Take Five with Author Nancy Haddock

Today it's my extreme pleasure to bring you Nancy Haddock and her new Silver Six Crafting cozy mystery series by Berkley Prime Crime. I've loved her writing before with her vampire series (a must read) and this book continues Nancy's fun & unique voice coupled with unforgettable characters.

And Nancy is giving away a signed copy of Basket Case (paperback mailed to winner) or an e-copy via Amazon or B&N.

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Nancy Haddock.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book, Basket Case?

Hi, L.A. Thank you for inviting me to be your guest today.  In answer, it's a combination of things inspired the book and series. Having a parent in an independent living center and seeing the interactions of residents was a big factor. Also watching my mom with her friends who still lived in their homes was an eye opener. Many were dealing with their own infirmities or their spouse’s illnesses, yet they were upbeat and funny. I got a real education!

And then there was the something funny that happened when I was in Magnolia, Arkansas. That convinced me to develop the series and write Basket Case.

What were your experiences as a child that contributed to you becoming a writer?

I can’t pinpoint specific experiences, but I’m absolutely certain that being read to as a child helped. My mother once told me I was three when I began asking her to write stories as I dictated them. I have only the vaguest memory of those times, but I do recall having story lines constantly running in my head. The characters were me, my friends, our parents, and pets. The neighbors also figured in my stories. I remember blocking the action scenes as I played. Weird kid, right?

Do day-to-day life experiences influence your stories?

Absolutely! As are so many writers, I’m a people-watcher and people-listener. Yes, I eavesdrop. Unashamedly, but with discretion. Body language, voice inflection, quirks, etc. work their ways into my characters. I do use things that happen to me, especially the funny things like what happened in Magnolia on my first visit there. Of course, I did fictionalize and exaggerate the incident. To protect the innocent, naturally. :)  

How do you use setting to further your story?

I love to feel that I can find my way around locations in the books I read, so I pay attention to locale in my own work. I love evoking and enhancing the general sense of time, place, and mood. In my earlier works, I used many real places in the city of St. Augustine, and included bits of its history, its ghosts, etc.

In Basket Case, I went for southern small town ambiance. I based Lilyvale mostly on Magnolia, especially the downtown area, but also on the small towns I lived in or have visited in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. I also love using southern speak to reinforce setting. Not every word from a character’s mouth is strictly a southernism, but shoot fire and save the ashes, they surely do help sharpen sense of setting!

Have you been a lifelong reader of mysteries?  What are some the first books you remember reading?

I have read mysteries for eons, starting with the good old standards of Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden. I’ve logged many hours watching mystery and mystery-romance films and TV shows, too.

One of the first books I recall getting from my school library was The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, a historical mystery-romance set in late 17^th century New England. With a witch trial in the mix for good measure, talk about a moody setting! No wonder the book won the 1959 Newbery Medal!

Yes, I found and bought another copy of this book a few years ago, and I did read it again!

Of course, I also found a copy of one of my beloved Little Golden Books, Nurse Nancy. I bought and re-read that one, too. Not a riveting mystery, but a fun, short walk down memory lane. :)

A brief summary of Basket Case:

“Nixy” Nix visits her aunt in Lilyvale, Arkansas, fearing Sherry Mae may have dementia. Instead, Sherry and her five housemates are perfectly competent and battling a real estate developer who wants Sherry Mae’s ancestral home and land. When the developer is found dead in the family cemetery, Nixy must prove Sherry Mae is innocent of murder before the killer strikes again.

Buy Links:

For both paperback and e-book:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Bio:

Nancy Haddock is an award-winning and national bestselling author of mystery romance who now writes cozy mystery. Basket Case, the first book in the Silver Six Crafting mysteries, will be released in Sept. 2015 with Berkley Prime Crime. Her earlier books, also with Berkley, are La Vida Vampire, Last Vampire Standing, and Always The Vampire, featuring Cesca, aka Gidget with fangs, and are set in Haddock’s current hometown, St. Augustine, FL. Nancy draws on historic wealth, southern culture, and the plain old quirkiness of places for her books. She lives with her husband and rescue dog Baron.

Find Nancy:

Contact | Website | Facebook | Twitter or @nancyhaddock | Goodreads