In The Old Corsair, a naval intelligence officer finds herself at the heart of a mystery originating in the late 1700s after being assigned to safeguard artifacts at an excavation site. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

In the brief mentions of a Captain Tunney by a tertiary character in my previous novel, The Composer’s Legacy, we learn of Captain Vernon Tunney, his relationship with one of the dead composer’s forbears, and what Tunney is capable of doing:

“After a British Frigate destroyed his home during the bombardment of Lewes, Delaware on April 7, 1813, Robert West . . . hired a privateer named Vernon Tunney, to hunt down and destroy the British frigate that destroyed his home and killed his parents . . . A subsequent broadside reported that the British ship went down with all hands six weeks later.”

It was from this tantalizing tidbit about Captain Tunney that I wanted to expound upon. Exactly how did he manage to take out a British Vengeur-class third-rate with 74 guns? To answer that question, I created an Easter egg that linked the two independent stories. The fun part was crafting such an enigmatic character based on this brief account. As the possibilities for the character grew, I knew I had to come up with an equally tenacious firebrand of a present-day character, and her name is Terrie (my sister’s name) Murphy (my mother’s maiden name).

I introduce Tunney in the opening chapter, and in his time, to give the reader a taste of his personality and what’s to come. However, from the second chapter on, it’s 2013 and Terrie Murphy is looking to exact justice upon those who murdered her sister. Unfortunately, the Navy derailed that mission with one of their own. Lieutenant Terrie Murphy is detailed to Badger Island to locate and seize artifacts from what was alleged to have been the nation’s first intelligence office. When she realizes the evidence didn’t agree with the cover story, she decides to investigate on her own.

What is one pivotal moment in the story that you think best defines the main character Terrie Murphy?

I introduced the reader to the courageous, but socially inept Terrie Murphy with a sort of literary slap in the face. As the scene opens, she’s enduring another nightmare about her murdered sister. At present, the imagery is sketched in metaphors so we really don’t know all the particulars as to what’s actually happening or why. However, the defining moment arrives when another episode of this gruesome nightmare returns. Only this time, the nightmare is described in all its ghastly detail. She awakens screaming, rousing her neighbor from across the hall. As he attempts to comfort her, she accedes to her Aunt Barbara’s advice about opening up to other people. Since the only person she’d ever confided in was her murdered sister, it took over 10 years, and her aunt’s cajoling, to open up to anyone else. As it turned out, it was her neighbor. She shares with him, and also the reader, the true meaning of each part of her nightmare and what those bloody numbers actually stood for on the bottom of those Polaroid photos.

I likened this scene to the way Quint from Jaws opened up about his “removed” tattoo. We already knew he was a bit off, but through his monologue about his experience aboard the USS Indianapolis, the tenor for the rest of the movie and the characters’ relationships took on a whole new meaning.

What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?

I hate to admit this, but I was never fond of academics in school, but I always had a penchant for music, mysteries, and history. In seeking out the appropriate levels of historical documentation that could dovetail into my story, I actually fell in love again with the library again (along with the many museums, archives, and online historical newspapers I visited). The more I read about any specific topic relevant to the story, I was enthralled with my deep dive into history.

Legacy, it was simple. With my extensive musical background (writing, reading composing, and performing), it gave me the confidence to write a meticulous mystery surrounding the death of a composer whose music could stand alongside the greatest composers in history. However, The Old Corsair was quite another matter. Authenticity in this straight-up political mystery thriller was very important. In order to be as convincing as possible, I sought out sources as close to the events as possible. I actually visited all the locations discussed in the book so I could be reliably accurate when describing each scene. I also visited Mystic Sea Port in Connecticut, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Springfield Library and Archives in Massachusetts.

At my Author Events, I bring along a binder of highlighted historical newspapers to show the public exactly how I managed to incorporate their information while “planting” my own “articles”.

I find a problem in well-written stories, in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?

As a matter of fact, I’m toying with the idea of two distinct series that could come from this one novel; the first being the continuation of Terrie Murphy’s arc. I’m currently outlining the next book, The Crimson Corsair, a sequel to Terrie Murphy’s current story. I also plan to close out her arc in the third installment, The Last Corsair, set many years into the future and after Terrie’s retirement from the Navy.

Meanwhile, there’s gold in actually looking back and having a new character discover the 88-year-old Captain Tunney, alive and well on an uncharted island in the Pacific. I’ll use this character in the same vein as Dr. Watson, relaying his experiences with the elusive captain and the stories the octogenarian shared about his life. The inaugural first meeting will happen about one year after Tunney is believed to have died at 87. In a series of short novels or novellas, Tunney will relay to this character accounts that had occurred during his lifetime. There are many stories pertaining to this nautical enigma whose, “tactical and strategic savvy managed to elude even today’s best efforts to locate him or the vessel he captained to his alleged demise in 1850, the Neptune’s Trident.”

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