Lisa Ks Book Reviews

BOOK TOUR

I'm happy to be a stop on the

blog tour for author

R. J. Koreto

and his new book

DEATH AT THE EMERALD

Book 3 in the Lady Frances Ffolkes Mysteries

One-named stunning actress Helen mysteriously vanished 30 years ago. An elderly family friend is unable to bear not knowing any longer and commissions Lady Frances Ffolkes to track her down. Taking on the role of Lady Sherlock, with her loyal maid Mallow drafted as her Watson, Frances finds herself immersed in the glamorous world of Edwardian theater and London’s latest craze―motion pictures.

As Frances and Mallow make their way through the theaters, they meet colorful figures such as George Bernard Shaw and King Edward II. Tracking the theaters seems like a dead end. That is until one of Helen’s old suitors is suddenly murdered. With the stakes raised, Frances and Mallow work quickly to uncover a box of subtle clues to Helen’s whereabouts. But someone unexpected wants that box just as badly and is willing to kill to keep it shut.

The stage is set for murder and Frances and Mallow are determined to unravel the decades-old conspiracy in Death at the Emerald, R. J. Koreto’s third installment in the captivating Lady Frances Ffolkes mysteries.

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

Winners will be chosen after November 19

at the end of the tour

Three lucky readers will each win a print copy of

DEATH AT THE EMERALD!

USA only

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.

www.escapewithdollycas.com

AN INTERVIEW WITH R. J. KORETO

LKBR: Thank you, R.J. for being here today!

R.J. Koreto: Thank you for inviting me!

LKBR: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

R.J. Koreto: I can't remember when I didn't! Even when I was in grade school, my favorite assignment was "creative writing." I learned to type on an old Royal Standard typewriter when I was 12 and banged out one short story after another.

LKBR: What was your inspiration for this series? Where did the name come

from?

R.J. Koreto: My series is based in the Edwardian era in England, which covers from about 1900 to World War I. (This is the time of the first season of Downton Abbey.) I've always been drawn to times of change: The Edwardian era was in some ways as old-fashioned as the Victorian era it followed, but women were increasingly agitating for the vote, modern ships made the world smaller, and motorcars were replacing carriages.

The idea of a "jewel" theme came from my publisher: The first book refers to the "Sapphire" river; the second concerns a dagger studded with "Rubies" and this new book takes place in the "Emerald" theater.

LKBR: Do you ever get writer’s block? If you do, how do you work through it?

R.J. Koreto: I never run out of ideas—I always have a dozen ideas floating around. What I do have are plotting problems. How do I organize the characters into a cohesive story? It makes you really appreciate writers like Charles Dickens, who could take a dozen subplots and make them all come out together. So when I get stuck, I take Rosie, my yellow lab, for a long walk, and arrange the plot in my head as we go.

LKBR: Do you have a favorite place to do your writing?

R.J. Koreto: We have a fireplace at home. There is something very comforting about sitting on the couch and listening to the fire crackle. My last novel took a cord of wood to finish!

LKBR: What is your writing schedule like? Do you write a certain number of hours a day, or go by word count?

R.J. Koreto: I have a "day job" as a financial journalist, so I'm pretty busy. When I'm at work on a novel, try to get 500-1000 words a night, with more on the weekend. If I give a full day to writing, I can get 7,500 words a day. The late mystery writer John Creasey wrote over 600 novels—now that is self-discipline!

LKBR: What is the hardest part of writing? What is the easiest part?

R.J. Koreto: The hard part is plotting. How do you make the novel flow, so it's interesting story that rolls along quickly but still contains strong scene setting and thematic development. It makes me really appreciate Agatha Christie, who was a master plotter.

The fun part is character creation: I feel very comfortable making up characters, choosing their strengths and weaknesses, and planning how each character will relate to another. In fact, more than once I've created great characters in a great scene, only for my editors to say, "Yeah, this is terrific, but it doesn't move the plot, so cut it." And they're right!

LKBR: Do you have plans for a new series?

R.J. Koreto: I have two series now: the jewel series starring Lady Frances Ffolkes—the new "Death at the Emerald" is the third one. I have another starring Alice Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt's irrepressible daughter, and her ex-Rough Rider bodyguard. The next one is coming out in June.

I'm toying with some other ideas, such: an architect who specializes in historic renovations (that's a real profession!) and who comes across murders in historic homes around the country.

LKBR: What book are you reading?

R.J. Koreto: I just finished Victoria Thompson's wonderful "Murder in the Bowery," and am working my way through recent issues of "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine" and "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine." Those magazines are not only entertaining, but I learn so much about writing by reading the stories.

LKBR: What are three things you want your readers to know about you?

R.J. Koreto: 1) That in my younger days I served as an ordinary seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine, 2) I studied Latin from junior high school through college, and 3) I have a wife and two grown daughters, without whose influence I never could've written books with a female protagonist.

LKBR: Thank you so much for letting us get to know you better, R.J.!

R.J. Koreto: And thank you for the interview!

ABOUT R.J.

R.J. Koreto is the author of the Lady Frances Ffolkes mystery series, set in Edwardian England, and the Alice Roosevelt mystery series, set in turn-of-the-century New York. His short stories have been published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

In his day job, he works as a business and financial journalist. Over the years, he’s been a magazine writer and editor, website manager, PR consultant, book author, and seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Like his heroine, Lady Frances Ffolkes, he’s a graduate of Vassar College. With his wife and daughters, he divides his time between Rockland County, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

Author Links

Website: www.ladyfrancesffolkes.com (contains sign-up form for my weekly newsletter)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladyfrancesffolkes/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34729807-death-at-the-emerald
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RJKoreto

Purchase Links

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 6 – Cozy Up With Kathy – INTERVIEW
November 7 – Island Confidential – CHARACTER
INTERVIEW
November 8 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW, GUEST POST
November 10 – The Editing Pen – INTERVIEW
November 11 – My Reading Journey – SPOTLIGHT
November 11 - Deal Sharing Aunt - REVIEW
November 12 – Christa Reads and Writes – GUEST POST
November 13 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW
November 14 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews - REVIEW
November 15 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
November 15 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – INTERVIEW
November 16 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
November 17 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, GUEST POST
November 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book - SPOTLIGHT
November 19 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! - REVIEW
November 19 – Nadaness In Motion – CHARACTER GUEST POST