CELIA CONRAD INTERVIEW: "A Model Murder" (In hostess clubs and law firms, no one can hear you scream.)

I am happy to report that during its 3-day offer, A Model Murder had over 4,000 downloads onto Kindle devices as I participated in Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing Select program "Giveaway"!

A Model Murder is still available on Amazon in paperback and as a Kindle e-book ($4.99). Links for the paperback on Amazon are below, and the Kindle version can be found at:
http://www.amazon.com/Model-Murder-Alicia-Allen-Investigates-ebook/dp/product-description/B00A0OKLIC

THANK YOU:
Amazon, KDP, Shelf Buzz, Omnimystery News, Carolyn InJoy, Cannonball Read, and Italophile gave such amazing support. Very grateful to Shelf Buzz for featuring AMM for its June 2 "Today’s Picks—Best Free Kindle Books" (http://shelfbuzz.com/handpicked-kindle-books-jun-1-judged-covers/) , and Omnimystery News for doing the same!

DISCUSSION GUIDE:
The Discussion Guide can be located on this blog, and on the Lit Lovers website under "A Model Murder" at: http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/9690-model-murder-conrad

In case you missed it, here's the Interview that went out prior to the Giveaway (it was picked up off the newswire by several sites including BWW Books (Broadway World) and the BBC Record:

Title: A Model Murder (Book 1)
Author: Celia Conrad
Series: Alicia Allen Investigates Trilogy
Genre: Crime Fiction
Publisher: Barcham Books
Paperback     Pages 341                   ISBN-13: 978-0954623326   SBN-10: 0954623320
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2011
Kindle Edition   ASIN: B00A0OKLIC

File Size: 568 KB    Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Edition 1 (Nov. 1 2012)   Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English                Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Author Interview with "Tough Little Cookie" Celia Conrad: The British author speaks out on abuse of women in hostess clubs and law firms, and praises Amazon's KDP Select Program for E-Book Success of A Model Murder

"He told me he was used to getting what he wanted." 

—A Model Murder

What do law firms and hostess clubs have in common? The answer lies at the heart of British author Celia Conrad’s “A Model Murder,” a crime fiction novel featuring the murder of a young model moonlighting as a stripper and the harassed-at-work London woman lawyer who sets out to bring the murderer to justice.

The thriller appeared on the literary scene in 2011 before news events made its plot points seem positively prescient. Last April, a stripper was found murdered after work in Atlanta, Ga.; and last year, a gender discrimination lawsuit against a prominent American law firm settled in favor of its women lawyers.

Los Angeles journalist Marlan Warren (MW) caught up with Celia Conrad (CC) to discuss the origins of “A Model Murder” (AMM) and why publisher Barcham Books has decided to launch the e-book as a giveaway via Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program May 31 through June 2.

MW: In AMM, the moonlighting model tells someone, "He told me he was used to getting what he wanted..." when describing an aggressive club customer. Later your heroine Alicia Allen also encounters this attitude with the boss at her law firm. You had a career in London working "within the law" (as they say in the U.K.). How much of your own lawyer experiences found their way into Alicia's world?

CC: AMM is autobiographical in parts, which probably makes this story even darker because it is real. The legal profession is still male dominated despite what we are told about more women qualifying or more women reaching top jobs. I think for a young woman within the law it can still be quite hard.

MW: What kind of research did you do?

CC: While I was doing a little modeling, I met a model who worked in a club to supplement her income. To research, I talked with women at the clubs. They told me how they got treated depended on the "boss." They had to generate money for the club by being "nice," but the degree of how “nice” came from the top. Some bosses looked after their employees better than others. Some women felt pressured, and some did not.

MW: What’s your opinion of the recent lawsuits in the U.S. and U.K. that complain about gender discrimination in the workplace?

CC: I am sure there is still a lot of bullying. In terms of sexual harassment, the laws have tightened but I'm sure it still goes on and women are reluctant to speak out for fear of repercussions.

MW: Your heroine is a half-Anglo/half-Italian lawyer living in London with a passion for justice and a chip that rhymes with “Singles.” How much of yourself is in Alicia?

CC: Like me, she looks vulnerable, but she’s a tough little cookie. And I do love potato chips. We also share tenacity, passion and curiosity. I made Alicia half-Italian because I love Italy. I wanted her to be sharp-witted, warm-hearted and likeable with moral fiber, backbone and sincerity. She’s a private client lawyer as that’s the area I would have gone into if I hadn't done family law. I only wish I’d thought of her retorts when I was working within the law.

MW: What kind of feedback have you gotten from readers regarding the male characters?

CC: Some readers start out hating Ivano (an aggressive Italian character), but then he makes them cry. Alicia's Italian friend Cesare is seen as a "sweetie," and everyone enjoys the banter between Alicia and her coworker/love interest Alex.

MW: What were the circumstances surrounding the publication of AMM?

CC: I wrote AMM at the suggestion of my then-agent and mentor, Paul Marsh, who encouraged me to write a mystery based on my experiences as a lawyer; and I added my brief experiences as a model. Unfortunately Paul passed away before AMM was published. At the time of its release, my mother’s health was failing and I lost her last year. I was too immersed in personal turbulence to focus on promoting the Alicia Allen Investigates trilogy (AMM is Book 1). Hopefully the free Kindle e-book offer will attract a fresh crop of readers and stimulate interest. It will remain for sale in paperback

MW: What is your writing process?

CC: I jot down notes in pencil and then plot the book out. Then I work the plot backwards, having decided on whodunit and the red-herrings. The actual writing took about 8 weeks. I edit as I read aloud: something Paul taught me to do.

MW: How can people find the paperback?

CC: It can be ordered through Amazon, Barcham Books and Alicia Allen Investigates websites. And it’s in libraries all over the U.K.

MW: Two books follow AMM in the series: “Wilful Murder” and “Murder in Hand.” The former takes readers to Australia and has a plot that turns on a string of murdered relatives and a multimillion dollar Will, and the latter takes your heroine into the depths of corruption in Sicily. Did Paul Marsh assist in the crafting of these books as well?

CC: Yes. Before he died, Paul had read both books and was really happy with them. He believed Alicia is a great character who deserved to find her audience. That endorsement has always pushed me on.

To download the free Kindle version during the 3-day offer (5/31-6/2/14), go to Amazon at http://www.amazon.ca/Model-Murder-Alicia-Allen-Investigates-ebook/dp/B00A0OKLIC  and "buy" it for $0.

Harrowing Scene from "A Model Murder"

EXTRACT FROM A MODEL MURDER:

 “Did I not make it perfectly clear to you before that there are certain matters in this firm which are no concern of yours?” He pointed his finger at me as he walked towards me, causing me to walk backwards so that I was now standing against the wall. He put his arms on the wall either side of me, so effectively I was pinned against it with him standing over me.

“Yes,” I responded, looking up at him.

“Then what the fuck are you doing asking Teresa’s secretary questions which are of no relevance to your work here?” he screamed. He was so close to me that I could smell his tobacco breath and I turned my head to the side to avoid it.

“There must be some misunderstanding,” I replied. “I’m only carrying out the work Andy left me.”

“You couldn’t leave it alone, could you, Alicia?” He was menacing. “You know what they say about people who mess with fire?” he added, taking his arms away from the wall. He reached into his right suit pocket, took out a lighter and repeatedly flicked it open and shut within millimetres of my face. “They get burned.”

I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them and swallowed hard. My heart was pounding, I felt hot and sick and I could not speak. He paused. “And we couldn’t have that happening to you, could we?”

***

Thank you, Marlan Warren, for featuring this passage from my mystery novel on your Facebook Book Publicity by Marlan page today (as the "Book del Giorno").

A landmark day in Family law and the implications for litigants in person

Today has seen the implementation of some major family law reforms including the introduction of a Single Family Court, a new Public Law Outline and the Child Arrangements Programme. When I wrote the 3rd Edition of my legal handbook Fathers Matter last year I set out changes the Government was expected to implement. I recently wrote a guest article for the Separated Dads website "Time to pay more than LIP service to Litigants in Person" setting out key changes. If you are interested in reading the piece then please click here.

On the subject of litigants in person, I came across an article in the Law Society Gazette today by Catherine Baksi entitled "Unrepresented parties become the majority in family law cases" which states that more than half of all parties in child related cases are unrepresented. You can read the article by clicking here. But this should surely come as no surprise at all what with the cuts to legal aid in private law children matters and prohibitive legal costs. The fact is litigants in person have been steadily increasing in recent years and even eleven years ago while I was researching and writing the first edition of my legal handbook Fathers Matter I met many fathers who were already representing themselves. By the time I wrote the third edition last year it was evident that numbers had significantly increased and I decided to expand the contents to assist those who find themselves either through choice or necessity unrepresented at court. 

Obviously the ideal is to keep parties out of the court process and the Government's reforms are geared to directing parties to alternative dispute resolution, particularly mediation. But the fact is that in high conflict cases where the parties cannot make their own arrangements and the matter proceeds to court the likelihood is that more of those parties will be litigants in person now and who must receive due consideration from the the court.

If you are interested in seeing how views are changing take a look at the interview with myself and Philippa Kennedy on BBC Breakfast in September 2004 by clicking here.

Book Publicity by Marlan..

For all your book publicity needs I highly recommend Marlan Warren. You can go to her webpage by clicking here.

As an author with three crime novels in need of better marketing strategies and publicity, I have found Marlan to be a seriously good publicist because she devotes time and trouble in clearly identifying her clients' objectives at the outset and then defining what is realistically achievable in publicity terms--both in the short and long-term. She is very resourceful, has an eye for detail, a talent for writing and research, and a pragmatic--but positive approach--to every issue. From a client’s perspective it is a joy to deal with someone who is so responsive, constructive and supportive. As a client I feel very reassured in her hands and have confidence in her considerable abilities to promote my work. She is very personable and easy to deal with – an added bonus!

Tanti Saluti!

Tanti saluti!

My new blog will keep you all informed of my upcoming books and events. Feel free to contact me, using the contact form on this site, with questions and comments. You can also post comments on this blog.

I look forward to hearing from you!

You can order any of my books from my website at  http://aliciaalleninvestigates.com.

• A Model Murder

A Model Murder is a fast-paced mystery that draws scary, sometimes hilarious, parallels between alpha males in strip clubs and law firms.

This first book in the Alicia Allen Investigates Trilogy introduces Alicia Allen, a 29-year-old London Anglo-Italian lawyer whose desire for Pringles is matched only by her desire to solve crime. When her neighbor—a beautiful aspiring Australian model—is found raped and murdered before she can pick up her first paycheck at a sleazy “hostess” club, Alicia ignites with such passion to bring the wrongdoer to justice, it would make even Portia envious.


As her dangerous quest draws her into the dark world of exploitative “hostess clubs,” Alicia finds herself facing similar circumstances in a new law firm where alpha males roam the halls in solicitor suits intimidating or stalking undervalued female coworkers. Worse luck, the deeper she delves into the investigation, the more her comfortable world falls apart. Friends are viciously attacked...potential lovers may not be what they seem...clues pop up in Italian opera, Shakespeare, and a cat. 

###


• Wilful Murder

This second mystery in the Alicia Allen Investigates Trilogy lures the justice-loving solicitor out of London and into the shadowy depths of the Land Down Under where nothing is what it seems and a risky Trust could lead to murder.

When an Australian-born heiress living in London asks Alicia to draw up a Will in expectation of her forthcoming marriage and impending English fortune, she reveals that her family members have been meeting untimely deaths. After her fiancé is killed in an explosion, and her own life is threatened, she implores Alicia Allen to investigate. Alicia soon finds herself hot on the trail of a psychopathic killer who could be responsible for the deaths and near-deaths that continue to occur in England and Australia—or are there two psychopaths working in tandem? Her quest takes her to Australia—coinciding with a friend’s wedding in Brisbane where she encounters her old flame, Alex Waterford, a London lawyer who shares Alicia’s hardheaded determination to bring about justice, no matter what the cost. Together they put their own lives on the line in pursuit of the answer to this murderous mystery that lies just beneath the misleadingly placid surfaces of Probate, Wills and a Trust.

• Murder in Hand

Alicia Allen—the Anglo-Italian London solicitor with such a passion for justice, it would make even Portia envious—returns to star in this novel set in London and Italy. It is the last book in the Alicia Allen Investigates Trilogy.

Alicia’s Uncle Vico, a New York attorney, introduces her to Fabio Angelino—an Italian American living in London who needs her help dealing with the Probate of his mother’s English estate. Fabio’s father worked with Vico at Scarpetti, Steiglitz & Co. in New York before transferring to its U.K. branch and disappearing in Sicily sixteen years ago. The Italian police suspected the Mafia was responsible for his death, but the case remains unsolved. Fabio reveals to Alicia that now someone is trying to kill him. When Fabio’s sister Giulia is found callously murdered, Alicia feels compelled to investigate the crimes on her own. Her quest takes her through Sicily, Italy, Tuscany and Umbria over beautiful but sinister terrain as she finds herself pulled into an underworld where the most dangerous and corrupt criminals are those who hide behind the law.

This case brings to the surface our heroine’s Italian heritage and willingness to take on dark forces to bring about justice; but in her bid to entrap the perpetrators, has Alicia taken on malevolent forces too great, and will this be her last investigation?

###

Fathers Matter 

This best-selling and practical handbook, now in its third edition, is the essential guide for fathers seeking contact with their children after separation and/or divorce, and all those connected with a father in that situation including grandparents and members of the extended family. Divided into three parts, it explains with clarity and compassion how the law affects all categories of fathers and navigates the reader through this increasingly complicated area of family law.

For more info and to order, please visit http://www.fathersmatter.com/.