Let's Talk with Terry Ambrose

Okay, I admit it—I’m basically a chicken. The thought of spending my life locked up between four walls, surrounded by big guys whose tattoos have more storylines than my novels, absolutely terrifies me. Orange is NOT my color, and I look terrible in stripes. That’s why I write instead of committing felonies.

Well, not exactly. People often ask why I started writing. My go-to answer? “I wanted to kill someone.” The look on their faces? Priceless. But here’s the thing—something stopped me from actually going through with it. You guessed it: the whole “looking bad in orange” situation I mentioned earlier.

How to Do the Crime but Avoid the Time

When I was in my thirties, I had a coworker who made my life a living hell. I’m talking stress levels that would make an air traffic controller cringe. Things got so bad, I started mentally cataloging “accident” scenarios. You know, the kind where someone mysteriously falls down the stairs. Twice.

Then reality hit: I really, really didn’t want to wear orange for the next 25-to-life. So I did what any rational person would do—I wrote out the murder. My victim died dramatically on page one, and let me tell you, it felt glorious.

Finishing that first chapter wasn’t just satisfying—it was therapeutic. Like finally exhaling after holding your breath for years. That’s when I realized: writing wasn’t just a hobby. It was my calling. (And possibly what kept me out of prison.)

The Fly in the Ointment

Yes, I felt fulfilled after murdering my coworker on paper, but there was one tiny problem: my story was over in one chapter. One very poorly written chapter with zero character development and a plot thinner than my patience for said coworker. Clearly, I had some work to do.

This was back in the Stone Age (also known as “the early 2000s”), so I couldn’t just Google “How to Write a Mystery Without Going to Prison.” Instead, I did something radical—I went to actual buildings called libraries. And bookstores. (For you youngsters: those were places where you could touch books with your hands. Wild, I know.)

I studied the craft. Read everything I could. Practiced. And slowly—very slowly, because apparently I’m a remedial student when it comes to learning anything useful—my writing improved. Eventually, I found my groove and created the Trouble in Paradise Mystery series, featuring McKenna, a highly cynical (and reluctant) senior sleuth living in Hawaii.

Then 2020 happened. COVID ended our annual Hawaiian pilgrimages, and suddenly I felt disconnected from my island paradise. So I pivoted to a new series set closer to home—the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mysteries. Book nine is coming soon, which means I’ve written enough murders to qualify for some kind of watchlist.

Death by Blueprint

So what’s next in my journey of literary homicide? Death by Blueprint drops soon, and this time B&B owner Rick Atwood faces his toughest challenge yet: keeping his daughter from adopting Shadow, a giant black Newfoundland who’s recently been orphaned.

Oh, and there’s also a murder to solve. Because apparently running a B&B isn’t dramatic enough on its own.

If you’d like to see how Rick handles both puppy-dog eyes and actual detective work, Death by Blueprint is available for preorder on Amazon. I promise the only crime you’ll commit is staying up too late to finish it.

(Orange jumpsuits purely optional.)

Want to know more about our author Terry Ambrose? Visit his WEBSITE.

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