Today as Sue Star

How do you bring characters out of the shadows?   


https://mysteristas.wordpress.com/

Inspiration

This is one of my favorite settings for getting tons of writing done!  The beautiful Oregon coast:

Mystery Roundup

I am thrilled to participate in Mystery Roundup in Albuquerque this weekend!  Here's what's happening:  

Interviews with ANNE HILLERMAN, DAVID MORRELL, STEVE BREWER, and JOE BADAL

Panels and round tables about:

• Thrillers
• Amateur Sleuths and Gentle Mysteries
• Contemporary to Historical (including me)
• Suspense

Crime in the Southwest

Book Sales

Ghost Tour

Should be lots of fun!

Catching up!

What I've been up to this year (since it's half over):

January--wrote like crazy

February--sold a short story about my Turkish cop character (coming out in November)

March--sold a ghost story that scares my socks off (coming out next year in time for Halloween)

April--turned in Prelude to Proxima, the next book in my Centauri series (coming out later this summer)

May--visited Romania 

and England 

June--visited New Orleans

and turned in Murder for a Cash Crop, the next book in my Nell Letterly mystery series (coming out in November)

July--fun times over at Mysteristas, where I blog as Sue Star:

It’s a Summer Reading Bonanza at #Mysteristas! Join in the fun and win. Weekly prizes! http://tinyurl.com/of3jb7f

Top 10 Lessons (!Surprises!) along the Writer’s Journey

I am blogging today as Sue Star over at Mysteristas:

https://mysteristas.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/top-10-lessons…riters-journey/

You Inspire Me

At Mysteristas today I'm talking about friends--and yes, even strangers--who inspire me:

http://mysteristas.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/you-inspire-me/

Meet My Character

Mystery writer Kait Carson, who writes a series set in one of my favorite places on earth--Key West--asked me to continue the "Meet My Character Blog Tour."  Visit Kait at kaitcarson.com to meet her character.  

Meanwhile, I'd like to introduce you to one of my favorite characters, Nell Letterly, super mom and martial artist.  When I write about Nell, I am being Sue Star.  

Is she fictional or historical? 

Nell is definitely fictional, but she's a creation from my own experience as a martial artist.  

When and where is the story set?

Today.  Boulder, Colorado.  Nell and her teenage daughter live in a small apartment above a down-and-out karate studio located in a part of town called The Hill, which is near a large university.  

What should we know about her?

Nell's university husband ran off to the Caribbean with most of their savings and a long-haired honey.  Left alone with the mortgage and raising the daughter who thinks the raising is all done, Nell finds work as a karate instructor.  She's come a long way, baby.  

What is the main conflict. What messes up her life?

In Nell's second adventure, Murder with Altitude, she tangles with attitude issues, in the name of powerful, established families, and also a local developer trying to control buy up all of Boulder.  

What is the personal goal of the character?

Nell's goal is always to find the killer before the killer finds her or other members of her family!

Are there other books in this series?

Murder in the Dojo is the first book in the series. 

Murder with Altitude is the current release.  

Murder for a Cash Crop is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2015.  

Thanks so much, Kait, for inviting me to participate!