is, I can’t think of what it would be. LOL!

Something you’re really good at: I can make really good homemade cheesecakes.

Something you’re really bad at: Making hamburgers and biscuits. They both turn out hard as hockey pucks.

Favorite music or song: I love “Over the Rainbow,” by Judy Garland.

Music that drives you crazy: Songs full of really foul language.

Things you always put in your books: There’s usually a subtle faith-based message in them.

Things you never put in your books: I haven’t written a furry side-kick in any of my stories. But I’d really like to!

Favorite places you’ve been: I visited Krakow, Poland about ten years ago. It was absolutely gorgeous. The whole country was!

Places you never want to go to again: Can’t come up with any place that I really hated.

Favorite books (or genre): Anything Jane Austen related.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Political Thrillers. Just not my cup of tea.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I worked as a housekeeper in a nursing home during the pandemic and often had to go into the covid units to clean and help out.

Something you chickened out from doing: Performing Arts Workshop when I was a teen.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Eva Mozes Kor. She was a Holocaust/Mengele twin survivor who created the CANDLES Museum.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I have never met any famous celebrities in person.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: That my book was their favorite.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: One suggested I used AI to write it. I swear, I didn’t!

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Well, my book The Keeper of Lost Daughters was partly inspired by how in Poland, Jewish children were left with Christians during the war to save their lives. After the war, the Jewish families would try to reclaim their children only to find that the Christians didn’t want to give them up.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: I don’t think anyone has suggested anything in my book was about me.

My favorite book as a child: When I was little, I had this picture book about a mouse and on every page with the mouse was a little bird. Well, my dad came up a story based solely on the bird, calling it “Little Birdy Buddy.” Over time the story evolved. His storytelling was so enthralling that others would listen to him tell it too. Unfortunately, the book fell apart and I have no memory of what the story actually was.

A book I’ve read more than once: Pride and Prejudice.

Your favorite movie as a child: The Wizard of Oz.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Braveheart. When I was a kid, my dad had bought the VHS and was watching it, and I saw the scene where William Wallace is being tortured/executed. I was sick to my stomach for days. Probably didn’t sleep at night after watching it.

About Veronica:

Veronica Leigh has been published in numerous publications, such as Saturday Evening Post, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and The People's Friend. She recently published her first novel, The Keeper of Lost Daughters. She aspires to be the Jane Austen of her generation and she makes her home in Indiana.

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Maggie Blake Bailey

I’d like to welcome Maggie Blake Bailey to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Patience.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Ideas. I love coming up with new ideas, asking WHAT IF? Following a strange line of thought, going down an internet rabbit hole. Did you see the article about the raccoon that broke into a liquor store and passed out in the bathroom in Virginia? I would love to write a scene with something like that now I that I have read about! Ideas, for me at least, are everywhere.

Things you need for your writing sessions:

Things that hamper your writing:

Words that describe you:

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t:

Something you’re really good at: being goofy. I have been described as a muppet more than once. And just last week, a fifth-grade friend of my kids complimented my “car energy” when I was dancing to a song. I know it sounds like he was being sarcastic, but as a former high school English teacher, I promise I know when something is a real compliment!

Something you’re really bad at: learning other languages. I still try, but I am NOT a natural, and I really envy people that have a great ear for language and accents.

Last best thing you ate: soup dumplings! There is a highway in Atlanta called Buford Highway that has incredible Asian food, and I had a date night with my husband at North China Eatery and we had fantastic soup dumplings.

Last thing you regret eating: To be honest, I think I ate one soup dumpling too many. They were just so good! But I might have pushed it a little far.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Pizza. Or a great craft store. Or a great bookstore. But hopefully a corner of some town that would have all three next to each other.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Mayonnaise. I can’t stand it. I made it in second grade in some sort of science lesson? All I took from that lesson was to never eat mayo. Believe me, I know how strange that sounds.

Things you always put in your books: FOOD! Food is one of my great joys in life, and I think food also does a great job of evocating a certain place. Any time I go somewhere, there is food I want to eat associated with that place. Like lobster when I am seaside in the northeast, peaches when I am in North or South Carolina, shrimp when I am down in Southern Georgia, etc.

Things you never put in your books: Really intense violence, what I call “girl in a box underground” stuff. The sort of violence you would see in an episode of CRIMINAL MINDS. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of authors do it incredibly well and it can be done masterfully to serve an excellent plot. But it is not for me to write.

Favorite places you’ve been: I love traveling—and I have been lucky enough to go on some wonderful trips over my life so far. Last year, I went to the Isle of Mull in Scotland and as soon as I left, I was dreaming about how to get back. I also went to Norway last year and jumped in a fjord on the winter solstice, and I desperately want to do that again some day.

Places you never want to go to again: Las Vegas- I went once with friends and had a great time, but I don’t like heat or gambling or late nights, so once was enough for me!

Favorite things to do: Read, write, sew, knit, nap, watch British Murder Mysteries on tv, sit by the fire, walk my dogs, go to concerts, and most importantly laugh and just spend time with my kids and husband.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Ride a bike. I am really afraid of bikes. I have done it a handful of times, but I was terrified every time!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: climbed to the basecamp of Everest.

Something you chickened out from doing: ever properly learned how to dive. I just resort to an inelegant cannonball.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I made a huge quilt for my best friend that works as an I SPY but also has the names of everyone in her family hidden in the quilt. It is MASSIVE and bright and was very, very complicated to make.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Everything? There is always space between my ideal plan and the actual outcome, but then I see people enjoy the imperfect and I remember to relax and enjoy it!

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: In my first book, a terrible first date ends with a fist bump that sort of explodes into jazz hands when the main character thinks the guy is going in for a kiss. Completely happened to me. Mortifying!

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: Divorce. My main character is pulling her life back together after a tough divorce. Thankfully, I am married to an amazing guy and only imagine that outcome rather than living through it.

Your favorite movie as a child: I loved THE PRINCESS BRIDE! I still do and I am lucky enough that one of my kids also loves it. I know the movie SO well—years and years ago I was at a showing on my college campus. The sound went out toward the end (to the pain) and I started doing the lines for the friend I went with to the show. People yelled for me to say them louder, and I ended up reciting the rest of the movie for the whole crowd!

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): I also loved THE LABYRINTH, but I will admit that it gave me nightmares the first time I watched it as a kid. A babysitter showed it to me when I was about six, which might have been a bit early? But it is a classic that I love now, so I can’t complain too much!

About Maggie:

Maggie Bailey, an enthusiastic sewist and maker, is a graduate of Stanford, Oxford, Brown, and Sewanee Universities. Her Measure Twice Sewing Mystery Series includes QUILTY AS CHARGED and SEAMS DEADLY, both from Crooked Lane Books. Maggie Bailey has previously published two volumes of poetry. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, two young children, her dogs, and a growing fabric stash she can’t help but add to on a regular basis.

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Diane Floyd Boehm

Please help me welcome Diane Floyd Boehm to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: The hardest part of writing for children is making sure every word is age-appropriate and engaging. Editing is a labor of love—it always feels never-ending, but I know it’s essential for a good story.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The easiest part is coming up with ideas; inspiration seems to pop up everywhere I look!

Something you’re really good at: I love performing in musicals, whether it's in the chorus or a small role. There’s real joy in helping an audience forget their worries and seeing smiles at curtain call.

Something you’re really bad at: Advanced math isn’t my strong suit. Arithmetic is fine, but once you get to trigonometry, I’m out—I’m all about creativity over calculations.

Last best thing you ate: A homemade pimento cheese sandwich from a local restaurant—absolute perfection.

Last thing you regret eating: Sushi. It’s just not for me. I’ll take good old barbecue any day!

Favorite music or song: My taste is broad—showtunes, Karen Carpenter, Anne Murray, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston. Anything with story and emotion.

Music that drives you crazy: Heavy metal is a bit much for me—it gives me more headaches than happy feelings.

The last thing you ordered online: Pirate ship decorations for my grandson's birthday cake. Creating themed cakes is one of my favorite traditions, and practicing icing waves brings me joy!

Favorite places you’ve been: Travel has been a gift. Two favorites: joining a group of women to the Arctic with Mountain High, where I learned sled dog care and explored ice caves for breast cancer research; and Kenya/Tunisia with Free the Children, building a library before heading out on safari to see wildlife in its natural habitat.

Places you never want to go to again: Honestly, I’d revisit any place—I find wonder in every journey, and some trips, like the Badlands of South Dakota, are so awe-inspiring I’ve returned just to share them with loved ones.

The first record/cassette/CD you ever bought: The Carpenters—Karen Carpenter’s pure voice brings magic to every song.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Heavy rock just doesn’t speak to me the way storytelling music does.

My favorite book as a child: Little Golden Books—especially when my mom read Hansel and Gretel with dramatic voices. Her witch voice was unforgettable!

A book I’ve read more than once: Beautiful Joe, which our class read in fifth grade, fascinated me with its unusual history and heartfelt story—I still return to it.

Your favorite movie as a child: Pollyanna, starring Hayley Mills. My mom loved the book, and watching the film together made it a family favorite that shaped my love for optimism.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night: The British drama Silent Witness. My husband and I have watched every season, some episodes are so intense they gave me nightmares—thank goodness for Home Improvement to lighten the mood afterward!

About Diane:

Diann Floyd Boehm is an award-winning international author of children’s books and young adult historical fiction. Her stories inspire kindness, peace, and self-love, encouraging children and adults alike to “Embrace Imagination.” In addition to her writing, Diann loves connecting with audiences through school visits, book signings, and speaking engagements.

She is the co-host of Royally Confidential with Helena Chard on USA Global TV™ and Radio and brings a background in musical theatre and education to everything she does. Having lived in the Philippines and Dubai, Diann weaves her global experiences into her work while calling Austin, Texas home.

A wife, mother, grandmother, and humanitarian, Diann is dedicated to inspiring others through storytelling, creativity, and community service. Learn more about her books and projects at https://www.diannfloydboehm.com.

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with J. Kent Holloway

I’d like to welcome the amazing J. Kent Holloway to the blog this Thanksgiving to celebrate his new Christmas mystery.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Prioritizing the zillion story ideas that spring to my mind unbidden at any given moment so that I can actually finish a book.

Easiest thing about being a writer: World building and plotting ideas.

Words that describe you: Vivaciously infectious!

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Dwarf-like (but in a fantasy sense…in high school, my nerdy Fellowship of the Ring nickname among my peers was Gimli!).

Something you’re really good at: Dreaming big. There’s nothing I feel like I can’t accomplish if I put my mind to it.
Something you’re really bad at: Holding a grudge. Sometimes I’d like to just be angry at someone for a few minutes.

Favorite music or song: Big Band music of the 1940s…oh, and Oingo Boingo!

Music that drives you crazy: Definitely rap. Or maybe Taylor Swift. It’s a tie.

The last thing you ordered online: Meta Quest 3S VR with Batman: Arkham Shadows.

The last thing you regret buying: A new shirt that didn’t fit right (see the Dwarf-like comment above).

Things you always put in your books: Lots and lots of folklore (usually folklore involving various mythologies of Death (Grim Reaper, Psychopomps, etc).
Things you never put in your books: Romance or sex. Also never use cuss words.

Things to say to an author: I love your stories…they’re so creative and fun!
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I wrote a book with AI…will you read it and give me a blurb?

Favorite places you’ve been: St. Petersburg, Russia
Places you never want to go to again: New York City

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries with supernatural or fantasy elements.
Books you wouldn’t buy: Romance or erotica.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Performing an autopsy, I got blood all over my clothes and had no spares. After taking a shower at the morgue, I had to put on a Tyvek (white paper) suit…which was basically see through because I didn’t have a towel after my shower. Then I had to scramble into the parking lot, covering my nethers with my hands (front and back) as I ran to my car to drive home and get new clothes!

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Um, see above!

My favorite book as a child: Pippi Longstocking (the whole series)!

A book I’ve read more than once: The Lord of the Rings (read it at least twelve times).

About J. Kent:

Bestselling Christian author Kent Holloway isn't just a storyteller. He isn't just a forensic death investigator. He's also a Bible Teacher, preacher, speaker, and best of all...Santa Claus (this year, he saw over 500 kids alone at his Santa engagements!)!

For the last 30 years, Kent Holloway has lived on death. Literally. As a forensic death investigator. he's seen it all. Experienced the worst that life has to give. Yet he never let it dim his sense of wonder or humor or, most importantly, his Faith in Jesus Christ! 

Now, he brings all this experience, along with a zeal for living an abundant life to the written page with fun, adventurous mysteries, middle grade fantasy, and an upcoming library of exciting and inspirational nonfiction similar to his book I Died Swallowing a Goldfish and Other Life Lessons from the Morgue!

Kent Holloway also has a Master’s degree in Theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (yes, he's very Southern Baptist). He has served as singles minister, evangelism pastor, and director of discipleship and education. He is now focusing on three very important ministries to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KentHollowayAuthorPage

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Rose Kerr

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Rose Kerr to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite fall traditions: Driving to see the fall colors (yes, we’re leaf peepers!); enjoying lunch in a park; visiting a local farm with our grandkids.

Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: Drive in an early season snowstorm! I was driving home after dropping my mom at the airport, and fifteen minutes into the three-hour drive home, I found myself driving in white-out conditions. There was a transport truck in front of me and one behind me. It was an hour before I could pull off the highway at a rest stop.

Favorite fall treat: Butter tarts, although they are good any time of the year!

A fall treat that makes you gag: Pumpkin spice lattes, not for me.

Something you only do in the fall: Rake the leaves and decorate pumpkins.

Something you’d never do in the fall season: Swim in a lake.

Favorite fall smell: Fresh air out in the woods.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Rotting vegetation.

Best fall memory: Clearing leaves from the lawn with our kids and the dog. It took a long time, but it was fun. The dog would chase our kids through the piles of leaves, and they’d all jump in them.

Something you’d rather forget: The bear that strolled through our backyard looking for something to top up its belly before hibernating! Kids and the dog were safe in the house, but the dog was barking up a storm.

A tradition you share with others: Visiting farms with our grandkids

A tradition that can be retired: Decorating the entire house for Hallowe’en

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: Apple Crisp, my great aunt’s recipe. One of our favorite fall desserts.

Your worst kitchen disaster: I tried a new recipe for bread; you would think that would be fool proof. It wasn’t. The loaf didn’t rise and was very dense. My husband called it “participaction bread” because you had to chew it a long time before you could swallow it!

Favorite place you spent a fall day: Walking along trails in Northern Ontario, especially nice by a lake.

The worst place to spend a fall day: Stuck in the office for meetings.

Funniest pumpkin-carving story: We had carved out the pumpkins after school one year, and after dinner we couldn’t find one of our cats. Turns out that cat had climbed into the pumpkin before the lid was put on it. Fortunately, the cat didn’t eat any of the pumpkin and was okay!

Your worst pumpkin-carving story: We picked up our pumpkins too early, and when we started carving them, well, they had mushy insides and a bad smell. The kids were so grossed out!

Best Halloween memory: When our daughter went out for her first “Trick or Treat”. She was so excited to come home with candy.

Worst Halloween experience: A snowstorm for Halloween! Our roads were in covered in snow and you couldn’t see across the street. That’s the only time I remember Halloween being cancelled.

About Rose:

Retired in Southern Ontario with her husband, Rose spends her days crafting mysteries featuring strong, smart women who use their resourcefulness to solve crimes. When she’s not writing, she enjoys discovering the hidden gems of the region she lives in.

Rose’s newest release features a modern day archaeologist turned amateur sleuth.

Retired in Southern Ontario with her husband, Rose spends her days crafting mysteries featuring strong, smart women who use their resourcefulness to solve crimes. When she’s not writing, she enjoys discovering the hidden gems of the region she lives in.

Rose’s newest release features a modern day archaeologist turned amateur sleuth.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://rosekerr.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseKerrAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r.m.kerr/?hl=en

Pinterest: https://ca.pinterest.com/RoseKerrauthor/