Caroline Taylor: What Are Friends For?

Caroline Taylor's Debut Mystery Tackles the Question: What Are Friends For?

Press Release:
Pittsboro, NC – Award-winning author Caroline Taylor announces the release of her first P.J. Smythe mystery, What Are Friends For? (ISBN 978-1-59414-956-6), a Gale-Cengage Learning publication. An exciting detective tale, What Are Friends For? features P.J. Smythe, an Annapolis "skip tracer," who tracks down loan defaulters. Talked into posing as a novice private investigator by her wealthy friend, Alicia Todd, P.J. is forced into assuming the role of a real detective when her first client, environmentalist Vivian Remington, dies from a suspicious drug overdose. P.J. must dodge a murder charge and wend her way through the treacherous realms of Washington politics and the illegal wildlife trade while attempting to solve the mystery of Remington's death.

Written with classic, hard-boiled "whodunit" panache by Taylor, this first P.J. Smythe adventure is a must-read for mystery lovers who crave masterful character development, outstanding story lines, compelling drama, and a smattering of humorous observations from the heroine. Suspenseful and quickly-paced, What Are Friends For introduces readers to P.J. Smythe, a young, single Washingtonian, who manages to be engaging and likable, as well as gutsy and tough. Although spirited and intelligent, P.J. is also deliciously human, and she struggles to fend off the advances of her ex-husband, Bobby Crane – as well as those of the intelligent and suave attorney, Neal Patterson – while solving her first murder case. As the web of drug-fueled political intrigue tightens and P. J. gets closer to solving her case, her own life is suddenly at risk, making What Are Friends For? the kind of thrilling and ultimately satisfying read that mystery lovers demand.

“P.J. first appeared in Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine in a story titled, “Beginner’s Lesson’s,” said Taylor. "Once she made a second appearance in an Orchard Press Mysteries story called “Growing Pains,” I knew I’d found a special heroine who deserved a full-throttle mystery series."

Formerly from Washington, D.C., Caroline Taylor is an award-winning writer and editor living in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Her short stories have appeared in The Chick Lit Review, Della Donna Magazine, The First Line, A Fly in Amber, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, The Green Silk Journal, Long Story Short, The Oddville Press, Orchard Press Mysteries, The Dan River Anthology-2009, and Workers Write! Tales from the Capitol. She is the author of Publishing the Nonprofit Annual Report: Tips, Traps, and Tricks of the Trade (Jossey-Bass, 2001) and has written extensively for Humanities Magazine and the Smithsonian Torch.

Welcome to the blog, Caroline. It's always a pleasure to interview fellow North Carolina writers.
I’d be fascinated to know more about you.


Thank you, Susan. I got off to a pretty rocky start in life. As a child, I moved from place to place, my parents often were unable to pay bills, and I was forced to drop out of high school. But I managed to pull myself together enough to finish my education—even get a master’s degree—and pursue a successful editing and writing career in Washington.

How many books have you written? In what genres?

My first book, Publishing the Nonprofit Report: Tips, Traps, and Tricks of the Trade (Jossey-Bass 2001) was easy. I’d been writing and editing nonprofit annual reports for 20 years by the time I decided I had to prove to my then boss that I was more than “a process manager.” The book won the APEX Grand Award for Excellence in Writing in 2002. My first novel, What Are Friends For?, was much harder to write—but also much more fun.

Congratulations on both.What books or authors have influenced you, Caroline?

The literary giants like Faulkner, Welty, Steinbeck, and Durrell, and contemporary authors like Brian Haig, Janet Evanovich, Alan Furst, Sue Grafton, Louis Bayard, and Michael Connelly.

Great influences, indeed.What are your writing goals?

To publish my second P.J. Smythe novel, Who’s Laughing Now?

Okay. Let's back up a second and talk about the first book. Tell us about What Are Friends For? Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

What Are Friends For? is a fast-paced, light hearted spoof of the classic hard-boiled whodunit that explores the lengths to which Annapolis skip tracer P.J. Smythe must go to dodge a murder charge, including dipping a reluctant toe into the Washington political scene and looking into the seamy side of the illegal trade in wildlife—all while fending off the attentions of her former husband and a really desperate ex-boyfriend. I hope enough fans will persuade amazon.com to offer it in Kindle.

Can you share how you name your characters?

I wanted my lead character to have a name that could belong either to a man or a woman, so I settled for P.J. and then decided the initials had to stand for two ridiculous names. To find out what they are, read the book.

Okay. My imgination is spinning out of control. LOL.
Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

I’m afraid I’m a bit like Anne Tyler, who has written that she does not plot but just lets her stories unfold. I have tried plotting, but it’s almost like putting myself in a straitjacket. It takes the fun out of creating vivid characters and then seeing where their needs and desires take them.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?


At the time I wrote What Are Friends For?, I had been living in Washington, D.C., for years. I did not want to write the typical “Washington novel” with characters at “the highest levels of government.” Not many—if any—mysteries are set in Annapolis, which is small, beautiful, somewhat off the beaten (East Coast) path, and yet still in the neighborhood, as it were.

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

Through my website, http://www.carolinestories.com/, my author’s profile on amazon.com, and, most importantly, my publicist Paula Margulies, without whose efforts on my behalf no one would know about this book.

Tell us more about Who's Laughing Now?

I’m polishing up—mostly cliché hunting—the second in the P.J. Smythe series, Who’s Laughing Now? I’m also working on a novel set in the mid-1960s Midwest called The Typist, and another more contemporary novel set in Washington, D.C., called Climbing Toward the Light.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Visit my website at http://www.carolinestories.com/

Caroline, it has been a pleasure to discover you. I extend my best wishes for your writing success!
Same to you, Susan.

Frank Scully's Resurrection Garden

My guest today is Frank Scully, author of Resurrection Garden. Good morning, Frank. Please tell us a little about yourself.

Thanks, Susan. I’ve been around a bit longer than I want to admit. I was born at the end of World War II and remember when radio provided the entertainment in the evening. Jack Benny, Amos and Andy, and the Shadow. Black and white TV came along with very few channels and an antenna on the roof. Jack Benny made the transition and Ed Sullivan ruled Sunday nights. Elvis and the Beetles made their big TV debuts there. Sputnik was a part of the very real Cold War as was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Then along came the Vietnam War with its bloody toll on TV news every night. I got through college and law school and spent my time in Southeast Asia before I got my MBA and started a career which I have been working at ever since. I am currently a Contracts Manager for a major aerospace company.

What are your writing goals?

I have no aspirations for literary greatness. I simply want to write a good story that will entertain the reader. I want to get the reader immersed into the story so they see it happening in their minds as they read.

Tell us about Resurrection Garden. Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

Resurrection Garden is my first published book. It is available as an eBook from the publisher, MuseItUp Publishing, or from Amazon, Barnes &Noble, Smashwords and most online eBook retailers.

Resurrection Garden is a mystery set against the backdrop of the settling of the North Dakota prairie at the turn of the 20th century. Life on the North Dakota prairie in 1904 was still raw but modern times were coming with every new homesteader. Railroads and the telegraph were changing transportation and communication. The pace of life was speeding up. The land was filling up with settlers.
Jake Turner, a scarred veteran of the charge up San Juan Hill, has been a lone drifter through much of the settling of the west. Opportunity was growing out of the newly turned sod of the North Dakota prairie in 1904 when he stopped to take a part time job as a Deputy Sheriff, expecting to move on again when the dark parts of his past catch up to him.

An investigation into a murder of a man hated by everyone has threads that lead to his best friend, Isaac. Jake is ambushed and almost killed, but is nursed back to health by Isaac. While Jake follows the clues into a labyrinth of hatred, sordid crimes and missing money he becomes attached to an eight year old orphaned boy named Andy and falls in love with Isaac’s sister, Alice. After being alone for so long with no hope or care for what tomorrow might bring, Jake finds it difficult to accept these new emotional attachments.

Jake believes in Justice, but before he had only his own life on the line. When Andy is kidnapped and almost killed, Jake knows the killers will do anything to stop him. In order to protect Alice and Andy, he must break their hearts and leave them and North Dakota behind.

Jake knows he’ll be back. So do the killers. Trap and counter trap are laid. Jake knows there will be graves. He just doesn’t know who will be in them.

Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt? If so, in what way?


My writing has undergone a major change from my first attempt. In the beginning, my work was a bit derivative. A style mish mash of many of the authors I had read and enjoyed. It lacked originality in voice. That came with practice and much more writing as I developed my own distinctive writer’s voice. While I can say now I have been influenced by certain writers, I am not imitative.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

Certain events seem to pop up that spark my imagination. It might direct me to write a story about the Savings & Loan mess that happened in the 1980’s and I will need to build a plot around that. From the general background I will develop a theme. The theme will guide me in developing the characters and the plot. I don’t outline a book as some do. I find that I can’t work that way. Once I have my characters fleshed out, the crime defined, the background and backstory in my mind, as well as the end I am working toward, the story falls into place as I write. Sometimes the characters take off in directions I didn’t plan but they have to stay true to themselves and the story. Once I get into a story it is like a movie is running in my head and my job is to get it down so I can show it to the reader.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

Generally, after a long intense session of writing, once I stop I will still have ideas and scenes floating around in my head, and I will need to take some notes so I can pick up the thread again when I start writing later. After that I will need to decompress by getting away. I may go for a walk, spend some time in the garden or yard if it is the summer, do some chores I have been putting off or anything else that allows me to get away from the story for a time. Some people read someone else’s novel, but for me that doesn’t work. I find myself being critical of the way the other author wrote something. A comedy, either a movie or TV show, is one of the best ways for me to relax after a long, intense writing session.

Any current projects?

I am currently working on the seventh book in my Decade Mystery Series. When I started writing I had so many ideas for stories floating around in my head I had to somehow sort them out and decide which I would work on first. It turned out to be a mystery set in 1957. The second was set in 1995. The third was in 2004. And then came Resurrection Garden set in 1904. I began to see a pattern here. Murder mysteries set in different decades and locations. This was the genesis of my Decade Mystery Series. At least one book set in each decade from the beginning of the 20th century to current time set in different locales with both continuing and new characters. There is something unique in each decade that marks it as separate from what went before or what follows. I like to research and explore aspects of what is unique as it is expressed in the locale chosen and how it affects the culture, characters and the tenor of the times and yet also see the common humanity that never changes. While the larger characteristics of the decade provide the background against which the story is told, I like to find certain lesser known events and circumstances that signal significant shifts around which to build the plot. The stories will not be written in any chronological order.

Digital Death, the book I am working on now, is set in the 2005 timeframe. Alec Carter, the son of a Vietnamese mother and an unknown American soldier and a survivor of the boat exodus, is on the case of a missing person. The missing person is an Indian computer software expert. The case will lead Alec to Bangalore and other places around the world as he discovers that the case is deeper and deadlier than a missing person. Terrorists, government agents, corporate titans and mobsters are after the same man who holds the key to something everyone wants.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

My website is at:
http://www.frankjscully.com/

It is still a work in progress but I welcome all to come by and visit. I also have a blog there and welcome comments. Also my publisher has a lot of information on my forthcoming books at:

http://www.museituppublishing.com/

Well, Frank, it has been a pleasure to have you over. Continued success on your writing career.

Thank you so much for allowing me to guest on your blog today, Susan.  

You betcha! Readers, please check out the reviews and an excerpt before you leave:

Reviews for Resurrection Garden:
I found myself enthralled with this tale. The mystery was well developed and had a very satisfying resolution. It was very heartwarming to watch as Jake learned to shed his past and move forward into his future. The book moved along at a good clip and I found myself clicking the button to turn the pages on the Nook so I could read what happened next. Mr. Scully's writing style was spare and perfectly suited the tale and time in which it was set. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed getting to know them. Broken Teepee Reviews

* * *
As most good mysteries do, this one begins with a dead body. The big difference is this tale is set in 1904 and starts in North Central North Dakota, making it an historical western mystery. Before I tell much more, I have to say I loved everything about this story. Deputy Jake Turner is a reluctant hero, a single man who knows something is missing in his life despite his faithful horse, dog and cat.


The historical details are perfect and enhance the action—of which there is plenty. Deputy Turner is wounded more than once while tracking down the clues to find the identity of the murderer and all the other complications and revelations that develop. The relationship between Jake and an orphan boy, Andrew, is realistic and heart-wrenching, as is Jake’s friendship with a dying man.
Before the book is over, a romance develops—one that doesn’t seem to have a happy ending in sight, but you’ll have to read it to find out what happens.
Author Scully has done a fantastic job in creating this very realistic mystery in a by-gone era. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to all mystery lovers and those who enjoy a good Western.
--Marilyn Meredith

Excerpt:
The sheriff joined me in my contemplation of the body. It wasn’t pretty. Thor had never been handsome and the ravages of being frozen under the snow for the winter and having birds and other animals picking away at the skin as the snow thawed and exposed the body made what was left of him downright disgusting.

One thing was evident though. He hadn’t died easy. Freezing to death is relatively painless. Wander out in the cold, get lost, fall asleep and don’t wake up. That wasn’t what happened to Thor.

“What do you think? Shotgun, maybe?” the sheriff opined.

“At least,” I answered. The hole in his chest was big enough to put a fist through. “But why? He musta been dead already when he was shot.”

“Yeah, first someone beat him to a bloody pulp, then gutted him and slashed his throat. And then shot him. Ain’t that what you said, Doc.”

“Looks that way to me,” Doc answered. “Can’t tell you much more until he thaws out all the way.”

“Somebody wanted him deader than dead,” the sheriff shook his head.

“Takes some hate to do all that,” Doc commented. “Got any suspects?”

Doc and the sheriff both turned to face me.

I let out a deep sigh. “I suppose you want me to find out what happened to him.”

“Seems as how you should. After all, you found him, and you’re my deputy up there,” theSheriff answered.

I stared at Thor and wondered when I would be able to sit down.

Doc came up behind us and commented, “Jake, you might ought to get some new britches or something. You’re hanging out your back end. Probably scare the ladies and kids if you went out in public like that.”

I reached around and felt bare skin crisscrossed with stitches. “Damn, just got these new this Christmas.”

“I’m sure one of the widow ladies you’ve been helping out will be happy to lend you some spare pants.” Doc grinned. “And I’m sure these new scars will get you lots of sympathy and special care.”

“Speaking of widows,” the Sheriff interjected. “You’ll need to tell Mrs. Thorsgaard we found her husband.”

And that’s when the real pain started.

A Surprise from Maggie Bishop

Fellow author and friend Maggie Bishop sent me this wonderful picture of her sitting by the fire with a copy of Just North of Luck. How wonderful! Maggie and I haven't met in person even though we both attended East Carolina University and both write mysteries. We hope to meet soon. Maggie, may you have a glorious Christmas and an outstanding New Year!

Chester Campbell's Surest Poison

Chester Campbell was born in Nashville, TN in the midst of the Roaring Twenties. During the Depression-era thirties, he loved to read short stories in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post and Liberty. He never thought about writing until shortly before he was discharged from the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II. He was in the first class (1949) to complete the journalism curriculum at the University of Tennessee. Since then he has written for newspapers, magazines, public relations, advertising, and the fiction market. He currently writes two series of PI mysteries, one featuring retired Air Force investigator Greg McKenzie, the other starring former National Park ranger and small town police chief Sid Chance. Chester lives in the Nashville suburb of Madison, TN.

Welcome, Chester.Tell us about your latest book.
The absolute latest isn’t out yet. It’s A Sporting Murder is due for release by Night Shadows Press in October. The fifth Greg McKenzie mystery, it deals with the consequences of a rivalry between a group seeking to bring an NBA team to Nashville and ardent supporters of the Predators NHL hockey team, who want to keep them out. My newest book in print is The Surest Poison, the first Sid Chance mystery. Three seemingly unrelated murders crop up during the investigation of a decade-old chemical dump that plagues a rural community west of Nashville. Sid Chance, whose law enforcement career was cut short by malicious accusations of bribery, pursues the case after being coaxed out of self-imposed exile by Jaz LeMieux, a wealthy ex-cop. Sid finds himself tailed and threatened. When Jaz helps with the investigation, she is awakened by an explosion behind her mansion. The person responsible will stop at nothing to remain hidden. As the tension mounts, Sid finds himself confronting the unsavory people responsible for his past troubles.

Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt?
Definitely. I wrote my first novel in 1948 while a journalism student working nights as a reporter for The Knoxville Journal. It was a murder mystery. The plot didn’t sound bad, but the writing had plenty of amateurish errors. I did much better with one I wrote in the sixties, though it, too, needed considerable improvement. When I retired in 1989, I started writing novels with a passion. The first seven failed to find a home, but number eight was published by a small press. The same editor handled the next three books and said each showed improved writing over the previous one. In my earlier efforts, I was guilty of such things as overwriting and too much POV shifting. I have pared down my style to one as lean as a greyhound. Like the celebrated breed, it speeds up the pace.

How do you develop characters and setting?
For a major character, I start with a personal sketch. This includes basic information such as age, location, family, job history. While puzzling this out, I get into where the character fits in the general scheme of things, which helps with development of the story. I flesh out the character as necessary to keep the plot moving. I build minor characters as they pop into the story, giving only enough detail to make them stand out from the crowd.
I enjoy handling the setting and do quite a bit of research when required. Since my books are mostly set around Nashville, and I’ve lived here virtually all my life, it’s only necessary to bone up on areas I haven’t visited in a while. When my characters hit the road, like visits to Israel and Jordan in Secret of the Scroll, it becomes a bit more complicated. In that case, I used my experience as a Holy Land visitor in 1998, where I shot three hours of video. I used several tour books to supplement my memories. Where necessary, I invent locations but work hard to make them realistic. Good old Google helps a lot.

Do you have specific techniques to develop the plot and stay on track?
I’m a seat-of-the-pants plotter, so the stories come out mostly as a stream of consciousness. I have a general idea when I start, then let things go wherever the whims of the characters take them. I’ve used several methods to keep things organized. In one book with several potential killers, I did a detailed timeline for the night of the murder, showing where each suspect was and what they were doing. Most of the time, after I’ve written several chapters, I start a list of actions by chapter, which makes it easy to go back and find places to make changes. That’s what I love about fiction. If the story isn’t going to suit you, change it. Wouldn’t it be nice if real life was that way?

How does your upbringing and environment color your writing?
I grew up in Nashville, TN in typical urban middle class surroundings. The fact that it was during the Great Depression colored things a bit. We were poor, but we didn’t think of ourselves as poor since everybody else was in the same boat. My dad was a small businessman who struggled to stay afloat, and my mother worked at a secretarial job. My grandmother lived with us and looked after the three boys. My parents were staunch churchgoers and raised me to be the same. I’m sure all of that background colors my writing, as well as my experiences during a lifetime of working at various writing jobs. I served in the Army toward the end of World War II, in the Air Force in Korea, and with the Air National Guard until retirement. That led to creation of retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg McKenzie.

Where do you write? When? What do you have around you?
I do most of my research and some writing on a PC in my bonus room office over the garage. It’s the only upstairs room, which keeps me running up and down steps forty times a day. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it helps keep me in shape. Most of my books are written on the laptop while sitting in my recliner in the living room. That’s where I am now. After spending quite a few years working in noisy newsrooms, I learned to block out extraneous sounds and concentrate on the words I’m typing. Sometimes my wife, in the twin recliner beside me, will comment on something said on TV and I won’t have a clue to what she’s talking about. I write mostly afternoons and evenings. Not every day, however. Domestic requirements and other responsibilities get in the way.

What are your current projects?
As mentioned above, the fifth Greg McKenzie mystery, A Sporting Murder, is in the pipeline. I should have a cover and a publication date shortly. In the gestation stage is the second Sid Chance mystery. It will probably have a link back to Sid’s eighteen-year career as a National Park Service ranger. Most of my other projects involve trying to scare up readers for my books. A long-time writers group colleague, Beth Terrell, and I are setting up appearances at various outdoor events, such as the Buttercup Festival in Nolensville, TN and the RC-Moon Pie Festival in Belle Buckle, TN. As an interesting aside, I’m the reserved, withdrawn type. I virtually never speak to a stranger unless spoken to first. But at book signings, I stand and hail people with the question, “Do you read mysteries?” If they say “yes,” I pitch my books. Guess that makes me a part-time outgoing extrovert.

Yes, I met Beth at Killer Nashville a couple years ago.
Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
Info on all my books, including sample chapters, reviews, where to buy, where I’m appearing, etc., is included on my website: http://www.chesterdcampbell.com. I blog weekly at http://murderousmusings.blogspot.com and semi-monthly at http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com. My personal blog at http://chestercampbell.com, titled Mystery Mania, has been neglected lately, but I plan to reinvigorate it.

Thanks for the interview, Chester, and I'll see you in Nashville in August.

Thanks for the opportunity to be here, Susan.

Elizabeth Craig

My guest today is fellow Carolina Conspiracy member, Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Elizabeth writes the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and is writing the upcoming Memphis Barbeque series for Berkley Prime Crime as Riley Adams. Like her characters, her roots are in the South. As the mother of two, Elizabeth writes on the run as she juggles duties as room mom and Brownie leader, referees play dates, drives car pools, and is dragged along as a hostage/chaperone on field trips.
http://elizabethspanncraig.com, http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com, http://mysteryloverskitchen.com

Elizabeth, welcome. When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I’m not one of those people blessed with multiple talents. J I discovered early on that writing was the one thing that I was good at. I started avidly writing stories and poems when I was in 4th grade and never looked back. Mysteries were always my favorite reads growing up—I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the Bobbsey Twins, then I moved on to Trixie Belden before finally ending up with Agatha Christie. I must have reread Christie’s books ten times each!

What are your writing goals?
If I’m writing a first draft, I write half a chapter a day—this gets me through a 75,000 word book in about 5 weeks.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Delicious and Suspicious is the first book in the Memphis Barbeque series and will be released July 6: When a food scout from a cable cooking channel is murdered, it's only natural for restaurant owner Lulu Taylor to take it personally. After all, her barbeque restaurant served the scout's last meal. But danger lurks as Lulu investigates the crime. Will she clear the restaurant's name, or is she next to be skewered?

How do you determine voice in your writing?
My voice is my natural voice—the one I tell stories in for my children at night. It’s very casual—“I want to tell you a story.”

How do you promote yourself online and off?
Since my children are still pretty young, I’m limited to my in-person appearances. I’m going to the Malice Domestic conference in DC April 30—May 2, and I make appearances with the Carolina Conspiracy mystery writers group in North and South Carolina. The bulk of my promoting is done online, though—via guest posts, my blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. Online promotion is a lifesaver!

Where do you write? What do you have around you?
I write anywhere I can! As a stay-at-home mom of busy children, I have to grab my moments when I can find them. You’ll frequently find me squeezing my writing into 5 minute blocks—at the grocery store deli line, waiting for my car to get washed, in the pediatric waiting room, or in the carpool line at the elementary school.

What are your current projects?
I’m handing in the second Memphis Barbeque book to Berkley Prime Crime this week. My deadline for the 3rd is November 1. I’ll also be promoting my first Memphis Barbeque book, Delicious and Suspicious after its release on July 6.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
They can visit me at http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com. I blog daily and use the site as a hub to connect to other blogs I write for. Thanks so much for interviewing me today, Susan!

It has been a pleasure. Hope to see you at a Carolina Conspiracy event soon, Elizabeth.

Kathleen Delaney and Murder for Dessert

Kathleen Delaney stopped by to tell us about herself and her writing. Grab a cup of hot tea and a few cookies and enjoy the visit.

I lived the first seventy years of my life in California, married young and had five children. Somewhere in there I got my real estate brokers license and moved my one still-at-home child, my father and mother, five horses, three dogs and I no longer have any idea how many cats to Paso Robles on California’s central coast. It’s a beautiful little town and wonderful wine country. I stayed there for twenty-three years, working as a real estate broker, and watched it grow and change from cow/calf and barley farming to a major wine producing area. The growth of the town inspired my first mystery novel, Dying For A Change.

After retiring from real estate, I decided I wanted the experience of living in a very different part of the country and ended up in South Carolina, equally beautiful in a different kind of way and an equally delightful place to be. The south is just dripping with American history so, of course, I bought a 100 + year old house in the historic district of a town at the base of the Appalachians. I even have white wicker furniture on the front porch.

I came to writing somewhat late in life. I had always held writers up on some sort of pedestal, and assumed it was something I couldn’t do. Oh, I wrote. Little stories, essays, short sketches, but they all ended up in the cedar chest. I had no intention of letting anyone see them. I assumed they were awful, and, actually, they were. But several things happened that nudged me forward and finally, one day, I got out the article I’d started about my family’s adventures with 4H. I polished it up, and sold it. To Disney’s Family Fun. For money. I was a writer.

The next step was a novel. Picking my genre wasn’t hard. I loved mysteries and had read hundreds. I would write a mystery. This was more intimidating than you might imagine. I had no idea how those clever people thought up all those plot twists, invented those characters, or structured their stories. Most of the dust jackets said the authors had PhD’s in English, or were famous newspaper people, or had been writing best selling poetry since they were in kindergarten. All I’d ever done was read. And sell one article. I didn’t realize then that a lifetime of reading had introduced me to hundreds of experts who had already taught me how a novel should go together, that a story had rhythm, and that all action springs out of character. And that’s where I started. With a character.

Ellen McKenzie is a woman in her forties, freshly divorced, who returns to her home town of Santa Louisa on California’s central coast to see if she can put back the shattered pieces of her life. She is a fledgling real estate agent, and, of course, stumbles over a body in a new house while waiting for her very first real estate clients to show up. I knew something about all of that, so thought it would be an easy book to write. It wasn’t. But I kept at it, read “how to” books, took classes, woke up early in the morning and sat up in bed with a cup of coffee and a legal pad, trying to shape a book. It took over a year just to get something together that vaguely resembled a novel. But my mother liked it.

St. Martin’s Press holds an annual contest for the best new mystery novel by an unpublished author in the mystery field. I certainly qualified on that score, so polished up my effort as best I could, and off it went. Of course I was going to win. So, while I waited, I started the next novel in the Ellen McKenzie series. I wanted to be ready.

I didn’t win, but the judge did me an enormous favor. She sent back a letter saying the book was good, but not good enough and sent a short synopsis of where it failed. After stomping around, yelling and screaming, I went back and read it again. She was right. So, back to the computer, back to class, and I finally had something that I thought was pretty good. Dying For A Change was a finalist the next year. It was published a year later, and Give First Place to Murder came out a year after that. It takes Ellen into the world of Arabian horse shows and I still love the ending. Then Poisoned Pen Press accepted the third book in this series, And Murder For Dessert. Ellen gets herself mixed up with a murder at the Harvest Festival Dinner at the town’s most famous winery, and in order to find the murderer, almost ends up fricasseed in a bed and breakfast. It has been a Booksense Notable Mystery, has had really nice reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and, from what people have told me, has given a lot of people many enjoyable hours. That is, I think, the nicest thing any one can say about my work and is my chief goal.

The fourth book in the Ellen McKenzie stories will hopefully be along soon.
In the meantime, I am starting a new series. There is a character in the Ellen books, her Aunt Mary, whom I just love. Smart, funny, takes no nonsense from anybody, and I have been told she needed her own series. I agreed. So, Aunt Mary is off to Colonial Williamsburg on the trail of a murderer (what else!) and we’ll see where that leads.

Best of all, I am learning with each book, drawing the characters a little tighter, letting them loose to be a little funnier or a little more clever in solving the mystery, and hopefully giving the reader even more hours of pleasure. I’m sure having a great time trying.

Kathleen, stop by for a visit any time and keep us posted on the new books.