The Moment

Mystery author, Marja McGraw

There’s nothing more exciting than the day an author has a new book released. Okay, maybe there are a few things that are more exciting, but we’re talking about books, and the release date is The Moment for me. In my case I’m doubly excited because I’ve had two books released in a period of a few months, starting with “Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery”, and ending with “Having a Great Crime – Wish You Were Here, A Sandi Webster Mystery.”

The location for both mysteries is Washington State, my new home. The first book takes place in a fictional town, and the second is in a real and beautiful small town (where it rains a lot). Having moved from Arizona to Washington, I’m having to change my way of thinking and my habits.

One of the hardest tasks, at least for me, is coming up with a brief description for the back cover of the book. Today I’m presenting you with those descriptions, and I hope you find them enticing.

“Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery”

Mystery writer Carrie McFerrin has inherited an old family house and all of its contents from her Great Aunt Genny.

While taking inventory of the attic contents, she comes across an old wooden crank telephone. Thinking the old telephone would look perfect in her vintage kitchen, she hangs it on the wall by the back door, and an old, yellowed piece of paper asking for help falls to the floor.

The impossible happens when the disconnected old phone rings – three rings, a pause, and three more rings.

Carrie picks up the receiver, wondering what’s going on, and her life suddenly changes – forever.

Nothing will ever be the same.

“Having a Great Crime – Wish You Were Here, A Sandi Webster Mystery”

1936 – In the small farming community of Battle Ground, Washington, a scream is heard and actress Bonnie Singleton is found dead. With no evidence or suspects, the crime goes down in history as an unsolved murder. The only one who knows the truth is Bonnie Singleton, and her voice has been silenced.

That is, until many years later when Sandi Webster-Goldberg and her husband, Pete, go on a belated honeymoon to a new Bed and Breakfast in the small community.

Plenty of surprises await the couple when the proprietor of the B&B asks for their help. She doesn’t want her business to be known as the local haunted house.

Have Sandi and Pete ever been able to turn down a challenge? The request to find the truth has been made and once again they’re reluctantly on a cold case.

Writing is a job, and I’ve had more fun doing this job than any other. Now comes the hard part; marketing and promoting. I’m not a “born salesman,” but I’m learning, which in this case is an ongoing process.

I’ll just say this – for now. If you’re looking for two books that will keep you guessing and entertain you, these are two of them.

Pat, Thank you for allowing me to crow a little today.

Are we having fun yet? You bet!

You can check out:

My blog - http://marjamcgraw.blogspot.com/

My website - http://www.marjamcgraw.com/

Buy books: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=marja+mcgraw&sprefix=marja+mc%2Cmobile-apps%2C450

Mystery Author of the Month: Marja McGraw

The first book I read by Marja McGraw was Old Murders Never Die. I enjoyed it so much that I went on to read the rest of the books in her Sandi Webster Mystery series. Then, I proceeded to read her Bogey Man mysteries. I often refer to those as “feel good mysteries” because, if you’re having a bad day and you read one of them, you’re sure to feel better. If you don’t believe me, give it a try. Now, on to the questions I asked Marja.

Patricia: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Marja: Oddly enough, when a friend talked me into trying it. My friend had moved out of state and (this is in the old days, before emails), I wrote letters to her. I told her stories about what was going on in my life and around me. She said she used to wait for my letters because they brought out all of her emotions; laughter, tears, joy and what have you. Eventually I moved to her area and she nagged me to try to write a book. It didn’t take much nagging, and since I love mysteries, that’s the direction I took. She receives a complimentary copy of every book thanks to her powers of persuasion. I’ve always loved writing stories, but this friend was my catalyst to actually trying a book-length story. What would we do without good friends?

Interesting story: My friend’s husband never read anything except the newspaper and hunting magazines. He saw “Old Murders Never Die” sitting on the coffee table and picked it up. He read it from cover to cover, and it was the first book he’d ever read. I’ll take that as a huge compliment.

Patricia: If, for some reason, you couldn’t be a writer, what profession would you choose?

Marja: Without a doubt, archaeology. If I’d had the opportunity, I would have attended college and that’s what I would have studied. In a way, it represents mystery to me; mysteries that are just waiting to be solved. I love history, too, so this would have been a “two birds with one stone” career.

I worked in civil and criminal law enforcement for several years and loved every moment of it, but I’m not sure I’d want to go back to that any time soon. The world has changed a lot since then, and even back in the day things could be dicey sometimes, and I was at the clerical end of things. Okay, sometimes I was called on for non-clerical duties, and honestly, that’s what made it fun.

Patricia: Do you have a bucket list, things you still want to do and/or places you want to visit?

Marja: Things I want to do would certainly include more writing. I’d love to meet some of the people I’ve met through the Internet in person. I’d really like to take a long train ride, to almost anywhere. Honestly? I think I’ve done most of the things that would be on my bucket list. It’s been an interesting life, even without doing a lot of long-distance traveling, and an interesting life can sometimes give a writer a different perspective on mysteries and storylines.

As far as places I’d like to visit, I’d like to return to Australia. The last time I was there I stayed with the relatives of a friend and, thanks to them, I got to see and do a lot of things tourists wouldn’t normally do, including when we visited Tasmania. Scotland would another place on my list.

There are more places I’d like to visit, particularly here in America, but Australia and Scotland hold the top two places on my list.

Thank you for letting me visit today, Pat, and I appreciate the interesting questions you handed me. 

About Marja:

Marja McGraw was born and raised in Southern California. She worked in both civil and criminal law, state transportation, and most recently for a city building department.  She has lived and worked in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and Arizona.

McGraw wrote a weekly column for a small town newspaper in Northern Nevada, and conducted a Writers’ Support Group in Northern Arizona. A past member of Sisters in Crime (SinC), she was also the Editor for the SinC-Internet Newsletter for a year and a half.

She has appeared on KOLO-TV in Reno, Nevada, and KLBC in Laughlin, Nevada, and various radio talk shows.

Marja says that each of her mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A Little Murder!

She now lives in Arizona, where life is good.


 The Sandi Webster Series involves a female private investigator who becomes involved in both client situations and personal mysteries. From solving old crimes, as well as current cases, Sandi finds herself in some unusual situations, such as discovering a ghost town with a mysterious past that no one has stepped foot in for over a hundred years.

Sandi’s partner, Pete, adds a little more mystery and a touch of romance to the series. Her mother manages to create humor. Her friends are always on hand to help or hinder resolutions to her cases. This private eye never knows where life is going to take her next.

Sandi Webster Mysteries
#1 - A Well-Kept Family Secret
#2 - Bubba's Ghost
#3 - Prudy's Back!
#4 - The Bogey Man
#5 - Old Murders Never Die
#6 - Death Comes in Threes
#7 - What Are the Odds?

The Bogey Man Series is based on a Humphrey Bogart look-alike who wishes he could live the life Bogey did in his P.I. movies. An amateur sleuth and restaurateur, Chris Cross is married with a young stepson. The stories are told from the point of view of his wife, Pamela, who’s just as interested in solving crimes as her husband.

Their young son, Mikey (nicknamed Ace), would like nothing more than to involve himself in their mysterious lives, and on occasion he does manage to insert himself in their cases, as does Chris’s unusual mother.

Dig a hole to bury a dead bird and dig up a skeleton. Try to help some little old Church Ladies and dig yourself into a hole. Buy a vintage building for your forties-themed restaurant and find a dead body buried in the basement.

The Bogey Man Mysteries

#1 - Bogey Nights

#2 - Bogey's Ace in the Hole
 
#3 - They Call Me Ace
 
#4 - Awkward Moments

#5 - How Now Purple Cow

To learn more about Marja and her books, visit her at:

Website: http://www.marjamcgraw.com/

Blog: http://www.marjamcgraw.blogspot.com/

Books Available at: http://tinyurl.com/oxskns6 and you can request them at your favorite bookstore.