Guest Author Makenzi Fisk

My guest today is Calgary mystery author Makenzi Fisk, creator of the Intuition series.

First of all, tell us about the books.

The Intuition Series is a set of three mystery thriller novels featuring female protagonists. The stories feature plenty of authentic police procedure, action and suspense, with enough time for realistic character development. The first-person viewpoint of the antagonist is what grabs readers and they love to hate the bad guy.

Just Intuition is the first mystery in the series. Erin, a small town Minnesota cop enlists the help of her intuitive but reluctant girlfriend, Allie, to investigate the fiery death of an elderly woman. Their search takes them through unforgiving backwoods, where they must work together to unmask the killer behind an escalating series of crimes.

The second book, Burning Intuition, is more of a psychological thriller. Erin and Allie pursue a murderer north of the Canadian border into Winnipeg where an innocent girl is being manipulated. Erin is questioning decisions made in her past and unsettled by the busy urban center but Allie feels at home. Allie must gain control of her intuitive gift to help stop a killer from taking another life.

Erin joins the FBI in Fatal Intuition, a crime thriller and the final book in the series. Allie has become more comfortable with her gift but Erin is struggling to impress her superiors. When a criminal seeking vengeance escapes, the ensuing crime spree leads a bloody trail straight home. With all they love in danger, they’ll need the help of their family and friends to stop a killer.

Crime writers have to be very familiar with police procedures in order to create an authentic world for the reader. Has your experience as a police officer prepared you to write these kids of stories?

Of course, I rely a lot on my police training and experience to create realism in my stories. The human component doesn’t change as much over the years, but advances in technology happen almost daily. There are new vehicles, modes of communication, firearms, techniques and procedures all the time. Before I write, I make sure my research is current and try not to include details that will be obsolete in six months.

This was difficult when I researched the FBI material for Fatal Intuition. I consulted with them to ensure accuracy but they could not answer many of my questions due to security concerns. Secure communications, data transmission, and most of my technological questions were simply off-limits, as were some of my specific questions regarding weaponry. As a retired police officer, I respect this confidentiality and don’t want to divulge information that might compromise the safety of investigators in the field. I made the decision to rewrite my story outline to eliminate that level of technological detail. Instead, I added an aerial drone with specs in the public realm and I think it worked out better in the end.

Are your characters based on people you met during your career or in your personal life?

I wouldn’t say “based on” as much as “inspired by”. My main antagonist has characteristics from at least three different people I arrested on the job whose personalities disturbed me long after. This combined character became the catalyst in writing my first book, Just Intuition. Erin is the idealistic police officer without many of the faults all humans have. Allie’s intuition came from every story I’ve heard from every person who believed they knew things they should not otherwise have been privy to. The grandmother who knows the gender of the baby before it’s born, the mother who feels something bad is about to happen to her child, the nightmare that becomes the truth, the accident waiting to happen. I grew up hearing these stories and the thread wove its way through the series.

Have you always been a writer?

Not really. As a kid, I was a voracious reader but I was shy and had trouble putting books down to participate. In my teens, I made a conscious decision not to be a bystander to my own life and actually stopped reading for pleasure. Later, as a police officer, I consumed large amounts of work-related technical material and wrote continuously. Police reports, newsletters, presentations, and outlines were my staples. When the famed Harry Potter series came out, my wife convinced me to read the first book despite my protests that it would be a silly waste of time. After page one, I was drawn back into the world of reading for pleasure. I read the entire series and progressed to grown-up books.

Probably due to my background, my tastes run more toward crime, action, mystery or thriller, but an interesting side-effect occurred. I began to write. My first book began as an autobiography. In the 80s, I had been the first female police officer hired in my city and I thought I had a story to tell. I also wanted a record for myself. I worked with a U.S. publisher that tried to turn my story into a romance. It was an agonizing process, the publisher became a sad statistic, and that book never saw the light of day. The process wasn’t a total loss because I learned something interesting about myself. I write better fiction than nonfiction and I still had a million stories to tell. My next book was Just Intuition.

Your books have won quite a few awards, haven’t they?

Ha. ha. You might be overstating it a bit.

Just Intuition won a “Goldie” award for Debut Author at the 2015 Golden Crown Literary Awards (GCLS) in New Orleans. It was also named Finalist for Mystery/Thriller at 2015 GCLS and Finalist for Mystery/Thriller at the 2014 Rainbow Awards.

Burning Intuition received an Honorable Mention for Mystery/Thriller in the 2015 Rainbow Awards. It is currently a Mystery/Thriller Finalist for the 2016 GCLS Awards to be held in Washington, DC this July.

Not to be outdone, Fatal Intuition was also named Mystery/Thriller Finalist and will be competing in the same category for the 2016 “Goldie” award. I can’t attend this year, but I’ll have my fingers crossed.

When can we expect the next installment in the Intuition series?

Fatal Intuition is the final book in the series and that story arc is now complete. Readers found the antagonist in that series quite fascinating and I’ve received requests for more. I may consider a novella in future.

Are you working on any other writing projects at the moment?

Although Fatal Intuition was the last book in the Intuition Series, there was an FBI character in that story who has just retired. She was ready for her own adventure and I decided to spin her off into a story set in Northwestern Ontario, where I happen to have summer property. That book will be a thriller, tentatively titled “Smoke and Murder” and is due this fall.

Why did you choose to self publish rather than go the tradition route?

Perhaps I became jaded when working with the U.S. publisher on my autobiographical effort and did not agree with the direction they wanted to take the story. I briefly considered seeking a traditional publisher for Just Intuition but then decided to form my own publishing company, Mischievous Books. I’ve operated small businesses before and like the creative control I have with all of my projects. In future, I may be able to help other authors get their work out there for readers.

What kinds of things do you do to market yourself and your work?

Not as much as I should! That’s the downfall of doing it all yourself. You have complete control over your success or lack thereof. Because I don’t have to rely on writing to pay my bills, I’m able to do as much or as little marketing as time and energy allow. I engage with readers on social media, and was recently featured for a Q&A weekend as guest author in a Facebook group. The rapid-fire questions kept me busy but was so much fun! I have attended a few book clubs in Calgary and Lethbridge where my books were the topic of conversation and I participate in local author-related events. On many weekends, you’ll find me at Calgary Chapters/Indigo stores, talking to readers and signing my books. While I am at my writing retreat in Northwestern Ontario this summer, I’ll have events at the local Atikokan library and am booked for signings at the Chapters store in Thunder Bay.

You can view my public schedule on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Makenzi-Fisk/e/B00KP1P3GK

I can be reached through my website: http://makenzifisk.com/

Or you can engage with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makenzi.fisk

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