Today, we visit with D.R. Ransdell, a writer, a writing teacher, a traveler, and a musician. She’s also a night owl–how else could she get any writing done? Although she’s a native of Illinois, after a lovely stint in Mexico she moved to Tucson, Arizona, where the sun is strong and the pools are especially inviting. But we managed to get a few minutes of her time.

Jim:  I love your motto, “When it comes to travel, no excuse is too small.” Give us just the highlights of your travels.

 D.R.:  Although I’ve frequently had the chance to travel to Europe, I finally branched out and started going to Asia as well. I’ve gotten lost in Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and China! I was intimidated by the idea of going to countries where I couldn’t even read the street signs, but I’ve learned to do it anyway.

Jim: Sounds pretty interesting. But you’ve settled in Tucson.  What brought you to and keeps you in Tucson?

 D.R.:  When I was living in Mexico, friends suggested I’d like Arizona because of the high Latino population and the great weather. They were right on both accounts. When I first arrived I had trouble finding a full-time job. I might have left to go somewhere else, but in the meantime, I worked my way into a mariachi group. That was so much fun that I decided to stay in Tucson. Soon after, I started graduate work at the University of Arizona.

Jim:  What’s this Secret Lives of the Pink House Cats?  A bit different from murder mysteries.  What’s the story here?

  D.R.:  Once I went to a writers’ workshop in which Billie Collins, who had just finished his stint as U.S. poet laureate, gave a talk about poetry and writing. He happened to mention that “dogs were for poetry, and cats were for prose.” He also said that writers write because they’re jealous of other writers. That night I went home and started writing cat poems. (With apologies to Billy Collins, of course.)

 Jim: With all your travel, I guess it’s natural that your books have a foreign flavor. Tell a little about your Amirosian Nights

D.R.:  The novel reflects a ten-year love affair I had with Greece. When I first went to a bouzouki taverna, I fell in love with the atmosphere. It was familiar to me. Although mariachi music sounds different from Greek folk music, the spirit, and the performance aspect, is much the same. I felt a kinship with the Greek musicians. It was easy for me to appreciate the beautiful Hellenic beaches, particularly those of the Dodecanese, and learn Greek in the process.

Through Amirosian Nights I capture some of the wonder of the taverna. I illustrate a typical Greek family and place my protagonist in an idyllic setting. Rachel has to struggle to communicate in Greek, but she faces the challenge head-on.

Jim:  And you teach second-language writing, so language learning enters into your novels.  Give us an example.

D.R.:  Language learning is more complex than people may realize. It’s also more rewarding. The first time you own a word in a new language, it’s like surviving a linguistic roller coaster. But language learning has lots of difficulties. It’s challenging to study Greek because of the complex use of the subjunctive, for example. Spanish has several forms of subjunctive as well, and they’re not used in exactly the same way from country to country.

Jim: Tell us a little about your music interests. I understand you play in a mariachi group, as well as a symphony.  Quite a spread there.

D.R.:  I started out studying classical music. My first music job was with Milikin-Decatur Civic Symphony. When I moved to Mexico, I got a job with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Durango. In Tucson I started playing with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra. But I had a huge problem when I got to Tucson. I really, really, really missed living in Mexico. I wiggled my way into a mariachi group where I felt at home five nights a week. Lately I’ve been more active with the orchestra and less active with the mariachi. Either way, I keep playing.

Jim:  Your latest book is Mariachi Murder: An Andy Veracruz Mystery.  I sense a Mexican influence here.

D.R.:  Mariachi music is popular in a lot of Hispanic countries, but it  was born in Mexico, where it lives and thrives. Andy Veracruz is the leader of a mariachi group in Southern California. While he has to play Guantanamera to the tourist groups every night, he also gets to play unusual request such as “Ojitos traidores”  for the local population.

Andy is bilingual, so he goes in and out of Spanish and English without struggling. In the meantime, he’s going in and out of different sides of himself.

Jim:  Okay. Give us glimpse into the book.

D.R.:  The first-person, accidental sleuth novel is set in present time Southern California (think Huntington Beach).

When the death of a fellow musician puts his mariachi in jeopardy, Andy Veracruz must risk everything to find the killer, even if she turns out to be his boss’s alluring wife.

The more Andy finds out, the more trouble he gets himself into. He’s a sleuth only by accident. He would much rather spend afternoons working on new songs; instead the only way he can hope to restore equilibrium is by taking walks at three a.m., breaking and entering, impersonating his brother, and lying to everyone, including himself.

Jim: Since this is an Andy Veracruz mystery, one might guess this is the beginning of a series.  What’s next?

D.R.:  Andy goes to Greece to chase Rachel. Unfortunately, as soon as he arrives on the island of Amiros, he gets involved in such a heavy conflict that he gets shot at, just after being accused of being a loathsome Turkish spy.

Jim:  Sounds very interesting.  Where can we buy it?

D.R.:  Oak Tree Books has copies, but the most expedient service may be through Amazon: http://goo.gl/NXgv4.

Jim:  Thanks, D.R. for visiting with us and giving us a glimpse into your life.  Readers, please leave D.R. a comment.  You’ve got to admit, she has had a colorful life so far.  Thanks.