FEATURED AUTHOR

Lorie Ham has been singing gospel music and writing since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13 and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories and poems throughout the
years. Lorie is married to Larry Ham, who works for a Christian radio production company. They live in Reedley, California and have 2 children, Jessica and Joseph, 4 cats and 2 dogs. Lorie's first mystery, MURDER IN FOUR PART HARMONY, was released in 2000 and is the first in a series set in the gospel music world. She has traveled the country
singing gospel music, been on national TV, international radio and recorded several albums.

Alexandra Walters, a gospel singer, finds that tenors bring nothing but trouble to her life when she returns home to find her tenor singing ex-husband trying to take their daughter away. Things get even more complicated when she is asked to help out at a local gospel music convention and finds herself accused of murder and literally fighting for her own survival. With the help of her boyfriend, private eye Stephen Carlucci, she digs up a multitude of secrets while searching for the real
killer, and ends up accused of yet another murder. Further complicating her life is the new Sergeant of Detectives in town, William Wright, who is hot on her trail. Will Alex lose her daugher? Will she find herself in jail for murder? Or will she be able to track down a killer behind the scenes of the intricate world of gospel music?

When did you first start writing?

I started making up short stories about my stuffed animals when I was about 7 years old. I've always loved writing.

Why do you write?

Because there's a drive inside of me to write. When I'm not writing I get restless and find I'm much more content when I
spend time every week creating something, whether it be a book, song or article.

What sort of books do you like to read?

I love mysteries and have been reading them ever since I was introduced to Sherlock Holmes as ateenager. Some of my favorites now include Agatha Christie, Carolyn Hart, Joan Hess and most recently Kris Neri. I also enjoy reading some
SciFi books such as Star Trek and Babylon 5.

Who is your favourite author or who has influenced your writing?

It would be almost impossible to pick a favorite, but those listed above are among those I enjoy most. I'd say that all of the mysteries I have read have influenced me because I learn from them, but Carolyn Hart has probably influenced me the most. Oddly enough the TV show, Murder She Wrote, was also an influence as it seemed to inspire me to write. I
loved that show.

If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be and why?

Sherlock Holmes. He's so intelligent and interesting that I would love being able to talk to him. I loved watching the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes stories on PBS Mystery. I've always had a crush on
Holmes :)

What are you currently working on?
I just began work on a third book in my Alexandra Walters series and I am about 2/3rds of the way through a Christian mystery novel featuring a character that has appeared in some short stories I've had published, Pastor Mike Raffles. I am also always working on writing book reviews for my Suite101.com mystery review site.

What have you found to be the best way to promote your book(s)?

I think that the internet has been the most valuable to me. Being a fairly new author and with a small publishing house, my promotion budget has been very small so the internet provides many wonderful ways of getting my name out there at little or no cost. I think a website is a very valuable tool for any author and have been able to bring traffic there by offering contests-which I also think is a great way of promoting books.

And finally, what advice would you have for writers starting out?

I think the best advice is to never give up. If you know you want to write, don't let anyone else discourage you-keep writing. I also think it's very important to read in the genre you want to write in and try to learn from other writers' books-both the good and the bad.

For more information on Lorie and her books, don't forget to visit her website below:
www.LorieHam.com

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