Cracks Beneath the Surface, the latest Jhonnie Laurant Mystery by Mary Ann Miller
Author Interview + Book & Author Information
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Cracks Beneath the Surface
The ice is melting—but what will it reveal?
Spring has sprung, and Easter festivities are underway in Field’s Crossing, Indiana. The annual egg hunt is a huge success, thanks in no small part to Lisa DuVal, the owner of Big Al’s Diner who dyed all of the eggs. But when Sheriff Jhonni Laurent discovers Lisa’s body in her catering van later that day, the happy holiday quickly sours, and Laurent begins a murder investigation.
All are shocked at the reading of the will when it’s revealed that the diner will be inherited by Lisa’s best friend—not by her daughter, which raises Laurent’s suspicions. While working to find the killer, Laurent uncovers some unsightly secrets that Lisa’s family had been concealing. Could they be involved in something shady?
As the investigation begins to take shape, it seems that the melting ice will reveal more than the first buds of spring. And when another body is discovered, Laurent must work quickly to determine how the two crimes connect—and who could be behind it all.
Perfect for fans of J. A. Jance and C. J. Box
To purchase Cracks Beneath the Surface, click either of the following links: Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Cracks Beneath the Surface — Author Interview
Cracks Beneath the Surface is the second Jhonni Laurant Mystery. What would you like readers to know about book one?
On my website, the logline is “Murder is Rare in Farm Country.” And it is.
A murder has a huge effect on the entire community. The farming community is tight-knit, much like family. The death of one affects everyone, especially if the deceased is young, as in Bones Under the Ice.
In Cracks Beneath the Surface, a middle-aged woman is stabbed to death and found in her catering van. The diner she owned and ran was enormously popular in Field’s Crossing and so her death, again, affects the community as does the discovery of the killer.
Cracks Beneath the Surface is set in Field’s Crossing, Indiana. Tell us about that community, and how that location plays a role in the novel?
The fictional town of Field’s Crossing, Indiana is made up of many small towns I either visited or grew up in.
Both of my parents came from farming families. My mother hated to collect the chicken eggs because more than the egg came out of the chicken. I don’t think they wore gloves back then. My father tells stories about how they had to move every March 1st because they were tenant farmers, and his dad would farm a new farm every year. He attended four different high schools before he got his diploma.
My uncle Richie told me he was the only one left in his high school graduation class. Of course, they only had seventeen people to begin with.
These stories need to be captured in one form or another because farming today is so vastly different than when my parents were milking cows by hand and getting pecked by angry hens.
Cracks Beneath the Surface continues the arc of your central character. Did you find it easier or harder or just different to work with characters that you already knew?
I think it’s easier to work with characters I’ve already created. There’s a familiarity about it.
I’m comfortable being in the shoes of my protagonist. I know how she’ll think, how she’ll react, and what she’ll say in any given situation. I’m always looking for ways for the reader to get to know my characters better. A small detail that hints at an untold back story, an opinion about something that’s rooted in a funny childhood story. Back stories, opinions, and beliefs round out the character and strike a chord with the reader.
In addition to reading and writing crime fiction, you’re an avid gardener. What do you enjoy about working with plants? What is growing well in Florida that you couldn’t grow in Illinois? Or not growing in Florida you grew in Illinois?
The ecosystem of Florida is vastly different than the Midwest. The soil in Florida has a great deal of sand in it while in Illinois, the soil is clay. If you stick a shovel into the soil in Illinois, you think you hit a rock. Here in Florida, the shovel glides through until you hit a tree root.
Almost everything I grew in Illinois will grow in Florida. The trick is to recognize the plant at ten times it’s size and realize what is an annual in Illinois might be a perennial in Florida. Cut it back and it will grow again. And again. And again.
The main staple of my garden in the Midwest was a hosta. They will not grow in Florida. I can’t even buy them here. The hosta is a shade plant and Florida is not known for shade. Also, hydrangea don’t do well either. I’ve moved my pink hydrangea twice and they still look anemic.
On the other hand, elephant ears are an annual in Illinois and in Florida, my elephant ears resemble a jungle. I planted three eighteen-inch elephant ears in March and in October the plants are over six feet tall and covering up half of the front of the house. Not sure where I’m going to move them.
What can we find you reading right now? Do you like to read solely crime fiction, or do you branch out into different genres?
I can’t read mysteries, thrillers, or any sort of crime fiction while I’m writing a rough draft. I find myself adopting the other writer’s style or tone of voice or cadence, so I read historical fiction and usually a book on the craft of writing.
I’m reading Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidant by Susan Macneal and How to get Great Book Reviews by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and my copy of the eighteen edition of The Chicago Manual of Style just arrived.
What are you working on now?
Books three and four in the Sheriff Jhonni Laurent series. Both are half-done and I’m letting them percolate for a few months. We’ll see what other ideas pop up.
In the meantime, I’m starting a new series set in central Wisconsin. Briefly, Riley Anderson is on medical leave from the Milwaukee Police Department due to an injury she sustained when her partner was shot and killed by a gang member. She has escaped the city and its suburbs and is spending the time at her family’s summer cabin in St. Paddy, Wisconsin. Returning from an early morning swim, she discovers a body under the family’s pier. The medical examiner rules the death an accidental drowning. A few days later, the deceased’s father offers Riley one million dollars to find out who killed his son.
The Riley Anderson series is in its infancy. The rough draft has only twenty thousand words, so we’ll see where it goes.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers.
You can’t edit a blank page. I come back to this time and time again. Somedays the blank page is daunting, other days I can’t wait to sit at my desk and write. On the daunting days, I’ll work on research, naming characters or places, anything that moves my writing forward, anything to give myself a sense of accomplishment or, at the very least, the feeling that the day wasn’t a complete waste. Something got done that needed to get done. Some days that’s all I can achieve.
I also find I have more energy early in the week. I can crank out a couple of thousand words on Monday and have to struggle to get five hundred on Friday.
Mary Ann Miller
Mary Ann Miller currently lives in Florida with her husband, where she is working on the third novel in the Sheriff Jhonni Laurent series.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Illinois University and earned a paralegal certificate with Roosevelt University.
Miller is a member of MWA, ITW, and Sisters in Crime and when not writing, can be found reading poolside or hosting family and friends fleeing the cold winters of the north.
To learn more about Mary Ann, click any of the following links: Website, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter
Elena Hartwell / Elena Taylor
I really like Mary Ann Miller’s way of writing the next two books in the Sheriff Jhonni Laurent series, but letting them sit for a few months to see what ideas pop up. I’m inspired to try that with my series!
Let me know how it goes!