Today Barbara Casey, author of The F.I.G. Mysteries, is visiting Ascroft, eh? to introduce herself and her writing.

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

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

I would love to be able to time travel, whether it would be to the past or the future.

What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

I am pretty much a “what you see is what you get” kind of person. I run two companies – my literary agency and a small publishing house that focuses on true crime/nonfiction. And I write. In addition, I take care of my 98-year-old mother and the three beautiful cats that adopted me. So these things fill my life.

When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with?

I reveal a lot about my characters through dialogue and body language. I really enjoy figuring out the physiognomy – discovering character through outward appearance – of the people in my books.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I guess I am more of a plotter. I have certain things in place before I start writing. However, there is a point in the creative process where the characters and the storyline take on a life of their own. At that point I am merely the instrument writing it all down.

Did you learn anything from writing this book? If so, what?

Each of the four books in The F.I.G. Mysteries required a great deal of research.

The Cadence of Gypsies (Book 1) focused on the Voynich Manuscript and Gypsy culture.

The Wish Rider (Book 2) focused on the Grand Central Terminal. Who knew there were concealed passages inhabited by a secret subculture under the train tracks, and that there is an abandoned train car hidden there?

The Clock Flower (Book 3) involves actual research findings involving immortality and the dandelion flower.

The Nightjar’s Promise (Book 4) delves into the art thefts that took place under the reign of Adolph Hitler during World War II. The search for the missing art continues today.

Thanks for answering my questions, Barbara, and good luck with The F.I. G. Mysteries.

Readers can learn more about Barbara Casey by visiting her website.

Barbara Casey will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. To enter the contest: Click here

For more chances to win, visit the rest of the stops on Charlotte’s tour: Click here.

The books are available online at Amazon.

About Barbara Casey: Originally from Carrollton, Illinois, author/agent/publisher Barbara Casey attended the University of North Carolina, N.C. State University, and N.C. Wesleyan College where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history.  In 1978 she left her position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own manuscript evaluation and editorial service.  In 1995 she established the Barbara Casey Agency and since that time has represented authors from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. In 2014, she became a partner with Strategic Media Books, an independent nonfiction publisher of true crime, where she oversees acquisitions, day-to-day operations, and book production.

Her award-winning articles, short stories, and poetry for adults have appeared in both national and international publications including the North Carolina Christian Advocate Magazine, The New East Magazine, the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Sunday Telegram, Dog Fancy, ByLine, The Christian Record, Skirt! Magazine, and True Story.  A thirty-minute television special which Ms. Casey wrote and coordinated was broadcast on WRAL, Channel 5, in Raleigh, North Carolina.  She also received special recognition for her editorial work on the English translations of Albanian children’s stories. Her award-winning science fiction short stories for adults are featured in The Cosmic Unicorn and CrossTime science fiction anthologies.  Ms. Casey’s essays and other works appear in The Chrysalis Reader, the international literary journal of the Swedenborg Foundation, 221 One-Minute Monologues from Literature (Smith and Kraus Publishers), and A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation).

Ms. Casey has written over a dozen award-winning books of fiction and nonfiction for both young adults and adults. The awards include the National Association of University Women Literary Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Award, the Independent Publisher Book Award, the Dana Award for Outstanding Novel, the IP Best Book for Regional Fiction, among others. Two of her nonfiction books have been optioned for major films, one of which is under contract.

Ms. Casey is a former director of BookFest of the Palm Beaches, Florida, where she served as guest author and panelist.  She has served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida, and was the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 through 2003.  In 2018 Ms. Casey received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas. She makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with three cats who adopted her, Homer, Reese and Earl Gray – Reese’s best friend.