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.

Roxe Anne Peacock's Leave No Trace

Roxe Anne Peacock, artist and author, is my special guest today. Roxe Anne


Roxe Anne is the author of two short stories entitled, "Tomato Soup to Die For" and "The Wishing Tree". She received Special Mention in the Ides of March contest, 2007, in the Rockford Review. She has several poems published in the Rockford Review and the Rockford Register Star. The Rockford Register Star requested Roxe Anne’s profile for their column, "Get to Know Me", March 2008. Roxe Anne’s first mystery, Leave No Trace, was released February 1, 2011 by Whiskey Creek Press in eBook and print. The book should appeal to both YA and adult audiences.


The Rockford Chamber of Commerce sponsored a juried art book, Art Rockford, copyright 2004, in which Roxe Anne was asked to participate. It sold at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Rockford Art Museum and at other book vendors throughout the Rock River Valley area.

In the past, Roxe Anne has been an executive legal secretary, a real estate agent and ran for county board. While campaigning, she had several articles in local newspapers on getting to know the candidates, and she participated in "Meet the Candidates" forums and fundraisers. A local newspaper endorsed her. These experiences have taught her how to communicate and market herself to the public.


Roxe Anne has participated in Civil War re-enactments for over ten years, helped host ladies’ teas for the public, participated in Civil War balls, and helped educate the public at living histories. She has appeared on CSPAN in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and co-edited a Civil War newsletter with over 100 members.


Welcome, Roxe Anne. Please tell us about your journey to writing.

Thanks, Susan. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the arts. My career as an artist drove me insane. I would use colored pencils or the smallest brushes I could find for the fine details in my work.

As much as I was passionate about my art, I could never create a piece to my perfection. After carpal tunnel surgery, I decided to try abstract or what I called my Picasso era. This style set me free. I no longer tried to please anyone including myself.
When my juried art was accepted in a coffee table art book entitled, Art Rockford, I felt I had finally achieved success and moved on to writing.
Now, I hedge on starting a new mystery in fear of it not being successful. Once I get into the plot, the book seems to take on a life of its own and I’m fine. I just need to finish that first chapter.

What books influenced you to write Leave No Trace?

J. A. Jance, a Joanna Brady Mystery series is a favorite of mine; especially Skeleton Canyon. The books are set in the southwest as is Leave No Trace.

While researching the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, I heard a news bulletin about a book entitled, Journal of the Dead by Jason Kersten. The book is about two best friends who stopped at Rattlesnake Canyon to camp overnight. The friends lost their way in the desert on the way back to the park. Without any provisions and only three pints of water between them, the pair didn’t fare well in the heat. Days later one friend was stabbed twice in the heart and the other was barely alive.
This incident and story helped with the creation of my title, Leave No Trace. My plot now went from rappelling down the caverns to my protagonist becoming a reluctant detective when her best friend disappears.
Jessica Waters was looking forward to attending college in the fall with her best friend, Sandra Adams. But when Sandra disappears the night after prom, mutual friend, Jason Harris becomes the number one suspect. Jason isn’t the only suspect in the tight-knit community of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Before Sandra disappeared, she confessed to having an affair with her coach and teacher, Carl Lundstrum. Now Jessica is going to make it her mission to find out what happened if it is the last thing she ever does.
Leave No Trace was released as an eBook and print by Whiskey Creek Press February 1, 2011. It will eventually be available on Amazon.com and is suitable for teens as well as adults. Go to
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/ to read a sample chapter. March 1, 2011 is Whiskey Creek Press’ 8th Anniversary.

What are your long-term goals, Roxe Anne?

In the future, I hope to have completed at least two mystery series, several stand alone mysteries, a historical cookbook series and a journal about my losing weight.
If I get up the courage, I might write a historical Christian romance series.

What are your short-term goals?

I never work on just one writing project at a time. When I get writer’s block, I put my current project aside and work on short stories and poetry.

Any current projects?

At the present time, I am marketing Leave No Trace, working with a fiction agent on a mystery entitled, Fatal Catch, a non-fiction agent on a historical cookbook entitled, History Lover’s Cookbook, and my newest mystery, Catch and Release.
I heard from Dragoon Publishing—Ghost Voices, that my short story entitled, "Battlefield Ghosts" will be released later this year.

Congratulations! Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt?

This is an embarrassing subject for me but so true of first-time authors. I had just completed another mystery, which will remain nameless, and all my friends and family raved about the book. I signed up and was eager to attend my first writer’s conference. I practiced a pitch for my book until I could recite it in my sleep.
The pitch was a success! I phoned home and announced, “I’m going to get published. Three publishers want me to submit my first three chapters of my book.”
Hold on there, Dick Tracey. You’re not published yet. But in my head, I was published, in stores and making the bucks. Boy was I naïve. First of all, the book was geared for young adults and two of the publishers were adult only publishers. That left only one publisher who might want my book after all. My excitement was wiped off my face in a hurry. The agent left the company on not so good of terms not long after the conference. Whoops, now what?
In hindsight, the book really wasn’t polished and needed heavy revisions. I have since apologized to the two adult-only publishers.

My final revisions are viewed by professional writers only before I submit them to anyone.

That's a lesson we must all learn, Roxe Anne. Thanks for sharing that.
After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

I curl up with my dog, Spike and watch taped cooking shows; with my favorite being "Top Chef". When I’m not in the mood for watching the cooking shows, I watch "Castle", "NCIS", "Gray’s Anatomy", "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race". Oh, and let's not forget "HLN News" throughout the night.

Thanks for giving us a peek into your life, Roxe Anne. Best of luck with all endeavors!

New Sin Creek Review

I got this new review for Sin Creek today. Thought I'd share it.

I had the privilege to read the fourth book in the SBI Agent Logan Hunter Series, I truly have to admit I wish I had read Susan's other three books before this because I was sooo hooked on this book the moment I opened it. I knew the porn industry has grown but never in a million years did I imagine in colleges. This book will educate you and will leave you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next.

I love mystery books...GOOD mystery books and Susan Whitfield I can tell will be a huge hit ! I highly recommend readers snag this book for sure... no matter what genre you like, you'll love Susan's writing! I rate this book a 5 stars out of 5 for sure!  Ohio Girl Talks


Thanks so much, OGT.

Rosendorf Does It Again

Mark Rosendorf lives in New York and is author of The Rasner Effect series.

Welcome to the blog, Mark. Please tell us more about yourself.

Hi Susan and thank you for the opportunity. My Name is Mark Rosendorf and I’m 36 years old from Queens, New York. I’m in my tenth year as a guidance counselor for the New York City department of education’s special education district. I work in a school for students classified either “emotionally disturbed” or “learning disabled.” As a child, I read a lot and my dream was to someday become a published author.

In January, 2009, the dream was realized with the release of The Rasner Effect, a suspense/thriller that has received many positive reviews and was nominated for various awards. In February, 2010, Without Hesitation: The Rasner Effect II came out. In January, 2011, the trilogy concluded with Rasner’s Revenge: The Rasner Effect III. I’ve also written a short story that was published as part of the L&L Dreamspell anthology, “Cat in a Dreamspell.“

In the first book, The Rasner Effect, you introduce readers to Rick Rasner. Tell us a little about his background.

Rick Rasner is an intense, but emotionally unbalanced, character. His actions paint him as evil. He’d disagree.

Rick was once a psychotic killer and member of the rogue mercenary group, The Duke Organization. He is captured by the military and used as the guinea pig for a social experiment. A prototype chip is put in his head that suppresses his emotions through intense pain. Hypnosis is used to induce amnesia and he is returned to society, under supervision, to see if he can become a productive citizen.
The experiment appears successful as seven years later Rick becomes a therapist at the “dreaded” Brookhill Children’s Psychiatric Residence in Brookhill, Pennsylvania. Rick finds great frustration in this facility as he must deal with a cruel and bullying director who attacks both him and the patients of the facility. The entire story, however, changes when The Duke Organization tracks Rick down at the Brookhill facility in order to bring him back into the “family.”

How did you decide to write books about such a violent person?

One thing about psychotic people is that they don’t see themselves as psychotic. They see themselves as being in the right while everyone else just doesn’t understand. My goal with The Rasner Effect, and the series as a whole, was to create this story from the psychotic killer’s point of view. Rick Rasner has a different code of ethics that make sense to him.
This is how the real world works as well. The same situation is completely different depending on who is telling the story. From Rick’s point of view, he’s the sympathetic character of the story. From the reader’s point of view, they’re not sure who to root for and against.

Having read your books, I totally agree. I was torn.How much of your background as a high school guidance counselor influenced these books?

Quite a bit. Many of the personalities of Duke Organization members are taken directly from abnormal behaviors of emotionally disturbed people. This includes characters that display obsessive compulsiveness, oppositional defiance, schizophrenia, anti-social behaviors and other abnormal behaviors. The children in the Brookhill residence, meanwhile, have severe anger issues along with other behavioral issues that are common with emotionally disturbed teenagers.

By the third book, readers may empathize with Rasner’s situation. How did you pull that off?

Rick is a complex character. The morals and ethics he was brought up on as a Duke Organization trainee differs from most of societies, yet he has such conviction for them, it’s hard not to root for him to succeed. I believe that, deep down, many of us would love to be Rick Rasner. He’s above the law and deals with his problems in the most extreme ways. But he’s also the type who abducted a young girl from the Brookhill facility because his sympathies demanded he give her a better life.

Speaking of that young girl, let’s talk about Clara Blue’s role in the books. What is her purpose?

Clara is one of the many lives influenced by “The Rasner Effect.” Clara is a troubled young girl who has been ruined by the system. While under the influence of the microchip and amnesia, Rick is unable to help Clara due to the brutality of the Brookhill residence. Once he becomes his old self, however, he still feels a need to help Clara.
Clara, meanwhile, sees Rick as the only parental figure she’s ever had. She wants to please him since, from her point of view, he’s a hero. While the world left her to suffer in an institution, he freed her. Where every authority figure in her life buried Clara, Rick taught her how to defend herself. His influence guides her every decision from the moment they meet.
Many of my readers have insisted that Clara Blue is the real star of The Rasner Effect series, and it would be hard to argue.

Yes, perhaps there will be a spin-off starring Clara.
And then there's Scarberry, a mercenary who has made two attempts on Rasner’s life before Rasner’s Revenge. In the third book, they appear to end up on the same side for a time. Can you explain his presence and role without spoilers?

Jake Scarberry is the opposite side of the Rick Rasner coin. While he, too, is a mercenary, he was the one hired by the military to take down The Duke Organization. Thinking he killed Rick, he expected to be proclaimed a hero. Instead, he lost everything, was tossed into the witness protection program and forced to keep his mouth shut. Reduced to humbling jobs such as cleaning frat houses for insolent college students, Jake is pulled back into the hunt for the man he thought he had killed once before.

Mark, you and I have the same publisher Texas-based, L&L Dreamspell. Please tell us about your experience with them.

I have a great appreciation to L&L Dreamspell as they gave me and The Rasner Effect a chance where most publishers turned their nose up to my blank resume. Working with them has been a great learning experience. They’ve educated me on many aspects of the book world, including how busy publishers can be. I also learned a lot about marketing and writing, both from the L&L publishers, Lisa and Linda, as well as many of the Dreamspell authors.

How do you promote the books?

I find online is the best way to promote. I live in New York City, where there are next to zero small bookstores. There’s plenty of Barnes and Noble and Borders, but they have a “no thanks” policy when it comes to working with local independent authors. Each of the Rasner Effect books had launch parties, all of which took place in local libraries. Although the majority of my marketing has been online (interviews, live chats, etc), I have also held live signings in Florida, Long Island and New Jersey.

Are you working on another book at this time?

Yes, I am currently working on a science-fiction novel that I intend to market as a young adult novel. I feel it’s an original concept which should capture much of The Rasner Effect’s magic, especially character-wise. As the manuscript is finalized, I’ll share details on the plot, but I will say that while the characters are as complex as Rick Rasner and The Duke Organization, they’re a lot less psychotic.
I also have another project in the planning stages based on the requests of Rasner Effect readers. It has been mentioned numerous times in the Rasner series that Rick, along with the rest of the Duke Organization, was taken in and trained from a young age by Jennifer Duke’s father. They formed The Duke Organization after Rick and Jen killed Jen’s father and took over the group.
Readers have contacted me many times asking about the story behind Rick and the rest of the Duke Organization’s origin. What was Rick like as a child? How was he recruited by Jen’s father? How did he become such an intense and violent character? Soon, a Rasner prequel will be written and it elaborates on these details.

Where can we find out more about you and your books?
The Rasner Effect has a page on Facebook; there’s also the official Rasner Effect website, http://www.markrosendorf.com/

Mark, it's always fun to chat with you. Congratulations on a great series. I look forward to more great writing from you.                                                       



Joyce DeBacco visits

Joyce DeBacco is here today for a visit. Hello, Joyce. Welcome and please tell us what your writing goals are.
Because my books mirror many families today as they try to balance life, love, and family responsibilities, there’s a plethora of subject matter to explore. Yes, there’s always chaos of some sort in every family, but at its core there’s also love. My writing goal is to have readers feel that love while the characters work through their problems. It’s so rewarding when someone else sees what I see and learns what I’ve learned in writing the story. I want readers to sigh and go, “Ahh,” when they reach the end of the book.

Tell us about your latest book. Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

My new book is a tender love story between a single mother looking for a safe environment in which to raise her son and a widower who was raised in the foster care system. After enduring more than their share of tragedies, they somehow get beyond the darkness in their pasts to a sunny place where dreams are born and hope flourishes. While only this book, Where Dreams are Born, is available in print, all are available on Amazon and other online bookstores. Links to various bookstores are on my website, joycedebacco.com.

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


Oh, definitely. In fact, my first attempt is still sitting in a drawer. I made all the mistakes most novice writers make—head hopping, telling instead of showing, using passive voice instead of active, you name it. Looking back, I can’t believe how amateur it was.

How do you determine voice in your writing?

I don’t determine voice; my characters do. I just tell their story. The voice might be off when I start, but as I go along it comes through very clearly. That’s when the rewriting begins, continuing until I feel there’s nothing left to change. Of course, you’ll always find something, even after publishing.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

I don’t think a writer can ever truly unwind. There’s always something related to the story you’re currently writing or one you’re planning to write that pops into your mind unbidden. I do like to make quilts but not by hand. The only hand sewing on my quilts is the binding. Having run out of wall space and beds, I only get to make one now when someone I know graduates, gets married, or has a baby. The best I can do to unwind is to watch TV and hopefully get my mind off my work.
Any current projects?

My current project is to revive the manuscript sitting in my drawer. I started on it but got distracted by all the promotion necessary to keep my current books afloat.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

I have reviews, purchase links, and the first two chapters of all my books on my website, joycedebacco.com. Thank you for asking.

Continued success, Joyce. Thanks for stopping by.

Jo Hiestand

My special guest today is Jo Hiestand. Welcome, Jo. Please tell us a little about yourself.

Well, where to start…  I’ve lived most of my life in St. Louis, Missouri, where I was born.  I wanted to be a writer since I was in grade school but I didn’t do anything about it until I was in my fifties – I took a continuing education class through the local community college.  That writing teacher ignited my desire and I started writing in earnest.  My first novel, Death of an Ordinary Guy, was published in August 2004.

Part of the trouble with deciding to write seriously, why it took me so long to get going, is that I have too many interests. It was difficult to narrow it down. I love music – I play 12-string guitar and the harpsichord – so I thought about being a professional folksinger or a concert pianist. Photography, drawing, quilting and baking also take up large parts of my life – could I do something with that? A hobby at one point was writing a script on some topic, like autumn or the day in the life of a pond, then go out and take illustrating photographs, record the narration and plop it all together with music as a multi-media show with the projected slides, recorded narration and music. That was so cool! Could I professionally sell those to school districts for their curriculum? I toyed with the idea of setting up a tearoom, baking cheesecake, creating my own recipes and putting them in a cookbook…. Clearly, I was destined to use all this in my writing, ha ha!

I write two English mystery series: the Taylor & Graham mysteries use a different English custom as the backbone of each book’s plot. In April, there will be eight published books in this series. The McLaren Case Mysteries series saw the light of day last year; it features ex-cop Michael McLaren who now investigates cold cases on his own. The second book, Swan Song, will be published in April 2011. I’m more excited about this release than any of my other books because I will have a book signing at Tutbury Castle, in England – where part of the novel takes place.

WOW!

A few short stories appear in three L&L Dreamspell mystery anthologies, and some of my articles also have been published in magazines, community newsletters and newspapers.

I lived in England during my stint at professional folk singing. It was then that my love of All Things British was born. I insist for accuracy in my novels  from police methods and location layout to the general “feel” of the area  so I’ve wandered back innumerable times to Derbyshire for research. Through one of these adventures I acquired two friends in the Derbyshire Constabulary. They’ve answered British police procedural questions and read my manuscripts to see that all is well.

As far as classroom education is concerned, I graduated from Webster University with a BA in English and departmental honors. I’m a member of Sisters in Crime (being the founding president of the Greater St. Louis chapter), and Mystery Writers of America.

An awesome biography, for sure, Jo.
Tell us about your latest book. Is it available in print, e-book, and Kindle formats?

I have two books coming out in April this year. A Well Dressed Corpse is book eight in the Taylor & Graham series. Corpse deals with the odd Derbyshire custom of well dressing. The local legend of a shuck (ghostly black dog) and the disappearance of a young woman twenty-three years earlier to the current murder are also part of the story. I tried something new with Corpse, thought; I’ve woven newspaper articles, diary entries and stories from library books throughout the book. These emphasize what’s going on in the story. Hope it’s received well!

Swan Song is the second in my newer series featuring ex-cop Michael McLaren. In this book, a popular folk musician is murdered after singing at a castle’s medieval fair reenactment. Unbeknownst to McLaren, someone he loves tries to help him solve the case and ends up in great danger. So McLaren not only has to solve the case but also rescue his love!

Both books take place in Derbyshire, England and are published by L&L Dreamspell. They will be available in trade paperback, e-book and Kindle formats.

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

Without a doubt, yes! I wrote my first novel when I was in high school. I didn’t know a thing about plotting or editing or that certain publishers accept certain genres. It was a terrible book and I still cringe when I think about it. Through reading authors I admire I’ve learned about plot and pacing and characters. I’ve learned how to write in a more compact style and let the reader draw assumptions. I ‘show’ now that I can write descriptively, so I think that brings the reader into the story.

Were any of your books more challenging to write than the others? If so, why?

Horns of a Dilemma was the hardest to write, at least so far. That’s book five of Taylor & Graham. It’s the first book that a friend of mine -- a St. Louis-area police detective -- co-authored with me. Paul had been helping me before this, though, by supplying information and writing fight scenes for me. But with “Horns” we took a chance and he actually wrote some chapters as one of the characters. This was tremendous fun for us both and we continued the co-authorship in the next book, The Coffin Watchers. But it was a bit of a challenge at first to figure out how to write together.

Also, the plot was a bit more complicated than the previous four novels. Horns involved current information about an endangered animal species, so I had to research that. I also had to research a bit about another country and MI-6. It was a fun book to write but it took more time to assemble all the information.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

Characters are the heart of my stories. They drive the plot. So, I create a mind map on a piece of paper. I put my victim in the center of the page, with a circle drawn around the person’s name. From there, lines like the spokes of a wheel radiate outward. These are the characters who are connected to the victim, including the killer. They all must have some relationship and I jot down phrases about each person. For example, if the victim is a photographer, the characters could be his wife, a gallery owner, a rival photographer, a magazine that’s used his photos, his brother-in-law, the landlord of his studio, a client… You get the idea. People who are connected to him. From these characters and their personalities I figure out who would have a reason for hating the guy enough to kill him. I think this works better than a plot-driven story because the characters never do anything against their personalities. It’s believable.

Setting is in Derbyshire, England. I tend to use small villages because I like the closed society of a village – they all know each other and someone usually has reason to murder his neighbor! But my books are not cozies – you might refer to them as a cross between a cozy and a police procedural. I think the cozy’s restriction of everyone knowing everyone heightens the tension.

I’ve lived in England and have vacationed there extensively, so I know the region quite well. Since I have the personal experience of the area, I populate it with my stories. Even if I do create fictional villages, I use real towns of Buxton, Ashbourne, Chesterfield, etc and some real places in those towns. So, for the most part, the setting flows from my having been there.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

I grew up reading The Three Musketeers, Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Kidnapped. I loved authors such as Walter de la Mare, Daphne du Maurier, and Charles Dickens... Then, in my adult pre-published years, I devoured every book of the Golden Age mysteries of Ngaio Marsh and Josephine Tey. I loved the mood of the writing as well as the locations. Without thinking about it, this atmospheric feel has crept into my writing in the form of my scene descriptions and location choices – dilapidated stone barns, thunderstorm in the forest, midnight on the moors….

I’m a nature lover – trees, the land, birds, wildlife. These elements crop up in my writing as descriptive scene writing and as character traits. Brenna Taylor, the detective-sergeant in my Taylor & Graham series, is a bird watcher and she gets into trouble occasionally while doing a bit of bird watching on a case. So my upbringing has helped create Brenna.

Any current projects?

I just finished book three in the McLaren series. In December 2010 I’d gone to Scotland for a quick visit – I got an idea for another McLaren book while there, so I’m plotting that story right now.

Before I write McLaren’s fourth book, though, I’d like to take a break from penning mysteries and write a stand-alone. Something completely different. Something for which I’ll need a pen name. I’ve just got the beginnings of an idea but it’s not quite matured yet.

A 15-minute one-act play of mine won a contest last year and ended up being produced in a local community theater. That was a lot of fun so I recently wrote another short play and am about to submit it for production consideration. Maybe that one will see the spotlights!

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

My books are listed on their series’ websites: www.McLarenCases.com and www.johiestand.com

Each site has an events calendar that is kept up-to-date.

Jo, it has, indeed, been a pleasure to have you here. Continued success with your writing. I hope your castle signing is a smashing success! Please post pictures from it on Facebook for all to see.

Thank you for offering me a spot on your blog, Susan. This was great fun! 

Cape Fear Crimefest

I attended the Cape Fear Crime Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina February 4th and 5th. The orginial Crimefest came to a halt about four years ago and Joyce and Jim Lavene along with Judy Nichols resurrected the event. The Lavenes, Judy, and I are all members of The Carolina Conspiracy, the brainchild of Joyce and Jim. We travel all over the two Carolinas having fun, talking about writing, and signing copies of our books.

It was a pleasure to see so many of the CC members and to meet new folks, both readers and writers. I was especially delighted to meet fellow Dreamspell author, Linda Lovely. She's quite a trip! I appreciate all the work that went into planning and implementing the event, and special thanks to Two Sisters Bookery and New Hanover County Library for their parts. I hoped to see more readers there. That was my only disappointment. I hope we continue to have the Crimefest and spread the word so that more writers and yes, many more mystery readers, will attend next year.

Jim Lavene with me during the social:

Karen McCullough and me:

Linda Lovely, another Dreamspell author, with me at Cape Fear Crime Fest:

 Pal, Lynette Hampton, a fellow Carolina Conspirator with me at CFCF:

M.K. Graff with me at social:

A grand time was had by all!