This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with lawyer and crime writer Dan Flanigan. Dan started off writing poetry. Check out the story of how his writing journey began. To download a copy of the transcript, just click here. Debbi: Hi, everyone. My guest today is a lawyer, author, playwright, and poet, who among other things, has taught legal history and jurisprudence and practiced civil rights law, as well as worked in financial services, so he has an impressive resume. His written work includes the Peter O'Keefe hardboiled crime series, which has earned praise and awards. He has also written stage plays and short stories. His novella Dewdrops was adapted from a play. It's my pleasure to have with me a lawyer and acclaimed author, Dan Flanigan. Hi, Dan. How are you doing today? Dan: Good enough, thank you. As I said, better than I deserve I'm doing. Debbi: Oh, dear me. Oh, I'd hate to think that. You always wanted to write a novel but ended up going to law school. How did that come about? Dan: Well, I'm not sure. Debbi: I know the feeling. Dan: I wanted to be a writer from the time I was a sophomore in high school, and found many ways to avoid or evade it. When I look back on it, I punished myself a whole lot all those years, and unfortunately punished my wife as well for selling out, not doing what I was supposed to do. But when I look back on it now, I wonder if I really had anything to write and you've lived your whole life. You have had a lot happen to you. Debbi: There's a lot to be said for waiting before you start writing, because then you have more content to draw from. Dan: In any event, I never thought it would, but it worked out well. Debbi: Absolutely. Yeah. What was it that started you? You started with poetry, correct? Dan: Yes. I had written in sort of spurts occasionally over a long period of time, between my sophomore year in high school and when I really started writing in earnest, and I had a period in the 1980s when I was on kind of a two-year break from practicing law and I wrote several plays. I wrote some poetry, a couple short stories, and I wrote a novel. One thing led to another. For example, I had an agent, I had a publisher for the novel. The publisher went bankrupt, and I had a stage reading of a play in New York. I thought I was going to be on top of the world for about five seconds. Where do you go eventually with any of that? So I decided I'm going to quit punishing myself and have nothing to do with writing. And about 20 years later, if you got something like that in you, I guess it stays in you. My wife died in 2011, and I thought I'd do a kind of tribute, I guess - she might not think so - to her with a book called Tenebrae, which is a book of poems, mostly focused on her last illness and death. That sort of broke the dam, if you will, and sort of led me back into writing in a very serious way, and I really kept to it since. Debbi: What inspired you to create Peter O'Keefe, this character? What kind of a person is he and what do you draw on to create stories about him? Dan: The way I ended up there is odd, but I had no thought of ever writing crime fiction or detective fiction or anything else. I had read some of it over the course of my life, but never was steeped in it in any way, and the first two books, one was poetry and one was a short story collection, Dewdrops that I guess - not to be pretentious - but you might call literary fiction. But then I wanted to write this novel, sort of a fall in reparation sort of thing. I thought I want to make this more interesting than just navel gazing, and so I said, you know, I'm going to try to put it in this sort of private detective format and see how it goes. And that was the book that I wrote, and got accepted by a publisher. I had no thought of ever writing crime fiction or detective fiction or anything else. I had read some of it over the course of my life,

This week’s guest on the Crime Cafe podcast is historical crime writer Stephen Eoannou. Check out our discussion about the creator of the Lone Ranger! Grab a PDF copy of the transcript here! Debbi: Hi, everyone. My guest today has published two novels with the third coming in May of next year. Along with novels, he has written at least one short screenplay. He lives and works in Buffalo, New York, which also provides the setting and inspiration for his work. It's my pleasure to have with me today, the award-winning author Stephen Eoannou. Stephen: There you go. Debbi: Did I get that right? Stephen: Yes. Debbi: Awesome. Fantastic. So thank you for being with us today. Stephen: Thank you for having me. Debbi: I'm pleased to have you on. I really enjoyed your book Rook, your debut novel. That was a very interesting story. What inspired you to write about this particular man from the FBI's Most Wanted List? Stephen: Yeah. I had finished my first book Muscle Cars, which is a short story collection, and I was picking around trying to find an idea for the next project, and I can remember it vividly. It was a Sunday morning. I was standing in my kitchen and I was reading the newspaper. It was spread out on the kitchen table, and I saw an article, and the title of the article in the Buffalo News was “The Strange Tale of a Buffalo Bank Robber Turned Writer”, and that immediately caught my eye, thinking this maybe is another career avenue for myself. But I started reading this article about Al Nussbaum. I had never heard of the man before, and by the end of the article, I knew that I wanted to write about him. I was standing in my kitchen and I was reading the newspaper. It was spread out on the kitchen table, and I saw an article, and the title of the article in the Buffalo News was “The Strange Tale of a Buffalo Bank Robber Turned Writer” I wasn't sure it was going to be a novel or a short story or what, but I knew I wanted to learn more about this man and write about him. And what fascinated me was not only was he this kind of cerebral bank robber who approached the robberies like chess matches - which he was an avid chess player - and he's quoted as saying that robbing banks is like chess for cash prizes, which I think is a great quote. He became a writer when he was in prison, and he was a penny-a-word guy, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock. He even was writing for Scholastic Books, if anyone's old enough to remember Scholastic Books. Debbi: Oh, I do Stephen: Yeah, me too. I still have a few of them. So the man who was doing time in Leavenworth was also writing Scholastic Books. He was just a fascinating character, and he was a Buffalo guy. I had kind of decided after I completed Muscle Cars that really Buffalo, New York was going to kind of be my literary turf I was going to carve out for myself. Kind of what William Kennedy did for Albany and Richard Russo did for upstate New York, the Catskill areas. That's what I was going to do. And so this just kind of fell in my lap and I just kind of really became intrigued with Al and his story. Debbi: Interesting. Very interesting that you were able to find this in the local paper, right? Stephen: Well, what it was his daughter, who's just an infant in the novel, she was trying to do a Kickstarter campaign to gather up all her father's short stories and anthologized them, and so the newspaper did a feature on it. And what was really great about this whole experience with Rook is that since the publication, I've become friends with her. She lives about two hours away. She's a retired attorney, not a defense attorney or criminal lawyer. We've had coffee a few times and she's come to a couple of my events when I'm in the Central New York region, telling me some fascinating stories about her dad that I wish I knew while I was working on the manuscript. Debbi: Interesting. Because this is a fictionalized account of a true story,

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with paleontologist and crime writer Leonard “Kris” Krystalka. Check out his reading from The Bone Field! Grab a PDF copy of the transcript here! Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is both a professional paleontologist and a novelist. He writes the Henry Przewalski - is that correct, I hope? Przewalski? Leonard: Literally, it reads as Przewalski but it's actually a Russian-Polish name, named for the discoverer of Przewalski's horse, that small kind of dwarfish horse that lives wild on the Asian steppes. So it's pronounced in the Russian sense. Debbi: Got it. All right. I'll try to remember that. It's my pleasure to have him with me today. It's Leonard Krystalka, who goes by Kris. Like Kris Kristofferson, may he rest in peace. Leonard: May he rest in peace. A terrific person. Debbi: Indeed. Yes. Leonard: Yes. Wonderful artist. Debbi: He was, yes. I want to thank you for being here so much. It's good to have you on. Tell us about Harry Przewalski. I almost screwed that up again. How much did you draw from your own experiences in creating him? Leonard: A great deal. I named Harry Przewalski as a homage to the study of the life of the past and the study of present biodiversity. So, Przewalski's horse is this miniature horse that roams wild on the steppes of Asia. It almost became extinct by over hunting, and in World War II, the German soldiers ate what is reputed to be some of the last Przewalski's horses in a zoo in Poland. But enough were saved to repopulate the wild steppes of Asia. Przewalski's horse is this miniature horse that roams wild on the steppes of Asia. It almost became extinct by over hunting, and in World War II, the German soldiers ate what is reputed to be some of the last Przewalski's horses in a zoo in Poland. Debbi: Interesting. Did you choose that name deliberately? Leonard: I did. I chose it deliberately, although it's hard to pronounce, and as a homage to the paleontological studies of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, the three billion year history of life on Earth. Debbi: That is so cool. How many books do you have in the series, and how many do you plan to write? Or do you have a plan for the series? Leonard: There are four books now in the Harry Przewalski series. There's THE BONE FIELD, DEATH SPOKE, THE CAMEL DRIVER, and the newest one just published this year called NATIVE BLOOD. I have a fifth novel, which is not in that series. It's a historical fiction of a murder that occurred in Lawrence, Kansas in 1871. A doctor accused of murdering his patient because he was having an affair with the patient's wife. The doctor was arrested and the resulting trial was equivalent to … imagine the OJ Simpson trial in 1871 in Kansas. You have sex, you have murder, you have adultery. It attracted reporters of every single newspaper in the country from San Francisco, from Chicago, from St. Louis, from New York, Washington, Detroit, and so forth. This is 1871 Kansas. It's only six years after the end of the Civil War. So the trial was a national sensation, and one of the Lawrence women becomes the heroine. She talks the editor of one of the Lawrence newspapers into hiring her as the first woman correspondent west of the Mississippi. She covers the trial and solves the murder. Debbi: Wow. Leonard: She also fights for women's rights. She fights for suffrage for women and blacks. Yeah, she's quite a woman. Debbi: And which book is this again? Leonard: This is called THE BODY ON THE BED. I could hold it up for viewers to see. Debbi: That's very cool. I noticed that book was outside the series. Leonard: Yeah, it is. I'm writing the sequel to that now. It's called The Body on the Bricks. She is the heroine of that book as well. But your original question was about the Przewalski series of which there are now four, and yes, there may well be a fifth. Debbi: Fantastic.

This week's episode of the Crime Cafe features another story from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. This episode comes to you ad-free. Relatively. :) The following is an unedited AI-generated transcript. Does an awesome job, huh? :) (00:00:12): Hi, everyone. (00:00:14): This is The Crime Café, your podcasting source of great crime suspense and thriller writing. (00:00:20): I'm your host, Debbi Mack. (00:00:22): Before I bring on my guest, (00:00:23): I'll just remind you that The Crime Café has two e-books for sale, (00:00:28): the nine-book box set and the short story anthology. (00:00:31): You can find the buy links for both on my website, debbiemack.com, under the Crime Café link. (00:00:38): If you'd like to (00:00:39): You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. (00:00:45): You'll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, (00:00:49): along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. (00:00:53): Unfortunately, our scheduled guest was unable to make it this week. (00:00:58): However, (00:00:58): I have instead another episode from the files of Philip Marlowe, (00:01:02): Private Eye, (00:01:04): Daring Young Dame on the Flying Trapeze. (00:01:06): Enjoy! (00:01:11): For the safety of your smile, use Pepsodent twice a day, see your dentist twice a year. (00:01:27): Lever Brothers Company presents the Pepsodent program, (00:01:30): The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, (00:01:32): starring Van Heflin. (00:01:40): Pepsodent presents Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's famous private detective. (00:01:45): You've seen him on the screen in Lady and the Lake, (00:01:47): Murder, (00:01:47): My Sweet, (00:01:48): The Brasher Doubloon, (00:01:49): and The Big Sleep. (00:01:50): Now Pepsodent brings you the adventures of Philip Marlowe on the air and starring (00:01:55): MGM's brilliant and dynamic young actor, (00:01:57): Van Heflin. (00:01:59): Pepsodent (00:02:15): There comes a certain time in the year when I don't want to see midget auto races. (00:02:19): I just want to see midgets. (00:02:21): When I prefer sawdust to stardust, and popcorn to all other kinds of corn available in Hollywood. (00:02:28): The circus was moving in on the grounds at Washington Boulevard and Hill Street, (00:02:32): and I was turning in my usual fine job as sidewalk supervisor. (00:02:37): It was exciting. (00:02:38): It brought back all the sounds and sensations and convictions of childhood. (00:02:43): And then someone had me firmly by the wrist, (00:02:45): and I turned to look into a pair of steady, (00:02:47): smoky, (00:02:48): dark eyes that could be dangerous. (00:02:51): Excuse me, sir, but you are a private detective? (00:02:54): I'm a detective, but I don't get much privacy. (00:02:57): Yeah, my name is Ralph Tassinari. (00:03:00): Who told you I was a detective? (00:03:01): My feet aren't that flat. (00:03:03): Do you know a gentleman named Al Sicanolfi? (00:03:06): Well, I know an Al Sicanolfi. (00:03:08): He pointed you out. (00:03:09): He asked me what was the big idea. (00:03:11): What was my angle hiring a private detective? (00:03:13): He gave me an idea. (00:03:14): When has Al Sicanolfi had any ideas to spare? (00:03:17): Mr. Marlowe, besides owning one-third of this very fine little circus, I am Tassinari. (00:03:23): Of Tassinari, the Swede, and Glorian. (00:03:26): Trafisto. (00:03:27): The most brilliant aerial act in the business. (00:03:29): I own this circus with Glorian and the Swede. (00:03:32): Well, where does Al Sicanolfi fit in here? (00:03:34): Now, the Swede gets drunk and gambles fantastic sums of money. (00:03:38): This circus is worth a quarter of a million dollars. (00:03:40): Already,

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Tom Fowler. Check out our discussion of his Baltimore-based crime fiction. Click here for a PDF copy of the transcript. Debbi (00:55): Hi everyone. My guest today is the USA Today bestselling indie author of the John Tyler thrillers and the CT Ferguson crime fiction series. Born in Baltimore, he now lives in the Maryland suburbs of DC, a place that I know well, or at least I used to know it well. It's my pleasure to have with me Tom Fowler. Hey, Tom. How are you doing today? Tom (01:21): Good, Debbi. Thanks for having me on. Debbi (01:23): Excellent. My pleasure. I was particularly intrigued by the fact that you are writing hardboiled mysteries that take place in Baltimore. You're originally from Baltimore and you've also written a whole lot of those books. How many books do you have in the CT Ferguson series? Tom (01:44): Sixteen currently. Just put up the pre-order for number 17. My hope is to have it out a little before Christmas. Debbi (01:56): Well, I got to tell you, I love a hardboiled mystery, and I love the idea of the setting in Baltimore. How many books do you plan to write for the series? What's your plan for the series in general? Tom (02:09): Yeah, I don't have any plan to end it. I think it's common in the genre to have these kind of open-ended series, and we look at the Spencer series. Robert B. Parker wrote 40 or 41 before he died, and there's been another 11 or 12, I think since his passing. Ace Atkins wrote the first nine or 10, and now Mike Lupica has taken over. So Jack Reacher was more of a thriller character, I would say, than mystery, but that's a 27 or 28. And again, there's an author transition happening there too. So I think it's very common to see these series just keep going, and as long as people are interested in reading them, I'm certainly interested in writing them. I have a lot of fun with these books. Debbi (02:56): That's cool. I've noticed they tend to be on the short side. Is that intentional? Is it just the way you write? Tom (03:04): I guess it's just the way I write. They're usually 70 to 75,000 words. The more recent ones have been closer to 70, so I'd say most mysteries are probably somewhere in the 75 to 80 range. So I hope I'm not writing too short, but it's the right length for the story. I don't want to pad the word count unnecessarily. They're first-person stories, so there's not a lot of side quests, if you will, happening that the other characters are going on, so. Debbi (03:34): Exactly. Yeah, and personally, I like short reads, so I mean, that just really appeals to me. Tom (03:41): Yeah. Debbi (03:44): What prompted you to write that series? Tom (03:49): A few things. I've mentioned before, I think I have a longer bio that mentions I wrote a "murder mystery" (in air quotes for those who can't see me) when I was about seven years old in which no one actually died, so no murder. And I named the, I guess I can't really call him the killer, but the person who stabbed people, the stabber, like in the first paragraph. So not a mystery either. Oh for two, but it's because I was at my grandparents' house a lot, and they would watch shows like The Rockford Files. This was probably the early eighties, and they were probably in syndication by then, but Columbo, shows like that where you had a cop or a PI, someone solving a mystery, and I've read a lot of different genres over the years, but I wanted to, at some point in the late two thousands to 2010, I wanted to write my own, and I really started writing that book. (04:52): I know I had a finished draft of the first book, The Reluctant Detective, around November, December of 2010. I wouldn't publish it until October of 2017. So the process took me about seven years, but I wanted to do, I like the crime genre a lot. I was big into shows like Monk and Psych and things like that at the time,

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Catherine Rymsha. Check out our discussion about leadership skills and crime fiction writing. You can download a PDF of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today has a career in workplace communication and management. She teaches leadership skills and has a nonfiction book called The Leadership Decision which she published before her crime novel. Her crime novel is Stunning. It's called Stunning, and in addition, she has given a TED Talk on the importance of listening, so listen up. You might learn something. It's my great pleasure to have with me today, Catherine Rymsha. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Catherine: You are. Thank you. Yes, you are. Debbi: Excellent. Wonderful. Catherine: So happy to be here. Debbi: I was going to ask you about that, and I'd completely forgotten, in the big hubbub of trying to get connected. Catherine: That's fine. Debbi: You wouldn't believe, people. Anyway, thank you so much for being here. What is it that made you decide to write a novel, and a mystery at that? Catherine: I love murders. Debbi: Who doesn't? Catherine: It's so odd saying that, but I'm talking to an audience who understands that. I love crime, I love murder. Even as a kid, I was reading like the Fear Street books and R.L. Stein and Goosebumps, and then ventured into Stephen King and then started to watch everything on ID, and 20/20 and Dateline, and all of those shows that dig into it. When I was a kid, I always wanted to write and I fell into leadership and wrote a ton about leadership, which for some, that's not the most thrilling topic in the world, which I understand totally. But then, I was pregnant when I wrote Stunning. It was a dream. It was based on a dream that I had, and I kept having the dream, and I thought maybe I should write this down and I just started writing. I would write before bed and just write, write, write when I had time and I wasn't sleeping or working a real job, and that's how it came about. It just felt like it needed to get out of my brain. Even as a kid, I was reading like the Fear Street books and R.L. Stein and Goosebumps, and then ventured into Stephen King and then started to watch everything on ID, and 20/20 and Dateline, and all of those shows that dig into it. Debbi: Interesting. So do you picture writing more books, or is this like your one shot ? Catherine: I just came out with a textbook, also not as thrilling, very academic, but I want to get back into writing murder and crime and even if I could do something based on real life murder or crime. I think those are things that are interesting to me to explore next. But I do want to start getting into it and I keep saying that, and I thought all summer I'll write another book. And now summer has come and gone and the book is not written. So I'm thinking, well, maybe in the fall. I say that and I laugh because I don't know if it's going to happen that quickly, but it's more fun than writing leadership. I mean, leadership is important but crime and murder and making things up is way more fun. Debbi: Making things up is fun. Catherine: Yes. Debbi: It's its own form of work, but at the same time it's fun work. Catherine: It is fun work. Debbi: Yeah. Your books - do you have a traditional, hybrid or are you self-published? Catherine: I am self-published with my first two, but the textbook, I did work with a publishing company, so that was interesting too, to have that experience after doing two on my own and working with editors and beta readers and that whole spiel. Debbi: The whole shebang, yes. Catherine: The whole team. Debbi: I was going to ask you about your publishing journey. What has it been like for you? Has it been what you expected? Catherine: With the first one, it was a learning curve, because I wanted to find an editor and I found an excellent editor named Sandy.

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Anna Willett. Check out our discussion about thriller writing and her Cold Case Mystery series. You can download a PDF of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of several thriller novels, including five books in The Cold Case Mystery series. Her latest book is called Needles and Pins, and it's this week's giveaway, so make sure to check out the giveaway on my blog or on her Instagram. You can find it there on Instagram for sure. So it is my pleasure to introduce as my guest the author, Anna Willett. Hi Anna. How are you doing today? Anna: Hi, I'm well. How are you? Debbi: Good, thank you, although right now at the moment, I'm in Maryland where tornadoes are threatening somewhere on the horizon. Anna: Oh really? Debbi: Yes. Apparently we've been getting tornado warnings in different parts, not too far from where I live, but it's all very sketchy right now. Hopefully I won't be interrupting this podcast to dive under a desk or into a bathroom or something. I don't know where I'd go. Anna: Oh, that's scary. Debbi: It is. They are scary. In any case, let's talk about your thrilling novels rather than my thrilling tornadoes. At what point did you decide to write a series? Anna: Well, as I said in the post, I wrote a book called The Woman Behind Her, and the main character finds herself as the suspect in a murder. The lead detective on that case was Veronica Pope, who I became very interested in and wanted to write more of, and I thought, I think that I can do a lot more with this character, and so I'm going to write another book. So after really what was the second book in the series, I thought, there's so much more I could do. There's so many more places I could take her. I had so many more ideas for the sort of situation she could be in and her team, and it went from there. Debbi: It's fascinating. How many books had you written before you made that decision to go after that series? Anna: I think it would've been 13, maybe 12 or 13 books. Debbi: That's very interesting how a character gripped you to the point where you decided to create a series for the first time. Anna: Yes. Well, I'd had another series. It was just three books, and it was about a journalist, but all the others are standalones. And the woman behind her was, I thought, going to be a standalone, but it turned into this ongoing series. Debbi: Yes, it's fascinating. What inspired you to create Veronica Pope? What kind of inspiration went into creating the character itself? Anna: Well, I wanted a female leader. I like to write about strong female lead characters, and so I wanted a female detective, and I wanted her to be - I'm going to say normal - so that she's just an average woman who's very good at her job, and she's not a super cop. She's not invulnerable to being hurt. She cares; she worries about things. She has her insecurities, she has her family life. She's a single mother. She has ambitions for her job, but she's also a little bit funny and down to earth, and that's the sort of character I would like to read. I like to write about strong female lead characters, and so I wanted a female detective, and I wanted her to be - I'm going to say normal - so that she's just an average woman who's very good at her job, and she's not a super cop. Debbi: Yeah, a very relatable sort of character. Anna: Yeah, yeah. Debbi: And skilled. Anna: Yes. So I wanted her to be really good at her job and very insightful and very observant, but at the same time, I wanted her to have the same worries that most people would. Debbi: Yes, exactly. Do you plan to write more books in the series? Anna: I haven't decided. I'm not sure. I might. If something comes to me, if an idea comes to me that I think would be perfect for Veronica. Not all, but quite a few of the books I drew from real unsolved cases in Western Australia.

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features The Adventures of Philip Marlowe in "The Orange Dog." And my thanks to Old Time Radio Researchers Group for the content. You're awesome!

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Michael J. Young, MD. Check out our discussion about his medical thrillers and enter his book giveaway here! You can download a PDF of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today my guest is a doctor who spent 30 years as a surgeon while living and practicing medicine in Chicago. He's the author of a memoir/assessment of the current medical system - oh my - titled The Illness of Medicine: Experiences of Clinical Practice. He's also authored a trilogy of medical thrillers, and they all sound absolutely terrifying. I say that in the nicest possible way. I mean it in the best possible way. Anyway, he is also on the faculty of the Departments of Urology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has invented and patented various medical devices, too. Amazing guy! It's my pleasure to introduce Dr. Michael J. Young, medical thriller writer and M.D. Hi, Michael. How are you doing today? Michael: I'm wonderful, thank you. Debbi: Great. Fantastic. Wow. My first question to you, of course, is how are we going to fix our horrible healthcare system? Michael: Oh, we could spend hours and days. Debbi: Hours, yes. I was going to say, you probably ask the same question all the time in your books. Michael: Every morning. Debbi: Boy, I can tell you, I've had enough experience with it to know. So I was reading your first few chapters in Net of Deception and my gosh, what egregious examples of what not to do on the internet. Michael: Yes, it is. Well, actually, Net of Deception evolved out of my dissatisfaction and distrust and frustration, if you will, with the online pharmaceutical access that people have. As easy as it is, and in many ways, the advantages of having it are great, but the disadvantage is that patients don't have the opportunity to truly have informed consent about potentially very dangerous drugs. And in this particular scenario, nefarious activity occurred within the company that was selling these drugs. So it was really predicated on my own frustration with that evolution of how drugs are obtained today. Debbi: Yes. And not to mention medical information in general on the internet. Michael: Yes. Again, it's a double-edged sword. I encourage people to have information. The problem with the internet is that you don't always know the reliability or the source of that information. And although it may say it's from so-and-so, it may not be. And so a consumer of this data, of this knowledge, of this vocabulary has to be extraordinarily mindful and diligent in assuring that they're obtaining that information from a reliable source. I encourage people to have information. The problem with the internet is that you don't always know the reliability or the source of that information. Debbi: Yes, absolutely. And so often things will depend on other factors that aren't being addressed in the information that you have, so that you don't have the whole picture. Michael: No, you don't, and that carries over too much of the direct consumer advertising of drugs. I mean, there's only two countries in the world that allow it - the United States and New Zealand. That's it. And so when you hear or watch these ads on TV, everything looks wonderful but you're only getting a snippet because there's only so much time with which that information can be given to you and you can't decipher it. The legal information that's given is boilerplate. Everybody has the same side effects. Debbi: It's read very fast. Michael: Very fast, but also at the end, you may die. You may this, you may that. Well, of course. And so how is a consumer supposed to make that decision? But unfortunately for us as physicians, patients come to the office with a preconceived solution to the problem without really understanding the problem. But they've had this wonderful advertisement telling them all the benefits.

This week's episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Phil M. Williams. If you like thrillers, you'll want to check this out. And don't forget to check out his giveaway here! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone! This week we have with us the author of 27 books, primarily thrillers. His stories tend to explore modern dilemmas and controversies which pit powerful villains against average citizens. He's giving away an audio version of one of them, NO GOOD DEED. It's my pleasure to introduce my guest, Phil M. Williams. Hi, Phil. How are you doing today? Phil: Very good, Debbi. Thank you so much for having me on! Debbi: It's my pleasure, believe me. I noticed that most of your books are thrillers. I also noticed that you do have at least one series, the 2050 series. Phil: That's correct. Debbi: What prompted you to write this series? Phil: I think I was interested in – in thinking about what would happen in my lifetime. Right? I mean, I'm 48 years old, so I'm hoping I get another 25 years at least. So I was thinking, okay, well, I wonder what the world would look like. I don't know. 2050 is a good, seemed like a good round number. And I see a lot of the – I'm interested in history. I'm interested in some politics. And to me it was just sort of an extension of. Now it's a very exaggerated version of what's maybe happening in the world today, but it's sort of taking the extreme versions of totalitarianism and projecting it on the United States and seeing what life would be like for. And in the series, there's four main characters. And so I wanted to see, wanted to explore what life would be like for the one character as a farmer. He's an average guy that's struggling, as a lot of our farmers are today, and struggling to make ends meet. And then you have the congresswoman who's sort of a budding communist congresswoman who eventually rises to power. And then you have the banker, who sort of comes from a very shadowy family where they control a lot of the economics behind the scenes. So you get a chance as the reader to kind of, to see that. And then you have just this regular woman who's sort of, who's a nurse, and she and the farmer end up. They end up, they end up crossing paths, but they kind of show that … those two characters show the every man and every woman perspective of what life is like in this dystopian future, whereas, and then the other side of the coin, you have the corporate power banker, and then you have the governmental power person that ends up being the president. They show you the power side of the dynamics, which I think is really interesting for the readers. And you can see, as the series goes on, you can see how the plots wrap around each other and how the characters sort of interact with each other. And in the beginning, you don't always see how it all is going to connect, but it all kind of sort of weaves together, which I think was just unbelievably complex to do. The plot outline was – Yeah, the plot outline was over 100,000 words. I think it was, like, 130,000 words just for the plot outline. And I put a – put a lot. I spent over a year just working on the five book plot outline before I even wrote a single sentence of the series. Yeah, the plot outline was over 100,000 words. I think it was, like, 130,000 words just for the plot outline. And I put a – put a lot.

This week's episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer and entrepreneur Clay Stafford. Check out the plans for the upcoming Killer Nashville conference! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Our guest today is a return visitor. Along with being a bestselling and award-winning author, he's a poet, screenwriter, and playwright. He's also founder and CEO of Killer Nashville. It's my pleasure to have with me again as this week's guest. Clay Stafford. Hi, Clay. How are you doing? Clay: Hi, Debbi. Doing well. Absolutely wonderful. Debbi: Wonderful. You're looking good there. Clay: Well, thank you. Debbi: Looking good. It's always nice to know. The farther we get along in age, it's nice to know you're still looking good at least. Shall we talk about what's coming up at Killer Nashville then? Clay: So you're just leaving it wide open then, what's coming up? Debbi: Yeah. What's special coming up, let's say? Clay: Well, every year it changes, and this year I truly do think it's going to be the best one yet so far, and we're coming up on - what is it - it's the 18th year or something. Debbi: 18th or 19th, I was going to say Clay: Maybe 19th, but we're getting close to that two decade point. I think the lineup ... I'm currently finalizing the schedule - should have it online very quickly, and it's going to be, I think, a wonderful year. Debbi: That's excellent. That's good to hear. I happened to notice that one of your offerings was a mock crime scene, which I thought was kind of cool. Is that like a display, or do people get to interact with it? Clay: We actually used to do that all the time, and then Dan Royce, who was the assistant director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, always put that on. This last year and the year before, he did not do it just because I think he'd been doing it for 15 whatever years and decided to take a break. But he has told me that he is coming back with another crime scene. It's basically an interactive crime scene where people try to actually solve the crime, and it looks like it's the same training methods that are used with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI and all of the other agencies. Each attendee who wants to try to solve the crime, the winner gets a heavily discounted attendance for next year for Killer Nashville. But it's a tricky business and it's always been a lot of fun. We've learned over the years how to be able to handle that, because one year we just set up the crime scene and some attendees at a hotel we were at at the time came by and happened to look in, and it looks very realistic - blood and brain matter and everything all around - and they called 9-1-1. The next thing we know, we have police officers and medical people all showing up, and they're telling us to get out of the way, and then of course, they're going over to look at the dummy, and then I guess they kind of feel like maybe a dummy. But we've now set it aside so that it's not right in front of other people who are not— The hotel we're using - Embassy Suites in Cool Springs, Franklin - we actually have sold out the whole hotel, so it should be all crime writers who are there, so there should not be any danger of the 9-1-1 team showing up. I'm hoping Dan will come through with us on that. He said he is working on an idea, so hopefully we'll have that ready to go. Debbi: Well, that's very cool.

This week’s ad-free episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Weldon Burge. Check out the first interview of our Tenth Season. Dear God Good grief! Has it really been ten years? And check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe You can download the transcript here! :) Debbi: Hi everyone. This is the first episode of our 10th season here at The Crime Cafe. And boy, that decade sure went fast. Where did all that time go? In any case our guest today is a writer, indie publisher, and a full-time editor, although I now believe he has retired, but we can talk about that. He's written numerous articles for various publications as a freelancer. His first novel, Harvester of Sorrow was originally published by Suspense Publishing, but is now published through his own company, Smart Rhino Publications, which focuses mostly on horror and suspense thriller books. He has also published 17 books. That company has published 17 books, including the most recent anthology, Asinine Assassins. There's the tongue twister for you - Asinine Assassins - which I believe is also part of a trilogy. His latest short story collection is Toxic Candy, which he is offering as a giveaway. Check the notes in this recording for his guest post and giveaway details. Alrighty then. So in any case, it is a great pleasure for me to introduce Weldon Burge as my guest today. Hey, Weldon. Weldon: Hi. Thanks, Debbi. Good to hear you. Debbi: It's great to see you and great to hear you, and glad to have you on the show. So you are no longer working full-time and you are devoting yourself to writing fiction these days? Weldon: Yes. Pretty much. Debbi: As well as publishing. Weldon: If a nonfiction job comes up, I will take it, but I'm focusing primarily on fiction at this point. Debbi: Yeah, yeah. I reached a point where I pretty much said, okay, that's all I'm going to do. Weldon: Well, I was working for an educational consulting firm, so I was dealing with PhDs every day, and then I'd come home and I have to get into fiction because I'd had enough brainy stuff all day long. So now that I'm retired, I'm going full force into the fiction and enjoying it. I love it. Debbi: Awesome. That's great. That's a wonderful thing. So how do you structure your writing schedule? Weldon: I don't. I mean, I'm constantly writing. I'm constantly writing notes, bits of dialogue that come into my head I will write down. So as far as the schedule goes, it's just whenever I have time to do something, I'll do it. But I have things churning in my head constantly, so getting something on paper is something I do all day long. Ideas come for me and I try to work them out in my head, and I have notebooks everywhere, notes everywhere, and when I have time to sit down and do it, I do it. I'm constantly writing notes, bits of dialogue that come into my head I will write down. So as far as the schedule goes, it's just whenever I have time to do something, I'll do it. Debbi: Yeah. Notes everywhere. I think that's kind of like a writer's life. Notes everywhere. Weldon: Yes, that's right. That's right. Debbi: What was it that inspired you to create the Ezekiel Marrs character, and what are your plans for the series? Weldon: Okay. Actually there's one chapter in the book that has nothing to do with Ezekiel Marrs. That actually spun the tale for me. There's a section in the book where a teenage couple find a body in the woods, and that was the very first thing that came into my head, and everything kind of spread from there. Ezekiel Marrs was first called Simon something, and it went through umpteen different names, and I liked the Ezekiel because of the biblical parlance there and then Marrs because it's out there. So I like the idea of that name, and it's fairly unique, which was the other thing I was looking for. The character kind of grew out from himself. It was kind of interesting how that occurred.

This week's episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Charles Salzberg. Check out our final regular episode of Season Nine! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. This is the last regular episode of the ninth season of the Crime Café. I cannot believe that I've been doing this for nine years, honest to God. So, in any case, our guest tonight is a person who has worked as a journalist and he is a novelist, who has written for a variety of magazines, including Esquire, GQ, Elle and others. He's also written book reviews. He gets paid to do that. I have to find out about that. Charles: Not much. Not much. Debbi: Not much? Charles: Not much. Debbi: Well, you get paid something. That's nice. His series though is the Henry Swann Detective series, which is really cool, I think, at least based on what I've read. He has written true crime and a variety of nonfiction books, including a book about Soupy Sales, which I have to ask about. He's a writing teacher and mentor, as well as the founding member of the New York Writers' Workshop. It's my pleasure to have with me, Charles Salzberg. Charles: Thank you so much for having me. Debbi: Oh, sure. It is my pleasure, believe me. I just started actually your latest Man on the Run. Wow. What a great opening. You already have me hooked. I love your style. It has a kind of a chatty feel to it. Is this the way you write generally? Charles: Yes. Almost all the stuff I write is in first person from different people, and I just like that conversational style. Debbi: Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you there. Yeah. I like that. What inspired you to write the Henry Swann Series? Charles: It was inspired in the beginning by spite. I was in an MFA program at Columbia, and I had to have a manuscript to get in, and I chose this teacher who said he read the manuscript - I'm not sure he did. It got me into the program and he said to me, do you know how to tell a story? And I said, yes, I know how to tell a story. He said, well, you don't tell stories. This book is written like Nabokov and Philip Roth, in a style like that. You should read Chekhov. I was an English major. I had read Chekhov. Anyway, I quit after two weeks and I thought, well, this guy doesn't think I can write plot. I'm going to write a book that's very plotted, and those would be detective novels. So the first Swann book was called Swann's Last Song because I had no intention of writing crime novels after that, or revisit Swann. It had a very interesting history because I wrote it and I sent it to agents and editors, and they all said we love this, but we can't publish it with this ending. The problem with the ending for them was the detective follows all the clues, and in the end, the murder has nothing to do with any of the clues he followed. It was totally random. So the reader finds out what happened, but the detective who's really a skip tracer had nothing to do with solving the crime. And they said you're going to disappoint detective/crime lovers because they need the detective to solve the crime. And so I said, well, that's not what this book is about. I was much younger then, and so I said if you're not going to publish it this way, I'm going to put it away and forget about it and go onto the next thing. About 20 years later, I happened to stumble across the manuscript and I read it and I thought, this is pretty good.

This week's episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Len Joy. Get to know Len and his books, as well as his interest in athletics and how it has inspired his writing. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest this week is the award-winning author of several novels, including one that I read called Dry Heat, which I really liked a lot. Like many authors, he started off in another career before he started writing. It's my pleasure to introduce my guest Len Joy. Len, hi. Len: Hi. Thank you very much for having me. I never thought of myself as a crime writer, but as I look at my work, I do have a lot of crime in there, so happy to be part of this. Debbi: Absolutely. Well, I am glad to have you on, that's for sure. Now I finally have you . Okay. I wanted to ask you particularly about Dry Heat, because I loved it so much. What was it that inspired you to write this novel? Len: Well, this was one of the few novels I think I wrote that was inspired by a specific incident. In my earlier career, I had an engine remanufacturing company in Phoenix with my brother-in-Law. We ran that for almost 20 years. It was a down and dirty, gritty, manufacturing operation. We had about 200 employees at any given time, and I had a very trusted employee, a woman and her husband that worked for me in the office. Their son, who I knew, I think he had just turned 18 and he was out hot rodding on the interstate on a Friday night, and not sure whatever happened, but they basically were dueling with another car and somebody in the vehicle he was in shot at the other car. Didn't hit anybody, but it turned out that the other vehicle was driven by an off-duty policeman, and he was arrested. He was the only adult -18 years old - and the other three were underage, and he was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, which is a serious crime. I mean, it's more serious penalties, and even though nobody was hurt, I don't believe he was the one shooting, but nevertheless, he was arrested. I followed this with obviously the parents as a father, and I had a kid about the same age as Tim, and instead of going to college, he's going to trial, and they have this lawyer, and they're going to a pretrial conference. They're going to fight this. I think they have a good case. They come back in the afternoon and they tell me that they basically presented him with the alternative of if you lose at trial, you could go to jail for 20 years, or you can take a deal and you go to prison for three, and they took the deal. But that just stuck with me, not just for the kid, but for the parents to have to make that decision in an instant, and it just changes the whole direction of your life. That was 20 years ago, and I started writing after that, and it was just something. I followed their story and he went to prison. He came out. I stayed in touch with his mother. My business ended in 2003, so I was no longer in Phoenix, but it was a story that interested me. And after I'd written a couple other novels, I decided not to use that story, per se. I mean, his story is his story, but that incident inspired me, I guess, in a way, to try to write about that kind of event where you're heading in one direction and something happens and your whole life changes. And I like sports, so I always make it somehow an athlete involved. But that was the inciting incident, I guess,

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features another great story from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Feel free to check out the video version, too. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Where ad-free episodes are a bi-weekly event! Here’s a copy of the transcript in PDF. Marlowe (01:17): Somewhere in the cold, persistent rain that made the city itself seem a thing of evil, a girl had disappeared and it was my job to find her, but before I did, I found death and a devil. Narrator (01:31): From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction, comes his most famous character as CBS presents The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, and now with Gerald Mohr starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you tonight's exciting story, "The Black Halo". Marlowe (02:10): For three days, an ugly storm had lashed at the west coast from northern Oregon to the tip of lower California, and although it was only noon when I drove up to the sprawling red brick house just south of Santa Barbara to meet a new client of mine, the black that was in the sky and the driving rain that was everywhere left the day bleak and wet and cold. Left it the kind of day that made you feel that logs blazing in a fireplace and a warm dry robe were the only things that could matter to anyone. But when I got inside the house, Felix Drum, 350 uncomfortable pounds of executive in a wheelchair, who made his living importing perfumes, was very worried and not about the weather outside. Felix Drum (02:52): Marlowe. Julia Perry is gone. I want you to find her and bring her back, and the sooner you do that, the better. Marlowe (02:58): And the more I know, Mr. Drum, the easier it'll be. Exactly who is Julia Perry? Felix Drum (03:02): My assistant, very capable girl who in the past six months has practically taken over my entire business. She handles most of the work from her cottage here on the grounds where she lives. She also has some little cubbyhole in Los Angeles where she keeps her files and some sample stock. Marlowe (03:19): Do you have the address of that cubbyhole? Felix Drum (03:20): If I knew the answer to everything, I wouldn't have hired you and anyway, it isn't important. Hand me that little bottle. Marlowe (03:29): This one? Felix Drum (03:31): Yes. Thank you. Marlowe (03:43): When did you last see Julia, Mr. Drum? Felix Drum (03:45): Three days ago. It was three days ago when she left on one of her regular weekly trips down to Los Angeles to bid on perfumes. Usually she stayed away overnight at the Beachwood Plaza Hotel most of the time, and she was back here by noon the next day. Marlowe (04:02): I suppose you've already checked the Beachwood Plaza? Felix Drum (04:04): Yes, of course. My man, Ruby, the one who showed you in has called the place a dozen times, but they only know that Julia registered there three days ago and hasn't been seen since. Marlowe (04:14): Well, what about the girl herself, Mr. Drum? I mean her background, friends, family, that sort of thing? Felix Drum (04:18): Yeah, as far as I know Marlowe, Julia has no friends, no family either. She's just a sweet but smart little girl from someplace in Kansas. Marlowe (04:26): No beaus, not even nice ones, huh? Felix Drum (04:28): I don't think she had the time. You see, when Julia first came to work for me, she wanted to get ahead and I gave her the chance. She made good. Today, she's as much my right arm as Ruby is my leg. Marlowe (04:39): Mr. Drum, did you notice anything unusual about Julia's behavior lately? Felix Drum (04:42): Yes, and that's the reason I'm worried. About two weeks ago I saw changes in the girl, Marlowe. She seemed less spry, more preoccupied. I figured it was overwork myself. Since the end of the year always means detailed annual reports, so I made no comment at the time. Marlowe (05:00): I see. Tell me, Mr. Drum, what does she look like? Felix Drum (05:03): Well, I have no pictures,

Our guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is crime fiction and true crime writer Amanda Lamb. Join us as we discuss her career in journalism and how close she came to going to law school! Yikes! :) Good call, BTW. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today has worked for more than 30 years as a television news reporter. She now has four podcasts, has authored three books of crime fiction and three of true crime. She's also written family and children's books. She owns a company called Stage Might Communications. I am very pleased to have with me today the multi-talented Amanda Lamb. Hi Amanda. How are you doing? Amanda: Good, Debbi. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Debbi: Well, I really appreciate your being here, and I am just amazed with the work you're doing. I love that you create podcasts the way I create blogs. You seem to not be satisfied with just one. Amanda: Yes, I developed an interest in podcasting when I was working for my television station a couple years ago, and I really didn't have any idea what it was about. I had done a little bit of listening to podcasts, but I hadn't really ever worked on a podcast, and writing a narrative podcast is like writing a book, or it's like writing multiple documentaries because of the length of a True Crime podcast, for example. But I just really loved it and I really developed an interest in it, and now I'm doing more interview-based podcasts like yours, and I love that as well, because I'm curious about people. I'm interested in people, and it just really fits kind of where I am in my career. Debbi: That is really cool, because I can really appreciate that, because I've often thought of doing other interview-type podcasts because actually I have a journalism background Amanda: There you go. Well, you can try. Debbi: It all started with that, you know. That's where really my writing in a sense, professionally started kind of. Amanda: Yes Debbi: It started with journalism school, let's say. Amanda: Okay. Okay. Debbi: And I didn't go quite the route you did. I went to law school instead. Amanda: Well, you know, one of the things I'm learning - my podcast is called Ageless, and it's about women transforming personally and professionally - and I'm learning that nobody's life is linear. Everybody's life seems to kind of go in many different directions, sometimes to arrive at the same place, but there's nothing about life that's linear. Debbi: Yes, I agree with you completely there. What was it that prompted you to start writing crime fiction and true crime? Amanda: I became a focused crime reporter. Most people in TV don't specialize early on in their careers. You're a general assignment reporter, which means you cover a little bit of everything, but I was always interested, especially in the courtroom process and the criminal justice process. My parents were attorneys. My father was a district attorney, and so growing up, I actually went to several murder trials and I got an opportunity to see how the process worked. I always thought I'd be an attorney. That just seemed like the thing that I was going to do, given my family background. I really loved writing, so in college I started to think more about how could I combine this love of writing with kind of this interest in criminal justice, specifically in the puzzles, because a case,

Our guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is Southern Gothic mystery writer Faye Snowden. Check out our discussion of her Killing Series and what inspires her to write. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today I'm pleased to have with me the author of a series of dark Southern Gothic mysteries with strong and flawed female characters. She's going to give away a copy of her first book, A Killing Fire, and her second book A Killing Rain was named by CrimeReads as one of the best Southern Gothic mysteries of 2022. She also won and has been long-listed for various writing awards. So it is my great pleasure to have with me today Faye Snowden. Hi Faye, how are you doing? Faye: Hi there. Fine, Debbi. How are you? Debbi: Good, thank you. And I need to put you in the spotlight if I can manage to do that. I am just a technological mess today. There we go. That's much better. So, tell us about Raven Burns and the Killing Series, and what inspired you to write it? Faye: Oh my. Certainly. This series was actually not my first. I had a mystery suspense series back in the day. But the Raven Burns series is, like you said, southern noir, complete mystery, dark mystery, and it is about a woman whose father was a serial killer. So in order to atone for his sins and to prove that she's a good citizen, she decides to become a homicide detective to right his wrongs in that small town, made up fictional town. She lives in Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana that seems for some reason have a lot of serial killers and she has to spend an inordinate amount of time chasing them. So the series is actually based on - what is it, the four? Is it the four? Oh, I'm kind of drawing a blank there. But it's based on fire, water, soil, and then air. She lives in Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana that seems for some reason have a lot of serial killers and she has to spend an inordinate amount of time chasing them. So the first book in the series is A Killing Fire, and then the second book is A Killing Rain, which is out now. I'm working on A Killing Breath as we speak, and then the last book is A Killing Soil. And in each book, Raven is going to learn something about herself that's either going to push her to be a good citizen of Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana, or become more like her father. And in each book, Raven is going to learn something about herself that's either going to push her to be a good citizen of Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana, or become more like her father. Debbi: Oh, wow. I'm really hearing some interesting themes that people are basing their series on lately. I've heard the Seven Deadly Sins, now the Four Elements. Faye: The Elements, right. Debbi: Earth, wind, fire, water. Faye: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Debbi: Wow. Faye: I got the idea for the book because - I tell this story all the time, my poor dad - but I am a child of divorce. My mom, who's since passed away - she died in 2015 - but she did not have a fondness for my dad after the divorce, and she would disparage him in front of us. I looked a lot like my dad. I favored him a lot, and I used to look in the mirror and say, well, if my dad's a something and something, what does that make me? What kind of person does that make me? And you know, a writer's mind just takes off sometimes, the imagination. I said, oh, you know, that would be a neat character to write, but you have to up the stakes. So it's like,

Our guest for this episode is thriller author Leanne Kale Sparks. Check out the podcast to hear more about her Kendall Beck series and the authors who inspire her, amongst other things. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Our guest today had a short career in law before turning to writing a series of thrillers featuring FBI agent Kendall Beck. Her books are set in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, which is a really cool place. I love that. She currently resides in Texas with her husband and two dogs - a German shepherd named Zoe and her Corgi named Wynn. It's my pleasure to welcome today Leanne Kale Sparks. Hi, Leanne. Leanne: Hi. Debbi: I'm so glad you could be with us today. Leanne: Me too. This is exciting. Debbi: Excellent. Wonderful. I, too, had a career in law before I started writing full-time. Leanne: I think there's a lot of us. Debbi: I think there are quite a few of us who left the profession in a kind of "we gotta do something else" feeling. You were fortunate in making yours a short career though, as you've described it. How long were you practicing law, and what kind of law did you practice? Leanne: Well, I did a little bit of everything in that short amount of time. I did a little bit of family law and ... Debbi: Oh, God! Leanne: I did a little bit of estates, but that was short-term. Mostly, it was criminal defense. Debbi: Ah. I'm telling you, family law right there will turn you off to the idea of doing more. Leanne: It's the most dangerous profession. Everybody thinks it's the criminal lawyers that get it. It's family law. Debbi: Not at all, because at least the clients understand you're dealing with a certain type of system. People going through divorce, acrimonious ones just go temporarily insane. That's my theory. It's temporary insanity. Leanne: And you're taking away kids and money, two of the things that people value the most. In criminal defense, most of your clients, they know they're guilty. They have probably been in the system before, and so they know what's going on. Debbi: Their expectations are well managed right from the start. Oh my. What inspired you to write the Kendall Beck series? Leanne: I lived in Maryland at the time, and I had a friend who had retired from the FBI, and he used to be the person that was in charge of the criminal part of the FBI, the investigations. I had gone online and looked, and there was this really interesting department or group within it, a unit, and they did Crimes Against Children. And so I talked to this guy and I'm like, Hey, can you get me in to see them or talk to them, or have somebody just answer some questions? He pulled some strings and I was able to meet up with some actual agents that work in the unit. It was a while ago and it just always stuck with me, and I thought, I need to have a character. The Wrong Woman started out as a short story just to see if I could actually write a crime thriller, and get all of the red herrings. The first versions of this, it was just like this person died and then we investigated, and yay, I figured it out, so I had to learn a lot about red herrings and things like that, so it kind of evolved. But I really did want Kendall to be involved in the Crimes Against Children, because I really think it's important now. My books don't focus on that. I don't talk about any of the icky, really icky. I don't go in depth with any of it,

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Melissa Yi. Don't miss our discussion of her Dr. Hope Sze series and the Seven Deadly Sins! And the play Terminally Ill! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe The transcript can be downloaded here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is a doctor who studied emergency medicine and works in emergency rooms, I presume. She has received many accolades for her work, including a Derringer Award for best short story of 2023, and finalist for the Silver Falchion for best thriller. She also writes medical humor - which I find fascinating and want to know more about - and has won speculative fiction awards as well. It's my pleasure to have with me today Melissa Yi. Hi, Melissa. Thanks so much for being with us today. Melissa: Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for having me. Debbi: Well, it's my pleasure to have you on, believe me, and your background just fascinates me. I used to be an EMT and my husband was a firefighter. He's retired now, so I can thoroughly appreciate the whole hectic thing involving emergency rooms, what that must be like. Do you still practice medicine? Melissa: I do. Not as much as I did, but I still like to keep my hand in. Debbi: Excellent. Melissa: I just have to say good for you guys, because now you can sleep. The nights are so hard. Debbi: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to go on calls and it was like, whoa! I mean, sometimes those five in the morning ones were the worst, right before the dawn. I would get into the back of the ambulance and would just feel nauseous. I couldn't explain that. Melissa: Oh, that's because that's a very physical job also. For me, I would say 3:00, 4:00 AM is tough because you've been working so long, but there's still so much to go. To me, 5:00, 6:00 people are starting to wake up. Normal people are alive at this time, it's not so bad. You might start to get some sort of backup, but the middle of the night, really, you are it, and I just find that very tough and very bad for circadian rhythms. Debbi: Oh, yeah. Yeah, really. I was much younger then, so I could adjust to it a little more easily, I suppose. But I've always been sort of in awe of people who go to medical school, because I went to law school and the med school was right down the street from me. And I was like, wow, I'm so overwhelmed with work, but what if I were in med school? Oh my God! You guys have to study all these bones, all these muscles, all these nerves. It just amazes me. Melissa: I think law school is very cognitively taxing, though. I think there's so much involved, so that it's a different kind of stress. Debbi: Very much so. Melissa: Medicine is really holding people's lives in your hands. That's the stressful part of medicine. Debbi: Yes, yes. That to me has always been … you guys are really in there, doing stuff, fixing people's medical problems, things like that. What is it that inspired you to create Dr. Hope Sze? Melissa: Very good. Debbi: Thank you. Melissa: You know, for me, honestly, there were a few things. I'm from Ontario in Canada, and the medical system was relatively good when I went to medical school. People probably don't know this, but in Canada, the federal government has the money and then they give the money to the different provinces, and when you finish medical school, you get matched anywhere in the country. You don't have to apply everywhere,

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Laurie Buchanan. Among other things, we talk about her (planned) nine-book Sean McPherson series. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of the Sean McPherson series, and while Sue Grafton had her alphabet series, this author has picked one letter and stuck with it—the letter I. All the books in the series have one-word titles that start with I, which I think is really kind of cool. The latest one released is Impervious, and the next one will be called Iniquity. It's my pleasure to have with me today Laurie Buchanan. Hi, Laurie. How are you doing today? Laurie: Hi, Debbi. I'm fine. Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to talking with you. Debbi: Awesome. Well, I'm glad to have you here. The last time you were here, your first book was out, right? Indelible? Laurie: Yes. Yes. Debbi: And that established the story of Sean McPherson, who works at this kind of place where writers' retreats are held. Laurie: Exactly. Pines & Quill is a writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest, and now by Iniquity, which comes out this April—it’s a premier now. It has had so many people, and now there's this huge waiting list and you need to be background checked and so on and so forth, because some murders have taken place there. Some from without and some from within. So they're being more than cautious. And the neighbors can see when first responders come, oh, what's going on there? There's paramedics, there's police, there's whatever it is. And then the news crews come over. So we've gotten now pretty far into the story, so Book Four Iniquity comes out in April, and Book Five is with the publisher. I just finished writing Book Six. It went to the beta readers, and I'm now starting Insidious, Book Seven. Debbi: Oh my goodness. Laurie: Yes. I'm on a nine-book contract right now. It went from one to three to five to seven to nine, and I suspect it will grow. Debbi: Good heavens, nine books! Well, this is very interesting, because you have anticipated a few of my questions already. Well, we can talk about that, though. Boy. Nine books! How has the story of Sean McPherson developed over time so far? Laurie: So we've gotten now where there's three very close friends—a private investigator, Sean McPherson, one of his two best friends, homicide Detective Joe Bingham, and then his other best friend, Sean Rafferty. Because there are two Seans, they go by their last name. Sean McPherson goes by Mick, Sean Rafferty goes by Rafferty, and he's an FBI special agent, and the three of them work together very well. Two of them, the homicide detective and the FBI special agent, have constraints, bureaucratic constraints. There are some things they cannot do because they are law enforcement agents. And because Sean is a PI in the state of Washington, he carries a gun. He doesn't have bureaucracy to answer to. He doesn't break the law, but he doesn't have the same constraints. So the three of them can get places and accomplish things that they wouldn't be able to do if they were all just police or all just FBI. So they've got this three thing going on. Now where I'm at in the story, Sean McPherson in Impervious, which is the one that we're talking about today, Sean and Emma get married. They go to New Orleans, which is a destination location for weddings and horrific things happen there.

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Jason Kapcala. Check our discussion about his novel, Hungry Town, along with his other writing. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi, everyone. Today I have with me the author of two novels and numerous short stories that have been published in many magazines and literary journals. His latest book is Hungry Town. It's my pleasure to have with me, Jason Kapcala. Did I say that right? Jason: Kapcala Debbi: Kapcala. Jason Kapcala. Well, hello Jason. Thanks for being here. Thanks for spending time with me. Jason: Thanks for having me, Debbi. Debbi: It's my pleasure. Now, you have two novels, but you have many short stories. Did you start off writing short stories? Jason: Yeah, I did. I kind of went the academic track. Went through an MFA program, and when I was there, started out learning to write stories, short stories, and actually my first book was a short story collection, but it was a linked collection so they all kind of tie in with one another, and it was all based around the town where I grew up, that area in Northern Pennsylvania where I was from. And then after that, I started moving into writing longer things, working on novels, and wrote my first novel, Hungry Town, and kind of got into that mode of writing about crime and police. Debbi: Does your work tend to focus on small towns? Jason: It does, yeah. I always write about a fictional place, but there's always elements of real life places that influence those towns. I just do that because I think I like the freedom of being able to put things where I need them, as the story demands it. So if I need to have a river here, I can put a river here, nobody's going to say, Hey, I'm from that town. There's no river there, but I'll go ahead and really base these towns on places where.... The first one was the place where I was from, but in other cases, places I know. So the town of Lodi in the novel Hungry Town, it's kind of an amalgamation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which was very close to where I grew up, and it was a steel town, of course, and had a large steel mill there. Jason: It was really non-functional by the time that I was old enough to pay attention to it, but I still passed the ruins of it a lot. So it's sort of part that, and then part Athens, Ohio, where I did my Masters which was also formerly an industrial town turned college town. It had a brick factory and brick streets and everything. I don't know that there's really a town in existence that's quite like the one in my novel that would have a mill the size of the mill in the novel, but also a town as small as Athens. But I kind of went with that and ended up naming it Lodi, but it doesn't have any connection to the actual Lodi, Ohio. If anybody's from there, it's not your Lodi. It's a fictional one. Debbi: That's interesting, because I kept thinking of Lodi, California. Jason: Well, that's why I picked that name. Someone had said to me once they think there must be a Lodi in every state of the country. And so I was like, yeah, that does seem like a kind of an every town name, and so that's why I ended up going with it. Plus I like the Creedence Clearwater Revival song. Debbi: Gotta love the Creedence. Do you have a preference for writing short versus long? Jason: Oh, definitely long. I enjoyed writing short stories when I first started it,

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Kim Hays. Learn all about her Linder and Donatelli mysteries here. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today's guest is a dual citizen of the US and Switzerland. She's also the author of the Polizei Bern Series, featuring two detectives Giuliana Linder and Renzo Donatelli. Her work has been shortlisted for many awards and she has two books out in this series with a third coming next year, which is coming very quickly. It's my pleasure to have with me today, Kim Hays. Kim, hi. How are you doing? Kim: I'm great, and thanks for having me. Debbi: Well, it's my pleasure, believe me. It must be late there where you are. Switzerland, right? Kim: Yes. Here in Bern, it's nine o'clock, but not too late. My eyes are wide awake. Debbi: Still functional at nine. Very good. Kim: Exactly. Debbi: Good. You have a great website, by the way. I really love all the descriptions of Switzerland you have under the information tab about Bern in Switzerland. Kim: Oh, thank you. I try to put in a lot of sort of strange and interesting facts, like that the Swiss flag is the only square flag besides the Vatican's flag. Every other flag in the world is rectangular. This is the sort of thing that nobody knows and why should they, but it's fun. Debbi: Wow! I didn't know that. That's very interesting. So what was it that inspired you to write about the subjects that you picked, which are very topical subjects by the way. Pesticides and child labor? Kim: Yes, and in the third book, I have homophobia as a topic too, so that's certainly … I have a lesbian activist who's killed in a hit-and-run, but I realize you haven't read that one. I have, of course, so I won't go into that. You know, I love to research and I like to learn, as you know most writers do, as most people do. So I guess I'm lucky that things turn out to be topical, but often I decide to put something in a book that I want to learn more about. I used to write articles here for a Swiss language magazine, and so I had done a short article on organic farmers, and when I started thinking about writing a mystery, I already started thinking about what background do I want to give it? And immediately I thought, well, what do I want to research? I knew that I would like to do more research on organic farming, and then of course, I had to think of a reason for an organic farmer to get murdered. The second book, which involves a really terrible scandal in Switzerland—child labor—where children were supposedly fostered out, but really placed on farms almost as slaves from a very young age, into the late 1960s, early 70s. This was something I saw a museum exhibition on because it was just starting. The scandal was just starting. As late as the early 21st century, people were starting to be aware of it. And once I saw that, I thought it would be something very interesting to talk about. And certainly, one could easily imagine how murders or violence might occur as a result of something like that. Debbi: Yes, absolutely. That's astonishing, I have to say. Linder is a really interesting character because she's always automatically picking up clues as she goes, and kind of filing them into her head, which is something I don't see a lot in mystery writing, the way she picks up these little details and kind of narrates them to you.

Listen to the podcast on Substack. This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer and cinephile F.R. Jameson. Plans are afoot for you to see more of us here and here! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of two book series. One is the Screen Siren Noir series featuring British film stars that get caught up in noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal, and death. Ooh! His latest release, Vivian Fontaine is the fourth in that series, and he's working on a fifth. He also writes a horror series under the moniker Ghostly Shadows Anthology. I'd be interested in hearing more about that, too. There are six volumes in that series. Originally from Wales, he now lives with his wife and daughter in London. It's my pleasure to introduce my guest F. R. Jameson. Hi, F. R. How are you doing today? F. R.: Hello Debbi. How are you? I'm fine, thanks. Debbi: Oh, wonderful. And what a wonderful backdrop you've got there. Just delightful! Regal Theater. Ooh. It's just ... F. R.: I think it looks more American than it does British, but I might be wrong. Debbi: That's very interesting. Yeah, it looks very Broadway-ish or something like that. Grand! It is nice to finally see you after getting your newsletters where you talk about movies a lot. I love that. I really do enjoy your newsletters more than most authors because of that, I think. You talk about television shows, you talk about movies, you talk about things other than your books, but you do talk about your books, too. F. R.: I do. I do talk about my books. I feel like you could do, but then I send it out every fortnight, and to send it out every fortnight only talking about that, I would be bored, because you know what it's like when you are writing a book, it's great when it's finished, but the actual incremental stages of it, it's not that fascinating. Debbi: Yes. F. R.: Another two weeks, I've done another 60 pages. They seem quite good. Debbi: Yes, yes. I can't wait for you to see them. I've been sitting here at my desk and it is so exciting writing these 60 pages. F. R.: You want things like you're reflecting that kind of accidental, existential dread when you're about two thirds through when you're thinking, “Is any of this good? Is this just terrible?” I don't know anymore. Debbi: I have had those thoughts, believe me. F. R.: I think all authors have those thoughts where you do get to the point where you think you have other ideas in your head and you just think I'll just write one of those, because that compared to this is brilliant. You are experienced enough to know you get two-thirds into that, you would be thinking, I want to do something else now, and you'll never, ever finish anything. Debbi: Yes, you really have to kind of hone in on those things that really interest you and really excite you, I think, and go with those and set aside other things for other times, so to speak. What inspired you to write about British film stars? F. R.: Well, I'm sort of a massive noir fan as I've read earlier some Megan Abbott novels, which is very much in that milieu in Los Angeles, and also read James Ellroy, Raymond Chandler, James Cain and Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson. I'd love to do a book like that, but not being American and not knowing the locales, I felt it would be starting out with imposter syndrome. I didn't want to be in the situation where I'm sweat...

Listen to the podcast on Substack. This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer and CinemaSins co-creator Jeremy Scott. Learn more about how he became a comic film commentator and about his debut novel, When the Corn is Waist High. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today my guest is the co-creator and narrator of CinemaSins, a YouTube channel dedicated to movie-related comedy, and a highly successful one at that. He's also the author of the Able Series about a group of disabled kids with superpowers—which I definitely have to read—and a crime novel called When the Corn Is Waist High. An intriguing title, I have to say. It's my pleasure to introduce writer and entertainer, Jeremy Scott. Hi, Jeremy. Jeremy: Hi there. Thank you for having me. Debbi: It's a pleasure to have you on. Good to see you. When people ask you what you do, what do you tell them? Jeremy: Generally depends on my read of them because younger generations are going to get it immediately. I'm in my 40s, so anybody about my age and younger, I'll probably just give them the honest answer. I run a YouTube channel and I also write books. Anyone like my mom's age, I might just kind of take a read of them and go, I'm an author or I'm an entertainer, and try and keep it …. Well, because I've had several conversations where they just ask question after question after question, because to some people, the idea that you can upload videos to the internet and make money from it is just mind boggling. So I'm trying to save everybody's time and those interactions, but still convey the truth. Debbi: Yeah. Yeah. I tell you, there is so much that you can do these days. There are a lot of people who really, really do not get it, who are my age, and frankly, I get it completely Jeremy: Yeah, clearly. Debbi: I totally do. When did you start CinemaSins and what inspired you to start it? Jeremy: Well, this requires a tiny bit of a backstory. My business partner in CinemaSins is named Chris Atkinson, and we met in '99 working at a movie theater. We were both managers who worked in the booth. The movies would come in on separate reels, and we would have to build the movies into one giant print, and then we would have to watch it as part of our job to make sure we had not made any mistakes and there wasn't anything wrong with that copy of the movie. We were also both big fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 when we were i...

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer S.J. Rozan. Learn more about her life as an architect and writer, as well as her book about the real mayors of New York! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of 18 novels and 6 dozen short stories. In a word—prolific! The recipient of several awards, including the Edgar, the Anthony, the Shamus, the Nero, and the Macavity, she has also received the Japanese Maltese Falcon Award, one of the coolest titles for an award I've ever heard, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. She has edited anthologies and served on the National Boards of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and is a former president of Private Eye Writers of America. She speaks, lectures and teaches and runs a summer writing workshop in Italy. A former architect whose practice focused on police stations, firehouses, and zoos, she is a native New Yorker who lives in lower Manhattan. It's my great pleasure to have with me today, the author of the Bill Smith and Lydia Chin Mysteries, S.J. Rozan. Hi, how are you doing today? S.J.: I'm doing great, thank you. I just got back from the gym and I have the secret of my longevity —caffeine—and so I'm fine and thank you for having me. Debbi: Oh, it's my pleasure, believe me. I remember you from Bouchercon when you would do those pickup basketball games. S.J.: Yeah, we would still do them if I had gone to the last couple Bouchercons. I will go to Nashville and we'll do one in Nashville. Debbi: Very cool. Wonderful. I should go just for that. S.J.: Absolutely, absolutely. Debbi: Cool. You have had an amazing career and you still are continuing to have an amazing career. How do you keep up with all of that? Do you never sleep or do you have an assistant or ...? S.J.: I have no assistant and I do sleep, but I have a strict schedule of writing. I write in the morning, every morning except the mornings when I go to the gym, and then I write as soon as I get home for the same number of hours. It seems to work. I'm doing two series now and we have yet to see whether I will collapse eventually , but even with the short stories, it does seem to work. I'm a good procrastinator, but once I sit down to work, which is why I need a steady schedule, this is how you do it. If I were just, hmm, I think I'll work later, that doesn't happen, but I do. I get up in the morning,

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Michael Farris Smith. Check out his story! From award-winning author to screenwriter-producer! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. I have with me today an author who's enjoying a rather extraordinary year. Along with releasing a new novel in April, two of his previous novels have been adapted for film and been released this year. It's a pleasure to have with me today author and screenwriter, Michael Farris Smith. Hi, Michael. How are you doing? Michael: Debbi, I'm doing fine. Thank you for that introduction. Debbi: Oh, it's my pleasure, believe me. Let's talk about screenplays and movies. I see that you were credited as a producer as well as the screenwriter on IMDB Pro, so congratulations for that and congratulations for what you've done. It is simply amazing. This is not typical of most authors, I have to say. Michael: Yeah. You know, I keep hearing that over and over and I believe it because I know now how much it takes just to get one across the finish line, but to be able to get two, I feel pretty fortunate. Debbi: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I saw a recent interview where the writer had described you as celebrating in a low-key way, and I thought, well, when you think of the sheer amount of work that goes into making a movie, creating the package, finding the money, making the deal, all of those things, I had to wonder how else would you celebrate except to say, phew! That's done. Michael: Yes, I don't know there's a whole lot of energy left to have a big celebration. You have used it all up. I don't know how most people are. I get the impression that a lot of creative people are the same way, that when they get to the end of a project or when they get to the finish line, it's more a sense of relief than anything. Certainly there's excitement and there's reward, but whether it's a novel or a script or anything really, the sense of relief, the accomplishment of it, to me is always the overriding emotion versus wanting to go out and have a party. I want to sit down and kick my feet up and have a beverage and just really kind of revel in that it's over and that it's done, and hopefully in the way that you wanted it to be done too. Hopefully it's a product you're happy with. Debbi: Yes. Amen to that. I hear you. I thought it was interesting that they approached you about writing the screenplay, which is not typical for most authors.

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Liz Alterman. Don't miss her book giveaway! Liz is giving away a signed copy of her novel The Perfect Neighborhood. To enter, just subscribe to her Substack newsletter. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of a book that I've had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. A suspenseful novel that weaves in humor and social commentary. It's called The Perfect Neighborhood and I highly recommend it. It's my pleasure to have with me today the author, Liz Alterman. Hi, Liz. How are you doing today? Liz: I'm good, Debbi. Thank you so much for having me, and for reading the book as well. Debbi: Oh, I loved it. And I'm glad you're on. I'm so glad you're here with us. Liz: Thank you. Debbi: What inspired you to write the novel? Liz: Oh, thanks for asking. It's funny, I love to read thrillers and mysteries, and I guess one day I woke up from a dream with the idea for the plot, sort of the beginning and the ending, but I didn't really have the middle. I mentioned the idea to my husband, and the story involves a little boy who goes missing on his walk home from kindergarten. When I told my husband, you know I just had this really vivid dream, he was saying, oh, I wouldn't write it. There were so many kidnapping stories. Just try to come up with another idea. So I tried for about six months, and as I was kind of doing the dishes or gardening or something, these characters were speaking to me, and the plot was kind of revealing itself and coming alive. And after giving it six months with no other ideas, I thought, okay, I'm going to sit down and try it. And my kids—I have three boys—and my oldest will joke, why would you write about a missing child? That's so disturbing! Can't you write something light? I said, as a parent, to me, that's so much more frightening than let's say a zombie story. The thought of something happening to my kids is probably the most frightening thing I can imagine. Debbi: Wow. You know, it's funny because I have been reading so many books about either missing children, kidnapped children—what was the other one I was thinking of—at-risk kids. Liz: Sure. Debbi: It's like there's this huge sub-genre of kid-related anxieties coming out in writing. What are your thoughts on that? Do you see that as well? Liz: I do. I think we see that a lot. It almost goes in cycles where I think we see a lot of that,

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer David Swinson. Learn all about David's latest release, Sweet Thing, and some of his other work. Not to mention that the guy's met Hunter S. Thompson and Timothy Leary. Now, that is interesting. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today worked with the D.C. Police Department as a detective, so he's done research on the job for his books. He's the author of the Frank Marr Trilogy and two stand-alone crime novels. We can talk about those, but I am tempted to make this an episode about music, gonzo journalism and beat poetry, based on his own backstory. His latest novel is called Sweet Thing, and just saying that makes me want to sing like Lou Reed. It's my pleasure to have with me today, crime writer David Swinson. Hi, David. David: Hi. How are you? Debbi: Good. How are you doing? I understand you're feeling a little under the weather, but I'm glad you're able to be with us today. David: Like I said, it's the Covid booster. Debbi: Ah yes! We have all endured that wonder. Let's talk about the two books you've written since the Marr trilogy. I noticed you set the earlier one City on the Edge in a place outside of D.C., well outside of D.C., but very much influenced by things that happen in D.C. so to speak. But your latest one is going back into the D.C. Police with a homicide detective as your protagonist in Sweet Thing. So what inspired you to kind of shift perspective like that from one kind of story to another and back? David: You mean to Sweet Thing? Debbi: In going from City on the Edge, which is very different from what I've seen back to Sweet Thing. David: City On the Edge is, you know we all I think as writers, always have that one book that we've always wanted to write. That had a lot to do with my history and stuff, although I didn't suffer that kind of loss or witness a murder in Beirut or anything. But I really love that city, Beirut, and I always wanted to use it as a backdrop to a novel. But at that time before I wrote Sweet Thing, I had two more, that book and another book that I owe Mulholland Books and Little, Brown and Co. and so I always knew I'd return to the detective novel. Speaking of Sweet Thing, I was listening a lot to—I always make playlists—I was listening a lot to the WaterBoys cover of Van Morrison's song “Sweet Thing”, and that just really inspired me and I just really wanted to write something about ...

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Kathleen Kaska. Check out how she got the inspiration to write the Sydney Lockhart mysteries. It all started with the thing at the hotel ... but I can't tell you what that is. No spoilers! :) Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. We also have a shop now. Check it out! Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi, everyone. My guest today is originally from Austin, Texas, a very cool town, by the way, especially when the Austin Film Festival is in town. God, that is a great film festival, I have to say for screenwriters particularly. However, having said that, I'm with the author for this week who lives in Washington state now, which is also a really cool place, I have to say. She is the author of the Sydney Lockhart Mysteries, as well as the Kate Caraway Animal Rights Mysteries and other books, which include three trivia books. I believe it's Sherlock Holmes, Hitchcock and Agatha Christie trivia. Wow, that's interesting. My guest today is Kathleen Kaska. Hi, Kathy. How are you doing today? Do you go by Kathy or Kathleen? Kathleen: Kathleen. Debbi: Kathleen, definitely Kathleen there. Okay, I should have asked you ahead of time. I forgot . Kathleen: That's okay. Debbi: Tell us about Sydney Lockhart. I read Murder at the Driskill and just loved it, so tell me what inspired you to write that series. Kathleen: Thank you. Well, Sydney Lockhart, my series is set in the early 1950s, and Sydney Lockhart is a young woman trying to make it as a private detective in a man's world. And so you can imagine how hard it was in the 1950s to take on a career that was just unheard of for women. So that's what the series is about, and each book takes place in a different historic hotel, and these are real hotels, and they're still in operation today. So, that's kind of how I decided to structure this series. Debbi: Very interesting. So you picked hotels every time? Kathleen: Yes. Debbi: Fascinating. Here I thought maybe you picked the Driskill because of the film festival. Do you have a fondness for the Driskill in any particular way? Kathleen: Well, yes. The Driskill is in downtown Austin. It's not too far from the Capitol. It's right in the center of the city. And when I lived in Austin, we lived right across the street from the Capitol. So we would often just wander down to the Driskill bar and have a drink and have dinner. It was a great meeting place to meet friends, so I spent a lot of time there just hanging out.

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writers David Bushman and Mark T. Givens. Check out our discussion of the fascinating true story that inspired the show Twin Peaks. Before I bring on my guests, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi, everyone. This is the Crime Café, your podcasting source of great crime, suspense and thriller writing. I'm your host, Debbi Mack. Before I bring on my guest, I'll just remind you that the Crime Café has two eBooks for sale: the 9-book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy links for both on my website debbimack.com under the Crime Café link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You'll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Hi, everyone. Today I have two guests with me - David Bushman, who's the author of five books: two on true crime - why is that so hard to say? - two on true crime and three on pop culture. And Mark Givens, the creator and host of the Twin Peaks–centric podcast Deer Meadow Radio. Together, they have researched and written this book, Murder at Teal's Pond, a really excellent book, I have to say. Welcome to the show, guys. Thank you for being here, David and Mark. I really appreciate it. David: Thanks for having us. Thank you. Mark: Thank you, Debbi. Debbi: It's my pleasure, believe me. I'm a big fan of Twin Peaks, and I really enjoyed your book as well. It was a fascinating look at how this ... you know, the inspiration for the show. Tell us how you met and what led you to collaborate on this book. David: Mark, go ahead. Mark: I thought you'd go first, David. Okay, I'll go first this time. We usually go back and forth. Well, like we were talking a little bit, Debbi, before we got started, and you just alluded to, we were both big Twin Peaks fans, which if people don't know was a show from the late eighties, early nineties that didn't last very long, but was very critically acclaimed and had a cult following decades later. To be honest, we're not going to all the Twin Peaks conventions every year, but when they announced that a new show was coming back, I think both David and I kind of remembered the old show and got interested in it. And then, like you said in the intro along different lines, David ended up writing a book called Twin Peaks FAQ. And in my spare time, I do a podcast called Deer Meadow Radio, which you guys still check out.

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Kristen Bird. Check out our discussion of her latest novel Watch it Burn, along with the book she’s giving away I Love it When You Lie. Remember to leave a comment here to enter the giveaway! 🙂 Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi, everyone. My guest today earned a Bachelor's degree in Music and Mass Media before getting a Masters in Literature. Along with being an author, she teaches high school English (yay!), and writes with a cup of coffee in hand. Do you do that one-handed? Kristen: Write? Debbi: Well, I'll tell you, I do love my coffee. Kristen: Yes, me too. Debbi: Oh yeah. Oh boy. I can't live without. In her free time, she likes to visit parks with her three daughters and watch quirky films with her husband. Oh boy. We have things to talk about because I love quirky films. Her most recent novel and the one she's giving away is I Love It When You Lie. I even have a copy here on my Kobo. You can see the cover maybe if you're watching, and her next release will be her third novel, Watch It Burn. I've read her excerpt and it's really something. From Houston, Texas, I'm pleased to have with me Kristen Bird. Hi, Kristen. How you doing today? Kristen: Good. Thank you so much for having me today. Debbi: It's a pleasure to have you. Yeah, believe me. I read your excerpt and wow! Kristen: Oh, thank you. Debbi: Oh, you're welcome. Readers learn so much about your protagonist in that first chapter. This is after a prologue that's already intriguing, and then a little excerpt from like a newspaper or something. Kristen: Right. Debbi: You know, that first chapter and then you end it with a nice hook. Kristen: Oh, thanks. Debbi: I will not say what. What's interesting is that you're weaving in the character's backstory without it reading like exposition. What's your technique for doing that? Kristen: I think my technique is lots of failure at not doing that, and so some of the earliest comments from my agent who liked the story of the first book that I sent her also said, you're doing way too much telling. Can you please make this more vivid for us? Can you please show it to us? And so with the second book, before I even sent it to her for editing notes, I really tried to ask myself with every chapter, how can I paint a picture of this, rather than just tell everyone what's happening? So I think that maybe just having that question in the back of my mind was really important.

This episode of the Crime Cafe features my interview with crime writer Brian Lebeau. Check out our discussion of his debut novel A Disturbing Nature and how he's expanding the story into a series. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today's guest is a native of Falls River, Massachusetts, home of Lizzie Borden, and a World War II history buff. His fiction explores the psychology of serial killers, and his first novel is called A Disturbing Nature. I'm holding it up right now. Nice cover, I have to say. He's also, I take it, a big Red Sox fan. Love it. It's my pleasure to have with me my guest, Brian Lebeau. Hi Brian. How are you doing today? Brian: I'm doing excellent. How are you, Debbi? Thank you for having me on the show. Debbi: I'm very happy to have you here, believe me. It's always nice to have another baseball fan on, although I have not followed baseball as religiously as I used to. I know there have been a lot of changes. Brian: Now what team are you a fan of? Debbi: Hmm? Brian: What team are you a fan of? Debbi: Well, actually I have two teams. I've got the New York Mets, because I'm originally from New York. Can't help it. Sorry about that. Really sorry about '86, but I was just so thrilled to see them win the Series, but anyway. I am located near Washington D.C. so now I'm a Nationals fan, too. Not to mention an Orioles fan when they're not playing the Nationals. It's very confusing being me . But I just wanted to thank you for being here, and also to mention that even in your bio, you talked about your longtime fascination with Lizzie Borden. What was it that drew you toward the topic of Lizzie Borden, other than living in the same area that she did? Brian: Well, I was 11 years old, and it's actually Fall River. There's no 's' on Falls River, so it's Fall River, Massachusetts. Debbi: Oh! Fall River! Brian: Yes, Fall River. It's the first 30 years I was there. And when I was 11, my fifth grade class went to the Fall River Historical Society, and the Fall River Historical Society really has a heavy focus on Lizzie Borden. Has a lot of artifacts and so forth, also the Underground Railroad. But at 11 years old, it just fascinated me because I had heard the song sung, the Lizzie Borden song sung, many times in the school yard. But now I actually could see something relative to it. And around the same time, just a few months later, I watched the World at War narrated by Lawrence Olivier. Amazing World War II documentary!

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Matt Witten. Check out our discussion of the writing life and writing for television. Not to mention his latest book, Killer Story. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest for this episode has written for a variety of media. Along with writing for television on shows like House, Law & Order, Pretty Little Liars, CSI: Miami and Homicide to name a few, he's a playwright. He started out as a poet in Grade One, and he's a novelist as well as a person who has produced a film. I believe it's like 83 minutes long called—what was it—Drone? Matt: Right. Debbi: Great. Along with his series of Jacob Burns Mysteries, he's published two novels that are thrillers. The first of those is The Necklace, which has been published in English as well as seven other languages, and has been optioned for adaptation to film by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Production Company. His latest book is Killer Story. I've started it, and I have to tell you, once you start the book, it is really hard to put down. It is literally almost unputdownable. I would've been here holding it in my hands if it wasn't by my reading chair right now waiting for me and I'm anxiously waiting to get back to it. Anyway, it is my pleasure to have today a talented multi-hyphenate Matt Witten. Hi, Matt. How are you doing? Matt: Very good, thank you, Debbi. Thanks for having me. Debbi: Sure thing. It's my pleasure. I just want to start out by saying you have the most impressive website that I've seen lately. It is so awesome just reading it. Go there. I would suggest everybody go there to mattwittenwriter.com. Do I have that right? Matt: You do. Yeah. Debbi: Excellent. There's so much there about you, about your books that I just thought was really interesting reading. When I looked at your About page, I was wondering what to ask you about first, because I noticed that you became very determined about becoming a writer after a health crisis. Can you talk about what spurred that determination in you? Matt: Sure. I was 18 years old and I got an undiagnosed illness, and I promised myself that if I ever got well again, that I would remember that writing was at the core of my being and I would stick to writing. And after about two and a half months, I did get well again, and I've stuck to that determination or decision to stick to writing. You know, throughout my life, despite the ups and downs of the writer's life,

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Naomi Hirahara. Check out our discussion about her latest work: a series of historical novels, as well as her inspiration for writing them. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi: But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Our guest today is the Edgar Award-winning author of multiple mystery series and noir short stories. Her first historical mystery Clark and Division won a Mary Higgins Clark Award and follows a Japanese-American family's move to Chicago in 1944 after being released from a wartime detention center. She's also written numerous nonfiction books and a middle grade novel. It's my pleasure to have as my guest Naomi Hirahara. Hi, Naomi. How are you doing today? Naomi: I'm doing well. Thanks for having me, Debbi. Debbi: It's my pleasure, believe me. You seem to have several series going. How many series do you have and which one did you start with? Naomi: Well, my first one was my Mas Arai Mystery series and its aging Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. It's an homage to my own father. It's not my father, but inspired by someone like him, and that went for seven books. Actually two of my series, they've only made it as far as being duologies. One is the Ellie Rush bicycle cop mysteries, and there's a Leilani Santiago shave ice mysteries. I guess we're calling that the Leilani Santiago Hawaii Mysteries set on the island of Kaua’i. More recently, I've changed to historical mysteries and because publishers like series but it's loosely linked, it's called the Japantown Mysteries. And as you mentioned, Clark and Division is the first. The second just came out - Evergreen - and it'll be followed by a third one, but not from that main character's point of view, but another character. More recently, I've changed to historical mysteries and because publishers like series but it's loosely linked, it's called the Japantown Mysteries. Debbi: Interesting. So it's like the same world, but a different character. Naomi: Exactly. And it's actually even a different time period, so the third one will be set in 1903. Debbi: Huh. So you go back in time? Naomi: Exactly. I wanted that latitude to jump around. And in terms of Clark and Division and Evergreen, I look at it as bookends to my lead character, Aki Ito, her kind of resettlement story, and I didn't want to turn her into an amateur sleuth where she's investigating random incidents. The two storylines in both books are deeply personal,

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Verónica Gutiérrez. Verónica has had an inspiring career. Learn more about that, as well as how she’s used her experiences to inform her first novel, As You Look. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included affiliate links on this blog. Download a PDF copy of the interview here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today our guest is a former community organizer, civil rights attorney and corporate executive. Originally from the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles where her protagonist Yolanda Avila lives, she and her wife are home bar enthusiasts and avid travelers. I can get into that, boy! They host cocktail-lesson-themed fundraisers. Now, that's something I can imagine are popular. She is the author of the book As You Look, which I believe is her debut novel, a Yolanda Avila mystery. It's my pleasure to introduce Veronica Gutierrez. Hi, Veronica. How are you doing today? Veronica: Hi there. I'm well. Thank you for having me. Debbi: Excellent. Good to have you on. Thank you. You have had the most interesting career or series of careers. Which one of those things did you start with? Veronica: Well, probably the work in politics. I worked in local government for quite a while before I practiced law, and then I went off and moved into public affairs, doing work similar to what I did in public service. Debbi: Interesting. How were you involved in politics? Veronica: I worked on various campaigns for local government in Los Angeles. I helped the first Latina councilwoman in Los Angeles get elected and worked on her staff for a bit. I also worked on a campaign to get her elected as the first county supervisor, where she served for more than 20 years, and was just fantastic. Then I also worked for another council member who became president of the school board and who was actually the president of the school board twice. Worked with her in the city for a little bit. And then most recently, a friend of mine asked if I could help Mayor Karen Bass set up her office when she was first elected, and I did that for about five months or so at the beginning of her administration, which was a lot of fun. I worked on various campaigns for local government in Los Angeles. I helped the first Latina councilwoman in Los Angeles get elected and worked on her staff for a bit. Debbi: Wow. Bet it was a lot of work too, huh? Veronica: Oh absolutely. Yes. it's definitely a young person's sport, let me put it that way.. Debbi: Yes. And you were a civil rights attorney.

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features another entry in the Adventures of Philip Marlowe entitled “The Restless Day.” I've had a few of those. Feel free to check out the video version, too. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Where ad-free episodes are a bi-weekly event! Here's a copy of the transcript in PDF. Debbi (00:12): Due to circumstances beyond our control, we do not have a guest for today, unfortunately, however, we do have an episode from the files of Philip Marlowe pi. It's called “The Restless Day.” Enjoy! Marlowe (01:11): They all knew he was aboard the yacht when it exploded and sank, and everybody called his death and accident. That is everybody except the cops himself. He said it was murder. Narrator (01:22): From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction, comes his most famous character as CBS presents the Adventures of Philip Marlowe. And now with Gerald Mohr starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you tonight's exciting story, "The Restless Day." Marlowe (01:57): It had been a long, hard Saturday night that topped off a long, rugged week. When I finally got to bed dog tired at 5:00 AM Sunday morning, I was planning to stay there until I caught up on all the sleep I'd lost and gained a running head start on the coming week. And by three in the afternoon on the day of rest, I figured that job was only about half done, but whoever it was that started riding my doorbell had a different idea. I held out until the buzzer stopped, but it was only a change of tactics, so I gave up. All right! All right! I know when I'm licked! Just a minute. Benjamin Rollins (02:33): Thank heaven you're in Mr. Marlowe. I don't know what I'd have done otherwise. *cough* *cough* *cough* Sorry. Marlowe (02:38): It's all right. Benjamin Rollins (02:39): Here. Read this story on the front page. No, down here. Marlowe (02:42): Oh, yacht explosion. Death labeled accident, huh? Benjamin Rollins (02:44): Yes. Yes. Marlowe (02:45): Oh, mystery blast, which destroyed the Rollins yacht at Santa Monica Friday night, and in which Benjamin Rollins noted cosmetics manufacturer was killed, was established today by police investigators as accidental. Benjamin Rollins (02:57): *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* Sorry, I smoke too much. Marlowe (02:58): That's all right. The explosion which shattered and sank the 50-foot pleasure boat was caused by a leaking fuel line. Oland's known to be a chainsmoker, as believed by witnesses who have ... continued on. page seven. Benjamin Rollins (03:08): Never mind Marlowe. I'll tell the rest. Marlowe (03:11): Yeah, I think you'll make it. Benjamin Rollins (03:12): There are two frightening things wrong with that story. Marlowe (03:15): Well, go ahead. Frighten me Benjamin Rollins (03:17): First. The explosion was no accident. That fuel line was repaired a week ago. Second, Ben Rollins was not killed. Marlowe (03:23): You're shaking my faith in the American press. How do you know all this? Benjamin Rollins (03:27): Because I am Benjamin Rollins. Marlowe (03:28): Yes. Well, look, fella. You better dial one one six on the phone and tell the police all about it, huh? Benjamin Rollins (03:33): No, that's exactly what I can't do. Someone's tried to murder me. If they find out I'm still alive, I'll be a target for a second attempt. *cough* *cough* Marlowe (03:40): Wait a minute, wait a minute. I need two things right now. One, a cup of coffee. Would you like some? Benjamin Rollins (03:44): Oh, milk, If you please. My doctor insists. Marlowe (03:46): Okay, come on. You know, there's a good, solid explanation of why everybody thinks you were aboard that yacht. Benjamin Rollins (03:52): Well, first they believe my body was lost in the explosion. You see, I intended to spend the night there because Lucille, my wife and I quarrel, but I got a call and I had to go out of town on business at the last minute. I went out to the boat,

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Nicholas Chiarkas. Check out our discussion of his Weepers series! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Our scheduled guest for today was unfortunately unable to be here. However, fortunately we have another author filling in for him. He was the director of Wisconsin State Public Defender Agency for 22 years, and has also received several awards for excellence. He founded The Justice Without Borders organization, a transnational group that provides legal aid to victims of labor exploitation and human trafficking. Interesting! He has also written two novels - Weepers and Nunzio's Way. It's my pleasure to have with me as my guest, Nicholas Chiarkas. Hi, Nick. How are you doing today? Nick: I am fine. Thank you so much for having me, Debbi. I appreciate it. Debbi: Well, it's my pleasure. Very much so. It's great to meet you. Tell us about your books. They're part of a series. Is that correct? Nick: They are. They're part of what we call the Weepers series. The first novel was Weepers. The second one, which came out this past October - wow, almost a year ago - is Nunzio's Way. Can I hold them up and show you what they look like? Debbi: Absolutely. For anybody who is watching on YouTube. Nick: I just happen to have a couple. Debbi: Oh, yeah. They just happen to be sitting there. Nick: This is Weepers and this is Nunzio's Way. Debbi: Very good. Very good. Hold Weepers up a little bit more. Good. Get a nice, good view. There we go. Weepers. Okay. Look at all those people in the background. Very evocative. Let's see, so they have different protagonists though, correct? Nick: There are some of the same ones, but they do have different characters. Weepers focuses more on Angelo, who is a 13-year-old kid growing up in the Al Smith projects on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where I actually grew up. In many ways, Weepers, if you were talking to my wife instead of me, she would say it's a memoir or a Roman à clef, you know, a story that is based on fact that has a façade of fiction over it. And it's kind of fun to guess who the characters are and what the real events really were. So it's based on a lot of real events and my experience growing up in a housing project like you did, Debbi, in New York City. Weepers focuses more on Angelo, who is a 13-year-old kid growing up in the Al Smith projects on M...

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Addison McKnight, the pen name for co-authors Nicole Moleti and Krista Wells. Check out our discussion of how they got started and their process as collaborators. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today my guests are two writers who collaborate on writing novels, two authors. They each have freelance careers and have written for a variety of publications, but they write fiction together as a team under the pen name Addison McKnight. Their names, their actual names are Krista Wells and Nicole Moleti, not Noelle, Nicole. In any case, I'm very pleased to have with me Krista and Nicole who write as Addison McKnight. Hi guys. How are you doing today? Nicole: Good. Thank you for having us. Debbi: I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to have you here too, and I'm happy to focus on the two of you as we speak. I got it to work. Let's see. Your debut novel is called An Imperfect Plan. What's it about? There you go. Cover and all Excellent. Nice cover too. Nicole: Yes. Well, it's about a lot of different things and a lot of different themes, and the main thing is centered around perfection and women’s—and not just women’s—the cultural obsession with perfection in all different aspects of life, and particularly it's about a woman who saves her eggs. She's working in New York. She's saving to have a family later, and she ends up getting divorced and when she goes back to get the eggs, she realizes that they're gone, and the only thing she could figure out is that her ex-husband sold the eggs. Well, it's about a lot of different things and a lot of different themes, and the main thing is centered around perfection and women’s—and not just women’s—the cultural obsession with perfection in all different aspects of life ... Debbi: Hmm, wow. Nicole: So that, yes. Scary. Debbi: Interesting and legal question there. Wow. That's fascinating. So how would you describe it in terms of genre? Is it like domestic suspense, thriller? Krista: I would say it's a hybrid between women's fiction and a thriller. Debbi: Cool. Cool. And are you working on another book? Krista: We are. We just finished our second book, which is called The Vineyard Remains, and it's also a thriller/soapy drama, kind of another hybrid that will be coming out next year. Debbi: Excellent. Do you plan to continue collaborating on writing ficti...

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer and entrepreneur Clay Stafford. Check out what's on offer for crime writers of all stripes at Killer Nashville. Not to mention Clay's other pursuits, including film production, directing, acting, etc. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Our first guest for this season has achieved so much,I could spend hours picking his brain for advice, but we'll have to settle for about 20 to 25 minutes, more or less. We can hit the highlights anyway, and one of those is the big conference that he organizes—Killer Nashville. Killer Nashville has been going on for … this is the 16th iteration of Killer Nashville, as I understand it. It's just amazing that he has organized this conference starting with a very much smaller group. We can get into that later. He is also a screenwriter, poet, playwright, film and TV producer, director, showrunner, actor, educator, reviewer and public speaker. I think I've covered all of it. Gee, what a slacker, right? Clay: And Dad. And Dad. I'm a dad. A husband and a dad. Debbi: That's awesome. See, all of those things. That's great. So it is my great pleasure to introduce as my guest today, the amazing Clay Stafford. Clay: Oh, thank you. Debbi: Hi, Clay. Clay: Hi, Debbie. How are you? I think we're in our 18th year, if I'm not mistaken. Debbi: 18th? Clay: I don't know, let's do the math. 2006 was the first year, and then we were forced to take one year off because of Covid. So I think we're going into our 18th, but I'm not quite sure. It's either 17th or18th, maybe. I don't know. But it seems only yesterday in 2006 when I asked a couple of friends to come down, and it turned out to be about 70 friends came down for the first Killer Nashville and it seems like yesterday, but I've watched two children grow while the conference goes year to year so I know time is moving, but it doesn't seem like that to me, but I guess that's the way it is. You know, you don't start feeling older until you watch your kids start growing, and as they get bigger and bigger, you keep thinking, well, something must be happening with me because if they're aging so am I. Debbi: That's right. Yeah. Unfortunately. Clay: But thank you for having me back on the show. We got to talk last year, and I was delighted to come back and talk with you again. Debbi: Well, same here,

This is ad-free bonus episode to finish up Season Eight. Just a quick update on my plans (or possible plans) for the podcast. Here's a PDF copy of the episode. Hi everyone. Well, it's taken me a while to put up this particular episode, which I hadn't quite expected a lot of things to happen, unfortunately. For one thing, my computer crashed. That did not help at all in terms of getting things done on this podcast or on anything else. But in any case, I am in mostly recovered mode at this point and probably have lost quite a few photos as a result of this and maybe not. We'll see. In any case, I just wanted to say that I've really enjoyed doing this show and I really would like to continue doing it.However, what I'd like to think about also is what else I can be doing that would be an interesting new direction. So I wish I came here with a master plan all worked out and ready to tell you about, but I don't have one. Yeah, that's the truth. I am simply considering options at this point, and among the options I've considered are putting together anthologies by authors who have appeared on the Crime Cafe, things like that, other than the one that I already offer, the ones I already offer. So that's something to consider. And the other thing I'm thinking about is something in between that, like say periodically posting short stories from, or essays or guest posts from the authors, doing random interviews. I don't know, it just depends on how things develop and what I feel I'm capable of doing at this point. So yeah, my capabilities are somewhat limited in that I have dystonia and it's a movement disorder as, I don't know if I've ever talked about it on the podcast, but I have it. And lately the treatment has not been working very well, so that makes life a little more difficult in general. But having said that, I just want to say that I really appreciate how much support the show seems to be getting in terms—I look at the statistics in terms of downloads, and they've been going up—and I get so many requests to be on the show, and I feel really honored by that. I truly do. And I also want to thank everybody who listens, everybody who watches the YouTube channel, the patrons on Patreon. Thank you. Yeah, that I was not expecting. Not expecting at all. Be seeing you. PS: I endeavor to provide more than just another podcast with your support.

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer T.W. Lawless. Check out our discussion of his Peter Clancy series … and more! Transcript now available in PDF. Debbi: Hi everyone. My final guest for this season, although actually I'm planning to do a kind of an additional episode after this. It'll be a bonus for people who are patrons on Patreon if you'd like to see it. I'm going to talk about my plans for the podcast because this is the end of my eighth season so it's just amazing to me that it's gone on this far. And if I make it to 10 seasons, well something has to be done to celebrate that. Having said that, I would like to introduce our guest today. After studying journalism, he worked as a registered nurse for many years before turning to fiction writing. He is the author of the Peter Clancy novels, as well as a thriller called Furey's War, which he co-wrote with his wife Kay Bell. My guest today, it's my pleasure to introduce Thomas Bell, who writes under the name T. W. Lawless. Hi Tom. How are you doing today? Tom: I'm good. Debbi: Excellent. Tom: I've had coffee. I'm fine. Debbi: Oh, yes. You're always fine once you have that coffee. Amen to that. So how are things in Australia? Tom: Well, fine at the moment. I think the weather is okay today. Well, we live near the sea, which is always okay. We love the sea. It's the weekend. What's today? I'm getting confused with time differences. It's Saturday today. Debbi: Oh my gosh. Well, it's Friday where I am and it's Saturday where you are. Tom: I always feel like in Australia, we live in the future. Debbi: That's right. Yeah. Everything's going to be fine because everything's fine in Australia. Tom: You just have to get to Saturday. Debbi: Just take it one day at a time. Tom: I know. Debbi: One time zone at a time. Let's see. I wanted to ask you about Furey's War first, because for me it was a really interesting read because you were writing about World War II, but you were writing about it from an Australian perspective, and that's something that I've just never read. Tom: That's true. That's true. Debbi: Yeah. So what inspired you to write that book? Tom: Well, I guess my father, because he …well, North Queensland. The family came from North Queensland from a small country town, which was a bit like the one in the book. The Gold Rush had gone and basically the town was a ghost town, becoming a ghost town until the Americans came in 1942 or whatever wanting an Air Force base. So that's what happened. An Air Force Base arrived and an Australian Air Force base arrived and there was this big influx of military people, plus a big cultural impact. So this country town became vibrant with all these American troops, like thousands. And of course, people loved it. Some people didn't like it. It changed the town, but all over Australia that happened. They wanted to be in Northern Australia because it was the access to Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Some of those stories in there are true. Sometimes the Australian troops didn't like the American troops because they were better paid, and Australian girls liking the American troops and Australians didn't like that. And of course, boys being boys, they had some fights and whatnot. So I just put that layer of the police officer trying to navigate his way through that and keep law and order, and sometimes trying to work with the Americans because he had been in the military with the Americans and trying to keep his town stable through all this. So I thought it was a different spin on things because I don't think peace time - not peace time - but the home front. You don't often hear about the home front in Australia. I think maybe it was the first, I don't know, but it was a great read. Debbi: Well, it's the first time I have read it Tom: Yeah. It was great to write and to work with my wife, so we got through that okay,

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with the first female Bond novelist, Kim Sherwood. You'll want to hear all about the latest developments in James Bond's world. Even if he is missing! And, for anyone who wants to write, this interview is loaded with great insights from my guest. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of an award-winning debut novel Testament. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writers of the Year Award. She is also the first female author of a Bond novel. It's called Double or Nothing. Here's the cover if you can see. I'm always doing that wrong. It's called Double or Nothing, and if you like action packed stories, I think you'll love this one. I'm thrilled to have with me today the first female Bond novelist, Kim Sherwood. Hey Kim, how are you doing today? Kim: Hi, I'm good, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Debbi: Well, it's a pleasure having you on. Thank you so much and congratulations on making history. Kim: Well, that's very kind. Thank you. Debbi: Well, I have to say—the first question that comes to mind is how does it feel to be in this position, to have a job this amazing? Kim: It feels pretty good. It feels pretty good. It's very surreal. You know, sometimes it becomes almost normal because it's kind of my day-to-day life now. And then on days like today we are recording on the 17th anniversary of Casino Royale so I'm down here in London for the celebrations. I'm at the Ian Fleming offices, which is why I'm surrounded by all of these beautiful Ian Fleming books, and to see my book next to his and with this legacy, it's very, very special. It feels pretty good. It's very surreal. You know, sometimes it becomes almost normal because it's kind of my day-to-day life now. And then on days like today we are recording on the 17th anniversary of Casino Royale so I'm down here in London for the celebrations. Debbi: I can just imagine. Wow. And the other question I have is, how the heck did you manage to land a deal to write Bond novels from a feminist perspective, no less? Kim: That's right. Well, really this comes down to saying very far-fetched things out loud repeatedly. So all of my life I've said to anybody who would listen, one day I want to write a James Bond novel, and I happened to say it to the right person, my agent who heard that the estate was looking for ...

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer and psychotherapist Mark Schorr. Check out our discussion about his novels, as well as his other unique activities and interests, such as engaging in government-run ESP experiments. Got your attention yet? :) Stay tuned! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today has the most interesting background. He has worked as a bookstore manager, private investigator, nightclub bouncer, newspaper reporter, freelance writer, and is currently a licensed psychotherapist. Along with the diverse interests he has, which include - well, I'll get into that later - he is also an Edgar-nominated author of 11 mysteries, mystery thrillers, I should say, with titles in France, Spain, and Japan, and three books under option for adaptation. That's impressive. My guest today is Mark Schorr. Hi Mark. How are you doing today? Mark: Good, Debbi. Nice to see you. Thank you for having me. Debbi: Well, it's great to see you too. Among your novels, you have a series about Red Diamond, Private Eye. That caught my eye right away. I love the name. Mark: I thought it might when I saw your stuff with Philip Marlowe. Raymond Chandler is an idol of mine in terms of as a writer. Not as a person, but as a writer and my first dog we named Marlowe. The first three books, the idea is this cab driver has a miserable life and his escape is reading, reading the hardboiled fiction, and then he has a trauma and he comes to believe that he is Red Diamond, this ace private eye, and gets involved in all sorts of misadventures. Debbi: Oh, wow. That's interesting. Does that happen in the first book, the misadventure or does it happen ...? Mark: The first book is the trauma, and he starts getting involved in misadventures and then it continues for two more. There is Red Diamond, Private Eye, Ace of Diamonds and Diamond Rock. All featured the character. Simon Jaffe is his cab driver name, but Red Diamond is his P.I. name. Debbi: I love it. That's so cool. I was going to ask you if you came up with the name after watching Murder by Death, which I think had the character Sam Diamond in it. Mark: No, I just like the idea of Diamond. That is hard and Red was my nickname when I was a kid, way back when and had reddish hair. The interesting thing is I found out subsequently there's a writer named Gerry Petievich who did To Live and Die in L.A.

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer, podcaster, and journal editor/publisher Lorie Lewis Ham. Join us for a discussion of her new novel that takes place in Fresno, California! In the Tower District! :) Not to mention her podcast and literary journal. Oh, my! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi. Our guest today had her first song and poem published when she was 13, so she got a real early start. Since then, she's published many articles, short stories and poems, six mystery novels, and written for a local newspaper. Those are still around, you know, and it's a great thing. And furthermore, she has been for 13 years, editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she produces Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast, where you can hear an excerpt from her latest book, One of Us, a story that takes place in Fresno, California, a place near and dear to my own heart. It is my great pleasure to introduce my guest, Lorie Lewis Ham. Hi, Lorie. How are you doing today? Lorie: Hi. Okay. Thank you for having me. I've been fighting some allergies this week. If you remember Fresno about this time of year, there's blossoms everywhere. Debbi: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Agriculture all over the place as I recall. Lorie: Yes, definitely. Debbi: Wow. Yeah, because I moved there from New York, so it was quite a change. Lorie: Oh, wow. Yeah, that would be. Debbi: It was. It was almost like heaven by comparison. Isn't that funny to say about Fresno? I don't know. Lorie: It is. Debbi: It's very. So tell us about your book, about Roxi, the podcaster/private eye, as I understand it. What a great combination! Lorie: Well, the podcasting and the private eye part kind of take place a little further into the book. At 35, she was a children's book author and lived on the coast of California, and she lost her publisher. They dropped her series and she is like, okay, well now what am I going to do? And she has a cousin who's a P.I. who lives in Fresno, and he said, well, hey, come stay with me for a while, and so that's what she did. Then he talks her into helping out with a local community theater and someone's murdered during a rehearsal. He's hired to investigate and she helps him out, so that's kind of where the P.I. part starts, helping out with that. It's set in the Tower District, which is the arts district of Fresno, so it's quite different from the rest of Fresno....

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with three of the four crime writers who've published a novel under the name Lee Anne Post. Check out our discussion about their novel Thoughts & Prayers. First, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest is a person of many parts as you can see. I have three-quarters of them with me today. Lee Anne Post is the pen name for co-authors Cathy Baldau, Tara Bell, Ginny Fite and K.P. Robbins. I have three of them with me here today—Cathy, Tara, and Ginny. So, welcome. Stories by these authors have appeared in numerous journals, and individually they're published as well in 10 novels, I believe it is. They've worked as reporters and editors covering various types of topics, and they have written a highly relevant novel that entertains and raises important issues, Thoughts & Prayers. So it is my great pleasure to have with me today, [three of the] four authors who represent the one author Lee Anne Post, the collective author. Thanks guys for being here. This is great. All: Thanks for having us. Debbi: Oh my gosh. Well, I'm so glad to have you here. So tell me more about the book Thoughts & Prayers. What is it about? Ginny: Cathy, you go. Cathy: I always get this. The author's scariest question is what is it about? Even though you've worked on it for five years. It's basically about an outcast, overprotected girl who unwittingly lets her boyfriend into their school thinking that he's just going to scare a few people, but he ends up bringing a gun and minutes later, 14 people are dead, and then it's her trying to hide her complicity or she's the accomplice. She's trying to hide that from the authorities. And then as the town and the survivors' grief turns to anger and revenge, she's also trying to hide from them as well. Debbi: My goodness. Ginny: I think of this book as the Crime and Punishment novel of the 21st Century, and really it's basically Ross Konikoff. That was his name, right? She struggles with this issue of how much her guilt will force her to give away, and whether she can conceal herself in plain sight or not, and whether she should help the authorities or not. It is both character driven and plot driven, which is fairly unusual for a crime novel. Debbi: You know it's interesting that you bring up that point of complicity because I'm currently working on a story about my attorney character,

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Saralyn Richard. Check out our discussion about her books and the writing life! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today I have a return guest. I get a few of those now and then. My guest today is the author of the Detective Parrott Mystery series. The latest book in that series is Crystal Blue Murder. I almost wanted to say “Crystal Blue Persuasion”. Yeah, I'm old . Anyway, Crystal Blue Murder was selected as December Read by Women Writers Women's Books. Her second book in that series, A Palette for Love and Murder won the Killer Nashville Silver Falcion Reader's Choice Award in 2021. She's also written books outside the series. Standalones that have either been shortlisted or made the finals in various award contests. I'm pleased to have with me Saralyn Richard. Hi, Saralyn. Glad to have you here today. Saralyn: Thank you so much for having me. I'm just thrilled to be on. Debbi: Excellent. Good. I'm thrilled to have you here. So tell me was your title inspired by Breaking Bad? Saralyn: No, but "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was running through my mind, an earworm during the whole time I was writing the book. Debbi: Oh my gosh, wow. Because I noticed that the story starts off with a bang in terms of the explosion of a meth lab, I think it is. So what was it that inspired you to write this story? Saralyn: Well, my series, my Detective Parrott series that started with Murder in the One Percent is set in Brandywine Valley, Pennsylvania, and that is a very rural, peaceful, serene, wealthy area west of Philadelphia. And there are a lot of parties that go on there. There are horse activities, equestrian activities. There are artists in the community. You're probably familiar with Andrew Wyeth and his family. They live in Brandywine Valley and paint there. There are numerous things to do there, and there're just lots of stories waiting to be told. And the first book, Murder in the One Percent takes place with the equestrian crowd at a party. The second book, A Palette for Love and Murder, takes place with the artist community. And this third book takes place, starts off with the burning of a bank barn, and bank barns are prolific throughout Brandywine Valley and really throughout New England. They are, they're structures that are very, very interesting because they were built for functionality into ...

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Willa C. Richards. We talk about her debut novel The Comfort of Monsters, Milwaukee, and more! Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The Kenyon Review, and other publications. She's also the recipient of a 2019 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize for Emerging Writers, and her novel is called The Comfort of Monsters, and it's very good. I've read it and reviewed it and loved it. It's my pleasure to have with me Willa C. Richards. Hey Willa, how are you doing today? Willa: Good. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to be on. Debbi: Excellent. Well, I'm glad you're here. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to talk to you, because I really did love your book. I thought it was great, and it touches on so many issues. I was listening to an old review I did of the book, trying to get back in touch with the issues that really stuck out for me. And it was like, wow! I'd forgotten just how complex and wonderful this book was. Willa: Well, thank you for saying that. Debbi: Oh, well, I mean it honestly. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. So, tell us about the book and what inspired you to write it. Willa: Yeah, I started working on the book because of a project I was actually working on with my mother. My mom is a historic archeologist. Both my parents are archeologists, but my mother in particular is a historic archeologist. She works in mostly in cemeteries, and her sort of life's project is working in a cemetery in Milwaukee, a pauper cemetery that was run by the city and then sort of forgotten and then ran into all of these sort of issues with construction and new development where they had sort of forgotten that these people were buried there. So my mom was tasked with excavating these graves and removing them from an area where they were in danger of being destroyed, so that's sort of her life's project. She got a call from a family—I believe this was in 2018—asking if she would excavate an area of the cemetery for them because they believed that their loved one was buried there, a recent burial, not a historic burial. And the reason that they believed this was based on a tip from a psychic. She did agree to work with them to excavate the...

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Michael Hearns. Join us for a discussion of his Cade Taylor series and his other work as a technical consultant and movie producer. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. You can download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. Today my guest is a Miami native who spent 27 years working as a South Florida police officer and detective. For a decade, he worked undercover investigating large-scale cocaine trafficking and high volume money laundering cases. He worked with multiple police and federal agencies and is a certified DEA instructor. He also has a Master's degree in Investigative Criminal Psychology. He has worked and consulted on multiple serial offender homicide cases, and since his retirement from law enforcement, he's worked as a technical advisor in film and television. He is also a movie producer and an adjunct professor at multiple universities within the US, and he is the author of the Cade Taylor series of books, which I'm told is a completely new genre in the detective fiction realm—Dark Tropics. We're going to have to talk about that. It's my pleasure to introduce Michael Hearns. Michael, thank you for being here today. Thank you so much. Michael: No, Debbi. Thank you. It's been a pleasure to be here to get a chance to meet you. Debbi: Excellent. Well, it's great to meet you. So tell me about this Michael Cade. He sounds like an interesting character. He seems to be in a kind of a class all of his own with this weird agency or whatever he's with. Tell me about the fiction that you write in this series about him. Michael: Yes. The fiction I write is based on a fictional character named Cade Taylor. He's a detective in Miami. He's assigned to the Vice Intelligence and Narcotic unit, which is kind of a covert undercover operation, and the first book I wrote was called Trust No One. That came out in 2020, and then that was quickly followed up by Grasping Smoke: A Cade Taylor Novel in 2021, and then last year we had One More Move. And basically these books chronicle the exploits of Cade Taylor as he tries to maneuver through some very sticky and unexpected circumstances involved in working in narcotics and money laundering, dealing with the Cali Cartel and Medellin Cartel. Also, just some nefarious subjects and people and things in Miami, which we oftentimes refer to as a sunny place for shady people. So, Cade Taylor has learned to thrive and navigate in that system,