Today's special guest is Susan Whitfield. Award-winning multi-genre author Susan Whitfield is a native
of North Carolina, where she sets all of her novels. She is the author of five published
mysteries, Genesis Beach, Just North of
Luck, Hell Swamp, Sin Creek and
Sticking Point. She also authored Killer
Recipes, a unique cookbook that includes recipes from mystery writers
around the country. Slightly Cracked is her first women’s fiction, set in Wayne County
where she lives with her husband. Their two sons live nearby with their
families.
Susan’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in
Crime, Coastal Carolina Mystery Writers, and North Carolina Writers
Network. Her books are available in
print and ebook formats. Susan is currently researching a medieval ancestor for
an historical mystery. Learn more at www.susanwhitfieldonline.com
and please stop by Book 'Em North Carolina on Saturday, February 28, 2015 and chat with her!
and please stop by Book 'Em North Carolina on Saturday, February 28, 2015 and chat with her!
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Why
did you choose the SBI for Logan Hunter?
You may laugh at my
answer. As high school principal, I spent countless hours behind closed doors
interrogating someone about something. I was “the law” on campus and it was my responsibility
to get to the bottom of things. It just seemed natural to build a female
character who investigated crimes. Thank goodness I had only minor “crimes” to
deal with but Logan had some horrendous situations that I never could have
handled in my wildest dreams in real life.
Tell
us about the locations used in the series.
Genesis
Beach, the first Logan
Hunter Mystery, is fictional, a weaving of several beaches along our North
Carolina coast. Just North of Luck is set in Madison County where the
communities of Trust and Luck are only a few mountain miles apart. I went back
to my childhood roots to write Hell Swamp, the third novel in the
series. Sin Creek is set along the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, one
of my favorite places. Beaufort is the setting for the fifth mystery, Sticking
Point.
Just
North of Luck, as I said, is set in
the community of Luck. When I found the names Trust and Luck on the North
Carolina map, I was inspired the whole novel, and I decided to challenge Logan
with a serial killer. There really is a Hell Swamp down Black River but I moved
it up to Beatty’s Bridge where a horrific crime occurred in The Black River
Plantation which still stands in a picturesque location. I passed that house
many times as a child. I wanted to showcase the Riverwalk in Wilmington so I used
that setting for Sin Creek even though the story is fiction.
How
do you get your ideas for your plots?
Sometimes setting a
story in a particular place drives the plot and I always think of my setting as
one of the characters. Quite often my ideas come from billboards, commercials,
newspaper articles, or overheard conversations. I also have a large family and
there’s always something interesting going on that can take me off into my own
world. For example, my husband and one of his brothers use malapropisms all the
time, quite innocently I might add. I could write a book just about that but I
did use quite a few in my women’s fiction, Slightly Cracked.
How
did you get into writing?
I started reading when
I was four-years-old and I’d rather have a book than a doll. I remember so well
how excited I was every time I saw the Bookmobile coming. I’d get the max
number of books allowed. I jotted notes and ideas on scraps of paper and
actually wrote a 40-page outline for a book when I was in high school. It’s
still in a drawer somewhere. I majored in English, as you might have guessed.
What
did you do before you began writing?
I didn’t begin to
write seriously until 2004 when I was contemplating retirement from education.
I taught English for thirteen years and was a high school administrator for
seventeen years. I had little time to write anything other than required
reports and articles.
How
many books have you written? Genres?
I have written seven
books, five of them in the Logan Hunter Mystery series. I also wrote Slightly
Cracked, a women’s fiction and authored a unique cookbook called Killer
Recipes.
What
are you working on?
I am currently writing
a historical fiction about Geoffrey Plantagenet, my medieval ancestor who
started the Plantagenet lineage in Europe It’s the biggest challenge I’ve faced
in writing because I want the period to be as accurate as possible. I have to
admit, though, that I’m enjoying the research and excited that I can twist the
facts if I want to.
What
would you like readers to know about you and your writing?
The books are all set
in North Carolina, even Slightly Cracked. This is home and I
love showcasing different parts of the state. The only exception is the historical,
of course. I am happily married for 46 years and have two fantastic sons and
daughters-in-law who blessed me with three wonderful grandsons. I’m living the
dream! Life is good!
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Yes, I’d like to thank
you, Trish, for organizing Book’Em NC into such a great event. I hope people
will continue to support this worthy cause for literacy. I’m honored to be a
part of it. The Lumberton community and its leaders are an impressive and generous
bunch of folks. I hope those reading this article will plan to attend next
year’s event and pick up an armful of great books of all kinds. It’s nice to
have so many genres and author backgrounds represented.
ABOUT THE BOOK - GENESIS BEACH
When the
lifeless body of millionaire Rick Teater is discovered, Logan Hunter is thrust
into a high-profile crime scene. The inexperienced intern for the North Carolina
State Bureau of Investigation, working alongside the local police, needs to
prove herself. She embarks on a quest for justice.
The search
for Teater’s killer is complicated by a hurricane and Logan’s battle with
personal demons, including a recurring nightmare. The investigation comes to a
frustrating standstill until her intense search for the prime suspect leads her
to a new and shocking discovery.
AN EXCERPT FROM GENESIS BEACH
“Don’t tell nobody nothin’, little
darlin’”, the raspy voice whispered close to my ear. I jerked away, but the long
bony hand grabbed me, and the long nasty green nails bit into the skin on my
arm. I could feel hot breath in my hair as my earlobe was licked. I bit a
finger, and the hand released me. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I ran
outside in a storm and could barely stand up. Something hit me in the face, but
I continued to try to run. The hand—no, two hands now—began shaking me hard, and
I fell to the ground.
I awoke to Pepper pulling at me. We were both
beaten by the storm’s wrath and soaked by torrential rain. Pepper wrapped
herself around me so I couldn’t run anymore. I stared at her for a moment and
then began to shake violently.
“Logan! My God! You scared me half to death. What
is it? What the hell is going on?” I could only blink at her. She pulled me to
my feet, and together we made the laborious trip back to safety.
Once inside, Pepper breathlessly told me I’d
screamed out several times—a lot of nonsense—and the only words she made out
were “stay away” and I bolted for the door, somehow unlocked it, and ran out
into the hurricane. I’d been hit in the ear by piece of shingle, and I’d bitten
her finger when she grabbed me. We dried off and sat quietly for a while, Pepper
watching me as she doctored her bite. I rocked on the floor and tried to
recover….This bony hand was driving me mad. I wanted relief from the
overwhelming feeling of impending terror I couldn’t explain. I felt totally
wiped out. And I’d stressed Pepper with my behavior, but there was nowhere to
go.
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