Meow,
my guest today is author Sally Handley!
President of the
Upstate South Carolina Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SinC), Sally Handley debuted
her Holly and Ivy cozy mystery series with her first book, Second Bloom, in May of 2017. Frost
on the Bloom followed in November of 2017. She also writes a blog entitled
“On Writing, Reading and Retirement” (www.sallyhandley.com).
An avid reader,
Sally has been a mystery lover since she read her first Nancy Drew and Trixie
Belden books as a young girl. An English major, she graduated from Douglass
College at Rutgers University and earned her Master’s Degree with a
concentration in Shakespearean studies from Wroxton College, Oxfordshire,
England.
After six years
as a public school teacher, Sally transitioned into business, and had a 30 year
career as a professional services marketer. She returned to teaching as an
adjunct professor of English before retiring in 2015. Now a resident of
Mauldin, SC, she devotes her time to writing cozy mysteries and gardening.
Hi! Would you
tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m an avid reader and have been a mystery lover since
I read my first Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books as a young girl. I also love
to garden. I got the inspiration to try my hand at writing my own mystery back
in 2010 when my sister and I were sitting in the garden at the Daniel Webster
Inn on Cape Cod. We were admiring the flowers and I said something about Rosemary and Thyme, the PBS series
that featured two women gardeners as amateur sleuths. Suddenly I got the
spark of an idea. Wouldn’t an American version be great…a series about two
sisters who garden and solve mysteries? And that’s where it all began. Since
that time, I’ve retired and I devote my time to gardening and writing cozy
mysteries. I also write a blog entitled “On Writing, Reading and Retirement” at
www.sallyhandley.com.
Do you have
anything you would like to say to your readers?
I want to let my readers know
how very much I love hearing from them. Whether they send me an email, write a
review or send a brief comment to a blog I’ve written, I’m always delighted to
read their reactions to my writing. Writers work alone and until they get
feedback from readers, they can’t know if their writing has touched someone or
brought them pleasure. So, keep those
comments coming.
Please tell us
about your newest release
My most recent release
came out in November of 2017. Frost on the Bloom is the second book in
the Holly and Ivy mystery series. One of Holly Donnelly’s former students,
Becky Powell, asks the look-alike sisters for help when they all spend
Christmas at Skyview Manor, and Becky becomes the prime suspect in the
attempted murder of her manipulative grandmother, Lyla Powell. Once again the
plucky sisters are reluctantly drawn into a murder investigation, convinced
that Mrs. Powell’s duplicitous friends and greedy Powell family members have
framed Becky for the crime. Holly’s involvement becomes a source of contention
between her and Detective Nick Manelli, threatening their budding romance. The
question is can their relationship continue to sizzle as the investigation
heats up and the sister sleuths try to catch a cold-blooded killer?
Where can we
purchase this book?
Frost
on the Bloom and Second
Bloom, the first book in the series, can be purchased by visiting my
website, http://www.sallyhandley.com
and clicking on the links there or by directly going to Amazon.com.
Fiction can often provide powerful life lessons. What message do you
hope readers get from your book?
It is a story about middle-aged women Hence the title, Second
Bloom.
My
sleuths are two middle-aged sisters. At the start of the series, they are both
at a stage in life when they are feeling vulnerable about the aging process. As
a result of being drawn into a murder investigation, both sisters find
inner strength and renewed purpose, experiencing a renaissance at an age when
many choose to accept the limitations of aging. Holly and Ivy may
not have superpowers, but they still have plenty to offer the world. Their unique
life experience helps them to help others. I hope my readers are encouraged by
that.
Is there an
author or book that influenced you or your writing in any way growing up or as
an adult?
Elizabeth Peters, author
of the Amelia Peabody series, is probably my favorite mystery writer of all
time, and while “I am not worthy” to even aspire to write like her, I do aspire
to have strong women characters, who, in spite of their foibles and flaws,
strive to do the right thing. And, of course, I especially love the romance
between Amelia and her beloved Emerson in Peterson’s novels. I aspire to write
romantic episodes between Holly and Nick Manelli that leave you feeling just a
little tingly.
Are you reading
anything interesting at the moment? If so, what is it?
I am reading A Front Page Affair, A Kitty Weeks
Mystery, by Radha Vatsal. I got my copy
at last year’s Malice Domestic conference where I heard Ms. Vatsal speak on a
panel of authors whose sleuths are newspaper reporters. Set in New York City in
1915, this delightful mystery involves Capability “Kitty” Weeks, an aspiring
journalist, in the murder investigation of a man found dead at an upper crust
social event that she is covering for the woman’s page. The spunky heroine, the
engaging mystery and lots of historical tidbits make this book a real pleasure
to read.
Which do you consider more important, plot or character?
From the moment I started to write my first cozy mystery, I
realized that developing characters a reader cares about was more important
than the plot. Let’s face it. A murder mystery plot follows a formula. Someone
gets killed, an investigation ensues, and someone gets caught. In cozy
mysteries, especially, you know, in the end, justice will be served and the
killer will get what s/he deserves. Of course, the plotting of the mystery that
keeps you guessing is important, but again, especially with a series, the
reader has to want to spend time with the recurring characters. The reader has to
care what happens to the characters and want to travel with them on their
investigative journey.
What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?
I am busy working on book three of the Holly and Ivy mystery
series. In Full Bloom, the look-alike
sisters are set out for a relaxing few days in the Catskills. Holly and Ivy
have their plans thwarted when, once again, they become involved in a murder
investigation. The day they arrive at the house of Holly’s friend, Kate Farmer, they discover
the body of Kate’s next-door neighbor , Chuck Dwyer, in a pool of blood on his
kitchen floor. In a rush to judgement, the local sheriff sets his sights on
18-year old Tommy Cranston as the most likely suspect, but Kate insists Tommy
is innocent. The sister sleuths set out to prove that a shifty, former neighbor
and the victim’s widow have better motives for the murder. In the meantime, Ivy
and Kate try to unravel another mystery -- the cause of Holly’s break up with
detective Nick Manelli, who proposed to Holy at the end of Frost on the Bloom. I’m hoping to have the book ready to publish by
November of this year.
Do you think
you may ever go into another genre? If
so, which one?
If I could write in
another genre, I would love to write a Young Adult/Science Fiction novel.
Futuristic books where anything is possible always intrigue me. I admit I am
very enamored of dystopian novels, like Hunger
Games, Star Wars, and the Harry
Potter books, in which young people face the ultimate battle of good versus
evil, and have to re-define the world on their own terms.
What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week)
do you devote to writing?
My goal every day is to get writing right after breakfast. If I
can write for two hours, I’m happy…three hours, I’m ecstatic. That’s about my
limit. Sometimes as I get to the end of the book and everything is worked out
in my head, I can push myself a little further. The hardest part is sitting
down and getting started. Some of the best advice I ever read was from John
Grisham, an author I really love. He says to write 200 words every day. Now, you
might think that’s not a lot, but at the end of a year, you will have a
book. Also, what I’ve discovered is that
because 200 words doesn’t seem onerous, I don’t have as much trouble convincing
myself to sit down and get cracking. Frequently, I get on a roll and easily
exceed the 200 words. Best of all, on days when I don’t have two hours, I know
I still can do at least 200 words. By
writing every day, I stay connected to the story and the characters. That’s
what’s really important.
Random
Quickies!
Pepsi or Coke? COKE
Favorite kind of
chocolate? Milk Chocolate
covered caramel
Cats or dogs? Dogs
Do you read more than you
write? Read more
Favorite movie? Rocky (I really love the trilogy of the
first three movies)
Favorite book to movie? The Thornbirds
Favorite book or author?
Yeah we know it can be hard to choose! ;)
Author- Shakespeare
Hardback/Paperback or
eReader? Kindle
Favorite color? Green
How many
paperback/hardcover books do you own? Can’t
count them.
Do you own a laptop or
desktop computer? Laptop
What book are you reading
today? A Front Page Affair
by
Varda Ratsal
If you could live
anywhere in the world it would be: Barbados
Thanks for a great
interview, Sally!
