Mystery
Date Published: 9/25/23
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
After a young girl goes missing, former TV crime reporter Vicky Robeson joins the search with the help of her attractive new love interest. They take his RV to a tiny town in rural Missouri that's filled with odd characters and darker secrets. But Vicky has secrets of her own. She believes this kidnapped girl may be linked to a case she reported on nine years ago, when a mystery child was found walking on levee, bloody and unable to speak. Back then, Vicky failed to follow up clues only she knew. Now, she has a chance to redeem herself. As she uncovers secrets, it becomes clear someone will kill to keep them hidden.
Interview
What is the
hardest part of writing your books?
I tend to write in a free-flowing fashion—that
is, I make it up as I go along rather than outlining carefully. I start with a
plot idea and start writing even before I know where it’s going. That then
requires considerable reviewing, rewriting, and re-ordering scenes to make it
all tie together coherently. It can be difficult, but in the way that doing a
puzzle is difficult and satisfying.
What songs
are most played on your Ipod?
It’s been a while since I had an Ipod,
but on my phone I have a lot of classic rock, blues, and a few ballads. Among
my favorites songs are anything by Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt, The Avett Brothers,
Spearhead, Adele, and Jack Johnson. The song I listened to most while writing my
mystery, Parallel Secrets, is ‘The Smithsonian’ by the Avett Brothers, because
I love the line, “…turns out we don’t get to know everything.”
Do you have
critique partners or beta readers?
Both. I am fortunate enough to belong to
a writers’ group that shares and critiques our work every week. I learn from
them every time we meet. I have several beta readers who have provided
insights, suggestions, corrections, and hugely valuable feedback at many
levels. It is tremendously helpful to have people honest and direct enough to
tell me when a scene drags or I got the technology wrong, but also when they
would love to see a character or plot point expanded. It’s a big commitment to
read a book and devote the time and brainpower necessary to help an author see
past their own writing.
What book are
you reading now?
Book
Six of The Murderbot Diaries. Science fiction is not normally my genre of
choice, but Martha Wells has created one of the funniest, most sarcastically original
characters I’ve ever come across. Her writing style is highly entertaining, and
her stories are smart and action-packed. The SecUnit’s observations about human
behavior are keen and sometimes uncomfortably on-point.
How did you
start your writing career?
After I retired from a very busy career
in TV news and station management, I jumped into writing a memoir. I’ve had an
interesting life. After I got that out of my system—but not out into the world,
it’s not quite ready for publication—I decided to try my hand at fiction.
Mysteries have always topped my favorite reading lists, and I’m thrilled to
have written and gotten my first one published.
Tell
us about your next release.
I’m working on the next book in the Parallel
Mystery series. Parallel Lies picks up where Parallel Secrets leaves off,
because there’s always more to the story…
About the Author
ML Barrs ran TV newsrooms for years, guiding and managing the content and production of more than eight hours of live newscasts a day.
In her debut novel, Parallel Secrets, protagonist Vicky Robeson shares that kind of experience as well as the author’s passion for justice, especially when it comes to the safety and well-being of children and other vulnerable people.
ML Barrs grew up one of thirteen children—the first girl, with three older brothers—a birth order she believes shaped her essence by the time she was eight. A girl’s gotta be a bit pugnacious to get along in that environment. Amid the chaos of fourteen people living in a mobile home (not a double-wide), she turned fifteen, dropped out of school and ran away from home.
Being homeless, then working minimum wage jobs quickly grew old. She earned her GED and went to college, where she met and married the father of their two grown children. After a successful career as a television news director and general manager, she decided that what she really wanted to do is write mysteries. Parallel Secrets will be published September 2023, and its sequel is in the works.
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