Please help me welcome today’s guest, M.S. Spencer…
Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
I once counted up the number of significant moves in my life…and stopped at twenty-five. I have lived or traveled in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the US, Central America, and South America. Florida has been my home for the last eleven years. Hurricane Helene arrived in September 2024 and flooded the bungalow built by my parents-in-law, so I am currently in a rented apartment with a fabulous view of Sarasota Bay and not much else to recommend it.
By June, 2025 I will have published eighteen romantic suspense and mystery novels, the first released in 2009. I hold degrees in Anthropology, Middle East Studies, and Library Science. I’ve worked as a librarian, anthropologist, research assistant, Congressional aide, speechwriter, and nonprofit director. I have two children, an exuberant granddaughter, and currently divide my time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc, you’d like to share?
I’m featuring my latest release, In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key, a Florida mystery. Like several of my books, I take as a premise something that is in the news. In this case, I’d been following the concerning trend of Chinese purchases of US farmland. I wound it into the plotline. As the news cycle moved on I was afraid that particular issue wouldn’t be relevant any more, and then bingo—it’s in the news again! The story I’m working on now had to do with offshore wind farms. It’s only in first draft so I kind of hope it continues to be controversial!
What book have you read that you wish you had written?
The Late George Apley, by J. P. Marquand (1937). It was so intricately woven between time periods. An amazing book.
What do you love that most people don’t like and wouldn’t understand why you do?
That’s easy: snakes. I love snakes. Most humans have a primal fear of snakes. I did not get that gene, nor did my daughter, who had a sweet little scarlet kingsnake named Phoebe. They are not slimy or slippery or scary. I find them beautiful and they do make lovely pets.
Do you collect anything?
Oh my God, I used to collect all kinds of stuff. I had miniature porcelain figurines, rocks, stamps, coins, Wizard of Oz books, elephants, and more. The final straw was when I decided to collect the shells of cooked lobsters. My mother came into my room and gagged. Who knew old seafood shells stank?
What was your first job?
There was the life-guarding job at 15, but my first real job was as assistant to a professor who was writing a bibliography of works on Ethiopia in the Library of Congress. I had a desk in the library and two stack passes—which are more valuable than gold to a scholar. I could actually go in to the stacks of the greatest library in the world and browse.
What’s your favorite book of all time and why? What’s your favorite childhood book?
It would have to be Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice for its perfect prose, but I do love Douglas Adams’ A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy because it’s irreverent, funny, and original. My favorite children’s book was Frank Stockton’s The Queen’s Museum & Other Fanciful Tales, which includes such gems as “The Gryphon & the Minor Canon” and “The Bee-man of Orn.” I have the copy that belonged to my grandmother, which I read till the cover fell off.
What is your favorite quote?
“Shirley, you are one silly bitch.” This is from the movie Shirley Valentine starring Pauline Collins. It’s about a middle-aged British housewife who goes to Greece on holiday & rediscovers herself. Whenever she gets overly dramatic or introspective, she tells herself this.
Your most prized material possession? Why?
My grandfather clock. My ancestor brought it from England around 1880, at which time it was already over 100 years old. It is a simple, yellow-pine box, but represents centuries of Spencer history.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes. In the heady days before computers and thumb drives, I wrote a novel set in Yorktown and Williamsburg about the murder of the first female director of the Environmental Protection Agency. I had an agent and the manuscript was well on its way when two things happened. First, my agent decided to quit agenting. Then my husband, in a spring-cleaning frenzy, threw out the one copy. That was 17 years ago. I left the dream behind.
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
Prince Charles was visiting the University of Chicago & I met him. Meryl Streep was a dorm-mate at Vassar. Working at the US Senate meant that I met famous senators and other politicians on a regular basis, plus visiting dignitaries and hearing participants. I had my picture taken with Charlton Heston and met Paul Newman.
Your favorite…
Movie: Ninotchka, the only Greta Garbo movie in which she laughs.
Music: Opera
Place you’ve visited: Too many—Paris, Istanbul, the Amazon, Egypt
Place you’d like to visit: Galapagos Islands
TV show from childhood: Have Gun Will Travel
TV show from adulthood: Death in Paradise
Food: Bacon cheeseburger with lots of lettuce
Sports team: Minnesota Vikings
Thanks so much for the interesting interview. I would have been sick about that manuscript being thrown out! And, wow…snakes. Yeah, not my favorite thing. Eek!
Please tell us about your book…
Someone is killing people with a crossbow—who will be next?
Palmer Lind, recovering from the sudden death of her husband, embarks on a bird-watching trek to the Gulf Coast of Florida. One hot day on Leffis Key she comes upon—not the life bird she was hoping for—but a floating corpse. The handsome beach bum who appears on the scene at the same time seems to have even more secrets than the dead man.
His story begins to unravel as the pair search for answers to a growing pile of dead bodies. Spies, radical environmentalists, and wealthy businessmen circle around each other in a complex dance. Which one is lying? What do a seemingly random group of individuals have in common, other than being targeted by a crossbow?
Excerpt:
Palmer climbed into the bass boat, and Hooper pushed it back in the water. They motored after the skiff. Hooper gazed over Palmer’s head, his expression unreadable. She studied him. Dusty blond hair cut short, but not short enough to lose the wave. Luminescent gray eyes whose brooding depths reminded her of a sea captain far from home or a world-weary traveler. His gnarly hands plus the five o’clock shadow on his chin attested to his beach bum status. She checked out the filthy shorts and ragged shirt barely concealing the tanned chest. He must live alone. The thought had a curious effect on her. A kind of warmish, softish feeling, a feeling she was not in the habit of having, at least not since Peter died.
His eyes dropped to hers. “Like what you see?”
Her momentary embarrassment was swiftly replaced by irritation. “You could use a wash and brush up.”
His cheeks tightened. “Last I checked you weren’t my mother.”
“True. I’m not your wife either, but one or the other should take a hand with you.”
A spasm crossed his face. Then he attempted a wry grin. “Since I currently have neither, perhaps you could do the honors.”
She sucked in a breath. “Sorry, just passing through.” Yikes. Did he think I was flirting with him?
“Oh. Well, then.” They had reached the dock. He cranked the engine down. “Hop out and I’ll tie up.”
Palmer ran over their conversation, trying to tease out any misleading statements she had made. How to explain that I’m not in the market—not so soon after Peter… She regarded the man at the tiller. Something about him… Am I attracted to him? No, it was something else, something enigmatic about him… He looked startled when he saw the dead man’s face. And he had hesitated when the patrolman asked his name. He also acted cagey when I called him a native. Why? Could he be a fugitive from justice? She sized him up. “So…what’s your real name and who are you really?”
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About the Author
Librarian, anthropologist, research assistant, Congressional aide, speechwriter, nonprofit director—M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents and holds degrees in Anthropology, Middle East Studies, and Library Science. In June 2025 she will have published eighteen mystery or romantic suspense novels. She has two children, an exuberant granddaughter, and currently divides her time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
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Author Alicia Dean 