interview

Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries and the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor. Grave Consequences is the fifth book in the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries series.

Do Ghosts Exist?

“Throughout my Bay Island Psychic Mystery series I questions whether or not ghosts exist,” Lena said. I have had several brushes with the paranormal during my life. My younger brother, who shared my love of reading, passed away before I wrote my first book, but I often feel his presence while I’m writing. When my youngest son was two years old, he was sitting with me while I was working and he pointed beside me and asked who the guy with the long hair was. My brother always wore his hair long, but my little guy wouldn’t have known that because he was only a few months old when Chris passed away.”
Lena added that on another occasion, she and her youngest child were walking through a deserted cemetery when he pointed to a locked storage building. “He said he wanted to go in there where the lady just went. We left in a hurry after that. Those incidents, along with several others, led me to believe something beyond this world does exist. My daughter is firmly in my camp on that. My husband, on the other hand, believes just as strongly that there’s no such thing as ghosts. A debate over that topic at dinner one night led to the idea for my Bay Island Psychic Mystery series. I thought it would be fun to have one character who firmly believes, one character who absolutely does not believe, and the main character caught somewhere in the middle.”

When she’s doing a blog tour or at Facebook parties, Lena likes to ask if people believe in ghosts. “I also like asking if people have the ability to communicate with them. I’ve had some wonderful conversations on the topic with both believers and non-believers.”

More than a mystery

“I have been an avid reader since I first learned how to read. The first books I can remember being obsessed with were the Nancy Drew Mysteries. I would wait patiently each time a new book released, and as soon as it came in the mail, I’d run outside and sit beneath a big tree and escape into their world until I’d finished it. I loved the mysteries, but I also loved the characters and couldn’t wait to catch up with everything new they were doing. When I started writing, that’s what I wanted to create; enjoyable mysteries with a cast of characters a reader would want to be friends with. People they’d look forward to catching up with each time a new book released. In both my Bay Island Psychic Mystery series and my All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series, each character’s journey is just as important to me as the plot of each individual story, as is the friendship between the characters.”

When Lena first began writing, she didn’t own a computer, had never heard of Microsoft Word, and didn’t know how to use email. She wrote the first half of her first novel by hand in a loose-leaf notebook. “When my husband realized I was serious about writing, he bought me a computer and set it up for me, then showed me how to work the basics.
Lena, who considers herself technologically challenged, eventually learned the basics. Then, one of her friends taught her how to use Microsoft Word. “From there, I had to learn every step of the publishing process from scratch; querying, writing the dreaded synopsis, editing, proofreading, cover art forms, marketing. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some amazing people who’ve been willing to help me along the way.”

Research can be tasty

“I’ve had a ton of fun researching my Bay Island Psychic series,” Lena said. “I’ve researched stones and crystals, haunted places, and psychic readings, along with things like how to kill someone with one blow. But my favorite memories in the name of research came with my All-Day Breakfast Café series. My father and I always made a habit of going out to breakfast together, and in researching that series, we enjoyed many breakfast dates sampling food that would later be featured in the All-Day Breakfast Café series.”

Learn more about Lena Gregory at lenagregory.com.

She wrote her first story at eight-years-old. It was about apple tree gnomes. Barbara Monajem has come a long way since then and is now an award-winning author. Lady Rosamund and the Poison Pen is the first book in the Rose and McBrae Mystery series.

Historically correct

Barbara said Lady Rosamund and the Poison Pen started with a feeling that political correctness was not working in today’s society. “No matter how well-intentioned it was at first, it ended up covering up prejudices rather than getting rid of them. Instead of lip service, genuine change in the hearts of people is required.”

Because Barbara writes Regency Romances, she was familiar with writing in a historical setting. “I decided to write about a character who is quite un-PC by today’s standards, but was quite normal by the standards of England in 1811, and show how she changes and grows…and how she blunders, sometimes unforgivably. All this while she’s solving mysteries, of course. Lady Rosamund’s process of change is similar to what people must go through now, but many of the prejudices are different.”

Changing places

It was quite a challenge to put myself into the mind of an aristocratic lady from two hundred years ago. ‘Being’ her—writing from such an intimate point of view—was sometimes a bit scary, as it led to close examination of my own prejudices. Which attitudes from my childhood led to certain patterns of thought, and how have they changed? Did I really used to think like this or that? Why was it sometimes so easy to understand and predict Lady Rosamund’s thoughts and reactions, and sometimes so difficult?”

She got her man

I always ask writers what kinds of research they do. Barbara wasn’t actually researching her book when she surprised herself. “I didn’t plan this, but it just happened. On a trip to Scotland, I found the hero for my series! He was a waiter on the Isle of Skye – a young man with a twinkle in his eye – and I thought, wow! He’s just what I imagine Lady Rosamund’s friend, Mr. McBrae, would be like. This is unusual for me. I rarely have more than a vague idea of what my characters look like. It’s sort of fun to have a real mental image this time.”

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Heather Day Gilbert is an award winning author who writes contemporary mysteries and Viking historicals. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren’t afraid to protect those they love. No Filter is the first in her Barks & Beans Cafe Mystery series.

A new type of cafe

“It was important to me to set No Filter in small-town West Virginia,” Heather said. “It’s actually set in Lewisburg, a well-known town not far from me. West Virginia gets some bad press (ever heard those hillbilly jokes?), so it’s important to me to portray my home state as it truly is. Yes, the drug epidemic is mentioned because it’s literally everywhere in my state, but I tend to focus on the strong family and community bonds you’ll find here, not to mention the beautiful mountainous landscape and unique tourism opportunities, like the Greenbrier Resort.”

Heather loved the idea of a cafe where customers could pet shelter dogs, hopefully leading to pet adoptions. She said, “Lewisburg seemed the ideal quaint town for such a cafe. My husband and I have visited it many times, and we always enjoy researching the locale. I already have quite a few West Virginia readers who enjoy my Christian mystery series (A Murder in the Mountains) that’s set here, and many of them have contacted me to tell me they’ve been to Lewisburg and they’re looking forward to the Barks & Beans Cafe cozy series, too.”

Keeping it clean and unpredictable

Heather said that because she grew up reading Agatha Christie books, she believes it’s important for her to write mysteries with unpredictable twists. She said, “Sometimes, they’re even unpredictable to me! I tend to get reviews saying that readers never saw the killer coming, and those reviews make me feel I’m doing something right. Books that surprise me in some way while portraying realistic family relationships always stick with me, so that’s what I strive to write. I also write clean mysteries, so there’s no swearing or graphic scenes because I want books my kids and teen nieces can read.”

The big dog problem

Heather decided to feature a Great Dane in this series, and that was a challenge. “I definitely had to do my research as far as Great Danes. I’ve talked to Great Dane owners, and I even re-watched The Ugly Dachshund to make sure I was capturing this dog the right way. I’ve had a large dog—she was a 115-pound Shiloh Shepherd—but Great Danes are something else entirely.”

You did what?

Some writers like to do their research online, or talking to people, or other sane things. Heather prefers her research to be more…personal. “I’ve had my daughter close me in the trunk of a car to check how dark it was and if I could see anything. I’ve also had my kids duct tape my hands in front of me to see if I could break the tape (I did, using a method I watched on YouTube). Most enjoyable would be going shooting with my husband for research, as well as staying overnight at the Greenbrier Resort for an anniversary so I could write about it properly.”

Learn more about Heather at heatherdaygilbert.com

Lesley Diehl grew up on a farm, eventually became a college professor and university administrator, then returned to the world of books. She is the author six previous Eve Appel Mysteries. Nearly Departed is the seventh book in the series.

The ties that bind

Lesley said she comes from an odd family. She was an only child, raised on a farm and had few playmates until she entered school. “I had to rely on my imagination to create stories and games for entertainment. Because my mother was ill most of my childhood, I spent much of my time outside in the haylofts, barns and fields creating fantasy worlds in my mind. I also loved being in the dairy barn with my father when he milked the cows morning and night. My two grandmothers, one a strict German woman, the other a sweet Swedish lady were important in my life. The German one encouraged my interest in dancing by sewing costumes for me. She made the best fried chicken every Sunday. She was never affectionate, but somehow, I knew she liked me. My other grandmother was loving and affectionate. My father’s sister was a bartender. When my mother was sick, my aunt would take me with her to work. I would sit at the bar and drink Shirley Temples, feeling very grown up.”

Because her family life felt so disconnected, Lesley wanted to write stories in which family is important, but where the characters struggle with the idea of family. “I grabbed bits and pieces from my own life to insert into the Eve Appel character. For example, her last name is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name. Eve’s interest in owning a consignment shop also arises from this grandmother’s passion for recycling used clothing and household items. Losing her parents at an early age, Eve is raised by her maternal grandmother. Although Eve has not had a conventional family, her grandmother has loved her and taught her self-reliance, qualities Eve embraces in her own attempt to develop family.”

Making the case personal

“I decided to give Eve, who has become a private detective, a more personal reason for working on a case,” Lesley said. “Her business partner and best friend, Madeleine is expecting her uncle to visit from Scotland. Madeline is excited to see him because she, like Eve, has few relatives living. Her uncle is special to her, but his arrival at Madeleine’s house is followed by several attempts on his life. She asks Eve to find out who is behind trying to kill him. This is a particularly difficult case not only because the killer is clever, but Eve understands how important Madeleine’s uncle is to her. If Eve fails to stop the killer, how can she face her friend?”

Character and plot equally important

Though she recognizes the importance of a good plot, Lesley also believes it’s important to have characters that are relatable, interesting and work well together. “I wanted a protagonist who is bold, but likeable, and one who can grow and develop in unpredictable but exciting ways. I like to weave into the story the importance of the setting, and rural Florida is exotic in ways few readers have encountered. Social, personal, environmental and family issues are all part of my characters’ lives, so these play a significant role in how I develop the plot and the characters’ roles in the mystery. For example, Eve is struck again and again with how construction and the development of housing as well as recreational and commercial interests have changed the rural landscape especially as these affect water resources and animal habitat.”

From brews to an air boat cruise

“I like to do hands on research,” Lesley said. “For an earlier series featuring murder in a small brewery, I visited several breweries. In one of them, the guide showed us a fermenting room containing an open fermenting tank. He said we were not allowed in the room during fermentation because of the carbon dioxide coming out of the tank. Of course, my question which shocked others on the tour was, ‘Could you kill someone if you locked them in there?’ I quickly explained I wanted to know because I was writing a mystery. I’m not sure that explanation was of any comfort to others.”

And then there’s shopping for clothes. “Because Eve owns a consignment shop and sells used merchandise, I spend most of my weekends in the summer attending community yard sales searching for interesting merchandise. It’s a passion my grandmother passed on to me because she rarely bought anything new. I browse local consignment stores frequently and have been warned by my husband that we do not have room for anything else in our small cottage. The rule now is that I must remove one item for each one I bring into the house from these expeditions.”

There are also some lessons you can only learn from personal experience, such as the one Lesley learned during an air boat ride for her second Eve Apple Mystery, Dead in the Water. In that book, Lesley wrote a scene in which dirt from the canal blows ups into the face of Eve’s friend Madeleine and Eve picks it off. “I wouldn’t have thought of this scene if the same hadn’t happened to me on an airboat ride. I picked junk off my face and was careful to keep my mouth closed so I didn’t swallow what the wind from the ride churned up.”

Learn more about Lesley Diehl at lesleyadiehl.com.

Kelly Brady Channick is a former teacher who has taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. She says she’s always loved making up stories, which is one reason she always managed to talk herself out of trouble. Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble is the first book in her young adult cozy mystery series.

Keeping it fun

Kelly said she wrote this book when she was eighteen. “At the time, there was an influx of supernatural and dystopian-future types of YA books on the market. Don’t get me wrong, I love those types of books too. But I’ve always loved writing and realized I was missing some good, old-fashioned amateur sleuthing type of books. I’m hoping this book will give people a break from the real world, and provide some laughs and entertainment and they jump into Asbury and try to solve a mystery.”

Many writers find writing to be a way to cope with stress. Perhaps that’s why Kelly started this book when she did. She was eighteen and her parents were divorcing. “I’ve always been a sucker for mysteries,” she said. “I felt bad leaving my dad at home alone, so I would stay in with him and ended up writing out the ideas that were stuck in my head for a while. I liked the idea of having a group of four friends, consisting of two boys and two girls. I was always friends with more boys than girls growing up, so writing from a boy’s perspective wasn’t too hard or too much of a stretch for me.”

People, progression, and pancakes

“I grew up in a shore town (Ocean City, NJ), so I feel my descriptions of life on the coast are pretty accurate. Also, I love talking, a lot. I guess I was my graduating class’ Class Clown, and Most Athletic, for a reason. So, I really love it when I get reader feedback or just general questions directed to me. I’ll converse with anyone—ask my husband!”

During college, Kelly played basketball, which pulled her away from writing. And after college, she became a teacher—another break. Now that she’s writing full time, she’s decided to fulfill her dream of publishing this series. “I can honestly say the book series gets better as it goes on. I’m sure all writers like to think that, but because my characters grow and age, and the mysteries/crimes become more intense, I feel like the readers get drawn deeper into the world of Asbury. I mean, the kids go from being 14 to 18 by the final book—so you know they face many more challenges, other than just solving the cases that come their way.”

In the Asbury High series, the town’s favorite and most famous restaurant serves a popular dish called the Taco Pancake. Taco Pancakes? Are those for real? Actually, yes. Kelly said, “At the time I wrote that, I was a very picky eater and really only loved tacos and pancakes— (and cookies, but who doesn’t love cookies?), thus, I tested out the recipe and found out it’s quite delicious to be honest.”

Learn more about Kelly Brady Channick at kbchannick.com.

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