Interview with YA mystery author B.T. Polcari

YA mystery author B.T. Polcari chats with me about his new cozy novel, Lucky Secrets today.

During his virtual book tour, B.T. will be giving away a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn participant. To be entered for your chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
B.T. Polcari is a graduate of Rutgers College of Rutgers University, an award-winning mystery author, and a proud father of two wonderful children. He’s a champion of rescue pups (Mauzzy is a rescue), craves watching football and basketball, and, of course, loves reading mysteries. Among his favorite authors are Richard Osman, D.P. Lyle, Frederick Forsyth, and Michael Connelly. He is also an unapologetic fantasy football addict. He lives with his wife in scenic Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Welcome, B.T. Please tell us about your current release.
Lucky Secrets is my most ambitious and complicated plot yet, and for good reason, as I discuss further below. As Kirkus noted in its review (“Our Verdict – Get It.”), the book is “An enjoyable, complexly plotted series installment that promises more mysteries and thrills to come.” The story, set outside Birmingham, Alabama, at an extravagant estate called El Sueño, pits college student and amateur sleuth, Sara Donovan, up against eight formidable opponents with questionable pasts in an exclusive two-week contest. As the contestants quickly find out, hidden throughout El Sueño are seven levels of challenges complete with cryptic riddles that must all be solved to win. The stakes are high because the winner-take-all contest promises a mind-boggling payout that will drastically change the winner’s life for the good. However, when a contestant’s body turns up, suspicions and urgency explode as the remaining contestants race to solve the puzzles without getting themselves dead.

What inspired you to write this book?
When I set out to write the book, since it is the third in the Mauzzy & Me Mystery Series, I wanted to continue with maturing Sara, and by the end of the book, position her for life after she graduates from the University of Alabama. I also wanted to do the same with the plot—put Sara into a new, extremely high-risk situation where she is dealing directly with dubious people and the stakes are the highest ever for her. With those goals in mind, I went through my voluminous files full of articles about interesting true crimes and mysterious happenings until I hit on 3-4 stories that showed promise. Then I spent several months researching these angles, which led me down various rabbit holes and put me onto even more intriguing stories.

Excerpt from Lucky Secrets:
The white-haired man, holding a blue folder, addressed everybody from the same open end of the seating arrangement as Percy had ten minutes earlier. “Thank you for coming. I am Creighton Winston, attorney for the contest’s founder, whose name shall remain confidential. However, rest assured, this person is a generous philanthropist, scholar, and respected citizen.” The attorney’s gaze traveled along the occupied sofas and chairs. “Has everybody brought their envelopes per the instructions?”

Some nodded their assent, others held up letter and manila envelopes, all looking daggers at the man. I pulled my envelopes out and held them up.

“Very good,” Winston said. “Full disclosure, my firm only prepared the invitation. The founder provided me with the sealed envelopes to go with each specific invite. Only you and the founder know the contents of your second envelope.”

That statement confirmed the so-called founder was the blackmailer. And assuming he owned El Sueño, he was also extremely wealthy. It made sense. With wealth comes power. I studied the attorney. The man oozed money. Could he be the person behind all this? Was he just pretending to be the founder’s attorney and in fact, I was staring at my blackmailer?

A smallish middle-aged woman with toned arms and perfect makeup raised a manila envelope like the one I received. Small dark-brown eyes that appeared even smaller behind oversized black-framed glasses glared at the attorney. “Are you telling me you had nothing to do with this sordid envelope and the despicable allegations it contains?”

“That is correct, Ms. Fantucci. All I know is, the founder believed some of you might have needed a little—push—to attend this meeting. And hence, your second envelopes.”

“More like a swift kick in the britches,” Scooter complained.

Mumbles and grumbles rolled through the room.

Winston forced a smile. “The founder imparted to me that every contestant was personally selected because each of you has a secret that absolutely must remain—a secret. Especially from law enforcement.” He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “Since the winner of the contest will become fabulously wealthy, it would seem, everyone is here because of a potentially—lucky secret.”

Zoe’s head whipped toward me. With eyes wide, she mouthed law enforcement. I threw her a little headshake, even as my body exploded in tingles. I have no such secrets—anymore. I think. A picture popped in my head of the open safe-deposit box with the gold artifact, gold bar, and emeralds. With my name on the signature card. Somebody obviously manufactured a secret for me. But why? And is it the same for all the contestants? Were they also blackmailed into coming for something they didn’t do? Or were they…

What exciting project are you working on next?
I have several projects in various stages of development. One is a YA book for boys that an agent has expressed an interest in me writing. I am in the plotting stage for that project, which explores the AI race. I am also in the very early stages of spinning off one of my favorite characters in the Mauzzy & Me series, Mrs. Majelski, into her own mystery series. And of course, I am working on the blueprint for Sara’s next adventure, which will have her hanging out a shingle as a private investigator (a whole new world of fun!).

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I remember the moment well. It was in 2017, after I spent seven weeks working with professional editor, Cynthia Luna, on an unpublished manuscript of mine as part of the ShoreIndie Contest. The contest was comprised of ten professional editors who each selected one author to work with for free for seven weeks to get their authors’ manuscripts ready for a three-person panel of judges to select a Grand Prize Winner and a Runner-Up. Cynthia selected my entry from a pile of submissions she received. During those seven weeks, with Cynthia’s guidance, I tore the manuscript apart (later to become Against My Better Judgment, my award-winning debut novel) and put it back together. Along the way, I reworked the timeline, deleted 4-5 chapters (psychologically so hard to do), combined several chapters into one, and wrote seven new chapters. Even though I didn’t officially win the contest, I learned so much from Cynthia that I considered myself a bigtime winner. At the end of the contest, I asked her if she thought the manuscript had a shot at being published. Cynthia didn’t hesitate and emphatically stated it wasn’t a question of “if” but rather “when” the manuscript got published, that I definitely was going to get published. And that was the moment I considered myself a writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Yes, I write full-time. A typical day starts with me having my morning coffee reading the news before I make the commute downstairs to my writer’s office along with our three pups. I try to be in the office by 9:00AM although I’ll admit sometimes I don’t get started until closer to 10:00. Before I start any writing tasks (writing a chapter, editing, plotting, researching, etc.), I focus on the business side of writing—clearing emails, marketing assignments, querying agents, etc. I do this so once I start an actual creative task, I can immerse myself in the writing or editing or brainstorming to the point I become lost in what I’m doing and time stops. By 3:30 or 4:00 I crawl out of my writer’s cave to go on my daily walk of 3-4 miles at a nearby park. I cherish this time because it allows me to clear my head of the day’s activities. If I don’t, then I’m writing in my sleep, and while it has helped me at times during a project, it’s not sustainable long term. While walking I listen to podcasts, usually sports related although D.P. Lyle has an awesome podcast called Criminal Mischief that I listen to for ideas.

And the entire time I am working, our three little pups (all rescues) are cuddled up together in their fluffy bed keeping me company.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I play the same music CD over and over to the point it becomes white noise. Whenever the CD stops playing, I pick up the remote and hit play. Again, and again, and again. And—again. And I don’t just mean for one day. I have been known to stick with one CD for weeks. In fact, as I write this, I’ve been playing Jet’s Rare Tracks for easily the last two weeks. The more productive I am writing with a particular CD, the odds are high I will ride that thing into the ground. Although, when I start continually playing a particular song from the CD in my head outside the office, the next day I switch it out. After all, there are limits to everything. Right?

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
At ten, I wanted to be an author. My fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Shea, opened my eyes to the power of words and the thrill of taking an idea and weaving it into a written story. It became a whole new world for me.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Writing a book is hard. Writing a good book is exceptionally hard. So, when you’re reading a book that doesn’t quite resonate with you, just remember what Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

And for those readers who are writing a book or want to write a book, my biggest recommendation is don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. I’ve had so many people tell me they want to write a book but are overwhelmed by the thought of writing 300-400 pages, or they get started and then stop because it’s too hard. And many times, they admit to me they’re trying to make each sentence perfect. And my advice is always the same: Get that first draft written. Don’t worry about making it great the first time around. That is what editing is for—tightening up sentences, fixing plot holes, improving pacing, etc. The first draft is for getting the story out of your head and into a manuscript. And believe me, it feels sooo good getting that idea out of your head and into written form.

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