Author Interview:
Mindy Wall Interview with Lauren Carr:
I appreciate your taking the
time to visit with us today.
1. What inspired this particular novel/book?
I
was at a different stage of my life when I wrote my first two books, A Small
Case of Murder and A Reunion to Die
For. Those books are more serious and heavier. They actually have a
completely different tone. Former JAG lawyer, Joshua Thornton is a widower with
five children. He feels clueless as a father.
The
Mac Faraday mysteries are lighter and there is more humor. Mac is a homicide
detective whose wife leaves him and takes everything. On the day his divorce
becomes final, he inherits $270 million dollars and an estate on Deep Creek
Lake.
Different strokes
for different folks. I had some readers wanting me to return to Joshua
Thornton. So, after some thought, I decided to include Joshua in my next Deep
Creek Lake mystery.
Since
Joshua and Mac don’t know each other, I had to come up with two murder
mysteries that, on the surface, don’t appear to be connected, and then have
there be a connection to bring them together. Coming up with this puzzle was a
lot of fun.
Shades of Murder actually introduces two characters that I will use in my next
book, Dead on Ice, which will come
out this fall: Joshua Thornton and Cameron Gates.
2. What character was your favorite to write
for in this story? Why?
For all of the Mac Faraday Mysteries,
readers have loved Gnarly, Mac’s German Shepherd. Gnarly was dishonorably
discharged from the United States Army. Let’s just say, he has issues. He is
incredibly intelligent and has a mind of his own. He’s also a hopeless
kleptomaniac.
However, for Shades of Murder, my favorite character is Cameron Gates. She’s a
Pennsylvania State homicide detective and my first female detective. I put a
lot of thought into her character and she went through several transformations
before she came to life for me.
There are so many women detectives in
books and on television now. Years ago, when female detectives first emerged in
mysteries, writers set out to break the stereotype by making their female
detective tough. Almost every female detective you see on television is able to
single-handedly take down male opponents. Now, the tough woman detective has
become the stereotype.
I wanted to get away from that.
Cameron is unique and quirky. She’s only as tough as she needs to be to make it
believable for her to hold a position of a homicide detective. She’s not super
woman. She was turned down for a promotion because her superiors think she’s
crazy. Co-workers betray her for purely political reasons; but, instead of whining
and crying about it, she shrugs it off and even expects it. She refuses to
forget the victims who she works for. But she also has a vulnerable side that
Joshua sees in her that makes them a good team.
3. Which was your favorite scene to write?
It is not romantic scenes, I’ll tell you that.
Nothing against romance books, but writing a love scene is hard.
My favorite scenes are comedy. I crack myself
up when I’m writing a humorous scene, especially dialogue. It is fun to play
with words or meanings. There is more to writing a humorous dialogue than just
writing an exchange that is batted back and forth. I love to find just the
right word to create the right timing and image.
4. What was the hardest thing about writing
this story?
Since
I was going back to Joshua Thornton, my first protagonist in the Joshua
Thornton Mysteries, I had to really think about him and where he would be in
his life now. It’s been five years since I had written A Reunion to Die For. Not only am I in a different place, so is
Joshua. His children are leaving the nest. He’s got more independence and is
ready for some romance in his life. He’s not the same protagonist that he was
when I wrote A Small Case of Murder. He’s ready to lighten up now, which I’ve
done myself.
5. What Are Your Writing Quirks &
Must-Haves To Write?
My
dogs, Ziggy (Australian Shepherd) and Beagle Bailey follow me and my laptop
everywhere. My muses are always at my feet while I’m writing. They are my muses.
6. What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I migrate. Depending on what is happening, you
can find me anywhere in the house writing. In the morning, when I’m drinking my
coffee, I’ll be in the bedroom with my laptop. Later on, I’ll move into my
writing studio. If it’s a cold day, I’ll be in front of the fireplace. And my
muses will follow me everywhere during the migration.
7. Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your work day like? If not, what do you
do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Now that I have become a publishing
manager and publisher with my company Acorn Book
Services, I spend my day helping other authors
and love it.
My day will start out about seven o’clock with
answering e-mails and social media. After a couple of hours and two pots of
coffee, I have to turn off the e-mail, which is very distracting, and work on
my authors’ books. This can be anything from editing to layout design to
proofing. Some days it is marketing with writing press releases or sending out
queries to reviewers. At about four o’clock, it is time to get dinner started
for my family. By eight o’clock, it is time to start working on my books. I
will write until about eleven o’clock. I also reserve the weekend for my books.
Between all of that, we squeeze in
taking dogs out, bringing them in, doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen,
taking out the garbage, and nagging my son to do his chores.
8. As a child, what did you want to be when you
grew up?
A mystery writer! Dreams do come true.
9. When did you first realize you wanted to
be a writer?
I believe writers are born. They are always
writing. My earliest memories are rewriting the Bobbsey Twins after reading it.
Instead of looking for a lost bracelet, they were hunting down a kidnapper.
10. Where do you find your Inspirations?
Everywhere. Someone can be late for an
appointment and I’ll be thinking, “Supposed she was kidnapped and murdered by
the garbage man, who ended up being a long lost uncle and she’s the only living
heir …” Or maybe I’ll overhear someone talking in the booth behind me while
waiting for my husband to meet for lunch. They may be gossiping about a
co-worker, but in my writer’s mind, I’ll twist and turn it around until I come
up with a dead body found in the lunchroom at Petco.
11. What do you like to read? Who is your
favorite author?
Murder mysteries are at the top of the list.
My favorite author right now is Tess Gerritsen.
12. Please let readers know where they can
connect with you and purchase your books...
My website: http://mysterylady.net/
My blog: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/
Other:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991
Twitter:
@TheMysteryLadie
Is your book in Print, ebook or both?
All of the above! Print: $14.99/ebook: $2.99
13. Anything additional you want to share with
the readers?
Giveaway: A copy of Shades of Murder
(print (US only) or e-book, winner’s choice.
Contest: For this book
tour, I am holding a contest for readers to name the female porn star found in
the freezer.
Contest:
(This is going to be such fun!)
Name the Dead Porn Star in Dead on Ice:
(This is going to be such fun!)
Name the Dead Porn Star in Dead on Ice:
Dead on Ice is the first installment of my new series:
Lovers In Crime. Taking place in the Chester, WV/Pittsburgh area, Lovers in
Crime revolves around the budding romance of Small Town WV Prosecutor Joshua
Thornton and Pennsylvania State Police Homicide Detective Cameron Gates.
In Dead
on Ice, Cameron Gates is tasked with solving the murder of a missing porn
star. The case has a personal connection to Joshua because the star’s mummified
body is found in an abandoned freezer in his cousin’s basement. It doesn’t take
long for their investigation to reveal that the risqué Hollywood legend’s roots
were buried in their small rural town, something that she had kept off her show
business bio. She should have kept it off her road map, too. Because when this
starlet came running home from the mob in 1985, it proved to be a fatal
homecoming.
The Winner must come up with both the Stage
Name and the porn starlet’s Real Name. Send an e-mail to me
(writerlaurencarr@comcast.net). Put: Dead
on Ice Porn Star in the Subject Line of the e-mail. You must supply your
contact information in the e-mail. The contest will run from June 1-July 30. I
will select the winning names and winner. The Winner will receive a gift basket
with print copies of all the Deep Creek Lake Mysteries (autographed), Lovers in
Crime Coffee Mug, and an autographed copy of Dead on Ice when it is released in the Fall.
Thank you so much for
chatting with us today.
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