Mary Alford
Author Interview for Framed For Murder
When did you
realize you wanted to be an author?
MA: I’d say I realized I wanted to be a writer when I was a
pre-teen. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to read just about anything
I could get my hands on. As a child, I discovered Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys
and was hooked on suspense. As a preteen, I found Phyllis Whitney and Victoria
Holt and knew in my heart of hearts that romantic suspense was what I wanted to
write.
I wrote my first book as a pre-teen, but didn’t really pursue
writing seriously until about fourteen years ago. During that time period
though, I fine-tuned my writing and found myself drawn to inspirational
romantic suspense. Then, in 2012, I
entered the Speed Dating contest hosted by Love Inspired Suspense and later
received “the call” that I’d sold Forgotten Past, my first LIS book. I truly
felt like a writer for the first time and it was a dream come true. It’s still
hard to believe at times.
Fear and
danger are integral parts of your books. Imagination or
experience?
MA:
Imagination and probably too much time reading suspense books and watching ID
TV. The fear and danger my characters face is the same challenges we as human’s
deal with on a much lesser scale. We may not be facing a killer bent on ending
our lives, but we each have things we’re afraid of and keep us awake at night.
Our own set of monsters so to speak.
Another
either/or question: Outliner or pantser?
MA: Pantser.
I’ve tried being the outliner type, but I just don’t operate that way.
Do you have
any favorite author(s) who have inspired you?
MA: Along with Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt, I love inspirational romantic
suspense authors such as Susan Sleeman and Shirlee McCoy. These women are great
at weaving suspense, inspiration and an amazing love story into each of their
books.
Everyone
always asks, so we will, too: Are your characters based on people you know?
Which ones?
MA: Certain characteristics of people I know find their way into my books. For
instance, most of my characters drink coffee. That’s all me. I love coffee,
what can I say? But for the most part, my characters are totally made up.
Here’s another
question that everyone asks: Where do you get your ideas?
MA: Most of my
ideas start from something I’ve seen or read about. From there, the story
begins to take fruition in my head. I let it simmer for a while until I’ve got
a good outline worked out in my mind and then I grab my laptop and start
writing. The idea for Deadly Memories and Rocky Mountain Pursuit came from my
love of spy stories. I can’t get enough of espionage stories. I think it’s the
danger, the drama, the intrigue attached to espionage that makes it so
appealing to me. These people risk their lives daily to keep our country
safe.
You write in
Christian genres. What is the spiritual takeaway for your books? Is there a
recurring theme?
MA: I think in all my books the spiritual takeaway is that no matter what we’re
facing in life, no matter how dark the world around us may seem, we are never
alone. God is right there with us through it all.
How do you
mold your villains? They are very frightening!
MA: I think we
all have “worst fear” villains hidden deep down in our inner psyche. Some of us
fear the unknown. Someone stalking us. A killer on the loose. I like to take
those fears and create villains who hide in plain sight. Like the people we
know and trust. In Framed FOR MURDER, the villain turns out to be a childhood
friend of one of the Scorpion Team members.
Would you
characterize your books as romantic suspense? Are there any other genres that
you’d like to tackle?
MA: Yes, I
guess I would consider my books to be romantic suspense because they contain
equal parts of each. In addition, I also write inspirational contemporary
romance, another one of my favorite genres to read.
What are you
working on now?
MA: I
currently finishing up the Scorpion Team series with two more books that will
be released in 2018.
Do you enjoy
research? Is there any research subject that you’ve found especially
fascinating?
MA: I
typically don’t go overboard on research, but it is something that is necessary
to make the book believable. In FRAMED FOR MURDER, well, loved researching the
CIA and the spy angle of the book. It was fascinating for me.
Okay, just for
fun. Tell us three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
MA: Hum, well,
I’d say that my hubby and I used to raise Emus and Ostriches. I still can’t
believe we did that. That I’m trying to teach myself the guitar, (It’s going
very slowly…), and I’d love to do some gold panning on my next trip to
Colorado. Oh, and I’d also love to write a children’s book one day.
What are your
other interests besides writing?
MA: Music. I
love playing the piano and as I’ve said, I’m learning the guitar very slowly. I
also love gardening. I want to learn to make quilts as well. I also love doing
crafts with my three granddaughters. They are very inspiring.
SS: Tell us
about your current release. When is it available, and where?
FRAMED FOR
MURDER is available October 1st at:
And at most
online booksellers.
FALSELY ACCUSED
Framed for helping her partner smuggle guns—and then
murdering him—CIA agent Liz Ramirez must find the evidence that will prove her
innocence…before she's caught or killed. So when her squad's leader attempts to
bring her in for questioning, she knows her future depends on convincing Aaron
Foster to go rogue and help her. On the run from the rest of her team and the
gun dealers who are convinced she knows the location of their missing weapons,
Liz risks losing the proof that would clear her name. But will eluding her
pursuers—and trying not to fall for the handsome commander—prove to be
fatal?
What inspired
the idea for this series?
MA: My love
for spies. I think if I could have chosen a different career path it would have
been a spy. I admire them greatly and appreciate their work.
About Mary:
Mary Alford was
inspired to become a writer after reading romantic suspense greats Victoria
Holt and Phyllis Whitney. Soon creating characters and throwing them into
dangerous situations that test their faith came naturally for Mary. In 2012
Mary entered the Speed Dating contest hosted by Love Inspired Suspense and
later received “the call”. In addition to writing for Love Inspired Suspense,
Mary also writes Christian romance and sweet romance. Being a published author
has been a dream come true for Mary.
