Mirabel Townes has her share of enemies.
But when the wealthy heiress and lapsed
Scientologist drowns in her backyard hot
tub one August night, the police
pronounce it a tragic accident. Her
daughters, who suspect murder, refuse to
accept that ruling. Determined to unmask
their mother’s killer, they beg grief
therapist Cleo Sims, to accept them into
her Contact Project that helps people
communicate with dead loved ones. Unable to resist the pleas of ten-year-old
Angelica Townes, a self-professed Indigo
child, Cleo ignores warnings from her
police-detective lover and agrees to help
contact Mirabel. In the new-age mountain
community of Boulder, Colorado where
reality is often up-for-grabs, Cleo finds
herself entangled in a perilous and
perplexing search for truth. As she
explores Mirabel’s life and death, she
confronts serious issues of trust, tough
ethical dilemmas, life-threatening
challenges, and questions about the
influence of money on family loyalty and
love. In the process she makes a personal
discovery that will change her life forever.
Free sample:
Mirabel’s last day on
earth was a late August scorcher, but the heat melted away when the
sun slipped behind the mountains. The evening air had a delicious
mountain crispness and piney smell. Mirabel was overdue for a soak.
She dropped her clothes in a pile on the bathroom floor and slipped
into a terry robe. On her way through the empty kitchen, she grabbed
a chilled bottle of Chenin Blanc, a wine glass, and her ipod. Then
she headed out to the secluded hot tub in the backyard of her house
in the outskirts of Boulder.
“My favorite part of
the day,” she said to herself as she turned on the jets, tossed her
robe on a chair and slid into the bubbling hot water. “Yes,” she
sighed in relief as the throbbing in her muscles and joints eased.
Mirabel refused to accept limitations to her active life, despite
increasing arthritis pain. Some days it was all she could do to get
moving in the morning, but she pushed through the fog and kept her
commitments. Mirabel was proud that people who knew her said that
once she set her mind on something she moved forward like a rocket
and got things accomplished.
About the author:
| How would you describe your mystery novels, Too Near The Edge and Too Far Under?I call them character-driven mysteries with a paranormal twist and a humorous tone. The protagonist, Cleo Sims, a 37-year-old grief therapist, has accidentally discovered a process through which people can make contact with dead loved ones in an apparition chamber. Cleo uses this as part of a healing process to help grievers complete unfinished business with friends, family members and lovers who have died. But in Too Near the Edge, a young widow wants to use it to contact her husband's spirit to find out more about his death. The husband's fatal fall from the rim of the Grand Canyon was ruled an accident, but his wife believes he was murdered. |
| In Too Far Under a wealthy heiress drowns in her backyard. Again, the death is ruled an accident. But the woman's daughters refuse to accept that and beg Cleo to help them contact their mother's spirit to find out what really happened. |
| An amusing surfer-dude spirit named Tyler, who visits Cleo from beyond, gives her cryptic advice, and pushes her to “ride the wave,” enhances the paranormal aspect of the story. But I was very careful not to let Tyler or any spirits contacted in the apparition chamber solve the mystery. I think that would be "cheating" from a mystery reader's perspective. |
| Both novels are set in Boulder, Colorado, where I live. I use the high-tech, New Age, outdoorsy health-related aspects of Boulder to develop themes such as reality vs. illusion; good vs. evil uses of technology; and use vs. misuse of drugs and herbs. I also use real settings from Boulder to give the stories a rich sense of place. I love Boulder and I enjoy describing some of my favorite places like Eben Fine Park, Chautauqua, and the Pearl Street Mall, as well as some favorite restaurants, like the Rio Grande. I’m especially proud that readers and reviewers have said that reading my descriptions feels like a visit to Boulder. |
| How do you develop and differentiate your characters?I start with Cleo Sims, my main character who tells the story. She's a lot like me in her experience and the curious way she sees the world. She's a capable professional, but has her own personal issues with her boyfriend and her grandmother with Alzheimer's. She's funny, down-to-earth, caring, and strong willed; and she won't give up on a problem until she solves it. Then I create a group of characters who become suspects in the murder. I don't want to tell too much about them, but I'll reveal that I'm fascinated by abnormal and deviant behavior. I'm a social worker and I've studied psychology, so I use a lot of sources to develop characters who live on the edge in a variety of ways. |
| What was the inspiration for the paranormal aspects of the stories?As far back as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with the possibility of contacting the dead. My father got me interested when I was a teenager, and after that I read everything I could find. One of those books was Reunions by Raymond Moody, in which he talks about his research on visionary encounters with departed loved ones. I also love mysteries, and I’ve had some experience as a grief therapist for hospice, so I put all that together for these books. |
| Who do you see as your ideal reader?I've asked some readers who love my mysteries what they like and why they read them. My readers are puzzle solvers who like to try to figure out who did the murder. They like to be kept guessing throughout, and they like to be surprised in the end. They like interesting, complex characters; a variety of suspects who have believable motives; and a setting that draws them in and gives them a flavor of the local culture. |
| How did you start writing fiction?I was an academic for many years, so I wrote journal articles, grant proposals, training manuals, etc. at work, and outside work I wrote a couple of popular nonfiction self-help books. All that time I wanted to try writing fiction, but I worried that I'd never sell it. At one time I had an agent who told me that selling fiction is next to impossible. But over the years I learned a lot about the publishing industry, and I had my own business, so when digital printing and internet bookstores came along, I realized I could publish and sell a novel through my own business. So I wrote and published Too Near the Edge and its sequel Too Far Under, and I'm working on the third in the series. Fiction is more fun to write. You can make everything up. And, while I love research, I also love making up characters and stories. |
| What kind of research do you do for your fiction writing?Even when I'm writing fiction, I'm obsessed with facts. I do a lot of plotting, outlining and research before I start. And I write each character's backstory. I spend even more time on research as I write the story, because I like to have every detail as accurate as possible. For example, if I'm going to write about someone picking a lock, I find a site on the internet that gives me details of how to do it. Sometimes I end up spending hours researching details that end up being only a few sentences in the story. Probably not very efficient use of time, but my academic background never gives me a break on the research thing. |
| Who is your protagonist, Cleo, patterned after?Well, she’s me to some extent—or who I would have liked to have been if I’d been born when she was and had her guts. She has my sense of humor and slightly peculiar view of the world. |
| Why do you think your main character, Cleo Sims, is appealing?Well I like her because she’s like me only better. She cares about people and wants to help them, and she sets high standards for herself and her work. She struggles with the conflict between maintaining her professional reputation and doing what she feels is right. |
| Where did Tyler come from and why is he a surfer?Strangely, Tyler seems to have popped into my head fully formed much as he appeared to Cleo. I don’t actually know where he came from. I’ve never known a surfer or been surfing. But I did get a lot of help on his language from The Online Slang Dictionary. |
| Who are your other characters based on?No one in particular. I made them up, although they do have traits and habits I’ve noticed in people I’ve known. One of the things I found surprising since the book came out is that some friends and family have asked me if they are in the book. They’re not. But, even more surprising to me is that some of them want to be. That’s actually a little scary. What if they didn’t like themselves as characters? |
| What is your favorite quality about yourself?Curiosity. I love to learn new things and to find answers to my questions. Cleo is very curious, too. |
| Have you published any other books?Two—both nonfiction.Stress? Find Your Balance, co-authored with Allan Press and now in its 4th edition (2006).How to Deal With Your Parents When They Still Treat You Like A Child. Published by Berkley (1992). |
| What do you do in your spare time?When I’m not reading or writing, I love to get outside in the mountains to hike, ski or snowshoe. I also travel to Minneapolis frequently to spend time with my grandson, Eli, and granddaughter, Pauline. |
| What are your favorite books and why?My favorites change from day to day depending on my mood and what I’m reading at the moment. I love to read fiction and I’m always in the middle of a novel. Recently I loved The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo and the other two books in that trilogy, as well as The Hunger Games trilogy. I also love books involving time travel. For some reason the idea of time travel fascinates me. I've just read and enjoyed Stephen King's 11/23/63. Some of my other time travel favorites are Replay by Ken Grimwood, Time and Again by Jack Finney, A Shortcut in Time by Charles Dickinson, and The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. |
| What is your favorite genre and why?Mysteries. I think I like them because they move toward resolution and at the end all the reader’s questions are answered. I love Lee Child's Reacher books and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch and Butcher Boy novels. Those books are very different from mine, but the meticulous detail of what the characters know and the skills they have keeps me involved. I enjoy the stubborn, engaging, complex main characters those authors have created. |
| What do you think makes a writer successful and what are your goals as a writer?Most people would probably say a writer is successful if they sell a lot of books. But for me, success as a writer is being able to write something that readers find entertaining and/or valuable. It would be great to write a novel that becomes a bestseller, is made into a movie, and makes me rich. But my real goals are to write books that people like to read. |
| How have you marketed and promoted your work?All the usual/recommended stuff. Book signings, local publicity, reviews, press releases, bookmarks, postcards, website, press kit, video trailer, blogging, Yahoo groups, MySpace, FB, Twitter, GoodReads, LibraryThing, AuthorsDen. Good grief – it eats you alive! Especially when you do it all yourself like I do. I'm not doing the printed book publicity stuff anymore, like signings and bookmarks, because my focus no is mainly on selling ebooks. Still, marketing and promotion definitely eats into my writing time. |
| What’s in the future?Right now I'm working on the third Cleo and Tyler book. |
| Will you visit, or call, a bookclub that is discussing your book?I would be honored to be asked and would love to do it. |
My review:
Awesome book. It is a number two book in a series but the wonderful thing about this series is the books can be read as stand alones or as part of the series. Awesome idea Lynn. I loved the book and I totally would read it a second time. ((:
Stars I give this book:
***** (5)
(I have personally reviewed the product listed above. I did receive a free product to try out so I could evaluate and use it for my review. My thoughts & opinions in this review are honest and your opinions may be different than mine. I am not responsible for delivery of any giveaway items won from this blog, but if you have any questions about the item you have won, please email me and I will look into it.)
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