Getting to know Sandra Gardner

My guest this week is author, Sandra Gardner. Let’s get to know her!

Sandra, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be awriter?

I grew up in small-town Massachusetts, about an hour north of Boston – Maldenin early childhood till high school, then Medford, the next small town. I read constantly, since the age of six, stories, fairy tales, later, novels. So I imagine that contributed to my desire to write – started writing poetry in highschool. In my senior year, I was lucky enough to have a wonderful teacher in English class. She had us write what she called a “theme” every week, at home.

I’d lock myself in the family bathroom and write whatever came into my head tillI was done. My teacher really encouraged me, for which I will be forevergrateful. My dream was to become a reporter, preferably a foreign correspondent,traveling to exotic, dangerous places and reporting on the news.

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

I live in a rural section of Woodstock, NY (THE Woodstock). It’s a wonderful community of tolerant, laid-back people, lots of writers and artists.  So far, I haven’t used it for a setting.  My first mystery novel of my series, Mother,

Murder and Me, is set in NYC.

What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

Ah, this is strange.  I had a bout of bronchitis and was lying on the sofa inthe living room, when I had a sense, a feeling, of my mother standing over me. Ihad the sense to drag myself to my computer in my study and start typing. Twentyor so pages later, I had a daughter in her late 30s and her mother, recently deceased, who’d been the bane of the daughter’s existence in life.  A few days later, I realized that I couldn’t base a whole novel on a ghost-mother and

daughter’s relationship. Since I’m a mystery novel fanatic, I decided to try and make it into a mystery. Besides the murders, suspense, red herrings,relationships, etc., it had to have lots of humor, since that’s the way I think.

Did you plan your series before or after you wrote the first book in the

series?

Yes and no. I didn’t plan on it, but while I was revising the first book, I kepthaving ideas for future books with the two main characters, and I’d jot them down on little pieces of paper and shove them into a folder. So it had to happen.

Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre.

Kate Flora, Karin Slaughter, Kate Atkinson. (there’s lots more but you said three.)

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

Playing the piano – I took four years of classical piano when I was a preteen into my teens, played in competitions and recitals, which I hated.  But I loved my piano teacher. I finally (!) have acquired a rebuilt Steinway baby grand, which is my most valuable possession. I also like to meditate, do dance exercise, yoga, hang out with girlfriends, go to concerts and other things with my husband, occasionally visit my grown kids,  take care of my many houseplants, knit stuff, watch True Crime and old movies on TV and keep up with national politics, mainly on TV.

That’s quite a long list! Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go?

London. We finally got to spend two weeks there last fall and both of us didn’t ever want to leave.  I really fell in love with all that wonderful history, tradition, everything.

How would you describe yourself personality wise?

Mostly extrovert, but I do like spending time with myself, too.

What’s your favorite color? Why?

Purple, and shades of blue-purple, like periwinkle. Maybe it’s a little magic and a little “Woodstock.”  My favorite Woodstock spiritual person, who introduced me to the teachings of the Divine Mother, Sri Kuranamayi, often wore purple—we sometimes dress very similarly – I even own some of her clothes I got at her yard sales --- recently died, and I really miss her.

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

buy a second home in London.

For a sneak preview of Mother, Murder, and Me or to order a copy in paper or Kindle format, go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Murder-Me-Sandra-Gardner/dp/0984311386/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337352036&sr=1-1

Getting to know Marilyn Levinson

I’m pleased to have Marilyn Levinson, author of murder mysteries and young adult novels, as my guest this week.

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

I spent my first 14 and ½ years living in Brooklyn. After that we moved to Long Island. I think I would have been a writer, regardless of where I lived because I was an avid reader as soon as I learned to read. In my early elementary grade years I often read two Nancy Drew or Cherry Ames books in one day.

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

I still live on Long Island, moving further east with each move. My mysteries are all set on Long Island. I create a town or village very close to a real one. 

What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

I’m writing a sequel to one of my kids’ books, Rufus And Magic Run Amok.  This book takes place on the Cote d’Azur, which I’ve visited twice and loved.

Did you plan your series before or after you wrote the first book in the series?

I’ve begun three series. All three of my sleuths are strong, likable, three-dimensional characters. They inspire me to create more mysteries for them to solve. Gabbie Meyerson, my sleuth in Giving Up The Ghost, is a newly-divorced English teacher, who moves to a Long Island village to start a new life and discovers she’s sharing her rented cottage with a ghost. They will have more adventures in a future novel. 

 Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre. 

Hmm, that’s difficult because I like so many mystery writers. I love Katherine Hall Page’s series, Elizabeth George,  PD James, Lee Child, Elizabeth Peters, John Hart, Josephine Tey. I could go on and on.

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

I knit,  often creating my own patterns, I watch TV, and I take drives with my husband in the country.

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

I love to travel, especially to Spanish-speaking countries because I was a Spanish teacher and speak the language fluently. I especially loved Mexico, Peru, Greece, Turkey, and the Cote d’Azur, where the children’s book I’m writing takes place.

How would you describe yourself personality wise?

A true Gemini, I can be very social and chatty and other times prefer my own company to write and think about things.

What’s your favorite color? Why?

Hmm. These days I’d say a light purple because it’s relaxing.

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

I suppose book a cruise for my husband and me to travel around the world.

It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, Marilyn. Thanks for being with us today.

Giving Up The Ghost, is available in Kindle format at:

http://www.amazon.com/Giving-Up-the-Ghost-ebook/dp/B007TW4RRY/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338650621&sr=1-12

Getting to know Sally Goldenbaum

I’m thrilled to have Sally Goldenbaum, author of the Seaside Mystery Knitters series, here with us today. 

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

I grew up in a small Wisconsin town on the shores of Lake Michigan. My diary was very important to me during lots of those years—it gave me a wonderful platform in which to fictionalize a relatively easy-going, trauma-free childhood and teenage-hood. I made up the excitement.

It wasn’t until high school, though, that writing became important to me and I thought perhaps I had some facility for it when a headline I wrote was chosen for a school newspaper article. It was an article about a girls’ basketball team called the Ponies. The ‘amazing’ headline read: Ponies Trot to Victory. (Small victories were important to me).

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

After leaving my Wisconsin roots for college, I’ve lived lots of places  (St. Louis and Indiana for college and graduate school, D, C., Pittsburgh, PA —where I worked for a short time at WQED and had the great pleasure of rubbing shoulders with Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood), and finally landed where I am now, Kansas City.

The first mystery series I wrote‑‑ The Queen Bees mysteries—was set in a small town near Kansas City. But the series I write now—the Seaside Knitters series— is set on the east coast. Two of the seaside knitters, however, are originally from Kansas City, allowing me to sneak in some homage to the Midwest now and then. 

I chose the east coast for the present series because I love small seaside towns (and lobster tail)—the locale is perfect for creating delicious atmosphere and for developing a theme of rich, female friendships. But there’s another reason, too. I have two grandchildren (and their parents) who live on Cape Ann, just down the road from the fictitious Sea Harbor—and they are a joy to visit. Their parents also help with research and they and their friends are never short on ideas for mystery, murder, and mayhem.

What inspired you to write the first novel in your series?

Great question. I knew I wanted my four women to represent different generations. So I started with Izzy, who is my daughter’s age, and moved up, all the way to Birdie Favazza, who is 80-ish (the grand dame of Sea Harbor, whose wisdom, kindness and humor were inspired by an important woman in my own life). 

In the beginning, in order to get to know my four knitters, I wrote long essays about each of the four women. In these essays, bits and pieces of people I know and love found their way into Nell, Birdie, Cass, and Izzy. But in this process, and in the development of what are now six-plus novels, they have also grown into their own unique personalities. And that’s one of the things that is so satisfying about writing fiction—these women have grown into themselves and have become new friends, women I am pleased to have in my life. 

As for the place in which the Seaside Knitters mysteries are set, that came about at the same time as I was imagining my four women and developing their lives. And it was an easy choice. I wanted to separate the series from the one set in Kansas, I love the sea, and I have family (including grandchildren!) living on Cape Ann. It was, as they say, a no-brainer.

 Did you plan your series before or after you wrote the first book?

I wish I were such a planner! But I did know it was going to be a series before I started the first book. That is how my agent represented that first book, so in that respect—and because that first contract was for three books—I knew the characters and town would have some longevity. But I had (have) few ideas about what will actually happen in subsequent books. In DEATH BY CASHMERE (Book 1 in the series) one of the protagonists, Izzy Chambers, leaves a law practice to open a yarn shop in Sea Harbor. 

Now, in this new release (A FATAL FLEECE, book 6), her life has changed considerably, but I didn’t know how it would change when I first met her ‘way back when’. That’s one of the things I love about these women. They surprise me at every turn.

Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre and/or name specific books you love.

This one is hard…no, impossible…to answer. Too many wonderful writers and too many books. But outside the mystery realm, I like Anna Quindlen, Sue Miller, and Ann Patchett, and I’m enjoying my first Stewart O’Nan (Last Night at the Lobster). I also like family stories, like Kristin Hannah’s, and I read the Hunger Games in three days. But the list is so incomplete because there’s always a new book, a new author that keeps me up at night. That’s the wonderful part about books—there will always be new surprises and delights.

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

These days much of my spare time is spent with my grandchildren (6, 4, 4, 23 months).  So I’ve become quite good at singing Willoughby wallaby woo, painting rocks, and building blanket forts. I also like to cook and knit. And I also love swimming, walking, and hiking in the Colorado Rockies.

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

My husband and I travel often, mostly to the two coasts, California and Boston, where we have family. We love going to Colorado—a straight shot down I-70 from Kansas City. We love it especially in the summer and fall when we hike the mountains with good friends, breathe in the mountain air, then retreat to our friends’ deck at the foot of Flagstaff Mountain for a glass of wine, creamy cheese, and conversation that never grows old.

How would you describe yourself personality wise?

Some years ago a good friend and fellow writer, Nancy Pickard, got me interested in studying the enneagram, an ancient system of personality profiling.  My profile was that of a “2”—sometimes classified as ‘the helper’. Though the enneagram profile is broad in scope, parts of the ‘2’ profile fit me, I think. I like to be available for others, to engage with people, to make friends and help out when I can. This can be good and not so good. It makes it hard to hibernate when deadlines loom and to say no when people ask favors.

Although sometimes shy in new situations, once I am comfortable, I am fairly out-going. I love to cook, to have people in our home, to have activity going on around me. This desire to be around people translates to writing environments, too—I prefer a busy Starbucks to a quiet corner at home—I like to look up from writing every now and then and hear people laughing and talking, assuring me I’m still alive.  So I usually write outside the home (except during perfect spring/fall days when a friend and I write on my screened in porch).

What’s your favorite color? Why?

Blue. And I never, ever questioned why. It just was, even though my brother thought I was totally colorless and talked me into buying an orange swimsuit once. I hated it. But now that you ask why I like blue, I am going to think –or imagine-- it’s because of my love of water (a water child?). I grew up on Lake Michigan, and my father even built ships as a profession. And now I’m writing books set near the ocean. Clearly, it was all meant to be.

Sally, thanks for being with us today. I want to mention how much I’ve enjoyed reading your books. I admire the way you use the five senses to bring your characters, plot and setting to life.

Thanks so much, Patricia. It’s been a pleasure being a guest on your blog. A fine way to celebrate the 6^th Seaside Knitters adventure, A Fatal Fleece.

To order A Fatal Fleece, click on the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Fleece-Seaside-Knitters-Mystery/dp/0451236750/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337353136&sr=1-1

What kind of reader are you?

I’ve always been an avid reader but I’ve found that, through the years, my reading habits have changed. When I was a little girl and a teenager, I used to start a book and, if it drew me in, I’d read every spare minute until I’d finished it – day and/or night. I haven’t done that for many years because some things changed.

I became an adult with lots of other responsibilities. There was housework, job, family; you know what I’m talking about. But I loved to read so I had to figure out a way to get my reading time into every day. Now, I read in bed each night before I go to sleep. As a matter-of-fact, I can’t go to sleep until I’ve read for at least an hour or so. Believe me, there are many nights when I don’t want to close the book I’m reading but, when I find myself reading the same sentence three times, I know I have no choice. That’s the kind of reader I am.

But, there are different kinds of readers. Several people have told me that they don’t normally have time to read; they’re too busy. Others have said they suffer from eyestrain by the end of the day because their jobs require spending extensive time on the computer and reading business related material. They say the only time they read is when they go on vacation. They read on planes and/or by the pool, which is something all readers seem to have in common. We wouldn’t dream of going away without a book; it’s as important to us as bringing our toothbrushes!

Well, vacation time is drawing near. Soon, people will head for various destinations for the three R’s: rest, relaxation and reading and they’re going to want to have a good book to take with them. Each month, I post at least one “Getting to know you” interview with a published author. I try to provide the readers of my blog with a wide assortment of books to choose from. Mostly, I feature mystery authors because that’s what this blog is mainly about and that’s my genre of choice but I occasionally interview authors in other genres too.

This week, I’m offering a free copy of Mixed Messages, the first novel in my Malone mystery series, to someone who leaves a comment answering the question, “What kind of reader are you?” I’ll put all the names in a hat (or a Tupperware bowl) and pick one at random. Then, I’ll list the winner’s name as a comment on Saturday, May 26^th, the last day for this post. Please check back to see if your name is chosen and, if so, email me with your mailing address. Even if you don’t win, I hope you’ll take my book on vacation with you. :)

Getting to know Marja McGraw

I’m pleased to have Marja McGraw with us today. I met her online and I’ve come to consider her a good friend. Not only that but she’s a fantastic writer.

Marja, let’s start at the beginning. Where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer?

I grew up in So. California, when times were simpler and things weren’t so crowded (before freeways), in the day when making a mud pie was big stuff. Although my childhood didn’t contribute to my desire to write, California became the setting for most of my books. I wanted a place large enough where multiple murders could occur and it wouldn’t be quite so far-fetched. I also wanted a place where you could lose yourself in a crowd. I found that place in California.

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

I live in Northern Arizona where it becomes so hot in the summer that you can fry eggs on the sidewalk. In the historic town of Oatman, they actually have an egg frying contest on the walkways.

Yes, I have used this area, and Arizona in general, in Prudy’s Back! and Old Murders Never Die. I let the parents of one of my characters move here so I can use the Arizona setting from time to time.

 What inspired you to write your most recent novel?

Honestly? I have no idea. Bogey’s Ace in the Hole just showed up and asked to be written. My characters have minds of their own sometimes. I included some Church Ladies in this story, and I had a great time creating them. They can be very pushy, but they’re funny and lovable at the same time. Church Ladies want to solve mysteries, too.

Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery genre.

There are so many! I’ve answered the question in other interviews, so I’ll try not to repeat myself. Rhys Bowen, G.A. McKevett and Clive Cussler come to mind. Also, I just read a new book by Patricia Gligor that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I’m not just saying that because I’m your guest.

What can I say? Thank you! What are your favorite things to do when you’re not reading or writing?

         Photography is a hobby I enjoy.

         ATVing out on the desert before it becomes too hot.

I’ve discovered that I really enjoy building book trailers, which can be time-consuming when you’re looking for graphics.

I’ve seen your book trailers and they’re fantastic! Tell us, do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go?

I have to be honest and say not really, because I’m terrified of flying. I was able to visit Australia once, and that’s a trip I’ll never forget. I do visit a few new places when I attend conferences. (I sure wish they’d bring trains back and lower the prices.)

How would you describe yourself personality wise?

I think I have a positive attitude about most things. I find myself watching out for the underdog more often than not. I can be generous when I have the resources. I can be funny, but it’s usually unintentional other than in my books. Hmm. Honesty is important to me, and I believe that what comes around, goes around. Injustice and dishonesty push me right to my limits. Most of all, I love a good laugh. Enough about me.

What’s your favorite color? Why?

Yellow has become my favorite color because it’s bright and cheerful. Somehow it represents joy and happiness in my mind. I even have a yellow trench coat in honor of one of my characters, Sandi Webster, P.I.

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

Interestingly, this is something my husband and I talked about recently. I’d pay off my stepdaughter’s house and buy my daughter a home. So many people are hurting in this economy, I’d help some of those I know personally – and I’d do it anonymously. There are some local churches helping people, and I’d contribute to them. The biggie is I’d like to find a struggling young, divorced mother who’s raising children by herself (been there and done that) and help her – again, anonymously. You might wonder why I want to remain anonymous. It’s because I don’t want anyone to ever feel obligated to me.

Okay, if anyone reads this and has someone help them, and they don’t know who it is, don’t look at me. I don’t have a million dollars. I do have a lot of good intentions though.

Thank you for having me on your blog site, Patricia. I enjoyed myself very much. You ask some fun questions.

I’ve enjoyed it too, Marja! Thank you! I also want to mention that I’ve read (and loved) “Old Murders Never Die” and I’ve ordered my copy of “Bogey’s Ace in the Hole.”

Here are links to both novels.

Old Murders Never Die:

http://www.amazon.com/Murders-Never-Sqandi-Webster-Mystery/dp/1613099878/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1336830960&sr=1-1

Bogey’s Ace in the Hole:

http://www.amazon.com/Bogeys-Ace-Hole-Marja-McGraw/dp/1610090470/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336831189&sr=1-1