Welcome Miranda James (aka Dean James) to MCBF 2014

Dean James  (writing under pen name Miranda James) joins the line up of amazing authors participating in MCBF 2014.

Miranda (aka Dean) James is the New York Times-bestselling author of the “Cat in the Stacks” series, featuring a widowed librarian and his Maine Coon cat. The author of eighteen mystery novels and several works of mystery non-fiction, Dean (aka Miranda) has been nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award twice for Best Critical/Biographical Work and has won the Agatha and Macavity Awards for Non-Fiction.

For more information, visit http://www.catinthestacks.com/.





Dean took a few minutes to do an interview with us. Read what he said here:

At what age did you start writing?

I started writing when I was twelve. My first effort was a novel (although looking back at its length, I realize now it was a novella). It was a mystery, derivative of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, my two favorite mystery series at the time.

At what age did you start writing?

I tend to dive in, although I do think about the characters and the basic plot before I start writing.

In high school, where did you fall? (Prom Queen/King, Gamer Geek, Brainy/Book Nerd, Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat, Stoner, Class Clown, etc.)

I was definitely the Brainy/Book Nerd type.

    Do you have a pet?  Tell us about them and how they help/hinder your writing. 

I have two cats, Pippa and Toby. When I first sit down at the computer, they start complaining and asking for attention. After a bit, once I’ve given them enough attention, they settle down and let me work.

What books or authors have influenced your writing most?

The Nancy Drew books got me hooked on mysteries. Writing influences include Agatha Christie, Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels, and Phyllis A. Whitney.

     Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Among the dead, I would most love to meet Margery Allingham, my very favorite mystery writer. Among the living, I’d say probably Carol Burnett.

Meet Miranda (aka Dean) James at the

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on Saturday, February 15

at Lone Star College Montgomery.

Introducing Kathryn Casey to the 2014 MCBF Author Line Up

Announcing Kathryn Casey...

 

A novelist and an award-winning journalist, Kathryn Casey is the creator of the Sarah Armstrong mystery series and the author of seven highly acclaimed true crime books. Her first novel, SINGULARITY, was one of Booklist’s best crime novel debuts of 2009, and Library Journal chose the third, THE KILLING STORM, as one of the best books of 2010. Casey’s protagonist is a Texas Ranger/profiler headquartered in Company A, Houston. Kathryn Casey has appeared on Oprah, Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Network, Court TV, Biography, Nancy Grace, E! Network, TruTv, Investigation Discovery, The Travel Channel and A&E. She’s written for Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Reader’s Digest, Texas Monthly, MORE, Ladies’ Home Journal, and many other publications. Ann Rule calls Casey “one of the best in the true crime genre.”

 

For more information: www.kathryncasey.com

 

 

Find out more about Kathryn and her writing below:

 

At what age did you start writing? In elementary school I wrote awful poetry; does that count? In middle school, short stories. But nothing in earnest until college.

Patty Campbell talks about the germ for a piece of writing being like the sand in the oyster. What is your grain of sand? Do you begin with character or setting or something else? In my fiction, it began with a character, the series protagonist, Texas Ranger Sarah Armstrong. In the true crime books, of course, the characters are real, living and breathing folks. I can’t add anyone or write anyone out. It’s nonfiction, so the plot and those involved are as they are.

Do you outline before you write or just dive in? I dive in.
Who is your favorite character you have written or read about? My favorite character is the aforementioned Sarah Armstrong. If I could, I’d ring her up and invite her over for coffee. What fun it would be to hear her stories. Or I might drive out to her Tomball horse ranch with my tape recorder. Now that would be a good day.

What is one thing you would like your readers to know about you? That I understand they have a lot of options when deciding what to read, and I do my best to give them something worth reading. (This sounds a bit like the spiel the flight attendants give as the plane lands, but it’s true.)

In high school, where did you fall? (Prom Queen/King, Gamer Geek, Brainy/Book Nerd, Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat, Stoner, Class Clown, etc.) Your average kid, I guess. I was something of a secret book nerd, doing my best to camouflage.

Do you have a pet (pets)? Tell us about it (them) and how they help/hinder your writing. Our dog, Nelson, is my constant companion. He’s a white mop, a Havanese, with a prominent ego. But we love him. He actually has his own fan base on my Facebook page, where I post photos and videos. There was a movement afoot to give Nelson his own page. I nixed it, preferring to be able to monitor his posts. 

For more information:www.kathryncasey.com