What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Shake the Jar?
The title is inspired by a story often attributed to Mark Twain called “Who Shook the Jar?” As it goes, red ants and black ants live together in peaceful co-existence inside a jar. But when someone shakes the jar, they turn on each other, believing the other is the enemy. They never stop to ask, “Who shook the jar?” Shake the Jar is the third book in the series. The search for ancestral identity drives our heroine on a quest to uncover her origin story—she is a descendant of African slaves taken to Jamaica. Her journey takes her from Jamaica to Chile and Thailand, unaware that she’s stepping into a geopolitical firestorm. Shake the Jar is a genre-bender, blending a deeply personal search with history, science, and global turmoil.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Shake the Jar, what would they be?
For Arin Murphy: Bon Jovi’s “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” For Key Murphy: Van Morrison’s “Moondance.”
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I write thrillers laced with science, history, and travel. I read science and history—both fiction and nonfiction—with a healthy dose of espionage, fantasy, and science fiction thrown in.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Cryptography Apocalypse (for book 4 research), Daniel Silva’s The Messenger, and Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
The opening chapter, because it was also the hardest. For returning readers, I needed to create a sense of continuity—as if they’d just closed book 2. For new readers starting with Shake, I had to draw them into the world of Key and Arin Murphy, making them want to run alongside them as they sprint down a beautiful Jamaican beach—just before everything goes to hell.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
No, but maybe I should adopt some. I do have a ritual before starting a book: I spend a couple of days alone at a New Jersey beach and just begin. It tells my brain it’s time to focus and prepare for a wild ride.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
I published my first book on my 70th birthday. I spent 12 years on stage performing comedy theatre, traveled to 95 countries—and counting. My philosophy: “There’s time to be boring when you’re dead. For now, make some noise.”
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
Ask the questions that hurt your brain—the hard ones. The ones that make you think, feel, and search.
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