This week my guest is multi-published romance author Maggi Andersen. Her newest book, Murder In Devon, is a solidly entertaining story, and I was so glad that I had the chance to read it while preparing for this post. I liked the main character, Casey, and thought it was very well-paced and suspenseful. I'm excited to introduce Maggi, so she can tell you more about this book and writing in general.
LR: So how long did you live in London? :) For a girl from Sydney, you
did an amazing job of creating a realistic setting.
MA: I have a
good friend in England, in Richmond actually, which features in the book. I
visited her for short stays of about six weeks at a time. That gave me enough
time to travel around the country. Years of reading books set in England helped
as well.
LR: As I mentioned earlier, I enjoyed the pacing of the story, the way
events were spread out over weeks to months. It felt real to me. So many books
seem to try to cram a lifetime into 72 hours and I end up more exhausted than the
characters. What's your strategy for organizing a story so that events unfold
at such a realistic pace?
MA: I don’t
have a strategy. I have a timeline in my head I suppose and try to make it
clear on the page. I like to write a few quiet reflective scenes in among the
action scenes, where a reader has time to consider what has happened and what
might happen next. That gives an idea of time passing. I don’t enjoy full on
exhausting pace from beginning to end. I realize that many people do though.
: LR: You clearly know a lot about art history and how WWII changed so
much. Is that your background, or did you have to do a lot of research? And how
did/do you approach research when you’re preparing to write?
MA: My mother
was an award winning artist and I grew up with the smell of oil paint and books
on art filling the shelves. After studying fine arts at university I became
interested in art history. I tried painting too, but found I sadly hadn’t
inherited my mother’s talent. I prefer to paint scenes with words. Reading my
father’s thrillers as a teenager sparked an interest in the Nazis and WWII. After
watching a neo-Nazi march in Munich on television it occurred to me that an evil
group could be gaining strength and planning to cause chaos in the world. I wrote
a synopsis for the book just before September 11.
LR: Describe the perfect writing environment. Do you like quiet or
music or a certain chair, or do you like to write in a coffee shop? What’s the
best place for you to create?
MA: I marvel that writers can produce work in a coffee shop, I’d be
far too distracted. I have my corner in the house, a small study area off the
kitchen. My research library is growing daily, crowding me out, and I might
have to move to a larger area in the house soon. I often write with Fox News on
in the background. Music can put me in the right mood for a scene, but I prefer
to write without it playing in the background.
LR: Okay, so an on-line friend of mine from Melbourne wrote a blog
post recently about the wonders of Vanilla Slice. Do they make that in Sydney,
and if so, where’s your favorite place to get Vanilla Slice (or other fave
desert) and coffee?
MA: I love
vanilla slices! There’s an award winning French bakery in my small town which
makes superb ones. It’s one of my favorites along with black forest cake, and I
also love a good apple pie with cream. These are delights I seldom indulge in
these days. I put on weight just looking at them. We have a fabulous coffee
shop here called Elephant Boy. The walls are lined with old books and pictures
of India at the turn of the last century. Very charismatic. I may be able to
write there now that I think of it. The coffee is excellent. What a temptation!
LR: What’s next for Maggie Andersen? Historical? Contemporary? How do
you decide?
MA: A reader asked if I planned to write a historical spy series and I
thought it a good idea so that’s my next project. My first book: A Baron in Her
Bed comes out in September. Regency spies and romance is a lot of fun to write.
I’m submitting another romantic suspense to Black Opal Books soon. It’s set in
Ireland and outback Australia.
LR: Aussie-rules football or American? ;)
MA: I have to
confess knowing little about either, but American football is fantastic to
watch.
Thanks
for inviting me to your blog, Amy.
And thank you for posting, Maggi! It's been fun.
Peace,
Liv
MURDER IN DEVON
She wants
the truth, but it may cost her more than she thinks...
An ex-patriot-American living in England, magazine reporter Casey Rowan wakes
to find one best friend murdered and another seriously injured. Casey is
determined to find the killer, despite running afoul of the detective in charge
of the case—a blue-eyed Scot named Rod Carlisle, who considers her a prime
suspect. As Casey gets closer to the truth, losing her heart to the sexy cop
isn’t the only thing she risks. Now her life is danger, too.
He wants her, but he may have to choose between love and duty...
Rod has no patience with civilians who interfere in police matters, even hot
little numbers like Casey. Though he tries to keep things professional, Casey’s
beauty and spunk are hard to resist. He warns her that what she’s doing is
dangerous, but he only succeeds in alienating her. She refuses to listen and
goes off on her own with disastrous results. Now Rod’s in a race to find the
killer before the woman he loves becomes the next victim.
Excerpt
“Are you with me, Ms. Rowan?” The words pulled Casey’s attention back
into the room. She took a sip of cold, sweet tea from the mug. Someone’s hand
reached for her cup, and she moved her gaze up to a pair of concerned blue
eyes.
“Ms. Casey Rowan? I’m Detective Chief Inspector Carlisle, of the
Devon and Cornwall Police.” He squatted beside her. “I realize you’re in shock.
Is there someone I can call?”
She bit her lip hard, needing to feel something. She wanted to scream
and cry, but a cold vacuum seeped through her insides, and a sharp pain at the
back of her throat sealed the scream inside. She’d stayed by Tessa’s side until
they’d taken her away. Don was gone too, packed into an airless body
bag, zipped up tight. “I have to go with Tessa,” she begged him.
“Will you take me to the hospital, Inspector...”
“Carlisle, Ms. Rowan. There’s no point in going to the hospital right
now. And you can’t stay here. Is there somewhere we can take you?”
“I have to know if Tessa is going to be alright.”
“The hospital will ring you.” He looked down at her left hand, where
she clutched her mobile so tightly her knuckles were bloodless.
“Is there somewhere you’d like to go, Ms. Rowan?”
Casey shook her head. The tears flowed and eased the pain in her
throat a little. She sniffed and wiped them away with the sleeve of her
dressing gown. “Someone has to take care of Soc.” She struggled to gain a hold
on herself, not recognizing the strange, high-pitched voice.
“Who’s Soc?” A policewoman came to stand beside the man.
“Socrates is Don’s cat.”
“I see.” The policeman stood and spoke into the policewoman’s ear.
Casey didn’t try to listen, her attention drawn to another policeman securing
tape to the sitting room door. A fourth packed away his video camera. Be
careful of their things, she wanted to say, pick up the cup I dropped.
The blue-eyed man left the room.
“Come on, love.” The policewoman took Casey’s arm.
“Now, don’t you go worrying about the puss. We’ll find someone to
take care of him. First, we’ll go up and get dressed.
Detective Chief Inspector Carlisle has found somewhere for you to
stay.”
Casey opened her mouth to protest. “Right near the hospital.”
She shivered and wondered if
she’d ever feel warm again.
AUTHOR BIO: MAGGI ANDERSEN
Maggi Andersen lives in the countryside outside Sydney,
Australia, with her lawyer husband and their cat. Her study overlooks the creek
at the bottom of the garden where ducks gather. Chickens peck around the yard
and cockatoos call from the trees. After gaining a BA in English and an MA in
Creative Writing, and raising three children, Maggi now indulges her passion
for writing.
She writes in several genres, contemporary and historical
romances, mysteries and young adult novels. You’ll find adventure and elements
of danger in everyone.
