How do you balance your solo ministry with your love of writing?
Lori: The ministry has always come first, but I don't just love writing, I need to write, so I always try to make time for it even if it's not as much time as I would like. I take moments whenever I can find them to write and am able to write wherever I am - I don't have to have a quiet place.
Tell us about your experiences singing with your family?
Lori: Wow-how much time do you have? I sang with my family for about 20 years, so I'm not even sure where to start. It was great seeing so much of the country, spending time with my family, getting to know so many interesting people, being on the radio and television and I loved traveling in our tour bus. But it's nice now as a soloist to have more control of my schedule and not have to do as much as I did as a child.
You say your style is a mixture of 'contemporary, jazz, big band and southern Gospel.' How do you merge all these styles?
Lori: It's more a matter of not feeling I can pin my style down to one label - there's a touch of all these styles within the music I sing because they're all a part of my musical history. I've always loved big band and jazz so I enjoy throwing a bit of that in where it fits, a lot of my newer songs are more of a light contemporary and I still throw in a few southern Gospel songs as those are my roots. I hope with this my music can appeal to and touch the lives of a diverse group of people.
Your poems, songs, short stories, articles, reviews and now three mystery novels have been published. What themes have you focused on in all these areas?
Lori: I wouldn't say there is just one theme - most of them in some way come from my life just as I would imagine they do for most writers. My non-fiction has mostly focused on the religious and I've written some articles on writing. Most of my poems have come from emotions at the time they were written. I have mostly reviewed mystery novels as that is what I most enjoy reading.
Let's talk about your novel Deadly Discrimination, which was your first Pastor Mike Raffles mystery, published in Dec. 2003 by PublishAmerica. When an unpopular businessman is murdered in a small California town, everyone believes the killer is a 17-year-old Latino. Who feels differently and is willing to dig deeper to the truth?
Lori: Pastor Mike believes he knows this young man and that he could never have killed anyone so he tries to help this family by uncovering the truth - the fact he's also a reporter gives him a good cover for snooping. Along the way he discovers discrimination not only within the town, but his own church and puts his ministry and his life on the line to expose it.
Murder in Four Part Harmony is your first Alexandra Walter mystery. Tell us about Alexandra and what she's up against.
Lori: This was my first book. In it Alex's first love comes to town and is accused of murder. Alex is determined to find the real killer and save the man she once loved. To complicate things further she finds she still has feelings for him but he is married.
Would you say you modeled Alexandra after you because of the similarity in your backgrounds?
Lori: I gave her a lot of my own background and curious nature, but in most other ways she is the way I wish I could be. She is much stronger and outgoing than I am.
In The Trouble with Tenors, Alexandra's ex-husband, a tenor, has a new girlfriend and to make matters more awkward he demands custody of their daughter. After a fight viewed by many witnesses, her ex is shot and guess who is the number one suspect? Can she sing her way out of this one?
Lori: Alex naturally becomes the number one suspect so with the help of her PI boyfriend they go behind the scenes of a local gospel music convention to find the real killer and end up uncovering a lot of secrets others would have preferred to have left hidden.
Which of your characters will your new novel, Out of Tune, feature?
Lori: We are back with Alex in this one, but it's a bit different because it focuses less on the gospel music and more on her family. What can we expect with this novel? Gospel singer, Alexandra Walters, faces a new threat to her happiness - her grandmother Edna Harms, a manipulative woman not even her family likes. When Edna summons the family home to the Central California town of Donlyn for their grandfather's memorial service, it's just the beginning of trouble. Accidents are happening all around Edna and Alex fears someone in the family may be responsible. When the accidents turn to murder, Alex becomes determined to find the culprit. Her investigation puts her in the middle of Donlyn's annual Blossom Festival, and big bike ride. To complicate her life further, Alex finds herself trying to choose between the two men in her life - one a cop, the other a PI with a mobster for a father. The beautiful blossoms, a small farming town, family squabbles and a touch of the gospel music world Alex grew up in - provides the backdrop for this baffling family mystery.
When will it be published?
It is due to be out on Sept. 12, 2005.
How have you promoted your books?
Lori: I have mostly done online promotion through my website, interviews and reviews on other websites, and online mystery groups. I have also done a few California booksignings, library talks and mystery conferences. I also sell my books at my concerts.
If you had a chance to write something out of the ordinary, what would it be?
Lori: I wonder if there is still anything out of the ordinary out there - I suppose it would just be out of the ordinary for me. One of my next projects is a bit of a different twist on a mystery/vampire novel.
