I would like to start out my stop for Crimes Past with Lauren Carr by sharing an interview with you. Welcome to fundinmental Lauren. Take it away…

You have said that writers are born. That either you are a writer or you aren’t. It’s who you are. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

Most definitely. Even though I write fiction, with make-believe characters and circumstances, I am exploring things, issues, philosophical thoughts between the lines. The epigraph at the front of the books note what I am actually exploring. It’s not always a command or declaration. Usually, it is just an exploration for my own sense of discovery.

For example, the epigraph for Crimes Past is from R. Lee Ermy: “I firmly believe that you live and learn, and if you don’t learn from past mistakes, then you need to be drug out and shot.”

In Crimes Past, Mac Faraday is investigating that cold case that haunts him. It is a crime from the past and Mac knows that his mistake during the initial investigation was trusting his colleagues—his fellow detectives who were in fact suspects. Years later, he has to face the sad fact that one of his friends is a cold-blooded killer.

But David O’Callaghan is also dealing with his own “crime” from years ago when a woman from his past re-emerges.

How many hours a day do you write?

I “write” full time. Having said that, I don’t work on my books full time. I wish I could. That is when I’m happiest. My days, business hours, are spent working on the business side of promotion, website, answering emails. That all takes so much time that I am back to where I started with actually working on my upcoming books in the evenings and on the weekends. It averages to about four hours a day in which I am actually writing.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Oh, yes! That is one of the fun things about being a writer. Often, they are things that only friends and family may discover because they know me. Other times, they are cute little “Easter eggs.” For example, in the short story The Gnarly Rehabilitation Program, which is in the novella and short story collection Spring Thaw, the two bad guys are named Bert and Ernie. Yes, it was a nod to the Sesame Street duo when I named these two humorous dog nappers.

Speaking of Bert and Ernie, how do you select the names of your characters?

I have to confess, that is that hardest part of being a writer. Many times, I will change character names while in the final stages of editing. I have even changed a character’s name while proofreading. I try very had to make it a rule to not have too many characters who name begins with the same first letter. There is a reason or that. Subconsciously, readers only look at the first letter of a name and keep on going—their eyes fly right over the name. If you have too many characters whose names begin with the same letter, then the reader needs to slow down to actually read the name.

So, when writing a Mac Faraday mystery, I have to steer away from names beginning with M, D, A, B, and G. Of course, I don’t always succeed.

Then, I will finish the first draft and find that a name does not fit with how the character has turned out. So, I begin searching for another name that fits their personality.

Sometimes, if it is a minor character, I’ll just pop over to google news websites to see who is in the headlines that day and steal some variation of someone’s name. Notice that there is a family in Crimes Past whose last name is Johansson. That’s because Scarlett Johansson was in the news on the day I was looking for a last name. That’s no lie! Really, I named that family after the Black Widow!

Speaking of Google, do you ever google yourself?

Now that you’ve suggested it. Whew! What a relief. I have an author friend who said that every time she googled herself she saw that there was some woman with her name in California who had a very hard time staying out of jail.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

House cleaning. It would be very difficult. It would be a supreme sacrifice on my part, but I am so devoted to my craft, that I would be totally willing to give up vacuuming, scrubbing, and polishing our floors. I know deep down in my heart that I would be such a better writer if I didn’t have to clean my house.

 What are you working on now?

I am currently working on the fourth Lovers in Crime Mystery, The Root of Murder:

Homicide Detective Cameron Gates learned long ago that there is no such thing as a typical murder case. Each mystery is special in its own right—especially for the family of the victim.

The homicide of a successful executive, husband, and father seems open and shut when the murder weapon is found in his estranged son-in-law’s possession. The circumstantial evidence is so damning that when J.J. Thornton agrees to act as the defendant’s public defender, he assumes his first murder case will be a loss.

Only the report of a missing husband proves that this case is not as open and shut as it seems. Strap on your seatbelts for a wild ride in this mystery that all started with a simple DNA test for a genealogy website.

Look for The Root of Murder to be released in early 2019.

Thanks so much Lauren. I look forward to reading The Root of Murder!

Book Details:

Book Title: Crimes Past by Lauren Carr
Series: A Mac Faraday Mystery (Volume 13)
Category: Adult fiction, 322 pages
Genre: Murder Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: October 16, 2018
Tour dates: Nov 12 to Dec 14, 2018
Content Rating: PG (mild violence and sexual suggestion)

MY REVIEW

Book Description:

It’s a bittersweet reunion for Mac Faraday when members of his former homicide squad arrive at the Spencer Inn. While it is sweet to attend the wedding of a former colleague’s daughter, it is a bitter reminder that the mother of the bride had been the victim of a double homicide on her own wedding night.

The brutal slaying weighing heavy on his mind, Mac is anxious to explore every possibility for a break in the cold case—even a suggestion from disgraced former detective Louis Gannon that one of their former friends was the killer.

When the investigator is brutally slain, Mac Faraday rips open the cold case with a ruthless determination to reveal which of his friends was a cold-blooded murderer.

 

“Lauren Carr is a master storyteller who combines the humor of Janet Evanovich and the investigative skills of Patricia Cornwell. She is always at the top of my reading list.”
– Sherry Fundin, Fundinmental

“Lauren Carr could give Agatha Christie a run for her money!”
– Charlene Mabie-Gamble, Literary R&R

“Lauren Carr’s books are never boring, that’s for sure. They entertain, give us a good mystery to dig into, keep the reader guessing, give us a few good laughs and make us eager for the next book. Warning: Lauren Carr’s series are addictive, so be ready to read more than just one book!”
– Laura Fabiani, Library of Clean Reads

“She is an amazing author that draws you into the story, makes you fall in love with the characters (they feel like family!) and keeps you guessing right to the very end.”
– Working Mommy Journal

“Lauren Carr does a good job of moving the quirky storyline along nicely with an abundance of witty dialogue. And you have no idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are until the end.”
– Every Free Chance Book Reviews

To read reviews, please visit Lauren Carr’s page on iRead Book Tours.

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Three Days To Forever
• Kill And Run
• Cancelled Vows
• Candidate For Murder
• Killer In The Band
• A Fine Year For Murder
• Twofer Murder
• Ice
• Murder by Perfection

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