Character Spotlight ~ Claudia Mair Burney's Amanda Bell Brown & Jazz Brown

Today the spotlight shines on..........................Amanda Bell Brown & Jazz Brown


Claudia Mair Burney is courageous, funny and deeply reflective and her writing exposes those traits beautifully! Deadly Charm is the final book in her Amanda Bell Brown mystery series and is well worth discovering. Enjoy this insider's peek into what makes Jazz and Bell tick!

Thanks, Mair:~

Amanda Bell Brown

Brief physical description

Bell is short, a mere five feet one and three quarters of an inch tall. She has what she'd sarcastically call "generous curves". She wears between size ten and twelve, and her weight varies from 140 to 155 lbs. She prefers her African American hair natural, but is known to gild the proverbial lily with the help of braid extensions.

Think Tracie Thoms. She's adorable, but not so incredibly pretty regular gals would want to hurt her.

Strengths and weaknesses

Bell is loyal and courageous, and her heart is wide open. She trusts her instincts, but despite her best intentions, she's a trouble magnet. While she's terribly insecure, once could do worse than have Bell Brown in their life. She'd be willing to die for a friend, a rare and beautiful quality.

Quirk (if any)

Bell is full of quirks. She's razor-tongued, self-deprecating, and full of weaknesses. She eats for comfort, is bullied by her mother and sister, and despite an astute knowledge of human behavior, often lacks insight into her own foibles. But for a person who is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, she's done very well for herself.

Your inspiration for the character

My great grandmother inspired Bell. I gave the character her name, and success my great grandmother never had. Unfortunately, poor Bell is wired a lot like Claudia Mair Burney. Heaven help her!

Jazz Brown

Brief physical description

Bell's first impression of Jazz, besides the fact that he was stunning, was that he was tall, but not "too tall." He's five eleven, and rather lean, but not skinny, with a wiry build. His biracial heritage--his mother is African American and father is Irish American--makes it hard to place his race. You can't at first glance if "Mr. United Nations" is black, white, Latino, or all of the above. He wears his brown curly hair in a high top fade, so popular with black men.

Jazz is a pretty man, with a dazzling smile. Think Daniel Sunjata

Strengths and weaknesses

Jazz is a strong, heroic man, the kind that would have no qualms about protecting a woman. He'd definitely take a bullet for his beloved, but would rather not! He hasn't always been a good boy, and was burned by his ex-wife. He really is that unsure about wanting a relationship. His weakness is that being a homicide detective for so long has made him somewhat hard. He drinks too much, curses, and isn't always sensitive, yet he is a man of deep convictions, though it may not always show. I give him a break because he sees horrors daily that most of us don't experience, even in our nightmares. When He decides that he wants Bell once and for all, there isn't much that's going to stop him from having her, including her!

Quirk (if any)

He has a pathological fear of all things Charismatic. He's a Roman Catholic, but knows all the jargon of a good, holiness Evangelical Pentecostal.

Your inspiration for the character

Jazz looks a lot like one of my ex boyfriends, but he acts a lot like several of the good but flawed men I know, including my husband. He's a composite of many interesting people, including some I wish I knew.

Background to the story

A golden opportunity fell right into my lap, when after only a few months of honest blogging about my messy spiritual journey, a publisher wrote to me and asked if I'd write a novel. I had nuthin', so I started making up stuff from my totally lame life.

I had studied psychology, loved forensic and true crime shows, always wanted to write a mystery, but loved romance too. I've also heard I'm funny. I added all those things into a gumbo of a story. It was full of people like the people in my life.

I wrote the book I wished I had to read.

Woo hoo - so much fun, Mair :) Thanks for sharing about Bell & Jazz ~ appreciate it a lot!


On Thursday, I will be spotlighting Eric Wilson's Cal Nichols and I can tell you it is very, very interesting reading. Cal himself will be sharing with us ;-)

Relz Reviewz Extras

Reviews of Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man & Deadly Charm
Visit Mair's website and blog
Buy Mair's books at Amazon or Koorong