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Joyce Woollcott on audiobooks and award nominations

Author interview + Book & Author info + Author Pet Corner!

Read my interview with Joyce for her debut. Click the link here.

A Nice Place to Die by Joyce Woollcott

When a young woman is found murdered near Belfast, Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride makes a heart-wrenching discovery at the scene, a discovery he chooses to hide even though it could cost him the investigation––and his career.

As he seeks the killer, his suspects die one by one, leading him finally to a dangerous family secret and a murderer who will stop at nothing to keep it.

Praise for A Nice Place to Die

“This was an engrossing novel, essentially a police procedural but it also contained elements of domestic thriller and had a little romance thrown in for good measure.”

—Fictionophile

 

To purchase A Nice Place to Die, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble & IndieBound

Blood Relations by Joyce Woollcott

Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride is called to his desolate country home to investigate.

In his inquiry, he discovers a man whose career was overshadowed by violence and corruption. Is the killer someone from Mullan’s past, or his present? And who hated the man enough to kill him twice?

Set in Belfast and the richly atmospheric countryside around it, Ryan once again faces a complex investigation with wit and intelligence.

Praise for Blood Relations

“Make sure you have time available to read Joyce Woollcott’s latest book, Blood Relations, because once you start reading you will not want to put it down. There is the perfect mix of a compelling plot, excellent characterization, and the right sprinkling of wit and humour. Highly recommended.”

—Maureen Jennings, author of Murdoch Mysteries.

To purchase Blood Relations, click any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble & IndieBound

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Author Interview with Joyce Woollcott

Blood Relations, the second in your DS Ryan McBride Novels, recently came out in audiobook. Tell us about the series.

It’s been a very exciting time, first of all with the initial contract offer for my books, the subsequent signing, and then the sale of the audiobooks to Tantor Audio.

My editor read the manuscript for my first novel, A Nice Place to Die when I sent the first three chapters in to a conference for a grant application. She liked it a lot and asked to read the entire book.

Covid intervened but three years later she was able to read the whole thing and offered me a contact with Level Best Books.

 

Do you like to listen to books on audio? What was the audiobook process like for you?

Good questions. Because the publisher held the rights they negotiated with Tantor and I had no say in the process. Needless to say, I was panicking once I got over the initial excitement of the prospect.

My hero, Detective Ryan Sergeant McBride is alive for me, and I felt strongly that the voice should have a Northern Irish accent and be male. I worried especially that I would get an American reader or someone from Dublin or the south — one of those charming Irish brogues. And don’t get me wrong, I love that accent, and so to millions of people worldwide, but not for my brooding Belfast detective, oh no! So, I was thrilled to learn that Tantor, in their infinite wisdom, had chosen a dashing Irish actor to read the books.

Alan Smyth, my narrator, is based out of L.A. but was born and raised in Dundalk, just south of the border. He assured me he’d spent many a great Saturday night up in Belfast — had the accent nailed! And when I heard the audio I was thrilled. He has narrated both my books now.

I mostly listen to audio on car journeys, they really help the time fly. I hear they are helpful when you cycle and when you go out running too, but that involves, well, exercise, so no.

I hear they are great when cleaning house – so that’s a no from Elena!

You recently received nominations for both a Silver Falchion and a Claymore award through Killer Nashville. Tell us about those awards, and the book & manuscript that you were nominated for:

This is my second Silver Falchion Award nod, both books in the series now have been nominated at Killer Nashville and I am honored to be part of it.

Last year I was a Silver Falchion Finalist for A Nice Place to Die, Book one in the series. This year my latest Book two, Blood Relations was nominated as a Top Pick.

I think as writers we always worry that our work is not good enough, and any validation, (especially if it’s not just from your husband or best friend) means a lot. Writing is such a subjective profession, so any recognition by your peers is greatly appreciated.

Blood Relations brings a new investigation to Ryan and Billy. An inquiry complicated by the fact that the victim was a retired Police Chief Inspector with a complicated past. The detectives have to figure out if the murder was committed by old criminal associates, villains he put away, or an aggrieved family member.

The Claymore Award nomination was especially exciting, my unpublished manuscript, A Desolate Grave, is a new departure for me, written in first person, it too is set in Northern Ireland, but hasn’t been read or critiqued yet. To be nominated for this book is really thrilling for me.

 

You are Canadian, work with a US publisher, and your series is set in Belfast. How do you navigate the locations and language complications with all three of those cultures part of your writing life?

I was born in Belfast and moved to Canada in my twenties. That was a while ago, (ahem) and even though I’ve been home for holidays, it all came to a screeching halt during Covid, and that’s when I started to write these books. A lot of on-line research helped with process. My books are set in 2016 and many things and places have changed since I’ve been home. Of course, some things stay the same, like the people and the rain. Although everyone tells me it’s getting warmer now. Typical. I leave and it warms up.

As to the language I do have some small issues when I use local phrases and words. I try to be sparing with colloquialisms. This is an ongoing problem for writers when books are set in countries other than the US. Hopefully the reader will either work it out, or look it up. I always try to use local phrases and words in some sort of context.

 

What can we find you doing when you aren’t reading and writing crime fiction?

I always seem to be writing! Although I love to read mysteries and I also enjoy travelling. I used to paint and I really must get back to that…

 

What are you working on now?

My latest manuscript is called A Desolate Grave, although that title might change. Here’s the synopsis… (subject to change as well.)

 After his wife is killed with a bullet meant for him, Detective Inspector Connor Adair retires early, and flees to his holiday cottage on Killennis Island, off Northern Ireland’s Antrim coast. He desperately needs to come to terms with the role he played in his wife’s death.

What he wants is peace and quiet to work on his paintings, and time to think.

Instead, he gets Anna, an attractive, enigmatic woman renter nearby, and a new case.

Three years earlier two teenage girls went missing from the island, he’s asked to find them.

Then Anna disappears.

Great description!

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:

That’s easy. Don’t submit your work until you are convinced it’s as good as it can be.

Just. Don’t. Do. It.

Take classes, read widely and especially in your genre, join critique groups and writer groups. And when you are ready, save yourself some heartache and research the agents you submit to. Make sure you target the right ones for your book.

Fabulous advice. Congratulations on your continued success.

Author Pet Corner!

MOLLY. Maltese female.

Our little dog is nine years old. We inherited her when she was two.

Her name was originally Precious 3 (long story) but my husband decided he could not deal with that on any level so Molly she became.

She is the absolute boss of us.

Joyce Woollcott

Joyce Woollcott is a Canadian author born in Belfast, N. Ireland. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto.

She has won the RWA Daphne du Maurier Award for Mainstream Mystery and Suspense, has been long-listed in the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in 2019 and 2020 and short-listed in 2021.

She was a Silver Falchion Award finalist at Killer Nashville in 2023 and again in 2024 and a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist in 2024.

To learn more about Joyce, click any of the following links: Website, X, Facebook & Instagram

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