R. Scott Mackey & 'Courage Resurrected' @smackey17 @GoddessFish #Mystery

Today we have author R. Scott Mackey visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Scott Mackey lives in Northern California, where he writes both fiction and non-fiction. His first book, Barbary Baseball, achieved critical acclaim from baseball historians for its quality research and writing. He followed that with two young adult novels. His popular Ray Courage Mystery Series includes Courage Begins, Courage Matters, and Courage Resurrected. The fourth book in the series, Courage Lies Beneath, is scheduled for release later in 2015.
* Scott's career arc has included stints as a corporate communications manager, college professor, copywriter, bartender, and youth sports coach. In addition to obsessing over punctuation and grammar, he cares about his family (including his dog and cat), the San Francisco Giants, and his rather sad golf game.

Today R. Scott Mackey will be talking about how she handles balancing life and writing.
* Good question. I’m not sure if I always do a great job of balancing the two, especially when I’m writing a new book. I do try to allocate certain hours of the day just to writing. This is typically two to four hours in the morning. I may then return in the evening for two more hours of writing. In between, life happens.
* The problem for me is disengaging in the morning and going about the rest of my day. My mind is constantly returning to the story, and I find myself making mental or written notes on parts of the book that need to be reworked, expanded, edited, and so on. Sometimes, I will flash on an idea that completely changes the story’s direction. That happened to me in Courage Matters, the first book in the Ray Courage mystery series. I was driving at the time so I had to pull over and spend about thirty minutes writing notes to myself. I completely changed the final third of the book, but in the end, the book was much better for it.
* The same was true when I wrote Courage Resurrected. This story has a lot of moving parts and some tricky scene sequencing to keep track of. I’d be having dinner with my wife wondering “Does the Mastrov scene with his mistress need to move to the next day? Or can it come before Ray leaves for San Francisco.” That kind of thing. I’m sure it was very annoying for my wife having me, literally, in another world.
* Overall, however, I do try to compartmentalize my writing time from my family time and my other obligations. Especially when writing my first drafts, I need to have solid blocks of time—no less than two hours—to get significant writing done. Anything beyond four hours at a stretch is just too exhausting, and I find myself needing to go workout or play golf to get away from my work. A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Ray Courage’s wife Pam died thirteen years before in a car accident. Or did she? Ray’s world is turned upside down when he receives a series of e-mails from someone claiming to be his dead wife, accusing him of attempting to kill her and vowing revenge. Ray sets out to find the identity of the e-mailer only to discover the circumstances of his wife’s apparent death appear to be all but accidental.
* Soon Police Detective Carla Thurber comes to suspect Ray of killing his wife, and of a subsequent murder of Pam’s confidant. Meanwhile, a murderous predator who does not want the facts of Pam’s death to surface aims to stop Ray. In the greatest challenge of his life, Ray must outrun the police and elude those who are out to kill him as he seeks the truth about his wife’s death. ~ Excerpt ~ * After she left I took out my phone and opened the email from Pam1111, fully intending to delete it after a quick glance. Instead of some offer for an erection booster or the chance to aid a Nigerian princess, the message gave me an immediate chill:
* Ray,
* How could you have done that to me 13 years ago? Me, the person you said you loved? Well, it didn’t work. I’m not dead and I am going to make you pay after all these years. Better look over your shoulder.
* Pam Buy Courage Resurrected here... Amazon Find R. Scott Mackey here... Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, R. Scott Mackey! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! R. Scott Mackey will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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