Alice Loweecey, Author of SECOND TO NUN on Cozies, Pseudonyms, and the Supernatural

Alice Loweecey, author of SECOND TO NUN, sits down with Fresh Fiction reviewer Debbie Wiley to talk about cozy mysteries, pseudonyms, and the supernatural.

Debbie: Hi, Alice! Thank you for joining us today at Fresh Fiction! Giulia is just pure fun to read about and I love some of the nun puns you use! Initially I was a little skeptical about a humorous cozy mystery featuring a former nun as I was afraid she would be too stodgy but this is definitely not the case with Giulia. How much of your own experiences have you put into her storyline?

Alice: Thanks, Debbie. When I created Giulia, I made her a Franciscan nun because I used to be a Franciscan nun. Write the convent you know! So her convent experiences are set in a very similar background to mine. I knew I could make them real to my readers, because they are real places. I know several nuns from different Orders, and it not surprising that our experiences are quite similar.

I was interviewed for an article on Cracked.com recently, My Boyfriend is Jesus: 7 Experiences of a Nun. That was a lot of fun, realizing that convents are convents are convents. I’ve been out of the convent for more than 30 years, and as recently as ten years ago, I was told I stand like a nun. It’s a little unsettling.

Debbie: And I have to follow up that question by asking about the mascot you show on your website. Is she meant to be Giulia or does she have her own name and history?

Alice: My mascot is a Disney princess who’s seen the errors of her ways, because Walgreen’s had a 3-for-1 sale on them when I needed to make nun dolls. I made two as an early giveaway and kept one for myself. She looks the way I used to, except nuns didn’t wear makeup in habit.

I never did name her. You’re the second interviewer who’s asked me if she has a name. I really do have to have a name the nun doll contest.

Debbie: The Giulia Driscoll series is a bit more light- hearted than the Falcone & Driscoll Investigation series, even though the books feature the same characters. I like the change in tone as it fits with Giulia’s married life. How difficult was it to shift the tone for the characters and what was your thought process while doing so?

Alice: The change did take some work. I know the characters well, so it was a matter of sitting down with them and planning their futures. I think best while using paper and pen, so I wrote out the two-year gap between VEILED THREAT and NUN TOO SOON, letting Frank and Giulia (and Sidney) tell me what they’d been doing with their lives. Out of that came the bridging short story, CHANGING HABITS That story is FREE on henerypress.com, by the way.

Debbie: One of the aspects I like in SECOND TO NUN so much is the unexpected supernatural tinge to the storyline. I noticed you have at least one horror novel published as well. Can we expect to see more paranormal-tinged tales from you in the future?

Alice: No ghosts in the next Giulia mystery, NUN BUT THE BRAVE, where Giulia’s infiltrating a Doomsday Prepper cult. But her success in SECOND TO NUN is opening up a whole new area of expertise for Driscoll Investigations: The word is out that Giulia and company can go up against bad guys real and ethereal. Poor Sidney’s head is about to explode on a regular basis.

Debbie: SECOND TO NUN has some great scenes in it as you do a great job at mixing skepticism and the paranormal for great comedic effect. The clown doll is pretty creepy! What was your favorite scene to write and why?

Alice: Oh, definitely the clown doll! Many of my friends freak out about clowns and many other freak about antique dolls with their real hair and those staring glass eyes. So of course I had to put both phobias together with a little touch of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Fortunately dolls and clowns aren’t my skeeve. Wolf spiders are. Well, any spider actually. Don’t Google “wolf spider” if you want to sleep tonight. Trust me.

Debbie: The cliffhanger ending of SECOND TO NUN has me excited about the possibilities. Any hints about what we’ll see coming up for Giulia and Frank in the future?

Alice: No spoilers! I will say that Giulia and Frank will be rearranging their schedules quite a bit. But I’ll leave it up to my readers to wonder if the culprits are psychics, ghosts, that sleazy wannabe TMZ show, The Scoop, or something else.

Debbie: Thanks, Alice, for chatting with us today. I can't wait to read Giulia's next adventure and see Sydney's reaction to the Doomsday Preppers cult!

About Alice Loweecey

Baker of brownies and tormenter of characters, Alice Loweecey recently celebrated her thirtieth year outside the convent. She grew up watching Hammer horror films and Scooby-Doo mysteries, which explains a whole lot.

When she's not creating trouble for her sleuth Giulia Driscoll or inspiring nightmares as her alter-ego Kate Morgan, she can be found growing her own vegetables (in summer) and cooking with them (the rest of the year).

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About SECOND TO NUN

The Other Side has hired Driscoll Investigations. The owner of Stone’s Throw Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast insists that a tarot reading told her to hire Giulia to evict the family ghost. Since the ghost is cutting gas lines and flooding cellars, Giulia and her husband Frank head to the B&B to discover the real perpetrator.

The client also has a family legend: A highwayman who stole a pile of gold. Giulia has a pile of suspects, including a psychic the client hired to conduct weekly séances. So much for romance with Frank at this getaway.

Instead, Giulia’s juggling arson, creepy clown dolls, and the psychic going all Exorcist on her. Then the ghost tries to push the client off the lighthouse and throw Giulia down three flights of stairs. It should’ve known better than to mess with an ex-nun. Giulia has connections and she’s about to use them.