Pat Bertram: Daughter Am I

Pat Bertram, author of Daughter Am I, is a native of Colorado and except for a brief stay in the north woods of Wisconsin, lived there all her life. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book — character and story driven novels that can’t easily be slotted into a genre — she decided to write her own. Daughter Am I is her third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.

Pat, it's a pleasure to have you here.
What do you mean by "novels that can't easily be slotted into a genre"?

All of my novels have elements of intrigue, adventure, mystery, suspense, romance, history, and some have a touch of science fiction. A Spark of Heavenly Fire, for example, is the story of people who become extraordinary during a time of horror -- a bioengineered disease is decimating the population of Colorado, and the entire state is quarantined. One character is obsessed with finding out who created the disease, one couple tries to escape, one woman does what she can to help the survivors. And a thread of romance connects all the stories. All these different stories entwined into one makes it difficult to settle on a single genre. A Spark of Heavenly Fire is being sold as mystery/crime, but it could just as easily be mainstream or a thriller.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?

My only goal is to write the stories I want to read. If my books do have a message, it’s that nothing is as it seems. We are not necessarily who we think we are, history did not necessarily happen the way we think it did, and what we see is not necessarily the truth. But all that is more of a side effect. Mostly I just want to write good stories with good characters.

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

I don’t have any specific technique, though I do fill in a timeline as I write to make sure that the events happen in a realistic framework. When I first started writing, I never had weekends or holidays in the story, just one long string of weekdays, so a timeline is very important. The timeline also serves as a brief outline of what I have written so that I can see the story at a glance. Besides the timeline, I use a theme to stay on track. If I’m not sure of the efficacy of a character trait or plot point, I check it against the theme. If the trait or plot point helps prove the theme, I keep it, otherwise I look for a stronger way of tying the ideas to the theme. I’ve found that a theme helps keep a story (and me) focused.

Briefly tell us about your latest book, Daughter Am I.

Daughter Am I is the story of a young woman who inherits a farm from murdered grandparents she never knew she had. Since her father won’t talk about them or explain why he told her they were dead, she sets out on a journey to discover who those grandparents were and why someone killed them. Armed with a little black address book she found in a secret room in the farmhouse, she travels halfway across the country talking to people who knew her grandfather. Through the stories those feisty octogenarians tell, she learns the truth about her grandparents and herself.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Because I’ve mostly lived in the shadow of mountains, mountains always shadow my writing.
How fortunate.

How do you promote yourself online and off?

I have not done much offline promotion. I’ve been doing my promotion online -- Facebook, of course. Twitter, though to be honest, I haven’t quite figured out how to use it to my benefit. I blog. I hold writing discussions, both on Facebook and Gather.com. I try to put in an appearance on Goodreads. I’m not sure how effective any of these sites are as a promotion tool, but they are a start. Eventually I hope to find a way to get vast numbers of people interested in my books, but so far I haven’t hit on the right method of promotion. I’ve heard that if your book hasn’t caught on in six weeks it never will find a readership. I’ve also heard that it takes three years for a book to find its readership. I’m hoping it’s the latter.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

I have a website -- http://patbertram.com/-- where I post important information, including the first chapters of each of my books, but the best way to keep up with me, my books, and my events on a daily basis is by way of Bertram’s Blog. http://ptbertram.wordpress.com

All my books are available both in print and in ebook format. You can get them online at Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, and Smashwords. Smashwords is great -- the books are available in all ebook formats, including Kindle, and you can download the first 30% free.

Pat, thanks for the interview,  and I wish you well on all endeavors. By the way, the cover is gorgeous. I'm certain that it will be in the finals in the next Whitfield Cover Award contest.

Lynette Hall Hampton's Stetson Mold

Lynette Hall Hampton is my special guest today. Welcome, Lynette. Give us a little history about yourself.
I was born into a family of readers and writers. My Dad read western novels by the car load. When he retired from public work he read at least one a day for the rest of his life. My Mother read everything from Shakespeare to Grace Livingston Hill and wrote short stories and poems. She also wrote a column for her local paper. In the third grade I discovered a book called Cowgirl Kate and decided then and there that I’d someday write a book someday. It took many years of writing magazine articles and an occasional short story for me to reach that goal. In 2003 my first mystery novel, Jilted by Death was published. I haven’t stopped writing novels since.

I've read all of you books and enjoyed them very much. Briefly tell us about Stetson Mold.
My latest book, Stetson Mold, came out in January of this year from Wings ePress in e-book and trade paperback. It is a stand alone romantic suspense. It’s setting is an injection molding company which is located in Huntersville, NC – a small town near Charlotte. Stetson Varner dies and leaves his company and all his assets to his niece, Shelly Wakefield. When she takes control of the company, she learns that Stetson Varner didn’t die in an automobile accident as was reported, but he was murdered. In her struggle to learn who killed her uncle, she faces threats, sabotage, a potential strike and the possibility that the handsome molding manager is behind it all before she leans who she can and can not trust in the company.

How do you develop characters? Setting? Plot? And do you have specific techniques you use to stay on track?
My characters and plots have no rhyme or reason about them. It may sound strange, but my characters seem to pop into my head, sometimes uninvited. At first they’re fuzzy and nameless and without much form. To find out who these drop-in guest are I have a series of questions for them. Name? Age? Married? Single? And so on. After I get a fix on them, I start asking such things as: Where are you? What are you up to? Where do you work? Why are you bugging me? When I get the answers here I usually start writing. I don’t worry about a full blown plot, though I often have a vague idea of how things are going to end up and it usually does end this way. It’s the twist and turns in the middle that often surprise me. Though I know a lot of writers plot their entire novel before writing, I can’t seem to do it. Every time I’ve tried, the books have ended up not written or tossed in the trash. I’m not saying that I don’t plot at all, because I do. It’s simply a chapter or so at a time and as I do this I asked myself, “How is this going to lead to the ending I have decided on?” It’s kind of like a thirty-day trip I took across several years ago. I knew I was going to go a northern route through Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Oregon, go down the California coast and come back to NC by way of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. I didn’t plan some of the most fun things – the off shoots of visiting the Grand Canyon, The London Bridge in Colorado or touring the plantation in Louisiana among other things. And though I started out and ended up where I planned, I had a more exciting time doing ii than if I’d know about these things in advance.

Where do you write? What do you have around you?
I’d like to impress everyone and say that I have a beautifully appointed office, but alas that would be fiction. Because my son-in-law had to take a job out of town and he’s away five days a week, I have recently downsized and moved into a small apartment connected to my daughter’s home. I have a large living room and one wall contains bookshelves, a desk with my computer and a television in the corner. My file cabinet is in my walk-in closet and my cat thinks the back of the desk is his private sleeping quarters. (He’s nineteen years old, so who am I to argue with him?) At least it’s private and my two grandchildren are most of the time thoughtful enough to knock before coming into my area. My seven-year old granddaughter sometimes forgets and will come bounding in, grab her mouth saying, “Oh, I forgot,” go running back out and knock. It always makes me smile.

What are your current projects?
I have to laugh when I think of this question. I’m one of those strange writers who works on more than one book at a time. I’m about half through the third in the Rev. Willa Hinshaw series, though it’s giving me more trouble than any other of the series. I have completed three books in the Coverton Mills Romance series and am working on the fourth. A third of the third book in the Ferrington Men series is finished and I’ve recently written a stand alone historical romance which is looking for a home. I’m now writing the second in this genre. I like stretching my mind and attempting different forms of novel writing, but I haven’t had the urge to try my hand at erotica yet. Probably won’t do that one.

Some of this books will be out in the future. The first in the Coverton Mills series, Lady Slippers for my Lady will hopefully be coming out from Wild Rose Press in 2011 under my pen name, Agnes Alexander. Your Place or Mine? is scheduled to be out later this year from WriteWord Books. The mass paperback reprints of Jilted by Death will be out this summer from Harlequin’s World Wide Mysteries. They will publish Echoes of Mercy in 2011. I have offered Wings ePress the first in my Calendar Clan series. So, like all writers, I’m waiting to hear form the others I have out.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
My website, http://www.lynettehallhampton.com/, is in bad need of updating, but my older books are there. Most of my books are available on Amazon and other on line booksellers. Of course they can be ordered from the publishers: PublisherAlabaster.Biz or WingsPress.com. I keep books on hand myself and my email is LynetteHampton82@Yahoo.com.
Thank you for interviewing me, Susan. I enjoyed it.

It was my pleasure, Lynette. Good luck with all those books going at once. I tip my Stetson to you!

Lynette (in the hat) and Susan at

Carolina Conspiracy event

Mari Sloan's Beaufort Falls

Mari Sloan dropped by to answer a few questions about Beaufort Falls. Welcome, Mari. Please give us a brief bio.

I am a Southern writer whose family is from Atlanta, Ga., now transplanted to Southern California where I live in a small apartment with my husband and a huge black cat. Writing is my part-time vocation, and I work fulltime as an AdMin for a furniture store, although my past has included counseling, teaching, disaster relief work for the American Red Cross and night and weekend director for a domestic violence center. Mental health, crisis intervention and the welfare of women and children have always been high priorities in my life.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

The Author’s page on my webpage begins with a statement that I think sums up most of my writing. I tell everyone, only partly tongue-in-cheek, “my Mother was Scarlett O’Hara and my Father was John Wayne.” My Great-Grandmother was the first prison matron for the state of Georgia, a saintly woman who wore an apron instead of a uniform and who stopped a prison break once (two women on foot who had decided to leave the work farm) with nothing but a stern look and a switch. From an early age I was told that my life should matter to more than just myself, and I was expected to be of service to others in some way. When you add the influences of some decidedly off beat religious experiences and a Grandmother who had learned through contact with prisoners at an early age how to predict the future and who was never wrong, I had all of the elements for a first class novel before I was ten.

LOL. I love it! Tell us about Beaufort Falls.

In Beaufort Falls a determined ghost comes back from the grave to protect her living children, still in the custody of her abuser, and to avenge her murder. This is accomplished with the unconscious help of her very strange ex-lover, who manages to evade arrest himself by a series of creative impersonations, beginning with posing as the first man he is supposed to have killed, and ending as the biggest, most awkward woman you could ever imagine, a part I picture as being acted if it ever becomes a movie by Bruce Willis. A mix of characters rotate around this main plot, a dangerous religious fanatic, two cute little kids, women whose biological clocks are ticking loudly, lost boys adrift in a mental health system gone astray, two of the most inept “hit-men” you could ever image, with an action packed finish that leaves room for a sequel. “Nothing is what it seems, in Beaufort Falls!”

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?

Yes, a definite message of hope for victims of domestic abuse, the mental health system, and people who are dealing with injustice anywhere. Not even death prevents Eliza from taking care of her children and making sure that they are taken care of. A secondary message, or its “subtext,” is that you never really know what you or anyone else is capable of just by watching life move around you. What may seem ordinary on the surface can be very bizarre indeed. Who knows what his or her neighbor is really thinking, or what goes on behind their little white picket fence or closed doors?

How do you develop characters? Setting? That all-important first sentence? Your “voice?” Influences?

My setting is, of course, the land of my childhood, the sleepy, sultry, Deep South, where superstition, religion gone insane, agenda determined aberration all move beneath the surface of normality in grooves worn by centuries of the misuse of power and sanctioned abuse of the weak. My characters are all shaped by this, but show extraordinary creativity, strength and ingenuity in overcoming the obstacles placed in their way. The ones regarded as the weakest are actually the toughest, and you cheer for them every step of the way.

I lived in Southern Alabama, Beaufort Falls’ setting, for several years and found it much like my Atlanta home and my childhood in hot, humid South Georgia. My first sentence? "Beaufort Falls was not exactly what you would call a ‘happening’ town.” Not on the surface, anyway. My voice is satirical, in the best tradition of Southern writers, and my greatest influence has always been Pat Conroy, probably the best portrayer of human nobility and fallacies in the history of the written word. Want to see me do the dance of joy? Compare me to Pat.

Where do you write and what particular distractions do you have to overcome? What helps you concentrate, aids your creative process?

Life throws distractions at me with the accuracy of a curve ball pitcher on a pro baseball team. I live in a studio apartment with a mate whose schedule is my opposite and there is always confusion and noise around me. The plus side of this is that he is my soul-mate, and nothing I say to him disturbs him. We both have to be creating something to be happy, so it’s not at all unusual for conversation on a Friday or Saturday morning to go like this:

“Mari, come here and look at this! Look what Microsoft is doing now!”

“Leave me alone. I’m writing!”

“But look! Should I send this out? Come proof this for me.”

“In a minute. Charlie knew that he …”

“But Mari, I’m going to send it …”

“Shut up!!” Eventually I take a look and then this same restless man sits still and lets me read my chapter to him, even when he’s heard it dozens of times before. Beaufort Falls took three years to finish its first draft and then it went through more than ten major and minor rewrites before I was happy with it, and this poor man heard it read out loud to him every word of the way. Then we suffered through the publishing process as partners, creating It’s ME! Ink Press and learning together how to launch “the baby.” Now I’ve gone through three years of creating its sequel and reading IT out loud, as well.

What are your current projects and where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Road Trip, the sequel to Beaufort Falls, should be out by August of this year. I’m working at rewriting and editing it now, and in it Molly, who was only eight in Beaufort Falls is a troubled teen-ager who teams up with her biological Dad to transport a pink trailer to Hollywood where she believes that she can sell it and make her fortune. There is a cosmic subplot to this thriller and an entirely new array of characters as they cross the country. Native Americans, Chinese gang members, a god-like superhero “more like Spiderman than Superman,” a vicious, super-powered black cat, and more make this novel even more multi-faceted than the first.

You can find Beaufort Falls for sale on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions, Barnes and Noble.com, anywhere books are sold online or you can order it from your favorite bookstore by author name (Mari Sloan) or title (Beaufort Falls). It should be delivered to your door within ten days, either way.

You can reach my website using either
http://www.beaufortfalls.com/ or http://www.marisloan.com,or/ visit my blog at http://mari-thewritersblock.blogspot.com/ . I’m also active at Book Town and you can always send me messages here, whenever you’re around.  (Mari's interview will also be posted at booktown.com)

It’s a pleasure to hang out with Susan and I thank her for her time and her wonderful questions. If there is anything else you want to contribute or ask me, leave a response here, under the interview, and I’ll reply right away!

Thanks so much, Mari. Continued success!

Crystal J.Stranaghan and The Pirate

My guest author today is multi-talented Crystal Stanaghan. She is the author of six published picture books for children, three early reader chapter books and four upcoming non-fiction titles for adults. She has worked as a publisher, editor, book designer, publishing consultant, and creative writing mentor on numerous projects. Crystal is an experienced workshop facilitator, and has taught groups ranging in age from pre-school students to adults on topics including: writing, web-marketing, publishing, wellness, goal setting and the business of making books. Crystal is the Publisher of Gumboot Books (www.gumbootbooks.com) – a Vancouver publisher that specializes in books for children and youth. Through the Self Publishing Network (www.selfpublishingnetwork.info) which she co-founded, she also works as a consultant and project coordinator for people publishing their own projects of all kinds.

Welcome, Crystal.
When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I've been creating stories my whole life, and decided when I was about 8 years old that I was going to be a writer when I grew up. I haven't really grown up yet, but I started to take the writing a whole lot more seriously about 6 years ago when I finished my Masters degree. I've always had wide ranging interests as far as books and life are concerned, and that's definitely reflected in the genres I like to work in. Children's books, romantic thrillers, non-fiction and self-help are my favourites.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.

My most recently published title is The Pirate Who Lost His Aarrr! (illustrated by Marcus Wild). It's a picture book, but for the older end of that spectrum (age 6-9). The story and themes are a bit more complex and the illustration style has strong graphic novel elements to it, so it appeals especially to boys in that age range. It's a tale of pirates, gold, and a cursed Captain - but is also about learning to hold on to your temper.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?

In all of my books there is some kind of message, but I do try to make sure that it's subtle and something that the readers have to figure out for themselves. My training as a psychologist is put to good use in my children's books and I've dealt with a variety of topics over the years. The environment, facing your fears, anger management and more - but always in a way that's woven into a fun story and the learning takes a back seat to really engaging readers in the story.

Does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Absolutely. Geographically for sure - I have a teen novel and a romantic thriller I'm working on that are both set in the small coastal BC town that I was born in called Ocean Falls. It's essentially a ghost town now, and makes a great setting for spooky stories. I have spent a lot of time in small towns (in various countries) and that comes through in the settings and types of stories I choose. My first book was called Then It Rained - which was definitely inspired by the local weather!

In a family sense, I was blessed with an adventurous family who and are also very encouraging of whatever I'm working on. They've provided great inspiration over the years, and the lessons we learned (caring for the world around you, treating people like you'd want to be treated etc.) are definitely topics that have come up in my children's books in particular. Vernon and the Snake (Gumboot Books 2007) was actually written for my Grandfather Vernon - who is petrified of garter snakes. My mom always told me to put myself in their shoes - and understand that to them, I was the monster. That all came together in this book as the story is told from the Snake's point of view on one side, and Vernon's on the other.

In my non-fiction, it comes out in the firm belief that anyone can learn to do anything-if they're stubborn enough, believe they can, and keep an open mind. Also, my parents are both great at explaining things to people, and really patient, and I think that had a direct impact on my own teaching style and on my writing. They also were really involved in the community and always contributing time and energy to various fundraising projects and A World of Stories is a direct result of their examples. That's a project we put together to raise money for literacy through Rotary Clubs.

What are your current projects?

Right now, I'm working on several different writing projects in different genres. In children's books, I'm working on books 2 and 3 of a series called The 13th Floor, illustrated by Izabela Bzymek. The first one in the series came out last year from Gumboot Books (The 13th Floor: Primed for Adventure).

I also have 3 early reader chapter books for ESL students coming out this year from the JLS Storybook Project. In the non-fiction realm, my partner Jared Hunt and I have co-authored 4 non-fiction books about writing and publishing that are coming out this spring and summer. These are paired with workshops we teach in each area, and for the next 12 months we'll be teaching these all over Canada. Between that, and keeping Gumboot Books running - that's more than enough to keep us out of trouble for the near future!

How do you promote yourself online and off?

I actually love building websites (yeah, really!) and so that's definitely the first place I start. Online marketing happens mainly through various social media channels: ning, facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogging and more. Offline, I spend most of my time either writing, teaching, or marketing books for our publishing company at events in person. This takes a variety of forms: doing readings at community events and bookstores, doing school visits, speaking at conferences, and teaching workshops.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

The best place to get more information is from my websites. My author website can be found at www.crystalstranaghan.com.

For information on Gumboot Books: www.gumbootbooks.ca

For information on the Self Publishing Network: www.selfpublishingnetwork.info

For information on the Live Your Dream Workshops: www.liveyourdreamworkshops.com

on twitter: @cjstranaghan

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.

Young Adult author, L. Diane Wolfe discusses her work

Diane, it’s wonderful to have you as a guest. Please give us a brief bio.

Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” I am a member of the National Speakers Association. “Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership & Goal-Setting”, ties all of my goal-setting and leadership seminars information together into one complete, enthusiastic package. My YA series, The Circle of Friends, features morally grounded, positive stories that appeal to both teens and concerned parents. Ten years associating with a motivation training system and experience as a foster parent gave me the in-depth knowledge of relationships, personality traits and success principles. I travel extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintain a dozen websites & blogs, manage an online writer’s group, and contribute to several other sites and newsletters.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
It bit me when I was thirteen! I wrote like a maniac after that. I loved reading fantasy and science fiction, so those were my predominant genres.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?
Yes! Catch the spirit of hope and believe in yourself. Any challenge can be overcome, regardless of the circumstances.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is The Circle of Friends, Book V…Heather

“When confidence turns to frustration…

A new beginning awaits Heather Jennings at Clemson. Sadly, her father lies dying of cancer, her sister appears incapable of achievement, and a cocky player challenges her patience. Life changes when she encounters a man capable of handling her feisty attitude. However, the last thing Heather needs is a serious relationship with a man equally fixated on work and opposed to marriage…”

Described as “encouragement personified”, this five-book, Southern-based YA series portrays love and friendship overcoming all obstacles.

How do you develop characters?
Characters always come first for me. I use a character sheet and outline the basics - background, personality, strengths, weaknesses, activities, appearance, and goals. I’ve studied human behavior and it’s amazing how much events of the past affect a person’s personality and behavior. Once I’ve factored in all of these attributes, I can drop a character into any situation and know how he or she will respond.

How do you promote yourself online and off?
You mean, what DON’T I do? LOL

Online I maintain two websites, a blog, and a writer’s club. I’m involved in several social networks and have a group fan page on Facebook. I post articles online, contribute to several newsletters, participate in online conferences, do online radio, and go on virtual tours.

In the real world, I do many speaking engagements, teach seminars, book signings, media interviews, attend book festivals, and promote myself with cards, brochures, postcards, and bookmarks. My website is even on the back of my vehicle! (So if you see a red Tribute, look for The Circle of Friends on the back.)

What are your current projects?
I’m still promoting the last in my YA series, but this summer I will conduct research for a teen version of Overcoming Obstacles with SPUNK! (Young people are in desperate need of hope in this country.) I also have plans for an urban fantasy novel.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
www.thecircleoffriends.net - YA series website

www.spunkonastick.net - speaker site

www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com - blog

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn7tSWQqdYc - book trailer


Circle of Friends Book V: Heather
$19.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 282 pages, Fiction/YA

ISBN 978-0-9816210-5-0 / 0-9816210-5-8
Winner of the TOP CHOICE Award - a perfect 10

“I couldn't sleep not knowing what was going to happen next… definitely one of the best books I have read in a long time. It was brilliant. Props to L. Diane Wolfe!”- FlamingNet Reviews

“Heather deals with real life and real situations - 5 Stars”- Teens Read Too
“Wolfe has created amazing characters with believable attributes and flaws; making Book V…a true gem.”

                                                                  - Donna M. McDine, Write What Inspires You Book Reviews


“Even after reading the novel, I am haunted by these characters… This is the power of Wolfe’s writing.”

                                                                                                                            - The Book Peddler
“She puts so much emotion into her stories…”- There’s Always Something to Read Reviews

“Five Flames - Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading!”

                                                                                                                   - My Overstuffed Bookshelf
“… quite a refreshing read.”- Peace, Love & Pat Reviews
“I did not want to put down… You will truly be drawn into the story and will find yourself eager to see what happens next.”- Dad of Divas Reviews
“Thought-provoking, heart-warming, humorous and spirited.”- Red Headed Book Child Reviews

“A nice completion to the series - 4 Stars.”- Debbie’s World of Books

Diane, thanks for the interview from one North Carolina gal to another.

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.