Birds and Books: Mystery, Romance, Suspense All Rolled into One: Meet My Guest, Writer Evelyn Cullet

Have you ever been to Argentina? I haven't, but it's on my must-see list.
Welcome, Evelyn, to Birds and Books.
When I learned that Evelyn had chosen Argentina as the setting for her mystery, Masterpiece of Murder, I was fascinated. What an alluring, exotic locale, and with a plot that centers around an art theft, it's a must read! Read what Evelyn has to say about her new release, what inspired her to write, and where she is going next.

1. What was the motivating factor that started you writing? High School English class started me writing. That's when I discovered I wanted to be a writer. I liked to write parodies on Shakespeare's soliloquies, changing the names and events to reflect my friends and the things that were happening to us at the time. When I attended college, I was encouraged by my English professor to submit a paper I'd written to Reader's Digest. Although I didn't submit the paper, he gave me the confidence to begin my writing career.

2. Where did you get the idea for Masterpiece of Murder? Did you know before you started you would set the story in such an intriguing country as Argentina? Inspiration for a novel can come from anywhere, and for this novel, mine came when I first heard about Bariloche, Argentina. I was taking art classes and met an artist who had gone to Bariloche to take a Master Art Class. When the artist came back and showed me photos of Bariloche with its snow-capped mountains, glaciers, dense forests and crystalline lakes, the writer in me immediately thought that the scenic beauty and the solitude of the area would make a great setting for a romantic suspense novel.

3. How did you develop your character Charlotte Ross? Charlotte is a composite of a lot of women I know, with a little of myself thrown in to make a well-rounded character. Here's a good description of Charlotte from the point of view of a male character in the novel: "I know, from your sweet disposition, that you'd never intentionally hurt a living soul. I know you have a great deal of courage to have come her after Brett, so you must also be capable of a great deal of love. When you fended off my advances in the hotel room yesterday, I caught a glimpse of your true character, which is honest and loyal."

4. The romance/mystery is currently a popular genre. What other books in this genre would you compare yours to? This novel isn't like any others in the genre, and I've read quite a few. I guess it could be described as a mixture of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, because Charlotte is just an average woman who is having relationship problems, (Jane Austen), when she finds herself the only suspect in a murder case. (Agatha Christie).

5. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? For the movie rendition I've always pictured blonde-haired, blue-eyed Reese Witherspoon as Charlotte, and dark-haired Canadian actor, Yannek Bison, as her handsome fiancé, Brett. Antonio Banderas would be perfect as the aging, womanizing art instructor, Ty Champion, and Sonia Braga as his talented, but manipulative ex-wife, Domino.

6. What are you currently writing? I'm currently working on the edits for, Love, Lies and Murder, the prequel to Masterpiece of Murder, which will be released by Wings ePress in September.

7. What is next? Next to be released will be the sequel to Masterpiece of Murder, Once Upon a Crime. Hopefully it will be out either by Christmas, 2013, or January of 2014.

8. What do you want most for your readers to come away with after they read your books? I want each of my readers to come away with a smile of satisfaction, knowing they've just read a really good story, and looking forward to reading the next.

Masterpiece of Murder is a madcap, romantic suspense adventure about a heartbroken American art student, Charlotte Ross, who is so intent on locating her errant fiancé that she submits someone else’s painting as her own in order to gain access to a Master art class being held in Bariloche, Argentina—the place her lost love was last seen. When the painting gets her accepted into the class given by a world-famous artist and womanizer, being a novice makes keeping up with the others nearly impossible as she struggles to fake her way though, while trying to win back the man she loves. But her fiancé has his own reasons for being in Bariloche – he’s after a stolen art masterpiece. They complicate Charlotte’s life and threaten her very existence as she stumbles into a downward spiral of deceit, art forgery, and murder. When she comes across the murder victim, circumstantial evidence begins to mount against her and the local police suspect she is the killer. Now she must discover who is really behind the murder before she's arrested. Not an easy task with a smitten military police officer dogging her every step.

Masterpiece of Murder is available from Wings ePress: http://www.wings-press.com and from Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/9jjl5xc and B & N - http://tinyurl.com/9uyqj5r