Interview with Clea Simon, Author of “The Ninth Life,” the first Blackie and Care Mystery.

What made you decide to be an author? I have always loved stories and learned to read before I realized that I was doing it (I remember sitting on my dad’s lap and telling him to turn the page – he was reading too slowly!). From a very early age, I made up stories about my pets and the animals I’d meet in the woods behind our house, so writing mysteries with cats in them was a natural development.

What do you like best about being a writer? What do you like the least? I love creating worlds! I love the people I meet – both the fictional ones in my books and the readers who come up to me at conferences and readings. I don’t like the business side of things, but that’s just a reality. I also hate hate hate hate when I find something silly – a typo or an awkward sentence – in a book after it has been published. These are infuriating!

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing? Well, I have always been a reader – and because I’ve always loved the written word, I worked for decades in newspaper and magazine journalism. So between these, I like to think I’ve learned how to tell a story. As a reader, I know what readers want – and as a professional writer, I’ve learned how to deliver that: suspense, believable characters, and more.

Have you ever felt as if you were being dictated to while you wrote a book--as if the words came of their own accord? If yes, which book did that happen with? Yes! That often happens, but it was very strong with “The Ninth Life.” This is a much darker book than any of my earlier mysteries, and it is narrated by Blackie, a black feral cat. In many ways this is his book – not mine!

You’ve written 20 mysteries and three nonfiction books and are working on a 21st novel. What’s your favorite time management tip? For me what works is having a certain number of words I have to write each day, Monday through Friday. I love writing – it’s a passion – but it is also a job, and I find that if I approach it like a job, I get more done. And it’s still tons of fun.

Are you a plotter or a pantser, i.e., do you outline your books ahead of time or are you an “organic” writer? I’m very much a “pantser.” I mean, I do have an idea – or ideas – about a book. Like, I’ll know some big secret about a character that I know will be revealed. Or I’ll have an idea about something I want her or him to face. But otherwise, I only plot as I go along. It makes it more fun for me and, I hope, more fun for the reader. But it does mean I have to work harder when I revise to make sure that everything comes together.

If you had one take away piece of advice for authors, what would it be? Write every day. You won’t get better unless you do the work.

Did music help you find your muse with this book? If yes, which song did you find yourself going back to over and over again as you wrote? I love music – as you can probably tell from my Theda Krakow books, I used to be a rock critic. But with this book, I found I couldn’t listen to anything. I really needed to concentrate! Go figure!

Tell me more about The Ninth Life.

Introducing Blackie, an unusual feline hero, and his companion Care in the first of this dark new mystery series.Three figures, shadowy against the light. That’s all I remember from my past life, as I am dragged, dripping and half-drowned, from the flood. My saviour, a strange, pink-haired girl, is little help. She can barely care for herself, let alone the boy she loves. And although she has sworn to avenge the murder of her mentor, she must first escape the clutches of drug dealers, murderers and thieves. I would repay her kindness if I could. But we are alone in this blighted city – and I am a cat.
The past is an enigma to Blackie, the voice of Clea Simon’s dark new mystery. Combining elements of feline fantasy and cozy whodunit, The Ninth Life introduces this unusual hero and his companion, Care: two small creatures in a nightmarish urban landscape, fighting for their lives, and for the lives and memories of those they love.

How about an excerpt from The Ninth Life?

At first, they were shadows. Bars before the sun, dark against the light. I could make out three: two brown, or mostly, and – in between – a taller figure, black and narrow. Three vertical lines against a dull white sky. But as I watch, they begin to waver, their outlines rippling and losing shape as the light around them dulls into the dusk. Into the mud. Receding from me as I go under. As I, too, start to fade . . .

No! I gasp, choking, and begin to cough, breaking the surface with a desperate effort. Water in my mouth. My nose. Burning my throat as I gag and spit. I can’t see, can’t hear anything but my own ragged breath. I have broken through, but I cannot last. The cold is weighing on me, dragging me down . . .

No! I cry in protest, my voice a wordless howl as I fight to stay afloat. Flailing, I gulp in air and swallow water, my last breath exploding from me in another cough. I am going numb. Losing the fight. My own sodden limbs conspiring to drag me down.

No! Hands grab me from behind. Pulling at me, hauling me backward – ducking me. I kick and flail. Find purchase beneath my feet and twist, lashing out. The loose gravel beneath me gives way to dirt, and I scrabble for balance as I turn, ripping myself loose from those hands to glare at the person now before me.

‘Whoa.’ He steps back. She – I shake the water from my eyes. Her body slim as a boy’s, but with the hint of curves. Her hair ragged and short. Dripping, a strange shade of pink. ‘Calm down, why don’t you?’

I hiss, my throat too raw for words. I don’t know this person – this girl – but I have felt the awful strength of those hands. Hands that reach for me now. I jump back without thinking – too exhausted for anything but pure instinct – and feel one foot slide back into the icy flood.

On all fours like a beast, I pull myself out and shake off what water I can, all the while keeping my eyes on the stranger. This girl who now stares back is pale, her face as bloodless as I feel my own to be. Her cheeks wet from the rain, her eyes red. Who is she, and how did she – how did I – get here?

Where can readers find more about your stories, books and you on the Internet?

Website Links:

Website: http://www.cleasimon.com
Blog: http://cleasimon.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clea.simon.author/
Twitter: @Clea_Simon

Buy Links:

Amazon

Clea, thank you so much for being with us here today. I know my readers will enjoy your work and your interview.

PW's Pick for Self-Publishing Stars of 2015: The Rockets' Red Glare by John Darrin and Michael Gresalfi

Get ready for edge of your seat reading!

Al Qaeda in North America, awash with money and in possession of a stockpile of radioactive cesium, is stymied in their plans for a massive July 4th dirty bomb attack on America because of intense scrutiny by Homeland Security. A homegrown terrorist group, the White Aryan Resistance, has an abundance of foot soldiers ready to carry out terrorist attacks for their own goals, but no resources to do it. When the "enemy of my enemy" brings about their alliance, they present an unprecedented threat to America's security, and confound the conventional wisdom of terrorist attacks.

Cal Bellotta, a Homeland Security terrorism expert, and Ray Nassiri, an American Muslim and computer genius working for the Army's Information Dominance Center, join forces, and their unconventional methods frustrate and inspire the Homeland Security apparatus. It is up to them to peel away the layers of deceit and deception and uncover the truth before Independence Day becomes Doomsday.

Weblinks
Website  https://trrgbook.com/

Buy Link  http://smile.amazon.com/Rockets-Red-Glare-John-Darrin/dp/0692418903
Publisher's Weekly Article http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/68932-self-publishing-stars-of-2015.html
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jcdarrin
Twitter https://twitter.com/jcdarrin

About the Authors
John Darrin is a best-selling author and radiological emergency preparedness professional. He has worked in the nuclear industry for 40 years, initially as a radiation health and safety professional, and most recently as a consultant for companies focused on nuclear and radiological disasters and homeland security.

After graduation from Colgate University, he trained as a radiation safety technician and studied further at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia. His full-time life included such experiences as the entire 60 s phenomena, the anti-war movement, arrests on three continents, running businesses from electronics manufacturing in Europe and the U.S. to inventing radically new radioactive waste treatment processes, and even one that created a USA Today Top 10 Cyber Café.

John's first novel, The Law of the Pack, won an international Best First Novel contest, and was followed in 2009 by Screenshot, a best-selling techno-thriller about pay-per-view Internet assassinations. He lives in Frederick, MD with his extraordinary fiancé and a menagerie of rescued animals including cats, dogs, birds, and even a thoroughbred horse.

Dr. Michael Gresalfi has more than 30 years of proven expertise in leading both national-level strategic policy and planning initiatives. He has substantive experience advising senior decision-makers, including Federal agency senior executives and corporate leadership. Over the last four years, while collaborating on the development of this book, Dr. Gresalfi was a contractor for the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Lab. Since 9-11, he has provided significant operational and planning support to a wide range of offices and clients within the Department of Energy s National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as within both the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He received his Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Washington University, in Washington, DC. Gresalfi is a former counter-intelligence officer with the U.S. Army, with a counter-terrorism specialty, and a service-connected disabled veteran.

Character Interview: Piper Lamb, from Scene of the Brine by Mary Ellen Hughes

Where are you from? Did you have a happy childhood? I’m from upstate New York, where I spent many happy childhood summers at my Aunt Judy and Uncle Frank’s farm. It was in my Aunt Judy’s kitchen that I learned all about pickling and preserving, and I continue to love it.
Where do you live now and what do you do for a living? Is there something you'd rather be doing? I’ve recently moved to Cloverdale, NY, the town near my aunt and uncle’s farm.  After breaking a going-nowhere engagement and leaving a dull office job in Albany, I set up Piper’s Picklings to do what truly makes me happy.

What's going on in your life right now? My pickles and preserves shop is doing well, but I had a couple of close calls myself after becoming involved in two murder investigations. Now a third murder has occurred, and the college-age son of a good friend is looking awfully suspicious to our sheriff. His mom is desperate for help, so I’ve started digging around to find out what really happened.

Is there someone special in your life? I’ve been seeing Will Burchett, a great guy who owns a Christmas tree farm not far from town.

How did you meet? What's his/her family like? My Aunt Judy sneakily set up a meeting at the town fair, where I took a booth to sell my pickles and introduce my shop. Will was flipping burgers for a youth group fund raiser. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight, but a few sparks were definitely flying beyond the ones on the grill. Will is a newcomer to the Cloverdale area, a transplant from central Pennsylvania. I’ve yet to meet his family.

What's keeping you two apart? I haven’t been in any hurry to jump into a serious relationship after my disappointing engagement. Then, after traveling the world to “find himself,” my ex-fiancé decided we belonged together and moved to Cloverdale! To my surprise, I saw very positive changes in him, which stirred up feelings that I thought were long dead. I’ve been trying to get my head straight, since then. Luckily for me, Will has been very understanding and patient.

What one thing could you do that would make you feel like the relationship will work out? I could make up my own mind about exactly what I want! The distraction of all these murders, though, hasn’t given me much time to think.

Any last comments? You might think pickles and preserves have little to do with murder, but you’d be surprised. The two things become dangerously intertwined in the latest crime described in Scene of the Brine. 

Available Now from Berkley Prime Crime 

Book blurb: Piper Lamb has to take a break from jarring her delicious pickles and preserves to blow the lid off a poisoner....

Business is booming at Piper’s Picklings in Cloverdale, New York. But not all is sweet in the life of Piper’s number one customer and friend, local caterer Sugar Heywood. Sugar is dating wealthy realtor Jeremy Porter, but his family doesn’t approve. After their unscrupulous accountant finds some dirt on Sugar, the family quickly urges Jeremy to throw her out like rotten fruit.

Things are further spoiled after the accountant is found poisoned, and all evidence points to Sugar’s son, Zach. With the Porter family determined to avoid scandal, it won’t be easy for Piper to preserve Zach’s innocence. And after someone falls victim to a poisoned jar of some of her brandied cherries, Piper’s got a peck of trouble to deal with herself…

Excerpt

Piper was helping an elderly gentleman who had stopped in at the shop to buy a large jar of bread and butters, when Emma Leahy walked in, her posture stiff and her face tense. Something was definitely up, and Piper hurried through the sale to learn what was bothering Emma. As the man shuffled out, Emma hurried forward.

“Bad news,” she said. “Joan Tilley’s in the hospital. She’s critically ill.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry to hear that. What’s wrong?”

Clearly struggling with her emotions, Emma took a moment to answer. “It was very sudden. Luckily her neighbor came by and called the ambulance.” She swallowed. “Joan had the same symptoms as Dirk Unger.”

“No!” Piper cried. “Mrs. Tilley? How could that be? And why?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense at all. But there’s something else you should know.”

Emma paused, the strain of worry for her friend making her suddenly gulp. When she regained control, she said, “It might have been your cherries. She’d been eating from a jar of your brandied cherries.”

Piper gasped, not knowing which was worse to hear—the illness or the cause. She stared, speechless for several moments. “I can’t believe it! How…?”

Emma shook her head, having no answer to Piper’s unfinished question. “I have to go,” she said. “I just wanted you to know.” She turned and hurried out.

A flood of questions filled Piper’s head as she stared in dismay after her disappearing friend.

Her cherries?  It couldn’t possibly be! The thought made her physically ill—though not, she was sure, as ill as poor Mrs. Tilley.

Author bio: Mary Ellen Hughes is the nationally bestselling author of the Pickled and Preserved mystery series, which begins with THE PICKLED PIPER and continues with LICENSE TO DILL and SCENE OF THE BRINE. She has also authored the Craft Corner mystery series, and the Maggie Olenski mysteries. A native of Wisconsin, she currently lives in Maryland. 
Author links, webpages, fan pages, and book trailers.

Website: http://www.maryellenhughes.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MaryEllenHughesauthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/mehughesauthor

Interview with Nina Mansfield, Author of SWIMMING ALONE

What made you decide to be an author? I’ve never been able to keep myself from writing. Even when I have 8 million other things going on in life that are sucking my attention, I still have these stories swirling around in my head that I need to write down. I guess in part, it’s because I have loved books since I was a child. I wrote my first book when I was five years old. It was called CINDY AND SALLY IN POLKA DOT LAND. It was riddled with plot holes and spelling errors, but I was hooked! I went on to write a lot of poetry, especially in my teen angst years. My first “serious” attempts at writing were plays, a number of which have gone on to be produced and published. About ten years ago, I decided that I wanted to write a young adult mystery novel. I was teaching in high school at the time, and I wanted to write something that might hook even the most reluctant reader. It took me a while to get it out into the world, but I am thrilled that I finally did it.

What do you like best about being a writer? What do you like the least? I love actually writing. Sitting down and having the words pour onto the page—that is just an amazing feeling. Especially when the words are coming easily and I know I am telling the story that I want to tell. I also really love reading my work in public. I have a background in acting, so it is great to share my work with a live audience.

The thing I hate least is worrying about book sales and book promotion. I enjoy promotional events (like readings, and interviews like this), but I hate trying to promote myself via the world of social media. I always feel a little slimy sending out my promotional tweets.

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing? Oh, wow! I won’t get into all of the sordid details, but I have lived a zillion different lives and encountered many wonderful, wild, compelling and disturbing people during these lives. I think the time I have spent in the theatre has influence me the most, however. My acting days in New York really taught me to step into someone else’s shoes, which comes in very handy when writing.

Have you ever felt as if you were being dictated to while you wrote a book--as if the words came of their own accord? If yes, which book did that happen with? Absolutely. I feel like that with almost every writing project. It usually happens right at the beginning, when I get that first spark of inspiration. Often, I don’t know where it is coming from. I felt that way when I started doing one of my rewrites of SWIMMING ALONE.  I had been working for a long time on capturing my character’s voice. One day, it came to me, and the words just spilled out of me.

You’ve written one novel and are working on a 2nd novel. What’s your favorite time management tip? I am the worst with time management. But as I am working on revisions of my 2^nd novel, what seems to be working for me is to write in very small manageable chunks. These days, I am a stay-at-home mother with a very active toddler, so I usually only get a chance to write during her nap time and in the evenings (when I am usually too exhausted to think!) If I tell myself that 200 words is plenty, then I am able to get some writing done. Much of the time I can write much more than that. In short, I have let myself off the hook a bit, and I find that I am getting much more writing done.

Are you a plotter or a pantser, i.e., do you outline your books ahead of time or are you an “organic” writer? I start off as an organic writer. Sometimes I have no idea where the story came from or where it is going. But there always comes a point when I need to go back and outline. And then I end up making a number of different outlines which keep changing and changing.

If you had one take away piece of advice for authors, what would it be? Don’t be afraid to write a “bad” first draft. Just get those words on paper!

Did music help you find your muse with this book? If yes, which song did you find yourself going back to over and over again as you wrote? No. I know that music helps a lot of writers, but I really need complete silence. Otherwise, I just can’t focus.

Tell me more about Swimming Alone.

The Sea Side Strangler is on the loose in Beach Point, where fifteen-year-old Cathy Banks is spending the summer with her aunt (who happens to be mystery writer Roberta McCabe).  Although thrilled to be away from her psychotic, divorcing parents, with no cell phone or internet access, Cathy is positive that her summer is going to be wretched. Just when she begins to make friends, and even finds a crush to drool over, her new friend Lauren vanishes.  When a body surfaces in Beach Point Bay, Cathy is forced to face the question:  has the Sea Side Strangler struck again? 

How about an excerpt from Swimming Alone?

The Sea Side Strangler Strikes Again!

Leave it to my mentally unstable, common sense impaired parents to ship me off to the only town in America with an active serial killer on the loose. I could so easily have the life squeezed out of me by some deranged killer. Now that would be the ultimate revenge. I mean, talk about a guilt trip—not that I’d be alive to benefit from it. And quite frankly, I’d prefer to die peacefully, in my sleep, at the age of one hundred and eight, thank you very much.

But seriously, what kind of psychos send their only daughter, their bundle of joy, the light of their lives away to a town where dead bodies keep washing up on shore? My parents, that’s who—all so they could strangle each other without having to worry about me getting in the way. Not literally, just legally. You know—the “d” word: Divorce. The week before they shipped me off, Mommy dearest smashed one-half of the Tiffany china when she found a foreign thong in Daddy’s glove compartment. Now the lawyers are trying to figure out whose half she smashed. (I’d find the questionable thong far more intriguing if I wasn’t totally skeeved.) These are the atrocities they are trying to shield me from.

Serial killers weren’t exactly on their radar when they decided to ship me off.

This particular serial killer wasn’t on my radar either until I saw the headline splashed across the front page of the Beach Point Gazette.

Where can readers find more about your stories, books and you on the Internet?

Website: http://www.ninamansfield.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinaMansfieldWriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaJMansfield

Buy Links:

Fire & Ice: http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/ninamansfield/swimmingalone.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013Y4WE48

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/569442

Nina, thank you so much for being with us here today. I know my readers will enjoy your work and your interview.