Fridays off the Wall with W. S. Gager

Today, I'm hosting my good friend and critique partner, W. S. Gager for Fridays off the Wall. We have been writing together for about five years and it has been quite a ride. (Not like her white-water rafting story though.  That's just scary.)  The next installment in the Mitch Malone Mysteries comes out in July from Oak Tree Press.

Joselyn: Who would you cast as the main characters in a movie of your latest book?

This is such an easy one because I had his picture taped to the wall while I wrote. It’s Jake Gyllenhaal. I wanted someone with a friendly face and hair that could be ruffled but still looked good. A lot of average characteristics with built in appeal to get people to spill their guts to him when he interviews them for the newspaper.

Joselyn: What’s one hobby readers would be surprised to know you have? Or what is the most adventurous thing you’ve done?

The most adventurous thing I’ve done is gone white water rafting for the first time on a raging river at flood stage. It was an advanced river and the group I was with gave me the basics and just said keep quiet. Our raft flipped and two of the people in it didn’t surface. I was thrown clear but was dragged a mile down the river before I could wedge myself between rocks until rescued. The other two in the raft ended up underneath it in an air pocket but no one knew. It was really scary but one of the best things I ever did. I married one of the guys in the raft!

Joselyn: My spine is tingling just reading that.   If Mitch Malone could invite anyone to dinner (fictional or otherwise), who would it be?

Crime Beat Reporter Mitch Malone would pepper Woodward and Bernstein from the Washington Post with questions about their investigative work. The pair was responsible for breaking the Watergate scandal with President Nixon. Mitch is always working hard in each book to get a Pulitzer Prize for journalism and would like to learn from two of the masters.


       Joselyn: I think that is exactly who I would have guessed. Mitch's mind never gets far from work. What one thing would make your writing space perfect?

A huge pile of calorie-free no-bake cookies and my critique buddies at my back with a whip to keep me motivated and going when the summer calls to me. On second thought, I’m not sure about my critic buddies…… I’m not sure I want to share the cookies!

Joselyn: Well, I'm eating one right now, so I suppose you could have your own. When the power goes out, what do you do? (Cell phone service is out too.)

I read by candlelight. It is the best thing (although not sure if it is good for my eyes!) This is guilt-free reading. There is nothing I have to do like laundry, or checking email or facebook. I can read whatever I want and there is nothing else I can do. It’s perfect!

That's sounds wonderful. It makes me really tempted to set the time on the phone.  Every time I do, the power goes out within forty-eight hours. (Once it was out for almost twenty-four hours because I set the time on the coffeemaker. I don't set the clocks anymore.)

More about the latest Mitch Malone Mystery: A Case of Hometown Blues:

Mitch vowed he would never return to his hometown after the death of his parents. But when a favor for his editor requires him to teach a seminar for the Flatville newspaper, he must confront the memories he’s tried so hard to bury.  A foolish bet with the cub reporters has him chasing down the murderer of the former Homecoming Queen and trying to keep his butt out of jail as the prime suspect. As the facts he thought he knew about his family unravel, can Mitch discover the truth that will allow his parents and friend to rest in peace or will he be resting with them?

For more about W. S. Gager and Mitch Malone's adventures, visit www.wsgager.com, www.wsgager.blogspot.com, or her Author Central page on Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/W.-S.-Gager/e/B003U5OADU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Thanks for hanging out with us, W. S. !

Hope you all have a great weekend.