Meet award winning mystery author
W.S. Gager, Author of Humorous Whodunits.
She has lived in Michigan for most of her life except when she was a
reporter, traipsing the countryside, interviewing race car drivers and
professional women golfers. She enjoyed the fast-paced life of a newspaper
reporter until she realized that babies didn't adapt well to running down story
details on deadline. Since then she has honed her skills in other forms of
writing and pursued what she always wanted to do with her life…write mystery
novels. Her main character is Mitch Malone who is an edgy crime-beat reporter,
always on the hunt for the next Pulitzer. Her third book, A CASE OF HOMETOWN
BLUES, was a finalist in the 2012 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in
Mystery/Suspense. A CASE OF VOLATILE DEEDS, her fourth in the Mitch series will
be out this February.
At what point in your life did you
decide you wanted to become a published author?
I’ve always written but mostly in
non-fiction. I was a newspaper reporter for a decade and then did other forms
of marketing to help pay the bills. When I was recuperating from surgery in
2004, I had all day long to do nothing but watch TV and read. I couldn’t do
house work or go to my job. The kids were in school all day and I couldn’t
drive. I had a whole pile of books to read and the more I read, the more I
realized I could do it better than what I was reading. So I picked up a pen and
started working. After I returned to work, I was hooked and vowed to finish the
book which I did. I wrote three and a half books that I’ve never published
before starting the Mitch Malone series.
If you could have one last meal,
what would it be?
Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate.
Name three things on your bucket
list.
Travel back to Europe, travel to
Australia and travel to Russia. After chocolate, travel is my number one
favorite thing to do. Problem is it doesn’t fit my budget.
In what genre do you write? If you
were to choose another genre, what would it be and why?
I write amateur sleuth mysteries. When I started writing, I wrote
romances because I’ve read thousands of them in my lifetime and I understood
the formula that they follow. My problem was that I couldn’t get the emotional
tension right. I have three romances that need to be totally rewritten. I’ve
learned so much since then. I could rewrite them and they would be pretty
decent now but they would be romantic suspense. I could never totally leave the
mystery angle out.
What is the most adventurous thing
you've ever done?
I went white water rafting for the
first time on class five rapids after four days of intense rain. The river was
just a hair under flood level and the trip was so intense. Our raft flipped and
I was flown out the front, two other guys never came up and the guide came up
behind the raft. I tried to swim to the raft but she said to get to shore. That
was impossible because the river was so fast. I managed to wedge myself between
two rocks until another raft could rescue me. The two guys that never came up
were in an air pocket under the raft hanging on for dear life as the river
tried to drag them under. They were rescued when the raft went in an eddy a half
mile down the river. We were given the option of ending our trip by hiking out
or getting back in the raft and continuing to the pick-up point. The two guys
thought it was a great adventure and their best trip of a half dozen they’d
taken. When I agreed to go back in the raft, one of the guys decided right then
I was a girl he wanted to marry. And he did.
What is something you wish you could
do better?
Edit. I am a horrible editor for
myself. I just can’t pick out my own typos and wrong words. I’ve had plenty of
practice and just don’t seem to improve. I’ve read my stuff backwards and
forwards and it still has mistakes. I’ve studied grammar and still can’t get it
correct.
What is the best piece of advice
you've ever received? Who gave you this advice?
In my writing career, it would be
the woman from a writer’s group who critiqued the first novel I completed. As I
mentioned, it was a romance. She reached over and grabbed my hand (to keep me
from bolting out of the restaurant’s booth)“Honey,” she said with a slight
southern accent. “You are not a romance writer.” I felt my heart stop and my
self-esteem plummet. I felt more pressure on my hand and she continued. “You’re
a mystery writer. The mystery just takes over your book and it would be much
better if you dropped the romance.” We spent the next half hour talking about
how to change the book into a mystery.
Who is one of your favorite authors?
Catherine Coulter’s books are my
all-time favorite reads. I’ve devoured everything she has written in both
mystery and her romance. I first found her with her historical romance series
and switched to her FBI series when it first came out. I’ve been hooked ever
since.
What is one of your favorite books?
What do you love about this book?
Scruples by Judith Krantz is the first that
popped into my head. I read it in high school right after it came out. The
story was about a fat kid with an unhappy childhood who goes to France and
becomes thin and beautiful. She decides to do something with her life. It
mirrors my high school right down to studying French. I still have that book
and I sometimes read it if I’m having a tough go at life. It showed me that I
didn’t have to settle for who I was. With hard work and determination, I could
do anything I wanted with my life and I have.
If you were going to be stranded on
an island all alone for a year, and you could only take three books with
you...which three would you choose? Why?
The Bible because I want to read it cover to
cover but don’t ever have the time and I need to make time to do it. The Complete
Works of William Shakespeare (I have this four-inch thick volume.) because
a college professor turned me on to him and the beauty of words and hidden
meanings behind his jests. Again, I’ve never had time to go through all his
plays and that would keep me engaged and could be reread over and over with
each reading getting a deeper meaning. The last one is a tough one. I want a
book of poetry to puzzle over. I am not a big fan of poetry and being all
alone, I might be able to get through it. Poetry takes reading at a minimum of
three times and lots of thought. I might be able to appreciate it after a year
on my own. I’m not well versed in poetry to pick one writer but maybe a
compilation of several poets would be good. I would take suggestions if you
have any?
Where can readers find out more
about you and your books?
Blog:
http://wsgager.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wsgager
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wsgager
GIVEAWAY
W.S. Gager will be giving away a
single copy of each of the first three books in the Mitch Malone Mystery
series: A CASE OF INFATUATION, A CASE OF ACCIDENTAL INTERSECTION, and A CASE OF
HOMETOWN BLUES from comments made on her blog: http://wsgager.blogspot.com
or on her guest blogs from the Murder We Write Mystery Tour.
A CASE OF VOLATILE DEEDS Book Blurb
Mitch
finally scores a weekend dinner with a cute receptionist, but true to his
reporter instincts an explosion in a high rise office building makes him stand up
his date as he runs for an exclusive. When he investigates, he learns his date
is the only casualty in a botched robbery at a real estate office. When femme
fatale Patrenka Petersen returns, Mitch learns that much of what he knows about
his date and her work aren’t what they seem. His world continues to twist when
the police captain asks for his help and a city hall informant is found
floating in the river. Mitch must keep his head down or a cute dog with a knack
for finding dead bodies will be sniffing out his corpse.
“A
Case of Hometown Blues” Synopsis
When Pulitzer-winning reporter Mitch
Malone's editor presses him for a favor, Malone breaks his vow to never return
to his hometown. It seemed simple enough--lead a seminar for Flatville, MI's
newspaper, keep a low profile and get back to the city post haste. But memories
of his parents' death swarm him, and, to avoid solitude, he stops for a beer.
In the crowded bar, Mitch is dismayed to see many of his former
classmates--including the still-lovely Homecoming Queen, Trudy. Once the object
of his teenage crush, Trudy joins Mitch. He quickly realizes she is upset and
inebriated. Always the gentleman, Mitch sees her safely home, and returns to
his B&B, still trying to shake memories of his parents' sad demise. The
next day, he is stunned to learn Trudy was murdered and he is the prime
suspect. The locals treat the murder charge as a slam dunk, and Mitch realizes
he must track down the real killer to keep his butt out of jail. As he investigates,
facts he thought he knew about his family unravel, and danger ratchets up. Can
Mitch discover the truth that will allow his parents to rest in peace, or will
he be resting with them?
A Case of Accidental Intersection
