A big welcome to M J O'Shea who is stopping by on her wonderful blog tour for her new release, Family Jewels! Before we start, I asked M J a few questions....
1. Are
you a pantster or a plotter?
Definitely a plotter! There’s always room for
changes and improvements on the original plot, but I find half the fun is
sitting there with a blank sheet of paper mapping out what’s going to happen.
2. Where
do you get your titles from?
All over, really. Sometimes I think of a fun
title and then make up a story to go with it, sometimes the book is done and
I’m STILL trying to think of a title that will fit it perfectly. There are a
few titles I’ve never been 100% happy with. I think that happens with any job
though.
With Corkscrewed, Family Jewels, and the third
one X Marks the Spot, I wanted them to have funny, light titles to reflect the
light banter-y nature of the books. The titles came before the plots on those
ones, I just knew I wanted it to be a con job on a vineyard, a book about a
jewel thief, and a classic treasure hunt:)
3. Who
is your favourite character in your new release, and why?
Actually, lol, I really really like Corbin’s
mother. She’s nagging and in his business and wants the best for him, just like
a lot of mothers would, but she also happens to be incredibly smart and one of
the best thieves in the world. She’s never in scene, most of her role comes in
the form of phone calls, but I loved writing her and Corbin’s dialogue.
4. Do
you listen to music while you write? If so, do you find different bands work
better for
different types of scenes, and
who do you listen to the most?
I actually can’t. haha. I couldn’t even have
music on if I was doing something like this. I spent so many years as a music
student and musician that I’m very well trained to pay the most attention to
that if it’s available for me to pay attention to. I’ll make playlists to
listen to while I’m thinking about the book and plotting in my head, and that’s
very effective, but other than that it has to be off.
5. Have
you always wanted to be a writer? Or was there another profession you wanted to
follow while you were growing up?
Yes, and yes:) I have definitely always wanted
to be a writer, but I also wanted to be a professional pianist (nearly went
that direction), an archaeologist, a muralist, and a dancer (got WAY too tall
for that lol). I also wanted to be Peter Pan, lol. Sometimes I feel sorry for
my mother…
6. If
you could visit any country in the world, which one would you choose?
Oh, MAN. I suppose my top answer is easy.
Ireland! A lot of my family at the grandparents level was from there and I’ve
never been still. Other than Ireland, my next answer is pretty much everywhere.
Or Bora Bora. It looks incredibly beautiful.
7. How
do you overcome writer’s block?
The best way for me is to push it and make
myself write something. I might chuck every single word I wrote, but it gets
the juices flowing again.
8. Do
you have a set writing timetable for yourself?
No, unfortunately. I probably should but I’ve
never been very good with schedules. Probably why I enjoy this career so much.
I tend to write at night and do more of the other things like blogging and
accounting etc during the day.
9. What
advice would you give to a writer just starting out? And was there a particular
piece of
advice you were given yourself
that has stuck with you?
I was on my own at first. When I wrote my first
book, I didn’t even know this whole community existed. Everything was quite a
bit smaller back in 2010 than it is now. I would say get to know people!
Obviously writing is the most important part of being a writer, but everything
is more fun and interesting if you have people to bounce ideas off of and talk to.
10. Finally...
if you could have a dinner party and invite five people, living or dead, who
would
they be?
Hmmm let’s see. I think Jane Austen is a given.
I love her sarcasm and dry wit. Probably Danny Elfman because I’d love to talk
about music with him. Neil Gaiman, Drew Barrymore, and Nathan Fillion because
they all seem to have great personalities.
Thank you so much for having me stop by!
Author: M.J. O’Shea
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Length: 200 Pages
Release Date: 27th April, 2015
Blurb: Corbin Ford, aka the
Nightwatchman, named for the antique pocket watches he leaves behind at jobs,
has been in the cat-burgling business for years. His father was. His
grandfather was. His mother is still one of the most renowned thieves. Corbin
likes his high-profile heists, priceless paintings from private collections,
artifacts from museums, but his favorite? Jewels. Sparkly, beautiful jewels. If
they’re famous, better yet.
Interpol
agent Luke Eldridge has one goal and one goal only: to catch the Nightwatchman.
Luke’s been after him for months, but getting the slip time and again is
getting embarrassing. Luke has never even laid eyes on the bastard, but he’d
happily strangle him. And then arrest him.
When Luke meets Corbin, the man of his dreams, he falls hard and fast… only to catch Corbin red-handed with his hand in a jewelry case at the scene of the highest-profile murder that’s rocked the international world in years.
London, March.
“We’ve got something you need to see, Luke. You’d
better get over here now.”
Luke Eldridge sighed into his phone. He glanced
at the slices of pizza he’d just picked up from a food cart down on the Camden
Lock. Looked like there was more cold pizza in his future. Typical. Irritating,
but typical.
“Where are you?” Luke asked. He dragged himself
off his soft leather couch. It made a disgusting squelching sound. Luke turned
and halfheartedly wiped the seat off. He was tired from the run he’d forced
himself to take, wet, and starting to chill as heat escaped through his damp
T-shirt. The last thing he wanted to do was get back into a suit and go out in
the cold he’d just escaped from.
Rob, one of his oldest friends from his days in
the FBI academy, rattled off a very upper crust Kensington address.
“Jesus. Is this one going to make the morning
press?” Luke asked. People who lived at addresses like that tended to make the
news. His job was always harder when he had a ton of panicking socialites
breathing down his neck guarding their beloved possessions. He didn’t need them
or the news vans outside his crime scene.
“Probably. I’ll try to put it off as long as I
can, but you know how it works. Just get your ass over here. Waterman’s on my
dick already.”
“Sounds unpleasant.” Luke chuckled under his breath.
“Does that surprise you?”
“Not really.”
Didn’t surprise Luke either. Their division chief
within Interpol Art Crimes was all about the high profile cases. Art, jewelry,
anyone with a Lord or Lady attached to their name. Even the odd Sir here and
there. Cases like that were good press for the agency, he always said. Probably
more like good for getting his face on the camera. Waterman was a media whore
extraordinaire. Usually Luke didn’t care, but when they were in the middle of
trying to open a case, it kind of pissed him off.
Luke felt it would be better to deal with the
press after they had some solid leads, or, you know, someone in custody, but
far be it for him to correct Waterman. He’d spent the last eight years trying
to overcome the hereditary American-ness Waterman deemed a deep character flaw.
If he started correcting the guy now, he might as well sign his own pink slip.
“I can be there in fifteen minutes. Waterman
won’t even be done fixing his hair for the cameras,” Luke told Rob. He was
already in his suit pants and shaking out his dress shirt. It felt a little
stale from a long day, but he wasn’t going to put on a new one for a late
evening call. If all went well, Luke would be back in his sweats and on his
couch in less than an hour.
“Try to make it ten. I’m not in the mood to get
my skin pulled off a strip at a time.”
He sounded like his typical sarcastic self, but
the tone of his friend’s voice was different. Worried, maybe. “What’s going on,
Rob? What are you leaving out?”
“There’s something weird about this one. Might
cause us a lot of shit in the near future if I’m right.”
“Are you going to tell me or play guessing
games?” Luke wasn’t in the mood to play anything. All he wanted to do was eat
some still-warm pizza, crawl into bed, and sleep for days—or at least until his
alarm went off at six. He’d gotten way too little sleep lately. He hadn’t
gotten enough sleep in years.
Rob cleared his throat nervously. “You need to
see this for yourself. Just get here, man.”
Luke disconnected the call. He finished dressing,
shoved one piece of his pizza on a paper towel, and grabbed his keys. He could
eat it on the way without ruining his suit. Even if he spilled, fuck it. Luke
wasn’t going to sacrifice one more decent dinner to the cause.
It had rained earlier, and the London streets were
still slick and dark, half frozen in the early spring chill, but at least it
was quiet. The air was close to freezing, too. Unseasonably low temps, but
sadly not by much. After all the years he’d been in London, the winters still
got to him, cold and wet, the kind that seemed to creep all the way into the
center of his chest—nothing like his childhood home in South Carolina or even
Virginia, where he’d lived and worked his first few years out of the academy.
Sometimes Luke missed the old optimistic years at Quantico. These days it
seemed like the cold was impossible to shake. It seeped into his bones and
camped out until nothing he did could warm him through.
I’m
getting old.
The stone row houses slipped past, nestled together, dark on the outside like everything else, interiors shining and cheery against the insidious, creeping chill. Everyone who knew better was inside somewhere, enjoying dinner, relaxing with the people they loved. They didn’t look alone. He’d figured long ago his hopes for being one of them had probably passed. Luke loved his job, it was his life, but some nights he wouldn’t mind a break. Luke bypassed their unit’s Westminster offices in favor of going straight to the scene. He didn’t need anything but what he had on him. Hopefully he’d be in and out in time for the late news.
DSP Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6318
I’m Mj O’Shea:) I
grew up, and still live, in sunny Washington state and while I love to visit
other places, I can’t imagine calling anywhere else home.
I spent my childhood
writing stories. Sometime in my early teens, the stories turned to romance.
Most of those were about me, my friends, and our favorite movie and pop stars.
Hopefully, I’ve come a long way since then.
When I’m not writing,
I love to play the piano, dance, cook, paint pictures, and of course read! I
like sparkly girly girl things, own at least twenty different colored
headbands, and I have two little dogs who sit with me when I write. Sometimes
they comes up with ideas for me too…when they’re not busy napping.
Website: http://mjoshea.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mj.oshea.5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjosheaseattle
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mjosheaseattle
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mjoshea5
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/M.J.-OShea/e/B003XERT7M/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1427433101&sr=8-2-ent
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