Jenny: Welcome to the 100th episode of The Joys of Binge Reading podcast. Yes! We've reached 100 episodes. I can hardly believe it!

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and

when I started this podcast two years ago, my first modest goal was to reach a

respectable number  - 50 in fact - and

now look at us!

I'm absolutely thrilled. We talked to a hundred fantastic mystery, thriller and romance authors, recording their wins and losses and giving you, their readers, a chance to discover new books you'll never want to put down. All to be found on the website with links in perpetuity.

To me, that's an exciting achievement. And I'm just as enthusiastic about adding the next 100 new Authors to the list. But we're pausing just for a moment to celebrate by doing something a little different for our centenary podcast. 

For our 100th birthday. I'm swapping seats with thriller author Annie Seaton and she's going to ask me the questions for a change.  Annie was on Episode #62 of the podcast talking about her romantic-eco thrillers.

So when we met up again and got talking at a writers conference recently, she seemed like the perfect guest host to put me in the firing line, asking about how we got started, what we've learned and where we might go next.

And just as a cherry on top of the cake, we've also got an exciting Giveaway. Five ebook copies of my latest book Unbridled Vengeance, out this week, is offered in a draw for lucky readers and listeners. Here's how to enter:

Harvey: A harsh land, a bitter rival. Will a vicious double murder destroy a Sacramento rancher's hard fought legacy? Strong on suspense, light on romance, Unbridled Vengeance is Book #5 in Jenny Wheeler's Of Gold & Blood old California series, easily read either as a standalone or as part of the series.

Enter the draw on  The Joys of Binge Reading.com or on the Binge Reading Facebook page. We'll select one winner a week for the next five weeks. Offer closes November 19th.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

How the Binge Reading podcast got startedWhy Jenny was a reluctant bloggerWhy she loves 1860s CaliforniaThe most enjoyable thing about doing a podcastThe lure of historical mysteriesWhat she's learned from podcasting

Where to find Jenny Wheeler:

Website: http://jennywheeler.biz (for Books)

And of course, www.thejoysofbingereading.com (for podcast)

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

AND @JennyWheeler.Biz

 Twitter: @Jenny_Biz

Instagram: @Jenny'sBingeReading

Pinterest: JennyWheeler Books

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: Thanks for that. And now, here's Annie. Hello there Annie, and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.

Annie: Hi Jenny. Thank you so much for letting me sit in your chair today. It's lovely to be on the other side and to be asking the questions.

Jenny: That's great. I'm sure you do really well.

Annie: ]So shall we start?

Jenny Wheeler - Podcaster and mystery author

Jenny: Yes, let's.

Annie: Okay. So Jenny tell me what made you to want to begin a podcast?

Jenny: Well Annie,

Tracking Game with Margaret Mizushima - a new K-9 police procedural

Margaret Mizushima's police-procedurals-with-heart mysteries feature K-9 Deputy Mattie Cobb and her very smart partner, a highly trained German Shepherd called Robo.

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today Margaret talks about the remarkable real life dog that Robo is based upon, as well as telling the truth of writing what you know, from her experience.

Six things you’ll learn about Margaret in this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

"Tag teamed' into a 'real job'How red tape ended her first careerWhy Robo will never be 'Ole Yeller' Remarkable scent detection skillsThe threat to National Parks and forestsWhy she'd like to have started sooner

Where to find Margaret Mizushima:

Website: https://margaretmizushima.com/ h

Facebook: @AuthorMargaretMizushima

 Twitter: @margmizu

Instagram: margmizu

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here's  Margaret. Hello there Margaret and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Margaret: Well, hello, Jenny and thank you so much for inviting me to be your guest today. I really appreciate it.

Margaret Mizushima, mystery author of the Timber Creek K-9 series

Jenny: So we are talking from across the ocean. You are in Wellington, Colorado and I'm in Auckland, New Zealand. And that's the  wonder of the the community we live in. It's great, isn't it?

Margaret: It is wonderful. Yes. I hope to visit your country someday.

Jenny: I think you'd very much like the South Island, actually. It's got some beautiful scenery, similar to what Colorado has. Now tell us, was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you felt that you just had to turn your hand to fiction and somehow life would be less if you didn't do that.. And if so, what was the catalyst for that?

The Once Upon A Time moment

Margaret: I think that I started wanting to write fiction when I was in high school, but my guidance counselor and my mother "tag teamed" with each other to convince me that I needed a career where I had guaranteed paychecks. And it's probably a very good thing that they did. So I became a speech pathologist and we'll possibly talk about that more a little later.

But the Once-Upon-a-Time moment came when I was working in my own

clinic. I had established it about ten years earlier and I realized that I was

very tired of that career. It had been very difficult getting the Medicare and

Medicaid certification and dealing with all of the insurance companies.

And so I was a bit burned out, probably more with the management than I was with actually working with my clientele. There was a catalyst and it was a big change in Medicare reimbursement. And I decided all right, it's time to move on and I had always dreamed of being a storyteller.

Red tape was the killer

I had read all of the Sidney Sheldon books back in the 80s and 90s and I

just loved the way he told a story. So I went ahead and put my company up for

sale.  After the company sold, I was able

to have just a little bit of a nest egg to go ahead and pay attention to the

educational process of becoming a fiction writer.

Jenny: Fantastic.  So you were almost driven out of that first profession by red tape really?

  Margaret: I think the red tape is probably what  covered me up and tied me down.  I just decided "No, enough is enough."

Jenny: So how long ago was that?

Margaret: That was actually clear back in 1998.

Mattie and Robo's story

Jenny: You're now on your fifth book in the police procedurals that have become really good sellers for you. I know that you tried your hand at quite a few other things before you got going with this and we'll talk about that a little bit later. But the series that you're making your name with now feature a K-9 cop called Mattie Cobb and her ...

Tracking Game with Margaret Mizushima - a new K-9 police procedural

Margaret Mizushima's police-procedurals-with-heart mysteries feature K-9 Deputy Mattie Cobb and her very smart partner, a highly trained German Shepherd called Robo.

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today Margaret talks about the remarkable real life dog that Robo is based upon, as well as telling the truth of writing what you know, from her experience.

Six things you’ll learn about Margaret in this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

"Tag teamed' into a 'real job'How red tape ended her first careerWhy Robo will never be 'Ole Yeller' Remarkable scent detection skillsThe threat to National Parks and forestsWhy she'd like to have started sooner

Where to find Margaret Mizushima:

Website: https://margaretmizushima.com/ h

Facebook: @AuthorMargaretMizushima

 Twitter: @margmizu

Instagram: margmizu

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here's  Margaret. Hello there Margaret and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Margaret: Well, hello, Jenny and thank you so much for inviting me to be your guest today. I really appreciate it.

Margaret Mizushima, mystery author of the Timber Creek K-9 series

Jenny: So we are talking from across the ocean. You are in Wellington, Colorado and I'm in Auckland, New Zealand. And that's the  wonder of the the community we live in. It's great, isn't it?

Margaret: It is wonderful. Yes. I hope to visit your country someday.

Jenny: I think you'd very much like the South Island, actually. It's got some beautiful scenery, similar to what Colorado has. Now tell us, was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you felt that you just had to turn your hand to fiction and somehow life would be less if you didn't do that.. And if so, what was the catalyst for that?

The Once Upon A Time moment

Margaret: I think that I started wanting to write fiction when I was in high school, but my guidance counselor and my mother "tag teamed" with each other to convince me that I needed a career where I had guaranteed paychecks. And it's probably a very good thing that they did. So I became a speech pathologist and we'll possibly talk about that more a little later.

But the Once-Upon-a-Time moment came when I was working in my own

clinic. I had established it about ten years earlier and I realized that I was

very tired of that career. It had been very difficult getting the Medicare and

Medicaid certification and dealing with all of the insurance companies.

And so I was a bit burned out, probably more with the management than I was with actually working with my clientele. There was a catalyst and it was a big change in Medicare reimbursement. And I decided all right, it's time to move on and I had always dreamed of being a storyteller.

Red tape was the killer

I had read all of the Sidney Sheldon books back in the 80s and 90s and I

just loved the way he told a story. So I went ahead and put my company up for

sale.  After the company sold, I was able

to have just a little bit of a nest egg to go ahead and pay attention to the

educational process of becoming a fiction writer.

Jenny: Fantastic.  So you were almost driven out of that first profession by red tap...

Critics rave about the unexpected and clever plot twists in Fiona Davis's historical bestsellers, dual timeline stories set in the Big Apple's most iconic buildings, from the Chelsea Hotel to Grand Central Station and the Dakota building to the Barbizon.

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today in the 98th episode of The Joys of Binge Reading, Fiona talks about the famous and sometimes eccentric people who bring New York - and her books to life.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

What excites Fiona about historic hotelsThe thing that shocked her most researching her latest bookWhy New York is a great place to set novelsThe 100th anniversary of The Age of InnocenceHow film is influencing fictionWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Fiona Davis: 

Website: www.fionadavis.net

Facebook: @FionaDavisauthor

Twitter: @fionajdavis

Instagram:  @fionajdavis

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word, but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here’s Fiona. Hello there Fiona, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Fiona Davis, historical fiction author.

Fiona: Thank

you. I'm thrilled to be here.

Jenny: Now

this is the question I always start with, but it never gets stale. Was there

and Once Upon a Time moment for your fiction writing, a moment when you thought

'I’ve just got to do this' or I will have wasted my life.

The 'Once Upon A Time' moment

Fiona: That's

a great question. Yes, and it came to me later. I was in my late 40s when it

hit.   What happened was, I had been

working as a journalist for a number of years and there was a story that I

thought would make a great article about the Barbizon Hotel and some of the older

tenants who were still living there, as it was turned into luxury condos.

And I thought oh, what a great story - it

represents the change in the city and the building, over time, but the women

who live there were very private and they would not be interviewed. I just

couldn't shake it. And I thought ‘All right. You know what? I'm going to make

this into a book and I will write it.’ That means I have to make stuff up and

that's very scary.

The Dollhouse - Fiona Davis' first novel, set in the Barbizon Hotel, New York.

But I was really determined and I'm so glad

I did it. It's just it took my career in a completely new direction, which has

been really fulfilling.

The Chelsea Girls - latest book

Jenny: It's wonderful. You've now got four best-selling historical novels to your credit, and the most recent of them, The Chelsea Girls, is also focused on  another very famous New York hotel, the Chelsea Hotel, which is almost notorious because of the numerous luminaries that have lived there, everyone from Dylan Thomas to Janis Joplin.  Tell us about the Chelsea.

Fiona: Yes,

sure. So, the hotel really intimidated me as an idea for setting a book there,

because so many people have passed through its doors. It was built in 1884 as

kind of a utopian cooperative, but that didn't work and it went bankrupt and it

became a hotel, but one where people could stay for years and sometimes even

decades.

For years it's been this a hotbed of intrigue in terms of both art and politics and fashion, music, and poetry. It just was almost overwhelming - the thought of trying to create a story around that building - because there were so many to tell.

The allure of the McCarthy Era

I really started focusing in on the McCarthy era and 1950 and also the late 60s because that's when it was really bubbling with creativity.

And the more I dug, the more I learned

about it, the more I thought yes, this is the perfect setting for a book

because on top of everything, it has a secret tunnel, which as an author, you're

like, yes, that's a gift. I'm gonna go with that.

Jenny:Yes

that's right.

Critics rave about the unexpected and clever plot twists in Fiona Davis's historical bestsellers, dual timeline stories set in the Big Apple's most iconic buildings, from the Chelsea Hotel to Grand Central Station and the Dakota building to the Barbizon.

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today in the 98th episode of The Joys of Binge Reading, Fiona talks about the famous and sometimes eccentric people who bring New York - and her books to life.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

What excites Fiona about historic hotelsThe thing that shocked her most researching her latest bookWhy New York is a great place to set novelsThe 100th anniversary of The Age of InnocenceHow film is influencing fictionWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Fiona Davis: 

Website: www.fionadavis.net

Facebook: @FionaDavisauthor

Twitter: @fionajdavis

Instagram:  @fionajdavis

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word, but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here’s Fiona. Hello there Fiona, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Fiona Davis, historical fiction author.

Fiona: Thank

you. I'm thrilled to be here.

Jenny: Now

this is the question I always start with, but it never gets stale. Was there

and Once Upon a Time moment for your fiction writing, a moment when you thought

'I’ve just got to do this' or I will have wasted my life.

The 'Once Upon A Time' moment

Fiona: That's

a great question. Yes, and it came to me later. I was in my late 40s when it

hit.   What happened was, I had been

working as a journalist for a number of years and there was a story that I

thought would make a great article about the Barbizon Hotel and some of the older

tenants who were still living there, as it was turned into luxury condos.

And I thought oh, what a great story - it

represents the change in the city and the building, over time, but the women

who live there were very private and they would not be interviewed. I just

couldn't shake it. And I thought ‘All right. You know what? I'm going to make

this into a book and I will write it.’ That means I have to make stuff up and

that's very scary.

The Dollhouse - Fiona Davis' first novel, set in the Barbizon Hotel, New York.

But I was really determined and I'm so glad

I did it. It's just it took my career in a completely new direction, which has

been really fulfilling.

The Chelsea Girls - latest book

Jenny: It's wonderful. You've now got four best-selling historical novels to your credit, and the most recent of them, The Chelsea Girls, is also focused on  another very famous New York hotel, the Chelsea Hotel, which is almost notorious because of the numerous luminaries that have lived there, everyone from Dylan Thomas to Janis Joplin.  Tell us about the Chelsea.

Fiona: Yes,

sure. So, the hotel really intimidated me as an idea for setting a book there,

because so many people have passed through its doors. It was built in 1884 as

kind of a utopian cooperative, but that didn't work and it went bankrupt and it

became a hotel, but one where people could stay for years and sometimes even

decades.

For years it's been this a hotbed of intrigue in terms of both art and politics an...

Harriet Steel’s Inspector de Silva historical crime series

takes us back to the exotic sights, sounds and smells of 1930s Ceylon under the

British Raj, in classic Golden Age mystery style.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Harriet talks about how an encounter with Chocolat author Joanne Harris changed her life, and her passion for the remarkable Lola Montez, who in her time was second only to Queen Victoria in fame and notoriety.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

The chance encounter that led to her first novelThe holiday that led to a mystery seriesHer passion for the remarkable Lola MontezBalancing historical accuracy and entertainment The writers she admires mostWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Harriet Steel:

Website: http://harrietsteelblogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: @harrietsteelauthor

 Twitter: @harrietsteel1

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5423444.Harriet_Steel

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny:But now, here's Harriet. Hello there Harriet and welcome to the show, its great to have you with us.

Harriet: Well, thank you so much for inviting me, Jenny. It's a great pleasure to be here.

Harriet Steel - author of British Raj mysteries

Jenny: I've loved

the Nuala books and I just wanted to ask you, was there a Once Upon a Time

moment when you decided you really had to write fiction or somehow your life

wouldn't be quite complete? And if so, was there any sort of special catalyst

for it?

Harriet: Yes, I think there was a catalyst. But I'll start from the beginning. I grew up on a farm in Wiltshire, which was then a very quiet part of England, and there weren't many other children around to play with. So I had quite a solitary childhood, as my sisters both went away to school when I was still quite young,  if I wasn't outside playing on the farm or in the garden, I would be usually found inside with my nose in a book. And I think because I loved reading, I eventually came to the feeling that I would like to try my hand at writing.

Beginnings as a short story writer

I think as a lot of people do when they start off, they write short stories because they seem a manageable length. Although short stories are actually a great deal harder than most people think to write successfully.

But, you know, I was very pleased that I managed to get a few published in magazines, which was lovely, but I never really aspired to anything longer than a short story. And then when I was in my 40s I entered a national short story competition. The idea of it was that six well-known writers would write the first half of the story and the people entering the competition would write the second half. And you had to choose whose story you would like to pick. And I chose the story started by Joanne Harris, who I imagine most people have heard of.

An important mentor

She wrote the book Chocolat, which was a very popular novel about 20 years ago. You've probably heard of her. I was lucky enough to get to the finals, which was very exciting, and a lot of people said very nice things about my story.

I met Joanne Harris at the final judging and somebody said to her, what advice would you give to aspiring writers? And she said, just drop the word aspiring and get on and write. And I think that gave me the confidence to think, you know, maybe I should just do that. Maybe I should allow myself to take my writing more seriously rather than just thinking of it as a little hobby. Maybe I could make more of it. So I think that was my catalyst.

Jenny: . Oh, that's great. It's amazing to me to think that it's 20 years ago since Chocolat was published. I mean, the time does goes so fast.

Harriet: Yes. It's just had its 20th anniversary.

Jenny: It's

exciting when you meet someone like that.

Harriet Steel’s Inspector de Silva historical crime series

takes us back to the exotic sights, sounds and smells of 1930s Ceylon under the

British Raj, in classic Golden Age mystery style.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Harriet talks about how an encounter with Chocolat author Joanne Harris changed her life, and her passion for the remarkable Lola Montez, who in her time was second only to Queen Victoria in fame and notoriety.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

The chance encounter that led to her first novelThe holiday that led to a mystery seriesHer passion for the remarkable Lola MontezBalancing historical accuracy and entertainment The writers she admires mostWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Harriet Steel:

Website: http://harrietsteelblogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: @harrietsteelauthor

 Twitter: @harrietsteel1

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5423444.Harriet_Steel

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny:But now, here's Harriet. Hello there Harriet and welcome to the show, its great to have you with us.

Harriet: Well, thank you so much for inviting me, Jenny. It's a great pleasure to be here.

Harriet Steel - author of British Raj mysteries

Jenny: I've loved

the Nuala books and I just wanted to ask you, was there a Once Upon a Time

moment when you decided you really had to write fiction or somehow your life

wouldn't be quite complete? And if so, was there any sort of special catalyst

for it?

Harriet: Yes, I think there was a catalyst. But I'll start from the beginning. I grew up on a farm in Wiltshire, which was then a very quiet part of England, and there weren't many other children around to play with. So I had quite a solitary childhood, as my sisters both went away to school when I was still quite young,  if I wasn't outside playing on the farm or in the garden, I would be usually found inside with my nose in a book. And I think because I loved reading, I eventually came to the feeling that I would like to try my hand at writing.

Beginnings as a short story writer

I think as a lot of people do when they start off, they write short stories because they seem a manageable length. Although short stories are actually a great deal harder than most people think to write successfully.

But, you know, I was very pleased that I managed to get a few published in magazines, which was lovely, but I never really aspired to anything longer than a short story. And then when I was in my 40s I entered a national short story competition. The idea of it was that six well-known writers would write the first half of the story and the people entering the competition would write the second half. And you had to choose whose story you would like to pick. And I chose the story started by Joanne Harris, who I imagine most people have heard of.

An important mentor

She wrote the book Chocolat, which was a very popular novel about 20 years ago. You've probably heard of her. I was lucky enough to get to the finals, which was very exciting, and a lot of people said very nice things about my story.

I met Joanne Harris at the final judging and somebody said to her, what advice would you give to aspiring writers? And she said, just drop the word aspiring and get on and write.

Kirsten McKenzie’s time travel series The Old Curiosity Shop has been likened to 'Antique Road Show Gone Viral' – and that’s appropriate, because Kirsten is a former antiques dealer who is fascinated by the power of previously loved objects.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and Kirsten talks about historic time travel and her passion for unearthing ancient objects from archaeological digs.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Kirsten's passion for digging up the pastThe serendipity of her first bookWhat she wishes she'd learned earlierHer time as a Shortland Street extraSpeed dating readers - and why she loves itThe importance of finding your tribe

Where to find Kirsten McKenzie:

Website: https://www.kirstenmckenzie.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiwimrsmac/

Facebook: @kiwimrsmac

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kiwimrsmac

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.nz/kiwimrsmac/

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: And now, here's Kirsten. Hello, Kirsten and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Kirsten: Thank

you for having me, Jenny. I appreciate it.

Jenny: Look, I

like to always start with the Once Upon A Time question, but people like to

know the answer. Was there something that made you feel like an epiphany? That

you had to write fiction? And if so, what was the catalyst for it?

Kirsten McKenzie - mystery and thriller author

Kirsten: A

catalyst was a slow day at work, and it seems so banal. I was at work at my

family's antique shop. There was an old Crown Lynn beehive Pudding basin on the

counter. And that one item just made me go, "Oh, I've got a notebook in my

handbag. Oh, there's nobody in the shop. I might write a book." And I

don't even know where that came from. I went from being a customs officer

thrust into helping run the family antique business to being a novelist, all

because of that Crown Lynn Beehive Pudding basin. I don't know what it was.

Jenny: So you

can't quite pick what it was about that particular basin?

Kirsten: No. But

that was the exact moment where I thought "I'm going to write a

book." And then when my brother, who I worked with, turned up, I said,

"I'm going to write a novel." And he said "You never finish

anything." And I was like, well, wow. Here we go. He issued the challenge.

He did. And then it backfired on him because after my second book, I quit my

job and started writing full time.

Starting out as a writer

Jenny:  So how did you get from there to historical

dual timeline novels?

Kirsten: Well,

the pudding basin made my character really, because works at an antique shop

-  which is what the main character in

Fifteen Postcards does. And then, if I thought back to the pudding basin when

it was brand new. . . I mean, if you think about everything in an antique shop

or a second hand shop,  everything was

loved at one point.

Crown Lynn Beehive Pudding basin - catalyst for a Kirsten McKenzie book

So who was it who loved that pudding basin when it was first

manufactured? And I know a lot through my work about the Victorian times. I'm

not so au fait with the 1930s and 40s, so I just shot her back a few decades

earlier. But everything's been loved and I wanted to go back to that moment in

time when that item and the other items in the stories were loved by somebody..

We've all had things that we've loved; in our childhood a teddy bear, or a

favorite photo frame or a favorite pen that we like to write with. And then

over the years, you lose it or gets broken or you've moved house and you sell

it. But at one point, that item was loved.

The random creative process

Jenny: So that's

lovely. So very much your connection with the antique shop transferred over to

your writing?

Kirsten: Absolutely.

And I would be writing in the summer holidays when my brother would be

Kirsten McKenzie’s time travel series The Old Curiosity Shop has been likened to 'Antique Road Show Gone Viral' – and that’s appropriate, because Kirsten is a former antiques dealer who is fascinated by the power of previously loved objects.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and Kirsten talks about historic time travel and her passion for unearthing ancient objects from archaeological digs.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Kirsten's passion for digging up the pastThe serendipity of her first bookWhat she wishes she'd learned earlierHer time as a Shortland Street extraSpeed dating readers - and why she loves itThe importance of finding your tribe

Where to find Kirsten McKenzie:

Website: https://www.kirstenmckenzie.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiwimrsmac/

Facebook: @kiwimrsmac

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kiwimrsmac

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.nz/kiwimrsmac/

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: And now, here's Kirsten. Hello, Kirsten and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Kirsten: Thank

you for having me, Jenny. I appreciate it.

Jenny: Look, I

like to always start with the Once Upon A Time question, but people like to

know the answer. Was there something that made you feel like an epiphany? That

you had to write fiction? And if so, what was the catalyst for it?

Kirsten McKenzie - mystery and thriller author

Kirsten: A

catalyst was a slow day at work, and it seems so banal. I was at work at my

family's antique shop. There was an old Crown Lynn beehive Pudding basin on the

counter. And that one item just made me go, "Oh, I've got a notebook in my

handbag. Oh, there's nobody in the shop. I might write a book." And I

don't even know where that came from. I went from being a customs officer

thrust into helping run the family antique business to being a novelist, all

because of that Crown Lynn Beehive Pudding basin. I don't know what it was.

Jenny: So you

can't quite pick what it was about that particular basin?

Kirsten: No. But

that was the exact moment where I thought "I'm going to write a

book." And then when my brother, who I worked with, turned up, I said,

"I'm going to write a novel." And he said "You never finish

anything." And I was like, well, wow. Here we go. He issued the challenge.

He did. And then it backfired on him because after my second book, I quit my

job and started writing full time.

Starting out as a writer

Jenny:  So how did you get from there to historical

dual timeline novels?

Kirsten: Well,

the pudding basin made my character really, because works at an antique shop

-  which is what the main character in

Fifteen Postcards does. And then, if I thought back to the pudding basin when

it was brand new. . . I mean, if you think about everything in an antique shop

or a second hand shop,  everything was

loved at one point.

Crown Lynn Beehive Pudding basin - catalyst for a Kirsten McKenzie book

So who was it who loved that pudding basin when it was first

manufactured? And I know a lot through my work about the Victorian times. I'm

not so au fait with the 1930s and 40s,

Ames Sheldon’s Second

World War novels explore how war impacts family life long after the guns have

stopped firing. Writing them realized a life long dream when her first book -

fifteen years in the making – won the Benjamin Franklin award as the Best New

Voice in Fiction.

Hi there, I’m your

host Jenny Wheeler and Ames talks about 

the challenge of balancing personal dreams and family life and why she

loves the creative process.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

How Ames realized her life long dreamWhy 'writing what you know' worked for herThe family operetta that sparked it allThe challenge of work and family life balanceThe writers she admires mostHer latest project

Where to find Ames Sheldon:

Website: amessheldon.com/

Facebook: @AmesSheldonAuthor

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14651368.Ames_Sheldon

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here’s Ames.  Hello there Ames, and welcome to the show, it’s great to have you with us.

Ames Sheldon - Historic fiction author

Ames: Thank you.

I am thrilled to be able to talk with you.

Jenny: It's just

a real pleasure. So tell us all. Was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you

decided that fiction was writing was the thing that you had to do? And if so,

was there a catalyst for it?

Where it all began

Ames: Yes, there

was. It all started with the fact that I love to read. And when I was nine

years old, I was reading Stuart Little by E.B. White. And I loved that book so

much. I thought, I want to be a writer. So I proceeded to write a story, a

short story, a long, short story, and I've continued writing stories and poems

ever since I was nine.

I wrote a couple of novels. Neither of them were published. I spent years trying to get one of them published, in and out. Out to publishers and editors and back with comments, rewritten and out again. I did that for quite a number of years. And then I stopped. Throughout my adult life, I've had jobs that involved writing but non-fiction writing. I was a newspaper reporter and academic writer, a grant writer for a university for the Minnesota Historical Society, for the Minneapolis Public Library.

How non-fiction helped fiction

Not all of the same time, but one after another. And I

thought this was a way I could keep my writing tools sharp in terms of being

able to express my thoughts. This work helped my fiction in that I got used to

getting feedback, getting criticism, revising and revising and revising.

Jenny: So that

first novel that you've mentioned. Did that ever evolve into the ones that you

later published or was it something completely different?

Ames: It was

something completely different. And actually, it is the book that it is, I

hope, going to be my third published novel. I had discovered an developmental

editor along the way with my current novels and I worked with her to rewrite

it. And I am currently querying agents and publishers about that novel. And I

would be happy to tell you more about that novel maybe at the end or now what

ever you wish.

A thrilling new voice in fiction

Jenny: I think at the end. We will concentrate on the ones that we have been publishing so far. That will be your work in progress I think. So that very first one that you managed to get published  - and wonderful that you stuck at it with such determination. It must have been thrilling that you won the Benjamin Franklin Award as the Best New Voice in Fiction for that first book, which was Eleanor's Wars.

And I must when I first saw that title, Eleanor's Wars,

automatically my mind jumped to the fact that this might have a connection with

Eleanor Roosevelt, but in fact, it's a different Eleanor altogether, isn't it?

Ames Sutton, Eleanor's Wars.

Ames: That's

correct. Yes, it is a different Eleanor.