Mystery author Maggie King, who writes the Hazel
Rose Book Group Mysteries, sits down for an interview today.
Learn more about Maggie and her books at her website.
When did you realize you wanted to write novels?
As a devotee of Nancy Drew,
I wrote mysteries in grade school. Fast forward a few decades to 1995 in Los
Angeles. When three of my co-workers took creative writing and screenwriting
courses at UCLA Extension, I read their work and was impressed by their talent.
My competitive side kicked in and I thought, “I could be doing this.” I
belonged to a mystery book group (it became the model for the Murder on Tour
group in the Hazel Rose Book Group series) and felt confident that I could turn
out a mystery. When I moved to Virginia in 1996 I took a writing course at the
University of Virginia and enjoyed it. I took more classes and started writing
on a regular basis.
How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?
Many years. I first
published in 2014. It turned out that writing, and publishing, were not so
easy! And in the early years I treated writing as a hobby and didn’t make it a
priority.
Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?
Traditionally published.
Where do you write?
In the converted bedroom
of a split level home, closely supervised by my two cats.
Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?
Usually I prefer to work
in silence, but occasionally I listen to classical, easy listening, or classic
rock. It all depends on my mood. I especially like Slow Dancing, a CD of nostalgic songs from the fifties.
How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From
your life in particular?
This is always an
interesting question. Snippets of the experiences of the many “real” people
I’ve known over the years wind up on my pages. And I’ve known women like my
victim, Roxanne Howard, who lead turbulent lives and have little regard for
others.
I think people expect
similarities between myself and my sleuth, Hazel Rose. Like Hazel, I was born
on the east coast, moved to Los Angeles in my twenties, and started my career
as a software developer. Like Hazel, I had a calico cat named Shammy who
accompanied me when I moved back east in 1996 and settled in Richmond, Virginia.
Hazel and I share a commitment to the environment, we’re both frugal and
unimpressed with the high life.
Hazel’s been married five
times—divorced three times, widowed once, currently wed (the current union
looks solid!). But divorce and widowhood have not touched my life—I just
celebrated 27 years with my one and only husband.
One “real” person in my
Hazel Rose Book Group series is a woman I used to see at a gym in Richmond. I
never knew her name or even talked to her except for a hi and a wave. She was
partial to leopard prints and chartreuse. The last time I saw her she sashayed
into the gym sporting chartreuse stiletto boots and a leopard cowgirl hat,
platinum blonde curls cascading down her back. I gave her a flamboyant
personality, a job as a personal trainer at the gym, and the name Kat Berenger.
Three real events led me to create Murder
at the Moonshine Inn. The first was when my husband researched his family
tree and discovered many new-to-him relatives. He contacted them, and they
remain in touch to this day. One family lives near us in Virginia and we often
see them. We traveled to Montreal to visit another family. Only one relative
refused to acknowledge my husband, suspecting that he wanted money.
The second event was when the mother of an acquaintance in California
died and her widower lost no time remarrying a woman forty years his junior.
His bride ran with a fast crowd who drank, took drugs, and engaged in casual
sex. For added excitement, she frequented redneck bars. My friend’s father was
enchanted with his beloved’s beauty. She was enchanted with his fortune. He
figured that marriage would tame her. She would not be tamed and continued her
decadent lifestyle post-marriage.
I combined the stories, adding a hefty dose of fiction, and came up with
a Picasso-esque creation.
The third event is described in a sub-plot and concerns Hazel’s need to
go through a breast biopsy for the second time in less than ten years. It
pretty much mirrors my own experience, with a few embellishments.
Describe your process for naming your character?
Hazel
Rose is a beautiful name with a retro sound. Hazel was a popular choice around
the turn of the twentieth century, but its use waned over the years. It’s been
experiencing a modest comeback. The rose is my favorite flower and I adore the
scent.
Real settings or fictional towns?
My stories are set in the
real city of Richmond, Virginia. I use real restaurants, I modify the names of
organizations, and I’m vague about all but major street names.
What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
Librarian and book group
member Trudy Zimmerman has a rose tattooed on her neck. She covers it with her
long hair when at work, as her library director is anti-tat.
What’s your quirkiest quirk?
I have a really loud
sneeze.
If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already
written,) which one would it be? Why?
Almost Paradise, by Susan Isaacs. I once spent two hours in the food court of a
mall---not my favorite place to be---riveted to this witty and poignant story,
populated with vivid and oh-so-flawed characters. The author is gifted with an
eye for detail and an eloquent turn of phrase that I envy. Writing this makes
me want to re-read Almost Paradise!
Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?
I wish I’d started my
writing career earlier, at least with the advent of word processors (I am not nostalgic for typewriters). I
fantasize that I’d have given Anne Tyler a run for her money. Ms. Tyler mined
quirky families to great literary success, and I figure my own quirky family
has given me story material for years to come.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Talking and texting at
concerts, movies, plays, etc.
You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Husband, cats, books
What was the worst job you’ve ever held?
Working as an apparel
sales manager in a big box store (before they were called that)
What’s the best book you’ve ever read?
Jane Eyre
Ocean or mountains?
Ocean. But mountains are a
close second.
City girl/guy or country girl/guy?
City, most definitely.
What’s on the horizon for you?
Currently, I’m working on
#3 of the Hazel Rose Book Group series. The book group goes on hiatus to take a
mystery writing class. But, wouldn’t you know it, a particularly obnoxious student
winds up dead, and there are no dearth of suspects.
I contributed a short
story, “Wine, Women, and Wrong,” to the 50
Shades of Cabernet anthology, due out March 1, 2017. Seventeen other great
mystery authors join me with light-hearted tales of crime and Cabernet.
On the distant horizon,
I’d like to try my hand at a historical mystery.
Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?
Since childhood my sense
of justice has been strong and I get enraged when justice is not served. That’s
likely why mysteries appealed to me so early in life. I serve justice in my
novels, but my short stories tend to be morally ambiguous and the justice may
be of the vigilante variety.
I like to write about
people at a crossroads, facing challenges. And also about their growth and successes.
On a long-ago job
interview, my prospective employer asked me to describe myself using three
words. I immediately rattled off “competent, conscientious, and courageous.”
Now I would add another word that starts with c: compassionate. Writers need these qualities, and more, both for
the craft and business aspects of writing.
Murder at the Moonshine Inn
When high-powered
executive Roxanne Howard dies in a pool of blood outside the Moonshine Inn,
Richmond, Virginia’s premiere redneck bar, the victim’s sister enlists Hazel
Rose to ferret out the killer. At first Hazel balks—she’s a romance writer, not
a detective. But Brad Jones, Rox’s husband, is the prime suspect. He’s also
Hazel’s cousin, and Hazel believes in doing anything to help family. Never mind
that Brad won’t give her the time of day—he’s still family.
Hazel recruits her book group members to help with the investigation.
It’s not long before they discover any number of people who feel that a world
without Rox Howard is just fine with them: Brad’s son believes that Rox and
Brad were behind his mother’s death; Rox’s former young lover holds Rox
responsible for a tragedy in his family; and one of Rox’s employees filed a
wrongful termination lawsuit against her. The killer could be an angry regular
from the Moonshine Inn—or just about anyone who ever crossed paths with the
willful and manipulative Rox. When a second murder ups the ante Hazel must find
out who is behind the killings. And fast. Or she may be victim #3.
Buy Links
