Today I have the pleasure of interviewing a talented brother-sister duo who brings crime fiction right to your doorstep. I loved the first installment, Sister Margaret, in the Tommy Keane series, and guess what…the sequel, Hayden Jon Marshall, is also out now! Thank you, Travis and Natasha, for taking the time out to do this author chit chat.
1) What inspired you and Travis to write Sister Margaret?
It was just an idea really. Both of my brothers, Travis and Henry, are great storytellers and when people would listen to them go on a tear, the comment ”You should write a book” usually followed. I’ve always had a love for reading and writing and my brother Travis called me one day and basically asked me what I thought of a collaboration. I immediately said yes, not quite sure what I was getting myself into, but a couple weeks later Travis sent me the rough for Sister Margaret. And I absolutely loved everything about it, I loved it’s flow, details, characters, everything. These are characters that Travis all plagiarized from real life, and I mean that whole heartedly, I mean I knew these people and I know this neighborhood, so it all rang so true, I was immediately sold. Now as far as me not knowing what I was getting into… Well my brother can definitely tell a story, but have you ever read a 200 page sentence? Because that’s what I was delivered. My job was to rewrite, edit, format, and describe all the details of this fabulous little story. Overall it seems everyone is happy with the end product, which is absolutely thrilling for us.
2) When you first saw the cover for Sister Margaret, what were your initial thoughts?
I really liked it, again I am a big reader, and one thing I love is old noir novels and movies and I think Sister Margaret’s cover definitely has that feel, I mean it could have come off of a book from the 1940’s, the 1960’s, or today. I have to give Travis credit for the idea, and a wonderful artist named Phred Rawles credit for the work. We liked it so much, we already have had him do the covers for the next two in the series, Hayden Jon Marshall and Jenny Black. And they are both fabulous.
3) If you could re-name your book title, what would you choose?
Gee, I don’t know? Maybe something like ”Murder of a Nun” or ”Murder at our Lady of Good Council”? I really don’t know. But I can tell you why it’s called Sister Margaret – it’s because she is the victim, and we decided every book in the series would be named after the victim. One, out of respect for the victims, and two, because when a detective starts his case folder, the victim’s name is written on it, and therefore the name of the victim becomes the name of the case.
4) If you could hang out with one of your fictional characters, who would it be and why?
Doreen, definitely Doreen. Now if I wasn’t married I’d be trying to get with Terry Callahan, because he is just so dead sexy. Tommy reminds me too much of my brothers and I already get enough of them. Doreen is loosely based off of a long time friend of both my brothers who I’ve met but don’t really know. And I just love everything about Doreen, she is a tough Detective from the Housing Division in Brooklyn, she is truly a hard girl, but is still very cute, very sassy, and an absolute dear.,
5) Do you or Travis have any quirks or rituals during the writing phase of a novel?
I know Travis has to be alone in his house. If anything distracts him, or he’s not in the right frame of mind he can’t write but at the same time, if he is in the right mood and conditions are the way he likes them, then he can write a third to a half of a book in one sitting, he just runs with ideas for eight to ten hours. Me, on the other hand, am completely opposite. I am married to a Sicilian and have learned the great art of tuning out, I can read and write anytime. I’ve worked on the book in my car waiting for my kids, I’ve worked on it in a bar, in the backyard, pretty much anywhere.
6) Last but not least, do you have anything you’d like to say to your current and future readers?
BUY OUR BOOKS PLEASE! I need to quit my real job! 😁 Other than that, I would truly like to thank all of our current readers, my brother and I are absolutely blown away with how great the response has been to Sister Margaret. We really had no idea it would sell any copies at all, never mind as many as it has, or that anyone would like it nearly as much as it seems everyone does. So yes…Huge thanks to all of our current fans. For our future readers all I can say is please give Sister Margaret a shot. It is a very realistic depiction of real Detectives doing real detective work, Tommy Keane is a great human being, and his life is intertwined with a cast of characters that anyone who likes crime fiction, or any fiction novels at all, will or should fall in love with. And I promise, the next four books in the series will definitely pull you so deep into Tommy Keane’s world you’ll feel like a regular at Bailey’s Corner Pub.
Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N
SEQUEL OUT NOW!
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