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What can you tell us about your new release, Undertow of Loyalty?

Well, there's a murder with a lot of confusion about who's been murdered. About a third of the way through the story the murderer is revealed. At that point the story is about how the main character deals with the knowledge of who the murderer turns out to be and the suspense is build by the suspicions of the police and whether or not they can find enough evidence to prove guilt.

There are plot twists related to corporate espionage, police investigations, and mental stability.

I had fun writing the novel because I used the city where I grew up, Calgary, as the setting. It turned out to be a long visit home as I wrote.

What’s the last book you read?

I just finished reading a book titled, A Quiet Place by Seicho Matsumoto. It's an odd investigation story that doesn't have a detective. It's translated from Japanese and the translation is very passive so it was a bit of a disappointment from the standpoint of the author trying to interact with the reader.

Who is your favorite fictional character from literature?

Lisebeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. She's a bit perfect in her skills at investigation but so vulnerable in her personal thoughts and life. A very creative problem solver. You feel confident in her ability to accomplish what she's set out to do yet you worry for her, always thinking, has she met her match? I always ask myself if I care about the characters I'm reading, and with Lisebeth there was no doubt about how much I wanted her to prevail.

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

Ayn Rand, John Irving and Ken Kesey. I think that group would have everyone at the table flying over a cuckoo's nest. I've read all their works. Unfortunately, there's no more coming from Rand and Kesey but I do look forward to Irving's new releases.

Atlas Shrugged from Rand, Sometimes a Great Notion from Kesey and Son of the Circus from Irving are always on my list of recommendations.

How do you like to spend a rainy day?

I live in Arizona now so it doesn't happen often. When it does I do appreciate the change in weather. I like to keep it quiet. I like to observe the rain a few times during the day, and if I could choose I would hope it was on a weekend and maybe some sport that I don't normally follow would be the only thing on television. For that odd day I would watch that odd sport and experience it as a new revelation in entertainment. Something like NASCAR or Hurley that for some reason caught my attention on a strange day.

What scene in Undertow of Loyalty was your favorite to write?

There's a scene in which a truck ambushes my main character, deliberately crashes into his car pinning him and his wife inside. The driver of the truck gets out with the intent to do more harm. The couple struggle to get out of the car, there could be no fast exit. The fun of writing the scene was building the impediments preventing the escape but also impediments to slow down the attacking driver giving my characters inside the car a chance.

I'd set up the distraction which took my characters attention off of his driving, allowing the the truck to make it's attack unseen, earlier in the story. Using the distraction to make the scene possible made it even more fun.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I think overall my motto would be, always be useful to yourself. Keep working to make your life better, keep learning, keep going. I don't want to think about what happens when all of that stops.

M.D. Davies is the author of the new book Undertow of Loyalty. 

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What can you tell us about your new release, Lies in High Places?

Lies in High Places is the story of a struggling journalist, Andrea Kellner, who finds herself in the middle of a sniper attack on a Chicago expressway. Mid-divorce and desperate for a story, she becomes suspicious of the official explanation for the shootings, making it her mission to uncover the truth and ultimately save her career. Twists, turns, political intrigue, a tiny bit of romance, the book is a fast-paced read and the first in the series.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve always been a reader. Even back when I was a kid, I had a babysitter who would bring over Nancy Drew books and read to my sister and I. I always loved the on-going puzzle solving. In high school, I’d blow through books in a couple days, choosing novels based on how thick they were to extend the read. I loved getting lost in worlds bigger than my small Wisconsin hometown. However, I never considered a career as an author. The writing bug hadn’t bitten yet. In 2006, I was going through a career and family identify crisis around flexibility and life balance, and it was literally the first time it occurred to me to try my hand at writing. I was devouring authors such as Patricia Cornwell, Linda Fairstein, and Janet Evanovich. All series, female protagonists, and largely first person POV, so I basically tried to write what I wanted to read. That starter novel sits in a drawer. But it taught me had a lot to learn and was the entry point into figuring out how badly I wanted to do this.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

Anything and everything by Patricia Cornwell. I just get lost in the complexity of her world

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I actually have two. Karin Slaughter because I love how well she handles 3rd person POV. It’s something I can’t seem to wrap my head around. I’d also love to interview Robert Mueller. Obviously he isn’t in the literary world, but I’m fascinated by the process of strategically building a complex case. This isn’t a political statement but the strategy of evidence collection, witnesses, complex trails of people and business connections is fascinating to me. The problem-solving aspect of writing crime fiction is what entices me.

What's on your writing desk?

My Mac laptop, a Blue Snowball microphone for dictation, an essential oil diffuser, and a cup of tea or a bottle of Pellegrino. My cat Isabel is often curled up napping in the chair nearby.

BAM. You're a superhero. What's your superpower?

I’d want the skill of lie detection. Wouldn’t it be great to have a little meter in your head that starts beeping when BS is being dished out? But then again, it might crimp my writing career as uncovering the truth is one of my core themes and fascinations.

What scene in Lies in High Places was your favorite to write?

When Andrea gets attacked in the alley. I won’t let out a spoiler but I can still read that scene and find myself tensing up.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I grew up in the midwest and still have those classic core values of treating others the way you would want to be treated.

Dana Killion is the author of the new book Lies in High Places. 

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What can you tell us about your new release, Etched in Tears?

This is Book #4 in the Webb's Glass Shop Mysteries. When a famous glass artist is murdered at his own exhibit, deadly secrets are put on display, and it’s up to glass shop owner Savannah Webb to see through a killer’s cover.

Celebrated glass artist Dennis Lansing is returning to St. Petersburg, Florida, for an exhibit at the world-renowned Salvador Dali Museum. His unique style of embedding document images in his art is at the vanguard of contemporary glasswork. But as Savannah’s first boyfriend and a former apprentice to her father, Dennis’s return home has her reflecting on the past—a trip down memory lane that takes a dark turn when Dennis is found murdered at the museum with an old reference letter from her father in his pocket. A search through her father’s records sheds new light on Dennis’s history, but it seems his present life wasn’t so transparent either. Now, with a gallery of suspects to consider, it’s up to Savannah to figure out who fits the mold of a murderer.

What’s the last book you read?

The Seagull: A Vera Stanhope Mystery by Ann Cleeves

Who is your favorite fictional character from literature?

Harriet Vane of the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers. She's married to a Lord who solves crimes, an Oxford scholar, and she writes mysteries!

Who are your literary heroes working today? Why do you admire them?

Louise Penny because of the depth of her characters within the defined setting of the remote village of Three Pines.

Catriona McPherson because of the tangible moods she creates in her standalone suspense novels.

Alexander McCall Smith because of the ultra slow pace and the charm of the Precious Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in Botswana.

Ann Cleeves for the wonderful isolation of the setting that she paints into the soul of Vera Stanhope.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

I love the aftereffects of having written -- a sense of spiritual well-being and truehearted accomplishment. I'm officially addicted.

How do you like to spend a rainy day?

Lying on the couch with a hot cup of tea and a good book. Later in the day, I change the tea to wine. Even later, the wine changes to single malt whiskey. The reading bit never changes.

What scene in Etched in Tears was your favorite to write?

I loved writing the memorial celebration for the glass artist, Dennis Lansing held in the garden behind the Dali Museum. There were candles, speeches, singing, tears and a fight scene -- such fun!

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Persistence is the most powerful force on earth, it can move mountains. --Albert Einstein

Cheryl Hollon is the author of the new book Etched in Tears. 

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What can you tell us about your new release, Count Your Blessings?
Count Your Blessings is the twenty-second book in the Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery series. In this book, Darcy has a broken leg but still manages to get involved in another murder mystery, complete with an angry ghost, while trying to organize a family Thanksgiving dinner.

What or who inspired you to become an author?
I've always loved to make up stories even when I was very little so I'm not sure where the initial inspiration came from. In my teens and early twenties, I'm kind of embarrassed to say, I read a lot of Mills and Boon romances. I had a handful of favorite authors whose writing had a certain flow that I liked and I picked up every book they wrote. As I got older I moved away from the romances and started reading more mysteries. People like Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, and James Patterson. I love their style of writing. And there's also Nora Roberts whose books are a mix of romance and suspense. I was always awed that they could weave such incredible stories and wanted to try and do the same.

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?
I would love to spend time with Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. So a visit to the village of St. Mary Mead would be in order.

What books do you find yourself returning to again and again?
Most of Agatha Christie's books and I absolutely adore James Patterson's Women's Murder Club.

What's your favorite thing about writing?
Being able to disappear into another world and create it how I want it to be. I can make my characters do whatever I want them to. It's exhilarating.

BAM. You're a superhero. What's your superpower?
Communicate with/talk to the animals.

What scene in Count Your Blessings was your favorite to write?
I love any scene that revolves around Darcy's family. The family Thanksgiving dinner in this book was a particular favorite to write.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Feel the fear and do it anyway!

K.J. Emrick is the author of the new book Count Your Blessings. 

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