SAM Magazine

Some people thought Laura Ellen Scott's novel Blue Billy was a cozy. She proved them wrong. 

Laura and I had a fun and lively discussion about Blue Billy, the third novel in her New Royal Mysteries. Laura is a multi-published author of novels and short stories, as well as a professor at George Mason University. Laura likes writing stories with dark themes and quirky characters. She was born and raised in Northern Ohio and currently lives in Fairfax, Virginia. 

We talked about the presentation and contest she had with her students and the naming of a character. I learned what Blue Billy really is--a blue contaminated soil. I also learned about coke ovens. It's not what you think, and creepy statues from dolls to Santa Claus. Thank you Laura.

https://www.lauraellenscott.com/

Elgon Williams was born in Springfield, Ohio and grew up on a farm in southeastern Clark County near the town of South Charleston. Elgon is the author of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mystery with Pandamoon Publishing. His publications include Fried Windows (In a Light White Sauce); the Thuperman trilogy, starting with Becoming Thuperman, Homer Underby and the final book in the series, Thuperheroes. We talked about book 2 in the Fried Windows series. The first book being Fried Windows and the newly released second book, Ninja Bread Castles. From how our characters travel in time to onion bagels and science, we covered a lot of ground. Thank you Elgon.

https://elgonwilliams.com/

E86 - Children's author Michelle Fizzard and I talked about her children's book Amazing Grace, A True Story of a Classroom Cat. As well as writing and the definition of success. What is success? A book deal? Completing a manuscript? Showing up? Let your writing be messy, just write. We also talked about the five writing fears. Michelle shares a humorous story about her father, as well as a touching story about her mother. Oh, and Cuddles's retirement party. Michelle is writing a new book and we talked a little about that as well. Michelle, thank you for stopping by the studio. 

http://www.michellebfizzard.com/

International bestselling author, Hannah Mary McKinnon, returns to the podcast to talk about her latest novel, Never Coming Home.

Hanna was born in the UK. She grew up in Switzerland and now lives in Canada with her husband and three sons. Before moving to Canada, she had completed commercial studies in Geneva and worked as a PA for DuPont. Later she moved to Neuchatel and became the Purchasing Manager for a high-tech company. Hannah is the author of numerous essays and pieces. Her sixth novel, Never Coming Home is in stores now, and it's receiving great reviews.

“Sly and deliciously clever, Hannah Mary McKinnon captivates with this engrossing tale of a missing wife and the devious husband who hopes to inherit her fortune.”

“Hannah Mary McKinnon is back with another sit up and read until the small hours of the morning thriller.”

Hanna and I discuss Never Coming Home, and writing that evil yet loveable character and so much more. Thank you Hannah.

https://hannahmarymckinnon.com/

L.A. Kessler returns to the podcast and we discuss her thriller novel, Perfect. After reading her thriller you'll think twice about saying that word ... Perfect. There is humor in her novel which balances the thrilling escapes and the subject matter. As much as I tried to be analytical reading Perfect, I kept being pulled into the story.

Lisa shares a touching story of how her mother was the inspiration for her heroine, Juliette, and which character Lisa relates to the most.

Lisa is the bestselling author of passionate, page-turning fiction. She has written 40 books in over 10 years. She has twice won the San Diego Book Award for Best Published Fantasy Sci-Fi Horror and Best Published Romance. Her books have also won the PRISM award and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved was a finalist in the Bram Stoker Award. Lisa has multiple series, a blog and is the host of the podcast BookLights, which I had the pleasure of being on. If you missed the first interview I had with Lisa about her novel, Sedona Salvation, that podcast was published on March 26, 2021.

https://www.authorlisakessler.com/

E83 - Award-winning author A.G. Flitcher of the Boone and Jacque urban fantasy series is back on the podcast. Today, we talk about book 3 in his series, Boone and Jacque: Saddleton Haunting. We have a thorough discussion about characters, settings and motivations, as well as his pansexual and transgender characters. 

A.G. Flitcher reveals the trauma he's recovering from in his personal life. He also talks about the take-away he wants writers and readers to experience after reading his novels. 

A.G. Flitcher's first podcast interview when we talk about book one, Boone & Jacque: Saddleton's Secret can be found in season 1, March 6, 2021.

https://www.facebook.com/A.G.Flitcher/

E82 - Deborah Lambert, fantasy author and veterinarian, joins me from Sooke, BC. Deborah is the author of the Son of No Man series. We talk about Julius Caesar, Augustus, and how our calendars have no place in the fantasy world. We also talk about writing as therapy. Our discussion about a dragon's anatomy, using science and biology to make a dragon fly and how to splint a dragon's foot will forever be in my memory. Deborah thank you. I had a great time chatting with you about your novels. Please check out the maps of The World of the Tainted under "extras" on Deborah's web page.

https://www.dlambertauthor.com/

Today, award-winning mystery author Mike Martin is on the podcast to talk about his latest novel and the first virtual Maple Leaf Mystery Conference which takes place over 5 days from May 24 to 28, 2022.

Mike was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Mike has always been a writer, and during the last 15 years he’s worked as a freelance writer, specializing in workplace and social policy issues. He’s been published in newspapers and magazines across Canada, the US and New Zealand. His first book was Change the Thing You Can: Dealing with Difficult People. The Walker on the Cape was his first published fiction novel. He has also published a number of short stories in periodicals and on-line. 

In today's podcast we talk about his 12th Sgt. Windflower novel, Dangerous Waters, the B&B which was constructed using a shipwreck's lumber; St. Pierre, which is part of France, and the virtual Maple Leaf Mystery Conference featuring a great line-up of Canadian authors and International best-selling author, Ian Rankin. 

https://sgtwindflowermysteries.com/

Crime author Alice Bienia is back! We start the podcast talking about rocks, boulders and snakes, tapping into Alice's previous profession as a Geologist. But soon we are talking about Alice's latest Jorja Knight novel, Knight Vision. I learned that Alice is testing Jorja, putting her in situations where Jorja is weighing fact versus fantasy. Jorja's new client is a clairvoyant, who has "seen" her own murder. Alice's readers love her books and want to be her heroine's friend. I enjoy reading about Jorja and also want to warn Jorja to "watch her back". Alice talks about the opening hook in that first chapter to using real crimes as inspiration for her novels. From fat freezing to seances and our own movie analysis, Alice and I have a good time, as always. Thank you, Alice for coming into the studio.

http://www.alicebienia.com/

Award-winning author Winona Kent returns to the podcast and we talk about Ticket to Ride, her 4th Jason Davey novel, which is her 10th novel overall. Winona was born in London, England, but grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan where she completed her BA in English at the University of Regina. She moved to Vancouver, and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing from UBC. Winona’s writing breakthrough happened when she won first place in Flare magazine’s fiction contest with her short story, Tower of Power, about an all-night radio newsman. More awards followed, including being a finalist in Seal Books First Novel contest with her spy book, Skywatcher. 

Winona and I talk about the time she turned down having dinner and drinks with actor Sean Bean of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, as well as scouting locations for our books, creating websites and Instagram accounts for our characters and the various avenues of marketing. I've included the link to the Figgis Green tour website as well as Winona's various social media handles. Winona, welcome back!

https://www.winonakent.com/