I'm happy to welcome Marlene M. Bell to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Marlene writes the New Zealand Cottage Mystery series. Copper Waters is the fourth book in the series.
Kathy: Annalisse Drury is an antiquities expert. Do like antiques? Do you have a favorite time period?
MMB: Yes! I do like antiques. There were a couple of years we didn’t have sheep to take care of and could travel during the early 1980s. My husband and I took a cross-country driving vacation in search of antiques from the Northwest throughout the Midwestern states. (Specifically looking for curved glass hutches.) We brought back two different versions.
My favorite time period is the Victorian Era, 1837 – 1901 because the furniture was more ornate.
Kathy: In Copper Waters Annalisse travels to New Zealand. Why choose the South Island for this mystery?
MMB: I chose the Temuka area of New Zealand due to the sheep stations. There are a few stations on the North Island, but the majority of the working stations are located on the larger body of land. The crime takes place on a sheep station, and if I were to travel to New Zealand personally, I’d visit that portion of the country. We considered going to a sheep station for a honeymoon, but the cost was prohibitive as was the three weeks away that we needed for such a long trip.
Kathy: What first drew you to crime fiction?
MMB: “Write what you know.” I love a good mystery, especially those produced for a British audience. The only problem with UK mystery stories is the slow, lumbering way they move and how long the story can draw out to an ending. My mysteries twist and turn, but do this quickly in a conversational style. I’m an avid reader of all kinds of mysteries.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
MMB: Yes! My series books cover a wide range and might be considered cross-genre to some. Book one, Stolen Obsession, is heaviest in Romantic Suspense between the main players, Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos. Book two begins the changeover to stronger in suspense and mystery with a little romance. Books three and four concentrate more in the realm of international mystery with Annalisse and Alec trying to find their way as a couple.
In 2020, I released my illustrated children’s book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! in eBook and hardcover. Later in March 2023, I added a paperback version that’s become quite popular. https://tinyurl.com/2p83mkut The Mia and Nattie book is based on the true story of the bottle lamb we raised in the laundry room, and how she became a part of the family with a job in the flock.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
MMB: An antiquities expert lands in the middle of mystery and mayhem that knows no country boundaries. Trouble awaits a worldly couple as they uncover clues to a myriad of murders by villains of all types. Appearances are deceiving.
In the first four books, Annalisse and Alec travel to several countries. Greece and Turkey from their home turf of New York, in addition to Southern Italy and New Zealand with New England somewhere in the middle. Imagine the smells and sounds of a particular place, quiet and secluded or bustling with crowds. It’s my job to make readers believe they are at the scene as a witness watching everything play out in front of them. The Annalisse series covers some places I’ve never been to in person. To write realistic scenes and descriptions, I get my information from those who have actually been to these locations.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
MMB: The character I find the easiest to write is the detective friend in the series, Bill Drake. Throughout three books, he’s the mediator between main characters, Annalisse and Alec. He’s also the experienced sleuth who keeps the amateur detective, Annalisse, from getting into predicaments too deeply. Readers are drawn to Bill and have asked me to write a spin-off series with him and his partner. It’s possible he’ll have a larger role in upcoming books because of his popularity, and because his character seems to flow on the paper as I write.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
MMB: What began as a woman’s fiction romance of one standalone book, has changed to the international series due to adding too many subplots to Stolen Obsession and getting the all-important reader feedback. In my case, all reviews on that first book have been a blessing, both good and bad. You could say that my first book turned out to be the learning curve. I had so many genres going on, I had to decide what kind of book I wanted to write. Readers of romance didn’t want the mystery elements and hard-core mystery readers didn’t want any part of a romance between Anna and Alec. Book one released in 2018 and it was reworked in the summer of 2022 to the best form of “happy medium” for all readers.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
MMB: How would the author know if their work was good enough for the masses if the work wasn’t published? I wanted to know if this artist and photographer, (it’s also what I do,) could also translate over to a decent writer, and how difficult it would be. I found out quickly that writing isn’t for the faint of heart, and there are rules…lots of rules. It takes dedication, editing, and rewriting with only the best help by your side in order to succeed.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
MMB: Agatha Christie, Louise Penny, Shana Abe, and Karen Rose
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
MMB: Murder at Kensington Palace (A Wrexford & Sloan mystery)
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
MMB: Since the age of 6, I’ve sketched and painted, and been involved in all things in the art world. I love wildlife photography and taking pictures of our Horned Dorset breeding sheep. My photos have been published in several sheep magazines, especially while we were showing our sheep at county fairs and national sales throughout the country. I use these talents in my company catalog (Since 1985) and online at Ewephoric.us. I began writing in my 50’s. Much later. There are a few other interests on a much smaller scale like rug hooking in the wool made from our sheep.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
MMB: Cat food, pasta, homemade tomato sauce, and salad dressing
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
MMB: Yes! I’ve started a new book unrelated to the Annalisse series. It’s a standalone mystery with a completely different set of characters. Once the new book is published, I’ll get back to Book #5 in the current series. The title is a secret!
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
MMB: I like a challenge! Writing is out in left-field for me because I thought artwork would be how the public might eventually come to know me. My sheep art and photography are too narrow a field, I realized. There are many more readers than art collectors, too! All of my pastimes involve quiet time and being alone to create. Even though I never dreamed I’d be writing books, ever, I love immersing myself into other worlds in make believe point of views.
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Copper Waters: A New Zealand Cottage Mystery (Annalisse Series) by Marlene Bell
About Copper Waters
Cozy Mystery 4th in Series
Setting - New Zealand - South Island
Ewephoric Publishing (October 7, 2022)
Paperback: 342 pages
A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.
Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.
Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.
But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.
Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.
The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.
As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.
About Marlene M. Bell
Marlene M. Bell is an eclectic mystery writer, artist, photographer, and she raises sheep on a ranch in wooded East Texas with her husband, Gregg.
Marlene’s Annalisse series boasts numerous honors including the Independent Press Award for Best Mystery (Spent Identity,) and FAPA— Florida Author’s President’s Gold Award for two other installments, (Stolen Obsession and Scattered Legacy.) Her mysteries with a touch of romantic suspense are found at her websites or at online retail outlets.
She also offers the first of her children's picture books, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! Based on true events from the Bell’s ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb.
Author Links:
Author Website: https://www.marlenembell.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/marlenembell
(Personal Page) https://www.facebook.com/marlene.bell.3194
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ewephoric @ewephoric
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/marlene-m-bell
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17642396.Marlene_M_Bell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlenemysteries/
Purchase Links - Amazon - Barnes & Noble
Sounds like a book I will enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Kathy and her readers for the Copper Waters interview and spotlight for book #4 in the Annalisse Series.
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