Author Interviews

Behind the story of The Time for Murder is Meow

August 13, 2019 By Terry 2 Comments

Toni LoTiempo has had a love of mysteries that began when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age ten. Her latest Pet Shop Mystery is The Time for Murder is Meow. Here’s the story behind that new mystery.

The beginnings of The Time for Murder is Meow

“The point I tried to make in this novel is that anyone, no matter how old, can have a second shot at life,” said Toni. “My protagonist, Shell, was an actress for most of her adult life and hated it. Now, in her late thirties, she finally gets a chance to do what she really wants to do, despite opposition from her agent, mother and co-star Gary. Stick to your guns and believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything!”

Toni said the idea for this book came from a friend of hers. “She wanted me to write a book that had a one-eyed Persian cat in it! (she was very specific!) Shell went through many occupations before an editor at another publishing house requested a mystery series about a pet shop. Just as I finished the book, the editor was let go!!!!! But then my agent managed to place it elsewhere.”

On the personal side

“I am an avid mystery reader and have been reading books since age three!” Toni said. “My mother was a big mystery lover, Perry Mason in particular, and I got my love of the genre from her.”

During the writing of a book, writers frequently face personal challenges that may find their way into the book. Toni said that while she was writing The Time for Murder is Meow, her sixteen-year-old cat, Gata, took ill and passed away. “It made some of the scenes where there is interaction between Shell and the cats pretty painful to write.”

Not all author experiences are so dramatic, however. While researching material for one of Toni’s early novels, all of which were in the supernatural/horror genre, she and a friend had the opportunity to attend a horror convention. “My book was about zombies, so we dressed up as zombies ala Dawn of the Dead for a costime contest at the convention. When my friend called up for the tickets, they neglected to tell him that the costume contest had been cancelled. You should have seen the looks we got when we entered the auditorium LOL.”

Learn more about T.C. LoTiemppo at tclotiempo.net.

Behind the story of The Great Jewel Robbery

August 6, 2019 By Terry 3 Comments

Elizabeth McKenna is the author of multiple romance novels. The Great Jewel Robbery is her debut cozy mystery, and she hopes readers will like it as much as they have enjoyed her romances.

Light and breezy

“The book I wrote before this one, First Crush Last Love, was so full of angst, pulled from my teens and twenties, that I needed to write something light and breezy,” Elizabeth said.

“The one thing I try to do with all of my books is to make sure that the plot and the characters’ actions are logical or at least understandable. I don’t want convenient things to happen to move the plot along. For example, an early draft of this book had Emma leaving a gala and going to a rooftop terrace with a man she had just met—alone. I’m not sure what I was thinking, as I am constantly telling my college-aged daughters to never, ever go anywhere alone at a party, nightclub, etc. A beta reader said her inner mom was screaming at Emma, and she was right. So, I changed the scene to include other people on the terrace.”

A change in plans

In the early summer of 2018, Elizabeth was working on a dark mystery inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, when she read that Hallmark Publishing was accepting unagented submissions.

“As an independent author and a fan of the Hallmark Channel, I thought, how cool would that be? I checked out their writing guidelines for mysteries, did some brainstorming with my family, and started writing The Great Jewel Robbery. Because Hallmark’s deadline was only a few months away, I decided to set the story in a mansion on Geneva Lake, which I live near. I chose reporters as the occupation of the main characters because I have a Journalism degree and it was something that I was familiar with. I love to research, but I also believe you need to write what you know to some extent. Beyond that, I guess I channeled every mystery TV show that I’ve seen and book that I’ve read. You will find me watching Matlock, Columbo, Monk, Psych, and Law & Order whenever I have a spare moment (drives my husband crazy).”

An introvert in an extrovert’s world

“It’s hard to tell you anything about myself because I’m an introvert,” Elizabeth said. “I find writing and marketing a book extremely challenging. I put a lot of myself into my characters, and when a reader doesn’t connect with them—and writes a bad review—it hurts. It used to hurt a lot more, but I’ve toughened up over the years. Besides that, I, like many women, wear many hats throughout my day. I’m a wife, mother, cook, maid, freelance editor, and writer to name a few. I consider myself blessed for the life that I currently have, though sometimes I have to count those blessings to get through my day.”

Elizabeth also said that with the exception of her first novel, Cera’s Place, she wrote the manuscript, sent it to her editor, and then published it. “I asked for very little feedback from others because it just goes against my nature. It’s too personal. However, with The Great Jewel Robbery, I was trying to meet Hallmark Publishing’s deadline, and I am a slow writer. I calculated I would need to write at least one thousand words a day—something I’ve never done.

“That obstacle made me ask for help. As I finished each chapter, I sent it to my daughters and my husband to critique. My girls caught typos and grammar, and once I convinced them I wouldn’t be upset, they offered character and plot criticisms. My husband was extremely helpful with the big picture. He’s an engineer with a logical mind that I was grateful to take advantage of. Besides my editor, I also used beta readers, which I had never sought out before. Though I had to get over my reluctance to show others my initial drafts, the whole process worked out really well and made the story stronger.”

A looming deadline

Because she was on a short deadline for The Great Jewel Robbery, Elizabeth’s research had to be done quickly. In order to get the setting correct, she and her family spent time at Geneva Lake in their boat. “We love looking at the mansions and choosing the ones we’d like to buy when we win the lottery. The Braun mansion in the story is based on Stone Manor, a real-life mansion on Geneva Lake built around 1900. When describing the Braun mansion, I incorporated many of the historical and architectural details that I discovered while researching Stone Manor.”

Learn more about Elizabeth McKenna at elizabethmckenna.com.

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Behind the story of Gore in the Garden

July 23, 2019 By Terry 5 Comments

Colleen J. Shogan is a political scientist by training. She’s also been reading mysteries most of her life. Her first book won the Next Generation Indie Prize for Best Mystery and other have been RONE and Killer Nashville finalists in the mystery category.

The United States Botanic Garden looms as inspiration

“I’d always toyed with the idea of setting a book at the United States Botanic Garden but I wasn’t quite sure about the plot,” Colleen said. “One day, I visited during my lunch break. As I was walking along the path inside the main solarium, I saw the nameplate of a plant: Ficus Aurea. It’s also known as the ‘Strangler Fig.’ I knew I had to write my next book at the Botanic Garden; the plot had now almost written itself!”

Colleen also said that she’d visited the Botanic Garden on Capitol Hill for years. “That being said, I also always thought it was a slightly creepy place, with looming plants, eerie silence, and lots of inconspicuous nooks and crannies. I read a great deal about the famous, rare corpse flower and its bloom at the Botanic Garden. With a plant like the corpse flower, how couldn’t I set a mystery there?”

Trust in government

“The Washington Whodunit series addresses the issue of trust in government,” Colleen said. “Public opinion approval ratings of Congress are quite low these days, with many Americans believing that Washington, D.C. is a place where politicians come to get rich and take advantage of the system. I provide a different perspective in my books. I don’t sugarcoat the reality of living and working inside our nation’s capital, but I also try to show there are well-intentioned, hardworking public servants on Capitol Hill. In other words, I write about the side of Washington that doesn’t garner much attention from political reporters or Twitter. There are layers behind every politician and reasons for why they behave the ways in which they do. In subtle ways that don’t ruin the mystery, I uncover those stories.”

Colleen has worked on Capitol Hill in a variety of different jobs for the past fourteen years. She knows the setting well and tries to describe it as accurately as possible. “My books provide some fun facts and historical education, as well as entertain with the mystery. My day job is at the Library of Congress and I am lucky enough to be in a position where I can experience a lot of what Capitol Hill and D.C. has to offer, such as exploring venues like the National Archives and the Smithsonian. These places often show up in my books, which provides more flavor and an insider treat for curious readers.”

In the name of research…

“When I was writing the fourth book in my series, K Street Killing, I wanted to investigate a rooftop setting for a major scene. But the iconic rooftop I had in mind isn’t open to the general public. Instead, it’s reserved for special occasions, rentals, fundraisers, weddings, or other high-profile events. After my husband and I had dinner in the restaurant on the first floor, I told our waiter a small white lie, explaining that I might want to host a major event on the rooftop. We were quickly ushered to the roof, where I got to walk around and ask all the questions I wanted. Of course, it wasn’t for an actual event. Instead, it was for staging a fictitious murder!”

Learn more about Colleen Shogan at colleenshogan.com.

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Behind the story of Murder’s No Votive Confidence

July 16, 2019 By Terry 3 Comments

Christin Brecher is making her debut as an author with Murder’s No Votive Confidence, the first book in the Nantucket Candle Maker cozy mystery series. In this behind the story interview, Christin shares her love of the cozy mystery genre and how it led to writing Murder’s No Votive Confidence.

Books—a taste of independence

“I value good friends and family,” said Christin. “Although New York City is a big place to live, I feel lucky to live in a neighborhood I’ve known my whole life, with friends I can count as decades old. I’m a small-town girl in a big city. A dream come true for me is that The Corner Book Store, near my apartment in New York City, and Mitchell’s Book Corner, in Nantucket, have welcomed the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries. These are my two favorite book stores and each holds special memories for me. I built my mystery collection at Mitchell’s. And, when The Corner Book Store opened in the 1970s, we felt that our neighborhood had really made it. My parents even opened a house account at the store, which was incredibly empowering. The books I bought in both stores were probably my first independent purchases.”

The path to cozy mysteries

Christin said that writing has taught her opportunity can come about in unexpected ways. “I started to write as a personal challenge after I left the corporate world when my kids were babies. With a husband who travelled a lot, and two small kids to raise, writing was a portable challenge as well as an intellectual one. When I started, I had a goal of finishing a book. I didn’t rush. I took my time to learn the craft while I was deeply steeped in my career as a mom. Then, one day, I wrote ‘The End.’ It was an amazing feeling, and I realized I wanted to journey to those two words again and again.”

Looking back to the purchases Christin made in Mitchell’s and The Corner Book Store, those were what eventually led her to discover the cozy mystery genre. It’s a genre she loves for several reasons. “I love the number of strong female characters who get the job done, whatever it takes. Writing the character of Stella Wright has been one of my favorite parts of the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries. She is a small business owner, a master craftswoman, and an active member of her town’s community. She knows who she is and appreciates the good fortune of her life. And she’s not afraid to step into the unknown when she’s called upon to catch a killer.

“Recently I read a blog by well-known cozy author, Sherrie Harris (The Gun Also Rises), who was frustrated that the cozy genre is often seen as too fluffy, with too-cute titles and covers, and a rated-G tone that’s too ‘cute.’ In this day and age of cynicism and negativity, these are the exact reasons why I see the genre as bad-ass. I love that the covers and titles are over-the-top, and I think that the opportunity for inter-generational enjoyment of a story is refreshing. Combine that with strong female protagonists, and I wonder why everyone hasn’t picked up at least one cozy. In fact, cozy mystery titles often come in the form of a good pun. I was lucky enough to have a grandmother who doled them out on a daily basis. Back then, we laughed and rolled our eyes, but I never imagined her skill would come in handy one day!”

Murder’s No Votive Confidence—the beginnings

Christin said the idea of a candle maker sleuth on Nantucket seemed like a perfect character for several reasons. “First, there’s the island’s history in candle making. Nantucket became one of the wealthiest communities in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries because of its success in the whaling industry. Nantucketers discovered precious oil in sperm whales which could be used, among other things, to make candles which were considered to be the cleanest, whitest, and longest lasting candles in the world.

“Second, the island’s mysterious aura. I grew up spending my summer’s in Nantucket where my parents rented houses, eventually all over town. One summer, in a house on India Street, I read the owners’ Agatha Christie collection while I built my own mystery library of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and The Bobbsey Twins books from Mitchell’s Book Corner in town. The combination of reading these books at night to the eerie sound of fog horns from the island’s lighthouses, often during the then-common blackouts, ignited my love of mystery.

“Third, the island’s unique combination of closed-knit, local community, and seasonal tourists, all of whom hold the island near and dear. Stella Wright uses this dynamic to help her solve crimes. As a native to the island, she is both a big fish in a small pond, and also “invisible” to visitors who are more focused on their vacations than the locals. As a result, she can pick up information from those who know the island’s news, while also passing as a sympathetic ear to visitors who let down their guard and confide in her.”

Christin Brecher on research

Of course, writers have to research their stories. And that research often tells us a good deal about them. In Christin’s case, it reinforces her values about good friends and family. “My favorite day of research was when my dad and I drove all over Nantucket to make sure I’d correctly described the locations in my book. That morning, I had visited Nantucket Book Works in town where I’d purchased a bright pink, lacquered candelabra. Everywhere we went, I put the candelabra at the scene and took a picture. I looked like a crazy woman, but we had a ball.”

Learn more about Christin Brecher at www.christinbrecher.com.

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Behind the story of Guilty as Charred by Devon Delaney

July 9, 2019 By Terry 2 Comments

Devon Delaney is a self-proclaimed foodie. A wife, mother of three, and cooking contester she has been handsomely rewarded for her recipe innovation over the last twenty-plus years. She’s turned her talents to writing with the Cook-Off Mystery series. The latest in that series is Guilty as Charred.

Guilty as Charred and community gardens

Devon said Guilty As Charred is based around community gardens—who benefits and who is against the use of land for this purpose. “I volunteer at a community garden located in a nearby underserved and impoverished neighborhood,” Devon said. “I know how beneficial the garden is. A beneficial project, yes, but I can see how having one in the middle of a neighborhood could cause some tensions if not everyone is a supporter. I am a lifelong gardener and educator and the class tours we host through the garden are an amazing eye-opening experience for kids who have no idea where their food originates. The skills and lessons I’ve learned from gardening, including patience, perseverance, flexibility, humility cannot be taught early enough. Although opponents might see the project as an alternative and unnecessary method of teaching and building community mindedness, I hope through my inclusion of the issue in my book some will recognize it as a good idea. Despite any murder that may occur there!”

In the beginning there was a grilling contest

The initial idea for Guilty As Charred came to Devon after her experience at a grilling contest when she was a winner in the Live with Kelly and Ryan Grill-off. “I loved the idea of using a variety of the grilling contest as the backdrop of a mystery. To complicate matters in the plotline, I drew from the fact our neighborhood has been having an ongoing dispute involving two property owners. Witnessing first hand disputes can easily escalate, it motivated me to feature the issue in my storyline. Amazing how art imitates life. The best storylines are in your own backyard!”

To make sure she had the details right regarding the property dispute, Devon went to her Town Hall and spoke to the zoning department. She said, “I asked them various questions about disputes between neighbors, all the while hoping not raise any red flags because my next-door neighbors were embroiled in a contentious property dispute with their new neighbors. I live in a small town and I know both neighbors had called the authorities on each other many times. I didn’t want to become ensnared in their situation, I only wanted all the juicy details. What I found at Town Hall was a surprising eagerness to talk about these types of disputes, even though I confessed I was researching for a murder mystery!”

What’s next?

“I am forever interested in improving myself, in challenging myself, in seeking inspiration for the next chapter of my life. My favorite thing is observing the human condition. I am fascinated with what makes people tick. I may be on the quiet side, but don’t ever mistake quiet for disinterest. The things I’m good at I’ve made sure I’ve practiced hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. Tennis, recipe creation, cook-offs, needle-pointing and rug hooking are some of my hobbies.”

Devon agrees that no murder mystery author wants their computer Internet history seen by outside sources. She said, “We would all be under suspicion, or worse, for criminal behavior and mayhem. In the current book I’m writing, book 4 in my cooking competition series, I had to get a look at how a cat could be walked in a harness and on a leash for the very first time. My son had that contraption and he tried it on his new cat. The cat’s reaction to the humiliation of it all was priceless. I use the scenario in my book exactly as I saw it. So funny!”

Learn more about Devon Delaney at devonpdelaney.com.

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Behind the story of Murder She Uncovered

June 4, 2019 By Terry 1 Comment

Peg Cochran is the author of the Sweet Nothings Lingerie series (written as Meg London), the Gourmet De-Lite series, the Lucille series, the Cranberry Cove series, and the Farmer’s Daughter series. She’s an avid reader who began reading when her parents gave her a set of children’s encyclopedias. She read them all—and has even been known to read the dictionary. She discovered a love of mysteries at the age of seven when she discovered the perfect hiding place for a body down the street from her house.

The beginning of Murder She Uncovered

“I wanted to tie a story to some historical event, and when I read about the hurricane the Yankee Clipper—also known as the Long Island Express—I became fascinated. It was horrific and unexpected—the hundreds of people killed had no warning that the storm was coming.”

Peg said after she learned about the Yankee Clipper, she began thinking…what if? “What if a body was found in the wreckage of the storm and it became apparent the person was not a victim of the hurricane but of murder? That victim took shape in the form of a young Irish immigrant working as a housemaid for a wealthy family. The story grew from there.”

The story becomes more complex

“The book is set in 1939 and so many issues came up while I was writing it—some planned and some unexpected. One is mental illness and how people with a mental illness were viewed and treated. Lobotomies were being performed because interestingly enough, the cause of mental illness was believed to be organic. The main objective of a lobotomy seemed to be to render the patient passive and compliant.”

Peg said another issue that interested her and made its way into the book was the plight of single females—particularly immigrants from Ireland seeking a better life—who had no real marketable skills. “They mostly depended on housework and factory work,” Peg said. “Both required long hours and low pay. My grandmother immigrated from Italy and worked in the garment industry in New York City so that’s where I placed one of my characters. Despite the efforts of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, women still worked under hard conditions and for long hours.”

During her research, Peg discovered that abortion was an issue of the time. She said, “One of the characters is pregnant and unmarried and the only abortions available to women at the time were performed illegally and often by untrained providers.”

Imagination and research

“I respect my readers and try to give them the best story I can. I’m grateful to be doing what I love and I don’t take it for granted. I’m a ‘late bloomer.’ I always wanted to write fiction and dabbled in it here and there before I got serious about it. Still, my first book didn’t come out until a month before my 60th birthday! And that after hundreds of rejections. But I refused to give up!”

While very persistent in her writing, Peg doesn’t feel the need to experience everything she writes about. “I hate to disappoint you,” she said, “but I’m not one of those writers who locks herself in the trunk of the car to see what it’s like. I have a pretty good imagination at least when it comes to how I would feel in that situation. I suppose my funniest story is when I visited a cranberry bog and asked the owner what he would do if a body floated up in the bog. He was speechless!”

Learn more about Peg Cochran at pegcochran.com.

Author Interviews

Behind the story of The Time for Murder is Meow