Hi there, guys and dolls!  Andrea and Heather here.  This week, we’ve had the good fortune to be featured in the blog of a terrific writer and fellow British Columbian, Leanne Dyck.  Her blog, Sweater Cursed, is great, so do yourself a treat and scroll through her posts of interviews, reviews, and general musings about the writing process.  We’re also pleased to say that on September 12th, we’ll be doing a full interview with Leanne.  In the meantime, below are some questions and answers she asked us to share with you about our writing.

What are you currently working on?

We are so excited to announce that our second Poppy Cove Mystery, DEATH OF A BEAUTY QUEEN will be coming out very soon!  It’s formatted, blurbed, and has the most beautiful cover we have ever seen!  Almost ready for its public.   So, we’ve been lining up interviews and working on our promotional plans.   We’ve also started working on book three in the series.  A major character’s past comes in to haunt them.

How does our work differ from others of the genre?

Well, our genre is definitely cozy, so it’s without explicit sex, language, or violence, but we are unique in the fact that we are a historical series, set in the late 50’s and carrying through the 60’s as the stories continue, so we try to make it as authentic in the style of writing and cultural references from that era.

Why do we write what we do?

Because it’s fun and it’s as if a siren call has drawn us in.  We’d love to live in our world of Santa Lucia in its era and this gives us a chance to do so.  If we didn’t write about it, we’d probably be constantly babbling about it, so we figure we might as well get it down on paper and share it!

How does our writing process work?

We talk out loud a lot, laugh a lot, too.  We find it’s almost like writing a play.  We look at the overall story we want to tell, then break down the scenes as we go along, thinking about what needs to be said or happen in the scene, discussing it all the way through.  We take copious notes, then work on having it flow with narrative and description to balance out the events and actions.

Now, we do have some great author friends that we think you should check out:

Ritter Ames — writes two series, the fast-paced, light suspense Bodies of Art Mysteries and the cozy Organized Mysteries, both published by Gemma Halliday Publishing. She globe trots the world via her keyboard to create memorable characters and fascinating fiction, and her cat muse remains faithfully by her side—only voicing displeasure when the food bowl sits empty due to Ritter focusing more on writing than on kibble. Ritter also blogs at http://ritterames.wordpress.com/, and uses Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/ritterames/ to capture great places and ideas for both series. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ritter.ames and on Twitter @RitterAmes. The first book in each series is available now in all print and ebook formats. Book two in the cozy series, Organized for Homicide, will be available in late summer.

Don Bruns — is also a fascinating fellow.  An excerpt from his website about the man and his work, “Bruns’ books explore the seamy side of the music business, flipping the industry on it’s back and looking at the underbelly of power and corruption. Protagonist Mick Sever is a journalist who chronicles the history of rock and roll, and uncovers murder. ‘There’s enough crime, corruption, drugs, and slimy people in the music business to keep Mick Sever busy for a long time,’ Bruns says.”  Check out his website http://www.donbrunsbooks.com/ to learn more about Don, his novels, musings and other links.

Sue Cox — it’s a very exciting time for our dear friend Sue.  She about to be published for the first time as the winner of the 2014 Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books award for First Crime Novel.  Follow her journey on her blog http://writingisalwaysmurder.com/.

Kaye George  — is an Agatha-nominated mystery writer, writes several series: Imogene Duckworthy, Cressa Carraway (Barking Rain Press), People of the Wind (Untreed Reads), and, as Janet Cantrell, Fat Cat debuting in September (Berkley Prime Crime). Her short stories appear in anthologies and magazines as well as her own collection, A Patchwork of Stories. Her reviews run in Suspense Magazine. She lives in Knoxville, TN.  Check out her website and blog at www.kayegeorge.com

George Jackson —  writes ebooks, nineteen so far. The Falls small town mystery series and Dragon World Series as well as the short stories in Tales From The Principal’s Bench and the children’s story, The Twilight Tea Party. He was a school teacher and principal for forty years. He has written all his life…just haven’t published until a couple of years ago.  Learn more about George, his books, and blog at www.georgewjackson.blogspot.ca

Happy reading, everybody!

Toodles,

Andrea and Heather aka Barbara Jean