Getting to know Anne K. Albert

Today, I’m delighted to have mystery author, Anne K. Albert visiting with us. I recently read Frank, Incense and Muriel and I loved it! I’m looking forward to reading more books in her Muriel Reeves Mystery series.

Let’s get to know Anne.

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

Anne:  For a child growing up on the outskirts of a small town on the east coast in the 1950s (please don’t snicker, I really am that old!) it was a lonely existence. I looked forward to attending public school, and never once complained about the 1.5 mile walk there and back, even during the dead of winter. When I discovered the one-room public library was on route, and that I could have my very own library card, it was akin to fireworks going off on the Fourth of July! Books became my friends, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Until I reached a ‘certain’ age, however, I never imagined ordinary people could be writers. It seemed like such an incredible occupation--this ability to create worlds with words!

Patricia:  What inspired you to write a novel?

Anne:  In the late 1980s, working as a display advertising sales representative for a small weekly newspaper, I came face-to-face with a computer. I fell in love with the music of fingertips flying across the keyboard, and wanted to create my own symphony!

Four manuscripts later, Frank, Incense And Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries, received the 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit. I’m extremely proud of this story. As you may have guessed from the title, it takes place the week before Christmas when the holiday season is enough to frazzle anyone’s nerves. Add a missing woman, kidnapper, Muriel’s eccentric family, and it’s seasonal mayhem tied up in a luscious red and green bow!

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

Anne:  Like so many readers, I enjoy revisiting intriguing characters and following their continued escapades. There’s something heartwarming about a series, and I knew instinctively Frankie and Muriel were destined to share more than a single adventure.

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

Anne:  I love to travel. Absolutely L-O-V-E to travel! I’ve been to the British Isles, Eastern Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and toured across America and Canada on numerous occasions. There are still many states and provinces I have yet to see, and Ireland and Paris are  also on my bucket list.

Patricia:  What’s your answer to this question – If I won a million dollars, I would ------

Anne:  If I won a million dollars, I would pretty much carry on living as I am now, except I’d travel more. (Big surprise, huh?!) I’d also give our daughter the cash to repay her student loans. 

Thanks so much for featuring me today, Patricia. It’s been such fun.

I’ve enjoyed it, Anne. Thank you! Oh, and by the way, I grew up in the 1950s too but I try to never use the “O” word. :)

 

Bio: Anne K. Albert’s award winning stories chill the spine, warm the heart and soothe the soul…all with a delightful touch of humor. A member of Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, she credits Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden for nurturing her love affair with a good mystery. When not writing the Muriel Reeves Mysteries series Anne loves to travel, visit friends and family, and of course, read using ‘Threegio’ her cherished and much beloved Kindle 3G. 

Here’s the link to read more about and/or to purchase a copy of Frank, Incense and Muriel.

http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Incense-and-Muriel-ebook/dp/B004CLYDRO/

Readers can find Anne online 

at her website: www.AnneKAlbert.com, 

Anne K. Albert blog: http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com, 

Muriel Reeves Mysteries blog: http://muriel-reeves-mysteries.blogspot.com, 

on Facebook: www.facebook.com/annekalbert, 

Twitter: @annekalbert

and Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/727vgs6

Getting to know John Daniel

Today, we have author, John M. Daniel with us. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his novel, Behind the Redwood Door. He’s led an interesting life, as you’re about to discover.

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

John: I grew up on a beautiful estate in the countryside outside Dallas, Texas. The place was owned by my Uncle Neil, a wealthy, unmarried businessman. When my father died, leaving my mother broke with four kids, Uncle Neil took us in. I suppose growing up there contributed to my desire to write, since I was so far out in the country that my closest friends were books. And living in that strange household gave me a lifetime’s worth of material to write about. 

My novel Elephant Lake is set on an estate modeled on the place where I grew up, and it’s largely about the relationship between my mother and my uncle. For more info on that novel, see . 

 http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/elephant_lake.html

 The book’s available on Kindle.

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

John: I now live in Humboldt County, in far northern California, on the coast in Redwood Country. It’s a land of logging, fishing, and of course marijuana cultivation. It is the local of my newest published novel, Behind the Redwood Door, which is a murder mystery about, among other things, logging, fishing, and marijuana cultivation. It’s published by Oak Tree Press. For more information, see http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/redwooddoor.html. 

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

John: To be honest about this, my most recent novels have not yet found publishers. They were inspired by my experience working in a pacifist bookstore in the 1970s, and by the year 1963 and how that year slammed into three members of my family: my uncle, my mother, and myself. Perhaps in some future interview I’ll be able to show you cover shots of those books too! Meanwhile, the inspiration for Behind the Redwood Door is largely the glorious setting of California’s North Coast. I also wanted to give my pint-sized sleuth, Guy Mallon, another chance at bat. In this novel, which works as a standalone, Guy and his wife/partner Carol have retired from the publishing business, but Guy still can’t help getting into dangerous trouble!

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

John: The first Guy Mallon mystery, The Poet’s Funeral, published by Poisoned Pen Press, was meant to be a standalone, my comic tribute to the publishing business as it was in 1990. The book is set at the American Bookseller’s Convention, which was in Las Vegas that year. I had no idea the series would go on for two more books, but 

Guy Mallon refused to shut up.

For more info on The Poet’s Funeral, see http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/poetsfuneral.html.   

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

John: That’s a hard one. If I may be allowed to stretch the meaning of “mystery genre,” I would throw out for discussion Elmore Leonard, who’s a master of quirky plots and crackling dialogue; Carl Hiaasen, who makes me laugh so hard keeps me turning pages; and Larry Karp, who writes so entertainingly about ragtime music, music boxes, medical history, and the human heart.

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

John: I have a full-time job as a publisher and free-lance editor. Luckily I love what I do for a living.

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

John: My wife, Susan, and I go to Las Vegas every Christmas, not to gamble, but to spend time with family, including granddaughter Caroline. We recently went to San Jose, California to spend time with grandchildren Mimi, Nellie, and William; and just this past weekend we spent time in Mendocino with grandchildren Justin and Meili (the other one, Hannah, was in Chile at the time). Next week we’re off to Port Orford, Oregon, to celebrate our 25^th wedding anniversary. In the past, Susan and I have had beautiful vacations in the Yucatan and on the island of Rarotonga.

Patricia: How would you describe yourself personality wise?

John: Borderline bipolar between frantic and mellow.

Patricia: What’s your favorite color? Why?

John: The brown of Susan’s eyes and the silver in Susan’s hair, because they’re the first things I see every morning, and the last things I see every night when we turn off the light.

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

John: spend a year closing down the publishing business so Susan could spend more time in her garden and I could spend more time with my writing.

Patricia, thank you so much for letting me spend some time with you. By answering these questions I learned some things about myself!

John, it was my pleasure. I’d like to add one more thing. I think you should add “romantic” to your list of personality traits. “The brown of Susan’s eyes and the silver in Susan’s hair”? If that’s not romantic, I don’t know what is. :)

Getting to know Madeline Gornell

Madeline, I’m pleased to have you with us today. I’ve read your novel, Reticence of Ravens, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to reading more of your books.

Patricia, interestingly, your questions—where I grew up, where I live now, and what inspired me to write my latest novel—are apropos to the back-story of Lies of Convenience.

So far, my inspiration and first kernel of an idea—for all my novels—has come from a location that has reached out, grabbed me, and wouldn’t let go. Sounds a bit silly, and it’s not the whole story, but truly, so far, I’ve been inspired to start a story because a location said, “Me! Me! Write about me!” With that in mind, I was born and raised in Chicago, and still have relatives living there. One wonderful cousin and her husband live in a flat on a high-up floor in a Michigan Avenue high-rise. From the first moment I looked out their picture windows, touched the glass, took in their view—Lies of Convenience started percolating in my brain.

Later in time, when we (husband and a bunch of canines) landed in California’s Mojave—the desert and Route 66 also captured my imagination. So, my latest novel, as always, a murder mystery—connects the locations and cultures between Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, near the beginning of Route 66 —with the Mojave, almost at the end of The Mother Road.

Your questions on my favorite authors and my plans for writing a series are also intertwined. I love reading mysteries that have a strong sense of “place,” with characters I like, and a tricky plot I can’t figure out (but makes sense at the end). I also like reading work that has a good sense of language—don’t even mind long sentences, or being sent to the dictionary a couple times. P.D. James is my favorite author—for all the reasons I just mentioned. And like my “rock star” guiding light, I decided to use only my first initials (M.M.), and planned on writing a series with a male protagonist. Ha! So far, I’ve written all standalones, mostly female protagonists, and pretty much go by my first name. Best laid plans. I guess you have to go where your muse takes you!

Thank you Patricia, for giving me the opportunity to “spout off” about myself and my writing. Love your “Getting to Know You” series, and I’m honored to participate. 

  

Thank you, Madeline. It was my pleasure.

Madeline (M.M.) Gornell has four published mystery novels: PSWA awarding winning Uncle Si’s Secret (2008); Death of a Perfect Man (2009); Reticence of Ravens (2010—her first Route 66 mystery, and an Eric Hoffer Fiction finalist, Honorary Mention winner, da Vinci Eye finalist, and Montaigne Medalist finalist); and Lies of Convenience (2012).

Her latest, Lies of Convenience is a tale that fictionally connects murder, truths untold, and Chicago’s Lake Michigan with California’s high desert on the opposite end of The Mother Road. Her next tale and first sequel adventure, Counsel of Ravens, takes Hubert James Champion III one step forward in his quest for peace and solitude in the Mojave.

Madeline is also a potter with a fondness for stoneware and reduction firing. She lives with her husband and assorted canines in the Mojave in a town on internationally revered Route 66.

         Her books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Smashwords, in paper and e-book formats. You can visit her:

online at her website http://www.mmgornell.com,

or on her BLOG http://www.mmgornell.wordpress.com,

or email her directly at mmgornell@earthlink.net