Polly Iyer

Today, I am thrilled to present another member of my writers group, eNovel Authors at Work. Polly Iyer writes intriguing crime fiction novels with a touch of romance. Check out this array of awesome covers:

Adult language and situations.

During a New Orleans Mardi Gras Ball, psychic entertainer Diana Racine touches the hand of a masked Cyrano de Bergerac and is instantly transported into the icy-cold body of a dead woman submerged in water. As Diana crumples to the floor, water filling her lungs, she hears Cyrano whisper that the game has begun.

Diana has been called every epithet in the book: charlatan, cheat, publicity hound…and genius–all at least partially true. But convincing New Orleans police lieutenant Ernie Lucier that her vision of the dead woman is the real thing may be her hardest act yet. He becomes a believer when Diana leads him to the alligator-infested bayou and the woman’s remains. When another vision leads to another body, it’s clear that the two dead women are a prelude to the killer’s ultimate victim–Diana.

VISIT AMAZON

Adult language and situations.

Wealthy architect Reece Daughtry spent fifteen years in a Massachusetts prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Released on a technicality, he now makes his home in the mountains of North Carolina, building rock fireplaces for a waiting list of clients. His self-imposed solitude is shattered when local author Dana Minette asks him to build a fireplace in her new house. Dana becomes more than a client, and for the first time in twenty years, Reece longs to be with someone other than himself.

Then a local woman is murdered in the same savage manner as the murder that sent Reece to prison. More than one person wants him to take the fall, including Dana’s ex-husband, the local prosecutor, who’s determined to convict Reece in the high-profile case. But Reece won’t be railroaded again. Four men were with him the night of the first murder. One of them is the killer. Reece goes underground to discover who’s setting him up and why. Dana insists on going along, and against his better judgment, he relents. With both the police and FBI on their trail, it’s a race against time and a crafty murderer who will kill again.

VISIT AMAZON

Adult language and situations.

High-priced call girl Tawny Dell boasts a client list that’s part Fortune 500, part Five Families. With a PhD in art history and a tidy chunk of money stashed offshore, she hangs up her G-string with plans to retire to a Mediterranean island to open a gallery. Lincoln Walsh, NYPD sex-crimes investigator, has other ideas. He wants Tawny to work undercover at a high-class sex club to discover who murdered a prostitute with ties to the club. The club is owned by an ex-hedge fund manager who’d do anything to hook Tawny into his harem. In exchange for Tawny’s cooperation, Linc’s office, in collaboration with Treasury, will see she avoids prison for failing to pay Uncle Sam his share from years of illegal earnings. But Tawny gets more than she bargained for—another dead prostitute, a mob boss who’s an old client, and romantic stirrings for the hot New York cop sending her back into the world’s oldest profession.

VISIT AMAZON

Separated from her controlling husband, romance author Zoe Swan meets a charismatic art history professor on the beach and begins a torrid affair. But who is he really? By the time Zoe finds out, she’s on the run with her husband, his jewel thief brother, and a priceless painting stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. With the FBI and the murderer in pursuit, the trio heads to Boston. The only way to prove their innocence is to make a deal with the very people who want them dead.

This book is a Kindle Scout Winner!

It will be published later this year by Amazon’s Kindle Press.

Hello Polly and welcome to my blog!

Thank you, I’m very pleased to be here.

First of all, congrats for your latest book, Indiscretion. I understand it is a Kindle Scout winner that’s been selected for publication by Kindle Press. Wow! What inspired you to write this book?

Thank you, Fros. Indiscretion revolves around the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist. For those of you unfamiliar with the crime, it’s the largest art theft in history and still unsolved after twenty-five years. The museum is in Boston and the collection is housed in a reproduction of a 15th-century Venetian palace. Since I went to art school in Boston, I was very familiar with the museum and rather fascinated with what happened to the 13 pieces of art. So I made up a story.

Sounds like a cracking good read, Polly. What was the first thing you ever wrote and how old were you then?

The first thing I wrote was my novel Threads, and it took thirteen years for me to publish it. I published five other books before that one. Unlike so many writers who say they’ve been writing since childhood, that is not my experience. I was fifty-eight when I wrote Threads. That’s a pretty late start, and it took some concentrated effort to catch up.

Do you see yourself in any of your characters, or do any of them have traits you wish you had?

I think it’s difficult for writers not to insert themselves into their characters in some way, both male and female. We are writing about our experiences and our inner feelings even if we don’t recognize we’re doing that at the time. My female characters are pretty independent, and so am I. They also have a smart mouth, and though I’ve tempered it as I got older, I was a smartass when I was younger.

What are you working on at the moment? Tell us a little about your current project(s).

I’m working on the fourth book in the Diana Racine Psychic Suspense series. The difficult part of writing a series is to make each consecutive book better than the last—more exciting, keeping your characters true to the way they were portrayed in earlier books, bringing in more engaging characters so the story doesn’t get repetitive and stale. In this book, I’m adding a permanent character who will change the lives of my two protagonists.

Which are your favorite authors, and what do you love about them?

I love a good mystery/thriller/suspense, and the best ones are all three. My favorite authors are Dennis Lehane, Daniel Silva, Michael Connelly, Karin Slaughter, early Robert Ludlum, and Mo Hayder, to name a few. All of them are excellent writers, and they tread into uncharted territory. Most write dark subject matter and delve into the psyche of their characters.

Do you have any advice for other indie authors?

Keep writing, no matter what. Make sure your books are as good as they can be. Learn the craft of writing. Understand POV—something I find separates the good books from lesser efforts—and find an editor you can work with. Hire a cover designer unless you know what you’re doing. That’s another thing that screams novice. Find beta readers, not family members who think everything you do is wonderful.

Choose a male and a female character from your book and tell us which actor/actress you’d wish to play them in a film adaptation.

I wrote a screenplay for Hooked, and I pictured Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for the leads. Yeah, right! But they would be perfect. Though Brad doesn’t look like an old Roman coin, my description of Lincoln Walsh, he has the charisma to pull off the role of hard-nosed but caring cop. And Angelina is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and Tawny Dell, ex-call girl extraordinaire, is described just that way. Both also have the acting chops to make the characters come to life. I’d imagine there might be some definite on-screen chemistry too.

What do you enjoy the most as an indie author that you imagine you wouldn’t if you were traditionally published? If you had a choice would you still go indie?

Control. I do my own covers—and, yes, I consider myself a professional since I worked as an artist for 25 years—so I can portray my books visually the way I see them and can’t complain because I don’t like the cover. Also, being indie allows me to fix or add something if I need to. I just repositioned my table of contents to the end of the story on a few of my books. Timing. I can totally control my promotions. However, there are downsides to being indie published. I went to a conference and wasn’t allowed on a panel. Some groups still find us not quite ready for prime time. That is demeaning and frustrating. Because of that, I’ve let memberships lapse to some organizations that still discriminate.

How awful! Sorry to hear that. Being an author involves a lot of sitting around. What do you do for exercise?

I walk my dog, Bogie. He’s the dog love of my life and the best dog we’ve ever had. No dog before him has loved me as much as he does. He makes me smile every time I look at him.

Oh, he’s a sweetie, Polly. I am a dog lover and I’ve been there. So glad you two found each other. What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned so far in life the hard way?

That everything I do is up to me to make it successful, whether it’s my first career in art, my second as an importer of decorative accessories, my third as a store owner, or the fourth as a writer. No one else can make you successful or allow you to fail. I have no plans for another career. Writing is it.

And I wish you every success with it! Thank you for being here with us today, Polly.

Thank you, Fros, for the opportunity to talk about my work.

Polly Iyer, a former commercial illustrator, importer, and home furnishing store owner, is the author of eight novels of crime fiction, all with a touch of romance: Hooked, Indiscretion, InSight, Murder Déjà Vu, and Threads, plus three books in the Diana Racine Psychic Suspense series, Mind Games, Goddess of the Moon, and Backlash. Her books contain adult language and situations with characters who sometimes tread ethical lines. Born in a coastal city north of Boston, she’s lived in Rome, Italy, Boston, and Atlanta, and now makes her home in the beautiful Piedmont region of South Carolina where she spends her time thinking of ways to make life difficult for her characters. Learn more at www.PollyIyer.com or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

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