Shari T. Mitchell Interview Published on: 30, Nov 2023

The St. Lawrence River and the foothills of the Adirondacks Mountains are my original stomping grounds. I’m the youngest of three girls, and I grew up in a home of storytellers, readers, and pranksters. I come by my dark sense of humor honestly.

Oh, look, marketing for yourself differs greatly from marketing for clients. You don’t always see what’s special about your own thing, and I don’t think I am particularly good at promoting myself. For one, I don’t enjoy being the center of attention, and two, I abhor having my photo taken.

On a positive, knowing the mechanics of marketing and design makes it easier when preparing launch strategies, designing covers, writing copy, and producing content.

My father died when I was seventeen. Notebooks and pens became my best friends, and writing was the perfect escape for teen angst and grief. Another traumatic event fifteen years later pushed me back to paper and pen. Writing in a diary kept me sane at a tumultuous time. A few years later, that content came in handy when I created Marnie Reilly’s abusive ex-boyfriend in Divine Guidance, the first book in my series. Writing is cathartic and killing off a dreadful person in a story is quite liberating.

Mysteries hold my interest over other genres. If a story doesn’t keep me guessing; I move on to other things in my head and put down the book. Having the attention span of a two-year-old on a mission doesn’t help.

My mother was a voracious reader of mysteries. She got me hooked, starting my reading journey on the Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys series. When I was a teen, I would raid her book shelves, grabbing Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, Mary Higgins Clark, and her Ellery Queen magazines. Each time I pick up a mystery, I challenge myself to figure it out before the middle of the book—and I usually do.

The first book in the series came to life when I was feeling quite homesick at the tail-end of a horrible relationship. I turned to my diaries and funneled every horrible thing my ex ever did to me into a character in a novel—a character who gets what was coming to him. Today I laugh because had I not gone through that shitstorm, Marnie Reilly may not exist today. Or she would, but she may not be as ballsy and sassy.

“If It Doesn’t Kill You” was the original title. But it changed to Divine Guidance when my main character, psychic psychologist Marnie Reilly, sprang to life. Long story short, I shared the first several chapters with my friend Nik, who had broken her leg. She kept asking for new chapters, so I wrote more to entertain her as she convalesced. Anyway, Divine Guidance grew into a 90,000 word novel. When she nudged me to self-publish, I did. To this day, Nik is one of the first people to read my manuscripts, and she is also the talent behind my gorgeous covers.

Creekwood, located s0mewhere along the Hudson River in the Adirondack Mountains region of New York State, is based on my hometown and surrounds. As mentioned, I was homesick for the St. Lawrence River, the mountains, the climate, and mostly the people from my little slice of the world. It’s your typical small town in America—except for the murders.

Bits and pieces of people I know make up my crazy cast of characters. Marnie Reilly is strong, stubborn, and a control freak. Some would say she’s based on the women in my family—and they are probably right. Having traveled the world a few times, I’ve met all sorts. No one is safe. Everyone I meet has a chance of being a part of my Creekwood crew.

I create a bio for each character, which includes what motivates them to be who they are. Then I peel back layers, revealing more and more with each book in the series. It’s funny to me how my characters come to life. I write and they appear out of nowhere. Even their names just pop into my head.

Because my tagline is “Welcome to Creekwood. Where the holidays are murder,” I figure out the time of year for the next title. Then, I write the last chapter first, so I know where I’m going. After that comes copious amounts of research, a storyboard with images that inspire me, and a loose outline. When I sit my butt in a chair and write, my characters take over. They drive the story. That may sound weird, but it is what it is.

Divine Guidance, Torn Veil, and Fatal Vow are the first three books in the Marnie Reilly Mysteries series. A fourth book, title TBA, will release in October 2024. As mentioned, I set each book around a holiday. DG is Thanksgiving. Torn Veil is Christmas, and Fatal Vow goes out with a bang on the Fourth of July. Book 4 takes us to Halloween, and Book 5 will be a Valentine’s Day murder.

Yes, of course. I often reference, “the good thing about being from a small town is that everybody knows you, and the bad thing is that everyone knows you.” Marnie Reilly is well-known around Creekwood, and it’s not always because she’s a good person—which she is. It’s that some people around are of questionable character, and everyone knows it.

Anyone from my hometown reading my series will recognize names of local haunts I drop into the stories.

I also write about the small town whisper. Folks who grew up in one know exactly what I mean.

“The small-town whisper is an art perfected by Creekwood’s coffee klatch. After all, they have nothing better to do all day but gossip, drink coffee, eat pie, and waddle home in time to get supper on the table.”

—Marnie Reilly Mysteries

Please, don’t get me wrong! I loved growing up in a tight community. Most people are lovely, kind, and supportive, and they also know who to call in an emergency.

I wish I had a pithy answer for that, but I don’t. My business brain must have something to do with it, though.

Dougal, Callee, Midget, and Mags are my disrupters. They never let me sit too long and provide comic relief when I’m too serious. The Pawsome Foursome, as I call them, also makes for excellent social media fodder. Who doesn’t love a picture of a pup snuggled up on the couch in a writing room?

My series features two Border Collies named Tater and Dickens. I draw on my past BCs (Murphy and Finnegan) and my current BCs (Dougal and Callee) for noises, actions, and facial expressions.

My dogs are always gracious when I have chapters to read aloud. They sit, listen, and never interrupt with silly questions.

I love hiking, gardening, reading, cooking, antiquing … And yes, some of my hobbies end up in my writing because they are topics I speak about with ease.

Time management and noise levels challenge me the most, and Fatal Vow’s dedication page says it all:

“For Harper, Dougal, Callee, Midget, and Mags; without them, I would have finished this book two years ago.”

Of course, the dreaded writer’s block rears its ugly head now and again, too. When that happens, I feel sorry for myself for a few days, console myself with other projects, go for a long walk with the pups, and get back to it.

I will keep it short and sweet.

Don’t edit your own work.

Let the words come to you—don’t force the story.

Be brave—don’t worry about what others will think.

Don’t give up.

The Marnie Reilly Mysteries series will continue as long as I have a Marnie story to tell. I have a few other projects in the works—short stories and a children’s book, but nothing that will be available soon. My focus is on Book 4, and I need it to stay there if I am to meet my deadline of October 2024.

There are a few short Marnie Reilly stories on my website.

I think it’s a great service for the writing and reading communities. While I have not taken full advantage of my pro membership, I know I will when time permits me to dive in early next year. I came to AllAuthor via a recommendation from TL Brown, the brilliant author of two of my favorite indie series: Door to Door Mysteries and Bellerose Witchline.