Mariah Lynne Writes Tropical Romance -

Author Mariah Lynne writes mysteries, time-travels, and paranormals inspired by the places she has lived and visited.

Welcome, Mariah,

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m optimistic, a trait I share with my heroines no matter how tough the times, strong willed like my heroines to the point of never giving up, and love animals especially dogs and cats as they do.

I was born in Montclair New Jersey to two very loving and wonderful parents. My father, an Italian immigrant, taught Latin and Italian at a small local college. He left to start his own business, an independent print shop. My mother loved to help people and volunteered at our church and with charitable groups. She was a talented lace maker and loved to crochet and knit; her father, also from Italy, was a custom furrier and tailor for some of the most affluent residents of our community.

Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit those wonderful talents since I am barely able to sew on a button. As for my father’s ability to read, speak, and write foreign languages, that went by the wayside as well. But one trait I did inherit from my father was his love of a good story.

I’m a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in English education and reside on a beautiful Southwest Florida Gulf Coast island. My island lifestyle and its semi tropical scenery serve as the backdrop for all of my stories whether in romance, time travel adventure, or cozy mystery. Before writing fiction, I owned and operated the first video store on the island like my character Mariah Linley in A Gem of a Murder and became very active in my national trade association meeting many movie stars and famous athletes. Although brief, these encounters made for some amazing memories.

I love to write and to create memorable characters. Pets are my passion and I served on the board of directors for a county-wide, no-kill shelter. Because of this, all of my heroines have pets such as Spike, Mariah’s German shepherd crossed with a teddy bear. When not writing, I still enjoy watching movies, travelling (even though we were stranded in beautiful Australia for eight days at the start of the pandemic in March of 2020), swimming, reading a good story, and spending time with my husband Jerry.

What were the most interesting places you ever visited?

I love to travel whether in the U.S. to our amazing national parks or abroad. I walked on The Great Wall of China, visited the pyramids, went to a pachinko parlor in Tokyo, saw the giant statues on Easter Island, and swam in Iceland’s Blue Lagoon to name a few. But because of my heritage, Italy has always been one of my absolute favorites.

My father who was in is early fifties when I was born loved to tell me about his childhood and extended family in Naples, Italy. He studied to be a priest before coming to the US and told me that the church in Naples where he studied had art worthy of a museum. During my second visit to Naples I found a church and seminary that matched his description. I remember one other story in particular that aroused my curiosity. He said growing up in Naples his extended family was divided by economic status – rich or poor.

His immediate family was not rich but went on to tell me that through bloodlines, he was related to the Duke of Naples who later became the last King of Italy. I always wanted to trace my family history to see if that was true. I have no reason to doubt him but it would be fun to verify and would make good fodder for a story … maybe a royal romance?

Four years ago, we traced my husband’s heritage visiting Armenia with all of its ancient history and treasures. His father had to flee the country when he was five years old, accompanied by older relatives to seek refuge in France because of the Armenian Genocide. He later came to the United States and became a lawyer and judge. Both our fathers were amazing men and inspirations to the both of us.

Where did the inspiration for your current story come from?

I owned and operated a video store called “Pirate Pete’s” on our island for over twenty years. It stood across from the Gulf of Mexico just like Seabliss Video was in my book A Gem of a Murder. I modeled my lead character and chief crime solver Mariah Linley after myself and my own experiences. Mariah, as I did, got to know many of her customers well and became friends with them.

The story takes place in the 1980’s when our island was and still is home to a large shrimping fleet. Many captains and crew rented videos from me. The character of Captain Jocko was loosely based on a retired sea captain who frequented my store regularly, and with whom I became friends. He loved my dog Max just like the captain in the story loved Spike, Mariah’s dog.

At that time the island had two psychics and the character of Moonbeam is a composite of both of them. Just like Seabliss Video, unusual customers seemed to migrate to my store.

These two examples are not in this book but are stored for future use. I had a pair of men who wore only black and did not look like islanders or tourists but came in daily to rent movies. I later found out from the police they were arrested for stealing boats from homeowners’ docks. A pregnant young woman came into the store one holiday season to take her photo with Santa. She wanted to save it for her baby when he got older. The very next day I heard a helicopter circling above and sirens. It seemed she was wanted in Texas for attempted murder. You imagine how exciting the eighties were on my small island!

In a few of my other books, I really did have a wonderful dog named Sam like the character of Sam in Paws for Christmas. The Duchess’ Necklace was inspired by a trip to Chatsworth House in England while the idea for Shadows Across Time came from visiting the room of poisons in Chenonceau Castle in France. Claws for Justice came about after a trip to a doctor who wouldn’t examine you until your eighth visit because you had to meet with all of her assistants first. She became the inspiration for the wicked vet in that novella.

Can you tell us about any upcoming books, series, or writing plans?

Max: Canine Concierge of Love is a contemporary romance that will be released the end of 2022 or the very beginning of 2023. A dog named Max is the star, and the story is set on beautiful Sanibel Island Florida. Max starts out life as a service dog trainee but soon flunks out of guide dog training because he loves people and animals too much to obey the strict training guidelines.

The director of the guide dog school realizes Max has some genuine talents that might help others but only in a different way. He contacts his college buddy Nate who owns a Gulf-front inn on Sanibel Island. Nate has been searching for the right dog to be his own pet but also one he can share with his guests for walks and companionship.

When Nate meets Max, he knows he just found that right dog and adopts him. Nate is about to find out that Max has one very special talent: a knack for introducing lonely guests and giving them a second chance at love even though in some cases it’s by accident.

My last dog also named Max and a shelter adoptee served as the book’s inspiration. The real Max did some wonderful things like visiting patients in an assisted living center and island kids at our Rec center where he performed a magic show. Max could hear dolphins in our lagoon before they surfaced and would bark to let the neighbors know these beautiful creatures were about to surface.

I plan to write a sequel next year but at the moment I’m working on another Time Travel romance that begins in present day Naples, Florida and goes back to 16^th century Venice.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

We are currently in the midst of a remodel and have been cleaning out closets and drawers. My husband surprised me by showing me a book he found entitled “My First Book” that I wrote in first grade. It contained mostly hand drawn pictures but what fun it was to look through it! It brought back memories of a wonderful time in my life! I “wrote” it on very large construction paper with metal clamps on the side.

Running a business for twenty years left me little time to write fiction but I did write weekly entertainment columns for our two island newspapers and did ghostwriting for an advertising yearbook. Seabliss, a cozy mystery, which served as the inspiration for A Gem of a Murder was published in 2011, and I haven’t stopped writing books since.

A Gem of a Murder

by Mariah Lynne

A sleepy Florida Gulf Coast Beach town suddenly comes alive as two best friends, local merchant Mariah Linley and island psychic Moonbeam find themselves in the middle of some pretty strange business after Mariah discovers their friend, Jocko, a beloved local sea captain, dead.

As events begin to unfold, the two novice sleuths are drawn into a web of murder, deception, and drugs that stretches as far west as Mexico and as far south as the Keys.

Loaded with unique characters doing surprising things, A Gem of a Murder is a cozy mystery set in 1986 and laced with a little romance and the paranormal. With a backdrop of stunning locations, A Gem of a Murder will take you on a memorable vacation without ever leaving home!

So grab your sunscreen and park that imaginary lounge chair in the sand under some swaying palm trees, but all the while, watch your back. There’s a murderer on the loose!