#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Michele Drier

I’d like to welcome Michele Drier to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday.

A few of your favorite things: Chocolate, my daughters and grandchildren, books.

Things you need to throw out: My business suits and high heels, clothes older than 20 years, divorce papers from my first husband.

Things you need for your writing sessions: Quiet, atlases from around the world, that Great Card Catalog in the cloud (Google.)

Things that hamper your writing: Meetings, marketing, other things I’ve said yes to (political campaigns, National Women’s Political Caucus).

Things you love about writing: Creating stories, giving characters those strengths I lack (organization!), figuring out the puzzle, righting the wrongs, research (I’m a frustrated historian!).

Things you hate about writing: Finding the best word, going too far down the rabbit hole of description, proofreading.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Consistency, developing a schedule and sticking to it, carving out three-hour time blocks.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Making stuff up! (I spent years as a newspaper editor and everything had to be fully-fact-checked!).

Writing characters who have interesting and quirky habits which wouldn’t go in real life.

Things you never want to run out of: Printer ink, copy paper, butter, chocolate, coffee.

Things you wish you’d never bought: An old printer, a small bedside lamp (too low to read by), a book on knitting.

Favorite foods: Indian, Thai, Mexican, French, salmon, salads, French bread.

Things that make you want to gag: Liver, escargots, okra.

Favorite smell: The air after a rain, cut grass on a summer evening.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Diesel fumes, pulp mills, fermenting grapes (but, afterwards…yum!).

Last best thing you ate: Chicken Caesar salad.

Last thing you regret eating: The brownies I made last night.

Things you always put in your books: Strong women, some true information (my WIP is based on a horde of Medieval stained glass they discovered in the attic of Westminster Abbey in 2017.) My paranormal romances, The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, always have some current political information about the Eastern European bloc.

Things you never put in your books: On the page violence, shootings, stabbings, dismemberment, explicit sex, mass murderers preying on women.

Favorite places you’ve been: Oh God. France, Greece, Italy, England…pretty much anywhere in Europe.

Places you never want to go to again: Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho.

Things that make you happy: Sun, soft rain, cats, my garden, the beach, opera, museums.

Things that drive you crazy: Bad drivers (the ones who buy cars with no turn signals!), people who talk in jargon, people who believe conspiracy theories and never learn to check facts.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: When a cousin and I drive a rented car into Hungary. We only had one map and didn’t speak or read the language. Great adventure!

Something you chickened out from doing: Climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower (and I backed down half-way up to the rotunda of the Florence Cathedral. Got cussed out by all the people going up!).

About Michele:

Michele Drier is a fifth generation Californian. During her career in journalism she won awards for investigative series. She is the past president of Capitol Crimes, the Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime, the Guppies chapter of Sisters in Crime and co-chair for Bouchercon 2020.

Her Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries, set in the California Delta area, are Edited for Death, (called “Riveting and much recommended” by the Midwest Book Review), Labeled for Death and Delta for Death. A stand-alone, Ashes of Memories was published May 2017.

Her paranormal romance series, SNAP: The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, named the best paranormal vampire series of 2014 by PRG, continues with book ten, SNAP: Red Bear Rising released 2018.

The first book of her new series, Stained Glass Mysteries, Stain on the Soul, was released in 2019 and she is currently working on the second book in the series, Tapestry of Tears

Let’s Be Social:

Visit her webpage, www.MicheleDrier.me

Or her facebook page, ,http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMicheleDrier

Or find her on her author page at http://www.amazon.com/Michele-Drier/e/B005D2YC8G/

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with C. A. Rowland

I’m so excited to have author, C. A. Rowland, as my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A quiet place where I can outside or if I am writing something atmospheric, music that fits the mood. That and my computer.

Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions and paying too much attention to what is going in the world so that I am distracted.

Favorite foods: I grew up in Texas and love having a cheesy plate of enchiladas.

Things that make you want to gag: I have never liked licorice.

Favorite smell: I love the smell of the ocean – the saltiness and the spray. Between that and the motion of the waves, it is so relaxing and soothing.

Something that makes you hold your nose: The smell of oil rigs in Texas. I never got used to that smell. Something you like to do: I love sitting down to a meal with family and friends. The luxury of being able to just listen and talk is something I wish I did more often.

Something you wish you’d never done: My cousins and I have a competition where when we visit we try to outdo each other for extravagance. The last one was a huge plate of ten scoops ice cream, toppings and whipped cream, where you received a t-shirt and your picture on the wall if you could eat it all. It took several days to recover from that, but I got my t-shirt.

Things you always put in your books: I love cats. They all have their own personality and they can really show not only their character but their owner’s.

Things you never put in your books: I don’t know that I could ever write a really gruesome death scene. I think the reason I gravitate to amateur sleuth and cozy mysteries is that I just don’t like all the gore and what it takes for someone to commit such a crime.

Favorite places you’ve been: This has to be Easter Island. It is the most wonderful place. So unique with the Moai statutes. The people are wonderful. And the food was excellent. I had fish that had been caught in the morning, the boat brought it to the dock and they walked it across the street to the restaurant for the noon meal.

Places you never want to go to again: I love Mexico and the Mayan ruins but there is so much turmoil that I don’t know I will ever go back. I met so many wonderful people when I was there but now I would think twice.

Favorite books (or genre): I love books that manage to pull me into a new world and let me experience it. It can be mysteries, fantasy and science fiction.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I don’t buy a lot of non-fiction. If I am interested, I’ll usually borrow it from the library rather than own it. Except for books that I use as reference for my writing.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She’s had such an amazing life. I’d love to just sit and talk.

People you’d cancel dinner on: A serial killer. I can’t imagine ever wanting to spend any time with someone who values other people so little.

Favorite things to do: I love to scuba dive. There is something about being under the water and seeing the fish as the swim by or being in a lava tube or seeing a tiny seahorse holding onto an undersea plant. The quiet is amazing and having to concentrate on breathing makes you leave all the other stress behind.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: I hate dusting. That was my chore growing up and now I’d rather eat bugs than have to do it.

Things that make you happy: Watching my cat chase her tail. Knowing the rescue kitty has a good home now.

Things that drive you crazy: Traffic on I-95 heading into the District of Columbia.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I am afraid of heights to the most daring thing was jumping out of a plane. I didn’t manage to do it the first time, so I chickened out on this as well. It took me a week to get my anxiety under control, but then I went back and jumped. It was one of the most amazing and scariest things I’ve ever done.

Something you chickened out from doing: Parachuting the first time after my class.

About C.A.:

C.A. Rowland’s novel, The Meter’s Always Running, is the first in the Haunted City Mystery series. She has always loved traveling and exploring new places, from neighborhood empty houses to foreign lands with rich histories that draw her. She comes by her interest in ghosts, myths and legends and the paranormal naturally, having spent hours in cemeteries with her grandmother. Her work can also be seen in several upcoming volumes of Fiction River, Pulphouse Magazine and other short story anthologies.

Let’s Be Social:

website:  www.carowland.com

FB Author Page: https://bit.ly/carowlandFB

Twitter:  @carowlandauthor

Amazon page: https://bit.ly/themeter

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Libby McNamee

I’d like to welcome author Libby McNamee to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: Reading, Traveling, Visiting Historic Sites, My Friends, Comfort Food, Swimming and Biking

Things you need to throw out: Clothes that no longer fit me, but I hope they will someday; sentimental chotchkies; and random papers that I plan to refer back to someday

Things you need for your writing sessions: QUIET!

Things that hamper your writing: Constant distractions

Things you love about writing: Creating a labor of love from a blank page

Things you hate about writing: It often feels pointless

Hardest thing about being a writer: Believing in yourself enough to keep going when things aren’t coming together

Easiest thing about being a writer: Flexible hours!

Favorite foods: Chocolate, Twizzlers, Sushi, Anything Asian

Things that make you want to gag: Meatloaf, Stewed Tomatoes, Cooked Carrots

Something you like to do: Finding bargains

Something you wish you’d never done: Gone to law school

Last best thing you ate: Homemade Thai Lettuce Wraps

Last thing you regret eating: The frosted cookie for breakfast Things you’d walk a mile for: A bookstore!

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Someone chewing with their mouth open

Things to say to an author: “Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Why haven’t you finished another one by now? Shouldn’t the second one be easy?”

Favorite places you’ve been: Mount Rushmore; Sedona, Arizona; Paris; Hawaii; Everywhere in Washington State; Vail, Colorado

Places you never want to go to again: Camp Bedrock in Tuzla, Bosnia, where I lived for six months as the only female officer when serving in the US Army JAG Corps

Best thing you’ve ever done: Publishing “Susanna’s Midnight Ride”

Biggest mistake: Not publishing it sooner!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Joining the Army

Something you chickened out from doing: Joining the State Department

About Libby

Libby McNamee is an author, lawyer, and veteran. She loves exploring America’s many historical sites. When a descendant told her the TRUE story of Susanna Bolling from Hopewell, Virginia, and her heroism during the Revolutionary War, Libby was determined to share it with the world. “Susanna’s Midnight Ride: The Girl Who Won the Revolutionary War” is her first published novel, geared to upper middle grade readers through old age. "Susanna's Midnight Ride" was named #1 in Juvenile Fiction by the 2020 Independent Publisher Book "IPPY" Awards. In 2021, she will release "Dolley Madison & the War of 1812: America's First Lady."

Libby served as a US Army JAG Officer in Korea, Bosnia, Germany, and Washington State. A native of Boston, Libby graduated from Georgetown University cum laude and Catholic University Law School. She has lived in Richmond since 2000.

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#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Author Janis Wilson

I’d like to welcome author, Janis Wilson, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

A few of your favorite things: Cats, books, travel and wine.  If I can combine these things, I’m as happy as anyone can be.
Things you need to throw out:  Dresses that no longer fit but hope springs far into the future.

Things you love about writing:  I love researching the Victorian era in which I set my books.  I love learning about Brits from that time period. As a result, I have an entire bookcase filled with Victoriana. I like finding ways to torture my protagonist, who really doesn’t deserve what I put her through. I also love fellow writers and researchers whom I’ve found to be generous and helpful.
Things you hate about writing:  I hate it when my plot refuses to thicken, even after I add cornstarch.

Favorite foods:  Pasta and seafood and any combination of them.  I was born in the south, so my favorite confections are always a combination of brown sugar and pecans.
Things that make you want to gag:  I have a real aversion to wet bread.  Simply grosses me out.  Makes it difficult for me even to eat sandwiches taken from cold storage because the bread always feels damp.

Favorite beverage:  Pimm’s No. 1 cocktail.  I’ve had Pimm’s 1 through 6, but No. 1 is my favorite.
Something that gives you a sour face:  I know single malt whiskey is highly prized, but I detest the taste of scotch.  Always reminds me of cough medicine, which I loathe.

Something you’re really good at:  My critique group says I write convincing dialog and I appreciate that tremendously.  I’m also a pretty good researcher, which is essential if I’m going to keep Lady Sarah Grey credible.
Something you’re really bad at:  Anything involving technology.  I keep Geek Squad at full employment.

Things you always put in your books:  The feminist perspective.  Lady Sarah is a progressive and I can’t write her any other way.  My readers should also expect Sarah always to have a cat or two living with her in the castle.
Things you never put in your books:  Animal cruelty.  Can’t bear to even think of it, much less write about it.

Favorite place you’ve been:  London.  I love everything about it.  The bookstores are old and musty.  The people are polite.  Fragrant pots of tea are readily available alongside cute little sandwiches and cakes covered in pastel frostings.
Places you never want to go to again:  This is a tough one.  Even a problematic visit makes for an interesting experience and often results in entertaining stories to relay at a dinner party. So, I wouldn’t disparage any locality.  There are places where most of the residents disagree with my politics and that would make me uncomfortable.

Favorite books (or genre):  The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.  It is a cool mystery set in the Victorian era.  I’d read anything by Collins or Charles Dickens.  They were close friends and I can see why.  Both were smart and talented.
Books you wouldn’t buy:  I would refuse to read anything where animals are harmed.  I also wouldn’t buy a book by an odious person because I wouldn’t want to give financial support to that author.

Favorite things to do:  I love going to the theater.  Even a sad play is immensely fulfilling.
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Being subjected to mansplaining.

Most embarrassing moment:  Pick any day from when I was 12 to 18 years old.  You’re bound to come up with something I did that was humiliating.
Proudest moment:  The launch of my first novel, Goulston Street.  I loved being surrounded by people who like to read and celebrate those who go to the trouble of writing.  Plus, the launch party was a lot of fun.

Best thing you’ve ever done:  I learned to read.  I don’t say marrying my husband was the best thing because if I’d never learned to read, I wouldn’t have been able to attract a smart man like him.
Biggest mistake: Not paying attention in math class.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I really love Sarah. I like how you allowed her to make mistakes but to go on and solve the crime.”  If she likes mistakes, she’s going to love the future adventures of Lady Sarah Grey.
The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I thought it was cool that you left it up to the reader to decide who the killer was.”  This really threw me, so I went about asking lots of readers if they knew whodunnit.  Happily, all of them correctly identified the killer I had indicated.  I don’t know how anyone could have misunderstood this, as there was a pretty dramatic scene in which the killer was captured.

About Janis:

Janis Wilson is a writer, retired trial lawyer, television commentator and lecturer. As a kid, she was inspired by Rosalind Russell, who played reporter Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday. Janis loved the idea of digging up news about corrupt officials and putting it on the front page. Consequently, she attended the University of Memphis, graduating with a degree in journalism. As a reporter, she wrote award-winning articles about the failure of local governments to address inner city problems, life in a women’s prison and the challenges of providing quality education. She returned to the University of Memphis and obtained a Master of Arts in Political Science. Hoping to combine her love of journalism and politics, Janis moved to Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg, and resumed her newspaper career. In Harrisburg, her reporting included articles on the murder of school teacher Susan Reinert and on police corruption.
Janis spent countless hours in state and federal courts, covering trials and grand jury proceedings while investigating local government. In court, Janis observed the best and worst trial lawyers. One lawyer was so bad she decided, “If he could get through from law school, so can I.” And she was right; she graduated from the Temple University School of Law and went on to try cases in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. As a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, she chaired the Civil Litigation Section and edited its quarterly magazine, Update. She also served on the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility and the Women in the Profession Committees. Janis has taught continuing legal education courses on trial strategy, effective brief writing and professional liability. She even portrayed Mary Surratt in the mock appeal of Surratt’s death sentence before an appeals court and performed the role of defense attorney in a recreation of the Lindberg kidnapping trial. Her cross-examination and closing argument led the mock jury to acquit Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Her first short story, The Devil’s Triangle, appears in Death Knell V, available on Amazon. Janis is a commentator for various true crime programs, including Nightmare Next Door, Deadly Affairs and Scorned, all of which appear on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network. She has also appeared on the Oxygen network’s program, Snapped: Killer Couples. An Anglophile, she has been an avid fan of British mysteries, in print, on television and the big screen.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://janiswilson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Janis-Wilson-Author-551132135369232/

#ThisorThatThursday with Author Kate Fellowes

I’d like to welcome author Kate Fellowes to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

A few of your favorite things: Old photo albums, my keeper shelf of books, my Christmas village.
Things you need to throw out:  Duplicate copies of manuscripts, clipped articles I’ll never read, my dresses from Prom.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A good pen, a view of the lake—and an outline.
Things that hamper your writing: Time squeeze, interruptions, too much on my mind.

Things you never want to run out of:  Chocolate
Things you wish you’d never bought: Chocolate

Favorite beverage: Coffee, not too weak, not too strong
Something that gives you a sour face: Beer

Something you wish you could do: Play the piano
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Find my way around a hospital

The last thing you ordered online: Another charm for my bracelet
The last thing you regret buying: Sneakers from the clearance rack.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Lunch with a friend
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Whistling

Things you always put in your books: Characters talking over a meal
Things you never put in your books: Animal abuse or putting them in jeopardy.  The cat will never be kidnapped.

Favorite places you’ve been: London, on our honeymoon
Places you never want to go to again: State Fair

Favorite things to do: Read—any time, anywhere
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Yardwork

Best thing you’ve ever done: Becoming a vegetarian
Biggest mistake: Waiting so long to do it!

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell

I’d like to welcome one of my favorite mystery authors to the blog this week for #ThisorThatThursday. Welcome to Maddie Day/Edith Maxell!

Thanks for inviting me over, Heather! I want to preface my answers by saying that, “My adult sons” could have been the answer to quite a few of the questions, but that would have gotten tiring. Still, it’s true, and they both live too far away for frequent visits.

Things you love about writing: When I feel like I’m channeling my characters. I write down what they do and it surprises me – that’s the magical part of writing. It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does, it’s what keeps me going.
Things you hate about writing: The middle of the book. Every time!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Having to promote my own work. It’s hard to keep finding gentle ways to say, “Please buy my book.”
Easiest thing about being a writer: Hearing from readers who say how much they love my stories.

Words that describe you: Persistent, hard-working, a great cook.
Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Cute. The lifelong plight of being short and having a young-looking face.

Favorite beverage: Bourbon
Something that gives you a sour face: Kombucha. Can’t stand the stuff!

Last best thing you ate: My own rhubarb cheesecake
Last thing you regret eating: I was visiting my son in Puerto Rico just before the shutdown, and I wanted to order something local for breakfast. The pulled pork omelet was way too heavy, especially for a beach morning. I should have stuck with mangos and pineapple!

Things you’d walk a mile for: A sun-warmed ripe tomato, locally grown peaches, and dark chocolate ice cream. [And my sons.]
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Less than perfectly fresh raw squid, and beets.

Things you always put in your books: Characters who care about each other, and descriptions of delicious food.
Things you never put in your books: Graphic violence, explicit sex

Things to say to an author: Your book got me/my mother/my BFF through a really hard time/waiting in the hospital/my father’s illness.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I have this great idea for a book but I don’t have time to write it. Can we work together?

Favorite places you’ve been: Sequoia National Park. Any beach. The mountains of western Puerto Rico. Pasadena, California, my birthplace.
Places you never want to go to again: The Miami airport. Los Angeles freeways.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Michele Obama, Sara Paretsky, and my 93-year-old uncle Richard Reinhardt, a San Francisco author and brilliant, delightful man. [And my sons.]

People you’d cancel dinner on: Decline to say – I’d have to get political.

Things that make you happy: Sitting on my deck with a good mystery and a gin and tonic. Also watching my tomato plants grow. [And my sons.]
Things that drive you crazy: Right now? People in public in close quarters but not wearing masks.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Solo hitchhiked in northern Japan – with no bad consequences.
Something you chickened out from doing: When I was a (very short) kid, I climbed to the top of the high dive at our town pool. It looked way higher from up there than from below, and I was scared to jump. The line of kids waiting on the ladder weren’t happy with me climbing back down.

About Maddie/Edith:

Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. With twenty-one books in print and more in production, Maxwell lives north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, and cooks. Find her at EdithMaxwell.com and on social media:

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

About Her Latest:

Robbie Jordan temporarily leaves Pans ’N Pancakes, her country store in South Lick, Indiana, to visit Santa Barbara—where wildfire smoke tinges the air, but a more immediate danger may lie in wait.

While looking forward to her high school reunion back in California, Robbie Jordan’s anticipation is complicated by memories of her mother’s untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging out with her old classmates and reuniting with the local flavors—avocados, citrus, fish, and spicy Cali-Mex dishes. But when she gets wind of rumors that her mother, an environmental activist, may not have died of natural causes, Robbie enlists old friends to clear the smoke surrounding the mystery. But what she finds could make it hard to get back to Indiana alive . . .

Buy Links:

Amazon, B&N, Bookshop.org

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Judy Penz Sheluk and Friends

I’d like to welcome author and editor, Judy Penz Sheluk, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday, with her friends: John Floyd, Chris Wheatley, Christine Eskilson, Peggy Rothschild, Gustavo Bondoni, Joseph S. Walker, and Robb T. White.

JOHN M. FLOYD, ‘Blackjack Road’
Things you love about writing: Plotting, writing dialogue
Things you hate about writing: Marketing, promotion, contracts

CHRIS WHEATLEY, ‘The Angel of Maastricht’
Favorite beverage: I’m English, it must be a nice cup of tea. That’s law.
Something that gives you a sour face: Tomato juice. Never tried it. God willing, I never will.

CHRISTINE ESKILSON, ‘For Elizabeth’
Something you wish you could do: Carry a tune in a song
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Play tennis. If I didn’t love the game so much I definitely would quit because my hand-eye coordination leaves much to be desired!

PEGGY ROTHSCHILD, ‘Burning Desire’
Last best thing you ate: Dark chocolate with mint
Last thing you regret eating: Dark chocolate with mint (it’s a complicated relationship!)

GUSTAVO BONDONI, ‘Checkmate Charlie’
Things to say to an author: That was spectacularly well written.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I know I’ve never sold a single word of fiction, but you used too many adjectives – for example, did you really need ‘spectacularly’ in the answer above? Haven’t you read the latest fashionable writing book?

JOSEPH S. WALKER, ‘Pink Hearts Pierced by Arrows’
Favorite places you’ve been: I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit in the last few years, and giving that up—at least for the time being—has been one of the most difficult aspects of our current age of social isolation. I very much look forward to the next time I’ll be able to get off a plane in a city I’ve never seen before. I’ll list a few quick treasured memories here: my first view of the Grand Canyon from the south rim; eating fresh beignets in Jackson Square in New Orleans; and sitting by the fountain in Savannah’s Forsyth Park, letting time slip away.

Places you never want to go to again: I taught in Alabama for several years, and I loved a lot of things about it, and many of the people I met.  With that said, I will be very happy if I never have to be that far south in July or August again!

JUDY PENZ SHELUK, ‘Gouligans’
Favorite books (or genre): Mystery / Suspense: John Sandford’s Prey and Virgil Flowers series; Sue Grafton A through Y; Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot
Books you wouldn’t buy: Sci Fi. I may be the only person on the planet who hasn’t seen Star Wars.

ROBB T. WHITE, ‘See You In Court’
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Going sailing at 18 on the J. Burton Ayers, a Great Lakes ore carrier.
Something you chickened out from doing: Telling my parents I'd crashed my car the night before I left town to go sailing on the Ayers.

JUDY PENZ SHELUK, Editor
The nicest thing a reader said to you: You’re my favorite author. One day, you’ll be on Ellen DeGeneres’ show. (I’m practicing my dance moves, just in case.)
The craziest thing a reader said to you: Him (at a bookstore event): “Hmmm, a Glass Dolphin mystery. I was on a submarine once, too.”
Me: “The Glass Dolphin is an antiques shop, not a submarine.”
Him: “So the antiques shop is inside of a submarine? That’s a unique concept.”
Me: “Yes, yes it is.”
PS He didn’t buy the book.

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About the Anthology, Heart Breaks and Half-Truths
Book blurb: Lovers and losers.
Whether it’s 1950s Hollywood, a scientific experiment, or a yard sale in suburbia, the twenty-two authors represented in this collection of mystery and suspense interpret the overarching theme of “heartbreaks and half-truths” in their own inimitable style, where only one thing is certain: Behind every broken heart lies a half-truth.
And behind every half-truth lies a secret.

Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk. Featuring authors Sharon Hart Addy, Paula Gail Benson, James Blakey, Gustavo Bondoni, Susan Daly, Buzz Dixon, Rhonda Eikamp, Christine Eskilson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Flora, John M. Floyd, J.A. Henderson, Blair Keetch, Steve Liskow, Edward Lodi, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Joseph S. Walker, James Lincoln Warren, Chris Wheatley and Robb T. White.

Release Date: June 18
Publisher: Superior Shores Press

Amazon (trade paperback and Kindle): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088ZGF18Y
Barnes & Noble (trade paperback):
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1137064575?ean=9781989495223

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Susan Van Kirk

I would like to welcome author, Susan Van Kirk, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you need for your writing sessions: First, I need total quiet. I can’t listen to music because I might write the lyrics into my book. I also need my notes and research, my laptop (obviously), and my list for the day. I outline what I plan to do the next day so when I’m ready to write I know where I’m going.

Things that hamper your writing: I can get unfocused by phone calls or email, especially if either involve something that needs to be done immediately. Leaving my computer to get more coffee or water… and things over which I have no control, like my next-door neighbor mowing his lawn.

Things you love about writing: Typing “The End.” I would much rather edit what I’ve written
than actually write it.

Things you hate about writing: Discovering that the murder timeline won’t work…for the
third time.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Having patience.

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Researching interesting ideas, especially if they are historical. I was a history major in college but ended up teaching English my whole career. Since I love history, I’m currently writing a series that goes back to different historical time periods. I must drag myself away from the research if I’m going to get the book written.

Favorite foods: This is easy. Dark chocolate or anything with the word
“dessert” in the name.

Things that make you want to gag:  Curry…can’t even stand the smell of it. Leek soup…I had that too many times on a tour of the United Kingdom. Arugula…It’s too bitter for me.

Favorite music or song: Classic Rock…I have so many memories tied up in that music.
The Beatles, Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, the Beach Boys, the Eagles, Bob Dylan. I was in high school and college in the 60s.

Music that drives you crazy: Heavy Metal…Too loud and not my style.

Something you’re really good at: Collaborating with people on writing projects. I began
writing literary CliffsNotes in the 90s, and I had to learn to work with three editors at a time. I loved it, and I learned the skills I needed for writing novels and collaborating with people from that experience. Of course, a career in teaching also involved a lot of collaboration.

Something you’re really bad at: Keeping my mouth shut when my adult children don’t ask me for advice. Part of me thinks a lifetime of experience should be helpful, but then my brain takes over and says, “Just shut up.” Occasionally, I listen to my brain.

Something you like to do: I love to have the time to get lost in a great book. Right now I’m reading Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile about the Churchill family in WWII. But I must read in snippets since I have a deadline looming. Sigh.

Something you wish you’d never done: Locked my car keys in the trunk of my car after buying groceries. I set my purse down in the truck with the keys in it, and shut the truck, forgetting my purse was there. Fortunately, I had my phone, but my house keys were in the purse, and my other set of car keys was in my house. With the brand of car I have, I thought I couldn’t lock it with the keys inside, but I guess that safety setting didn’t involve the trunk. Not going to do that again.

The last thing you ordered online: A set of ten Nancy Drew books for my twin granddaughters who are turning nine.

The last thing you regret buying: A gift for a friend that I ordered from a website, not realizing my order would be shipped from China. It was only six weeks late.

Things you always put in your books: Secrets, small towns, murder, and a likeable protagonist.

Things you never put in your books: Overt violence. There is enough of that out in the real
world.

Things to say to an author: I couldn’t put your book down, so when does the next one
come out? Can’t wait.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:You have a typo on page 205.  Just thought you’d like to know it.

Favorite places you’ve been: The Lake District in England. It is so beautiful, and the
flowers and gardens are handled with such care. I think if God lived somewhere on earth, this would be the place.

Places you never want to go to again: Florida. I’m sure there are people who love Florida, but it is too hot, too humid, and has too much traffic for me.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: President Barack Obama, but only with a handshake and a few words. He was running for the US Senate from Illinois, and I heard him speak at the local small college where I worked. Loved his eloquence, his intelligence, and his leadership qualities. Coolest person I’ve ever met.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Robert Redford, not that I met him. My brother interviewed him one time and took a photo with him. He was far shorter than I imagined he would be, and I was surprised. However, that didn’t change his good looks or that million dollar smile.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: You made that small town come alive so I could see it. She was referring to my small town of Endurance and a book, Marry in Haste, where I had to imagine the town in the present day, as well as one hundred years in the past. That was great fun.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Where did you come up with the name Grace Kimball? That’s my name, and I know we don’t know each other.

About Susan:

Susan Van Kirk is a writer of cozy mysteries. She lives at the center of the universe—the Midwest—and writes during the ridiculously cold and icy winters. Why leave the house and break something? Van Kirk taught forty-four years in high school and college and raised three children. Miraculously, she has low blood pressure.

Susan Van Kirk’s Endurance Mysteries: Three May Keep a Secret, Marry in Haste, The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney and Death Takes No Bribes. Encircle Publications published
her latest book, A Death at Tippitt Pond. Three May Keep a Secret will be published once again by Harlequin’s Worldwide Mystery imprint July 1, 2020. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the online Guppy Group.

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