Indie Spotlight-It’s the dead of winter and all I want to do is read books next to a roaring fire and take ridiculously long naps. How about you?
Please welcome author Amy Reade to Indie Spotlight. She's a full time writer, mother and wife who loves a good mystery as much as I adore black coffee and one-way plane tickets to the Caribbean.
We bonded on Twitter over our shared appreciation for Emily Bronte while chatting about the dark imagery and themes often found in Gothic and Victorian literature. (Yes!)
It's fabulous to have her as a guest on Indie spotlight. I just finished reading her mystery novel Highland Peril, Book Two in the Malice Series about the art world and the Scottish Highlands. I loved it so much that she decided to do something cool and interview one of the characters.
Thank you for reading, sharing, engaging with the author and this post.
Interview with Alice McDermott
Conducted by Perry Dingle, London Today
1 February 2020 at 15:30 GMT
[Clears throat] This is Perry Dingle, society reporter for the London Todayonline news magazine. I am noting for the record that I am speaking this afternoon with Mrs. Alice McDermott, of the Highgate, London, McDermotts. This interview is being recorded with Mrs. McDermott’s permission. The other person in the room is my photographer, Gerard.
Perry: Good afternoon, Mrs. McDermott. May I call you Alice?
Alice: I’d rather you didn’t.
Perry: What was your maiden name?
Alice: What business is that of yours?
Perry: Uh, I was just asking. We often put that information in our society pieces.
Alice: I see no need for it.
Perry: As you wish. Moving on, then. Can you tell me a little bit about your work?
Alice: I am a director of philanthropy.
Perry: Ah, I see. That’s very interesting. Do you work for a foundation? Or perhaps a large company here in London?
Alice: No.
Perry: So what sort of business do you work for?
Alice: A family business.
Perry: A family business with a director of philanthropy? That must be quite a family.
Alice: I suppose.
Perry: Can you tell me a bit more about the business?
Alice: There’s not much to tell. It’s just a family, and I give away the money.
Perry: And how did the family make its money?
Alice: It’s old money. The family earned it through wise investing.
Perry: And how did you come into your job? Did you study economics? Business, perhaps?
Alice: Neither. I graduated from art school.
Perry: Ah! So you’re an artist?
Alice: I didn’t say that.
Perry: So you’re not an artist?
Alice: I find these questions quite intrusive, but if you insist on an answer, I’ll give you one. I have had a lifelong appreciation for fine art, though I am not myself interested in creating it.
Perry: Can you tell me a bit about your family?
Alice: I have a husband.
Perry: And what is his name?
Alice: Florian.
Perry: Any young McDermotts?
Alice: If there are, they do not belong to me.
Perry: I should also note for the record that when I requested an interview with Mrs. McDermott, she agreed to talk to me in her home, where we are at the moment. Your home is exquisite, Mrs. McDermott.
Alice: Yes.
Perry: I noticed a fair number of paintings displayed throughout the house. Did you choose all the paintings?
Alice: Most of them, yes.
Perry: I suppose, being an art enthusiast, you enjoy choosing paintings for your home.
Alice: Of course I do.
Perry: As you probably know, our readers are cosmopolitan adults, both men and women, mostly from London. They’re interested in fashion, food, and entertainment. We like to ask our interviewees a series of rapid-fire questions about where you like to go around town. Ready?
Alice: Very well.
Perry: Who are you wearing?
Alice: What kind of a question is that? I buy all my clothes in thrift shops.
Perry: Favorite restaurant?
Alice: The curry place down the block from my house. I don’t recall the name.
Perry: Favorite club?
Alice: [silence]
Perry: Well, Mrs. McDermott, thank you ever so much for meeting with me today. We’ll be in touch when the interview is ready to go live online.
Alice: You know the way out?
Perry: Yes.
[chair scraping against the floor, footsteps leaving the room]
[recording continues]
[loud whisper] Gerard: Why did the ugly bat agree to the interview?
Perry: Who knows? Quite the arsemonger, isn’t she? And the paintings in this house are making me dizzy. Let’s get out of here. I’d like to meet the man who would marry the likes of her.
Alice McDermott is a character in Highland Peril, Book Two in the Malice Series. Here’s the book blurb:
“Trading the urban pace of Edinburgh for a tiny village overlooking a breathtaking blue loch was a great move for budding photographer Sylvie Carmichael and her artist husband, Seamus—until a dangerous crime obscures the view . . . Sylvie’s bucolic life along the heather-covered moors of the Highlands is a world away from the hectic energy of the city. But then a London buyer is killed after purchasing a long-lost Scottish masterpiece from Seamus’s gallery—and the painting vanishes. As suspicion clouds their new life, and their relationship, Sylvie’s search for answers plunges her into an unsolved mystery dating back to Cromwellian Scotland through World War I and beyond. And as she moves closer to the truth, Sylvie is targeted by a murderer who’s after a treasure within a treasure that could rewrite history . . . and her own future.”
Amy’s latest book, Be My Valencrime, Book 3 in the Juniper Junction Holiday Mystery Series is on pre-order/ purchase here at your favorite online bookstore. Here’s the scoop (believe it or not, it features another Alice—a totally different Alice):
“It’s Valentine’s Day in Juniper Junction and love is in the air. Or is that just a dark cloud?
Lilly’s shop assistant, Harry, is about to pop the question to his girlfriend, Alice Davenport. He’s got the ring, he’s planned a romantic dinner, and he’s even thought of a gracious escape if Alice says no.
The only thing missing is…Alice.
Lilly wants to do all she can to help find Alice, even if that means interfering with a police investigation. But as she begins to learn more about Harry’s sweet, unassuming girlfriend, she discovers that Alice is hiding a shocking secret that will complicate everything.
And when Lilly suffers a lapse in judgment, the consequences are swift and painful. Can she pull herself together enough to help her daughter through a tunnel of teenage angst, deal with her mother’s dementia-related wanderings, and still help Harry find his Happily Ever After?”
Amy M. Reade (and yes, that’s her real last name) is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Gothic, contemporary, and cozy mysteries. She writes full time and her favorite part of writing is the research, particularly when it involves traveling to far-flung places like the Scottish Highlands (her favorite place to visit) or Hawaii (also her favorite place to visit). When she wants to relax, she reads M. C. Beaton, Elizabeth Peters, or a cookbook. She lives at the Jersey shore, but not the part you see on television. She loves cheese, chocolate, and wine, though not necessarily in that order.
Thanks so much for being part of this #writerscommunity project Amy. It's great to be here with you. Huge congratulations on your new cozy mystery. Love, the gorgeous cover. It looks like great fun!
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Until next time, find your Peace, Love, Hustle, then Read or Write. Xox Bibiana WWW.BIBIANAKRALL.COM