What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Silent Winter Solstice?
I have always enjoyed reading mystery stories, including those by Agatha Christie, and mystery programs, such as Murder She Wrote. I see my protagonist, Beth Williams, and her best friend Evie Hanson, as younger versions of Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher. When I decided to write mysteries, I wanted to set them in a fictionalized version of Northwestern Minnesota, where I grew up, which has its unique appeal. And, at a time in recent history when everything seemed to be changing.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Silent Winter Solstice, what would they be?
For Beth, With A Little Help From My Friends, by Joe Cocker; For Evie, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, by Marvin Gaye.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I enjoy mysteries, spy stories, historical fiction, and historical nonfiction. I don’t write nonfiction books.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Arctic Daughter a Wilderness Journey, by Jean Aspen; Hamnet a Novel of the Plague, by Maggie O’Farrell; The Matchmaker : A Spy in Berlin by Paul Vidich.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
The big reveal.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
Not too quirky. I do have a blue desk lamp and a favorite blue and tan coffee cup, that I’ve had for decades, that make my desk feel like mine.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Life is short, get on with it!
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
I hope they remember being engaged in an interesting and entertaining story.
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