I’m one of the authors participating in the challenge to get a new 25-novel cozy mystery boxed set onto the USA Today Bestseller List. It’s called 25 Mysteries to Die For and will be available from December 27th. And it’ll be just ¢99/99p!
So if you’re interested in adding hours of cozy mystery reading to your ereader for a bargain price, and helping us to achieve our goal at the same time, you can pre-order it right now for Nook or Kobo. (Coming soon for iBooks and Kindle).
In the meantime, you can get to know all the participating authors here. Check back often, I’ll be posting a new interview every day until the boxed set is launched.
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In today’s interview, I welcome Ava Mallory, whose Cozy Mysteries, Mercy & Mayhem, Misbehaving, and Out on a Limb, are featured in the above mentioned box set.
Ava, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Ava Mallory. I like to call myself a genre hoarder. Primarily, I write cozy mysteries, but because you can never have too many mysteries in life, I also write psychological thrillers and romantic thrillers.
Prior to writing full-time, I’ve worn many hats. I was a hospice nurse for twenty years while also raising children, chauffeuring children to activities, volunteering as a child advocate, and sub-contracting as a copywriter for a small publishing house.
Since I became a full-time writer, my life hasn’t changed much. I basically still do all of the above, but this go around, I do it in my pajamas. (Don’t tell my children that! J)
Was there a certain time in your life you knew you wanted to write?
When I was 4 years old, my mother took my younger brother and I to a Storytime activity at our neighborhood library. I don’t know if that was the first time we’d gone or just the most memorable time. When the librarian walked in the room with a book in hand (a Dick and Jane book, if I recall correctly), I knew right then and there that I would grow up to be a writer.
As is often the case, life had other plans for me. I veered this way and that and found a long-time career as a hospice nurse, but I never once lost sight of my goal to become a full-time writer.
What are you currently working on?
I always have several projects going at once. I’m editing the next book in one of cozy mystery series now. I plan on publishing it in January. I’m also outlining a new novel for my thriller series and developing a new cozy mystery series to be released next fall.
Of the books you’ve written, which one is your favorite and why?
I absolutely adore my Mercy & Mayhem novel. It’s the first in my A Mercy Mares cozy mystery series. It’s the most personal of my novels. Each character is loosely based on people I’ve met and/or worked with in my life.
What books have most influenced you as a writer?
I’m an eclectic reader. The books that have influenced me most are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, most of Agatha Christie’s works, and most recently, books by Emma Donoghue.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of writing? And the most rewarding?
The most challenging part of writing for me is conquering my own fear. I think we all deal with fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being exposed. The most rewarding is finishing any project. Typing The End still makes me giddy every single time.
What book is on your nightstand?
(1.) The Silent Witness by Brittainy C. Cherry (2.) Evelyn, After by Victoria Helen Stone
What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?
I plan on releasing three new cozy novels in the coming year. One will be the second book in my paranormal cozy mystery series and the other two will be new novels in my A Mercy Mares series.
I also write psychological thrillers under a pseudonym. I’ll have three releases for that pen name next year as well.
Is there anything you’d like to share with your readers?
I’m thankful for each and every reader. Knowing that someone has read my work means the world to me. I love interacting with them and receiving feedback from them. I cannot wait to share new works with them and some fun perks for newsletter subscribers.
AUTHOR LINKS
Website link writeravamallory.wix.com/avamallory
Facebook Link (author page) https://www.facebook.com/Ava-Mallory-1443761745884008/
Twitter Link https://twitter.com/avamallorypens
AUTHOR BIO
In Ava Mallory’s world, chocolate is a vegetable and life is a great, big adventure!
When not writing mysteries, Ava can be found surfing the internet, binge-watching her favorite shows and movies, or corralling her children.
Mercy & Mayhem, Misbehaving, and Out on a Limb by Ava Mallory are just three of the titles featured in a 25-novel cozy mystery collection called 25 Mysteries to Die For which aims to hit the USA Today Bestseller List at the end of the year.