Wayne Nighthawk Nichols is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about In the Frame, the latest novel in the Rosedale Investigation mystery series.
Welcome, Wayne. 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.
My name is Wayne Nighthawk Nichols and I was brought to life in a series of mysteries (The Mae December Mysteries by Lia Farrell) about a young woman (Mae December) who runs a dog boarding kennel. I’m a murder detective who works for Sheriff Ben Bradley in Rosedale, Tennessee.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
I definitely control what happens in the story, as I am the bloodhound of the case and I never give up until it is solved. I’m the person who often comes up with the motive for the killing. Motive is the thing that draws me in and what I care the most about.
How did you evolve as the main character?
I have been described as intense, ascetic, and a lone wolf. I never really fit in with the force in Detroit where I was trained. It’s only been since I arrived in Rosedale, Tennessee and starting working with the sheriff, that I have felt part of a group.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
I am closest to Dory Clarkson, the sheriff’s investigator. She’s African American and a sassy, irreverent woman who keeps everyone in line with her witty sarcastic quips. We weren’t partners in the Mae December mysteries, but have become partners in the new series called Rosedale Investigations.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
I live and work in Rosedale, TN, but a part of me dwells in the Native American reservation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where I was born and lived for my formative years.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
The woman in my life is Lucy Ingram, M.D. She and I met during one of my first cases working for the sheriff. Since then we have gone through a painful break-up and a blissful reunion. We got engaged in “The Blind Split” and married recently. I am a lucky man to have her in my life.
Thank you for answering my questions, Wayne, and good luck to you and your author, Lyn Farrell, with In the Frame, the latest book in the Rosedale Investigation mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Wayne and his author, Lyn Farrell by visiting the author’s website and her Amazon author page.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
From Lyn Farrell: Writing as both Lia Farrell and Lyn Farrell, I’ve been publishing books since 2013. I decided to become a writer in the seventh grade. My home life was chaotic and I found peace spending summers at my grandmother’s dairy farm. With little supervision, I wandered the hundred-and-twenty-acre farm and discovered the beauty and healing power of nature. Today, when I need inspiration for my stories, I take long walks. My memories of the time I spent at the farm resulted in a novel “The Cottonwoods” released on 8/21.
My first marriage ended in divorce, leaving me with two young children. Five years later, I fell in love with a divorced professor with six children. Raising that many kids required working full-time. When I retired from Michigan State University, I returned to my original dream of becoming a writer. My daughter, Lisa, and I wrote the “Mae December mysteries” using the penname of Lia Farrell. They are amusing, mental puzzles called cozies, with an element of romance. Cozies are the gentlest subset of the broad genre of crime writing. It’s a comfort read that leaves you satisfied and at one with the world.
Now writing solo as Lyn Farrell, I recently published “The Blind Switch” (January 2021). It’s the first in a series about a private detective agency, Rosedale Investigations. Two of my readers’ favorite characters from the Mae December mysteries, Dory and Wayne Nichols, have starring roles in these books. “The Blind Split” (released 1/11) is the second in the series. In The Frame is the third book in the series.
dianneascroft.com 