Triggers”, is angry about there being no dunes at the end of his street. During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I had seen a news report on television about a group of residents who didn’t have dunes and how their homes were destroyed. In the first book in the series, the antagonist, “Mr. For example, there was a city in North Jersey many years ago that had an employee stealing birth certificate papers.ĭoes Superstorm Sandy play a part in any of your series? I also have kept up over the years with current events regarding government employees, which became ideas in my book. I know how that office operates and how records work. “Write what you know” is advice I always hear. I am a municipal clerk, so I thought I’d make my character have the same profession. With regard to my position in government, I have 16+ years experience. I wanted the facts to be correct, so a lot of research went into it. I didn’t know the first thing about guns, arrests, or how a court system works. Yes, even though I work in government, I still had to do a lot of research.

I find them to be helpful!ĭid you do any research for the Jersey Shore Mystery Series? Tell us about how your expertise in municipal government helped you with this series. Sometimes I have to go back to the beginning and write in a character to make the story make sense! I do use character development exercises at times. I have tried to write with outlines, but I always seem to deviate from them. Red Tape was about 10 years in the making! One year of actual writing. I have a full-time job and a toddler, so it’s hard to find time to write!ĭo you typically plan your writing out with outlines, character development exercises, and other pre-writing activities? Or do you just write as it comes to you? Was Red Tape, the first book in the Jersey Shore Mystery Series, your very first book? How long did it take you to plan it (or the whole series) before you began writing it?

The third book in the Jersey Shore Mystery Series, Community Affairs, is coming out tomorrow, but I got the scoop on it from Michele a day in advance. Of course I bought the first book in the series. Her series struck me as a great mix of mystery, fun, and timely and relatable current events. Recently, I met Michele Lynn Seigfried, author of the Jersey Shore Mystery Series, at the Belmar BookCon. One of the most exciting things is discovering indie authors in your area, and a great way to do that is through book conferences.

Red Tape by Michele Lynn Seigfried