Jamie Lee Scott - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on USA Today Bestselling Author Jamie Lee Scott. She is an Award winning Screenwriter, Producer/Director and the creator of the Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries series.

Author Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Website: Jamie Lee Scott
Author's Blog: Strange musing from Jamie Lee Scott
Twitter: @authorJamie
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook


Author Description:
USA Today Bestselling author, Jamie Lee Scott, is a native of Northern California who was swept off her feet by a dashing farm boy and transplanted to Iowa. After several years of running a restaurant with her husband, she felt the urge to kill people. I mean she decided to start writing mysteries. Let Us Prey is the first in her Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries series. Textual Relations, and Death of a Sales Rep are available now. The novelette, Tagged, You're It, is also available. Coming in Summer 2013, What a Meth.

Jamie is also a produced screenwriter. Her first film, No One Knows, directed by Bunee Tomlinson, will be at the 2013 film festivals. Update: As of April 14, 2013, No One Knows is now an award winning film, winning its category at Bare Bones Film Festival.

Want to know more? Be the first to find out about new book releases? Sign up for Jamie's newsletter at her website www.jamieleescott.com


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

First things first. Let’s start with what’s next. Do you have another book on the horizon? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

The next book coming out is the 5th book in the Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries, Electile Dysfunction. It will be available at the end of February. I don’t have the edits back from my editor, or I’d give you a sneak peek.

You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Did you use forums, newsletters and methods like that?

My following on Twitter mostly comes from screenwriting. I’m the co-founder of a weekly chat on screenwriting, Scriptchat. We started the chat back in 2009, and it has steadily grown in following and reputation as the go-to place for correct screenwriting information.

I don’t do nearly as much promoting as I should, I’ve just been lucky to get the word out. I do have a newsletter signup on my Facebook page and my website, and my subscriptions are steadily growing.

Do you do book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I have done a couple of book signings, and had a great time doing them. I love to meet readers, since I’m a reader myself. I’ve done several interviews over the last few years, for both screenwriting and novels. I’ve made personal appearances at screenwriting conferences, and I’ve also been asked to speak about my success in writing. I’ll be doing more interviews and speaking engagements in 2014 than before. All contact information is on my contact page at www.jamieleescott.com

You have great covers. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

Thanks for the nice compliment. I design and make my own covers. I do get a lot of input from my editors and critique partners. I rarely show the cover before it’s finished. I get an idea in my head, and I want to “brand” the look of my books, so I try to make them the same, but different. I love searching for photos, and also taking my own, for the covers. As an all- around artist, I love designing covers, and I design for several author friends too.

You have written the short story, Tagged, You're It. Can you tell us if it has had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?

The short story was written for fun. I wanted to put something out for the holidays, and give readers a chance to see something different while waiting for the next novel. Tagged was a lot of fun to write, but I can’t say it increased sales of my other books. I’m always game for something new. I’m not a short story writer, but I’m learning the process, and will definitely try a few more when time allows.

I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a novel collection called Mirth, Murder & Mystery. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other mystery authors? How did you put something like that together?

MMM, as it is lovingly called by the seven authors involved, was the brainstorm of Lucie Charles. She wanted to get a group of like-minded authors together. We could split the advertising costs and split the profits if there were any. The main reason for doing the bundle was to get our names out there. MMM put me on the USA Today Bestseller list, so I’d say it was a success.

I wasn’t the mastermind behind the idea, I just participated. But Lucie contacted mystery authors to see if they’d be interested in collaborating, and then she had it formatted and the cover made. After that it was just word of mouth, because the large ad companies were no longer taking ads for multi-author bundles. The seven authors “pounded the (virtual) pavement” and got the word out. Word of mouth sells a book better than almost anything.

Beside Sisters In Crime, what other writer support groups do you belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America (they have a great online chapter called Kiss of Death, for mystery writers), and I’ve also regularly attended Midwest Fiction Writers in Minneapolis (must be RWA member to attend). Other than that, I mostly brainstorm with other authors now. The groups have helped in the writing, but as for marketing and publishing, not so much. I learned a lot from the Indie Romance Ink group on Yahoo.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

The first time I did the free book, it was dismal. No one knew who I was, and I had no idea what I was doing. Then an incredibly generous writer, Martin Crosbie, responded to an email I sent him, and he helped me learn what I was doing wrong. The next time my book was free for a limited time, I advertised, got the word out, and in three days I had 24,000 downloads of my first novel. If people like the freebie, and they are actually willing to pay for books, they will buy the rest of the series. That’s been my experience. Anymore though, so many people are doing free books that it doesn’t have the impact it once had.

You have a great blog. I like your Friday Favorites feature. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and your spotlight are very interesting. What is your primary goal? And where in the world do you find the time to create great novels, take care of the social media and maintain your blog?

I created the Friday Favorites to give other authors a chance to get some exposure. I admit, I have a tendency to let my blog slide for months at a time. Also, I’m very surprised at the low number of authors who have taken me up of the FF blog posts. I usually only get a handful, then I let it go for a bit, and a few months later I start again. I’m not sure that I’m all that good at marketing. I get sidetracked very easily. My primary goal is to make a living from writing, so I can keep killing people and get away with it. (wink) Actually, I have so many stories to tell, and not enough time. I’m thrilled that people like my stories. I’m not sure where the time comes from, since I also own two businesses (a jewelry manufacturing company and a fast food restaurant), but I do. I enjoy staying in touch with people outside of where I live, so social media is lots of fun for me. That helps, because I don’t see it as promotion, I see it as great fun.

What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?

I actively requested professional reviews when I wrote Let Us Prey, because no one had heard of me. I’m not as good about it now. I am constantly telling myself I need to be more proactive in my marketing. Now you’ve reminded me, I need to find reviewers to contact. Thanks. When looking for book reviewers, you can Google the term “mystery book reviews” or something similar, then contact them. Many are just too busy to even respond, but once in a blue moon… As for reviews on Amazon, BN, and such, I don’t ask my readers to review the books for me. I just hope they will. When I give away a book, I do say, “Hey, since you didn’t have to pay for that book, would you mind posting a review?”



Author's Book List
What A Meth - A Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery
When Mimi accepts $500 from a sketchy client and takes on the case to follow an alleged cheating husband, she almost immediately regrets it. While spying on the husband, the client's house explodes, and so does Mimi's sense of reality. This case takes the Gotcha detectives into the underbelly of drug cartels, and Mimi's world is turned upside down.



Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries Boxed Set
Let Us Prey - book 1
Mimi Capurro is trying to put her life back together after the sudden death of her husband. Using the skills she learned as a secret service agent, she runs the Gotcha Detective Agency, along with her skilled computer forensics partner Charles Parks. Gotcha specializes in executive protection (bodyguards), and tailing cheating spouses.

Nick Christianson is running from the demons of his past, and that has put him back in his old stomping grounds in Salinas, CA. Nick has transferred from the San Francisco Homicide Division and is now adjusting to this new police department.

Mimi never expects to run into her old college flame Nick, when she takes on an executive protection case for New York Times bestselling author Lauren Silke. But when Lauren’s assistant is murdered, the homicide case, along with Mimi, land in Nick’s lap. Will Mimi and Nick be able to solve this murder without killing each other first?

Textual Relations - book 2
Mimi Capurro, owner of Gotcha Detective Agency, hasn’t seen her old college flame since they teamed up to find a killer several months earlier. Now, after breaking and entering into an alleged predator’s home, Mimi and Charles find a murder victim on the floor in his bedroom. When homicide detective Nick Christianson and his new partner, Piper Mason, arrive on the scene, this is not the way Mimi expected to see Nick again.

Even though it’s his job, Nick is loath to find the killer. That is until a teenage girl with ties to the victim disappears. Now Mimi, Nick and Charles race against the clock to find the killer and hopefully find the girl in the process.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Tagged, You're It (a novelette) - Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries
When Charles decides to throw a New Year's party at the Gotcha offices, Mimi goes along with it, but isn't thrilled with the idea. When there's a murder at the party, Mimi can't believe it's happening again. She's done with dead bodies, right?


Order the Book From: Amazon
Death of a Sales Rep - Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries
Mimi and Charles take some time off from the detective agency to help Charles' friend, Anthony DeLuca, sell his exclusive line of voodoo dolls at a trade show in San Francisco. Mimi is less than thrilled to find out Charles has invited Nick Christianson to come along.

But as luck may have it, Mimi finds the body of a dead sales rep. When Anthony is implicated in the suspicious death, Mimi investigates her way, and NIck goes off with his old partner at the SFPD to investigate with them. With so many viable suspects, who wanted this sales rep dead?

Book 4 in the Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Series, WHAT A METH, will be available in August 2013. Stay tuned.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
Textual Relations - a Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery
Mimi Capurro, owner of Gotcha Detective Agency, hasn’t seen her old college flame since they teamed up to find a killer several months earlier.

Now, after breaking and entering into an alleged predator’s home, Mimi and Charles find a murder victim on the floor in his bedroom. When homicide detective Nick Christianson and his new partner, Piper Mason, arrive on the scene, this is not the way Mimi expected to see Nick again.

Even though it’s his job, Nick is loath to find the killer. That is until a teenage girl with ties to the victim disappears. Now Mimi, Nick and Charles race against the clock to find the killer and hopefully find the girl in the process.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
Let Us Prey - Gotcha Detective Agency Series
2nd Edition (updated and re-edited), with excerpt from Textual Relations.

“This is a light and funny PI novel/mystery with interesting, well-developed characters and excellent twists and turns.” Bente Gallagher (Jennie Bentley) NYT Bestselling author of the DIY Mystery Series for Berkley.

“One of my favourite authors is Sue Grafton and her P.I. Kinsey Milhone. Well she has a new rival." Lord D. M. Prosser

Mimi Capurro is trying to put her life back together after the sudden death of her husband. Using the skills she learned as a secret service agent, she runs the Gotcha Detective Agency, along with her skilled computer forensics partner Charles Parks. Gotcha specializes in executive protection (bodyguards), and tailing cheating spouses.

Nick Christianson is running from the demons of his past, and that has put him back in his old stomping grounds in Salinas, CA. Nick has transferred from the San Francisco Homicide Division and is now adjusting to this new police department.

Mimi never expects to run into her old college flame Nick, when she takes on an executive protection case for New York Times bestselling author Lauren Silke. But when Lauren’s assistant is murdered, the homicide case, along with Mimi, land in Nick’s lap. Will Mimi and Nick be able to solve this murder without killing each other first?


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and
HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle