BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- AN INTERVIEW WITH COZY MYSTERY AUTHOR LIZ BOEGER

Today we sit down for a chat with award-winning cozy mystery author Liz Boeger. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels? 

When I had a dream about the basic premise of AppleJacked in 2012.

 

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication? 

Nine years for the first book, ChainLinked, then AppleJacked followed this year. 

 

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author? 

I’m indie published but part of an authors co-op called Misterio Press, where we help vet one another’s’ drafts and cross promote our work. They are an amazing group of writers.

 

Where do you write? 

Mostly in my head and then when it gets to the tipping point, I go to the computer. The typing usually happens at my kitchen computer nook, in my easy chair, or on the back porch.

 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind? 

SILENCE!!

 

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular? 

The flavor of my life as a school administrator and teacher is there, but the stories and characters are completely fictional. The setting is a mashup of the many childhood and adult adventures I enjoyed on my beloved Florida Gulf coast.

 

Describe your process for naming your character? 

Some names come automatically, others take a lot of thought, but that’s usually because they sound like caricatures or cliches. I knew I wanted my main character to have an Irish/American heritage so she’s Ana Callahan. 

 

Real settings or fictional towns? 

Combo. The main town is a fictional island set in an area of Florida where a real nature preserve is established. There are also excursions to actual locations in Tampa and the surrounding vicinity featuring completely fictional endeavors.

 

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has? 

Ana does a lot of snarky self-talk, but it is mostly a stress response. I like to think of residents of the island itself as one big quirky character. Come to find out the good folks of Moccasin Cove know a thing or two about secret networks and ways to bypass the rabid press who besiege the town looking for juicy news tidbits after a murder or two.

 

What’s your quirkiest quirk? 

I write murder mysteries. Enough said.

 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why? 

The list is so long. From adult traditional mysteries to middle grade fiction there are so many authors I flat out admire because reading their work makes writing look effortless. And I know that it absolutely is not. But to name one for middle grade—JK Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise because I admire her persistence and the planning that went into creating the entire arc of the series. For adult mysteries it would have to be the late great Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series.

 

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours? 

I don’t believe in do-overs because I don’t believe in tempting fate. Work hard and deal with the incoming tide until you can ride the waves to success and happiness.

 

What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

Cliches like “Ride the wave to success and happiness.”

 

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves? 

A sticky-note requesting rescue, a populated island within rock-throwing distance. A rock.

 

What was the worst job you’ve ever held? 

Babysitting as a teenager. Ugh.

 

Who’s your all-time favorite literary character (any genre)? Why?

You really want me to choose? Impossible, because I have so many more books to read.

 

Ocean or mountains? 

Ocean

 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy? 

Island Country

 

What’s on the horizon for you? 

I’m deciding on the storyline for Book 3 in the Moccasin Cove series. I also have ideas for another cozy mystery series and a middle grade book percolating in the back of my brain for future work.

 

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books? 

Yes, thank you. I am indebted to the writing community for the encouragement and academic support they provide as I have learned to become an author. Likewise, for the readers who have embraced my books and left great reviews to encourage others to visit Moccasin Cove.

Applejacked

A Moccasin Cove Mystery, Book 2

 

Elementary principal Ana Callahan knows a thing or two about flipping failing schools, but she’s discovered the learning curve on solving murders is steep.

 

Now in the second year of her school rescue, in Moccasin Cove on Florida’s Gulf coast, Ana is on the verge of winning a pivotal grant award. But her grand plan hits a snag after a teacher is murdered and the crime is pinned on a runaway teenager Ana mentored. The story goes viral. Ana’s campus is besieged by the media, angry parents, and complex questions about the dead teacher’s past. Worse, the myopic rookie detective assigned to the case has her sights set on all the wrong suspects.

 

While grieving the teacher’s death, Ana starts her own investigation, but her discovery of a body on the beach pins a bullseye on Ana’s back. In her quest to solve two murders, locate the missing teen, and salvage the grant win, Ana unwittingly unleashes a riptide of childhood secrets that force her to learn a hard lesson... 

It takes a village to raise a child, but it may also take your life.

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST PROTAGONIST ANA CAMPBELL'S CRAFT HACK

Hacking is bad when it comes to computers but great when it comes to crafts. Today we’re joined by school principal Ana Campbell, the protagonist of author Liz Boeger’s award-winning, unpublished cozy mystery, AppleJacked!, the first book in her proposed Moccasin Cove series.

Liz grew up in a snake-infested area of South Tampa originally called Rattlesnake and still lives in Florida. After nearly three decades as an educator she still prefers genuine snakes to the human variety. She has been a teacher, teacher-trainer, and a school administrator. Connect with her on Twitter @LizBoegerAuthor and learn more about her at her Moccasin Cove Mysteries blog.

Craft Hacks for School & Home: T-shirt Paint

School principal Ana Campbell shares a story from early in her teaching career when this Craft Hack came in handy. It taught an important lesson to her students and to her boss.

“Campbell, what’s with this paint all over my new cabinets and windows?” My demanding boss did not modulate her tone for the thirty smirking fifth graders in my reading class.

I kept my cool and refused to stop teaching just to quiver for the queen.

“Deylon,” I whispered. “Would you please show the principal those Clever Clings we made last week?”

The confident boy had been a frequent-flyer in the principal’s office in previous years. This year I used every brain cell I possessed to find him leadership opportunities. He met my challenge handily. I refocused on the student who had been reading to me and let Deylon take charge.

“Look here, Principal Miller, you jest peel ‘em off and see, mash ‘em, and they go right back on. No mess. We reuse them all over the room posting our work. Ain’t that clever? Let me show you my writing sample hanging on that window.”

I can thank that overbearing boss for this crafty idea. Early in my career, my husband was in the Air Force and we moved frequently. During one deployment, he was in Qatar and I was all by my lonesome in Nevada, where I was hired to teach at a new school. I’ve learned I can avoid student meltdowns when they feel connected to their work. So, I post samples of student work to build their confidence and pride, but, “NO TAPE ALLOWED ON ANY SURFACE!” was the mantra of my highly intimidating principal. What was this teacher-girl to do?

At about the same time, I was using T-shirt paint to decorate some canvas sneakers to wear to school for a garden-themed unit in science. A glop of paint had smeared on my laminate countertop at home and I didn’t notice it until the next morning when I was checking to see if the sneaker design had fully dried. Voila! An idea was born that would solve my NO TAPE dilemma.

I discovered that the dried smear of paint easily peeled off of the countertop just like a window-cling. No residue, no stain, and the thing clung again and again when I applied it to the window, to mirrors, and to my refrigerator. If kept free of dust and dirt, it could be used to hold light-weight student work on the cabinets and windows. I even used it to number the cabinets in my classroom.

It’s been nearly twenty years since I discovered this craft hack. Now, as a school principal with my own NO TAPE policy, I share this idea with my teachers. So, have at it and have fun--but don’t let me catch you putting tape on my windows and cabinets! 

Materials:  Bottles of t-shirt paint in colors of your choice, laminate or glass surface to use as a temporary canvas, paper towels, toothpicks.

Time: 15+ minutes to paint and at least 24 hours to dry, depending on humidity and the thickness of your cling creation. Warning: This is fabric paint, so keep it off cloth fabrics you don’t want stained.

Result: Repositionable “sticker” used to post student work, label a cabinet, leave a happy note on a mirror or refrigerator.

Surfaces: Non-porous: laminate (like Formica), glass/mirrors, whiteboard, refrigerator

Directions:

1. Shake paint down into the tip of the bottle before dispensing to eliminate air bubbles. If you do get a bubble in the design, just smooth it out with the toothpick.

2. Squeeze paint onto the “canvas” in desired design. Paint from the foundation colors UP, in layers. Use multiple colors and mix with the toothpick for a marble effect.

3. Make the cling at least two inches wide on a side and as thick as a nickel for ease in handling. Skinny or thin areas will tear.

4. Allow to dry completely—at least 24 hours. This is a much longer time than when using on fabric. Cling will feel tacky to touch when dry, but not sticky. If you smear it when checking the dryness, repaint and re-dry.

5. Peel the cling off the “canvas” and adhere to desired surface. Overlap the corners of student work to post on the cabinet or window. Reusable. FUN!

AppleJacked! 

Southern elementary school principal Anastasia Callahan Campbell investigates the murder of a young teacher while trying to save her failing school and bring economic recovery to her beloved Florida hometown. Untamed beaches, corporate raiders, meth labs, off-stage child abuse, autism, and childhood secrets take their toll on the sassy school leader. In the process of her sleuthing, Ana learns a hard lesson; while it takes a village to raise a child, it may also take your life!