Today I am sharing Richard Audry’s answers to Lian asks 5 Questions. Richard Audry is the author of cozy mysteries including the Mary MacDougall Mysteries and the King Harald Canine Cozy Mysteries. He is here today to discuss his latest release A Daughter’s Doubt, the newest book in the Mary MacDougall Series. You can see the 5 star review by clicking the link

About The Author:

Richard Audry is the pen name of D. R. Martin. As Richard Audry, he is the author of the King Harald Mystery Series
and the A Mary MacDougall Mystery series. Under his own name he has written the Johnny Graphic middle-grade ghost adventure series, the Marta Hjelm mystery, Smoking Ruin, and two books of literary commentary: Travis McGee & Me; and Four Science Fiction Masters.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon

5 Questions:

To start with, can you tell us a little about yourself and the project we are seeing today?

Richard- I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of nonfiction projects as a professional journalist and copywriter. In the last four years, I’ve been writing novels and publishing them. This third Mary MacDougall mystery is part of a series set in Minnesota around 1900, starring a wealthy young lady who—against all the odds and social norms—wants to become a consulting detective.

Lian- Welcome to our blog today!

What advice do you have for new authors, like me?

Don’t be afraid of failure and don’t let rejection stop you. You may have to write a number of books before you succeed. Let’s face it—it hurts when a book you’ve spent hundreds of hours creating fails to catch on with agents, publishers, or (if you self-publish) readers. But you have to forge ahead with the next book and the next and the next. This is how you learn and grow as a writer. The late, great Harper Lee said this: “I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.”

Thank you for the advice. It is great and a thick hide help in other areas of life as well.

If you could be friends with a character in one of your stories who would it be and what kinds of things would you do together?

I also write a canine cozy mystery series starring a big, goofy dog named King Harald. I would like to hang out with him and his “boss,” Andy Skyberg. They live in a perfect little town called New Bergen. I’d like to tramp the woods and fields with them. I’d like to sit with them in Andy’s living room and watch ESPN, and enjoy a cold one with nachos and cheese. However, I hope I’m not with them when Harald turns up the next murder victim.

King Harald and his human seem like they would be fun to hang out with.

What makes you want to share your stories?

I like creating worlds and populating those worlds with characters and stories that people can enjoy. I hope that readers can imagine my stories are almost real.

That is an admirable goal 🙂

Which of your current works in progress are you most passionate about?

The series closest to my heart is the Johnny Graphic Adventures, a trilogy. It’s a middle-grade pulp fantasy adventure set in the 1930s, but in a universe where ghosts are very real. The first two books have been selected by Library Journal for the national Self-e library e-book distribution program. Book number three is yet to come.

Those sound like books I could really get into. I checked out the excerpt on Amazon, really interesting!

What or who inspired you to begin writing?

I loved reading novels since I was young and always thought that writing them would be the coolest thing imaginable. I really ate up authors like Asimov and Heinlein. I probably waited too long to get started, but I’m still giving it my best effort.

Those are the kinds of authors that inspire my family. It took me a while to get where I could read, but I am enjoying them also. It is never too late to get started. Mom just reviewed a book written by an author who published her first book just before she turned 80. She seems to be doing well.

Apart from writing and reading, what are your other hobbies or interests?

I’m a passionate, lifelong photographer. In fact, I’m working on a photo show for this coming June. I love to cook. I am an avid collector of DVDs. And I enjoy nothing more than taking long walks and hikes with my wife.

Brilliant hobbies! It is important, I think, to have several.

How do you write your books?

Because a book can take hundreds of hours to write, I don’t like to leave it to chance. So I spend a lot of time outlining each book and don’t put a word down until I’m sure the plot and the characters are in the best shape possible. Then it’s a matter of writing a thousand or more words a day until it’s done. Finally, I do two or three rounds of revisions, including input from my editors and beta readers.

Organization does seem to be the key to writing a good book. It is a skill I haven’t quite got yet.

How do you avoid or defeat writers block?

I don’t believe in writer’s block. You can always write something, even if it isn’t well written. As long as I have a solid outline to write from, I can make progress and create good material and have the first draft done in two or three months.

I hear this advice from a lot of writers. I think it is a great attitude.

How do you define success as an author?

Fame and fortune have thus far eluded me. So my current definition of success is merely this: Write as many good books as possible before the final bell.

A great legacy can be the true meaning of success.

Thanks so much to Richard Audry for his great answers to so many questions. You can find his books at Amazon. Stop by and check out his latest release.