Author Interview w/Miss Mae

Author Bio: All of Miss Mae’s romantic mysteries, “Said the Spider to the Fly”, “When the Bough Breaks”, “Dove Island”, and “See No Evil, My Pretty Lady” are award winning best sellers. Her latest, “Catch Me If You Can” has already received a top rated five-star review. Tantalizing trailers, and more information, is readily available at her website: www.missmaesite.com Miss Mae also enjoys writing humor and non-fiction articles. Besides her monthly contributions to the ezine American Chronicle, some of her publications can be found in The Front Porch Magazine, Good Old Days, and WritersWeekly. Her alter ego, M.M. also has her first children’s/humor book, “The Mishaps of Gum Drop Island” available in digital download at Smashwords, and now in print at Amazon.

[Anne] Tell us about your latest book.

[MM] My newest book is “It’s Extraordinary, My Dear Winifred”. This is the latest version of my previously titled, “It’s Elementary, My Dear Winifred”. I removed it from the market for a short time while I re-edited. In the process I also changed the title.

Here is its blurb:

Do bizarre and unusual mysteries only occur in imaginary tales?

Amateur sleuth Winifred Merryweather, along with dashing newspaper reporter Remington Hawthorne, find themselves in the throes of a real life mystery when they’re plunged in the bowels of a dark and ancient castle. Booby-traps abound with disappearing floors, hidden sliding panels, and spider-webbed shadowy corridors.

Danger threatens to steal Winifred’s very breath -- or is that the annoying allure of Remington’s flirtatious charms?

[Anne] What inspired you to write this story?

[MM] I absolutely adore mysteries, always have since I was a young girl thrilled with the secrets of the Nancy Drew stories. Maturing more so in my teens, I discovered the Victorian tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I’m a great Sherlock Holmes fan. So, with the Winifred story, I contrived to create a puzzler set in the times and days that Doyle created.

[Anne] How did you go about researching your book?

[MM] I have a wonderful crit partner, author Hywela Lyn (her website). Since she lives in England, but was born Welsh, she provided all the gems and details I needed with regard to scenery, certain phrases, etc. Also, I’d like to mention that when I needed detail for the clothing of the period I questioned Brian L. Porter, author of “A Study in Red -- The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper”. He’s an expert on such matters.

[Anne] Do you have anything new in the works?

[MM] A novella titled, “Miss Penelope’s Letters”. It’s about halfway written.

[Anne] If you could be anyone of your characters, which one would you chose to be and why?

[MM] I love all my heroines, of course, but if I could only be ONE of them, I’d have to choose Darlene from “When the Bough Breaks”. And you ask why? Hmm, you’ve not read about her love interest, Parker Shane? Ooh, la la, I’d LOVE to be in Darlene’s shoes when Parker makes his moves! LOL

[Anne] You’ve just been informed that your latest release was a NY Times bestseller and Hollywood wants to turn it into a movie. What actors would you choose to play your main characters?

[MM] Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow, where do I sign the papers??? LOL Shew, this is hard as I’m not knowledgeable about today’s stars. Who would portray Winifred? Let’s see…she may be a bit old for the part, but someone as attractive as Julia Roberts. Robert Downey, Jr. (too old as well, I guess) for the part of Remington. But at least you can get some visual of how these characters should look. 

[Anne] What type of books do you like to read when you’re not writing?

[MM] I love James Herriott’s books. They’re wonderful, and so delightfully amusing.

[Anne] Name three things you can’t live without (excluding spouses and family because that’s a given).

[MM] Chocolate, decaf coffee, my pets!

[Anne] Where can we find you on the web?

[MM] I am at all sorts of places. My website (for both Miss Mae, and M.M.), Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Coffee Time Romance, LinkedIn, etc.

[Anne] Where can we purchase your books?

[MM] They are all in print I’m happy to say. You can purchase them off Amazon, though I’m also offering autographed copies straight from my website. For digital ebooks, some of them can be found at Smashwords.

[Anne] Is there anything else you’d like to add?

[MM] Yes! Please let your readers know that I am a huge animal lover. Because of this, I have a regular Monday feature called “Doggy Tales”. That’s the title, it doesn’t mean all the articles are about strictly dogs. I share little anecdotes about my canines because that’s the only animals I currently have. But I would love for others to contribute stories about their wonderful friends. If they want the world to know about that special companion in their life, please write me and I’ll get it on my blog ASAP.

Thanks for having me, Anne!