This interview ran on Monday -- and I just learned that Sara's husband died of a heart attack on Tuesday. He was young -- 40 -- and I am so grieved for Sara and her children. If you've considered buying one of these books, please follow the links at the end of this post to buy one or both books. I thoroughly enjoyed both, and may go buy them again they were that good.

Miss Fortune and Miss Match are delightful books set in NYC in 1947. Tell us how you got the idea for Allie and these books...

I got the idea for Miss Fortune in the middle of the night, when all good ideas come to me:
One sleepless night I was watching The Maltese Falcon and I started to wonder how different the story would be if Sam Spade had been a woman. She'd never have fallen for Miss Wunderly's charms and lies. She'd have been smart and tough and she would have solved the case in half the time it took Sam because she wouldn't spend all of her time smoking cigarettes and calling her secretary Precious.

The thought of a hard-boiled female detective got my mind whirling.

I paused the movie and sat in my darkened living room thinking about how much fun a female Sam Spade could be. Intrigued but not yet ready to dash to my computer, I changed disks and put on Casablanca (my all time favorite movie ever). The sweeping love story, a tale full of hard choices and sacrifice was what finally made the whole idea click in my mind. If I could just combine the P.I. detective story of the Maltese Falcon with the love story from Casablanca, and make Sam Spade more of a Samantha, I could have the best of all worlds.

These books are so good, I wish I'd written them. How did you set the stage to capture that gritty PI feel without being dark?

I find that a lot of PI stories are gritty and dark, focusing on the worst of the humanity, and while I wanted the Allie Fortune mysteries to be exciting and tension-filled I didn’t want them to be stark and hopeless.

One of the things I tried to do to counteract the darkness was to give Allie a multi-layered life. She has cases, relationships, friends and family, all of which I hope combine to make the stories textured, rich and full of life.

Allie is a character I'd love to have coffee with. What did she teach you while you wrote these books?

Allie was a great character to write. One of the things I learned from her was that human relationships (man/woman, mother/daughter, friends) are complicated and full of unspoken rules and expectations. Allie is a rule-breaker at heart and it complicates her life on a regular basis. One of the storylines I loved most is Allie’s relationship with her mother and how it grows and changes and how it’s shaped her.

Another dimension of Allie’s character that really taught me a lot was her willingness to do whatever was needed to help those she loves. There is no price on that kind of friendship and it’s a characteristic I’d like to see more of in myself. Okay I admit it, I’ve got a bit of a friend-crush on Allie. LOL.

One last question: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would that be and who would you take with you?

If I could go anywhere right now I’d head to Monterey, California (I’m writing a book set there right now) and I’d plant myself on the beach with a notebook, writing my story as the waves crashed. Sounds like my idea of heaven on earth. There’s something about the wind-shaped Cypress trees and the crash of the surf in Monterey that calls to me. I don’t know why, it just is.

Miss Fortune, Allie Fortune Mystery Series #1 By Sara Mills / Moody Publishers In 1947 Allie Fortune is the only female private investigator in New York City, but she's kept awake at night by a mystery of her own: her fianci disappeared in the war and no one knows if he's still alive. Until Allie finds out, she will have no peace. When there's a knock on her office door at four in the morning, Allie suspects trouble as usual, and Mary Gordon is no exception. Mary claims someone is following her, that her apartment has been ransacked, and that she's been shot at, but she has no idea why any of this is happening. Allie takes the case, and in the process discovers an international mystery that puts her own life in danger. Meanwhile, the FBI is working the case as well, and she is partnered up with an attractive, single agent who would be perfect for her under other circumstances-if only she knew whether her fianci was still alive.

Miss Match, Allie Fortune Mystery Series #2 By Sara Mills / Moody Publishers FBI agent Jack O'Connor receives a letter from Maggie, a woman he used to love, saying she's in trouble in Berlin. The FBI refuses to get involved, so Jack asks Allie Fortune to help him investigate. Allie and Jack pose as a missionary couple who want to bring orphans back to the United States. A child finds important documents that everyone in the city - Soviets and allies alike - want for themselves. Maggie refuses to tell Jack what the documents are, saying if things go wrong, they are better off not knowing. Through the course of the search, Allie's past is brought back to her, half a world away from home. I'll post a complete review of Miss Match next week. If finished it on the plane from Mexico and I have to say it is a good read and entirely different from other historical fiction. I really enjoyed reading it and now I need to go back and get the first in the series.

Hopelessly a Book worm or Nerd depending on whose talking!

I went to check the mail today and got my Christianbook.com catalogue and you would have thought I was a kid looking at the toys in a sears catalogue. I started flipping through the pages marking what books I want to read. Not that I don't have a stack of books already at my disposal in an enormous TBR pile but well...what can I say. I love to read and Christian fiction is what I like best. I thought I would share a few of the books I am dreaming of having since I am always sharing books I already have read. These are not in any order but all are books I want to read.

A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lesserman. I have read the first two books in the Daughters of Boston series so it would stand to reason I would want to read book three. Of course, I would read as many as Julie would write. Julie writes these books with passion and love flowing through the pages. Coming out in April

Miss Match by Sara Mills is the sequel to Miss Fortune. The books feature a female private investigator Allie Fortune. I have not read either of these books but they are on my dream list. Miss Match comes out in March.

Yesterday's Embers by Deborah Raney is the thirst book in the Clayburn novels. I first read Deborah Raney when judging a readers inspirational contest and fell in love with Leaving November. But I will have to wait a little longer to read this one since it doesn't hit the shelves until March.

The House on Grosvenor Square by Linore Rose Burkard one of my new favorite authors. I blogged about Before the Season Ends back in December and it is one of my favorite novels. In the first novel we meet Arianna Forsythe and Philip Mornay and are wist along in their romance, in the House on Grosvenor Square they are to get married but of course everything goes wrong. April release date.

Ruby Slippers by Leanna Ellis is another one I really can't wait to read. I just posted an interview with Leanna this month. Her writing is so fun to read and doesn't she just have the best titles. Here is a sneak peek of this: Dottie Meyers lives with her little dog on a small farm in Kansas. Knocked unconscious by a tornado, she awakens at a recovery facility in California where her long-missing father has left her a pair of ruby slippers. Is she prepared for what's ahead on her yellow brick road?

The Renewal by Terri Kraus is another one I want to read. I have read The Renovation can't wait to read the next book. Here is a sneak peek: People-just like houses need renovations! After her divorce, Leslie Ruskin purchases the historic Midland Building. But like her life, it needs a lot of work! Carpenter Jack Kenyon seems perfect for the job and Leslie, until his demons resurface. Will the project derail-or will they find The Renewal they need. This one is already available.

You can check out these books and more at http://www.christianbook.com/

There are many others that I want and I'll blog more later about other books I am hoping to read soon. What books are you wanting to add to your library?