Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter, especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for February is Romance, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

In this episode JK Ellem and I discuss:

• How a wrong turn and a gated community inspired his Ravenwood series.
• Why he chose to break the rules of POV and how he pulled it off.
• Creating questions that get the reader involved in the mystery and control the pacing.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About JK Ellem

JK Ellem is an Amazon Charts US and UK #1 Bestselling thriller author. 

In 2020, his independently published crime thriller, Mill Point Road, climbed to #1 globally in the Amazon Kindle Store in the categories of Crime Fiction, Thriller Fiction, Financial Thrillers, Heist Crime, Kidnapping Crime Fiction, and Noir. This was achieved with no agent, no publicist, and no publishing company behind him. Just him and his wife Jennifer, who looks after his marketing and social media.

Jack was born in London and sold his business in 2017 so he could concentrate on writing full-time. He has a dry sense of humor that tends to get him into trouble with his wife and their three adult children.  

Jack splits his time between the US, the UK, and Australia.

You can find them on his website or follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.

Mill Point Road

Five women. Five dark and sinister secrets. One killer who knows them all.

When Rebecca Cartwright, young and recently widowed, moves into the exclusive gated community of Mill Point Road, in the town of Ravenwood, she thought she had found her sanctuary. Leaving behind the bad memories of her past, she soon befriends the welcoming group of wives who are her neighbors.

But behind the backdrop of beautiful homes, manicured lawns, and high walls, Becca soon discovers that the women of Mill Point Road are hiding dark and sinister secrets. There is Zoe Collins, young and timid who tells everyone she’s so in love with her husband as she tries to cover up the bruises on her arms. Sabine Miller, the queen of information, together with her husband Mark, they are the living, breathing statement of wealth and success. Maggie Vickerman, the older patriarch of the group, keeps her numerous liaisons with younger men hidden from her husband, Hank. And then there is Paige Hamill, the only child of a US Senator who desperately wants a child and will do anything to fall pregnant.

But no one knows Becca has her own secret, and it’s the darkest and most sinister of them all…

Ravenwood (Book 2: Ravenwood Series)

In some small towns, you can get away with murder.

Catching the Eden Killer earned Haley Perez her detective’s badge—and plenty of angst from her fellow, more experienced, detectives. With her mentor, Marvin Richards, now retired, Perez must rely on her own instincts when the body of a woman is found frozen to death in the forest near Ravenwood, with her eyes gouged out.

But, that’s the least of Haley’s problems; she has a deadly, new admirer.  Someone claiming to be the Eden Killer’s mentor, is stalking her.

Then there are the women of Mill Point Road; Becca, Paige, Maggie and Sabine, as well as a new, mysterious neighbor who has recently moved in. Old secrets will be revealed, new secrets will emerge, and staying friends may prove to be lethal.

With the help of Annabel Chandler, a county forensic investigator, Haley Perez follows the trail of this new, cruel, and sadistic killer who is roaming the snow-covered streets in search of their next victim.

Winter isn’t the only brutally chilling thing to arrive in Ravenwood.

Ravenwood is the electrifying sequel to Mill Point Road, the Amazon US & UK #1 Bestselling Thriller, from JK Ellem.

If you decide to check out these books, we hope you’ll do so via these Amazon affiliate links for Mill Point Road and Ravenwood, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 398

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 398: Trust Your Reader and Trust Yourself: Writing a Multiple Point of View Thriller – Interview with JK Ellem appeared first on DIY MFA.

The girl detectives from the late 20th-early 21st century comprise a much more diverse group. But they share with each other and their predecessors the qualities of intelligence, bravery, and grit. 

Some of you might notice some notable exceptions on this list. Here are my criteria:

• Detective under 20 years old 
• Female main detective  
• Primarily a mystery novel
• Published between the 1970s and the present day
• Categorized as Children’s or YA literature 

(NOTE: The plot descriptions are based on the first book in the series unless otherwise noted.) 

Here are my favorite modern girl detectives. 

Born at the Wrong Time (but published in the right one)

Sally Lockhart in the Sally Lockhart series by Philip Pullman 

Many people think of the His Dark Materials series when they hear Philip Pullman. To me, he is beloved as the creator of Sally Lockhart, a 16-year-old girl in Victorian England who loses her father and gains a priceless ruby, as well as all of the murderous troubles that go with it. 

When I first read The Ruby in the Smoke and its sequels in 1991, heroines like Sally Lockhart were quite rare, especially in children’s and YA literature. She is beautiful, but her most compelling traits are intelligence, strength, bravery, and daring. She is also reserved in her interactions, foregoing flirtation and the societal obligation to be charming unless it serves her purposes. Marriage is the last thing on her mind. She even carries a small Belgian pistol her father taught her to use. She wasn’t like any other literary heroine I encountered before and she deserves to be better known today. 

Enola Holmes in the Enola Holmes mystery series by Nancy Springer

Enola is a 14-year-old girl who lives with her mother and a few servants in the crumbling family estate in the English countryside. She awakens on her birthday to find her mother left gifts for her and disappeared. She soon finds out that there is more to these gifts than meets the eye. 

She’s also the little sister of Sherlock Holmes, who, along with their brother Mycroft, descends from London to decide what to do with Enola and the estate. Enola has different ideas, but they brush her aside. They underestimate Enola, but they learn not to do that again. 

I love mysteries involving puzzles and ciphers. Enola is witty, intelligent, and resilient. I thoroughly enjoyed the first movie on Netflix and her first book adventure searching for the missing marquess and look forward to reading the others in the future, as well as seeing the next movie, recently confirmed by Netflix. 

Myrtle Hardcastle in the Myrtle Hardcastle series by Elizabeth C. Bunce 

I’ve read the first two books in this series and can’t wait for the third next month. Myrtle strongly reminds me of Flavia de Luce, Alan Bradley’s girl detective (in books written for adults, so not on this list), who is also fascinated by science and murder. 

The daughter of a lawyer and a scientist (Her mother, who is deceased.), Myrtle enjoys access to professional materials for both disciplines. Her governess Ada Judson is a fairly willing accomplice, but cautious about jumping to conclusions and calling the police. (To be fair, Myrtle has a history of doing just that.) But Myrtle persists until she finds out who murdered her elderly neighbor and how (first book) and clears her Aunt Helena of a murder charge (second book).

Myrtle’s arch narration is hilarious as she rails against rules for Young Ladies of Quality (her capitals) and rebuffs the efforts of adults to help her befriend girls her age. She is brave and loving and has moments that remind us she is a little girl dealing with dangerous situations. 

Goldie Vance in Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams (illustrator) 

Marigold (Goldie) Vance is a sixteen-year-old girl who lives and works at the Florida hotel her father manages. Goldie parks cars, but helps the hotel detective in her spare time. In the first of the four volumes in the graphic novel series—there are also two novels inspired by the graphic novels— a hotel guest’s priceless necklace disappears and the hotel detective needs help finding it. (Although he doesn’t want the help.) The necklace’s owner disappears and the race is on to find both.  

Goldie is Black and queer. She crushes on a girl in the story, but it’s treated as the normal teenage crush it is. Goldie doesn’t agonize about it and no one bullies her or even talks about it, despite the fact that the story is set in 1962. I thought it was cute and a timely part of the storyline. The artwork is bright and bold and Goldie is a fun, smart, brave character. The mystery is interesting and twisty. I loved this book so much on Kindle that I bought the paperback for my kids and to fully enjoy the artwork. 

21st Century Modern Girl Detectives

Kazuko (Kazu) Jones in the Kazu Jones series by Shauna Holyoak

Kazu Jones is a Japanese-American girl living in Denver, CO. She wants so much to be a detective and doesn’t see why she can’t start now. Since she is in fifth grade, her parents and the police disagree. But dogs are disappearing at an alarming rate and Kazu can’t hold back when the dognappings get closer to home. 

The characters and the evolutions of their relationships are realistic, yet heartwarming. I find it hard to take when animals are in peril, but the narrative handles this topic sparingly and sensitively. Only the most sensitive might need to steer clear or try to skip those parts. I think getting through them is worth it. This book is well written, timely, and exciting. I’m delighted there is a second in the series.

Shirley Bones and Jamila Waheed in the Shirley and Jamila series, written and illustrated by Gillian Goerz 

In this beautifully illustrated graphic novel, Shirley and Jamila are two tweens who want freedom to be different. Shirley is very smart and socially awkward, and is similar to modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, even in her name. Jamila is one of very few Indian kids in her part of their Canadian town. Jamila just wants to shoot hoops at the local court all day while Shirley helps neighborhood kids solve their problems with her investigative skills. But their moms want them to go to science camp (Jamila) and dance camp (Shirley). They connect at a garage sale and hatch a plan to spend their summer differently. 

The resemblances between Shirley Bones and Sherlock Holmes are a little on the nose, but watching the girls solve a mystery and build a friendship is wonderful. The book touches on the difficulties for Jamila and her brothers as immigrants to Canada, as well as Shirley’s difficulties making friends. In solving the mystery, they discover other kids who need friends, leading to an ending that’s heartwarming, but not in a schmaltzy way. One bit at the ending I especially love; one of the kids’ pets is named Uncle Feather, like Fudge Hatcher’s myna bird in Judy Blume’s Fudge series. A new installment arrives in November and I’ve pre-ordered it. 

Candice Miller in The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson 

This is one of the books where I immediately want the whole world to read it. Candice Miller doesn’t want to spend the summer away from her dad and her friends in Atlanta. She and her mother go to her grandmother’s old house in Lambert, South Carolina, while their home is being remodeled for sale due to her parents’ divorce. 

Candice meets a boy who lives across the street named Brandon. Together, they discover the mysterious letter that inspired the actions that got Candice’s grandmother fired from her job as city manager in 2007. 

Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game is a vital influence on this book. From the theme of a businessman trying to make up for the past to the types of clues in the letter, author Varian Johnson’s love for that story shines through. The characters in the book also love TWG and reference it frequently. 

This book unflinchingly portrays life at different periods of time for Black people in the South without getting too shocking for middle grade readers. (Candice, Brandon, and their families are Black.) All of the characters are nuanced and complex. This is a very important book for kids to read both for the visceral portrayal of our nation’s shameful history with racism and introducing them to the joys of complex mysteries. (The Westing Game, too, if they haven’t read it.)

Paloma Márquez in Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes

Paloma Márquez is spending the summer in Mexico City with her mother, far from her familiar world of Kansas. Her late father was born in Mexico City and Paloma hopes to trigger more memories of him while her mother works on a literature fellowship. Otherwise, she isn’t happy about the trip. 

But she soon becomes intrigued by Mexico City’s beauty and culture, particularly Frida Kahlo, whose home La Casa Azul is the first spot she visits. There she meets Lizzie and Gael, two siblings who tell her the story of Frida’s beautiful peacock ring, which is missing from her home. The three quickly become friends and set out to find this priceless piece of Mexico’s heritage before it disappears forever. 

Paloma drew me in instantly. She is smart, funny, and realistically snarky. She is also caring. She worries about her mom and records every memory she discovers about her dad on index cards she keeps in her pocket. She likes boys, but they’re not her whole life. She also loves detective stories, especially the Lulu Pennywhistle series, which is, unfortunately, not a real series.

There is just enough danger and intricacy to interest older readers, but still be appropriate for middle grade. Spanish phrases pop up throughout the text, but most are commonly known or fairly easy to figure out from context. There isn’t enough to be discouraging to a young reader who is unfamiliar with Spanish. I absolutely loved it. 

Who are your favorite modern girl detectives?

Sara Farmer lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, three kids, and two cats. When she’s not chasing kids and cats, she reads and writes mysteries. You can find her at www.kittymomma.com and on Twitter @avonlea79.

The post Cozy to Cold-Blooded: Modern Girl Detectives appeared first on DIY MFA.

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Internationally Best-Selling Author of 17 novels in The Tracy Crosswhite police detective series set in Seattle, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and the Charles Jenkins espionage series.

He is also the author of several standalone novels including The Eighth Sister and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, both #1 Amazon kindle downloads, as well as The 7th Canon and The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post best book of the year. Several novels have been optioned for television series. Robert is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for fiction and many other awards. We’ll be talking about his book A Cold Trail which is out now.

In this episode Robert and I discuss:

• The power of dedicated, daily work
• Revisiting an old crime in a new book
• The particular appeal of a small town as a mystery setting
• The interplay between setting, theme and characters
• The myth of originality

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Robert Dugoni

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Internationally Best-Selling Author of 17 novels in The Tracy Crosswhite police detective series set in Seattle, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and the Charles Jenkins espionage series. He is also the author of several standalone novels including The Eighth Sister and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, both #1 Amazon kindle downloads, as well as The 7th Canon and The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post best book of the year. Several novels have been optioned for television series. Robert is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for fiction and many other awards. Check out his website, or connect with him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

A Cold Trail

In New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s riveting series, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite returns home to a brutal murder and her haunted past.

The last time homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite was in Cedar Grove, it was to see her sister’s killer put behind bars. Now she’s returned for a respite and the chance to put her life back in order for herself, her attorney husband, Dan, and their new daughter. But tragic memories soon prove impossible to escape.

Dan is drawn into representing a local merchant whose business is jeopardized by the town’s revitalization. And Tracy is urged by the local PD to put her own skills to work on a new case: the brutal murder of a police officer’s wife and local reporter who was investigating a cold-case slaying of a young woman. As Tracy’s and Dan’s cases crisscross, Tracy’s trail becomes dangerous. It’s stirring up her own haunted past and a decades-old conspiracy in Cedar Grove that has erupted in murder. Getting to the truth is all that matters. But what’s Tracy willing to risk as a killer gets closer to her and threatens everyone she loves?

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via the above Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 291

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 291: How to Make Your Story Truly Unique — Interview with Robert Dugoni appeared first on DIY MFA.

In today’s episode I bring you again live to ThrillerFest 2018! This time I’ve assembled a panel of bestselling thriller authors who all know how to write powerhouse female protagonists.

I am so excited to be speaking with Lisa Gardner, Jon Land, and Karin Slaughter, and sharing our panel discussion on the show!

As you’ll soon hear, not only do all these awesome authors craft strong female protagonists, but they know how to bring that strength to life on the page. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and I am so glad to be able to share these authors’ amazing insights with you.

So listen in as we chat about how to craft strong female protagonists that will bring readers back to your books again and again.

In this episode Lisa, Jon, Karin and I discuss:

• The problem with writing strong female characters, and how to deal with it.
• Crafting the interplay between your character’s internal strength and the external conflict.
• Why growing with your character makes you a better writer.
• The different ways of defining strength, and how to show them in your characters.
• How our writing ripples out beyond the page.

Plus, plus all of these amazing authors’ #1 tip for writers.

About the Authors

Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling novelist of over a dozen thrillers.  A former research analyst with a Boston consulting firm, she now enjoys interviewing very cool investigative and forensic experts to craft even more diabolical novels.  A past winner of International Thriller Writers Best Novel of the Year for The Neighbor, as well as ITW’s Silver Bullet Award for Philanthropy, she is currently at work on her latest thriller in the mountains of New Hampshire. Her latest release Look For Me is now available. To connect with Lisa check out her website at www.LisaGardner.com, and listen to her solo episode on DIY MFA Radio at DIYMFA.com/086.

Jon Land is the USA Today bestselling author of 44 books, including 9 titles in the critically acclaimed, award-winning Caitlin Strong series, the most recent of which, Strong to the Bone, won the 2017 American Book Fest Award for Mystery/Suspense. He recently published A Date With Murder, his first entry in the Murder She Wrote series that he’s taken over.  And last year he also teamed with ThrillerMaster Heather Graham on The Rising, the first in a groundbreaking sci-fi series. To connect with Jon check out his website at www.jonlandbooks.com.

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her eighteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, Karin Slaughter lives in Atlanta. Her standalone novels Cop Town, The Good Daughter, and newest release Pieces of Her are in development for film and television. To connect with Karin check out her website at www.karinslaughter.com.

About the Books

These are all such wonderful books and we hope you’ll help support these fabulous authors. If you decide to check out one (or all!) of these, we hope you’ll do so via the Amazon affiliate links below. This means that with every purchase DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. It’s a great way to support these debut authors and DIY MFA at the same time. Thank you for being awesome!

Look For Me by Lisa Gardner

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s latest twisty thrill ride, Detective D. D. Warren and Flora Dane of Find Her, return in a race against the clock to either save a young girl’s life…or bring her to justice.

The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one—a sixteen-year-old girl—missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case—but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.

Strong to the Bone by Jon Land

Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong takes on a gang of neo-Nazis in Strong to the Bone.

1944: Texas Ranger Jim Strong investigates a triple murder inside a Nazi POW camp in Texas.

The Present: His daughter, fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong, finds herself pursuing the killer her father never caught in the most personal case of her career―a conspiracy stretching from that Nazi POW camp to a modern-day neo-Nazi gang.

A sinister movement has emerged from the shadows of history, determined to undermine the American way of life. Its leader, Armand Fisker, has an army at his disposal, a deadly bio-weapon, and a reputation for being unbeatable. But he’s never taken on the likes of Caitlin Strong and her outlaw lover, Cort Wesley Masters.

To prevent an unspeakable cataclysm, Caitlin and Cort Wesley must win a war the world thought was over.

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all…?

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them.

Link to Episode 213

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 213: Writing Strong Female Protagonists — LIVE from ThrillerFest 2018 appeared first on DIY MFA.

Le French Book is a company that translates French mysteries and thrillers for the American audience. These books have been wildly popular in Europe and now they are available here in the United States, thanks to Le French Book and its founder, Anne Trager. I don’t know about you, but after speaking with these fascinating authors, I can’t wait to check out these books!

Listen to the episode below.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Using true events and history as inspiration for fiction.
• Researching and choosing what to write about and what to leave out.
• The difference between American mystery and French noir.
• A day in the life of a French author.

Plus: Eric and David share their #1 tips for writers.

Resources:

Le French Book’s mission is to bring new voices in mystery to English readers by translating books from French to English. The company’s founder—American translator and editor Anne Trager—loves France so much she has lived there for over a quarter of a century, and just can’t seem to leave.

It’s not the baguettes that keep her there (she’s sans gluten), but a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine. After over a quarter of a century of experience in the translation business and nearly as much in publishing, she decided it was time for her to focus on the books she loves to read and bring them to a broader audience.

Learn more about Le French Book at lefrenchbook.com.

Eric Giacometti, studied biochemistry and genetics in Toulouse, France, before going into journalism. Then, at the height of his career as an investigative reporter, Eric Giacometti was contaminated by the thriller virus. His life took on another dimension: journalist by day, writer by night. That is when he and his childhood friend Jacques Ravenne created the Freemason police inspector Antoine Marcas.

“Writing escapist fiction was a perfect antidote to the depressing stories of scandals and corruption I faced every day. Having one foot in reality and the other in fiction is incredible, but it’s key not to mix the two.”

In 2013, he left his full-time reporting job with a French daily newspaper to work freelance and write. He teaches journalism and writing.

Eric’s latest book: Shadow Ritual

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or visit his website for more information.

David Khara has always been a writer. After studying law, he stepped into journalism working for Agence France Press, and then became creative director for several advertising companies. He loves new technologies and started his own company at the age of twenty-four, becoming an online business pioneer for French industries. He served as a consultant for big-name companies such as Toyota, Clearchannel and Veolia for nearly twenty years, until he decided to change the course of his life and turn to writing fiction.

In 2010, he published The Bleiberg Project, which became an immediate success and has sold more than 100,000 copies in France alone. He now dedicates his life to writing, and has published three books, which have reached the bestseller lists. David Khara is also an accomplished athlete in fencing and rubgy, and he even played football as a linebacker. He acknowledges that his culture is a much American as it is French, since he spent a lot of time in West Virginia and Manhattan, and is an avid fan of writers such as Dennis Lehane.

David’s series: The Bleiberg Project, The Shiro Project, and The Morgenstern Project

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or visit his website for more information.

Link to Episode 53

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 53: Bringing French Thrillers to America – Le French Book Interview appeared first on DIY MFA.