Today's interviewee is friend and mystery author Edith Maxwell. She's talking about her first mystery in her first series written as Tace Baker. It's called Speaking of Murder.
Bio:
Edith Maxwell is the author of Speaking
of Murder (Barking Rain Press, under pseudonym Tace Baker) featuring Quaker
linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau. Edith holds a PhD in linguistics and is
a member of Amesbury Monthly Meeting of Friends. The book was first runner up
in the Linda Howard Award for Excellence contest
Edith also writes
the Local Foods Mysteries. A Tine to
Live, a Tine to Die introduces organic farmer Cam Flaherty and a colorful
Locavore Club (Kensington Publishing, June, 2013).
A mother and technical writer, Edith
is a fourth-generation Californian, but lives north of Boston in an antique
house with her beau and three cats.
Welcome,
Edith. Please tell us about your current release.
Speaking of Murder came out from Barking Rain Press just
a month ago. Listening to academic blackmail and small-town intrigues, Quaker
Linguistics Professor Lauren Rousseau uses her ear for accents and facility
with languages to track down not only her star student's killer but also crimes
committed by her department chairwoman.
What
inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to start a series about a
smart young professor who uses her linguistic knowledge to solve crimes. She's
got her own set of problems – issues with commitment, for example – but starts to overcomes them as she
searches for a killer. I thought also making her a Quaker would add depth and
an unusual aspect to her character. And then I followed her around and wrote
down what happened.
What
exciting story are you working on next?
I'm writing the second book in the
Local Foods Mystery series. It opens during a fall Farm-to-Table dinner, and I
was lucky enough to attend one at a local farm just last week. Great food in a
beautiful setting all in the name of research.
When
did you first consider yourself a writer?
In about third grade. My mother told
me I was a good writer and I guess it just stuck. I've written ever since in
all kinds of formats - journalism, academic papers, technical documentation –
but fiction is what I love to write.
Do
you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and
how do you find time to write?
Alas, I write technical documentation
full time, so fiction gets fit in on weekends, retreats, plane rides, and so
on. When I do have a full day available, I get up early and write until about
lunchtime, when I usually run out of steam. Staying off the Internet is
important on those days. It's hard to find enough time to write the books as
well as network and promote, but so far I've managed. I hope to be able to
leave the day job sometime in the next few years, though.
What
would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
If you had a camera on me at my desk,
you would see me doing all kinds of crazy physical things: figuring out
logistics of being grabbed or of holding a weapon while also hanging on to something
else; scaring myself so I can describe how the throat thickens and the heart
thumps; making weird facial expressions, and more. I have to be careful when
I'm out writing in a coffee shop or library!
As
a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I really don't remember. Isn't that
strange? I know I aspired to be a teenager. I adored a girl who lived down the
street, with her full-skirt dresses and cool shoes. I guess I never thought
beyond that.
Anything
additional you want to share with the readers?
Having my first book out is a dream
come true, and it never would have happened without the help, support, and
education I get from my fellow Sisters in Crime, both in person locally and
online. What a great group of writer-friends I have gained (including you,
Lisa!).
It's great to have you join my blog, Edith. See you soon at New England Crime Bake 2012 mystery conference!
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