Cozy Mystery – 225 Pages
Cozy Cat Press (March 11, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1939816382
Synopsis
Granny has a new addition to her arsenal of crime fighting weapons as Fuchsia, Minnesota’s most colorful detective. Now, along with her famous crook-hooking umbrella, she’s acquired a scoundrel-skewering knitting needle. And just in time! Residents of Fuchsia seem to be dropping dead like flies! First, it’s Granny’s neighbor Sally (who gives up the ghost in her weed-filled front yard), followed by Esmeralda Periwinkle (the squirrel lover on Main Street), and then, Mr. Nail, owner of the local hardware store (who is squashed when dozens of bags of fertilizer fall on top of him). Granny is baffled. Who is behind this murder spree?
Granny enlists the help of her sort of boyfriend franklin Gatsby, the town’s police chief Cornelius Stricknine (or “The Big Guy”), her reality-show loving neighbor Mavis, and her own son Thor. And, of course, the special assistance of her menagerie of pets — including Mr. Bleaty, the goat. Soon Granny is hot on the trail of this dastardly murderer. Unfortunately, when Granny herself is poisoned, everyone insists that she cool her crime solving ways and stay indoors and out of harms way. Of course, that’s never going to happen! Not when Granny knows all the secret passageways and tunnels that run underneath Fuchsia. Out she goes–and watch out, you evil doers! Granny will solve this mystery–you can bet your pink undies, she will!
About This Author
Julie grew up in a small Minnesota community. She knows the value of neighbors looking out for neighbors.
Julie has worn many hats during her lifetime. She has been a waitress, barmaid, activities assistant, store clerk, office manager and for the last 14 years has worked in computer repair, and finally owning her own computer repair business. In January 2014 she closed her computer business to write full time.
Her most important career in her estimation has been wife, mother and grandmother. Nothing could equal the gift of nurturing and watching her children and grandchildren grow.
Julie is also a columnist for the Albert Lea Tribune. Her column “Something About Nothing” brings a little fluff to an unfluffy world. She believes there is always something underlying in the nothings we talk about. In 2011 she self-published “Whatchamacallit? Thingamajig?. It is a book about grandmothers and grandchildren. It was a collaboration between her grandchildren and Julie. Along with a glossary and lots of weird words, it is a mystery that reveals to the characters grandchildren who Grandma used to be.
In 2013 Julie signed a contract with Cozy Cat Press for the publication of her Cozy Mystery “Granny Hooks A Crook.” It fulfilled one item on Julie’s bucket list. Granny lives in the fictional town of Fuchsia, Minnesota. The Fuchsia, Minnesota books is a series. Granny Skewers A Scoundrel, book two in the series was released in March 2014. The Fuchsia books are unusual cozies with a little satire about small communities and an over the top Granny that gives a new meaning to old. Julie also writes free lance for the Courier Sentinel and the Albert Lea Tribune. She also is designing a line of shirts, cups and other material to complement her books.
Never quit dreaming is Julie’s motto. Dreams are the gateway to fun, fantasy and the future.
Interview
Welcome to Kelly P’s Blog!
Thank you for having me on your blog
Kelly. I am so happy to be here.
How did you come up with the title of
your book?
I actually came up with the name of my
book while I was deciding what Granny’s new weapon of choice was going to
be. One of my friends suggested a
knitting needle when we were talking about yarn one night, and knitting needles
seemed to be a good fit for Granny even though she doesn’t knit. What do you do
if you use a knitting needle as a weapon? You skewer someone.
Who designed the cover of your book?
Cozy Cat Press came up with the design. The
illustrator this time was Keri Knutson. She started with a stock photo and made
Granny my own. The strange thing is that the cover Granny looks like my real
Grandma that died when I was six years old, down to the nose, glasses, skinny
figure, hat, hair and dress. The picture I found of my Grandma was a clone of
Granny. I am hoping for the next books that Granny gets a little transformation
since she is now in love, or maybe in love. Also I am hoping we can figure out
a way to make a character transition to my real Grandma’s picture. I haven’t
checked with Cozy Cat Press on that one yet but I will now that I am starting
my third book in the series.
How long did it take you to write this
book?
Granny Skewers A Scoundrel took about
six months to write because my computer business was still open and I was
trying to do both. Hopefully, now that I made the transition to full time
writer my writing will get better and so will my timeline.
How do you cope with writer’s block?
I don’t get writer’s block too often. It
is harder to write if I am not feeling well but the strange ideas seem to float
in my head all the time especially when I go to sleep at night, or wake up in
the morning. That is the time where I put together in my head what is going to
come next, although occasionally I think something is going to happen, and when
I am absorbed, something different happens, and I have to stop to figure out
why it happened.
Do you have a favorite line or quote in
this book?
I don’t have a favorite line but I have
a tiny little happening in the book that is a favorite. It happens when Granny
is going to accept an award. She looks out to the audience, she looks up at the
Mayor, and then she drops to the ground like an apple from a tree. I wrote that
and had no idea why she did that or what was going to happen next. It was as if
someone else took over my fingers on my keyboard and put that little tidbit in.
What inspired you to write this book?
Inspiration can come from many places
but my inspiration for this series is to relax with fantasy and fluff. We live
in communities that have umpteen rules.
It drives me crazy to see all the houses painted the same color and rules
and regulations on the type of plants we can plant etc. Even after we are dead
our families have rules and regulations of what they can put on our grave or
display on our tombstone and for how long. We also have this stereotype of how
we are supposed to act when we are adults, what is appropriate to wear, and
what happens when we age. I lived in a pink house growing up before all the
neighborhood rules. My mom at 90 was climbing on the roof of her house to
repair it, and cutting wood with a table saw. She gave up her dream of teaching
in Alaska to stay home and take care of her mother, and then at the age of 42
she got married, raised me, and helped
my dad run his shoe store, all the while still taking care of her mother and a
big garden. Before she died she told me she didn’t regret any of it, she did
what she had to do. After she died, I read letters between her and my dad and
letters she wrote when she was young. Society and expectations that she tried
to fulfill made her give up her dream. I
liked the person I saw in the letters and the person she was when she was young
and I think in a way Granny is a little like my mother. Granny became who she
needed to be for her family and now she can be that unique, funny, silly woman.
There are no boundaries, pure fun and fantasy. All of us have something hidden
inside of us that we wish we would have held on to.
Describe the cover in 10 words or less.
Sparkling shoes, sparkling Granny. You’ll get her
point.
If you could sum your main character
into five words, what would they be?
Sparkling, Crusty, Devious, Courageous,
Loving.
If your book was made into a TV series
or Movie, which actors would you like to see playing your characters?
Polly Holliday, Flo from the TV show
Alice. I can see her being Granny.
What are you working on right now?
I just finished the second in my
Granny’s In Trouble Series for young readers. It should be out the end of June
or early July. I am busy writing my columns for newspapers and human interest
stories. I have also started the new book in the Fuchsia, Minnesota Series.
There is actually a clue in Granny Skewers A Scoundrel, maybe two that are
found and will be used in the third book. I can tell you that it takes place in
the winter. Fuchsia is interesting in the winter and there will be some new
colorful characters.
Author Links
Twitter @julieseedorf
Purchase Links
Giveaway
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