1. Easy questions first, what are some of your favorite authors or books to read on your downtime? 

One of my goals this year is to read a poem every day. I signed up to a site that emails me one daily so all I have to do is open my email in searching of finding one on my own. It’s been an interesting exercise, a very different way of utilizing language to convey thoughts and emotions. 

In terms of fiction, I’m a fan of Isabella Maldonado, S.A. Cosby and Clare Pooley. (You couldn’t get much further apart than those last two, but I enjoy the work of both.)

In terms of non-fiction, I just re-read Stephen King’s “On Writing” for the umpteenth time. On a recent road trip I listened to actor Zachary Levi’s autobiography “Radical Love”.  Up next for me is Steven Pressfield’s “Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be”.

2. What is your writing routine? 

It varies from day to day, book to book. I either write the book blurb first, or I write out the major plot points in a loose outline and then write the book blurb. The outline reminds me of WHAT I want to cover. The blurb reminds me of WHY I wanted to write the book. Both are necessary reminders when I hit the middle of any manuscript. I tend to write in the morning and/or at night. The middle of the day is a dead zone for me in terms of creativity.

I write and publish quite a bit so I’m almost always in some phase of editing one book while writing another.

3. What drew you to the “cozy/comedy mystery” genre?

Honestly, I stumbled into it by mistake. I’d always thought I’d be a thriller/suspense writer, but then I came up with the idea for my Neurotic Hitwoman series and the publisher classified it as a cozy mystery and I’ve been swimming on the fringes of that pool ever since.

4. What inspired such an original premise as Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman? 

A couple of things. First, I was sitting in a café with my friend Cyndi (who at the time was my critique partner) and made some snarky comment about something I saw and she said, “THAT’S the voice you should be using in your writing.”

Then I saw a story on the news about a hitman and asked my dog, “Why aren’t there any stories about Hitwomen?)

Combine that with the fact that one of my favorite plays of all time is “Noises Off” (which is perfectly executed humorous mayhem)and I had all the elements to spin Maggie Lee into some “whack-y” adventures!

5. Unlike other cozy mysteries, your characters don’t revert to the status quo after the book. Rather they go through significant character development, characters leave, appear, time progresses. Why is it so important to have the characters evolve? 

Thank you for noticing that! I’ve made an effort to have all the recurring characters have some evolution. As a reader, I get bored when characters don’t change. Life happens, we all change. People drop out of our lives, reappear, and then leave again. As crazy as the antics of the stories are, I want to ground the books in relationships that feel real. I believe that people read the books because they’re looking for an escape, but they keep reading the series because they’re invested in the characters.

I love asking people who their favorite characters are and I’m pleased at how often someone names a character other than Maggie (or Godzilla). It means those characters are just as real in the mind of readers.

6. Maggie is such a distinct character in her strength to hold things together but flawed in her cynicism, lone wolf-ness and tendency to hold things in. How did Maggie change from concept to page? 

Oooh, this series was a long time ago, let me see if I can remember. In the beginning I thought that she’d be much more paranoid than she is. I mean if I was working for a mob boss AND I was in danger of going to jail AND was just a tad less crazy than my institutionalized mother, I’d just hide in a corner all day, unable to do anything.  But Maggie perseveres. No matter what’s thrown at her, she figures it out and gets the job done…not smoothly or perfectly though!

7. I admire how Confessions tackle some tough topics like the kidnapping/implied sexual assault/murder of Maggie’s siter, mental illness in family and just general dysfunction. How do you balance the dark with the additional dark humor without undermining it? 

That can be quite the balancing act. I think the darker aspects work because they’re not separate from Maggie. They almost all influence her personality and choices. I also make sure that almost every book ends on a positive note. A reminder to everyone that bad things can and do happen, but there’s still happiness to be found.

7. You’ve recently changed the series’ covers yo better reflect the tone of the books. Please expand if you can. 

The first two covers (Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman and Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman) were chosen by the publisher. When I began publishing the books on my own, I continued with the visual branding aspect so people would know it was a continuation of the series. Once I hired a different cover artist for my Cursed Chicks Club series and had such a positive working relationship with her, I became brave enough to take a chance on the new covers. She’s done an amazing job conveying the tone!

8. With such a long running series that has some major changes like Patrick’s departure, do you have a long running plan for the series or do they write themselves and present new ideas? 

I usually know at least two to three books in advance where Maggie’s going.  I always say her journey is like a road trip. I know her destination, but she often gets diverted to see the equivalent of the World’s Largest Ball of String as she’s headed there.

9. The Psychic Consignment Mystery series offers perspectives from each of the Concordia sisters. What do you enjoy most from getting to play with different POVs? 

I always think that it’s interesting how people can see and experience the same thing and yet have wildly different takes on it.

10. The Florida coast has as much of a presence and character as the rest of the cast, why did you choose Sarasota? 

I lived in Sarasota while I was writing the books. I’d often think about lightning strikes when I walked on Siesta Key beach and I spent a lot of time plotting the books while walking around Red Bug Slough. (And yes, I hated the heat!)

11. Cursed Chicks Club offers even more supernatural fare, how did you pick and choose how magic would work in your fantasy world of witches and dragons?

Honestly, I wrote about what interested me. If you think about it, mankind believed in magic for a long time and then science came along to explain the unexplainable. But what if magic does really exist, but only a small portion of the population knows and they’re having a battle over it? Plus, the idea of possibly being stuck for eternity with your evil mother-in-law’s spirit was a fun jumping off point.

12. What are your favorite scenes/moments from any of your books

There’s a scene in one of the Hitwoman books where her pets are giving her CPR. To this day, I still start to chuckle whenever I hear “Staying Alive” playing. 

I also love any scene in the Psychic Consignment mysteries where the sisters are truly working together. They’re estranged at the beginning of the series and the ways they come together always make my heart smile.

13. Any scenes/plot ideas that were cut for time?

I don’t think so. I only start writing when I know how a manuscript will end.

14. Can you spill about any upcoming stories or things to look out for? 

The Hitwoman Investigates has a publication date of August 31^st and The Hitwoman Gets Her Man will be out in October!

 I’m super excited to launching a new series in the fall about Kiki Long with a novella called, “Oh, Shoot!”.  I moved to North Carolina last year, so that’s where this small town cozy mystery series will take place.

Ever since her husband disappeared seven months ago and it came out that he’d been embezzling funds from the town, pet photographer Kiki Long has been keeping a low profile. 

But now it’s time to focus on creating a new life for herself. 

Risking the wrath of the town’s residents, Kiki attends the annual Pride Falls Fair where she’s regarded with a mix of animosity, curiosity, and pity.

When a participant in the pie eating contest drops dead due to poisoning, Kiki realizes that the pictures she captured at the fair could hold the key to figuring out the mystery of his death. But it’s not like she can go to Sheriff Rockland with them. He still considers her to be a suspect in her husband’s disappearance.

With the help of her cat, Kodak, Kiki sets out to prove that her friend, who baked the deadly pie, did not poison it. Can she catch the killer? Or will this new development be what lands her in prison?

“Oh, Shoot!” is a prequel story to the new series and the novella will be available for free through a massive cozy mystery group giveaway I’m participating in. I’ll have information about it in my newsletter https://tinyurl.com/yc7anhvh on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/authorjblynn and on my website http://www.jblynn.com.