October 07, 2016

Sushi and Snipers - Blogger Interview with J.H. Moncrieff



Today I am excited to share J.H. Moncrieff's Blogger Interview with all of you. I asked her some fun questions, and she kindly told me that they're the best interview questions she's ever gotten, so please read on. But I have to say, these questions are only good because she's just so gosh darn intriguing. :D

Note from Chrys: I live on the East Coast of Florida and am in the thick of hurricane weather as you read this. I don't know when I'll be able to check on my blog. Stay safe, everyone!

Update: I am safe. My family and pets are safe. My house is okay. The only damage for me was to trees. I'm busy cleaning up debris and getting everything back into order. Thank you for your concern and thoughts! <3


1. On your blog, you detail and speculate over unsolved murders. What fascinates you about unsolved murders and when did this fascination begin?

I have to blame my mom! She’s always been a true crime fanatic, and she never censored what I read, so from a very young age I was reading about people who disappeared, serial killers, and police procedure.

Unsolved murders and disappearances both fascinate and horrify me. I can’t imagine the anguish families go through when they have no idea what happened to their loved ones. I want to do anything I can to help.

2. I can't imagine it either. What was your very first blog post?

This was written back when I still called myself “The Kickboxing Writer.” I started a blog to hold myself accountable to my muay thai and writing goals. It took me FIVE years to get my first comment on that post. I’m happy to say I’ve come a long way since then—I did fight in the ring and have since landed two publishing contracts. Perhaps the blog is magic! 



3. You’ve traveled a lot and have seen a lot of haunted places. Which location, if any, was the creepiest to see in person?

Definitely Poveglia. Located just off the coast of Venice, it’s considered the world’s most haunted islands. It takes a lot to scare me, but I was terrified during the two hours I spent there by myself (or at least, I hope I was by myself!)


4. I remember reading once that you have a sushi roll named after you. How did you accomplish that? (And can I get one named after me? *wink*)

In my other life, I used to manage public relations for a museum. There was a sushi restaurant close by, and I got to know Wai, the owner’s daughter. For some reason, she took a liking to me, and whenever the chefs came up with a new recipe, she’d let me try it for free—it was a great perk. One year, there was this amazing combination of shrimp, dried cranberries and goat cheese. I loved it so much that I kept asking for it, but they never put it on the menu. Finally, Wai featured it on a special menu and named it after me. It is easily one of the sweetest (and most awesome) things anyone’s ever done for me. But Wai’s like that. When she found out my book was published, she immediately bought ten copies for her friends. She’s an extremely generous person.

YUMMY!

5. In your bio, it says that you hunted down snipers when you were a journalist. Now you know you can’t just leave me hanging. Tell us about that!

When I was a rookie reporter, I worked a lot of the shifts no one else wanted, which meant a lot of nights and weekends. This was a great opportunity, because if anything did happen, I was the only reporter around to cover it. One evening, we heard of a doctor who’d been shot through the window of his home. With some detective work, a little help from a very bright editor, and a cooperative cop, I figured out the motive for the shooting—the doctor performed abortions. His shooter was an infamous anti-choice sniper who’d terrorized doctors and clinics all over North America. Thankfully, the doctor here survived. Trying to get people in that neighborhood to talk to us at night was challenging, though—probably didn’t help that my photographer looked like a biker.

6. That's exciting...and scary. What are your top 5 most-viewed posts? 


(This post is currently ranked second after Wikipedia on Google!)




7. Share your number one tip to bloggers just starting out.

New bloggers tend to make two mistakes. The first is thinking blogging is enough. It’s not. To be successful, you need to read other blogs, comment on them, and build relationships with other bloggers. Otherwise, the only people reading your posts will be your parents, your spouse, and your best friend, and that can be extremely discouraging. Most new blogs don’t last a year.

The second mistake is making it all about you. Unless you’re famous or have an insanely unusual life, no one cares (sorry). It’s fine to add a personal touch, but blogs that discuss subjects lots of people find interesting are the ones that tend to do well (go figure). The best thing I ever did for my blog was start writing about topics of interest to potential readers. That changed everything for me.



J.H. Moncrieff loves scaring the crap out of people with her books—when she’s not busy being a journalist, editor, book doctor, and publicist. In her “spare” time, J.H. loves to travel to exotic locales, advocate for animal rights, and muay thai kickbox.


J.H. Moncrieff: Website | Twitter | Facebook


The Bear Who Wouldn’t Leave: 
Amazon | Samhain | Kobo | B&N | Trailer



Thank you for blowing my mind, J.H.!

Please leave J.H. a comment! :)


38 comments:

  1. Chrys.....all last night and today, I will be thinking about you. Please stay safe and sound. If you can, maybe write a post that you are aok. This is a great interview and J.H. is quite the talented writer. That island looked creepy just from the photos you shared. I am breaking a rule....I'm talking about my fur babies...enter yawn..here! :)

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    1. Thanks, Birgit. You make tons of connections with other bloggers and blog hops, so you can write about whatever the hell you want. :)

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    2. Thanks, Birgit! I am safe and sound.

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  2. Hope all are safe at your sea.

    Yep, bloggers sure make those 2 mistakes starting out indeed.

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    1. Thanks for reading, Pat! It's incredible how many times I've seen bloggers complaining about getting no comments, when they never comment on blogs themselves.

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  3. JH's blog is great and so is she!
    That's a cool story about the sushi.
    I'm sure you saw all sorts of wild things as a reporter.

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    1. Aw, thanks Alex! I feel the same way about you.

      I definitely did. Mostly sad things.

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  4. I'm already a huge fan of JH's! The haunted travel posts are some of my favorites - I get to be scared without leaving the comfort of my cozy little office. :)

    Hope you and your family are safe, Chrys. We're on the other coast, sending positive thoughts your way....

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    1. Thanks so much, Madeline! I'm a huge fan of yours as well. I'm glad to hear you like the travel posts.

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    2. We're safe, Madeline. Thanks for your kindess. I'm glad you weren't impacted by the storm.

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  5. That was an awesome interview! I'll have to check out that island. I'd never heard of it (for shame, right?). And my mother never censored my reading list either. I remember reading Brothers in Blood when I was a young teen. Excellent book, tragic real-crime story.

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth!

      I sometimes think parents are too careful about what their kids are exposed to these days, but I don't have kids, so it's easy for me to say. I'm just glad my mom was more relaxed.

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  6. I'm in the FL Panhandle, so I am safe. You take care of yourself and...

    Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic author and interview. A woman after my own heart. I am now following you J and look forward to reading your free book.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Oh, thank you so much, Sherry! You just made my day.

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    2. I'm glad you're safe, Sherry. Everything is good where I am now. Fortunately, the only damage for me was to trees.

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  7. A wonderful interview and the rest of the post to match.
    Do enjoy your week-end.
    Yvonne.

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    1. Thanks so much for reading, Yvonne! Nice to "meet" you. I like your profile pic--I'm a huge cat lover. I have three. :)

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  8. Thanks so much for the great interview, Chrys. I love this blog and am always happy to be featured here.

    Hope you're okay and that this hurricane will soon blow itself out. *hugs*

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    1. You're welcome, Holli! I was thrilled to be able to interview you. <3

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  9. Your questions are great because you are familiar enough with the author to know what you should ask. Matthew is seventy miles southeast of us (it's 1:50 p.m. on Friday). We have plenty of rain, and the frogs are singing. Take good care of yourself.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Thanks for reading, Janie, but I have to say, many people who know me better than Chrys have still asked less interesting questions.

      Chrys got very creative and asked questions guaranteed to provoke interesting answers. She makes it look easy because she's that good. (She also did some research--i.e., reading my bio, etc., which not a lot of interviewers take the time to do.)

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    2. Chrys is an intelligent, thoughtful person. I hope Matthew didn't bother her.

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    3. Hi, Janie! Thanks for your kind words. I am okay. :)

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  10. Nice to meet J.H. Moncrieff. I like to read books which scare me, I'll definitely be looking out for her books :)

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    1. Thanks so much Rachna. I have one for free on my website--it's crime fiction/psychological suspense.

      Great to meet you too! Thanks for your interest.

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  11. How sweet! I'd love to have a sushi named after me.

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    1. It was pretty awesome, Diane. To this day, I don't know what I did to deserve it. :)

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  12. JH - Fun interview. I love that you had a sushi roll named after her!

    Chrys - I'm glad you're okay. I'm also in Florida and was so glad that Matthew tracked east and didn't make landfall near Stuart/West Palm as we feared. We really dodged a bullet. Unfortunately, so many other people have been impacted, lives lost and property damaged :-(

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    1. Hi Ellen,

      Glad to hear you're okay! This storm has been horrible. :(

      And thanks for the kind words.

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    2. Thanks, Ellen! I'm glad you're okay, too. Many of us were spared, but many were devastated.

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  13. Outstanding interview! JH is indeed intriguing, intrepid and extremely brave ;-)
    Lady Chrys, so glad you're okay. I have family sprinkled around the entire eastern seaboard and know how nerve-racking and downright dangerous this has been.

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    1. Thanks for reading and for the kind words, Diedre. I'll try my best to live up to them. :)

      I hope your family is okay too.

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    2. ThThanks, Diedre! I hope all of your family pulls through this.

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  14. Chrys - glad to hear you're safe!

    Poveglia sounds like an interesting place. I think a haunted island would be inherently terrifying, being as how you're trapped on all sides by water. Wait, can ghosts swim...?

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    1. Thanks!

      Can ghosts swim? Hmm...maybe J.H. can research that for us. ;)

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    2. I don't know about swimming, but they can float. They allll fllloooaaat.

      *evil cackle*

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  15. A sushi roll named after you. Now, that's cool.

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