Vanishing Into the 100% Dark (Bean to Bar Mysteries) by Amber Royer
About Vanishing Into the 100% Dark
Vanishing Into the 100% Dark (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting - Japan
Publisher : Golden Tip Press
(March 4, 2025)
Print length : 324 pages
Digital ASIN : B0DT2DW97B
Bean to chocolate maker Felicity Koerber has been invited to be part of a chocolate festival in Tokyo. It’s a big deal for a Texas gal with a chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand, so a whole group of her friends come along to support her. It’s intimidating enough to be giving a class on chocolate making with the help of a translator – she also stumbles across the scene of a murder, where a quirky group of international actors and stunt performers are making a monster movie. Felicity has already solved half a dozen murders back in Texas, so at this point her friends basically expect her to get involved – even before the young media influencer in Felicity’s group becomes the main suspect. Felicity has taken on the role of chaperone for Chloe, so she can’t imagine how she could explain what went wrong to the girl’s mother. Which gives her even more motivation to figure out the real killer.
In the meantime, things get complicated at the chocolate festival when a rival chocolate maker tries to get her disqualified from the awards competition – and claims that her amateur sleuth status is bringing undesirables into the festival. And things are even more complicated as the stress of being in an unfamiliar place brings out secrets about Felicity’s friends – and her fiancé.
About Amber Royer
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. Her workbook/textbook Story Like a Journalist and her Thoughtful Journal series allow her to connect with writers. Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them at local coffee shops or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs. They both love to travel, and Amber records her adventures on Instagram – along with pics of her pair of tuxedo cats. If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com.
INTERVIEW
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was in the fourth grade. We wrote one of those stories where you get a list of words and have to use them all in your piece. My teacher read it and encouraged me, pointing out that somebody has to write all the books we were reading. I loved to read, so it was an attractive idea. Now, it feels like writing has always been part of who I am.
2. How long does it take you to write a book?
That depends entirely on my deadline.
Seriously, though, it depends on the project. I’m pretty far along with my Bean to Bar series. I know the recurring well, and how they will respond in most situations. The way they talk sounds natural in my head. I start with a rough idea of the main mystery, including a list of suspects and who actually done it, and I can pull together a draft in about a month.
But when I am working on a brand-new project, there’s a lot of extra time involved in outlining, developing characters and worldbuilding. Most of that takes place before I start writing, though sometimes I will draft out a couple of chapters on a new idea and get a feel for the voice, and then pause to do the outlining and pre-writing. The writing for my stand-alones usually takes a couple of months.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I tend to work straight through when I’m drafting. I clear my schedule a couple of times a year and usually manage between 3-5K words a day. I work on my laptop, so sometimes I work at home, or in an empty cubicle at my husband’s office. But I do like to co-work with other writers in coffee shops, and occasionally I head for a café on my own, just for a change of venue. I don’t have a set time of day to write.
I also allot chunks of time for editing after I finish the draft, though that requires less uninterrupted concentration. I alternate this with planning out my marketing, for the upcoming book and for my writing courses.
4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I like having noise in the background, especially when I start a writing session. I’ll put on a movie I’ve watched a thousand times, or a documentary. If I start really getting into the writing, often I will find I have paused whatever was on the TV without even noticing. Or that whatever I had on has ended, without me paying any attention to it.
5. How do books get published?
There are more avenues than ever for writers to publish their work. I’m a hybrid author (my science-fiction is traditionally published, while my cozy series is independently published). There is a big difference in how you write for each of these main publication paths. Readers for indie works often want to binge through a series, so it helps to have at least three or four manuscripts completed before releasing the first one, so you can market and release them every 3 – 6 months. Traditional publication, on the other hand, is a collaborative process. You need a solid manuscript for a single book (even if you envision it as part of a series.) Inevitably, the editor you are working with will want you to make some changes, and these will echo through the potential series, making it difficult to re-work consecutive manuscripts.
6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
I find my inspiration around me. I love to travel. When I wrote my Chocoverse series, I had just gotten back from lecturing aboard a cruise ship. I had taken a shore excursion to visit a cacao plantation in Samana, Dominican Republic. The cacao pods were about the same size and shape of Nerf footballs, and I had this image in my head of someone throwing one down the hall of the cruise ship.This somehow translated in my mind into a space ship, where the cacao pod could secure Earth’s future in a galactic commodities market. That original project was a far cry from what would become Free Chocolate.
While researching and marketing the Chocoverse books, I met dozens of chocolatiers, chocolate makers and cacao farmers. So when I decided to work on something new, it was natural to write about a craft chocolate maker. I’ve always loved mysteries, so I decided to do it as a cozy mystery series.
I often take pictures throughout my day, and I’m fascinated by doors and staircases. I post these on my Instagram with the caption, “Where does this doorway go?” I often get cool, creative comments on where these portals to adventure could lead. I love the idea that I am inspiring my fellow writers, in this small way.
7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I was a teenager. Now . . . when did I first publish a book? I was 41. There was a long, convoluted path along the way with work, love, tragedy – and 14 unpublished “trunk” novels. I took a few breaks from writing, but I found that writing really helped my mental health, so I couldn’t stay away from it forever. I didn’t have a natural feel for structure, so it wasn’t until I studied how the emotional turning points in stories work, and became an outliner, that I started writing cohesive, publishable work.
8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love to travel. Last year, I was able to pet-sit for a friend in Hawaii and lecture aboard a cruise ship sailing across the southern half of Japan’s main island. I love the beach – and yes, the Texas coast is home for me. I grew up not far from Galveston – where the Bean to Bar Mysteries are set – so we get back there as often as we can.
9. What does your family think of your writing?
My husband is my biggest supporter and cheerleader. He’s also my alpha reader – the only one who gets a look at my writing mid-process. (I have to have at least a completed draft before I show it to anybody else.) He’s also my web site guy, and my tech support whenever I’m lecturing. He collaborates with me on much of my nonfiction.
My parents were always supportive of my creative endeavors. My mom reads all of my books the minute they come out.
10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
I learned that octopuses change color when they dream. I wrote Clive into 70% Dark Intentions because I had heard octopuses could be Houdinis, and I though it would be cool if I could have him pick up a clue. It turns out they are even cooler than I thought.
I wrote the book using research from YouTube videos and articles. Later, Jake and I were able to do an octopus encounter in person. (I very nearly lost my GoPro to a curious octopus!) After that, I felt I had written Clive fairly accurately. If anything, octopuses change color in tune with what they are thinking even more than I had captured on the page.
11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Vanishing into the 100% Dark is the 8th book in my Bean to Bar Mysteries.
The Chocoverse was a trilogy, so three books there.
I have a writer’s workbook (Story Like a Journalist), a cookbook (There are Herbs in My Chocolate) and two instructional journals (The Thoughtful Travel Journal and The Thoughtful Chocolate Tasting Journal) for four more.
So 15 total – only counting those that have been published.
My favorite book is always the one I am currently working on. Vanishing into the 100% Dark has allowed me to take the characters I’ve been writing close to home (here in Texas) on a trip to one of my favorite places to visit. This time, they’re half way around the world, at a chocolate festival in Tokyo. There are nods to Detective Conan (a mystery anime I love) as well as traditional Japanese mysteries. And I threw in a kaiju movie being filmed across the street for good measure. All that made it a ton of fun to write.
12. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Practice. If you’ve never completed a novel, work through one, even if you’re still learning about the writing process. You can read all about the three act structure or the hero’s journey (and you should – learning about craft is going to give you a sound basis for your projects) but until you actually experience working through the development of Act 2, or the thrill of actually writing a climax, you won’t be able to truly understand what goes into drafting a novel. A lot of writers get stuck at the beginning, trying to re-write the first few chapters until they feel perfect. But when you write the ending, you may realize that you started in the wrong place. It’s a lot harder to cut an opening that just isn’t working with the rest of the book if you HAVEN’T spent an excessive amount of time polishing it.
13. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I do hear directly from readers sometimes. (Though obviously I’d love to hear from more folks – most writers do appreciate when fans reach out. Writing can feel like a very solitary art at times.) I’d say the most common comment I get is that my books make readers hungry. That makes since, because my protagonist for my sci-fi is a galactic culinary arts student with a celebrity chef mom, and my mystery protagonist is a craft chocolate maker with a coffee addiction.
People also tell me that they enjoy the animal sidekicks I write, and think the kids who occasionally appear in my work are endearing and threaten to steal the show.
When I do on-line events, I make sure to ask questions, such as what food readers would like to see in the setting for the next book, and I do take the answers given into account when I’m writing.
14. Do you like to create books for adults?
Yes. All of my published fiction has been for adults. (I have published some non-fiction in children’s magazines, and I do teach classes for teen writers through the same university continuing education program where I do my adult-level classes. My schedule for UT Arlington is here.) When I was in college, multiple instructors said I had a good voice for writing for children. Writing for adults, I channel that exuberance into humor and literary playfulness.
15. What do you think makes a good story?
It has been said that character is story. And it’s true. You need a character with a flaw to overcome, who needs to go on a journey that will test her to her limits so that she can let go of the flaw and become a more compete person – because of the specific events in the story. Without that, all you have is a string of settings and loosely related incidents. If you want to keep me turning pages, tell me how your worldbuilding is causing problems for the protagonist, and how the plot events are threatening to cost her everything.
16. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
A writer. A ballerina. A horse trainer. An astronaut.
I’m getting to live one – and I’ve written stories about all the others. Along the way I was a librarian, and now I’m an author coach/writing instructor.
17. What Would you like my readers to know?
Pretty much everything I write has clean/sweet romantic subplots. (Yes, that includes the sci-fi – you just have to get to know the guys well enough to see why they are viable options.) The Bean to Bar Mysteries has a romance triangle, but in Book 6, Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark, Felicity makes her choice. By the current book, she’s engaged – and she proposed to him. I love this opportunity to share information about my work with your readers. Thank you for sharing your space –and thanks to all you readers for taking the time to learn about me!
Author Links
Website: http://www.amberroyer.com
Blog: http://amberroyer.com/blog/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/amberroyerauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amber.Royer.Author/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoA_29HV2nPmRnox9LPVanw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amber_royer
Amazon Author Page:https://www.amazon.com/Amber-Royer/e/B00PFV4CGM
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8144619.Amber_Royer
Purchase Links:
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I enjoyed the interview, thank you.
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