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Meow! This week my guest is author Lea Wait!
Maine author Lea Wait writes the Agatha-finalist seven-book
Shadows Antique Print mystery series (the most recent of which is Shadows on a
Maine Christmas) as well as the new Mainely Needlepoint series, which debuted
with Twisted Threads in January, and historical novels for young people.
She lives on the coast of Maine with her artist husband and her black cat,
Shadow, both of whom help her plot and plan. Shadow pulls her book outlines
down from Lea’s bulletin board if they’re not to his liking. In her free time
Lea likes to row, watch ocean waves roll in, and drink champagne. (The
champagne only when a book is finished ... or she has a new contract.) With
Shadow’s help, she’s also learning to do needlepoint.
R: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became
interested in writing.
I’ve wanted to be
a writer since I was in second grade. I supported myself (and my family) as a
corporate writer (executive speeches, films, videos, etc.) for years. When I
was in my 40s I realized “if not now, when?” and started writing fiction. My
first book was published in 2001, and my 13th and 14th
will be published this year.
R: What drew you
to the cozy mystery genre?
I enjoyed reading cozies, and, as a
new writer of fiction, liked the idea of following a pattern when writing.
(Murder, certain number of suspects, confrontation, and the bad guy – or gal –
gets caught.) After I’d written a couple of books I realized there were a lot
of sub-genres of cozies, and had fun experimenting with some.
R: Tell us about
your Mainely Needlepoint series. What gave you the idea for that? Do you do
needlepoint yourself?
The idea of centering a series on
needlepoint actually came from my agent and editor. I had never done
needlepoint (I’ve just started to learn) but the idea of learning a whole new
craft … and new subject matter .. intrigued me. I do know something about
antique needlework since I’m a 4th generation antique dealer, so I
decided historical as well as contemporary needlework would be a part of my
series.
R: Tell us about Twisted Threads, the first release in that
series.
Twisted Threads
introduces the Mainely Needlepoint series. Angie Curtis’ mother was a single
parent with a shaky reputation. She disappeared when Angie was ten. Angie was
then brought up by her grandmother, but it wasn’t easy growing up with her
family history. When she was eighteen she took off and headed west, ending up
in Arizona, where she worked for a private investigator. She’s now 28, and her
grandmother calls to say, “It’s time to come home. They’ve found your mother.” Angie
goes back to Haven Harbor, determined to find out what really happened to her
mother. When she gets there she finds
her grandmother has started a custom needlepoint business and is being cheated
by the agent she works with. So Angie
decides to help solve her grandmother’s problem, too.
R: You also write the Shadows Antique series. Who inspired the
character of Maggie
Maggie’s very different from Angie. Angie’s
street smart, but not school-educated. Maggie has a doctorate and teaches at a
community college as well as being an antique print dealer. She’s almost forty,
a widow, and is seriously thinking about adopting one or two children. Many people
have said Maggie is me – but I’ve never taught, she’s younger than I am and
definitely braver. We do have in common being antique print dealers and being
interested in adoption – I adopted my four daughters as a single parent. So – Maggie’s a lot more like me than I like
to admit.
R: You write YA historicals, which genre do you prefer, those or
cozies?
I love them both.
I especially love doing the research for both genres. I’ve always loved
historical fiction, and I hope my books will make the past real to kids today.
I also like the break of writing different types of fiction … I never get
bored!
R: Do you have an “how I
got my agent” story you’d like to share?
How did you feel when you got the call your first novel had sold?
I was lucky to sell
my first book without an agent, by connecting with an editor at a writers’ conference.
How did I feel? About twelve stories high! I knew no one at the conference, so
I called my best friend and talked for about an hour straight, and then treated
myself to a nice dinner – with champagne. It was one of the best days of my life.
R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids
the creative process?
Quiet. (I can
write nonfiction under any conditions … but fiction requires more focus.) When I’m
in the middle of a book I’m surrounded by notes on plots and characters and weather
and lists of evocative words. And cups of tea!
R: If you had access to a time machine, which historical moment
would you travel to and why?
I would have
loved to have been in Boston when the Declaration of Independence was read in
the churches there.
R: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to
know about you?
I once smuggled drugs into Calcutta, India.
R: We need to hear more about that!
They
were medications legal here in the US, but at that time they couldn’t be
imported into India. I was taking them, along with a lot of other supplies, to
several orphanages in India. At the end of the trip I brought my new daughter,
who was about ten, and a twelve year old boy being adopted by another single
parent, home to the United States. A wonderful experience!
R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done?
Probably people
would think it’s crazy that I’ve tasted all the poisons I’ve written about in
my books. (I wanted to know what the taste was, to see my characters’
reactions. Research!)
R: What do you hope readers will most take away from your
writing?
I hope they’ll enjoy a good read that takes them
out of their every day worlds … and maybe they’ll learn a little along the way.
R: What are you working on at the moment / next?\
I just finished the third
book in the Mainely Needlepoint series, THREAD AND GONE which will be published
in January of 2016. (The second in the
series, THREADS OF EVIDENCE, will be published August 25 this year.) Now I’m
working on the eighth in the Shadows Antique Print Mystery series, SHADOWS ON A
MAINE MORNING, which will be published in the fall of 2016.
R: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Plotter, definitely! I need
to know where I’m going, even if I change the direction slightly as I write.
R: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?
:)
I’m lucky to live on the
coast of Maine, where I can escape to watch the ocean. I love rowing my thirteen-foot
skiff.
Of course, I do a lot of reading. And time with my grandchildren (I have
eight) is special – as is the time I spend with my husband, who’s an artist. A
lot of my non-writing time is spent at museums and art galleries.
R: Do you have any advice
for beginning writers?
Read. Read everything – not just in
the genre you want to write in. And think about what you’re reading – what
works, and what doesn’t. Being a good critic will help you be a better writer.
Thank you , Lea and now...
Just for Fun:
Night or Day? night
Dog or Cat?
(answer carefully) cat! Last year I adopted a crazy black cat who enjoys
sitting on my keyboard and tearing papers from my bulletin board. I think she
believes she’s helping my creative process.
(R: Yes, black cats can be VERY inspiring....)
Beach or
Pool? Beach! (except in winter, when an
inside pool is wonderful)
Steak or
salad? Steak, grilled rare by my
husband.
Favorite
Drink? Champagne!
Favorite
Book? Impossible to answer!
Favorite TV
Series? Good Wife, or Scandal.
Favorite
Movie? 1776
Dirty Martini or
Pina Colada? Martini.
Hawaii or
Alaska? Alaska! Love that state.
Finish this
sentence: If I could meet anyone in the
world, past or present, it would be Thomas Jefferson. He was a brilliant man,
full of contradictions. He fascinates me.
If I had just
one wish, it would be for peace in the world. A classic answer, but a critical
one._____________________________
If I could trade
places with anyone in the world, it would be ? So many possibiitities … but,
bottom line, I like who I am and where I am.
I think I’ll stay put. ____
Folks, you can find Lea at:
Lea will send a signed copy of TWISTED THREADS to one
reader of this blog!
To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and
email address (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries,
you can do any or all of the below:
*
Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)
Winner will be chosen at random using random.org. Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in
your comment. Good luck! Contest ends midnight, March 13.
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