Death of a Dutch Uncle

Today we're talking to M.E. KEMP, author of Death of a Dutch Uncle, Hilliard and Harris (web site: Hilliardandharris.com for more information)

1. Marilyn, as a writer, what do you think about the way sex is written nowadays? I don't mean the moral aspect of it, but do you think that writers do a good job when they write about it?

A. Sex is probably the hardest thing to write, period. It's easier to write murder scenes. I don't claim that I write good sex scenes but I write funny ones -- I'm writing from experience here -- use what you know....

2. It's a good thing you don't write your murder scenes from experience, then! Tell me more about your novels.

A. My detective, Hetty Henry, is a lusty woman -- she's young, widowed twice, and when she likes a man she doesn't hesitate to go to bed with him. Hetty is a Puritan from Boston, and is much closer to historical truth than the narrow-minded Puritan of stereotype. The Puritans were Elizabethan, not Victorian, and they enjoyed a good romp in the hay as much as they do in the daytime soaps. In my new book, DEATH OF A DUTCH UNCLE (Hilliard and Harris), Hetty gets it on with a hunky Mohawk (Native American.) She's the animal and he's the suave sophisticate in bed... or beneath the pine trees, as it were.

3. Mmmm, I know which book I'll be buying next! Do historical novels usually include sex writing?

A. Medieval historical mysteries usually have monks (i.e. Brother Cadfael), nuns, priests and other religious as detectives so there's very little sex there. I decided to have a Puritan minister as my detective --Increase "Creasy" Cotton is a little naive but there's no doubt he likes women. Creasy Cotton and Hetty Henry are antagonists at first but they are learning to work together to solve crimes. There is some sexual tension between them -- they had 'pity sex' in the first book, MURDER, MATHER AND MAYHEM (Xlibris) but they're really involved with other people.

4. What in your opinion is the difference between "contemporary fiction" (where it's not uncommon to find sexual encounters, e.g., the Stephanie Plum series), "erotica" and "porn"?

A. Contemporary mystery novels are pretty tame when it comes to sex -- it's more of a tease than 'erotica'. I like classic erotica but I haven't read any since Edith Wharton. As for porn, it's just stupid and unimaginative. But then I don't really read the 'noir' type mysteries by contemporary writers-- except for Tony Hillerman -- I read the cozies. In my limited reading experience, I haven't found any male writers who know how to write a good sex scene -- but then I haven't found many women who can do it, either.

5. How does your favourite writer handle sex in their books?

A. My character Hetty was really a reaction to historical mysteries where the handsome hero and lovely heroine are stuck in an isolated cabin, they are attracted to each other, but all they share is a passionate kiss. Now I admire Anne Perry no end, but her theory is no sex without marriage, and then it's only implied. A single kiss is more romantic to her -- well, it is romantic but it's not realistic. If our ancestors were all Saints, we wouldn't be here today. As for Janet Evanovitch, whose work I really enjoy, the biggest disappointment was her sex scene between Stephanie and Ranger -- after an amazing amount of tension build-up it's strictly 'bang-slam-thank you-sex.' Maybe my Mohawk hunk, Billy Blue Bear, is a reaction to that, too. (Blue Bear has a big 'war club' that he offers to show Hetty almost from the start of the book.)

6. LOL. Anything else you'd like to add?

A. I really enjoy smashing some of the myths about our ancestors -- I do my research and my research shows they were a bawdy lot. They also drank vast amounts of liquor -- even a Puritan minister from Boston could drink any of today's toppers under the table --and they drank strange concoctions of it. The men had more fashion sense than we do today -- all those silks and laces and gorgeous colors didn't make a man any less manly. Check out the birth rates!

Marilyn, thank you for your time. And now I'm off to explore 'war clubs' on http://store.hilliardandharris.com/1-59133-185-4.html.

Small Price To Pay

What should you do with an unfaithful husband, particularly one who considers you too fat to have an affair of your own?

For the answer, you'll need to look to my very own comedy novella, Small Price to Pay. Yes, this is blatant self-advertising, but with good reason: the story won the February 2007 contest organised by Echelon Press, USA (http://www.echelonpress.com/) and I’m dizzily, irrationally, bubblingly proud of it.

And before you ask.... No, the heroine of Small Price to Pay is not based on me or my own experiences. My husband is not having an affair, and I don’t know a gorgeous Italian named Antonio....

(As you may know, Small Price to Pay is my third title published by Echelon Press. The first, Murder @ Work, appeared in 2004, with Murder @ A Little Bead Shop following in 2006.
Also, watch out for my “Interview with the Dragon”, due to be released by Echelon Press later this year. Woo-hoo!)

Review Snip for Small Price To Pay: A deserving winner of the Fast and Frisky 2007 contest.

To win a copy of Small Price to Pay, please visit my website http://yewalus.kiwiwebhost.net.nz/index.html to find my address and send me an email with the subject “Small Price to Pay - competition”.

Excerpt:

At the dinner table, over a romantic arrangement of oysters, seared tuna and a bottle of the best white I could find, I told Rob and Hannah to start packing for their summer camp.

"Perhaps you and I can have some time off together while they're gone," I told Nick when the children's hoorays had wound down and they'd skipped out of the room to pick out t-shirts and togs.
I leaned forward to display my ample cleavage. I had dressed in a little black number... well, in a big black number that was kind to my curves. I even wore perfume. I tossed my hair and a lock fell across my cheek in textbook fashion (How to Woo a Man Using Your Hair 101).
Last chance, I thought. "You know, just you and me. A second honeymoon."
"The thing is," Nick stammered, not looking at me, "I have to be in Auckland next week."
"The whole week?" I feigned surprise.
"A conference," he murmured. "No point driving back and forth."
I sighed. "All right. But I don't feel like staying home all by myself. Perhaps I could go to Auckland with you," I teased. I already knew the answer.
And that's how I got Nick's okay for my week away in Melbourne.
The city greeted me with a cold breeze (was this really the warm Australia I'd read so much about?) and bright sunshine. I checked into the Melbourne Marriott and called Antonio's number.

Purchase Info: www.echelonpress.com

Visions of Heat

If you're a regular, you will notice that this is an unscheduled post. The questions, however, were too delicious to resist. They come from Nalini Singh on http://nalinisingh.blogspot.com/2007/02/visions-of-heat-meme.html to promote her book "Visions of Heat" (you can read the excerpt here: http://www.nalinisingh.com/visions).

1. Which psychic power would you most like to possess?
Making people do what I want them to do.

2. If you could see the future, what would you like to see?
Nothing. Seeing the future would be pretty awful on so many levels! Do I for instance want to see my future bestseller? Absolutely not. Do I want to know when I'll die? Nope.
OK... if I could see danger to my loved ones and me, I'd like to be able to do that PROVIDED I could do something to avoid it.

3. Imagine you woke up one day and could shape shift - what would you shift into?
A dolphin - in a marine reserve. When I'm done playing, I'd like to shape shift into a wealthy person, walk into their bank and withdraw all the money they have on the premises.

4. What kind of a paranormal creature would you invite over for dinner if there were no limits on who you could ask?
A unicorn - my daughter would love that. Um, are unicorns paranormal or just magic? Paranormal... paranormal... don't like vampires... or werewolves... witches are cool. Can I have a witch, please?

5. Which future innovation do you wish would hurry up and get here already? i.e. flying cars, a transporter, computers with artificial intelligence, an auto chef?
- A mouse that you can operate with your foot or with your eye.
- Cars that run on sea water or solar power.
- Publishers who pay attention to middle-list authors.

Shopaholic and Baby

I feel a lot better reading the Shopaholic series now that I know that their author, Sophie Kinsella, is actually the well-respected writer Madeleine Wickham. So while I wait for Madeleine to come to her senses, I enjoy the substitute.

The heroine irritates me on many levels (she is an irresponsible spendthrift and not super-bright), what I love about her is that she is a good, decent, fun-loving girl, loyal to her friends and family. I would be a richer person for having her number in my address book... well, not richer in the money sense, because she would take me shopping for cute preschooler dresses cuter still t-shirts for my children, but you know what I mean.

You see, I hate shopping. Whether it’s the weekly groceries, a hunt for a new TV or a summer dress, it’s just no something I would choose to spend my precious time on. The exception being baby clothes. Now that I’m a mother, I can look without gagging at a pink dress with roses and fairies and actually think “aaaw”. My monthly budget is blown on a regular basis by unscheduled visits to Pumpkin Patch. You get the picture.

This is why I could relate to “Shopaholic and Baby” and why I didn’t think five prams was too many. And I wished I also had a Circus Nappy Changing Table.

If you’re in any doubt that the author is a good writer, read the chapter towards the end about what it feels like to gaze upon your newly born baby. Totally authentic!

Interview with Mary Cunningham

Today we are talking to a fellow Echelon Press author Mary Cunningham. Mary writes for children and young adults. Like me, she is fascinated by witches and potions and spells....

1. Tell us about your latest series: the premise, the theme, the mood.

Cynthia's Attic is a fantasy/fiction series consisting of two books (so far - I'm feverishly writing book three!). Best friends, Cynthia and Augusta Lee, or ‘Gus’ as she prefers to be called, are as “different as bubble gum and broccoli.” The adventurous twelve-year-old girls stumble upon a trunk in Cynthia’s attic that has been in her family for three generations. The two discover its magic qualities when they are swept into the trunk and whisked back to 1914, literally into the lives of their twelve-year-old grandmothers.

They travel through time solving mysteries, getting into tons of trouble, and experiencing the childhood lives of distant relatives. My goal was to write books showing humor, friendship, loyalty, and the importance of family relationships. Considering the feedback I've gotten from grandchildren to grandparents, I believe I've accomplished that goal.

2. For what age group do you write and do you know children of that age?

4th grade through 6th grade is my target audience. My granddaughter was twelve when "The Missing Locket," book one, was published. She was extremely excited because I dedicated it to her. I also correspond with several 4th grade classes who have read the books. Their e-mails are priceless. One of my favorites is from a boy named Brandon who wrote, "I love Gus's attitude!" How much more can a writer hope for than to have their p.o.v. character be recognized for her "attitude?"

3. Do you think it's easier to be published as a children's author or an adult's one?

I really don't have a form of reference since I haven't tried seriously to get adult fiction books published. I've been told, however, that it's easier to get submissions to children's book publishers, and that it's not always necessary to have an agent. That doesn't seem to be the case with adult fiction. I was fortunate to stumble upon a publishing company (Echelon Press) that was accepting young reader fantasy/fiction.

4. Who was your favorite children's author when you were growing up?

I was a sports biography fanatic and quickly read everything my small, hometown library had to offer - from Hank Aaron to Babe Didrikson Zaharias. I also liked Nancy Drew, H. G. Wells, and in later years, devoured Lord of the Rings from beginning to end. I think Tolkien is the master of fantasy/fiction.

5. Which one of the following would you like to write about: a dragon, a unicorn, a witch, a space craft?

Weird combination but, a good witch or a space craft. I love spells and potions but I'm also a space buff. The Star Wars series is one of my all time favorites. This is embarrassing, but one of the first poems I can remember writing, as a very small child, began, "When I was a little girl like you, I went up in Sputnik number two." Guess that shows my age, and also why I don't write poetry!

6. Anything else you'd like to add?

The idea for "Cynthia's Attic" began as a recurring dream I'd had for over 20 years about a mysterious attic. One day, I decided to tell the dream to my best friend and realized that it was about playing in the attic of my childhood friend, Cynthia. "What a great title for a book!" she remarked. I never had the "attic" dream after that but the writing started and hasn't stopped. It began as a childhood memoir for family and friends, but that didn't satisfy me. I wanted to include parents, grandparents, g-grandparents and gg-grandparents, and the only way to do that was to travel back in time. I love writing adventures that I believe they would've enjoyed.

Twelve Sharp

I believe that books are like food: too much sweet Romance and you can’t wait for a meat-and-potatoes novel you can get your teeth in. Too much prose, and you reach for poetry. And after a heavy diet of Important Books Other People Decided You Must Read, you crave something light and fluffy.



Like Janet Evanovich, for example. I honestly don’t know when I read her latest Plum novel, “Twelve Sharp” - all I remember of the last two weeks is a blur of short stories and non-fiction book chapters I had to complete for various deadlines, and that's on top of my usual duties as a professional in two companies, a mother and a home maker.

And yet read “Twelve Sharp” I did. I can’t claim to remember the plot very well or what the title had to do with the book, but I do remember liking the overall experience. There was a lot of female bonding, not too much slapstick, no annoying characters. Best of all, there was plenty of sweet dark sexual tension with Ranger.

For those of you who don’t know the series: Stephanie Plum is kind of going out with Morelli, her childhood sweetheart, who used to be deliciously bad and is now boringly reformed and committed and good for her. Now, I’m all for guys who are good and soft on the inside, but outside I want them to be bad. Ergo, enter Ranger, who is definitely bad for Stephanie. He will never marry her, but he will rescue her from embarrassing or dangerous situations, and he will give her the s3x of her life... if only she lets him.

Come to think of it, s3x is a lot like food too: you need your meat and potato, but from time to time, you really feel like dessert.

INTERVIEW WITH JANE BECKENHAM

This is your chance to meet one of the authors featured on this blog: Jane Beckenham was kind enough to answer these (increasingly personal) questions about Valentine's Day and her book "Be My Valentine" (which I reviewed in my previous blog). Sit back, grab a cup of coffee (we did) and enjoy.

Jane, how does Be My Valentine Link to Valentines Day?
The theme I had in my mind for this book was love lasting for eternity, even through the ages of time. What better day to bring this about than Valentine’s Day, a day for lovers of any time. So the time travel faction takes place on February 14th and it not only brings love alive, but it returns a love too… but then, you’ll have to read it to find out. Be My Valentine is published by Treble Heart Books http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/
And you can find it at http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/BeckenhamSynops.html


What made you decide to write about Time Travel?
Well I’ve always been an avid history fan, and got hooked on time travel romances when I started reading Sandra Hill’s Viking series and her Cajun series, plus books by Lyn Kurland. I met Ellen Ben-Sefer on line in the Ozromance writer’s loop and she wanted someone to critique her Scottish time travel. Now you gotta remember this was when I didn’t really know what critiquing even meant. Ellen and I hit it off. She’s an American transplanted in Sydney Australia and I live in NZ. We’ve both traveled extensively and lived in Israel and said… wouldn’t it be great… well the next day, chapter one arrived in my inbox from Ellen and Woman of Valor was born – five weeks later we had a complete manuscript – and we’d never even met.

A couple of books later… I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. That I could actually write a book – all by myself. I love pirate stories but felt NZ didn’t really suit as a setting. I started writing … Dave Barnett was sacked… Well heck, who was Dave, where was he, and what was going to happen? I didn’t have a clue. I just wrote. The story unfolded like a video in my head. And there we have BE MY VALENTINE.

How did you write it? Did you plot?
Plot? Me? Well sort of. Actually it has sort of grown on me as the years have passed. I always have an idea of a character, an event, a phrase, then start from that. But I must admit I absolutely adore doing character interviews. For Be My Valentine I had to find out who Dave was? Where did he live? And most important – why was he sacked? So I started asking him questions – in my head – and no I’m not quite in a straight jacket yet – but you know what – the guy answered, and kept on talking. All about his family, his ex who took him for all he was worth, about his grandfather, about his work – and so Dave Barnet got a life, a backstory and a future.

What about research?
Research for anyone who loves history, probably isn’t a chore. Be My Valentine I decided wouldn’t suit a NZ setting, so I started searching the net for info on pirates and came up with an interesting fact about Port Royal, Jamaica where in the 1690s there had been a massive earthquake/tsunami wiping out most of the township. This town had a nickname of Sin City, full of pirates, prostitutes and rum.
Bingo. There was my setting, and my story …. But then you’ll have to read the book to find out – won’t you.

I’ve always found reading for facts and figures etc from children’s books in the library the most helpful. It puts the information at my fingertips in an easy and quick to read way. One scene I had to write was the description of a sunset in Jamaica. Now I’ve never been there, but my mother had and so had a friend, so I picked their brains. Friends and family are great places for research!

Now for the personal bit, Jane. Do you and your husband celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Eeek…. Do I really have to answer that? Well,….no. Not really. Sad isn’t it. And me a romance writer. But I must admit he is rather a romantic at heart, but of course, he man that he is, he’ll never admit it. We’ve been married 24 years this year, and our first Valentine’s Day. For days beforehand I kept reminding him, then on the BIG DAY, I woke up and there was a lovely red rose on my pillow (a silk one which I still have), and me – oh yeah – I had forgotten completely!
Another romantic moment. We adopted our girls from Russia in 1996. I spent about 5 weeks over there, doing the paperwork trail etc, then the morning after we get home and daddy gets to meet his daughters for the first time, I wake up (is there a wake up thing going on here?) to find a lovely sapphire ring on my pillow – four sapphires he says, one for each of us - awwwww. Ain’t that romantic?

Jane, thank you for that. And a reminder to our readers that you can view the trailer for Be My Valentine on http://flash-movies.toufee.com/mov/36371169692268.