An Interview with Our #3 Top Selling Author, Rosemary McCracken

Congratulations, Rosemary, on making it into our Top 3 sellers. As our #3 bestselling author, you have worked hard to get where you are, and you have the support of mystery fans worldwide. Your Pat Tierney Mystery series is off to a great start.

Tell us a bit about your books. What are they about?


Safe Harbor and Black Water are the first two books in my Pat Tierney mystery series. Pat is a fortysomething financial advisor, and her creation was inspired by my work as a journalist. For the past 15 or so years, I’ve written about personal finance. I interview financial advisors and investment managers. I attend their conferences. I know the issues they face and the concerns they have, and I admire their dedication. So when I was looking for a central character for my mystery series, Pat Tierney appeared full-blown in my mind. She cares about her clients. She’s a champion of small investors. She has sleepless nights when markets are down.

Why do you think your books have sold so well?

Safe Harbor got off to a roaring start when it was released on March 7, 2012. The e-book was offered free to readers for five days out of every 90 on Amazon’s KDP Select program. And I did everything I could to promote it. Check out the question below for some of the things I did.

Pat returned in Black Water the spring of 2013. She leaves her home base in Toronto, and heads out to Ontario lake country where an elderly man has been brutally murdered. Her daughter Tracy’s friend Jamie is a suspect in murder, and when Tracy asks her mother for help…well, Pat is a softie when it comes to her family.

The fact that the books are part of a series contributed to their success. When Black Water was released, e-book sales of Safe Harbor soared even though my promotion efforts at that time focused exclusively on Black Water. The synergy created in cross-marketing books in a series is a huge bonus, especially for newly published writers whose names are not yet synonymous with a good read.

But I believe the character of Pat Tierney is the major reason for the books’ success. Pat is a character every reader can relate to, an ordinary woman battling the forces of evil in her world. Because the financial industry in which she works revolves around money, it provides opportunities for those who are clever and greedy enough to challenge the system. Pat doesn’t want to see people taken by these bad apples. She has integrity, a strong set of ethics and the courage to stand up for what she believes is right. That’s probably why The Toronto Star has called her “a hugely attractive sleuth figure.”

“I can’t wait for the next Pat Tierney instalment,” one Amazon reviewer wrote about Safe Harbor. “I look forward to seeing what trouble Pat Tierney gets herself into next,” another added.

And they still want more of Pat and her world. “I hope there is a third book in the series,” a reader said in a review of Black Water, “because I would like to know what happens to some of the secondary characters…All the more reason to suspect a third book may be on the way.”

Absolutely right!

Even though you're published by a hybrid/traditional type publisher, you've taken on the role of book promoter. What are some of the ways you've promoted your books?

I’m a big believer in taking every opportunity that comes my way to promote my books – both digitally and in person. I spent considerable time writing them, so why wouldn’t I want to give my all to promote them? Most days, I post tweets on two small tweet teams. When I have a big promotion or some other major event, I’ll post on more teams and try to secure guest spots on other authors’ blogs. I may purchase a digital advertisement.

But I also get out and talk to people at libraries, book clubs, bookstores – wherever I can meet readers. I was at Bouchercon, the big U.S. mystery conference that was held in Albany, N.Y., last fall. And I’ll attend Bloody Words, its Canadian counterpart, in June. At some of the smaller events, I may only be able to introduce myself to a handful of readers, but those readers will spread the word.

Networking with other authors is also instrumental in book promotion. It is part and parcel of digital promotion – tweet teams and blog tours are built on the team concept. Authors today also banding together to take their books out to readers. I am fortunate that Toronto, where I live, is the home of dozens of crime fiction writers. Crime Writers of Canada organizes regular talks at public libraries for its members. I also belong to a crime fiction collective, The Mesdames of Mayhem, that recently published Thirteen, an anthology of members’ short stories. We regularly visit venues in southwestern Ontario to promote Thirteen and our own novels.

What advice would you give to writers who are considering Imajin Books for their works?

Check out Imajin Books’ submission page at http://www.imajinbooks.com/submissions/. Find out if your manuscript fits what Imajin is looking for. If it does, follow the submission guidelines to the letter.

It will be well worth your while if your manuscript is accepted. Imajin is a dynamic, independent publishing company that considers its writers an essential part of its team. Authors have input on their books’ titles, editing and cover images. Imajin markets its books online, and helps its authors to do the same.

Learn more about Rosemary:

New release: BLACK WATER by Rosemary McCracken - on SALE $0.99


BLACK WATER by Rosemary McCracken
A Pat Tierney Mystery - book 2
How strong is a mother's love?
When Pat Tierney's daughter, Tracy, asks her to help find Tracy's partner, Jamie Collins, their mother-daughter relationship is stretched to the limits. Pat heads out to cottage country where an elderly man, who killed Jamie’s sister in an impaired driving accident ten years ago, has perished in a suspicious fire. Unfortunately, Jamie is the prime suspect.
Pat takes charge at the new branch her investment firm has opened in the seemingly idyllic community where Jamie grew up, and her search for Tracy's missing sweetheart takes her through a maze of fraud, drugs, bikers and murder.
Once again, Pat proves that family can always count on her. 
Book Details:
ISBN: 978-1-927792-01-8 (Kindle ebook); $3.99 US; May 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-927792-02-5 (Trade paperback); $14.99 US; May 24, 2013
Language: English
Editorial Reviews:
"Rosemary McCracken is a master when it comes to showing ordinary people embroiled in extraordinary circumstances. From page one, Black Water draws the reader deeper and deeper into what at first seems a missing-person case but--step by step--eventually becomes a gripping tale of kidnapping, fraud and the violent settling of old scores. Pat Tierney, financial advisor, widow and mother faces off against bikers, drug doyennes and a crazed killer in this fast-paced engrossing mystery. It's a fast read with a beautifully complicated plot and great action near the twisty ending!" —Rosemary Aubert, author of the Ellis Portal mystery series
"Rosemary McCracken's second Pat Tierney mystery takes us into the tranquility of the Ontario lake country. But the idyllic setting has a dark underside. Human greed and ancient grudges are wreaking havoc. McCracken's smart and engaging protagonist must discover the truth and restore peace to paradise. She's more than up to the task." —Gail Bowen, author of the Joanne Kilbourn mystery series
"I personally love books where the characters are so believable and well-drawn that they become friends. Black Water is filled with wonderful details of everyday life that melt the curtain between the fictional and the real world. Add to that a suspenseful story and you have a winner all around." —Maureen Jennings, author of the Detective Murdoch mystery series
"A man meets and fiery death and in the small world of Braeloch, a northern Ontario town, suspects abound. McCracken's clever plot kept me guessing right to the end." —D.J. McIntosh, author of The Witch of Babylon 
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