I worked on cruise ships as an entertainer for a decade in my 20s and early 30s. I had the idea for this series back, but didn’t even know where to start. I got off of ships when I was five months pregnant with my oldest son and spent the next few years raising my two boys. Once my children were older, I finally had the time and the brainpower to be able to write the book that I had dreamt of writing when I was working on ships all those years ago.
Your book series Olivia Morgan Cruise Ship Mysteries features a guest who becomes an amateur sleuth and enlists the aid of crew members to solve murders. How did you use your previous work history into creating these stories.
From my years working on ships, I felt like a cruise ship would be a perfect setting for a mystery. You are trapped at sea on a ship with a killer, which ups the stakes. The people who work on ships tend to be larger than like characters, which makes them a lot of fun to write. Every cruise is a unique experience. You have new passengers and an international crew which gives me lots of interesting options for the characters in my book.
Chico is my sleuth’s pet sidekick and my favorite character to write. I worked with parrots in my act and I have so much fun writing Chico. He tends to be a reader favorite, too, which makes me so happy.
With my cruise ship mysteries, I usually start with an event or a situation that actually happened to me when I worked on ships, such as the ship crashing into the dock (Yikes!) or a fire breaking out onboard (Double Yikes!) and build the mystery around it.
Do you pick the victim or the murderer first?
I almost always pick the victim first. I sometimes don’t know which of the suspects is the murderer until I get to the end of the book. I had one character in one of my books who I had planned to be the murderer, but the character just wouldn’t cooperate! The characters have a mind of their own and no matter how much plotting and planning I do, they don’t always do what they are told!
What do you think makes for a perfect murder mystery?
I wish I knew what made the perfect murder mystery. Unfortunately I never got to meet Agatha Christie so I couldn’t ask her.
Yes, I agree. I'm a big fan of Christie books. Would have been intrigued in meeting her and talking to her about her writing. Now please tell my readers about your Clue Crew Book Club!
I started The Clue Crew Book Club with my cousin, Jen. She is an avid reader and we thought it would be fun to have the perspectives of an author and a reader. We feature a different author every month. The book cub is currently on hiatus for the summer, but our YouTube videos are available. You can watch them and get to know our featured mystery authors. https://www.youtube.com/@TheClueCrewMysteryChannel
I’m very lucky that my family is very encouraging of my writing and my first mystery, "Murder Takes a Bow” was a 'Cozy Mystery Indie of the Year' Finalist. That honor really encouraged me to keep writing, but the support of my readers is what keeps me sitting down at my laptop every day. I’m really grateful for my readers. I have an active Facebook reader group that is my happy place on the internet and I am so happy that many of The Clue Crew members feel the same way. I’d love to have you join the group and come hang out with us. We talk about books, share pictures of our pets and support each other in good times and bad. I’ve been lucky enough to even meet some in person on my Clue Crew Cruise we took together in January and at book signings. https://www.facebook.com/groups/wendyscluecrew
Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produced more sales rather than just clicks?
A couple of years ago I decided that I didn’t want all of my eggs in one basket and took most of my books out of Kindle Unlimited. I opened my own online bookstore and sell my books directly to my readers.
My books are still on all retailers but I can build a closer relationship with my readers and give them better deals when they buy directly from me. I’ve used Amazon ads, Facebook ads, I post on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and I send emails to my readers.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
That I could do it. I wanted to be an author my entire life. I remember dreaming of writing books when I was reading Jane Eyre in third grade but was always told that you can’t make a career out of being an author.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
To just sit down and write. The words don’t have to be perfect because you can edit any words you have written, but you can’t edit what you don’t have.
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
If you write 1,000 words a day, you’ll have a first draft of a book in just a couple of months!
What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
My next book is coming out later this month. It is called Ernest Endeavors and is book two in my Key West Mysteries series. Key West was one of my favorite ports, so I thought it would be fun to write a series set there. I get to “visit” Key West while I am planning and writing the books in the series.
Here is a little bit about the book:
When antique shop owner Beth Fletcher discovers a 1930s diary, she's captivated by its intimate glimpses into Ernest Hemingway's Key West life. But this glimpse into the past becomes deadly when museum curator Regina Winters is found floating in the Hemingway House's famous pool – just hours after hinting she'd made an extraordinary discovery about the author's long-lost manuscripts.
Armed with her research skills, her sassy cat Agatha, and her sister Sarah's perfect pastries, Beth navigates a maze of historical clues and modern dangers.
Despite warnings from the handsome detective assigned to the case, Beth can't help digging deeper.
She moved to Key West for a fresh start, not to get tangled up in murder, but in a town where history whispers around every corner, sometimes the past refuses to stay buried.
Website: https://wendyneugentbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wendyscluecrew
YouTube channel for her audiobooks:https://www.youtube.com/@wendyneugentauthor
And here's a bonus from Wendy for all my readers... Visit her website https://wendyneugentbooks.com/ and use code “TheWriteChris” to get the eBook or audiobook of Murder Takes a Bow for free!
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