thrillerfest

This episode is part of the Happy Campers Interview series.

Since April 2020, Nicole Rivera has been hosting an online writing community intensive called the Happy Campers Club. Now Nicole is writing the Stop Writing Alone book about all of her experience with writing community, and wanted to the perspective from the members in the club. This is one interview toward that end.

Audrea Martin is a cozy mystery writer getting ready to release her debut novel Blue Blue Christmas. In this episode she discusses how she fell in love with cozy mystery, strove to find herself in the genre and then worked to create the stories she craved. She shares her experiences within writing community, in writing conferences, and her love of books on the craft that she has turned into a new venture with Amy Strong on their YouTube channel The Write Crowd. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Audrea Martin’s 
• • Website https://audreajackmartin.com/
  • Instagram https://www.instagram.com/soveryaud/ 
  • YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr-7kh4ySX7AQ3Y5WQNFVQ/featured 
  • Clubhouse @soveryaud
• Communities mentioned 
• • Crime Writers of Color https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/
  • Sisters in Crime https://www.sistersincrime.org/ 
• Conventions mentioned
• • 20 Books To 50K  https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/about/ 
  • Bouchercon https://www.bouchercon.com/
  • Thrillerfest https://thrillerfest.com/
  • Writers Police Academy https://writerspoliceacademy.online/ 
• Books mentioneed
• • Jane Cleland MASTERING SUSPENSE https://bookshop.org/a/10928/9781599639673
  • Sara Rosette HOW TO OUTLINE A COZY MYSTERY https://bookshop.org/a/10928/9780998843155 
  • Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/the-prolific-author/
• STORY HOARDER Substack (The new home for Nicole’s writing): https://storyhoarder.substack.com
• Music for coffee break from freesound by lemoncreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/sounds/186942/ 

• Stop Writing Alone FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/
• Stop Writing Alone Bookshop https://bookshop.org/shop/Stopwritingalone 
• NV Rivera YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPlp1EVzQhDFPdGp5w2KoQ?view_as=subscriber 
• Stay connected to learn about all Stop Writing Alone stuff -- get on Nicole’s email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals 
• Buy Nicole a coffee (AKA support the podcast!) https://ko-fi.com/stopwritingalone

Places to connect to the STOP WRITING ALONE community and introduce yourself:

• Stop Writing Alone FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/stopwritingalone/
• Join the Stop Writing Alone with Nicole Rivera FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/
• Stop Writing Alone website: https://stopwritingalone.com/
• Join the Stop Writing Alone email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals 
• Stop Writing Alone Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/stopwritingalone/ 
• Nicole’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nv_rivera 
• The Stop Writing Alone voice number (call to introduce yourself!): (646) 907-9607 

When you find a group of people who lift you up on a daily basis, it is important to share their awesome. Here are links to the women in Nicole’s Mastermind group (currently going by the name The Voxer Vixens!). Please support these women who do so much to support Nicole on a daily basis!

• Kim A. Flodin https://www.kelekilove.com/ 
• Lisa Murray https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/
• Claire Oldham West https://slimmingstories.podbean.com/
• Johanna Jaquez-Peralta https://www.instagram.com/latina_livin_keto/
• Emma Isaacs https://www.instagram.com/emmaisaacsdesign/ 

On today’s show, we are going back to Canada! My special guest is a best-selling author and former Constable, Simon Gervais (Retired) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Simon’s first posting was in Toronto, where he served as a drug investigator. During this time, he worked on many international drug-related cases in close collaboration with his American colleagues from the DEA.

However, in 2004, his career switched gears and he was placed with a federal anti-terrorism unit based in the Ottawa Region. During the following years, he was deployed in numerous European and Middle Eastern countries.

In 2009, he became a close-protection specialist tasked with guarding foreign heads of state visiting Canada. Among many others, he served on the protection details of Queen Elizabeth II, US President Barack Obama, and other dignitaries.

We also discuss his writing methods and his transition from being a cop to being a full-time writer and a New York Times and Amazon bestselling author.

Simon is the author of Hunt Them Down (January 2019), Trained To Hunt (September 2019), and Time To Hunt (November 2020). His new thriller The Last Protector will be published in November 2021. Simon also wrote the Mike Walton series: The Thin Black Line(2015), A Red Dotted Line (2016), and A Thick Crimson Line (2018).

Go visit Simon's website where you will find all of his books and social media links.
Enjoy the Cops and Writers book series.
Please visit the Cops and Writers website.
If you have a question for the sarge, hit him up at his email.
Come join the fun at the Cops and Writers Facebook group
Go back to episode #3 of the Cops and Writers podcast with Constable Forest Macek of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Only for Cops and Writers Podcast listeners! Get 50% off the audiobook version of the F.B.I. K-9 thriller, Avenging Adam by Jodi Burnett. Use code, https://jodi-burnett.com/copsandwriters/