Tag: Joan Livingston

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Books Reviews

Finding the Source

Once again I struck lucky with a book I promised to read for a Reading Between the Lines blog tour.

No! What am I talking about? This was no luck. I knew exactly what sort of story and writing and characters I’d find in this novel. After all, I was lucky enough to be the editor for most of the series when it was published by Darkstroke.

Yes, I’m talking about the Isabel Long mystery series by Joan Livingston and the eighth and latest in the series called

Finding the Source

Here’s the Blurb

A homeless man. His murdered mother. A book could be the clue.

Isabel Long’s next case begins during a chance encounter with a homeless man, who says he was 12 when he found his mother murdered in their home.

Abby McKenzie was a well-liked seller of vintage books who owned a store in the hilltown of Dillard. That was 43 years ago and the case was never solved.One obstacle is that several of the suspects are dead, including an avid book collector, a former town official who stalked her, and the man who last saw her alive. Another is that, once again, Isabel must deal with Dillard’s police chief, who ran interference in her other cases.

But that doesn’t deter Isabel nor her mother Maria, her partner in solving crime. She just needs to find the source who will unlock this case.

Buy at Amazon US / Amazon UK.

About the Author

Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series, featuring a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. solving cold cases in rural New England. Finding the Source is the eighth book in the series.

Joan draws upon her own experience as a longtime journalist in Massachusetts and New Mexico to create Isabel Long, a sassy, savvy widow who uses the skills she acquired in the business to solve what appears to be impossible cases. She also relies on her deep knowledge of rural Western Massachusetts, where she lives, to create realistic characters and settings.

My Review

How likely is it that someone would approach a total stranger, not knowing she’s a private investigator, and tell her his mother was murdered 43 years earlier? Probably very likely if that event has driven everything he has done since. If he tells everyone he meets, then in 43 years one of those people will be someone who wants to investigate this unresolved murder.

I was delighted to be able to spend time with some familiar characters, not all of whom are friendly to Isabel, and also some great new characters.

As always, the story kept me gripped, the writing flowed and the climax was unexpected. What a shame it had to end!

Categories
Books Israel

Life Without FB

What does FB stand for?

I can think of several options that I’d better not repeat here. But the event that brought about this post is that I was thrown off Facebook, with no reason given or any route to appeal the decision.

I have been on Facebook since 2009, if not earlier. (I have no way of knowing any more.) All my history, memories, friendships, groups, photos have vanished in one fell swoop. That’s a huge part of my life.

But, you know, it’s not the end of the world. I can think of many things that could have happened to me that are much worse than this. I could have:

  • suffered an accident and been rendered unable to walk or dance
  • suffered a robbery
  • suffered a loss* (That happened six months ago; I certainly wouldn’t want a repeat.)
  • suffered many other events I don’t want to dwell on

The worst thing I can think of at the moment is that I could have been kidnapped by terrorists and held for over five months (so far), suffering hunger, torture, rape and more.

One happier piece of news is that I’m moving from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. I’ll have to change the tagline of this blog. I will post more about this after the move.

* On the subject of loss, I have an essay in this new anthology of poems, stories and essays:

The author Joan Livingston called my contibution a “Great piece of writing!”

The anthology can be purchased from here.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Do come back for more.

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Books That's Not Me

That’s Not Me: Joan Livingston

As promised, here is the very first post in the series: That’s Not Me!, which examines how much of our fiction is autobiographical and why some authors try to insist there’s no link between their fictional characters and themselves.

To start off the discussion, here’s Joan Livingston, author of thirteen published books, so far. Over to you, Joan.

That’s Not Me or Is It?

My motto in writing fiction is that I take what I know and have my way with it. That includes the setting for most of my books — the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts in the U.S. — and its characters. Thanks, Miriam, for this opportunity to explain.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been a curious and attentive person who pays attention to what is happening around me, especially what others are doing. I can thank my mother for that. When Hank and I moved our family to the sticks of Western Massachusetts, I had an opportunity to immerse myself in rural life. That was enhanced when I became a reporter covering this part of the world for a local newspaper. I listened to the way people talked and observed what they did. These were great experiences that prepared me for writing fiction.

Now the ultimate question: are any of these characters based on people I know? In my latest book, Northern Comfort, I can honestly say no. Willi Miller and her boy are a charity case in a rural NE town. One snowy day, Cody’s sled slides into the path of Miles Potter’s truck. Until that tragic accident, they are separated by their families’ places in town. Cody’s death also has an impact on the father who abandoned him. Because of my experiences and observations, I believe I created authentic characters who deal with this situation.

I will admit there is a lot of me in the main character of my Isabel Long Mystery Series. Like me, Isabel was a former long-time journalist. She’s an older woman on the sassy side. But I didn’t pursue being a P.I. after losing a job as editor-in-chief. My husband also didn’t die. (When we visit the town of Worthington, where we lived 25 years, people will joke that Hank’s still alive.) My mother doesn’t live with me, and I have six adult kids, not three. I also don’t work part-time at the local watering hole — although I did that long ago when we were building our house and needed the extra cash — or have a love relationship with its owner.

Isabel’s mother was inspired by my own mother, Algerina, who is now 99. Yes, she’s a big reader, nosy, and a fan of gambling like Isabel’s mom. I created that character as a tribute to her. Isabel’s kids are based loosely on three of my kids. I will let them figure that out.

The rest of the characters? They were born inside my head and I’ve grown to love them, even the bad ones. It is humorous when people I know try to guess who my characters “really are.” Sorry, no, you’re wrong.

By the way, I am just about ready to send Missing the Deadline, no. seven in the series to my publisher, darkstroke books. That will be the 14th of my published books.

I still have one unpublished adult novel — The Swanson Shuffle. This one was inspired by my experiences living and working in a psychiatric half-way house. But it’s not autobiographical.

By the way, I once had an agent who wanted me to write a tell-all memoir about hilltown life. I tried a few chapters but he wanted more dirt. A lot more. I stopped. I couldn’t do that to the towns I so loved.

Has my fiction ever got me into trouble? Once, for the first book I self-published, Peace, Love and You Know What. Here’s the plot: Turn on, tune in, and then what? That’s the question facing Tim and Lenora. But first they’ll escape to a three-day graduation bash put on by Tim and his roommates at their funky, hippie pad. A few college friends thought I portrayed people we know unfavorably. Huh? This was definitely not a memoir, not even close. It was a case of taking what I know … oh, you know the rest by now.

Bio

Joan Livingston grew up near the ocean in Massachusetts, where her grandparents arrived from the Azores and Madeira islands. Her childhood was steeped in all things Portuguese — from saintly aspirations to festas down the street. (Don’t let her last name fool you.)

Her mother taught her to love reading with twice-weekly trips to the public library. Her teachers inspired her to write. She longed for straight hair and popularity but settled for being smart instead. She was the first of her family to graduate from college.

For a very long time, she was too busy raising six kids to write much. She started with poetry but found her way to prose when she began reporting on the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts for a daily newspaper. She covered meetings, disasters, and small town scandals. She profiled such people as the woman who kept a pet porcupine and the farmer who became Bill Clinton’s national security advisor.

She worked as a journalist for 35 years, including managing editor of the award-winning newspaper, The Taos News in New Mexico. Her editorials won state and national awards, and she’d like to think, brought positive change. More recently, she was editor-in-chief of three daily newspapers in Western Massachusetts, where she lives. But she has left journalism to concentrate on her own writing.

Links to books

Links to social media:

Categories
Books That's Not Me

Announcing a New Series

Friday is the day for a new and exciting series of posts I’m calling:

“That’s Not Me!”

To start off the series, I’m delighted to host Joan Livingston, author of thirteen books so far, whose post will appear on this blog next Friday, 4th August.

Here are the ideas behind the series:

Why do some writers of fiction get upset at the suggestion that one of their characters might be autobiographical? Do we think that fiction ought to be pure fiction? That every character must be totally made up and not based on ourselves or anyone we know or have crossed paths with? Do we feel it’s cheating to insert a bit of real life into our stories?

And yet, we want readers to see themselves or others in our fiction. Because that will help them to empathise with the protagonists, and empathy will help to connect them to the story. And they’re more likely to see themselves if characters are based on real people.

“Write what you know” is a tip often doled out to writers. What you know can be something you’ve researched well. But more often than not, it’s something you’ve experienced.

What’s wrong with writing about our own experiences? Why do some writers become defensive at the very suggestion?

I think all fiction contains a bit of the writer, whether intentionally or not. I don’t see a problem with that.

Of course, the experience or character that the author shares with their fictional story might be something or someone the author would prefer to keep private. If so, the author would be hard put to answer the question, “How much of xxx is autobiographical?” Even a refusal to answer it could lead to unwanted assumptions.

This is the basis for That’s Not Me, a series of guest posts from writers of fiction.

If you want to contribute a post for the series, please let me know via Contact me above or Twitter or Facebook, after reading the rest of this post.

What can be in a post

  • A personal account
  • A fictional story
  • A historical account
  • A relevant extract from your fiction

What can’t be in a post

  • Politics
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Intolerance
Categories
Books

“It’s the weekend; what are you reading?”

Sketch by David Drori.

My social media feeds are full of this question, and it makes me feel…embarrassed, or at least uncomfortable.

That’s not because I’m not reading. I’m actually in the middle of two books, which are taking me forever to read, although both are excellent, well-written stories.

One is on my phone: The Sacred Dog by Joan Livingston. You can read more about this novel in Joan’s recent interview on this blog. Having edited her Isabel Long series of mysteries, I knew I liked her style of writing, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

The other book I’m reading is physical and in Hebrew: Destino (Destiny) by Raya Admoni. I love this story, so far, but I haven’t read a lot in Hebrew. I read it even slower than I do English, and after each chapter, I feel I need a break.

But my main problem with reading is finding enough time for it. With all the competing activities in my life – writing, editing, promoting, housework, family, hiking, dancing and more, reading often gets postponed or completely squeezed out of the daily schedule.

Yes, I can answer the question about what I’m reading. But if I answer it too often, people might notice my answer doesn’t change very often. And that’s what’s embarrassing. Unlike many of the respondents, I’ve never read a full-length book in a day.

What are you reading? Do you spend enough time reading? How do you find the time for reading? Do let me know in the comments or elsewhere.

Categories
Books Interviews

An Interview with Joan Livingston

I’ve never met Joan Livingston, but I feel I know her well. We’ve been in contact a lot, because I edited all her Isabel Long mystery novels. I love working with her and feel honoured to have had that opportunity. The novels are great and I’m interested to read about a part of the world I would have known nothing about. Joan lives in Western Massachusetts, in an area currently under thick snow, while here in Jerusalem spring has almost become summer.

Despite knowing Joan, I managed to come up with questions for the interview. She answered some in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Hello Joan. First of all, please tell us about your published books.

Thanks, Miriam, for this opportunity to share the books I have written. So far, I have published 12 for adult and young readers.

The Isabel Long Mystery Series, published by darkstroke books, makes up half of that list. Isabel Long, is what the French would call une femme d’un certain âge. She’s sassy and savvy, and the series is told from her perspective. In the first book, Isabel is coming off a bad year. Her husband died and she lost her job as editor-in-chief after the newspaper went corporate. When Isabel decides to investigate cold cases in the rural New England town where she lives, she uses the skills she learned as journalist. Plus, she has her mystery-loving mother to help out. Isabel has been successful with six cases thus far and in my WIP, she is onto the seventh.

The Sacred Dog, released Dec. 27, is not part of the series but the setting is familiar. Frank Hooker is the owner of The Sacred Dog, a bar where the locals come to drink and gab. The only one not welcome is Al Kitchen, who Frank blames for the death of his brother. Frank’s life is about to change now that his ex-wife and daughter are moving back to town. But Verona might have to face a dark secret that involves both men. All is about to come to a reckoning.

Before I hooked up with darkstroke books, I self-published two adult books, The Sweet Spot, which I would call literary fiction, also set in rural New England, and Peace, Love, and You Know What, inspired by my college life. I also published The Cousins and the Magic Fish/Los Primos y el Pez Mágico, (Spanish and English), and The Twin Jinn at Happy Jack’s Carnival of Mysteries, first in a series featuring a family of genies, both for middle-grader readers. (The second and third Twin Jinn books will be out later this year.)

Here’s the link to find my books on Amazon: Joan Livingston books.

That’s an impressive list! What’s the allure of writing mysteries?

I love a good mystery, reading or watching one. Now I enjoy writing them. When I start, I have a basic idea of Isabel Long’s next case, but frankly, I solve it along with her. That’s true of the one I am writing now.

Why do you think readers like reading mysteries?

Probably, the same reason I like writing them. For the best ones, you forget you are reading and feel you are there alongside the characters in the book. I hope I create that experience for my readers.

I’m sure you do. As an American, how have you found working with an international publisher?

First, I am grateful to Laurence and Steph Patterson, of darkstroke books, based in France, for publishing my books. I began trying to get published around 2000 without success despite having two agents and submitting countless queries. I signed with darkstroke in November 2017 after we had moved from New Mexico to Massachusetts. Working with an international publisher makes me think more globally. We maintain easy communication via email and Zoom sessions, which I believe works well. It has made me be aware that there are potential readers in other parts of the world. I would have never imagined that the editor of my mystery series, which, of course, is you, Miriam, would be living in Israel. Likewise, my fellow authors at darkstroke are global. It has been an interesting and rewarding experience.

What have you learned from working with an international publisher?

The publishing industry has undergone so many changes since I started writing fiction. Digital wasn’t even an option then or audiobooks downloaded online. The amount of big publishers has shrunk, and indie publishers has grown tremendously. Anyone can self-publish, so the competition for readers’ attention is fierce. My publisher shares tools to help us succeed. Paid promotion rests on our shoulders, but I have figured out what works and what doesn’t. I also use social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, but am careful not to keep hitting people over the head with “buy my book, buy my book.” I try to get people interested in me as well although I am careful about what I share and who I share it with.

Yes, we authors tread a fine line. How do people you meet react when you tell them you have an international publisher?

They are glad I have a publisher period.

What are your plans for the future?

I will continue to write. It’s my form of creative expression. I am past the half-way point for Missing the Deadline, no. 7 in my Isabel Long Mystery Series. Next, I will tackle a sequel to The Sacred Dog. I will self-publish The Twin Jinn and the Alchemy Machine — right now the cover design and proofreading are under way — and The Twin Jinn in the Land of Enchantment. I also have two completed adult novels that are important to me that I will try to find a publisher to take on. I am in the querying phase with those books. Wish me luck.

Good luck, Joan, with everything you do. And thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions. Here’s a bit about Joan:

Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge, Checking the Traps, Killing the Story, Working the Beat, and Following the Lead, published by Darkstroke Books, are the first six books in her Isabel Long Mystery Series, featuring a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. solving cold cases in rural New England. The Sacred Dog, a thriller that is not a part of the series, was released Dec. 27.

She draws upon her own experience as a longtime journalist in Massachusetts and New Mexico to create Isabel Long, a sassy, savvy widow who uses the skills she acquired in the business to solve what appears to be impossible cases. She also relies on her deep knowledge of rural Western Massachusetts, where she lives, to create realistic characters and settings — from country bars (where Isabel works part-time) to a general store’s backroom where gossipy old men meet.

Joan relied on those insights while writing The Sacred Dog, a story about bad blood between two men. Frank Hooker owns The Sacred Dog, the only bar in a small, rural town. The only one not welcome is Al Kitchen, who he blames for his brother’s death.

For more, visit her websites: Joan Livingston, author and editor and The Twin Jinn.

Follow her on Twitter @joanlivingston and Instagram @JoanLivingston_Author. Her author page on Facebook is here.

Categories
Books

An Appreciated Editor

I don’t often write about my other job as an editor, but now is a good time to do exactly that.

I just finished working with Joan Livingston on her new novel, Killing the Story, out on August 26th (the day after my birthday) and available for pre-order now. This is the fourth novel of hers that I’ve edited, and I love them all.

I also enjoy being appreciated – don’t we all? – and this post shows that to be the case. However, the editor in me wants to change the tense of a verb in this sentence:

She’s originally from the UK, but has lived in Israel for many years and does a lot of traveling.

I did a lot of travelling. I hope to do a lot of travelling. But just now… nope. But that single l in ‘traveling’ – I know that’s fine in the US.

The first time I was asked to edit a novel in American English, I worried that I wouldn’t know all the correct idioms or get the dialogue right. “Don’t worry,” I was told. “The author comes from the UK but lives in the US and she knows all that.” That was almost entirely true, but I did query one word (I can’t remember which) that I thought might not be understood by Americans. The author was surprised to discover I was right. I think living in Israel has opened me up to more Americans than the average British person would come into contact with.

That doesn’t mean I know all the idioms, but I trust Joan, who has lived there all her life. And, yes, I keep her writer’s voice. I think that’s important.

Editing a book is a long process, but it’s also enjoyable, especially if the book is interesting and the author is easy to get along with. Fortunately, I haven’t worked with any stroppy authors, but I’ve heard stories! And I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve worked on.

I’m currently editing a memoir by a non-native speaker of English. She writes English very well, but the mistakes she makes wouldn’t be made by a native speaker. Sometimes, they’re not even mistakes, and I find myself saying, “It’s not wrong, but it doesn’t sound quite right.” Yes, we actually talk, via Zoom. It’s quite fun.

There are different types of authors. Some accept all my suggestions, while with others there’s more discussion. With the first type, there’s less of the back and forth, and that saves time. But  discussion probably leads to a more polished result and that, after all, is the point of the exercise.

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

Spice of Life

Categories
Books Letters from Elsewhere

Letters from Elsewhere: Jack Smith

Letters from Elsewhere

I’m delighted to welcome Jack Smith to the blog, today. Jack is no stranger to me, as he’s taken a major part in all the Isabel Long mystery novels so far and I’ve been lucky enough to edit them all. Joan Livingston, the author, has done a fantastic job with them, and more is on the way.

Back to Jack, who’s worried about Isabel. He’s the owner of the Rooster Bar and Grille and Isabel works part-time for him. What worries Jack is that Isabel is also using her skills as a former longtime journalist to solve cold cases in the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts as a private investigator. Here’s what he’s written to her:

Dear Isabel

I’ve never written a letter to a woman before. But I wanted to get a few things off my chest. Don’t worry, I ain’t breaking up with you, honey. I would lose the best bartender I ever hired if I did that. Yeah, I’m kidding.

The reason I’m writing is that I’m scared to death something bad is going happen to you being a private investigator. In your first case, you got knocked in the head so bad, I had to carry you out of the woods. Remember? Then you broke your collar bone when that ass drove you off the road. I do suspect something really bad almost happened when Gary Beaumont hired you. What really went on at that cliff? I’m guessing you’re holding back some, so I won’t worry about you. You’re right. I’m afraid to hear the whole story.

You’re on your fourth case. I know your mother helps you out, but she can’t be with you all the time. Besides, Marie is 93. What is she supposed to do to save you other than to try talking some sense into you?

Then, there are the characters you meet like that guy Victor Wilson. You and I both know what he’s up to on his property. How about Gary Beaumont and his loser of a brother, Larry? I banned all three of them permanently from the Rooster and for good reason. Now I heard from my cousin Fred you might be dealing with crooked cops. Isabel, what am I going to do with you?

We’ve been together since last November, well, except for a couple of months. I don’t want to get into that. I can say I’m one happy man when we’re together, and I’m not just talking about when we’re in bed. You’re different than the other women I’ve been with. I haven’t told you to your face what you mean to me. I guess I’m kinda shy about that since the only other woman I told that is dead. I don’t have to tell you who that was since she was your first case.

What I can say in this letter is that I understand why you are doing these investigations. You want to help people. I have no power to stop you. I just want you to be more careful although I know you’re as stubborn as hell and that what I say isn’t going to stop you from finding out what went wrong in these towns. I just don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want to lose you.

Jack

About the Isabel Long Mystery Series

Joan Livingston - Isabel Long Mystery Series

Isabel Long is a former journalist turned private investigator solving cold cases in the rural hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She’s smart, sassy and what the French would call une femme d’un certain age. She works part-time at the Rooster Bar and Grille, where she gets plenty of useful tips for her cases. And she’s lucky to have her savvy 93-year-old mother as her “Watson.”

Her first case was solving what happened to a woman who disappeared 28 years earlier. In her next two cases, she discovers who’s responsible for the death of a junkyard dealer in one and a poetry-writing highway driver in another. Her fourth features a small town newspaper editor and perhaps crooked cops.

Published by Darkstroke Books, the series so far includes: Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps. Next up is Killing the Story.

About Joan Livingston

Joan LivingstonJoan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge, and Checking the Traps, published by Darkstroke Books, are the first three books in her mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur sleuth. She is in the process of finishing the fourth — Killing the Story.

Her other novels include The Sweet Spot; Peace, Love, and You Know What; and The Cousins and the Magic Fish/Los Primos y el Pez Mágico.

An award-winning journalist, she started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and then the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure. Currently, she’s the editor-in-chief of the Greenfield Recorder.

After eleven years in Northern New Mexico, she returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series.

For more, visit her website. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Like and follow her author page on Facebook.

***

Letters from Elsewhere truly is back for a new series, started last week by Dan, who was brought by Jo Fenton. (Thanks again, Jo.) If you’re an author and you want one of your characters to take part, let me know and we’ll arrange a date.

I will be back later today with news about the coming week. Watch this space…

Categories
Books

Books I’ve Kept All These Years

This post was inspired by this one by fellow writer, Joan Livingston. I’ve even used the same title. I hope she doesn’t mind.

I’ve moved around in my life, possibly not as much as Joan, but I did move countries. In fact I just celebrated that anniversary – forth-three years, which is at the same time hard to believe and feels obvious. As I was fairly young at the time of the move, I hadn’t acquired enough stuff to warrant sending a container. I just took what I could in my suitcase.

My Oldest Books

What books did I bring with me? I don’t think I brought all of these in one go, but I brought some back with me on each visit. So, these are all books I had in the UK, which arrived in Israel, either on that first day or soon afterwards, and have remained with me ever since. There might be more; this is what a cursory search produced:

The Golden Treasury of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language, selected and arranged by Francis Turner Palgrave

I inherited this book, published in 1952, from my big brother. There are poems by Tennyson, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Byron, Milton, Keats, Scott, Wordsworth, Browning, and more.

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

I haven’t read much science fiction, and this is probably my first read of the genre.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

I haven’t read any of his books for a long time, but he used to be a favourite of mine.

The History of Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells

I had to read this for ‘O’ level English Lit. Even so, I enjoyed it.

Exodus by Leon Uris

This was probably one of the first things that influenced my decision to move to Israel.

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Funnily enough, I recently saw the film and the story came flooding back to me.

How to be a Jewish Mother by Dan Greenburg

I loved this book when I was quite little. I still remember at least one joke:

Give your son Marvin two sports shirts as a present. The first time he wears one of them, look at him sadly and say in your Basic Tone of Voice: “The other one you didn’t like?”

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Another ‘O’ level book I enjoyed.

The Star and the Sword by Pamela Melnikoff

The book I would never lend! First of all, it was the first book I read in which I identified with the main characters. Even though it’s set in medieval times, the two Jewish children felt closer than any from books by Enid Blyton or any other story I’d read up to then. Also, this book contains a note to me from Gabriel Costa, a lovely man who lived in our street. He was in his nineties when he gave me the book in 1965, and still wrote book reviews for newspapers.

Note to me from Gabriel Costa

The Oxford Companion to Music by Percy A. Scholes

This hefty volume helped me get through ‘O’ and ‘A’ level music. Who would buy a book like that, these days, when all the information is available online?

How about you? What books have always accompanied you?

And while you’re thinking about that…

Remember my books, available from Amazon: Social Anxiety Revealed and Cultivating a Fuji.

Categories
Books SIM Talks with Miriam

SIM Talk 9: Joan Livingston

#SIMTalksWithMiriam

#SIMTalksWithMiriam

Misunderstandings are often fun… when you look at them from the outside or with hindsight. When they’re actually happening and you’re involved, they can be far from fun. Here’s Joan Livingston, whose third mystery in the Isabel Long series is due out next week (22nd March).

A Dangerous Misunderstanding

Sometimes words get in the way of what people are trying to say. That happens with several of my characters. And because I write mysteries it can get them into trouble.

Joan LivingstonLet me tell you about Isabel Long, the protagonist in my mystery series who is a former journalist turned amateur P.I. solving cold cases. In Redneck’s Revenge, the second in this series, Isabel gets herself into a sticky situation while interviewing Gary and Larry Beaumont in their dump of a home. The brothers are notorious drug dealers and suspects in the death of a junkyard dealer. And Isabel is brave enough to dig deeper in her line of questioning.

Ah, but she hits a nerve because she’s dealing with a couple of hotheads who don’t listen very well. They have a tendency to jump to conclusions. And being new to the P.I. game, Isabel is still learning how to deal with people like the Beaumonts.

Here’s part of that scene from Redneck’s Revenge. She is meeting them at their house.

“If I’m hearing correctly, you two don’t have alibis for that night,” I say. “Right?”

I believe I just stepped into it big time because Gary and Larry’s foreheads clamp so hard their brows hang heavy over their bloodshot eyes. Their lips curl.

Larry slaps his brother’s arm.

“What’s she mean?” he asks.

“It means she’s callin’ us liars,” Gary answers.

I speak up.

“I didn’t call you liars.” I try to make my voice as warm as I can muster given how nervous I am. “What I said is that you can’t account for your whereabouts the night Chet Waters was killed.”

Gary’s fist hits the table.

“You bitch, what makes you think we’d have anythin’ to do with that?”

Yes, Isabel manages to get out of there unharmed, but she is rather shaken because she really felt in danger.

Checking the TrapsI’m not going to spoil what happens later in this book, but fast forward to the third, Checking the Traps. Yes, the Beaumont brothers return. Gary, the alpha brother, wants Isabel to find out what happened to their half-brother, Cary. Did he jump from a bridge known for suicides, or was he pushed, like Gary thinks?

Isabel takes the case, largely because she is interested in the victim, who was a highway worker by day and a poet at night. But she decides to be upfront with the Beaumonts, particularly, Gary, who is the alpha brother. She wants to avoid any misunderstandings this time.

“He was just a regular guy.”

“Uh, Gary, you gotta do better than that. I’m gonna need as much information as possible. By the way, if we proceed, I might ask some tough questions that’ll make you uncomfortable, and I don’t want you getting all pissed off at me like you did once before. Remember?”

Gary puckers his mouth. He’s thinking about that time at his home when he and his brother scared the bejesus out of me because they thought I called them liars. It was a misunderstanding on their part.

“Okay, okay,” he says finally.

Yes, Isabel is learning.

About Checking the Traps

Isabel Long is a bit banged up from her last case with a broken collarbone and her arm in a sling. But that doesn’t stop her from pouring beer at the Rooster Bar or taking her third case with Gary Beaumont, a local drug dealer who once terrorized her. Gary is convinced his brother didn’t jump off a bridge known for suicides. Somebody pushed him.

Gary’s brother was a boozer who drove for a highway crew. But what interests Isabel and her ‘Watson’ — her 93-year-old mother who lives with her — is that the man wrote poetry.

The chief suspects are one of Gary’s business associates and a famous poet who plagiarized his brother’s poetry for an award-winning book. Yes, he was that good.

As a journalist, Isabel did regular meetups with her sources for stories. She called it checking the traps. She does the same as a private investigator, and this time, she’ll make sure she doesn’t get caught in one.

About Joan Livingston

Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Checking the Traps, published by Crooked Cat Books, is the third in the mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. The first two are Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge.

An award-winning journalist, she started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure. Recently, she was named editor of the Greenfield Recorder.

After living eleven years in New Mexico, she has returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series.

Links to Joan and her Books

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads

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Is this the last of the series?

There have been some wonderful articles in this series. Some guest posters have opened up on difficult topics. But now, if no one else wants to volunteer, I might close it, either temporarily or permanently. You’re still welcome, however, to suggest a topic for a guest post.

Do you want to write (or talk) about one or more of the SIM topics – Social anxiety, Israel, Misunderstandings? The details are here.