A Conversation with Mystery Author Marie Moore

with Marie Moore

We are delighted to welcome mystery author Marie Moore to Omnimystery News today, courtesy of Cozy Mystery Book Reviews, which is coordinating her current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find her schedule here.

Marie's second "Sidney Marsh" murder mystery is Game Drive (Camel Press, April 2013 trade paperback and ebook formats).

We recently had a chance to talk to Marie about her series. And we don't want you to miss out on the opportunity to win one of four terrific prizes courtesy of Cozy Mystery Marketing; click on the banner at the end of this post for more details.

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Omnimystery News: Introduce us to your series character, Sidney Marsh.

Photo provided courtesy of
Marie Moore

Marie Moore: Sidney Marsh is a young, Mississippi-born, New York-based travel agent. Sidney has insatiable curiosity and terrible judgment when it comes to men. I chose her as a recurring character because I thought readers would enjoy following her adventures as she travels the world in her career. Her best friend and colleague, Jay Wilson, is also a recurring character. I expect Sidney and Jay to remain basically the same people over time, but know that they will change somewhat as we all do, as they are affected by external forces and circumstance. My characters, once they are born in my head, seem to take on a life and will of their own. Predicting what they might do or not do is difficult

OMN: Do you consider your series to be written for "cozy" readers?

MM: Yes. There are advantages in marketing a series as cozies, for there are many terrific and dedicated cozy fans, including me. However, marketing any book in a set genre or sub-genre can be limiting, as it may restrict the browsing audience.

OMN: Tell us about your writing process.

MM: My characters, once they appear, take on a life of their own. I am never sure where they will take me. I expect that my editor would prefer that I outline, but that just doesn't work for me. When I start a book I have a vague idea of where it is going but mostly I am just along for the ride.

OMN: In reading your biography, it seems you and Sidney Marsh have a lot in common.

MM: In writing my travel mysteries, I am extremely fortunate in that I have actually been to the places I describe. For fifteen years, I owned and managed a retail travel agency. During that time I sailed on over nineteen cruises and visited over sixty countries. I also lived in New York, where Sidney lives, in Manhattan, for three years. And, like Sidney, I am a native Mississippian. However, while this experience is certainly invaluable, I do not base my characters on anyone I know because I find that to be intrusive. It also retards the imagination. This series is definitely not autobiographical.

OMN: Even if not strictly autobiographical, do any of your first-hand experiences come into play in your storylines?

MM: Yes, they do. On my travels I keep journals and take lots of notes and photos and I refer back those as I write, mostly to avoid errors or invoke mempries. I also fact-check on the internet … that marvelous, time-saving tool. I have a huge collection of travel books, brochures, and maps that are useful as well. In writing Game Drive, I did a great deal of media research into the horrors that are currently occurring in Africa as the elephant and rhino populations are systematically decimated for profit by poachers.

OMN: Are the settings of your books based on real places?

MM: My books are set in fictional places — for example, Leopard Dance in Game Lodge — within real places, in this case South Africa. Working in this way allows me to take whatever liberties I want in making up my setting, but also gives it an authentic feel. I try to make the setting seem as real as possible by adding authentic details. Details are so important. If they are right, it makes the experience rich for the reader. If they are wrong, it throws the reader right out of the story.

There certainly is no ship on the seas named Rapture of the Deep, but in Shore Excursion, I knew I had to get the general details of an ocean cruise correct, as Sidney sails with her High Steppers from England through Scandinavia to Russia.

OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?

MM: As a child I read anything I could get my hands on, reading under the covers with a flashlight after "lights-out". I love reading and I came from a reading family. My childhood favorites were classics, like The Secret Garden and Swiss Family Robinson, but I also loved Nancy Drew, Sue Barton, and Cherry Ames, and there may be a bit of them in Sidney.

OMN: What authors or books influenced how you write today?

MM: I learned a lot from Lawrence Block's Telling Lies For Fun and Profit, and Stephen King's On Writing. I think both those books contain tons of excellent advice for the mystery writer.

OMN: Let's move over to other kinds of entertainment. What kinds of films do you enjoy watching?

MM: I prefer independent films to blockbusters and can't stand computer generated extras and laugh tracks. The late great Robert Altman's films, like The Player and M*A*S*H are at the top of my favorites list. I also love his Cookie's Fortune, which is set in my home town. I do not use films as inspiration for my books. I would love, however, for my books to be made into film. Can't you just see Sidney and Jay on the big screen?

OMN: But of course! What else do you enjoy doing?

MM: I love to cook and garden. I am interested in all kinds of history. I also paint, particularly murals.

So far, none of these activities have found their way into my books. As I said, Sidney is not me.

OMN: Who are your three favorite literary characters?

MM: Jane Eyre. Rebecca. Frodo.

OMN: And who are your three favorite mystery series characters.

MM: Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe. John D. McDonald's Travis McGee. Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford. (That's five; is that OK?)

OMN: Of course! And finally, create a Top 5 list on any topic.

MM: Top 5 places you should visit.

1. New York City. I love the energy and resources of The Big Apple.

2. New Orleans. For the food, the music, and the romance of The Big Easy.

3. Paris.

4. Buenos Aires.

5. Katmandu.

There are many others. These are just for starters … it's difficult to choose.

OMN: What's next for you?

MM: Sidney and Jay go to India and Nepal, in Open Jaw. I am working on it now and it should be out in early 2014.

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Marie Moore, like her series character Sidney Marsh, is a native Mississippian. She graduated from Ole Miss, married a lawyer in her hometown, taught junior high science, raised a family, and worked for a small weekly newspaper, first as a writer and later as Managing Editor. She wrote hard news, features and a weekly column, sold ads, did interviews, took photos, and won a couple of MS Press Association awards for some of her stories.

In 1985, Marie left the newspaper to open a retail travel agency. She completed agency and computer training with Airlines Reporting Corporation, Delta Airlines and TWA, earned her CTC (Certified Travel Counselor) designation, and joined the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). For the next 15 years, she managed her agency, sold travel, escorted group tours, sailed on 19 cruises, and visited over 60 countries. Much of the background of her books comes from that experience.

She and her husband now live in Memphis, TN and Holly Springs, MS. To learn more about the author and her books, visit her website at MarieMooreMysteries.com or find her on Facebook.

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Game Drive
Marie Moore
A Sidney Marsh Murder Mystery (2nd in series)

Sidney Marsh is a Mississippi-born, New York-based travel agent. She and her best friend and business partner, Jay Wilson, are struggling to remain standing in a world where the ground is shifting. Their boss at Itchy Feet Travel has a new scheme to attract customers — safari tour packages. He sends Sidney and Jay on a familiarization trip to Cape Town and safari country to check out the accommodations and confirm that the experience lives up to the hype in the brochures.

Sidney looks forward to the deluxe trip and so does Jay, despite his deathly fear of animals, both wild and domesticated. Their experience will be far wilder than either could have imagined. First Sidney stumbles upon a suspicious rendezvous and possible murder scene in Cape Town. After Sidney's pocket is picked on a cable-car ride up Table Mountain, she suspects that someone in their group is an imposter, a suspicion that is soon confirmed. At Leopard Dance — the luxury game lodge near Kruger National Park that serves as their base camp — one of the other agents on the "fam trip" turns up dead.

Sidney carries on a risky flirtation with a handsome Afrikaner, who may or may not be the latest manifestation of the "Marsh Curse", which seems to jinx her every relationship. And Sidney and Jay discover that they have far more to fear from predatory humans than wild animals.

      

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