Ophelia London on Cozies, Kisses, and Eureka, California

Ophelia London, author of CHALK LINES & LIPSTICK, sits down with Fresh Fiction Reviewer Debbie Wiley to talk cozies, kisses, and Eureka, California.

Debbie: Hi, Ophelia! Thank you for joining us at Fresh Fiction!

Ophelia Hi! I’m so happy to be here again!

Debbie: CHALK LINES & LIPSTICK is your first foray into the cozy mystery world, and I’m definitely looking forward to more adventures from you in this genre! In what ways did the writing process for a cozy mystery differ from writing your young adult and new adult books?

Ophelia Funny story about this writing project. I’d actually written it as straight chicklit. It had a bit of a mystery thread, and when I’d submitted it to Gemma Halliday (woot!), she said she loved the characters and voice, but that it had the makings of a cozy mystery and I just didn’t know it! It was so much fun to go back and “cozify” the story. The plot is pretty much the same, I just amped up the mystery…and added more kissing, because I AM still a romance writer at heart!

Debbie: I love Maren’s determination to succeed and to ferret out a story, even when circumstances turn against her. She tackles every task with a sense of humor (I laughed until I cried over her mom’s blog as I could only imagine the horror of a parent telling everything online!). What scene in CHALK LINES & LIPSTICK was your favorite to write?

Ophelia Aw, thank you. I love Maren, too! Hmm, my favorite scene to write. Well, besides the kissing… I’d have to say it’s the “boot” scene, and here’s why. This story was my first and only “NaNoWriMo” experience. I was totally stuck in the scene, and one of the writing prompts I’d read while preparing for NaNo was to spring something out of the blue on the character. So…I hit her on the head with a boot. :) Totally revved up the scene!

Debbie: Eureka, California is a far cry from Maren’s former life in New York City. I love how you made the setting almost a character itself as the setting is part of the fun of cozy mysteries. How did you decide on the setting and are there more books in store for us set in Eureka?

Ophelia Eureka is my hometown, and I’ve always wanted to set a book there. It’s got so much history and cool personality. With the time crunch of NaNo, I knew I wouldn’t have time to mess around with researching a setting, so I chose a place I knew like the back of my hand. The responses from readers about Eureka have been so wonderful. I’d love to send people that way for a visit. And if you drop in on my mother, she’ll make you her infamous “spudnuts.”

Debbie: I always love looking at the playlist authors have for their books and you included several oldies but goodies on your playlist for CHALK LINES & LIPSTICK, such as the Police and RUN-DMC. What books have most influenced your writing?

Ophelia I’m an old-school music fan, so most of my playlists have classics. I’m glad you noticed those! I’m a huge chicklit fan and all of my books have those same quirky-lovable type of heroines. One reviewer compared Maren to Bridget Jones—which totally made my day! I love Helen Fielding, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Jennifer Cruzie.

Debbie: Can you give us a peek at what you have coming up in the future?

Ophelia Sure! I’m currently working on the second book in my Sugar City series. This story takes place in Hershey, PA and the heroine of the story works for Hershey. Let me tell you, the “research” for this book has been quite delicious. Also, I hope to soon be starting book #2 in the Maren Colepepper series!!

Debbie: Thank you for joining us today, Ophelia! I loved CHALK LINES & LIPSTICK and look forward to reading more of your books in the future!

Ophelia It’s always my pleasure to be on Fresh Fiction. You guys rock!

About Ophelia London

USA Today bestselling author Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Visit her books here, but don’t call when The Vampire Diaries (or Dawson’s Creek) is on.

Website | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Blog

About CHALK LINES & LIPSTICK

From USA Today bestselling author Ophelia London comes a brand new mystery series that will have you laughing out loud...

Maren Colepepper thought she had it all: a career at a fashion magazine, a successful boyfriend, and a glamorous New York lifestyle. She thought wrong. When her glamorous life suddenly goes belly up, Maren finds herself forced to take the only job she can find at a small town newspaper in the tiny northern California hometown she fled ten years ago.

While Maren expected her new job in no-wheres-ville to kill her with boredom, She never expected to be front row to a shooting on her very first day! Worse yet, Maren is knocked unconscious at the scene, and when she comes to, the body has gone missing and she's been scooped by another reporter. Talk about a bad first impression. Now Maren is hot on the trail of the story of a lifetime, involving a shady lumber mill and the foresting of old-growth redwoods—a ginormous crime in her neck of the woods! Between her suddenly flirty new editor, her supremely hot new neighbor, and a lovably meddling family, Maren find small town life anything but boring. But if she can't find the shooter before he strikes again, it may even become deadly!