A body washes up on the shores of Lake Templeton, a small town on the coast
of Vancouver Island. Sharon Reese, the victim, was a dedicated government
employee. Everyone liked her, but no one knew much about her. Was she hiding
something? Maybe a questionable past riddled with scandal. And did it lead
to her plunge to death, in a drunken stupor, off the dock outside her
secluded lakefront lodge?
Purchase Link
US -
https://www.amazon.com/Lake-Templeton-Murders-Private-Investigator-ebook/dp/B09KMDQBQ1
UK -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lake-Templeton-Murders-Private-Investigator-ebook/dp/B09KMDQBQ1
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-lake-templeton-murders
Author Q&A
1. If you
could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Writing is not zero or one hundred.
You can do other things and also write. You don’t have to make an
all-or-nothing choice to become an author. In fact, in many ways, it’s better
if writing is not your main gig. If you put pressure on your passion to earn
you the lifestyle you desire, maybe it won’t be quite as joyful.
2.
Favorite childhood memory involving books?
Going shopping for them! My
mother used to take me to roadside stalls in Karachi, where I grew up, to buy
used books. The musty volumes would be stacked in piles on top of one another
and I would thumb through them, sometimes taking an annoyingly long time to
gather the gems. I could never purchase as many books as I wanted – money was
tight – so I had to choose wisely. Once the choice was made, my mother would
haggle with the vendor, trying to get him to knock off a couple hundred rupees.
She usually succeeded – we were buying a stack of books, after all.
3. Did
you want to be an author when you grew up?
Yes – when I was a bright-eyed
child who believed anything was possible. Then, I became a jaded teenager and
realized there was no money in writing (at least at the time). So, I decided to
go into business and banking. The writing bug never really went away, though.
It was just slumbering for a while.
4. How long,
on average, does it take you to write a book?
Too long! My first book, The
Lake Templeton Murders, took about 9 months. I meet authors who can put out
multiple books a year and I’m impressed! Sadly, I can’t write that fast. The
best I can do is about 1,000 words an hour on a good day. Given how hectic and
demanding my day job is, I can’t always commit to a certain word count on any
given day either.
5. How do
you select the names of your characters?
My starting point is making
sure my characters reflect the diversity of British Columbia, the main setting
for my books. I need to know their cultural backgrounds. Then, I consider
personalities. For example, my main character, Fati Rizvi, Private
Investigator, was given a traditional Muslim name, i.e. Fatima, by her family.
However, given her personality, of course she would shorten it to something
more palatable, less ‘foreign’, and easier to pronounce like ‘Fati’. None of my
characters have super unique ‘celebrity’ names because I wanted them to reflect
real people that you might meet in your day-to-day life.
6. What
creature do you consider your "spirit animal" to be?
A tiger. They’re beautiful
creatures, highly independent, bold and fierce, and they rule the jungle.
They’re resourceful and fast. And they have the most languid, self-assured
stride. I have such incredible respect and admiration for them.
7. If you
were the last person on Earth, what would you do?
I wouldn’t survive for very
long because I’m a people person and I get my energy from being around others.
I’m an extroverted – I know it’s unusual for a writer. A world where no other
humans exist sounds like a boring and bleak world to me. Also, I’m not the kind
of person who can survive in the wild on my own – unlike my spirit animal, the
tiger! I need people around to do stuff for me I can’t do myself!
8. If you
could live in any time period, what would it be and why?
We live in the best time
there is. We live in an interconnected world. Our lives are incredibly easy and
we have so many modern conveniences at our disposal. I don’t believe in the
‘good, old days’. What people forget it how hard life used to be. Now I can
order food from the comfort of my couch. I can Facetime with my mother anytime
I want while we have the distance of half the world between us. I live in a
safe society where I have a voice – as a dark-skinned woman. I am in the senior
leadership team of a large corporate where I have a seat at the table. Thirty
years ago, at this same company, women weren’t eligible to be senior leaders –
or have pensions. Oh, and mine is probably the last generation that won’t fully
see the devastating impacts of upcoming climate change.
9. What is
your favorite genre to read?
The same one I write in –
mystery! But I also love a good supernatural horror story. And I also really
enjoy psychological thrillers. Anything that keeps me on the edge of my seat,
reading well after I’m ready to go to bed.
10. What
sparks your creativity/how do you get your ideas?
Daily life sparks my creativity.
Everything around me – people I meet, situations I hear about, places I travel
to – gives me ideas. In fact, I have more ideas than I can execute on in
multiple lifetimes. It’s a good problem to have. But I do sometimes get
frustrated at the lack of time to bring all the ideas I have to life.
11. What
do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I love to hike and spend time in
nature. We have majestic mountains and sparkling ocean in British Columbia.
There are splendorous hiking trails just a short drive away from where I live.
We get a lot of rain here in BC so a good, sunny balmy day is always
celebrated. I try to get outdoors as much as I can. I also really love to go on
long, scenic drives. They always help clear my mind and give me new perspective
on problems I may be dealing with. In fact, a lot of solutions strike me while
I’m letting my mind roam while on a scenic drive.
12. Would
you ever write under a pseudonym?
My pen
name, HS Burney, can be called a pseudonym – sort of. It was important for me
for my author name to include my last name, which is a big part of my identity
and family background. I didn’t want to use my full first name because having
initials instead preserves a sense of mystery, which aligns well with my genre.
A lot of mystery / thriller authors use initials instead of a full first name!
The first initial, H, is my actual first name. The second initial, S, is my husband’s
last name. This was my way of incorporating him into my writing journey because
I can’t do anything without him.
Author Bio –
HS Burney writes fast-moving, action-packed mysteries set against the
backdrop of majestic mountains and crystalline ocean in West Coast Canada.
She loves creating characters that keep you on your toes. A corporate
executive by day and a novelist by night, HS Burney received her Bachelors’
in Creative Writing from Lafayette College. A proud Canadian immigrant, she
takes her readers into worlds populated by diverse characters with unique
cultural backgrounds. When not writing, she is out hiking, waiting for the
next story idea to strike, and pull her into a new world.
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/HS-Burney-Author-113028981189771
https://www.instagram.com/hsburneyauthor/
https://twitter.com/hsburneyauthor
https://mailchi.mp/d6b48197e368/hsburneyemaillist
Giveaway to Win $10 Amazon Gift Card. (Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter
box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from
all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no
response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves
the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or
over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used
for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the
exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway
organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time
Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not
responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.