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Monday, May 6, 2013

Death Legacy


Multiple award-winning author Jacqueline Seewald has taught creative, expository and technical writing at the university level as well as high school English. She also worked as an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Twelve of her books of fiction have been published, including books for adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications. She enjoys spending time with family and friends when she isn’t writing. In addition, she is a playwright, a landscape artist and loves many types of music most particularly blue grass. Somehow she manages to support so many other authors and their blogs. I'm lucky to have her as a cyber-friend and colleague. 

Welcome back to the blog, Jacquie. Please tell us more about yourself.
Where do you live, and how has your environment affected your writing?

I’m a Jersey girl, born and bred. I’ve lived my entire life in the state.
Most, but not all of my books, take place in NJ. My Kim Reynolds librarian sleuth series takes place in my home state. My next Five Star/Gale mystery novel, THE THIRD EYE which will be published in August/September, takes place in the Pine Barrens of NJ and depends heavily on setting.

How many books have you written?

I’ve written twenty books, twelve of which have been published so far. At this time, I have the fourth Kim Reynolds mystery under submission as well as a brand new mystery.

Give a short synop of your most recently published book.   

My most recently published novel is DEATH LEGACY which is a romantic suspense mystery thriller published by Five Star/Gale in hardcover and Thorndike Press in large print hardcover. Since the novels are expensive, I encourage readers to request the novel at their local library. Here’s a brief synopsis:

DEATH LEGACY features an Englishwoman, Michelle Hallam, whose deceased uncle, a former British intelligence agent, operated a "consulting firm" which she now runs. Michelle meets a young, handsome American psychiatrist on the French Riviera under mysterious circumstances. There is a strong physical attraction but Michelle remains wary of him. Daniel appears to have a friendly, warm personality, and urban wit in contrast to Michelle’s outward façade of cool cynicism. In New York, Michelle sends Dr. Reiner a patient who has asked her to look into the disappearance and/or death of the woman's husband, a CIA agent, in Washington D.C. The case involves both Michelle and Daniel in espionage, international intrigue, romance and murder, changing their lives irrevocably. The novel combines elements of suspense thriller, mystery and romance. 

It sounds wonderful, Jacquie and the cover is awesome!
How much of yourself is hidden in the characters your books?

Well, like Kim Reynolds, I’ve worked as an academic librarian, an English teacher and an educational media specialist. But I definitely have no psychic abilities, nor do I have dark family secrets. Michelle Hallam and I have nothing in common, but Daniel Reiner and Mike Gardner share some of my husband’s character traits.

Do your characters take on a life of their own? If so, which is your favorite?

Kim and her sometime boyfriend, Detective Mike Gardner, especially take on lives of their own. They are first introduced in THE INFERNO COLLECTION which Harlequin Worldwide Mystery brought out this month as an inexpensive paperback reprint.
Their relationship develops further in THE DROWNING POOL in which they investigate a new set of murder mysteries. In THE TRUTH SLEUTH, third novel in this series, their relationship undergoes some serious changes and they solve yet a new set of murder mysteries.

What do you think is the greatest lesson you’ve learned about writing so far? What advice can you give new writers?

If you really want to be a writer, you have to write and you also have to read. We learn how to be good writers from reading the works of other writers and consistently writing each day. You need to find a time to write that’s good for you. For me, it’s early morning. That’s when I’m most productive. But everyone is different.

Develop self-discipline. Write, put work away, come back to it at a later time, and put on your editor’s hat. Above all, do not give up! Be pit bull persistent. Don’t let rejections deter you. We all get them! Keep at it. Keep improving at your chosen craft.

Wonderful advice, indeed.
We all know how important promoting our work has become. How do you get the word out both off and online?

I’m not that great at promoting my work but I hope to reach as many readers as possible. Being published by Harlequin Worldwide Mystery will be helpful I believe since the novels are in print and very inexpensive. I also like being published in e-book formats.
Online I blog when I have time. Once a month I do a blog for Author Expressions which I enjoy. I appreciate your help, Susan, in reaching more of an audience.

Can you tell us your future writing goals/projects? 

I would like to see more of my novels published. That, of course, is not up to me. I want to continue the Kim Reynolds mystery series, for instance. I enjoy writing romance fiction as well, and all of my mystery novels have elements of romance in them.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?    
 
I’m working on putting up a new website as we speak.  But I have a web page on the L&L Dreamspell site:


Many of my novels and short stories have been published by L&L Dreamspell.

Are your books available in print and ebook formats?

Quite a few of my novels are available both in print and as e-books:

The newest listing is from Harlequin Worldwide Mystery:


Amazon listing:



B&N listing:


It's always a pleasure to have you on the blog and I'll be picking up this book right away. Continued success, Jacquie!



23 comments:

Janis Patterson said...

Great interview!

Betty Gordon said...

Susan and Jacquie, a great interview and great responses. "Death Legacy" not only sounds intriguing but one I MUST read. The cover is stimulating.

Best wishes to both you talented writers.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Thanks, Janis! Susan does a great job asking intelligent questions.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Betty, I appreciate you coming by.
I hope you do read DEATH LEGACY.
It's been nominated for several prestigious awards and I have my fingers crossed.

Alice Duncan said...

Great interview, Jacquie! I recommend everyone read DEATH LEGACY. And the INFERNO COLLECTION blew me away. And I love the e-book cover!

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Hi, Alice,

Thanks so much for dropping by and for the endorsements! For those who don't know it, Alice is both an award-winning author and an outstanding editor.

Susan Oleksiw said...

Great interview. I'm looking forward to reading something set in the Pine Barrens--that's a great setting for a mystery.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Hi, Susan,

Thank you for stopping by and for your comment!

D'Ann said...

Super interview! For me, it's easier to write what I know, and where I know!

June Shaw said...

Such an interesting interview, Jacquie. It's so good to know more about your and the source of your excellent mysteries.

Gail Farrelly said...

Excellent interview. You give great advice, Jacquie. You certainly have an interesting background. I hope that DEATH LEGACY ends up with some awards.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Hi, D'Ann,

Yes, your cowboys are authentic because you are a rancher.

Makes a person's books so much more interesting when a writer has personal knowledge of the setting and types of characters.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Hi, June,

Thanks for dropping by and commenting.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Hi, Gail,

Thanks for commenting. I hope my writing advice does prove helpful to other writers.

anita page said...

The Pine Barrens is such a great setting, Jacquie. I look forward to reading the book.

Susan Whitfield said...

Wow! I've been out of place this morning and got to the blog late. Thanks to all of you who follow Jacquie and me.

Anna Seewald said...

Great interview! Enjoyed the questions as well as the responses.
I am big fan of Kim Reynolds.
The cover of the Death Legacy is intriguing.

Unknown said...

Great interview, Jacquie and Susan. As you know, I recently read and really liked Death Legacy, Jacquie. Congrats on drawing the attention of some pretty big publishers! Well-deserved.

Nancy Means Wright said...

A very nice interview, Susan and Jacquie. Perseverance and persistance, yes--we need to hear this over and over. And it will be great to see The Third Eye come to full fruition.

Carole Price said...

Good interview. I just ordered Inferno Collection from B&N.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Thanks you all for your comments.
At 10:45 am, we drove out to babysit for grandchildren, an all day affair. Just got back to the computer and found all these lovely messages.
Thank you for coming by today!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Enjoyed the post, gals.

Jacqueline,
What a fantastic cover!! Sounds like a great read. :)

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Thanks, Karen! Right back at you!
I know you've written a number of excellent novels with beautiful art.