My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Lya Badgley, author of the book The Worth of a Ruby. Lya was born in Yangon, Myanmar. The child of Montana parents – a political scientist and an artist – she grew up in a household that encouraged critical thinking and creativity. After dabbling in retail management, Lya moved to the Pacific Northwest in the eighties, becoming a part of the Seattle arts and music scene. In the nineties, after a decade of life as a struggling poet/ musician, she returned to Southeast Asia as a videographer on a clandestine expedition interviewing Burmese insurgents. A year later, she was working as director of Cornell University’s Archival Project, microfilming documents at Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide in Cambodia, helping to bring war criminals to justice. Finishing that, she managed the first foreign-owned project of its kind for the time, opening the 50th Street Bar & Grill Restaurant in Yangon, Myanmar. Since then, Lya has been an elected city council member and a dedicated environmental activist.

She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and Hugo House. Her first self-published novel, The Foreigner’s Confession, was released to good reviews in February of 2022. Her second novel, The Worth of a Ruby, launched November 2023. Badgley lives in Snohomish, Washington, and is working on her third novel set in Bosnia.

In my book review, I stated that I thoroughly enjoyed Lya’s first novel, The Foreigner's Confession, and was super excited to get my hands on this one, The Worth of a Ruby, set in Burma.

Badgley writes edgy international crime/suspense and gets the reader into the mind of her characters. Mallory Jones, a chef, like the author, wanted to open a restaurant in Burma but not because she was in love with the area. Instead, she was running from her past.

However, as is wont when folks try to escape their past by running from it, the past found a way to erupt. As plans for a restaurant fall through, we see a side of Mallory that isn't evident in the beginning.

​The Worth of a Ruby has it all: great characters, amazing backdrop, kidnapping, blackmail, murder, and a bit of Burmese magic. Plus, in the words of the author, " I like ambiguous endings." Don't miss this book!

You can follow Author Lya Badgley:

Website: https://lyabadgley.com

FB: @lyabadgleyauthor

IG: @lyabadgleyauthor

Purchase The Worth of a Ruby on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3W4Jq5v

Ebook: https://amzn.to/3W3qgg0

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

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