FAQ
How do I keep up to date on your latest releases?
My mailing list: the newsletter goes out monthly with news, releases, thoughts on the writing life, excerpts, book recommendations, and more! You can sign up here and unsubscribe at any time. I will never share your contact information. No mystery here, it’s just you and me.
Bookbub: If you’d rather skip my words and just be informed
when a new book releases, this is your best bet. I regularly share book recommendations for favorite books.
Goodreads: You can follow me for book information and I regularly share what I am reading.
Amazon: also sends updates when new books release.
I blog weekly at Write Time, sharing thoughts about mystery writing.
Finally, you can join my book group on Facebook Argolicus Mystery Readers where we talk about the mysteries, mystery reading, writing, and current favorite reads.
What’s Your Latest Book?
The Grain Merchant, is the most recent Argolicus mystery. Argolicus goes head to head with politics as he investigates the death of a prominent grain merchant. Find a link to your favorite bookseller or buy direct on my book page.
My current mystery is a crime novel set in present day California. A Sheriff’s Detective thinks she is investigating a natural death, but it turns out to be much, much more.
How Can I Join Your Awesome Newsletter?
Thank for the compliment. You can join the newsletter here, and I won’t ever sell your email or share it without your consent. Promise! And there’s even a free ebook in it for you.
Do You Have A Blog?
I do. Check it out at Write Time.
Do You Have a Vlog?
I do. Write A Killer Mystery is all about writing mystery novels for aspiring authors. And, I’ve started a new channel about Argolicus Mysteries.
Where Are You From?
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I’m definitely a West Coast person. A few years ago I moved to Oregon to live among the tall evergreen trees and be near my son and his family.
How Did You Get Into Writing?
I’ve been writing stories since I was a child. In college I started writing
poetry and went on to work with Poets-In-The-Schools, teaching writing to ages preschool to university, and even teaching teachers. I returned to story writing in 2015 and haven’t looked back.
What Is Your Typical Writing Day?
I like doing business in the morning to get my head geared up – email, social networks, research, news, then at noon, turn off the internet and write in a lovely, quiet cocoon until 4:00 p.m. I try to write 1,000 words a day, about five pages. I start by rereading what I wrote the day before to get myself in the flow, then I charge ahead. I don’t worry about getting it perfect, I worry about getting the story down. I tend to do several drafts before I turn the book in to my editor.
How Long Does It Take You To Write A Book?
About seven months – a month for research, four to five for writing, and a month of editing. That said, those seven months are spread across a year’s true time frame because of editorial and promotion with other books in the series. I’m generally always writing a book, editing a book and promoting a book at the same time. The bane of the two a year schedule, but it works for me.
Where Did You Get The Idea for Argolicus?
He leaped off the page when I was reading the Variae by Cassiodorus. I was doing background research on Theodoric’s rule in Italy. Argolicus was a real person at the time of Theodoric’s reign in Italy. He is mentioned nine times in Cassiodorus’ Variae (iii 11, iii 12, iii 29, iii 30, iii 33, iv 22, iv 25, iv 29, iv 42) as praefectus urbis of Rome. His childhood and ongoing friendship with Cassiodorus come from my imagination as well as his retirement in the very southern tip of Italy, the setting for the mystery series.
What is the Order of the Argolicus Mysteries?
You can read each book can as a stand-alone book, but they do have a chronological order.
Do I Need to Read The Books in Order?
It’s really your choice. Each book is a stand-alone story. The details and background about Argolicus and his companion slave tutor Nikolaos build in each story. You’ll probably enjoy them more if you read in order, simply
because the characters and story lines have a certain interconnectedness inherent to sustain a series.
