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!

Best Selling Author, Miss Mae

Please join me in welcoming mystery/romance author Miss Mae. Not only is she a great writer, she’s the co-founder of the Sweetest Romance Author’s Group. Thank you for joining me today Miss Mae. Can you please tell our visitors a little about yourself? Oh, but first is that a flask of your famous homemade lemonade I see sticking out of your pocket?”

Miss Mae grins as she pulls out her flask and I grab a couple of glasses that I just happen to have handy. “That is definitely some of the best lemonade I’ve ever tasted. Your grand pappy was a genius! Okay, now what were you about to say?”

[MM] I live in Georgia with my husband and three adopted female dogs. How’s that? (grin)

“Ah, a fellow dog lover. I love reading your Doggy Tales on your blog. And your recent addition is a real cutie. Will you tell us how you got started in writing? How difficult was your journey to publication?”

[MM] I was always pretty imaginative. When I was in fifth grade at school, I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries. I’d lay awake at night conjuring up my own ideas about a story. That drive, or hunger, stayed with me, and over the years I tried so hard to put my plots onto a typewriter page. (Anyone even KNOW what a typewriter is? LOL) I sent all these creative “books” to New York publishers and was rejected at every turn. Now, I understand why, but back then it almost devastated me. I first became published in 2007 when I sold a non-fiction article to The Front Porch Magazine.

“And now you’re an award winning, multi published, author with a new release. Let’s hear about it.”


[MM] That would be my YA romantic mystery, “When the Bough Breaks” released by Whimsical Publications Oct. 12. Here is blurb:
Darlene Moore’s reason for shunning Parker Shane has nothing to do with his reputation of being a playboy. She even dates him before the death of her mother forces her to move away. After a two-year absence from Dalesville, she returns home to find Parker exchanging wedding vows with her sister. Two months later, her sister dies.

Then Richard Ryan, head of Dalesville’s wealthy, prominent family, and Parker’s employer, goes missing. Could there be a connection to his disappearance and Parker’s unexpected promotion?

Danger and questions a plenty barrage Darlene with the deadly speed of a six-shooter. Who called down a representative from a Washington agency? Who later assaulted him? Who attacked Darlene at her friend’s apartment? And will Parker’s scandalous brand of playboy be changed to one of murderous culprit? Or, in the moment of Darlene’s greatest need, might he become her rescuing knight?

“Sounds like a wonderful read.” Anne pours a little more lemonade into her glass. “Where did you come up with the concept for your story?”

[MM] On one of those nights when I lay in bed “composing”, this story unfolded. All the characters, the setting, everything. I knew I wanted to tell it.

“That happens to me. I’ve lost track of how many mornings I’ve been late for work because of my musings. Do you keep a tape recorder or a pad and pencil next to your bed?”

[MM] Nothing except my trusty brain…heh heh.

“Okay, say you have this great idea for a book, what do you do next? How much plotting do you do?”

[MM] Quite a lot. I keep asking myself, “Why?” Which means, “Why does Jim feel that way toward Sally?” or “Why can’t I hide the key in the shoebox?” I keep exploring and searching the twists and turn of the plot, trying to make sure each angle is plausible.

“Do you have a favorite book you’ve written? How about a favorite character?”

[MM] I’d have to say that “When the Bough Breaks” is probably my favorite right now, because I’m so in love with my hero, Parker!

“He does sound very interesting. Plus he’s hunk! Okay, now let’s get personal. What do you like to do for fun? Any hobbies? What do you do when you’re not writing your wonderful mysteries?”

[MM] I used to clog and line dance, and performed on stage with a team. Now I keep things less strenuous, like going for walks in the woods with the dogs and my wonderful hubby. Uh, maybe I should say I go on walks with my hubby and the dogs go along for company. *grins*

“Do you have a favorite food or snack that you absolutely can’t live without?”

[MM] Coffee and anything chocolate!

“Ooooh chocolate. I gain weight just thinking about it. Okay, what advice can you offer for any aspiring authors out there?”

[MM] If you truly believe in your story, persevere until you get it published. As Winston Churchill stated, “Never, never, never give up.”

“Great advice Miss Mae! Where can we purchase your book? And do you have a website we can visit?”

[MM] I’d appreciate it so much if interested readers would buy directly from the website of Whimsical Publications.
My website, or my blog:

“Thank you for joining me today, and for bringing along your delicious lemonade. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better and hearing about your wonderful book.”

To learn about the Sweetest Romance Author Group, please look in the side bar. Links to all of our sites are located there along with how to get our newsletter.

Operation eBook Drop – Show your support of our troops!

Attention eBook authors. Now is your opportunity to show our brave men and women serving in the armed services how much you appreciate and support them. Operation eBook Drop is a program put together by Edward C. Patterson that puts our donated books into their hands. What a great Christmas gift to our troops! All you have to do is purchase some certificates from your publisher (or use your promotional ones) with download codes and then email Ed at ed#w#pat@att#.net (remove the #'s) and tell him you’d like to participate (over 200 authors are already!) and he’ll send you a list of troops that are participating. Once you have both, email the troop(s) and give them the code and a link to your publisher where they can go and download the book for free. It’s as easy as that!

Note: The Operation eBook Drop logo is from the Imagination and Graphic Artistry of K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman.

In other news, be sure to drop back by on Monday. I’ll be interviewing the co-founder of The Sweetest Romance Author Group, mystery/romance writer, Miss Mae. Her books have received rave reviews and awards, and she brews up the best lemonade you’ve ever tasted. I believe her grandpappy past down the recipe *grin*. Anyway, she’ll be sharing a little about herself and her latest release, When the Bough Breaks. So be sure to drop by and show your support to this great writer and wonderful lady.