Guest Interview - Alyssa Lyons

Please give a warm welcome to my special guest Alyssa Lyons.

Alyssa Lyons, like her character Jordan Davis, lives in Lynchburg, Virginia. The South is her playground. Its eccentricities fuel her stories. She specializes in “Solving Crimes Southern Style.” However, unlike Jordan, she is a cat person—rather she is staff to two cats she rescued. Like most cats, they believe they were the ones doing the saving and therefore she owes them. She taught high school American history and government, worked for the CIA and is a retired attorney. Or as she is fond of saying, “I am a recovering attorney.” How did you start your writing career? After years of reading books in my favorite genres, it occurred to me I could do better, so I wrote a romance novel. Then lined the litter box that first copy and started rewriting, and rewriting and writing. Once they no longer were kitty litter liners, I bought a book on how to get a romance novel published, began to gather submission guidelines, submit over the transom, and collect rejection letters. Finally, I submitted to small press which is a better fit for my outside-the-box stories. Does travel play in the writing of your books? Not in the first two books of the Jordan Davis Mystery series. Last Wishes, which is available now, and Clubbed to Death, released in May 2011, take place in and around Lynchburg, Virginia. But the third book in the series, Stabbed and Slabbed, which will be released mid-summer 2011, takes place on a honeymoon cruise from hell. Tell us about your current release. Last Wishes: Jordan Davis Mysteries Book 1, published by Black Opal Books. Jordan Davis obeys the law when it suits her. Right now isn’t one of those times. She knows someone is out to kill women in her hometown. Could the killer be sexy Judge Grayson Trent? Or is he Jordan’s only chance of uncovering the real murderer. Tell us about your next release. Clubbed to Death: Jordan Davis Mysteries Book 2, released mid May 2011. Newly minted private detective Jordan Davis, and her new partner, her lover Gray's mother, take on a murder case—proving Jordan’s half-sister innocent of killing the President of the Junior League. As Jordan gets closer to discovering the truth, the killer is determined to see her dead and recover those three kids she and Gray are hiding. Where do you research for your books? No surprise, the Internet is a great source of factoids and details that add color, but I also travel around Lynchburg, taking photos and collecting brochures. Then too, my husband is a Lynchburg native, and his 100-year-old mother lives with us and knows where all the bodies are buried, because she’s been to all the funerals. And trust me, she loves to talk. At her age, secrets are no longer secret. Who are your books published with? The Jordan Davis Mystery series is published by Black Opal Books. They’re wonderful to work with and have great editors. And believe me when I say you are edited—three times. Their website is: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/ Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it? Yes, Alyssa Lyons is a pen name. Since I write so close to home, I prefer to keep my identity private rather than risk being ridden out of town on a rail. And if you know anything about Lynchburg, you’ll realize this is the truth, especially given I skewer all the sacred cows. What are your favorite TV shows? I like police procedurals such as The Closer, CSI, Bones, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, and Forensic Files. I also like The Big Bang Theory because it has some of the best writing on TV. I also love White Collar, Leverage, and Burn Notice. Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they? Study the market. Read extensively in the genre you want to write. I can’t tell you how many aspiring writers I’ve met who thinks they can write and sell in a genre they don’t ever read. And write. Get your manuscript finished. Unless you’re writing non-fiction, you’ll have trouble marketing an unfinished manuscript. And polish your basic grammar and spelling skills. I have worked as an editor and it shocks me how many writers have no idea about proper punctuation—particularly the use of commas—the use ellipses in lieu of commas, and the use of a homophone or malaprop instead of the word intended. Tell us about your favorite fan letter you have received. I have two. I got a letter once from a fan who chastised me because she started reading one of my books at 10pm to help her sleep and was still up reading it at 4am because it kept her so involved. My second one came from a man. He said I was one of the few female writers who really knew how to write me. Alyssa’s Blog & website: http://www.alyssalyons.com/ Read an excerpt from Last Wishes: http://www.alyssalyons.com/?page_id=32

Guest Interview - Terry Campbell

Blurb:

She’s from the twenty-first century...Thrust back in time, Frankie Mathews is the quintessential fish out of water. She’s gone from running a major money market fund to a world where women milk cows. Too bad for Frankie that the nearest she’s ever been to a cow is a “Got Milk” commercial. Now, she has to save the life a Confederate Colonel Benjamin Craig and return to her own century with him in tow, before she changes history beyond recognition—and gets killed in the process.

He’s been fighting the Civil War in 1864...To survive the Union deserters and his grasping, widowed sister-in-law, Ben needs Frankie’s quick thinking and never-give-up attitude that comes from her independence as a 21st Century woman.

But can the two lovers span the centuries between them and find a common future.

Please give a warm welcome to my special guest Terry Campbell!

Tell us about your favorite character from your books.

It’s so hard to choose one. They’re all so different and unique in their own ways. My favorite heroine? Probably Lindsey in Fat Chance. She’s sassy, defiant, and hysterical, from her eating escapades to her clashes with the hero as well as his assistant, Marie. Frankie in Craigs’ Legacy is running neck-and-neck with Lindsey. She’s a thoroughly modern heroine with a chip on her shoulder from being pushed back into the nineteenth century where all her inadequacies are highlighted. Oh, Lordy, let Ben, the hero, push me back with him to any time he wants.

Where do you dream of traveling to and why?

To other worlds and other times so I can experience things I could never do by visiting other parts of the United States or abroad. That’s why I’m such an eclectic reader, sampling women’s fiction, romantic comedy, mystery/suspense, fantasy and science fiction. Um, I plan to go where no spacecraft or long travel time are required. Beam me up, Scotty.

Does travel play in the writing of your books?

Not a lot. Most Terry Campbell books take place in one locale. The commonality is that all of them are in the South. Mr. Wrong is in McLean, Virginia. Intimate Investor is in Richmond, Virginia. Fat Chance is in Dickens, Texas—and yes there really is a Dickens, TX. Our new newest release, Craigs’ Legacy is in Goochland, Virginia, both in the present and past.

Tell us about your current release.

Craigs’ Legacy is a time travel. Frankie gets thrown through a time portal and lands in 1864. For a woman who loves indoor plumbing, electricity, and e-mail, she’s a fish out of water. We soon discover Ben is also a fish out of water; he doesn’t want to run the family business but wants to write. How they come together, grow to love one another, and resolve time paradoxes and staying alive made them unique.

Tell us about your next release.

The Slam Sisters of Serendipity will be released in June by Eternal Press. The Slam Sisters are a group of women, ranging in age from their thirties to their mid-fifties, and they play team tennis together. The book is a series of cozy mystery that team solves. In each mystery, one of the team has something at risk, their husband’s freedom, their job, an inheritance. Mary Catherine Lee Grant (MC) is the leader of this group and tells us about the team’s adventures.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

Both—doesn’t everyone? If not, you should. You need someone to go through your work for typos and flow as you go along, and after it’s finished, someone needs to beta read it who has never seen the work before.

Who are your books published with?

I have books published by Black Opal Books, L&L Dreamspell, and this summer by Eternal Press. I’ve also brought out my backlist and it’s available on Kindle, Smashwords, and the Nook.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

Have a white wine glass filled with my favorite read, Merlot. Why the white wine glass, it’s larger, and given I only allow myself one, it had better be worth it. (I’m a cheap drunk.) Then I curl up with my wine and a good book. It has become very easy with my Kindle. I got one for Christmas and have died and gone to heaven—easy to read and my husband has no proof I’m going over my monthly limit of books allowed. I mean, he can’t see them so …

Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?

Don’t think you’ll be an overnight success. Sure, it occasionally happens, but in most cases those first books you write can make great paper in the bottom of a birdcage. Did I mention the first 100 pages that should be burned? Learning a craft so it flows and uses proper technique takes time, no matter how creative and talented you are. Also, listen to what those in the industry tell you from their experience. While some of it may not be legit, most will be invaluable. Likewise, be willing to share your fresh perspectives and knowledge of other fields.

What would we find under your bed?

New ideas, some slithery and raw, ready to crawl out and fill my brain while I’m asleep. They have to battle for room, though, with the characters waiting to hypnotize me and make suggestions for their roles in subsequent scenes.

Terry thanks for dropping by today. It's been fun interviewing you!