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
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
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.
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.
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