As seen in the April issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.
Uncaged: River City Dead is the fourth book in the Aggie Mundeen Mystery series. Can you tell readers more about this series?
Aggie Mundeen worked her way up to VP of a Chicago bank which was bought by a conglomerate. She also wrote the “Stay Young with Aggie,” column, answering readers’ questions about everything from fitness to relationships. When her bank stock shot sky high, she realized she no longer had to work there. She could write her column from anywhere. She was past thirty-five: this was her chance to start over. She knew someone in San Antonio, a detective who lost his wife and daughter in a tragic accident and had moved to the River City six months before. Sunshine, fiestas, and a man she knew and admired. Why not San Antonio?
Uncaged: Is this an open-end series or do you have a set amount of books planned for the series?
Aggie moves to River City, and decides that with her curiosity and intelligence, she can help Detective Sam Vanderhoven solve cases. He’s not always pleased, but by book four, River City Dead, they’ve reached a level of understanding and a new place in their dicey relationship. In the next book, a crisis shows them it’s time to re-evaluate. The forthcoming Aggie Mundeen Lake Mysteries veer in a slightly different direction. Stay tuned.
Uncaged: Are you planning on attending any conventions or in-person signings this year?
At Left Coast Crime, Reno, I’m on a panel discussing how important setting is to a mystery—like attending Fiesta on the San Antonio River Walk and stumbling on a crime.
At Malice Domestic in Washington, D. C., our panel talks about Sleuthing Duos: How do two people approach crime solving when they rarely think alike and tend to head in opposite directions?
Between these two conventions, I’ll be at San Antonio’s Emma Hotel, “An Evening with the Author,” and at the San Antonio Book Festival, ready to sign all of Aggie’s stories and visit with people who stop by.
Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?
Always. When I see how readers respond to Aggie and Sam, it helps me know how to approach their next adventure. When you post a review on Amazon or Goodreads or elsewhere, I feel like I’ve connected with you, and I love it!
Uncaged: Can you tell us what you have coming up next?
See number Two.
Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?
That they fell in love with Aggie. That they laughed aloud at some places in the book. That they would like to marry Sam.
Uncaged: What is your favorite part about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?
My favorite parts are imagining what might happen next to my beloved characters and talking with readers. My least favorite part is working on deadlines.
Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?
Read. Be with my family. Listen to music. Watch the lazy river go by. Daydream.
Uncaged: What is the hardest part of a book to write? What is the easiest? From start to finish, how long does it take to finish a complete book?
The hardest part is making the plot flow logically. It’s easy to assume things that I haven’t made clear to the reader. The easiest part for me is writing scenes between Aggie and Sam. Finishing a book can take six months, eight months, or a year. It depends on the complexity of the plot, the amount of research needed, how life intervenes when I thought I’d be writing, and deadlines set by the publisher.
Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?
I hope they love Aggie, Sam and the people they meet as much as I do.
Readers can find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorNancyG.West/
Twitter: @NancyGWest_
or visit me on my website: www.nancygwest.com If you sign up there for my newsletter, you can enter drawings for free books, and I promise intrigue and fun sent directly to your email. (I will never share your name or address.)
Thank you, Uncaged, for your questions. They uncaged my brain.
[symple_box color=”black” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Aggie Mundeen, weird, wise, and funny, popped up in the suspense novel Nancy was writing, Nine Days to Evil. Aggie demanded that Nancy write a story about her. Or maybe a series. Aggie, Detective Sam, and their friends are still in Nancy’s head. Each novel in the series has won or been nominated for an award. So there’s more to come. Stay tuned.[/symple_box]
