This month, author, Linda Weaver Clarke visits to share about her latest book, Mystery on the Bayou.
Linda, I’m so pleased to have you back to my home on the web! What is this book about?

Mystery on the Bayou is set in Louisiana. While at the beach, Amelia is approached by a woman who is concerned about the son she gave up for adoption sixteen years ago. Millie has been having nightmares that make her fear he is in danger. She petitioned the court to view the sealed records but was refused. Will Amelia and Rick be able to convince the courts to help them? If her son is in danger, will they get there in time?

I’ve seen on your website that you travel the U.S. teaching people to write family history and autobiography. How did you get into that genre?

I have always loved writing. After writing my ancestors’ and parents’ biographies, I couldn’t stop writing. So I turned to historical fiction. Since my ancestors’ stories were so vivid in my mind, I actually gave some of their exciting experiences to the main characters. So my ancestors were the inspiration for getting me started. My first historical romance, Melinda and the Wild West, actually won an award for the Reviewers Choice Award. After writing five romances, I turned to mysteries. All my stories are family friendly.

You write in several categories of fiction. I’ve heard that sometimes agents or publishers will advise an author to stick to one genre. Did this ever happen to you? How did you handle it?

After writing several historical romances, I wanted to expand and learn how to write something new such as mysteries. I think it was the challenge of trying something new that got my interest. The writing process between romance and mystery is quite a change for me with a completely different mind set. With romance, you plan out the plot around the meeting of a couple. As you write, you develop some sort of charisma between the characters, making the reader feel excited that one day they're going to fall in love. You, as the reader, know the outcome. But with a mystery, the reader is in the dark. The author has to come up with a plot that no one can figure out until towards the end of the story. In a way, it’s more challenging.

Linda, how did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

Amelia, a young detective, has to find a woman’s son who she gave away for adoption sixteen years ago. The reason for finding him is because he may have a life-threatening disorder that is hereditary. Why did I choose this theme? My grandson has Marfan’s Syndrome. We found out when he was only four years old. My daughter was devastated, but she has learned to deal with it and is teaching him to be careful when he plays. Children, who have this disorder and don’t know they have it, don’t live long. The reason why is because they need special medication for their heart and need to learn what they can and cannot do. Those who take care of themselves can live a long happy life. To learn more, visit www.marfan.org/about/signs.

Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?

I have visited Louisiana two times to give my Family Legacy Workshops at several libraries. I met so many wonderful people and their southern accents were intriguing to me. When I visited Shreveport, Louisiana with my husband, we saw a beautiful bayou that was indescribable. I couldn’t get enough of it. We also saw 120 alligators at Gators and Friends, something I’ve never seen in person before so I was completely fascinated with them. We also ate three pounds of boiled crawdads, which was something new for us. I loved it, but of course we ordered mild and not spicy ones. I learned how to shell them, so that was an interesting thing for us. They were delicious. Being from the Western states, fried green tomatoes, crawdads, and alligator are unusual foods, but such a fun meal to try.

Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were influential in your work? What impact have they had on your writing?

Serena Clarke is one author that I look up to. She writes fantasy romance. What intrigues me most is that I can picture myself in the story. Her descriptions, her characters, and even the scenery seems so real to me. She has written a trilogy called The Isian Series: The Treasure of Isian, The Alliance of Isian, and The Secret of Isian. They seem to grab my interest right off. The first one has a lot of adventure and that was something I wanted to have in my writing. The Alliance of Isian was intriguing because it was about an arranged marriage and for some reason that held my interest and I hated to have it end.

Linda, what do you feel makes your book stand out from the crowd?

I wanted to write a cozy mystery series that was unlike any mystery written. I didn’t want it to be a “who-done-it” series, but something different. Amelia Moore is a detective who specializes in missing persons. With each book in this series, I try to create a story surrounding a missing person and make it intriguing at the same time.

What projects are you working on at the present?

The Lighthouse Secret is the next book in this series. Rick Bonito’s uncle supposedly drowned five years ago and his body was never found, but something did not seem right about the report. Uncle Antonio was an excellent swimmer. His disappearance seems quite suspicious to Rick’s father. He never felt the complete truth had come out about his brother. It is now up to Amelia and Rick to find out the truth about his uncle. Is he really alive or what really happened?

Where can readers find you on the internet?

You can visit my website called Make Believe at www.lindaweaverclarke.com to read
sample chapters. I also have a blog where I write about my books at
https://lindaweaverclarke.wordpress.com. Another blog is where I interview authors and have book giveaways at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com.
My books are available in print form and e-book at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If you go to http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/purchasebook.html, then that site will lead you to the correct bookstore with one click.

Linda, thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us. It was a pleasure having you back!

If you would like to win a copy of Mystery on the Bayou, use the Contact page and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter the drawing is March 24th.