Behind the story of Sand Trapped by Joanna Campbell Slan

Joanna is a bestselling author with over 80 written projects to her credit. In addition to her non-fiction writing, which includes how-to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, she writes five fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series, the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series, the Jane Eyre Chronicles, the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers, and the Zen Cozy Mystery Series. Sand Trapped is the sixth Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery.

All about assumptions

“Throughout Sand Trapped, characters make assumptions that not only turn out to be false, but also cause a lot of angst. For example, MJ and Pete are happily planning their wedding when Pete’s mother decides that she should go on their honeymoon with them. As you might imagine, this is a big problem. Pete has always been a mama’s boy. MJ suggests they go to their priest and see what he thinks. Pete is certain that the priest will side with him, citing the commandment to honor your mother and father. But the priest sees things differently. Really differently.”

Joanna said she had a lot of fun thinking of ways her characters could misdirect the reader by making false assumptions. “It became quite a challenge. You know, it’s pretty easy for us to fall prey to negative outcomes when we aren’t willing to ask for clarification. Pretty sad. Sand Trapped was a great exercise in thinking about erroneous thought patterns, and how they can ruin our lives.”

Golf for those who don’t

Florida considers itself to be the Golf Capital of the World. Because of this, Joanna felt compelled to write about golf. There’s only one problem—she doesn’t play. “I don’t play golf. I won’t play golf. I’ve taken a sacred vow not to play golf, ever. So, this presented a bit of a challenge. I struggled with how to make a golf course murder interesting to non-players like me. The solution was to do a lot of research. As usual, I probably went overboard. When a golfer at the US Open hit a ball into a tree, and it got stuck up there, I knew the rule governing the play. My husband was astonished because he has played golf for years, and he didn’t know the rule! That alone made all the hours of research worthwhile.”

A thirst for learning pays off

“I absolutely love what I do, and I hope it shows in my books. Writing is a joy for me. My books allow me to indulge my sense of wonder, curiosity, and creativity. I hope that I put so much into my books that my readers will have something to think about long after they reach those golden words ‘the end.’”

And, of course, since Joanna writes mysteries, the questions she dives into sometimes involve crime. That fascination paid off after a recent accident. “A woman driving a honking big truck clipped the front of my car. She tore the bumper right off. When the police came, I made use of the situation. I asked one of the officers some of the questions that had come up in the book I was writing. He told me he’d never seen anyone so happy about being in an accident.”

Learn more about Joanna Campbell Slan at www.JoannaSlan.com. Did you like this interview? If so, click here to read more Behind the Story interviews from your favorite authors.