Interview with Lauren Carr
Author of
The
Murders at Astaire Castle
(A
Mac Faraday Mystery)
Questions: R. Murry
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
I first fell in love with
murder mysteries when my mother read Perry Mason to me at bedtime. From
murderous bedtime stories, I grew up to become the author of the Mac Faraday
Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
The
Murders at Astaire Castle is the fifth
installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series. Within days of its release in
July 2013, it was in the Top-100 slot on Amazon under mystery-thrillers/police procedural. It
is my Halloween mystery.
This month, The Lady Who Cried Murder, the sixth Mac Faraday mystery, was released and is in the
top one-hundred in police procedurals and cozies on Amazon. In this mystery,
Mac Faraday and his friends encounter their strangest group of suspects yet in
the murder of a fame-obsessed reality star.
I am also the owner of Acorn Book Services, which offers publishing management, consulting, editing,
cover and layout design, and eBook formatting for independent authors. This
year, several books, over a variety of genres, all written by independent
authors, will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which
is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.
I do all that from my home in Harpers Ferry, WV, where I live with
my husband, son, and three dogs (which includes a German shepherd named
Gnarly).
Do you remember the first story you wrote? Actually, I remember two stories. I had
been making up stories from the time I could use my imagination, but never
actually sat down to write one out. At fourteen, I decided to write a short
story for a writing contest in a teen girl magazine. It was a kidnapping story.
A romance won.
Later, when I was a senior in high school, a friend of mine was in
a fix. She was taking creative writing and had the whole semester to write a
short story, but she couldn’t. She was completely blocked. So, on the day the
story was due, during lunch, I wrote out a short story in long hand. It was a
comedy about a dog that was suffering from the humiliation of fleas. He is in
love with the dog across the street, but his flea problem repelled her. The
story was written in first person. She paid me with a cheeseburger, fries, and
soda. It was my first professional writing job. She got an A for the story.
Were you inspired by someone or something?
I’d have to say my
mother. Books and mysteries are the love we share. She has always encouraged me
to write and supported it. I can’t tell you how many times she would read a
book and say, “Your stories are so much better than that.” She said it enough for
me to believe it.
What do you like about writing a story?
It’s the escape into a
world of adventure and mystery.
Can you tell us about your book? In The Murders at Astaire Castle,
Mac Faraday discovers that he owns a haunted castle. Or is it cursed?
Topping the list of the ten most haunted places in America, Astaire Castle is associated with two suicides, three mysterious disappearances, and four murders since it was built almost a century ago—and Mac Faraday owns it!
In
spite of David’s warning, Mac can’t resist unlocking the gate to see the castle
that supposedly hasn’t seen a living soul since his late mother had ordered it
closed up after the double homicide and disappearance of Damian Wagner, a
world-famous master of horror novels.
Halloween
has always been a fun time. It’s the time to break out and be someone else. As
a child, I would pretend to be one of the Bobby Twins searching for clues to
lead me to a secret treasure. If I was lucky, it was made up of chocolate. As a
teenager, I was Nancy Drew. Always, when October rolled around, I craved
mysteries with something extra added—something beyond the normal—something
supernatural. As an author, I couldn’t resist taking this one Mac Faraday
Mystery on a scary Halloween adventure.
What
starts out as a quick tour of a dusty old castle turns into another Mac Faraday
adventure when Astaire Castle becomes the scene of even more murders. Mac is
going to need to put all of his investigative talents to work to sort out this
case that involves the strangest characters he has run into yet—including a
wolf man. No, we’re not talking about
Gnarly.
What genre best fits for the book? It’s a mystery. I would not classify
as a paranormal, though they do encounter a wolf man in the castle. Amazon has placed
my mysteries under both police procedural and cozy. I guess you would describe
them as “gritty cozies.”
Are you working on something new at the moment?
Right now, I’m working on
the next Mac Faraday, which I am aiming for an early 2014 release. The working
title is Twelve to Murder. In this mystery, Mac is taken hostage by the
prime suspect in a double homicide, who gives him twelve hours, until midnight,
to find the real murderer and prove him innocent. If Mac fails, then the
hostage taker is going to kill him—after shooting Mac in the head.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Write whatever turns you
on. Don’t worry about the market or what is hot right now. That always changes
and you will go nuts trying to keep up with it. Write what you love. If you
love it, there will surely be an audience who will love it, too.
Where can people go to read your work?
Amazon.com. All of my
books is available in both print and e-book. The e-book versions are only 99
cents each.
You can start by visiting my author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Carr/e/B001JP4F0Q/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1360868874&sr=8-2-ent
Do you have anything to add? Readers can also get the updated schedule
for my tour by visiting my sites:
Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:
Website: http://acornbookservices.com/
Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/
Thank you so much, Roy, for inviting me to stop by your site today. It is a joy!
ReplyDelete