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My muse, having been a longtime fan of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, said I had to, and what my muse dictates, I must do. Trust me, she doesn’t take no for an answer. So, who in their right mind would ever want to become a writer and have to put up with muses? That’s the problem. As a left-handed human, I’ve been told I’m always in my right mind. (But not by my husband.) Have you always wanted to write books? Are you kidding? I didn’t even like writing checks. If someone had told me (especially while I was laboring over my eighth grade writing assignments, one being, “Describe your life as an inanimate object”) that I would one day write books, I would have punched him or her out. I knew in second grade that I wanted to be a teacher, and nothing would deter me from that goal. What changed your mind? It wasn’t until after I’d earned a master’s degree in education, taught elementary school for six years, had two children, and took lessons in tole painting, cross stitch needlework, crochet, embroidery, rug hooking, macrame, gardening, and sewing before I discovered I had a flair for telling stories. (It wasn’t like I didn’t already know. My mother had stood me in the corner many times for “telling stories.” She called it fibbing. Same difference.) What is your writing schedule? Do you only write when the mood strikes? If I had to wait for a mood to strike I’d write twice a year. What strikes most often is fear. Fear of missing a deadline, fear of having to work around the clock to make the deadline, fear of phone calls from people wanting to chat during my deadline rush, and fear of my bladder bursting from too many cups of green tea. Actually, my routine is quite, well, routine. I’m at the computer by nine in the morning, break for lunch at noon, back to work at one o’clock, and out the door for a walk by four in the afternoon. I treat it as a job, but I love it as a passion. |
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You just answered my next question, which was, why do you do it? And your point is? Are your children following in your footsteps? My son recently graduated with a degree in fiction writing from Columbia College. My daughter is studying set design and costume design at Loyola University. I think they may have caught some of the creative bug from me, but they are very talented people in their own right, as are my extended family of children. And your husband? He’s an attorney. (Some would say he tells stories, too.) I say he’s my hero. He’s witty, romantic, strong, supportive, encouraging, and has more integrity in his little finger than any man I know. I’d brag more, but he embarrasses easily. And he’s peering over my shoulder. How did you come up with the character of Abby Knight? Writing mystery with a humorous undertone and a dash of romance calls for a special sleuth. So I created a quick, feisty little redhead who loves to meddle and hates bullies and injustice; a fearless, female, knight-in-shining armor, (hence the last name Knight) ready to tackle the craftiest killer. Abby was originally going to be a newly graduated lawyer, but that was too dull for my plucky heroine. So instead she became a law school flunk-out who scrapes up enough money for the down payment on a little flower shop named Bloomers, where she can meddle to her heart’s content. Are any of Abby’s family or friends based on people from your own life? Just Abby’s father. My father was also a cop, a man who wouldn’t take bribes or play politics and was punished for it by being passed over for promotions for many years. Unlike Abby’s father, mine was paralyzed and wheelchair bound because of a stroke just after he retired. He was honored several times for his bravery and always downplayed it. Being familiar with the ways of cops, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with them for years. I admire their courage, but hate when they use their authority for the wrong purposes. What have you written besides the Flower Shop Mystery series? Since 1995 I’ve published seven historical romantic suspenses under the pen names of Linda O’Brien and Linda Eberhardt, (with a mystery in each and every one) and many short stories for children’s magazines. So what did you write about for that eighth grade “describe your life as an inanimate object” assignment? A spoon. Enough said.
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