My guest today is Marian Lanouette, a novelist raised in my own adoptive Brooklyn, but who now lives in New England. She shares with us how she became fascinated with the mystery/suspense genre. Marian's new book is If I Fail, the first in a series of Jake Carrington Mysteries. These stories combine mystery with elements of romance.
* * *
I love a good mystery or puzzle. So it seemed
natural when I sat down to write that the genre would be
mystery/suspense/thriller. At an early
age I started reading. Unbeknown to my
parents I would read the New York Daily News because I had already read through
all my library books. A story caught my eye. It was the murder of eight young
women in Chicago.
The case terrified me, yet intrigued me. I wanted
the killer punished for his horrible acts. The reported frustrated with the
police started to comment in his column instead of reporting the news. At
dinner one night, I brought the subject up and each day I’d follow every story.
My parents were horrified and put a stop to my reading the Daily News each day.
I had to get my tidbits on the case from eavesdropping on the nightly news. How
the police caught up with the murderer and the trial that ensued which
intrigued me. It grabbed my attention and my imagination. To this day, I still check my closet before going to sleep. I believe it was on that day the mystery
lover was created.
Throughout the years, after the trial, I would take
every mystery written for children out of the library and gobble them up. As I
got older, my mind started creating stories. It wasn’t until recently that I
decided to send the stories in for publication. Submitting took a lot of courage.
I think I bled every time I got a rejection but I stayed the course and
eventually found my publisher who I love.
* * *
You can purchase If I Fail directly from MuseItUp Publishing or from Amazon.
You can view the book trailer here.
Thank you, Anne, for hosting me today.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. Delighted to have you here. I've never thought much about the early influences on suspense authors, so I found this very interesting.
DeleteGlad it finally worked out for you, Marian. Real life is so often stranger, and more compelling than fiction - in my ebook one of the characters, a WW1 veteran, is based on an actual person I came across in a Times cutting. Like you, I became fascinated by who he was and his life. Good luck with your novel.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol. I've always been a people watcher. I find everyone fascinating.
DeleteMarion, the cover for IF I FAIL is stunning-- black/white/red. Mystery/suspense is also my favorite genre, both for reading and writing. I look forward to checking out your book.
ReplyDeleteThank you on all accounts, Kathleen. I hope you enjoy it.
DeleteCongratulations on finding the publisher you love and on the book's birth! Like you, I shiver when I read crime stories (real stories) yet can't help being intrigued. (In childhood, I worried about being murdered or abducted and never watched anything that involved criminals. Now I watch cop dramas almost exclusively. Think the part on Justice drowned the fear of crimes.)
ReplyDeleteI love the crime dramas, Claudine. There's nothing like a good mystery.
DeleteIt seems that the kids who gobbled up mysteries in their youth, who lived on Trixie Beldon and nancy Drew stories, are now writing them ourselves. No mystery there! Congratulations on your release and mucho sales to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heather. I think that's so true. And don't forget those Hardy Boys! I love your books too.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy learning the stories about how an author started writing. Congrats on your new release.
ReplyDeleteI'm always inspired by other authors and how they came to write. Thanks for stopping by, Shelley.
DeleteI am so looking forward to sitting down to start on the Jake Carrington mysteries, Marian, and nice to know there is a new mystery/suspense series to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on publication.
Oh Annie, I'm so glad. I hope you'll like it. I know it would have never made it to publication without you and your great advice in EditPalozza. Thank you for all your insights. Marian
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