Once again, it’s a pleasure to introduce my next Crime Cafe guest blogger, Terry Ambrose. This dude is lucky enough to live in Southern California and make frequent visits to Hawaii, which is enough to make me sick so awesome!
I had the pleasure of meeting Terry at the big SinC Hollywood conference. What an awesome time we had there. Really!
Anyway, since then I’ve read one of his other McKenna Mysteries and quite enjoyed it.
You, too, can win a copy of his latest book, NORTH SHORE NANNY, if you leave a comment here.
So … having said that, here’s Terry Ambrose!
*****
Anyone who reads my books might get the idea I’m obsessed with scams and cons. I have to admit, I do incorporate those themes on a regular basis. In fact, each book includes some sort of scam or con. Part of my interest stems from years of collecting money from deadbeats. But, being an identity theft victim is what got me hooked.
It’s been years since “the incident.” It was a straightforward transaction. Checks ordered from the bank. Delivery time—three weeks. We’d be on vacation for only two. It all seemed quite safe—until the checks came early, and a postal employee got sticky fingers. Yes, a Temp grabbed our checks while he was on duty.
It’s been almost thirty years since my first attempt at writing, and how things have changed.
Several years later, I began writing mysteries. The first book had everything it didn’t need—bad dialogue, bad exposition, bad plot. In short, it sucked. It qualified as what writers refer to as the “trunk novel.” In case you’re not familiar with the term, a trunk novel is one the writer locks away to ensure it is never seen again. Mine couldn’t go in a suitcase because, thank goodness, there were no paper copies. The good news is, the digital copies were buried in a landfill somewhere decades ago. As far as I’m concerned, it was a perfect ending for an imperfect book.
It’s been almost thirty years since my first attempt at writing, and how things have changed. I now write mysteries with a focus on con artists and thieves. I don’t riddle my work with dead bodies or violence—not my thing. Instead, I like to keep things light.
“North Shore Nanny” is typical of my favorite style. Fast, funny, and filled with twists and turns. This doesn’t mean I don’t write about serious issues. Quite the contrary. The serious issue behind “North Shore Nanny” is veterans benefit fraud. It’s a huge problem and results in too many veterans losing their life savings because of con men. The good news is, the con man in “North Shore Nanny” is dead when the book begins. And that’s where the tagline comes in. When a con man dies, nobody cares except his killer.
*****
Terry Ambrose writes the Trouble in Paradise (McKenna Mystery) series, and the License to Lie thriller series. Terry has been nominated for multiple awards and won the 2014 San Diego Book Awards for Best Action/Thriller.
Terry’s novels receive consistent praise from readers for their complex characters and plots. Kirkus Reviews said Terry’s writing has “. . . the kind of snark that will remind readers of Elmore Leonard.”
NORTH SHORE NANNY is available on Amazon.
PS: The interview with Denise Wallace is now on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher!
