What prompted you to take the plunge and become a published author?

That’s a loaded question. I’ve written things since I was in elementary school, and after grad school I penned my first novel (not a very good one). I wrote the first two Reed Ferguson novels, and then I took a turn into mystery-horror and wrote Nephilim: Genesis of Evil. At that point, a friend encouraged me to publish it, and I’ve never looked back.

Anyone who had read your Reed Ferguson series and the Dewey Webb series knows you have a deep appreciate for all things crime noir. Where did this interest come from?

I’ve always loved reading mysteries, including the classics. I also enjoy old movies. I kind of fell into the noir aspect with the first Reed Ferguson mystery, and I liked the idea of Reed enjoying film noir. I had seen some of the classic noir movies, and as I wrote more Reed novels, I watched more film noir movies and studied the genre. It’s been a lot of fun.

Your Reed Ferguson series is a lot of fun. It’s a good mix of modern crime, crime noir references, and humor. How did you arrive at the idea for this series and its unique mix of elements?

That’s a nice compliment, thank you. As a reader, I’ve enjoyed humorous mysteries, and I’ve been told I have a good sense of humor. It was natural to bring humor into the novels, and I wanted Reed to have something unique about him, and that’s where the film noir aspect came in. It’s been a treat to intertwine film noir movies into each book. I’ve had a lot of fun punning film noir movie titles and then figuring out ways to have the movies play into each book plot.

The Dewey Webb series is much more of a traditional crime noir set of stories. What inspired you to create this series after the success of your Reed Ferguson stories?

Dewey Webb first appeared in Back Story, the tenth novel in the Reed Ferguson series. I’d had an idea bobbing around in my brain with Reed trying to solve a decades-old mystery, but then flashing back to that old mystery and the detective who had been working on it. It’s one of my favorite Reed stories. Obviously I had to create that old detective, who is Dewey. I wanted him to be a more hard-boiled traditional detective like Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe, and yet have Dewey have a softer side that you rarely see. I liked Dewey so much I gave him his own series, and it’s been fun to chronicle his adventures.

What challenges do you face as a female author who writes male protagonists?

I think the biggest thing is that I don’t necessarily think like a man, and sometimes I make mistakes (I’ve been called out on Reed fainting versus passing out). But I have plenty of male fans, so I must be doing something right J

Authors face so many different challenges in their careers. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to cope with and how did you overcome that challenge?

Probably the biggest challenge is time. I still have a day job, and working all day, then writing and marketing nights and weekends can be tough. I’d say that’s something I haven’t overcome yet, but it’s still worth it to me, so I keep going J Unfortunately, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for everything. But I’ve been blessed to have writing as a side gig, and I keep working at it.

Where do you draw the inspiration for your stories from? Is there a process or does the idea simply come to you?

For the Reed Ferguson series, I look at old film noir movies and that gives me some inspiration at times. I also find a lot of ideas watching the news or true crime shows. There are so many things that happen in our world that can be turned into a story. The challenge is to tell a story in a new or different way. In the first Reed Ferguson mystery, This Doesn’t Happen In The Movies, I wanted something out of the norm, and at the time I wrote it, I’d not read any private eye novels where we encounter the hero at the beginning of his or her detecting career. So in that first book, Reed is a brand-new detective working on his very first case. My latest Reed Ferguson mystery, A Killing, revolves around a treasure hunt, which I thought was something different in a crime story. I have so many ideas for stories and not enough time to write them all.

What are the challenges of writing stories set in a modern, well known city such as Denver? By the same token, what are the advantages using a city such as Denver as the setting for stories?

It’s challenging to get settings correct, but beyond that, it’s mostly fun. I grew up in Denver, so I know the city well, and I can even flavor the stories with things a reader might not know. It’s also been fun to use Denver as a setting because of its proximity to the mountains. That gives me more setting to play with.

Your characters are interesting people. What is the process by which you craft such interesting characters for your stories?

Again, thank you. I was a counselor for several years, and I met and worked with a lot of people with varied backgrounds, and that helps me give flavor to the characters I write. I’ve also worked hard to create some characters that might be considered a bit outside the norm. So many books are being written and published these days, it’s nice to try to create characters that have a bit of flair.

What classic crime noir authors are your favorite and how have they influenced you as a storyteller?

Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain are a few. Talk about a way with words! I also love the old Rex Stout Nero Wolfe series. To me, Reed is a little like Archie Goodwin. I love to study their works just to see how they describe things, how they turn a phrase that sticks with you long after you’ve put the book down.

What modern, or current day, authors do you enjoy? Are there any in particular that influence the stories you tell?

Unfortunately I don’t get to read as much these days as I’d like to, but I do enjoy Dennis Lehane, PJ Tracy, and Michael Connelly. I study them to see how the construct a story, and how they keep the tension building so that you want to keep turning pages. When I used to commute to downtown Denver, I did a lot of reading on the bus and light rail, and I used to tear through books. I read a lot of different mysteries, from cozies to things like Lee Child’s Reacher series. I have a big library of books that seem to give me inspiration.

For any aspiring author who wants to take the plunge and become a published author, what advice or encouragement can you share?

First, decide if you want to write for the sake of writing, or if you want to make this a business. If it’s the latter, it’s not usually an overnight success, and you’ll have to learn marketing as well. This is work. But you can do it. Second, keep writing, and keep reading up on the craft of writing; you’ll get better as you go. Finally, if you love to write, do it! Don’t let anyone discourage you. The advice I got a long time ago is still true now. If you wrote a thousand words a day, you’d have a book or two finished in a year. And you’ll find your audience who’ll want to devour your stories. Even though I put a lot of time into this, I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t get a kick out of creating new characters and stories every day.

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