Great Escapes Interview: A Daughter's Doubt by Richard Audry (#RichardAudry)

A Daughter's Doubt

Mary MacDougall Mysteries, #3
Richard Audry

Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Conger Road Press
Date of Publication: March 15, 2016
Number of pages: 204
Cover Design: Steve Thomas
Cover Art: "Strolling along the Seashore" by Joaquin Sorolloa

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN
$2.99 on Kindle or Free with Kindle Unlimited

Mary MacDougall’s first case of 1902 seems simple enough.

Just before the 19-year-old heiress leaves for a summer holiday on Mackinac Island with her Aunt Christena, she’s hired to stop in a little town along the way and make inquiries. Did Agnes Olcott really die there of cholera? Or were there darker doings in Dillmont?

Mary’s mentor, Detective Sauer, thinks it’s merely a case of bad luck for the dead woman. But Mrs. Olcott’s daughter suspects her detested stepfather played a hand in her mother’s untimely death.

With the reluctant help of her aunt and her dear friend Edmond Roy, the young detective struggles to reveal the true fate of Agnes Olcott. As she digs ever deeper, the enemy Mary provokes could spell disaster for her and the people she loves. But in the end, it’s the only way to banish a daughter’s doubt.

First 2 books: 
The first two Mary MacDougall mystery novellas: A Pretty Little Plot & The Stolen Star can be found in A Mary MacDougall Mystery Duet. Available on Amazon for just $2.99 or Free with Kindle Unlimited.

Interview: 
Please welcome Richard Audry to Musings and Ramblings for a little Author Q&A.

*Offers Richard a cup of coffee with cream and a plate of blueberry muffins.*

Thanks so much for inviting me. The coffee tastes great and muffins look scrumptious. Let’s roll up our sleeves now and have some fun.

What is the most challenging part of the writing process for you?
If I have a good outline/plot for a book, a good roadmap, I can easily write a thousand words a day, sometimes two thousand. But over the course of six novels and two novellas in the past four years, I’ve found getting the plot/outline in good working order is the hardest thing to do. I’ve read a number of books about plotting and searched the Internet for the best advice. But I find it almost always comes down to dozens of hours of slow, grinding work—until all the pieces fit smoothly. I’d like to find an easier way, but haven’t so far.

What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
The big mistake I made was hopping genres—from PI mystery to middle grade to cozy to historical mystery. I should have picked one series and stuck with it for four, five, six books. The problem is, readers don’t want to invest time and money in series with just two or three books. They want to know there are at least a few more to read. So, I’d tell any newbie to find a genre that you enjoy that sells well. If you write in some obscure genre, you’re handicapping yourself from the start. But don’t expect any real success until you’ve written at least four or five books. That’s a lot of work to do on spec, I know, but that’s the way it is. Of course, even then it’s a big gamble. Selling books is hard.

What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
The books I’m proudest of are the first two volumes in the Johnny Graphic Adventures trilogy. It’s my middle grade series. They were the hardest to write. In addition to writing entertaining characters, I needed to create a world where ghosts existed partly in the physical world and interacted with the living. One of my Amazon reviewers called me the “Isaac Asimov of ghosts.” So I think I did a pretty good job.

Where is your dream vacation and why?
Back to Paris with my wife, for two or three weeks of roaming and dining. We adore Paris and love to take day trips from there to places like Giverny and Chartres. My French has gotten pretty rusty, so it’s time to give it a workout again. And why is it that baguettes bought here in the U.S. are never as crisp and tasty as the real French baguettes?

My 5 Favorite Mystery/Crime TV Shows List
5. Midsomer Murders—a dangerous place, Midsomer County, but nothing happens that DCI Barnaby can’t handle. 
4. Remington Steele—frothy, funny, romantic mysteries with Stephanie Zimbalist and the young Pierce Brosnan. (Was such a big fan, I sent away for an autographed photo.) 
3. Prime Suspect—the seminal British procedural that changed the way we look at cop shows, starring the great Helen Mirren. 
2. Poirot—featuring David Suchet’s peerless portrayal of Agatha Christie’s classic sleuth. 
1. The Wire—a riveting and powerful treatment of the drug wars in a major American city. So real it hurts.

Thanks for sharing with us today. Any final words of wisdom to leave us with?

Speaking as both a reader and a writer, I think we’re in a golden age of genre fiction. Lots of new books are available, many of them very good—from both the mainstream press and independent authors. The trick is finding the ones that you’ll enjoy reading. And it’s in blogs such as Musings and Ramblings and Escape with Dollycas where you can find the best tips for tracking down those great reads.

Giveaway: 

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Author Bio:

Richard Audry is the pen name of D. R. Martin. As Richard Audry, he is the author of the King Harald Canine Cozy mystery series and the Mary MacDougall historical mystery series. Under his own name he has written the Johnny Graphic middle-grade ghost adventure series, the Marta Hjelm mystery, Smoking Ruin, and two books of literary commentary: Travis McGee & Me; and Four Science Fiction Masters.

To connect with the author online:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads