Thursday, February 15, 2024
Judge Jury Suspense stories
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Cozy Up to Terror
The Lone Star Family Fun Time is an amusement park where the plot of COZY UP TO TERROR, (book seven of the Cozy Up Series), plays out. The Texas attraction hosts a Witness Protectioner in a smelly mascot costume being chased by gangsters out for revenge. Doyle Flanders works as a custodian sometimes wearing a Yeti costume to entertain the kiddies—who can be demanding for photographs. This eccentric cozy mystery by Colin Conway is ably narrated by Damon Abdallah in this new Books in Motion release. Abdallah has a mouthful of characters to interpret, from naughty eight year olds to jaded criminals and clueless staff. It’s difficult to wrangle one’s mind and mouth around such a distracting coterie of people, but Damon is up to the task of keeping the accents and mannerisms in line. He keeps the attention fixed on the circus atmosphere the story creates, and propels the narrative, such as it is, with offbeat but appropriate audio renderings.
If you can imagine a theme park far enough out of the way that such antics can occur, join Doyle and crew in a golf cart ride into thrilling improbability. And keep your ears open for more in the series, which began with Cozy Up to Death.
Friday, December 29, 2023
Interview with Mary Kubica
- In Just the Nicest Couple a surgeon goes missing, and a friend of his wife holds a secret about the disappearance. What idea inspired the book, and why did the story of two couples (one happy, one not) resonate with you?
As with most of my books, it starts with a tiny seed of an idea that grows during the writing process. With Just the Nicest Couple, I was first drawn to the concept of writing about a missing man, because we hear so often on the news and in the media about women who go missing. I wanted to flip the script and see what would happen if the roles were reversed. My books are always domestic in nature, which was the draw for having two couples involved in this book. Not only was I diving into the lives of one couple, but the lives of friends and co-workers as well, asking that all important question: How well do we really know the people closest to us?
- You began writing as a young girl, but what led you to the suspense genre? Why do you like it so much, and what authors influenced you?
My debut novel, The Good Girl, was the first manuscript I wrote that was in the suspense genre, though as a child, mysteries and suspense (such as books by Christopher Pike and Nancy Drew) were my favorites to read. Before The Good Girl, I wrote women’s fiction, though my manuscripts were only ever works-in-progress because I would get partway into the manuscript and then lose interest. With The Good Girl, I started adding suspense elements by accident and soon discovered how much I enjoyed writing in the genre. I knew I’d found my niche. I love watching a mystery develop over time and including things like unreliable narrators and red herrings. One of my favorite parts about the genre is slipping subtle clues into the text once I’ve discovered my twist. There are many talented authors in this genre, but a few who have set the bar incredibly high are Ruth Ware, Alice Feeney and Stacy Willingham.
- I’ve heard you don’t work from an outline, but prefer to be surprised by character interactions. What are the best and worst parts about working this way?
Yes, I am definitely a panster, or the type of writer who prefers to fly by the seat of her pants, than a plotter. The best part for me is the spontaneity of it and not knowing on any given day when I sit down to write what will happen in the lives of my characters. I always learn something new about them and am just as surprised by the twist as I hope my readers will be. The worst part is that there are many times I write myself into a dead end and discover that an idea I was excited about simply doesn’t have legs and I have to delete pages. That can be frustrating, but it’s still an important part of my process!
- Of the two narrators in Just the Nicest Couple, which do you identify with, and why?
In Just the Nicest Couple, we hear from Christian, a man whose wife was the last to see Jake Hayes before he went missing, and Nina, Jake’s wife. Though Nina and I have quite a bit in common (she is a woman, like me, and is a teacher; I was a high school teacher before I turned to writing full time), I identified more with Christian. He’s a man deeply devoted to his wife and unborn child, who will do anything to protect his family. I appreciated that about him and found it easy to understand his motivations even when his actions were sometimes questionable.
- What is the most suspenseful thing that has happened to you?
For someone who writes suspense novels, very few suspenseful things have happened to me, which is a good thing because I’m actually a scaredy cat in real life! That said, I’m always on the lookout for strange things that can work their way into my novels, like the time I stayed in a hotel, only to discover that mine was one of two rooms with the same room number, or when I stayed at a bed and breakfast with a crawl space door in the corner of the room, and spent the entire night wondering where it led and who might be on the other side of the door.
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Things that Go Bump in the Universe
Friday, October 27, 2023
Interview with Boyd Morrison
Sunday, October 1, 2023
Interview with Julie Garwood
JONATHAN LOWE: You come from a large Irish family, growing up in Kansas City. Any other storytellers among your siblings, and what are your earliest memories of reading or writing?
JULIE GARWOOD: Everyone in my family is a storyteller. When we get together, it’s always fun — and sometimes a little noisy from all the talking and laughing. My very earliest memories of reading aren’t pleasant ones. During second grade I was kept out of school for an extended period of time because of complications after a tonsilectomy. When I finally returned, I had fallen behind in reading. My mother eventually saw how much trouble I was having and got help. She took me to Sr. Elizabeth, a nun at our school and a wonderful woman who opened up a whole new world of books for me. It was because of her that I learned to love the written word.
LOWE: You have an interesting website. The backyard seems to have a gazebo and a castle in the distance. Mostly imagination, like Wizard of Oz, or does your backyard hold similar surprises?
GARWOOD: My back yard isn’t quite like that. I do have a beautiful view of trees, but there isn’t a castle beyond them. That view is just in my imagination.
LOWE: How would you describe your latest book, and are you working on a new one now?
GARWOOD: FIRE AND ICE is a romantic suspense novel about a reporter for a local Chicago newspaper who thinks she’s covering a routine and rather uninteresting story, but behind that story is a mystery that takes her all the way to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The idea actually came to me after watching a Science Channel documentary about polar bears. Yes, I’m working on the next book now. Until I’ve got most of it down, I don’t give out too much information. I made the mistake several years ago of telling about the story I was working on, and then in midstream I changed my mind and wrote a completely different book. I’m still getting emails from people who are looking for the first story. As soon as I’ve written most of the current book, I’ll post some information about it on my web site.
LOWE: Do you have a preference between contemporary and historical or regency, and do you find that your readers have preferences too, or is romance universal?
GARWOOD: I love writing both historical and contemporary novels. The story usually dictates the setting. Most of the readers seem to have a definite preference. I’ve discovered from their comments that they tend to favor the type of book they read first.
LOWE: You’re not going to write a paranormal vampire romance one day, are you?
GARWOOD: The paranormal genre certainly has become popular, but I don’t have plans to write about vampires. I’ve never really been drawn to the subject; however, I do understand the appeal. There’s something intriguing about that combination of danger and romance.
LOWE: Literacy is one of your interests, which is important, I believe, in our current age of television and video games. What do you do to help the cause, and how can readers get involved?
GARWOOD: I try to support literacy programs as much as I can. I’m especially sympathetic to local libraries who are struggling to stay alive. I used to visit schools often to talk to students about reading, but unfortunately my schedule lately hasn’t allowed as much time for that as I’d like. My recommendation to anyone who wants to help is to get involved with your local library. There are so many programs and fundraisers that could use volunteers.
LOWE: I sometimes review audiobooks for truckers, and was surprised to learn that many macho truck drivers–guys you’d think would be watching Steven Seagal movies while drinking beer–are actually fans of writers like Janet Evanovich or Nora Roberts. Have you encountered any wrestling fans at your signings, and what advice would you give men about reading romances so that they can learn to be more romantic by understanding their wives.
GARWOOD: I don’t recall any wrestling fans at signings, but you’d be surprised by the number of men who write to me. They usually say they got turned on to my books by their wives. In fact, I received an email just yesterday from a man who said his wife reads my books to him when they take long car trips, and now he’s hooked. And for messages like that I say, “Thanks, ladies.” I definitely think men will understand women better if they read romances, and there’s a strong possibility that these same men will say thanks too.