It is my honor to introduce Author Jean
Henry Mead. Jean is a national award-wining
photojournalist as well as a mystery/suspense and historical novelist. Her
articles have been published domestically as well as abroad and she's served as
a news, magazine and small press editor.
She writes the Logan & Cafferty
mystery/suspense series, of which Gray
Wolf Mountain (her latest release) is the fourth novel. Her Hamilton Kids’ mysteries and Wyoming
historical novels have been written along with her history books (one of which
became a college textbook) and her five books of interviews, 18 in all. Aside from all of that, she is a very
interesting, fun and dynamic woman, as you will see in my interview with her.
When
you were a child, what did you want to "be" when you grew up?
A writer. I wrote my first novel
when I was nine. A chapter a day to entertain classmates. The title was Janie's
Adventures in Pinedale and it was written with pencil on notebook paper.
Fortunately, it was never published. :)
If
we were to poll people from your high school years, how would they have
described you? If we were to poll people in your life now, how would they
describe you?
My classmates would probably have
described me as a tall, shy scarecrow who loved to read, sing, play music and
draw. Also a good student who skipped the fifth grade. I'm not sure how I would
be described today. Hopefully a compassionate, caring, helpful person who
spends too much time at the computer.
At
what point in your life did you decide you wanted to become a published author?
When I was eight or nine. I wanted
to write fiction but in high school I wrote for the campus newspaper and served
as editor-in-chief of my college paper while working for the local daily
newspaper. It was many years before I wrote my first novel, after publishing
five nonfiction books.
Tell
us about one of your most embarrassing moments in life.
I crashed a cocktail party held in
honor of internationally known sportscaster Curt Gowdy. It was held at a local
bank. When he agreed to an interview for my first book, we sat in the bank
president's office where the batteries fell from my tape recorder and rolled
under the massive desk. It was ten o'clock at night with poor lighting, so I
was unable to find the batteries. I had to return the following day and attempt
to interview him in the middle of the bank lobby with dozens of people talking
to him and asking for autographs. (I repeated the same scenario a year later
with well-known attorney Gerry Spence in the lobby of the Ramada Inn, with
plenty of spare batteries.)
If
you could have one last meal, what would it be?
Good question. I think I would
probably have roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, a veggie medley, chef
salad and large piece of chocolate pie. If it's my last meal, I won't have to
worry about gaining weight or my allergy to chocolate.
Name
three things on your bucket list.
I've done nearly everything I've ever
wanted to do, but if I could afford it, I would take my entire family on an
extended cruise to Australia and New Zealand. I'd then visit the British Isles,
France and Italy. And I'd get the MFA in creative writing that I've never had
time to earn. (This is more of a dream list than a bucket list.)
In
what genre do you write? If you were to choose another genre, what would it be
and why?
I write mystery/suspense novels: the
Logan & Cafferty series and Hamilton Kids' mysteries, as well as Wyoming
historicals and nonfiction history and interview books. I'm nearing the
conclusion of my 19th book and it's one I've been researching and thinking
sporadically about for some 20 years. I think I've reached my limit as far as
genres are concerned. My next planned mystery series will feature an
alternative medicine practicioner because I've studied in that field.
Describe yourself in only three words.
Determined, conservative
(as I grow older) and interested (in nearly everything).
What is
the most adventurous thing you've ever done?
I drove a 36-foot motorhome and
towed my car on a 20-ft. trailer around the Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico,
Colorado and Texas) to research some of my Logan & Cafferty novels.My first
trip was over the Guadalupe Mountains around midnight and I thought I'd never
reach the summit. It was a very long, narrow, steep road and I'd never driven
anything larger than a pickup truck. I also drove the motorhome through a
Wyoming blizzard and in near hurricane speed winds in Phoenix during the
monsoon season. I decided that I could do anything that I set my mind to after
those harrowing experiences.
What
made you choose to write the particular novel(s) you have written?
I have a best friend whom I've known
forever, who can still make me laugh on the worst of days. My Logan &
Cafferty series is based on our friendship, which has evolved into two
sixty-year-old feisty widows who travel in their motorhome, in some of the
books, while solving murders. I've been criticized by a couple of readers for
inserting too much humor in the series, but more people say that's the reason
they read my novels. You can't please everyone.
My recent release, Gray Wolf
Mountain, is set here in the Laramie Mountains and concerns the unwarranted
mass killings of wolves, which upsets the balance of nature.
My children's novels are based on my
own experiences growing up in the Los Angeles hills, and on our small ranch
here in Wyoming. They're probably a little old fashioned for most modern kids
but they contain plenty of humor, mystery, spiders and wild game animals.
What
is something you wish you could do better?
Everything. I've spread myself so
thin with writing, art, music, marriage, raising five children and news
reporting that I don't think that I've really excelled at anything.
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?
1. The bible because I'd be doing a
lot of praying to be rescued
2. A book about how to make food
from anything you can find
3. An unabridged edition of
Webster's Dictionary so I could improve my literacy and learn new words to
curse the person who caused me to be stranded on the island. :)
Where
can readers find out more about you and your books?
Buy
Links for Jean’s latest novels:
Thank you, Susan, for inviting me to
your site and allowing me to ramble on . . . below is an excerpt from my latest release, Gray Wolf Mountain.
Excerpt from Gray
Wolf Mountain by Jean Henry Mead
Walter’s plane
arrived half an hour late, increasing Dana’s anxiety. She had decided not to
marry him but wouldn’t tell him until he was ready to leave Wyoming. He was the
first passenger off the plane and jogged toward her with wide spread arms. She
went into them and accepted his enveloping hug. Closing her eyes, she breathed
in his scent and felt comfort in his embrace. She knew she loved him but was it
enough? She would worry about his proposal later. They needed to concentrate on
solving the wolf killings and the disappearance of Gus and the Tolivers.
During the drive
back to the mansion, Dana filled him in on everything that had transpired, from
the rollover until the recent hiring of Jeff Mailer. She knew he wouldn’t be
happy about Jeff’s involvement but the former police officer’s law enforcement
contacts would help with the investigation. Walter, on the other hand, was an
out of state sheriff who had no connections in Wyoming. He surprised her by simply
nodding and saying nothing. He must have finally realized that Dana had no
romantic interest in her former bodyguard.
Jeff’s nondescript
car was parked in the driveway when they reached home. Walter smiled when he
shook Jeff’s hand, surprising Dana even more. Sighing with relief, she led them
into the living room where Tom and the three women were seated. Once the
introductions were made, they began a brain storming session starting with the
disappearances. . .
Turning to Walter
she said, “Would you mind visiting the local sheriff to find out what you can
about their investigation?”
He smiled with that
lovesick expression she hated. “Glad to, dear.”
Biting her lip, she
offered to drive him to the sheriff’s department. The others declined to ride
along and she knew they thought she and Walter wanted time alone.
<><><>
Although I’ve
written intimate, not graphic, scenes in other novels, this book is about
saving wolves, which are being slaughtered, thus unbalancing nature. So my
romantic scenes are sparse and limited. Another such scene occurs when Dana’s
journalist daughter Kerrie is riding
with her own bodyguard to interview a witness:
<><><>
Kerrie discovered
early on that Tom was a country music fan. An old cowboy song played loud
enough to be heard above the air conditioning unit which rattled in time to the
music. Tom was not only handsome, he was well versed in current events as well
as history and anthropology. So he was easy to talk to when he wasn’t singing
along with Hank Williams or Lefty Frizzell.
When the song ended she reached to turn the volume down. Tom glanced
over at her and raised a brow as though to say, “This had better be important.”
“I need some background for my feature story.”
“Such as?”
“I know you keep up on the news and I wondered if crime is a problem in
this state.”
“We have an occasional murder, wife beatings, drunken brawls, drug
busts . . . but nothing like you have in Denver.”
“That I’m aware of. What I’d also like to know is how environmentally
aware people are here and how they feel about wolves and game animals killed
needlessly.”
“I can only speak for myself, Kerrie, but everyone I’ve talked to is
against slaughtering any animals, unless of course it’s wolves, bears or other
wildlife killing their livestock.”
“I’ll have to research Wyoming’s demographics.”
“We have about half a million people although it’s the tenth largest
state. And some twenty-five percent of our residents are from other places, so
they carry their own opinions about the wolves. Why do you ask?”
“I just wonder if most people here really care about the wolf
killings.”
“I’m sure they do. There are several organizations devoted to fighting
the current laws that allow shooting them on sight.”
“Half a million people, huh?”
“I’d like to increase the population by two or three. How about you?”
Surprised, Kerrie ducked her head to scribble notes, ignoring his
blatant attempt to take their budding friendship to the next level. She knew he
expected an answer and mumbled, “Someday, maybe, after I’m tired of working.”
The attraction is
there but it hasn’t developed past the flirting stage. Later, near the
conclusion, Kerrie breaks up with her finance and tells her mother that she
knows that Tom is going to propose. Romance or hints of it in any novel,
regardless of genre, rounds out a character and lets us get to know them more
intimately.
