Today I'd like to welcome Frankie Bow, author of “The Musubi Murder” to The Thursday Interview. Before we get started, a quick intro!
Like Molly Barda, Frankie Bow teaches at a public university. Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, a loving family, and a perfectly nice office chair. She believes if life isn’t fair, at least it can be entertaining. In addition to writing murder mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.
OK - HERE WE GO !!
No.1 Would you break the law to save a loved one? .. why?
Break the law? Nooooo, of course not. The very idea! (Seriously, who answers yes to that question on a public blog?)
No.2 What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
That first cup of coffee.
No.3 What motivates you to write?
I write what I like to read: “cozy” mysteries that aren’t overly sweet.
No.4 Why do humans want children?
I think the desire to have children kicks in when we’re tired of looking slim and youthful, and aspire to the haggardness and bloat that can only come from chronic sleep deprivation.
No.5 What was the biggest challenge in creating your book "The Musubi Murder" ?
Getting people to read and critique it. I think we writers tend to wear out our beta readers. I’ve been very fortunate, and have found a fantastic writing group. We meet electronically from all over the world.
No.6 What is the most important thing you have learned in life so far?
Compassion is the important thing. I need to get much better at practising compassion. I’m probably not going to get along with someone who lacks compassion. That of course raises the question of whether I’m lacking in compassion for those who lack compassion. I probably am. I don’t have a problem with that. .
No.7 How did you come up with the title "The Musubi Murder" ?
I was hoping that writing a book would be something like writing a country song Once you come up with a catchy title, (“Eighteen wheels and a dozen roses.”) the thing should write itself. I wanted a title with alliteration, a clear Hawaii connection, and a signal to the reader that it was a murder mystery. Unfortunately the book did not write itself, but I do like the title.
No.8 How do you handle personal criticism?
Do you mean in the literary world? Compared to academic reviewers, I have found that literary agents and editors are absolute sweethearts. Publishing is very subjective, they will say in their gently worded rejection letters. What doesn’t work for us might work for someone else. Don’t give up! I have never seen a literary agent use the adjective “retarded” to describe someone’s work. I can’t say the same for academic reviewers.
No.9 Why should people read your book?
The Musubi Murder isn’t for everyone. But if you’re looking for an entertaining murder mystery involving small town life, big academic egos, corruption, revenge, and Spam musubis, The Musubi Murder is for you. (Even if you don’t know what a musubi is). It’s the first campus crime novel set in Hawaii, and the perfect gift for mystery lovers, Hawaii expatriates, disillusioned academics, and anyone who fancies Spam (the meat).
No.10 Why is there something rather than nothing?
And have you ever noticed how much our solar system looks like an atom? So what if every atom is its own solar system? With planets, and life, and everything? And what if our solar system is just an atom in a larger system, and it just keeps going like that, all the way up? Where each solar system is just a tiny atom in a bigger universe. Oh man, are you hungry? I got the munchies so bad. Hey, who delivers pizza at three in the morning?
Thank you Frankie for taking the time to answer my questions & the best of luck with your new book!
Check out “The Musubi Murder" on
Our guest of honor, Jimmy Tanaka, may have been “The Most Hated Man in Hawaii,” but he was also the biggest donor in the history of the College of Commerce. We were in no position to be picky about the moral character of our benefactors. Not after the latest round of budget cuts.
Amanda Cross’s Kate Fansler holds court in a richly-appointed office in stately Baldwin Hall. Joanne Dobson’s Karen Pelletier sleuths at the leafy and exclusive Enfield College. Professor Molly Barda, reluctant amateur detective and narrator of The Musubi Murder, longs for working air conditioning. She sits on a yoga ball because there is no budget for office furniture. Her dean, unwilling to lose paying customers, won’t let her report cheating students.
Renowned Hawaii-born voice artist Nicole Gose brings her spot-on vocal characterizations and impeccable comic timing to the audiobook. (http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Crime-Thrillers/The-Musubi-Murder-Audiobook/B00S6VC3BO),
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