Diane Sawyer - Mystery With a Side of History

Diane Sawyer finds inspiration all around her.  Her insatiable interest in people and places, past and present, has spawned several award-winning short stories and five meticulously researched novels she calls “a blend of mystery, romance, and history, where setting plays a vital part.”

Sawyer’s first foray into writing occurred when she was a six-year-old living in Greenport, a small town on Long Island. “I wrote a story, but I don’t remember exactly what it was about,” she says. “I just remember it was scary.” After earning a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York, she began teaching near New York City. She went on to get her Masters degree from Seton Hall University and a Ph.D. from Fordham University.

 In 1987, Sawyer moved to Florida and took a job as an educational consultant.  It was here that she took a writing class at a local recreation center. She began writing short stories and submitting them to magazines. After several were published, the success motivated Sawyer to try writing a mystery novel.  Initially, she had difficulty finding her niche. Then she hit on the idea of setting a story on Long Island in a fictional town patterned after the place where she grew up.

Her first novel, Montauk Mystery, is the story of a young woman who joins an archaeological expedition on an island that was home to the Montauk Indians.  A startling discovery puts her life, and the fate of the island, in jeopardy.  The concept for the story grew from Sawyer’s interest in the Montauk tribe. “I’m a research person, and I was surprised by how little was known about them,” she explains. “So I tried to learn everything I could to weave into the story.”  Published in 2000, Montauk Mystery was followed by two more Montauk books – The Montauk Steps (2000) and The Tomoka Mystery (2002) - and a stand-alone novel, The Cinderella Murders (2008).

Sawyer returns to Montauk in her latest book, The Treasures of Montauk Cove, a tale of murder and intrigue sparked by a mysterious bottle of wine.  The plot idea came to Sawyer during a wine presentation on a cruise ship. “The sommelier was talking about the exorbitant price of wine recovered from shipwrecks. He called it ‘Liquid Gold,’ ” she recalls. “So I started researching and discovered that there were lots of shipwrecks along the Long Island coast. I even got into the history of the geography of the area to see how a bottle of wine could make its way to Montauk. I think history buffs will enjoy it.”

Sawyer is currently at work on two novels, both set in St. Petersburg. The first, a fast-paced mystery, involves a jewel robbery gone bad that ends in multiple murders. In the second, a cold case missing-persons case heats up when new information emerges at an estate sale and unleashes a wave of terror. According to Sawyer, "These two mysteries could end the myth once and for all that St. Petersburg is a sleepy little town."

 Although her writing keeps her busy, Sawyer involves herself in a variety of outside activites becaue "you never know who you're going to meet or what they're going to tell you." She volunteers for Friends of the South Branch Library and the Dali Museum, and is an avid traveler and exercise buff.  She plans to fly to Ecuador this fall to explore the cities and towns and hike through the Amazon Jungle to see the flora and fauna. She looks forward most to the people she will meet along the way.

Her hard-cover mysteries, published by Avalon, have recently been published as paperbacks by World Wide Mysteries, and soon all of her works will be released by Amazon as e-books. This success is encouraging her to come up with more mysteries. Sawyer hopes her zest for living will come through in her stories and inspire her readers. "Life is one big adventure," she says. "Take chances, make choices, go for it."

Next: Randy Rawls - Small Town Sleuth

Sherryl Woods - Tales of Family and Friendship

Becoming a New York Times bestselling writer was never part of Sherryl Woods’s life plan. In fact, the only unsatisfactory grade on her second grade report card was for “Making up Stories.” So how does Woods explain that, fifty-odd years later, she is the author of over 100 romance and mystery novels? “At age seven,” she says, “I learned to overcompensate.”

When Woods decided to study journalism at Ohio State University, her intent was to do graphic design. Instead, she landed a job as a reporter for an Ohio newspaper and began a fourteen-year stint as a print journalist. After coming to Florida on vacation, she decided to stay. “When I realized I could be warm in February, I started looking for a job,” she says. She found one at Today in Cape Canaveral, then at the Palm Beach Post, and finally at the Miami News where she worked for six years before deciding it was time for a change. “I always said that if I got to the point where I was grumbling all the time, I’d quit,” she explains, “so I did.” A fan of romance novels, she thought she’d try her hand at writing them. After two of her manuscripts were purchased by Dell and Bantam, she never looked back.

Woods can now take a book from concept to completion in as little as three months. She credits her background in journalism for her prolific output. She likes to write what she calls “connected books” – books that help readers rediscover the sense of connection that is missing in today’s world. “My books draw you into a world of family, friendship, and heartfelt emotions. As a reader and a writer, I like to go back to that familiar world where things are the way they were when I was a kid. I hope my readers will want to return to that world with me.”

Readers will have a chance to visit that world with the release of three new books in Woods’s popular Sweet Magnolias series. Midnight Promises, Catching Fireflies, and Where Azaleas Bloom will take readers back to Serenity, South Carolina where the circle of friends who call themselves the Sweet Magnolias will grow by three new members. “I think what makes the Sweet Magnolias unique in some ways is that over the course of the books, the circle has become multi-generational,” Woods says.  “In this latest trilogy, three older women will join their ranks. These so-called Senior Magnolias bring their own unique perspectives to the compelling stories of topics that touch many of our lives.”

Woods takes a detour into the culinary arts with her newest release – The Sweet Magnolias Cookbook.  Based on the Sweet Magnolias series, this cookbook is full of Southern classics and heartwarming stories of friendship and fun. Dana Sue Sullivan, a popular character and Southern cook, shares her favorite down-home recipes as well as secrets, stories and small-town gossip from the world of the Sweet Magnolias.

Woods’s wish is that her readers will come away from her books with a sense of hope. “I want to tell stories that almost any woman can relate to. And if they find themselves in similar circumstances, they’ll realize that they can face them and triumph. If I can give readers a few hours of escape and make them believe there’s something brighter on the other side, I’ve done my job.”

For more information, visit Sherryl Woods’s website at www.sherrylwoods.com.

Next: Diane Sawyer - Mystery with a Side of History

Down Island with Michael Haskins

Maybe it’s the sun, or the heat, or the quirky characters that people the streets, but Key West has inspired storytellers since the days of Ernest Hemingway. And for mystery writer Michael Haskins, the city plays a central role in a series of books he describes as “a great tourist guide for visiting the Keys.”

According to Haskins, a Massachusetts native who moved to Florida 15 years ago, living in the Keys has provided a wealth of story material.  He calls Key West “a treasure trove of things you can spend a lifetime looking for; a place where you can observe people from all over the world letting their hair down.” Key West is the setting for Haskins’s “Mick Murphy Key West Mysteries,” a series of novels centered around the exploits of Key West journalist Liam “Mick” Murphy.

Haskins’ literary success must come as a shock to his tenth-grade English teacher, Mr. Carlin.  A less than an ideal student, Haskins was assigned to a study class for problem kids. One day, out of prurient curiosity, he picked up a copy of Hemingway’s Men Without Women. Mr. Carlin snatched the book away, telling Haskins he was too stupid to read it. “I took that as a challenge,” Haskins says. He became hooked on Hemingway and decided he wanted to write just like him. Fortunately, Haskins’ 12^th grade creative writing teacher recognized and encouraged his talent.

Haskins’ real writing education began when he took a weekend job in a newspaper office.  “Most of the writers back then didn’t have a formal education,” he recalls. “They were like characters right out of Damon Runyon. It’s where I truly learned journalism.” After high school, the paper put Haskins through an editorial apprenticeship. Later, he left Boston for Los Angeles where he worked in television and as a freelance photojournalist. While there, he took journalism courses at UCLA.  He also married and became the father of twin girls.

When Haskins “got fed up with Hollyweird” and moved to Key West, he became a writer for the Key West Citizen. He also spent five years as the city’s public information officer. These jobs gave him an insider’s look at Key West. This became the catalyst for a short story that grew into his first novel, Chasin’ the Wind (2008). The story has “Mad Mick” Murphy embroiled with federal agents, Cuban exiles, and a motley crew of Key West characters as he tries to avenger a friend’s murder. In the sequel, Free Range Institution (2011), Murphy uncovers a plot to smuggle a cheap, lethal drug into Key West. Stairway to the Bottom, released in Dec. 2012, pits Murphy against Boston gangsters, FBI agents, and Cold War spies.  The latest book in the series, Car Wash Blues (August 2012), has Murphy being hunted by two Mexican drug cartels. Haskins is currently working on Key West Latitude, the sequel to Stairway to the Bottom.

In spite of the danger and suspense in his stories, Haskins admits that it’s hard to find crime in laid-back Key West. He hopes his readers will share his passion for this unique city. “If you’ve been here, I hope the books will help you recapture the experience,” he says. “If you’ve never been, I hope you’ll want to come down and experience the Key West I love – a place that’s strange but friendly.”

For more information about Michael Haskins, visit his website at www.michaelhaskins.net

Next: Sherryl Woods - Tales of Family and Friendship

Bill Chastain - Chronicling America's Favorite Pastimes

Bill Chastain has what most sports fans would call a dream job. He’s spent most of his adult life covering sports stories for publications like the St. Petersburg Times, SPORT Magazine, and the Tampa Tribune.  Currently, he covers the Tampa Bay Rays for MLB.com, an online site dedicated to major league baseball. Each year, he gets to spend spring and summer with the team. For Chastain, a lifelong baseball fan, it’s a dream come true.

Chastain played a lot of baseball while growing up in South Tampa. When he wasn’t playing, he was reading about sports. He fell in love with writers like Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford, a man Chastain calls his hero. While attending Georgia Tech, Chastain enrolled in a course titled “Sports in Literature.” “I had to write three columns a week,” he explains, “and this planted the seed. “ After graduating with a business degree, Chastain continued writing. He began submitting articles to smaller publications, gradually working up to some of the heavier hitters. At the end of six years, he had an impressive portfolio of clips, so he decided to apply for a job at the Tampa Tribune. He spent 12 years there working as a columnist and sports reporter. He even spent some time as a correspondent for Sports Illustrated like his hero, Frank Deford.

During this same period, Chastain started writing books. His first, The Streak, is a novel about a baseball player trying to rebuild his life. Chastain then switched to non-fiction with The Steve Spurrier Story. This was followed by Purpose and Passion, the authorized biography of Bobby Pruett, coach of Marshall University’s championship football team. Chastain followed this with seven more non-fiction sports books. His latest, Hack’s 191, tells the story of prohibition-era Chicago Cubs slugger Hack Wilson, a man whose season record 191 RBIs still stands today. The book gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a player whose hard-hitting batting style mirrored his hard-drinking lifestyle.

Despite Chastain’s success in journalism and non-fiction, his favorite work is a novel. Set in 1977, Peachtree Corvette Club is the coming-of-age story of Truman Forbes, an introspective Georgia Tech engineering student who emerges from a broken romance determined to try life on the wild side. Led by Bone, his thrill-seeking friend and fraternity brother, Truman embarks on a journey where he is free to enjoy the privileges of adulthood without the responsibilities or constraints. Chastain enjoyed writing this story that brought back memories of his “Pink Floyd college era.” He admits that his protagonist is “a little piece of me and a composite of others” whose exploits are based on the college stories Chastain amassed during his days at Georgia Tech.

Chastain’s next book will be the sequel to Peachtree Corvette Club. Toys and Games will follow Truman Forbes into his adult life as a sportswriter. The title comes from the nickname given to a newspaper’s sports department. “It’s funny how many people wish they were sportswriters,” Chastain says. “I want to take people into that bizarre world with its weirdo characters.”  

The thing Chastain likes best about his dream job is the creative process. “I’m not a tortured writer,” he says. “I enjoy spending time with my characters. And there’s nothing like waking up the in the morning and reading something you wrote the day before that you really like; something that will entertain readers and make them want to turn the page.”

For more about Bill Chastain, visit his website at www.billchastain.com



Next: Down Island With Michael Haskins

Rhonda Pollero - F.A.T. and Funny

Not many writers can say they’ve done a stint as a dancing ketchup bottle, but Rhonda Pollero has.  “The worst job ever” gave her the drive to tackle a Ph.D in forensic psychology and become a USA Today bestselling author.

Pollero dreamed of being a writer since first grade when she won a Daughters of the American Revolution writer’s competition, but she worried about being able to earn a living.  So she became a paralegal, although, she admits, “not a very good one.”  In the meantime, she penned a romantic suspense novel titled Legal Tender.  “It took ten years to sell my first book," she says. "I made every mistake you could possibly make along the way. I was learning about the industry and finding where my voice fit.”  Over thirty novels later, she is three books into her F.A.T. series, a collection of humorous mysteries that center on the misadventures of a bargain-hunting paralegal named Finley Anderson Tanner.  “Finley’s been in my mind for years,” she explains.  “I come from a family of shoppers, so while I didn’t get the shopping gene, I learned from the masters. The only part of Finley that’s me is her E-Bay shopping.  I’m an E-Bay junkie.”  Pollero describes the books as “what would happen if Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) wanted to solve a crime.”  Booklist calls them a “… stylishly entertaining new amateur sleuth series that’s certain to be a runaway hit.”

The latest F.A.T. book, Slightly Irregular, was just released.  In it, Finley gets caught up in a kidnapping plot.  And eBay doesn’t sell clues.  The end result is “Fun,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.  Pollero simply says, “My goal is to entertain readers for however long it takes them to read my books.”

Pollero is hard at work on the next F.A.T. mystery, Bargain Hunting.  She has also co-written a non-fiction book, Adoption is Forever.  Pollero says writing with co-author Traci Hall was a wonderful experience.  “I’m an adoptive mother, and Traci gave up a child for adoption," she says. "We wanted to share the reality of adoption, including the bad parts.”  Since the two women share the same sense of humor, this book is as funny as it is informative.  Adoption is Forever garnered several national awards.

Although her writing keeps her busy, Pollero still finds time for her husband, her 15-year-old daughter, and Pebbles, “a dumpster cat with issues” because she writes at night and sleeps while her daughter is in school.  A self-described “movie junkie,” Pollero enjoys watching pre-1940 film noire.  She also loves the Florida lifestyle.  Having moved to the Palm Beach area from Maryland nine years ago, Pollero likes “being able to live eighty percent of my life outside.  It beats the heck out of snow days.”

While Pollero has long abandoned her ketchup bottle costume, she has retained her ability to make people laugh.  And this makes for a legion of happy readers.

For more about Rhonda Pollero, visit her website at www.rhondappollero.com.

Next: Bill Chastain - Chronicling America's Favorite Pastimes

Joanna Slan - Crafty Cozies

“Crafty” can be defined as “clever.” It can also refer to a person who is skilled in creative activities. For Florida native Joanna Campbell Slan, both definitions apply. In her Kiki Lowenstein Mysteries, Slan combines her two passions – writing and crafting – to create a series of clever mysteries interspersed with creative tips. Her newest novel, Death of a Schoolgirl, casts Charlotte Bronte’s classic character, Jane Eyre, in the role of  amatuer sleuth. Slan describes her books as “funny like Janet Evanovich, romantic like Nora Roberts, and centered on women’s friendships like Debbie Macomber.” With the release of Death of a Schoolgirl, she’s forced to add another comparison:  “British like Rhys Bowen.”

Slan has been a book lover for as long as she can remember. As the child of an alcoholic father, she escaped into the pages of her favorite books. According to Slan, “Books saved my life and gave me hope that I could escape my beginnings.” They also instilled in her an intense desire to write. “Even as a child, I wanted to write something that would give people hope and possibly change their lives” she recalls.

After graduating magna cum laude from Ball State University, Slan used her journalism degree to pursue a career in public relations. In addition to print journalism, she did some corporate speechwriting, worked in television and radio, and was involved in the first Farm Aid concert in 1985. Eventually, she started her own PR firm.

Since all of her jobs involved writing, she decided to branch out into writing non-fiction. She authored 13 books including several on scrapbooking techniques. But it wasn’t until her son was older that she had the time to attempt a work of fiction. In 2008, after four rewrites, Slan completed her first novel – Paper, Scissors, Death. “That book took 50 years to write,” she says. “It took me that long to believe I could do it.” And those 50 years paid off.  Paper, Scissors, Death was named a 2008 Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel.

Paper, Scissors, Death introduces Kiki Lowenstein, a young mom whose world centers around her daughter and scrapbooking. Kiki’s comfortable little world is turned upside-down when her husband is found naked and dead in a hotel room. “Kiki is someone I like and admire,” Slan says. “She gets knocked down, but you can’t keep her down for long.”  Paper, Scissors, Death was the first of a six-book series. Slan describes herself as a believer in series fiction, saying “I love knowing that once I find something that’s satisfying and enjoyable, I can go back to the bookstore and find more.”

Between Book #4 and Book #5, Slan decided to write a series of short stories featuring Kiki. “My fans told me that a year between books was too long for them,” she says. “They needed their ‘Kiki fix.’ So I did. The stories are available on Amazon, and the response to them has been simply amazing.”

Slan’s latest offering, Death of a Schoolgirl, is the first in a new mystery series, The Jane Eyre Chronicles.  Based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre,  Death of a Schoolgirl was released by Berkley Trade on August 7. “Jane Eyre has long been my favorite book,” Slan says.  “Like most readers, when they find a work they love, I hated to see it end. After the success of my Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series, I was casting about for another project. It occurred to me that Jane Eyre had all the hallmarks of a great mystery—and better yet, Jane has all the characteristics of a great amateur sleuth.”

Death of a Schoolgirl explores the responsibility we have to other people’s children.  Slan presented the first hot-off-the-press copy of the book to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a ceremony at the State Department.“Secretary Clinton wrote that it takes a village to raise a child. Today more than ever, we need to reach out past the boundaries of our homeland and care for the children of the world,” explains Slan.  “In my book, Jane refuses to turn her back on a group of schoolchildren even though she herself is at risk.”

Critics have warmed to Slan’s message. Kirkus Reviews noted,” Slan refashions a beloved heroine as a surprisingly canny detective. Her stylistic imitation of Charlotte Brontë is seasoned with a dash of social commentary and plenty of suspects to mull over.” Publishers Weekly noted that Slan’s new book “credibly recreates Regency London and the era of the Bow Street Runners.” That compliment causes the author to laugh. “Such is the power of imagination,” she says. “I wrote about bad air quality, cold rain, and murky weather while looking out the window onto the beach at Jupiter Island. In fact, I actually did wrap an oilcloth around me and walk on the beach during one storm in January to get the feel for the driving rain so common in England. Maybe it helped!”

While Slan’s mysteries are fun to read, they each have a social issue at the core: class differences, deception, prejudice, domestic violence, and caring for aging parents or endangered children.  Like the Kiki Lowenstein books, the Jane Eyre series will have its own social agenda. “I hope to put my readers in touch with something they may not have thought about before,” Slan says. “To do something I love and maybe even help someone – can it get any better than that? I don’t think so!”

For more about Joanna Campbell Slan, visit her website at www.JoannaSlan.com

Next: Rhonda Pollero - F.A.T. and Funny

Joanne Lewis - Alchemy and Self-Publishing

Fort Lauderdale writer Joanne Lewis got off to an early start in self-publishing. She wrote her first book at the age of eight, a book about the weather titled, appropriately, The Book of Weather. She hand-printed and illustrated each page on construction paper and fashioned a cover from two pieces of cardboard covered with leftover wallpaper. Then she got her big break – her school librarian placed the book on the library shelf. “Nothing made me prouder,” Lewis says. “I visited the library every day. I don’t recall anyone checking out my book, or if it was listed in the card catalogue or given a Dewey decimal number, but I didn’t care. There it was on the shelves. My book. I was a writer.”

Lewis went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film/Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. After spending a discouraging year in Hollywood looking for work in the film industry, she decided to go into something more practical. “My father’s words bounced around my head: You have to have a career so you know what you’re unemployed from,” she says. So she went to law school. Lewis graduated in 1989 and moved to Florida, where she took a job as a prosecutor with the Broward County State Attorney’s office. But her dreams of writing wouldn’t die.

Lewis wrote her first novel, a mystery titled The Forbidden Room, while working felony trials and sex crimes. The book was picked up by a small press. Although she didn’t sell many books, Lewis was invited to speak on panels and did book signings. After hiring an agent, she was approached by an editor at Simon & Schuster to write a series featuring a young female prosecutor. Two months later, the agent presented her proposal to the editor who said that she was no longer interested. Then the agent unexpectedly passed away.  

Lewis was now 29 years old and “feeling like the height of my writing career would be traced back to my elementary school library.” So she stopped writing – for a while. “Somehow I knew I would start writing again when I was in my forties,” she recalls. “Don’t ask me how I knew this - I just did.” What she didn’t foresee was the life-changing event that would kickstart her writing career.

Four days shy of her 41^st birthday, Lewis was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. After a radical hysterectomy and six months of chemotherapy, she emerged cancer-free and ready to write. She turned out murder mysteries, historical novels, and Wicked Good, a commercial novel that she co-wrote with her sister, Amy Lewis Faircloth. Wicked Good, the tale of a single mother struggling to raise a teenage son with Asperger’s Syndrome, chronicles the frustrations and joys that characterize the relationship between a parent and a special needs child. It also illustrates the unique, abiding love each has for the other. The book took the sisters three years to complete. They posted it one chapter at a time on a blog where it was discovered by a small publisher. Published as an e-book, Wicked Good reached the rank of Top 100 Special Needs books on Amazon.  A bound copy of the book was set to be published, but the deal fell through.

Lewis was understandably discouraged. But a call to her sister helped her regain her perspective. “One day, as I was trying to decipher the secret to writing a successful query letter, I called Amy and told her I was no longer having fun,” Lewis says. “I was tired of writing letters and hoping someone would consider me worthy. My sister said, ‘If you’re not having fun, don’t do it.’ So I stopped. I decided to self-publish."

Lewis is pleased with that decision. She believes that self-publishing offers new writers many advantages that traditional publishing cannot, including creative control and a say in pricing decisions. She also sees self-publishing becoming more generally accepted than it was in the past. “Do you know who looks down upon those of us who choose to self-publish?” she asks. “People in the publishing industry. Do you know who doesn’t care if we self-publish? The readers. All they ask for, all they deserve, is a good book. What I don’t understand is why self-publishing, which is the same as being self-employed, is given a bad rap. I started my own law practice and was congratulated for being an entrepreneur.  Why is writing the only industry where being self-employed is frowned upon?”

Lewis has some words of advice for aspiring self-publishers. “For the most part, the successful writers have books that are well-written and well-edited, and they work really hard to get noticed. But there’s something else. Alchemy, I call it. Turning metal into gold. Magic. Providence. Good fortune. Covering cardboard with yellow and green wallpaper and placing it on the school library shelf.”  

Lewis has self-published her second novel, a mystery titled Make Your Own Luck. The story centers around a young attorney’s efforts to prove the innocence of a 13-year old accused of murdering her father. Along the way, she learns what really happened the night of the murder and discovers some hard truths about her family and herself.

Lewis’s next book, The Lantern, (scheduled for release this fall) is a historical fiction novel about a modern-day woman's quest to find a girl from 15th century Italy who dared to enter the competition to build the lantern on top of Brunelleschi's dome. Her search interesects with some of the most famous figures of the Renaissance, including members of the Medici family, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello and a young Michelangelo.

In retrospect, Lewis is glad she followed her dad’s advice and went to law school.  She currently works as a family mediator and a guardian ad litem who represents children. “I feel like I am helping people,” she says, “and I make a decent living, which allows me to pursue my passion for writing.” She also tries to remember her sister’s advice: If you’re not having fun, don’t do it. “I don’t sell a lot of books,” Lewis admits, “but I know that will change when I am in my fifties. Don’t ask me how I know this, I just do. Hopefully, this time my life-changing event won’t be so drastic.”

For more about Joanne Lewis, visit her website at www.joannelewiswrites.com.

Next: Joanna Slan - Crafty Cozies