Tell us a bit about Detective Sam Harper and what was your inspiration for this character?
Harper is in his early 30s, educated, and is a life-long resident of Chandler, Massachusetts (a fictitious city along the U.S. eastern shoreline north of Boston). His father is a retired homicide detective, his mother was the victim of a hit and run accident. Harper’s younger brother, Paul, never forgave Harper or their father for not finding their mother’s killer so the relationship between brothers is strained. One reviewer described Sam Harper as, “... a well-realized, no-nonsense cop, a streetwise guy who refuses to give up despite the odds ... He is the original it ain't over guy.” Harper never takes no for an answer. He can be as cynical as he can be compassionate. He pushes until every bit of evidence has been flipped on its side and checked as many times as it takes to satisfy his gut instinct. He has his flaws—gets hurt, but is hard to keep down. At times, frustration paves the way for anger to obstruct his better judgment, but his sense of justice and love of the badge always reel him in. He’s definitely the guy to root for.
He keeps his own blog, doesn't he? What does he blog about?
Yes, Harper insisted on having his own blog. I told him it would be too time-consuming for him to fight crime and blog at the same time, but he won the argument. Thus far, he’s written some short reports (stories) about some of his cases, posted headline news (reviews), and shared a transcript of a phone conversation he had with another author’s protagonist. Harper likes to keep up with his readers as much as possible too. Right now he’s busy working on an important case that he hopes to blog about soon.
You have two Sam Harper novels out. Are you working on a third?
Yes, the working title for this third book is “Grave Witness.” This story also began life as a novella. It was the shortest of the three so a great deal of work has gone into creating the complex subplots my readers now expect from my writing. I hope to have this novel ready for a 2010 release. A fourth book in the series is also in its first draft.
Article comments
1 - Karin
Thank you for the interesting interview. I did like Sam's blog and I also can guess what his phone call is about.
2 - A. F. Stewart
Cool interview, great insights.
I'd love to see you tackle a romantic suspense novel; I bet it would be fantastic.
3 - Kim Smith
Great interview! I wanna have Marta and Sam on my radio show some day!
4 - Marta Stephens
Mayra,thanks so much for these great questions to consider!