Welcome
back Tough Luck Lounge Peeps!
We're hanging here with Debbie De Louise, author
of The Cobble Cove Mysteries:
Written In
Stone (#1),
Between a Rock and a Hard Place (#2) and, now,
A Stone's Throw
(#3)
What tools
do you use to keep your series and characters consistent?
I keep a
running character list with all the attributes of the residents of Cobble Cove
(appearance, personality, quirks, dressing habits, hobbies, etc.) but I have to
admit that I sometimes have to check back in the original books for info.
In
"Tough Luck Lane", Stacey, my heroine, is special to me because she's
so ordinary but has the most unusual things happen to her. Since she's
"smarter than the average bear", she sniffs out trouble quickly but
usually winds up getting to the bottom of things because she finds she cares
when nobody else does.
What makes your
heroine, Alicia, "special" to you?
Alicia, like
myself, is a librarian. Also, like me, she tends to be cautious in making
decisions or taking risks.
In her first book, that trait nearly costs her a
special relationship. In later books, as she becomes more assertive and
risk-taking, her inner strength emerges. Sometimes, however, she still needs
some help especially from her feisty and thrill-seeking friend, Gilly who plays
a large role in the latest mystery as the two try to solve a murder case
together and end up in more trouble than they expected before the mystery is
revealed.
Tough
Luck Lane actually started out as a short story. How did the Cobble Cove
mysteries come to be?
When
I wrote A Stone’s Throw, the first
book of the series, I did not envision it as a series nor a cozy mystery. I was
planning a romantic suspense, standalone novel. I started with the concept of a
hit and run accident that would turn out to be a murder and a librarian
protagonist who was the wife of the victim and would learn, through the course
of the book, what actually happened to her husband and would find romance as
well as danger along the way. When I was through writing the book, I found that
I’d become attached to the characters and thought their story could be
continued as a series. Reviewers were also saying they considered the book a
cozy mystery because of its small town location, quirky characters, library
cat, pet dog, non-explicit violence and sex. Thus, the Cobble Cove Mystery
series was born.
Tell us a
bit about John, Alicia's love?
John is a
bit of a complex character. He was very in love with his first wife who died in
childbirth. He can be quite sensitive and emotional at times. Besides being the
publisher of the town’s newspaper, the Cobble Cove Courier, he also becomes a
mystery author later in the series. He’s handsome and athletically built with a
debonair dimple in his cheek, dark hair with just a touch of gray, and piercing
blue eyes. He also enjoys cooking especially the family recipe for peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches. He has an elderly father, Mac, who plays a big
role in the series, but his mother’s been dead for several years.
(hmmm... if I wasn't married...)
What other
genres have you written in? I have a romance novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, and
several short stories from various genres including science fiction and fantasy.
I especially like to write stories with twilight-zone themes. My latest story,
The Missing Mistletoe, in Solstice’s Winter Holiday Anthology myBook.to/holiday2017
features time travel from current day to the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
What is your
favorite form? & Why? Story, Short Short, Novella, Novel, Series....
I
enjoy writing them all. I like the variety and challenge of shorter works, the
character development and continuing storylines of a series, and also the
beginning to end plot of the one-time standalone novel.
What
inspires you to write? (I
people-watch & get a lot of ideas from that) you may be moved by articles you've read,
true news, etc.
Pretty
much everything – other books I read, TV’s and movies I watch, real-life and
past experiences, etc.
How do you
write?
With
the Tough Luck novels, I'll roll the characters & scenes around in my head
until they're crystal clear then will sit down and write them out.
Do
you use outlines, chapter charts, etc.?
I
work a lot like you, Lois. When I go to bed at night, I think about the plot of
my current work and ruminate on it. When I wake up, I ruminate some more and
then start writing very early with the ideas in my mind. I’m a pantster which
means I don’t use any major organized tools when I write. I do create a character
chart as I mentioned above and occasionally I jot down plot ideas, but most of
the writing I do spontaneously and let it flow in whatever direction it takes.
I find it better to work that way than concentrate too much because my
subconscious is where most of the creativity exists. When I go back and edit my
work later, that’s when I let the serious part of my mind take over for
corrections.
Now
having finished the 3rd book in the series, do you keep a CODEX to keep
everything straight and, if so, are you planning to have it published as well
in the future?
No.
I don’t use a codex. I never thought of that. I only have an ongoing character
chart and the books themselves to refer back to for information.
What else is
in the works?
I’m glad you
should ask. I’m working on several
projects now that I hope to finish in the New Year. Besides the first book of a
new cozy that is almost complete, I hope to continue writing Book 4 of the
Cobble Cove series. I also have a psychological mystery/thriller that is part
of a Kindle Scout Campaign. If Amazon awards me a contract for my novel, Sea
Scope, all those who endorsed it will receive a free eBook. People can nominate
it at this link until December 8 https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2372SIVNZ28O0
I am also hosting a Facebook holiday event
with 12 other cozy mystery authors. Sneaky’s Cozy Holiday Paw-ty is on Friday,
December 1s,t, from 2 to 9 pm. For more details and to RSVP, visit this site: https://www.facebook.com/events/937992293019499/.
My latest Cobble Cove mystery, Written in Stone, myBook.to/CC3ebook, is part of an Amazon
holiday giveaway for a free paperback edition. US residents only. To
participate in the giveaway, follow the instructions in this link. Good luck
and Happy Holidays.
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/3c142ec83149825a
Tell us, again, how we can find you?
Website/Blog/Newsletter sign up:
https://debbiedelouise.com
Best Luck Debbie! And thanks
for taking a moment to hang with us at the Tough Luck Lounge!
It was a lot of fun, Lois.
Thanks for the chat.
