Malicious Masquerade by Alan Cupp-A Review and Interview with the Author

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About the Book: Release Date March 2013

Chicago PI Carter Mays is thrust into a perilous masquerade when local rich girl Cindy Bedford hires him. Turns out her fiancé failed to show up on their wedding day, the same day millions of dollars are stolen from her father’s company. While Carter takes the case, Cindy’s father tries to find him his own way. With nasty secrets, hidden finances, and a trail of revenge, it’s soon apparent no one is who they say they are.

Carter searches for the truth, but the situation grows more volatile as panic collides with vulnerability. Broken relationships and blurred loyalties turn deadly, fueled by past offenses and present vendettas in a quest to reveal the truth behind the masks before no one, including Carter, gets out alive.

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REVIEW: If you love puzzles and deep plots, this should be a wonderful read for you!

It begins with a bride (Cindy Bedford) anxiously awaiting her groom to show up at the church. The mystery deepens when he does not show and the evening falls only to find that he has packed everything and has taken money from her father’s safe as well as from his accounts at his company (from illegal accounts she doesn’t know about).

Devastated and angry…still in shock she hires Carter Mays, private investigator and former Chicago PD to find her vanished love so she can get the closure she needs or wants.

Cindy Bedford is a spoiled princess, but very lovely woman who has loved Tyler Moore for three years and accepted his proposal. Encouraged by her father Jasper Bedford, who thought the sun rose and set in Tyler, she was expecting a much different life than what she now had.

The investigation begins slowly and reveals more to the detective than he bargained for. Cindy doesn’t know her businessman father is also a heroin importer on the side (supporting his finances). She’s daddy’s little girl and has no clue as to her father’s true nature. Her mother Darlene, a functioning alcoholic, knows all the secrets, but the two have worked hard to keep Cindy in the dark.

Mays is a professional and all around good guy, handsome and kind. Very clever, he does his job well. Even followed by Jasper’s thugs he manages to make small headway into the mystery of Tyler Moore, while trying not to fall for the lovely Cindy.

I don’t want to spoil the entertainment of going through this investigation learning and thrilling to the various changes to the story. Mr. Cupp has written a very intricate and compelling mystery. It builds slowly and surely to an enticing peak of danger and discovery.
Get a good glass of wine or two and enjoy the ride.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Georgianna S.

TRC: Hi Alan and welcome to The Reading Café.

Alan: Hello, Sandy. I appreciate the opportunity to stop by The Reading Café today.

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers?

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Alan: I’m a husband to my wife of twenty-one years and father to two wonderful teenage sons. After that, I’m a writer, do a little acting now and then, dabble in songwriting, and basically a big kid who enjoys playing an assortment of sports.

TRC: Many authors have had a love of reading and writing since early childhood. What sparked your interest in writing?

Alan: I’ve always had creative tendencies, but really didn’t start writing fiction until about eighteen years ago. Not really sure what sparked it. Perhaps it had something to do with getting our first computer. The idea of handwriting or even typing something of any length probably kept me from even considering it. But once I had word processing, I just decided one day, “Hey, I think I’ll make up a story.”

TRC:  MALICIOUS MASQUERADE is your March 2013 release. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

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Alan: MALICIOUS MASQUERADE is the story of people who live double lives, filled with deception and secrets, and the innocent people around them caught up in the middle suffering the consequences.

TRC: Do you have plans for a series featuring your leading PI Carter Mays? And if so, how many books?

Alan: Originally, no, but I’ve had enough people request it that I’m starting to consider doing another book. I’ll have to take it one book at a time.

TRC: Who or what was the inspiration behind MALICIOUS MASQUERADE and Carter Mays?

Alan: I wanted a story of revenge based on a unique motive and I wanted the character to be so invested in pursuing revenge that it dictated every aspect of their life. Along with that, I wanted a capable investigator with integrity who makes choices based on what is right rather than what will benefit him the most.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading characters in this storyline, which models or actors best represents your ideal image?

Alan: I really like this question because I think this story is very conducive to the movie screen. Here’s how I would cast it.

Carter Mays – Ryan Reynolds

Cindy Bedford – Maggie Grace

Jasper Bedford – Jeff Bridges or David Strathairn

Darleen Bedford – Joan Allen

Tyler Moore – Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Tate Manning – Joe Pantoliano

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Alan: I’d say ultimately, I do since I’m the one who makes up the characters. Once I’ve sort of defined who they are and how they normally behave, I may have to evaluate if they are staying true to form.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

Alan: I think the pace of the story has a lot to do with this. You can’t go so fast that the reader is overwhelmed. At the same time, you can’t bog down the story with a ton of details that don’t really contribute. Where I tend to lose interest in a book is when I’ve read a chapter of minute details, describing every object in the room, but nothing significant has happened.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

Alan: I walk away and come back to it later.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background) did you encounter writing this particular story?

Alan: Probably figuring out the timing of everything was one of the bigger challenges. A lot of what happens in the story is based on the past.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Alan: Honestly, I don’t bounce ideas off anyone. Usually, after I’ve started a story, I may tell my wife about it, but that’s it.

TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

Alan: I rely on constant evaluation and holding back information, giving a little at a time.

TRC: How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of deadlines while still having time to raise a family?

Alan: I have found when my have my priorities in the correct order, life goes much better. For me that order is God, family, work.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Alan: Another mystery/suspense story about a guy who missed out of four years of life and is now trying to take his life in a new direction while still carrying the baggage and mysteries of his troubled past.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Alan: I enjoy writing in a variety of genres, including children’s and humor.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Pizza

Favorite Dessert
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
The Walking Dead

Last Movie You Saw
Jack Reacher

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Definitely Dark

Dream Car
I’m a truck guy, so I’ll say a brand new Ford F150 extended cab.

Last Vacation Destination
Orange County, California

Pet Peeve
Stacking dirty dishes, because now both the tops and the bottom of the dishes have to be rinsed off.

TRC: Thank you Alan for taking the time to answer our questions.Congratulations on the release of MALICIOUS MASQUERADE. We wish you all the best.

Alan: Thanks again! I really appreciate it.