Today's Special - - Loucinda McGary

It's my pleasure to welcome Loucinda McGary back to The Romance Dish.  A world traveler (she's visited 47 states and 34 countries), Loucinda writes romantic suspense novels with characters that draw you in and sets them in locales that will have you wanting to book the next flight out. Italy? Ireland? Mackinac Island?  How about San Francisco?  San Fran is the setting of her newest book, The Mozart Murders, an edge-of-your-seat story that I happily devoured in one big gulp.  I think it's her best work so far.  

Connect with Loucinda on her Facebook page and on Twitter.  

Please join me in giving Loucinda McGary a warm welcome back! 

Hi, Loucinda!  It’s been too long since we’ve seen your smiling face here at The Romance Dish.  Welcome back!  Congratulations on the release of The Mozart Murders.  You really ratcheted up the tension in this one.  I couldn’t put it down!  Please share with our readers what they can expect from this story.

Hi PJ and everyone! Thanks so much for inviting me to be your guest today. I always love to hang out at The Romance Dish, and I’m very excited to share info about my new release The Mozart Murders.  Basically, this is a dark and gritty romantic suspense that centers around a serial killer dubbed “Amadeus” because he plays Mozart’s music while he commits his heinous crimes.  The case is assigned to San Francisco Police Detective Philippa “Flip” Morland, and her captain hires classical musician and college professor Jeremy Burke to assist in apprehending the suspect.  Of course, the chemistry between Flip and Jeremy is immediate as they investigate in some of the well-known neighborhoods and landmarks of San Francisco. As the violence and the body count escalates, so does the danger for both Flip and Jeremy.  Readers can expect a lot of action and sensual love scenes along with lots of atmospheric details. However, this story is a lot darker than anything I’ve written before and is definitely not for the faint of heart. I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, PJ.   

At first blush, Flip and Jeremy seem an unlikely pairing.  What qualities did you see in these two that convinced you they had a shot at a happy ever after?

When I first started toying with the idea of a serial killer who was obsessed with Mozart, my fantastic critique partner Jo Robertson suggested I mix it up and make the heroine the hard-nosed cop and the hero the classical musician. I took her excellent suggestion and ran with it!

Flip is the youngest sibling and grew up with two older brothers and a cop father. She works in a male-dominated environment and the last person she’d be attracted to is another typical alpha male. Jeremy is intelligent, witty, and comfortable in his field of expertise. Hmmm, all characteristics *I* find attractive in a man. J Jeremy was raised by two strong women and has been in a career with many strong and talented women, so he wouldn’t be intimidated by a bright, focused woman like Flip.   

Classical music plays an important role in this story and your descriptions had me almost believing I could hear the music in my head as the scenes played out.  Are you a classical music aficionado or is that the result of good research?

Actually, a bit of both. J I played the flute for five years when I was growing up, which is why Jeremy is a flautist. Playing in my school orchestra sparked my interest in classical music, and I’ve been a fan ever since. In fact, the very first romantic suspense novel I ever wrote (and my Golden Heart finalist) was inspired by an opera. Though my favorite composer is Beethoven, I’ve enjoyed the movie “Amadeus” since it was first released way back in 1984, and it inspired me to create the villain in this story.

And speaking of hearing the music as the scenes played out, that’s exactly what I did. I searched YouTube for performances of all the pieces mentioned in the book, and you can too. Here’s a link to Itzhak Perlman playing Mozart’s 5^th violin concerto:

  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRItTPlifZo&feature=kp   

The villain of this story is one sick puppy.  Do you ever find yourself being frightened by the characters of your imagination as you write their stories?  (I had to take the dog out about 30 pages from the end – which was inconveniently about 11:30pm - and spent a lot of time looking over my shoulder! LOL!)

I’ve never written in the villain’s point-of-view until Mozart Murders, and I gotta tell you it was great fun! “Amadeus” is so over-the-top evil I really pulled out all the stops in writing his scenes. The fact that he frightened you means I successfully did my job. But no, he honestly didn’t scare me. I can’t remember who said it but “the villain is the hero of his own story” is certainly true in this case. Besides, I always knew what was going to happen in the end. J

I love reading about your globe-trotting excursions.  Have you been anywhere interesting lately?

I haven’t been out of the country yet this year, but last month I did take a jaunt to southern Texas. I visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston (which was absolutely fascinating), and also spent a couple of fun days in Galveston. 

Speaking of traveling, we’re about to enter conference season.  Will you be anywhere this spring and summer where readers will have the opportunity to meet you?

Alas, probably not. Last week I signed final papers and received the keys to my new (to me) house, so I’ll be up to my eyeballs with moving. I’ve lived in my current place for thirteen years, which will make this move especially challenging, but I’ll be very happy when it is done.  

What’s next?  Do you have any new stories in the works that you’re able to share with us today? Will there be more stories along the lines of The Mozart Murders (she asked, hopefully)?

My newest work-in-progress is another “Dead Girl…” story. The current title is Dead Girl in Paradise, and features Sloan Madison, the brother of Tate who is the hero of my 2013 novel Dead Girl in a Green Dress. As you might guess from the title, Dead Girl in Paradise is set on Maui. I’m hoping to release the book in the fall.

As for Mozart Murders, I purposely gave Flip Morland two single brothers who both have stories to tell. Plus, I’ve had several readers ask about another story with Flip and Jeremy, and I never say never when it comes to my writing. J

Thanks for visiting with us today, Loucinda!   I wish you all the best with The Mozart Murders. 

Thanks so much for hosting me! I hope all the Dish readers enjoy reading Mozart Murders.

Would you like to ask our readers a question?

Do you listen to classical music and what are your favorite pieces? What kind of music do you like the most and would you like to read a story centered around it? I’ll give a free download of The Mozart Murders to two random commenters.

Thanks again for having me as a guest!