Maggie Bishop: Murder at Blue Falls
Book Club Discussion

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Maggie Bishop

Wow! I could not put this book down. Is your life working in the hospital as fast paced and mind-whirling as it is at Angels of Mercy?

Life in the ER can definitely be fast paced, but you learn to compartmentalize and just go with the flow. It's kind of like juggling chainsaws!

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Maggie Bishop

It says that this is one of your first books in the mystery genre; that you wrote romance novels first. What made you make this transition?

The main reason I switched from romance is because a sequel is not possible. We may fall in love with someone else in real life but we don't want "romance" characters to do so. Once Jemma Chase and Detective Tucker came to me, I wanted to stay with them and so did my publisher. My reading has centered on mysteries - I like the whodunits with heavy emphasis on setting. Reading mysteries allows me to travel without leaving home, solve puzzles, meet characters and see justice succeed. Writing mysteries stretches my imagination to solve the crime and to juggle clues about the suspects. I love creating them!

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Maggie Bishop

You mention CSI many times throughout this story. Are you a fan of the show? What else do you enjoy watching?

I discovered the original CSI once it went into reruns so I could watch it daily and sometimes back to back on marathons and didn't have to wait for a weekly episode. This was before I began writing Murder at Blue Falls. Whenever possible, I watch Bones, NCIS and the Investigators. Back when British mysteries and police shows were available on American TV, I enjoyed many of those.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Maggie Bishop

Tank and Noralie really fit well together. Is there any chance that you will continue their story? If not, why did you make them come together in this book; was it a symbol of hope for the nurses?

Life they survived, out-witted and out-lasted the adults, so I think they've already triumphed! As a pediatrician I am very in tune with how perceptive kids are in seeing the truth hiding behind the facade we adults often cloak the world in, so I love using them in my stories as a counterbalance to a lot of our adult foolishness.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Maggie Bishop

If you weren't a writer, would you have pursued a career in the police department?

Heaven's no! Too much responsibility -- one mistake and someone could get hurt. Also, many times in real life the bad guy gets away. A part of my love of writing mysteries is that justice is served and the criminal justice system works the way it is intended. My characters get a second chance in rewrites. My thanks go to those women and men who try to keep us safe, be it the police, firefighters, military and those in medical fields.

Does Tucker have more of a back story that you can share with us? I wanted to know a bit more about him.

Yes, he does and he is the main character in One Shot Too Many, due out in 2010. He's the third cousin I've written about in the Appalachian Adventure series and I'm staying with him for a while. He's never been married, is in his forties, his family is from the mountains and his kin live in all the hollars and deep valleys. He's honest and has trouble at times because his job requires that he use deception to elicit the truth from suspects and witnesses. Tucker loves his work and, until he met Jemma, it was the only focus in his life. Tucker came to me when I was vacationing at the beach with my parents. While up early one morning and sitting on the balcony overlooking the ocean, a small deer walked by in the dune grass. Shortly, a bob cat followed. Detective Tucker flowed through my fingers and onto the page at that moment. My mind's eye saw him clearly but his motivations only come out when I'm actually writing.

Will there be more stories with Jemma and Tucker? Can you tell anything about your current writing projects?

Perfect for Framing, now available, has trouble abrewin' in the Property Owner's Association and Jemma Chase's carpentry skills land her in the middle of it. In One Shot Too Many, 2010 release, yesterday's regret requires today's deadly fix. Impulsive acts during emotional upheavals from the past return to haunt, ending in the death of a photo-journalist near the cozy mountain town of Boone, NC. Detective Tucker must deal with his past while investigating the secrets of suspects determined to keep from facing their own histories. Jemma Chase, trail-ride leader and CSI wannabe, follows clues, even though her interference may cost Tucker his job.