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The deputies were excited but quiet about it, out of respect for Peach. Unexplained death was uncommon, even with the aging residents that made up much of the population of the town. Violent death was even rarer in the scattered villages that lined the one road in and out of the mountain towns, and news about it would spread quickly. Meth, heroin, domestic abuse, identity theft, yes. At this point, though, murder seemed unlikely. Holly got Peach settled with a cup of chamomile tea and a plate of Fig Newtons along with a promise to stay put. It was hard to ignore the blood that stained her black-and-white cotton top. "I know this is tough, Peach. Try to be patient." Peach hugged herself, rocking back and forth in one of the chairs in a corner of the big kitchen... -- Mar Preston, The Most Dangerous Species It's my birthday! Well, not mine per se, but that of Destination Mystery. I launched the podcast two years ago, and in honor of that momentous event, I give you a bonus interview this month. My dear friend and wonderful mystery writer, Mar Preston, chats with me about her terrific police series, one set in Santa Monica, the other in a mountain village -- proving that crime is everywhere. Mar puts her all into researching, and she talks about several of the programs she's gone through for writers looking to get it right. She gives shout-outs to Lee Lofland's Writers Police Academy -- which a number of writers I know have taken and loved -- and the Public Safety Writers Association, which hosts an annual conference in Las Vegas. She also recommends the first mystery writer to delve into the mean streets of her home turf of Santa Monica: Raymond Chandler. Since The Long Goodbye is one of my all-time favorite mystery novels, I am happy that Santa Monica has inspired so many crime stories. ;-) Mar also writes books for beginning mystery writers, and you can get the first one for free, just by visiting her website and scrolling down. Here are Mar's mysteries, in order: Detective Dave Mason: 1 - No Dice 2 - Rip-Off 3 - On Behalf of the Family 4 - A Very Private High School Detective Dex Stafford: 1 - Payback 2 - The Most Dangerous Species And her How-To Books: 1 - Writing Your First Mystery 2 - Plotting Your First Mystery 3 - Creating Killer Characters 4 - Finishing Your First Mystery 5 - Writing Backstory in Your Mystery Writing Your First Mystery Boxed Set (Books 1-4) As always, if you'd rather read than listen, there's a transcript below. Enjoy! And happy birthday to all of us! -- Laura ************************************************************************************ Transcript of Interview with Mar Preston Laura Brennan: My guest today writes police procedurals set in idyllic towns -- proving that even in paradise, murder is not unknown. Her Dave Mason mysteries take place in Santa Monica, where sun and sand are no match for greed and ambition, while her Dex Stafford series is set in a mountain resort community suspiciously like the one she currently calls home. Mar, thank you for joining me. Mar Preston: It's a pleasure. I enjoy talking to you when I see you at mystery conferences. This is a treat! LB: It is! It is. I've known you for years I've loved your writing all that time. MP: Aw, thanks Laura. LB: So let's talk a little bit about how you got into writing. When you started, you weren't writing mysteries, you are writing something else, right? MP: Well, I've always been a wordsmith. And I thought because it came easily to me that anybody could write if they just put their mind to it. It wasn't a skill that I thought had much value. And because I worked in academic research, and numbers and charts and graphs -- that was what was important. And then, after a long illness, as they say, my husband died and I'd been involved in taking care of him for a long while. When he died, there was this great gap of time.