Straight From the Mouth of Thriller Author Jorg H. Trauboth

 

The Inspiration Behind The Death of the Kremlin Czar

By Jorg H. Trauboth

I had a dream. Russian troops were standing in front of Berlin and declaring that Germany was now Russian. We were to surrender and look forward to a life in communism and with the ruble. I woke up and realized that I wasn’t living in 1945, but 80 years later.
Exactly this has happened to Ukraine. For nearly three years, the country has been desperately fighting for its survival. It wants to reclaim its lost territories and peace. Like all of us.

As someone who knows Putin's biography and as a former general staff officer in NATO, I am convinced that there can be no negotiations with the Russian president. And if Ukraine gives up the territories because it runs out of weapons and ammunition, we in Central Europe will be next. Then my bad dream could come true.
“If a solution cannot be found on the battlefield, there must be another way to find one,” I thought.

I am also convinced that reality writes the best stories. You just have to recognize them.
So, I began to develop a plot for my fourth Marc Anderson thriller: 

A group of oligarchs led by Alexei Sokolov wants to overthrow Russian President Ivan in Moscow. Just as Brutus and the senators did with Julius Caesar in Rome on the Ides of March. Modern history shows that it is difficult to overthrow a dictator by force. So, I gave Alexei a tough task, as he only had this one chance. And he is even preparing it with the support of the CIA, and with the knowledge of the US President, who of course knows nothing about it. 

The plan is clever, but Alexei has a problem. He is having an affair with Yulia, the partner of the Russian President. Both are under pressure, as Ivan knows something. 

On the flight to Moscow via Vilnius in Belarus, the plane with Alexei and Yulia on board is hijacked. The Ukrainian hijacker demands that his brother be released from Russian captivity. When the Russian President refuses, the plane begins an odyssey over Europe. The hijacker shoots the crew. The plane is without pilots and is programmed to crash into the Berlin Reichstag. The German government considers shooting down the passenger plane, which is legally forbidden. Crisis management between Berlin, Kyiv, and Washington is under enormous time pressure, as the plane is running out of fuel. The Czar in Moscow is silent. The former elite soldier Marc Anderson and his family are also on board. They are invited to a wedding celebration in Vilnius. Marc's wife, Jelke, pleads with her husband, a hobby pilot, to save them all. He and Alexei go into the cockpit and try to take control of the ailing Boeing 737-300 in the night sky.
Will they manage to fly and to land the plane? And how will the plan to bring down Ivan unfold?

At this point, I have to stop. But you can be sure. The ending is spectacular. By page 180 at the latest, you’ll want to know. Otherwise, you won’t be able to relax. At least, that’s what the readers of the German novel say.

Enjoy!

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Jörg H. Trauboth, born in 1943 near Berlin, logged over two thousand flight hours as a Weapon Systems Officer Instructor in the Luftwaffe, flying PHANTOM F-4F / RF-4E and TORNADO fighter jets, and over 3000 hours in light aircraft. At the age of fifty, he left the service with the rank of Colonel in the General Staff. He received training as a Special Risk Consultant from the English Control Risk Group and served as Managing Director Germany, dealing with extortion and kidnapping cases in South America and Eastern Europe. Shortly thereafter, he founded his own consulting firm, quickly establishing an outstanding international reputation. Trauboth protected his clients with a 24-hour task force during product extortions, product recalls, kidnappings, and image crises. He was the first President of the European Crisis Management Academy in Vienna and President of the American Yankee Association.

He is known as a respected expert in the media on security-related topics. He volunteers as an emergency counselor and is a member of the Crisis Intervention Team (KIT Bonn) of the German Foreign Office. He is a private pilot, married, with two sons and three grandchildren.

In 2002, Trauboth wrote the now out of print standard work “Crisis Management for Company Threats”.

In 2016 the follow-up work was published with Jörg H. Trauboth as editor in collaboration with five authors: “Crisis Management in Companies and Public Institutions”.

Terror expert J. H. Trauboth presented his debut novel in 2015 with the Germany thriller “Three Brothers”. (Available in English). In 2019 “Operation Jerusalem” followed and in 2020 “Omega”. The trilogy is about the former elite soldier Marc Anderson and his team. With these three self-contained thrillers, Trauboth is rated by many readers as the “German Tom Clancy.” The trilogy is available as a printed edition, eBook and audio book.

His first detective novel, “Jakobs Weg” (German), followed in 2021. The highly explosive topic of “sexual abuse of children” is processed sensitively in a scenario on the Way of Saint James and at the end offers contact options for those seeking help.

In 2022, the novella “Bonjour Saint-Ex” was published (German) in which the passionate pilot Jörg H. Trauboth turns the last flight of the legend Antoine de Saint Exupéry into an exciting literary event.

Readers wanted a sequel to the Marc Anderson series. In 2023, ZarenTod – Das Ende der Präsidenten was published, a highly topical political thriller. The Russian president and new tsar, Ivan Pavlenko, suddenly shows his true face during the war in Ukraine. He wants the old Soviet Union back. The world is on the brink. The influential oligarch, Alexei Sokolov, wants to prevent Ivan’s megalomaniac plans and is planning a fundamental new beginning for Russia. To achieve this, the Russian president must be removed. But the plan goes awry. Ex-elite soldier Marc Anderson intervenes. Will Czar Ivan die? What will become of Europe? The book 8/ 2024 in English „The Death of the Kremlin Czar” is the fourth political thriller in the Marc Anderson series.

Website & Social Media:

Website ➜  https://trauboth-autor.de/english/

Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/JorgTrauboth

 

Straight From the Mouth of Thriller Author Karen Charles

 

10 Things You Might Not Know About Karen Charles

By Karen Charles

 

1.  Blazing Upheaval is based on my six years of teaching in the inner city of Los Angeles while living in Northridge in the San Fernando Valley.
2.  I spent the first six years of my life in a clearing in the jungles of Liberia, West Africa. My dad was in charge of a leper colony and my mom was in charge of a boys’ boarding school. We moved to Nigeria where I lived until I was sixteen years old.
3. I have traveled in nineteen foreign countries.
4.  I flew a Cessna twin-engine plane at the age of fifteen.
5. My first published writing was a poem about the African crown bird. Their beauty and elegance enthralled me. My mom sent my poem to Jack and Jill Children’s magazine and they published it.
6. I own a condo in Puerto Vallarta where one of my characters in the thriller Fateful Connections lived.
7. I own and manage an Airbnb on a beautiful bay in Washington State.
8. I have a children’s book published and three thrillers.
9. I have six kids, fourteen grandkids, two great-grandkids, and another grandkid on the way.
10.  In the winter months when the Airbnb business is a little slower, I find time to concentrate on writing.

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Karen Charles transforms real-life narratives into gripping fiction thrillers. Her novels intricately weave the threads of truth into a tapestry of suspense, intrigue, and riveting storytelling. An educator by profession, she is renowned for her thriller “Fateful Connections,” which unfolds against the backdrop of 9/11. “Blazing Upheaval” promises to deliver another chilling, heart-pounding experience. Karen and her husband reside on the serene shores of a beautiful bay in Washington, where she draws inspiration for her compelling narratives. Explore her insights and musings on the writer’s life through her blogs on “My Life As A Writer” at www.weaveofsuspense.com.

Website & Social Media:

Website ➜ http://weaveofsuspense.com 

Twitter ➜ http://www.twitter.com/karenra24229683 

Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/karen.rabe.7/

 

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You can purchase your copy of Karen's book, Blazing Upheaval, at Amazon.

Straight From the Mouth of Crime Fiction Thriller Author Jennifer Chase

 

10 Things You Might Not Know About The First Girls: Detective Katie Scott Book 11

By Jennifer Chase

1. The series takes place in a town called Pine Valley located in Sequoia County California, along with several nearby towns that are made up and entirely from my imagination.
2. The commands and search techniques used in the story are some of what I've learned firsthand training my own German shepherd for cadaver/forensic search.
3. This has been a series that I've wanted to write for some time—more than five years before I pitched to my publisher.
4. Detective Katie Scott's partner Detective Sean McGaven's character is based on someone I once worked with. 
5. I've studied nearly one hundred homicide crime scenes, which contributed to the body count and creativity in The First Girl.
6. Inspiration for the large rural areas in the story was based on my own observations in visiting similar places.
7. I sketched on paper the crime scenes and farmhouses, areas of escape, and where bodies would be located before writing those particular chapters.
8. In The First Girl, I loosely outlined the story before beginning to write, but I love to create the guessing game of who the killer is and how the ended is going to be crafted. I had fun with this story.
9. On my walks or when I'm doing errands, I sometimes take photos of places, locations, and buildings that helped to inspire this story's locations.
10. I always balance out how many times Detective Katie Scott uses Cisco, her retired military working dog, in area searches surrounding the cases.

The First Girl is available at Amazon & Other Retailers.

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Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning and USA Today Best Selling crime fiction author, as well as a consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master’s degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent psychopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. Her latest book is The First Girl.

Website & Social Media:

Website -> https://authorjenniferchase.com/ 

Twitter -> https://twitter.com/jchasenovelist 

Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenniferChase 

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/jenchaseauthor/ 

Goodreads:->www.goodreads.com/author/show/2780337.Jennifer_Chase

 

Straight From the Mouth of Horror Thriller Author Jens Boele

 

 Why I Wrote Urbex Predator

By Jens Boele

Imagine exploring an abandoned barracks, only to run into a gang of ruthless thugs, with no police in sight to intervene if things go south. Sounds like the plot of my book, right? Well, replace the barracks with an abandoned hospital, and that's where I found myself.

As an urban explorer and amateur photographer, decay and ruins have always fascinated me. It all began several years ago during a visit to California when I stumbled upon an abandoned water park in the Mojave Desert. The place had an eerie yet captivating atmosphere, reminiscent of "Zombieland." Picture the desert heat, scorching sun, and remnants of civilization laid bare before you, enveloped in absolute silence. It was a moment straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie, sparking my love for urban exploring—a passion I indulge in when I'm not writing.

Inspiration strikes from the things that move me, the experiences I can feel. Sometimes, it's just a single spark that ignites an idea. In "Urbex Predator," Nela and Tess stumble upon an abandoned barracks overrun by a gang of hoodlums, mirroring an encounter I had with a friend. The what-if scenario that followed became the seed for the story. In the fall of 2021, after a day exploring and photographing on the Canary Islands, I sat down with a beer and outlined the plot, drawing from the amalgamation of abandoned military sites I'd encountered across Europe since the end of the Cold War era.

Every horror story requires an initial sin, an enclosed setting, and a monster. I've always been intrigued by the darker facets of human nature—what drives people to commit acts of evil and crime. In "Urbex Predator," we confront a group of neglected youths who form a toxic alliance, embodying the desolation of the abandoned buildings they inhabit. As night descends, the hunt begins.

After months of crafting, the story finally took shape and the book was born. I hope you enjoy the journey it takes you on.

Purchase Information for Urbex Predator

Pick Up Your Copy at Amazon

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Jens Boele, a veteran media designer in the entertainment industry, brings over two decades of cinematic expertise to his writing. Born in Germany in 1975, Jens embarked on his writing odyssey in his youth, culminating in the publication of his debut book, “Sunshine,” in 2015. This was followed by “Hurensohn,” and his latest spine-tingling creation, “Urbex Predator.” Jens is a genre-bending author, specializing in horror and crime thrillers. His narratives often blur genre lines, weaving intricate tales that plunge readers into the darkest corners of the human psyche. Jens’s storytelling brilliance lies in his fascination with the criminal mind; his villains are always profoundly human, offering readers a chilling examination of the psychological aspects of the criminally insane. Jens sets himself apart by seamlessly integrating classic horror with the gritty authenticity of the present day. This innovative fusion imbues his narratives with a dynamic quality, seamlessly blending archaic thrills with contemporary intrigue, resulting in an immersive reading experience that resonates with both vintage enthusiasts and present-day readers alike. Jens Boele’s latest endeavor takes his work across borders, as “Urbex Predator” becomes his first book to be translated into English. A globetrotter with deep connections to the United States, Jens’s passion for exploration and his international perspective, nurtured by family and friends in the US, shine through in his writing, offering readers a captivating blend of horror and cultural diversity. Visit Jens’ website at https://jensboele.com/.

 

Straight From the Mouth of Thriller Author Karen Charles

 

 5 Things You Might Not Know About Fateful Connections

By Karen Charles

1. At a Christmas brunch my friend, Sandy, told a story of what happened to her brother who was at a CEO conference on 9/11. I was so intrigued by the bazaar events that I decided to develop it into a thriller.

2. After I heard the story my book is based on, it took a year and a half before I began writing the manuscript.

3. I own a condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where one of my characters in the book lives.

4. The ranch setting in Santa Clarita, California is owned by my son.

5. One of the characters in the book is very much like me.

 

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Karen Charles is a children’s book author and educator. She lives with her husband on a beautiful bay in Washington State. Her latest book is the thriller, Fateful Connections.

Website: https://karenrabe18.wixsite.com/my-site-2

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenra24229683

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Purchase Information for Fateful Connections

Amazon: https://amzn.to/41WDECT

Straight From the Mouth of Suspense Thriller Author Richard I. Levine

 

 That Little Voice

By Richard I. Levine

That little voice is always there. We all have one, maybe two. We simply need to acknowledge it exists and allow ourselves an open mind to hear its counsel. Trust me, I don’t have a multiple personality or dissociative identity disorder of any kind. At least I don’t think so. To be clear, I’m not poking fun at anyone who is coping with this condition. With that disclaimer out of the way, the little voice I am referring to is also known as our intuition.

But what is it exactly? At the risk of seeming to be “out there” (or as my friend describes it, being connected to the woo woo world), based upon so many past experiences I firmly believe my intuition is a connection between me and my spirit guides, or if you prefer, my guardian angels.  We all have them and they’re always with us—from our entry into this physical world at birth, to the time we are called back home.

It’s that little voice that warns us something doesn’t seem right. It’s that reflex that makes the hairs on the back of our necks stand up.

It’s that second-guessing that convinces us to delay a trip or to take a detour.

It’s the whisper that seemingly comes out of nowhere when we suddenly think of a long-lost friend or relative right before they call. How many times have we had that happen and think “what a coincidence, I just thought of her yesterday!”  

     Sadly, many people are no longer tuned into their intuition and they no longer hear their little voice. With all the static noise and stress we are subjected to from the artificially created environment of the world we live in: traffic, construction noise, work deadlines, family obligations, political messaging, and so on, most folks have forgotten that we are all spiritual beings in the midst of a physical existence. But with intention and practice, we can learn to tune out the static and reconnect with our innate ability to listen to that little voice.

     On several occasions, while driving and simultaneously deep in the imaginary world of a current book project, I’ve arrived at my final destination without being able to recall any part of the drive. How did I not end up in a ditch on the side of the road? Please keep in mind that I don’t imbibe or do drugs—although one time after driving home late at night through a torrent of rain and wind (it was a dark and windy night…), and not being able to recall most of that journey, a stiff drink would have been justified.  Was one angel providing the crystal-clear imagery of my next chapter while another angel took the wheel and safely guided me home?

To that end, I believe my guardian angels have worked with me when I am writing—from an idea that wakes me in the middle of the night, to when I’m searching for just the right phrase, or better yet, when I’ve finished several pages of dialogue between two or more characters, and I then have to read over what I couldn’t recall having written. Sure, my fingers were dancing all over the keyboard, but I am convinced that those characters, by way of that little voice (my guardian angels or spirit guides) dictated the direction, tone, and length of the conversation.

For my fellow authors who might feel frustrated because of writers block, allow me to suggest that you stop trying to force the next paragraph, sentence, or word. Take a break. Go for a walk and enjoy a little fresh air and sunshine, listen to some beautiful inspirational music or simply turn off all the electronics and find a quiet, peaceful place to meditate. Make this a part of your routine and I’ll bet, without trying, your intuition will reconnect, your little voice will begin to sing, and your imagination will begin to flow.

As I button this up, my angels are laughing right now because one of them just said they should receive equal billing on my book covers. What’s next, a percentage? ☺

 

 

Richard I Levine is a native New Yorker raised in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in several occupations and a one-year coast to coast wanderlust trip, this one-time volunteer fireman, bartender, and store manager returned to school to become a chiropractor. A twenty-three-year cancer survivor, he’s a strong advocate for the natural healing arts. Levine has four Indy-published novels and his fifth work, To Catch The Setting Sun, is published by The Wild Rose Press and was released in August 2022. In 2006 he wrote, produced and was on-air personality of the Dr. Rich Levine show on Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five year practice in Bellevue, Washington, he closed up shop in 2017 and moved to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O. While briefly working as a ghostwriter/community liaison for a local Honolulu City Councilmember, he appeared as a background actor in over twenty-five 5-Os and Magnum P.Is. Richard can be seen in his first co-star role in the Magnum P.I. third season episode “Easy Money”. He presently resides in Hawaii.

Visit Richard’s Amazon Page or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads.

Purchase Information for To Catch the Setting Sun

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Rl42Aw 

Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/3BRB0mv

Apple iBooks: https://apple.co/3dVBaBj

 

Straight from the Mouth of Dr. Randy Overbeck, Author of 'Blood on the Chesapeake'

IT’S NOT ALL FANFARE AND APPLAUSE

…OR SUNSHINE AND ROSES

When you ask a successful author—even using the word success here loosely—to reflect on what it took to reach the pinnacle, they will usually give you the good stuff. You know, the sterling reviews, the excitement of that book signing, the enthusiastic response of readers.

I’m no different. I’ve been thrilled by the early response to my new novel, Blood on the

Chesapeake. Early reviewers have been kind and even effuse in their praise. (“Blood on the Chesapeake is a tale to be savored in a darkened room, with an eye to all the possibilities lurking just out of sight.”—William Kent Krueger, Edgar Award winner and best-selling author of Ordinary Grace) And I can’t wait for the first book signing to look across at an excited reader and ask, “Who should I make this out to?”

 But that only tells one part of the story.

When asked, I usually leave out the soul-crushing responses I received from almost 100 (count them) agents, who politely, or not so politely, turned down the manuscript, after I meticulously researched them, selected them and sent them a carefully scripted query. (Not to mention the agents who never even bothered to acknowledge my query or send a “no thanks.”) I’m usually too embarrassed to mention the several writing conferences I attended—and the money and time invested—in hopes of talking with an agent, face to face, who might recognize the possibilities of my new novel. I also don’t usually bother explaining about the numerous agents (fifteen, maybe) who asked for partial or complete manuscripts, only to have NONE do anything with it. “I really liked your manuscript and believe it has potential, but I’m just not in love with it, so I’m passing.”) Give me a break.

I’ll also leave out the funds I put out for an editor to review my manuscript with the hope of “fixing” it so it will be closer to what “they” are looking for. And I certainly do not tell them about the “Query Conference” I attended in New York City in the frigid cold—which boasts that one-third of participants secure an agent by the conclusion—only to have to admit I wasn’t in that hallowed number.

Still, with the launch of Blood on the Chesapeake, published by a small, but formidable press, The Wild Rose Press, set for this month, I’d say the struggles have been worth it. When I’m sitting at the book signing, autographing copies for some excited readers, I probably won’t be thinking of all the trials then. That doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten. Even if my Blood on the Chesapeake does have some success, I’ll know I have to climb that proverbial mountain all over again to get the next one to print. Maybe, I’m a glutton for punishment, but I’ll probably stick my shoulder against the boulder, ala Sisyphus, and start pushing all over again.

Dr. Randy Overbeck is a writer, educator, researcher and speaker in much demand. During his three plus decades of educational experience, he has performed many of the roles depicted in his writing with responsibilities ranging from coach and yearbook advisor to principal and superintendent. His new ghost story/mystery, Blood on the Chesapeake, will be released on April 10, 2019 by The Wild Rose Press. As the title suggests, the novel is set on the famous Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, home to endless shorelines, incredible sunsets and some of the best sailing in the world. Blood is first in a new series of paranormal mysteries, The Haunted Shores Mysteries. Dr. Overbeck’s first novel, Leave No Child Behind, a thriller about the terrorist takeover of a Midwest high school and one teacher’s stand against the intruders, won the 2011 Silver Award for Thrillers from ReadersFavorite.com. Dr. Dr. Overbeck is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and an active member of the literary community. You can follow him on Twitter @OverbeckRandy, friend him on Facebook at Author Randy Overbeck or check out his webpage, www.authorrandyoverbeck.com

Straight from the Mouth of Thriller Author Sheila Lowe

The mother of a tattoo artist and a former rock star, Sheila Lowe lives in Ventura with Lexie the Very Bad Cat, where she writes the award-winning Forensic Handwriting mystery series. Like her fictional character Claudia Rose, Sheila is a real-life forensic handwriting expert who testifies in court cases. Despite sharing living space with a cat—a Very Bad one at that—Sheila’s books are decidedly non-cozy. Visit her at www.sheilalowe.com.

Questionnaire:

Thanks for letting us interrogate you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

I’ve written for as long as I can remember. I started with poetry, wrote a novella about the Beatles (it was England, 1963, and I was a Beatlemaniac—Ringo was my hearthrob), then a historical mystery/romance. Went on to study handwriting analysis and wrote technical articles and books on handwriting. Finally, when I was about fifty, I got back to what I really wanted to do—write a mystery. Why did I want to be an author? I don’t think there is an answer. It was just something I always did.

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

Getting published is a heartbreaking business, but if you’re a writer, you have to write. It’s one thing if you write just for fun, as one of my good friends does. He doesn’t care how many books he sells, he just enjoys the whole process. But if you want to be published and succeed, it takes a strong commitment, not only to writing the book, but to getting it published, whether you have a publisher or do it yourself, and then market it. But first, make sure your work is ready for publication, which means working with an independent editor along the way. That’s an investment, not a cheap one, but vital to your success.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

I’ve done both. I started with Capital Crime, a small press, which sent Poison Pen out for review and got a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. That brought it to the attention of a senior editor at Penguin, who ended up publishing the first four books. When my wonderful editor left and the one who replaced her did not offer to renew my contract, I self-pubbed a standalone titled What She Saw, about a young woman with amnesia, something that has always fascinated me. Eventually, I got my rights back from Penguin and gave them to Suspense, a smaller house (they publish Suspense Magazine). They re-issued the first four books with great new covers (which gave me a chance to go back and do some editing), plus the next three.

One of the great things about going with a small house or self-pubbing is that you have total, or at least way more control over your cover, title, and content. At Penguin, for each book I would receive the same boilerplate email, “here’s your cover, we hope you love it as much as we do.” And if I didn’t love it the response was, “there’s no time to make changes.”

Unless you are discovered(!), You can probably make more money self-publishing or with a small publisher than a big one. A big house might pay an advance, but if they do, the amount will be no more than they expect to make back on your book, a few thousand bucks. They usually pay 8-10% of the cover price in royalties on a mass market paperback, which means you have to sell a lot of books to earn back the advance. A small house is unlikely to pay an advance, but will offer a far higher percentage. If you self-publish through Amazon’s CreateSpace as I did that one book, you’ll receive around 70%. Amazon keeps 30% for their trouble.

Most of the time, to be published by a big house, you’ll need a good agent, which is almost as hard to find as a publisher. Go to writing conventions where you can meet agents and at least start a relationship. Agents attend those things because they expected to be pitched. Just make sure you have your elevator speech ready. You have about 14 seconds to grab their attention.

Further Very Important Advice: If you are lucky enough to get a deal, make sure you do are not selling your characters. Read the contract carefully and license the characters only for the book or books covered by that contract. That way, if the series takes off and becomes Harry Potter-sized, and you want to change publishing houses or make a movie deal, you will be able to. Otherwise, if you don’t protect yourself, you’ll lose all control over those fictional people you have created and love.

Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

My younger son is 39 and live in Germany. The older one is 42. I live with Lexie the Very Bad Cat, and when she complains that I’m not giving her enough attention or it’s time for a meal, I generally stop and listen, but she’s pretty tolerant. The truth is, my tendency to much work and little play has interfered with a couple of relationships. Bottom line, published authors and their families need to understand that there are sacrifices to be made. Not everyone sits at their desk from 9:00 a.m. to Midnight like I do (with bathroom and food breaks), and I really don’t have to. But that’s the way I like it. Which is probably why I’m not currently in a relationship.

This is for plant lovers...  Are your plants actually still alive?

They are, because I pay a gardener to keep them alive.

In writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?

With my other career as a forensic handwriting expert, unless I am testifying in court, I’m mostly able to make my own schedule. I’ve been my own boss since 1989, and having worked in the corporate world in another life, it’s a luxury I deeply appreciate.

How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

I spend a significant amount of time on Facebook, my personal page, where I’m never sure new “friends” come from. I check to see if they’re friending me because they are readers or writers, or in one of my networking groups, or if they are on the same political page. Otherwise, I delete a lot of requests from men in cammo who have no profile and no mutual friends. All of my posts automatically go to my Twitter feed (I’d rather be more selective), but who has time for all the others? I know some authors do a super job with this, but I am not one of them. I do have an author’s FB page, but rarely go there.

Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you?

My greatest success in sales has come from BookBub ads. When I advertised my then-self-pubbed book, What She Saw, for free, I had 117,000 downloads, which led to sales of all my backlist titles over the next two months, plus over 400 reviews, mostly 4 and 5 star. I made more in royalties for that $500 investment than my Penguin advances. It’s hard to get accepted by BB, as I’m told they only take 20% of submissions. But you can keep trying. That doesn’t cost anything.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

Scream in a good way or a bad way? Having to do sales and marketing. Even the big publishing houses do little-to-no marketing for midlist authors—most of the money goes into promoting the big names. My publicist at Penguin told me she had 200 authors and could devote 10 minutes a month to each one. So, be prepared to put time, effort, and some money into publicizing your work. I’ve retained publicists for several of my books, which means they get to do all the stuff I would rather not spend time on.

Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in. Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above don’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

I feel very lucky to have been published by a major publishing house, and to have landed with Suspense, who treat me well. If they had not I probably would be self-publishing, but I’m very grateful not to have to worry about issues like formatting, cover design, and getting ISBNs. With each book, I ask myself if I should write another, and somehow, they keep on coming. I guess I must be a writer 😊.

www.claudiaroseseries.com