Author Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Romance
Website: Meg Mims
Author's Blog: Meg Mims
Blog: D.E. Ireland Facebook
Twitter: @megmims
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Award-winning mystery author Meg Mims -- also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Agatha-nominated Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery series from Minotaur Books -- lives in Southeastern Michigan with her husband and a sweet Malti-poo. She loves writing novels, novellas and short stories, both contemporary and historical. Meg also earned a Spur Award for Best First Novel, a Laramie Award and an M.A. from Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction program.
She's loved reading mystery, western, historical, romance and other genre fiction since first grade's adventures of Spot, Dick and Jane. She has published hundreds of freelance articles. Meg enjoys gardening, crafts, watercolor painting, with housework last.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on your book: Double or Nothing. Do you have another book on the horizon? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
Double or Nothing is the sequel to Double Crossing and is available now - Lily Granville is once more over her head in trouble over her head when she must choose between her uncle's strict rules and Ace Diamond. Right now, I'm working on a series for Kensington, the Teddy Bear Cozy Mysteries, set in Southeast Michigan, coming out in 2017 and featuring the amateur sleuth/owner of the Silver Bear Shop and Factory.
You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Do you see a carry over to your writing success?
Social media is important, but the best draw for readership is your next book/books. While Twitter and Facebook can be fun, they can only serve as promotion tools on a limited basis. People get quickly tired if all an author does is promote day in/day out, or repeat the same "buy my book" stuff. I like to tweet and share on FB about writing, food, funny photos or cartoons, and now teddy bears. I never really thought much about "building a following" in any niche, so I guess it was more of a "write it and they will follow" type of thing.
Do you do any 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?
Last year, besides Malice Domestic (a great convention for readers as well as authors, held the first weekend in May in Bethesda, MD), I did a few presentations for my D.E. Ireland series at the local historical museum and a library, plus did a book signing at Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My writing partner and I did a blog tour (websites listed on our website - ( http://deireland.com/virtual-book-tour/ ) for Book 2, Move Your Blooming Corpse, and we'll both be at Malice Domestic this year, April 29 through May 1st. We're also on Twitter (@megmims, @deirelandauthor) plus Facebook (see above).
You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. 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?
Thank you! I tried hard to "brand them" with similar themes and colors. For Double Crossing and Double or Nothing, I worked with a cover designer once I got my rights back from the original publisher. When I decided to join Prairie Rose Publications, the owners allowed me to keep my covers intact. I'm an artist, so I have a specific "look"' I strive for and search for stock photos to purchase. For the D.E. Ireland books, our publisher chose Book 1's cover, but my writing partner and I had more input into Book 2.
You have written several short stories. Can you tell us if they 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?
I love writing short stories - and yes, I do believe they allow readers a glimpse into an author's style, including descriptions, character development, narrative and dialogue. It's much harder to write short, given the brief page span - as an author, I prefer writing a full novel. But novellas and short stories may help sales of longer works. I haven't really kept track - I'm not a "numbers" person, and can't even balance my checkbook. If there's checks in there, then no doubt there's money - right? (ha, my husband is NOT smiling.) I just write whatever is enjoyable, and I'm particularly excited about my new Teddy Bear Cozy Mysteries.
I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a novel collection called A Cowboy's Brand. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other romance authors? How did you put something like that together?
Prairie Rose Publications put together A Cowboy's Brand - and it's been quite popular. It's a great collection of full novels including Double Crossing, and you can't beat the price! Double or Nothing is also part of a collection - Love's First Touch. I'm very pleased to be in these "boxed sets" for readers of western romance.
You have bundled several of novels into different sets like Santa Paws and Santa Claws - The Keys to the Holidays & Double Crossing and Double or Nothing Boxed Set. What was the impact on your the sales of the individual novels? What was your main objective in bundling your novels?
It's just one more way of giving the reader a chance to enjoy the "sets" -- Santa Paws, Santa Claws, and Home for the Holidays all take place in the same town where I'm setting my Teddy Bear Cozy Mysteries, but they focus on rescue dogs and cats with a Christmas theme. And for readers who don't want to be left "hanging" and want to know what happens to the characters in the first books, both the Double boxed set and The Keys to the Holidays give them the "whole picture" of the stories.
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?
I haven't participated in "free" giveaways except through "blog hops" which are popular at Christmas time - and I enjoy "the spirit of giving" at that time of year. Even at 99c, these short novellas are a bargain. I have discounted my full-length books - from $2.99 to 99 cents. Primarily I believe writers do deserve to be paid like any workers. I haven't come across any obstacles that I can think of, except those "free download" websites which usually have a virus or malware embedded. Trust me, readers who want free books should wait for a blog hop or pay that 99 cents.
Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?
No, although I wouldn't mind creating a newsletter if I could find time! I think readers do enjoy hearing about a "writer's life" - but it's not glamorous at all. It's basically hard work - BICHOK - behind in chair, hands on keyboard! Pretty much every day. Deadlines are a writer's best friend, too.
You have written several books under the name D.E. Ireland with Sharon Pisacreta. How did the relationship start? How does the communication work? Do you plan on writing more together and when will the release be?
My writing partner, Sharon Pisacreta, and I go way back - we met in college. I supported Sharon's earlier publishing career in romance, and we both started writing mystery fairly recently after raising our daughters. I came upon the idea of putting Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins together as amateur sleuths, but Sharon is more grounded in British history, while I'm far more into American history. We decided to collaborate, brainstormed the first two books; we write alternate chapters, revise, read it aloud, revising again, and our writing styles are quite similar. We tried to keep the spirit of George Bernard Shaw in the series, with witty dialogue and humor between Eliza and Higgins. Book 1, Wouldn't It Be Deadly, was a finalist for an Agatha in the Best Historical Mystery, 2015. We're hoping for similar success for Move Your Blooming Corpse and Book 3, Get Me to the Grave On Time.
Sharon's Berry Basket Cozy Mysteries will be debuting in November of this year from Kensington (writing as Sharon Farrow). My Teddy Bear Cozy Mysteries will debut in 2017, and I'll be writing as Meg Macy. So right now, we're focused on that.
Author's Book List
Move Your Blooming Corpse
- Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mystery Book 2In the second book from talented writing team D.E. Ireland, famous literary characters Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins once again come to life as a hilarious investigative team. Move Your Blooming Corpse explores the Edwardian racing world and the fascinating characters who people it, from jockeys to duchesses, in this delightful traditional mystery that will appeal to fans of British mysteries.
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are at the posh Royal Ascot, the biggest horse racing event of the season. Eliza's father is the new co-owner of a champion racehorse, and Eliza and Henry are excited to cheer the Donegal Dancer on to victory. However, their idyllic outing takes a serious turn when a victim is trampled during the Gold Cup race and someone is found murdered in the stables.
With time running out before the upcoming Eclipse Stakes, she and Higgins investigate jealous spouses, suffragettes and the colorful co-owners of the Donegal Dancer. But can they outrace the murderer, or will there be another blooming corpse at the finish line?
Published under the pen name: D.E. Ireland by authors: Meg Mims + Sharon Pisacreta
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Audible
Wouldn't It Be Deadly
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins make an incomparable pair of sleuths in the start of a delightful new series
Following her successful appearance at an Embassy Ball--where Eliza Doolittle won Professor Henry Higgins' bet that he could pass off a Cockney flower girl as a duchess--Eliza becomes an assistant to his chief rival Emil Nepommuck. After Nepommuck publicly takes credit for transforming Eliza into a lady, an enraged Higgins submits proof to a London newspaper that Nepommuck is a fraud. When Nepommuck is found with a dagger in his back, Henry Higgins becomes Scotland Yard's prime suspect. However, Eliza learns that most of Nepommuck's pupils had a reason to murder their blackmailing teacher. As another suspect turns up dead and evidence goes missing, Eliza and Higgins realize the only way to clear the Professor's name is to discover which of Nepommuck's many enemies is the real killer. When all the suspects attend a performance of Hamlet at Drury Lane, Eliza and Higgins don their theatre best and race to upstage a murderer.
This reimagining of George Bernard Shaw's beloved characters is sheer pleasure. Wouldn't It Be Deadly transports readers to Edwardian London, from the aristocratic environs of Mayfair to the dangerous back alleys of the East End. Eliza and Henry steal the show in this charming traditional mystery.
Published under the pen name: D.E. Ireland by authors: Meg Mims + Sharon Pisacreta
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Audible
Double or Nothing
October, 1869: Lily Granville, heiress to a considerable fortune, rebels against her uncle’s strict rules. Ace Diamond, determined to win Lily, invests in a dynamite factory but his success fails to impress her guardian. An explosion in San Francisco, mere hours before Lily elopes with Ace to avoid a forced marriage, sets off a chain of consequences. When Ace is framed for murder before their wedding night, Lily must find proof to save him from a hangman’s noose. Will she become a widow before a true wife?
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Double Crossing
August, 1869: Lily Granville is stunned by her father’s murder. Only one other person knows about a valuable California gold mine deed — both are now missing. Lily heads west on the newly opened transcontinental railroad, determined to track the killer. She soon realizes she is no longer the hunter but the prey. As things progress from bad to worse, Lily is uncertain who to trust–the China-bound missionary who wants to marry her, or the wandering Texan who offers to protect her … for a price. Will Lily survive the journey and unexpected betrayal?
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Audible
The Key to Christmas
- Keys Book 2A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA
Jennette Jacobson and Steve Harmon have been in love since the Groundhog Day blizzard in The Key to Love threw them together. Now they're engaged, but family troubles still plague them. Jenn's parents are battling even after divorce, and Steve's family isn't as perfect as they appear. Add in pressure to finalize their plans for the wedding, plus vandalism at their art gallery, and the busy holidays — will their love see them through?
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Home for the Holidays
Jodie Watson's in the animal rescue business -- with her best friend Phil. Their non-profit organization, Fur and Feathers, is teetering on the brink of disaster, with trouble from the city condemning their rented building. They soon have a worse fight on their hands, though, when donation money goes missing. Will their blossoming romance turn sour? Or can they work some Christmas magic to survive and find a new home for the holidays for their precious rescues?
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Santa Claws
Mary Kate Branson will do anything for her brother, who is deployed overseas right after Thanksgiving - including taking in his mischievous cat, Lucifer. She juggles battling job woes at a bakery with dating a hot volunteer firefighter and all the preparations for Christmas ... but Lucifer has his own plans for a holiday bash.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Santa Paws
The last thing Lacey Gordon—divorced with a teen daughter and two cats—needs is a rescue dog coming into her life. To top it off, she's rooked into a "Get Under the Mistletoe by Christmas Eve" dating contest. Since Buddy the dog prefers to be the only "new guy" in Lacey's life, will Santa Claws ruin her holiday for good?
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
The Key to Love
A VALENTINE'S DAY NOVELLA - Artist Jennette Jacobson clashes with a handsome visitor at a gallery show, claiming artwork is just "more junk to dust." When she finds a small metal object, she uses it in a lovely new collage. When the same hunky guy claims he lost an important key at the show, he offers to buy Jenn's work. She refuses to sell. He'll just trash it to free his precious key. Or will it unlock a future romance?
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
HBS Author's Spotlight
eBook Author’s Corner
Top Shelf Author Advice
Mystery Reader’s Circle
Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.
No comments:
Post a Comment