Mystery Author of the Month, Rosemary Gard

Patricia: Welcome, Rosemary! Tell us, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer?

Rosemary: I was born and raised in Gary, Indiana.  My siblings were 17 and 18 years older than I, so I spent a good amount of alone time in the Library where I devoured books and magazines.  Being in the Croatian community, I was different, so I spent a good deal of time day dreaming.

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

Rosemary: I live in Crown Point, IN.  The settings of my first two Destiny books take place in Croatia and Trieste, Italy.  I lived in Italy for a year and spent three months in a primitive Croatian Village.  

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

Rosemary: The Destiny series came about because my adult children wanted to know more about their grandparents and their heritage.  The Dowry part in the first title came about because the dress on the cover of “Destiny's Dowry” was actually part of my own dowry.  I am now working on the last of Destiny Series which will take place in Gary, Indiana in 1910 when the largest ethnic population was Croatian.  

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

Rosemary: I believe I always knew it.  On my twelfth birthday, when a Croatian girl is considered on her way to being a woman, my mother wanted to gift me with a sewing machine.  I cried until my father agreed to buy me a portable Royal typewriter.  It started there!

Patricia: Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery/suspense genre. What makes them your favorites?

Rosemary: John Grisham, David Baldacci, and Clive Custler - I like a story that is not predictable and has good strong writing.

Biography:

Rosemary Gard was born and raised in Gary, IN. Her first language was Croatian. She grew up in what was the melting pot of cultures in Gary during the mid-20^th century. Within the Croatian community she heard the stories of the ‘Old Country’ and in time was sent to stay with relatives in a village outside of Zagreb, Croatia for a period of three months where she learned more stories and the villagers’ way of life.

Links to purchase books:

Booklocker.com

Destiny’s Dowry: http://booklocker.com/books/3719.html

Destiny Denied: http://booklocker.com/books/6462.html

Amazon.com

Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-Gard/e/B002RT3W66/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1361321136&sr=8-3

BarnesAndNoble.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/rosemary-gard

Link to YouTube video trailer of Destiny’s Dowry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Je3y0LxNc

Naming Characters

When I choose names for the characters in my novels, I want to use names that suit the image I have of them in my mind. I’m not talking about physical characteristics, although they’re important too. I’m talking about personality traits, including the little idiosyncrasies that make each character a unique person. 

The process is interesting. Lots of times, I’ll use a name that I associate with someone I’ve known. That can be a positive or a negative thing. For example, when I chose the name for the main character in my Malone mystery series, I decided on “Ann” because the personality and qualities of that character reminded me of my Aunt Ann, a kind and gracious woman. On the other hand, when I decided to name Ann’s mother-in-law “Louise,” I did so because someone from my past had that name and, let’s just say, she was “difficult” to deal with. 

Sometimes, I want to use a name simply because I like it. I have a third cousin named “Marnie.” I liked the name the minute I heard it. Although I’ve known her mother all my life, I didn’t meet Marnie until a few years ago, long after I decided to use her name. In my series, Marnie is Ann’s older sister, an attorney who lives in South Carolina. Here’s an excerpt about her from Mixed Messages: “Marnie said that the ocean gave her something nothing else could: a sense of peace and serenity; that she felt closer to God there than anywhere else.” 

I often look up names in my “Name Your Baby” book to see if the meaning of the name accurately describes the character. I'm not sure what I'd do if the name didn’t “fit” but, fortunately, the names I chose for my series have worked out so far. Here are some of the names I used in Mixed Messages and Unfinished Business. (Check out the definitions for Ann, Louise and Marnie in particular.)

Ann – Graceful one or Gracious one

David – Beloved one or Friend

Marnie – From the sea

Olivia – Olive tree or olive branch; symbolic of peace

Lawrence - Laurel-crowned

Bernard (Bernie) – Bold as a bear

Louise – Famous warrior-maid; famous in battle

See what I mean? 

How do you decide on names for your characters?

Getting to know Suspense Author, Bill Schweigart

Patricia: Bill, I’m so glad you could be with us today. Please tell us, what are your favorite things to do when you’re not reading or writing?

Bill: With a busy work schedule, an active family, and a new puppy, there’s barely even time to read or write. When I can carve out some time, I usually put the earbuds in and get a little exercise on the wooded trails of Arlington. I’m also a massive comic book fan, so whatever I’m doing, there’s a good chance I’m doing it while secretly pretending I’m Batman. 

Patricia: What’s your favorite color? Why?

Bill: Any shade of blue. It’s calm and serene and life is anything but.

Patricia: How would you describe yourself, personality wise?

Bill: I once took the Myers-Briggs personality test and the results stated, “You are an introvert, but no one will believe you when you tell them.” I was also voted my high school’s “Most Organized” senior, a category they created just for me. In other words, sorry ladies – I’m married. 

Patricia: Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go and/or what was your favorite vacation?

Bill: There are a couple of places in particular I’ve always been enamored with and my thriller, Slipping The Cable, makes good use of both of them. The first is Ocean City, the perfect Jersey Shore resort town. I’ve been vacationing there since I was a little boy and no matter how old I get, it still retains its childhood, summertime magic for me. Key West also has a strong pull on me. When I was in the Coast Guard, we sailed into the rowdy little island and I was immediately enchanted by it. My novel hinges on the tense dynamic between Kelly Sensor, the youngest officer aboard the Coast Guard Sentinel, and his vengeful captain, Aregood. When I needed an idyllic home town for Kelly to hail from to contrast the danger and claustrophobia of his shipboard life, I naturally chose Ocean City. And when Kelly and Aregood’s battle of wills explodes into disaster, the young officer hopes to escape to Key West, but paradise becomes a dead end when his captain pursues him. And I just completed the first draft of my latest novel, The Beast of Barcroft, in which something unnatural emerges from – you guessed it – the woods of Arlington, Virginia to stalk its residents. So if I love a place, I mythologize it. It’s a good excuse to spend time in my favorite places in my head when I can’t be there in person. 

Patricia: How would you complete this sentence? If I won a million dollars, I would …

Bill: say, “No more questions, don’t you people know I’m a MILLIONAIRE?” Then I would jump into my custom-made Batmobile and floor it, leaving everyone choking on a cloud of dust. The universe will never grant me a million dollars, Pat. I would abuse it.

http://tinyurl.com/bxosf3q

Mystery of the Month, "Murder's Last Resort"

Welcome to the Sapphire Silver Pines Orlando Resort where guests are checking out--permanently. The tidy world of sophisticated dinners and turn-down treats turns topsy-turvy for Maya French, the manager's wife, when other Sapphire executives turn up as dead as a polished doorknob. Maya dodges bullets--literally--and police suspicion as she hunts for the killer. The fun beaches of Florida turn deadly with this atmospheric cozy. —Sally Carpenter, author of The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper

 

“…smart, funny, tough and sparkles with insight. She has created one of the best heroines of mystery to come along in decades. The unstoppable, unsinkable, unpredictable Maya French is the bastard literary child of Agatha Christie and Lt. Colombo.” –Kinky Friedman 

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Murders-Last-Resort-French-Mystery/dp/1610090497/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365272268&sr=1-1&keywords=murder%27s+last+resort

Marta Chausée is a Southern California author, poet, playwright and artist.  Women lead sequential lives and Marta is no exception. She has been many things-- junk mail envelope stuffer, foreign language teaching assistant, boutique owner, forensic document examiner, corporate wife, mother, mental health therapist and life coach.  She brings these experiences and her skewed take on life to her creative expression.

Her first full-length novel, Murder's Last Resort, available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com was a winner in the 2011 Dark Oak Mystery contest and her creative non-fiction and poetry have won various awards.  She has been published in Carnival Literary Magazine, Left Coast Literary Review, MoSAiC Literary Review, Internal Family Systems newsletter, Trauma Intervention Program newsletter and The Lowry News in Denver.

Marta is a wanderer with a long history of foolhardy adventures.  She has slept in the luggage rack of a train compartment from Gibraltar to Madrid, and once crossed the Sahara in a beat down, rusty old Jeep with three friends and fifteen crazed Moroccans. Three years ago, she explored the streets of Alexandria, alone and happy, for twelve hours.  These days, she takes long walks, longer bike rides and dances through her life.