1. What inspired you to write this book? Years ago, I attended several presentations by FBI agents on topics related to human trafficking. I tucked the information away until I felt I was ready to write a book with this theme. After moving to the Pacific Northwest, I met a retired FBI agent who once worked on a human trafficking task force, and I had the opportunity sit and chat with her. Our conversation inspired me to pull out all the information I’d saved before, add her information to it, and sit down to write this book.
2. What exactly is it about — and who is
it written for? Fighting Edge
is written for anyone who enjoys mysteries, especially police procedurals, set
in the great outdoors. It will have even more appeal for dog lovers and those
who love K-9 books. And a short description: A routine welfare check becomes a
nightmare when Deputy Mattie Walker finds a young mother dead and a hysterical
toddler, possibly the only witness to a brutal crime. Soon, Mattie discovers
another criminal act in Timber Creek, revealing a dangerous mix of drugs and
suspected human trafficking. Meanwhile, veterinarian Cole Walker notices shady
activity during routine calls at dog kennels, leading them to suspect a
chilling truth: organized crime has infiltrated their rural mountain community.
3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading
your book? First and foremost, I hope
readers will be entertained and immersed in the plot, the family story behind
the investigation, and the mountainous setting in the book. Beyond that though,
I hope to spotlight the lesser-known side of human trafficking—using children
as slave labor—and to show how this scourge is a multi-billion-dollar industry,
endangering kids smuggled from other countries as well as those picked up on
the streets from our own cities in the U.S.
4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover
design? I submit several titles to my
publishing team at Crooked Lane Books, and we select the one we like best as a
group. I also submit a description of both the action and the setting in the
story for their designer, who uses it to come up with a cover. Again, as a
team, we collaborate and provide input for the final cover. I think this one,
number eleven in the series, is one of my favorites.
5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow
writers – other than run!? LOL Yes,
that might be good advice for certain! Seriously, unless you’re compelled to
write fiction, it’s best to stay away from it and enjoy being a reader. But if
you know in your heart that you have a book you need to create, attend writing
workshops that focus on the art and craft of fiction writing first. For over a
decade I attended two writing conferences: Colorado Gold in Denver and Pike’s
Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs. There are similar conferences all
over the country, but for me, these two were within driving distance. At these
conferences, I attended workshops on all aspects of writing, including the
business related to the industry. And it’s there that I also met the individuals
who later became my literary agent and my publisher.
6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where
do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I believe it’s getting harder to achieve a book
published by a traditional publisher while independent and self-publishing is
growing astronomically. But before people jump into that model, they need to
identify their marketing, sales, and distribution plans, or they’ll end up with
very low sales numbers. The popularity of different genres shifts from year to
year, and it’s hard to predict what readers and publishers will be looking for
next. I’ve heard that statistically, fewer people are reading books these days,
and more are watching movies and series on screens, though audio books are
growing in popularity. All this confirms that if you need to make an income
from writing, proceed carefully and don’t quit your day job.
7. Were there experiences in your personal life or
career that came in handy when writing this book? My books feature a sheriff’s deputy, her K-9
partner, and a veterinarian who is the dog’s vet and the deputy’s love
interest. Together they fight crime in a rural area surrounded by mountain
wilderness. I grew up on a cattle ranch in a similar Colorado setting, and I’ve
been married to a veterinarian for over forty years. My husband and I have
participated in search and rescue training with two of our dogs in a group from
our county. My lifetime is chockful of experiences that lend to the
authenticity of country living, the life of a veterinarian, and dog training.
And I get information regarding K-9 handling and police work from law
enforcement friends and my husband’s clients.
8. How would you describe your writing style? Which
writers or books is your writing similar to?
Others compare my books to those by C.J. Box, Craig Johnson, and Anne
Hillerman. I use a simple style focused on storytelling, character arcs, and a
plot filled with plenty of outdoor and dog handling action and details. Though
I have eleven books in the series, each one stands alone and offers a complete
mystery to solve; but if a reader wants the total arc for each character, they
might want to start with book one, Killing Trail.
9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of
this book? I didn’t know what was going to happen in the climax of this
book and how it was going to end until I got to that point. I knew that my plot
and subplots all needed to be woven together by the climax, but I was surprised
at how explosive it was. And even more surprised when one of my protagonists
almost dies. I intended to show how policing is a hard profession, but boy
howdy, I didn’t realize just how hard it would be in this book. My reviewers
seem to love it though, thank goodness.
10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? If you love dogs, the Colorado outdoors, and mysteries, this is a book you should try. I invite you to come visit the fictional town of Timber Creek, Colorado, and get to know Deputy Mattie Walker, her partner Robo, and Cole Walker, DVM, in Fighting Edge. If you love it, go back and read the rest of the series. There are enough Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries published now for a long binge read.
About
The Author:
Margaret Mizushima writes the
internationally published Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. She served as a past
president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and was
elected Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She is the
recipient of a Colorado Authors League Award, a Benjamin Franklin Book Award, a
CIBA CLUE Award, an IBPA Gold Award, and two Willa Literary Awards by Women
Writing the West. Her books have been finalists for a SPUR Award by Western
Writers of America, a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, and the Colorado
Book Award. She and her husband recently moved from Colorado, where they raised
two daughters and a multitude of animals, to a home in the Pacific Northwest. Find her on
Facebook/AuthorMargaretMizushima, X @margmizu, Instagram @margmizu, and her
website www.margaretmizushima.com.
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For
the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He
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head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the
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times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and
Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.
His
letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal,
USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester)
and The Washington Post. His first published book was The
Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook. It
was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.
Born
and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids,
and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.
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