Please help me welcome ML Barrs with an interesting interview and her debut novel, coming soon…
Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
I was born in San Francisco and have called at least forty places home—almost half of those by the time I was twenty. My husband Jon and I have been together since we met in college in 1978. We’re now settled in Lacey, WA, between our daughter in Portland and our son and his family in Seattle. We have two adorable, witty, talented granddaughters. We currently have no pets, but I spend a lot of time filling birdbaths and feeders and caring for houseplants.
Where did you get the idea for Parallel Secrets?
My protagonist, TV journalist Vicky Robeson, has lived in my mind for decades. The idea for this particular story was sparked by the woman who served us breakfast while on a road trip through Arizona. My attention was captured by her striking looks, efficiency, and grace as she waited tables. As we drove away, I said to my husband that she would make a great character in a book. She was the genesis of Sam, the secretive owner of the diner in Parallel Secrets.
Why did you choose this genre (is it something you’ve written in before)?
I’ve loved mysteries ever since I read the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys stories as a child. It fascinates me how disparate, seemingly unrelated events and pieces of people’s lives fit together.
What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?
Accepting that I need to put readers first, and that I can’t expect them to follow along as I hop from one point of view to another.
Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it and do you like it?
I worked in local television for decades, starting as a rookie reporter before moving into management. I loved the people, the adrenaline, the satisfaction of serving the community. My last news job was News Director of a station in Dallas, the fifth largest TV market in the country. I left there to be General Manager of a station in Sacramento. I’m now retired, but still an avid consumer of news.
What was your first job?
I had a lot of jobs around the house, being the oldest girl in a large family. The first outside job I had was picking strawberries. Terrible, backbreaking work. On my best day I made twelve dollars. Even back in the seventies that was lousy money.
What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?
Vicky: A thirty-something Sigourney Weaver. Pete: a forty-year old Sam Elliott.
If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have 3 (inanimate) objects, what would they be?
My fully loaded Kindle, an inexhaustible battery charger, and sunglass-readers.
Is there one subject you would never write about? What is it?
I’m not going to tell you (Haha).
Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes, a memoir.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
I thought of real people’s physical appearance (and a few personality traits) as I developed each character.
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
Clint Eastwood. I hired a reporter/anchorwoman who later married (and divorced) him.
How did you come up with the title?
It popped into my head during a writing class taught by PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Association)’s president, Pam Binder. She challenged us to come up with book titles on the spot, and that was one of mine. Much of the story actually evolved from the title.
How much of the book is realistic?
Other than the fictional town of Walkers Corner, the geographic and historic references are true, as are considerations about journalism and privacy.
Everyone has secrets. Some will kill to keep theirs hidden.
After a young girl goes missing, former TV crime reporter Vicky Robeson joins the search with the help of her attractive new love interest. They take his RV to a tiny town in rural Missouri that’s filled with odd characters and darker secrets. But Vicky has secrets of her own. She believes this kidnapped girl may be linked to a case she reported on nine years ago, when a mystery child was found walking on levee, bloody and unable to speak. Back then, Vicky failed to follow up clues only she knew. Now, she has a chance to redeem herself.
As she uncovers secrets, it becomes clear someone will kill to keep them hidden.
Excerpt:
Vicky wasn’t entirely proud she’d find opportunity in a kidnapping, but this was also the perfect time to follow up on the levee girl mystery and find out, once and for all, whether her actions affected whatever became of little Lisa Dee.
Pete passed an old station wagon. “I checked out Google Earth. It’s mostly swamp and wild land outside town. Maybe she just got lost.”
“Don’t think so. She disappeared from in front of her house.”
“Do you think the cops will talk to you?”
“Hope so. It’ll be different not working for a news station.” Vicky’s voice was light, though her lips tightened and her gut clenched. “It’s been a few years, but I still know people.”
“Sounds good.” Pete didn’t seem to notice her disquiet. He was usually attuned to her moods, one of the many things she enjoyed about him. She had never liked so many things in one man before. Now, however, he apparently had something else on his mind.
“There’s not a lot to see right around Walkers Corner. I might take a couple of side trips to Civil War sites.”
“Good. You should. I’ll be busy.” Besides, she’d rather not have anyone, not even Pete—or especially not Pete—looking over her shoulder as she poked around in the past. Her past.
Pre-order HERE
About the Author:
Maria Lynn Barrs is one of thirteen children—the first girl, with three older brothers—a birth order she believes shaped her essence by the time she was eight. A girl’s gotta be a bit pugnacious to get along in that environment. Amid the chaos of fourteen people living in a mobile home (not a double-wide), she turned fifteen, dropped out of school, and ran away from home. Being homeless, then working minimum wage jobs quickly grew old. She earned a GED and went to college, where she met her husband, the father of their two beloved now-grown children. She started in television news as a reporter, eventually working her way up to news director and general manager before deciding what she really wanted to do is write mysteries.
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