Today, I’d like to welcome author Terrie Farley Moran to Lesa’s Book Critiques. You might recognize her name in partnership with Jessica Fletcher’s for the Murder, She Wrote mysteries. But, Terrie will tell you some of that herself as she answers my questions. If you have additional questions, check out Terrie’s website at https://terriefarleymoran.com/.

Thank you, Terrie, for taking the time to answer my questions.

Terrie, would you introduce yourself to readers, tell us what you did before you were a writer, and what you wrote before you joined forces with Jessica Fletcher?

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday. My name is Terrie Farley
Moran and I presently write the Murder, She Wrote mystery series featuring the
incomparable Jessica Fletcher. As a lifelong New Yorker, I held various positions
in the government of New York City for a number of years but when my first two
grandchildren were born twelve days and thirteen hundred miles apart, I knew I
had to find flexible employment that would allow me to spend time with each of
them so I became a trainer in a gym. When I needed time off to visit the grandkids,
one of my colleagues was happy to take my hours, and the owners would slip me
back into the schedule when I came home. My financial plan was to begin writing
stories and books in the genre I love, cozy mysteries. I soon realized that it was not
the niftiest of plans because writing is hard, really, really hard, and the pay is, shall
I say, not as rewarding as I expected. I began my first novel, titled Driven to Death
in January 2003 and finished it a couple of years later. While I was shopping it
around and getting rejected at best and ignored at worst, the New York Tri State
chapter of Sisters in Crime had a call for submissions for a chapter anthology. I
wrote a story called “Strike Zone” and was gobsmacked when it was accepted and
published in Murder New York Style in the fall of 2007.

I was still querying in 2012 when I met the fabulous Kim Lionetti of Bookends
Literary Agency, who pronounced Driven to Death unsalable but asked if I would
write something else. I wrote Well Read Then Dead the first book in the Read ’Em
and Eat cozy series. It was published in 2014 and won the Agatha Award for Best
First Novel. While I was writing the second book in the series, Laura Childs, who
had been kind enough to read and blurb Well Read Then Dead, telephoned to ask if
I would be interested in co-writing her fun and fabulous New Orleans
Scrapbooking mysteries. I am proud to have co-authored four books in that highly
entertaining series. Then, on St. Patrick’s Day 2020, as the entire United States had
just entered quarantine, Kim called to say that we’d received a job offer. When she
asked if I was familiar with the Murder, She Wrote books, I shouted, “Yes, I’ll do
it.” Poor Kim had no way of knowing that I’d been a major fan of the television
show and the books since the very beginning and I am happy to say my shout
didn’t break her ear drum. Since then, I have published six Murder, She Wrote
novels including two SCRIBE AWARD nominees: Murder, She Wrote Debonair in
Death and Murder, She Wrote Death on the Emerald Isle.

Would you give us the elevator pitch for Murder, She Wrote: Murder Backstage?

My sixth contribution to the series, Murder, She Wrote Murder Backstage, was
released earlier this week. I have to give full credit to Jessica’s major fan, Spencer
Smith, and a cadre of other Canadian readers who were rather insistent on inviting
Jessica to visit Canada, as she hadn’t been there in quite a while.

As it turns out, Jessica’s British cousin, Emma Macgill, was invited to Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, to perform with internationally famous star of stage, screen, and
television Derek Braverman. Emma invited Jessica to join her and suggested she
bring along some friends. Having just finished her latest book, Jessica is ready for
a vacation and is delighted to agree. Dr. Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Mort Metzger are
huge fans of Braverman, so they are eager to tag along, and their fanboy behavior
gives Jessica and Mort’s wife, Maureen, more than occasional cause to roll their
eyes.

Upon arrival in Edmonton, Jessica is quickly outed as mystery writer J. B. Fletcher,
and despite numerous protests, a hotel staffer arranges a book signing for her. This
and touristy adventures arranged for the group make for a much busier trip than
Jessica was expecting. When a part-time hotel bartender, who also happens to be a
stagehand for Emma’s play, turns up dead backstage at the theater, Jessica’s fun
and relaxing vacation quickly becomes anything but.

 Terrie, you and I share a passion for Ireland. Tell us about your love of that country, and what you think we should all see when we go there.

In my direct genetic line, those ancestors who were not born on the island of
Manhattan were born on the island of Ireland, in counties such as Cavan,
Tipperary, Derry and Cork. My childhood consisted of lots of Irish music, soda
bread, celebrating St. Patrick for the entire month of March, and often marching in
the big parade on Fifth Avenue. I continue these traditions to this day. I have
visited Ireland several times, and my favorite trip was when I was able to travel
through the land of our ancestors with my children and grandchildren. If anyone is
planning to spend time enjoying the Emerald Isle, I do, in fact, have suggestions.
All of Ireland is scenic and all of the Irish people are cheerful and welcoming, so it
makes sense to limit your geography to suit the amount of time you have, rather
than trying to see the entire island in a week or ten days. I am going to suggest you
visit the west coast of Ireland, often called the Wild Atlantic Way, because 1) you
will have a great time, 2) Shannon Airport is not nearly as chaotic as Dublin
Airport, and 3) you have a better chance of running into locals who speak Irish
(Gaeilge) than in other parts of the island.

First up, County Clare, home to Shannon Airport and splendid sights such as the
colorful town of Doolin, known for its fine Irish music; the gritty, outer-planet like
surface of the crusty Burren; and the majesty of the Cliffs of Moher. (The first time
I visited the Cliffs was a blustery day in the month of May and I realized that my
ancestors didn’t need to take the coffin ships, they only needed to stand atop the
Cliffs and the wind would easily carry them across the three thousand miles of
ocean to America.)

Next I propose you head north into County Galway, where you should spend some
amount of time in what I consider to be the most cosmopolitan city on the island,
Galway City. While you are there be sure to take a ferry to the Aran Islands in
Galway Bay, where you will find a number of tourist attractions, not the least is
Dun Aengus (Dún Aonghasa) a prehistoric ring fort that sits on the edge of a steep
cliff (a not too terrible climb, but when I was up top, I didn’t hang over the edge as
some others have been known to do.) Moving North once more, a tour of the
greenery and caves of Connemara National Park would not be a miss. While there
be sure to stop by the magnificent Kylemore Abby, which was once a castle and
now is home to the Benedictine nuns who keep the Abby and its Victorian Walled
Garden in pristine condition. A stop over at the town of Clifton, often called the
capital of Connemara, will give you the opportunity for a cup of tea or a pint and a
walk along Clifton Harbour.

When you hit the road again you will soon cross into County Mayo and visit one of
my family’s all time favorite places, Glen Keen Farm, a family run ten thousand
acre sheep farm and hospitality center in Louisburgh. (As an aside, my family
loved it so much that for Christmas a couple of years after we visited, I ordered
presents from Glen Keen for all my family members included an adopt-a-sheep as
a gift for my daughter-in-law.) When you can tear yourself away from the wonders
of Glen Keen Farm, go north for half an hour and you will come to the magical
town of Westport which is filled with shops, restaurants, lovely scenery and is a
central point for visits to Clew Bay, Achill Island and Crough Patrick. For my
granddaughters, Westport will always be remembered as the place where they first
learned of Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Ní Mháille) who was born in the early
sixteenth century and, in acknowledgement of her many exploits, is known as the
Pirate Queen.

And wherever on the island of Ireland you may go, don’t forget to spend plenty of
time relaxing in a pub during a trad session, i.e., a group of locals playing
traditional Irish music, an experience that will live in your heart forever.

Here’s a tough one. Tell us who your favorite author is (NOT Jessica Fletcher), and why. Not your favorite book, but your favorite author.

When I saw this question my first thought was: “Seriously? Only one?” And my
second thought was, “Oh, no problem. It is Daphne Du Maurier.” How did I realize
that so quickly? Well for one thing, Du Maurier is the star of the opening paragraph
of my first published novel, Well Read Then Dead.

“Oh, pu-leeze, Rowena, Anya Seton never measured up to Daphne du
Maurier’s elegance. I’m shocked that you would say such a thing.” Jocelyn
Kendall, pastor’s wife and book club gadfly, crossed and recrossed her legs
in perfect tempo with the ever-increasing meter of her rant. Our discussion
of Green Darkness was deteriorating rapidly.

When I outgrew Judy Bolton, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and the Hardy Boys, I
moved up to the Golden Age mystery authors and classics like Willa Cather’s
books and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. And, as kids, we were allowed to read any
book that was in the house. One day I picked up my mother’s library copy of
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier. The gothic genre was new to me and the story
line frightened me a bit, but I was soon searching the library shelves for any other
books she had written. To this day, as Rowena claims above, no one has ever
“measured up to Daphne du Maurier’s elegance”, at least not for me.

I want to thank Lesa for inviting me to share the Sunday Spotlight. I’ve enjoyed
being here very much. Everyone, please come visit me anytime on my website
www.terriefarleymoran.com or on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/terriefarleymoran

Thank you, Terrie, for your time and thoughtful answers.