Interview With Author Sasscer Hill
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi everyone! I’m Sasscer Hill. I was involved in horse racing as an amateur jockey and racehorse breeder for most of my life. My mystery-thrillers portray the world of horse racing, and the skullduggery that big money and gambling so often attract. I have written the five-book Nikki Latrelle mystery-thriller series. These novels, about a young female jockey, have received multiple award nominations for Agatha, Macavity, Claymore, and a Dr. Tony Ryan Award.
One of my mystery-thrillers in the two-book Fia McKee series, “Flaming Road,” won the $10,000 Dr. Tony Ryan Award for Best Book in Racing Literature.
“Travels of Quinn,” published in 2020, stepped away from horse racing. Instead, the mystery-thriller revolves around the gypsy con artists known as Irish American Travelers. Abandoned by her mother, Quinn is raised into a world of crime by her father and his clan of Irish American Travelers. Can she escape from this life alive?
“Travels of Quinn” was a finalist for a Silver Falchion Award for Best Mystery of 2020.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest novel, “Shooting Star,” July, 2021, is the Fifth in the award-winning Nikki Latrelle Horse Racing Mystery Series. This book was inspired by the ill-fated HBO Series, “Luck” starring Dustin Homan and Nick Nolte among others. It was filmed at Hollywood Park and canceled due to the death of too many racehorses. In “Shooting Star,” Nikki is charged with protecting the racehorses used in a racing movie filmed at Santa Anita Racecourse. Her mission is to see that these animals are not abused in any way. Unfortunately, evil is alive and well in Hollywood, and when she goes undercover as an exercise rider, she is faced with a suspicious producer who knows nothing about horses, a seductive movie star, and murder on the set. Terrified of an unknown killer, she must use every trick she’s ever learned to save her own life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not a habit so much as a love of having my cat sit on the top of the back of my office chair keeping me company and acting as my muse while I write. She purrs, too.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a child, I loved Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books. They formed the bases for my understanding of what glued me to a book and made me want to turn the next page. From there, I graduated to the wonderful Dick Francis novels and eventually became addicted to mystery-thriller writers like Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, and John D. McDonald.
What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’m working on a novella, which will be my third short book or short story in my Janet Simpson series. The first two stories are “Pretty Fraudulent” and “Venomous.”
As soon as that is completed, I will start on a sequel to “Travels of Quinn.” This novel will be a quest for Quinn to locate the mother who abandoned her eighteen years earlier. It will be a journey fraught with intrigue and danger.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook has been my most reliable method, but being able to refer Facebookers, Instagrammers, and other online groups to my website is a tremendous and necessary marketing tool.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up. Ever!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A writing instructor years ago said, “Keep going!”
What are you reading now?
“The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper,” by John D. Macdonald. It is one of his terrific “Travis McGee” novels. And if you think the name of my heroine “Fia McKee” sounds a lot like “Travis McGee,” you would be right.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will continue on writing about “Nikki Latrelle,” “Fia McKee,” and “Quinn O’Neill.”
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Far Pavillions, For Kicks, The Deep Blue Goodbye, and The Black Ice
Author Websites and Profiles
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