Spotlight/Interview: Jinxed by Kathryn Leigh Scott (A Jinx Fogarty Mystery)

“DARK SHADOWS” ACTRESS AND BEST SELLING AUTHOR KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT PENS MYSTERY SEQUEL JINXED

Scott presents the continuing adventures of amateur sleuth Meg Barnes who was introduced in critically acclaimed Down and Out in Beverly Heels.

In the second installment of the Jinx Fogarty Mystery series, “Dark Shadows” actress and noted author Kathryn Leigh Scott brings back actress Meg Barnes, who uses detective skills she learned from her role as amateur sleuth Jinx Fogarty when she gets pulled into a real-life murder investigation. Jinxed (Cumberland Press) launches in paperback and Kindle on Amazon on February 6, 2015. It is the standalone sequel to the well-received Down and Out in Beverly Hills (Montlake Romance, 2013) which introduced Barnes to readers.

In Jinxed, Meg Barnes is back on the comeback trail. Beloved for her role as amateur sleuth Jinx Fogarty in a renowned detective show, Meg assumes she’ll star as Jinx in the revamped TV series, only to discover that a young ingénue has been cast instead. Meg swallows her pride for a paycheck to coach Chelsea Horne—until temperamental Chelsea goes missing before filming begins. Meg ignores the warnings from Jack, her FBI-agent boyfriend, not to do her “Jinx thing.” But when Jinx’s iconic top hat goes missing and someone from her past is murdered, it’s clear her life— and more— is in jeopardy. As in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Scott once again pulls back the curtain on the grit behind the Hollywood glamour, taking the reader on a wild ride in this mystery-suspense/romance novel.

Praise for Down and Out in Beverly Heels includes Publisher’s Weekly, which called it “a fast-paced story complete with eccentric characters and a plethora of mysterious twists and turns.” Kirkus Reviews wrote that it is “an enticing, witty romp; a sparkling, Hollywood-set tale that will entertain and satisfy.”

Jinxed (a Jinx Fogarty Mystery)
By Kathryn Leigh Scott
Cumberland Press
February 2015
251 pages, paperback, Kindle
Genres: mystery, suspense, romance, women’s fiction

Author Interview

I'm very excited to welcome back to Socrates' Book Review blog actress and author Kathryn Leigh Scott. Thank you, Kathryn, for agreeing to stop by and visit with us. I'd also like to thank publicist Darlene Chan for making this appearance possible.

1. How was Meg Barnes created? What is involved in creating a character?

All good stories start with "What if?" In this case, I imagined a worst possible scenario for an actress of a certain age: losing everything she'd worked so hard to attain, including her friends, reputation, home and career because of a man she'd loved and trusted. How would Meg deal with the anger, fear and terrible sense of loss and betrayal? How would she even begin to deal with starting over? She's resilient and resourceful by nature, but she also has to overcome feelings of shame, pride and the anguish of losing everything she held dear before she can even begin to find redemption, which is what the story is about. I gave her a biting sense of humor to deal with self-pity, and a grittiness that allowed her to face the fears of living on the streets in her car. In Jinxed, the sequel, Meg begins to find redemption as she deals with even greater jeopardy and fallout from her former husband's crimes.

2. Where do you get your ideas for storylines?

Again, it began with "what if?" after seeing a "60 Minutes" segment many years ago about women living in their cars in upscale Bel Air (near my own Los Angeles neighborhood!) after losing everything they owned. I also worked one afternoon a week serving meals to homeless. I knew people living precariously on the streets and could identify with their predicaments--and their ability to survive.

3. Is it difficult to write a series based on one character versus a standalone book?

Meg Barnes, the heroine in the Jinx Fogarty mysteries, feels so close to me. Her voice is in my head and she's easy to write . . . what's difficult is weaving plots that put her in jeopardy while also making it clear that she is rebuilding her life and finding redemption. I'm also writing a standalone book, May to September, that frees my mind . . . I actually like working on more than one project at a time.

4. What are your plans for the future of this series?

Meg is off to London, a city I lived in for many years and can't wait to explore through her eyes! Meg and her young protege are filming an episode of their television series in London when calamity strikes . . . I've filmed in London many times over the years and know the behind-the-scenes atmosphere of the studios, so it should be fun.

5. What other books can we look forward to seeing from you?

I've completed a memoir, Last Dance at the Savoy . . . it's the journey I made with my husband who died from a rare neurological disease called PSP. I'm also completing the standalone, May to September. And I may do a sequel to Dark Passages once I finish the sequel with Jinx Fogarty in London.

Author Links

www.kathrynleighscott.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kathrynleighscottauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kathleighscott
Amazon: www.amzn.com/B00PGJ276A