Review of And Grant You Peace by Kate Flora

And Grant You Peace

by Kate Flora
Mystery/Police Procedural

Reviewed by Lisa Haselton

The fourth Joe Burgess Mystery is coming soon, but I was able to read an advance readers copy and here's what I thought about the novel.

It was breath taking. Literally. I felt I was on Burgess' shoulder throughout the story (at one time I even thought about ducking behind Burgess so I wouldn't get shot). It wasn't just the fast-paced, crisp writing that had me feeling that way, it was the scenarios the cast of characters found themselves in and the immense attention to detail shared with the reader.

Author Kate Flora likes to get the details right and she spends a lot of time with on-the-job officers asking questions, doing ride-a-longs, and getting hands-on experience to do just that.

One scene in particular will stick with me - without giving away all the details, I'll just say it was a scene with off-duty officers encountering an unpleasant situation. The scene was so well written that I saw it clearly and my heart raced as the officers took things second by second. And that's not saying the scene was drawn out, it wasn't, it was written so the reader was in the moment with the characters. And Flora was able to do that because of her research. What really struck me is that Flora didn't stop the scene until the officers were out of the situation and able to take a breath, think about what happened, and basically say 'oh shit, that just happened.'

I can't think of another novel where I've been with officers after an incident -- it's usually, wham-bam-slam and racing off to the next bad guy. This novel is akin to a-few-days-in-the-life-with-an-actual-on-the-job-detective in Portland, Maine.

I don't know how I haven't read the earlier Burgess books, but now I have to. This worked well as a standalone, obviously, and I don't feel I'm missing out on anything, but I'm curious to see how Burgess has changed over the course of the novels. 

Along with the Joe Burgess gritty police procedurals, Flora’s 12 books include the Thea Kozak mysteries, and her true crime books, Finding Amy and Death Dealer (which I reviewed last month). When she’s not writing, or teaching at Grub Street in Boston, she’s in her garden, waging a constant battle against critters, pests, and her husband’s lawnmower. 

I wasn't quite as exhausted as Joe Burgess by the time I finished the novel, but I was close. The writing is so well done that I was in the moment with the character through all 330 pages. I can not imagine being a police officer or detective where a phone call can change your life so incredibly quickly. I need some structure to my day and know that I will be able to eat when I want, take breaks when I want, and most importantly sleep when I need to. I'm hoping Joe Burgess and his team have some downtime now before the next phone call!

This is an exciting read, but make sure to have the seat belt secured before opening the book.

If you’re interested in learning more about Kate, her fiction or non-fiction, visit her website, or check out her posts on the Maine Crime Writers blog. 

Release date: October 22, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4328-2939-1

Publisher: Five Star; A part of Gale, Cengage Learning

(I received an ARC of this book with no promise of a review of any kind.)

Live chat/interview with mystery author Paul Doiron

The Writer's Chatroom presents Edgar-nominated mystery author Paul Doiron.

WHEN?

Sunday, April 15, 2012

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The Writers Chatroom at: http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm

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Live chat/interview with mystery & true crime author Kate Flora

The Writer's Chatroom presents mystery and true crime author Kate Flora.

WHEN?

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Eastern USA Time.....7-9 PM

Not sure what time that is wherever in the world you are? http://www.worldtimeserver.com

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The Writers Chatroom at: http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm

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Interview with mystery novelist Kate Flora

Today's interviewee is multi-genre (but mostly mystery) writer Kate Flora. She's mostly talking about the Redemption: A Joe Burgess mystery the 3rd novel in her Portland, Maine-based police procedural series which is releasing in March.

Kate is the guest of honor this Sunday night (March 4) at Writer's Chatroom from 7-9PM EST. Feel free to stop on in and join the conversation. No password or registration needed. Writer's Chatroom is a 5-time winner of Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers.

Bio:
Attorney Kate Flora’s twelve books include seven Thea Kozak mysteries, three gritty police procedurals including The Angel of Knowlton Park, a suspense thriller, Steal Away, written as Katharine Clark, and a true crime, Finding Amy, which was a 2007 Edgar nominee and has been optioned for a movie.

Her current projects include Death Dealer, a true crime involving a Canadian serial killer, co-writing two memoirs, a screenplay, and a novel in linked stories. Flora’s short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including the Sara Paretsky edited collection, Sisters on the Case. She is a former editor and publisher at Level Best Books, former international president of Sisters in Crime, and a founding member of the New England Crime Bake Mystery Conference. Her story, “All that Glitters” appears in Dead Calm, and her story, “Bone China” in the crime story anthology Dead of Winter.

Welcome, Kate. Please tell us about your current release.
Here’s the review from Booklist, which does a pretty good job:

When Detective Sergeant Joe Burgess of the Portland (Maine) Police Department finds his friend Reggie Libby drowned in the harbor, he is determined to bring the killer to justice. Reggie, a Vietnam vet who was mentally ill and had fallen on hard times, had apparently started a new job recently. Joe and his colleagues work to determine his place of employment and his movements before his death by interviewing Reggie’s fellow streetpeople and his relatives, including his vindictive former wife and indifferent son. On the home front, Joe’s live-in girlfriend wants to adopt two foster children, and Joe doesn’t feel ready to be a parent. As always, Joe immerses himself in his case, causing problems in his personal life. Framed by the challenges streetpeople face in large cities, this compelling, fast-paced police procedural offers a complex plot, rich with details of conducting a murder investigation and insight into the rigors of the cop’s life. — Sue O'Brien

What inspired you to write this book?
The first Joe Burgess was inspired by all the time I ended up spending with police officers, doing research for my Thea Kozak mysteries. I wanted to explore the police officers’ reality in more detail. I also wanted to set my new series in Portland, which is a city I’m fond of, as a proud 'Maine-iac'. For this third mystery, I wanted to explore the tension between Burgess’s dedication to detective work and his desire to live a more normal life with his girlfriend, Chris. Ratcheting up that tension was getting Burgess involved in investigating the death of a Vet, and friend, who never recovered from his experiences in Vietnam. The inspiration for the plot came, in part, from wondering what the effect of our poorly planned, unwinnable conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq was on those who had seen, and suffered from, another such war. That led me to the character of Reggie the Can Man. And the title, Redemption, a double play on the ultimate effect of the investigation for Burgess and others, and the fact that the place where cans and bottles are turned in for money is called a redemption center. At the heart of all my books are issues of greed, and lies, and what it is that allows some people to deviate from the social contract we’ve all committed to.

What exciting story are you working on next?
Actually, Lisa, I’m going in about three different directions right now. I’ve just done the final tweaks on a second true crime that I’ve been working on for about five years. Now I will have to sell it—NOT an exciting story. Then, back in the fall, I started working with some incredible people on their memoirs--one individual, and one family—and the stories are so powerful and compelling. One is an international child abduction, the other a 25-year memoir of a retired Maine Game Warden. And as though that weren’t complicated enough…I’m trying to carve out time for a final edit on a suspense novel that needs work. And I just decided to write the eighth Thea Kozak mystery, Death Warmed Over, which I’ve been carrying in the back of my head for about four years.

Overwhelming. Exciting. Wow!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Some time after I finished my third or fourth mystery (I have three still stuck in the drawer) I began to admit that I was hooked. I don’t think I ever put “writer” instead of “lawyer” on a form asking for employment, until I’d published my third book. I always figured that it would suddenly go away. It’s a hard thing to trust. However, in my heart, I knew I was a writer, which is what sustained me through my ten years in the unpublished writer’s corner.

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 write full time, sorta. That is, I don’t have a day job. But, like many writers who don’t have a lot of income, I also teach, and do manuscript consults.

Since “discipline” is among my favorite words, coming, somewhat ironically, right after “imagination,” I try to be in my chair with the time-wasters: e-mail, facebook, blog checking, ebay, and Scrabble all done, by 7:30 or 8:00. Then I write until my back starts to hurt, and go do stretches, take a walk, do laundry, run to the P.O. and grocery store, and then back in the chair for another few hours. Another one of my favorite words is “obsession.”

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Golly…what an interesting question, Lisa. I’m not sure that I have one. Perhaps, recently, that I’ve figured out that when I’m stuck in a chapter or a scene, I can grab the sticky bit out of it, start a new file, and just play around, giving my characters their heads to see what they will do. It’s great for getting unstuck, making new discoveries, finding interesting dialogue etc.

Or maybe my quirk involves shoes. When I’m stuck and frustrated, sometimes I go buy shoes. The upside of this is that I only buy second hand, so I can indulge on a writer’s income. The downside is that I own too many shoes. Anyone who wears a size 7 and feels in need of a box of shoes might want to get in touch with me.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer. Of course.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Always a great, and difficult question. Recently, in the writing world, the question of “branding” floats around a lot. Building a publishing platform, and identifying and protecting and promoting a writer’s particular brand. So recently, I blogged about this, and I’ve been giving it some thought…and I still come down to this: It’s awfully hard to identify a particular brand when I write strong women amateur PI mysteries, police procedurals with male protagonists, short stories, and true crime. And now, it seems, memoir. But what I think I’ve figured out is that all my work, what draws me to the stories that I write, whether fiction, nonfiction, or a collaboration, is the ripple effect. What are the stories of those left behind—the family members, the public safety professionals, etc.

But I don’t really know if that’s a brand. I just know it’s where my interest lies.


Thank you so much for being here Kate. And I look forward to hosting you as a guest this Sunday at Writer's Chatroom where we can expand on this interview and take questions from the audience.

Interview with writer Maureen Milliken

Today's guest is multi-faceted writer Maureen Milliken to talk about her non-fiction book, The Afterlife Survey, as well as her fiction writing.

Maureen, welcome to Reviews and Interviews. Please tell us about your current release.
The Afterlife Survey looks at that eternal question: What comes next? But it doesn’t come up with an answer, yes there’s an afterlife, no there isn’t. Rather, it asks a cross section of people what they think. It’s based on a Pew Forum survey from 2009 that found 79 percent of Americans believe in an afterlife, which is up from years past, but many don’t believe in the traditional heaven and hell that they grew up with. In fact, only 59 percent believe in hell. So we asked everyone from the CEO to the dog sitter what they think.

I was really impressed by the variety of answers I got and the thought the responders put into them.

What inspired you to write this book?
I was asked to write it by the publisher, Adams Media. They didn’t want a book that took a specific ideological stance, rather they wanted one that examined what people think. They thought an experienced journalist would be best to get the right take, and I approached it as a journalist. I hope that anyone reading the book doesn’t come away from it thinking about the writer’s point of view, but rather thinking about their own beliefs. One thing I discovered while writing it is that many people really haven’t thought about this a lot and the survey prompted them to ask questions about their life they hadn’t considered before. I’m hoping readers will be prompted to do that, too.

Funny story about the whole process: I was asked to write the book a week after I was offered a new job in a new state. The publisher warned me the deadline was really tight. They first approached me in mid-April and the deadline was June 15.

My first instinct was to say no, because I had to sell a house, find a place to live that would also be good for my two dogs and two cats, start a new job where there was a lot of responsibility and high expectations from my new bosses, who I really felt committed to, etc. But then I said to myself, are you nuts? A publisher is going to pay you to write a book that will be published. How do you say no? You don’t. Once the contract was settled and the details ironed out, I had six or seven weeks to write it.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am also a fiction writer. I am working on getting my mystery novel, Cold Hard News, published. It’s a traditional mystery that takes place in Maine, where I live. The editor of a weekly newspaper gets more involved than she should when a fatal double shooting involving a police officer rips her small town apart. It was inspired by an incident that happened in New Hampshire, where I lived and worked for 25 years. A lot of things about that incident and its outcome made me angry, so I thought the best way to deal with that was to write my own story with an outcome that satisfied my sense of justice a little more. It’s a character-driven book, and the characters had so much to say and do that I’m already well into a sequel. Hopefully, it will be a series.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think I always did. I used to love going to bed at night, because I would rewrite my favorite TV shows in my head, making myself the hero, of course. But I would go over and over the dialogue, editing and reworking. The Mod Squad was a favorite. I also would do things like make a little family newspaper or write plays that I would force my siblings to act in. When I took a drama course at a local arts institute when I was 10, we had to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I wrote, “author.”
But being in the newspaper business for decades kind of sidetracked me, particularly after I went from being a reporter to an editor in 1993.

My epiphany came several years ago when I was telling my mother about a column I had written that got a lot of positive reader response after years of my not writing. I said something like, “It reminded me how powerful it can be to be a writer and I really need to become one.” And she said, “Well, I’ve always considered you a writer.” That made me feel good, but also a little fraudulent. So it made me start focusing on my writing, not only with the newspaper, where I was an editor most of the time, but also it made me take writing my mystery novel seriously.

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?
Full time, I am the night news editor for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, two newspapers in central Maine. That takes a lot of my time. I try to write every day, though. I have just gotten back to the sequel to Cold Hard News – its working title is "No News is Bad News" – after taking time off to write The Afterlife Survey and also take care of the chaos of moving from New Hampshire to Maine, selling a house, buying a house, and getting my feet under me in my new job.

I also blog frequently because I need an outlet for all the things I have pinging around in my brain. Sometimes I have to open the spigot and let the pressure up a little.

It’s definitely hard to find the time, but I make myself get up earlier than I normally would and remind myself that it will pay off.

I have a lot of little quotes I’ve cut out of newspapers and other places tacked up in my office at home, not so much to inspire me, but keep me focused. One of my favorites is from Thomas Edison: “Opportunity is missed most by people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.” Another is from Muhammad Ali: “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” When you have to work hard for something that you’re not getting paid for, but know it could pay off in the future, those quotes do a lot as far as getting your nose onto the grindstone.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Well, I don’t know how interesting it is. Or even quirky. But when I’m embroiled in writing a mystery novel, I have yellow legal pads and pens all over the house. They have to be those extra-long pads with the narrow lines. And they’re everywhere, even in the bathroom. And things come to me, ideas, phrases, a word construction. And I have to write it down right away before it goes away. Sometimes it takes a while to sift through them and find what I’m looking for when I sit down to write, but lots of times it’s easier to remember where I was and when I wrote down the note than the note itself. Then I find it and reread and say to myself “you’re brilliant!” or “boy do you suck!”

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Writer writer writer. Around 12 or 13 that morphed into journalist, but deep down I always intended to write mystery novels, too. I never wanted to do anything else but be a writer and journalist. I don’t know what else I could do, come to think of it.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Now that I’ve written one published book and another that I’m seeking a publisher for, I get a lot of people saying, “Wow, I always wanted to write a book. How do you do that?”

My answer always is, there’s only one way: sit down and start writing. Even if you don’t know where the story is going. You can figure that out along the way. But start writing. And really work at it. Don’t finish a first draft and think you have a book. I realized when I did an 18-month stint as an editor for an online editing service a year or two ago that a lot of people think they’re done when they’re only halfway through. It’s a lot of work and it’s important to recognize that to be successful.
Remember, opportunity is the fella in overalls.

Maureen, thanks for stopping by and talking about your writing. You sure have a lot of it in your life!

Interview with author Chloe JonPaul

Author Chloe JonPaul joins Reviews and Interviews today. She's here to talk about her writing and her book, This Business of Children.

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Chloe. Please tell us about your current release, This Business of Children.
Vera Harriss, Deidre Fletcher, Mark Pettingill, and Stu Martel are elementary school teachers in the fictional town of Blevins, Maine whose secret, private lives change dramatically as you read.

Vera, who is about to retire, vents her anger during a Board of Education meeting with a speech that brings the audience to its feet. Why does Deidre, an exceptional teacher, leave the job she loves to become a corporate trainer down South? Then there is Mark, the perennial job hunter looking for a corporate position with more prestige and pay but then turns down the perfect offer when it finally comes through. Stu, one of the most popular teachers in the school, struggles with a deep, dark secret that he can only share with Deidre. What causes Stu’s untimely death?

Vera Harriss, Dee 
Fletcher, Mark Pettingill, and Stu Martel are eager to share their intriguing secrets and entangled lives with you.

What inspired you to write this book?
I took a leave of absence for a year back in 1991 because I had had a very stressful year in the school district where I was teaching. I needed some time to regroup and think about my options. I went back to Maine where I had experienced the best teaching in my entire career and stayed with a friend. Without really planning to write a novel, I began to write and found myself creating these 4 characters almost effortlessly. At first, I thought it would be therapeutic for me but I soon realized that I wanted the world to know what teachers go through in the course of an academic year.

What exciting story are you working on next?
Actually, I don’t have anything in the works at the moment because I have 2 other manuscripts waiting on the back burner and I’m exploring the possibility of having this novel turned into a screen play.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I loved to write even as a child and I’ve been writing most of my adult life. Years ago I wrote occasional articles for newspapers and magazines but I didn’t start writing seriously until 2001. Now I have 3 published books.

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?
No, I don’t write full-time but I do maintain a schedule and fortunately, I happen to be highly organized. When I’m on a writing schedule, I allow 3-5 hours for this. Self-discipline and consistency are indispensible if you are serious about your craft.

My life is rich and full with other activities and I seem to be able to make time for everything I want to do.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t think I have any quirk to talk about unless you consider the fact that I actually trashed this novel. The friend I was staying with retrieved it telling me, “You are NOT throwing this away!” I took it back, shelved it, and went on to write 2 non-fiction books – nearly forgetting about it until I realized that everything I was reading in the news about teachers this past year and a half was in my book!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I’m sure that this will make you smile but I actually wanted to be a nun. It seems that god had other plans for me but today I am a Third Order Carmelite.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I invite your readers to visit my web site where they can take advantage of some freebies and enjoy reading portions of all three of my books.

Thank you for being here today, Chloe, and introducing yourself and your writing to us.

Review - Beach Chair Diaries by Janet E. Spurr

Get away for a few hours and delve between the virtual sandy pages for a seacoast vacation.

Beach Chair Diaries: Summer Tales from Maine to Maui brings you to the seashore, the waves, and the sunshine. From Wells Beach, Maine to the surf in Hawaii

The cover attracted me to this book first: an image of beach chair on a sandy beach in front of the surf. It reminded me of my summers at a beach house in Maine. The title caught my attention next. Beach. Chair. Diaries. All one needs to totally get away (in my opinion) is a soft-sanded beach, a comfortable chair (or blanket), and a book. And the icing on the cake is the book itself. The writing is conversational and runs the gamut on emotions. I laughed out loud in places and got lost in my own thoughts after reading passages that brought me back to my favorite beach.

There’s a bit of an ache now, for knowing how many summers I haven’t been to the beach. But there’s a renewed sense of awe and appreciation for how rejuvenating and memorable a day at the beach can be. The author had fun writing this book, it’s apparent in how she shares her passion for the beach. She wants to bring the beach to the reader, and I think she has done just that.

Janet Spurr is the quintessential Beach Queen and has surfed, boogie boarded, snorkeled, kayaked, sailboat raced against the Kennedys, motor boated, white water rafted the Kennebec River, and swum in seven of the top ten beaches in the U.S. She has lived on Nantucket Island and currently lives in a seashore community.

Beach Chair Diaries is a great, fun read any time of year. If you’ve loved being on the beach and haven’t been in a while, this will bring you back to the surf. If you’ve never been to a beach, you’ll want to plan a trip after reading this book.

Stop by the Beach Chair Diaries website to bask in the sounds of the ocean shore and learn more about the book and author.

This is a fantastic read for anyone.

Title: Beach Chair Diaries: Summer Tales from Maine to Maui
Author: Janet E. Spurr
Publisher: Falmouth Heights Books
ISBN: 978-0-9799850-4-1
Pages: 168
Price: $14.95