ParaCozyMysMo - Allison Kingsley - Raven's Nest Bookstore Mysteries

Please welcome Allison Kingsley to The Qwillery as part of ParaCozyMysMo! A Sinister Sense (A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery 2) was published on July 3, 2012!

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery!

Allison:  Thank you! I'm delighted to be here.


TQ:  Writing quirks! What are some of yours?

Allison:  Whenever I get stuck in a scene or can't think of how to start the next one, I play solitaire or scrabble until my mind clears. Since that happens a dozen times during my work day, I play a lot of games. I'm also a procrastinator. I give myself plenty of time when setting a deadline, then I wait until the very last minute to begin the book, which means I'm scrambling at the end to get it done on time. I always say I work better under pressure. What I really mean is that I lack discipline.


TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers?

Allison:  Oh, so many! I love to read and rarely have the time to indulge. Let's see... Jane Austen and the Brontes, Hemingway, John Grisham, and too many romance and mystery authors to name.


TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Allison:  Plotter..all the way. I need a map to follow, though often I'll take detours and have to find my way back. I started plotting when writing one of my early books. I got to the third chapter and much to my astonishment and dismay, my hero found the villain dead on the floor of his apartment. No matter what I did I couldn't resurrect him, and I had to hunt for another villain which threw all my ideas out of the window. Now I plot.


TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Allison:  Getting it down. That's the drawback of preplotting. Once I know the full story, it's hard to keep the excitement going. I love the plotting and revising phases, but the actual writing is exhausting.


TQ:  Your most recent novel is A Sinister Sense (A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery 2). What inspired you to write mysteries with paranormal/supernatural elements?

Allison:  I wanted to do something different, and the idea of an amateur sleuth who solves crimes by using her sixth sense, which sometimes works for her and sometimes doesn't, appealed to me enough to want to write the series.


TQ:  Do you base your paranormal/supernatural elements on existing lore, make things up or both?

Allison:  Existing. Don't tell anyone, but I also have a sixth sense that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't!


TQ:  What sorts of research have you done for The Raven's Nest Bookstore Mysteries? What is the oddest bit of information that you’ve come across in your research.

Allison:  Having worked in a bookstore, my research is mostly the background. I live on the west coast, and the Raven's Nest is situated in Finn's Harbor, a fictional coastal town in Maine. Not sure I have any oddities, though I was fascinated by the descriptions of lobster rolls. It seems there are many versions of them. I'd love to visit Maine and try one of those!


TQ:  Tell us something about A Sinister Sense that is not in the book description.

Allison:  Clara hates the fact that she's inherited the Quinn Sense, and does everything she can to hide it. She's particularly irritated by the fact that she can read the dog's mind. At the worst possible moments.


TQ:  In A Sinister Sense who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Allison:  Clara was the easiest, probably because I can identify with her. Her cousin and partner-in-crime, Stephanie, was a challenge. She's tough to pin down. Mostly because she's impulsive and a little erratic, and doesn't like to be categorized.


TQ:   Which character in The Raven's Nest Bookstore Mysteries has surprised you the most?

Allison:  Molly Owens, the cousins' assistant. I thought she was an air-head, but she's turned out to be smart, funny and very inventive.


TQ:   What's next?

Allison:  Well, again, don't tell anyone, but I'm thinking of going back to writing romances. I miss Doreen Roberts, and I think it's time I brought her back out of the archives. Also, I'm in the process of reissuing the early Pennyfoot Hotel series as Ebooks. The first one, Room with a Clue, should be online any day now.


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Allison:  My pleasure. Thank you for having me!



Raven's Nest Bookstore Mysteries

A Sinister Sense

A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery 2
Berkley (Prime Crime), July 3, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 288 pages

Visions of the future and turning into people's thoughts come naturally to Clara Quinn thanks to her inherited Quinn Sense. Unfortunately, it offers no insight into her love life—or lack thereof—especially where hardware store owner Rick Sanders is concerned. But even though she's still nursing a broken heart, Clara offers Rick a home for his troublesome dog, Tatters.

But Tatters is the least of Rick's problems when a dead body is discovered in the back of his truck. The victim was seen in the hardware store—and bludgeoned to death with a hammer stolen from there. Clara believes Rick is innocent, but she's not sure whether that belief comes from the Quinn Sense in her head or simply from a desire in her heart...

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Mind Over Murder

A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery 1
Berkley (Prime Crime), September 6, 2011
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 272 pages

Cousins and best friends, Clara and Stephanie Quinn run The Raven's Nest Bookstore, where people go to find their most coveted reads. But they have no idea it's the psychically-gifted Clara who's reading them...

The bookstore has made an enemy of the town crier, Ana Jordon, who claims that the store's occult collection is "poisoning" the town's youth. Meanwhile, the store's number-one employee, Molly, has made no secret of her anger over Ana's antics. So when Ana is found dead, killed by the bust of Edgar Allen Poe sculpted by Molly, the evidence is stacked against her. And Clara must rely on her gift to make sense of this senseless murder...

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

About Allison

Allison Kingsley is the pseudonym of Doreen Roberts Hight, also known as Kate Kingsbury, author of The Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries, a historical series set in Edwardian England, and as Doreen Roberts, writing romances for Harlequin. Doreen has published over sixty books, many of them national best sellers. She lives on a golf course in Oregon with her husband, and a rat terrier who thinks she’s Great Dane.

Website






The Giveaways

There is a giveaway of A Sinister Sense (A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery 2) with this interview. You can also enter to win the Grand Prize by using the Rafflecopter. The comment you leave to enter to win A Sinister Sense may also be used to enter to win the Grand Prize. Both Giveaways are open internationally.

To Enter to Win a Copy of A Sinister Sense

What:  One commenter will win a copy of A Sinister Sense (A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery 2) by Allison Kingsley. The novel is generously provided by Berkley (Penguin).

How:  Leave a comment. Please remember - if you don't leave a comment your entry will not be counted.  You must also leave a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will not be counted.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Saturday, August 4, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

To Enter to Win the Grand Prize

How:  Fill out the Rafflecopter.

Terms and Conditions: 

1) There will be one winner of the Grand Prize.

2) The Grand Prize is separate from any giveaway associated with individual author visits during Paranormal Cozy Mystery Month.

3) You must leave a way to contact you with your comment. If you do not leave a way to contact you, your entry will not be counted.

4) The Grand Prize Giveaway is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address.

5) Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

6) Giveaway Terms and Condition are subject to change at any time.

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