A quirky new mystery series by award-winning author Kris Neri, featuring fake psychic Samantha Brennan and Celtic goddess/FBI Agent Annabelle Haggerty. HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE takes the supernatural-mystery trend into brand new territory - beyond vampires and werewolves - to creatures that are both wacky and wonderful.

            Praise for HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE:
     "...delicious; a funny, pell-mell romp of an adventure rife with psychics, FBI agents and clowns."  ~Diana Gabaldon, NYT Bestselling author of the Outlander series
    "...a lighthearted but perceptive story of what happens when a fake psychic with panache meets a genuine goddess with no flair whatsoever... You'll enjoy the twists and turns...and both characters are delightful." ~Charlaine Harris, NYT Bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series
    "Mystery and magic!! Plus a little romance!!...a fresh, new take on the paranormal!" ~Shirley Damsgaard, author of The Witch's Grave
    "More fun than an overstuffed clown car! Kris Neri turns the paranormal on its head with a phony psychic, Celtic goddess, a missing movie star, oh yeah...and clowns!" ~Casey Daniels, author of Dead Man Talking
     "Sam and Annabelle are the oddest couple with the former wanting to be what the latter is and the latter wanting to be what the former is. Confusing, not at all, as each envies the life of the other...This pairing makes for a wonderful combination of a lighthearted yet also a spellbinding urban fantasy mystery." ~Harriet Klausner, Midwest Book Review

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1. What drew you as a mystery writer to tackle the paranormal this time vs. a traditional mystery series? (Does being a mystery writer provide a special advantage when tackling the paranormal?)                              

I can’t explain how I came to write a paranormal mystery. These characters just walked onto the page in the first of the short stories I wrote for them, fully formed and in full voice. I immediately loved writing the paranormal. That totally different dimension allowed my creativity to flourish in exciting new ways. It’s more fun than anything I’ve ever done as a writer, and I’ve written some pretty off-the-wall books and stories! I regard these characters and their world as a gift from the universe.

What I especially like about urban fantasy, which I write, as opposed to classic fantasy, is that this all takes place within pockets of our world, rather than some completely created world. It almost seems as if these beings could actually walk into our lives.

I don’t think being a mystery writer gives anyone a special advantage in tackling the paranormal, since writers from so many avenues have captured it well. I do think it would be harder for someone who isn’t especially good at creating a sense of place because the world-building necessary for fantasy is a much more demanding version of place.

2. Why did you begin HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE’S opening scene with clowns?

Clowns are wonderful devices in mystery novels.  The full clown regalia is attention getting, yet it’s impossible to identify the person beneath it. Individuals, assuming they’re roughly the same size and shape, can be substituted, and witnesses can’t tell the difference. That makes them ideal suspects. Most criminals have to work in stealth, but clowns can be quite brazen about carrying out their crimes. Besides, clowns produce the most delightfully creepy reaction in so many people, while others find them great fun. Many readers told me they instantly became glued to the book once the clowns were introduced.

3. How did you come up with Samantha’s eccentric wardrobe?

That was another one of those gifts. Samantha introduced herself to me by describing herself in the Renaissance ball gown she wears when we first meet her in HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE. That description went into the book exactly as she presented it to me. That was the only gown she described, though — I had to create the rest of her looks myself. It was so much fun coming up with a new offbeat outfit for her every day! Samantha tells the reader that she dresses eccentrically to attract attention, but I really think her eccentric wardrobe actually reflects the inner-girl.

4. How is this book different from other paranormal mysteries out there?

It contains totally different paranormal beings, not vampires and werewolves, or witches and ghosts, which we see in loads of paranormal novels, but fresh new beings that are both wacky and wonderful. It contains gods and goddesses, of course, but also fairies, leprechauns, dolphins that can communicate, not to mention a shape-shifter, who isn’t from a distant realm, but whose abilities came to him from some nasty toxins in the air. Watch what you breathe!

5. Why did you choose to have two different points of view for this series? Your subtitle on HIGH CRIMES suggests you are giving your two female characters equal billing, but isn't it more Samantha's story?

I am strongly of the belief that, even when there is a partnership, one character has to dominate in a mystery. In general fiction we sometimes see ensemble casts, though even then one character usually stands out a bit more than the others. But in mystery, it’s absolutely essential. Readers identify with the protagonist. She becomes our surrogate on this journey, which we take vicariously through her. Also, all the magic and the magical beings come as a surprise when we meet them through Samantha’s eyes, and I wanted the reader to share her stunned disbelief. That wouldn’t be possible if we experienced that through Annabelle, since, not only is she a paranormal being herself, she’s known about the others all of her life. While I wanted the reader to have the advantage of seeing the critical scenes through these two women’s radically different perspectives, I knew this was a journey readers had to share with Samantha. But Annabelle’s presence is so strong, her perspective is so unusual, and we sense she’s such an important figure in Samantha’s life, that she surely rises above the level of a mere sidekick. For that she shares equal billing.

6. What are the advantages that led you to have two protagonists who are such direct opposites? How do they feed off each other?

Conflict drives all forms of fiction, but especially mysteries. It’s not enough for the conflict to be limited to the protagonist and the villain, we need all kinds of sub-conflicts to sustain the reader’s attention. A pair of protagonists that clash on such a basic level drive each other crazy, and that’s fun, but they also push each other into making unexpected choices. With two such divergent perspectives, we don’t know which will dominate in a particular situation, or how the other will change things. It keeps the reader guessing far more than a single protagonist could.

7. What do you consider Samantha's strongest and weakest traits? Same question for Annabelle.

Without a doubt, Samantha’s strongest trait is her lust for life, and the persistence and loyalty she can demonstrate when she chooses to, even if she doesn’t often. Her weakest traits have to be her rather loose, situational ethics, and her natural impulse to quit when things get tough.

For Annabelle, it’s that she can see any situation from two perspectives, that of a magical being and an ordinary mortal. Her weakest trait is that she often blinds herself to the special insight she has.

8. Why is Annabelle attracted to Jake and willing to overlook his foibles/flaws? How does this relationship contrast to the one between Samantha and Angus?                                                             

I hope that all my characters have foibles and flaws — that’s what makes them fully fleshed-out and real-seeming. While Annabelle is committed to living a more ethical, responsible life than her ancestors often did, even if she doesn’t realize it yet, her own self-imposed rules have begun to chafe. Goddesses, like other characters, also have their blind spots and flaws. With his scruffy look and brusque edge, even though he’s a cop, Jake comes across as a bad boy, and that proves to be rather appealing to Annabelle. Even Annabelle’s unexpected friendship with Samantha demonstrates her longing to break free. Why else would she share her true nature with the least-appropriate person she knew, if Samantha’s take on life wasn’t secretly appealing to her.

Now, while Samantha’s life choices aren’t the best for her, she’s really quite happy with them. So, it makes sense that she wouldn’t be drawn to a man who’s different from her, but one that embodies her own joie de vie.  Samantha and Angus don’t represent change to each other, but a celebration of what they are.

9. What does it reveal about Samantha's character that she's willing to risk getting involved in solving the kidnapping of Molly Claire?

Deep down Samantha is a better person than she herself knows, she just hasn’t had the chance to show that to anyone else, or even herself, before this book. But given how foreign that involvement is to her, she doesn’t simply make a strong decisive decision to get involved, she eases into it. At first, when she experiences Annabelle’s visions and thinks they’re her own, she simply gets carried along with the information that reveals itself to her. Even after that, she wades into the case slowly. I think she gets seduced by the idea of going the distance, for the first time in her life. Once she sees she’s a pretty good sleuth, she actually enjoys it.

10. Why do you like writing humor?

Humor has simply been my preferred form of expression all my life, since I was a little smart aleck who got into trouble in school. Humor provides a wonderfully rich vehicle for conveying so many complex emotions and ideas, in a way that’s easy for the reader to absorb. I like to think of it as the candy coating on a pill. We swallow truths presented humorously far easier than those presented without the candy coating. The trick is knowing what needs to be presented seriously, and when and how to reverse that humor-to-real feelings ratio. Besides, I came by it honestly — my late mother was a funny person.

11. How much fun was it to write a love scene between a mortal and a god? How did you research the topic?

I can’t imagine how I might have researched that particular topic. I have read mythology, of course. But like many indigenous peoples, the Celts primarily maintained an oral tradition; there’s not much written about their legends, and what has come down to us is not particularly rich in details. For a writer, that’s simply the best situation — it lent me a basic framework, but left filling out all the details to me. Writing the love scene between Angus and Samantha was not only one of the most fun aspects of writing this book, I like to say that as a god, Angus is only limited by MY imagination.

12. What are some of the other fun aspects of creating Angus? How did you select Angus as Samantha’s lover?

I chose Angus for Samantha by reading descriptions of all the Celtic gods. I saw Samantha as someone with dubious ethics, but with great zest for life, and I thought she would choose someone who, like her, was merry and absolutely filled with light. Angus, the harp-playing god of youth and love and laughter seemed an ideal choice.

Then I had to address what it must be like to be immortal, and how such a being would view our limited sense of time. I thought human time would be like a blink of an eye to such a being, and that he might pick and choose aspects he liked from various human periods that we see as ends in themselves, but which he’d view as a buffet of pop culture. So, since he lived through the Renaissance, I thought he might appreciate Samantha’s fuller figure, which was considered attractive back then.

I also had to address what he might do to amuse himself today. In mythology it’s said that anyone who heard Angus play his sweet harp, would feel compelled to follow him. I decided the most fun profession I could imagine would be for him to work up a lounge act.

13. Why did you choose Los Angeles as the setting for this story?

Right from the start, I saw the story involving the kidnapping of a movie star. While that certainly could happen elsewhere, it’s more likely to occur where most film stars live. And since I lived there for years, I knew how to infuse it with a great sense of place. For instance, I knew an L.A. jury could easily acquit movie star Molly Claire’s stalkers of harassing her, even though they were clearly guilty, not to mention not rowing with every possible oar. I also knew that everyone who protests in L.A. goes to the large Federal Building plaza, and how the local news crews make a few stragglers look like crowds. But I always intended for this series to move about. FBI agents are transferred to different locales, and Samantha can perform her particular form of work anywhere. The second book in the series, MAGICAL ALIENATION, will take place in Arizona.

14. Can you give us one sentence to entice readers to select HC for their summer reading enjoyment?  Do you think HC holds something special for male readers as well as female readers?

Lucy and Ethel in Fantasyland – what could be more fun? Even better, Ricky and Fred are both hot.

This definitely isn’t a book merely for women, even though the protagonists are women. I’ve received loads of good feedback from male readers, who appreciate the bite in my humor and the off-the-wall antics.

15. What do you see ahead for Samantha and Annabelle in Book 2?

The next book in the series, tentatively titled MAGICAL ALIENATION, will take place in Arizona, and it’ll deal with multiple incidents of domestic terrorism, albeit with a magical twist. Samantha’s fortunes will have risen considerably, since she’s become the personal psychic of a major, if aging, bad boy rock star. But Annabelle’s world will get turned on its ear, when her powers abandon her and her secretive goddess mother, Fionna, begins to meddle in her life for reasons that she keeps strictly to herself. We’ll also meet a trio of shape-shifter trickster gods who keep things hopping, as tensions among the various faction of Celtic gods escalate, and the universe experiences an energy surge that offers some the opportunity of a lifetime, while absolutely shattering other lives.