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Josalyn McAllister is a cozy mystery author whose most recent works include Love Over Easy and Guilt is Midnight Blue. Josalyn said she’s fascinated by everything and used to drive her college roommates crazy by starting sentences with “Did you know… [insert random fact here]” 

Living in a global society

“It seems to me, especially most recently with the pandemic, that we’re becoming more and more a part of a global community. Whereas before, your community was your neighborhood or your small town now it’s a metro area or a country or the world. There are a lot of really great things about that but one of the negatives is an overall sense of helplessness to enact change. We see sickness, violence, bigotry, unfairness and carelessness about the planet but there doesn’t seem to be much we can do about it personally.” 

Josalyn added that the main character in Guilt is Midnight Blue feels a sense of responsibility in her small town. “Instead of fretting about things, she takes care of things. There’s one part in particular when a boy needs a place to stay. He’s dealing with trauma and there’s no where safe for him to go. Without hesitation she takes him in. She has an act first, worry later attitude that I aspire to have in my life. As she touches the lives of people throughout her town, she creates consensus and brings people together. I feel that if everyone behaved in that way, some of these global problems would be on their way to solutions.”

Inspired by a sense of history

Josalyn said that after her family moved from Minnesota to Georgia, she was charmed by the Appalachian Mountains and the cultural nuances of the South as well as the local superstitious beliefs. “It seems that more people believe in the supernatural. When we were house hunting, I was fascinated by how many advertisements I saw for psychics and ghost tours and whatnot. I grew up on the West Coast and everything here just seems so old and steeped in history. There are graveyards everywhere, even in the middle of housing developments. There are places where people have been living on the same land since before the country was founded. My kids ran on a cross country course that was a Civil War battlefield. It really captured my imagination. It’s the perfect setting for magical realism.”

A sense of connectedness

Josalyn’s husband once took a personality test called Gallup’s StrengthsFinder. The test identifies your top ten traits out of thirty-four. After the test, her husband recommended she take the test, too. Josalyn discovered her number one trait is Connectedness, which Gallup defines as follows: “People exceptionally talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links among all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has meaning.” 

“That really comes through in my writing,” Josalyn said. “The thing that thrills me most are making connections between characters and places and plot points until everything is completely convoluted but also in complete harmony.”

Josalyn has seen the same thing when her family has moved. “I have lived in a lot of different places: California, Utah, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Florida and now Georgia. I really love seeing how everywhere is different and yet the same. I like to highlight those cultural quirks in a positive way.”

Personal experiences brought into Guilt is Midnight Blue

While writing the first draft, Josalyn and her husband were binge watching Jeopardy on Netflix. As a result, Jeopardy became an element in the book. In addition, the main character has a special ability inspired in part by Josalyn’s Great Aunt. 

“She passed away recently but I remember that she would ‘smooth our auras’ if we looked particularly frazzled or hyper as children. She would run her hands over our arms and head about an inch or two away from our skin.”

Research can be painful

As Josalyn was writing Guilt is Midnight Blue, she was invited to day hike the Appalachian Trail by a friend. “I’m a runner so I figured I would be in plenty good enough shape to do the 17-mile hike. I had some six-year-old hiking boots that I thought would be broken in enough use, but I had been struggling with plantar fasciitis. So I put my insoles into my hiking boots and figured I would be good to go. Barely a mile into the hike I could feel blisters forming. Six miles in, I took off my shoes to survey the damage. They were really awful, bigger than quarters on each heel. But what could I do? I had to finish the hike to get to our car, so we continued on. By the end I could barely walk. I tried to take a shower when I got home and the pain was so excruciating on those blisters that I couldn’t stay in long enough to wash my hair. It was over a week before I could wear anything on my feet besides flip flops.” 

Josalyn added that the trip was worth the pain. “It was so unbelievably beautiful and we were there at the right time of year. It really gave me a feel for the setting and it made for really great description in my book. I even gave one of my characters blisters.”

Learn more about the author at josalynmcallister.com. Did you like this interview? If so, click here to read more Behind the Story interviews from your favorite authors.