Jane/Susannah/Sadie here, racing through the summer at a breakneck pace without actually meaning to…
Today I’m bringing you a special guest, my friend Marian Lanouette, whom I’ve known since just after I started writing seriously. ALL THE HIDDEN SINS, her latest police procedural–which is definitely NOT cozy, LOL!–releases next Tuesday. I asked Marian a few questions so you could all get to know her better.
Tell us a little about yourself and your series.
Good morning Jane, and Wicked Cozy Authors and readers. I’m thrilled to be visiting you today. I’m Marian Lanouette, author of the Jake Carrington Thriller/Mystery series and an avid reader of all things mystery, thriller and suspense. I grew up reading the NY Daily News and from an early age was mesmerized by the murder stories in the paper. They read like serial books. Each day, I’d grab my father’s copy of the newspaper to see if there were new clues the police uncovered and/or if they had caught the killer. When the police didn’t catch a killer, it set my imagination in motion. What if I solved the crime for the cops? Wouldn’t that be amazing for a ten-year-old to accomplish? Yes, it was a fanciful idea but it kept my mind occupied. After a while I started to write out my thoughts. I love puzzles and seeing my analysis on paper brought the cases and clues into focus. I’ve been writing ever since.
Do you have any unusual talents or skills?
I don’t know if they’re unusual, but I liked to snowboard, rollerblade, and wakeboard and participated in these activities until my open heart surgery in 2009. Now I’m a bit more careful in my adventures. I also love to knit, read, and lunch with friends and colleagues.
Tell us a little about your series.
Thanks for asking, Jane. Lieutenant Jake Carrington along with his partner/friend Sergeant Louie Romanelli are cops in a mid-size city in Connecticut. Jake is a single man while Louie is married with three kids. Besides having my characters solve crimes, I like to explore how the job interferes with the personal side of their lives. Jake’s motivation for turning down a sports career in college was the murder of his sister while he was in his teens. After his family buried Eva, Jake vowed to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a cop. He believes to his core that giving the victims justice is what matters, no matter whose feet he stomps on.
Was there a real-life inspiration for your fictional homicide detective, Jake Carrington? If not, how did you create him?
No, Jake slammed into my head fully developed one day when I was working on another story. He kept shouting in my head until I put down my work in progress and put him on paper. The first book ran through my mind as if a movie was playing. I’m acquainted with some police officers and love listening to their stories of suspects and events. Their views are colorful and a bit tainted. Cops see life differently than you and I do—how can they help it when they deal with the dregs of morally corrupt human society and desperate people every day they go to work?
Other than Jake, who’s your favorite fictional detective and why?
I love Lieutenant Eve Dallas in the In Death series by J.D. Robb. I also like Will Trent in Karin Slaughter’s series set in Atlanta, GA; and J.T. Ellison’s series with Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her one with Dr. Samantha Owens; and Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher. I could go on and on. Before I was published I was reading eight books a week. Now,with my deadlines, I’m lucky if I get through one.
This series took an unusual publication path. Tell us about that.
It was unusual. When I finished the first two books I submitted to a small press and received a contract for them. After two years I wasn’t happy with the results and took back my rights and self-published the series. And I had some success going that way. At a function I met my now-editor from Kensington and asked if she’d be interested in reading the series. She was, and did, and offered me a four-book deal, including those first two books which received new titles and some revisions. It’s been working out great. I feel I’ve learned something important at each stage of the game. And I hope it makes me a better writer.
You write in other genres as well. Tell us about those stories. Is it hard to switch back and forth?
I write thrillers, mysteries, romantic suspense, and under a pseudonym romance novels. It’s easy for me to switch. It’s a mindset. I work off of a to-do list which I make up each night. When I wake up the next morning, I know what and where my mind/imagination should be and get to it.
What’s next for Jake?
On the 31st of this month ALL THE HIDDEN SINS releases. I’m excited about this book, because I used my career working at a cemetery/crematorium to invent sinister characters and weird possibilities. (Jane, butting in here–I read this story and you will never think about a crematorium the same way!) I love how it turned out. I’ve also turned in ALL THE PRETTY BRIDES which releases in December. And I’m now working the edits on book four, ALL THE DIRTY SECRETS, for a May 2019 release. I’m also playing with plots for future books in series. Jake keeps dominating my thoughts over other characters so for now he gets all the attention.
Here’s the book blurb for ALL THE HIDDEN SINS, A JAKE CARRINGTON THRILLER:
When it comes to crime, homicide detective Jake Carrington plays for high stakes . . .
Assigned a missing persons case, Lieutenant Jake Carrington investigates a local Mob boss. The trail goes cold, but the Mafioso isn’t taking any chances, and soon the heat turns up from another quarter. Turns out there’s more than one dangerous suspect . . .
Kyra Russell is drop-dead gorgeous and Jake is only human. But despite their mutual attraction, Jake’s suspicion deepens when he learns about her gambling problem—an addiction that cost her both husband and son. Even more disturbing is Kyra’s day job. She runs a crematorium—and it’s tied to the Mob. Now Jake will have to navigate a firestorm of treachery to get to the truth . . .
Previously published as Burn in Hell.
https://www.facebook.com/marian.lanouette
https://twitter.com/AuthorMarian
Thanks for visiting! Readers, any questions for Marian?
All the Hidden Sins sounds intriguing, and congrats on the upcoming release. Although you based the crematorium part on your own career, I hope it’s more fiction than fact!
LOL, most definitely fiction, Maria. I used the setting that’s all. Thanks for stopping by today.
Welcome, Marian! It’s been such a delight to see your career flourish, and to have you join us at Kensington. I’ve haven gotten to reading your Jake books – but I think it’s about time I did.
Thanks so much, Edith. I’d love to know your thoughts.
Thanks for visiting, Marian! Your publishing journey fascinated me! Super congratulations on all your success!
Thank you, Jessie. It was a roundabout way, but taught me a lot.
Welcome back, Marian. The writing process is such a mystery. Very interesting how Jake just showed up!
I know, and you know, Sherry, those characters that scream the loudest get the most attention. And didn’t hurt he was easy on the eyes.
Welcome, Marian!
When I was growing up in lower Fairfield County in CT, my dad bought the NY Daily News on a regular basis, along with many other NY newspapers. (That’s when my newspaper and mystery addictions began:-) I think you and I read the same crime articles!
A close relative died over Thanksgiving weekend in 2016. The funeral director told me her cremation had to be postponed for a couple of days because of all the bodies that piled up over the holiday weekend. No, that’s not the way he worded it, but that’s how my imagination interpreted it; it sounded like it could be part of a mystery! The idea of the Mob being involved in the cremation world is intriguing! I must read this book, as well as your others. Many years ago I read a newspaper article about the Mob being involved in nursing homes, so I guess anything is possible!
I can’t wait to get started on your books!
Thank you so much, Deb. I think we did. The eight Chicago nursing students were the first story I read, and boy I was so happy when they caught Richard Speck and jailed him.
I’m currently reading ALL THE DEADLY SINS and am *loving* it! Jake is a terrific character. Your story to success says there is no “one way” into readers’ hearts. I’m already looking forward to your next books.
Thank you so much, Connie. I believe an author gets readers one at a time. That’s why, lol, if a person makes eye contact with me they have the postcard with the books blurb and instant buy links on it. It’s a great marketing tool.
That is an interesting path your series has taken. Best of luck as it moves forward.
Thank you, Mark. LOL, I never take the easy road.
Welcome, Marian! I’ll never forget the weekend we bonded moving the SinCNE booth stuff from the Boston Book Festival to NELA in Portland. AFTER you carried all the heavy stuff, THEN you told me you’d had open heart surgery! Anyway. I’ve been forever grateful and have so enjoyed watching your career flourish. I hope you’re as happy with Kensington as the Wickeds are!
Thank you, Barbara. And the same back to you. I love how your books have flourished and enjoy reading them. I love when we’re paired in signings. It’s always great seeing you.
I’d like to give you, Jane, a big thank you for inviting me to visit today.
Thanks for being here! And best of luck with your new release.
Marian has a GREAT imagination and a deliciously dark edge, too. 🙂 If you were a fan of Hill Street Blues AND NYPD Blue but wish you could still watch those shows, you’ll dig Jake books. Rock on, Marian! Great to see you n the Wicked Cozies today!
Thank you so much, Rhonda. And for the plug too.
Congratulations Marian! Sounds like a great series. I love it when characters will not go away until you tell their stories.
Me too, Liz, that’s why I hunt out series and binge read them.
Congrats on your upcoming release! I love that your love of reading stories of murders in newspapers turned into a publishing career.
Thanks, Jana. This way I can always give them a happy ending, or at least catch the kiilers.
Killers