Today Martha Rose is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Knot of This World, the latest novel in the Quilting mystery series.

Welcome, Martha. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

I’m Martha Rose, an overweight, divorced quilter with fibromyalgia in my 50s and living in the San Fernando Valley just north of LA. The newest novel in A Quilting Mystery series, Knot Of This World, is about a group of friends trying to keep one of their own from making a huge and dangerous mistake. Much of the story takes place in a clothing optional commune in Ojai, California where a serial killer might be living. Martha and her friends get into some hilarious antics trying to find answers and to protect their own.

Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?

Sometimes, when Mary Marks isn’t sure where she wants to go next, she often just sits at the computer and lets her characters talk to each other. That’s when we’ll come up with something she didn’t realize or suspect about the story. So yes, we do have a say.

How did you evolve as the main character?

Face it. I’m a version of the younger Mary Marks. She set me up that way so she could get inside my head (as the main character) more easily. She knows exactly how I would react or what I might say, because I am her. In a way. However, Mary doesn’t stumble over dead bodies the way I do.

Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?

I love all my friends and family for different reasons. They each have different skills I rely on, and they add such a richness to every scene. My novels are heavily character driven and they are all characters! To give you an example, my half-sister Giselle is sassy, sarcastic and smart. The funniest things can come out of her mouth! I’m so lucky I found her through DNA testing.

What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?

The Mystical Feather Society is both fascinating and frightening. We were warned about murders and misbehavior there. We found both. In the course of our investigation, we took a fascinating class in Tarot Card reading. It was only one of many significant twists and turns.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?

Yes. There’s a blonde in a halter top hidden somewhere in the story. See if you can find her in this book (and the others).

Thank you for answering my questions, Martha, and good luck to you and your author, Mary Marks, with Knot of This World, the latest book in the Quilting mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Martha and her author, Mary Marks by visiting the publisher’s and author’s websites and her Facebook page.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound

About Mary Marks: Mary was born and raised in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. She earned a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA and an M.A. in Public Administration from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. In 2004 she enrolled in the UCLA Extension Writers Program. Her first novel, Forget Me Knot, was a finalist in a national writing competition in 2011. She is currently a reviewer of cozy mysteries for The New York Journal of Books at www.nyjournalofbooks.com.