If You and Your Protagonist had an Argument, Who Would Win?

When Pat agreed to be my guest again on Birds and Books, I gave her a choice of several formats and she chose an interview. I love doing interviews, but I wanted to offer Pat some questions that were a bit different from the usual. I also wanted to focus on what made her protagonist, Ann Kern, tick. So, we attempted to remove Ann from her comfort zone. Join us in getting to know Ann on a deeper level.



It’s time to get your protagonist, Ann Kern, out of her comfort zone, if solving murders can be called as a comfort zone. You want to present her with a challenge and you’ve given her the following choices, which would she choose: climb Mount Everest; run a Marathon; trek across the Sierra Desert with a tribe of nomads; or sail around the world alone?

Ann would definitely choose to climb Mount Everest. Like me, she’s a Capricorn and the symbol for that sign of the zodiac is a mountain goat. Plus, one of Ann’s major character traits is her ability to persevere; she doesn’t believe in giving up on anything or anyone, even when the going gets rough.
If Ann could live in another time period, which would she choose and why?
I think Ann would choose to live in the Civil War Era. Her eight-year-old daughter, Danielle, is fascinated with that time period and some of Dani’s enthusiasm has rubbed off on her mother.
If Ann could change anything in her life, what would it be and why?
For the most part, Ann accepts people for who they are and she’s very content with her life. But, if she could wiggle her nose like Samantha in the old TV series Bewitched, I’m sure she would rid her husband, David, of the disease of alcoholism. However, after attending Alanon meetings for some time now, she knows that she didn’t cause his disease, she can’t control it and she can’t cure it. The same goes for her six-year-old son’s ADHD, which includes Davey’s tendency to be impulsive, because that impulsiveness has placed him in some dangerous situations.
Ann is an amateur sleuth. What famous amateur sleuth would she compare herself to?
That’s an interesting question because people keep calling her that but she doesn’t see herself that way at all. If she had to compare herself to a famous amateur sleuth, she’d probably say the fictional, “Nancy Drew” or “Judy Bolton.”
If you and Ann had an argument, who would win and why?
I’m pretty sure I would win. Ann is basically a shy person although she has overcome a lot of her shyness and become more assertive. But, if push came to shove, I think she might back down from an argument with me. I wouldn’t want to get into an argument with her sister though because Marnie is an attorney so she “argues” for a living.

Patricia’s latest, Mistaken Identity, her 4th  Malone Mystery, was released on June 23.
Ann feels like she’s in Paradise as she digs her toes into the soft, white sand and gazes out at the ocean. She’s looked forward to this trip to South Carolina for a long time and all she wants to do is bask in the sun, resting and relaxing.

She and her two young children are enjoying their time on Fripp Island with Ann’s sister, Marnie, and Marnie’s elderly friend and former neighbor, Clara Brunner, a long time resident with a vast knowledge of the island and the people who live there. At the fourth of July fireworks, Clara introduces them to newlyweds Jenny and Mark Hall and their families.

But Ann’s plans for a peaceful vacation are shattered the next morning. When she goes for a solitary walk on the beach, she discovers the body of a young woman with the chain of a gold locket twisted around her neck and she immediately recognizes the locket as the one Jenny Hall was wearing the night before.

Shocked and saddened, Ann is determined to try to find the killer and to see them brought to justice. She convinces Marnie and Clara to join her in conducting an investigation but, in the process, she places her own life in jeopardy.

What’s in store for Ann in your next mystery?
I’m going to give Ann a break and omit her from my next (fifth) Malone mystery. Marnie, who lives in Mt. Pleasant, SC, will be the main character in that book and she’s about to find herself in the middle of a mystery.
Patricia Gligor is a Cincinnati native. She enjoys reading mystery/suspense novels, touring and photographing old houses and traveling. She has worked as an administrative assistant, the sole proprietor of a resume writing service and the manager of a sporting goods department but her passion has always been writing fiction. Ms. Gligor writes the Malone Mystery series. The first three books, Mixed Messages, Unfinished Business,and Desperate Deeds take place in Cincinnati but in Mistaken Identity, the fourth book, her characters are vacationing on Fripp Island in South Carolina.
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