Knowing I hadn't been feeling well for some time, and my blog was suffering, Karen surprised me by scheduling an entire weeks' posts!
Christmas shoppe owner, Jade Hicks, wades into the fracas when voodoo dolls and mysterious notes and posters about impending doom start popping up all over town, threatening to destroy the economy of a community that lives and dies by tourist dollars. Then tensions crest when the prickly bookstore owner is found strangled to death with a string of holiday lights.
Jade and her French bulldog Chloe, have to solve the crime before anyone else gets hurt, and her business and the festival are forever tainted.
LKBR: Hi, Heather. Thank you for being with us today!
HEATHER: Thanks so much for letting me stop by the blog and talk to you all about my new cozy mystery series, The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries. The first book is Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones.
LKBR: Please tell us about your book and series.
HEATHER: It’s set in the small (fictious) beach town, Mermaid Bay, on the coast of Virginia. Jade owns a Christmas store in the middle of all the action.
When a beat-up suitcase
full of bones washes up by the pier, the residents are whipped into a
hurricane-sized frenzy over the gruesome find in the middle of their Christmas
in July festivities. The holly jolly mood retreats like the tide with everyone
wondering who was in the suitcase.
Christmas shoppe owner,
Jade Hicks, wades into the fracas when voodoo dolls and mysterious notes and
posters about impending doom start popping up all over town, threatening to
destroy the economy of a community that lives and dies by tourist dollars. Then
tensions crest when the prickly bookstore owner is found strangled to death
with a string of holiday lights.
Jade and her French bulldog Chloe, have to solve the crime before anyone else gets hurt and her business and the festival are forever tainted.
LKBR: Readers always have a favorite character. Do you have a favorite from this book series?
HEATHER:
I like them all. They are quirky and fun. Jade is spunky and determined to
figure out who murdered her friend. Patti is a ball of energy, and she loves
Christmas as much as I do. Nick is the handsome Sheriff/boyfriend. And I love
the animal sidekicks in the story. The rollie pollie Chloe is a French bulldog
and Jade’s constant companion. Neville the Devil Cat is the store’s mouser, and
he is Chloe’s nemesis and frenemy.
LKBR: Once you’re finished writing a book, how long is it before you start writing the next?
HEATHER:
When I finish a book, I usually move right into editing and revising mode. That
takes a few months to get it ready for my agent and editor. By then, I’ve
usually got a new idea for a book, so I take a few days’ break and then start
plotting. It takes me a couple of weeks to plot out the book, and then I’m
ready to write.
LKBR: What is your favorite part of writing? Your least favorite part?
HEATHER: I love researching and writing. They are so much fun. Revising is my least favorite part. I really had to stay focused to get the job done.
LKBR: Where do you do your best writing?
HEATHER: I usually write at my desk. We live in a wooded community, so I have this huge window that looks out at the treetops. I am amazed at how much wildlife is in suburbia. It’s my writing spot. I usually do most of my editing in the sunroom. My two crazy Jack Russell Terriers are my fuzzy sidekicks. They have beds in the office. They’re great company, and they listen when I read dialog aloud.
LKBR: What are the different ways you research for your books?
HEATHER: I do a lot of internet research. I am also fortunate to be a CK (cop’s kid). My dad is a retired Virginia Beach police captain, and he’s a great source of information that you may not want to Google like, “hey, dad, what’s a meth lab smell like, and how long would a body stay submerged.”
I am
also part of a wonderful organization for writers called Sisters in Crime. They
offer so many training opportunities, and our local chapter has all kinds of
programs to help writers get it right.
LKBR: Have you ever started writing a story just to
find the idea simply isn’t working?
HEATHER: Oh yes. I have a couple of manuscripts in a drawer that will never see the light of day.
LKBR: Any new projects in the works?
HEATHER:
In addition to the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries, I write the Jules
Keene Glamping Mysteries and the Delanie Fitzgerald (Private Eye) Mysteries.
I’m noodling on a new idea for a new cozy series, and I’m finishing up the
sixth book in the Jules Keene series right now.
HEATHER: There’s not much free time. I still have a day gig, so I do my writing/editing before work, at lunch, and on weekends/holidays. When I’m not writing, I love to kayak on the lake, take photos, and hang out with my husband and two crazy Jack Russell Terriers.
LKBR: Where can readers go to learn more about you and your books?
HEATHER:
The best place would be my website, http://HeatherWeidner.com
LKBR: Thank you so much, Heather for letting us get to know you better!
About Heather Weidner
Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.
Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Sisters in Crime – Chessie, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
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That was very thoughtful of Karen.
ReplyDeleteGlad you’re feeling better, Lisa.
Happy Saturday to you both!
Pat T
Thank you so much for letting me and the Mermaid Bay gang stop by to chat about books and mysteries!
ReplyDeleteExcellent interview! What a coincidence about Central Virginia. I lived there for over two decades. Lovely area!
ReplyDelete