SUZANNE ADAIR VISITS

Suzanne Adair, Author



 Please welcome one of my favorite historical authors, Suzanne Adair. Her book PAPER WOMAN won the prestigious Patrick D. Smith Literary Award. CAMP FOLLOWER was a finalist for both the Daphne du Maurier Award and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award. Her current release, REGULATED FOR MURDER is certain to win awards as well.


Caroline: Readers love to get to know authors. Please tell us something about yourself that lets readers get to know the real you--perhaps something they might find surprising.


Suzanne: I took up dancing adult classical ballet lessons when I was in my early twenties in college and am still dancing ballet. I've performed in several small companies. Ballet has given me a love of all dancing: ballroom, jazz, country, etc.

Caroline: You must have natural talent, because ballet lessons usually require one start very young. Your novel PAPER WOMAN is one of my favorites. Is the American Revolution your chosen era for all your books?


Suzanne: I'm glad you enjoyed PAPER WOMAN. The American Revolution is my chosen era for this series of books. But starting next spring, I may release the first book of a science fiction series that's set in the 24th century.


Caroline: No, no! I want more Michael Stoddard books! (Oh, for a moment I forgot it's your choice. LOL) Where do you glean most of your research?


Suzanne: Most of my research for the series set during the American Revolution has come from hands-on experience as a Revolutionary War reenactor, and from historical sites that I visit.

From Suzanne's site

Caroline: On your blog, you have photos of Revolutionary re-enactors. Do you participate in these battles or watch them?


Suzanne: I don't participate in the actual battle reenactments, but I watch my sons re-create the roles of redcoats on the battlefield. My active participation is as a civilian accompanying the army.

Caroline: Would you like to share an unusual/interesting experience you had while visiting a battleground or researching one of your books?


Suzanne: While I was staying at the Kinard House, a restored Victorian-era B&B just down the street from the Revolutionary War fort in Ninety Six, South Carolina, I met the resident ghost, Henry Kinard. On two previous visits to Kinard House, the owner had never dropped the slightest hint of a spectral resident, but my experience that third visit tallied exactly with her experiences. I have a scientific background and didn't believe in ghosts, but I could find no other explanation for the experience. And fortunately, it was a pleasant encounter.


Caroline: I've met several ghosts, so I'm a believer.
In the past you had used a traditional publisher. What made you decide to publish independently?

Suzanne: The regional press that originally released my trilogy (PAPER WOMAN, THE BLACKSMITH’S DAUGHTER, and CAMP FOLLOWER) as well as the historical fiction and non-fiction of a number of authors folded. I approached several agents and small presses with REGULATED FOR MURDER, but they dragged their feet or said they didn't know how to reach my audience. Meanwhile loyal readers kept asking me when my next book was coming out. They'd been patient, but they wouldn't wait forever.


By the time my publisher folded, I was managing most of my own promotion and even some of the distribution. Also I'd retained almost all subsidiary rights when I signed the contracts, so I'd already made the trilogy available for ebooks. January 2011, I decided to independently publish the Michael Stoddard series, bringing each title out in electronic format first, then releasing a print version several months later. My print rights for the trilogy reverted to me, so those books will be re-released in print in several months.


Caroline: I'm pleased to know that! They are keepers and I'll want them in print as well as the e-books on my Kindle. I know you use real events in your stories. Are any of the major characters based on real people?

Suzanne: None of my major characters are based on real people. They're all blends of people I've known and fictional characters. The following actual historical people have appeared as cameos or secondary characters in my books:


PAPER WOMAN: Luciano de Herrera
THE BLACKSMITH’S DAUGHTER: Thomas Brown, Lord Cornwallis

CAMP FOLLOWER: Francis Marion, Banastre Tarleton
REGULATED FOR MURDER: James Henry Craig


Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Suzanne: Entertainment, education, and escape.


Caroline: Great answer! Tell us about your latest release, after I remind readers to check the review from Monday's post.

 Suzanne: For ten years, an execution hid murder. Then Michael Stoddard came to town.


Bearing a dispatch from his commander in coastal Wilmington, North Carolina, redcoat Lieutenant Michael Stoddard arrives in Hillsborough in February 1781 in civilian garb. He expects to hand a letter to a courier working for Lord Cornwallis, then ride back to Wilmington the next day. Instead, Michael is greeted by the courier's freshly murdered corpse, a chilling trail of clues leading back to an execution ten years earlier, and a sheriff with a fondness for framing innocents—and plans to deliver Michael up to his nemesis, a psychopathic British officer.


Caroline: Michael Stoddard is a wonderful hero! I can hardly wait to read his (okay, your) next book. Where can readers find your books?


Suzanne:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Regulated-Murder-Stoddard-Revolution-ebook/dp/B005V334M2/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318876227&sr=1-5


Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96171


Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regulated-for-murder-suzanne-adair/1106658070?ean=2940013308572&itm=1&usri=suzanne%2badair

 Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?


Suzanne's bio: Award-winning novelist Suzanne Adair is a Florida native who lives in a two hundred-year-old city at the edge of the North Carolina Piedmont, named for an English explorer who was beheaded. Her suspense and thrillers transport readers to the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War, where she brings historic towns, battles, and people to life. She fuels her creativity with Revolutionary War reenacting and visits to historic sites. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking, dancing, hiking, and spending time with her family.


Visit her blog (http://www.suzanneadair.typepad.com/) and web site (http://www.suzanneadair.com//) for more information.


Follow her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Suzanne.Adair.Author/, Twitter http://twitter.com/Suzanne_Adair/, and Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1188958.Suzanne_Adair/


Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Suzanne Adair and her author friends. Subscribe to Suzanne's free newsletter http://tinyletter.com/Suzanne-Adair-News/.


Caroline: Suzanne, thank you for sharing with us today. Wishing you continued success with your amazing books!

Readers, please return on Friday to meet Alyson Reuben.


Thanks for stopping by!

REVIEW OF REGULATED FOR MURDER by Suzanne Adair

REGULATED FOR MURDER

by Suzanne Adair

Blurb:
For ten years, an execution hid murder. Then Michael Stoddard came to town.
Bearing a dispatch from his commander in coastal Wilmington, North Carolina, redcoat Lieutenant
Michael Stoddard arrives in Hillsborough in February 1781 in civilian garb. He expects to hand a letter to a courier working for Lord Cornwallis, then ride back to Wilmington the next day. Instead, Michael is greeted by the courier's freshly murdered corpse, a chilling trail of clues leading back to an execution ten years earlier, and a sheriff with a fondness for framing innocents—and plans to deliver Michael up to his nemesis, a psychopathic British officer.


My review:
For those who don’t remember this bit of American history, the War of the Regulation (or the Regulator Movement) was a North Carolina uprising, lasting from approximately 1760 to 1771, in which citizens took up arms against corrupt colonial officials. While unsuccessful, some historians consider it a catalyst to the American Revolutionary War.  REGULATED FOR MURDER takes place ten years later, but memories of the Regulators is still fresh in citizens' minds.


Twenty-six-year old Lt. Michael Stoddard is attached to the British 82nd Regiment under the command of Major James Henry Craig in Wilmington, North Carolina. Michael is investigating the disappearance of Horatio Bowater, a devious man willing to murder if it conceals his crimes. But Michael is taken off the case and it’s handed over to his recovering assistant, Pvt. Nick Spry. Michael must conceal his disappointment, and leave on the undercover courier assignment to deliver a cipher to an agent in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Riding his horse, Cleopatra, Michael arrives at his destination five days later, weary and hungry. Instead of food and rest, he finds his contact has been murdered and Michael accused of the killing. Only a lie from the woman in whom he is interested, Kate Duncan, prevents Michael being jailed. Though not incarcerated, he’s far from safe and soon learns the murder is linked to others. Along the way he encounters Lt. Dunstan Fairfax, his nemesis. Fairfax is a sociopath who abuses his position of authority to torture victims, reveling in their pain.

If you were fortunate enough to read Ms Adair’s PAPER WOMAN, then you received the first, brief introduction to Michael Stoddard when he investigated the murder of three men. Happily for Ms Adair’s fans, Michael now has his own book series, of which this is the first. Michael Stoddard is everything we wish for in a hero: compassionate, loyal, of high moral fiber, and determined to fulfill his mission.

Suzanne Adair is the most amazing historical author I’ve read (easily on a par with Diana Gabaldon) for precise historical details. Ms Adair’s books are so filled with excitement that one fails to notice one is incidentally learning history. Although I am something of an anglophile, only Suzanne Adair's writing could make me cheer for a Redcoat officer!

Even if you don’t enjoy history, you will delight in the exciting pace of a good thriller/mystery in which all the threads (except one saved for future books) are tied up satisfactorily. I enjoyed this book both times I read it and cannot recommend it highly enough. Ms Adair's books would make wonderful assigned reading for high school and college students. Certainly they're pleasurable reading for adults! REGULATED FOR MURDER was released Friday at Smashwords and Amazon for $4.99.


Please return on Wednesday for an interview with author Suzanne Adair. Until then, thanks for reading.