1--What is the title of your latest release?
LOWCOUNTRY GETAWAY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When Nate Andrews whisks the entire Talbot clan off for a holiday adventure in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he has no idea his mother-in-law and her new friends will become embroiled in a case involving adultery, junk cars, money laundering, and murder. Liz and Nate scramble to find a killer before three sweet Southern belles wind up in a tropical prison.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
St. John is my favorite vacation spot, so it’s also Liz Talbot’s. I’ve thought about setting a book there for a while.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Liz Talbot is my avatar, or maybe in some ways she’s who I’d like to be. I live vicariously through her, so I guess I’d say we hang out every day.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Fierce, loyal, kind, flawed…okay, yes, that’s four words. Liz is flawed like all the rest of us.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
There are ruins in St. John that date all the way back to the year AD 1.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do a bit of both. Every day, I edit what I wrote the day before. These ease me back into my fictional world. By the time I’ve completed the first draft, I’ve already edited it once. Then I go back and do it again.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Anything involving pasta and cheese. But I’ve adopted a whole food, plant-based diet, so I eat vegan cheese. I was honestly astonished at how good it tastes.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
So, we’ve just moved, and my office is a bit of a blank slate at the moment. I plan to turn it into a library / writing cave.
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are many. Right now, I’m going through a Liane Moriarity phase.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I honestly can’t think of one that I would say changed my life. Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger, had a profound impact.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I’d signed with an agent, only to have her go on medical leave. I was placed with another agent in the agency, but one who didn’t typically represent traditional mysteries. He tried really hard. He’d had my first novel out on submission for months, but the news wasn’t very encouraging. Then, with the agent’s consent, I sent the manuscript to an editor I knew through Sisters in Crime. She was just starting a small press. I was thrilled when she called to say she wanted to acquire it. I was actually at my sister’s house at the time.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Women’s Fiction, though that’s fairly broad. I like my novels with a bit of mystery, like those by Liane Moriarity, Sally Hepworth, some of the later books by Joshilyn Jackson
14--What’s your favorite movie?
That’s a tough one. Probably Sweet Home Alabama
15--What is your favorite season?
I like spring and fall. I couldn’t pick a favorite between the two
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
A like going to a nice restaurant with my husband
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I loved Nora Goes off Script, by Annabel Monaghan. That’s probably my favorite read this year.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Southern, though I also like Italian quite a lot
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I spend it with family and friends. I love having people over. As often as we can we break out the microphones for karaoke.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Big Trouble in Sullivan’s Island, the first book in a new series will be out in late spring.
A Liz Talbot Mystery #11
Christmas in the Islands…Nate Andrews whisked the entire Talbot clan off for a holiday adventure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As they relax on the beach of sunny St. John, Liz Talbot grapples with the secret her husband has kept since the day she met him—he’s a very wealthy man. Will all that money change everything?
Meanwhile, the wild donkeys on the island follow Daddy around like he’s their leader, and Mamma has made new friends. Beverly Baker and Frankie Summey are conducting a do-it-yourself investigation. They’re hot on the trail of Beverly’s husband, Melvin, and his mistress, the tantrum yoga instructor. When Mamma is caught masterminding an undercover operation, naturally, Liz and Nate step in.
As the family gathers around the Christmas tree, Beverly and Frankie stumble into the crosshairs of a dangerous criminal organization. Liz and Nate scramble to find a killer before three sweet Southern belles wind up in a tropical prison.
Mystery Woman Sleuth [Stella Maris Books, LLC, On Sale: December 13, 2022, e-Book, / eISBN: 2940185761960]
Susan M. Boyer is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. She was blessed with a quintessential small-town childhood and has had a life-long love affair with books. Susan is grateful to have been gifted with an over-active imagination. She was one of those children whose teachers were always telling her mamma that her talents needed to be “channeled.” She’s been making things up and writing them down her whole life
Susan’s debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations. The third book in the series, Lowcountry Boneyard, was a Spring 2015 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick, and was short-listed for the 2016 Pat Conroy Beach Music Mystery Prize. Lowcountry Book Club was a Summer 2016 SIBA Okra Pick and was short-listed for the 2017 Southern Book Prize in Mystery & Detective Fiction.
Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels. She lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.
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