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Q A with Robert K Lewis

This week we sat down with Robert K. Lewis, author of the Mark Mallen Novels. His latest, Innocent Damage, is out now!

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing?

Robert K. Lewis: About seventeen years, give or take.

MI: What influence have other authors had on your writing?

RKL: I love a strong voice, so I�ve spent a lot of time with the noir heavy hitters such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Ed McBain. A more contemporary example of a strong voice that influenced me would be Kem Nunn. However, beyond the writing, these authors also influenced me by showing me just how hard writing can be, and how much work it takes to get better with every book.

MI: If you weren�t a writer, what would you be doing?

RKL: Playing blues guitar in a power trio or quartet. I love playing the blues, and playing it very loud is a pre-requisite.

MI: If you have a job outside of writing, what is it?

RKL: I�m the office manager of the art department at UC Berkeley.  Best possible job and environment for me to have, given that my other job is writing books.

MI: What is/are your favorite thing/s to do when you�re not writing or working?

RKL: Playing blues and hard rock guitar, learning piano, and drinking.

MI: Who is your favorite mystery sleuth and why?

RKL: Frank Kane�s Johnny Liddell. He�s tough, never gives up no matter how much he�s been beaten and battered, and will always solve the case no matter what the price. He�s the sort of detective that will come after you again and again, even if it means dragging himself along the road on his bloodied elbows.

MI: Do you have a favorite murder case from a book (either yours or another author�s)?

RKL: The Abbey Grange, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is not only my favorite murder mystery, it�s also one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. The Abbey Grange is actually one of the inspirations for Mark Mallen, because this is where Holmes really becomes judge and jury, and by doing so, gives us a glance into his great heart. This story is Holmes in one of his finest moments.

MI: What was your inspiration for this series?

RKL: Ah, that�s a large question. Mallen is made up of so many things that I�ve watched, read, and witnessed. There are, of course, the classic detectives: Sam Spade, Marlowe, Johnny Liddell, and Mike Hammer. Then there are the New York cop films of the 1970s: The French Connection, Serpico, The Seven Ups, The Warriors, Taxi Driver, and Death Wish. Also on that list would be other gritty films such as Panic in Needle Park and Midnight Cowboy.

MI: How does this book/series compare to your past works?

RKL: The Mark Mallen series bears no resemblance at all to my earlier works. When I began writing long-form fiction (I�d written screenplays before turning to fiction), I wanted to be a literary writer. That died on the vine. After that I wrote an urban fantasy that went nowhere when I queried agents. I would have to say though that if there were anycomparison to my earlier work, it would be in how I write my protagonists. I want to write heroes that will not be stopped. They keep going on, no matter what.

MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about him/her.

RKL: Not anymore. However, I�m haunted by the ghosts of three very cranky cats.

 

MI: If you don�t have a pet, do you have a favorite animal?

RKL: Cats. I love cats. They�re possessed of so many personality layers. They can be fastidious, but have no problem shooting litter all over the floor. They love you unconditionally, until they don�t. They have a fascination with throwing things off of counters and tables. Endless amusement. The only thing I have to complain about is that I wish they travelled better. Can you image a cat loving a car ride, hanging its head out the window, filled with the joy of being in a car? Man, that would be greatness.

MI:What food could you live off of for the rest of your life?

RKL: Is Scotch a food? If not, then Patty Melts.

MI: Do you have a favorite recipe?

RKL: For destruction, or success? Oh, you mean food? Then that would be my mother�s recipe for baked chicken. She was a scratch cook, and her cooking usually included every spice in the house, using her intuition as her cookbook.

MI: What�s your favorite part about being an Inker?

RKL: The level of input I�ve been able to give, and having that input acknowledged. There are not many publishers out there that would allow the writer to have a large say regarding covers, but my editor and the artists over at Midnight Ink did. Add to that the level of communication I received from my editor and copy editor and I would say unequivocally that this has been a fantastic experience.

MI:Were the Mark Mallen Novels based off of/inspired by your own life in any way?

RKL: I�ve lived, from time to time, in some very hard environments. When I was sixteen years old, I rented a studio apartment located next to a very old and very large Victorian building, every flat filled with someone eking out a living any way they could, by any means possible. I also lived in the Tenderloin of San Francisco for many years, and if anything, Mallen�s books were influenced by what I witnessed in both of those places, along with the people I saw there and interacted with.

MI: Why did you create Mark Mallen as a former junkie?

RKL: Mallen is a former junkie because I wanted to show that it is possible to overcome our demons. Our world is filled with addictions. Drugs. Alcohol. The Internet. Porn. Our iPhone. You name it, and we seem to have an addiction for it. It takes a strong will, focus, and determination to overcome those addictions, along with the belief that those addictions can in fact be overcome. I wrote Mallen the way he is because I live in hope that we can regain the inner strength and moral compass that I feel our society has lost.

Innocent Damage is available online and in bookstores now!

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Q A with Sallie Bissell!

This week, we sat down with Sallie Bissell, author of the Mary Crow Novels. Her latest, A Judgment of Whispers, is out now!

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing? 

Sallie Bissell: My parents gave me a typewriter the Christmas I was eight. I�ve been writing at something, ever since. I was an advertising copywriter for a while (this was in Nashville�I wrote radio commercials for the Grand Ole Opry). Then I was a ghost writer for Bonnie Bryant�s Saddle Club series.  I started seriously writing under my own name about twenty years ago.

MI: What influence have other authors had on your writing?

SB: I read all of William O. Steele�s work when I was a girl�that got me into the outdoor adventure mode, which I guess I�ve never really left. I learned a lot about the scope of a novel from Gail Godwin.  Pacing from Elmore Leonard. Language from John Steinbeck.  Suspense from Richard Wright�I think his Native Son is a masterpiece. Margaret Atwood, Barbara Vine and Sara Paretsky have also expanded my view of what fiction can accomplish.

MI: If you weren�t a writer, what would you be doing? 

Sallie at work on her typewriter

SB: Something in art, probably. My mother was a painter and I have a modest bit of talent in that area.  I entered college as an art major. My faculty advisor looked greatly relieved when I transferred to the English Department! In my fantasy life, I�d like to be a jet pilot or Serena Williams.

MI: If you have a job outside of writing, what is it? 

SB: I�ve kept my hand in advertising, on a freelance basis. I love birds and I�m helping a local bird seed company expand its customer base. I write their newsletter and mind the shop a couple of afternoons a week. It�s fun and totally different from writing fiction.  Birders are interesting people, always with good stories to tell, usually about squirrels or bears.

MI: What is/are your favorite thing/s to do when you�re not writing or working? 

SB: I love to play tennis, and do so as often as I can. I�m also on a Trivia team that plays at a local restaurant once a week. Writers are good at trivia�we have minds that are stuffed with esoteric information, like what�s the longest river in Chile. I once catapulted the team to victory by knowing who wrote Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. (Dee Brown.) I have no idea what the longest river in Chile is.

MI: Who is your favorite mystery sleuth and why? 

SB: Probably Sherlock Holmes. I think Conan Doyle took  themes that other writers (Poe, Dickins, Wilkie Collins) had touched on and made a terrific character. It was a perfect storm for success, in a way�you had spiritualism, industrial revolution, scientific discovery�plus the serial formal. The work has endured because the writing is good�the puzzles (plots) are ingenious and the characterizations are interesting, too.

MI: Do you have a favorite murder case from a book (either yours or another author�s)?

SB: My favorite murder case was one my aunt was questioned in (though not as a suspect).  It happened in Nashville in the early 70s and was only recently solved, and not to everyone�s satisfaction.  I used it as the basis for the murder in my next book, A Judgment of Whispers.  Older Nashvillians will know exactly what I�m talking about!

MI: What was your inspiration for this series?

SB: The idea of Mary Crow came about after I moved to Asheville, NC. I went from an urban lifestyle to a rural one, in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. Also I�d never seen a Cherokee Indian before, and I became fascinated with their culture. In writing the first book, In The Forest of Harm, I re-entered the fictional world I�d loved so much as a girl�woods and forests and trails that led who knows where.

MI: Tell us about Mary Crow.

SB: Mary Crow is a woman of color; a woman with a foot in both the white urban Atlanta culture of her father and the rural Cherokee culture of her mother.  She was orphaned early and bears the scars of losing the people she�s loved. She is smart, a little to the introvert end of the spectrum and is beautiful when she smiles.  She has been in love with Jonathan Walkingstick since the day she first saw him, but can�t quite figure out how to live with him. She loves a good joke, drives a black Miata and owns a Glock 9 that she�s not shy about using. If you were in trouble, she�d help you out, then go kick the butt of whoever got you in trouble in the first place. She�s someone I�d love to have as a friend.

 

MI: How does this book/series compare to your past works?

SB: A Judgment of Whispers is the most reality based novel I�ve ever written. I use the above mentioned murder case, mixed with the autistic son of a dear friend of mine. Mostly, it�s a novel about how hard people can be on people whose only crime is being different.

MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about him/her.

SB: I�m the proud owner of Peyton Manning Bissell, a rescue pup who has grown into my 70 pound personal body guard.  Also Princess Tingaling, a rescue cat. If Peyton were human he�d drive a pickup, drink Pabst beer and wear an orange Tennessee baseball cap. If Ting were human she�d sit on a throne and eat caviar with a little spoon. We have some fun times at our house.

Sallie and Peyton Manning Bissell

MI: If you don�t have a pet, do you have a favorite animal?

SB: I can�t think of an animal I don�t like, but I have a particular fondness for elephants and horses. Elephants because they are amazingly smart but overly hunted; horses because I�ve ridden them all my life. Animals, I think, behave far more decently than most humans.  I make a point not to hurt them in my books.

MI: What food could you live off of for the rest of your life?

SB: Pizza. Hot for dinner, cold for breakfast. It�s all good!

MI: Do you have a favorite recipe?

SB: There�s a pie we eat in Tennessee called Chess Pie. I got my grandmother�s recipe for it before she died, but I think she forgot a few key ingredients. Mine has never come out as good as hers did. I don�t make it often, since it has about ten million calories a slice.

MI: What�s your favorite part about being an Inker?

SB: Writing stories that people get excited about! The long haul of writing�the sitting down and working for hours and weeks and months is a lot like shouting down a well. It�s lonely, isolating and has driven braver folks than me over the edge. To have colleagues who care about your work and are looking forward to the next rabbit you pull out of your hat makes things a lot more fun!

A Judgment of Whispers is available online and in bookstores now!

Midnight Ink | Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Your local bookstore

Visit Sallie online here.

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Q A with Maegan Beaumont!

This week, we sat down with Maegan Beaumont, author of the Sabrina Vaughn Novels. Her latest thriller, Promises to Keep, is out now!

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing?

Maegan Beaumont: Geez . . . a long time. My first real writing memory is from the third grade. I was 10 and entered a story I�d written into my school�s Young Author�s program. I lost to my cousin which stung like a mother. I still think about it.

MI: If you weren�t a writer, what would you be doing?

MB: I�d be a forensic psychologist. Why is a question I�ve always wanted to be able to answer.

MI: If you have a job outside of writing, what is it?

MB: I�m a stay-at-home mom of four so, my days are pretty busy. I start at 5:30 a.m. and don�t close my eyes until sometime around midnight.

MI: What is/are your favorite thing/s to do when you�re not writing or working?

MB: Reading is at the top of the list. We spend a lot time with friends and family. It�s summer and fruit season is in full-swing so I�m canning jams and jellies like there�s no tomorrow.

MI: Who is your favorite mystery sleuth and why?

MB: I really like Brenna Spector from Alison Gaylin�s Brenna Spector series. She�s wonderfully complex and doesn�t let much stop her. I like that in a female protag.

MI: Do you have a favorite murder case from a book (either yours or another author�s)?

MB: The book I�m writing right now (Sabrina�s fourth installment) is developing in some pretty interesting way. The murders involve some religious elements that I find fascinating and there are some twists that even I didn�t see coming!

MI: What was your inspiration for this series?

MB: I think my inspiration for Sabrina and co. comes from what interests me. I�ve always been intrigued by murder�what drives a person to commit it and how it effects the people it leaves behind.

MI: How does this book compare to your past works?

MB: Promises to Keep is a different sort of book from both Carved in Darkness and Sacrificial Muse. The most obvious difference is that Sabrina isn�t my main protagonist�Michael is. PtK is very much his book. We finally get a chance to see where he comes from and the events of this life that lead up to the death of his sister and ultimately, what leads him back into Sabrina�s life. Genre-wise, I�d say PtK is more of a suspense, rather than a thriller. We know who the bad guys are�its figuring out how they all fit together that�s the mystery.

MI: Are any of your characters influenced by people you know?

MB: I think most of my characters share personality traits with people I know. There are parts of Sabrina, that if I look at them objectively, I can see in myself� but if you want blatant personality hijacking, there is a character in Sacrificial Muse based on a friend of mine�name and everything. When mutual friends read SM, they always call or message me to say, holy cow, you nailed him!

MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about him/her.

MB: So. Many. Pets.

We have six dogs�the smallest being a 4-pound toy poodle named Sadie and the largest being a 70-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback named Jade. We also have chickens�last count at 15�and yes, they all have names. We live on a few acres so, there�s plenty of room for everyone.

Jade and Zoe

Sadie

Some of Maegans chickens...

MI: If you don�t have a pet, do you have a favorite animal?

MB: I�m a dog person for sure. If you�re talking exotic animals, I�m partial to lions. We have a big cat park here in Arizona called Out of Africa. In high school, I was set to enter into their volunteer training program but before I could start, there were some land issues and they had to re-locate to a northern part of the state. A thirty-minute drive had suddenly turned into a 3-hour trek so, I had to drop out. I�m still bummed about that one.

MI: What food could you live off of for the rest of your life?

MB: This is probably really boring but I love a good sandwich. They�re easy to make and the possibilities are endless.

MI: Do you have a favorite recipe?

MB: It�s a toss-up between my pumpkin squares and my saut�ed Brussel sprouts. Both recipes have been published, so you know they�re good! I also make and can my own BBQ sauce from a recipe I developed a few years ago.

MI: What�s your favorite part about being an Inker?

MB: My favorite part of Inker-hood is being affiliated with such a fantastic bunch of writers. So much talent and such a willingness to share what they know. I wear my ink spot proudly!

Promises to Keep is available online and in bookstores now!

Midnight Ink | Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Your local bookstore

Visit Maegan Beaumont online.

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Q A with Deirdre Verne

This week, we sat down with Deirdre Verne, debut author of Drawing Conclusions, which was released last month!

 

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Q A with Loretta Ross

This week, we sat down with Loretta Ross, whose debut Death and the Redheaded Woman was released last month.

Loretta Ross

MI: How does it feel to have your first book published?

Fidget

Julius

LR: This question doesnt really apply to me, but I love all animals, though Id just as soon love bitey reptiles from the other side of a television screen. Especially the ones that are big enough to consider me a snack, like alligators and boa constrictors.

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Q A with Jess Lourey

This week we sat down with Jess Lourey, the author of one of our longest-running critically-acclaimed series, the Murder-by-Month mysteries. Her latest, February Fever, was released earlier this month!

Jesss kids

Jess and her boyfriend

Juni

MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about him/her.

 

Pick up February Fever online and in bookstores now! 

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Q A with C S Challinor!

This week, we sat down with C.S. Challinor, author of the Rex Graves Mysteries. Her latest, Murder Comes Calling, is out now!

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing?
C.S. Challinor: I was a freelance writer in the mid-nineties, writing for Florida lifestyle and real estate publications and selling short fiction to US and UK magazines. I started writing full-time and full-length works in 2006, when I came out of new home/community sales.

MI: What influence have other authors had on your writing?

CSC: Ive probably absorbed a lot from such mystery writers as Christie and Simenon, since thats what I read a lot of growing up in Great Britain and France outside of the classics we studied in school. I like Agathas smooth, unpretentious style and Simenons atmosphere and humanity in his Maigret novels.

MI: If you weren�t a writer, what would you be doing?

CSC: Real estate, which I still do a bit of...

MI: If you have a job outside of writing, what is it?

CSC: Resale: Listing and buying for friends and family.

MI: What are your favorite things to do when you�re not writing or working?CSC: Reading, of course! Movies, playing guitar, live music, traveling, gardening, home improvement.
 
MI: Who is your favorite mystery sleuth and why?
CSC: Well, its not Lord Peter Wimsey or Holmes, or even Miss Marple, great creations as they are. Id have to say, probably, Poirot. Theres just no forgetting the fastidious little Belgian sleuth!

MI: Do you have a favorite murder case from a book (either yours or another author�s)?
CSC: The most riveting fictional police procedural Ive read so far is Mr. Hillary Waughs "Last Seen Wearing," published in 1952. Its about a college freshman who goes missing from her dorm. Check it out!

MI: What was your inspiration for the Rex Graves series?
CSC: I really have no idea! I had decided to write a mystery, and Rex Graves, QC, just came to me, complete with name, appearance, and personality. I thought a Scottish barrister might be fun. I lived in Edinburgh for seven of my most formative years, and still go back. Its a beautiful, historic city and I enjoy employing settings from there, for instance, Ramsay Garden, which features quite prominently in my forthcoming novel. 

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