Lorie Lewis Ham is...On the Writing Block!

Let’s take a brief moment to hear who Lorie is…

Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing most of her life. She has published numerous articles, short stories, and poems, has written for a local newspaper, and published 7 mystery novels. For the past 14 years, Lorie has been editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, where you can hear an excerpt of her new book One of You, book 2 in The Tower District Mystery series. You can learn more about Lorie on her website mysteryrat.com and find her on Facebook, BookBub, Goodreads, and Instagram @krlmagazine & @lorielewishamauthor.

To be entered into the EBOOK GIVEAWAY, simply fill out the "Contact Me" form located on my website, and put down one thing you really liked in this interview in the message field. Readers will have the week to enter, and then the winner will be selected on Nov. 9th, after 12 pm Eastern Time.

What is your ultimate goal as an author?

For people to enjoy my books, that they provide them with an escape, and at times make them think.

Who are two authors that have inspired your writing?

Lawrence Block and Agatha Christie.

Do you have a writing schedule, or do you write whenever you can squeeze it in?

I have a lot going on so whenever I can squeeze it in. I have found Zoom write-ins with Sisters in Crime help a lot.

How much research do you conduct for your storylines?

Whatever is needed. I have a couple of advisors for the police and forensics stuff and my books are set in a real location so sometimes I have to head out there and check if something works.

Two Bonus Questions:

Who is your favorite mystery sleuth? (Books, TV, amateur and professional alike)

Hard to name just one but Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are definitely at the top.

Do you always know who the killer is, or do your characters surprise you in the end?

They almost always surprise me. I don’t even always know who the victim is going to be.

What is One of You about?

With her life on the California Coast behind her, Roxi Carlucci is beginning to feel at home in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno, CA—where she now lives with her cousin P.I. Stephen Carlucci, her pet rat Merlin, a Pit Bull named Watson, and a black cat named Dan. She has a new entertainment podcast, works as a part-time P.I., and is helping local bookstore owner Clark Halliwell put on the first-ever Tower Halloween Mysteryfest! The brutal summer heat is gone and has been replaced by the dense tule fog—perfect for Halloween!

She just wishes everyone would stop calling her the “Jessica Fletcher” of the Tower District simply because she found a dead body when she first arrived. But when one of the Mysteryfest authors is found dead, she fears she jinxed herself! The Carlucci’s are hired to find the killer before they strike again. Will Mysteryfest turn into a murder fest? How is the local gossip website back, and what does it know about the death of Roxi’s parents?