AUTHOR INTERVIEW: 'San Francisco Nights' Greg Messel

Greg Messel has spent most of his adult life interested in writing, including a career in the newspaper business. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist and has contributed articles to various magazines. Greg lives in Edmonds, Washington on Puget Sound with his wife Jean DeFond.

Greg has written ten novels. His latest is "San Francisco Nights" which is the seventh in a series of mysteries set in 1959 San Francisco. "Shadows In The Fog," "Fog City Strangler," "San Francisco Secrets," "Deadly Plunge" are sequels to the first book in the series "Last of the Seals." His other three novels are "Sunbreaks," "Expiation" and "The Illusion of Certainty." For a more detailed summary of Greg's novels go to www.gregmessel.com 

Greg is currently working on his eleventh novel "Dreams That Never Were" which is not part of the mystery series.

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About the Book:

Title: SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTS
Author: Greg Messel
Publisher: Sunbreaks Publishing
Pages: 232
Genre: Mystery / Suspense

The wife of a wealthy San Francisco shipping magnate leads a secret life but someone is threatening to expose her.  Private eye Sam Slater and his wife and partner, Amelia, meet a mysterious woman in a large red hat during a train trip. The woman approaches him pleading for help because she‘s receiving anonymous notes quoting Bible verses which are becoming more and more ominous with each passing day. Her secrets have been discovered but by whom? What really happens behind closed doors in Room 505 in a swanky downtown hotel?

Sam is willing to take the case but Amelia warns that this woman is nothing but trouble. What does the woman really want? She’s been watching Sam for months and has a scheme to pull him into her world. 

Find out in the latest Sam Slater Mystery “San Francisco Nights” set in the fall of 1959. It’s the seventh book in the series but is a heart pounding stand alone whodunit. 

Watch the book trailer at YouTube.

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As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books.  How did you come up with the idea for your book?

It’s the seventh in a series of mysteries and I feel that each book has added another layer to the character development and the history  behind them. The original idea for the series came on a trip to San Francisco. I grew up in the Bay Area and spent much of my youth in San Francisco. I got to thinking about the world we lived in during the 50s and 60s. I had been looking for a character I could base a series on and also wanted it to be mysteries. I found what I was looking for when I imagined Sam Slater in 1958 San Francisco. I began revisiting venues in San Francisco and thinking about mysteries for my private eye to solve. 

Can you tell us what your book is about?

The title is “San Francisco Nights.” A rich woman has a secret world that she fiercely guards. However, someone has discovered her private world and now she’s receiving anonymous notes quoting Bible verses which are growing more ominous with each passing day. Sam and Amelia Slater encounter the mysterious woman in the large red hat, while riding on a train. The woman pleads for them to help her. She’s sure someone is following her and plans to kill her. Meanwhile, a ruthless ex-con, who blames Sam and Amelia for putting him in prison, escapes and vows revenge. 

Can you tell us a little about the main characters of your book?

Sam is a former baseball player for the San Francisco Seals and as his baseball career comes to an end, he is invited to become a partner in a private eye business with his longtime friend, Jimmy Jankow. But Jimmy is murdered by a ruthless gangster and Sam’s first case is to find out who killed his friend. Meanwhile, he begins a romance with TWA stewardess Amelia Ryan. She has a knack for solving mysteries. Amelia is forced to resign as a stewardess when she marries Sam and then joins him in the private eye business.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would that be?

I should have been more self confident. I was better than I thought. 

What would you say is one of your interesting writing quirks? Quirks? Me?

I’m normal. I’m sure I have some. I like to listen to music while I’m writing but mostly I like for it to be quiet. I can’t multi-task when writing. Nothing too crazy.

Do you hear from your readers?  What do they say?

I do and that’s one of the best things about being an author. My readers have been very complimentary and love Sam and Amelia. Everyone loves a good whodunit and I try to deliver. 

What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

In the course of writing ten novels there have been a couple of times that I’ve had editors say “throw out this entire chapter, it adds nothing to the story.” That came as a jolt but I rewrote sections to blend things together after eliminating those chapters and I concluded my editor was right. Sometimes you can get too in love with your own writing or your own research. That’s why you need a good editor and other eyes to review your book.

What has been your best accomplishment?

I think writing ten novels and having two more in development is a major accomplishment. I feel this body of work allows me to truly say that I’m an author. 

Do you Google yourself?

Of course. I wonder what pops up when someone does a search on my name. It also is a way to check your search words. I want all of the information about my books to come up when my name is typed. I also do a search on YouTube and Amazon to see what is displayed. I want my book trailers to appear on YouTube and they do. 

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Two or three. They are mostly novel-like books telling stories from my family history. One is a story of my grandparents trying to survive in the 1930s during the Depression in rural Indiana. I’m turning over in my mind how to make it into a novel. It’s a very compelling and unique story. 

Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to your readers?

I love creating a new world for me and my readers to inhabit. I love the writing process and am driven to try to get better and better with each novel. 

Greg Messel is giving away three of his books!!

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• Winner will be contacted via email on September 30.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

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