Marja McGraw - Mystery Writer
Biography
I was born and raised in Southern California. My family traces back to the 1850s, so my roots are definitely planted in California. Consequently, so are most of my stories.
I worked in both criminal and civil law enforcement for several years. With a few other jobs under my belt, and several years as a divorced, single parent, I have a fairly well-rounded life education. That's a polite way of saying life can be tough, but I was tougher.
I owned my own business for a short while -- an antique store/tea room in Oregon. The store was fun, but my timing was lousy. Draw your own conclusions on that one.
I've lived in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and now Arizona, but most of my life was spent in California and Nevada. After thirty years of being divorced, I met and married my husband. All things seem to happen for a reason, and in their own time, even if we don't always understand what's going on while life leads us on our journey.
My writing career began with Secrets of Holt House - A Mystery. I followed up with A Well-Kept Family Secret - A Sandi Webster Mystery and the beginning of a series. Bubba's Ghost and Prudy's Back! followed shortly. These Sandi Webster mysteries were followed by The Bogey Man and Old Murders Never Die.
Bogey Nights is the first in the Bogey Man series, and will soon be followed by Bogey's Ace in the Hole (February, 2012).
Each of these mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A Little Murder! The Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries concentrate on the characters and solving the crimes rather than the crime itself.
I enjoy thinking up quirky characters and once in a while I find someone who touches my heart or my funny bone. Sandi has a very menopausal mother and Chris has a rather eccentric mother, and I can relate to both of them in one way or another. In an upcoming book (no release date yet) you'll read about a set of older twins who thrive on driving each other nuts. I had a great time writing about a "lawsuit queen" in one of the books. And I've added a few quirky dogs to liven things up even more.
My husband and I now live in a small community in Arizona, where we enjoy sunshine and very warm weather (translates to extremely hot), and we alternate between laughter and frustration over our two yellow Labrador retrievers. If you read Marley & Me by John Grogan, believe me, it's all true.
I worked in both criminal and civil law enforcement for several years. With a few other jobs under my belt, and several years as a divorced, single parent, I have a fairly well-rounded life education. That's a polite way of saying life can be tough, but I was tougher.
I owned my own business for a short while -- an antique store/tea room in Oregon. The store was fun, but my timing was lousy. Draw your own conclusions on that one.
I've lived in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and now Arizona, but most of my life was spent in California and Nevada. After thirty years of being divorced, I met and married my husband. All things seem to happen for a reason, and in their own time, even if we don't always understand what's going on while life leads us on our journey.
My writing career began with Secrets of Holt House - A Mystery. I followed up with A Well-Kept Family Secret - A Sandi Webster Mystery and the beginning of a series. Bubba's Ghost and Prudy's Back! followed shortly. These Sandi Webster mysteries were followed by The Bogey Man and Old Murders Never Die.
Bogey Nights is the first in the Bogey Man series, and will soon be followed by Bogey's Ace in the Hole (February, 2012).
Each of these mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A Little Murder! The Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries concentrate on the characters and solving the crimes rather than the crime itself.
I enjoy thinking up quirky characters and once in a while I find someone who touches my heart or my funny bone. Sandi has a very menopausal mother and Chris has a rather eccentric mother, and I can relate to both of them in one way or another. In an upcoming book (no release date yet) you'll read about a set of older twins who thrive on driving each other nuts. I had a great time writing about a "lawsuit queen" in one of the books. And I've added a few quirky dogs to liven things up even more.
My husband and I now live in a small community in Arizona, where we enjoy sunshine and very warm weather (translates to extremely hot), and we alternate between laughter and frustration over our two yellow Labrador retrievers. If you read Marley & Me by John Grogan, believe me, it's all true.
