What can you tell us about your new release, Mug Shot?
Mug Shot is book two of the Java Jive Mysteries series, picking up a couple months after Death Before Decaf left off. Juliet Langley is finally settling in as manager of Java Jive and acclimating to living in Nashville again. She’s got a new guy, but it’s nothing serious — just like she wants it. (And of course it leaves room for former love, Ryder, to try to sweep her off her feet again.) Her nearly-perfect world is marred when her best friend, Pete, is accused of a murder he didn’t commit. She’ll do anything to prove he’s innocent, even risk her own life, to get to the truth.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?
First, I’d ask Marcia Clark, because she is a woman I’ve looked up to since I was a teenager. I watched her handle prosecuting the OJ Simpson case, showing she was a strong woman in a man’s world. Now, she’s a mystery/crime author. I love the snappy, snarky wit in her writing and would love to sit down with her and talk crime and punishment. I’ve been reading a lot of Tami Hoag lately, and I love her way of making each of her many characters totally different through dialogue and action. I’d love to pick her brain to find out how she does it so effortlessly. Finally, I’d invite Stephen King, because…Stephen King.
Which book from your childhood or teenage years has stuck with you as an adult?
The Trixie Belden Mysteries series was by far the most inspiring for me. I saw myself as Trixie, gallivanting around with her friends, solving mysteries, and falling in love. I didn’t know then that I wanted to be a mystery writer when I grew up, but those books definitely shaped me.
You wouldn’t be caught dead, where?
On a rollercoaster. I hate the drop, probably because I’m a control freak and they make me feel so out of control.
How do you like to spend a rainy day?
When it rains, my dogs get very sad because they can’t go out and play. It’s a joke around my house how pitiful they look when it rains. To cheer them up, I cuddle up with them and either read books or watch movies.
What’s on your writing desk?
It would probably be easier to list what’s not on my writing desk. It’s a mess. My favorite things are my Zen fountain, my coffee mug warmer, and the little clay sculptures my daughter makes me. As for my tech gear, I have an iMac and a MacBook Pro that I use for writing.
What scene in Mug Shot was your favorite to write?
Definitely the one where Juliet’s big mouth gets her thrown in jail. I took a lot of creative liberties with that scene. I know full well that men and women are never locked up together, but I did it for the sheer comedic value. I was on the fence about it, because I didn’t want to make the story too unbelievable, so I asked an author friend of mine, Rick Reed, for his opinion. Rick is a retired homicide detective who caught a serial killer, so he knows his stuff. When I described the scene to him, he said it sounded like fun, and since it is fiction we’re talking about here, that I should go for it.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
I have a new necklace I got at my favorite shop in Nashville, A Thousand Faces. It says, “Everything you can imagine is real.” It’s a quote credited to Picasso. In writing, you have to treat your characters as real people so you can delve deep enough into them to make them come alive in your story. Lifelike characters are what make a good book a great book.
Caroline Fardig is the author of the new book Mug Shot.
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