You’ve now published several mystery books, but what inspired you to write that first one? I worked on cruise ships as an entertainer for a decade in my 20s and early 30s. I had the idea for this series back, but didn’t even know where to start. I got off of ships when I was five months pregnant with my oldest son and spent the next few years raising my two boys. Once my children were older, I finally had the time and the brainpower to be able to write the book that I had dreamt of writing when I was working on ships all those years ago.
Your book series Olivia Morgan Cruise Ship Mysteries features a guest who becomes an amateur sleuth and enlists the aid of crew members to solve murders. How did you use your previous work history into creating these stories. From my years working on ships, I felt like a cruise ship would be a perfect setting for a mystery. You are trapped at sea on a ship with a killer, which ups the stakes. The people who work on ships tend to be larger than like characters, which makes them a lot of fun to write. Every cruise is a unique experience. You have new passengers and an international crew which gives me lots of interesting options for the characters in my book.
Chico is my sleuth’s pet sidekick and my favorite character to write. I worked with parrots in my act and I have so much fun writing Chico. He tends to be a reader favorite, too, which makes me so happy.
How do you go about plotting your mystery? With my cruise ship mysteries, I usually start with an event or a situation that actually happened to me when I worked on ships, such as the ship crashing into the dock (Yikes!) or a fire breaking out onboard (Double Yikes!) and build the mystery around it.
Do you pick the victim or the murderer first? I almost always pick the victim first. I sometimes don’t know which of the suspects is the murderer until I get to the end of the book. I had one character in one of my books who I had planned to be the murderer, but the character just wouldn’t cooperate! The characters have a mind of their own and no matter how much plotting and planning I do, they don’t always do what they are told!
What do you think makes for a perfect murder mystery? I wish I knew what made the perfect murder mystery. Unfortunately I never got to meet Agatha Christie so I couldn’t ask her.
Yes, I agree. I'm a big fan of Christie books. Would have been intrigued in meeting her and talking to her about her writing. Now please tell my readers about your Clue Crew Book Club! I started The Clue Crew Book Club with my cousin, Jen. She is an avid reader and we thought it would be fun to have the perspectives of an author and a reader. We feature a different author every month. The book cub is currently on hiatus for the summer, but our YouTube videos are available. You can watch them and get to know our featured mystery authors. https://www.youtube.com/@TheClueCrewMysteryChannel
What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing? I’m very lucky that my family is very encouraging of my writing and my first mystery, "Murder Takes a Bow” was a 'Cozy Mystery Indie of the Year' Finalist. That honor really encouraged me to keep writing, but the support of my readers is what keeps me sitting down at my laptop every day. I’m really grateful for my readers. I have an active Facebook reader group that is my happy place on the internet and I am so happy that many of The Clue Crew members feel the same way. I’d love to have you join the group and come hang out with us. We talk about books, share pictures of our pets and support each other in good times and bad. I’ve been lucky enough to even meet some in person on my Clue Crew Cruise we took together in January and at book signings. https://www.facebook.com/groups/wendyscluecrew
Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produced more sales rather than just clicks? A couple of years ago I decided that I didn’t want all of my eggs in one basket and took most of my books out of Kindle Unlimited. I opened my own online bookstore and sell my books directly to my readers.
My books are still on all retailers but I can build a closer relationship with my readers and give them better deals when they buy directly from me. I’ve used Amazon ads, Facebook ads, I post on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and I send emails to my readers.
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner? That I could do it. I wanted to be an author my entire life. I remember dreaming of writing books when I was reading Jane Eyre in third grade but was always told that you can’t make a career out of being an author.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give? To just sit down and write. The words don’t have to be perfect because you can edit any words you have written, but you can’t edit what you don’t have.
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add? If you write 1,000 words a day, you’ll have a first draft of a book in just a couple of months! What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis? My next book is coming out later this month. It is called Ernest Endeavors and is book two in my Key West Mysteries series. Key West was one of my favorite ports, so I thought it would be fun to write a series set there. I get to “visit” Key West while I am planning and writing the books in the series.
Here is a little bit about the book:
When antique shop owner Beth Fletcher discovers a 1930s diary, she's captivated by its intimate glimpses into Ernest Hemingway's Key West life. But this glimpse into the past becomes deadly when museum curator Regina Winters is found floating in the Hemingway House's famous pool – just hours after hinting she'd made an extraordinary discovery about the author's long-lost manuscripts.
Armed with her research skills, her sassy cat Agatha, and her sister Sarah's perfect pastries, Beth navigates a maze of historical clues and modern dangers.
Despite warnings from the handsome detective assigned to the case, Beth can't help digging deeper.
She moved to Key West for a fresh start, not to get tangled up in murder, but in a town where history whispers around every corner, sometimes the past refuses to stay buried.
That's all for today's interview. Love the book blurb for the new Key West series. I've been to the Hemingway house and that's a great setting for a story. I've read several of Wendy's books and I hope you'll want to start reading some as well. Here are some links to get you started.
And here's a bonus from Wendy for all my readers... Visit her website https://wendyneugentbooks.com/ and use code “TheWriteChris” to get the eBook or audiobook of Murder Takes a Bow for free!
What inspired you to write your first cozy mystery? It’s not what inspired me, it’s who! Readers of my romantic comedy trilogy (fondly known as the What’s Not series) suggested I write a cozy mystery. They believed my fluid writing style, relatable characters, and true-to-life dialogue would work well with cozies. If it weren’t for readers’ encouragement, I probably wouldn’t have begun the Venus Bixby Mystery series that so far consists of A Whale of a Murder, published in 2024, and Switched at Death, releasing on April 22, 2025.
How did you create your imaginary town setting? When I visited New Bedford, MA, in 2016 (the year I retired from corporate America), I couldn’t have predicted that this historic whaling village would be the model for my cozies. But when I began imagining my story, my day in New Bedford popped into my mind. Since it’s situated between Providence and Cape Cod, I named my fictional town Chatham Crossing. From there, I made the whaling museum the focal point of the story. Next, I created my amateur sleuth who owns an oldies music store and cookie bakery. And since the town borders a bay, it was easy to build out the town from there.
How do you go about plotting your mystery? Unlike my romcom, which I truly wrote by the seat of my pants, I learned from an online course how important it is to outline a mystery, cozy or otherwise. A cozy must have a sleuth, a detective, a victim, a villain, and a cast of supporting characters who may or may not be suspects. On top of that, it needs a setting people will love and a murder they know occurred but never witness. Bonus points for things like pets, food, book, music and red herrings sprinkled along the way. It’s a recipe for disaster for the writer who doesn’t think through most of this ahead of time. For my mysteries, I use multi-colored markers and sketch pads to mind map those key elements, drawing pictures and arrows to depict how and when they interact.
Do you pick the victim or the murderer first? In both A Whale of a Murder and Switched at Death I knew who the primary victim would be at the start. However, I actually changed who the murderer would be halfway through the first draft of Switched at Death. You could say I kept with the theme of that story!
What do you think makes for a perfect murder mystery? A murder mystery is a puzzle. People love puzzles! Look at the millions of people who play Wordle each day! A perfect murder mystery, then, is a puzzle cloaked in intrigue that implores the reader to search for clues as to whodunit. The clues can either be blatant or hidden, but the story should motivate a reader to reflect on what they caught or missed after they’ve turned the last page and closed the book.
What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing? Throughout my career I was a writer, in one form or another. For most of my life I wrote business or marketing communications. As such, I was stifled by having to comply with rules, especially legal ones. In the last few years before I retired, I shared the idea for my first novel with colleagues. To a person, they all encouraged me to go for it. Get that book written! If I hadn’t heeded their advice, I wouldn’t have five books under my belt today.
Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produced more sales rather than just clicks? Friends and family might not agree, but I really am an introvert. So, you’d think online marketing would suit me just fine. Yet, I find, I’m also like the Energizer bunny. Once you wind me up, I can talk about my author journey, writing, and the stories I tell for hours. So, for me, participating in book fairs and craft fairs are generally worthwhile and fun. You just never know who you’ll meet!
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner? I don’t think I ever thought of writing as an addiction. But it is! I can’t believe I’m in the process of writing my sixth book. I bet I think about writing during most of my waking hours. Even reading or watching television provides fodder for a future story.
What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give? Don’t compare yourself to other authors. While that’s commonly-given advice, I suspect it’s difficult for many of us to adhere to. Whether it’s a writer’s storytelling talent or an author’s trajectory to a best seller’s list, I believe it’s human nature to put ourselves in their shoes and wish it were us.
Are there any other points about writing you would like to add? Know thyself. Sounds like an answer to the above question! What I mean to convey is this: write the book you want to write. Switch genres, as I did, if it makes you happy. Be honest about how much time, energy, and money you’re willing to invest in a career where people you’ll never meet will have much to say about what you put your heart and soul into. If you’re thin skinned, don’t read reviews!
What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis? The second book in the Venus Bixby Mystery series was published this week. In Switched at Death, Venus Bixby and her meddlesome sister are back. When the beloved mayor of historic Chatham Crossing collapses and dies when the Christmas tree explodes in flame during the annual tree lighting, Venus drags her feet before getting involved in the investigation that follows. Once her cookie bakery is implicated in the mayor’s death, she has no choice. As clues begin to emerge, Venus fears someone she knows and loves may also be involved. Will her clever sleuthing skills save the Christmas holidays for one and all in this charming whaling town? That's all for today's interview. Hope you'll check out Valerie's books. Here are the links to do just that...
And here's a bonus for my readers... Leave a comment on this post and we'll pick one reader who'll receive a copy of one of Valeria's eBooks. Their choice of either A Whale of a Murder or Switched at Death! So do that now. It can be as simple as I want to be in the giveaway. We'll chose a winner next weekend!
