Shannon Baker has written two very different female sleuths for her mystery novels.In this episode she introduces us to both solitude-loving Kate Fox, and rolling stone Nora Abbott.We touch on the way that the landscape around a character can be a metaphor for their state of mind, and also on history and geography in this wide-ranging conversation.The day I spoke to Shannon, she had just arrived back home from the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' conference where, for the second time (!), she received the writer of the year award. If you're looking for strong, confident female heroines in your mystery novels, you've come to the right place when you sit down with a Shannon Baker book. ;-)You can find out more about today's guest, Shannon Baker, and all her books on her website Shannon-Baker.com. You can also find her on Twitter @sbakerwriter.Links and resources mentioned in this episodeClick on any of the book covers to go to Shannon's books on AmazonWikipedia page about the Nebraska Sand Hills, where Shannon's character Kate Fox livesInformation on Shannon's Double Booked blog tour with my guest from Episode 54, Jessica LoureyPress play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. And listen on Stitcher.You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube.Transcription of Interview with Shannon BakerAlexandra: Hello, mystery readers. I'm Alexandra Amor. This is "It's a Mystery" podcast and I'm here today with Shannon Baker. Hi, Shannon.Shannon Baker: Hi. How are you?Alexandra: Very well, thank you. How are you?Shannon: I'm great. I'm down in sunny Tucson. It's beautiful here.Alexandra: No rain today?Shannon: No. Yeah, we have rain like five days a year. Alexandra: So, today isn't one of them?Shannon: No.Alexandra: Okay, good. So, you're staying dry while Irma is trying to destroy other parts of the country.Shannon: That's so sad.Alexandra: It's terrible, yeah. So, let me introduce our listeners to you. Shannon Baker is the author of the Kate Fox Mystery Series set in the isolated cattle country of the Nebraska Sandhills. Kirkus says that, "Baker serves up a ballsy heroine, a colorful backdrop, and a surprising ending." She also writes the Nora Abbott Mystery Series featuring Hopi Indian mysticism and environmental issues.Shannon makes her home in Tucson where she enjoys cocktails by the pool, breathtaking sunsets, a crazy Weimaraner, and killing people in the pages of her books, of course. She was voted Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' 2014 and 2017 Writer of the Year, which is very exciting, Shannon, I understand you just got back today from that conference.Shannon: I did. Just this flew in this morning. It was so much fun. If there are any writers out there and you're looking around for a writers' conference, Colorado Gold is always in Denver in September and it's a fabulous conference. You should go.Alexandra: Excellent. Oh, good. Okay. Well, thanks for that plug. Let's start by talking about Kate Fox. Tell us a little bit about her background.Shannon: Kate Fox is a 30-something. She lives in the Nebraska Sandhills and that's a place I lived for 20 years. So, it has a population density of 0.95 people per square mile and it's...the Sandhills cover about 30,000 square miles. It's, you know, takes up a quarter of the state of Nebraska.Alexandra: Wow.Shannon: So, it's a huge empty place and Kate lives there. She's related to everybody in the community. She's one of nine kids and she's related to everybody. She's fourth generation so she's a total insider. And when Book One opens, she's just living the exact life she's always wanted. She's living on a cattle ranch. She's managing her husband's cattle ranch and he's the sheriff. And she's taken in her niece. Loves her niece,