Get Lost in Shannon Baker's Tattered Legacy

Get Lost in a Story Fans of Mystery, you're in for a treat.  Today's Guest is the award winning Shannon Baker. 


About Tattered Legacy

Protecting the wilderness can be deadly. Nora Abbott risks her career at Loving Earth Trust on a film project to influence Congress to expand the boundaries of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. But someone is desperate to keep the secrets of the land hidden. When her best friend, the director of the film, is found dead, Nora is convinced it wasn’t an accident. Nora’s Hopi kachina messenger has vanished and now it looks as though Cole Huntsman, the man she’s finally allowed herself to love, has left her, too.  

As Nora uncovers an unlikely intersection of ancient Hopi legends, a secret polygamist sect and one of the world’s richest men, she draws deeper into danger. Her mother’s surprising past holds the key to the clash of cultures but will Nora put all the pieces together in time to prevent disaster? Set in the iconic red rocks of Moab, UT, Nora races to discover what really lies beyond the stars.

 

Shannon Baker

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2014 Writer of the Year

Broken Trust (Midnight Ink March 2014)

Tainted Mountain (Midnight Ink March 2013)

Finalist 2013 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards

www.Shannon-Baker.com

 

DONNELL:  Welcome Shannon, I have to say that is one beautiful cover. Being from New Mexico, I have to say I love your topic.  What made you choose the Indian culture to write about?

 

SHANNON: When I moved to Flagstaff there was this huge controversy about pumping treated wastewater on the mountain to make snow. Snowbowl is one of the county’s oldest ski areas but it happens to sit on land sacred to 12 different tribes. So I wrote what I thought was a stand-alone thriller and while researching it, I stumbled across the Hopi tribe. They fascinated me. One of the smallest and poorest tribes, they have a rich ancient culture and they believe they’re responsible for the balance of the whole world. I couldn’t help but write about them. Sad for me, they are extremely secretive. When my publisher offered to make the book the first in a series, I jumped at the opportunity. There are so many aspects of the Hopi culture I could write a thousand books and never get it all out there. In Tattered Legacy,  we get just a glimpse of their relationship with the Sky People.

 

DONNELL:  The state of Utah is one of the prettiest places on earth in my opinion.  So choose.  Colorado, New Mexico, or Utah, or someplace else?

 

SHANNON: Boulder, Colorado is my heart home. The first time we moved there I was in 6^th grade and we lived in a rental house with a perfect view of Devil’s Thumb. My family was not at all into the outdoors and the crazy culture of Boulder in the early 70’s startled them. We only lived there a year. But when I got the chance to start over after living in Nebraska, I ran back to Boulder as fast as I could. Unlike the rest of my clan, I love being outdoors and being in the mountains and the vibe of Boulder delights me. I only got to stay there 3 years before being torn away again. But then, I got to go back… for a year. My love affair with Boulder isn’t over and I wouldn’t be surprised to end up there again. For now, though, we’re getting ready to move down to Tucson and I’m feeling a strong pull to the desert.

 DONNELL:  Is mystery your chosen genre. Do you write in any other genres?

SHANNON: Confession: I was never a mystery reader. I thought I’d written a thriller until my publisher explained it was a mystery. Since Tainted Mountain was published in 2013, I’ve been playing catch-up in the mystery genre. I’ve discovered my tastes run toward the middling range, as opposed to cozies or noir, and I’ve fallen in love with books written by William Kent Krueger, Craig Johnson, Margaret Coel, and maybe even darker with Laura Lippman and Harlan Coben. Ah, so many books, so little time!

 

DONNELL:  I imagine you had to do a lot of research to write this book.  What is the most fascinating thing you’ve learned doing research for this book or another one?

SHANNON: The Hopi tribe is so interesting. They live in the most bleak landscape, on three isolated mesas north of Winslow, AZ. They are surrounded by the massive Navajo reservation. They’ve clung to their religion and culture, boasting the oldest continuously inhabited village in North America. They have a list of prophecies handed down for over a thousand years, which correctly predicts the onset of white settlers, railroads, telephone, and even the atomic bomb (described as an inverted gourd of ashes that will cause rivers to boil). The most fascinating thing I read about them is that if you drew a line through the earth from Tibet it would come out on the Hopi mesas. The Hopi word for moon is the Tibetan word for sun. The Tibetan word for moon is the Hopi word for sun. Goosebumps?

DONNELL:  Talk about your characters. Choose the one that in your opinion showed the most growth. How did he or she grow from the start of the book till the end?

 SHANNON: Although Nora’s quirky mother, Abigail, plays a big part in this book, the bulk of the growth is Nora’s. She’s been through some unstable times in the two previous books and she’s doing a whole lot better now. It takes some time for a woman who’s experienced what she has to get her groove back, but she’s getting there. In Tattered Legacy, Nora has to come to grips with her ancestry and whether that dictates who she is.

 

DONNELL:  If you’re not writing, where will we find you?

SHANNON: If I had my druthers, I’d be hiking in the Grand Canyon. Or wait, riding my bike over Vail Pass on a July morning. No, I’d be kayaking on Lake Powell. Maybe backpacking in the Rawahs. Or it would be October, when we’ve got a scuba trip planned to Bonaire. Oh hell, just anywhere outside, preferably in the sunshine.

 

DONNELL:  What’s the most unusual thing you have in your closet?

 

SHANNON: I have a 35 mm film canister of my mother’s ashes. It really freaks my sister out. My mother died several years ago in March and she was cremated. We decided to wait until June for her inurnment and my sister got all squeamish about keeping the box of ashes at her house. It didn’t bother me at all. But when it came time to plant the box, I just wasn’t quite ready. So I saved a little bit of her. I have always intended to sprinkle the ashes someplace significant but, you know, I may never feel like letting it go. (Besides, every now and then I’ll sneak behind my sister and shake it by her ear. You can’t believe how she squeals!)

 

DONNELL:  What authors have influenced you?

 

SHANNON:

A thousand years ago, way before I started writing, I read And Ladies of the Club, by Helen Hooven Santmyer. It’s a sweeping saga and I was really sad when it ended. I’m a little unclear now what I read, but it was something like that book being the first one she published and she was 80 years-old. I do remember thinking that someday I’d like to write a book like that but if I didn’t get started learning to write then, I’d never get there. So I started with essays and short stories and finally novels. It took me an inordinate amount of time to get my first publishing contract so I’m really glad Helen got me started early.

 

SHANNON, NOW IT’S YOUR TURN:  TIME FOR YOU TO ASK READERS A QUESTION.

SHANNON WANTS TO KNOW: 

 

I loved Donnell’s question about my favorite place to be. If you could live or play or hang out anywhere, where would it be? Comment for a chance to win a copy of Tattered Legacy. U.S. residents only because I’m intimidated by complicated shipping.)

Thanks Donnell for having me!

Our pleasure, Shannon. Best wishes on your launch and come back and see us!

 

Get Lost with Readers Choice Nominee Lois Winston

Today, we welcome back the extremely “crafty” author of the Anastasia Pollock mystery series. 

 “Anastasia is a crafting Stephanie Plum, surrounded by characters sure to bring chuckles as she careens through the narrative, crossing paths with the detectives assigned to the case and snooping around to solve it.” –Booklist

ABOUT:  Anastasia:  Crafts editor Anastasia Pollack’s stress level maxes out when her well-intentioned mother meets and seduces TV producer Lou Beaumont. Suddenly, Anastasia and her fellow American Woman editors find themselves roped into unpaid gigs for a revamped morning TV show. However, not everyone involved enjoys the idea of the overhaul, and a disgruntled staffer takes action by trashing the studio set. When that doesn’t halt production, vandalism escalates to murder, and a member of the production team is found with one of Anastasia’s knitting needles plunged through his heart.

The network decides the show must go on, but morning TV turns crime drama as a blackmail plot is uncovered, and another body is found. Because Anastasia fears the killer might go after her and Mama next, she has no recourse but to launch her own investigation. Unfortunately, her snooping lands her directly in the killer's unforgiving spotlight.

Read an excerpt of Death By Killer Mop Doll at http://www.loiswinston.com/excerptap2.html

Now to the juicy part!  Fun questions for Lois!

DONNELL:  When writing, how likely are you to be sipping coffee, tea, or something stronger?

LOIS:  Extremely likely! And it’s coffee all the way, every day. I’m a cheap drunk. Anything stronger and I’d be typing gibberish after a single glass of wine!

DONNELL:  In your series, Anastasia Pollock is a craft editor.  Your stories revolve around craft.  Are you a crafty person yourself?

LOIS:  Like Anastasia, I worked for several years as a craft editor but for craft book publishers, not a magazine. I’ve also been a craft and needlework designer for most of my adult life.

DONNELL:  Character driven or plot driven author?

LOIS:  Definitely plot driven. That’s why I like writing mysteries.

DONNELL:  In your book, Anastasia’s mother and mother-in-law have been described as funny over-the-top-characters.  Do you have relatives that you consider over the top, or is this completely the author’s imagination.

LOIS:  My relatives definitely put the “fun” in dysfunctional. It was hell growing up, but now I have lots of rich material to draw on for the characters in my fiction. Lucille, Anastasia’s mother-in-law, is very much patterned after my own mother-in-law -- personality, political leanings, and all. The big difference? My mother-in-law never owned a French bulldog.

DONNELL:  You’re writing a series.  How do you keep the storyline fresh, or do you ever panic you’ll run out of ideas?

LOIS:  I panic all the time! Right now I’ve turned in Book 3, and I’m in OMG-what-am-I-going-to-write-for-Book-4? mode!

DONNELL:  Your glue gun has started a fire.  What character do you want with you to put it out? 

LOIS:  Definitely not Mama! As well-intentioned as Anastasia’s mother is, she’d probably grab a glass of wine instead of water and wind up burning down the entire house. Anastasia would be my go-to gal. She’s extremely resourceful. She has to be, given her circumstances.

DONNELL:  What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?

LOIS:  I really didn’t do it! Honestly! Of course, I’m not going to tell what “it” is. Just know I didn’t do it, okay?

DONNELL:  What turns you off?  What turns you on?

LOIS:  Tall people turn me off. I always feel like they’re looking down at me. Wait! They really are looking down at me. And I’ve got to crane my neck to look them eye-to-eye. Being short sucks. What turns me on is coming across someone over the age of twelve who’s shorter than I am. Actually, it happens so infrequently that when it does, it feels strange. I’m so used to looking up at people, not down at them.

DONNELL:  (trying to shrink here).What’s the most surprising thing you learned while writing/researching a book?

LOIS:  I learned the importance of exercise. If you sit in a chair at a computer all day, your bottom starts spreading and spreading and spreading. I had to join a gym and begin exercising to counter all that spreading.

Links:

Website: http://www.loiswinston.com

Blog: http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

Twitter: @anasleuth

Death By Killer Mop Doll officially goes on sale January 8^th. For those of you who will be attending the American Library Association’s Mid-Winter conference in Dallas, stop by the Midnight Ink booth (#1459) on January 20^th to register for the drawing to win signed copies of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun and Death By Killer Mop Doll, as well as the mop doll shown in the photo. (I’m the one who looks like she’s fighting a cold!) The drawing will take place at 7pm during the opening reception.

In addition, as part of my blog tour throughout January, I’m giving away 5 signed copies of Death By Killer Mop Doll. To enter, post a comment to any of the blogs on the tour. The full tour schedule can be found at my website, http://www.loiswinston.comwww.loiswinston.com, and the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.comhttp://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. I’m also giving away 3 copies of Death By Killer Mop Doll on Goodreads, http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/15173-death-by-killer-mop-dollhttp://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/15173-death-by-killer-mop-doll..

BIO: Lois Winston is the author of the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. The first book in the series, Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and was recently nominated for a Reader’s Choice Award by the Salt Lake City Library System. Lois is also an award-winning author of humorous women’s fiction and romantic suspense, an award-winning designer, and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com

LOIS’S TURN TO ASK A READER A QUESTION. I write humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, not that I think murder is a laughing matter, but my protagonist approaches life with a strong sense of humor to help her get through difficult situations. Some people believe that murder is too serious a subject to treat with humor in any way, shape, or form. What do you think?

**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Lois Winston

I've known Lois Winston for many years now. First as a colleague then as a friend. I think when you're not laughing at her answers, you'll discover she doesn't know how not to tell it like it is. Please welcome Lois Winston as we get lost in her story ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN.

Donnell: Which of your characters would you most/least invite to dinner, and why?

Lois: Anastasia Pollack because she needs a decent meal.

Donnell: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Lois: I know authors who claim they never read their reviews. I don’t know whether or not to believe them. Reviews are part of the business of publishing. It’s important to know what the public thinks of your books because reviews can impact sales -- both on the wholesale and retail level. Besides, if I didn’t read my reviews, I wouldn’t know that the recently released ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN, the first book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. And that’s going to go a long way in taking the sting out of any bad reviews the book may receive.

Donnell: Have you ever written a character who wasn’t meant to be a hero/heroine but he/she wouldn’t go away?

Lois: Oh yeah! To see what I mean check out the excerpt of ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN on my website -- http://www.loiswinston.com/. Lucille Pollack, Anastasia’s mother-in-law and curmudgeon-in-residence, will definitely get under your skin, but I dare you not to want to read more about her.

Donnell: What is your favorite cheese?

Lois: Tough question. I’m a big cheese freak. Extra-sharp cheddar or buffalo mozzarella, depending on the circumstances. Then there’s cream cheese. Gotta have cream cheese to go with my bagels!

Donnell: Tea or coffee?

Lois: Definitely coffee -- low-fat vanilla latte.

Donnell: What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet?

Lois: Harry Potter but someone beat me to it.

Donnell: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

Lois: Lots of leftovers. I had company for dinner last night and cooked way too much. Which I suppose is better than having people leave hungry.

Donnell: What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?

Lois: If I ever became rich and famous, I wouldn’t grow a huge ego and become unapproachable like too many other rich and famous people.

Donnell: Is Elvis really dead?

Lois: Of course not! Who do you think trains and manages all those Elvis impersonators in Vegas -- for a hefty fee? He figured out how to have the best of both worlds. He’s richer now than he ever was, and he gets to sit back and munch on fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches while others do all the work.

Donnell: What is your favorite tradition from your childhood, that you would love to pass on or did pass on to your children?

Lois: LOL! At Dysfunctions-R-Us we had no traditions. What I took away from my childhood was how not to be a parent.

Donnell: What does it mean to love someone?

Lois: It means you put that person’s needs before your own. Notice I said “needs,” not “wants” or “desires.” Love doesn’t mean becoming a second-class citizen.

Donnell: What color would you make the sky if it weren't going to be blue anymore?

Lois: I wouldn’t choose one color. I’d make it rainbow-hued.

Donnell: What do you do to unwind and relax?

Lois: Take in a Broadway show. I’m lucky enough to live right outside NYC, and I know how to get half-price tickets ahead of time, so I don’t stand in line at the TKTS booth with all the tourists.

Donnell: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Lois: A contractual deadline is the best defense against writer’s block. Don’t write; don’t sell; don’t eat. What more incentive does a writer need?

Donnell: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

Lois: Getting published, of course. That was a biggie. Selling a series, another biggie. Getting a starred review from Publishers Weekly and Booklist -- priceless! Now if that dream of winning the lottery would come true…

Donnell: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Lois: I’m not someone who can write through to the end, then go back to revise. I have to be happy with what I’ve written before I can move forward with the story. I don’t see the point in continuing if I’m dissatisfied with a scene or chapter. What if that unsatisfactory scene or chapter moves the book in the wrong direction? I’d then have to rewrite everything from that point on after I’d finished the first draft. By revising as I write, I only have to tweak rather than do heavy editing once the book is finished.

Donnell: What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing/researching a book?

Lois: That I need to buy a larger Atlas or use a magnifying glass when checking the one I own. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn this lesson until after the book was published and wound up mistaking the Continental Divide for the Mississippi River. Worse yet, the mistake wasn’t caught by my critique group, agent, editor, or copy editor.

Donnell: What is your favorite kid joke?

Lois: “What’s black and white and red(or read) all over?” because you can always stump the other person. If she says, “a newspaper,” the answer is, “a blushing zebra.” If she says, “a blushing zebra,” the answer is, “a newspaper.”

Donnell: Which era would you least have liked to live in, fashion-wise? Most?

Lois: Least? Any era prior to the invention of indoor plumbing, air-conditioning, and deodorant. I was once in Colonial Williamsburg during a summer heat wave. I was wearing shorts and a tank top. The enactors all wore enough clothing to pass out from the heat. I got to talking with one woman and learned that what she was wearing was actually an undergarment. If she had been in true colonial dress, she would have been wearing several additional layers! It’s amazing any of our ancestors survived.

Lois: Most? Ancient Greece. They knew how to dress for summer’s heat.

Donnell: Tell me how many hats you have in your home?

Lois: Mine? Five. Two winter, two summer, and my Mets baseball cap. I have no idea how many hats my husband owns.

Donnell: Dog person or cat person?

Lois: Allergy person.

Donnell: Which is your favorite language other than your native language?

Lois: Italian, especially when sung by Andrea Bocelli.

Donnell: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

Lois: The 1920s, Algonquin Hotel as part of the Round Table with Dorothy Parker and the gang. Dorothy could certainly hold her own against all those guys, but I think they could have used another female voice in the group.

Donnell: What would you do if you had a time machine?

Lois: I’d go back in time and try to rewrite history to avoid all the wars men have gotten us into throughout the ages.

Donnell: How much money does it take to be happy?

Lois: Enough not to have to worry about having enough.

Donnell: What question are you never asked in interviews, but wish you were?

Lois: Hmm…after answering all of these questions, I think I’ve been asked just about everything other than “innie or outie.” For the record, the answer is “innie.”

Donnell: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

Lois: Since I juggle three careers, I’d just concentrate on the other two. However, I’d really like to be a Broadway star. Too bad God didn’t see fit to give me singing and dancing genes.

Donnell: What’s the first thing you do when you finish a book?

Lois: Type THE END. Then I go shopping.

Donnell: If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

Donnell: Leonardo da Vinci. If it’s got to be someone living, Alan Alda.

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, a January 2011 release, is the first book in the series and has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romantic suspense, and non-fiction as well as being an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an associate of the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Visit Lois at at her website: http://www.loiswinston.com and visit Anastasia at her blog: http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

In celebration of the release of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, Lois is doing a blog tour throughout January. You can find the schedule on her website, , and at Anastasia’s blog, http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Everyone who posts a comment to any of the blogs over the course of the tour will be entered into a drawing to receive one of 5 copies of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun. (If your email isn’t included in your comment, email Lois privately at lois@loiswinston.com to let her know you’ve entered.

Lois's question for Readers: In ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN, Anastasia meets someone who may or may not turn out to be hero material. How do you feel about romance in your mysteries, and what do you think is the right balance?

Thanks, everyone. Tune in on Friday as Cat Schield hosts Helen Johansen!