Interview with Sharon Pape - Blog tour for Magickal Mystery Lore

Today, I'm excited to be featuring paranormal cozy mystery author Sharon Pape and the fourth book in her Abracadabra Mystery series Magickal Mystery Lore through an exclusive interview.

I previously reviewed the first book in the series Magick and Mayhem here on the Nadaness In Motion blog. It sets the scene for the humor and mystery. Got an instant 5-star review from me.

The books can be read as standalones. In the interview, Pape talks more about both the Abracadabra Mystery series and her other books.

Happy reading!

Book: Magickal Mystery Lore

(An Abracadabra Mystery) - 4th in Series
Author: Sharon Pape
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Lyrical Underground

Publication date: 16 April 2019

Number of pages: 317 (including a sneak peek into book 5)
ASIN: B07FS2GCW3

Synopsis:

This spells trouble . . .

The New Camel Day Fair is a fun-filled event for residents of this upstate New York town. Kailyn Wilde, a modern-day witch of ancient lineage, leaves her potion shop, Abracadabra—and her feline familiar, Sashkatu—to attend with her fortune-telling Aunt Tilly. Joining them is legendary wizard Merlin, who’s discovering new pleasures of time-traveling to the modern world, including curly fries and kettle corn—but the appeal of the Tilt-a-Wheel is beyond his mystical imagination.

The real wild ride begins later, when neighboring sweet shop owner Lolly rushes into Abracadabra with news about a dead body. The victim has one of Lolly’s fudge knives stuck in her back, but in spite of the sticky evidence, Lolly is only one of several suspects with ample motive and opportunity. Meanwhile, Merlin’s research into old family scrolls and electromagnetic ley lines is causing some unusual mix-ups. As the two investigations collide, Kailyn will have to do everything in her power to prevent disaster…

Interview by Nadaness In Motion

On Books and Writing

How many books can you write at the same time?

Sharon Pape: I’ve found that I’m at my best when I concentrate on writing one book at a time. Having said that, my subconscious is always busy working on other ideas.      

How many edits do you go through to reach the final version of your books?

Sharon Pape: I’m one of those writers who edits each chapter before I go on to the next - can’t help it. I edit the whole book after I finish it. My beta reader gets it and we go over everything she finds, so that’s another edit. I send it to my editor who may still find a few mistakes – so that’s 4 edits.

What authors – new or old – have inspired you to become a writer? And particularly a mystery (or cozy mystery) writer?

Sharon Pape: I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I’m sure most of the authors I read throughout my life have increased that desire. As a kid, I loved reading mysteries like the Dana Girls, as written by Carolyn Keene and The Famous Five books by Enid Blyton. I fell in love with the paranormal in books by Stephan King and Dean Koontz. Gone with the Wind made me a fan of historical fiction. James Michener and Leon Uris were among the writers who nurtured that love. I’m a fan of all the genres as well as mainstream literature and wish I had the time to write in every one of them!

Do you feel that the cozy mystery genre has put some restraints on your writing? (For example over-the-top or adult romance is frowned upon, the same with explicit language or even minor cursing)

Sharon Pape: No, each genre has to be taken for what it is. If I didn’t like the restraints, I’d write a different kind of mystery. However trying to write believable characters, especially criminals, without using even minor cursing does present a challenge.

The Abracadabra Series

If you could pick an actor to portray Merlin from the Abracadabra books, who would it be?

Sharon Pape: In the Abracadabra series, Merlin is an old man with scraggly white hair and beard. Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future immediately comes to mind. There are many character actors who could fit the bill with a little help from the hair and makeup people.

How many parts are you planning for the Abracadabra book series?

Sharon Pape: The 4th book, Magickal Mystery Lore, debuts 16 April 2019. I’ve just finished book 5 and I think that will probably be the final one in this series. I have another series spinning around in my head, begging to be set free.

Other Books by Sharon Pape

What excites you about writing each of your series? (What is your favorite thing about each series that makes you want to write more books in it)

Sharon Pape: Initially I’m excited by the concept of each series and the ways in which I can explore that idea. Over time, it’s generally a particular character or characters in the series that make(s) me want to write more books. In A Portrait of Crime, it was Zeke Drummond (think Sam Elliot a couple of decades ago.) In Abracadabra, it’s Merlin and aunt Tilly. That’s not to say that I don’t want to write more about the main character in each series, but I often have more fun with the secondary players.

What can you tell us about your Crystal Shop Mysteries? Why is there only one book in that series?

Sharon Pape: When Penguin and Random House merged, they took an axe to most of their cozy series and Crystal Shop was one of the victims. Unfortunately most publishers won’t take on a series when the first book is already published. I would like to continue the series someday – there was so much left undone, but I’d probably have to self-publish it. I also loved the setting in Sedona, one of my favorite places in the world.

Can you give readers a larger or more detailed synopsis about your book For Everything A Season? (Is it horror? Paranormal? Romance? A combination? What can you tell us about it since it appears quite different from your usual writing)

Sharon Pape: It was my first published book back in the ‘80s. At that time, there was no paranormal or supernatural genre, so the publisher, Pocketbooks, changed my title to Ghost Fire and put it in the horror section, where it didn’t really belong. When the rights reverted to me, I reissued it as an ebook under my original title, For Everything a Season. I always considered it to be paranormal, but some readers have called it a gothic mystery and romance. The book starts off in the seventeenth century, during the Salem Witch Trials, moves to the 1980s and ends in the year 2022.  I think a more detailed synopsis might give something away.

Here's the synopsis to For Everything a Season

Not all the witch trials took place in Salem. And there are people in nearby Rachael Crossing who believe the abandoned old house in their midst has roots going back to those awful times.

Determined not to be spooked by vague rumors, Deborah Colby leases that house for the summer and when she meets Ethan Burke, she's certain she's made the right decision - certain her whole life has been leading her there to him. And she may be right, but for all the wrong reasons.

The book was condensed by Redbook Magazine, the first paperback original they had ever condensed.

I’m in the process of making it available in paperback for those readers who prefer a “real” book, like I do!

Bringing Sharon Pape into the Picture

If you can travel to any five countries in the world what would they be?

Sharon Pape: I’ve already been to a number of my favorites, France, Italy, England and Spain along with a few others. I’d like to visit Switzerland, at least one of the Scandinavian countries, one of the Eastern European countries, Portugal and Australia (with a side trip to New Zealand while I’m down under.)

Last but not least, if someone were to go through your latest research for your book(s), what would they find?

Sharon Pape: They’d find interesting facts about marmots, medieval vocabulary, herbs and poison – don’t worry, the marmots and the poison never meet. J

Keep up with the rest of the tour including book reviews, interviews, spotlights, and guest posts here.

About the Author

Sharon Pape describes her writing career as having two stages. Back in the dark ages, before computers were in every household, she had three paranormal books published. The first one was condensed by Redbook Magazine, the first paperback original they had ever condensed. Around the same time, Redbook published her first short story.

Then life brought her an unexpected challenge that went by the name of breast cancer. When her treatment was over, she became a volunteer for the American Cancer Society's Reach to Recovery Program and went on to be the program's coordinator for Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. Several years later, with the help of her surgical oncologist and two other survivors, she started her own not-for-profit organization to provide information and peer support to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

Once the organization was running smoothly and didn't require as much of her time, she returned to her first love - writing. During this second stage of her career, she's been writing cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist and a splash of humor.

Connect with author Sharon Pape via her Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Purchase Magickal Mystery Lore by Sharon Pape via Amazon or B & N