Featured Interview With Linda Maria Frank
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I retired from a lifelong career teaching the sciences. She resides on Long Island, where she is currently writing the Annie Tillery Mysteries series, which includes Th e Madonna Ghost; Girl
with Pencil, Drawing and Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys. I taught forensic science and loved Nancy Drew as a girl, so I decided to marry the two, and I call my series, “Nancy Drew Meets CSI”. I also produces the television show, The Writer’s Dream ,and serve as an active member of several
writers’ groups. I grew up in NYC, and have lived on Long Island all my life, enjoying the benefits of both the City and Long Island’s shore. I love a good mystery!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I discovered Nancy Drew at age 10 or 11. I started writing stories for my science students in my 40’s, and soon started turning some of those stories into my Annie Tillery Mystery Series. My forensic science background enabled me to come up with good plots, backed up by solid science. My love of history also comes out in the plots. For example, the topic of the book and movie, “Monuments Men”, is the back story in “Girl with Pencil, Drawing”.
The latest in the series, “Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys”, takes place at an archaeological dig in Turkey, with an interesting twist to the theft of the artifacts at that dig, a real place in Turkey.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Val McDermid, Elizabeth George, Steve Berry, Steven King, Patricia Cornwell, Phillipa Gregory are some of my favorites.
I love mystery, thrillers, spy novels, historical fiction, and good historical non-fiction.
I think all those authors inspire me. What I strive for in my books is weaving really likable characters into clever plots with interesting background and settings. I listen for the author’s ability to let me really hear the characters’ voices amid the elements of plot and setting.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Amateur sleuth Annie Tillery has been warned to stay away from Nevshehir, Turkey, where she is
heading to meet her boyfriend, Ty Egan, and Cedric Zeeks, Ty’s best friend. Intent on helping the two excavate an archaeological site where they hope to link human remains to the first African ancestors, Annie does her best to shakes her foreboding feelings as her plane lands in Istanbul and she prepares to embark on her next adventure.
But when a stranger claims he is there to pick her up and then disappears once he sees Ty, Annie is immediately thrown back into worry mode—especially after Ty tells her there is unexplained tension surrounding the dig and she receives a threatening note at the hotel. Still, as the three head to Nevshehir, Annie is buoyed by the excitement surrounding ancient Turkey and the possibility of uncovering secrets. The dig is plagued by accidents and theft, however, and the three friends, assisted by the head archaeologist’s twins, must search the ancient city of Istanbul and the caves of fantastic Cappadocia to find who is sabotaging their work.
In this young adult thriller, detective Annie Tillery must once again walk on a dangerous path in an attempt to unravel a complicated mystery and solve the secrets in the fairy chimneys.
This book took a little over two years to write. The DNA science is part of my DNA, as I taught this stuff for 20 odd years. I went to Turkey to get a feel for the places in the book which are all real. The only fictitious place is Vermont University. I researched the Hittite Caves and Catalhoyuk (the dig), and really soaked up the local color and history in Istanbul. What fun!
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