 Welcome to Matter of Inquiry! This week’s guest author interview features PJ MacLayne and her suspense/action novel, The Rise of Jake Hennessey, a Harmony Duprie Story. Why don’t we begin, PJ, by telling readers something about you?  Bio: Less than a year ago, I retired from my day job and moved halfway across the US, and am back in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, which has given me the background for most of my books. I am the author of the six The Harmony Duprie Mysteries, as well as the companion stories, The Fall of Jake Hennessey and The Rise of Jake Hennessey. I have also written The Free Wolves urban fantasy books. Tell us something that isn't in your regular bio: “I don’t wear makeup. Currently, I don’t even own any. I used to occasionally wear eyeshadow, mascara and blush, but that’s it. I’ve never owned foundation. The closest thing I have to makeup is clear lip gloss for my chapped lips. Makes my morning routine simple!” You can find PJ on various social media sites. Website: https://pjmaclayne.com Facebook https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne Twitter https://twitter.com/pjmaclayne Amazon http://www.amazon.com/P.J.-MacLayne/e/B00HVE8WZI BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/p-j-maclayne Newsletter http://eepurl.com/cL73Cz Instagram: https://instagram.com/p.j.maclayne INTERVIEW: JLB: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job? PJ: I didn’t choose writing as a career-it chose me. I wrote essays back in the dark ages when I was in high school, as well as poetry. I’ve never attempted to support myself from my writing and have had a variety of other jobs. Now that I’ve retired, I still don’t write full-time. JLB: What inspired your featured book? PJ: Jake Hennessey started as a background character in the Harmony Duprie stories. In fact, he was barely mentioned in the first book. Once he made an appearance in the second book, Her Ladyship’s ring,, he wouldn’t let me write him out of the series. (And I tried!) Still, he never revealed his whole story, no matter how hard I tried to figure him out. But once I was done with the mystery series and was ready to start something new, he butted in and said it was his turn. That resulted in The Fall of Jake Hennessey, a prequel to the Harmony Duprie stories, and The Rise of Jake Hennessey, a sequel. I have to give credit to a former co-worker, Jenny. She was always a fan of Jake, and I wrote the books partly to give her the story she wanted. JLB: Do you use critique groups or beta readers? Do you find them valuable? PJ: I use an on-line critique group, Critique Circle, and I find it to be a great resource. Getting feedback from a variety of other authors helps me find plot holes and weak spots in my stories, as well as pointing out what works well for readers. The downfall is that you don’t always get the same people following the story the whole way through. JLB: Do you write from an outline? PJ: I am totally a pantser- I start with a beginning and end in mind, and discover the middle. My stories are driven by the characters and I make changes at their insistence. I’ve made major changes in my stories based on arguments I’ve had with my characters. JLB: How many drafts (revision passes) do you do on a typical book before submission to your editor/publisher? PJ: I usually do at least three drafts before sending it to my editor, and two after. (Including the changes my editor suggests.) My last revision is having the draft read to me by my computer in a monotone computer voice. JLB: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date? PJ: I’m working on a female PI story set in Pittsburgh, PA in the early 1980’s. That was the beginning of the digital age and the end of the steel mills in the area. It’s a much grittier tale than my previous mysteries and I am trying to make the background as realistic as possible. I don’t have a release date set yet, but I’m going to give it as much time as it needs. JLB: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer? PJ:
JLB: Thank you for visiting with us PJ. Before you go, please tell readers about The Rise of Jake Hennessey.  The Rise of Jake Hennessey Genre: suspense/action For 22 years, semi-retired jewel thief Jake Hennessey honored his promise to stay away from Harmony Duprie. He has no plans to change that... until Special Agent Doan Houck saunters into Jake's bar, claiming Harmony's life is in danger. She's not the only one in jeopardy. Jake is run over by a motorcycle and is the target of a drive-by shooting. He doesn't know who to trust. Not the feds Not the local cops. Not even Harmony. But Jake will do anything to protect his ex-lover. Even if it means matching wits with an FBI agent, revealing old secrets, or ending up in prison. Again. If it comes down to saving his life or Harmony's, there is no choice at all. Buy Links Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C59KDNNW Nook (B&N): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143484076?ean=2940161154397 Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-rise-of-jake-hennessey Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6449169609 Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/mdX7jE Check out this new release and meet the author in an interview on the Ally Shields' author blog: allyshields.com/blog/coffee-chat-with-mystery-writer-mary-stojak  Sissy Holmes and the Case of the Dead Hypnotist Genre: mystery Rating: PG What is reincarnation? Sissy Holmes doesn’t have a clue until a hypnotist (soon to be dead) delves too deeply into her psyche. The voice inside her head says he’s Sherlock Holmes and wants to investigate the murder. Sissy thinks she must be crazy. As events unfold, she’s convinced she has no choice but to investigate with the help of Sherlock Holmes and her best friend El. Buy Links: MX Publishing: https://mxpublishing.com/products/sissy-holmes-and-the-case-of-the-dead-hypnotist Also available from: Amazon USA Barnes and Noble Amazon UK Book #5 in Debra Goldstein's Sarah Blair cozy mystery series is available! See below, and check out her interview on my Ally Shields' Author Blog here: allyshields.com/blog/goldsteins-5-is-in-the-bookstores-chat-with-the-author  Five Belles Too Many (A Sarah Blair Mystery) Genre: cozy mystery Whoever thought a sixty plus year old bride-to-be competing for the perfect Southern wedding would need a chaperone? But no, the television show’s rules require all five of the Southern Belle finalists to be chaperoned at night. Because Sarah Blair’s twin works nights at her restaurant and Mother Maybelle doesn’t want to inconvenience any of her friends, Sarah is “stuck” with the task. It's bad enough juggling her day job and taking care of her own furry pets, RahRah and Fluffy, while on chaperone duty, but the show contracted for rooms for the Belles and their chaperones at her all-time nemesis, Jane Clark’s, bed and breakfast. Mother Maybelle assured Sarah that she could survive the few hours a night she’d have to be at Jane’s Place, especially since she’d be sleeping, but Maybelle didn’t take into account she and Sarah finding the show’s producer lying dead in the front hall with Jane, blood on her hands, bending over his body on the first night of their stay. In the last year, Sarah unraveled several murders in Wheaton, Alabama, but she has a dilemma. Sarah hates Jane. Jane is the bimbo who broke up Sarah’s marriage, forced her to go from a life of luxury to an efficiency apartment, tried to steal RahRah, the Siamese cat that was the only thing she got out of her marriage, and has been a consistent thorn in her side, but Sarah doesn’t think Jane is a murderer. One part of Sarah wants to ignore Jane’s plea for help, but her loyalty and fears for her mother’s well-being prompt her to get involved before Mother Maybelle or any of the other contestants are permanently eliminated from the competition. Buy Links: https://www.amazon.com/Five-Belles-Sarah-Blair-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09HRCV4TN https://www.amazon.com/Five-Belles-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496732235 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-belles-too-many-debra-h-goldstein/1140225124 Check out the Author Interview posted on the Ally Shields's blog: allyshields.com/blog/join-the-coffee-chat-with-cozy-mystery-writer-kassandra-lamb  TO BARK OR NOT TO BARK (A Marcia Banks and Buddy Mystery #12) Genre: Cozy Mystery Just because you’re paranoid... Service dog trainer Marcia Banks-Haines tackles a locked room mystery in a haunted house, while training the recipient of her latest dog. The border collie, Dolly has been trained to clear rooms for an agoraphobic Marine who was ambushed in a bombed-out building in Syria. But the phantom attackers in his psyche turn out to be the least of his troubles when Marcia finds his ex-wife’s corpse in his master bedroom, with the door bolted from the inside. Was it suicide or murder? Marcia can’t see her client as a killer, but the local sheriff can. Then the Marine reports hearing his ex calling for him to join her on the other side of the grave. Is his house really haunted, or is he hallucinating? Marcia has lost a client to suicide before. She’s not going to lose another! Buy Links: AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3WNQY1Z NOOK: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-bark-or-not-to-bark-a-marcia-banks-and-buddy-mystery-kassandra-lamb/1141653124 APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6442979080 KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/to-bark-or-not-to-bark-a-marcia-banks-and-buddy-mystery Landing page link on misterio press website: https://misteriopress.com/bookstore/to-bark-or-not-to-bark-a-marcia-banks-and-buddy-mystery/ Check out this new release by BJ Magnani and her interview on the Ally Shields' blog. Follow this link for the complete interview.  A Message in Poison (A Dr. Lily Robinson novel) Genre: mystery/medical thriller/romantic suspense Sparks fly as Dr. Lily Robinson, the brilliant academic pathologist and covert assassin for the U.S. Government, investigates two seemingly unrelated deaths alongside her lover, Agent Jean Paul Marchand, and D.C. Medical Examiner Dr. Logan Pelletier. A U.S. Senator and the president of a developing nation are found dead in their beds. As governments thousands of miles apart react to the fallout and begin their investigations, no one claims responsibility, and no motives are clear. Yet, the cause of death implies a link between the two—one that only a mind versed in poisons and politics can decipher. With her personal relationships teetering on the brink and her loved ones facing foreign threats, Lily must unravel the mystery and uncover a plot more calculating than anyone could imagine—but it may be too late. A Message in Poison, the third part of the Art of Secret Poisoning trilogy (The Queen of All Poisons and The Power of Poison), continues with twists and turns as Dr. Lily Robinson travels the globe, stares down death, and finds herself at “another crossroad, another choice between life real or imagined…” Buy Link: Amazon.com: A Message in Poison: A Dr. Lily Robinson Novel: 9781645993254: Magnani, Bj: Books  Calli (Prairie Roses Collection #13) Genre: Clean and Sweet Historical Fiction Calli works as a nurse with the US Army at Fort Bridger, Wyoming in 1880. When a wagon train full of discouraged emigrants passes through on its way east, a pregnant widow delivers her baby then dies. Bradley Wilson, leading this train, has few options. He asks Calli to travel with them until they find a relative to take the child in St. Joe, Missouri. Calli, drawn to both this dark and quiet man and the child, resists. But when she disappears, he wonders if she’s run away or been kidnapped. Can these two put their pasts behind them and move into a new future together? Or will Calli insist on having things her own way? Amazon Buy Link (also available through Kindle Unlimited): https://www.amazon.com/Calli-Prairie-Roses-Collection-Book-ebook/dp/B09SD6XPRQ ***GIVEAWAY: Happy to give a free print (US only) or ebook of Calli to a random, lucky winner. Just comment here or on Ally Shields' blog to enter. Read the interview with author Donna Schlachter on Ally Shields.com: allyshields.com/blog/guest-author-donna-schlachter-visits-the-blog-with-a-giveaway Link to Author Interview with Donna Kaye via Ally Shields blog and featuring Kaye's romantic suspense novel, Finding Hope: https://allyshields.com/blog/author-donna-kaye-dedicated-finding-hope-to-the-military  |
AuthorJ L Buck writes in the mystery genre, currenty enthralled with Regency-era England. She is multi-published in paranormal 
Check out my profile on AllAuthor (including my Ally Shields fantasy books). Here you can read my books' sample chapters, get updates on my books and latest deals, ask me questions, discuss my books and much more. Follow me on AllAuthor.
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