Review: Sister of the Mist by Eric Wilder

Interesting book.  Sort of two different mysteries in one.  Both set in New Orleans amidst its craziness.  One mystery is the story of men investigating the murder of a jockey and a racehorse.  Another is a group of very different people on a magical quest to save a woman who joined a convent after the death of her twin sister.  Only the convent was a front for a very evil priest and nun who were human trafficking.  Throw in some vampires, Swamp monsters and a Scottish warrior and it is very dramatic and intriguing.  I am honestly not sure why the two divergent mysteries in the same book though.

That said, it is an amped-up New Orleans Halloween blast!

Review: Death Overdue by Allison Brook

I always love cozies set in libraries and this is no exception.  Tend to like a bit of woo-woo too - so ghosts are fine and this one is rather grandmotherly.

Carrie has been staying in Clover Ridge with her Aunt and Uncle.  Rather than moving on as she has most of her life, she decides to stay and she gets a job as the programming and events director at the town library.  For her first event though, the guest speaker is murdered during his presentation.  He was a former detective and he was talking about an unsolved murder.  Carrie feels a sense of responsibility and tries to solve the murder with the victim's son Jared.

I really enjoyed the story and characters.  I had a couple suspension of disbelief moments - like a detective would have all his info on an iPad and not save to iCloud or use locate my iPad (I've seen that one work when an attorney here left his in a taxi - it makes a lot of noise and you can see ona  map.  Also, though I enjoyed the ghost, I am not sure how much she was a way to advance the plot without being able to get info another way.

That said, it was a very fun read and an Agatha Award Nominee.

Terri

Review: Stalked: Secret Salem Book 1 by JN Colon

Rubi is sent to a snotty private school in Salem where strange and violent things happen.  Murders and vampires.

It was a pretty quick read.  I liked the basic premise and setting.  I was frustrated a LOT though by the fact this is a private school where multiple students have been killed and there are no police, no media, no upset parents, no raised security and a bunch of rather superficial underdeveloped characters with no real grief for their murdered friends.  

So I say, the ideas are there but more time needs to be spent on character development - honestly all the rich kids could have been one and the same for all the individuality I saw, releasing clues along the way so the reader can feel involved and not just holding them ALL out for the grand reveal scene (which was interesting). 

Am hoping the next one in the series is better at both beside the ideas, as I said, ARE there.

Terri

Review: Southern Spirits by Angie Fox

Verity is losing her grandmother's house and the town is turned against her after she left the town golden boy at the altar.  She needs to come up with money fast.  In the meantime, she is getting rid of possessions including an odd looking vase which turns out to be an urn and the ashes she dumps in the garden lead to the ghost of a 1920s gangster, Frankie, becoming a part of her crazy life.  To get the money she agrees to exorcise (not having a clue what she is doing), the property of her ex-fiance's brother.  In investigating, she discovers an old hidden crime with current danger.  

The story was a lot of fun and quite enjoyable, if a little predictable.  The characters are interesting (except maybe her sister who will hopefully be developed more later).  AND her pet skunk, Lucy is quite charming.

A fun little cozy that was an amazon freebie.

Terri

P.S.  The name Verity makes me think of Doctor Who and Verity Lambert, without whom it might never have become what it has!

An Interview with Caroline Haines

MM: Your recent book cover is to die for. Tell us about it and your book.

St.Martin's gets the credit for the book cover for STICKS AND BONES and Thomas & Mercer gets the credit for THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES. Their art departments keep coming up with terrific concepts. 

As to the Sarah Booth book, I had this idea for a story about a real Delta b**ch. I've met a few in my day, and Frangelica "Sister" McFee is one. I do want to make a disclaimer here. Vladimir Putin makes an appearance in this story--I thought it was the most ludicrous scenario I could come up with. Just over the top. And I wrote that scene in February of 2016. Lo and behold, November rolls around and guess who is all over the news? Am I psychic or what?

MM: I love this series and want to know if you have any favorite minor characters or guest characters?

This is probably sacrilege, but I secretly hoped Sarah Booth would hook up with Hamilton Garrett. That was my original intent, way back in THEM BONES. But I've learned who Sarah Booth is, and she has control of her romantic fate, not me. I love Millie and Cece and of course Tinkie. Harold has truly grown on me. And Coleman--what can I say? He is a great guy who has also grown in his capability to see who Sarah Booth is and accept her. But Jitty steals my heart every book. She's so BAD, but so protective of Sarah Booth. I wish I had a Jitty.

MM: Do you have a fun story to tell as maybe someone dressed up as some of the characters from your books?

One of my best friends since we were five, Debby Porter Pruett, loves clothes and jewelry and the finer things of life. I've always been a tomboy--I love my farm and the horses and there's just no place for Mani-Peddies and expensive things. (I once had my hair styled very elegantly for a TV appearance but I had to feed the horses before I went. I had so much hairspray going on that some flies got trapped in my hair. Yeah, it's true. My life defies glamour!) But I love my animals more than looking pretty. But back to Debby. The character Jitty is based on Debby. She was always trying to get me to marry well so I could "support her." All of the clothes Jitty wears in THEM BONES came from Debby's college wardrobe. Velveteen hot pants. Yowza! But back then we were really cute.

MM: How many books will you write this year? 

I'll have 3 complete novels out this year )STICKS AND BONES--May, THE HOUSE OF MEMORY--June, and FAMILIAR TROUBLE--July). Two Sarah Booth short stories, and I have an essay in a collection of traditions called A YEAR IN MISSISSIPPI and a reprinted mystery story in BELLES Letters 2, Contemporary stories by Alabama women. I am that lucky person who can claim two states! One of the 3 novels is a brand new romantic mystery featuring Trouble, son of Familiar the black cat detective. It is going to be so much fun!

 MM: 2017 is here so my question is what are you looking forward to this year?

The launch of the Trouble series. Bringing back some of the older FEAR FAMILIAR books. The release of my new books--STICKS AND BONES, and also the second Pluto's Snitch mystery, THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES (I really, really love this series and the chance to write about the past and a few chilling supernatural encounters.)

 

MM: A few fun questions: Do you look forward to binge watching any Netflix, acorn or other series on television?

House of Cards is a favorite. I'm ready for more People of Earth, and I hope the Exorcist returns. I really like television and there are fabulous shows available all the time now. I love scary movies and shows. (Stranger Things was great fun.) It's wonderful to be able to watch a show whenever, but I really miss the excitement of being hooked into a show and everyone watches it at the same time and then talks about it. I miss that.

MM: How much of a people watcher are you?

I can entertain myself for hours watching people. I used to play a game with my work-study students. We'd go to lunch and pick out a person and decide who they were, what they did, the details of their lives. Then I would go and ask them. Most of the time they were happy to chat. Once or twice it didn't end pretty! But we had fun anyway.

MM: What is your favorite meal, place to travel, person to travel with and song?

I love anything Southern. I love fried foods but I try not to eat them. Ireland and Nicaragua are the best vacations I've ever had. Both very different but so incredibly wonderful. I've had some wonderful traveling companions who had every right to kill me but didn't. And I am still stuck in the singer/songwriter zone. Jesse Winchester, Townes Van Zandt, Roddy McDowell, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson. And I love the blues. Man, I love the blues.

MM: Do you have a favorite teacher or someone you would like to give a shout out?

Carolyn Nyman, my mother's best friend, and I am named for her, was my English teacher for 3 years in middle and high school (and no I didn't flunk three grades!). She introduced me to Eudora Welty's writing and it changed my life. Jean Todd Freeman at the University of Southern Mississippi was also fabulous. Sue Walker at the University of South Alabama was a great teacher and a great boss.

MM: I won't ask you to give us favorite authors that you read or binge read their books but I will ask if you have a favorite book from childhood?

The Secret Garden. I loved that story. It has everything a reader could want. Mystery, chills, secrets, characters who find their true hearts. I still love it.

MM: Let's talk about the publishing world and how it has affected you?

I never knew publishing could be so hard. Had I known 35 years ago, I might have taken a different path. Stardust falls on some writers, but most of us slog it out in the trenches everyday, striving for that great sentence or paragraph or scene. I am tougher than I ever knew I could be. And desperation is truly the mother of invention. I've reinvented myself a number of times to stay alive. But I don't regret a moment. Not a single moment.

MM: In closing leave us with some sage words of wisdom from one of your characters? Your website address and anything else you would like us to know.

Writing is solitary work. Sharing a book is such great joy. I thank all of the readers who have recommended my books to others. And just a little shout out to the fine editors I've worked with who made my books so much better. And please, spay and neuter your companion animals. It's important. Donate to programs that do this. The world doesn't have to be so hard for animals. We can make it a whole lot better with only a little bit of effort. Those are my sage words--and any character of mine would say exactly that!

www.carolynhaines.com

Carolyn

Review: Vampire Dead-tective by Mac Flynn

Liz's world is turned upside down when her roommate is murdered.  It turns out he had a big secret.  He left a ring and when she puts it on, she is bound to a vampire, Vincent.  Cops and werewolves are after her and she has to figure out all that is happening.

So, I enjoyed the book, but Liz was so annoying with her whining and stubbornness.  There were times I wanted to shake her and say you are going to get yourself killed - stupid.

That said, Vincent is a jerk too - who really wasn't explaining anything to her and just expecting her to come along with him.

A lot needs to be sorted out between the two of them before I will like either one.

Terri

Review: Emergency Cupid - RA Naquin

Ellen is the #1 Cupid in the agency.  When a love bomb goes off, she is assigned to clean it up and fix the bad matches it created.  A perfect task for a woman who takes order, rules and so on to the extreme.  Only a Chaos agent is assigned to observe her work and it turns out Ellen is the one who needs some Chaos in her orderly life to learn to have fun and be happy.  Sexy firefighter Wyatt can help her with that.

A cute and charming story.

One of the things I really enjoyed in this cozy romance, is that though she created the most love matches of all the Cupids, she had the highest divorce rate as well.  It was important to her to pair like individuals and she learns through all that happens is love is more complex than that.

Terri

Review: Scary Mary by SA Hunter

Mary has a gift to hear ghosts.  As a result, she is a Pariah in her school given the nickname 'Scary Mary'.  A new boy in town, befriends her and she is excited he seems willing to see past all that.  Then an impromptu seance at his house changes everything.  A malevolent ghost causes all sorts of trouble and Mary is blamed for it.  Now things are worse than ever and Cy wants nothing to do with her.  Yet she feels she needs to do something about the ghost before Cy or his family are hurt.

A quick, fun read.  What I like the most is that Mary is no victim and will fight like a hellcat when she needs to!  The fight against the ghost was quite engaging.

Terri

Review: Day for Night by Stacey E Bryan

Rae is an actress who has recently been kicked off a reality tv show.  In her apartment laundry room, she witnesses an attempted alien abduction.  Now she is in a spiral trying to deal with her insane life.  Then add vampires, aliens, a vampire hunter boyfriend and an adopted godson named after one of Jupiter's moons and an ex- who leads a cult.  Combination = silly, funny and crazy.

I laughed a lot and the cultural references added to the insanity of the whole ride.  Very fun read.

Terri

Review: Graveyard Shift by Angela Roquet

Lana is a Reaper, harvesting souls and bringing them to the appropriate afterlife.  She does her job, often skirting the rules.  Only now, something big is going down in Eternity and she needs to harvest a special soul that will save it.  There are those that will try and stop her and allies that will help her.

I loved this book.  A fun world built of various deities from various religious belief systems, run by Grim like a corporation.  A lot of political haggling and deals being made.  The story is full of unexpected twists and turns and hidden loyalties.  A Hodge Podge of deities and paranormal beings make it a fun mash up with some serious suspense.

Terri

Review: BeSwitched by Molly Slow

Cathy is a very shy girl who is being bullied by the popular Tiffany.  Surla is a cat - the familiar of a nasty witch for hundreds of years.  She and Cathy switch bodies and Surla uses her confidence to help Cathy make friends and with boys at school.  They worry both about Idis (the witch) retaliating and whether they can switch back.

Thanks to Surla, Cathy gets a date with the popular Craig, who turns out to be a horrible person, playing a terrible joke on her with Tiffany.  Bullying and getting revenge back is a theme.

It is geared toward the younger end of Young Adult, but it is a fun, light read with humorous shenanigans and a bit of justice thrown in.

Terri

Guest Blogger - Alice Duncan

So I'm all recovered from my hip-replacement surgery, and all that hurts now is my back. Well, and my feet, but heck, you can't have everything.

Come to think of it, I also had cataract surgery on my right eye and now can't see, but there you go. Will see the eye doc on the 8th, and get new specs, and that will take care of that. I hope.

Anyway, August will see the publication of BRUISED SPIRITS, Daisy Gumm Majesty's tenth adventure (it's actually her eleventh, but who's counting?) I'll get in touch with the folks who won BRUISED SPIRITS individually.

July saw the re-issue of three of my old historical paranormal romances written by me as Rachel Wilson. They're available on Amazon's Kindle e-reader now and will be available on other venues soon.

They have lovely new covers, as you can see below:

If you decide you NEED to have one (or all) of these books, just click on the link below the coverer, and you'll get to Amazon's Kindle page for the book.

Restless Souls  

Restless Souls

Heaven’s Promise  

Heaven's Promise

Bittersweet Summer 

Bittersweet Sumemr

I guess I'll be giving way copies of these books in August. So if you're interested in winning a paranormal historical romance, please send me your name and e-mail address (well, I guess I'll already have that) at alice@aliceduncan.net.

Thanks! 

Also, please visit my web page at http:aliceduncan.net and my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/alice.duncan.925

Thanks!

An Interview with Sally Berneathy

By Pamela James

MM: Sally tell us how many books you have written? Give us the backstory on your writing career?

     I have published 24 books. We won’t talk about how many I’ve written. Those first couple will forever be a secret between my trash can and me.

     I began writing fiction in the third grade. We had to do book reports every six weeks. I hated those book reports! We had to take a living, breathing book and tear it down to bare bones then analyze the skeleton. So I decided to write my own story. The teacher loved it and said anyone who wanted could write a story instead of a book report. I was hooked!

      As I wended my way through college (18-1/2 years of night school, over 200 credit hours, lots of diversions into various fields), I could usually convince a teacher to let me do a piece of fiction instead of a boring analytical report or research paper.

     I made my first attempt at writing a book in 1988. That’s one of the ones we don’t talk about. But I found a local writing group, Mid-America Romance Writers, and got involved in a critique group…and learned that writing a book is a lot different from writing short fiction!

     I sold my first book in 1991, a romantic comedy, to Meteor Kismet. They published my book and went out of business.

     I sold my second book in 1992, a romantic suspense, to Silhouette Shadows. They published my book and shut down the line.

     I sold three romantic suspense novels to Robinson Publishing in England. Yeah, they published my books and went out of business.

     I sold a paranormal romance to Berkley’s Haunting Hearts. They published my book and shut down the line.

     But I sold 8 books to Silhouette Romance and 1 to Harlequin Intrigue, and they’re still in business!

     I left the world of writing in 2001 and went to work as a computer programmer for a decade.

   When I returned to writing in 2011, I decided to write mysteries instead of romance. Writers are admonished to write about what we know, and after three divorces, it became quite clear I don’t know squat about romance! But I do know a lot about chocolate and I’ve fantasized a lot about murder. So the Death by Chocolate series was born.

     I wrote that first book and decided to try the new phenomenon of self-publishing. I knew as much about self-publishing as I knew about romance. So the first book sat there selling a few copies but doing nothing spectacular.

   I decided perhaps I should try a different premise for a series. I was sitting at my desk, trying to come up with an idea for that series, when my phone rang. My ex. After nine years he was still harassing me. I felt he was never going to leave me alone. And he was never going to die. And if he did die, he’d come back and haunt me. And The Ex Who Wouldn’t Die series was born.

    I have now written 5 books in the Death by Chocolate series and four in The Ex Who Wouldn’t Die series. I am happy to report that readers have found them and seem to like them, and in May when I moved in with the boyfriend, the ex stopped stalking me!

MM: Give us  little background on who you are and why you became an author?

I have always been an avid reader and a story teller. The idea of creating one of those books that transported me to another world and held my attention for hours was both intimidating and alluring. Now that I’ve done it a few times, it’s still intimidating and alluring. I’m always a bit astonished when I finish a book and realize it actually is a book and not just a bunch of my ramblings.

MM: What is your writing schedule? Where do you write best and if it's your office do you have a picture we can see?

This is my schedule for a typical day:

7:00 ish – Get up.

7:00 to 7:30 ish – Check email.

7:30 ish – Yoga workout

8:00 ish – Free weight or elliptical workout

9:00 ish Shower

9:30 ish Breakfast

10:00 ish Get to work

Now that I’m living with the boyfriend, I stop writing (sometimes I just stop trying to write) around 6:00 for dinner. Even when I lived alone, I had to stop around that time. If I write too late, I can’t sleep. The characters and plot spin round and round in my brain. I have to turn them off and read or watch TV or do something to disconnect until the next day.

I do have an office. In my former house my office was in a sunroom on the second floor up among the trees. It was amazing. In the winter I froze since the sunroom was built over a storage room. But it didn’t matter. I would rather freeze in that sunroom than be comfortable somewhere else in the house. When the boyfriend and I decided to get a place together, my office was a primary concern! The place we chose has a large formal living room with one wall of windows. That’s my office. It’s only one wall and I miss the sunroom, but I sit facing the windows, so it works. The good part is that I have a wall to put some of my bookcases. I’ll take a picture of that wall.

MM: They say it takes a village to write a book. Who is in your village?

And they are so right, though “village” may not be the right term. “Country” may be closer. I belong to two local writing groups and a couple of national groups, and I belong to a critique group which meets every week. This group is the most important part of my writing. Nothing goes into one of my books that hasn’t been critiqued by my critique buddies. They keep me straight, point out when something isn’t working, when it is, when a character is out of character….hundreds of things. Then I have a couple of readers who will read the first draft and give me feedback. Then I turn the book over to my free lance editor. She was my first mentor when I joined MARA back in 1988, and she is amazing. We’ve remained friends through the years, and her editorial comments on my books are invaluable.

The writing groups provide articles and workshops on improving my craft, and I can always use those. Even though I’m no longer writing romance, the national RWA conference is a must for me. I go, attend workshops, get copies of all the workshops, and play them in my car and when I’m doing my yoga workout.

MM: Tell us how you plot your cozy mysteries? What comes first setting, character, background, plot?

I’m a “pantser” writer. I start with one element (which may be any of the above) then let the others develop around it. I try to have a vague notion of the crime and the murderer when I start writing, but most of the plot and characters evolve on a day to day basis.

MM: If you were going to have a dinner party what authors would you invite. Now here is where we suspend disbelief the author can be dead or alive. Who would you invite? What would the menu be and what would you ask the other authors?

The menu would be pizza, chocolate chip cookies, Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake, chocolate chip pecan pie, a couple of varieties of chocolate cake, and Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream. That’s easy. As for the authors………

J.K. Rowling

Lisa Gardner

Alafair Burke

James Burke

Margaret Mitchell

George R.R. Martin

Steig Larsson

Patricia Cornwell

William Falkner

James Joyce (but only if he promised to bring the brownies; that man was on something really strange!)

Agatha Christie

Jeffery Deaver

James Michener

Mary Stewart

Arthur C. Clarke

Isaac Asimov

Robert Heinlein

Ray Bradbury

The list could go on and on and on. I have read so many wonderful books through the years. I’ll have to be sure I have enough chocolate for everybody.

As for what I’d ask them, I’d simply ask that they talk and let me listen.

MM: Do you have pets and if so tell us about them?

I have not had a pet since 2012 when my cat Leo died. My dog Cricket died in 2011. You don’t even want to let me get started on pet stories! I have had the most awesome pets in the world. And that’s why I don’t have a pet now. It hurts too much to lose them. I said I wasn’t going to have another animal in 1994 after losing one dog in 1993 and the second in 1994. But then a large white cat wandered into the back yard. I petted him and told him to go home. He looked up at me with big blue eyes then turned and ran inside the door I’d left open. I followed him and found him sitting on the sofa, looking quite comfortable and at home. A couple of months later I got him a Yorkie, Cricket, to raise. They were best buddies. King Henry in my Chocolate books is Leo. Every time I write one of those books, he lives for me again.

MM: What life lesson has writing taught you?

The value of helping others. I’ve had a lot of careers, but writing is the only one where everybody helps everybody else. We share craft knowledge, we offer critiques, we share publicity opportunities, we share the availability of friends’ books with our readers. Writers are the best.

MM: Here are some fun questions. Where would you like to vacation that you haven't already visited? Tell us why you like living where you live and be our tour guide, what is there to see and visit? What shows/movies do you like to binge watch?

I hope to visit Europe one day and see England, France, Ireland…all those countries with castles and centuries of heritage.

I like living in the Kansas City area because my boyfriend and my friends are here.

Love Rizzoli & Isles, the older episodes of Castle (not thrilled with this season), Person of Interest, the Blacklist, the Sopranos, Downton Abbey, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy.

MM: What is your favorite way to de-stress?

Reading a book, of course. As far as my favorite way to distress…thinking about the ex!

MM: Will you be attending Malice Domestic this year?

No. I try to limit myself to 3 conferences a year and I’ve already committed to Bouchercon, RWA and Writers’ Police Academy. I wish I could go to all of them! I always learn so much and have a great time doing it!

MM: Is there a humorous story you can share with us that happened at a book signing or conference?

My best friend and critique partner, Madonna, and I attend most conferences together. A couple of years ago we were flying from KC to San Antonio for the RWA conference. We had a short layover in Dallas and were to arrive in San Antonio around 5:00. Our flights, both departing and connecting, were delayed, cancelled, full, and a total mess. Long story short, we got to San Antonio around 9:00, and our luggage was due to arrive around 10:30. We took a taxi to the hotel so we could check in. Our driver was wonderful. She was a reader, and we talked books. She agreed to pick us up at the hotel and take us to the airport to get our luggage. When we got there, she parked and took us to the right area to collect our bags. They were delayed, and she waited with us, no extra charge. Said she didn’t have a lot of fares at that hour. Of course we gave her a huge tip. Things were great until about ten minutes before we got back to our hotel. I have two kinds of business cards…one with just my website url and one with my address and phone number. The latter is for friends, agents, editors. And this woman had become my friend! So I gave her my card and told her to stay in touch, to send me an email. She said she couldn’t use email, couldn’t get on the Internet. Okay, some people don’t. But then she went on to explain that the government had her blocked from the Internet because they considered her a dangerous person. They send people to get in her cab and check on her regularly. She’s tried to sue them but no lawyer will take her case because they’re afraid of the government. But she has a plan to get them. Fortunately, that plan was a secret she didn’t want to share! Now that we’ve ridden in her taxi, we would probably be on the list, and don’t be surprised if the government comes after us. And it went on until we reached the hotel.

We stood on the curb and watched her drive away. Madonna turned to me and said, “The conference hasn’t even started and you’ve just given your card to a crazy person. Maybe you should let me have custody of those cards for the rest of the conference.”

Fortunately, apparently the lady was right about not getting on the Internet! And apparently the government has her phone shut down too! I haven’t heard from her!!!

MM: Is there someone that you would like to give a huge thank you to who has been one of your favorite supporters or a loyal mentor?

There are so many. Talk about that village….

I’d have to give a list….a  long list.

MM: Lastly, tell us what is in store for readers in 2016 and please add anything I have missed asking you today.

I will soon have the 4^th Ex book available, The Ex Who Saw a Ghost, and will then begin work on the 6^th Chocolate book. I hope I give my readers fun and entertainment in 2016!

Guest Blogger: Stacey E. Bryan

The Magic and Mayhem of Being Out of Sync

Thank you, Terri and Pamela, for hosting me on my blog tour, which is my first ever.

It’s apropos to be visiting Mayhem and Magic, as those two Ms have been a large part of my life lately, heavy emphasis on the mayhem.

Once Day for Night was accepted for publication, I gritted my teeth and jumped into the waiting vat of oil. Social media may not feel like a vat of oil to most people, but imagine this: You live in a city that’s made entirely of cars (Los Angeles) and yet you hate to drive. You still had a flip phone a year ago. For no discernible reason, the family poodle Puff hated your guts. You sent your first Tweet three months ago. And you’re still not sure where it ended up.

I have often been out of sync with things, and social media has been the monster plaguing me lately. When I was querying for my novel, one publisher wanted to know “my marketing plan,” and when I wrote back, essentially, “Could you…define…marketing plan?” I never heard from them again.

And rightfully so! I suppose. I wouldn’t want to hold my hand through the publishing process. I did promise to be open-minded and eager to learn and assured folks that I had lots of writer friends who could help me. And thankfully, my publisher believed me. It’s been a rocky road, but it’s also been informative and even border-opening. Lots of new faces, names, ideas, possibilities have come with my finally taking that dreaded hot oil bath. And really…the oil wasn’t even that hot.  Definitely not blistering and blinding. Just a tad past uncomfortable. When I stumbled across someone in Pamela’s blog saying that they “somehow ended up with a Google AND a Twitter log-in,” and was trying to resolve that, I was like…yeah! Not alone. Not alone!

Being out of sync with things is probably mostly why I write. It inspired the main character of my novel who never quite fit in, gets pulled in different directions without a solid plan, and ends up reassessing her life around the time when most people start to seriously plan for retirement. She’s not at retirement age, but she’s also not 25 anymore, and this fact can be and usually is a death knell when it comes to Hollywood, where she lives, causing her a lot of anxiety.

Having focused on topics like anorexia, divorce, and artistic suffering in the past, turning to second reality paranormal comedy was a change for me and lots of fun to write. Much like Terri, I’m into Stephen King and one of my favorite novels used to be I Never Promised You A Rose Garden. But also like Terri, I love Janet Evanovich’s hilarious series. I’ve been through number Twenty or Twenty One of her Stephanie Plum novels. And, in fact, my main character Rae is a lot like Stephanie Plum, and if they knew each other, they’d probably be good friends.

Day for Night takes place in Los Angeles, where I was raised, so there’s lots of talk about traffic and flaky people naming their children after the moons of Jupiter and being in the Biz, if only in the fringes. Another aspect contributing to my feeling somewhat apart from things while growing up was being mixed race, and race in general is a huge issue in the City of Dreams. That inspired me to make Rae mixed race and to tread those waters continuously throughout in what I hope are humorous but yet eye-opening ways.

Apart from these everyday facts of ordinary life, Rae is about to find out just how paranormal the world actually is. And she doesn’t handle it well. She’s a hard-drinking, sometimes foul-mouthed 38-40-something protagonist who simply wanted to buy a condo in Hermosa Beach. Her attempts to pretend nothing is happening while her life continues to spiral out of control, largely due to making important decisions while dead drunk, were a lot of fun to write. Of course, getting other people to laugh with me—that’s my biggest goal. That’s where the magic comes in!

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When reality TV star Rae Miller is kicked unceremoniously to the curb by her back-stabbing cast mates, she quickly realizes that revenge fantasies and unemployment are the least of her problems after she witnesses an alien abduction in broad daylight. Worse, after escaping a terrifying almost-abduction herself, Rae succumbs to a sexy Nosferatu’s silky assurances, becoming undead in order to up her alien Ultimate Fighting skills. Life is hard as a 38-to-40-something aspiring actress in L.A. Thank God for Jack Daniel’s and denial.

Stacey was raised in the San Fernando Valley but born in San Francisco, where she left part of her heart. She has worked on a dude ranch, coached gymnastics, and captions for the hearing impaired. Her work has appeared in several literary magazines in New York and L.A., including Ginosko and The Rag. She is currently working on the sequel to her novel Day for Night. She lives in “beautiful downtown Burbank,” as Johnny Carson used to say, with her husband who is also a writer. 

Visit her at https://staceyebryan.wordpress.com

www.vagabondagepress.com

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An Interview with Stuart Jaffe

MM: Stuart give us the backstory on your writing career?

SJ: Wow, that’s a long story. :) I’ve been writing for close to 20 years now. I spent about 10 years writing short stories, built up a healthy resume of publications, got an agent, and started writing novels. Then my career hit a bizarre wall -- well, bizarre for anybody that doesn’t know a writer. My agent took my books to all the majors, usually to an editor fairly high up, and the response always came back -- we love Stuart’s writing, we love his characters and ideas, love his story, love, love, love ... we’re not going to buy it. Ugh! Sadly, I’m not the only writer to experience this. I hit my head against that wall for several years and considered quitting, but then self-publishing became a viable thing, so I thought I’d give it a try. Six years later, I’m having a blast with readers who are excited about my next book and my next one and the one after that! I’ve also published through some small presses, so I guess I’m a hybrid writer. Nobody can guarantee you a successful writing career, but I can guarantee you one thing -- all writing careers are a wild, unexpected ride.

MM: Tell us about your books and genres?

SJ: I write in a variety of sub-genres of science fiction and fantasy. My bestselling series is the Max Porter Paranormal Mysteries which follows a modern man in North Carolina who discovers his office is haunted by the ghost of a 1940s detective. I take real (odd) history of the area and mix it with ghosts, witches, curses and such. The first book (which is free as an ebook) is Southern Bound, and the sixth book, Southern Curses, releases in May!

I also wrote The Malja Chronicles - a post-apocalyptic fantasy in which magic caused the apocalypse. Sort of a Xena meets Mad Max vibe. That was a six-book series that finished up last year.

Now, I’ve started the Nathan K thrillers with the first book Immortal Killers. It’s about a man with the ability to harbor two souls in his body. If he dies, he loses one soul and keeps on going. This gives him a type of immortality which he uses to go walk the Earth and help people. I also have stand-alone novels, short story collections, and a serialized story. I put out 4-5 books a year, so if you like my writing, there’s plenty to enjoy.

MM: Let's talk about your writing schedule?

SJ: I write full time, so my day is usually a mix of writing sessions with book production, promotion, and such. Each writing session can go from 30 minutes to an hour. Oh, and cooking meals, picking up my son from school, laundry, and other normal daily kinds of things. The order of the day is not so important to me. The goal, writing-wise, is word count. On a slow day, I might get 700 - 1000 words of new fiction done. On a good day, I’ll hit 2300+. I’m constantly trying to improve those numbers. It comes with time and practice. Also, we live in the middle of nowhere, so I have long drives to get anyplace. I have an audio recorder that I carry around, so on a long drive, I can get a few hundred words with ease.

MM: Both personally and professionally tell us what you look forward to this year?

SJ: Professionally, I look forward to attempting to write a series that has been in my head for many, many years. It’s the one I’ve kept putting off because I did not think I was ready or capable of making it work. But I know enough now that I think I can do it. I try to make sure that whatever I’m writing, it has some sort of challenge in it that pushes me to grow as a writer. This is going to be a BIG challenge. And yes, I’m being vague about it because it’s way too early to say anything more.  On the personal side, I look forward to gigging with my blues band, The Bootleggers. I play lead guitar and we’ve just started doing gigs. Hopefully, that will continue to grow.

MM: Be our tour guide and tell us about where you live?

SJ: I live in rural North Carolina. When my family first moved here, we lived in Winston-Salem, the location of the Max Porter books, but my wife always wanted a farm, so once we could afford it, we did it. It’s not a full commercial farm, but rather a hobby farm -- 10 acres with chickens and a horse and plenty of other critters. It’s quiet, mostly, and peaceful. Other than stupid politicians embarrassing our state, I’d say we’re pretty happy here.

MM: What would your characters tell us about you?

SJ: I doubt any writer would want to know the answer to this question. After all, it’s my job to torture my characters as much as possible for your entertainment. The less I hear from my characters on this subject, the better.

MM: Past or present what authors would you like to share a meal and stories with, what would you ask them?

SJ: Robert Heinlein, John Steinbeck, and Stephen King. Heinlein got me interested in reading. Steinbeck got me interested in the art of writing. King showed me how to mix Steinbeck and Heinlein into one. I wouldn’t really have any serious questions. I’d just want to hang with them and soak up the banter.

MM: Okay now let's get to know you a bit more. Are there shows you like to binge watch? Do you reread any books that you have enjoyed in the past? What is your favorite place to vacation, meal, dessert, song, movie and after a long writing day how do you distress?

SJ: We ditched television in favor of Netflix a long time ago. So, in a way, everything is a binge watch: House of Cards, Daredevil, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Attack on Titan, Foyle’s War, I could on and on. Writing full time at home means I get to watch a show during my lunch break. I’ve seen a lot of shows. ;) As for books, I almost never reread. There are already too many books to read in a lifetime, and I want to get in as many as I can. Favorites (well, more accurately, things I like a lot -- I can’t deem any one the absolute favorite): meal -- cheesesteak; dessert -- anything my son bakes (he’s fantastic at it); song -- Axis: Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix (has one of the best guitar solos ever recorded); movie -- aside from all the usual like Star Wars, The Godfather, Citizen Kane, etc, etc, I’m going to add Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to the list; and vacation -- what’s a vacation?

MM: What would you like to say to your readers?

SJ: I’d like to say what I try to say as much as possible. Thank you. Without readers, none of this amounts to anything. To me, if nobody reads my work, it’s not complete. So, thank you. Always.

MM: What was the best view you ever had and where was it?

SJ: Without a doubt, on my honeymoon. We were cruising through the Greek isles, it was around midnight and I was sitting on the back of the ship in the Mediterranean. On either side of me were two islands with small towns. Lights flickered in and out as they passed behind the trees. It looked like thousands of fireflies in the darkness while all I could hear was the quiet lap of waves against the hull. And I had just gotten married, too. One of the most peaceful times in my life.

MM: in closing if you could pay your writing advice forward to beginners what advice do you have for them?

SJ: The best way to succeed as a writer is to sit down and have a brutally frank and honest talk with yourself. You need to ask yourself what you really want. If you really want fame and fortune, be honest about it. Perhaps you only want to write the fiction you want and don’t care about the reader. Be honest. Because the path to each of these things is different. To earn a living as a writer differs from being a fulltime writer regardless of the money which differs from fame which differs from not caring what you write as long as you make a living writing which differs from ... you get the idea. If at the start, you get a clear idea of what you want, you’ll make better choices for your career. And, of course, never give up.