Escape with A Writer Turns One!

September 29 is the 1^st Birthday of 

Escape with a Writer Sunday!!

Thank you to all of you who have trusted me to share your work with the world!

 In honor of the big day, I’m making a couple of tweaks.

1. It is now called Escape with a Writer

2. I am booking authors for Wednesdays as well as Sundays!!

Please be sure to message me for availability and follow on the following facebook pages:

Escape With A Writer: https://www.facebook.com/dianebatoreditor

Diane Bator, Author: https://www.facebook.com/dianebatorauthor

Hope to chat with you soon!!  

Diane

 

Victoria Dowd has released her first novel The Smart Woman's Guide to Murder!

Before we get started, I have two things I'd like to say. 

1. I had the great fortune of reading The Smart Woman's Guide to Murder! If you are an Agatha Christie fan or a lover of "locked room" mysteries, you'll absolutely enjoy Victoria's style of writing. She's updated the genre for today's audience and kept me engrossed and guessing until the end. Her descriptive writing style had me highlighting sections of text just to savor them. The entire old mansion setting evoked just the right feel for a murder during a book club retreat.
2. Please read to the VERY END of this interview for a special surprise.

That's it! Welcome to author Victoria Dowd with her debut novel "The Smart Woman's Guide to Murder."

 Victoria is a crime writer and her debut novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, is published by Joffe Books. It’s the first part of a crime series that is modern take on the classic murder mystery with lots of dark humour.

Victoria is also an award-winning short story writer, having won the Gothic Fiction prize for short fiction in 2019 awarded by Go Gothic. She was runner up in The New Writer’s writer of the year award and her work has been short listed and Highly commended by Writers’ Forum. She was also longlisted for The Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition and has had short stories published in various literary journals and magazines. Victoria also writes the non-fiction series Adapting Agatha about adaptations of Agatha Christie novels. She is originally from Yorkshire and, after studying law at Cambridge University, was a criminal law barrister for many years before becoming a full-time writer.

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

I’d say I’m pretty diligent. I like to keep as organised as possible and, as a writer of whodunnits, I plan meticulously. I have masses of notebooks and files filled with research and a very big pinboard covered in maps, photographs and a lot of red string. In some ways, it does look like I’m planning a murder! I go over the details again and again, making sure there are no plot holes and that everything fits together like a perfect jigsaw.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

I write Monday to Friday, every day for about five hours. I try to take weekends off unless I have edits that need to be finished and sent back. I am quite strict about that otherwise I just wouldn’t get it done. I never usually write after about 6pm, particularly since I may well have had a glass of wine by then and the writing is absolutely awful after that!

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Hopefully, as the writer of a successful series of crime novels and, who knows, maybe someone will make them into a TV series! Now that would be marvelous. Like most writers, I’ve imagined who’d play each role and all the settings!

If you could offer one piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Stick at it! Just keep going and write as much as you can, as often as you can. Do it for the love of writing and write what you love. Don’t write what you think other people will like, write what you have a passion for. I adore Golden Age detective fiction so that’s the genre I write in. But I also love ghost stories and the supernatural so I write short stories in that genre. Don’t send anything out to people until you’re absolutely happy with it and it’s finished. Make it the best thing you’ve ever written until you just think it can’t be any better. That might be more than one piece of advice!

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

It would be about the quality of the writing. If people say it is beautifully well written, I’m a very happy writer, because, after all, that’s what it’s all about.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished writing the second book in the Smart Women series. It’s called The Smart Woman’s Guide to Survival and follows the women who survived at the end of the first book. They decide they weren’t particularly good at survival so set off on a Bear Grylls’ style survival weekend to the Outer Hebrides. When they are shipwrecked on a deserted island, the murders begin. Is it one of their group or was someone, or something, there already? I like to play with the classic whodunnit scenario and put unusual people in unusual settings. I think there’s a bit of everything in there this time, fear, humour and the all important murder mystery to be solved. I’ve absolutely loved writing this one! It’s been fantastic fun taking the characters on further and getting behind why they act in the extraordinary way they sometimes do. I’m just waiting for the edits to come back so I can get to work on those and, my favourite part, seeing the cover art! I love watching the ideas and words come to life and finally form into a book. It’s an absolutely magical transformation and a very special moment when you finally see the finished book. I can’t wait!

Website link: https://victoriadowd.com/

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaDowdAuthor

Twitter: @victoria_dowd

Instagram: dowdvictoria

THE SMART WOMAN’S GUIDE TO MURDER

A faded country house in the middle of nowhere.

The guests are snowed in.

The murders begin.

Withering and waspish, Ursula Smart (not her real name) gate-crashes her mother’s book club at an isolated country house for a long weekend retreat. Much to Mother’s chagrin. Joining them are Mother’s best friend, Mirabelle, Aunt Charlotte and Less, and Bridget with her dog Mr Bojangles. It doesn’t matter that they’ve read Gone Girl three times this year already, this retreat is their chance to escape bustling suburbia. But someone has other ideas.

A body is found in the grounds.

Is a lone killer hunting them? Or has one of their own group embarked on a killing spree?

What they need is to stop sniping at each other long enough to solve the mystery before the killer strikes again.

What they need is a guide to survive.

A GOLDEN AGE COUNTRY HOUSE MURDER MYSTERY BROUGHT BANG UP TO DATE

Funny and shocking in equal turn, Victoria Dowd's brilliant whodunnit is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz, Liane Moriarty, Faith Martin, Frances Lloyd and Stuart Turton.

Link to buy book: https://geni.us/smartwomanvictoria

AND NOW FOR THE SPECIAL BONUS!!

Victoria was absolutely thrilled to be asked to give a reading of The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder on BBC Radio Devon and chat about writing, Agatha Christie and her favourite place - Burgh Island. 

Here’s the link. She appears exactly 30 minutes in. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08mld3h?fbclid=IwAR2SVgWALsn1Yp_Y8FS8kCM-BKC32kx42dSysPSEaUILt_quHeR1YeL4mcM

Debra Goldstein reveals her Sarah Blair Mystery series

 

Mysteries with recipes and cuddly animals? Welcome to Debra Goldstein!!

Judge Debra H. Goldstein authors Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series including recently published Three Treats Too Many, 2020 Silver Falchion finalist Two Bites Too Many, and January 2019 Woman’s World Book of the Week One Taste Too Many. Debra also wrote Should Have Played Poker and 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories have been chosen as Agatha, Anthony, and Derringer finalists. Find out more about Debra at:

Website – www.DebraHGoldstein.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DebraHGoldsteinAuthor/      

Twitter - @DebraHGoldstein

Instagram – debra.h.goldstein

Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debra-h-goldstein

What would you say are your strengths as an author?  

My biggest strength as an author is and has been my passion to succeed as a writer. That motivation is what has enabled me to willingly learn from other authors, readers, books, and classes how to better my writing. It also forced me to translate my ideas into written words that eventually were enough for a short story or a novel.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?  

I wish I could say that I write daily or have an established routine, but I don’t. When I was still on the bench, I was more disciplined – writing between midnight and four a.m., as well as on weekends, but now, days blend into each other and I only write when the muse hits me or I have a deadline.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?  

Five years from now, I hope I am a better and more disciplined writer who gives back in the same manner people have extended themselves to help me. In terms of my writing, I would love it if my Sarah Blair series is still going, my short stories are continuing to be accepted, and I have written a standalone that is well-received.

 If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Assuming the novice writer is writing rather than talking about it, my advice is “Be a sponge.” Take classes, attend lectures, read books on writing, network, learn from writers who are higher in the food chain, and read and dissect well-written and poorly written books in the genre you are writing in.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

The best compliment is that my book was fun and made the reader, for a little while, forget about the real world. 

What are you working on now? 

Because Three Treats Too Many, the third book in Kensington’s Sarah Blair series, was released on August 25, I’m busy juggling promoting it with writing the fifth Sarah Blair mystery. I recently turned in the fourth book. It will be published in June 2021.

THREE TREATS TOO MANY - published August 25, 2020

When a romantic rival opens a competing restaurant in small-town Wheaton, Alabama, Sarah Blair discovers murder is the specialty of the house . . . 
 
For someone whose greatest culinary skill is ordering takeout, Sarah never expected to be co-owner of a restaurant. Even her Siamese cat, RahRah, seems to be looking at her differently. But while Sarah and her twin sister, Chef Emily, are tangled up in red tape waiting for the building inspector to get around to them, an attention-stealing new establishment—run by none other than Sarah's late ex-husband's mistress, Jane—is having its grand opening across the street. 
 
Jane's new sous chef, Riley Miller, is the talk of Wheaton with her delicious vegan specialties. When Riley is found dead outside the restaurant with Sarah's friend, Jacob, kneeling over her, the former line cook—whose infatuation with Riley was no secret—becomes the prime suspect. Now Sarah must turn up the heat on the real culprit, who has no reservations about committing cold-blooded murder . . . Includes quick and easy recipes!

TWO BITES TOO MANY - 2020 Silver Falchion Finalist - published October 2019

Things are finally looking up for Sarah Blair following her unsavory divorce. Settled into a cozy carriage house with her sassy Siamese cat, RahRah, she has somehow managed to hang on to her law firm receptionist job and – if befriending flea-bitten strays at the local animal shelter counts – lead a thriving social life. For once, Sarah almost has it together more than her enterprising twin, Emily, a professional chef whose efforts to open a gourmet restaurant have hit a real dead end…

When the president of the town bank and city council is murdered after icing Emily’s business plans, all eyes are on the one person who left the scene with blood on her hands – the twins’ sharp-tongued mother, Maybelle. Determined to get her mom off the hook ASAP, Sarah must collect the ingredients of a deadly crime to bring the true culprit to justice. But as neighbors turn against her family, can she pare down the suspects before another victim lands on the chopping block.

ONE TASTE TOO MANY - published January 2019

For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one thing scarier than cooking from scratch—murder!

Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty‑eight, Sarah Blair knew starting over would be messy, but things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by her twin sister’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah, her Siamese cat, wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and her sister wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!    

 [Recipes in One Taste Too Many include Jell-O in a Can.]

Buy Links:

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Three-Treats-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496719492

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-treats-too-many-debra-h-goldstein/1135275342?ean=9781496719492

James Mathis talks about The Framed Father and The Penitent Priest

Today we welcome James Mathis who writes the exciting Father Tom Mysteries!

James Mathis was born in Orlando, Florida in the halcyon days when the land was covered with orange groves and swamps, with nary a mouse in sight. He discovered his love for writing in high school, though history remained his first passion. After getting a PhD in the subject from the University of Florida, he began an enjoyable career as an archivist with the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Following a bout with cancer, James rediscovered his love for writing, beginning a series of mysteries based on the germ of an idea that he had been toying with for some time. Father Tom Greer is now among his best friends and most trusted confidant and the two are looking forward to many adventures in the near future.

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

I believe my strengths are writing compelling and believable characters, and crafting plots that compel the reader to keep turning the page. I've had several comments from readers who said they could not put the book down once they started reading.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

I try to write every day, though usually that winds up being six days a week. I still have a full-time job, so I wake up early to get a couple of hours of writing in before I have to start work. My word goal is at least 2,000 words a day. I find the pomodoro method of writing sprints (write for 25 minutes, break for 5) to be very effective. I also track each day's work, including the days I do not write.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

I would like to be making enough as a writer so that, with my retirement income and living a minimalist lifestyle, can write full time.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

         Study the craft of writing, the discipline of writng, and the business of writing. Develop a consistent writing habit so you're writing a certain number of words each week (if you cannot write every day). Decide what you want to write and read books from your genre to become familiar with the common tropes that readers expect, then try to think how you can turn those tropes on their head in order to create something fresh.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

“I couldn't put it down.”

What are you working on now?

I've finished The Framed Father, and it will be coming out on September 1. I am beginning to outline the next book in the series, The Reluctant Return, which I hope to release in mid-February. I'm also considering writing a Father Tom Mystery Christmas novella for subscribers to my newsletter and those who follow me on Facebook.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/J.R.MathisAuthor/

Website: https://www.jrmathismysteries.com/

Mailing List sign-up (they can also sign up on my website or Facebook page): https://mailchi.mp/6fca0c513493/newsletter-sign-up

THE PENITENT PRIEST

A wife murdered.

A killer at large.

A man of God with a painful secret.

When Tom Greer's wife Joan was murdered and her killer never caught, he left Myerton determined to leave the painful memories behind. Ten years later, now-Father Tom Greer returns as the temporary pastor of Saint Clare's Parish in Myerton—where he married and mourned his wife. Assigned there for four months, Father Tom’s only desire is to serve God's people quietly then leave again. He has no desire to revisit the past.

But the past won't leave Father Tom alone…

Secrets uncovered and a mysterious encounter in the confessional forces Father Tom to confront painful truths about Joan and her murder. When a police detective—a woman from Father Tom’s own past—refuses to reopen the case, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

It turns out to be a fateful decision, for Father Tom has secrets of his own…

Don’t miss this first book in a new clean mystery thriller series featuring Father Tom Greer.

THE FRAMED FATHER

Forbidden love, murder, and explosive secrets engulf Father Tom Greer in this second entry in the Father Tom Mysteries.

When the Archbishop receives an anonymous letter alleging that Saint Clare’s pastor Father Leonard McCoy of inappropriate behavior with the young parish secretary, he sends Father Tom back to Myerton from the quiet of the monastery to look into the charges. When the secretary is found dead and Father McCoy is charged with her murder, he must work against his ex-fiancée Detective Helen Parr and the State Attorney--who is also her boyfriend--to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

But everything is not as it seems...

James Mathis’ books are available from multiple retailers:

The Penitent Priest: https://books2read.com/u/4AK59N

The Framed Father: https://books2read.com/u/bwdAzG

Jim McDonald talks about his debut book Smash Palace and upcoming Counterculture Revolution

 Welcome to author Jim McDonald! 
I was fortunate to meet Jim at a Crime Writers of Canada event and mesmerized by his stories! 
I hope you will be too!

 Jim McDonald is an author, teacher, musician, actor, and officiant.

 Since 1990, he has operated A-Plus Tutoring, teaching mathematics to high school students; he specializes in statistics and calculus.

Jim launched Happy Together Wedding Ceremonies in 2017. As Humanist Officiant, he is authorized by the Ontario Government to solemnize marriages.

 While playing drums with rock band Starchild, he also wrote entertainment columns for Vancouver’s Georgia Strait and Victoria’s Monday Magazine, reviewing concerts by Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Heart, and the BeeGees.

In 2016 Jim and his son Dylan produced a movie, the comedy Fun With Math.

Married with four adult children, he enjoys playing baseball and running, and is pretty good at his local bar’s Golden-Tee Golf game.

 His novel Altered Boy is a psychological thriller set in 1960 about a teen gang of hustlers – Mickey, Joey, and Shorty – who mistakenly think new priest Father Damon is an easy mark.

Currently he is searching for a publisher for Counterculture Revolution. Set in 1970 this historical thriller follows the guerilla actions of Weather Underground, the terror group that bombed draft boards, courts of law, and even the Pentagon.

 Jim's book of thirty-two short stories Smash Palace, published in 2019 by Amalit Books, is available on Amazon.ca or by emailing amalitbooks@outlook.com. His debut work of short fiction will intrigue you with adventure, wit, and unforgettable characters in stories involving crime, science fiction, dystopia, and surrealisms.

Please get in touch with Jim via his website www.jimmcdonald.ca.

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

Like the long distance runner, I keep plugging away until I get to the finish line. Grit and determination are a couple of my strengths.

I think my research skills are a strength. I read every day, taking copious notes about my subject. To help me visualize the person, location, or décor I am writing about, I often find photographs of the subject, and then write to that image. For example, I used Google maps to browse the seedy mean streets of Detroit until I found a house sinister enough for my drug dealers.

I have worked hard to make each sentence the best it can be. Sometimes I’ll spend a long time searching for le mot juste, but end up with the first word or phrase chosen.

At live gatherings, I enjoy telling stories. I get a kick out of entertaining people. No wonder I became a novelist. I have a vivid imagination. Usually, I envision a scene as part of a movie.

Dialogue and accents. I appreciate the unusual words and phraseology spoken by the person on the street, and I incorporate them into the story to bring characters alive for the reader. I have a list of sayings and words used by people in 1970, and I sprinkle these words into dialogue to reflect the era.

A pet peeve: I get upset with anachronisms. If a character from a story set in 1945 says, “I’m good,” or “I’m all about revenge,” I flip. The writer should fit the language to the times. This is lazy writing.

I tend to delve into the dark side of life. My readers will meet characters they never would in real life – thieves, killers, revolutionaries, fascists, grifters, pedophiles, and druggies. What makes them tick? Why do they do the weird things they do? How does the protagonist wend his way through this dangerous maze?

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

I have other work that I need to do to make a living, and sometimes that work overwhelms the time available to write. Since I am a nighthawk, much of my writing is done after midnight when others are asleep. Sometimes I am able to write most days of the week. But even if I am not in front of the keyboard – say, I’m driving – I think of the scene I am working on, to figure out what happens next, or who says what to whom.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

My present novel Counterculture Revolution will be for sale around the world. I’ll have one more completed book, and I’ll be working on another. My first published book Smash Palace contains thirty-two short stories. I may write a number of crime short stories, but with the same main character, the private detective Jack Barrhead. Perhaps the end product will be like the Sherlock Holmes stories – a crime, criminal pursuit, and resolution. And then on to the next case.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Start with short stories. Maybe a page or two at first. Get a finished product you are proud of. It may take only a few weeks. Get that feeling of accomplishment. Show your stories to others. Get their honest feedback. Make your next story better than the last one.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

“I really enjoyed that book. I was lost in the story. It was exciting. And what strange characters.”

What are you working on now?

Now that Counterculture Revolution is complete, I am revising it one more time to check on spelling, typos, grammar, logic, and continuity.

I have gone over my research notes about a real life murder in Toronto that touched my life. I was a witness in the trial of two street hustlers who killed a man, and then dropped into the bar I was working at as DJ. I have the trial transcripts and articles about the murder. This could be a real life crime story, or I could expand on it using fictional characters.

SMASH PALACE

* Follow Mickey Kelly's life of adventure from rebellious child to the aftermath of World War III.

* Get a FREE First Edition celebratory bookmark with each copy of Smash Palace.

* The first 50 books sold will be signed by the author.

“Bed Time Story” - A hitman discovers three bullets to the heart did not kill his victim.

“The Trekotron” - A dissolute scientist travels back in time to change the fate of a friend who deserves a better life. This story explores the butterfly effect.

“Need Anything?” - An enterprising college kid plans to make a killing by scoring a quantity of hash in Detroit.

“Joy Ride” - Car thieves take a wild ride to calamity city.

“Who Is Your Wife?” - The West has lost WWIII, and survivors are on the run. The only TV show left on the planet is the sexy game show Who Is Your Wife?

“Fight Night” - A punchdrunk boxer recalls his bad old days as a mob enforcer.

“Seven Lives”- The cat that wouldn't die.

“Wild Justice” - Revenge is a dish best served cold.

“Please, Nurse” - A Kafkaesque trip through hallucinatory hallways.