We are delighted to welcome Diane Schulman to Omnimystery News today.
Diane's late husband Martin is the author of The Conscience (CreateSpace; November 2014 trade paperback) and she is fulfilling a dream by having his mystery novel published posthumously. (You can read an excerpt from it, here.) We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Diane to talk more about the book.
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Omnimystery News: What did Martin like best about the lead character of The Conscience?
Diane Schulman: What Martin liked about the lead character, Jack Goodwin, was his strong belief in justice and fairness and his complete willingness to go out of his way to help those in need, from something as simple as helping a child from being inadvertently knocked down by an overly enthusiastic puppy, to becoming immediately involved in helping the sheriff solve a mysterious theft and murder without even giving a thought to any harm that could come his way.
OMN: Into which genre would you place this book?
DS: I have characterized Martin's book as a mystery novel, thriller with romance. Since this is Martin's first (and sadly his last) novel, time will tell. I do feel as an avid and varied reader (emphasis on mysteries) that it is advantageous to know the type of book and genre as a good starting point.
OMN: What were some of Martin's outside interests?
DS: Martin was an artist who painted many beautiful paintings that I and the family treasure dearly. One of his (and my) favorite paintings is the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and he decided to feature this prominently in the book. He also was very interested in computing for many years (on a personal basis) and also designed his own website. I believe this is why he had Jack be an expert in computing and gave him the career as an Internet Web Marshall (like just about everyone, Martin was not fond of hacking or, anyone taking advantage of people online, or anywhere for that matter).
OMN: When did he start writing The Conscience?
DS: For many years it was Martin's dream to write a mystery novel. One day he sat down at his computer and started furiously typing. Not wanting to interrupt him or disrupt his flow (he was typing way faster than usual and I was curious) I impatiently waited until he told me what he was doing. He was writing his first mystery novel! This was one of the most happiest I'd ever seen him in a work atmosphere. He did not outline a plot or anything like that. He just kept writing. He let the story flow and develop.
OMN: Did any specific author or authors influence how Martin wrote?
DS: One of Martin's influences was Lee Child (of the Jack Reacher books). You will see some of this in the descriptive writings of the particularly tense scenes of the book. He was also a fan of Clive Cussler, James Patterson (the Alex Cross series), and David Baldacci (we both were fans of these authors — I still am).
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This is the first novel by Martin Schulman who was known as the Father of Karmic Astrology with more than 50 books published in English and foreign editions worldwide and sales eclipsing over hundreds of thousands of copies sold. The Conscience, a mystery novel encompassing themes of karma and redemption, was Martin's fulfillment of a lifetime work empowering audiences of all kinds to enrich their lives with the lessons from this story. Unfortunately, he passed from this earth plane recently.
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The Conscience by Martin Schulman
A Novel of Suspense
Publisher: CreateSpace
Jack is on vacation from his job as Internet Web Marshal. He has come to a small museum to see a special exhibit of paintings on loan from The Hague in The Netherlands. No sooner does he meet a woman viewing a 17th century masterpiece, when all hell breaks loose. The museum's ceiling is falling and Jack becomes embroiled in the most dangerous and baffling case of a mysterious murder.
Without any weapon or clue to go on, we soon find out that nothing is at it seems, as Jack gets drawn into a mystifying web of intrigue that spans two continents and three centuries, unexpectedly leading him into the beautiful eyes of Sophia who brings him to a deep transformational experience he wasn't prepared for.
This fast-paced mystery action thriller gives us a glimpse into what happens when a billionaire's drastic decision causes 5,200-mile shock waves that set the paths of the cleverest evil genius and the unsuspecting lives of innocents on a collision course. All are bound together by Johannas Vermeer's Dutch Master Painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and are forced to face the enormous inimitable power of The Conscience.
— The Conscience by Martin Schulman
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