The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady: A Buttercup Bend Mystery by Debbie De Louise | Author Interview

Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a librarian and a cat lover. I’ve written twelve novels, five of which are part of my Cobble Cove cozy mystery series. The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady is the first of my new Buttercup Bend cozy mystery series. I also write short stories and poetry.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was a child, but I published my first novel, the paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, in 2007 after my cat Floppy died. It included him as one of the characters. I didn’t publish again until 2015 when I wrote A Stone’s Throw, the first book of my Cobble Cove cozy mystery series. Since then, I’ve been publishing about two books a year.

Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?

Yes. Ever since I was young, I wanted to be an author. I didn’t choose cozy mysteries. They chose me. After I published A Stone’s Throw, which I considered a romantic suspense novel, readers reviewed it as a cozy mystery. I then decided to go with it and published, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, the second book of the series. I then found I enjoyed writing cozies because I’m uncomfortable writing more explicit types of books and like creating quirky characters and small town mysteries.

Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?

I like cozies, but I also like reading a variety of genres. I love time-travel novels and have written one myself, Time’s Relative. I also have another unpublished one I hope to publish one day. I just finished reading A Rip Through Time by Kelly Armstrong which is a new time travel book. I was able to get an e-copy of this book through NetGalley before it was published.

Do you have a favorite place to write?

I write at my desk in the living room.

What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?

A water bottle, stapler, my cell phone, books, folders, pens, and pads. Sometimes a cat.

What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?

The first book I really loved as a child was The Wizard of Oz. I read all the Frank L. Baum books that were sequels to it, as well.

Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?

I used to prefer physical books, and I still like them, but now I prefer e-books because I don’t have enough room in my house to store any more books besides my own. I also like the fact that e-books are so easy to carry around and can be read anywhere. I have a Kindle Fire, but I usually read on my iPhone using the Kindle app.

If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?

Interesting question and a difficult one. I guess I would choose to live in England, maybe London, because I once traveled there, I can speak the language, and I believe most of the great cozy mysteries are English mysteries such as those written by Agatha Christie.

What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?

Another tough question. When I was in college, I worked on the student newspaper, and I believe I gained a lot of writing experience that way, but my first “true” publication was an article I wrote for a cat magazine that allowed me to join the Cat Writers’ Association as a professional member. So my answer would be that the Pioneer, the newspaper of LIU/Post and the Cat Writers’ Association were two big influences that started me as a writer.

Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?

As I mentioned, I belong to the Cat Writers’ Association. I also belong to Sisters-in-Crime, the Long Island Authors Group, and International Thriller Writers. I also receive much support from my fellow authors at Solstice Publishing who publish my Cobble Cove mysteries and the authors at Next Chapter Publishing who have published some of my standalone mysteries and are also publishing the first book of my new Buttercup Bend cozy mysteries.

Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?

I’m working on the second book of the Buttercup Bend series, tentatively titled, The Case of the Parrot-Loving Professor. I’m also working on a collection of my Cobble Cove stories called Sneaky’s Supernatural Mystery and Other Cobble Cove Stories. This book will also be toured by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.