Cobra Pose was the winner in the AUDIOBOOK (Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure) category of the 2024 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with authors Susan Rogers + John Roosen.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Cobra Pose – Published under the Yoga Mat Mysteries Series imprint. Publisher: G-EMS PTY LTD and PS LLC. Published: January 30, 2023.
What’s the book’s first line?
‘Ric. Have been trying to reach you. I’m really worried about my father. Know you’ll arrive soon. Can you call me? Thanks, Elaina.’
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Get ready for a thrilling ride through the sparkling sub-tropical city of Brisbane, Queensland, in Cobra Pose, the second installment of the Yoga Mat Mysteries series.
Australia may be a surfers’ paradise … but the nefarious surfing happening on the internet is threatening to destroy the global financial system. And at the center of it all is Elaina Williams, a yoga instructor and amateur sleuth who must use more than her Cobra Pose to stay one step ahead of the dangerous hackers known as The Cobra and The Wolf. As Elaina’s father, a solicitor, disappears, she turns to the enigmatic Ric Peters for help. But Ric, a photojournalist with a mysterious past, may have secrets of his own. Together, they must race against time to unravel the web of techno-thrilling intrigue before it’s too late. But with the hackers constantly one step ahead and the stakes higher than ever, can Elaina and Ric trust each other enough to save not only her father, but also Australia?
Filled with a snappy plot, dynamic prose, and witty dialogue, Cobra Pose will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Susan Rogers and John Roosen’s first award-winning book in the series is Dead Man’s Pose and you won’t want to miss this sequel—winner of the Indie Reader Discovery Awards AUDIOBOOK category for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventures for 2024.
So grab your yoga mat, take in a deep breath, get ready for a heart-pumping adventure in tropical Brisbane.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
We took up yoga! When working full time in demanding jobs, we took up Yoga in a small yoga studio at the “dead end” of Cooper Street in Sydney. After dinner, we’d talk about all the ‘characters’ in our lives, at work … and at the studio. We decided we’d write about people and events that have impacted our lives and entwine circumstances that we have directly felt.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
There are two main characters in the series and the protagonist alternates depending on the storyline. Typically, each book focuses on one or the other characters. But it is the exchange and chemistry of Ric Peters and Elaina Williams that forms some of the compelling tension in the stories. Ric is mentally and physically strong but balances this with his empathy and compassion. He knows how to laugh but he also knows how to cry. Elaina is focused on the law and justice side of life but feels the heat of Ric’s passion for her. She is evaluating the relationship and commitment for Ric. Elaina reminds us of strong women we have met that have a gentle, empathetic side. Ric’s a good man but not perfect. He is sensitive and his past sometimes keeps him awake at night. Still he knows how to be gentle or tough when he needs to.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
We have been recognized at getting to the heart and inside of the heads of all the characters. For Cobra Pose, readers get to enjoy a roller coaster ride of excitement as well as a deepening mystery when the characters hunt out an international crew bent on creating a financial Armageddon. They get to feel the passion of new love with all of its trials and tribulations and the ultimate sacrifice a man will pay for the woman he loves. We encourage readers to lose themselves in our stories … get to know our characters … prepare to be entertained and travel to another place for a while. We ask the reader comes to the world of make-believe, to believe in afternoons of delight and evenings of being enchanted. We believe our writing has a fresh approach to storytelling that is not bound by traditional rules or genres. Our writing stands on its own legs and we are not afraid of being different, or adding just the right spice as we ramp up the relationship. Because we don’t follow the rules, anything can happen in our stories and usually does. We push boundaries, we think differently, we challenge the status quo.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
For Ric, a combination of Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman with a dusting of Andrew Steel. Elaina Williams might be a combination of Naomi Watts, Margot Robbie and Cate Blanchett.
When did you first decide to become an author?
Susan Rogers knew she was a writer at age six having written her first series of stories which she illustrated and bound at home. She was off to the races after that.
John Roosen took a little longer with his early focus on writing scientific papers and reports later replaced by analysis documents. Fictional writing came into play after a mid-life crisis.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No, both Susan Rogers and John Roosen have written separately and together in a number of other publications. Dead Man’s Pose is Book 1 in this series and also in circulation is Tree Pose (book 3). Surviving Paradise was a pre-YMM book they wrote together.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
We have worked as technical writers, journalists and consultants across a broad line of fields. We were both in the military involved in small arms training, federal law enforcement; we cleaned up hazardous waste sites and have lived and worked in the America’s, AustralAsia, the Middle East and Antarctica.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
We write snippets of our work every day and then go on binges when we write for ten to fourteen hours a day. Editing of our works includes us reading the draft books to each other, each person reading the book ten times to the other to get the wording just right. We ensure each book is professionally edited and proofread so the reader gets a quality product.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is the freedom and independence of writing what you want to, with no limits, directions or schedules. The hardest part is tearing yourself away from the writing to do any other task: marketing, interviews, administration, follow-up.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
We write because we love writing. And as an Indie publisher we can control what we do and when. The only reason we would go with a publisher is to be able to have the increased connections that traditional publishers have.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Our motivation is the writing. We both love to write. When our characters come alive and march across the pages, it’s all worth the time and effort. That’s the motivation. Then someone reads the book or listens to the audiobook and writes to us saying they love the characters and the book/audiobook has impacted their lives…we are in seventh heaven. They can tell us they love the plots or circumstances, the way the words sound together, or they identify with Ric Peters and Elaina Williams and we know our efforts are worth it.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
We’re both Hemmingway lovers, we love the power and visceral feel of his writing. But were also quick pick up a Grisham novel for its intricacy and connection to life.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol The 1843 novella is a classic sporting social criticism but also a story with assorted ghosts. The language and the imagery that are timeless. We were so fascinated with the concept of ghosts we incorporate threads of that into our third book Tree Pose. It includes a short ghost story which takes place at the Port Author Penal colony on the island of Tasmania, Australia.