Andra Watkins - An Author Interview at the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Andra Watkins. She is a NY Times Best Selling Author and public speaker. Andra writes Suspense and Memoir novels.

NOTE: Amazon is featuring Not Without My Father as a recommended read for Women’s History Month (March.). Andra made history by walking the Natchez Trace, and she’d love to inspire other women to reach for their dreams through reading Not Without My Father. Please give it a read during Women’s History Month, and let her know how you were inspired to Make a Memory!

Author Genre: Suspense, Memoir

Website: Andra Watkins
Author's Blog: Andra Watkins
Twitter: @andrawatkins
E-Mail: readme(at)andrawatkins(dot)com
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Author Description:
New York Times Best Selling Author Andra Watkins lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Not Without My Father: One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace, her memoir chronicling her walk and dysfunctional family adventure, was nominated for the 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction. She is one of the only living persons to walk the 10,000-year-old road.

Her acclaimed debut novel To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis was published by Word Hermit Press in 2014 and planted her desire to walk the ancient Trace.

Natchez Trace: Tracks in Time is a book of photography, shot during her 15-mile daily hikes on the Natchez Trace.

In addition to her books, Andra's writing has been published on recognized sites including Scary Mommy and Minerva Rising, and she has been featured on news outlets including The Huffington Post, The Tennessean, and ABC News.

Follow her writing adventures at andrawatkins.com.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

First things first. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Hard to Die, the sequel to my debut novel To Live Forever, will debut September 15, 2016. Hudson Valley. January 1950. A woman searching for her past meets a West Point cadet running from his future. Can they band together to vanquish their enemies when they can’t even trust each other?

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 relationships are HUGE. Social media helped me meet my initial fans, and it gives readers an easy way to connect. I meet as many followers as I can, give periodic thank you gifts, and acknowledge people who interact. Building my following took time, consistency, and patience, but it definitely carries over to writing success.

You do a lot of book signings, interviews, public speaking and personal appearances. When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I’ll be in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the beginning of March. I’m keynoting a writing conference in Cuenca, Ecuador mid-March (details HERE). And I’ll be in Seattle, Portland, Colorado Springs, and Nashville in April. Readers can find all my appearances at http://andrawatkins.com/events/. If you attend an event, please tell me you found me here. My e-newsletter is the BEST way to avoid missing a thing. Subscribers get periodic thank-you gifts, are first to know about new books, and receive subscriber discounts for purchase of my titles. Subscribe at andrawatkins.com/newsletter. Current subscriber FREEBIE: Get a set of four limited edition Natchez Trace postcards FREE for signing up for my e-newsletter. I’m also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads, but again, my newsletter is where everybody gets the best scoop. Subscribe HERE.

You have converted Not Without My Father into an audio book. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience for you?

Yes, I read my own memoir for audio and almost LOST MY MIND. It isn’t for the faint-hearted. But I’ve reached readers who prefer audiobooks. People read at the gym, in the car, on the subway……..it’s an excellent way to convince people to give my books a try. I plan to offer my novels in audio format as well.

Besides the Write on Edge community, what other writer support groups do you belong too? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I’m a member of several secret Facebook groups for authors, as well as the Goodreads author support group. I also joined Facebook groups targeted to my genres. Though self-promotion is prohibited, the moderators regularly share information about discounts, awards, and major press with the group. Writer support groups can help a book find new readers, but I value them to know I’m not alone. When I need a place to celebrate, vent, or even cry, other writers understand better than anyone.

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

My first published works were in anthologies. I’m proud to have my words bundled with the authors in the Precipice collections and was honored when they asked me to participate. Anthologies help writers cross-promote their work, but my main objective was publication. The Write on Edge folks put the book together and managed distribution. All I had to do was submit my work. At the time, I didn’t have a full-length book available, but people still find my work by reading one of the Write on Edge anthologies first.

Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?

Like most writers, I can find lots of ways to procrastinate. I tend to write in spurts and market in spurts, definitely with a schedule. If I can hermit someplace, I can make about 25,000 words in a week!

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?

My e-newsletter list is one of the most important things in my life. I do multiple freebies and thank you gifts a year. I encourage every reader to sign up at the back of each book, and I promote my newsletter on social media. I’ve also partnered with other authors for targeted promotions to grow my list, and I ask for signups at every event.

You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and providing useful information to other people. What is your primary goal?

My blog is still the only online place I own and control. I can say whatever I want, and nobody can limit its reach or take it down. As the social media landscape becomes total pay-to-be-seen, blog readership is going to be vital for authors. Let’s not kid ourselves: Social media is fast becoming a platform where one must adapt to ever-changing rules. Paying brands are going to get the play. I still nurture my blog, because it’s the only place a reader can be sure to find me.

Do you plan on converting Natchez Trace to an ebook? And then to an audio book?

Natchez Trace Tracks in Time is a photography collection. It works best as a print book. At the moment, the publisher has no plans to convert it to either e-book or audiobook format.



Author's Book List
Natchez Trace - Tracks in Time
From March 1 to April 3, 2014, Andra Watkins walked the Natchez Trace, all 444-miles. How does a person fill the time when walking alongside a highway fifteen miles a day for thirty-four days? To stave off boredom and deflect pain, she took pictures. Of highway and sky. Of garbage. Of spring flowers. Of migrating birds. Of trees and fields and signs. Wheels grease the path for the traveller, blurring the details of a landscape. Honoring when Life moved at the speed of footsteps, she documented the minutiae of forgotten traces of Time. Whether one drives or cycles the Trace today, these images will ease a traveller into a deliberate pace. This photographic collection is a gift from the Natchez Trace.


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Not Without My Father - One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace
Can an epic adventure succeed without a hero? Andra Watkins needed a wingman to help her become one of the only living persons to walk the historic 444-mile Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. She planned to walk fifteen miles a day. For thirty-four days. After striking-out with everyone in her life, she was left with her disinterested eighty-year-old father. And his gas. The sleep apnea machine and self-scratching. Sharing a bathroom with a man whose gut obliterated his aim. As Watkins trudged America's forgotten highway, she lost herself in despair and pain. Nothing happened according to plan, and her tenuous connection to her father started to unravel. Through arguments and laughter, tears and fried chicken, they fought to rebuild their relationship before it was too late. In Not Without My Father: One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace, Watkins invites readers to join her dysfunctional family adventure in a humorous and heartbreaking memoir that asks if one can really turn 'I wish I had' into 'I'm glad I did.'


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To Live Forever - An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis
Explorer Meriwether Lewis has been stuck in Nowhere since his mysterious death nearly two centuries ago. His last hope for redemption is helping nine-year-old Emmaline Cagney flee her madame mother in New Orleans and find her father in Nashville. To get there, Merry must cross his own grave along the Natchez Trace, where he duels the corrupt Judge, an old foe who has his own despicable plans for Em.


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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
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Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.

Joseph Lewis - An Author Interview at the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Joseph Lewis. He is the author of thriller fiction.

Author Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Crime

Author's Blog: Simple Thoughts From A Complicated Mind, Sort Of . . .
Twitter: @JRLewisAuthor
E-Mail: immrlewis@gmail.com
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Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Amazon Author Profile



Author Description:
I've been in education for more than 39 years as a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator. I write thriller fiction but use my writing to teach, reach and move people. Oh yes, to entertain also.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

What do you have on the drawing board next? Rumor has it that you have started a new series with M.D. Jones entitled Homeworker Helper. Can you tell us the timeline for new releases and give us a little tease? What is your goal in writing this series?

My next work is tentatively titled, Caught In A Web, which is also thriller/mystery fiction. I view it as a "sort of stand-alone" in that it takes several prominent characters from my Lives Trilogy and moves them forward in time and places them in a new adventure. Very different storyline, dealing with youth/teen drugs and overdoses, and who is doing the selling. Several plot twists that will keep the reader on his/her toes.

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?

I'm pleased with my twitter followers. Not only will they receive book/writing updates, but I also tried to provide inspiration for everyday living. My tweets will coincide with my blog, Simple Thoughts From A Complicated Mind, Sort Of at http://jrlewis.blogspot.com I believe social media is extremely important, especially so because I am an Indie writer. I have built a nice loyal fan base, and it is growing mostly by word of mouth.

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?

I do, though none right now. Being a high school administrator, any speaking engagements and signings would have to be local due to my work and time schedule. The summer is a bit more freed up for me.

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?

I have been very fortunate to have a graphic artist who takes my suggestions and runs with them. Each cover speaks to the story and I felt that was important. Each cover has similarities to the others, and I felt that was important because they are a part of a series. The cover for Stolen Lives was tested out on Facebook. I gave them two choices and ultimately, they broke 50-50, so I went with my gut. I am pleased with the outcome.

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 don't have much experience with this. At signings, I sell books for less than they can obtain them through Amazon. I think the reader enjoys a personal touch and a personal chat about the book and my writing. I enjoy it, too.

How do you manage your plots, characters and timelines to keep your stories going? Do you use any software to keep track of your books?

Actually, I don't plot a book. I have a rough idea and I do a tremendous amount of prewriting "in my head" during the day, so that when I sit down to write at night (my usual time to write), it just flows. I do keep notes using a Word doc to keep characters and their characteristics straight.

What writer support groups do you belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I don't belong to any organized groups, but I do bounce questions and ideas off other writers or experts in the field. I want what I write to be accurate. To me, there is nothing worse than a lack of credibility or plausibility in writing. That drives me nuts. Even more so than poor editing.

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?

I don't. I use Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and providing useful information to people. 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?

Thank you! I try to keep my fiction work separate from my blog, which is nonfiction filled with hope and inspiration. I try to lift up and make a positive difference in the lives around me. I would mention my thriller/fiction work at the end of the blog with links to Amazon so they can check them out and purchase.

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 ask for reviews. I've been interviewed a number of times by newspapers and bloggers, and it's fun. There are times when readers contact me through Facebook. The reviews come naturally. Fortunately, my reviews have been very good, but I still stress when a poor one comes around. Human nature, I guess.



Author's Book List


Splintered Lives - The Lives Trilogy Book 3
It began on the Navajo Indian Reservation when a fourteen year old boy, George Tokay, witnessed and reported the murder of a Caucasian boy his own age. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents solved that crime, which led to the freedom of thirty boys who were abducted off safe suburban streets and held in captivity, some for more than two years. The FBI thought the boys were safe and so did their parents. After all, arrest warrants were served and members of the human trafficking ring were arrested. That is, except for three dangerous men with absolutely nothing to lose.

These three men arrange for a handsome reward if fourteen year old Brett, one of the boys who had been held captive, is killed. Brett has no idea that he, his younger brother, and his friend, another former captive, are targets. But more than anyone else, these three men vow revenge on George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and go into hiding. What was to be a fun-filled vacation with his newly adopted family, turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Indian Reservation high up on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather.

Outnumbered and out gunned, George is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, but can he protect his father and his brothers from these dangerous men before that happens? Can he save them without knowing who these men are or where they might be? Or when they might attack? Can George trust his friends whom he reaches out to for help? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death?


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Shattered Lives - The Lives Trilogy Book 2
Pete Kelliher and the FBI thought the boys were safe. So did their parents. So did the hospital staff. In fact, everyone thought the boys were safe. That is, until people began dying.

More than a hundred arrest warrants were served and those who took part in the human trafficking ring were arrested. However, six dangerous men escaped and go into hiding. Led by Detective Anthony Dominico, these men vow revenge on those who forced them to run and no one is safe. Not Brett McGovern; not his younger brother Bobby; not George Tokay; not the twins, Randy and Billy. These boys are in danger and live in fear that at any moment, they could be murdered along with their families.

Worse, the FBI has no clues and no leads. Not even a place to begin looking.


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Stolen Lives - The Lives Trilogy Book 1
Three fourteen year old boys, Brett McGovern, Stephen Bailey and Michael Erickson are inextricably linked by abduction and murder. Brett, who was abducted from Indianapolis, fears that his captors will decide to kill him. More recently, two boys from a Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb, Stephen and Michael, have been abducted, and the detectives on the case know that if they are not found within 24 hours, any chance of finding them is remote and they will be gone forever. A fourth boy, George Tokay, a Navajo, holds a key piece to this puzzle and doesn’t realize it.

Pete Kelliher and his team of FBI agents from the Crimes Against Children Unit have been tracking the murders of children for the past two years. He believes that if they can find these two boys, they might find the answers to the questions that have been eluding them. He and his team race to find Stephen and Michael before they disappear forever. There isn’t much to go on, and each time he gets a break, potential witnesses are found dead. As Pete and his team investigate, the stories of these boys are like loose threads on a sweater: pull the wrong one and it unravels completely. Slowly, Pete comes to the realization that one or more members of his own team might be behind it all. There is injury and death, some of which is Pete’s fault and that causes him to question his effectiveness and his future.


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Taking Lives
Total strangers, one man and two boys, each hold a piece of a deadly puzzle and they don’t know it.

The bodies of six boys are found in remote areas in different states with startling similar characteristics. FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his team from the Crimes Against Children Unit investigate and discover a curious pattern that his superiors refuse to believe. Unfortunately for Pete, there are no other leads and nothing else to go on, and no proof to verify Pete’s theory.

Brett McGovern is a handsome and athletically talented eleven year old. He and his younger brother, Bobby, discover that someone breaks into their home at night while their family sleeps. One afternoon, an incident occurs, but Brett doesn’t tell his parents or anyone else, choosing instead to keep it a secret. A decision that is very costly.

More than a thousand miles away on the Navajo Indian Reservation, George Tokay, an eleven year old Navajo, and his grandfather have vivid, troubling dreams and visions. Neither understands the meaning or has an explanation. This lack of understanding is deadly.

Even though they live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Pete Kelliher, Brett McGovern, and George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark and dreadful as each search for a way out.


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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
HBS Author's Spotlight
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Top Shelf Author Advice
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Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.

Emma Jameson - An Author Interview at the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Mystery Author Emma Jameson. She is the NYT bestselling author of the Lord & Lady Hetheridge series and the Dr. Benjamin Bones Mysteries.

Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Website: Emma Jameson
Twitter: @msemmajameson
E-Mail: emmajamesonbooks@gmail.com
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Amazon Author Profile



Author Description:
Emma Jameson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Lord & Lady Hetheridge cozy mystery series. Book #1, ICE BLUE, Book #2, BLUE MURDER, and Book #3, SOMETHING BLUE, are available now.

She is also the author of MARRIAGE CAN BE MURDER, the first book in a new series set in wartime Cornwall. She is at work on Lord & Lady Hetheridge book #4, BLACK & BLUE, and also DIVORCE CAN BE DEADLY, the second mystery starring Dr. Benjamin Bones.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Congratulations on your book: Black & Blue. Let’s start with what’s next. Rumor has it that you have a trilogy on the horizon called All Our Yesterdays. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Oh, I like this question! First, let me say, I love writing cozy mysteries, and have no desire to stop. I plan on writing the Hetheridge books until I croak (how’s that for definitive?) and the Bones books have only just begun. But All Our Yesterdays is a project dear to my heart.

When I wrote it the first time, many moons ago, I was still a developing writer, learning my craft. Also, the market was different—a story about reincarnation featuring characters with special abilities was niche, not really sci-fi but not really fantasy, and supposedly of no interest to mainstream readers. But now, believable human dramas with fantasy or alternate-reality components like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are mainstream. As for a little tease:

All Our Yesterdays is about five strangers, drawn together by murder and bound tight by the realization they are old souls. In the glittering ballrooms and exclusive clubs of 1870s London, they lived, loved, fought, and died, destroyed by a clandestine society’s cruel patriarch. But one woman took a secret to her grave. Now fate has brought back all five friends to do what their Victorian counterparts couldn’t—if they can reconstruct enough of their past lives to discover what went wrong the first time.

You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?

I enjoy interacting with readers on Facebook, and I think many new readers have discovered me through my Facebook fan page. On Twitter, I’ve interacted with perhaps ten separate readers since day one. My hypothesis is, cozy mystery readers generally don’t use Twitter to discover new authors or fatten their TBR list. They use it to converse, have fun, and post reactions to current events. So now that’s how I use Twitter. I post pretty pictures, I live tweet my favorite shows, and I retweet fun stuff and interesting links. That makes my Twitter following organic, and greatly simplifies my book launch process: I send out one tweet when I have a new release. Seriously, just one. Then it’s back to Cornwall and Black Sails. By contrast, I post lots of book promos on Facebook, along with previews and giveaways, because on that platform, they get a strong response.

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?

I am open to book signings if the demand is there. I’ve always been mostly an ebook author, and while I still love and respect the print aspect of the industry, it’s a new and mostly digital world.

Throughout college, I worked in a bookstore, and even then, book signings were rare and only drew crowds when the author was a celebrity. Think Stephen King, or Kim Kardashian. Lesser known writers, or nonfiction authors who lacked personal notoriety, tended to sit alone at the signing table for hours. And this was twenty years ago! Now almost all my local bookstores have disappeared.

However, I am easy to contact online. Readers can follow or friend me on Facebook and/or like my fan page. They can sign up for my mailing list or email me directly at emmajamesonbooks@gmail.com.

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 very much! I am fairly hands-on. That said, I have an open mind, and once or twice my cover artist [https://www.facebook.com/J-David-Peterson-198013970253698/] has pitched an idea and I’ve enthusiastically agreed. Other times, as with the upcoming covers for the AOY trilogy, I located the images and dictated precisely what I wanted. I’ve never asked readers to get involved, but I might someday. It’s good to gather as much feedback as possible.

Most of your novels have been converted into audio books. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience for you?

The audiobooks are a relatively new segment of my business, and I’m very pleased with the public’s reaction to the reader, Matthew Lloyd Davies [http://www.matthewlloyddavies.com/]. He’s enormously talented and has a genius for making every character sound both distinct and compelling. I do think I’ve gained many new readers, people who bought one of my audios out of loyalty to him and found themselves enjoying the story as much as his performance.

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’ve never tried the free approach. However, I know several authors who have, with remarkable results. Usually they are highly prolific, with a catalog of twenty or more titles, and they give away book #1 (or a bundled “starter kit”) to introduce new readers to a long-running series.

As for giveaways, I’ve done many, and plan on more in the future. Gift cards and ereaders are perennially popular for the general public. In an open-ended giveaway, my main goal is to introduce myself to potential readers. For my mailing list subscribers, it’s a different goal: to give something back to the people who read and enjoy my books. Via the mailing list, I give away several prizes each year. Most recently it was over 1oo digital downloads of my audiobooks.

I like the idea of bundling a series of novels. You have put together a set of your novels called Deadly Trio: 3 English Mysteries: Ice Blue, Blue Murder, Something Blue. What was the impact on your other sales? What was your main objective in bundling your novels?

The bundle is possibly the best thing I ever did for my career, because it allowed me to reach a lot of readers who’d never heard of me. It also put me on the New York Times bestseller list, no. 19 in ebook bestsellers, on July 13, 2014. I think that bundle had a lot to do with the success of Marriage Can Be Murder and Black & Blue. A host of new readers were waiting for follow-ups, thanks to the bundle.

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?

I have a mailing list, but it’s very laid back. I email subscribers only when I have an important update, a new release, or a giveaway. That amounts to 6-8 times a year, tops. I love it when readers interact with me, but I’m a little shy about reaching out to them. My preferred way of creating a relationship is to offer a new book, and I only wish I could write them faster.

You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and helping other writers gain exposure. 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?

When I started my digital publishing adventure in 2011, every indie writer had a blog. Blogs were considered essential, and authors were advised to post at least twice a week. But my Achilles’ heel is, I’m not a quick writer. In fact, I routinely thank heaven for George R. R. Martin, who is infamously slower than I am. Writing a book is a lengthy, labor-intensive process for me, and generally the lighter and more effortless a piece of my writing seems, the longer it took me to get there. Tossing off blog posts is easy, perhaps too easy, and sometimes it irritates my readers. They wonder, “Why is she posting this stuff when her next book is overdue?” So I tend to blog only sporadically when I’m very late on a book.

As for social media, it’s easy, thanks to the magic of iPhones. In line at the supermarket I can check Facebook and answer a reader’s question. At the hairdresser’s, I can tweet cute cat pictures. In the doctor’s waiting room, I can even craft a blog post. All these things are easily done on the fly. But unfortunately, it can give the impression that I am glued to social media instead of writing, since the books are released so slowly. But for me, a certain amount of writing is literally letting a manuscript sit, untouched, while I ponder how to improve it. That’s the strange, unsexy truth. I can’t power my way through finishing a novel the way I could stock books at double speed in the book store, or ring up a line of customers with grim efficiency. Writing just doesn’t work that way for me. So while I am letting a manuscript sit—while I’m pondering—I check on the social media stuff, and feel guilty when readers scold me for too many cat pictures in one day.

You have published one of your books in German. How is your audience abroad? Does marketing online help in this situation? Do you plan on converting more to another language?

Germany is a promising new market. I’m happy with my sales for the German translation of Ice Blue, which is called Eisblau. However, since I don’t speak or read German, all marketing is handled by my German-language publisher, Amazon Crossing. I find them lovely to work with, and I hope we’ll partner in the future for more translations.



Author's Book List
Marriage Can Be Murder - Dr. Benjamin Bones Mysteries Book 1
Murder in Haunted Cornwall

On the eve of World War II, Dr. Benjamin Bones is at war with himself. While most young men are being sent away to fight the Germans, Ben is chosen to serve on English soil. Ordered to move to wild, beautiful Cornwall, he must trade his posh London office and stylish city life for the tiny village of Birdswing, population 1,221 souls. But leaving his home and shelving his career ambitions aren't the only sacrifices facing Ben. His unfaithful wife, Penny, is accompanying him to Cornwall in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage. But moments after their arrival, Penny is run down in the street, and Ben is almost fatally injured. And while the villagers assume Penny's death to be an accident, Ben quickly deduces it was murder.

As he convalesces in Fenton House, which the locals call haunted, Ben meets Birdswing's eccentric inhabitants. Mr. Gaston, the volunteer air warden, obsessed with defending his remote village against Nazi spies; Mrs. Cobblepot, a thoroughly practical housekeeper who believes in fairies; and Lady Juliet Linton, a prickly, headstrong aristocrat who won't take no for an answer. While adapting to life during Britain's "War at Home," a time of ration books, victory gardens, bomb shelters, and the Blackout, Ben sets about solving the mystery of Penny's murder--with a little help from Lady Juliet and the Fenton House ghost.


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Black & Blue - Lord and Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series Book 4
MURDER IN MAYFAIR

Modern art dealer Granville Hardwick has a way with people -- a way of making them wish he were dead. His London gallery is filled with works of questionable merit, his dating pool consists of other men's wives, and his home is the eyesore of a fine old neighborhood. The neighborhood of Scotland Yard's Chief Superintendent Tony Hetheridge, as a matter of fact. So when Hardwick turns up dead, bashed on the head by a rather tasteless reproduction, it's Hetheridge and his new bride, Kate, who embark on solving the case.

LORD & LADY HETHERIDGE

When he married Kate, Tony expected things to be different. But with Kate's ne'er-do-well relatives making trouble on the home front, and his own enemies attacking from within Scotland Yard, the case of the dead art dealer and three unfaithful wives might do more than change Mayfair. It might change Lord and Lady Hetheridge forever.


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Something Blue - Lord and Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series Book 3
Anthony Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave and chief superintendent for Scotland Yard, will marry Kate Wakefield in three weeks. It's inevitable--the invitations are out, the flowers are ordered, the cake is chosen. But murder waits for no man, and no wedding.

In London's prestigious West End, a disgraced CEO has been murdered at Hotel Nonpareil, an exclusive destination. No one, it seems, liked Michael Martin Hughes. Not his estranged wife, Thora, or his defiant son, Griffin. Not Hotel Nonpareil's manager, its head of security, or perhaps even the two most important women in Hughes's life: his future bride, Arianna, or his secret girlfriend, Riley. And before Hughes died, he incurred the wrath of none other than Sir Duncan Godington, longtime nemesis of both CS Hetheridge and DS Paul Bhar.

Hetheridge, Kate, and Bhar find themselves under tremendous pressure to uncover the killer as fast as possible. Have Scotland Yard and Downing Street lost confidence in Hetheridge? Find out as you return to the world of Ice Blue and Blue Murder in Something Blue, the third in the New York Times bestselling Lord & Lady Hetheridge mystery series.


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Blue Murder - Lord and Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series Book 2
Two Dead Men

In London’s fashionable Chelsea, a Halloween bash goes terribly wrong. Emmeline Wardle, daughter of a frozen foods baron, throws a party which results in the demise of two university schoolmates. Handsome golden boy Trevor Parsons is dead. So is pasty computer nerd Clive French. Both died on the Wardle estate within minutes of one another, and both died the same way – an axe to the skull. Given the social connections of all involved, New Scotland Yard sends a real baron to investigate: Chief Superintendent Anthony Hetheridge, also known as Lord Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave.

Two Prime Suspects

This time around, Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield and her partner, Detective Sergeant Deepal “Paul” Bhar, have their work cut out. Bhar must contend with Emmeline Wardle, a spoiled blonde with a penchant for the finer things, including a certain illegal white powder. Kate must decide if Kyla Sloane, model-pretty and delicate, is being truthful about the events of that fateful night. And if Kyla’s connection to a former lover of Bhar’s means nothing – or everything.


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Ice Blue - Lord and Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series Book 1
Anthony Hetheridge, ninth Baron of Wellegrave, Chief Superintendent for New Scotland Yard, never married, no children, no pets, no hobbies, and not even an interesting vice, will turn sixty in three weeks. With the exception of his chosen career, too sordid for his blue-blooded family to condone, his life has been safe and predictable. But then he meets Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield – beautiful, willful, and nearly half his age. When Hetheridge saves the outspoken, impetuous young detective from getting the sack, siding with her against Scotland Yard’s powerful male hierarchy, his cold, elegantly balanced world spins out of control. Summoned to London’s fashionable Belgravia to investigate the brutal murder of a financier, Hetheridge must catch the killer while coping with his growing attraction to Kate, the reappearance of an old flame, and the secret that emerges from his own past.


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