Interview Karen Whalen Author of A Stewed Observation
Give a warm welcome to Karen Whalen, author of A Stewed Observation. By the way Karen will be a guest author at a facebook party August 10th from 6-9 p.m. EDT. Here’s the link – https://www.facebook.com/events/234885453771841/
Stop by the party for fun games, a chance to win exciting prizes and giveaways. You don’t want to miss it! 
Now, pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Karen and her A Stewed Observation!
What inspired this particular story?
A Stewed Observation is a cozy murder mystery that takes place in Ireland. The physical condition that causes the victim’s death is real, but not something I’ve ever seen before in a mystery. I learned about this condition while working on a case in my former job as a paralegal. My legal experience is incorporated into my writing, including uncovering facts that qualify as truth-that-is-stranger-than-fiction. Coupled with my love of travel, and in particular my fascination with Ireland, the two story lines came together organically. I enjoyed writing this book. It was like traveling to Ireland all over again.
Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?
In the dinner club series, paralegal Jane Marsh, a widow in the empty nest stage of life, is always game to try new things, including joining an exclusive dinner club. Stumbling across dead bodies and solving murder mysteries has developed into one of her hobbies, as well. Jane solves crimes with her paralegal know-how and help from contacts she has in the medical and legal fields. A handful of mysteries with paralegal amateur sleuths have been written in the last few years, but not many. There are quite a few legal thrillers where the main character is an attorney. I can think of half a dozen off the top of my head and I’ll bet you can, too. Even in the cozy genré, the flower shop mysteries by Kate Collins are about Abby Knight, former attorney turned florist. Paralegals have different expertise and experience than attorneys, more along the lines of a private investigator, plus they have a working knowledge of the courtroom. However, Jane’s character is multi-dimensional. This series not only takes the reader down legal paths, but also dining experiences, from gourmet dinners in the club members’ homes to Irish stew in a castle in Ireland.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
Of course. Jane is a paralegal, as was I for many years. And, I’m in the empty nest stage of my life, like Jane. Plus, I’ve hosted dinner clubs, although murder was not involved. Yes, I see myself in Jane, as I do in all the other characters. Many of the events, especially the dinner parties, were inspired by my own experiences (a dinner menu with a chocolate theme, chefs coming to the house to cook the meal, cigar smoking around a fire pit). Jane is much braver than I am, though. She’s feisty and eager to try new things. She encourages me to step out of my comfort zone and I’m hoping she will also inspire readers to embark on adventures of their own.
If writing is your first passion, what is your second?
I loved my career as a paralegal of 33 years at the same law firm in downtown Denver. The work was interesting, varied, and meaningful. The legal profession works with words, from reading voluminous documents and writing motions and briefs to pinning down witness’s statements and words under oath. It’s natural for legal types to turn their work with words into the writing profession, as many lawyers – and paralegals – have done. I’m thankful for the legal background I can bring to my writing.
Tell us a little about A Stewed Observation.
The Gourmet Dinner Club travels to Ireland to enjoy Irish cuisine while staying at a medieval, ivy-covered castle. Jane hopes Dale will ask her to marry him at this romantic dream destination. But her plans are put on hold when the elderly owner of the castle becomes violent, one of the club members tries to restrain him, and he collapses and dies. The police believe the mysterious death is murder and begin to suspect one of the club’s members. Dale leaves for home on a business emergency, and as the lone single gal in the club full of couples, Jane is thrown into the company of the handsome Irishman who stands to inherit the castle. Jane must prove her friends innocent by solving the crime. Which one of the sweet-tempered Irish could be a callous killer?
A Sneak Peek between the Pages of A Stewed Observation:
“I guess you’ll need to trust me.” Griff’s blue eyes danced in his handsome face. The moment was suspended in the air for a few heartbeats. Then he leaned over and put his lips on hers. She smelled his scent, like the salty sea and the smoldering peat and the burning malt of the Guinness. His lips tasted like Guinness, too.
Had she fallen asleep into a dream? She murmured, “The Irish are certainly a friendly people.” She turned to stare out the car window, aware that Dale might be waiting for his connecting flight from Boston to Denver.
As if reading her mind, Griff asked. “Are you upset about Dale leaving? How serious are you two, anyway?”
Jane lowered her seat back to recline and closed her eyes. “I thought he was going to ask me to marry him on this trip.” Were they even together anymore? They were likely on the outs.
“There’s something you should know.” He was silent for a few seconds as he inspected the steering wheel. “I overheard Dale’s telephone conversation, while I was at the receptionist desk, while you were having breakfast. He was talking to someone called Polly.”
“Y-yes?”
“He was standing right next to me. I couldn’t help hearing it.” Griff turned the ignition switch and pulled out into the traffic. “Dale told Polly he loved her.”
Her breath caught in her throat. At least she knew now. Dale had abandoned her for Polly.
To grab your copy of A Stewed Observation stop by:
Amazon The Wild Rose Press BarnesandNoble itunes
About the Author:
Karen C. Whalen is the author of a culinary cozy series, the “dinner club murder mysteries.” The first three in the series are Everything Bundt the Truth, Not According to Flan, and No Grater Evil. Everything Bundt the Truth tied for First Place in the Suspense Novel category of the 2017 IDA Contest. Whalen worked for many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado and has been a columnist and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine. She believes that it’s never too late to try something new. She loves to host dinner clubs, entertain friends, ride bicycles, hike in the mountains, and read cozy murder mysteries.
When she’s not figuring out who done it, you can find Karen at the social media links below:
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with A Stewed Observation! And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the FB Party tomorrow, August 10th, 6-9 p.m. EDT.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Stewed Observation, Castle, Dinner Club Cozy Mystery, Ireland, Karen C. Whalen by Tena Stetler with 12 comments.
Karen C. Whalen Author of Not According to Flan
Give a warm welcome to fellow Wild Rose Author Karen C. Whalen with her new release Not According to Flan! 
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Karen and latest release Not According to Flan.
Happy Release day Karen and thanks for being here! Let’s get right to it.
What defines you as an author? As a person? Are they one in the same?
I’m an inward thinking person, observing what is going on around me, from the weather to the scenery to the conversations of strangers, to inner thoughts and feelings. I often write down snippets of what I see, hear, and feel. I thought everyone had this inner life, this awareness, but I’ve come to learn that mostly authors share this experience. I can’t separate me as an author from me as a person.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
I want my readers to take away what I take away from the books I love. My best-loved books contain characters who become like my friends. I know I can open a favorite book and visit a character I know well, who inspires me and gives me an example to follow (confident when disaster strikes, brave in times of struggle, happy even when sad events take place). My protagonist, Jane Marsh, is twice-widowed, middle aged, and a little bit zany. She enjoys life in spite of being lonely, and she’s not afraid to put herself in danger when investigating murders. I would like my readers to feel as if Jane is their friend and someone they would like to spend time with.
Where do your story ideas come from? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down?
My ideas often come from my job as a paralegal. They also come from personal experience. As a paralegal, I have investigated many lawsuits with bizarre sets of facts, from robberies, suicides, wrongful deaths, and all manner of accidents. Truth can be stranger than fiction and certainly provides me with unlimited story ideas. Also, many of the events in Jane’s life, such as preparing gourmet club dinners, riding her bicycle in downtown traffic while wearing a suit and heels, and smoking cigars, are things I have done myself. And, yes, ideas come in the middle of the night. Sometimes I’ll intentionally concentrate on a difficult scene I’m working on as I fall asleep, knowing that my subconscious mind will work it out. I’ve often awakened with the solution.
Gee it sounds like we have a lot in common, I spent 17 years as a paralegal in a criminal law firms, yep the stories I could tell. Truth can definitely be stranger than fiction. So tell us a little about Not According to Flan.
Jane Marsh wants to shake off the empty nest syndrome, plus the notoriety of the death of her first and second husbands, by starting over in a new place. She sells her family home to move to a far northern suburb of Denver. At the same time, Jane’s dinner club is undergoing a transformation, and a new man—a gourmet chef—enters her life.
But, things turn sour when, on the day Jane moves into her new home, she discovers a dead body. She cannot feel at home in this town where she’s surrounded by cowboys, horse pastures, and suspects. Not to mention where a murder was committed practically on her doorstep. How can she focus on romance and dinner clubs when one of her new friends—or maybe even her old ones—might be a murderer?
How about a peek between the pages of your new release?
She slipped outside into the warmth of the early September, blue-sky, Colorado day to check on her puppies sniffing around their new territory in the backyard. Leaning over the deck railing facing the lot to the east, she gazed into the bottom of an open excavation where a basement was being poured. Someone had parked a tractor down in the dirt, and near it a white cowboy hat lay on the ground. A man’s hand stretched toward the hat’s brim. Had someone fallen into the pit?
Jane bounded down the deck stairs and out the wooden gate, only stopping for a moment to secure the latch. She rounded the corner of her new house and rushed to the adjoining lot, pausing near the edge of the concrete that formed the basement’s foundation.
A man was shoved against the corner of the foundation wall. His torso and legs were partly covered with dirt. The cowboy hat concealed the top of his head. His left hand almost touched the brim, as if he were about to take off his hat and say, “Howdy do.” A large manila envelope lay a foot or so away from his other outstretched hand.
On the envelope tall, block letters spelled out: “Jane Marsh—welcome to your new home.”
Wow, I love murder mysteries, putting NOt According to Flan on my to read list! Where can we find Not According to Flan?
Book two, Not According to Flan – The WIld Rose Press, and Amazon
https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/paperback-books/5110-not-according-to-flan-paperback.html
And the first book in your series, Everything Bundt the Truth. Amazon, The Wild Rose, Barnes and Noble
Karen C. Whalen is the author of the Dinner Club Murder Mystery series. She worked for many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado. Karen has been a columnist and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and participates in a local writing group, the Louisville Writers Workshop. Find out more about Karen at:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/whalenkarenc
Website: http://www.karencwhalen.com/
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Not According to Flan and your Dinner Club Murder Mystery Series!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Colorado, Denver, Everything BUndt the Truth, Karen C. Whalen, Murder Mystery, Not According to Flan by Tena Stetler with 15 comments.
