Queen of Diamonds by Alexa Spagnoli and John DeBoer

6/19/2021

Multi-volume author Alexa Spagnoli introduces us to her latest book, “Queen of Diamonds”:
2004 – Chicago gangster Nick Nicoletti was dying of heart failure. Who could he trust to help him keep control of his criminal enterprises before it was too late? Who had the cold-blooded killer instinct and cunning required to do what his businesses required and would accept the mantle he had to bestow when his time came? No man in Chicago could fill his shoes, as far as he was concerned. But he knew a woman who could.

It had been twenty years since Cyn Hardy breezed into Las Vegas from small-town Michigan, a wide-eyed eighteen-year-old innocent looking for excitement in her life. During that time she married the son of mobster Joe Spagnoli, became the owner of the largest call-girl service in Sin City, and survived the murders of her husband, then her father-in-law, and finally her twenty-year-old son. As she was immersed in grief, her father-in-law’s closest friend, Nick, sent for her. Cyn had something no one in Chicago had – Nick’s complete trust. And she owed Nick big time.

So Cyn Spagnoli was back in the Mafia again, learning Nick’s gambling and loan-sharking businesses and his specialty – assassination, tapped to become his successor.

I truly enjoyed this sequel to “Mafia Madame”! I loved the concept.
Cynthia Spagnoli exemplifies the strong female protagonist. While grieving the deaths of her closest family in Nevada she steps up to the plate when asked to and accepts the responsibility wholeheartedly.
This book is so well written. The authors make a great team. I thoroughly enjoyed the dialogues; the action was good and an appropriate amount of scene setting makes for an easy-to-read story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
I award 4.8 stars to “Queen of Diamonds”.

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Diamonds-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/queen-of-diamonds

You can follow the authors:
@SinCityMadame
http://www.mafiamadame.com
http://www.facebook.com/Alexa-Spagnoli
@Johnldeboer
http://www.novelsbyjohnldeboer.com

Tags: Mafia, Las Vegas, Chicago, gambling, loan sharking, rivalry, the mob, assassination

Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz except for the authors’ introduction

30 Comments

John L. DeBoer link

6/20/2021 09:12:57 am

Thanks so much for the positive review, Mark!

Mark Schultz

6/20/2021 11:28:06 am

You are welcome, John. I really enjoyed the story, it was written quite well.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

6/21/2021 06:40:23 am

Including Queen of Diamonds, I’ve had eleven novels published. But I didn’t start writing novel-length stories until I neared retirement from a career as a surgeon. Beginning in high school, where I won an essay contest, and continuing in college, where my English professor/tennis coach encouraged me, I’ve enjoyed creating a picture or idea by putting words together. Except for authoring articles for surgical journals, though, my career didn’t allow time for me to pursue writing in a serious way.

Mark

6/21/2021 10:38:02 am

Eleven published books is quite an accomplishment. Many writers never even complete one book.
Winning that essay contest must have been a very good feeling. You must have exhibited a good deal of talent to be given those comments in college.
New questions.
You kind of answered this, let's get a little more specific.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
If you are, how long have you been a full-time writer, and how much time did it take you to make the transition from part-time?

6/21/2021 10:56:49 am

If by full-time writer, you mean working at it every day for a living, the answer is no! I write because I enjoy it. I don’t have deadlines or word quotas. Days, even weeks go by without contributing to my WIPs. But I’m always thinking about them - how my characters will react and why, where the plot will go, does the story make sense, etc.

6/21/2021 11:37:14 am

Yes, I was wondering if you wrote daily or not. Some authors do and some don't. In retirement, we have more latitude to do what we want and that is a great pleasure, all by itself.
I have no doubt that you are thinking about a work in progress most of the time.
New questions.
Eleven published books and more on the way. Are you going to keep writing fiction or have you thought about writing non-fiction?
If you were going to venture into non-fiction what genre do you find most interesting?

6/21/2021 12:20:35 pm

I plan to stick with fiction, primarily thrillers. The only credentials I have for getting published in non-fiction involve surgery and the science thereof, and it’s been too long since I practiced it for me to be considered an expert, or at least an insider - what I’d need to be recognized by a publisher. So making stuff up is what I’ll continue to do!

6/21/2021 01:10:16 pm

That sounds like a good plan. I am sure your fans will be happy to see more books.
Though You shouldn't sell yourself short. Things you learned as a surgeon may be applicable to non-medical situations, I have no doubt that you have high-level organizational skills and leading a team.
New questions.
I think I know the answer but I always ask this next question.
Are you in the writing business for love of writing or for money?
Does your past work have any influence on your writing?

6/21/2021 02:16:11 pm

I'm certainly not into writing for the money. And it's a good thing I'm not! But seriously, folks, I do it because I enjoy creating stories out of whole cloth and getting positive feedback from readers. So ego has to be a part of it. If I never shared my novels with the public, there wouldn't be as much satisfaction. My past does, of course, influence my writing. Following the adage of "Write what you know," several of my books have physicians as main characters, though only one of my novels has a medicine-based plot. And there are parts of me in all my protagonists. But as a surgeon-turned-writer character said to a woman at a book-signing in one of my novels, "I just won't say which parts."

6/21/2021 04:01:37 pm

Few authors actually make a living from their writing. Amazon and the self-publishing revolution has been a two-edged sword for authors. The good news is anyone can write and publish a book. The bad news is everyone, seemingly, has written and published a book. With a million new books published every year, it is increasingly difficult for the independent author to get noticed and gain traction for their book. More about that later.
BTW, cute line from the book signing.
New questions.
What inspired you to co-write this book?
Why did you choose the thriller genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?

John L. DeBoer

6/21/2021 04:37:26 pm

I met Alexa Spagnoli through Twitter. For some reason - I can’t remember the circumstances - she asked me to take a look at the book she was writing. That was Mafia Madame, the prequel to Queen of Diamonds. I was flattered to be asked, and I like to support fellow authors, so I agreed and gave her my take on what she’d written. That developed into an unofficial job for me editing the book. She liked my suggestions and asked me to co-write the sequel. I had fun helping her with MM and liked the story. I couldn’t say no! She’s a joy to work with, and we were always on the same page - so to speak.

The thriller genre chose me! That’s my favorite to read, so that’s what I most enjoy writing.

6/21/2021 05:53:13 pm

That is a good book. I worked on it also as a proofreader and enjoyed it every pass through the book.
You advanced from unofficial editor to co-author that is a nice promotion. It sounds like you two make a good team.
Since you enjoy reading thrillers then writing them is a natural extension.
New questions.
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.
This next question might seem obvious, except that I sometimes miss something the author intended. What do the elements on the cover represent?

6/21/2021 06:45:11 pm

Alexa knew the artist she contracted with for the book cover, and shared the concepts with me as they were being developed, but I don’t have contact info for the designer.

The cover elements: Front and center is the protagonist - Cyn Spagnoli, holding a derringer in one hand and Queen of Diamonds playing cards in the other, with a backdrop of Chicago landmarks. I think it captures the feel of the story.

6/22/2021 08:07:33 am

Thanks. I didn't know what city was the backdrop. I love composition of the cover.
I have never been to Las Vegas and have not been beyond the airport in Chicago. That is a big airport. It was a strange feeling walking through the tunnel knowing that Airplanes were on the runway above our heads.
New questions.
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?

6/22/2021 08:51:19 am

It didn’t take long to decide on a title, as I remember. I think I came up with it, but I could be wrong about that. Anyway, we both thought it was appropriate, since it embodied an element in the plot. And it fit Alexa’s idea for having Cyn standing boldly on the cover.

6/22/2021 10:56:47 am

Very good. I like the cover a lot.
New questions.
I know most of the names are carried over from Mafia Madame.
Were the character names difficult to develop?
How did you choose them?

6/22/2021 11:50:51 am

For Mafia Madame, Alexa named all the characters except for one I suggested being in an added scene. Naming the new characters in Queen of Diamonds was a team effort. She came up with some and I invented others. Wasn’t that hard to do, really. The difficult thing was deciding on the characters we needed to include. After that, naming them was easy. Have to be wary, though, of having characters with similar-enough names that could confuse the reader. And having two characters with the same first name in a dialogue would be a killer. No pun intended. I’m reading a John Sanford thriller in his “Prey” series where he has a cop named Mallard and his partner is Malone. Sandford may have done that intentionally to mimic what happens in real life, but I find it distracting.

6/22/2021 12:59:30 pm

Names are important, no doubt about that. Names are frequently one of the first pieces of information we get about a character. Authors who write period pieces go to one of the websites for popular baby names by year or decade to add authenticity to their story.
I certainly agree with you about similar names, that adds an unnecessary degree of complexity.
New questions.
Your book is available as an e-book and a paperback. Are you planning any other formats?
You helped edit Mafia Madame and co-authored this book with Alexa. You have written a slew of your own books. What other books and genres have you written?

6/22/2021 01:38:48 pm

Yeah, when I need a foreign name, I often Google names of that nationality.

Alexa is thinking about doing audiobooks for MM and QOD. One of my books is in audio format in addition to ebook and paperback.

I’ve co-authored an offbeat sci-fi novel, but the rest of my books are in the thriller genre - crime, political, psychological, spy, terrorism, medical. You’ve given my website above. My Amazon author page is: https://www.amazon.com/John-L-DeBoer/e/B007VGEWCS. All my books can be found in both sites.

6/22/2021 02:31:02 pm

Sci-fi is my favorite genre, what is the name of your book in that genre?
I just read this morning that there are 590 million people in Africa who are online and for quite a few their only access is by a smartphone. Many of those countries have English as the official language or a second language, I think audiobooks are a good bet in the long run.
It's also true that producing an audiobook is expensive using a professional narrator or voice actor. I had the pleasure of interviewing a narrator during a book promotion a while ago. Here is a copy and paste link to the interview for some insights about that part of the business: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/heir-to-a-prophecy-by-mercedes-rochelle-narrated-by-kevin-e-green
For the budget-minded author here is a link to a blog by one of my favorite bloggers https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2019/08/07/build-your-own-audio-sound-booth Joanna has made a number of other blogs about AI and how that will bring the price down for audiobook production. Search my website using audiobook or AI for more info.
New questions.
What are the Amazon keywords you chose for your book?
This book is in Kindle Unlimited, Mafia Madame is not. How is KU working out for Queen of Diamonds? Will Mafia Madame be put into KU also?

6/22/2021 02:57:23 pm

My sci- fi book, The Amazon Encounter, is my latest novel, actually, coming out a month or so after QOD.

For my one audiobook, my publisher lined up demos from several narrators, and we both judged them before coming to a mutual decision. She paid for it, so I don’t know what it cost. It’s done pretty well.

You’ll have to ask Alexa about the other questions. She set up the publishing for QOD through KDP, and only one author gets access to the analytics. Not sure what key words she gave them, but the Amazon ranking uses Thrillers, Assassination, and Organized Crime.

6/22/2021 04:35:47 pm

Thanks for the title of your book. Alexa is busy running her business maybe she will have a moment to enlighten us later.
New questions.
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

6/22/2021 05:01:34 pm

Poor Alexa. She still has a day job. 😀

I don’t often enter writing contests, as most seem to be money-making ploys. I did make it to announcement night in the Chanticleer Awards for one of my books, though. And I won first place in the thriller category for another big contest, but that was basically a popularity thing. But there was that Junior Chamber of Commerce essay contest I won in high school! 😏

6/22/2021 06:33:57 pm

You are right there are a lot of bogus contests, the least harmful just want some of your money, the really harmful contests want your money and the Intellectual Property rights to your story. It is so important to go over those terms and conditions to protect your IP rights. They are the key to long-term success as an author.
Congratulations on having all of those bragging rights! ;-)
Here is a good blog about shady contests and good ones, Anne is another of my favorite bloggers: Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look for These 8 Red Flags. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests
Copy and paste time again.
New questions.
Do you think you will ever enter a contest again?
Every genre's fans have expectations about what they are going to want to read. Fans of cozy mysteries have a set of expectations that can differ greatly from the expectations of fans of hard-boiled murder mysteries.
What expectations do fans of your genre look for in a story that they want to read?

6/22/2021 07:28:23 pm

Never say never, but entering contests is not on my to -do list at present.

Thriller fans expect a life-threatening, if not world-threatening conflict with good guys and bad guys. And there’s no mystery what the bad guys want to do and have done. Mystery can occur, though, regarding who’s who in the opposing forces. And that can be a major plot twist - another thriller component. Finally, the good guys have to win!

6/23/2021 07:42:53 am

Well defined expectations are important. You summed that up quite well. Justice served and the bad guys routed are the equivalent of the romance writers' happily ever after. Plot twists boost the entertainment factor by quite a bit if the twist is done right. Just like life, feelings and circumstances change thus a series is born.
New questions.
Have you ever gone through the query process, seeking an agent, submitting directly to traditional publishers or did you go straight to indie publishing or self-publishing, and why?
Have you had contact with a vanity publisher or a company you thought might be trying to scam you?

6/23/2021 10:31:48 am

In the beginning, I queried agents, because I thought that was what an author had to do. And it made sense, because the Big Five required agents. But after a year of rejections - if they bothered to reply at all, I published my book with a vanity publisher, just to get it out there. I went down the same road again for my next book. After all, this one was much better! Same result. Then I discovered that there were small and medium-sized publishers that didn’t require agents. And I landed a contract. Seven books later, all published by “indie” publishers, I self-published, through KDP, my next book because my publisher at the time thought it was too “controversial,” and because the story was time-sensitive and I didn’t want to waste time shopping it around. Although the KDP process took some getting used to, I was happy with how easy it turned out to be. And I liked the total control I now had.

I’ll take exception to your distinguishing between “traditional” and “indie” publishers. The indie publishers I’ve worked with do what the Big Five (or is it Four now) do except for giving advances against future royalties. Editing, cover design, formatting, some marketing.

There are some bad actors out there in the self-publishing field, and I’ve had some experience in that regard, including with my first book. Authors beware: any company that charges you a fee to publish your book is to be avoided!

6/23/2021 12:12:56 pm

You have been through it all, as a lot of other authors have.
The lines between traditional and indie publishing are kind of blurry now. Many indie publishers do pretty much what the big publishers do, just on a smaller scale.
When I think of traditional publishing I am thinking of the big 4 or 5, plus many of the second tier publishers that require an agent.
I really see the appeal of traditional publishing that most authors have at first. Traditional publishing has a long and illustrious history. It was the only way to get a book published besides the vanity publisher for many years. Nice advances were commonly reported and there was extensive advertising.
That all changed when Amazon came along and democratized the process. Amazon made publishing available to anyone who wrote a book. A lot of frustrated authors jumped at the chance and started to churn books out. Some of them hurried, ignoring any standards of editing. Many of those books left a bad memory in the minds of readers and many of those readers will never touch a self-published book again.
Now, the trad publishers are on the ropes, that industry has contracted so much as we are both aware. These publishers are struggling to stay afloat amid shrinking profit margins. They don't take any real chances on an unknown author.
I already mentioned scam contests and how the truly evil ones take not only your money but also an author's IP rights to that story. There are publishers just like that also. A lot of good blogs have been written about different aspects of these problems. Valerie Strauss writes a valuable blog about these frauds called Writer Beware.
My apologies for the long rant.
New questions.
What are the three most important considerations for an independent author to be certain of when signing a contract with a publisher?
Have you started your own imprint? Here is a good article about that idea: https://www.janefriedman.com/why-self-publishing-authors-should-consider-establishing-their-own-imprint copy and paste time again

6/23/2021 12:27:23 pm

It’s been fun chatting with you about my book and writing/publishing in general. But I have to get back to my WIP and my non-writing responsibilities, so I must bring this conversation to a close. Again, I appreciate your featuring Queen of Diamonds on your site and for your support of the writing community.

6/23/2021 01:10:52 pm

I have enjoyed our conversation also. I understand about real world responsibilities. I am grateful for your comments and your time.

Queen of Diamonds by Alexa Spagnoli and John DeBoer

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