Author Susan M. Boyer is here today
chatting with me about her new Southern mystery, Lowcountry Book Club: A Liz Talbot Mystery #5.
Bio:
Susan M. Boyer is the USA Today-bestselling author of Lowcountry Boil, Lowcountry Bombshell,
and Lowcountry Boneyard. She has
received various awards for her series, including the Agatha Award for Best
First Novel; the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense;
and SIBA Alliance Okra Picks for Spring 2015 and Summer 2016. Lowcountry Boneyard is a Finalist for
the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mainstream Mystery/Suspense.
Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns. She lives in Greenville,
SC with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.
Welcome, Susan. Please tell us about your current
release.
Who would have pushed
Shelby Poinsett out of her second-story library window if it wasn't her
husband? Private investigator Liz Talbot and her husband Nate Andrews are hired
by a prestigious Charleston law firm to prove the innocence of Shelby's
husband. There’s a lot of suspects, including the members of a 100-year-old,
invite-only book club whose members are a tight-knit community of Charleston's
genteel ladies. Liz is convinced that one of these women knows what happened to
Shelby that night.
What inspired you to write this book?
Shortly after the release of Lowcountry Boneyard,
I was invited to visit a book club quite unlike any I’d ever been to before.
Some aspects of the book club I use in Lowcountry Book Club were
inspired by this very unique organization. Other aspects are complete figments
of my imagination, of course.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m in the planning
and outlining stages for the next Liz Talbot mystery, which will release next
year.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In
my mind there was a distinction between being a writer and being an author. I considered
myself a writer when I started writing with the goal of publication. I
considered myself an author when I held a copy of my first novel in my hands.
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?
Yes, but it depends
on whether I’m writing or launching a book. On a writing day, I take my second
cup of coffee with me to the computer. I check email and respond to any
Facebook or Twitter messages. Then I try to avoid all distractions and write
until lunchtime. During lunch, I’m still partially in my alternate reality,
thinking about the story. Then it’s back to work until my stomach starts
growling for dinner. In the evening I check in with social media again and try
to relax. I usually read in the evening. I try to work in exercise when I can.
Lately I’ve been trying to go in the mornings before I start work. It’s hard,
because I have no self-discipline whatsoever.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure this
qualifies as a quirk. There may be a diagnosis code for it. But, under deadline
pressure, I write best in a Hampton Inn (no other hotel will work) with
absolutely no view of anything remotely interesting and a desk facing a neutral
toned wall. I get up in the morning, go down for breakfast (and ask that they
make up the room during that time) then go to work. I take a break periodically
and pace the hall of whatever floor I’m on to get my steps in and work out plot
problems. Sometimes I talk to myself during these strolls. Housekeeping staff,
if they’re around, give me concerned looks. For lunch I eat something odd from
the hotel shop. I snack on Lindor truffles and nuts. Dinner is whatever someone
will deliver, often some variety of Asian food or Pizza. I basically isolate
myself in my alternate reality until I’ve birthed a book.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be Nancy Drew.
Or an actress. Or Miss America. For a while I wanted to be a lawyer. But I
always wrote. It was just something I did.
Anything additional you want to share with the
readers?
Y’all please come over to my website (http://www.susanmboyerbooks.com)
and sign up for my newsletter. (Home page, scroll down to bottom right. Be sure
to respond to the verification email.)
I only send them when a new book is coming out (or if some wildly
improbable, wonderful thing happened) so I won’t be cluttering up your inbox,
and I never share email addresses. Occasionally, I have giveaways just for
newsletter subscribers.
Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Barnes
and Noble
Thanks for
being here today, Susan! Happy writing.
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