For Mystery Month, I asked six mystery writers six questions. I selected authors we have featured in This Awful Awesome Life.

Some have contributed articles or answered Q & As, but all have had at least one of their books reviewed in the magazine.

Special thanks to J.J. Hensley, Nancy Martin, Annette Dashofy, Luke Murphy, Robin Barefield, and Wendy Tyson for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer my questions.

I typically ask 20-30 questions when I conduct an interview, so choosing only six was tough. What inspired them to choose the mystery genre? Who are their favorite authors? What are they currently working on? Are they attending any book signings, video chats, or podcasts?

Technology has become so important in our society, I wanted to know how they balanced its use in their books. Sue Grafton purposely set her Alphabet Mystery Series with private investigator Kinsey Millhone before the creation of the internet, so her sleuth would have to do the actual legwork instead of relying on a computer. Novels set in the present can’t totally escape technology, so it was interesting to discover how our authors find that balance.

Contemporary authors are also writing for readers who have immediate access to all kinds of information, so it’s more important than ever the characters and events in their books are believable.  How do they achieve that?

I hope you enjoy their answers and are inspired to read their books. Each author and their answers are presented in separate articles  immediately following this introduction.