Interview with mystery author Joylene Nowell Butler

I have mystery author Joylene Nowell Butler back for a new interview and to help me kick off a new month. She has a thriller/psychological mystery that releases today titled, Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries.

Bio:

Joylene is the author of two suspense thrillers, Dead Witness and Broken But Not Dead, and a steampunk collaboration, Break Time. She lives with her husband and their two cats Marbles and Shasta on Cluculz Lake in central British Columbia in the log/stick house they designed and built. In her spare time Joylene teaches T’chi, goes paddling on the lake, and picks wild berries for her smoothie concoctions. She and her husband spend their winters in Bucerias, Nayarit.

Welcome back, Joylene. Please tell us about your current release.

A murder enveloped in pain and mystery...

When Canada's retired Minister of National Defense, Leland Warner, is murdered in his home, the case is handed to Corporal Danny Killian, an aboriginal man tortured by his wife's unsolved murder.

The suspect, 60-year-old Sally Warner, still grieves for the loss of her two sons, dead in a suicide/murder eighteen months earlier. Confused and damaged, she sees in Corporal Killian a friend sympathetic to her grief and suffering and wants more than anything to trust him.

Danny finds himself with a difficult choice—indict his prime suspect, the dead minister's horribly abused wife or find a way to protect her and risk demotion. Or worse, transfer away from the scene of his wife’s murder and the guilt that haunts him...

What inspired you to write this book?

When the prequel to Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries was released, I thought that was the end to the characters. But Sally Warner wouldn't leave me alone. She had a story to tell, which I tried to ignore. She hounded me for over four months, until one day I thought, what the heck, let's see what she has to say. Apparently, she had a lot to say. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked. It was a challenge writing the story of a woman losing her grip on reality, and I remember being excited and nervous about where she would lead me.

Excerpt from Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries:

After the meeting with the deacons' wives had ended, I finally took the sedative my doctor gave. I'm only now waking up. There is a strange hush, and it envelops me. Light drifts like butterflies across the semidarkness in front of my eyes. My blouse is stuck to my skin. I sit up, reach around, and struggle to untangle it. A moment passes before I remember where I am and why I'm here. Leland is dead. On a slab at the morgue. Alone. In the dark. Cold.

I shiver.

Should I be there?

And do what? Hold his hand?

My first pregnancy, I carried the baby five months. I lost her in the middle of a hot July night, and I woke screaming—the pain, excruciating, as if someone had reached a hand through my back and ripped her out of me. Leland carried me to the car. He cried with me later when the doctor tried to explain why. A beautifully formed, perfect baby girl. Dead. No reason.

"No one's fault," our doctor said. "These things happen."

I looked up through my tears. Leland stood over me. I thought he hated me. "Our sweet baby girl. It's not my fault, Leland. It isn't."

"Of course not—I know that."

Did he? I'm trying to remember what he looked like, what his eyes said.

I was beautiful when we met. He wooed me despite me making it clear that he wasn't my type. I planned to marry a doctor. I didn't say it outright, at least not to Leland; but my girlfriends knew. We were all looking for husbands among the medical students. A lawyer? No thanks.

He kept wooing me. And why not? I was young and full of life. Charming. And funny. Can't tell you how many times friends told me I should do stand-up comedy. Like Carol Burnett, only much prettier.

Their assumptions were sweet, although being prettier than Carol Burnett wouldn’t take much. It doesn’t matter, though, audiences terrify me. I discovered that when I tried out for the part of Maria in the West Side Story, and I clammed up on stage. Which was a shame because I was small, but I had range and volume. I surprised them at the University Theatre.

Leland promised me an exciting life. He knew he would be an important man one day. Maybe even Prime Minister. How could I resist such temptation?

He changed after we lost our baby girl. He was gentle, kind, and thoughtful during the difficult weeks that followed, but slowly the kindness ended. He turned distant. He stopped talking to me. Over time, I might have pushed him away with my nattering. Every chance I had I told him I wasn't to blame. Goodness, as if he would know whether it was my fault or not. Leland was no doctor.

He never accused me. Even when I lost three pregnancies after Bronson, he never accused me of being faulty or broken, or any of the other reasons I invented on my own. When Bronson and Declan died so violently, he never once insinuated or implied I was to blame for their deaths, either. Before they died, yes, he reminded me that my pathetic life was my own doing. After they died, he started talking again. He liked me again. Ohmigosh. This past year was the happiest time of my life. I'm just realizing that now. Is it any wonder I'm confused?

What exciting story are you working on next?

Shattered, a suspense novel set in Vancouver, BC and London, UK. Jason Sinclair witnesses his wife, Brigitte, being run down by a vehicle late one night in Gastown, a few weeks after she had returned from a business trip to England. He soon discovered that she had sent flowers to a British client because she believed her sister had run over his dog. Jason can't rest until he finds out if there's a connection. He hires P.I. Michael Canaday (Dead Witness), and they fly to the UK to investigate whether something happened while Brigitte was there. Jason has no idea what he's up against. These aren't ordinary killers; they know enough to take Canaday out of commission first.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When my second novel was accepted by a publisher. I self-published Dead Witness on at a time when that was still looked upon as pathetic and distasteful. Thankfully, that's no longer the case.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I work full-time at writing and blogging. I'm an administrative for IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group). Besides working on my manuscripts, I write articles for the IWSG newsletter, help with the website, and assist with writing contests that involved publishing the winning short stories each year. I'm also an active member of a Canadian writers group. I try to take weekends off, but so far that hasn't worked. When I'm not writing, I teach T'chi, go for 5 km bike ride every morning, walk on the beach, cook, garden, and watch my favourite show when it airs: Masters of Flip. Twice a month, my husband and I have a date for a movie at the theatre an hour from our home.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I write at a desk in our dining room in front of a large window facing south, which looks over Cluculz Lake. There are two stacks of filing tubs beside me. On the top is a small basket where my old cat Marbles sleeps while I'm working. Every once in a while, he'll stretch out a paw and taps me on the arm, a hint he needs pats. I'm left typing one-handed while his purrs sound like a sewing machine until he falls back to sleep. What's amazing is I write my best stuff during those moments.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an actor. I thought it would be fun to pretend to be a cowboy with a six-shooter, or a British detective working from Scotland Yard, or a spy, or a FBI agent, a pathologist, a fighter pilot—I was a tom-girl from the get-go. Acting wasn't in my cards, but that's okay. As a writer, I'm a god; I get to invent the characters and the story.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Thanks so much for having me as your guest today, Lisa. As an advocate for authors, you have made a huge difference in our biosphere. Thank you for all you do.

To pay it forward, if any of your readers are struggling writers who need help with writing related issues, please tell them to check out our resources at IWSG. They can also email me with questions at cluculzwriter at yahoo dot ca.

Links:

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks, Joylene!

Book excerpt for Game On by Tara C. MacDonald

Today's post for contemporary romance Game On! Never to Love and Never to Love is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author, Tara C. MacDonald will be awarding a print of local art by artist Wendy Beaver of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (North American addresses only). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Game On! Never to Part and Never to Love is an e-book with two short stories. Never to Part features Ryan almost getting run over by Sam at a bar one night. They see each other again as Ryan's hockey team is hiring her marketing firm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. What can these two confused overachievers do when love strikes. Never to Love brings us to Halifax again where James and Sarah bump heads in a business deal to help out his motocross sponsorship prospects. Will they be able to put business aside and commit to their passions?

Enjoy an excerpt from Never to Love:
James walked into the sports bar after parking his Harley and ordered a Guinness. He silently raised his glass to his ex-fiancée and her cheating ways before gulping it down.

“Another.” He tipped the bartender, a man with his eyes on the local hockey channel.

After the second one he stopped himself and wiped foam from his upper lip as he smelled expensive perfume. He watched as a blond beauty swung open an office door at the back and he heard her heels click as she descended upon the bartender. She tossed her hair and gestured wildly but the old man was ignoring her with his arms crossed. His cronies kept their eyes on the game. James glanced around and realized he was the only one in there. Maybe she was the waitress? His stomach growled and he raised his arm.

“Hey. What’s a guy got to do to get some food around here?”

The blonde turned and gripped the bar rails.

“Sir.” Her voice was like ice. “I am not the waitress. Mike here can let the cook know what you want.”

He frowned at her tone. “Well, you’re here now. I’d like some wings. Hot barbeque. And a poutine. You do that here?”

Her blue eyes seemed to be made of crystal. She took a step forward. Sensing he’d gone too far but unwilling to show his throat to any female, he watched as she shook in rage.

“I got it, son. Sarah, go take a load off, eh? You’re ruining the game,” said the bartender casually without making eye contact.

“There’s no point anymore, Dad,” she muttered. Her shoulders slumped as she turned back to the office she came from.

About the author:

Author Tara C. MacDonald holds a B.A. English Literature from Trent University and has been a member of Romance Writers of America since 2008. Other writing groups such as Scribe Wenches, Romance Writers of Nova Scotia and other RWA chapters have helped her learn her craft. She believes in the hope that romance can bring and reads avidly. Her first published work was as a Co-Author in a non-fiction book called "Succeeding Through Doubt, Fear & Crisis" August 2014 with the eWomenNetwork publishing program.

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Buy the book at Kobo.

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Interview with contemporary romance author Annette Bower

Today's guest is contemporary romance author Annette Bower who is here to talk about her new novel Moving On-A Prairie Romance.

Annette is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to a lucky commentor during the tour. Details follow the interview.

Bio:
Annette Bower lives and writes in Regina, SK Canada. She is an author of many short stories published in anthologies and magazines in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. She explores women in families, women in communities and women at the beginning and end of love and their quest for love. She pursues the writing craft in workshops, conferences, Writing with Style, Banff Centre for the Arts, Victoria School of Writing, Sage Hill Writing Experience, the Surrey International Writing Conferences and the Romance Writing of America Conferences. 

When she isn’t writing she walks or bikes around the streets and parks in her neighborhood imagining complex worlds behind seemingly ordinary events.

Her first contemporary romance, Moving On-A Prairie Romance is published by XoXo Publishing a division of Ninni Group Inc. 

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Annette. Please tell us about your current release.

Moving On-A Prairie Romance is a sweet contemporary romance novel in most ways and in others it is a relationship novel. One reader suggests that the novel explores the redemptive power of affection where Nick and Anna learn to trust and hope after their separate tragedies.

This story is set in the resort community of Regina Beach, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is small town in the fall, winter and spring but in the summer it grows to at least ten times the population with part time residents and visitors. Anna arrives in the spring and Nick is back in the community in the spring, the time for new growth. 

Because Anna has lived in a large city she needs to learn to live in a community where people notice where your vehicle is parked at night, what kind of bread you purchase, and when your lights turn out. Nick is familiar with the pros and cons of a small community. He left for the adventure of the armed forces but while in the war zone he remembered the deep rich earth he had left behind. With Anna he begins to dream of a life he thought he didn’t want in a small community close to the earth.

We follow Nick and Anna on their emotional journey in the town with Margaret and Herman Lamb Anna’s neighbors and Nick’s good friends.    

What inspired you to write this book?

I have been interested in the state of being a widow ever since I met my mother-in-law. She was widowed young as was her sister. I wanted to understand them so I read about the grieving process. Also when I was a nurse, I worked in rehabilitation units and with patients who lost limbs who grieved the life that changed when a prosthetic device or mobility aid was introduced into their lives.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m gathering visual clues for my next novel. I’m noticing pictures and articles. I have a real image of a limousine pulling up to the curve outside my condo building and a stiletto emerged followed by a leg covered in nylon. I stopped and waited to see who this might be. I would like to use this image in my next story.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

To be absolutely honest the first time I really considered that I was becoming a writer was when Colleen Sell from Cup of Comfort for Mother’s and Sons accepted my short story. Up until that time I had short stories published in smaller magazines and anthologies but this was a book that was going to be available on book shelves in many cities across Canada and the United States and perhaps beyond.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Writing is what I do and many days it is an eight hour day. But those hours are broken up. I may write in the morning, break for appointments or lunch or a walk. Then I write in the afternoon and sometimes it is the hours after dinner that are the most productive.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

When I’m beginning a story I still like to use my fountain pen and paper to do the opening page or two. I like feeling connected between my hand rhythm and the paper as my hand slides across the page. If I’m stuck, I will bring out the pen and paper again.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was in grade 3, my friends and I would go to the convent and call on our teacher after lunch. Then we’d all walk back to the school together. I remember one day my friends all seemed to be saying, “I want to be a nun when I grow up.” I thought about it for a minute and said, “I want to be a nurse, isn’t that great that they both start with ‘n’.”

I became the nurse but I also wrote. I took creative writing courses whenever I could.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Even though writing is my passion it is also hard work for me. I admire writers who make their writing look effortless because they are very good at what they do. I’m still working very hard at making my writing appear effortless but some days it is a real grind. 

I enjoy chatting with readers and can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks, Annette.

Readers, don't forget, Annette is awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to All Romance eBooks to one randomly drawn commentor. So leave your e-mail address with your comment if you'd like a chance to win. Also, you can follow the tour and comment on other stops to increase your chances of winning.

Interview with middle-grade authors Kristin Johnson and Samuel DiMatteo

Today's fun interview is with middle-grade authors Kristin Johnson and Samuel DiMatteo to talk about their new book The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter.

Bios:
Samuel DiMatteo spent 22 years as a mechanic for Proctor & Gamble. Since retiring, he has been a watercolor instructor, prize-winning photographer, poet, model maker, and Yoga Laughter Leader. He lives in River Grove, Ill.

Kristin Johnson is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Master’s in Professional Writing program. She is an author, journalist, screenwriter, and award-winning poet/short story writer whose stage productions have been honored by the Palm Springs Desert Theatre League. She lives in Hawaii.

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews! Please tell us about your current release.
Kristin: Samuel, or “Sami,” as I know him, is an extremely dynamic man who had an unusual idea for a children’s book, and contacted the writing agency I work with seeking help on the book, to add character development and dialogue. The story just grabbed me right away. It centers around a silly, wacky family of geese living in River Village, Illinois.

Samuel: My hometown is River Grove, Illinois, and while there aren’t any wacky geese there except for me, there are many interesting people who in one way or another appear as characters in the book. The DeMani family, which I created for this book, is as real to me as my own family.

Kristin: It’s like the talking-goose talking-turtle talking-squirrel version of “Everybody Loves Raymond” --Ray Barone is a sportswriter, and our hero Sami DeMani is a gander with the dream of being a world champion professional golfer on the Waterfowl Tour. We even have a sportscaster squirrel, Harry Bradford--inspired by commentators Howard Cosell and Terry Bradshaw.

Samuel: There is a love story, there is adventure, and there is a mystery, plus the high-tech putter of the title. Sami DeMani is a smaller-than-average gander teased by the bullies in his flock on account of his size, but his enemies are secretly jealous that the crowd loves his golfing performance. His sisters and parents are singers and dancers, so he is the only one in his family that wants to be a golfer…until his nephew is born. The rest of the family is supportive but wacky—the bullies in the flock also torment them because of their oddness. Sami wants to become a golf champion more than anything else in order to help his family, and to prove himself worthy of his true love, Polly Zee, a singer who gives Sami “goose bumps”.

What inspired you to write this book?
Samuel: As I wrote in my Senior Lifestyle Expo Generation Writing Challenge essay, in the spring of 2002, a television sportscaster reported that a goose was collecting golf balls on a golf course.

I asked myself questions about this goose’s strange behavior. Why was she collecting golf balls?

My guess was she got hit in the head with a golf ball. I wondered what the members of her flock thought about her behavior. I noted that the flock wiggled, waggled, giggled, gaggled, and laughed. Does she have a family? How many in her family? What if one of these golf balls hatched?

These questions intrigued me, so I decided to write a story for a book about golf and a family of strange and silly geese. I planned to write a fable for junior golfers eight to ten. I titled the book The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter. The television report was the start of a dream, a dream that took eight years of writing to complete.

My motivations for writing the book were to entertain kids, to leave a legacy, and to face a challenge.

Kristin: I loved the idea of the story the minute the agency I work with, The Happy Guy Marketing, sent me Sami’s information. I just fell in love with golfing geese, because I grew up around Canada geese and around golfers.

Samuel: We have a great writing partnership. In football parlance, when I throw her the ball (an idea), she makes positive yardages.

Kristin: Maybe we should do a football story too!

What exciting story are you working on next?
Kristin: I typically have several projects going at once, but Sami and I are plotting the sequel to The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter. The working title is Polly and the Pirates, and it answers the question, “Where was Sami’s love when she was presumed dead?”

Samuel: There are two stories in Polly and the Pirates. One is Polly's adventures, and the other is Sami and the DeMani family.

Kristin: Sami and the DeMani family have their own adventures brewing…

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Samuel: I am a poet and I write silly songs like “Santa’s Going High-Tech”. I decided writing a story for a book would be an extreme challenge for me. I failed English 101 in college. During the next eight years events delayed or moved the writing forward. There were periods of writers block, and the lack of finances that delayed progress. Joining Mather Lifeways helped speed up the writing.

The staff and members graciously provided computer help. I met my illustrator and friend James Borgett at Mather. I needed help with the writing so I hired a co-writer, Kristin Johnson, a real blessing.

Kristin: And Sami is a blessing as well!

Samuel: The published book is my dream that has come true!

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Samuel: I’m retired from Procter & Gamble, and now I’m a full-time artist, poet, and photographer, but I show my artwork at places such as Mather Lifeways and in Chicago. I volunteer as a Laughter Yoga Leader. I write poetry and silly songs for children and, of course, stories about Sami.

Kristin: I would like to be a Laughter Yoga leader one day, but I’m thrilled beyond belief to be writing full time from Hawaii, my home, or wherever my travels take me.

Many of my clients like Sami live in different US time zones, with the bulk of them concentrated in the Eastern Standard Time zone. I also have several clients in Europe and the Middle East. Unfortunately, none in Asia where one of our key characters, Yori Turtle, is from. I modeled his personality on some of my friends who live in Asia.

In any case, many of my clients are several hours ahead so I am typically up and writing, or communicating with clients, by 7 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. My workday varies (with walks on the beach, etc.—great for thinking about stories) but I usually fit in six to eight hours of writing, research, Skype/phone calls, and messaging back and forth. Situations are always changing, opportunities opening up—my research on a different project took me to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Central Java in Indonesia. I wrote a travel blog about my experiences, which helped increase my writing output.

My time zone will change yet again when I go where the wild goose goes...

Samuel (singing): “I Must Go Where the Wild Goose Goes…” I pictured the book as a movie and thought of opening it with that very song by Frankie Laine.

Kristin: ...in Canada! Where I’ll be spending several months….when you are snowed in, that’s great incentive to write…although looking at the beach is also inspiring.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Sami: Again, my silly songs!

Kristin: Writing ideas on paper on the beach or in a Japanese garden. Creating iTunes playlists when I’m working on a project, or watching reality TV (like “Mob Wives”) to get ideas for character conflict. Naturally, I did not draw on reality TV to write The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Kristin: A ballerina or a marine biologist in addition to being a writer. I’ve written since childhood.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Kristin: I received a lovely Christmas present in December 2010. Some of Sami’s family was taking a cruise to Hawaii, and the ship docked in my hometown, so Sami was eager for me to meet them.

Samuel: They are very creative people and they wanted to meet Kristin.

Kristin: I still have the Christmas crafts they brought me! That’s what I love about writing and collaborating—experiencing people I never would have met otherwise. Lisa, thanks for having us as guests on your blog today.

Sami (singing): Goose bumps, goose bumps, Lisa’s blog gives me goose bumps….

Thank you two for making an appearance on my blog. This has been a fun interview, and my first with songs, I think! Happy Writing!