Q&A With Tessa Wegert 

Today I’m doing a Q&A with Tessa Wegert. Tessa is the author of the Shana Merchant novels “Dead Wind,” is out now and “The Kind to Kill,” is coming out on December 6^th of this year. 

Q: Which book or books were your favorite to write? Which books were more challenging? 

A: Because I write a series, each book gives me a chance to delve deeper into the recurring characters and their world. I enjoy the challenge of deciding where every new book should take them, and coming up with impenetrable new cases for them to solve. For that reason, I think THE KIND TO KILL was my favorite to write to date. It gave me a chance to explore Senior Investigator Shana Merchant’s evolving psychological state and personal life – and I loved setting it during the real-life pirate-themed street festival that happens every year in Alexandria Bay, NY. 

Q: What advice do you give to anyone wanting to write mystery thrillers like you do? 

A: My advice is always to read as much as possible in your genre. Writers can learn a lot by osmosis, and immersing yourself in the structure, style, and core components of mysteries and thrillers makes it much easier to produce an effective novel.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to any of your novels? 

A: Not yet! But I do have a film agent who’s actively shopping the books around. 

Q: Can you spoil a little bit about what your book “The Kind To Kill,” is about since it comes out on December 6^th? 

A: In THE KIND TO KILL, the word is out that Shana’s related to a serial killer, and she suddenly finds herself the subject of intense media scrutiny. The situation has left her estranged from her family and overly dependent on her coworkers and colleague-turned-boyfriend Tim. When a tourist in town for Pirate Days, an annual street festival, goes missing, and Shana works out that there are similarities between the crime and those of her murderous cousin, she fears that Blake Bram’s dark legacy may live on. 

Q: Are you writing a new book now? If so can you spoil what that book will be about? 

I can finally announce that there will be a fifth book in the Shana series! EARLY GRAVE, involving Shana’s teenage niece and a murder on Devil’s Oven Island, will be out in December of 2023. I also have several standalone thrillers in progress. I’m always working on something new.