Fellow Girlfriends Cyber Circuit member April Henry’s got another book out and here are the deets!

Tell me a little about your book.

It got its start when our publisher said it would be fun to kill off a character like Bill O’Reilly.  Lis was the more liberal foil to Bill for nine years on the radio.  We ended up dropping in a lot of hints to other radio personalities as well. The book begins when outspoken radio talk show host Jim Fate is murdered when poisonous gas fills his studio. In the ensuing panic, police evacuate downtown Portland. The triple threat of  FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, crime reporter Cassidy Shaw and Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce is on the case – but far too many people would have liked to have seen Jim dead.

What got you writing in the genre in which you write.

In a way, it was accidental.  I had written three books that didn’t sell. My fourth book was about a woman who tries to figure out if a painting she inherited is a real Vermeer. I didn’t think of it as a mystery, but my agent did.  It sold in three days, in a two-book deal, and I’ve been writing mysteries and thrillers ever since.

Favorite thing about being a writer?

When a twist pops into my head, or a character does something unexpected.  When it’s easy and fun.  There aren’t a lot of days like that, sadly, but most days there’s a feeling of rightness.

Least favorite thing about being a writer?

Deadlines.  Waiting for reviews and sales – two things I don’t have any control of.

What is the most interesting thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?

Seeing my books published in other languages, and getting fan mail in slightly scrambled English.

What’s your favorite type of pie?

Lemon meringue.  Yum!

I featured Sheila Curran’s release, Everyone She Loved, when it came out in hardback last year, which just so happened to be when Sheila was diagnosed with cancer. What a difference a year makes, with Sheila’s receiving the wonderful news that her cancer is gone and will be gone for good, and her book sold enough copies to come out in trade paper.

Rather than posting the usual interview here, I’m going to send you to her blog, where she celebrates lessons learned over the past year. It’s nice to read.