Evelyn Cullett's Charlotte Ross

On Day 2 of the Murder We Write Blog Tour, the reporter extraordinaire, Mitch Malone, interviews Charlotte Ross. Ross is the main character in Evelyn Cullet’s debut novel MASTERPIECE OF MURDER. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this book but W.S. Gager has been keeping it by her bedside. I’ve agreed to take it a little easier than normal on Charlotte because Evelyn has said some really nice things in the past. Don’t misunderstand my meaning. I’m not sacrificing my stellar reputation or my journalism integrity, but I don’t want to make anyone cry today and Charlotte seems a bit weepy after her fiancé disappears. Let’s see if we can’t get some answers without the faucet being turned on. Miss Ross, can you tell me why a small-town girl without any travel experience attempted a trip out of the country to a third-world place like Argentina?

CR:  Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I don't have any travel experience. After all, in Evelyn's first novel, ROMANCING A MYSTERY, I took a driving tour though England with two of my friends. So, catching a plane to Argentina didn't seem so daunting to me, even though I do get severe motion sickness. But then, love makes people do crazy things, especially when they're as desperate to find someone as I was to find my errant fiancé.

Now I don’t have a lot of experience in the artist community. My specialty is crime but isn’t impersonating an artist against the rules even for the out-of-this-world artsy community?

CR:  You can't really say I was impersonating an artist even though I did send in one of my instructor's paintings to qualify for taking a Master art class. Actually, I'd classify myself an art student because I'm still learning. Anyone who has studied art and taken classes can be considered an artist as long as they're  practicing the craft. So, I told a white lie and cheated a little. It seemed like a great opportunity for me to meet a world-famous artist whom I admired. Too bad he turned out to be such a womanizer and a letch.

I’ve covered a number of murders in my time and if I do say so myself, I’ve been responsible for solving a couple of them. You asked a mystery writer friend for help. Why didn’t you call on yours truly? I could have gotten a great story out of it.

CR:  Sorry Mitch, I didn't know you then. And since I had yet to meet you, I'm afraid my mystery writer friend, Jane Marshall, scooped you on the story. She's going to write a romantic suspense novel with the
information I gave her, even though after I emailed it, she thought I made it up. She's been living in the world of fiction for so long, sometimes she can't see a real murder mystery when one lands right in her lap. It wasn't until I got home and convinced her in person, that she finally believed the nightmare I went though really happened.

How about giving Mitch Malone a little exclusive here? Did you do it? Tell me about your criminal pursuits?

CR:  Honestly Mitch, it breaks my heart that you could even think a mild-mannered, hard-working, small-town girl like me would kill anyone. (Sniff!)  Do you think I have nothing better to do than walk around the woods at night with a pallet knife in my hand waiting to stab someone in the throat as they pass by? Do I seem like a maniac killer to you? (Sniff, sniff!) Of course I didn't do it! (Sniff!)

You’re innocent? Well, my apologies. Don’t get all bent out of shape. A good reporter has to ask and don’t start crying. You can’t blame a guy for trying for wanting a great front page story and this one does have international implications. Thanks for stopping by Charlotte.

CR:  You're welcome Mitch. Now that you know me a little better, you can interview me anytime. :-)

To read Charlotte's story, you can find a MASTERPIECE OF MURDER in print and ebook from the publisher at: http://www.wings-press.com/ and from http://www.amazon.com/. Also available as an ebook for the Nook at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

CR:  Mitch and I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment about his interview and you'll automatically be entered in Evelyn's book giveaway. You could win a signed print copy of  MASTERPIECE OF MURDER. One lucky winner will be picked at random, by me, and announced on Evelyn's blog, http://evelyncullet.com/blog/ on December 12th. Don't forget to leave your email address so we'll know how to contact you.

MASTERPIECE OF MURDER is a fast-paced romantic suspense novel involving a broken-hearted art student, Charlotte Ross, who is so intent on locating her errant fiancé that she submits someone else’s
painting as her own in order to gain access to a Master art class being held in Bariloche, Argentina—the place her lost love was last seen. When the painting gets her accepted into the class given by a world-famous artist and womanizer, being a novice makes keeping up with the others nearly impossible as she struggles to fake her way though, while trying to win back the man she loves. But her fiancé has his own reasons for being in Bariloche that complicate Charlotte’s life and threaten her very existence as she stumbles into a downward spiral of deception, art forgery, and murder. After accidently finding the murder victim. circumstantial evidence begins to mount up against her and the local police suspect she is the killer. Now she must use the skills she learned from her mystery writer friend, along with the help of her fellow art students, to discover who is really behind the murder. Not an easy task with a military police officer dogging her every step.

EVELYN CULLET has been an aspiring author since high school when she wrote short stories, but she didn't begin her first novel until college, later in life. Afterward, she continued to take writing classes while working in the offices of a major soft drink company. Now, after early retirement, she finally has the chance to write full-time. Evelyn enjoys playing the piano, being an organic gardener, and an amateur Lapidary. She's a former long-time member of the Agatha Christie Society, and is currently a member of Sisters in Crime. Evelyn and her husband live in a suburb of Chicago.