I have a special surprise for all my followers. Today, I am interviewing New York Timesbestselling author of the much popular Scumble River Mysteries Denise
Swanson.
Me:
Thank you for being so willing to speak to me on My Reading Rainbow. So what
inspired you to start writing the Scumble River Mysteries, or more precisely
where did you get the idea?
Denise
Swanson: Scumble River is inspired by Coal City, my hometown, along with the
two adjacent towns of Braidwood and Wilmington. As a school psychologist
myself, my sleuth, Skye Denison's profession was a natural. A lot of her
adventures, with the exception of finding a dead body, were inspired by my own
experiences while working in the public education.
Me:
I remember the first book I picked up of yours was the fifth book in the
Scumble River Mysteries because the title, Murder
of a Barbie and Ken, caught my attention.
Actually, my eyes just saw the words Murder of Barbie and Ken. Barbie and Ken being an icon and something I
played with as I child that I wondered how you could murder Barbie and Ken. It
seems you have such a knack for coming up with some good titles for your books
as you did it again with the second book in your new series; the title being Nickeled and Dimed to Death. Please,
tell us how you come up with these eye-grabbing titles?
Denise
Swanson: Most of the titles are from my own imagination, but occasionally
my editor comes up with a better one than I do. Her assistant actually
suggested Murder of a Barbie and Ken. I was calling the book Murder of a Sacred
Cow, which everyone at my publishing house hated. For Nickeled-and-Dimed to
Death, I did a web search for any phrase that had dime in it because I wanted
tie the book to the dime store theme. And every once in a while, the title comes
to me before the story, which was the case for my September release, Murder of
a Stacked Librarian.
Me:
With media trying telling us that woman should have a small figure and be
model-worthy beautiful, it was a fantastic idea that you made Skye Dennison of
Scumble River an average woman with the average weight issues. Did you
know that would be a great seller with your readers, and that is why you went
that route instead of making her sound like a Barbie?
Denise
Swanson: Since I've struggled with my own weight and self-image for so many
years, and I knew other women had these issues as well, I thought Skye would be
a heroine with whom many people could identify. As a voracious reader, myself,
it always annoyed me that all the main characters were so beautiful and perfect.
Back in 1997 when I started writing Skye, there were few if any characters like
her. But now, I seem to have started a trend. ;)
Me:
Please, tell us something about your new
series, the Devereaux’s Dime Store
Mysteries.
Denise
Swanson: Devereaux’s Dime Store Mysteries are about a woman who when faced
with several situations she can't control—her boss pulled a Ponzi scheme so she
can no longer work in the world of finance making her MBA worthless, her father
is in prison for vehicular manslaughter, and her grandmother's memory is
failing—decides to buy the dime store in her hometown and take care of her
grandmother. She has two close friends, Poppy who owns Gossip Central, the
local hot spot, and Boone a small town lawyer. In order to help her profit
margin, Dev has added a basket making business to the dime store. It includes
erotic baskets, and in the first book, the contents of one of those erotic
baskets are used to murder Dev's ex-boyfriend's fiancé.
Me:
Lastly, Ms. Swanson, do you have any
advice for aspiring writers?
Denise
Swanson: My best piece of advice is to remember it's not how good you are,
it's how bad you want it. Keep writing. Keep polishing. And most of all, keep submitting.
Thank
you again for chatting with me. My
followers may want to check out Denise Swanson’s new book Murder of a Stacked Librarian, which hits the shelves at your
nearest Barnes & Noble store on September 3rd.
You can also check out her latest
book from her Devereaux’s Dime Store series, Nickeled and Dimed to Death, which is on the shelves now.
