Interview S. E. Schenkel

by

Kay Layton Sisk

1) Love the website. Are you the designer? (And yes, I know it has a business' logo at the bottom, but it could be you.)

Thanks. I'm pretty fond of it as well. As for the content and "look", it was a collaboration between myself and a professional designer.

2) I see in your second book, Black Snow Rising, that the characters travel to Africa. Is this the region in which you lived during your missionary days? If not, why not?

I actually was stationed in Ghana, which is south of the Sahara. But I've always been intrigued by this huge sand pile, so I combined my love for Africa, mysteries and deserts and wrote Black Snow Rising.

3) You're not the first writer to make a victim of a boss or ex-spouse and that become the motivating factor for picking up pen and paper. Did he ever know how he inspired you?

Oh, no. And he's not someone with whom I've kept in touch. Although, I guess I do owe him.

4) What does your family think of "mom/grandmom the author?"

They are my greatest fans and done nothing but cheer me on.

5) Why set the series in Michigan?

Michigan is where I was raised and where I now live. What I know.

6) Do you think you'll ever tire of Acey and try someone else as a hero?

I doubt it, although I do have another series that I cut my teeth on, so to speak. Other than the first mystery in this series, the rest of the stories, and there a quite a few, they're collecting dust. But who knows.

7) Why two men as protagonists and only one woman? Why not the other way around?

It wasn't intentional, just the way things developed. But that will change in the fourth book of the series: Dead Man's Reach.

8) Your books are coming out quickly which is great for your readership. Did you have them already written/plotted when you submitted to Wings--or are you just a fast writer?

I had already written three books of this series when I was fortunate to hook up with Wings. That's why there have been three books published in two years. From now on it will probably just be one book a year.

9) What is your favorite mystery series?

My all time favorite is the Travis McGee series by John D. McDonald.

10) If you could meet any famous sleuth, real or fictional, who would it be and why?

Why, Acey Tapp, of course. <Grin> No explanation needed.