Creative Alchemy

Romantic suspense author Dana Delamar explores themes of family and destiny in her Blood and Honor series of novels. As someone who was trained as a life coach, and who believes firmly that life is all about choice, it was fascinating to me to talk to Dana about the path that those in Italian mafia families must take, whether they like it or not.

Research plays a big part in Dana's books - she's been to Italy and looks forward to going back. (I hope she takes me with her!) And as she mentions, all of us authors live in fear of any kind of legal entity ever getting a hold of our browser history. Dana's will be sure to include searches about money laundering and body disposal. ;-)

You can find out more about Dana and her books on her website DanaDelamar.com. She's also on Twitter and Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcript of Interview with Dana Delamar

Alexandra: Hello, mystery readers. I'm Alexandra Amor. This is It's a Mystery podcast, and I'm here today with Dana Delamar. Hi, Dana.

Dana: Hi, how are you doing Alexandra?

Alexandra: Very well, how are you?

Dana: Good.

Alexandra: Let me give our listeners a little bit of an introduction to you.

Dana Delamar is the author of "The Blood and Honor" mafia romance series which is set in Italy among the Calabrian mafia. Her first book, "Revenge", received four stars from the RT book reviews, and was a top pick at the romance reviews. And was a double finalist for best first book, and best romantic suspense in the 2013 Bookseller Best awards. Her other books in The Blood and Honor series have been multiple award nominees and winners. Dana is a voracious and an omnivorous reader everything from biographies to Booker prize winners, to mysteries, thrillers, and anything to do with vampires. She says her parents let her watch way too many hammer horror films when she was a kid.

Let's start by talking about "The Blood and Honor" series.

What drew you to writing about the mafia? I guess that's my first question.

Dana: Well, the thing was I've travelled to Italy a couple of times. And after I came back, I met a man while I was there, and a friend said to me, "Well it sounds just like a romance novel." And I thought, "Hey, why don't I just actually try to write one?"

I wrote a contemporary romance, and handed it to my sister who said, "Parts of it are really good." And so I decided to revise, and I was thinking, what if my hero is not such a good guy?

Then I thought about the mafia, and I started doing some research. And it led me to the Calabrian mafia which is also known as the Ndrangheta. And they're actually the world most powerful mafia in the world today. They control billions in assets, and they fly below the radar. They are not as well-known as say, the Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia. But they are extremely powerful, and they are a definite threat.

Author Morgan K. Wyatt writes in several different genres, including romantic suspense, paranormal fantasy and mysteries.

Today we're talking about her Painted Lady Inn mystery series that she co-writes with her husband.

You can find out more about Morgan and her books on her website MorganKWyatt.com. She's also on Twitter and Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcript of Interview with Morgan Wyatt

Alexandra: Hi Mystery Readers, I'm Alexandra Amore. And this is It's a Mystery Podcast. I'm here today with Morgan K. Wyatt. Hi, Morgan.

Morgan: Hi.

Alexandra: How are you today?

Morgan: Oh, I am well. And yourself?

Alexandra: I'm good, thanks. Let me introduce you to our listeners.

Morgan Wyatt started writing in first grade when she was dissatisfied with the mundane endings of the reader stories. She writes romantic suspense under the names of Morgan K. Wyatt and Morgan Kay. Morgan and her husband pen cozy mysteries under the combined name of M. K. Scott.

And that's one of the books I wanted to talk to you about a bit today.

I'm curious about what it's like to write with your spouse? Can you tell us a bit about that?

Morgan: Well, first of all, we're still married.

Alexandra: That's a good sign.

Morgan: He's the grammar hammer. And he is often the voice of reason. In one of my books he told me I was having someone think too much as they were falling because they would have hit the ground before they could have...he did the math and he told me they would have hit the ground in 4.5 seconds and they cannot have had those internal conversations.

Alexandra: In that time. I think I saw him describe on your Amazon pages that the physics expert or...

Morgan: Yes.

Alexandra: Yeah. And so how does it work?

Do you do the first draft and then show it to him? Or is there a bit of a back and forth?

Morgan: We usually go chapter by chapter.

Alexandra: Okay.

Morgan: Because if I make a little faux-pas or I make like a really big mistake, like no, he couldn't have done that while driving the car with one hand. It's like, "Oh really?" It's good to get that corrected before I go like five or six chapters longer.

Alexandra: Right. Okay, and so you go chapter by chapter.

And does your husband help you to figure out what the story is or is he really there for feedback, and as we said physics experience?

Morgan: Well, he does a lot of different things. He's also the grammar hammer. Even though I'm an English major, he's better at grammar.

He also does that, but he also does a lot of the male dialogue. You know, when I'll try to have the men have these big long convoluted convoluted reasonings or discussions, he's like, "No man talks like that."

What makes us human? I think that's the essence of so much of JF (Joanna) Penn's writing.

In this wide-ranging and fascinating interview I talk to this bestselling author about the elements of her crime fiction that explore issues like why we are disturbed by human bodies once the person who inhabited that body is no longer there. Joanna loves research and travel, and has written fiction that spans the globe, including a recent dark fantasy novel, Risen Gods, set against the backdrop of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Today we primarily discuss her London Detective trilogy, featuring Detective Sergeant Jamie Brooke and reluctant psychic Blake Daniel. I think you'll really enjoy hearing Joanna share what inspires her fiction, and where her curiosity and fascination with history might lead her next.

You can find out more about J.F. Penn and her books on her website JFPenn.com. She's also on Twitter and Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcript of Interview with J.F. Penn

Alexandra: Hello mystery readers, I'm Alexandra Amor and this is It's a Mystery Podcast. I'm here today with J.F. Penn. Hi, Joanna.

Joanna: Hi, Alexandra. Thanks for having me on this show.

Alexandra: Oh, you're so welcome. It's so great to have you here. So for the uninitiated, I'll just tell them a little bit about you.

J. F. Penn is the New York Times and USA today bestselling author of thrillers with a supernatural edge. Oxford educated, British-born J.F. Penn has traveled the world in her study of religion and psychology. She brings these obsessions, as well as a love for thrillers and an interest in the supernatural, to her writing. Her fast-paced ARKANE thrillers weave together historical artifacts, global locations, a kickass, protagonist, and a hint of the supernatural. The London Psychic series, which is what we're going to talk about today, features British detective Jamie Brooke alongside psychic researcher Blake Daniel as they solve dark crimes around London.

We're going to talk mostly about the London Psychic series today. I'm a big fan of police procedurals, and so these were the books of yours that I wanted to read the most. I finished "Desecration" a week or so ago.

Tell us a little bit about Jamie Brooke. You know, it was kind of heartbreaking to read Jamie's story, and I was curious about what drew you to her.

Joanna: It's funny. I wanted to write a straight crime novel. That was what I went into this, because my ARKANE series is kind of action adventure.

I moved to London when I started writing this, I've moved from Australia. I was back to London after I think it was 11 years. And I wanted to do something in London, so that was kind of the first thing. I wanted to write a crime novel.

Then,

Introduction

Author Renee Pawlish (and our very special guest Harley the cat) and I have a great chat today about her comic noir detective series, her new mystery series featuring a hard-boiled detective in the WW II era and much more.

Renee is a prolific author and a huge fan of the mystery genre. She's been reading mysteries her whole life and it shows in the thoughtful way she's created the detective for her longest running series, the Reed Ferguson Mysteries. Reed is a smart aleck, as Renee describes him, who is different than many other traditional noir detectives; he's not a recovering alcoholic and he has a loving wife and family. Renee and I discuss Reed's connection to other noir detectives like Robert B. Parker's Spenser, Columbo, Jim Rockford and more.

I forgot to ask Renee about the 'punny' titles to some of her books. You can see some of those shown below, like The Postman Always Brings Dice and The Maltese Felon. I love an author with a sense of humour!!

Mystery fans will be thrilled to know that Renee has started a page on her website aimed and offering readers mystery novels each month at a bargain price. Each month she features new mystery novels that are either free or on special for $0.99. You can check out this month's deals here.

You can find out more about Renee and her books on her website ReneePawlish.com. She's also on Twitter and Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcript of Interview with Renee

Alexandra: Hi, mystery readers. I'm Alexandra Amor. This is It's A Mystery podcast, and I'm here today with Renee Pawlish. Hi, Renee.

Renee: Hi, how are you?

Alexandra: Very well, how are you?

Renee: Doing just great.

Alexandra: Good, and I should say we're here with Renee and Harley, who's there in the background.

Renee: That's right, yeah, yeah.

Alexandra: That's fantastic. I just want to explain to everybody that I have a bit of a cold, so I have a cold lozenge in my mouth. If I sound a little weird, that's what's going on there. Let me introduce our listeners to you.

Renee Pawlish is the award-winning author of the best-selling "Reed Ferguson Mystery" series and other mysteries and stories. Critics have said that Renee is a promising new voice in the comic murder mystery genre and a powerful storyteller. Her book, and I might mispronounce this, "Nephilim Genesis of Evil", is that right?

Renee: It's Nephilim.

Alexandra: Nephilim, "Nephilim Genesis of Evil" has been compared to Stephen King and Frank Peretti. Renee was born in California but has lived most of her life in Colorado. So I'm really excited to have you here today, Renee, to talk about your "Reed Ferguson Mysteries".

Renee: Yeah.

Alexandra: The thing that really attracted them to me is they're in that sort of comic noir genre, and I'm a huge Robert B. Parker fan. He's not with us any longer, of course.

Introduction

Today's podcast episode has all kinds of fascinating connections...with a Michael Douglas / Val Kilmer movie, with turn-of-the-century Victorian England, and with Africa and African mythology. Which, as author Vered Ehsani points out, has much more to it than just the Egyptian mythology we most often associate with Africa.

Vered's describes her paranormal detective mysteries as a cross between Jane Austen and Lara Croft, which makes for some really fun reading. The books are witty and sharp, and have layers of social commentary, as well as fascinating and mysterious plots. Vered has three novels available for free if you sign up for her newsletter, which is a fantastic way to get to know her detective, Mrs. Knight.

Later in the episode, Vered mentions a photo journal about Nairobi that she's just released. You can find out more about that here.

You can find out more about Vered and her books on her website VeredEhsani.co.za. She's also on Twitter and Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcript of Interview

Alexandra: Hello Mystery Readers, this is Alexandra Amor and this is It's a Mystery Podcast. I'm here today with Vered Ehsani. Hi Vered.

Vered: Hi, how are you doing dear?

Alexandra: I'm good, how are you?

Vered: Good, I don't actually have electricity right now, but it's not a normal state of affairs, we just don't have electricity whenever it rains, so we're good.

Alexandra: Well, it's nice that your WiFi is working anyway.

Vered: For a little while, yeah, we'll see how long it lasts.

Alexandra: You're the first author I've spoken to in Africa, so this is pretty exciting.

Vered: Cool!

Alexandra: Yeah, I'm looking forward to this very much, so let me introduce you to our listeners.

Vered Ehsani has been a writer since she could hold pen to paper which is a lot longer than she cares to admit. Since mid-2000 she's lived in Kenya with her family and various other animals. When she isn't writing she pretends to work as an environmental consultant. Her current book series can best be described as Jane Austen meets Lara Croft in colonial Africa. Although she can't claim to be a paranormal detective, Vered does share a lot in common with the series main character who refuses to let danger and death inconvenience her.

And this series looks like so much fun and I was so excited to talk to you about it today.

Let's start with Beatrice Knight, your main character, so she's a paranormal detective. It's the late 19th century, like 1890?

Vered: Yeah, 1890..she arrives in Kenya in 1899.

Alexandra: Okay, all right, and she was working as a paranormal detective in London, correct?

Introduction

Author Darryl Donaghue is a former British police detective. This means he is uniquely positioned to write British police procedural novels, which are among my very favorite type of mystery novel. (One day I might even work up the guts to write one of my own.)

One of the writing challenges Darryl put to himself for his Sarah Gladstone series is to examine what life is like for a police detective and explore how that career affects someone who is also a wife and mother. Will Sarah be able to continue with her chosen career and how will she handle the pressures from both police work and in her role in her family?

Darryl himself was faced with the choice between his passion for writing, and his detective career. He chose writing, much to readers’ delight. As with so many of the authors on this podcast, Darryl offers his first book for free on all platforms, so that readers can try it at no risk. He also has a Sarah Gladstone short story available for free on his website.

You can find out more about Darryl and his books on his website DarrylDonaghue.com. He’s also on Twitter.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcription of Interview with Darryl Donaghue

Alexandra: Hello, mystery readers. I am Alexandra Amor. This is It’s a Mystery podcast, and I’m here today with Darryl Donaghue. Hi, Darryl.

Darryl: Hi. How are you doing?

Alexandra: Very well. How are you?

Darryl: Good, good.

Alexandra: Good, good. I’m very excited to have you on the show today. So let me give our listeners a bit of an introduction to you.

Darryl is a former British detective who now writes crime fiction novels. He quit the police two years ago to concentrate on writing and now, independently publishes the Sarah Gladstone thriller series via Amazon and all the other e-book retailers. The series offers a realistic modern view of policing from the unique perspective of a young police officer starting her career. He is currently working on the third book in the series which will be out soon. So we’ll look forward to that, and we should point out as well, right off the top, why don’t we, that there’s a short story, a Sarah Gladstone short story available on your website.

Darryl: Yes.

Alexandra: So people can check that out if they want to, and the first book in the series is free…

Darryl: That’s right.

Alexandra: …so people can really get a feel for what Sarah is like.

Why don’t you tell us a little bit about her. So she’s a mother and a wife and a young PC, as you say in the U.K., when she starts out.

Darryl: She is 33 years old, and she’s got twin girls, sort of a happy family situation. She’s just started in the police. So in “A Journal of Sin,” the first book, she’s about two years into service of that one, so she’s not a detective yet. And the short story, it gets you inside into her first day out as a uniformed officer.

Introduction

Have you ever met anyone who raised a lion cub? I hadn’t until I chatted with author JC Gatlin.

JC lives in Tampa, Florida now, but he grew up on a ranch in Texas, where he and his brothers raised an honest-to-goodness lion. I’ll let him tell the story. It’s fascinating.

Now JC is the author of three mystery novels, with a fourth to be released later in the summer of 2016. Today we discuss what inspires his writing, some of his writing practices, why he’s drawn to writing stand-alone mysteries and more.

You can find out more about JC and his books on his website JCGatlin.com. He’s also on Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcript of Interview with JC Gatlin

Alexandra: Hi, mystery readers. I’m Alexandra Amor. This is “It’s a Mystery” podcast, and I’m here today with JC Gatlin. Hi, JC.

JC Gatlin: Hello.

Alexandra: How are you today?

JC Gatlin: I’m pretty good. How are you?

Alexandra: Yes, me too. Let me give our listeners a little bit of information about you.

JC Gatlin lives in Tampa, Florida. In addition to regular fishing trips, he wrote a monthly column for New Tampa Style Magazine, and then began penning several mystery/suspense stories. He also maintains a blog about the art of spinning a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat mystery yarn. Coming from a large family with five brothers, JC grew up in Grapevine, a small Texas town just outside of Dallas. He moved to Tampa in 1999, and most of his stories feature the rich landscape of Texas and Florida as a background.

So let’s begin maybe…well, actually I have a question that’s completely unrelated to mystery novels.

JC Gatlin: Go for it.

Alexandra: Can you tell me a little bit about Hakeem, the lion?

JC Gatlin: Oh, Hakeem, he was so cool. Interesting story because we got him in high school. We rescued him from a farm who raises livestock.

We rescued the lion cub. He nursed off with a litter of Australian shepherds and grew up with us, and he’d go running with the horses. And he was a great, great animal.

Alexandra: Wow, that’s amazing. And then eventually, he went to live at a different location?

JC Gatlin: Yeah, we took him to Boyd, Texas. There was a large cat sanctuary there.

Because we were going off to college, and so we weren’t going to be there to take care of him. And he was so protective that my best friend’s father was just worried something was going to happen, especially if we weren’t there. So we took him there, and he had great…he had a huge cage with a swimming pool in it.

Alexandra: Nice.

JC Gatlin: It was really nice, and we’d go visit him. And he knew the sound of my truck. He would start…he couldn’t roar because he grew up with dogs, so he barked. He would start growling, barking, whatever, as soon as, when we pulled up into the parking lot.

Alexandra: Really, wow. And how old did he live to be?

JC Gatlin: Eight, eight years old, which is…he died young. He died really young, but he was great. He was a lot of fun.

Alexandra: What an amazing experience for boys ...

Introduction

Myra Duffy has the loveliest Scottish accent. I could have listened to her all day long. Not only is she a pleasure to listen to, she’s got loads to share about the Scottish island where her cozy mysteries are set.

The Isle of Bute is off the west coast of Scotland, known for its architecture, its long sandy beaches, and, when Myra’s around, the odd fictional murder.

Introduction

Cozy mystery author Cassidy Salem has set her first book in a Think Tank in Washington, D.C. In this interview I ask Cassidy what a think tank is, why she chose such an unusual setting and what her plans are for future books.

Cassidy is not only an author, she’s an avid fan of mysteries, and a book reviewer. We discuss the different approaches she takes to writing, reading and reviewing.

You can find out more about Cassidy and her books at CassidySalem.wordpress.com.

She is also on Twitter.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcription of Interview

Alexandra: Hi, mystery readers, I’m Alexandra Amor. This is It’s a Mystery Podcast and I’m here today with Cassidy Salem. Hi, Cassidy.

Cassidy: Hi, how are you today?

Alexandra: I’m good, how are you?

Cassidy: Fine, thank you.

Alexandra: It’s kind of late where you are.

Cassidy: Yeah, pretty much, I say so.

Alexandra: So I’m just going to give our listeners a little bit of an introduction to you.

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries, both cozy and traditional and police procedurals. When she’s not reading, she enjoys singing, dancing and spending time with family and friends. Her travels have taken her to destinations throughout the United States, Europe and Scandinavia. Cassidy Salem is the author of Think Murder, the first book in the Adina Donati mystery series. The second book, Dying for Data, is slated for release in the summer of 2016, which is this summer. We’re recording this April 2016, so it should be out shortly, the second one.

Cassidy: I hope so.

Alexandra: Do you have a date that you’re aiming for?

Cassidy: Originally, I was aiming for the beginning of the summer, but life kind of got in the way, so now I’m hoping for mid-summer.

Alexandra: Okay, yeah. Well, that makes total sense.

Cassidy: I don’t want to rush it. I’d rather take the time to make sure it’s edited properly and work with the beta readers and proofreading and all the other stages and not rush it.

Alexandra: Yeah, exactly. I’m exactly the same way. I totally agree. So let’s talk about Think Murder a little bit then, the book that’s out now.

Adina Donati is your amateur sleuth. And she works at a think tank, which made me realize I don’t know what a think tank is, so why don’t we start there?

Cassidy: A think tank is generally an organization that can be university affiliated or not university affiliated where they discuss and handle all kinds of current events, politically-related very often, national policy-related. There are some of the more common ones and it’s actually nothing to do with the book, will be like the American Heritage Foundation, or the Georgetown Center for Strategic Studies, where you have your basic academics spouting their knowledge and learning and discussing issues of the day.

Alexandra: Okay,

Introduction

Author Helen Hanson has put a unique spin on the mystery thriller, with her high tech mysteries, whose main characters are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations.

Today we talk about why understanding the motivation for her characters is so important, the value of untethering from technology (even for an author who writes high tech thrillers), and why Helen is fascinated with ‘failure to launch’ syndrome.

You can find out more about Helen and her books at HelenHanson.com.

She is also on Twitter, and Facebook.

Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes. And listen on Stitcher.

You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Transcription of Interview with Helen Hanson

Alexandra: Hi, Mystery Readers. This is It’s a Mystery Podcast. I’m Alexandra Amor and I’m here today with Helen Hanson. Hi, Helen.

Helen: Hi, Alexandra. Nice to be here, thanks.

Alexandra: It’s great to have you here. I’m going to introduce you to our listeners. Bestselling Kindle writer Helen Hanson creates thrillers about desperate people with a high-tech bent. Hackers. The CIA. Industry titans. Guys on sailboats. Mobsters. Their personal maelstroms pit them against unrelenting forces willing to kill.

Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the Redwood Curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.

Helen is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, a dog that composes music with squeaky toys, and another one that’s too lazy to bother. So welcome, Helen.

Helen: Thank you.

Alexandra: I hope one of the dogs makes an appearance, that would be exciting.

Helen: That’s very easy to do actually, she likes it. The other one I couldn’t get to get up unless I’m going to feed her, then the bowl has to be on the floor for her.

Alexandra: Yeah, not a very energetic dog, I guess.

Helen: No, no.

Alexandra: Why don’t we talk about starting with “Ocean of Fear,” and that’s a free book on your website if people sign up for your reader’s group, correct?

Helen: That’s correct.

Alexandra: And so, the main character is Baxter Cruise, and I love that you described him as a robotics expert and a spammer for hire.

Helen: Indeed.

Alexandra: Yeah, so tell us a bit about him.

Helen: Baxter lost his parents when he was just about ready to get launched as an adult. He was 18 years old, and both of his parents died in an auto accident. And he was thrust into this world. He was going to school at University of California at Santa Cruz, but he had to manage all these decisions on his own, and he had to figure out a way to pay for it past the first semester.