Today, I have the honor of hosting Mary Martinez and her book, DISAPPEAR.

After two years undercover as an FBI agent to infiltrate a crime organization and discover the identity of a hit man, Tyler Beckett’s cover is blown. Tyler’s new assignment is to protect the only witness who can identify the mysterious killer. If only he didn’t find her so attractive. Each day it becomes harder to keep his objective, especially since he knows the interest is mutual.

Keira Cavanaugh is the only witness to a hit ordered by a crime boss.  The safe house is compromised and the same hit man shoots Tyler. Fearing Tyler is dead, Keira plans revenge on the crime organization. She must fake her own suicide in order to survive.

When Tyler discovers what Keira plans, he realizes he must stop her before he loses her for good.

Trailer for The Beckett Series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C5UVaEEG60

Q: Welcome Mary.  Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your book?

Mary: Thank you for having me today! And I love talking about my book. The Beckett’s are like my family. It started out with just Tyler, but as I wrote the first book, the rest of the family, just sort of moved into my head. Keira is a small town girl who moved to the city for advancement in her work, and more excited. She gets way more than she bargained for. However, the situation pulls inner strengths that she didn’t even know she processed. Because of this she managed to survive under impossible circumstances and fall in love with a Beckett. You’ll just have to read it to find out more.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Mary: I’m not sure when, but I remember when I was in Jr. High writing stories. And since it was in the 60’s it was a bit beatnik-ish. Most of you are too young to know what a beatnik is, you’ll have to look it up in the dictionary.

Q: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Mary: I’m most definitely a pantster. I have tried to plot and all my attempts are still unfinished. I write like I would read a book. The characters tell me where to go.

Q: What are you working on now?

Mary: At the moment I’m polishing Innocent and Quiet. But as for writing I’m working on a young adult/middle grade with my three oldest grandsons. It’s called History Mysteries. They each have their own character and power. We solve a 50 year old murder / bank robbery mystery.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?

Mary: This is what I always say when asked this question. Join a writers group, find a critique partner/group and NEVER give up.

Q: What book or series can you read over and over again without getting bored?

Mary: Most of Kathleen E Woodiwiss’s books I can read over and over again.

Q: If you decided not to be a writer, what would your other dream job be?

Mary: An interior designer or a chef in a fancy restaurant

Q: What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done in your life?

Mary: Quit the day job to write full time. Of course, my husband was laid off four years before retirement, so he took an early retirement, and we need the benefits. So I’m back at the day job. I find it very hard to find time to write. But at least I like my job.

Q: Who is the one person that has singlehandedly inspired you the most in your life?

Mary: The person I knew was my dad. He taught me that you can do whatever you set your mind too. I’ve tried to instill that in my kids, I don’t know that it’s worked. As far as writing, there are two Stephen King and Nora Roberts.

Q: If you could take a trip to any foreign country RIGHT NOW, which one would you choose?

Mary: Australia.

Q: What is one talent that you’re hopeless at, but you wish you had?

Mary: Singing, when my daughter was two she said to me. “Don’t sing mommy.”

Q: What TV show are you most addicted to?

Mary: There are so many. I love Castle, Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol, So you think you can dance, Private Practice, Grimm, Once upon a time… I would need a few more pages. I DVR them, and watch whenever I can, I’m way behind. OH I forgot, the only Soap I still watch Days of our lives.

Q: If you were stuck on a deserted island, name three objects and three people you would want with you.

Mary: Electricity, computer, bathroom. Since I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to say my family. I’ll go writing related, Quentin Tarantino, Stephen King and Nora Roberts so we could write a screenplay.

Q: What is one trait or physical characteristic that you are proud of/love about yourself?

Mary: I’m very optimistic.

Thanks again for having me here today. What a fun interview!

About the author:

Mary lives in Magna, a little town west of Salt Lake City, Utah. Together with her husband, she has six grown children, and five wonderful grandsons and 2 beautiful granddaughters.

Mary and her husband love to travel, especially to the Caribbean for relaxing and Italy for the wine. With the experience from the exotic places she has visited, she is able to fill her books with colorful descriptions of cities, painting a colorful backdrop for her characters.

Mary and her husband are avid college football fans. They have season tickets to the UTES, University of Utah Football and they tailgate every game. They love tailgating so much, that they were married at a tailgating in 1999.

Mary is a member of the Romance Writers of America and several sister chapters. She has published several articles for her local Utah RWA newsletter. They have appeared in several other chapters’ newsletters.

Website – Blog – Facebook Fan Page –  Facebook Profile – Twitter – Goodreads 

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Thanks, Mary!

Cheers,

Today, I have the honor of hosting Jess Faraday and her book, THE AFFAIR OF THE PORCELAIN DOG.

London 1889.

For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard’s blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone’s after it, including Ira’s bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus. No sooner does Ira have the porcelain dog in his hot little hands, than he loses it to a nimble-fingered prostitute.

As Ira’s search for the dog drags him back to the mean East End streets where he grew up, he discovers secrets about his own past, and about Goddard’s present business dealings, which make him question everything he thought he knew. An old friend turns up dead, and an old enemy proves himself a friend. Goddard is pressing Ira for a commitment, but every new discovery casts doubt on whether Ira can, in good conscience, remain with him.

In the end, Ira must choose between his hard-won life of luxury and standing against a grievous wrong.

The Affair of the Porcelain Dog has been short-listed for a Lambda Award in the category of “Gay Mystery.”

Q: Welcome Jess. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your book?

Jess: The Affair of the Porcelain Dog is a tale of suspense set in late Victorian England. Someone has stolen a statue belonging to crime lord Cain Goddard. Goddard tasks his assistant, Ira Adler, to find it. But everyone and his brother is after that statue–including Ira’s bitter ex, Tim Lazarus. Ira’s search will turn up secrets spanning several decades and two continents, connecting the meanest London streets with the loftiest corridors of power. And when he finds the statue, it will reveal secrets about his own past and Goddard’s, and his life will never be the same.

Q: When did you first realized you wanted to be a writer? 

Jess: After I sold my first book. I’m dense like that, sometimes. I’ve always enjoyed scribbling, but it was only after I started doing it “for real” that it occurred to me that I’d chosen many of my previous jobs because they’d be easy enough that I could finish the work ahead of time and be paid to sit somewhere quiet and write stories.

Q: Are you a plotter or a pantser? 

Jess: A little of both. I outline because it’s easier to work the plot kinks out of twenty pages of outline than out of four hundred pages of text. But even though I know the beginning and end when I start, the middle still goes through changes while I’m writing.

Q: What are you working on now?

Jess: A paranormal mystery set in 1820s Paris. The protagonist, a woman, is one of Vidocq’s original Surete agents, and the last remaining agent of an elite paranormal investigation squad recently dismantled by Vidocq’s (fictionalized) successor.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?

Jess: Write the best manuscript you can, and research your market well. Sending your manuscript to everyone and anyone wastes everyone’s time. Don’t write for a specific market–find the publishers who publish what *you’re* writing, and send them the best you’ve got.

Q: What book or series can you read over and over again without getting bored?

Jess: Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, and anything by Cherie Priest.

Q: If you decided not to be a writer, what would your other dream job be?

Jess: Something else with words, books, and information. A librarian, maybe?

Q: What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done in your life?

Jess: Pressed the “send” button to send a manuscript.

Q: Who is the one person that has singlehandedly inspired you the most in your life?

Jess: That’s tough. No one achieves anything alone. Overall? My parents. Am I too old to say that? My parents never pushed my brothers or I in any specific direction, but were a constant source of acceptance and encouragement no matter what weird or off-the-beaten-path thing we decided to pursue. They still are.

Q: If you could take a trip to any foreign country RIGHT NOW, which one would you choose?

Jess: Iceland.

Q: What is one talent that you’re hopeless at, but you wish you had?

Jess: Drawing.

Q: What TV show are you most addicted to?

Jess: I don’t watch much TV. When I do, it’s with one eye on something else, so…. I do like Doc Marten. And I’m waiting for the next series of Downton Abbey.

Q: If you were stuck on a desert island, name three objects and three people you would want with you. 

Jess: Three objects: a good, sharp knife; a container for storing water, and a very thick book. Maybe Great Expectations. Three people: Roy, because he can build or fix *anything* and is excellent company. Jane and Charlie because life would never be boring.

Q: What is one trait or physical characteristic that you are proud of/love about yourself?

Jess: I’m pretty good at figuring out systems, methods, and procedures. It sounds boring, but it makes it really easy to swallow new bodies of knowledge quickly and efficiently. Which makes for interesting stories.

About the Author:

Jess Faraday is the author of one novel, three book translations, a handful of short stories, and numerous nonfiction articles.
She is a graduate of the University of Arizona (B.A.) and UCLA (M.A.). Since then, she has earned her daily bread in a number of questionable ways, including translation, lexicography, copyediting, teaching high school Russian, and hawking shoes to the overprivileged offspring of Los Angeles-area B-listers.
She enjoys martial arts, the outdoors, strong coffee and a robust Pinot Noir.

Website – Twitter – Facebook – BSB Author Page

Thank you, Jess!

Cheers,