Meet S.J. Brown, Author

S.J. Brown is a crime fiction writer in Tasmania where his D.I. Mahoney series is set. A former Humanities teacher and soccer coach, he is working now on the next two volumes in his "whydunnit" series.

Find his books on Amazon: High Beam and Dead Wood.

1. What inspired you to start writing mysteries?

I suppose it was an abiding love of the genre. The old maxim is "to write about what you know." Well, having immersed myself in murder mysteries for decades now, I feel I know them pretty well. My bookshelves are stuffed with the works of UK writers such as Colin Dexter, P.D. James, Ian Rankin, and Peter Robinson. Among the Americans I always return to Michael Connelly, and from "Down Under" it's hard to go past Peter Temple and Michael Robotham. You pick up the characteristics of compelling crime fiction almost by osmosis.

Apart from the sheer entertainment value of murder mysteries, they allow a writer to examine characters under extreme pressure. And there is always the element of seeing how a society really functions in its pursuit of justice.

2. How would you describe your main character, D.I. Mahoney?

Detective Inspector John Mahoney is something of an "outsider." He lived abroad (England) for a substantial part of his career before returning to Australia. So he struggles to re-adjust to the cultural mores of his hometown. Through his eyes, the reader is able to critically view what many unthinkingly take for granted. He is unmarried but seeks personal stability: he feels he has missed the boat in the relationship sense. His is an ongoing struggle to understand his place in the world.

But not in his professional life. Here he is a scrupulous and committed investigator. His moral compass is steady as he seeks not only to solve his cases but to bring a strong level of accountability to bear. Something of a loner in life he is a natural leader when working on a homicide case. It is then that he can keep his insecurity at bay.

3. What's the difference between a "whodunnit" and a "whydunnit"?

Within a traditional "whodunnit," there are a range of suspects and the detective cunningly solves the mystery. My concept of a "whydunnit" is that the case still requires a thoughtful solution, but there is a much greater emphasis on why characters act the way they do. In particular, why are relatively normal people "driven" to commit the ultimate crime? Many writers are good at laying out the pressures faced by investigators, but I am aiming also to explore the reasons my perpetrators enact "bloody murder."

4. Would you tell us a bit about the setting of your books?

The D.I. Mahoney series is set in Tasmania. A smallish state, by antipodean standards, it is located south of mainland Australia. Its violent convict history and island status set it apart from the rest of the nation. Geographically, it is a rugged and inhospitable place but also a locale of staggering beauty. Formerly the butt of derision, it has become an emblem of artistic creativity and tourist potential. In a real sense, it is a microcosm of the macrocosm: it is an ideal size in which to set mysteries that consider modern society.

5. How are you enjoying the transitions from teaching and coaching into fiction writing?

For a few years now, I've been scaling down my teaching commitments to devote my time to writing as well as I can. I certainly don't miss marking essays! I do miss my involvement in coaching sport, but I've committed to being an author and that takes dedication and effort. Regardless of what commercial success I attain, there are few better places to be than at my desk, in the "zone." In the same way that a good novel transports the reader, I have discovered the satisfaction of traveling to that fictional world where the magic happens.

Thanks, S.J.!

Excerpt from Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by JB Lynn

JB Lynn, author of the best selling Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series, is a compulsive reader, a runner (the really slow sort), an enthusiastic cook (who doesn't get the appeal of the Food Network), and someone who has an irresistible urge to eavesdrop at all times.

The Neurotic Hitwoman series has it all: murder, romance, suspense, comic relief, and talking animals with attitude. Learn more about the series on JB's website. The books are available for purchase via Amazon, iTunes, and Kobo.

Below is an excerpt from Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman.

*

You just know it’s going to be a bad day when you’re stuck at a red light and Death pulls up behind you in a station wagon.

I'd been using the rearview mirror to touch up my lip gloss when I spotted him. Okay, maybe he wasn't really Death, but dressed in a black raincoat with the hood pulled up covering his face, he sure looked like he could pluck a scythe out of thin air.

It was one of those days when I kept catching the specter of Death everywhere. I'd catch a glimpse of him in the condensation on the bathroom mirror as I stepped out of the shower, or burnt into my morning toast, or in the pile of dog shit I narrowly missed stepping in... or didn't.

Death was idling behind me, and I was kinda freaked out. Which was why, completely forgetting about the damn April showers that had been falling for three days straight, I floored my crappy, beat-up, not-gently-used Honda the second that light turned green.

Hydroplaning, the car spun out into the intersection, with me pumping the brakes while wondering if I should have been steering into the skid or out of it, and berating myself for not having paid more attention during my high school Driver's Ed course.

I knew I was gonna die. I could already hear the angels singing.

Three months before, I'd had the same feeling as another car slid out of control. I hadn't been driving then; my sister's idiot husband had been behind the wheel. I'd been in the backseat, singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to my three-year-old niece Katie, trying to distract her from the argument her parents were having in the front seat. Suddenly the car swerved and squealed, and as we rolled over onto the driver's side, I distinctly remember thinking, Dear God, please don't let us die.

I didn’t think that three months later. In this moment I was resigned to my fate.

But then, miraculously, my little Honda gained traction, and I achieved a semblance of control over the vehicle. I wasn't in the clear, though. Squinting at the rearview mirror, I could see that Death had followed me through the rain-soaked intersection.

And I could still hear the singing of the angels, but it wasn't a heavenly sound.

It was loud. It was annoying.

From the floor of the passenger seat, I snatched up the bag of crickets that I'd bought for Godzilla. They were making an unholy racket. I shook it hard. That shut the little fuckers up.

When I first became responsible for Godzilla's care, I tried giving him freeze-dried crickets. But that damn lizard, he's got a discerning palate and insists on the live version, which is a pain in the ass because I hate bugs. Really hate 'em. Just looking at them gives me that awful creepy-crawly feeling, but I'd pledged to Katie that I'd take good care of the only pet she'd ever been allowed.

There was no way of knowing whether she even knew I'd made her that promise. She'd been in a coma, a "persistent vegetative state," as the doctors liked to call it, ever since the car accident. Her parents had died on impact, according to police. I'd walked away unharmed... except for the fact that I can now talk to a lizard.

"Call me God," he'd insisted the first time I'd thought to feed him.

He'd never spoken to me before. I mean animals, or reptiles or amphibians, or whatever the hell he is, don't talk. I know that. I haven't gone totally around the bend.

But the thing is, ever since the car accident, we can converse. And we do. A lot.

Maybe I've got brain damage, or maybe it's the emotional trauma of having my sister die and almost losing Katie, but I swear that I've turned into Doctor-freakin-Dolittle.

Of course, I haven't told anyone about my newfound ability. They'd lock me up in a funny farm like my mom. Or run a bunch of tests. Or run a bunch of tests and then lock me up. And if they did that, I wouldn't be able to visit Katie. And she'd be left all alone there, lying in a hospital bed, with only the witches to look after her.

My three aunts aren't really witches. I'm not so delusional as to think they've got magical powers. They're just extraordinarily evil in their own "helpfully" meddlesome way.

So I keep the secret conversations with God to myself. To the rest of the world, it probably appears that I'm coping pretty well. I wash my clothes, bring the newspaper in, and have even gone back to work in hell (also known as an insurance company call center).

My piddly paycheck isn't going to make much of a dent in the pile of hospital bills that are piling up faster than a Colorado snowfall, but it's a decent cover. It's not like I can go around putting HITWOMAN on my tax return.

Death, or at least the driver in the station wagon, coasted past as I turned my blinker on to signal my turn into Apple Blossom Estates. There's no such thing as apple blossoms. Three months before, God, licking his lizard lips after chowing down on a cricket, had pointed out that even he knew that. But it sounds fancy right? Or at least like the over-promising prose of a condo developer's advertising. It's not. It's just a fancy name for a brain injury rehab, or as they like to call it, a "premium care facility."

Parking in the visitors' lot, I left the bag o' bugs to their chirping (which sounded suspiciously like Madonna's "Like a Prayer") and headed inside. It was time to tell my boss that I was ready to kill a man. But you're probably wondering how a nice girl like me got a job like this....

*

Thanks, JB!

Meet Digger Cartwright, Author

Digger Cartwright is the author of several mystery stories, teleplays, and novels including The Versailles Conspiracy, a modern-day political thriller; Murder at the Ocean Forest, a traditional mystery novel set in the 1940s; The House of Dark Shadows, a psychological thriller; and The Maynwarings: A Game of Chance, a mystery set in the Old West. His latest book, Conversations on the Bench, is an inspirational/motivational novel and is scheduled for release in May 2013. His books are available in hardback, paperback, and e-book format through his website, www.DiggerCartwright.com, online booksellers, and bookstores.

Mr. Cartwright has contributed to a number of articles on a wide range of financial, strategic planning, and policy topics. He frequently contributes articles, commentaries, and editorials focusing on current economic and political topics for the private think tank, Thinking Outside the Boxe. He is also an enthusiastic supporter of local no-kill animal shelters and humane societies, the Wounded Warrior Project, and local Meals on Wheels programs. He enjoys golf, participating in charity golf tournaments, falconry, and attending WWE events. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., South Carolina, and Florida.

1. As an author of several mystery novels, what motivated you to shift gears with your latest project and write an inspirational book?

Actually, it wasn't my idea to write my latest book, Conversations on the Bench. I was asked if I would be interested in writing a book about Sebastian, the central figure of this novel. What really motivated me to undertake the project was Sebastian himself and the story he had to tell. I only met him in person at a symposium hosted by the think tank that he had been instrumental in establishing. Over the next couple days I got to know him and his colleague, and I realized that he had a very fascinating perspective on life that was really the result of his own unique set of life experiences. The more I learned from my few conversations with Sebastian at that symposium and the more I subsequently learned from Robbie, the founder of the think tank, the more motivated I got about writing this inspirational book. It was clear to me that Sebastian's story needed to be told. He had such a huge personality that you couldn't help but like the guy, and I think everyone did. Everyone that I talked to had something good to say about Sebastian or had some story to tell about him and how he had impacted their life. He was always very positive and encouraging, and he was always there for his friends. He was just a remarkable individual and the more I got to hear his story, the more inspired I was. And ultimately, this entire project, Sebastian's story, has really had a very big impact on my life, just as Sebastian himself had a big impact on the lives of people who knew him.

2. Could you tell us a little bit about the real life friendship that inspired Conversations on the Bench?

Robbie was a young college student when he met Sebastian in the mid-1990s. They met while both working at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Robbie was a full-time student studying finance, business, economics, etc. and worked full time. Sebastian had an educational background in economics and worked two jobs--tax investigator by day and hotel reservationist by night. They would spend hours talking about everything going on in their worlds and the world at large. And thus began a lifelong friendship. After Robbie graduated from college, Sebastian had some very poignant words of wisdom and anecdotes to share to help the young college grad get through some tough times. Robbie ended up starting his own successful business at about the same time that Sebastian was forced to retire due to health issues. That gave them the opportunity to spend a lot of time together, Sebastian mentoring Robbie and giving him encouragement, and Robbie integrating Sebastian in the business as much as possible.

They ended up starting a think tank, Thinking Outside the Boxe, to share their writings about any topic they could debate as well as their economic commentaries and research. As Sebastian's health declined, Robbie was there to offer support and encouragement, just as Sebastian had been there for him. These two guys had this great brotherly relationship. Robbie even referred to Sebastian on many occasions as the brother he never had. And I think Sebastian liked that and really thought of Robbie as his little brother. He was there for Robbie to give him advice on women, relationships, business, whatever, and all the advice came from Sebastian's own experiences. It's the type of friendship that very few people are lucky enough to find in this life. It's really just a heartwarming and truly inspirational friendship that I have recounted in Conversations on the Bench.

3. What are the unique challenges of writing nonfiction compared with writing fiction?

With fiction you can do just about anything. You can suspend reality, and the bigger the lie is, the more believable it is to some extent. With fiction, the writer is bound only by the bounds of his own imagination. It's like an artist with a blank canvas. You start with nothing and slowly but deliberately fill the canvas and bring the picture to life.

Nonfiction is a little more restrictive. Nonfiction is sort of like paint-by-number. You've got a pre-established set of lines and you just have to paint inside the lines. You might get away with changing up the colors a little bit, but you've got to stay in the lines. Nonfiction is reality. You're just re-telling what has already happened. Now, as an author you can take certain liberties and change up the scenery. Maybe you make it raining in a scene where it was a sunny day. Maybe the people involved don't remember where a certain conversation that is being recounted took place, so you have to create a scene where there was not one. With a work of fiction, you get to create the people and everything about them. With nonfiction, you have to get to know the people you're writing about and try to convey a factual representation of them as best you can.

With Conversations on the Bench, I was able to obtain the crux of the lessons and the conversations through interviews with one of the characters in the book. There may not have been a record of exactly when the conversation took place or who else may have been there or in what circumstance the conversation came up or exactly what was said in the conversation. So, as the author, going back to the artist example, I had a paint-by-number that had some missing lines. I had to create those missing lines, then fill in inside the lines with the right color and the right amount of that color. It was certainly a challenge for me going from fiction to a factually-based storyline. You've got to know the people you're writing about pretty well. It took me time and a lot of telephone conversations to get the story from Robbie and get to the point where I felt comfortable that I knew him and Sebastian.

4. How have you balanced your career in business with your interests in writing and publishing?

It's been difficult to balance the two. When I started writing, I did it as a hobby primarily. I did it because I just enjoyed it and wanted to tell some stories. It wasn't really a priority for me. When I could find time, I sat down and wrote a little bit. But the more I wrote, the more I wanted to write even more. I wasn't satisfied with having a book sitting incomplete, so I started to schedule more of my time for writing. I had to keep in mind that business was what made money. In the early days, writing only cost me money in terms of time, and writing at that point didn't have much financial return. As I wrote more, I started to dedicate a little more time each day to writing until I finished a particular project. That's really how I still do it. I don't write full time. I still have business to tend to, but I really try to manage my time well. There's always going to be sleepless nights when I'm working on a project or missed meetings or cancelled lunches, but I've come to accept that.

In the past few years, however, I've really started to focus more and more on writing as a business unto itself. I've chosen to go the independent, self-published route for a number of reasons that are neither here nor there, and that has really gotten me to examine and get deeply involved in the business aspect of being an independent, self-published author. I've really integrated the entire process from writing to marketing into my overall business structure and found some synergies there. I've adopted the perspective that as a writer I'm creating a product and it's my company's job to sell copies of my book. It's been a very entrepreneurial endeavor in writing a book and bringing it to market. That's one of the primary reasons that I'm working on setting up the National Federation of Self-Published Author Entrepreneurs as an outlet and resource for other self-published authors who are serious enough about writing to undertake it as an entrepreneurial business venture. If you're a writer who is serious about your work, you can turn your writing endeavors into a business. Just like any entrepreneurial venture, it's not necessarily easy, and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work. But if you dedicate yourself to it and have a passion for it, you can make self-publishing a successful enterprise.

5. What advice would you give to other authors who have ideas for writing an inspirational book but aren't sure how/where to start?

The first thing you have to do is identify someone or something, maybe an event in someone's life, that has been inspirational for you or others. It's really not hard to find something inspirational to write about. Unfortunately, most people aren't really looking for inspiration. Most people are too wrapped up in their daily lives to see the inspiration in the world around them. Maybe you write about someone who has overcome some great adversity in life. Maybe they fought and beat cancer or some other life-threatening or debilitating disease. Maybe they defied the odds of growing up in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood only to go on to great success. Probably the most likely source of inspiration is an older person who can share their life story. If you ever sit and listen to someone like my grandmother, it's fascinating to hear her recount her childhood, growing up during the Great Depression, World War II and the greatest generation, and so on. The world is full of inspirational people if we just take the time to listen to them, and I venture to say that if you just keep your eyes and ears open, you may find inspiration in the most unlikely of places. But don't just limit your search for inspiration to people. We're surrounded by a wonderful world of nature and animals of all kinds that can offer inspiration just from the sheer miracle of life and survival. Ultimately, as a writer, you have to be aware of the people and the world around you all the time.

Thanks, Digger!

CUL8R Teen Time Travel Mysteries

Four teenagers travel back in time to save a life and solve a mystery. Will they be successful? Will they make it back? The CUL8R Teen Time Travel Mystery Series asks these questions and more. The first book in the series, OMG, was released in December 2012, and book two, BRB, will be published in April 2013.

OMG begins when Kelly, whose parents died in a car accident, moves from Texas during early summer to live with her Aunt Jane. Kelly quickly becomes friends with Scott, who has a reputation as the school's number one geek. Added to the mix are Scott's best friend Austin, the popular quarterback who runs with the cool crowd but has stayed loyal to Scott, and cheerleader Zoey, who is very focused on getting Austin's attention. Through a twist of technology, the four teens go back in time to help a girl who pleads for their help. They solve the mystery, but are then faced with the dilemma of whether or not to right a wrong or to let history stand. The four end up on the time travel adventure of their lives.

With the time travel twist, these novels put the main characters in a unique fish-out-of-water scenario. Also, the author includes some history lessons by blending real historical tidbits into the past locations and times the characters visit. Time travel allows the author to take some of today's most difficult events in teens' lives while showing the characters using real world intellect and skills as the characters solve mysteries and accomplish worthwhile missions in a time before they were born.

For more about this unique series, see http://www.cul8rseries.com.