Official Interview: Mardi Lynn Roselius

[kandscreeley]

Today's Chat with Sarah features Mardi Lynn Roselius author of Sons of the Red Dragon, an upcoming book of the month.

View the Official 5-Star Review

View Kindle edition on Amazon

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1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I began life among the first wave of baby boomers in the very busy delivery room of the Bethesda Naval Hospital, the designated healthcare center for the President of the United States. An association that might be as close as I'll ever come to rubbing up against fame. I share my birthday with such inauspicious events as the date of the sailing of the RMS Titanic, the last photograph taken of Abraham Lincoln before his death and the release of the Hollywood grunt and groan debacle, Caveman, starring Ringo Starr.

The middle child of three, at the age of four, my family moved from Norfolk, Virginia, to Key West, Florida, under orders from the Department of the Navy. I spent my formative years on that tiny isle at the southern tip of Florida, graduating from Key West High School in 1966, with a prized $25 art scholarship.

I married my high school sweetheart before attending my first classes at Palm Beach Junior College, followed by a stint at Florida State University where I majored in graphic design and parenthood.

By 1977, my life had become too comfortable, so I accepted a position in Esfahan, Iran, with a military contractor and spent two years in the service of the Shah, accompanied by my spouse and our two young children. In 1979, after the Shaw was forced to abdicate, following a violent revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini requested—not so politely—that we American expats catch the next plane out of the country. We returned to the States and relocated to Seattle, Washington, where for twenty-five years our family lived among the snow-capped mountains, old-growth forests and incessant rain of the Pacific Northwest.

After a thirty-five year career in the graphic design/marketing communications field as a designer and illustrator, the last fifteen of which I was the principle of my own design firm, I retired with my spouse, two adult children and three grandchildren to the desert of Arizona, where we shoved our collection of umbrellas into the back of a closet. Having relocated to Scottsdale, burned out by the pressurized world of corporate design and the demanding clients that came with it, I searched elsewhere for a new creative outlet and found it in my newly developed passion for writing.

Since retiring, I have polished my craft in seminars and writing critique groups while completing my humorous memoir of growing up in Key West, SAND IN MY SHOES, ROCKS IN MY HEAD. I have written and published a modest number of short stories, magazine articles, and essays and two novels, an espionage thriller, SONS OF THE RED DRAGON, and LAST SHADOW OF THE CROWN, a thriller that takes place in Iran during the last months of the Shah's regime. This work of fiction is based on insights and observations I experienced while living in that challenging part of the world for 664 very long days.

I have been a member of Sisters in Crime and have been fortunate enough to be included in three of their published Anthologies.
In our retirement, my spouse and I traveled to many parts of the world, with an emphasis on islands and warm beaches. Since I was a child, I've been an avid gardener and landscape designer with an emphasis on botanical and tropical landscapes.

Thirteen years ago, my spouse and I relocated to Sarasota, Florida, to live closer to beaches and within a tropical environment. But more importantly, to address a personal lifetime imbalance. Having been born, raised and lived a life in the male gender, and after having struggled through a lifetime with an incessant internal disorder, and after having spent years of counseling and self-introspection, followed by more intense therapy and eventually, gender-confirming surgery, I pursued a course of gender transitioning, and now live a life of a fully functioning female. It was an emotional and trying time for my family, but our deep love bonded us, as we grew together and eventually thrived in our new normal.

Sadly, my spouse of 56 years, Sherry Lynn, passed away three years ago, so my life has changed in many ways. A loss that has been devastating for me and our family. To date, I continue with my writing, but have eliminated or reduced many of the activities we were involved in over the last number of years.

And finally, you should know I am renowned for making, and occasionally partaking of a particular cocktail, as you will soon discover . . .
Strolling down exotic strands,
Footprints left in tropic sands,
'til under sun I sit back,
wearing but my baseball cap,
a book to read I'll find a source,
it's a margarita,
with salt, of course!

2. Which author or authors have been most influential in your writing?

When it comes to the thriller genre, without a doubt, John Grisham is at the top of my list. I would also include a few writers who weren't as proficient, but had great limited success, such as Stieg Larsson and Dan Brown. I also love the excellent writers James Michener, Pat Conroy, Homer H. Hickam, Jr., and for memoir, Bill Bryson.

3. Let's discuss your book Sons of the Red Dragon. Can you give us a short synopsis for those who aren't familiar?

China's master plan to gain political influence in America will see one of their own occupying the cherry-wood desk in the Oval Office of the White House. Meanwhile, MSS, the Chinese government's spy network, attempts to pull off the greatest theft of U.S. military technology ever.

Curtis Beecham, a young writer researching a novel on Chinese immigrants, uncovers the bold scheme of espionage by the MSS. When his compromising research is brought to the attention of both a ruthless master spy of China and the FBI, both organizations are concerned that his revealing manuscript may disclose secrets of their respective intelligence gathering and thwart ongoing operations. They both want to assure this damaging document dies quietly. The young writer's source mysteriously disappears. His editor plays both sides for his own gain. Fearful of Chinese agents, distrustful of the FBI, encircled in a rich and intriguing plot of espionage, arson, kidnapping, betrayal and murder, Curtis must mastermind a daring sting operation within twenty-four hours to outwit the professionals before they find and silence him.

4. How did you come up with this plot about China and its communist party?

Originally, I developed an idea of a young writer penning a fictitious novel about Chinese espionage, when he hits too close to home, the Chinese government takes offense, and he finds himself the target of real Chinese spies. Then I looked for a way to include the "one family, one child" Chinese law in, to add another layer, or sub-plot. I then researched Chinese espionage and found an actual documented case of espionage to base the espionage plot on. Lots of research, lots of threads of ideas that came during the middle of the night to keep the plot evolving, shifting gears and changing directions.

5. The book has an author in it. How difficult or easy was it to write a character who's an author?

Actually, it was easy. My fictitious author was a first-time thriller writer, as was I. And this thriller, and my next one, LAST SHADOW OF THE CROWN, both have normal, everyday guys as my protagonists. Unlike many thrillers and mysteries that have professional lawyers, police officers, FBI, CIA, etc., as their leading man/woman, I intentionally avoided that, for the simple reason I don't know enough about their professions to be confident enough to write from that perspective. If I got something wrong, too many readers would catch it, and that would weaken my story. Spies and Chinese politics are easy. Nobody knows much about them, so I could make up stuff and nobody would be the wiser! Though I strongly believe in writing what you know, and researching what you don't, in order to make the story believable. And in addition, my settings are always locations I know well, so I can build trust with my readers.

6. The reviewer praises your ability to switch between points of view. How did you keep it all straight?

In my head. I don't have a particularly good memory, but I'm very good with and interested in details. And being a visual person, following a former career in graphic design, I think visually. In my head, I visualize the scene, as well as those in the scene. What they're saying, thinking, acting and responding. And I keep my protagonist in first person and all other characters in third person.

7. Which scene in the book is your favorite? Which was hardest to write?

I love setting a scene and creating the proper atmosphere and emotion my reader should expect from that scene, whether it be joy, pain, heartbreak, euphoria or fear. And this being a thriller, fear is the most important and dominant emotion. Therefore, I love the scenes best that portray fear, such as the car chase and desperate footrace the protagonist, Curtis Beecham, has against the freight train near the ferry terminal, and the desperation and bravery shown by his friend, Angie, when she stood up to, and outwitted, the two thugs who had kidnapped Curtis.

8. What's next for you?

I have many projects on my plate. Another novel I started but had to put on hold after my spouse passed. I couldn't write for a year following her loss, and when I motivated myself back to the keyboard, I wanted to start with something less daunting than a novel, so I started writing song lyrics and poems; one of which eventually ended up becoming a full-blown musical play with dialogue and 26 songs. Once I clear my plate of a number of smaller projects, I intend to finish my latest novel, then possibly end my career with a "multi-generational James Micheneresque style fictional epic" of the colorful and turbulent history of Key West.

I like to end with lighter questions.

9. Would you rather have a flying car or a replicator that will give you all your food?

Definitely a flying car. I have envisioned a world of flying cars for decades, though I personally never wanted to be a pilot. Too many knobs and buttons to have to commit to memory and remember their function. But I love fast cars, fast boats and would love to do wheelies in the sky.

10. What's your favorite location?

This may be a lighter question, but no easier an answer. A palapa bar on a sandy beach? A window table at a fine restaurant overlooking a great view? Paris? Bora Bora? Or a first-class airline seat on the way to a window table at a fine restaurant overlooking a great view in Paris, or perhaps a palapa beach bar on a sandy beach in Bora Bora? But it's hard to beat a family gathering, especially if it's a warm island resort vacation. There seems to be an unmistakable pattern here, ya think?

11. Who's your favorite author?

Well as I mentioned earlier, it has to be John Grisham. The perfect thriller, THE FIRM.

Though, I'm pretty certain I haven't read as much for pleasure as most authors. And I'm not as familiar with the many well-known authors as others may be. I'm a slow reader, and during my career, I focused on my work, leaving little time for reading, except when on vacation. And now that I'm a writer, I focus on writing, again, leaving little time for reading. Although I love a good book, I find myself disappointed far to often. Although again, I hope one day, having fulfilled my writing dream, to make the time, every day, to sit, relax and read the many good books I have missed. Hopefully, on a padded lounge chair, on a sandy beach.

12. What is your go-to drink when you're writing?

When I write, I don't drink. I'm too focused. Racing to get my thoughts down on paper before I forget them. But in the afternoon — I only write between 10:00 and 5:00 — I stop for something refreshing, like a margarita or two, or three. My go-to drink of choice. It occurred to me years ago that a really good writer must be a heavy drinker and smoker. And after 23 years of pursuing that milestone, my body is telling me to slow down. Although in retrospect, most really good writers, who were heavy drinkers and smokers, died before collecting their Social Security. So, yes, I have had to cut back. During the week, that is. That's what weekends are for, right?