Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Marilyn Meredith

             I'm honored to host Marilyn Meredith, also known as F.M. Meredity,  on the Mystery We Write Blog Tour for this week. Marilyn first interviews her character Detective Mulligan, and then she allows me to throw some questions at him. 

           Come join us as we sit on the patio with tall glasses of iced tea in front of us. Help yourself. The glasses, ice, and pitcher of tea sit on the table by the sliding doors.

          First, let me introduce F. M. Meredith and Detective Doug Milligan of the Rocky Bluff Police Department. Take it away, Merilyn.

F.M. Meredith: What’s going on in your police department these days?

Detective Milligan: As you know, we’re a small department in a beach community located between Ventura and Santa Barbara. We don’t have a lot of major crimes and as yet, haven’t been invaded by gangs. Our biggest case at the moment is a flasher who is accosting women jogging on the beach.

F.M. Meredith: So what’s the plan to catch this pervert?

Detective Milligan: I might as well tell you since our Public Service Officer is going to put a warning out to women to not jog on the beach by themselves and I think that might make our suspect disappear for awhile. The plan is to send our only female officer, Stacey Wilbur, out jogging as a decoy.

F.M. Meredith: You don’t sound too happy about that.

Detective Milligan: No, I’m not. Stacey and are getting married this Saturday and her mind is filled with wedding plans. I don’t think her mind is focused on what she’s supposed to be doing and I’m afraid she’ll get hurt.

F.M. Meredith: Surely she won’t be sent out alone.

Detective Milligan: We have a new hire who comes to us from L.A.P.D. whose going to be her back-up. I’m just not sure about this fellow and how good he’s going to be. One of the other officers has voiced some doubts about this guy. And another problem is the weather. Fog is always an issue on the coast and of course the worst is in the early hours. I’m not sure he’ll even be able to see Stacey while she’s jogging.

F.M Meredith.: That’s definitely a worry. Would you mind telling me a bit about your relationship with Stacey Wilbur and how that came about?

Detective Milligan: In her capacity as an officer, she helped me on several cases. First I was impressed with her intelligence and her ability to notice and figure out clues. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I thought she was pretty cute too. She is a single mom. I asked her out several times and we included her little boy often. It wasn’t long before I loved them both.

F. M. Meredith: Are you looking forward to the wedding?

Detective Milligan: I’m looking forward to having Stacey be my wife, not so sure about all the folderol that Stacey’s planned though she’s assured me it’s going to be a simple wedding.

F.M. Meredith: Where are you two planning to live?

Detective Milligan: I own a small, old Victorian that I fixed up. Lately, I’ve been renting a room to a friend, Officer Gordon Butler. Hopefully, he’ll be all moved out before it’s time for Stacey and her son to move in.

F. M. Meredith: I hope everything goes off as planned. Congratulations.

          And the hostess of this blog had a few more questions for you, too.

Vivian: What do you consider your greatest weakness? Your greatest strength?

Detective Milligan: Wow, that’s a biggie. To be perfectly honest, my greatest weakness may be loving Stacey too much and fearing for her. As for my greatest strength, I’m a good detective. In our department we don’t have a lot of the fancy equipment the big city detectives have at their disposal, so we use a lot of old fashioned policing skills. I’m darn good at figuring out people and know when they’re lying or keeping something back. I’ll dig until I find out what I need to know.

Vivian: Where, in the book, do you face your greatest challenge? How well do you do?

Detective Milligan: My biggest challenge comes on the day of my wedding. I have a difficult time with what happens. You’ll have to read the book to find out what that is.

Vivian:  Makes sense. I'm curious enough now to want to read it. Why should readers like you or dislike you?

Detective Milligan: I sure hope readers like me, I’ve been a major character in almost all of the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series.

Vivian: What do you add to the book?

Detective Milligan: I think I add a lot, after all I’m one of only two detectives in the Rocky Bluff P.D. and I’m Stacey Wilbur’s love interest—that should count for a lot.

   

          Thank you, Detective Milligan. Now let's learn a little more about your author.

          Author Bio: F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of nearly thirty published novels. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is Angel Lost. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Internet chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Angel Lost Blurb:

           As plans for her perfect wedding fill her mind, Officer Stacey Wilbur is sent out to trap a flasher, the new hire realizes Rocky Bluff P.D. is not the answer to his problems, Abel Navarro’s can’t concentrate on the job because of worry about his mother, Officer Gordon Butler has his usual upsets, the sudden appearance of an angel in the window of a furniture store captures everyone’s imagination and causes problems for RBPD, and then the worst possible happens—will Stacey and Doug’s wedding take place?

          Angel Lost is available as a trade paperback from Amazon.com, or if you’d like an autographed copy, order from the author’s website http://fictionforyou.com

 Sharon Ervin hosts me this week of the tour. Please stop by and say hello.

Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Jean Henry Mead

           I’ve known Jean Henry Mead online for a few years. We’ve posted back and forth on each other’s blogs, interviewed each other, and reviewed each other’s books. I’m delighted to have her as my guest for Week 8 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. 

           Jean Henry Mead is a mystery/suspense and western historical novelist. She's also an award-winning photojournalist. One of her fortes is interviewing writers, actors, politicians, artists and ordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary things. She began her writing career as a California news reporter/editor/photographer, first in Central California and later in San Diego. Mead transferred to Casper, Wyoming, to serve as a staff writer for the statewide newspaper. While there she served as editor of In Wyoming Magazine and two small presses. She freelanced for other publications, both domestically and abroad, among them the Denver Post's Empire Magazine. Her first book was published in 1982. She's since published fourteen novels and nonfiction books.

                 Since changes have been made with Jean's novel that was to be highlighted, I've had to change the information covered this week. We'll look at Mystery of Spider Mountain, a mystery for young readers.

Mystery of Spider Mountain

       A huge hill in southern California is called "Spider Mountain" by the Hamilton Kids who live at its foot. The mountain is inhabited by trapdoor spiders and all manner of creepy, crawling creatures, including tarantulas, who arrive at the harbors in banana boats from Central America. At the mountain's summit is a house surrounded by a wrought iron fence, which encloses four vicious dogs with jaws large enough to swallow a child.

        Jaime 13, Sam 11, and Danny 9, wonder who could possibly live there and climb the hill to investigate. What they find scares them enough to scramble back down the hill, their lives changed forever.

        Mystery of Spider Mountain is available on Kindle. The print edition will be released September 2011.

Visit Jean at her website: http://www.jeanhenrymead.com/

And her blog sites:
Mysterious Writers: http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/
Writers of the West: http://writersofthewest.blogspot.com/
Murderous Musings: http://murderousmusings.blogspot.com/
Make Mine Mystery  http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/

Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Marja McGraw

          Today we celebrate the USA's  "birthday" and another stop on the Mystery We Write Blog Tour week 7. This week's guest is Marja McGraw, and I asked her to give us some background on her books and herself. I’m delighted to present Marja in her own words.

I was born and raised in Southern California, in the good old days before freeways and crowds. My family dates back to the earlier part of the 1800s, so between family history and stories, I’m quite familiar with Los Angeles. It was a great place to grow up. Mud pies, playing cards clothes-pinned to our bicycle wheels and walks to the local park were all part of an average day. You pulled up to a refrigerator at a local dairy, retrieved your milk and left the money in a cash register. No one was there to make sure you were honest. And in the process kids got to see the newest calf.

Trips to downtown Los Angeles to the May Company or Bullock’s were rare, but fun. My grandparents would take me to the Pig ‘n Whistle for lunch. Those were the days.

I worked in law enforcement in downtown Los Angeles for several years, and in various other offices such as West Covina and Pomona. While working for the County Marshal’s Office, I was a Deputy Clerk. Basically, that’s clerical. However, when I started out there were no female deputies. When a female was needed, we were called upon to do whatever was necessary. I searched the Ladies’ Restroom once for a bomb – without any training. My life was threatened because someone didn’t get the job they wanted when I worked in Personnel. Nowadays, that would be Human Resources. It was a different world, and it sure provided some interesting experiences. I also worked as a legal secretary, and for a sheriff’s office in Oregon.

I write two series, the Sandi Webster Mysteries and the Bogey Man Mysteries. They both take place in Southern California, where I grew up. I chose this location because it’s grown so much that a person can easily lose themselves in the crowds. All of these experiences, and living in Los Angeles County, gave me the inspiration for stories and characters. Since I enjoy humor, the stories are lighter with some humor.

As a matter of fact, in A Well-Kept Family Secret, Sandi Webster’s menopausal mother asks Sandi to solve a hundred-year-old murder involving a family member accused of the crime. How can Sandi, a thirtyish female P.I., turn down a woman whose moods are all over the charts? Yes, I’ve given both Sandi and her mother a very small part of my own family history. However, there are no murders in our past.

Eventually I relocated to Northern Nevada, then Oregon, Alaska and back to Nevada. While in Alaska I worked for a contractor whose son owned a half wolf/half Golden retriever dog. This was one of the smartest, funniest dogs I’ve ever been around. He was huge, and very protective of me. I knew that I had to add this canine to my stories, and in Bubba’s Ghost, Bubba came to life. He had a smile that made people think he was baring his teeth at them. You can see him smiling on my website, on the Book Page. Bubba thinks there’s a ghost in the attic, and across the county a young widowed mother is fighting her own ghost in the form of a menacing bum. Sandi is called on to do her P.I. thing.

            At one time I worked in a Senior Center in Nevada and had a great time getting to know the seniors. I also wrote a weekly column dedicated to seniors for about a year. My own relatives were long-lived, so I have a pretty good background with older people. As a matter of fact, they inspired Prudy’s Back! which is about a woman who was a P.I. during the 1940s. She’s the next door neighbor of Sandi’s mother, who now lives in Arizona (as do I), and she wants Sandi to solve the crime that she could never get a handle on. Prudy is an interesting character who wears a shedding vintage fur coat, cowgirl boots, and she carries a long black cigarette holder. The crime took place in Los Angeles during the World War II.

This all takes us to The Bogey Man, about Chris Cross who happens to be a dead ringer for Humphrey Bogart. Long story, but he wanted to be a P.I. like Bogey was in his movies. He ended up hooking up with Sandi Webster, who showed him that the private eye business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and they become involved in a murder that’s committed at a costume party. The guests run the gamut, from agents to actors and models.

The Bogey Man proved to be so popular, that I began a spinoff series involving Chris, his wife, Pamela, stepson Mikey, and two yellow Labrador retrievers, Sherlock and Watson. Bogey Nights was just released in March, 2011, and it involves an old house and a body buried in the basement since 1942. You might enjoy Chris’s version of how the old P.I.’s spoke and acted.

So there’s a little bit about me and my books. I hope you’ve enjoyed the walk I’ve taken here and that you’ll take a look at Sandi Webster and Chris Cross. They’re really a lot of fun.

Vivian, thank you for letting me talk a bit about myself and my books. The look back was a good one.

Website:          http://www.marjamcgraw.com/

Blog:                http://blog.marjamcgraw.com/

             Thank you, Marja, for allowing us to know more about you and your books.

Next week I will host Jean Henry Mead.

This week I'm the guest on Mary Martinez' blog.

Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Mary Martinez

     

     Except for online, I've never had the opportunity of meeting Mary Martinez, so I'm very happy that she decided to allow me to interview her.

          However, let's learn a bit about Mary herself. Mary has lived her entire life in the Salt Lake City Valley, where she has raised a family of six children. One of her favorite things to do is spend time with her seven grandchildren. That's one thing she and I have in common, except I have ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

          Mary is a member of the Romance Writers of America. Though she loves romance, writing suspense is her favorite. Mary’s dream conference would be the opportunity to attend ThrillerFest.

Mary and her husband love traveling, their favorites are the Caribbean for relaxation and Italy for the wine. Their experiences have given her valuable insight for her stories. 

          Ahh, something else we have in common. I would love to attend ThrillerFest, too. But, now the interview:

Vivian: How did/does your history and home background affect your writing?

Mary: I’m not sure how to answer this question. I’m a little on the older side, let’s just say I’m not ready for the grave yet, but I do have grandkids. But I believe what has affected my writing most, is the fact I am older. The fact I have more life experience and maturity. Not that I believe young writers aren’t brilliant and talented. I believe for me, I needed to wait until the time was right. Did that make sense?

Vivian: Now, wait a minute, older is great. I'm older and have great-grandchildren and need to live at least thirty more years in order to write all the books running around in my head.

           Please fill us in on your hobbies, interests, or activities you participate in during your leisure time.  *laugh* If you  have any.

Mary: I love to travel, read, watch old movies. I love to cook new recipes and drink a great new wine. My husband and I are concert ‘ho’s’ and pretty much want to do them all. We have several concerts already lined up for the summer. Ranging from The Moody Blues, Chris Isaak, Buddy Guy, to Sheryl Crow. That’s just a few on the list to see.

          Do I have time? I make time. As much as I love to write, family and friends are very important to me.

Vivian: This sort of ties into the last question. You have so many projects going all the time: working on books, traveling, etc.; how do you manage?

Mary: I recently had to go back to a day job. If we’re slow I have my laptop so I can work on blogs, promotion or email in between calls. That clears up less things for me to do when I’m off work and can write. I have really had to adjust my writing schedule and give my permission on some day’s not to write since I went back to work. At first I stressed when I was too busy and couldn’t be at my computer writing or editing. Now I am in the process of organizing my life so I’m not stressed when I’m too busy.

Vivian: Do you have a particular writing process or technique that you use, if so, what?

Mary: I do not plot. I tried that once after a workshop and to this day those plotted chapters are away in a file. My characters wouldn’t even speak to me after that. I am a total pantser. I find out what happens as I go, just like the reader. Basically I spit it out until the end. Then I start at the beginning and fill it in, layering and patching up sagging middles, etc.

Vivian: How do you feel when you complete a book?

Mary: Conflicted. On the one hand, I’m thrilled it’s over, and I want to go out and reward myself. On the other hand I’m sad to have the journey and with my friends.

Vivian: How do any writing groups benefit you and your writing?

Mary: When I first started writing I didn’t even know they existed. I had no clue how to do anything. Utah RWA saved me and helped me more than I can say.

Vivian: What advice would you have for a new author?

Mary: First, join a writers group. They’re a community of like minds who will take you under their wing and steer you in the right direction. Going in the right direction is only the first step. You need to do your research. Find out what agent/editor wants your genre, and who is actively seeking new clients. Before you submit, check them out make sure they’re legitimate. I can’t stress this enough.

Vivian: What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it?

Mary: It’s Classic Murder: Mr. Romance

          I love old movies and I happened to be watching a Cary Grant movie, when the idea started as a small germ.  By the end of the movie, I had note pad out scribbling notes about the plot. And no this doesn’t make me a plotter. I have a paragraph or two that could be called a short synopsis or blurb when I start the story. Then I add as I go.

          Here’s a bit more about Classic Murder: Mr. Romance

Blurb, excerpt and trailer: http://www.marymartinez.com/mrromance.html

ISBN: 978-1610343350

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1610343352/bookstrand-20

Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Classic-Murder/Mary-Martinez/e/9781610343350/

Web Site: www.marymartinez.com

Garden Blog: http://marysbooksblogger.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/marylmartinez

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mlmartinez33

          Thank you Vivian, this has been fun!

          Thank you, Mary, for joining me today.

       Mary has four books out and one novella. For more information, you can visit her web site: http://www.marymartinez.com

Blog: http://marysbooksblogger.blogspot.com

Join her newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Marys_Books_and_Such/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/marylmartinez

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mlmartinez33

Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Jackie King

 

      My friend and co-member of OWFI, Jackie King loves books, words, and writing tall tales. She especially enjoys murdering the people she dislikes on paper. Jackie is a full time writer who sometimes teaches writing at Tulsa Community College. Her latest novel, THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE is a traditional mystery. She has also written five novellas as co-author of the Foxy Hens Series. Warm Love on Cold Streets is her latest novella and is included in the anthology THE FOXY HENS MEET A ROMANTIC ADVENTURER. Her only nonfiction book is DEVOTED TO COOKING. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Oklahoma Writers Federation, and Tulsa Night Writers.

Now for your enjoyment: Vivian Zabel Interviews Jackie King

VZ: How did/does your history and home background affect your writing?

JK: Writers waste nothing…when bad things happen to us; our pain becomes grist for our story mill. We do the same with joyful events. Grace Cassidy, my protagonist in THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, has been discarded by an egocentric husband. I gave her my own emotions and reactions that I had experienced when I unexpectedly found myself single in my late forties.

          My first novella, FLIRTING AT FIFTY, (found in CHIK~LIT FOR FOXY HENS anthology) is a true accounting of my divorce-recovery. I gave my story a funny twist, even though the divorce was not funny. The only fiction is the hunk who fixed the roof. (I had someone who was supposed to fix my roof, but he was overweight and surly, and didn’t even properly repair the roof.)

VZ: Authors are often asked when they started writing or what triggered their interest in writing. I like to know that, also, but I would especially like to know what keeps you writing.                  

JK: When I was in college (back in the Dark Ages), I majored in journalism. I left school to marry at a very young age (18), had three children, worked in the corporate world, and took care of aging parents (both mine and my then-husband’s). About the time I thought my life was going to smooth out responsibility-wise, my husband told me he was moving out of our home. At that time I asked myself, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The answer had never changed. I wanted to write!

VZ: What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it?

JK: THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, published by Deadly Niche Press, is a full-length, mystery. Available both on Kindle or Nook, $2.99 and in trade paperback, $15.95. Free chapter downloads and reader reviews (all 5-star) are available at Amazon.com.

          The opening scene flashed through my mind while I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in Northern California. That scene became the opening paragraph of my book:

          “Grace Cassidy stared at the stranger’s body. He was about sixty, pot-bellied, naked, and very dead. She knew he was dead because his skin was the color of concrete. Worst of all, he was lying smack dab in the middle of her bed.”

VZ: How did you manage to come up with the idea for your novel?

JK: My writer’s mind (and, in my opinion, most writer’s minds) seems to be a bit like an old fashioned sink. Everything flows through it. I play “what if” with these thoughts.

              “What if I had found a dead body on my bed?”

              “What if he were naked?”

              “What if his clothes couldn’t be found…anywhere?”

              “What if the police thought that I had killed him?”
        “What if I were stranded here, in this strange place, with no friends, no money and no resources?” And on and on. I had to answer these questions to satisfy my own curiosity, so I wrote THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE.

VZ: Do you have a particular writing process or technique that you use, if so, what?

JK: How I wish I did! But Alas, I sort of muddle through, talking to my characters as I go. (Note to other writers: I do NOT recommend this method.) What I do recommend is that a writer shows up for work at regular times (just as if you worked at Wal-Mart), sits down at the computer (or notebook) and writes.

VZ: How do you feel when you complete a book?

JK: Oh, dear. Being somewhat neurotic, I have a mixture of feelings. I’m relieved that the work finished, BUT I struggle with an uncomfortable, niggling feeling that I’ve missed something important and will see the error (or errors) as soon as the book is published.

VZ: What are your writing achievements and goals?

JK: I’ve won a couple of prizes on my novellas, but my greatest achievement has been the feedback from readers of THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE. There’s no honor like that of knowing that someone enjoyed reading your book!

         My goal is to write the best stories that I’m capable of, and to entertain readers.

VZ: Does writing help better you as a person? How?

JK: I’m not sure if writing makes me a better person, I only know that when I write, I’m a much happier person.

VZ: What advice would you have for a new author?

JK: Never let anyone discourage you! Write every day and submit what you write.

          I’d like to thank Vivian for inviting me to be a guest blogger on BRAIN CELLS AND BUBBLE WRAP. Don’t you just love that title?

          I’d love to have readers ‘friend’ me on Facebook. I’m listed as Jacqueline King

Website: www.jacqking.com

Blog: Cozy Mysteries and Other Madness can be found at  http://bnbmysteries.blogspot.com

THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE

Published by Deadly Niche Press

ISBN: 978-0-937660-53-9

          Thank you, Jackie, for visiting with us today. 

Jean Henry Mead hosts me this week on Mysterious Writers. Please stop by.

Next week Mary Martinez will be my guest.

Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Sharon Ervin

 As we visit Sharon Ervin on this stop of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour, let's get comfortable. I'll first give a bit of information about this amazing woman and then present the article she wrote for us to share.

About Sharon Ervin

        Sooner born, Sharon has a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. Once a newspaper reporter, Sharon now works in her husband and son’s law office half-days, gleaning material for her nine published novels. She is married to McAlester, Oklahoma attorney Bill Ervin and has four grown children.

         I’m happy to say I know Sharon. We’re both members of OWFI (Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc.). In fact, we were at the same conference the first weekend of May, and I got close enough to wave at her across the room, a large room: That’s how busy the conference was. Most of us ran from one session or activity to another.

         Sharon wrote an article for us about, well, with or without?

WITH OR WITHOUT?

I write steamy scenes sometimes.

I do not care for characters who hop in and out of beds like fleas changing dogs. Just as I don’t care for promiscuous sex, I also dislike gratuitous violence, obscene language, etc.

However, characters evolve and I allow them to do so, usually. 

Most children have favorite stories. They want the same story read over and over again. As we mature, our tastes change. We want the characters to have different names and the stories to be set in less familiar places, but basically we still want the same story over and over again: “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Snow White,” “Beauty and the Beast.” Oh, yes, we do.  

Years ago, Silhouette identified and capitalized on women readers’ preferences and came up with formulas for familiar plots that worked. The company led the charge in the publication of romance novels. Eventually, even publishers who demeaned romance novels were amazed by the bottom line––profit––and developed romance imprints of their own. Formulas––guidelines––were strictly adhered to: no subplots allowed, few supporting characters, no mixing of genres. People, specifically women, read romance to escape humdrum at home, in the office, train commutes, whatever ruts they occupied. The stories were not intended to provoke thought. The language was uncomplicated, like listening to a favorite song again and again.

Romance was defined. It was a love story between two people. After reading a dozen or so, I wanted more than those early books offered. I like romance, but I like it with some suspense, twists, surprises, sex, humor, God, fantasy. My personal taste runs to mysteries with a little romance, mixing the genres. It’s what I read most, what I write, what I like on TV, and in the movies.

Dorothy Sayers, lauded by some as the greatest mystery writer of the 20th Century, described her last novel, BUSMAN’S HONEYMOON, as “A Love Story with Detective Interruptions.” She is my inspiration. Her love scenes are benign. 

Years ago movies that would be rated PG-13 today, had “Treetop scenes.” Sex scenes sent the cameras to the treetops, and the audience was left to imagine what came next. In my opinion, some movies today might be improved by cameras cutting to treetops.

If romance develops between two characters in a manuscript I’m writing, that’s great. In BODACIOUS, my best seller on Amazon’s Kindle, the characters carried me along like a lazy river at a water park. I wasn’t embarrassed or ill-at-ease because the evolution of their relationship felt natural. I liked the heat they generated. 

If the situation in a book gets hot, I write it hot. If not, not. 

When individual readers ask which of my books I recommend for them, like a waiter in a restaurant, I ask: “Do you prefer your fare mild, medium or hot?” 

***

        Thanks, Sharon. I’m glad you visited with us today. If anyone wants to know more about Sharon and her writing, here are sites to visit:

Sharon's website

Sharon's blog  

Buy Link   

NOTE: I'm found on Marilyn's Musings this week.

Next week, Jackie King will be my guest