Tag: Q&A

Q&A: Brewing Up Murder by Neila Young

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Grab your favourite coffee and pull up a comfy chair because today’s guest on What Cathy Read Next is Neila Young, author of Brewing Up Murder, the first in the Coffee Cup Mysteries series of cozy mysteries. I’m delighted that Neila has agreed to answer some questions about the book, its inspiration and her approach to writing. Oh, and about coffee, of course!

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BrewingUpMurderAbout the Book

As the owner of Mystery Cup Café in Wilton, Missouri, a town made famous by a string of long-ago murders Blake Harper is used to the mysterious. When her barista is found strangled in a mound of coffee beans, Blake vows to find the killer, even though her sister, the town’s lead police detective, tells her to stay out of it. Blake finds plenty of suspects, like the owners of a rival coffee shop and the handsome new bookstore owner. But when new threats are made, she soon realizes the danger is centered around Mystery Cup and someone is targeting her personally. Will Blake be able to solve the murder, find a new barista, and perfect her recipe for espresso brownies before she becomes the next victim?

Format: ebook Publisher: Red Adept Publishing Pages: 205
Publication: 19th Jul 2017 Genre: Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Brewing Up Murder on Goodreads

Interview: Neila Young, author of Brewing Up Murder

Before we get to your book, how do you like your coffee, Neila?

Coffee really is happiness in a cup, isn’t it? My first cup of coffee of the day is always with cream, no sugar. If I’m drinking brewed coffee, I don’t like it sweet. But if I venture out for my foo-foo coffee, at someplace like The Roasterie or Starbucks, I can easily get in the calorie danger zone when it comes to white chocolate mochas and extra whip.

Without giving too much away, can you tell us a bit about Brewing Up Murder?

In Brewing Up Murder, we meet Blake Harper, who owns Mystery Cup Café in the small town of Wilton, Missouri. Wilton is famous for a long-ago murder and draws in the tourists because it is one of the most haunted towns in America. When one of Blake’s employees ends up murdered in her cafe, she takes on the task of tracking down the killer, much to the chagrin of her police detective sister, Kyle. The suspects are numerous with rival coffee shop owners, the gorgeous new bookstore owner, who seems a little shady, and all the quirky characters that frequent Mystery Cup. As Blake gets closer to finding out the truth, she quickly becomes the killer’s next target!

How did you get the idea for the book?

Mystery Cup is located in Wilton’s downtown, which is inspired by a combination of the town I grew up in and the town where I live now. Most Saturday mornings, my husband and I get up early, head to the farmers’ market, and hang out in a little coffee shop downtown. We sit on a big fluffy couch by the window, drink coffee, and people watch. Being a writer, I immediately start spinning stories in my head about people. I always start with the advice of one of my very favorite authors, Mary Higgins Clark, who says to start by asking “what if?” and “suppose that…” For example, “Suppose that the woman over there eating a cookie walked in on a robbery. What if she saw something that she shouldn’t?” So yes, if you’re in a coffee shop with me and see me staring at you, it’s quite possible you’ll end up in my next book.

You’ve written a number of romance novels under the pen name N J Young. What made you want to tackle a different genre?

My two favorite genres are cozy mysteries and romantic suspense. I love romance, but I need a mystery to really drive the story forward. I started to realize when writing my romance novels, that I was way more involved in the mystery aspect of the story then I was the romance. That’s when I asked myself, “Why not just write a mystery instead?” And I absolutely love it!!

Brewing Up Murder is described as a ‘cozy mystery’. What for you makes a mystery ‘cozy’?

I know I’ve already mentioned it, but I really love the small-town feel of a cozy. I think it’s because I don’t have a big family myself, and in a small town, everyone knows each other, so the atmosphere is that it’s one big family. I love that. It gets the readers more invested in the characters and their journeys.  I also love great suspense without excessive violence. To me, it is always scarier to describe how I hear the thump, thump, thump of footsteps coming up the stairs than it is to describe in detail how someone was murdered. Cozy mysteries are great with the scare, the suspense, and the whodunit, without having to worry about the gore.

Your book has lots of characters but who was your favourite character to write?

My favorite character to write in this book was definitely Rachel, hands down. Rachel is married to Blake’s brother, Ryan. I love her because to me, she has it all. She has a great marriage, she’s a mom to twins, she’s smart, she’s hilarious, and she keeps Blake in check. I’m actually seriously considering the possibility of a spin-off with Rachel because I love her so much!

I’m sure there has to be coffee involved but do you have a special place to write or any writing rituals?

Ha-ha, of course there’s coffee involved! Coffee shops are great places to sit and write because if I get stuck, I can start people-watching and making up stories for them. That’s really a great way to jumpstart my brain. Another thing that helps if I get stuck is getting up and moving around. I’ve gotten some weird looks when I get up, circle the perimeter of the café five times, and then sit back down and start writing again. But even though I love coffee shops, if I can have alone time at home, then I love to just sit in my favorite oversized chair with my dog curled up next to me and write. My kids keep me so busy that unfortunately, that doesn’t happen as often as I’d like.

What is your favourite and least favourite part of the writing process?

I really love what I have started referring to as “accidental genius.” The first thing I do in my process is sit down and write an outline. I work through the story, summarize each chapter, and plan out all of the major plot points that I want to make sure I hit. Then I sit down at the computer, and completely deviate from that. LOL! When I am writing, I get so into a story, that it’s almost like I can feel what a character would do and what they wouldn’t. Sometimes, once I get into it, I realize that certain characters would never do or say what I had them doing in my outline. That’s when new ideas just pop into my head. This has resulted in minor characters turning into major ones and coming up with key clues that I never would have thought of before. I’ve even written one story where halfway through, I decided to change who the killer was. So I really never know exactly what’s going to happen, and I love it!

The least favorite part is the fact that the editing side of my brain can often clash with the writing side. I have an editing background, and one of the worst things an author can do is write as though her editor is looking over her shoulder. Let me tell you, when you’re an editor, that’s near impossible. I often have to remind myself that the first draft needs to come from the heart, and editing comes later. That’s not always easy.

Which other writers do you admire, and why?

I have a lot of authors that I admire on a personal and professional level. My good friend Nicole McLaughlin is a wonderful romance writer because she has some of the best descriptions I have read. She has been a huge inspiration for me.  One of my favorite cozy mystery authors is Denise Grover Swank, who lives just a few miles from me. I originally picked up one of her books because we have a mutual friend who recommended her to me. Now I’ve read several because I absolutely love her characters as well as her plots. She is great at coming up with unique ideas, and she really embraces the small-town atmosphere in her books, which I love.  Honestly, I admire any author who has written a lot of books and still manages to keep their stories and mysteries fresh and exciting.

Is the next Coffee Cup Mystery already brewing?

Oh, yes! I am about halfway done writing it, and I really can’t wait to share it with everyone. The second book in the series is tentatively titled Daggers and Decaf, and it takes place around Halloween.

Thank you, Neila, for such fascinating answers and explaining the role of coffee in successful mystery writing! I’m really looking forward to reading Brewing Up Murder.

NeilaYoungAbout the Author

Neila Young is a Midwestern girl and a lover of coffee, live music, and horror movies, not necessarily in that order. Writing (and reading) mysteries are Neila’s passion, and she approaches each day by thinking, “everything is a story.” She has been writing all her life and can’t remember a time when she wanted to do anything else. She loves to take notes and spin tales about the quirky characters she meets, and she has found that she can create some great stories by asking “what if” and “suppose that…”

Neila studied journalism at the University of Kansas and then spent many years suffering the trials of corporate America, writing about everything from financial risk management to software user manuals to website copy about radiators (sadly, that’s not a joke). She finally decided to take the plunge and write the cozy mysteries she loves so much, complete with recipes!

When Neila is not writing, she’s probably hanging out at a coffee shop or fighting evil with the help of her very supportive husband, two awesome children who constantly ask to have characters named after them, and the most lovable dog in the world, Dizzy.

Neila also writes romance novels under the pen name, N J Young.

Connect with Neila

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Blog Tour/Q&A: The Room by the Lake by Emma Dibdin

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I’m thrilled to be co-hosting the first stop on the blog tour for The Room by the Lake by Emma Dibdin, a dark, unsettling psychological thriller. I’m even more thrilled that Emma has agreed to answer some questions about the book, its inspiration and her approach to writing.

Do check out the post from my co-host, the fabulous Book Addict Rambles . You can also read my review of The Room by the Lake here.

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TheRoombytheLakeAbout the Book

When Caitlin moved from London to New York, she thought she had left her problems behind: her alcoholic father, her dead mother, the pressure to succeed. But now, down to her last dollar in a foreign city, she is desperately lonely.

Then she meets Jake. Handsome, smart, slightly damaged Jake. It looks like she has found the fresh start she longed for. But Caitlin realizes too late that she might become lost forever…

Format: Hardcover Publisher: Head of Zeus Pages: 368
Publication: 10th Aug 2017 Genre: Thriller    

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Kobo
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Room by the Lake on Goodreads

Interview: Emma Dibdin, author of The Room by the Lake

Welcome, Emma! Without giving too much away, can you tell us a bit about The Room by the Lake?

The Room by the Lake is about a young English woman, Caitlin, who’s just out of university and on the verge of a breakdown. Desperate to escape after years of being a caretaker to unstable parents, she spontaneously books a flight to New York, which feels like a place she can become truly lost. Once there, she falls hard for Jake, a charming and slightly damaged former soldier who whisks her away to meet his family at their idyllic lakeside house upstate. But his family isn’t what it seems.

How did you get the idea for the book?

The idea to write about a cult came from a surreal encounter I had years ago in Seattle, with a man on the street who was protesting against then-president Barack Obama. The man was very young, about my age at the time (early twenties), and his argument was bizarre, illogical, as though he had learned it by rote or by brainwashing. He was polite, but dead-eyed, and the encounter really haunted me, particularly when I learned he was part of a far-right “political movement” which is essentially a cult. They prey on young people, I was told, often people cut off from their own families, and that got me thinking about what would make someone psychologically vulnerable enough to be sucked in.

The Room by the Lake is your first novel so can you tell us a bit about your writing journey?

I’ve always written fiction, for as long as I can remember – my mum loves to talk about how I used to write my own Animals of Farthing Wood stories when I was really young! Being an author was what I always wanted to do, but I went into journalism because it seemed like the best way of making an actual living from writing, and continued writing fiction in my spare time. I wrote The Room by the Lake during evenings and weekends, over the course of about two years, and I think the best thing about writing with limited time is that you can’t afford to be too precious – there’s no such thing as waiting for “the muse” to come.

In the book, Caitlin sees her move to New York as a form of escape.  Where in the world would be your dream place to escape to?

Well, funnily enough I really did move from London to New York two years ago, although not to escape! I think my dream place to escape to is anywhere my family and friends are. I’ve been craving a trip to Italy a lot lately – my parents lived there for years and we spent a lot of time there in my childhood, so I think my answer right now is Tuscany.

In The Room by the Lake, Caitlin comes across as a troubled, fragile, rather socially awkward young woman.  Do you think it’s necessary for readers to like the main character in a book in order to engage with them?

No, I don’t think so – I prefer characters that lean more towards anti-hero than straight hero, and any protagonist who’s not at least slightly troubled is a non-starter. Caitlin’s not necessarily somebody I’d want to be friends with, at least not at this point in her life, but I think her fears and insecurities make her fairly relatable. Female coming-of-age stories often get boxed into just being about sexual awakening, and while that’s definitely an element in Caitlin’s journey, I wanted her struggle to be psychological, and about the burden of mental illness in families.

How did you hope the setting of the book – the vast forest, the silent lake – would contribute to its atmosphere?  

The isolation of that setting is really key to Caitlin’s unravelling. Getting away from hectic city life and escaping to a peaceful forest sounds dreamy, but that experience can really turn on a dime if you’re feeling fragile. There’s such a weird duality to New York specifically: people always think of the city, which is one of the most densely populated in the world, but there’s also this vast expanse of very, very remote farmland upstate. I wanted to really draw out the contrast between those frenetic early chapters in Manhattan – where Caitlin’s shaky but at least engaged in the world – and this slow-paced retreat upstate, where she’s seemingly getting better.

Have you tried any of the dishes mentioned in the book – the sweet potato brownies, the cauliflower rice, or even the Apfelwein?

I’ve tried pretty much all of them! Cauliflower rice is great – I won’t pretend it tastes like the real thing, because it does not, but it’s a pretty good light alternative. I would never want to be fully paleo (in the immortal words of Oprah, I love bread https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2sx8Bc4mAw) but I do enjoy experimenting with ways to make slightly healthier versions of things, although there’s no substitute for a real brownie.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered when writing the book?

The third act was probably my biggest challenge, just working out how things should finally unravel. The first half of the book was always incredibly clear to me, Caitlin walking around New York in this alienated haze and becoming wilfully lost, but the climactic chapters at the cult went through a lot of different iterations. There’s a twist that comes towards the end of the book which wasn’t in my original draft, but came to me suddenly one day last December – and once I’d figured out that turn, everything else fell into place.

Which other writers do you admire?

Margaret Atwood, George Elliot, Elena Ferrante, Cormac McCarthy and Gillian Flynn are a few of my all-time favourites. I just read Robin Wasserman’s Girls On Fire, which was really vivid and intoxicating. I also love to read plays – I saw Angels in America while I was back in London over the summer, and just bought the text so that I can really dig into the language.

What are you working on next?

I’ve just started my second novel, a thriller that takes place in modern Hollywood, following a young journalist who becomes drawn into the life of a very famous actor she’s assigned to interview. Unlike The Room by the Lake, this book draws a bit from my own experiences (I’ve been in entertainment journalism for years) but with the drama cranked up several notches. I’m also working on a short story commissioned by Audible.

Thank you, Emma, for those fascinating answers…and the inside track on your next book.  

EmmaDibdinAbout the Author

Emma: ‘I’m a lifelong writer and pop culture nerd, and feel endlessly grateful to have a job that combines both. Since moving to New York from London two years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time brewing coffee, writing fiction, and covering the ever-broadening selection of Peak TV – all while fighting a one-woman war against the culinary tyranny of cilantro. My first novel, The Room By The Lake, will be published in the UK on 10th August 2017.

Connect with Emma

Website ǀ Twitter ǀ Goodreads