Daniels, John M.

Augie’s Quick Post

Welcome to Augie’s Corner, today we will be interviewing John M. Daniel, whose forthcoming release in November of this year is called Behind the Redwood Door.

Welcome John,

Thanks, Augie. I’m happy to be here

Augie: First I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit with us today. I know that you are very busy, but sometimes we all need to take a break and just have fun just yakking. Will that be ok?

John: Of course. Yak away!

Augie: Thank you, let’s sit back and hit it over a hot cup of tea.

John: Make mine coffee. It’s early in the day.

Augie: No problem, coffee it is.

John has at least five novels published, from mystery and fantasy to mainstream fiction and a how-to-do-book. So I take it that you do not have just one writing style. Will you share with the audience when do you know which Genre you will be writing in?

John: I always have a good idea what genre I’m working in before I start writing. For one thing, I think a lot about a novel, even to the point of rough outlining, before I start writing. A couple of my novels involve my family history, and I’m guided by gossip.

Augie: This is intriguing, I never thought about using gossip as a tool, but you’re right there is so much juicy information that one hears, hey why not.

Can you tell the audience a little about yourself? I understand you are a recent import to the Humboldt area of California. Will Behind the Redwood Door and future pieces relate to this beautiful area? I love it there. I traveled through Humboldt when I was heading north to Washington.

John: Behind the Redwood Door is indeed set on the North Coast of California, in Redwood Country, between rocky beaches and the Trinity Alps range. But there’s so much fiction in this novel (including a rich history that I made up from scratch) that I renamed it Jefferson County.

Augie: I’m somewhat of a fantasy mixed-up history kinda gal, so I love when stories can be written with truth but eccentric enough to spread to the realm of odyssey, so I love made up people and places with realism. And John you are very good at giving us both. So, what are your expectations in regards to Behind the Redwood Door?
Do you think it will capture the audience of Guy Mallon fans, those who’ve read Vanity Fire and The Poet’s Funeral? Or will this be more of a fantasy ride, like The Ballad of Toby and Lark, where a boy turns into a cat, or Elephant Lake in which a boy learns to fly to escape his family. Or will this new one be more of a historical mystery full of romance and danger, like Geronimo’s Skull?

John: Behind the Redwood Door is first and foremost a whodunit, a standard amateur sleuth mystery. But there’s also a historical element, because the murders are the culmination of a lot of dirty dealings in the past, which Guy needs to learn about before he can face the villain

Augie: Look out Guy Mallon fans, this sounds interesting and promising.

John, is there a message you are trying to convey in the Behind the Redwood Door to your audience?

John: The most important moral message in this book is that bullying is a terrible thing. Of course my main goal is to entertain, but I feel a mystery should say something about right and wrong, and I want my reader to be convinced by my book that bullying is wrong.

Augie: You know I enjoy reading, and yes you are entertaining, but I especially love when the author is able to convey a message without throwing it right dab into your face. And you’re right bullying is wrong and it does not matter the age of a person, just about anyone can be a bully or be bullied.

I understand that you are in the planning stages of a blog tour. That sounds as if you are going to be very busy. I’m not sure what that details, so can you explain to the audience.

John: The Mystery We Write blog tour will be my first, so I’m not sure I have everything straight, but it will begin on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and run for 12 days. Each day I will host a different member of the tour (I call them tourists, but I’m sure that’s not a technical term). Also each of those days I’ll be posting a different blog on a different tourist’s blogsite. Yes, it does sound like a lot of work, but I’m up for it. And the timing is perfect for me. Not only is it the beginning of the holiday gift-buying season, it will launch only days after the publication of Behind the Redwood Door. For more info about this tour, visit Anne K Albert’s blog: http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com/2011/08/round-2-mystery-we-write-blog-tour.html

         Just quickly I would like to get your first reaction on the following words.

a.  Favorite colour: Susan’s brown eyes.

b.  Favorite food. Oysters from Arcata Bay.

c.  Lover of dog or cat? I’m friends with the dogs I meet on the trail, but I live with Warren, the tuxedo wondercat.

d.  Favorite cologne/perfume? Night-blooming jasmine.

e.  Drink of choice? Rye on the rocks.

f.  If you and a companion can travel anywhere in the world, all expense paid for two weeks, where would you go? Rarotonga.

g.  If I had a nose full of nickels, I would sneeze all my nickels atchoo. (I stole that line from Lou Carter. The point is, I have all I need or want, except for more time to write.)

John M. Daniel, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be with us today. I will invite my audience to go out and purchase John’s Behind the Redwood Door after November 2011, or contact John at john@johnmdaniel.com; www.johnmdaniel.com;  blog.johnmdaniel.com ; amazon.johnmdaniel.com;   facebook.johnmdaniel.com

John: Thank you for having me, Augie. Good luck with your own writing! 

Thank you John, and that’s all I have for you today. See ya soon,  Augie