The Write Way Café welcomes Debbie De Louise, an award-winning author shares her love of mysteries and how she writes them.When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book?
Sea Scope was my 7th published book. I came up with the idea about three years ago while I was in between projects. I started the first 50,000 words during a NaNoWriMo and then completed the book a month or two later.
What was your path to getting Sea Scope written and published? What type of research did you do?
Sea Scope took me longer than most of my other books to publish because it was one of my favorites to write, and I was hoping to land an agent for it. It went through several beta readers, and I also researched lighthouses by contacting Jeff Gales of the U.S. Lighthouse Society (www.uslhs.org) and Megan Stegmeir, Interpretive Park Ranger at Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina. I also used books and the Internet for additional information.
Where did the idea for your story come from?
I thought of writing a mystery involving a murder by a lighthouse and then it developed from there.
Why did you pick the setting you did?
A fellow librarian who is a co-worker suggested I set my book in South Carolina after I told him what I was working on. Since I’d never been there, I created a fictional town loosely based on one that I researched.
Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
Not to get too personal, but I went through a tough time becoming pregnant with my daughter, and my main character, Sarah, also initially faces infertility in this book. In addition, the boy with whom she grew up and shared her first kiss and is reunited with as an adult was loosely based on my first boyfriend.
Did you face any blocks while writing Sea Scope, and if so, how did you handle them?
I didn’t face any writer’s block. The story came to me quite easily. There were times I couldn’t write fast enough to get my thoughts down.
What have been surprises you've encountered while writing Sea Scope and after?
While writing Sea Scope, I experimented with many different elements. I switched back and forth in time, changed points-of-view of certain characters, and added true facts and illustrations about lighthouses. I found that I enjoyed writing characters both as adults and as children. Afterwards, I was surprised at having a front-page article published about me and the book in my local paper and about some of the Amazon reviews saying people stayed up all night to finish reading it.
What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about lighthouses, and reuniting with people from the past?
I learned many interesting facts about lighthouses both modern and historical. I even created a lighthouse trivia quiz that I featured as a guest post on a blog and for a book talk.
Regarding reuniting with people from the past, I learned that, as in Sea Scope, people change or maybe your perception of them changes with the years. I think people realize this when they attend school reunions.
As for my writing process, I’ve learned that while I prefer writing mysteries, I like to vary the types of books I write. I still plan to continue my Cobble Cove cozy mystery series and maybe introduce another series of that type, but I also like to write standalone mysteries.
What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble?
Because I’m a Pantster, which means I write as a I go, editing can be a bit challenging, but my biggest challenges are finding the time to write and the time to promote my writing.
Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you.
I have a desk and a computer in my living room where I sit and write in the morning before work. I’ve become used to writing there.
What are some of your favorite books and why?
I wrote an article on my blog about my favorite books and the reason I enjoyed reading them. You can read the article here: https://wp.me/p6m4z7-Bu. It’s a little dated, so I’d also like to add a new title that I read more recently called The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. Like most of my favorite books, this one was a mystery with several twists. The main thing I enjoyed about it was that the reader was challenged to guess not only who-dun-it but who it was done to. I was able to figure out the murder victim about three-quarters of the way through the book, but I didn’t guess the killer until closer to the end. I also found the setting atmospheric. It takes place in a secluded estate in the Scottish Highlands during winter.
Who is your favorite hero/heroine?
I’m not sure if you mean a character in a book or TV show, but I took this literally to mean anyone I admire. This may seem like an odd answer but for those who know how much I love cats, it might not. My favorite pet hero was Scarlett who saved her kittens from a fire in 1995. As for my favorite people who are heroes/heroines, there are a lot of unsung ones – those who helped in 911;everyday people who come to the aid of those in accidents; paramedics and hospital workers who save lives, etc.
What are you working on now?
I just finished another standalone mystery. I don’t want to reveal the plot just yet. I’m letting it sit right now as I work on other projects. I do that intentionally, so I can look at it with fresh eyes when I pick it up again. While I let the novel sit, I’m writing a short Christmas mystery with the characters from my cozy mystery series.
Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre? Which one and why?
I’ve written other genres. I’ve written a paranormal romance and some short romance stories as well as a romantic comedy novella. I’ve also written horror and science fiction, but I prefer mysteries and their subgenres: cozies, thrillers, romantic suspense.
If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be?
I have it. I’m a librarian.
Sarah hasn’t been back to Sea Scope for twenty years; not since she and her brother Glen discovered a body by the nearby lighthouse. She never understood why her parents left Sea Scope so suddenly, or the reasons behind her father's suicide.
After Sarah returns to the inn, she faces long-buried memories, text messages and strange clues. Something is not right in Sea Scope. Reunited with people from her past, she tries to figure out what's going on in her childhood home.
When past and present collide, Sarah must face truths about her family, and what happened that summer day by the lighthouse. But will she survive to tell the tale?
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Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Long Island Authors Group, and the Cat Writer’s Association. She has a BA in English and an MLS in Library Science from Long Island University. Her novels include the four books of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series: A Stone’s Throw, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Written in Stone, and Love on the Rocks. Debbie has also written a romantic comedy novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, a paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, and the standalone mystery, Reason to Die. She lives on Long Island with her husband, Anthony; daughter, Holly; and three cats, Stripey, Harry, and Hermione.
Connect with Debbie on the following sites:
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2 comments:
Thank you for joining us today Debbie. Sea Scope sounds really good!
Thank you for being on our blog! I enjoy your writing.
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