Getting to know Madison Johns

I want to welcome Madison Johns, author of Armed and Outrageous. Let’s get to know her.

Patricia: Madison, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer? 

Madison: I grew up in Birch Run, Michigan, which is in Mid-Michigan. It’s a small town or used to be with no McDonald’s or Mall, but today it has all of that and more. Living in the country was an inspiration, but I spent most of my days daydreaming. At this point writing wasn’t something I was doing or thinking about.

Patricia: Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels? 

Madison: I live in Saginaw, MI, and so far it hasn’t been featured in any of my novels. Armed and Outrageous takes place near Tawas, MI, where I went on vacation every year.

Patricia: What inspired you to write your most recent novel? 

Madison: I worked in a nursing home for three years and that was really the inspiration, that and my love for Janet Evanovich’s Grandma Mazur character. Since Janet won’t give Grandma Mazur her own books, I thought why not try my hand at it and created quite a cast of characters.

Patricia: Did you plan to write a series before or after you wrote the first book? 

Madison: I knew while I was writing Armed that it would be a great series. The ideas wouldn’t quit flowing and I had to jot them all down for future reference. 

Patricia: Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre. 

Madison: Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Janet Evanovich. I love Janet’s simplistic style.

Patricia: What are your favorite things to do when you’re not reading or writing?

Madison: Does hanging out on Facebook count? I like watching ghost hunting shows on Sci-Fi with my family, but I really have no time to spare between family and work to make room for hobbies.

Patricia: Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go? 

Madison: I wished I had more opportunities to do more, but I do love my home state of Michigan. I love the Tawas area and hope I won’t be stoned out of town when I visit there. I love Lake Huron in all it’s magnificent glory. I hope to travel to the Upper Peninsula on day.

Patricia: How would you describe yourself personality wise? 

Madison: I’m an extrovert, I know right? I’m not sure how I came to this point because when I was a child I was shy as a church mouse. Words are never left unsaid. I can literally talk to anyone — my whole family is that way too. In some parts of the country that might seem weird. I’m a walking talking comedian or so I have been accused. I love to laugh and make others do the same. I can literally make a joke out of every situation, although it’s not always a blessing to certain members of my family.

Patricia: If you had a time machine where would you go? 

Madison: Like back to my childhood and kick myself in the rear. I wished I had paid more attention to grammar in school. I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully understand it.

Patricia: How would you finish this sentence? If I won a million dollars, I would ...  

Madison: be dreaming. I’m a little on the realistic side.

You can learn more about Madison and her books at the following sites:

http://madisonjohns.com

http://tinyurl.com/cw2rep9

http://tinyurl.com/d8lul8k

I SEE MYSTERY EVERYWHERE by Marilyn Meredith

Yes, I really do see mystery everywhere. The question, “What if” is always forefront in my mind. I think “what if” when I’m reading any intriguing article in the newspaper. When driving down the road, a gathering of vehicles, someone getting a ticket, lots of tents at the campground, an interesting conversation at a nearby table in a restaurant, something someone tells me, and I could go on and on.

For my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, I’ve gotten ideas from law enforcement professionals who’ve spoken at my Sisters in Crime chapter. I’ve also been piqued by things I’ve seen or heard when visiting the coast. (RBPD mysteries take place in a fictional small beach town.)

For my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, other things will trigger a story idea. When I first began thinking about the plot for Raging Water, which didn’t have a title at that time, it was raining a lot where I live. Tempe lives in Bear Creek which is much like the place where I live, though 1000 feet higher in the mountains. Locals were discussing how much the river was rising and remembering past flooding. 

As the rain kept coming down, mud slid down and blocked parts of the road that leads to town. H’mmm, what if after lots and lots of rain, not only would the river flood and send folks who lived along the river finding shelter elsewhere, but a mud slide could make it impossible to leave Bear Creek.

All that could certainly make a mystery interesting, but I needed a murder.

Not too long ago two women who went to our church died under what I and a few other considered suspicious circumstances but our local law enforcement did not. Our deputies are also deputy coroners and can pronounce someone dead. In the case of these two women, both with serious chronic illnesses, no autopsies were performed. Both women were poor and didn’t have any family to demand an autopsy. I decided to include their deaths in the book. 

One more ingredient came along. A good friend of mine and a fan of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries asked if I’d put her in one of my books. I agreed. Though the character has a new name, I used her physical description and some of her personality attributes—though I’d rather say that it is her essence in the character. I did use her two dogs though, including their breed and names, and they become quite important to the plot.

Raging Water Blurb: Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s  investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel us No Bells, the forth from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. This is the first stop on her blog tour for Raging Water.

Contest: The person who leaves comments on the most blogs on Marilyn’s tour will have his/her name used for a character in her next book — he or she may choose a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery or a Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel.

Visit Marilyn at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Getting to know Sally Carpenter

We have mystery author, Sally Carpenter, visiting with us this week. I read Sally’s The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper and really enjoyed it. Now, let’s get to know Sally.

Patricia:  Sally, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer?

Sally :  I was born and raised in southwestern Indiana, the same setting as my book. Growing up I read a lot because that wasn’t much else to do. My family lived in the country outside a small town, Princeton, pop. 10,000. We didn’t go into town frequently and when we did, the only entertainment was a bowling alley and a single-screen movie theater. During the school year I checked out books from the school library and in the summer I hung out at the public library during the day while mom did the shopping. In eighth grade I won the library’s summer reading contest by reading the most books. I made up stories, too.
In the evenings we watched TV (only three channels!) and that helped to inspire my series character who starred in a fictitious TV show. In high school I was active in the school drama club and plays, which also helped to develop my storytelling skills.  

Patricia:  Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels?

Sally :  I’ve lived in Southern California since 2000. As a kid I dreamed of going to Hollywood, so here I am. I came to LA to break into TV writing and ended up writing mystery novels! But that’s okay. I live west of LA in Moorpark, which is considered a “small town” even though it’s three times the size of Princeton. The hero of my books lives in LA because he works in showbiz.  

Patricia:  What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

Sally :  More than a decade or so ago VH1 started running “The Monkees” TV show again, which I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. I fell in love with the guys and became a super fan—going to concerts, collecting stuff, talking to fans, reading about teen idols. I was taking a college course in playwrighting at the time and wrote a one-act play about an aging star meeting one of his fans. The play was a finalist in a playwrighting contest and one of the judges said, “I can see a bigger story here.”

In 2008 a local library hosted a panel discussion with members of Sisters in Crime. The program inspired me to start writing mysteries (and to join SinC), so I took the teen idol character and turned him into an amateur sleuth.    

Patricia:  Did you plan to write a series before or after you wrote the first book?

Sally :  I always knew this would be a series before I started. As a kid I wanted to create and star in my own TV show so I think of the individual books as episodes in my TV series.

Patricia:  Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre.

Sally :  Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Richard Levinson/William Link (Columbo) would be tops. I also love the Holmes on the Range series by Steve Hockensmith. 

Patricia:  What are your favorite things to do when you’re not reading or writing?

Sally :  I don’t have much time left over when I’m not reading or writing! I work a full-time job at a community newspaper to pay the bills then come home to write. I’m also a play critic for the newspaper so I occasionally review the local community and school productions. I spoil two black cats. I enjoy watching old movies and the classic TV shows I grew up with; I have an enormous home video collection. I like to help out the city library; next month I’ll be reading books to preschoolers for a session of PJ Storytime. On Sundays I go to church. Not exciting but I like to keep the drama on the page and out of my life.

Patricia:  Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go?

Sally :  I wish I could travel more but with a full-time job and limited finances I don’t go far. One of the local libraries takes day trips to museums and interesting places in LA and I usually take those excursions. Some time ago a local group hosted a location tour in LA to see places where various Laurel and Hardy movies were filmed. Some of those houses/places still look the same!
Years ago I was with a traveling drama troupe and we toured Western Canada. I’ve been on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas and would love to take a weeklong cruise. I like the whole shipboard experience. In 2014 I plan to go to Monterey Calif. for the Left Coast Crime convention.  

Patricia:  How would you describe yourself personality wise?

Sally :  Introvert, funny, spiritual, smart, loving, independent, loyal friend.

Patricia:  What’s your favorite color? Why?

Sally:  Green. It’s the color of grass and represents growth (also coincidentally the color of money but that doesn’t mean I’m greedy). Blue is runner-up because my eyes are blue and I look good in dark blue clothes; my series protagonist has blue eyes too.

Patricia:  How would you finish this sentence? If I won a million dollars, I would . . .

Sally :  pay off my debts, buy a house, invest the money so I could afford to write full-time and give to charity.

Thanks for having me, Patricia! This has been fun!

Yes it has, Sally. Thanks for being my guest this week.

To read more about and/or to order a copy of The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper go to:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+baffled+beatlemaniac+caper&sprefix=The+Baffled%2Cstripbooks%2C213&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Athe+baffled+beatlemaniac+caper&ajr=0

Getting to know Sunny Frazier

Sunny Frazier is a woman of many talents. She’s the Acquisitions Editor for Oak Tree Press and the founder of the Posse, an online writing/marketing group. She’s also the author of two mystery novels, Fools Rush In and Where Angels Fear.

Patricia:  Where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer? 

                                                                           

Sunny:  I grew up all over the world. My father was in the Navy. One of the most exotic places we were stationed was Midway Island. As a Navy child, when you have to move around, books are too heavy to pack, so I grew up without books in the house. However, I lived in the libraries. My education was constantly interrupted (three fourth grades!), so no, I'd say my childhood was a detriment for my growth as a writer. 

Patricia:  Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels?     

Sunny:  I live in the San Joaquin Valley and Fresno County is where my books and short stories are set. It's an overlooked part of California, so I get carte blanch.  

Patricia:  What inspired you to write your most recent novel?   

                                 

Sunny:  While I was working with the Fresno Co. Sheriff's Dept., I got a call from a snitch. He'd stumbled into a sex club—we all thought it was a fruit and vegetable stand. Which it was at one time (we're a bit slow on the uptake in this area). I had to report it to Vice, but I loved the idea for a novel. Much of what is in the book is true. My captain wouldn't let me “investigate” the club for my book and detectives watched the place to make sure I didn't try to go in. We eventually busted it for building codes.   

Patricia:  Did you plan to write a series before or after you wrote the first book?  

           

Sunny:  I always planned the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries as a series. 

Patricia:  Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre.   

                            

Sunny:  J.A. Jance, Robert Crais, Michael Connelly.

Patricia:  What are your favorite things to do when you’re not reading or writing?

Sunny:  Swimming in the pool and playing with my five cats. Or, napping alongside them.

Patricia:  Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go?   

      

Sunny:  I used to like traveling before all this airport security happened. But memories of my favorite places are Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Antigua, Grenada, Victoria, BC, Kauai, Haiti, Bogotá, Ireland, Newport RI and Mendocino. 

Patricia:  How would you describe yourself personality wise?      

                                 

Sunny:  As I get older, I have fewer filters. I'm also very outspoken when I feel writers are getting bad information. I'm passionate about this industry. I'm considered high energy, but I feel like I'm laid back. I like my sense of humor—it amuses me. I'm easily amused.

Patricia:  What’s your favorite color? Why?    

                                                                 

Sunny:  Purple. It excites my eyes. Speaking of eyes, it's the only shade of eye shadow I wear. I also have an incredible shade of violet lipstick, running out and they don't make it anymore. Amethyst is my favorite stone (but not my birthstone). I plan to put lilac highlights in my hair later this year. 

Patricia:  How would you finish this sentence? If I won a million dollars, I would . . . 

Sunny:  get the house repaired. Hire a gardener. Contribute to cat shelters. Help out friends. Get the pool resurfaced. Feed my cats Fancy Feast. That's about it. I like my life.  

Sunny, thanks for being with us today. It’s been fun! By the way, I enjoyed reading both of your novels.

If you would like to read more about Sunny’s books and/or to order copies, go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Frazier/e/B001K8HUGI/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1345209672&sr=1-2-ent