A Crime Writers’ Interview (and a New misterio Author!)

by Kassandra Lamb ~ Last week, I mentioned that we have a new misterio author. She ended up joining us after some discussion, all of which started with a casual comment she made on an author board (Sisters in Crime, to be exact) that she was looking into the indie-publishing option.

Her comment caught my eye and I messaged her about misterio press. And now, she’s coming on board. So please help us welcome our new misterio author, Liz Boeger.

She did an interview for us so we all could get to know her better.

Here’s her bio…

Liz Boeger’s stint as a swimsuit model peaked in kindergarten. Her fallback career as a mystery author didn’t surface until she hit the mid-century mark.

In between, she wrangled children, adults, and the occasional Florida panther as a teacher and school administrator. Don’t ask her about her work with the U.S. Secret Service, she’s sworn herself to secrecy.

Her award-winning mystery series is inspired by her life experiences on Florida’s Gulf coast. She’s a member of Florida Writers Association and Sisters in Crime.

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Kass Lamb (on behalf of the whole misterio gang): First of all, Welcome to misterio press!!!

Now, to get the interview going, what two or three things do you feel people need to know in order to understand who you are?

Liz Boeger: Thank you! I’m so pleased to be here.

First, I am a native Floridian and adored my upbringing in South Tampa.

I quilt, garden, read, and do logic grid puzzles for fun. I love a good pun but I’m terrible at telling jokes. I try to infuse humor into my books because, like education, it is the great equalizer.

Finally, like my main character, I self-identify as a skeptical optimist.

Kass: Why crime fiction? What is the appeal of mysteries for you?

Liz: I discovered mysteries as a stay-at-home mom during forays to our local library. Between my toddler son’s bushel of books and my selections, we’d max out our checkout limit every visit.

At first it was the Cat Who series, then the Benni Harper series, and before long I discovered Sue Grafton’s work and about a million others that satisfied my need for downtime escapism. I was drawn to series because they posed familiarity in the locale and characters.

I don’t like to ready heavy themes because they tend to invade my dreams. I find cozies/traditional mysteries to be suspenseful enough, but not so much that they take away my peace of mind.  

Kass: What type, i.e. subgenre, of mysteries do you write? Why does that subgenre appeal to you as a writer? Do you also prefer it as a reader?

Liz: My Moccasin Cove series walks the line between traditional and cozy mystery because that is what I love to read. It is set in a small town, the main character is an amateur sleuth, and it avoids gratuitous violence or sex. That’s not to mean it lacks energy or suspense. Oh, and there’s murder, in a comfortable kind of format that brings justice and a satisfying resolution.

I’d say it leans more toward traditional because the plots can be a bit edgier than the typical cozy and it does not have a foodie or bookstore focus. But books and food do make cameo appearances.

Kass: What was your favorite book/author as a child? Why was it your favorite?

Liz: BABY ISLAND by Carol Ryrie Brink—grade 3. It was about two elementary aged sisters who get shipwrecked on a deserted isle with several babies they must care for until their eventual rescue. I loved it because it was the first chapter book I ever read. It was set on the ocean—I love the beach. And it provided just the right amount of danger and suspense for my young age with that requisite happy ending. I think I identified with the bossy older sister.

Kass: What do you find to be the most fun and/or the most difficult part of the writing process—first draft, editing, researching?

Liz: Most fun—when a character, scene, or plot twist shows up unexpectedly, taking the story to a new level.

Most difficult—slogging through the line edits to fix my horrible punctuation and typing skills. Sometimes the finds are hilarious, but I fear sending a red-pen worthy book out into the world.

Kass: Where are you in your writing career? Tell us more about your stories.

Liz: I’m two books into my soon to be published series with plots for a dozen more. A few short stories and another mystery series are percolating at the back of my mind. I tend to let a story brew in my subconscious after I’ve drafted a back cover blurb. When I am finally ready to write, the first draft is hatched in a matter of weeks. At least that’s how it worked for my first two books.

The idea to write a book came to me in a dream, literally, nine years ago during Spring Break. It was the opening scene for my novel AppleJacked. That scene lead me to write the story blurb, and plotting started while we were on a beach vacation that summer. That opening scene has since been cut, but the manuscript placed third in the unpublished division of the 2015 Royal Palm Literary Awards. I think I’ve made, and learned from, all the newbie mistakes in my learning journey. A revised edition of AppleJacked is currently shortlisted for a Daphne Du Maurier award. Two years ago, I wrote ChainLinked, which, because of some series timeline shifting, became the new first book in the series. AppleJacked is now book 2.

Both books are in the Moccasin Cove Mystery series.

ChainLinked has a target release date of mid-summer 2021, and AppleJacked will come out as soon as I recover from the release of ChainLinked! The series has a bit of humor and features an amateur sleuth living in a small town on an island off the Gulf coast of Florida.

The protagonist is a sincere, but snarky school principal, respected nationally for her skills at turning around failed schools in economically depressed neighborhoods. And that is just what has happened to her beloved childhood elementary, in her quirky hometown, during the fifteen years she was out saving the world. She’s come home to save the school, fix the town, and at disconcerting moments, finds herself adding “solve murder” to her lengthy to do list.

And there you have it, folks! The publication schedule for our new misterio author’s first two books.

I’ve read ChainLinked and it’s great (which is why we invited Liz to join our group).

You can connect with Liz at her Website, on Facebook, or on Twitter (@LizBoegerAuthor) or Pinterest (@Liz_Boeger).

In Other News…

We have a New Contest going through June 19th! And I have a New Release. Yay!!

One Flew Over the Chow-Chow’s Nest, A Marcia Banks and Buddy Mystery #11

The world moves toward normal, but Marcia’s life is rarely “normal”…

Newly vaccinated, Marcia Banks can finally schedule the human phase of training with her Air Force pilot client—the soon-to-be owner of a Chow-Husky service dog named Bear. But when she calls to set things up, she’s informed that the veteran has been in a private psychiatric hospital for months, with no one allowed to visit.

Marcia puts out feelers to find out what is going on, and suddenly he is discharged…only to have his private plane crash two days later. Convinced this is no coincidence, Marcia investigates. What she uncovers looks suspiciously like a scheme to defraud the Veterans’ Administration.

But who’s behind it, and did they sabotage her client’s plane? Or did the saboteur have a more personal motive? And just how determined are they to silence Marcia?

(Note: This story occurs against the backdrop of the pandemic, but it focuses on the optimism and relief of the spring of 2021 in the U.S.)

ONLY $2.99 during Preorder ~ (Goes up to $4.99 shortly after release on June 4,)

AVAILABLE for PREORDER on:  AMAZON ~ APPLE ~ KOBO ~ NOOK ~ GOOGLE PLAY

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And a New Summer Travels Contest!!!

The contest will run from 5/31/21 to 6/19/21

Prizes are A Clue® Travel Card Game and a misterio Travel Mug, plus 4 signed paperbacks*.

(*If the winner has read any of these already, we can substitute a different book; some restrictions apply)

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Four ways to enter (SEVEN possible entries)!!

Click HERE for more details and to Enter!!

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Posted by Kassandra Lamb. Kassandra is a retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington psychological mysteries, set in her native Maryland, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy cozy mysteries, set in Central Florida. She also writes romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale.

Misterio press produces an array of quality crime fiction. We post here twice a month, usually on Tuesdays, to alert you to new releases, to entertain, and to inform.

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