1--What is the title of your latest release?
PHOTO FINISHED (Book 1, Snapshot of NYC Mysteries)
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Have you ever landed your dream job, attended a black-tie ball, met some millionaires, popped a button, and found a murdered person, all on the same day? Wait until you meet Liv Spyers!
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
PHOTO FINISHED is my cozy mystery love letter to New York City, the town in which I was born, raised, and still reside. I loved visiting the city as if I were a tourist while writing the book, seeing the streets through my photographer sleuth’s eyes.
4--Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life?
Absolutely! I love how this young photographer, Liv Spyers, keeps her humor and wits about her while jumping out of her comfort zone to solve the case of billionaire Charlie Archibald’s murder.
5--What are three words that describe your sleuth?
“Snappy”, loyal, hard working
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I have a dear friend who is a professional photographer and kindly read my first draft. She was able to help me understand the world of professional photography from big picture challenges, like landing jobs and equipment needs, to the finer details regarding how Liv Spyers would manage her photos after a shoot and what she might call her studio.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Editing is my favorite part of the process. I focus at first on putting the story down, and when I type “The End” the fun begins as I comb through the details, add to the world and sprinkle in some fun.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I’m all about truffle anything these days!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Right now, I’m finishing the next book in the Snapshot of NYC Mysteries and if Liv were here and took a photo of my writing space you’d see packets of duck sauce from my Chinese take-out, empty and half-drunk bottles of water everywhere, a candle burning, and – best of all – my new puppy sleeping in a ball beside me on my desk.
10--Who is an author you admire?
My friend, Greer Hendricks, author of the WIFE BETWEEN US and other psychological thrillers. We’ve been meeting in the library lately to work on our projects which is a hoot since we went to college together and it feels as if we’ve gone back in time.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Without realizing it at the time, the summer I read every Nancy Drew book as a kid probably planted the seeds for my passion for mysteries with kick-ass, female, amateur sleuths.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
My editor at Kensington and I had bounced around the idea for the character of Liv Spyers over coffee about a year before we decided she should be the star of my next series. So much time had passed, I thought the concept for a young, NYC sleuth had been relegated to the scrap heap, especially because people don’t often think of a huge city when they think of a cozy mystery. It was, therefore, a delight when my editor green-lighted the project!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Um… cozy, cozy, cozy all the way!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Too many to name but in the spirit of the cozy I want to give Knives Out a big shout out. The characters and world building were amazing, and the mystery had me guessing the whole way through.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall. I am in heaven when the shadows grow long, the leaves change color and the sweaters come out. I realized the other day I’ve set half my books in autumn!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Lot’s of cake.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Only Murder’s in the Building. I was thrilled when early readers of PHOTO FINISHED mentioned that my story would probably appeal to fellow fans of the Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez series. The show is a perfect example of how New York City is a collection of small neighborhoods that can translate to cozy mystery.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Take Out
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I have a new puppy who I am enjoying so much in my free time. It’s so funny to watch him chase the leaves during his first fall season.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I am finishing Book 2 in the Snapshot of NYC Mysteries this month, which I believe will be in stores by the end of next summer!
A Snapshot of NYC Mystery #1
While some people escape into books or music, Liv Spyers escapes through her camera’s lens, which inspires her to jump into things she might otherwise have no business tackling—like moving to New York City. Hustling to make her dreams come true as a portrait photographer, she runs a pocket-sized studio below her grandparents’ West Village brownstone and key shop, where she also lives and works part-time. All of which still has her down to the end of her savings as the holidays approach. Everything changes in a flash, however, when elite events photographer, Regina Montague, invites Liv to shoot with her at New York City’s most exclusive socialite event of the year—the Holiday Debutante Ball!
Liv snaps at the opportunity, convinced that a job with Regina will launch her career. But when her fabulous new gig ends with the murder of billionaire Charlie Archibald, her dream job may never develop with Regina framed for murder. Once Liv begins to focus on her photos from the ball, she’s convinced they reveal Charlie Archibald’s real killer. Now, between cracking the world of high society—and the attentions of a handsome stranger—Liv must hustle once again to expose the killer . . . before she gets cropped from the picture!
Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Cozy [Kensington Cozies, On Sale: October 25, 2022, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781496738813 / eISBN: 9781496738820]
Christin Brecher was born and raised in NYC, where her family and many childhood friends still reside. As such, she feels she is as much of a small-town girl as any. The idea to write the Nantucket Candle Maker series sprang from her life-long connection to the small island off the coast of Massachusetts. Spending summers there as a child, Christin read from her family’s library of mystery novels; after which she began to imagine stories inspired by the island’s whaling heyday, its notoriously foggy nights, and during long bike rides to the beach. After many years in marketing for the publishing industry, followed by years raising her children.
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