Kat Henry Doran/Veronica Lynch: Overdue by Jo A. Hiestand

Wild Women Authors features author Jo A. Hiestand and Overdue, the latest in The McLaren Mysteries series, a contemporary police procedural set in Derbyshire England. First up is cold case detective, Michael McLaren.

Good morning, Michael. Tell us a bit about Overdue. My best mate, Jamie Kydd, asked me to help solve a string of murders plaguing the local populace in Derbyshire, England. The killings have been going on for three months, with one death a month. The fourth murder, unless it is overdue for some reason, will most likely happen in two weeks. The police, as you might expect, are trying their hardest to identify the killer and bring an end to these deaths. Jamie realizes time is galloping by and realizes the Constabulary needs help. He persuades me to look into the case, believing I’ll be successful in nabbing the murderer.

What made you choose dry stone wall repair for a career? First, you might want to know that I’m a former police detective. I worked in Staffordshire Constabulary for many years and attained the rank of Detective Inspector. I quit my job over a great injustice done to a friend of mine and took my anger out on the senior investigating officer, whom I threw into a convenient rose bush. I resigned from the Force that week. Now lacking a pay packet, I needed a way to keep body and soul together, so I took to repairing dry stone walls. It was the perfect occupation at the time, for I needed solitude to get over my anger and hurt. The job allowed me to work alone, with no one looking over my shoulder or bossing me.

I fell into investigating cold cases when a woman sought me out, knew of my former police career, and asked me to find out who murdered her friend a year prior. I still count dry stone wall repair work as my main occupation, but I investigate cold cases when asked. Jamie gives me a hard time occasionally, joking that I sometimes seem reluctant to take one on. That, despite my complaining, I can’t turn one down, or it’s like I revel in the investigation. He likens me to a wild boar gorging itself on carrion. I wish he had chosen a different simile.

Knowing what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with being a cold case investigator, or do something different? Without a doubt, I know I still would choose to look into cold cases. I feel the pain of the friends and family, not knowing who killed their loved one. I know what it feels like to wallow in the hurt and unfairness of the killer getting away with his crime. I want to help these people, bring justice to the victim. No one should have to suffer for years just to see their loved one’s killer caught.

What is your biggest fear? Blimey. One? I have three deep-seated fears, but to choose the most consuming... I would have to say that I’m afraid to love. My fiancée was murdered, and it nearly killed me emotionally and mentally. Beat me to where I was afraid to open my heart, but I’m succeeding, slowly but surely. I have to. Jamie’s given me an ultimatum: find a lady and fall in love, or he’ll see that I’m stranded on an island, so no one has to be subjected to my ill mood. Falling in love seems the more sensible thing to do. I’m not crazy about coconut.

Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Captain Horatio Hornblower, of the British Royal Navy. We share many of the same traits, though I wasn’t aware of that for quite a while until several people happened to mention it quite offhand. I like the historical aspect of Hornblower. That’s what first drew me to reading the books and admiring the character. Some of my mates say he and I share the qualities of courage and intelligence. I don’t know about that, about how courageous or smart I am, but I admit we both have a keen sense of duty and are impatient to get on with the job of work, to get to the heart of the problem.

My bad temper pokes through if things aren’t going smoothly or quickly enough to suit me. My current lady friend calls my ill moods my “growlings.” The word fits, for I’m not particularly pleasant to be around at those times. In fact, I’ve been tempted to give her train fare so she can distance herself from me. She and Jamie each point out that Hornblower and I battle with our fears and belittle our achievements. I acknowledge I do have fears and I do hesitate at times to attack what needs to be done due to those anxieties. I guess that could be right. And though Hornblower has great skill as a whist player, I’ve never seen the game, so don’t pit me against him. I’d lose my shirt.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? It’s fairly well known. The instance of this advice-giving happened eighteen years ago, when I was twenty. Just out of police college. I was working my first case and was chastised for doing something differently from the approved procedure. Later, when I told my dad about the tongue lashing, he rattled off an Oscar Wilde quotation to me. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Jamie agrees. He says I’d make a ghastly Marilyn Monroe.

Thank you for this time with us, Michael. You made us smile. Now we’d like to chat with Jo.

Which writer or character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? First of all, mystery writer Ngaio Marsh. She was one of the four Queens of the Golden Age of mystery writing. I love her characters and her scene descriptions. I don’t copy her style, but I think those elements are in the back of my mind, and influence my storyline. Perhaps there is a dash of Mary Stewart and Mignon Eberhart in my work too.

With regard to research, where did you start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing the original concept? The original concept for “Overdue” hasn’t changed. My research rarely influences the storyline of any book once I have thought of it. I have it plotted and then look up what I need to know: moonrise times in Derbyshire, the make of a distinct older sports car, distances from and to specific places, the history/dates of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s campaign in Derbyshire, types of pub grub, job description of a water bailiff and a nature conservation officer... Things like that. For “Overdue,” I believe I began the research by looking up historical events in Derbyshire so I could get the placement of the crimes correct.

There is so much history in Britain, it was just a matter of choosing places and then plopping those places into the story. The research never interferes with the story; it bolsters it by providing the details that give it and me as the author credibility.

Tell us a bit about your publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them; how is the submission process; what is the turn-around time from date of query to date of release? Five of my first McLaren mystery novels were published by The Wild Rose Press. I was given their name when my publisher at the time folded due to the death of one of the partners. The surviving partner was very generous, having contacted the president of The Wild Rose Press before passing on their name to us authors. I queried, was accepted, and my first few previously published novels (from the now defunct publisher) were revamped and put out by The Wild Rose Press.

Then I began indie publishing novels after these first ones were out, and I’ve been doing that ever since. On average, it takes my editor at least a month to run through one of my manuscripts. In the meantime, I create the cover, write the book synopsis, and format the manuscript into e-book, trade paper, and hard cover editions. I create some accompanying graphics for social media postings and make the book trailer and plop that up on my YouTube channel, as well as posting it on various Facebook pages. I would guess the process—from emailing the manuscript until the book’s acceptance for publication and appearing in the online booksellers—takes two months.

What are you reading right now? ‘Rogue Heroes’, by Ben Macintyre. Pardon me if anyone reading this knows of it, but it tells the history of the SAS, the Special Air Service, created in WWII, and how it transformed from its inception as a secret unit behind enemy lines and their raids into enemy-held territory to becoming a special sabotage unit.

What's next for you? I finished the first draft of the next McLaren mystery, ‘The Cottage,’ toward the end of April. The second draft and my editor’s work (plus a read-through by a friend to make sure the “fight scene” is accurate) will probably see that project completed by mid to end of June. I have a tentative publication date in mind for the end of June, depending on the aforementioned chores.

After ‘The Cottage,’ I hope to write the next book in my Cookies & Kilts cozy mystery series. The title of that book is ‘Crumbs of Defeat.’ If that story doesn’t come easily to me at this time, I’ll put it on the back burner and try my hand and brain at a romantic suspense, which I have yet to plot or even think of characters. In between or during any of that, I’ll be receiving chapters of the next audiobook, which—oddly enough—will be ‘Overdue.’ I listen to those chapters and catch any errors, which have been practically nonexistent in the previous books that narrator Callum Hale has done. Anyway, that’s the plan for the next few months.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to chat with your readers. I appreciate it, and it’s been fun!

To learn more about Jo Hiestand and the stories she creates go to: www.johiestand.com and . . .

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jo-a-hiestand

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jo.hiestand.3

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AnglophileJo

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/joahiestand

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/JoHiestand

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoHiestand

Website: http://www.johiestand.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MysteryAuthorinSTL

To purchase Overdue, go to:

Hard cover – https://shorturl.at/dlAZ8