Julie Seedorf has worn many hats, but writing is her favorite. She’s the author of the Fuchsia, Minnesota mystery series and also writes a column for her local newspaper. In A Small Town Can be #Murder, Julie brings us more Minnesota mysteries.
Small towns with big issues
Julie said she’s not really sure where her book ideas come from—they just come on the scene, but the goods ones demand attention. “Most of my writing comes to me in early morning after I wake up. I take some time to just dream and relax. With this book I wanted something a little more serious and less quirky than my other series and I wanted to pay homage to the closeness of small towns. And my mind never quits. On any given day I have stories whirling through my head. Many never come to fruition because I am whirling too fast.”
So what about those big issues? Julie noted that it’s unusual for a cozy mystery to address a serious issue, but for A Small Town Can Be #Murder, she decided to do things differently. “I changed it up because of a few things close to my heart such as domestic abuse and teen pregnancies back in the early 50’s. The book started with me wanting to pay homage to small towns and then my heart took me to addressing those subjects by weaving them in.”
Touching hearts and making people laugh
Like many writers, Julie finds the process of writing to be a cathartic one. Without the outlet, those who like to create can find themselves getting…well, cranky. “When I write I want to touch peoples hearts, give them a good mystery and also a few laughs. I love quirky characters and I put my heart in each book. My characters become my family. Writing also helps with anxiety and depression that I constantly have to work to overcome.”
Julie said that when writing this book, it was difficult to break with her usual pattern. She said, “I have to admit, it was a challenge to not take off and be silly and weird like I have with my other series. It was hard to create normal serious characters because the characters in all my other series are off the wall.”
And speaking of off the wall, in one of her previous books, Granny Bricks A Bandit, her protagonist heads to the Mall of America and Nickolodean Universe. Julie said, “Granny gets in trouble at the mall, so of course I had to take a trip and experience the fun. Now that sounds pretty mild but remember I am as old as dirt. Well…almost. And most of my research for my other series comes from my brain as there isn’t too much factual in them. They are meant to take people away from the real world.”
Learn more about Julie Seedorf at julieseedorf.com.
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Thank you so much for having me. I hope we can spread some joy in this stressful time to take a little load off our minds for a few minutes.