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The Characters I Create
Off Kilter follows a well-known artist who is experiencing a strange number of minor accidents as he discovers the reason why things are happening to him. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Off Kilter picks-up right where the first story, Brushed Off, ended with the main character (James) recovering from gun shot wounds and a horrendous fist fight so I felt he would be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder which has altered and dulled his responses to others and his everyday life experiences. This premise provided me with many opportunities to explore within the plot.
Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?
I lived most of my life in the contemporary art community of Los Angeles and the many individuals I’ve delt with are definitely reflected in the characters I create. Readers of Brushed Off have repeatedly told me they especially enjoyed reading about such realistic individuals.
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story; where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
Making the transitions both believable and intriguing is always challenging, but it is also one of the things I enjoy creating the most, especially the nuances that can be manipulated and fiddled with.
Will there be a third mystery in this series, if so, what can you tell readers about it?
Yes, I decided from the very beginning that this would be at least a trilogy and one of the best things about centering a story within the contemporary art community is that I can always rely on it being in a constant state of flux. Which provides me with an endless variety of characters and sub-plots to select from. That said, I’m jousting around with how to bring computer technology and an artist sense-ability together using only words on paper, rather than actual visual images.
Off Kilter
In the thriving and evolving art scene of Los Angeles, a mystery envelopes the community, and James Terra, a well-known artist, seems to be at the center of it all. With one minor accident after another, James begins to realize that everything that is happening to him and his loved ones may all be connected, but the reason for such intentions always leaves him blank. As he begins to connect the dots, he slowly realizes that someone powerful has other plans for the art community, and his role in the scheme of things is far larger than he expected.
Off Kilter, by M. Lee Musgrave, is a compelling novel that packs the right amount of art, romance, and mystery that keeps its readers intrigued with every chapter it throws. From the start of the book, the author’s writing style will have readers drawn further into the storyline and drama. The author has a fantastic method that mixes creative and descriptive writing, beautifully enhancing the imagination of readers for each setting and what takes place in it. Furthermore, the way each clue was gradually given was well thought out, unlike some mystery novels that offer a “savior” in the novel that immediately solves the mystery. Instead, this allows the audience to piece together the mystery in their own time, identify the culprit, and bask in theories based on what they have read.
For somebody unfamiliar with fine arts, I could comprehend the parts of the novel that heavily feature it and dig up clues that the author wanted me to get from the conversations and descriptions. Moreover, I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys mystery novels. The setting of the story is one of the most famous places in the world, the City of Angels. It takes place in current times, during the rise of COVID-19, so it will be easy for readers to imagine the world the novel built.
Off Kilter is the exciting sequel to M. Lee Musgrave’s first mystery novel, Brushed Off. This romantic thriller keeps readers engaged and on edge as the mystery slowly unfolds. Readers will love following along as James discovers who is behind all the trouble that plagues him in this fascinating new mystery thriller.
What Makes Artists Tick
Brushed Off follows a group of artists and detectives that try to find out who is killing artists before they strike one of their own. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
All of the wonderful books by Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Walter Mosely, Michael Connelly and many other great authors of murder mysteries. Plus my desire to provide readers with a expose of the contemporary art community; allow them to discover how it functions; reveal how gallery directors earn their commissions; bare why collectors are passionate about art; and most important, I wanted to help readers to realize what makes artists tick and how they survive while disclosing that the art world is not filled with just drug eccentric, sex crazed, weirdos.
How did the mystery develop for this story? Did you plan it before writing or did it develop organically?
I am definitely an organic writer. I do not plan anything before I begin writing. All I knew was I wanted to start with an artist working in his studio. Once I visualized him there I had him walk outside and look around … it turned out he was on the beach and it was after midnight. The story grew from there. Each day I write, I begin by reading, out loud, the pages I wrote the day before and that makes the next few pages just erupt out of me.
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story; where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
I seem to have an intuitive sense about the flow of a story, when to make it seamless, when to be dynamic. The most challenging aspect for me is to limit how much art talk I subject the reader to. This is the main reason why I selected to have the main character earn his living as a videographer for PBS. In that position, he translates the art jargon into everyday English. Part of the mystery for the reader is to determine how that process reveals clues as to who the killer is.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The sequel to Brushed Off is tentatively title Off Kilter and it is almost finished. It includes all the same main characters plus a vivacious young woman and several new meanies. It starts where Brushed Off ends and comes to just as the pandemic starts to spread. I would love to see the sequel out before the end of the year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
When another artist is murdered, she joins the hunt for the killer. A leading art collector is attacked. Cisco is pressured by influential city movers and shakers. Young emerging socialite Camille is up to her neck in strife so James and Nicole make a deal to protect her. Cisco discovers a smuggled exotic drug used by all the suspects including a stealthy porn star. James keeps everyone from knowing his health is precarious. The killer and an secret accomplice targets James, Nicole and Camille.
Brushed Off
Brushed Off by M. Lee Musgrave is a page-turner murder mystery set in Los Angeles, California. The story starts when artist James notices an out-of-place mauve Mercedes S550 creeping around his neighborhood late one night. When a string of murders suddenly rock the art community of Los Angeles, it’s up to James and his detective friend, Cisco, to investigate and find the connection between them. Working undercover, James questions the community using his connections as an artist. But, as they get closer to the truth, the stranger the circumstances surrounding the crimes become. People James once considered a suspect turn out to be innocent, while another turns up dead. Will James and Cisco solve the mystery before another victim, or will James become the next target? Only time will tell, and time is not on their side.
Musgrave writes in a way that sucks the reader in from the first page. Readers will find themselves immediately wanting to know just what the person in the mauve S550 was up to. Shortly after, the first murder victim was discovered. After that, it’s a fast-paced fight to find who is behind the killings in a community where everyone seems to know everyone. All of the circumstances appear to be tied to the art collection of the late Harriet Wagner.
I really enjoyed the character development within Brushed Off. There were two characters that I misjudged early on, Nicole and Camille. Both started off seeming shallow and like they were only out to use the people around them. Throughout the novel, readers will realize that there is more to them than met the eye. They were each stuck in their own less-than-ideal situation but wanted more in their lives.
This fast-paced novel kind of has a Criminal Minds, or CSI feels as the murders are happening. While James and Cisco worked together to figure out who the killer was, seeing all bits and pieces come together was fascinating. Readers will be shocked as the story starts to come to a close and new information is revealed. It was interesting to see how art was worked into the crimes in an unusual way, which wasn’t discovered until the book was wrapping up.
Brushed Off is a riveting mystery crime novel that will keep readers guessing till the last pages. This is a contemporary sleuth book with strong women characters.
Pages: 197 | ASIN : B08VC27S2D
LITERARY TITAN 