CHRISTOPHER NULL

Shell we play a game?

Shelly Jones may be three books deep into a new novel series about mystery-solving gamers, but we’re actually still waiting on book one to come out, with Player Elimination finally dropping next week. (I would’ve got away with it it wasn’t for those damn kids!) Shelly took the time to answer my questions and introduce herself on the eve of the book’s release. Check it out — and get to know Shelly in the interview below.

Who are you, and what do you write about?

Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself! I’m Shelly Jones, a nerdy over-thinker who loves inhabiting make-believe worlds. Currently I’m writing the third book in my cozy mystery series about a board gaming group which solve murders. Before turning to a life of crime writing, I wrote lots of speculative short stories often refocused on nature themes and climate change.

What is your favorite word?

Liminal.

What is your least favorite word?

Pantyhose.

What is the trait you most like about yourself?

I’m pretty good at sticking up for others and defending them (even if I don’t always do that for myself).

What is the trait you least like about yourself?

I am more competitive than I care to admit. Usually with myself.

What is your greatest fear?

Aside from heights, I fear that I won’t make a big enough difference in the short time I have on this earth.

How do other people describe you?

Weird. Awkward. Introverted. Kind.

What talent would you most like to have?

To know when not to speak.

If you weren’t working as a writer, what would you be doing?

My day job is as a professor, so most of my days are spent in meetings, classes, or grading. When I was young, I always wanted to be an anthropologist, or a forest ranger. Basically something where I could mostly be by myself in an isolated location for long stretches so I could write in my free time. (See above re: introverted.)

How would you like to die?

Either in my sleep or sacrificing myself for the benefit of others.

If you were to die and then come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I’d like to come back as a ghost in a library in order to whisper book recommendations to people lost in the stacks. “This book will change your life. Trust me! No, don’t run away. Okay, fine, but take this book on your way out!”

When and where were you happiest?

In the woods mid-hike or sitting at home with a cat on my lap.

What is your greatest regret?

<insert bad relationship here>

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Be bolder.

Who is your fictional hero?

Jo March from Little Women.

Who are your favorite writers?

Agatha Christie, Neil Gaiman, Ken Liu, George Saunders, Edna St. Vincent Millay.

What have you been working on lately?

My Wren Winters mystery series from Tule Publishing. The first book in the series, and my debut novel, Player Elimination, comes out August 27th.

Here’s the synopsis: She loves to play games, but not when it comes to murder.

Wren Winters is a businesswoman on a mission, juggling an alumni event for a rising game designer while keeping her late husband’s retail store alive. With RSVPs pouring in and her cranky landlord threatening to bulldoze her shop for high-rise apartments, Wren’s plate is full—but she’s no stranger to overcoming challenges. From economic slumps to vandalism and vicious online rumors, Wren has always found a way to persevere.

But nothing could prepare her for what she finds one fateful morning: her landlord murdered, her store turned into a crime scene, her only employee under suspicion (and hiding something), and a missing piece from an unreleased game.

Now, with her store’s future hanging by a thread and the stakes higher than ever, Wren must channel her puzzle-solving skills like never before. Can she and her friends follow the clues, clear her employee’s name, and crack the case before it’s game over?

Find Winter on her website, and check out Player Elimination at Amazon!

Want to be the next thriller writer profiled on the blog? Email me here!