Behind the story of No Gravestone Unturned

Debbie De Louise is the author of multiple mysteries. Her latest is No Gravestone Unturned, the fifth book in the Cobble Cove Mystery series.

A Halloween theme for No Gravestone Unturned

“I’ve been writing the Cobble Cove mysteries for five years now, and I wanted to write the fifth book with a Halloween theme,” Debbie said. “I’ve changed the characterizations of the cats in the book starting with two short eBooks that followed the fourth full-length book. Sneaky, the Siamese library cat, the main cat character in the book, and the calico inn cat, Kittykai along with the black cat, Salem, who makes a guest appearance in this book, talk with one another and their thoughts are revealed to the reader, although the human characters are unaware of it. The plot came to me because of the Halloween theme. I imagined a murder in a cemetery on October 31st would make an interesting mystery.”

Debbie said that other plot details such as family secrets, the subplot of domestic abuse, and the past and present scenes came to her as she wrote. “The main issue in No Gravestone Unturned involves secrets and how destructive they can be. When Rosalie keeps a secret from her friend, Lydia, in 1929, a generation of lies follows culminating in a murder in 2019 that was indirectly caused by the secret. Another issue in the book is covered in the subplot about domestic abuse and how the victims of it are afraid to take action in the situation. When Alicia learns that Suzanne is a battered wife, she doesn’t understand why she won’t leave her husband or allow the sheriff to place a restraining order on him. Gilly, however, having attended a workshop on the topic, explains that abused spouses often feel responsible for the abuse they are receiving and are reluctant to even report it.”

All about cats

“While I was looking for an appropriate cover image, I noticed that most of the cats that were featured by gravestones were black, so I decided to add a black cat character to the book because the two cats currently in the series are Siamese and calico. That was how the cat character of Salem was born, and I really enjoyed the interplay between him and Sneaky who was slightly jealous of a new guy in his territory. There is also a funny scene of Sneaky jumping on a hospital trolley while following Alicia to hunt down a clue. He enjoys his ride in the comfortable sheets and recalls how Kittykai told him she loves laundry day at the inn because she gets to help Gilly sort the warm towels and sometimes falls asleep in them. Kittykai is based on my calico cat, Hermione, who does the same thing. Then there’s the scene of the three cats prowling separate floors of the inn to help the sheriff who isn’t aware that they are conducting their own search during which they get sidetracked, as cats will, by bugs and even the balls on a pool table.”

About Debbie

“I don’t only write cozy mysteries,” Debbie said. “I’ve written three standalone mysteries that are psychological, medical, and crime thrillers, although each still retain some cozy elements and also include cats and occasionally dogs, too, as I’m a pet lover. My first book was a paranormal romance. I also write short stories and short eBooks of various genres and am publishing my first non-fiction book, Pet Posts: The Cat Chats, this fall. I also have two blogs, one of which, Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog, is run by Sneaky who interviews other pet characters and also features a column by my real-life cats. In addition, I have an author newsletter and a Facebook character chat group hosted each month by a different character from my books and stories.”

Debbie said that most of her research is pretty serious. She once interviewed a vet to learn about the effects of marijuana given to a dog for one of her cozy mysteries. When she was writing about what babies do at various stages of development, rather than relying on her memories as a parent, she spoke to a new mother and a pediatrician.

Learn more about Debbie De Louise at debbiedelouise.com. And if you liked this, check out more of my interviews.

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