Interview with
Sandra Nikolai
Author of
Today I have the pleasure to present a Mystery author who weaves ordinary characters into extraordinary, life-threatening situations, using the premise that evil often lurks in familiar places. Sandra Nikolai is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, she grew up in this cosmopolitan city and later moved to Ottawa, capping off a career path in sales, finance, and high tech.
What inspired you to write mystery novels?
I loved reading mystery novels since as far back as I can remember. I enjoy the challenge of discovering which suspect had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime. It’s one of the reasons I was drawn to writing in this genre.
Another reason I chose to write mystery novels was the satisfaction that the crime is solved by the end of the story. In real life, a killer might manage to stay under the radar and elude police investigators. Many murders remain unsolved and become cold cases. In my novels, I ensure that the criminal is brought to justice and loose ends are tied up.
Did you do any research before writing False Impressions, the first book in the Megan Scott/Michael Elliott Mystery series?
Lots! My research ranged from checking street names and commercial sites in Montreal–the main setting in the story–to learning about Canadian police interrogation systems and legal processes. Law enforcement and legal procedures in Canada vary in certain aspects from American practices, so I couldn’t rely on the investigative processes recorded in American documentation.
On a related note, my main characters Megan and Michael travel to a different location in every story. In Fatal Whispers, the second book in the series, they visit Portland, Maine, where they help solve three mysterious deaths. I did a fair amount of research for that story too!
Where do you get your ideas for a mystery novel?
A fact on the news sometimes triggers an aha! moment that inspires me to weave a similar detail into a work in progress. Some of the true crimes out there are rather shocking, though, and I prefer to leave unwarranted gore and violence out of my stories as much as possible. Using the premise that evil often lurks in familiar places, my stories highlight the courage and determination of my main characters in their quest for justice.
The hook in your book description reads: Her cheating husband was murdered and she’s the prime suspect. Proving her innocence is one thing; evading a killer who wants her dead is something else. Can you elaborate on this?
I based my story on a familiar premise: The wife is always the last to know. After her husband dies, Megan Scott is shocked to discover that he had betrayed her. Worse yet, she becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Her once private and organized life is thrown into disarray, her reputation is tarnished, and she faces threats from an unknown aggressor. When crime reporter Michael Elliott is drawn into the case as a person of interest, they work together to clear their names and hunt for the killer in the process.
How would you compare your writing style to that of other mystery writers?
Every writer has their own innate style of putting words together to tell a story, so I rarely compare my work to theirs. Readers who enjoyed my stories have left reviews that describe them as fast-paced, non-stop intrigue, well written, clever plot, page turner, a clean thriller, lots of twists and turns. I’ll accept those reviews anytime!
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Interview with
Paul Hollis
Author of
Today I have the pleasure to present an American author of fictional terrorism and espionage. Paul Hollis’ bestselling trilogy, "The Hollow Man Series", follows a U.S. government analyst and his partner in an odyssey of suspense across Europe.
What inspired The Hollow Man?
The inspiration for the storyline comes from a series of true incidents that occurred during the early 1970s. The Hollow Man traces some of my lesser-known experiences traveling in Europe as a young man. To make a long story short, I met a guy in early 1973 who thought I was wasting my time digging latrines in East Africa for the Peace Corps. He had a better offer for me. The story is based on my true adventures.
At the time, terrorism was on the rise and I was assigned to learn as much as I could about it. Most early acts of terror were specific, personal and damage was focused on a distinct, definable enemy. But terrorism was beginning to change its strategy to the familiar, senseless chaos we recognize today. The death of political figures no longer seemed to bother us as much as these new, random attacks against our children. Targets of innocence became preferable to these people because it was the kind of shock and hurt that hit close to our hearts. The fear inside us grew larger with each incident.
Were you actually a spy?
I usually say that 80% of the story is about 90% true. With that in mind, I was never classified as a spy. I was more like a tourist until needed for surveillance or other activities. I was not particularly trained, certainly no hero, not clever or capable, talented or tested. This is not another story about Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan. Picture a guy in a red shirt on a Star Trek episode. The word that comes to mind is expendable.
What is The Hollow Man really about?
It is a story about a U.S. Government field analyst, haunted by the ghost of a dead child that becomes obsessed with finding the terrorist who murdered her.
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War in 1970s Europe, The Hollow Man follows the harrowing journey of Doc, a disillusioned American government analyst haunted by the ghosts of his past. Tasked with surveilling a notorious terrorist, Andrew Chaban, Doc becomes embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy that blurs the lines between reality and the illusion.
The story opens with Doc experiencing a surreal encounter in a misty cathedral, where a young girl, a ghostly figure covered in blood, warns him of the danger he faces. This haunting vision is only the beginning of Doc's descent into a world where nothing is as it seems.
Doc is soon assigned to monitor Luis Carrero Blanco, the Prime Minister of Spain, whose life is under threat. As Doc navigates the treacherous streets of Madrid, he becomes entangled in a web of political intrigue involving various intelligence agencies, including the CIA, KGB, and ETA, the Basque separatist group. Despite his attempts to stay ahead, Doc finds himself manipulated by forces beyond his control, leading to the assassination of Blanco in a catastrophic explosion.
Haunted by the mysterious girl and driven by a need for justice, Doc relentlessly pursues Chaban across Europe. His journey takes him from the devastation of the Prime Minister in Madrid to the shadowy corners of Paris, where he confronts the brutal realities of espionage and the supernatural forces that seem to be guiding his fate.
Your writing style is fairly unique. Please tell us more.
I’ve had many reviewers say The Hollow Man should be on the big screen. Here’s why I believe that’s true:
My writing style is very visual. It’s important for me to completely immerse readers, drawing them totally into each scene. I want my readers to experience what’s going on around them, feel the excitement, and hear the voices. As I mentioned, when readers say the book should be on the big screen, I feel like I’ve made the story completely real. For me, there are 2 aspects that make the story real:
First, realistic dialog is key. How people talk makes characters come to life. Readers may skip parts of the description, scenery, and story of any book but for some reason they always seem to be drawn into what characters say. Dialog has to use words the way people actually speak, complete with contractions (or lack thereof), slang, accents, hesitations, word selections, physical actions while speaking, etc. Each combination is unique and specific to that one character. When you get that right, your character walks off the page, enters the reader's imagination and joins you for the ride.
The same applies to location. It has to feel visually real. Would you be satisfied with a movie set in Paris or London that takes place exclusively indoors or on a Hollywood set? Maybe not, so for me, it's important to take the reader along for the full ride. Each location provides its own set of rules in which characters must make decisions. Characters are challenged by location - language, culture, the weather, the people around them and so on.
The location, or setting, also creates the mood of the story which helps shape emotions that a reader feels. It’s important for the reader to "feel" the environment and experiences surrounding them - the proverbial mist of the fog in London, the taste of French cuisine, the excitement of bullfighting in Spain.
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Interview with
Janice Spina AKA J.E. Spina
Author of
Gateskin Chronicles Book 1
Today I have the pleasure to present a multi-award-winning author with 46 books of which there are 22 children's books,12 MG/PT books and three books in a YA series with three more coming over the next few years, eight novels and a short story collection for 18+ written under J.E. Spina. She is also a copy editor, blogger, book reviewer and supporter of fellow authors.
When did you realize you wanted to become an author?
I loved writing poetry when I was a young child. After writing my first children’s book, I began to think more seriously about becoming an author one day. Working and child bearing kept me too busy to begin my journey toward becoming an author until after I retired. By that time I had written several stories that were waiting to be published. From then on I began working tenaciously on bringing all my books to the attention of readers on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
What is your favorite genre to write?
I write in many genres but find that MG/PT (middle-grade and preteens) are my favorite genre in which to create stories. It is because I feel like a kid again and thoroughly enjoy weaving stories from my child-like imagination for this age group.
Which genre do you find the most challenging to write?
I began a fantasy series, Gateskin Chronicles, in 2023 that will have six books at completion. This is the series I find the most challenging to create. It also is the one series that takes the longest time frame to complete. It is an epic series with myriad characters, lands, creatures and magic spells that will make your head spin. I had to create a list of characters, creatures, spells, and lands in order to keep track of them all and added this list to each book for readers. With each story the list continues to grow as the characters take over the story and guide my hand. There are many aspects of the adventures that I need to keep in mind as I create the story causing a constant challenge to complete each as I lead into the next book.
I have published the first three books in this series that have received three Gold Medals from Mom’s Choice Awards. Book 4 will be out in 2025 with the other two in 2025 or 2026.
What is the most difficult part of being an Indie Author?
Being an Indie Author is a difficult road because there are so many such authors on Amazon. I feel like a grain of sand on the beaches of Amazon with each year being joined by many more Indie Authors.
The most difficult jobs of being an Indie Author are promoting, finding your audience, and using the correct tags for a particular book and genre to get noticed by readers and Amazon. There are many online companies that court me with their promotion options daily. It is a confusing and inundating process to choose the right ones or just do my own promotions on my blog, online media, book reviews and with the help of fellow authors. I like AllAuthor.com and Book Marketing Global Network (BMGN) and have been using both for many years.
It is not easy to find the right audience for a book or use the most advantageous tags. I do use Rocket for insights into handing these two phases of publication. All in all, being an Indie Author is not an easy road to travel. It takes perseverance, determination and belief in oneself.
How important is it for an author to read other authors’ work?
I am an avid reader who reads 7-10 books each month on my blog and reviews them. I feel it is extremely important to read other authors’ books in order to learn more about my craft. It improves the way I write by offering me a different view, person and characterization of each authors’ work and how they handle each scene, storyline and dialogue. We all have our own distinctive voice that is displayed within our work. No one can steal them from us for it is innate, but we do learn how to use our own voice by observing others’ strengths and weaknesses.
Thank you so much, Uvi, for having me on your blog. I enjoyed sharing a little about my work with you and your readers. I appreciate your kind support
Please share an excerpt with us.
At one time the land was known as Territory of Noella Provence to honor the first fairy queen who moved from the region of Sovorotskina to the village later known as Votovia. As time passed, the Noella Provence separated into the different villages. The elders still called it Noella Provence, but the younger ones did not, though they were taught the history of the land.
The villages each had their own wizard king and fairy queen who ruled their individual regions.
Sovorotskina – Land of Goodness & Light – ruled by Wizard King Gateskin and Fairy Queen Solinara
Votovia – Land of Magic & Mystery – ruled by Wizard King Cavelan and Fairy Queen Savina
Merona – Land of Peace & Harmony – ruled by Healers (old wise men)
Merlina – Land of Myths & Legends – ruled by Wizard King Zuri and Fairy Queen Zuleima
Amora – Land of Faith & Love – ruled by King Noderan (not a wizard), and Queen Davora (not a fairy)
Parotovina – Land of Evil & Darkness – ruled by Wizard King Kaposkaran and Fairy Queen Beregina
The strongest wizard of all was Gateskin. He ruled Sovorotskina with a firm but kind hand and aided the other villages when needed. He and the ruler of Votovia, King Cavelan, protected the regions from the evil Wizard King Kaposkaran who continued to reap terror upon his own citizens if they did not do his evil deeds. This king also consistently threatened to harm the other villages.
To the north of the land lay the Unknown Territory. It did not have another name, but it was feared by the villagers. They did not venture over the border. Some who did in the past never returned.
The villagers did not talk about this territory but kept clear of its borders. They did not want to explore, for they were fearful of what was unknown and were content in their own land.
To the south lay the Sea of Shakelle which was a dark and stormy sea that crushed many ships that tried to ride its course. They did not need to travel to the ocean for food since they had plenty from the waterways that coursed through their villages.
If one day they depleted this supply of fish, they may have to look to the Sea of Shakelle for food. The power of the wizards was what kept the villagers secure in their lives and free from worry.
This is where the story begins – one hundred years ago in the village known as Sovorotskina.
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Interview with
Dominic Piper
Author of
The fifth PI Daniel Beckett thriller
Today I have the pleasure to present an author who formally worked as a jack-of-all-trades television writer/script editor and a music journalist before turning his hand to writing detective thrillers. His first two books, Kiss Me When I’m Dead and Death is the New Black were traditionally published, but quite early on, he retrieved the right for both books and decided to self-publish, being dissatisfied with the traditional publishing approach.
Your new book, Acid Yellow, has just been released. What is it about?
I’m not a big reader of detective mysteries or crime fiction (hence my unique take on those genres!), but I think Acid Yellow would be classified as a cold case mystery. Private investigator Daniel Beckett is hired by the CEO of a Korean multinational conglomerate with offices in London, to investigate the murder of her sister, a famous classical musician.
At the point where she turns to Beckett for help, the murder was two years in the past, and the police and three big private detective agencies had failed to make any headway, but Beckett is an enigmatic individual with a mysterious and possible dubious past and has a different and unconventional take on cases like this one.
Part of the inspiration for this particular story was a lot of high-profile news stories about assaults and murders that had been perpetrated against women in London over the past few years. It just never seemed to stop. The whole atmosphere of the book gives an idea of that constant threat, whether minor or major, that women experience from day to day. It’s always shocking to me, as I thought many of the misogynist attitudes related by women I’ve known were a thing of the past, but it seems to be getting worse.
Is this a theme in your other books?
It’s not something I do consciously, but yes, it is. It’s arguable how much any fiction can have an effect on the real world, but I think it’s your duty as a writer to make people stop and think. I know that my outlook on things has been changed by things I’ve read, even by lyrics of songs, so I have to assume it can be the same for other people. If I have any writing aims at all, it’s to make the world a better place, I guess.
Do you have target readers?
I don’t set out to target any particular age or sex, but from the reviews of the books that I’ve had, it does seem that they’re very popular with women. Maybe they pick up on what’s going on in the books, or maybe they strike a chord in some other way that I’m not aware of. There are occasional comments that the books themselves are misogynistic, but that’s due to the way in which the bad guys in the books speak, and what their attitudes are. I try to make them as convincing as possible. By doing that, you always run the risk of people thinking that some of the odious views expressed by characters in the books are yours, but that’s always been the case since I’ve been writing professionally. A lot of times in my television work, people have commented on some character’s dialogue, saying things like ‘Oh, so you think that (whatever it is)’. I never correct or defend myself, but you sometimes feel like saying ‘No. I don’t think that. But that particular fictitious character thinks that. Those are his views, not mine. This is fiction, not thinly disguised autobiography.’ But I’m far too polite to say something like that!
Many reviews of your work have pointed out that your main character, Daniel Beckett, is never judgmental of the females he encounters, no matter what their life choices or questionable habits.
That’s true. These books, in their unique way, are turning the tables on the way women are portrayed in crime fiction while keeping to the basic parameters. As I said, I don’t really read anything in that genre, but when I occasionally flick through recent stuff like that, I’m amazed to find how cliché-ridden they still are in that respect. Beckett does sleep with a lot of the woman he encounters in these books, and some people have referred to him as a womaniser, but that’s not really accurate. For these books to work in the way I intend, he has to be like that. It’s a very delicate and tricky balance and can be quite challenging to write sometimes.
Do you have a favourite of any of the five Daniel Beckett novels?
They’re all quite different from each other, so no. Even though they’re a series, they’re all standalone, and I try to make each book quite dissimilar from the others. There are a few characters I remember fondly, but that’s usually because they were great fun to write. Caroline Chow in Femme Fatale was one of those, as was Liva Søndergaard in Bitter Almonds & Jasmine.
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Interview with
Kevin Klehr
Author of
Today I have the pleasure to present an author whose tall tales explore unrequited love in the theatre district of the Afterlife, romance between a dreamer and a realist, and a dystopian city addicted to social media. Kevin Klehr lives with his husband, Warren, in their humble apartment (affectionately named Sabrina), in Australia’s own ‘Emerald City,’ Sydney.
What inspired this Alice in Wonderland like tale?
I wanted to cover a serious topic within the pages of a fantasy novella, in a way where the underlying theme of this story wouldn’t scare potential readers if it was clearly outlined in the blurb.
The main character, Ferris, is going through an ordeal I personally encountered with a boyfriend many decades ago. Since then, I have been in a loving relationship for thirty-four years, so to go back to these dark times meant I needed a surreal setting to help soften these memories.
What has the response been to this novella?
First off, it’s my husband’s favourite work of mine. And he is critical of my books.
But others have also given lovely responses. I was caught off guard when someone commented on a on a Facebook post, praising this particular novella. I thanked her for her praise. One audio reviewer split her review into two parts with the second half praising my courage in telling this story.
One of my favourite reviews said “At times I couldn’t read because of my blurred vision, all my emotions bubbling up.”
The ending is quite unexpected. Was that always the case?
Yes and no. I always know the ending of my novels before I start writing the outline. It’s important as I want my reader to be left with something to ponder.
Originally, I had a different ending but as I was still finessing the outline, this surprising twist came to mind.
You often get mistaken for a Romance writer. Why is that?
It’s a strange phenomenon which I think comes from having a US publisher. Here in Australia, our first impression of writing gay fiction means it deals with issues of identity. That is the case with the work of best-selling gay authors like Holden Shepphard and Christos Tsiolkas.
Yet to a younger set of queer Americans, gay fiction means Romance! I’m fortunate to have several blogs who always review my work, knowing what to expect.
But I was really disheartened when a young American blogger gave up listening to the audio version of Winter Masquerade. She said it wasn’t what she was expecting. Seriously, it was narrated by a British actor with Shakespearian experience. He did a beautiful job. It seems so foreign to me that someone on a book review blog would give up listening just because it wasn’t Romance.
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Much thanks, Uvi, for your feature of my book today! So appreciated! ox
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Sarah! Can't wait to read it :)
DeleteThank you so much for this opportunity, Uvi. The presentation looks fantastic, too.
ReplyDelete